♪♪
>>THIS BYU DEVOTIONAL ADDRESS
WITH ALEX BAUGH WAS GIVEN ON
JUNE 24, 2014.
>>GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO
OUR CAMPUS DEVOTIONAL.
MY NAME IS BRENT WEBB,
AND I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO
CONDUCT TODAY'S MEETING IN THE
ABSENCE OF PRESIDENT WORTHEN.
THIS MORNING WE WILL HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY OF HEARING FROM
ALEXANDER L. BAUGH,
A PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY.
WE WELCOME HIS WIFE, SUSAN,
WHO IS SEATED ON THE STAND,
AS WELL AS THEIR FAMILY
MEMBERS AND FRIENDS WHO
HAVE JOINED US TODAY.
ALEXANDER L. BAUGH
WAS BORN AND RAISED
IN LOGAN, UTAH.
AFTER RECEIVING HIS BS DEGREE
FROM UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY,
HE WAS AN INSTRUCTOR AT
BOUNTIFUL VIEWMONT SEMINARY.
DURING THIS TIME HE ATTENDED
BYU AND COMPLETED A MASTER'S
DEGREE IN HISTORY WITH AN
EMPHASIS IN WESTERN
AMERICAN AND MORMON HISTORY.
AFTER SERVING AS THE DIRECTOR
OF THE INSTITUTE ADJACENT TO
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH
CAROLINA IN COLUMBIA AND
COMPLETING HIS PHD AT
BYU IN AMERICAN HISTORY,
PROFESSOR BAUGH JOINED BYU'S
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FACULTY.
DR. BAUGH IS THE AUTHOR OF
NUMEROUS BOOKS AND ARTICLES.
HE IS THE VOLUME EDITOR
OF THE JOSEPH SMITH
PAPERS DOCUMENT SERIES.
HE ENJOYS PERSONAL
RECORD KEEPING,
READING ANYTHING RELATED TO
CHURCH HISTORY AND DOCTRINE,
ATTENDING ATHLETIC FUNCTIONS,
PHOTOGRAPHY, EXERCISING,
AND ATTENDING MUSICAL AND
THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES.
HE AND HIS WIFE,
SUSAN JOHNSON BAUGH,
ARE THE PARENTS OF FIVE CHILDREN
AND HAVE EIGHT GRANDCHILDREN.
NOW WE'LL HAVE THE
PRIVILEGE OF HEARING
FROM BROTHER ALEX BAUGH.
>>IN MY YOUNG YEARS GROWING
UP IN LOGAN, UTAH,
I WAS PART OF A MUSICAL FAMILY.
MY GRANDFATHER,
FRANCIS H. BAUGH JR.,
AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN IN IN
THE COMMUNITY AS FRANK BAUGH,
WAS THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC FOR
NEARLY THIRTY YEARS IN THE
LOGAN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT,
WHERE HE DIRECTED THE HIGH
SCHOOL CHORAL GROUPS
AND MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS,
IN ADDITION TO SUPERVISING
MUSIC EDUCATION IN THE JUNIOR
HIGH AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
HE WAS LOGAN'S OWN MUSIC MAN.
BY THE TIME I WAS IN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HE HAD
RETIRED FROM TEACHING
IN THE PUBLIC SYSTEM,
LEAVING HIM TIME TO TEACH ME
AND MY SIBLINGS THE PIANO.
NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE CAN SAY
THEY TOOK PIANO LESSONS
FROM THEIR GRANDFATHER,
BUT I DID: HE WAS MY
ONE AND ONLY TEACHER.
EVERY PIANO LESSON
INCLUDED PLAYING HYMNS
FROM THE LDS HYMNAL.
GRANDFATHER WOULD HAVE ME GO
OVER EACH HYMN SEVERAL TIMES,
POINTING OUT FINGERING AND
DYNAMICS AND TELLING ME TO
"MAKE THE LONG NOTES LONGER
AND THE SHORT NOTES SHORTER."
AND SINCE GRANDFATHER WAS A
CHORAL DIRECTOR AND A SINGER,
A BEAUTIFUL TENOR,
I MIGHT ADD,
HE WOULD SING THE HYMNS,
EVERY VERSE,
AS I WOULD PLAY THEM.
BY THE TIME I WAS A TEENAGER,
I COULD PLAY A NUMBER OF THE
HYMNS, BUT SURPRISINGLY,
I COULD ALSO SING THE WORDS OF
THE HYMNS BY HEART BECAUSE
I'D HEARD MY GRANDFATHER
SING THEM SO MANY TIMES.
AROUND THE TIME I WAS IN
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL MY
GRANDFATHER MUST HAVE FELT I
WAS READY TO TAKE ON THE
LONGEST HYMN IN THE HYMNAL,
NUMBER 296, TITLED
"THE SEER,
JOSEPH, THE SEER,"
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN
BY JOHN TAYLOR,
AND LATER SET TO MUSIC
BY EBENEZER BEESLEY.
FORTUNATELY FOR ME IT
WAS IN THE KEY OF C,
BUT IT WAS FOUR PAGES LONG,
NOT TO MENTION A CHOIR NUMBER.
I CAN'T PLAY IT TODAY,
BUT I CAN STILL HEAR MY
GRANDFATHER'S CLEAR TENOR
VOICE SINGING THE WORDS.
"THE SEER, THE SEER,
"JOSEPH THE SEER!
"I'LL SING OF THE
"PROPHET EVER DEAR.
"WITH GODS HE SOARED
"IN THE REALMS OF DAY,
"AND MEN HE TAUGHT
"THE HEAVENLY WAY.
"HE GAZED ON THE PAST AND
"THE FUTURE TOO, AND OPENED,
"AND OPENED,
THE HEAVENLY WORLD TO VIEW."
LOOKING BACK,
I THINK THAT I CAN SAY THAT
IT WAS WHILE I WAS LEARNING
TO PLAY THAT NUMBER,
ALONG WITH HEARING
MY GRANDFATHER BAUGH
SING THE WORDS,
THAT I FELT THE FIRST FEELINGS
OF A TESTIMONY IN MY HEART
CONCERNING THE LIFE AND
MISSION OF JOSEPH SMITH.
HOWEVER, FOR MANY YEARS I WAS
PUZZLED WHY THE TEXT REFERRED TO
JOSEPH SMITH AS A SEER,
A TITLE I WAS NOT
ALTOGETHER FAMILIAR WITH.
IT WAS NOT UNTIL I READ THE
BOOK OF MORMON THAT I LEARNED
THAT PERHAPS THE GREATEST
DESIGNATION JOSEPH SMITH
COULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN
WAS THAT OF A SEER.
TODAY, I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS
FOUR TITLES OR ROLES GIVEN TO
JOSEPH SMITH IN THE REVELATIONS,
NAMELY THAT OF A SEER,
A TRANSLATOR, A REVELATOR,
AND A PROPHET.
IN THE BOOK OF MORMON,
AMMON DEFINED A SEER
AS ONE WHO POSSESSED
"A GIFT FROM GOD" TO
TRANSLATE ANCIENT RECORDS.
