Where Did We Come From?

Before we came to this earth, we lived with God. We did not have bodies but we lived as spirits. God is the Father of our spirits which makes all of us spiritual brothers and sisters. We are family! Yay!  "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?"(Hebrews 12:9)

There came a point where we could not progress any further. Heavenly Father has a glorified, perfected, immortal body of flesh and bones and we wanted to become like Him. He presented a plan to us, a plan that would enable us to come to earth in families, gain physical bodies, and learn and progress and eventually return to live with Him again. Because He knew we would make mistakes, He told us that He would give us a Savior to pay the price of our sins and mistakes. As long as we followed Him, we would be cleansed of our sins and could return to live with God again and be heirs of the Kingdom of God. "For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him"(1 Nephi 10:18).

Not everyone who heard God's plan was excited. Lucifer, who became Satan, or the devil, wanted a plan where everyone would be forced to obey God. Jesus, on the other hand, was in favor of God's plan which would give everyone their free agency or ability to choose good or evil. Lucifer got angry and rebelled against God and was therefore cast down from heaven and 1/3 of God's children followed him. "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole word: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him"(Revelations 12:9). The rest of us were on God's side and decided to follow His plan. Everyone who was or ever will be born decided to follow Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's plan. We knew it would be hard, but we were excited.  

God created the heavens and the earth and created us in His image. "Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it"(1 Nephi 17:36). The first people to live on the earth were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth and not to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve lived in a state of innocence. They knew no happiness and no sorrow and they couldn't have kids or die. God allowed them to be tempted and Satan convinced them to eat the fruit. Because of this transgression, they were cast out of God's presence and out of the garden. They could then experience joy and pain, have children, and eventually die. Most Christians look down upon Adam and Even for eating the fruit but their decision was what allowed us to be born and move God's plan forward. 

"And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy"(2 Nephi 2:22-25).

I'm grateful for this knowledge of where I came from. We lived with God before as His children and He loves us infinitely more than we can understand. We can all return to live with Him again one day.

Amen.

The Plan of Salvation

The Plan of Salvation answers the three questions of the soul: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?

We learn from The Plan of Salvation that God has a plan for us and that we each have a purpose. We are all God's children and He loves us and wants us to return to live with Him again some day. Knowledge of the Plan of Salvation was given to God's children in the beginning with Adam and Eve. "And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations"(Alma 24:14).

Unfortunately during the Great Apostasy, knowledge of the Plan of Salvation was lost. Many Bible verses allude to it, but the doctrine was no longer taught. When Jesus Christ restored the fullness His gospel through Joseph Smith, He also restored the knowledge of this plan.

The Plan of Salvation is also referred to as the Plan of Happiness. Knowing the Plan of Salvation gives us purpose in our lives. 

The Plan of Salvation teaches us these basic beliefs:

God is our Father and we lived with Him before we came here.

God presented a plan for us to come to earth and gain bodies and to learn and grow.

Heavenly Father provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so we can be cleansed of sin if we will come to Him and repent and be baptized.

While on this earth we are to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized and prepare to return to live with God.

When we die, we go to the spirit world. While there, those who didn't have the opportunity to hear about the gospel while they were alive are taught about it and given the opportunity to accept it.

Everyone, whether they are good or evil, we eventually be resurrected and have perfected, immortal bodies.

God will judge us according to our works and the desires of our hearts.

We will be sent to one of three Kingdoms of Glory depending on how we lived and if we followed Jesus Christ.

In future posts, I will go into more detail about each one.  

I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. It has given me so much peace in my life. I have honestly had times in my life where I wanted to give up but knowing about this plan has made all the difference and has helped me to have the desire to keep on going. I know this plan will bless you too as you learn more about it. I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has provided this plan of happiness so that we can return to live with Him and share in His glory one day.

"For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors"(Alma 34:32).

 Amen.

It's a Science Experiment!

How can you know if something is true? In school we learned about the scientific method. We have a question, we form a hypothesis, we conduct an experiment, we analyze the results, and we come up with a conclusion. This process can be used to know if anything is true.  

