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Related Scriptures: 2 Nephi 3:6–19; 27:6–26; 3 Nephi 21:9–11; D&C 1:17; 5:9–10; 21:1–6
From the Life of Joseph Smith
Following the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brotherHyrum, the members of the Quorum of the Twelve who had been onmissionary journeys in the United States returned as quickly aspossible to Nauvoo. The members of the Twelve called a meeting of theSaints for August 8, 1844, at which Brigham Young, the President of theQuorum of the Twelve, spoke. As he did so, an extraordinary eventoccurred that was witnessed by many Saints.
President Young wasmiraculously made to appear and sound like Joseph Smith. “If Joseph hadrisen from the dead and again spoken in their hearing,” George Q.Cannon recalled, “the effect could not have been more startling than itwas to many present at that meeting. It was the voice of Josephhimself; and not only was it the voice of Joseph which was heard; butit seemed in the eyes of the people as though it was the very person ofJoseph which stood before them. A more wonderful and miraculous eventthan was wrought that day in the presence of that congregation we neverheard of. The Lord gave His people a testimony that left no room fordoubt as to who was the man He had chosen to lead them.”1
At the conclusion of this meeting, the Saints voted to have theTwelve preside over them. A little over three years later, in December1847, the First Presidency was again organized, with Brigham Youngsustained as the President of the Church.
Since the time of Brigham Young, each of the prophets who haspresided over the Church has testified of the remarkable mission of theProphet Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith was chosen in the Council in Heavento be the great prophet and seer of the latter days. His mission was soimportant that it was foretold by ancient prophets, including the OldTestament prophet Joseph, who was sold into Egypt. Joseph of Egypt washimself a seer, and he prophesied at length about Joseph Smith:
“A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seerunto the fruit of my loins. … And his name shall be called after me;and it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like untome; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by thepower of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation” (2 Nephi 3:6, 15; see also 2 Nephi 3:6–22).2
In December 1834, Joseph Smith Sr. gave the Prophet Joseph ablessing, confirming that he was the seer of whom Joseph of old hadprophesied: “I bless thee with the blessings of thy fathers Abraham,Isaac and Jacob; and even the blessings of thy father Joseph, the sonof Jacob. Behold, he looked after his posterity in the last days … ; hesought diligently to know from whence the son should come who shouldbring forth the word of the Lord, by which they might be enlightenedand brought back to the true fold, and his eyes beheld thee, my son;his heart rejoiced and his soul was satisfied, and he said, … ‘Fromamong my seed, scattered with the Gentiles, shall a choice seer arise …, whose heart shall meditate great wisdom, whose intelligence shallcircumscribe and comprehend the deep things of God, and whose mouthshall utter the law of the just.’ … Thou shalt hold the keys of thisministry, even the presidency of this church, both in time and ineternity.”3
Through Joseph Smith, the choice seer of the latter days, thedoctrines and saving ordinances of the gospel were revealed, and thetrue Church of Jesus Christ was once again established on the earth.The testimonies of ancient and modern prophets join together toproclaim that Joseph Smith was the instrument through whom God restoredthe fulness of the gospel for the blessing of “the whole human family,from eternity to eternity.”4
Testimonies of Latter-day Prophets
Joseph Smith was foreordained to his prophetic calling.
President Brigham Young: “It was decreed in the councils ofeternity, long before the foundations of the earth were laid, that[Joseph Smith] should be the man, in the last dispensation of thisworld, to bring forth the word of God to the people and receive thefullness of the keys and power of the Priesthood of the Son of God. TheLord had his eye upon him, and upon his father, and upon his father’sfather, and upon their progenitors clear back to Abraham, and fromAbraham to the flood, from the flood to Enoch and from Enoch to Adam.He has watched that family and that blood as it has circulated from itsfountain to the birth of that man. [Joseph Smith] was foreordained ineternity to preside over this last dispensation.”5
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “Joseph Smith was chosen tostand at the head of the work of the Lord in the last days, and hiswork was assigned to him through the fore-knowledge of our EternalFather in the eternities before he was born. He came in the spirit ofElias to prepare the way for the coming of our Lord. No prophet sincethe days of Adam, save, of course, our Redeemer, has been given agreater mission.”6
President Ezra Taft Benson: “To get a vision of the magnitudeof the Prophet’s earthly mission we must view it in the light ofeternity. He was among ‘the noble and great ones’ whom Abrahamdescribed as follows:
“ ‘Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences thatwere organized before the world was; and among all these there weremany of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that theywere good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I willmake my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he sawthat they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one ofthem; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.’ (Abraham 3:22–23.)
