Good morning! I am happy to be here! I feel totally inadequate to present my topic today. In any case, I hope you feel of my love and my testimony. I want to begin in 1844 by reading a quote given by the son of the Harvard University President and a Boston politician, name Josiah Quincy Jr. He and his cousin, Charles Adams, son of the former US president spent a day with Joseph Smith in Nauvoo while sight-seeing along the Mississippi River. He later published the account in a New York literary magazine where he declared. “It is by no means Improbable that some future textbook, for generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countryman?
And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that question may be thus written: Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living, may be obvious commonplace to their descendants … The man who established a religion in the age of free debate, who was and is to-day accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High – such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epitaphs..” I consider Josiah’s statements true and insightful and am in awe of all the things that had to work together for the Lord to put into place – the events of Joseph Smiths life.
I am grateful to know that Joseph Smiths influence was recognized as rare- and I hope that as members of this church we can say we agree on a shared love, gratitude, and reverence for his role in Heavenly Father’s plan. A plan that I feel proves God’s love for us and shows that he never wants to leave us without answers or opportunity to know our purpose. He has the power to bring to pass his purposes and has done so from the commencement of time, through every age. He has always sent prophets to the people or has carefully chosen a messenger to reveal his truth or provide answers to our prayers. In a span of over 2000 years, Heavenly Father set into motion many various events to bring to pass the work of our exaltation and purpose for us on earth. We know from the Bible that ancient prophets foretold of Christ’s role in saving all mankind and the establishment of his true gospel on the earth. – this was part of God’s plan –Many wondered why it took so long for Christ to come to earth.
We do not always know the Lord’s timing, but he has the ultimate knowledge, power, talent, and heart to fulfill his grand designs for our benefit and good, in his way. At the time of Christ, our Heavenly Father knew his son would lay the perfect foundation to lead and direct the affairs of the church on earth. And although it was a difficult period… the Lord knew it would serve his purposes and he trusted his only begotten son to teach the pure doctrine, administer ordinances and confer priesthood authority. He knew The Roman Empire was an optimal setting by their common roads and a common tongue, which had united the known world – and this would make it possible for Jesus Christ to spread his message to many, quickly. As we learn of Christ’s ministry, we also learn that his time on earth was cut short, but he had many wonderful disciples that had been with him and knew his work to be true.
In this setting, he was able to set forth a worthy quorum of the twelve, and through the authority of God, they were able to preside over his church. Jesus told Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration as recorded in Matthew 16:19, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever though shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever shall be loosed on earth shall loosed in heaven.” With this binding power given under the direction of Heavenly Father who governs universal law – it confirms that Jesus had properly organized his church. When the political climate caused many to rejected Christ, Heavenly Father and Jesus had already provided the Apostles with everything necessary to continue with his work. Thus, allowing Jesus Christ to be crucified to fulfill the Lord’s promise of providing a savior to atone for all mankind.
After the crucifixion, the Apostles continued the mission of Jesus Christ to reach all that would hear and believe. But it was a tumultuous time with pride and opposition toward the church. Many Apostles were persecuted, and some were eventually martyred. When the last apostle died, the Lord had no earthly human worthy of the power to administer his work. The fullness of the gospel had been lost, the priesthood was withdrawn, and with no one left to perform sacred ordinances, the world fell into long spiritual darkness. In the centuries that followed, all of God’s children still had the Light of Christ, had the ability to pray, and feel the influence of the Holy Ghost but it was a time of obscurity and speculation over the nature of God.