HOWEVER, THE SEERIC GIFT WAS NOT
LIMITED TO TRANSLATION.
HENCE AMMON'S
ADDITIONAL STATEMENT THAT
"A SEER IS A REVELATOR
AND A PROPHET ALSO."
AMMON FURTHER TAUGHT THAT
"A SEER CAN KNOW OF
"THINGS WHICH ARE PAST,
"AND ALSO OF THINGS
WHICH ARE TO COME,"
NOTING FURTHER THAT THE GIFT
OF SEERSHIP INCLUDES BEING
ABLE TO UNDERSTAND MYSTERIES
AND KNOW ALL THINGS,
INCLUDING THAT WHICH
IS HIDDEN OR SECRET.
IN REALITY,
THE GIFT OF SEERSHIP IS
THE GREATEST SPIRITUAL
GIFT A PERSON CAN HAVE.
NO WONDER,
WHEN AMMON EXPLAINED TO
KING LIMHI WHAT A SEER WAS,
THE KING RESPONDED
"THAT A SEER IS GREATER
THAN A PROPHET."
JOSEPH SMITH'S ROLE AS
A SEER WAS KNOWN AND
PROPHESIED OF ANCIENTLY.
JOSEPH OF EGYPT,
HIMSELF A GIFTED SEER,
PROPHESIED THAT IN THE LAST
DAYS A "CHOICE SEER" WOULD
COME THROUGH HIS LINEAGE.
"THAT SEER WILL
THE LORD BLESS,"
JOSEPH PROPHESIED,
SPECIFICALLY INDICATING THAT
"HIS NAME SHALL
BE CALLED AFTER ME."
IN ACTUALITY,
A SEER IS A SEE-ER,
PARTICULARLY ONE WHO IS
ENTITLED TO SEE VISIONS.
VISIONS CAN TAKE VARIOUS FORMS,
INCLUDING A PERSONAL
VISITATION OR THE APPEARANCE
OF DEITY OR HEAVENLY ANGELS.
IN ANOTHER TYPE OF VISION,
THE VEIL IS LIFTED
FROM A PERSON'S MIND,
AND THEIR SPIRITUAL EYES
BEHOLD THE THINGS OF GOD.
THIS TYPE OF VISION MIGHT
BE CALLED A "MIND VISION."
FINALLY, VISIONARY EXPERIENCES
CAN ALSO BE CONVEYED THROUGH
SPIRITUAL INSTRUMENTS,
SUCH AS THE
NEPHITE INTERPRETERS,
OR IN THE CASE OF JOSEPH
SMITH, A SMALL, UNUSUAL STONE,
OFTEN REFERRED TO
AS A SEER STONE,
WHICH HE HAD IN
HIS POSSESSION.
A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO I
DECIDED TO EXPLORE THE TYPES
OF VISIONS JOSEPH SMITH HAD,
AS WELL AS HOW MANY,
AND I WAS RATHER SURPRISED
WHEN I DISCOVERED THAT
DOCUMENTATION EXISTS
TO SHOW THAT HE HAD
OVER SEVENTY VISIONS.
MOST OF THESE VISIONS ARE NOT
FOUND IN THE STANDARD WORKS
BUT PERVADE THE PROPHET'S OWN
HISTORY AND THE RECORDS KEPT
BY CONTEMPORARIES WHO
WERE PRESENT WHEN A
VISION WAS RECEIVED,
OR WHEN JOSEPH SMITH SPOKE
ABOUT HIS SACRED COMMUNICATIONS.
JOSEPH SMITH MAY HAVE RECEIVED
MORE VISITATIONS OF HEAVENLY
PERSONAGES THAN ANY
OTHER PROPHET IN THE
HISTORY OF THE EARTH.
CERTAINLY HIS MOST MAGNIFICENT
AND DOCTRINALLY SIGNIFICANT
THEOPHANY OCCURRED IN THE
SACRED GROVE IN SPRING 1820
WHEN THE FATHER AND THE SON
APPEARED AND USHERED
IN THE OPENING OF THE
LATTER-DAY DISPENSATION.
THREE YEARS LATER,
YOUNG JOSEPH WAS VISITED FOR
THE FIRST TIME BY THE
RESURRECTED ANGEL MORONI,
THE LAST KNOWN SURVIVOR
OF THE NEPHITE NATION.
THEREAFTER, FROM SEPTEMBER 1823
UNTIL JULY 1829
WHEN JOSEPH SMITH
RETURNED THE PLATES,
A PERIOD OF NEARLY SIX YEARS,
MORONI APPEARED NUMEROUS
TIMES TO THE PROPHET,
TWENTY-TWO OF WHICH
CAN BE DOCUMENTED,
TO HELP PREPARE HIM
TO RECEIVE THE PLATES,
AND LATER TO PROVIDE
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION DURING
THE COURSE OF THE TRANSLATION.
BUT MORONI WAS NOT JOSEPH'S
ONLY SPIRITUAL TEACHER DURING
THESE PREPARATORY YEARS.
STATEMENTS BY SOME OF THE
PROPHET'S CONTEMPORARIES
REVEAL THAT DURING HIS ANNUAL
INTERVIEWS WITH MORONI THE
YOUNG SEER WAS VISITED AND
TAUGHT BY NUMEROUS ANCIENT
PROPHETS AND APOSTLES.
JOSEPH NEVER MENTIONED WHO
THESE ANGELIC MINISTRANTS WERE,
BUT JOHN TAYLOR PROVIDED
A FEW IDENTITIES.
HE REPORTED,
"WHEN JOSEPH SMITH WAS RAISED
"UP AS A PROPHET OF GOD,
"MORMON, MORONI,
"NEPHI AND OTHERS OF THE
"ANCIENT PROPHETS WHO FORMERLY
"LIVED ON THIS CONTINENT.
"CAME TO HIM AND COMMUNICATED
"TO HIM CERTAIN PRINCIPLES
"PERTAINING TO THE GOSPEL OF
THE SON OF GOD."
ELDER TAYLOR CONTINUED,
"THE PRINCIPLES WHICH HE HAD,
"PLACED HIM IN COMMUNICATION
"WITH THE ANCIENT
"APOSTLES AND PROPHETS;
"SUCH MEN,
"AS ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB,
"NOAH, ADAM, SETH, ENOCH,
"AND THE APOSTLES THAT LIVED
"ON THIS CONTINENT AS
"WELL AS THOSE WHO LIVED
"ON THE ASIATIC CONTINENT.
"HE SEEMED TO BE AS FAMILIAR
"WITH THESE PEOPLE AS
WE ARE WITH ONE ANOTHER."
IN THE WENTWORTH LETTER,
PUBLISHED IN 1842,
THE PROPHET STATED,
"AFTER HAVING RECEIVED MANY
"VISITS FROM THE ANGELS OF
"GOD THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
"DELIVERED THE RECORDS
INTO MY HANDS."