“So it was with Joseph Smith. He too was there. He too sat incouncil with the noble and great ones. Occupying a prominent place ofhonor and distinction he unquestionably helped in the planning andexecution of the great work of the Lord to ‘bring to pass theimmortality and eternal life of man,’ the salvation of all our Father’schildren [Moses 1:39].His mission had had, and was to have, impact on all who had come toearth; all who then dwelt on earth and the millions yet unborn. …
“The Prophet Joseph Smith was not only ‘one of the noble and greatones,’ but he gave and continues to give attention to important mattershere on the earth even today from the realms above. For in the eyes ofthe Lord … it is all one great eternal program in which the ProphetJoseph plays an important role—all through the eternal priesthood andauthority of God.”7
Joseph Smith’s First Vision is a fundamental part of our individual testimonies.
President Joseph F. Smith: “The greatest event that has everoccurred in the world since the resurrection of the Son of God from thetomb, and his ascension on high, was the coming of the Father and ofthe Son to that boy Joseph Smith, to prepare the way for the laying ofthe foundation of [God’s] kingdom—not the kingdom of man—never more tocease nor to be overturned.
“Having accepted this truth, I find it easy to accept of every othertruth that he enunciated and declared during his mission … in theworld. He never taught a doctrine that was not true. He never practiceda doctrine that he was not commanded to practice. He never advocatederror. He was not deceived. He saw; he heard; he did as he wascommanded to do; and, therefore, God is responsible for the workaccomplished by Joseph Smith—not Joseph Smith. The Lord is responsiblefor it, and not man.”8
President Heber J. Grant: “Either Joseph Smith did see God anddid converse with Him, and God Himself did introduce Jesus Christ tothe boy Joseph Smith, and Jesus Christ did tell Joseph Smith that hewould be the instrument in the hands of God of establishing again uponthe earth the true Gospel of Jesus Christ—or Mormonism, so-called, is amyth. And Mormonism is not a myth! It is the power of God untosalvation; it is the Church of Jesus Christ, established under Hisdirection, and all the disbelief of the world cannot change thefundamental facts connected with the Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints.”9
President Howard W. Hunter: “I am grateful for my membershipin the Church; and my testimony of its divinity hinges upon the simplestory of the lad under the trees kneeling and receiving heavenlyvisitors—not one God, but two separate, individual personages, theFather and the Son, revealing again to the earth the personages of theGodhead. My faith and testimony hinge upon this simple story, for if itis not true, Mormonism falls. If it is true—and I bear witness that itis—it is one of the greatest single events in all history.”10
President David O. McKay: “The appearing of the Father and theSon to Joseph Smith is the foundation of this Church. Therein lies thesecret of its strength and vitality. This is true, and I bear witnessto it. That one revelation answers all the queries of science regardingGod and His divine personality. Don’t you see what that means? What Godis, is answered. His relation to His children is clear. His interest inhumanity through authority delegated to man is apparent. The future ofthe work is assured. These and other glorious truths are clarified bythat glorious First Vision.”11
President Ezra Taft Benson: “The First Vision of the ProphetJoseph Smith is bedrock theology to the Church. The adversary knowsthis and has attacked Joseph Smith’s credibility from the day heannounced the visitation of the Father and the Son. … You should alwaysbear testimony to the truth of the First Vision. Joseph Smith did seethe Father and the Son. They conversed with him as he said they did. Itis the most glorious event since the resurrection of our Lord. Anyleader who, without reservation, cannot declare his testimony that Godand Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith can never be a true leader, atrue shepherd. If we do not accept this truth, … if we have notreceived a witness about this great revelation, we cannot inspire faithin those whom we lead.”12
President George Albert Smith: “When the boy prophet, in thewoods of Palmyra, saw the Father and the Son, and realized that theywere indeed personages, that they could hear and reply to what he said,it began a new era in this world, and laid a foundation for the faithof the children of men. They could now pray to our Father in heaven andrealize that he could hear and answer their prayers, that there was aconnection between the heavens and the earth.”13
The Prophet Joseph Smith was taught by God and angels.
