=9. Joseph Smith=, whose name is appended to the Articles of Faith,
was the prophet through whom the Lord restored to earth in these the
last days the Gospel, and this in accordance with predictions made in
previous dispensations. The question of the divine authenticity of
this man's mission is an all-important one to earnest investigators of
Latter-day Saint doctrines. If his claims to a God-given appointment
be false, forming, as they do, the foundation of the Church in the
last dispensation, the superstructure cannot be stable; if, however,
his purported ordination under the hands of heavenly personages be a
fact, one need search no further for the cause of the phenomenal
strength and growing power of the restored Church. The circumstances
of the divine dealings with Joseph Smith, the marvelous development of
the work instituted by this modern prophet, the fulfilment through his
instrumentality of many of the grandest predictions of old, and his
own prophetic utterances with their literal realizations, will yet be
widely acknowledged as proof conclusive of the validity of his
ministry.[11] The exalted claims maintained for him and his life's
work, the fame that has made his name known for good or evil among
most of the civilized nations of the earth, the vitality and growing
strength of the religious and social systems which owe their origin as
nineteenth-century establishments to the ministrations of this man,
give to him an individual importance warranting at least a passing
consideration.
[11] See Note 3.
=10. His Parentage and Youth.=--Joseph Smith, the third son and fourth
child in a family of ten, was born December 23d, 1805, at Sharon,
Windsor County, Vermont. He was the son of Joseph and Lucy Mack
Smith--a worthy couple, who though in poverty lived happily amid
their home scenes of industry and frugality. When the boy, Joseph, was
ten years old, the family left Vermont and settled in the State of New
York, first at Palmyra, and later at Manchester, Ontario County. At
the place last named, the future prophet spent most of his boyhood
days. In common with his brothers and sisters, he had but little
schooling; and for the simple rudiments of an education, which by
earnest application he was able to gain, he was mostly indebted to his
parents, who followed the rule of devoting a portion of their limited
leisure to the teaching of the younger members of the household.
=11.= In their religious inclinations, the family favored the
Presbyterian church, the mother and three or four of the children
having united themselves with that sect; but Joseph, while at one time
favorably impressed by the Methodist creed, kept himself free from all
sectarian membership, being greatly perplexed over the strife and
dissensions manifesting themselves among the churches of the time. He
had a right to expect that in the Church of Christ there would be
unity and harmony; yet in place of such he saw among the wrangling
sects only confusion. When Joseph was in his fifteenth year, the
region of his home was visited by a storm of fierce religious
excitement, which, beginning with the Methodists, soon became general
among all the sects; there were revivals and protracted meetings, and
the manifestations of sectarian rivalry were many and varied. These
conditions added much to the distress of the young searcher after
truth.
=12. His Search for Truth and the Result.=--Here is Joseph's own
account of his course of action:--
"In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I
often said to myself, what is to be done? who of all these
parties are right? or, are they all wrong together? If any one
of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?
"While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by
the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day
reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse,
which reads, '_If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,
that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it
shall be given him._'[12] Never did any passage of scripture come
with more power to the heart of man than did this at this time to
mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of
my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any
person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not
know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, would
never know, for the teachers of religion of the different sects
understood the same passage so differently as to destroy all
confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. At
length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in
darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that
is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to ask of
God, concluding that if He gave wisdom to them that lacked
wisdom, and would give liberally and not upbraid, I might
venture. So, in accordance with this my determination to ask of
God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the
morning of a beautiful clear day, early in the spring of 1820. It
was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt,
for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt
to pray vocally.
[12] James i, 5.
"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to
go, having looked around me and finding myself alone, I kneeled down
and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely
done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which
entirely overcame me, and had such astonishing influence over me as to
bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered
around me, and it seemed to me, for a time, as if I were doomed to
sudden destruction. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to
deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me,
and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and
abandon myself to destruction, not to an imaginary ruin, but to the
power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such a
marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being; just at this
moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly above my head,
above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it
fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from
the enemy which held me bound. 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 spake unto me calling me by
name, and said (pointing to the other), '_This is my beloved Son, hear
Him._'"[13]
[13] Pearl of Great Price: Extr. Hist. of Jos. Smith, 10-17.
=13.= In answer to his prayer for guidance as to which of the sects
was right, he was told to join none of them, for all were wrong, with
their creeds which are an abomination in the sight of God, and their
professors who are corrupt, in that they draw near with their lips
while their hearts are far from the Lord, teaching for doctrine the
commandments of men, having a form of godliness while denying the
power thereof.
=14.= Such knowledge as has been communicated in this unprecedented
revelation was not to be held secret within the heart of the youth. He
hesitated not to impart the glorious truths, first to the members of
his family, who received his testimony with reverence, and then to the
sectarian ministers, who had labored so diligently to convert him to
their several creeds. To his surprise, these professed teachers of
Christ treated his statements with the utmost contempt, declaring that
the day of revelation from God had long since passed away; and that
the manifestation, if indeed he had received any such at all, was
surely from Satan. Nevertheless, the ministers exerted themselves,
with a unity of purpose strangely at variance with their former
hostility toward one another, to ridicule the young man, and to
denounce his testimony. The neighborhood was aroused; persecution,
bitter and vindictive, was waged against him and his family; he was
actually fired upon by a would-be assassin: yet through it all he was
preserved from bodily injury; and in spite of increasing opposition he
remained faithfully steadfast to his testimony of the heavenly
visitation.[14] In this condition of trial, he continued without
further manifestation for three years, constantly expecting, but never
receiving the additional light and added instructions for which he
yearned. He was keenly sensitive of his own frailty and conscious of
human weaknesses. He pleaded before the Lord, acknowledging his errors
and craving help.