SO ALTHOUGH MORONI WAS
JOSEPH'S MAIN INSTRUCTOR
DURING THE ANNUAL INTERVIEWS
AT THE HILL CUMORAH,
THE ANCIENT BOOK OF MORMON
PROPHET ALSO INVITED A NUMBER
OF VERY SPECIAL GUEST VISITORS.
JOSEPH SMITH AND OLIVER
COWDERY ALSO TESTIFIED OF THE
PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF JOHN
THE BAPTIST, PETER, JAMES,
JOHN, MOSES, ELIAS,
AND ELIJAH,
WHO APPEARED TO CONFER
PRIESTHOOD AUTHORITY AND KEYS.
THE FACT THAT BOTH THE
PROPHET AND OLIVER WERE
CO-PARTICIPANTS IN THESE
VISITATIONS GIVES ADDITIONAL
TESTIMONY AND CREDIBILITY
TO THE REALITY OF
THESE VISIONARY EXPERIENCES.
A SECOND CATEGORY OR TYPE
OF VISION IS THAT OF
A "MIND VISION."
A DISTINGUISHING DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN A VISITATION VISION
AND A MIND VISION IS THAT IN A
VISITATION MANIFESTATION
A HEAVENLY PERSONAGE,
OR PERSONAGES,
IS ACTUALLY PRESENT.
HOWEVER, IN A MIND VISION,
NO DIVINE PERSONAGES
ARE PRESENT,
EVEN THOUGH THEY MIGHT BE SEEN.
A MIND VISION MIGHT ALSO
INCLUDE BEING ABLE TO SEE
SCENES OF HEAVEN, OR PAST,
PRESENT, AND FUTURE EVENTS.
THE REVELATION COMPRISING
D&C 76 IS AN EXAMPLE OF
THIS TYPE OF MANIFESTATION.
IN THEIR VISION,
JOSEPH SMITH AND SIDNEY RIGDON
TESTIFIED THAT THEY SAW GOD
THE FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST,
BUT NEITHER THE FATHER NOR THE
SON WAS ACTUALLY PRESENT IN THE
ROOM WHEN THE PROPHET AND RIGDON
WERE EXPERIENCING THE VISION.
THE TWO MEN ALSO SAW LUCIFER'S
PREMORTAL REBELLION,
AND THE CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED
WITH FUTURE INHABITANTS OF
EACH OF THE KINGDOMS OF GLORY.
WHAT IS INTERESTING IS THE
DESCRIPTION GIVEN BY THE
PROPHET AND RIGDON OF
HOW THE VISION WAS RECEIVED.
THEY RECORDED,
"THE LORD TOUCHED THE EYES
"OF OUR UNDERSTANDINGS
"AND THEY WERE OPENED,
"AND THE GLORY OF THE
LORD SHONE ROUND ABOUT."
WHAT THEY WERE SAYING WAS THAT
THEY SAW THINGS BY THEIR
SPIRITUAL EYES AS IF THEY WERE
LITERALLY SEEING AND
EXPERIENCING IT FOR THEMSELVES.
IT WAS SO REAL TO THEM THAT IT
WAS IF THEY WERE ACTUALLY THERE.
IT WOULD BE SOMETHING SIMILAR
TO WHAT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE WHEN
THEY WATCH A 3D MOVIE IN AN
IMAX THEATER TIMES ONE BILLION!
SEVERAL YEARS AGO I SAW THE
IMAX MOVIE SPACE STATION 3D,
AND FOR FORTY-SEVEN
MINUTES I SAT MESMERIZED.
THE IMAGERY WAS SO REAL,
IT WAS ALMOST AS IF I HAD
BEEN TRANSPORTED INTO SPACE
AND WAS ON BOARD THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION,
220 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH.
IT WASN'T UNTIL THE CREDITS
APPEARED AND THE LIGHTS WENT
UP THAT I GAINED MY SENSES AND
BECAME AWARE THAT I WAS
SITTING IN A MOVIE THEATER.
AN IMPRESSIVE EXAMPLE OF0
OF A MIND VISION COMES
FROM ZEBEDEE COLTRIN,
AN EARLY CHURCH MEMBER,
WHO EXPERIENCED AN UNUSUAL
VISION WITH JOSEPH SMITH
AND OLIVER COWDERY.
IN 1834, WHILE IN
NEW PORTAGE, OHIO,
THE PROPHET REQUESTED
OLIVER AND ZEBEDEE GO ON
A SHORT WALK WITH HIM.
AFTER FINDING A SUITABLE PLACE,
JOSEPH REQUESTED THEY KNEEL
AND EACH PRAY IN TURN.
AFTER PRAYING THE PROPHET SAID,
"'NOW BRETHREN,
WE WILL SEE SOME VISIONS.'"
JOSEPH LAID HIMSELF
ON THE GROUND,
AND OLIVER AND ZEBEDEE
RESTED THEIR HEADS ON HIS
OUTSTRETCHED ARMS.
"THE HEAVENS GRADUALLY OPENED,"
COLTRIN RECALLED, AND WE
"SAW A GOLDEN THRONE
"AND ON THE THRONE WERE TWO
"AGED PERSONAGES,
"HAVING WHITE HAIR, AND
CLOTHED IN WHITE GARMENTS."
THESE PERSONAGES WERE
"THE TWO MOST BEAUTIFUL AND
PERFECT SPECIMENS OF MANKIND"
HE HAD EVER SEEN.
JOSEPH SAID THEY WERE
"OUR FIRST PARENTS,
ADAM AND EVE."
OTHER EXAMPLES OF MIND VISIONS
RECEIVED BY THE PROPHET JOSEPH
SMITH INCLUDE A VISION OF
THE TEMPLE LOCATION IN
JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI;
VISIONS OF THE GENERAL
FEATURES AND DESIGNS OF THE
KIRTLAND AND NAUVOO TEMPLES;
A VISION OF THE PATTERN AND
ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH
COUNCILS AND QUORUMS;
A VISIONARY UNDERSTANDING OF
THE ANCIENT WARRIOR ZELPH;
A VISION OF THE POSTMORTAL
CONDITION OF THE MEN WHO DIED
ON ZION'S CAMP;
A VISION OF
THE CHRISTIAN MARTYRS;
AND A VISION OF THE COMMON
PROGENITORS OF A NUMBER OF
EARLY CHURCH LEADERS.
SEVERAL EXAMPLES IN SCRIPTURES
DEMONSTRATE THAT ANCIENT HOLY
MEN OFTEN USED DIVINE
INSTRUMENTS TO RECEIVE
REVELATION, INCLUDING VISIONS.
THE BOOK OF MORMON MAKES IT
VERY CLEAR THAT THE RELIGIOUS
LEADERS OF THE JAREDITE AND
NEPHITE CIVILIZATIONS
POSSESSED SACRED "INTERPRETERS,"
WHICH WERE ORIGINALLY GIVEN
TO THE BROTHER OF JARED.
MORONI, THE LAST BOOK OF MORMON
PROPHET TO POSSESS
THE INTERPRETERS,
INCLUDED THE INSTRUMENT
IN THE STONE BOX,
ALONG WITH THE PLATES AND
THE SACRED BREASTPLATE TO
ASSIST THE FUTURE TRANSLATOR.