President John Taylor: “Who was Joseph Smith? The Book ofMormon tells us he was of the seed of Joseph that was sold into Egypt,and hence he was selected as Abraham was to fulfil a work upon theearth. God chose this young man. He was ignorant of letters as theworld has it, but the most profoundly learned and intelligent man thatI ever met in my life, and I have traveled hundreds of thousands ofmiles, been on different continents and mingled among all classes andcreeds of people, yet I have never met a man so intelligent as he was.And where did he get his intelligence from? Not from books; not fromthe logic or science or philosophy of the day, but he obtained itthrough the revelations of God made known to him through the medium ofthe everlasting gospel.”14
President Wilford Woodruff: “I have never read anywhere, thatI know of, of the same power manifested in any dispensation to thechildren of men, which was manifested to the Prophet of God in theorganization of this Church, when the Father and the Son both appearedto the Prophet Joseph in answer to his prayer, and when the Fathersaid, ‘This is My Beloved Son; behold Him; hear ye Him.’ This was animportant revelation, which has never been manifested in the samemanner in any dispensation of the world, that God has given concerningHis work. So in its organization, the Prophet of God was administeredto by the angels of heaven. They were his teachers, they were hisinstructors, and all that he did, and all that he performed from thecommencement, from that day to the day of his martyrdom, was by therevelation of Jesus Christ.”15
President Lorenzo Snow: “Joseph Smith, whom God chose toestablish this work, was poor and uneducated, and belonged to nopopular denomination of Christians. He was a mere boy, honest, full ofintegrity. … Like Moses he felt incompetent and unqualified for thetask, to stand forth as a religious reformer, in a position the mostunpopular, to battle against opinions and creeds which had stood forages, having had the sanction of men, the most profound in theologicalobedience; but God had called him to deliver the poor andhonest-hearted of all nations from their spiritual and temporalthraldom [bondage]. And God promised him that whosoever should receiveand obey his message, and whosoever would receive baptism for remissionof sins, with honesty of purpose, should receive divine manifestations,should receive the Holy Ghost, should receive the same gospel andblessings as were promised and obtained through the gospel, as preachedby the ancient apostles, and this message, this promise, was to be inforce wherever and to whomsoever it should be carried by the Elders,God’s authorized messengers. So said Joseph Smith, the uneducated, theunsophisticated, the plain, simple, honest boy.”16
President Harold B. Lee: “Joseph Smith, the young man notschooled in the theologies of the day, not schooled in the high schoolsof learning of his day, … [was] one who could be submissive to theteachings and whisperings of the Spirit. Joseph Smith could not haveestablished this Church. He could not have brought forth the work ofthe Lord, the Book of Mormon. They may scoff at the Prophet JosephSmith as a man. They may question how this Church began, but here thething stands as a monument—the Book of Mormon itself. Joseph, the man,could not have done this, but Joseph, actuated by the power of AlmightyGod, could and did perform the miraculous service of bringing forth thekingdom out of obscurity in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.”17
President David O. McKay: “It is of Joseph Smith, not only asa great man, but as an inspired servant of the Lord that I desire tospeak on this occasion. Indeed, Joseph Smith’s greatness consists in divine inspiration. …
“ ‘How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?’ questioned the Jews as they marveled at the wisdom of Jesus [John 7:15].So may we repeat the question regarding Joseph Smith, as we considerhis outstanding accomplishments during the brief span of [fourteen]years between the organization of the Church and his martyrdom; as wecontemplate the perfect harmony of the Restored Gospel with that of theprimitive Church established by Jesus and his Apostles; as we note hispenetrating insight into principles and doctrines; and as we see theincomparable plan and efficiency of the Church, established by theinspiration of the Christ whose name it bears. The answer to thequestion ‘Whence hath this man wisdom?’ is given in the stirringstanza:
Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer.