Alma 32:27 reads: "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if you can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

So first we need to come up with a QUESTION. Some examples are: Is God real?  Is Jesus Christ the Savior of the world? Is The Book of Mormon true? Is Thomas S. Monson a prophet of God?

Next we need to come up with a HYPOTHESIS. In order for this experiment to work, we need to exercise faith which means that we believe we'll receive an answer and we desire to believe. So your hypothesis might be along the lines of: God is real. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. The Book of Mormon is true. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God.

Next we need to CONDUCT THE EXPERIMENT. 
Whenever we do an experiment, we need to make sure we are following the steps correctly. We are told from the scriptures what we need to do in order to know if these things are true:

In Moroni 10:3-5 it tells us: "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
"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. 
"And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

Alma 5:45-46 says: "Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?
"Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me."

D&C 9:7-8: "Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
"But, behold, I say unto you that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."

According to these scriptures, we need to first "receive these things" which means we read The Book of Mormon, read the Bible, have missionaries teach you, read or watch a talk by the prophet, or whatever pertains to your question. We need to do our part and study it out. We can't sit around and expect God to answer our prayer if we're not willing to put in the work and show that we sincerely want an answer. We cannot say we sincerely experimented on the Lord's words until we have asked God the way the scriptures tell us to.

We then ANALYZE the results. What results did we receive? We are told that "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." So how do we know if we felt the Holy Ghost or not? Once again, the scriptures are here to help us out.  Galatians 5:22 in the Bible reads: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance:" Did you feel any of those things as you studied, pondered, and prayed? Did you feel peace as you read the scriptures? Did you feel joy as you listened to the prophet speak? Did you feel love as you prayed to God? If you felt any of those things listed in Galatians, then that was God answering your prayer. 

Finally, we have our CONCLUSION. I know that anyone who follows these steps and asks God in faith will receive an answer. I have received an answer so many times. God doesn't always answer immediately or in the same way. But He will always answer anyone who sincerely seeks to know if these things are true and if they are willing to act on their answer.

"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"(James 1:5).

"Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened"(3 Nephi 27:29). 

"And all things, whatoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive"(Matthew 21:22).  

"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full"(John 16:24).

Amen.

Mormons and Polygamy

Do Mormons practice polygamy? No. 

President Gordon B. Hinckley, the previous prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, made the following statement in 1998 about the Church's position on plural marriage:

"This Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church... If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church."

"But..but..but..Brigham Young and Joseph Smith were polygamists! And the people in 'Big Love' are polygamists!" Correct.  Now let me explain.

First of all,"Big Love" has nothing to do with Mormons. Also "Sister Wives" aren't Mormon either.  Warren Jeffs isn't Mormon. If you ever find anyone today practicing polygamy, they aren't Mormon.  

At various times, the Lord has commanded His people to practice plural marriage. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon were all prophets in the Bible who had multiple wives. At other times, the Lord commands His people not to practice polygamy.  In The Book of Mormon, the prophet Jacob said to the people: "Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none"(Jacob 2:27); The Lord is all-knowing and His ways are always right. If He commands us to have multiple wives or pay tithing or love our neighbor, we do it because He is the God of the whole earth and knows what is best. It is not our place to question His wisdom.

The Lord commanded some of the early Saints to practice plural marriage. The Prophet Joseph Smith and those closest to him, including Brigham Young, were challenged by this command, but they obeyed it. Brigham Young recounted his struggle with this commandment as such: "I was not desirous of shrinking from any duty, nor of failing in the least to do as I was commanded, but it was the first time in my life that I had desired the grave, and I could hardly get over it for a long time.  And when I saw a funeral, I felt to envy the corpse its situation, and to regret that I was not in the coffin." 

I don't know all the reasons why the Lord commanded polygamy at that time nor will I pretend to. But I have an assumption. It is that the Mormons were constantly being persecuted and as a result many Mormon men were killed. There weren't enough men for the women to marry and have children with in the Church and most if not all men outside of the Church wouldn't want to marry a Mormon woman anyway. This helped support all of the women who were left without husbands to provide for them.