[14] See Note 2.
=15. Angelic Visitations.=--On the night of September 21st, 1823,
while praying for forgiveness of sins and for guidance as to his
future course, he was blessed with another heavenly manifestation.
There appeared in his room a brilliant light, in the midst of which
stood a personage clothed in white, and with a countenance of radiant
purity and loveliness. The celestial visitor announced himself as
Moroni, a messenger sent from the presence of God; and then he
proceeded to instruct the youth as to some of the Divine purposes in
which Joseph was to take a most important part. The angel said that
through Joseph as the earthly instrument the true Church would be
again established upon the earth; that his name would be known among
all nations and tongues, honored by the good, reviled by the wicked;
that a record, engraven on plates of gold, giving a history of the
nations that had formerly lived upon the western continent and an
account of the Savior's ministrations among the people on this land,
was hidden in a hill near by; that with the plates were two sacred
stones, known as Urim and Thummim, by the use of which, men in olden
times had become seers, and that through those instruments God would
enable Joseph to translate the record engraved on the plates.
=16.= The angelic messenger then repeated several prophecies which are
recorded in the ancient scriptures; some of the quotations were given
with variations from our Bible readings. Of the words of Malachi the
following were quoted: "For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as
an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall burn
as stubble, for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of
Hosts, and it shall leave them neither root nor branch."[15] And
further:--"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood by the hand
of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day
of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the
promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall
turn to their fathers; if it were not so, the whole earth would be
utterly wasted at his coming."[16] Among other scriptures, Moroni
cited the prophecies of Isaiah relating to the restoration of
scattered Israel, and the promised reign of righteousness on
earth,[17] saying that the predictions were about to be fulfilled;
also the words of Peter to the Jews, concerning the prophet who Moses
said would be raised up, explaining that the prophet referred to was
Christ, and that the day was near at hand when all who rejected the
words of the Savior would be cut off from among the people.[18]
[15] Compare Malachi iv, 1.
[16] Compare Malachi iv, 5-6.
[17] See Isaiah xi.
[18] Compare Acts iii, 22-23.
17. Having delivered his message, the angel departed, the light in the
room seeming to condense about his person, and disappearing with him.
But the heavenly visitant returned a second and a third time during
the night, each time repeating the instructions, with additional
admonitions as to the requirements, and warnings regarding temptations
that would assail the youthful seer. On the following day, Moroni
appeared to Joseph again, reciting anew the instructions and cautions
of the preceding night, and telling him to acquaint his father with
all he had heard and seen. This the boy did, and the father promptly
testified that the communications were from God.
=18.= Joseph soon repaired to the hill described to him in the vision.
He recognized the spot indicated by the angel, and with some labor
laid bare a stone box containing the plates and other things spoken of
by Moroni. The heavenly messenger again stood beside him, and forbade
the removal of the contents at that time, saying that four years were
to elapse before the plates would be committed to his care, and that
it would be his duty to visit the spot at yearly intervals. On the
occasion of each of these visits the angel instructed the young man
more fully regarding the great work awaiting him.
=19.= It is not the purpose of the present lecture to review in detail
the life and ministry of Joseph Smith;[19] so much attention has been
given to the opening scenes of his divinely-appointed mission, in view
of the unusual importance associated with the ushering in of the
modern or new dispensation of God's providence. The bringing forth of
the plates from their resting-place of centuries, their translation by
divine power, and the publication of the record as the Book of Mormon,
shall receive attention on a later occasion; for the present it is
sufficient to say that the ancient record has been translated; that
the Book of Mormon has been given to the world; and that the volume is
accepted as scripture by the Latter-day Saints.
[19] See Note 5.
=20. Later Developments: the Martyrdom.=--In due time, the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, the Priesthood having
been restored through the ordination of Joseph Smith by those who had
held the keys of that authority in former dispensations. From an
initial membership of but six persons, the Church grew to include
thousands during the life-time of the Prophet Joseph; and the growth
has continued with phenomenal rapidity and stability until the present
time. One by one the powers and authorities possessed by the Church of
old were restored through the man who was chosen and ordained to be
the first elder of the latter-day dispensation. With the spread of the
Church, persecution increased, and the effect of evil opposition
reached a climax in the cruel martyrdom of the prophet, and his
brother Hyrum, then patriarch of the Church, June 27, 1844. The
incidents leading up to and culminating in the foul murder of these
men at Carthage, Illinois, are matters of common history. Suffice it
to say that prophet and patriarch gave the sacred seal of their life's
blood to the testimony of the truth, which they had valiantly
maintained in the face of intolerant persecution for nearly a quarter
of a century.[20]
[20] See Note 4.
=21. Authenticity of Joseph Smith's Mission.=--The evidence of divine
authority in the work established by Joseph Smith, and of the
justification of the claims made by and for the man, may be summarized
as follows:
I. Ancient prophecy has been fulfilled in the restoration of the
gospel and the re-establishment of the Church upon the earth through
his instrumentality.
II. He received by direct ordination and appointment, at the hands of
those who held the power in former dispensations, the authority to
minister in the various ordinances of the gospel.
III. His possession of the power of true prophecy, and of other
spiritual gifts, is shown by the results of his ministry.