Blessed to open the last dispensation,
Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.”18
President Howard W. Hunter: “We praise [Joseph Smith] for hiscapacity to commune not only with Jehovah but also with otherpersonages of heaven. So many visited, gave keys, and tutored that‘choice seer’ raised up in the latter days. … We praise Joseph Smith,too, for his diligence and capacity to translate and to receivehundreds of pages of revealed scripture. He was the revealing conduit.Through him, it has been estimated, more marvelous pages of scripturepassed than through any other human in history.”19
The Prophet Joseph Smith was called of God to open the final dispensation and restore the fulness of the gospel.
President Spencer W. Kimball: “I bear witness to the worldtoday that more than a century and a half ago the iron ceiling wasshattered; the heavens were once again opened, and since that timerevelations have been continuous.
“That new day dawned when [a] soul with passionate yearning prayedfor divine guidance. A spot of hidden solitude was found, knees werebent, a heart was humbled, pleadings were voiced, and a light brighterthan the noonday sun illuminated the world—the curtain never to beclosed again.
“A young lad … , Joseph Smith, of incomparable faith, broke thespell, shattered the ‘heavens of iron’ and reestablished communication.Heaven kissed the earth, light dissipated the darkness, and God againspoke to man, revealing anew ‘his secret unto his servants theprophets.’ (Amos 3:7.)A new prophet was in the land and through him God set up his kingdom,never to be destroyed nor left to another people—a kingdom that willstand forever.
“The foreverness of this kingdom and the revelations which itbrought into existence are absolute realities. Never again will the sungo down; never again will all men prove totally unworthy ofcommunication with their Maker. Never again will God be hidden from hischildren on the earth. Revelation is here to remain.”20
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “The story of Joseph’s life isthe story of a miracle. He was born in poverty. He was reared inadversity. He was driven from place to place, falsely accused, andillegally imprisoned. He was murdered at the age of 38. Yet in thebrief space of 20 years preceding his death, he accomplished what noneother has accomplished in an entire lifetime. He translated andpublished the Book of Mormon, a volume which has since beenretranslated into scores of languages and which is accepted by millionsacross the earth as the word of God. The revelations he received andother writings he produced are likewise scripture to these millions.The total in book pages constitutes approximately twice the volume ofthe entire New Testament of the Bible, and it all came through one manin the space of a few years. In this same period he established anorganization which … has withstood every adversity and challenge and isas effective today in governing a worldwide membership … as it was ingoverning a membership of 300 in 1830. There are those doubters whohave strained to explain this remarkable organization as the product ofthe times in which he lived. That organization, I submit, was aspeculiar, as unique, and as remarkable then as it is today. It was notthe product of the times. It came as a revelation from God. …
“Within the space of that 20 years preceding his death, Joseph Smithset in motion a program for carrying the gospel to the nations of theearth. I marvel at the boldness with which he moved. Even in the infantdays of the Church, in times of dark adversity, men were called toleave homes and families, to cross the sea, to proclaim the Restorationof the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Prophet’s mind, his visionencompassed the entire earth.
“For our general conference meetings twice each year, members gatherin North, Central, and South America; in the British Isles and Africa;in the nations of Europe; in the islands and continents of the Pacific;and in the ancient lands of Asia. These are the flowering of the visionof Joseph Smith, the prophet of God. He was indeed a mighty seer whosaw this day and greater days yet to come as the work of the Lord movesover the earth.”21
President Joseph F. Smith: “Whatever else the Prophet JosephSmith may have done or may have been, we must not forget the fact thathe was the man out of the millions of human beings that inhabited thisearth at the time—the only man, that was called of God, by the voice ofGod Himself, to open up the dispensation of the Gospel to the world forthe last time; and this is the great thing to bear in mind, that he wascalled of God to introduce the Gospel to the world, to restore the holypriesthood to the children of men, to organize the Church of JesusChrist of Latter-day Saints in the world, and to restore all theordinances of the Gospel, for the salvation not only of the living, butalso of the dead, and he was called to this mission by God Himself. …
“… There have been other prophets, and great prophets, too, who havehad angels minister to them, and others who have seen the finger ofGod, and who have been favored more or less; but where is thecircumstance, and who is the man unto whom the Father and the Saviorhave appeared together in person, and declared themselves unto him?Where is that man? Nowhere that history records, except the ProphetJoseph Smith, and that while he was a youth. He was only a youth,comparatively in fact, when he was martyred, being only 38 years ofage.