IN ADDITION TO THE INTERPRETERS,
JOSEPH SMITH ALSO HAD IN HIS
POSSESSION WHAT IS GENERALLY
REFERRED TO AS THE SEER STONE.
SIGNIFICANTLY,
A PASSAGE IN ALMA 37 SUGGESTS
THAT THE FUTURE TRANSLATOR
WOULD USE BOTH THE NEPHITE
INTERPRETERS AND A
SACRED STONE TO TRANSLATE
THE BOOK OF MORMON.
FROM STATEMENTS BY EYEWITNESSES
TO THE TRANSLATION,
IT APPEARS JOSEPH SMITH USED
THE NEPHITE INTERPRETERS TO
TRANSLATE THE FIRST 116 PAGES,
THEREAFTER, FOR CONVENIENCE,
HE USED THE SEER
STONE TO COMPLETE THE
REST OF THE TRANSLATION.
BOTH OBJECTS FUNCTIONED
IN MUCH THE SAME MANNER,
BOTH INSTRUMENTS CONVEYED
VISIONARY TRANSMISSIONS,
AND BOTH WERE LATER REFERRED
TO BY JOSEPH SMITH AS
THE URIM AND THUMMIM.
A NUMBER OF JOSEPH SMITH'S
EARLIEST SEERIC VISIONS
WERE RECEIVED BY MEANS
OF THE SEER STONE.
JOSEPH KNIGHT SR., REMEMBERED
THE PROPHET SHARING AN
INCIDENT REGARDING THE SEER
STONE THAT TOOK PLACE IN
SEPTEMBER 1826 DURING THE
PROPHET'S THIRD ANNUAL VISIT
TO THE HILL CUMORAH.
KNIGHT INDICATED THAT DURING
THE 1826 INTERVIEW WITH MORONI,
JOSEPH WAS TOLD THAT HE WOULD
RECEIVE THE PLATES THE
FOLLOWING YEAR IF HE
BROUGHT THE RIGHT PERSON
WITH HIM TO THE HILL.
CONFUSED, JOSEPH ASKED MORONI,
"'WHO IS THE RIGHT PERSON?'
"THE ANSWER WAS YOU WILL KNOW.
"THEN HE LOOKED IN HIS STONE
AND FOUND IT WAS EMMA HALE."
JOSEPH UNDERSTOOD WHAT
HE NEEDED TO DO.
A FEW WEEKS LATER HE TRAVELED
TO HARMONY TO REQUEST EMMA'S
HAND IN MARRIAGE FROM
HER FATHER, ISAAC HALE.
HOWEVER,
ISAAC OPPOSED THE MARRIAGE,
AND BECAUSE OF HIS OPPOSITION,
JOSEPH AND EMMA ELOPED AND
WERE MARRIED IN JANUARY 1827.
IN ACCORDANCE WITH
MORONI'S INSTRUCTIONS,
THE FOLLOWING SEPTEMBER WHEN
THE PROPHET WENT TO RETRIEVE
THE PLATES AT THE HILL,
EMMA ACCOMPANIED HER
HUSBAND IN THE WAGON.
THE ACCOUNT GIVEN BY KNIGHT
ILLUSTRATES THAT IT WAS MADE
KNOWN TO JOSEPH SMITH BY MEANS
OF A VISIONARY EXPERIENCE
USING THE SEER STONE
THAT HE WAS TO MARRY EMMA.
AS A SIDE NOTE,
I'M SURE MANY YOUNG SINGLE
ADULTS WISH THEY COULD HAVE
THEIR OWN SEER STONE TO HELP
THEM SEE WHOM THEY SHOULD MARRY.
IT CERTAINLY WOULD MAKE
THE DATING AND COURTSHIP
PROCESS A LOT EASIER.
UPON RECEIVING THE PLATES,
BREASTPLATE,
AND NEPHITE INTERPRETERS
IN SEPTEMBER 1827,
JOSEPH DEVELOPED A SPECIAL
AFFINITY FOR THE INTERPRETERS
WHICH HE CALLED SPECTACLES.
JOSEPH KNIGHT SR. WAS AT THE
SMITH HOME IN PALMYRA WHEN
JOSEPH RETURNED FROM THE HILL
CUMORAH AND REMEMBERED
CONVERSING WITH THE PROPHET
ABOUT THE SACRED RELICS
THE MORNING AFTER HE
OBTAINED POSSESSION OF THEM.
"IT IS TEN TIMES BETTER
THAN I EXPECTED,"
KNIGHT REMEMBERED
THE PROPHET SAYING.
"HE SEAMED TO THINK
"MORE OF THE GLASSES THAN
HE DID OF THE PLATES,"
WROTE KNIGHT,
"FOR, SAYS HE,
"'I CAN SEE ANY THING;
THEY ARE MARVELUS.'"
DAVID WHITMER RECALLED
THAT WHEN JOSEPH FIRST
PUT ON THE SPECTACLES
"HIS ENTIRE PAST HISTORY
WAS REVEALED TO HIM."
THIS EXPERIENCE,
WHITMER BELIEVED,
HELPED THE YOUNG SEER RECOGNIZE
THE GREATER SUPERNATURAL
POWER GOD HAD GIVEN HIM.
WHEN DISCUSSING JOESPH SMITH'S
ROLE AS A TRANSLATOR,
MANY ONLY ASSOCIATE THE
PROPHET WITH HIS ROLE
IN THE TRANSLATION OF
THE BOOK OF MORMON.
HOWEVER, HE SUCCESSFULLY
TRANSLATED AT LEAST THREE
ADDITIONAL ANCIENT TEXTS.
IN DISCUSSING THE TRANSLATION
OF THE BOOK OF MORMON,
MANY INDIVIDUALS HAVE
QUESTIONED HOW
JOSEPH SMITH WAS ABLE TO
TRANSLATE THE GOLD PLATES.
AFTER ALL,
HE HAD NO UNDERSTANDING
OF REFORMED EGYPTIAN.
NO ONE DID,
YET HE SUCCESSFULLY DICTATED
A REMARKABLY COHERENT,
INSPIRING TEXT.
ALTHOUGH A NUMBER OF
EYEWITNESSES TO THE
TRANSLATION PROCESS LEFT
STATEMENTS REGARDING WHAT THEY
OBSERVED OF THE MECHANICS
OF THE TRANSLATION,
THE PROPHET REMAINED SILENT ON
HOW THE INTERPRETATION OF THE
EGYPTIAN-LIKE CHARACTERS
WAS ACTUALLY TRANSMITTED.
IN AN 1831 MEETING,
HYRUM SMITH REQUESTED THAT THE
PROPHET TELL SOME OF THE
DETAILS REGARDING THE
TRANSLATION AND THE COMING
FORTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON,
BUT JOSEPH ANNOUNCED
"THAT IT WAS NOT INTENDED TO
"TELL THE WORLD ALL THE
"PARTICULARS OF THE COMING FORTH
"OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AND THAT
"IT WAS NOT EXPEDIENT FOR HIM
TO RELATE THESE THINGS."