However, Heavenly Father’s plan was not thwarted. Records show that about 600 years before Christ ministry other people in other lands had been given instructions from the Lord and were visited by Jesus Christ after his resurrection so that they also had the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. They kept records and when they could no longer safely protect those records due to war and evil. The records were hidden up, to be found at a time that would serve to reach those that were faithful and ready to hear his gospel message. Which by divine design, brings us back to the 1800s in the United States. The country was perhaps the only place where people could enjoy religious freedoms and was experiencing heightened religious choices and fervor…
It was a time called the Second Great Awakening. It was a time of large church camp meetings with extraordinary numbers of people and Ministers with enthusiastic styles of preaching and radical audience participation. The following account captures the spirit of these religious times. “The noise was like the roar of Niagara. The vast sea of human beings seemed to be agitated as if by a storm. I counted seven ministers, all preaching at one time, some on stumps, others on wagons … Some of the people were crying for mercy. My knees trembled, my lips quivered, and I felt as though I must fall to the ground.” As the story goes, a 13-yr. old boy named Joseph Smith witnessed some of this fervor but was repelled by the minister’s tactics. At an age where he wanted to make sure his sins could be forgiven, it mattered to him to select the right church, to be saved, and to be a better person. In the JSH 1:18, we read his desire was “to know which of all the churches was right. “
Joseph Smith has said when seeking answers to his questions in the Bible. James 1: 5-6 . He read. “If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” This verse prompted Joseph to pray to the Lord in a quiet wooded grove, about which church was true. After overcoming a paralyzing darkness, he knelt in a long fervent prayer. Of this experience, he said: “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. … “When the light rested upon me, I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spoke unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other— This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! Jesus told Joseph not to join any of the churches, for “they were all wrong” and “they draw near to him with their lips, but their hearts are far from him.”
Josephs’s prayers had been answered. And Heavenly Father knew Joseph would be faithful in bringing forth his restored gospel with all its proper authority and Joseph was called to be a latter-day witness of the living Christ and a prophet, as God had done with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and other prophets. Joseph accepted the call thus ending the great apostasy, by receiving the divine authority and by the laying on of hands from divine messengers. The Lord also brought forth the ancient volume of holy scripture that had been buried by a people from another land, that had disappeared from the earth, but that had been a witness to Jesus Christ just days after he was crucified. These records were located near the Smith home, on the Hill Cumorah where they had lain for centuries.
A resurrected being, the prophet Moroni appeared to Joseph describing how to find the golden plates which contained some of the records of the Nephite and Jaredite nations. Joseph was told to get these plates and translate a portion of them as they were a history of his people. The Book of Mormon is that record. Joseph was persecuted for his faithful obedience in bringing it forth. Before he was martyred, he endured beatings, being tarred and feathered, was ravaged by sickness, beset by legal entanglements imprisoned chained and the list goes on and on. But because of his efforts, his powerful influence is still alive on the earth today.
I challenge you this week – to pick up your Book of Mormon and read the accounts of the first vision. And to begin to read the Book of Mormon. Because it was of grand design and the historical record was for us in these Latter days. I have a passage I found in an old manual from my college days, that I want to share that once motivated me to re-read the Book of Mormon: “The remains of that horrible battle around Cumorah are gone. The bones have long since been buried in the earth, the arrows decayed, the leather rotted, the swords, shields, scimitars, and breastplates rusted away. But the work so painstakingly, laboriously, yet lovingly completed by Mormon and Moroni has survived. Their record, preserved over centuries on metal Plates, was removed for a time from Cumorah by Moroni and given to Joseph Smith. That work lives today.
You are about to journey through one of the most important books of our time. In the history of the world, only other scriptures can compare to it. Your journey will take you through thousands of years of history, over the routes traveled two great civilizations, and into the lives of some of the best and worst men who have ever lived. Perhaps you have taken this journey before. Perhaps it will be a new and fascinating experience. And for those who have read the book, again and again, it will be new because since you last read it you have gained new insights, you may have encountered problems and found new ways of looking at things But ultimately, the purpose of the journey is to bring you to the Master Jesus Christ. The head of the Church of Jesus Christ. It is his witness. And at the end of your journey through this book, there is a promise…
Moroni 10:4 “ And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” I want to bare testimony that each of us here today has been affected by a 13-year-old boy who had wanted to be better. His experiences have taught me that my Savior lives.
He doesn’t leave me in darkness when I stumble. He is with me and that brings me so much peace. I know the Book of Mormon came forth in such a way, at such a time and in such a place that was carefully prepared for God’s plan to go forth. I sincerely believe the Book of Mormon is a witness of Christ appearing to all his children, and a record of another group of people in America’s that. It was truly a miracle. We are lucky to be counted amongst the covenant saints in this dispensation. I declare I am a soul that has been tried, broken and challenged in such a way that I have been led to my Savior, and onto my knees time and time again and I know he hears my prayers; he trusts me and believes in me and guides me. And I feel His love. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