“… The Prophet Joseph Smith … communed with the Father and the Sonand spoke with angels, and they visited him, and conferred blessingsand gifts and keys of power upon him that were never before bestowedupon any human being other than the Son of God Himself. No man yet thatever lived upon the earth had all the keys of the Gospel and of thedispensations bestowed upon him as were bestowed upon the ProphetJoseph Smith in the temple at Kirtland when he was visited there by theSon of God, by Moses, and by Elias and Elijah, and when the heavenswere opened unto him and he received the keys of power and authority bywhich he could lay the foundation of the work of God, broad and deep,to cover the earth with the knowledge of God, and with His power andglory.”22
The work of Joseph Smith blesses those who have lived on the earth, those who are now living, and those who will yet be born.
President Joseph F. Smith: “The work in which Joseph Smith wasengaged was not confined to this life alone, but it pertains as well tothe life to come and to the life that has been. In other words, itrelates to those that have lived upon the earth, to those that areliving and to those that shall come after us. It is not something whichrelates to man only while he tabernacles in the flesh, but to the wholehuman family from eternity to eternity. Consequently, as I have said,Joseph Smith is held in reverence, his name is honored; tens ofthousands of people thank God in their heart and from the depths oftheir souls for the knowledge the Lord has restored to the earththrough him, and therefore they speak well of him and bear testimony ofhis worth. And this is not confined to a village, nor to a State, norto a nation, but this extends to every nation, kindred, tongue andpeople where the Gospel, up to the present time, has been preached.”23
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “In the same way that I knowJesus is the Christ–and that is by revelation from the Holy Spirit—Iknow that Joseph Smith is and was and everlastingly shall be a prophetof God.
“I revere and honor his holy name. With his brother, my grandfather,Patriarch Hyrum Smith, he sealed his testimony with his blood inCarthage Jail. And I, for one, want to be an instrument in the Lord’shands of letting the ends of the earth know that salvation is againavailable because the Lord raised up a mighty seer in this day toreestablish his kingdom on earth.
“In a spirit of testimony and thanksgiving, I close with theseinspired words from the Doctrine and Covenants: ‘Joseph Smith, theProphet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for thesalvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived init.’ (D&C 135:3.)”24
President Gordon B. Hinckley, speaking in Carthage, Illinois, onJune 26, 1994, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Prophet JosephSmith’s martyrdom: “The glorious work, begun by him who was killedat Carthage, has grown in a miraculous and wonderful way. … Thismarvelous work, which has sprung from the prophetic calling of the boyof Palmyra, has ‘come forth out of the wilderness of darkness,’ and isshining ‘forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as anarmy with banners,’ as the Prophet prayed it would (D&C 109:73). …
“We pause in reverence here this evening. We reflect on the miracleof the life begun in the green hills of Vermont and ended here in thejail of Carthage. That life was not long. But the fruits of that lifehave been something almost beyond comprehension.
“This great cause of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintshas been more precious than life itself to thousands upon thousands whohave died in its service. Witnesses have gone into the world by thehundreds of thousands to bear testimony of Joseph Smith’s calling as aProphet of God. The holy priesthood restored through him has fallen asa mantle upon uncounted numbers of men of integrity and virtue who havebeen clothed with this divine power. The Book of Mormon is going acrossthe earth as another testament of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“To quote a truism uttered long ago and in different circumstances,‘the blood of the martyrs has become the seed of the Church.’ Thetestimonies which were sealed here in these very precincts, on thisground where we meet tonight, that hot and sultry day 150 years ago,now nurture the faith of people around the world.”25
Notes
3–4; in Annual Joseph Smith Memorial Sermons (no date); punctuation and capitalization modernized; paragraph divisions altered.
10, 1944, in Logan, Utah; in Annual Joseph Smith Memorial Sermons (1966), 1:9, 14; punctuation and capitalization modernized.
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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;
Saturday, December 12th, 2009: Branch Social 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 13th, 2009: 9:00a.m. PEC
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The Vine In The Vineyard Of The Lord 