ON SEVERAL OTHER OCCASIONS,
WHEN QUESTIONED ON THE SUBJECT,
JOSEPH SMITH REPLIED THAT THE
TRANSLATION WAS DONE
"BY THE GIFT AND POWER OF GOD."
SO WHAT DID HE MEAN?
SIMPLY PUT,
THE BOOK OF MORMON
TRANSLATION WAS REVEALED TO
HIM BY DIVINE REVELATION.
IT WAS A REVELATORY EXPERIENCE,
ONE THAT FOR HIM WAS
DIFFICULT TO PUT INTO WORDS.
SOME MIGHT QUESTION WHETHER OR
NOT THE TRANSLATION PROVIDED
BY JOSEPH SMITH IS ACCURATE,
OR EVEN TRUE.
IN RESPONSE TO THAT INQUIRY I
WOULD CITE THE FOLLOWING
STATEMENT FROM A REVELATION
DIRECTED TO DAVID WHITMER
IN JUNE 1829.
IT IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL
DECLARATIONS IN ALL SCRIPTURE:
"AND HE," THAT IS,
JOSEPH SMITH,
"HAS TRANSLATED THE BOOK,
"EVEN THAT PART WHICH
"I HAVE COMMANDED HIM,
"AND AS YOUR LORD AND YOUR
GOD LIVETH IT IS TRUE."
IN A NOVEMBER 1841 ENTRY IN
THE PROPHET'S MANUSCRIPT
HISTORY, JOSEPH SMITH SAID,
"I TOLD THE BRETHREN THAT THE
"BOOK OF MORMON WAS THE MOST
"CORRECT OF ANY BOOK ON EARTH,
"AND THE KEYSTONE
"OF OUR RELIGION,
"AND A MAN WOULD GET NEARER
"TO GOD BY ABIDING BY ITS
PRECEPTS THAN ANY OTHER BOOK."
BUT WHAT DID THE PROPHET
MEAN WHEN HE SAID THAT
THE BOOK OF MORMON WAS
THE MOST CORRECT BOOK?
MANY HAVE INTERPRETED THAT
TO MEAN THE BOOK OF MORMON
IS THE MOST CORRECT BOOK
IN TERMS OF DOCTRINE.
COULD I SUGGEST THAT WHAT THE
PROPHET MAY HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN
SAYING WAS THAT THE ENGLISH
TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK
OF MORMON WAS THE MOST CORRECT
OF ANY TRANSLATED TEXT.
WHY?
BECAUSE THE TRANSLATION
WAS GIVEN BY REVELATION,
AND IF IT WAS GIVEN
BY REVELATION FROM GOD,
IT WAS CORRECT.
IN DISCUSSING JOSEPH SMITH'S
ROLE AS A TRANSLATOR,
IT APPEARS HE ALSO TRANSLATED
AN ANCIENT NEW TESTAMENT TEXT
WRITTEN BY JOHN THE BELOVED.
WHILE THE PROPHET AND OLIVER
COWDERY WERE ENGAGED IN THE
TRANSLATION OF THE PLATES
THEY FREQUENTLY CONVERSED
ON A NUMBER OF SUBJECTS.
ON ONE OCCASION THEY REPORTED
THAT "A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION"
AROSE REGARDING WHETHER JOHN
THE BELOVED HAD DIED OR
WHETHER HE HAD BEEN PERMITTED
TO REMAIN ON THE EARTH,
A SUBJECT NOT CLARIFIED
IN THE LAST VERSES OF
THE LAST CHAPTER IN JOHN.
TO SETTLE THE MATTER,
THE PROPHET INQUIRED
AND RECEIVED D&C 7.
SIGNIFICANTLY,
THE HEADING TO THIS REVELATION
IN THE 1833 BOOK OF COMMANDMENTS
STATES THAT THE REVELATION WAS
"TRANSLATED FROM PARCHMENT,
WRITTEN AND HID UP BY HIMSELF,"
NAMELY JOHN.
THE ENGLISH TEXT THAT JOSEPH
SMITH RECEIVED ON THIS
OCCASION WAS LIKELY RECEIVED
IN A MANNER SIMILAR TO THE
BOOK OF MORMON TRANSLATION,
AND COULD THEREFORE BE
CONSIDERED ANOTHER TRANSLATED
WORK PROVIDED BY THE PROPHET.
THREE MONTHS AFTER
THE ORGANIZATIONAL
MEETING OF THE CHURCH,
JOSEPH SMITH BEGAN WHAT
WOULD BE ONE OF HIS MOST
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS
TO THE RESTORATION,
THE PRODUCTION OF AN INSPIRED
REVISION OF THE BIBLE,
OR WHAT IS MORE COMMONLY KNOWN
AS THE JOSEPH SMITH TRANSLATION,
OR SIMPLY THE JST.
THIS ENDEAVOR OCCUPIED
MUCH OF HIS TIME FROM
JUNE 1830 UNTIL JULY 1833,
A PERIOD OF JUST
OVER THREE YEARS.
THE PROCESS OF REVISING THE
TEXT OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE
CONSTITUTED WHAT JOSEPH SMITH
CONSIDERED TO BE
THE MEANS BY WHICH MANY
"PLAIN AND PRECIOUS THINGS"
WHICH HAD BEEN
INCORRECTLY TRANSLATED,
EXCLUDED, OR EXTRACTED FROM THE
BIBLE WOULD BE RESTORED.
WHILE THE JST IS NOT
A TRANSLATION FROM ONE
LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER IN
COMMON USE OF THE TERM,
NONETHELESS IT CAN BE
CONSIDERED A TRANSLATION,
SINCE THE PROPHET PROVIDED A
NEW AND DIFFERENT TEXT FROM THAT
OF THE KING JAMES TRANSLATORS.
JOSEPH SMITH MADE CHANGES,
ADDITIONS,
AND INSERTIONS TO
APPROXIMATELY 3,400 VERSES,
OR ROUGHLY ELEVEN
PERCENT OF THE 31,
100 VERSES THAT MAKE UP
THE BIBLICAL TEXT.
THE 1979 EDITION OF
THE LDS BIBLE INCLUDED
APPROXIMATELY SIX HUNDRED
JST VERSES OR PASSAGES.
MOST APPEAR IN THE FOOTNOTES,
WHILE LONGER PASSAGES ARE
LOCATED IN THE "APPENDIX."
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT A
FEW ADDITIONAL JST ENTRIES,
NOT INCLUDED IN
THE 1979 EDITION,
HAVE RECENTLY BEEN ADDED
IN THE 2013 EDITION.
HOWEVER, THE SIX HUNDRED JST
ENTRIES IN THE LDS
KING JAMES BIBLE DO NOT
INCLUDE THE 356 VERSES THAT
MAKE UP THE BOOK OF MOSES,
OR THE 55 VERSES THAT
COMPRISE JOSEPH SMITH,
MATTHEW IN THE
PEARL OF GREAT PRICE,
WHICH TOTAL AN ADDITIONAL
411 VERSES.
IF WE INCLUDE THE MOSES
AND JST MATTHEW 24 TEXT,
OVER ONE THOUSAND JST
VERSES OR PASSAGES ARE
INCLUDED IN OUR SCRIPTURES,
REPRESENTING ROUGHLY THIRTY
PERCENT OR JUST UNDER
ONE-THIRD OF THE JST TEXT.
MENTION COULD BE MADE OF
LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF
CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE
JOSEPH SMITH TRANSLATION.
THE FOLLOWING ARE A
FEW EXAMPLES FROM GENESIS.
IN THE BIBLE,
THE GENESIS MATERIAL ON ENOCH
COVERS A MERE SIX VERSES.
HOWEVER, THE JST INCLUDES
117 VERSES ON ENOCH,
ADDING NUMEROUS IMPORTANT
DETAILS ABOUT ENOCH'S
LIFE AND MINISTRY.
WHAT HE PREACHED,
INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT
OF ADAM'S BAPTISM,
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF
THE CITY OF ZION,
AND THE FACT THAT
THE INHABITANTS OF THE
HOLY CITY WERE TRANSLATED
OR TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN.
JOSEPH SMITH'S ADDED KNOWLEDGE
AND UNDERSTANDING OF ENOCH
AFFECTED HIM PROFOUNDLY,
AS EVIDENCE BY THE FACT THAT
ONE OF HIS MAIN LIFETIME
OBJECTIVES WAS TO GATHER THE
SAINTS AND ESTABLISH A
LATTER-DAY ZION COMMUNITY AND
SOCIETY PATTERNED AFTER THAT
OF THE ANCIENT NOBLE PATRIARCH.
JOSEPH SMITH ALSO MADE A
SIGNIFICANT ADDITION
TO THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT
IN GENESIS CHAPTER 14,
ADDING SIXTEEN VERSES
ABOUT MELCHIZEDEK AND THE
POWERS ASSOCIATED WITH
THE HIGHER PRIESTHOOD,
INFORMATION NOT FOUND
ELSEWHERE IN THE BIBLE
OR IN THE BOOK OF MORMON.
A SIMILAR CONTRIBUTION
APPEARS IN GENESIS CHAPTER 50,
WHERE THE PROPHET ADDED
FIFTEEN VERSES CONTAINING A
MARVELOUS PROPHECY OF JOSEPH
OF EGYPT IN WHICH HE DESCRIBES
THE FUTURE MISSIONS OF MOSES,
AARON, AND JOSEPH SMITH,
AND EVEN MENTIONS
EACH ONE BY NAME.
THE TEXT KNOWN AS THE BOOK OF
ABRAHAM IS ANOTHER TRANSLATED
WORK PRODUCED BY JOSEPH SMITH.
IN JULY 1835,
CHURCH LEADERS IN KIRTLAND
PURCHASED FOUR EGYPTIAN
MUMMIES, TWO SCROLLS,
AND SEVERAL PAPYRUS FRAGMENTS
FROM MICHAEL CHANDLER.
JOSEPH SMITH'S INTEREST IN THE
COLLECTION STEMMED FROM HIS
OBSERVATION THAT
"ONE OF THE ROLLS CONTAINED
"THE WRITINGS OF ABRAHAM,
ANOTHER THE WRITINGS OF JOSEPH."
DURING THE NEXT FIVE MONTHS,
THE PROPHET TRANSLATED THE
MAJORITY PART OF WHAT
BECAME THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM,
ALTHOUGH HE MAY HAVE PROVIDED
SOME ADDITIONAL TRANSLATION
TO THE TEXT PRIOR
TO ITS PUBLICATION IN
THREE INSTALLMENTS IN THE
TIMES AND SEASONS IN 1842.
JUST THINK ABOUT WHAT
WE KNOW AS A RESULT OF
JOSEPH SMITH'S PRODUCTION OF
THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM.
ABRAHAM'S EARLY LIFE IN THE
LAND OF UR OF CHALDEA,
THE ATTEMPT MADE ON HIS LIFE
BY THE PRIEST OF ELKENAH AND
HIS MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE;
ABRAHAM'S REVEALED
UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE
OF THE PLANETARY SYSTEMS,
AND HIS VISION OF THE PREMORTAL
COUNCIL IN HEAVEN AND JESUS'S
FOREORDINATION TO BE THE CREATOR
AND REDEEMER OF THE WORLD,
ALL OF WHICH ARE COMPLETELY
ABSENT FROM THE BIBLICAL TEXT.
WHILE SOME DEBATE WHETHER THE
PROPHET TRANSLATED THE BOOK OF
ABRAHAM FROM THE CHARACTERS
FOUND ON THE EGYPTIAN PAPYRUS
WHICH HE HAD IN HIS POSSESSION,
OR BY DIRECT
REVELATION INDEPENDENT
OF THE PAPYRUS ITSELF,
THE FACT REMAINS THAT THE
REMARKABLE TEXT WHICH MAKES UP
THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM PROVIDES A
CONVINCING WITNESS AND TESTIMONY
THAT JOSEPH SMITH WAS INDEED
AN INSPIRED TRANSLATOR
OF ANCIENT TEXTS.
IN DISCUSSING JOSEPH SMITH'S
ROLE AS A REVELATOR,
I DO SO IN THE CONTEXT OF THE
REVELATIONS THAT WERE ACTUALLY
WRITTEN DOWN OR TRANSCRIBED
AND IDENTIFIED BY HIM AS
BEING REVELATORY DOCUMENTS.
THE EARLIEST SURVIVING
TRANSCRIBED REVELATION BY
JOSEPH SMITH IS DOCTRINE
AND COVENANTS SECTION 3.
THE REVELATION IS DATED
JULY 1828 AND WAS RECEIVED
FOLLOWING THE LOSS OF THE
116-PAGE MANUSCRIPT OF THE
BOOK OF MORMON BY MARTIN HARRIS.
THE TRANSCRIPTION
OF THIS REVELATION,
CLEAR AND POWERFUL
IN CONTENT AND TONE,
MUST HAVE BOLSTERED THE
TWENTY-TWO YEAR-OLD PROPHET'S
CONFIDENCE THAT HE COULD
INDEED RECEIVE AND RECORD
DIVINE INSTRUCTION.
THEREAFTER, UNTIL HIS
DEATH IN JUNE 1844,
JOSEPH SMITH WAS THE
RECIPIENT OF A STEADY AND
CONTINUOUS FLOW OF DIVINE
REVELATORY COMMUNICATION.
THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS
CONTAINS 138 SECTIONS.
ALL BUT FOUR SECTIONS
BEAR THE REVELATORY
STAMP OF JOSEPH SMITH.
FOUR SECTIONS ARE
COMPOSITE REVELATIONS,
ORIGINALLY COMPOSED OF TWO TO
FIVE SEPARATE REVELATIONS.
FIVE SECTIONS WERE EXTRACTED
FROM LETTERS DICTATED
BY THE PROPHET.
AT LEAST SEVEN SECTIONS WERE
GIVEN THROUGH THE NEPHITE
INTERPRETERS OR THE SEER STONE,
WHILE ONE SECTION WAS
GIVEN BY MEANS OF AN
AUDIBLE HEAVENLY VOICE.
TWO SECTIONS CONTAIN
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT
PASSAGES IN THE BOOK OF
REVELATION AND ISAIAH.
ONE SECTION IS THE DEDICATORY
PRAYER OF THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE,
WHILE ANOTHER DESCRIBES THE
APPEARANCE OF CHRIST, MOSES,
ELIAS, AND ELIJAH IN THE
KIRTLAND TEMPLE THE WEEK
FOLLOWING THE DEDICATION.
TWO SECTIONS ARE VISIONS
OF HEAVENLY REALMS.
WITH THE EXCEPTION
OF SECTION 102,
WHICH IS COMPOSED OF THE
MINUTES OF THE FIRST
HIGH COUNCIL MEETING,
THE REVELATIONS IN THE
DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS
ARE SIMILAR IN SPIRITUAL
VOICE AND EXPRESSION.
REGARDLESS, ALL COULD BE
CONSIDERED REVELATIONS.
SOME ARE MORE DOCTRINALLY
SIGNIFICANT THAN OTHERS,
BUT TAKEN TOGETHER THEY FORM
A COLLECTION OF DOCTRINES,
TEACHINGS, PRINCIPLES,
PROPHECIES, AND COMMANDMENTS
WHICH ARE HEART-PENETRATING
AND MIND-EXPANDING.
CONSIDERING THE
SPIRITUAL MAGNITUDE OF THESE
REVELATIONS HELPS TO EXPLAIN
WHY THE PROPHET REMARKED:
"IT IS AN AWFUL
"RESPONSIBILITY TO WRITE
IN THE NAME OF THE LORD."
YET JOSEPH SMITH ALSO UNDERSTOOD
THAT THE SOURCE FOR THE
REVELATIONS WAS JESUS CHRIST.
SPEAKING OF THE
REVELATIONS THE LORD SAID,
"THESE WORDS ARE NOT
"OF MEN NOR OF MAN,
"BUT OF ME;
"WHEREFORE, YOU SHALL TESTIFY
"THEY ARE OF ME AND NOT OF MAN;
"FOR IT IS MY VOICE WHICH
"SPEAKETH THEM UNTO YOU;
"FOR THEY ARE GIVEN
BY MY SPIRIT UNTO YOU."
SUCH A STATEMENT EXPLAINS
WHY THE PROPHET SAID,
"I NEVER TOLD YOU I WAS PERFECT;
"BUT THERE IS NO ERROR
"IN THE REVELATIONS
WHICH I HAVE TAUGHT."
GIVEN THAT THE
SOURCE OF JOSEPH SMITH'S
REVELATIONS WAS JESUS CHRIST,
IT WOULD BE VIRTUALLY
IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY
UNINSPIRED PERSON,
ONE NOT ENDOWED WITH THE
GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST,
TO PRODUCE ANYTHING
COMPARABLE TO THE PROPHET'S
COLLECTIVE REVELATIONS.
IT CANNOT BE DONE,
EVEN IF THAT INDIVIDUAL WERE
THE MOST GIFTED, INTELLIGENT,
KNOWLEDGEABLE,
CEREBRAL THEOLOGIAN,
RELIGIOUS SCHOLAR,
OR ACADEMIC.
THEY COULD NOT DO IT.
SOME HAVE ASSUMED THAT
THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS
CONSTITUTES ALL OF JOSEPH
SMITH'S KNOWN REVELATIONS,
BUT SUCH IS NOT THE CASE.
IN FACT,
THERE ARE A FEW DOZEN
REVELATIONS RECEIVED BY THE
PROPHET WHICH ARE NOT INCLUDED
IN THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE.
THE MAIN REASON THESE
REVELATIONS WERE NOT INCLUDED
IN THE EARLY EDITIONS OF THE
DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS IS
BECAUSE THE CONTENT WAS NOT
CONSIDERED TO BE RELEVANT TO
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
ONE VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF
THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPERS
PROJECT WILL BE THE
PUBLICATION OF ALL EXISTING
TRANSCRIPTED REVELATIONS
RECEIVED BY THE PROPHET,
INCLUDING THOSE NOT FOUND IN
THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS.
IN LATTER-DAY SAINT TERMINOLOGY,
WE GENERALLY REFER TO
THE PRESIDENT OF THE
CHURCH AS THE PROPHET,
SIGNIFYING THAT HE IS
THE HIGHEST GOVERNING
OFFICER IN THE CHURCH,
AND THE LORD'S
SPOKESPERSON ON EARTH.
HOWEVER, THE TERM
PROPHET HAS A MUCH
BROADER FUNDAMENTAL MEANING.
"A PROPHET IS A TEACHER,"
ELDER JOHN A. WIDTSOE WROTE.
"THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL
"MEANING OF THE WORD.
"HE TEACHES THE BODY OF TRUTH,
"THE GOSPEL,
"REVEALED BY THE LORD TO MAN;
"AND UNDER INSPIRATION
"EXPLAINS IT TO THE
"UNDERSTANDING OF THE PEOPLE.
HE IS AN EXPOUNDER OF TRUTH."
IN JOSEPH SMITH'S DAY,
THOSE NOT SPIRITUALLY
DISCERNING MAY HAVE
BEEN UNIMPRESSED BY HIS
DEMEANOR OR DISCOURSE,
BUT TO THE FAITHFUL
AND GOD-FEARING,
HIS PRIVATE COUNSEL
COMFORTED THEIR SOULS,
AND HIS PUBLIC SERMONS
STIRRED THEIR HEARTS.
ON APRIL 6, 1837,
WILFORD WOODRUFF,
ON HEARING THE PROPHET PREACH
IN THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE,
WROTE THE FOLLOWING
ENTRY IN HIS JOURNAL:
"PRESIDENT JOSEPH SMITH JR.
"AROSE AND ADDRESSED THE
"CONGREGATION FOR THE TERM OF
"THREE HOURS CLOTHED WITH POWER,
"SPIRIT, & THE IMAGE OF GOD.
"HE UNBOSOMED HIS
"MIND & FEELINGS IN THE
"HOUSE OF HIS FRIENDS.
"HE PRESENTED MANY THINGS OF
"VAST IMPORTANCE TO THE MINDS
"OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL.
"O THAT THEY MIGHT BE WRITTEN
"UPON OUR HEARTS AS WITH AN
"IRON PEN TO REMAIN FOREVER
"THAT WE MIGHT PRACTICE
"THEM IN OUR LIVES.
"THAT FOUNTAIN OF LIGHT,
"PRINCIPLE & VIRTUE THAT CAME
"FORTH OUT OF THE HEART & MOUTH
"OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH WHOSE
"SOUL LIKE ENOCH SWELLED WIDE
"AS ETERNITY I SAY SUCH
"EVIDENCES PRESENTED IN SUCH A
"FORCIBLE MANNER OUGHT TO DRIVE
"INTO OBLIVION EVERY PARTICLE
"OF UNBELIEF FROM THE
"MIND OF THE HEARERS,
"FOR SUCH LANGUAGE SENTIMENT
"PRINCIPLE & SPIRIT
"CANNOT FLOW FROM DARKNESS.
"JOSEPH SMITH JR. IS A PROPHET
"OF GOD RAISED UP FOR THE
"DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL AS TRUE
"AS MY HEART NOW BURNS WITHIN
"ME WHILE I AM PENNING THESE
"LINES WHICH IS AS
TRUE AS TRUTH ITSELF."
THE JOSEPH SMITH COLLECTION IN
THE CHURCH ARCHIVES AND A
NUMBER OF OTHER REPOSITORIES
CONTAIN A SIGNIFICANT BODY OF
DOCUMENTS WHICH HAVE BEEN
BEEN PRESERVED RELATIVE
TO JOSEPH SMITH'S LIFE.
THESE RECORDS INCLUDE HIS
PERSONAL JOURNALS AND
HISTORIES, LETTERS,
NEWSPAPER REPORTS, EDITORIALS,
AND VARIOUS OTHER PRIMARY
SOURCE MATERIALS.
IN ADDITION,
CHURCH MEMBERS AND OTHER
CONTEMPORARIES OF
THE PROPHET RECORDED
EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES
ASSOCIATED WITH HIS LIFE,
INCLUDING WHAT THEY
HEARD HIM DISCUSS IN HIS
PUBLIC SERMONS AS WELL AS
IN PRIVATE CONVERSATION.
FROM THESE SOURCES HAS EMERGED
A COLLECTION OF MANY OF THE
PROPHET'S TEACHINGS AND
HIS VIEWS ON A NUMBER
OF SUBJECTS AND TOPICS.
JOSEPH SMITH'S LIFE
EXEMPLIFIED THE ROLE OF
WHAT A PROPHET WAS, IS,
AND SHOULD BE.
NOR WAS HE SHY OR RESERVED IN
LETTING OTHERS KNOW THAT HE
WAS INDEED A GENUINE PROPHET.
ONE CALLED AND APPOINTED BY
THE VERY GOD OF HEAVEN HIMSELF.
HIS DOCTRINAL TEACHINGS ARE
DEEP, PROFOUND, FAR-REACHING,
AND ALL-ENCOMPASSING;
AND TO THOSE SEEKING
ADDITIONAL LIGHT AND TRUTH,
HIS INSPIRED INSTRUCTIONS AND
CONCEPTS ARE COMPARABLE IN
MANY INSTANCES TO THE
ETERNAL TRUTHS REVEALED IN
THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE.
HERE ARE JUST THREE EXAMPLES.
"HELL MAY POUR FORTH ITS RAGE
"LIKE THE BURNING LAVA OF
"MOUNT VESUVIUS, OR OF ETNA,
"OR OF THE MOST TERRIBLE
"OF THE BURNING MOUNTAINS,
"AND YET SHALL MORMONISM STAND.
"TRUTH IS MORMONISM,
"GOD IS THE AUTHOR IT.
"HE IS OUR SHIELD.
"IT IS BY HIM WE
"RECEIVED OUR BIRTH.
"IT WAS BY HIS VOICE THAT WE
"WERE CALLED TO A DISPENSATION
"OF HIS GOSPEL IN THE BEGINNING
"OF THE FULLNESS OF TIMES.
"IT WAS BY HIM WE RECEIVED
"THE BOOK OF MORMON,
"AND IT WAS BY HIM THAT
"WE REMAIN UNTO THIS DAY;
"AND BY HIM WE SHALL REMAIN
"IF IT SHALL BE FOR OUR GLORY,
"AND IN HIS ALMIGHTY NAME
"WE ARE DETERMINED TO
"ENDURE TRIBULATION AS GOOD
"SOLDIERS UNTO THE END.
"HAPPINESS IS THE OBJECT AND
"DESIGN OF OUR EXISTENCE,
"AND WILL BE THE END
"THEREOF IF WE PURSUE THE
"PATH THAT LEADS TO IT;
"AND THIS PATH IS VIRTUE,
"UPRIGHTNESS, FAITHFULNESS,
"HOLINESS, AND KEEPING ALL
"THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD.
"BUT WE CANNOT KEEP ALL
"THE COMMANDMENTS WITHOUT
"FIRST KNOWING THEM,
"AND WE CANNOT EXPECT TO KNOW
"ALL, OR MORE THAN WE NOW KNOW,
"UNLESS WE COMPLY WITH OR KEEP
"THOSE WE HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED.
"THAT WHICH IS WRONG
"UNDER ONE CIRCUMSTANCE,
"MAY BE AND OFTEN IS,
"RIGHT UNDER ANOTHER.
"GOD SAID,
"'THOU SHALT NOT KILL;'
"AT ANOTHER TIME HE SAID,
"'THOU SHALT UTTERLY DESTROY.'
"THIS IS THE PRINCIPLE ON WHICH
"THE GOVERNMENT OF HEAVEN
"IS CONDUCTED-BY REVELATION
"ADAPTED TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES
"IN WHICH THE CHILDREN OF
"THE KINGDOM ARE PLACED.
"WHATEVER GOD REQUIRES IS
"RIGHT, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS,
"ALTHOUGH WE MAY NOT SEE THE
"REASON THEREOF TILL LONG AFTER
THE EVENTS TRANSPIRE."
THE THINGS OF GOD ARE OF DEEP
IMPORT AND TIME AND EXPERIENCE
AND CAREFUL AND PONDEROUS
AND SOLEMN THOUGHTS
CAN ONLY FIND THEM OUT.
THY MIND, O MAN,
MUST STRETCH AS HIGH
AS THE UTMOST HEAVENS,
AND SEARCH INTO AND
CONTEMPLATE THE
LOWEST CONSIDERATIONS
OF THE DARKEST ABYSS,
AND EXPAND UPON THE BROAD
CONSIDERATIONS OF ETERNAL
EXPANSE, AND COMMUNE WITH GOD.
AS A SEER, A TRANSLATOR,
A REVELATOR, AND A PROPHET,
I GIVE YOU MY TESTIMONY THAT
JOSEPH SMITH'S MIND DID INDEED
"STRETCH AS HIGH
AS THE UTMOST HEAVENS"
AND THAT HE DID INDEED
"COMMUNE WITH GOD."
"THE SEER, THE SEER,
"JOSEPH THE SEER!
"HE GAZED ON THE PAST AND THE
"FUTURE TOO, AND OPENED,
"AND OPENED,
THE HEAVENLY WORLD TO VIEW."
OF THIS I TESTIFY IN THE
NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, AMEN.
>>THIS BYU DEVOTIONAL ADDRESS
WITH ALEX BAUGH WAS GIVEN ON
JUNE 24, 2014.