Church leaders regulated the practice. Only about 10% of the members practiced polygamy and those entering into it had to be authorized to do so. In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff, prophet and president of the Church at that time, received a revelation from the Lord that the leaders of the Church should cease teaching the practice of plural marriage.

Mormons do not practice polygamy. Yes we used to just like they used to in the Bible.  However it has not been allowed in over 120 years. I have one mom. I will be my future husband's only wife.

Amen.

Book of Mormon Stories - Lehi and His Family Leave Jerusalem

Time: 600 BC
Place: Jerusalem 
Reference: 1 Nephi 1-2
Characters:
Lehi: Father of the family and a prophet.  He enjoys fearlessly preaching repentance to the Jews, receiving death threats, reading books obtained in strange ways, dreaming crazy dreams, trekking through the wilderness, and dwelling in tents.
Sariah: Wife of Lehi and a worried mother.  She enjoys spending time with family, bearing children in the wilderness, matchmaking, and gardening.
Nephi: Legendary younger brother and heroic prophet.  He enjoys archery, playing with swords, building ships, hiking to high mountains, writing poetry, and confounding his brothers.
Sam: Faithful but sometimes forgotten middle child.  He enjoys long walks through the wilderness, campfire stories, sailing, and playing with God's compass.
Laman and Lemuel: The two peas in a pod rebellious older brothers.  They enjoy antagonizing their brothers, eating raw meat, making new friends, dancing with hot women, and uttering tribal cries.
Writer: Nephi
Background information: This is perhaps one of the most well-known stories in The Book of Mormon.  Not because it's super inspiring (although it is) but because it's at the very beginning of the book.  Many people, including myself, have tried many times to read The Book of Mormon and then gave up about 20 chapters in.  Then we'd try again a few months later and the same thing would happen.  And that's why this story is so well-known among the Mormons. I've now read it completely a few times, but when I was younger it was hard to read such a long book so I've read these first few chapters more than any other chapter. Good thing it's a great story!


The record starts out with Nephi introducing himself.  "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.  And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge."

Alright thanks for that great intro, Nephi. What did he just say? That he has great parents who taught him well, he's been through a lot but the Lord has helped him, and he has gained for himself a witness and knowledge of God. He lets us know he's writing this in the language of the Egyptians. Then he bears testimony that he knows that his record is true. So this record is true, by the way, because Nephi said so.

Nephi then tells us that it is currently during the time of the reign of Zedekiah, King of Judah, and that lots of prophets have been telling the people to repent or else Jerusalem will be destroyed. The people aren't listening so Nephi's dad, Lehi, gets concerned and decides to go pray to God in behalf of the people.

As Lehi prayed to God, "there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much..." The vision caused him to quake and tremble and he was overcome.  Then he was carried away in a vision and saw Christ and His twelve disciples, he read a book that an angel gave to him, and he cried, "Wo, wo unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations!" Lehi then proceeded to praise the Lord and rejoice because of the things which the Lord had shown him. 

And just like that, Lehi became a prophet.  Apparently seeing Christ, reading the book of life, and praising God is one way to become a prophet. Lehi went out and started prophesying to the people about the things which he had seen and heard. "And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of their wickedness..."  Surprisingly people don't like to be told that they're living their lives wrong. The Jews got mad and tried to kill him but he escaped.

The Lord came to Lehi in a dream telling him that he's blessed for obeying God but unfortunately now the people want to kill him so he needs to "take his family and depart into the wilderness." Lehi was obedient so he did so and took his grumbling family into the wilderness and "left his house...and his gold, and his silver...and took nothing with him save it were his family, and provisions..."  

Lehi and his wife, Sariah, and their sons, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi traveled many days in the wilderness. Laman and Lemuel are referred to as being "stiffnecked." They weren't very happy about having to leave their friends and riches in Jerusalem because of the "foolish imaginations of [Lehi's] heart." I can't say I blame them. I would be ticked if my dad told me we all had to leave our stuff and go travel through the wilderness because God told him so. Laman and Lemuel didn't believe that Jerusalem would be destroyed and complained ("but Daaad!") but Lehi scolded them until "they durst not utter against him;" 

This part of the story ends with: "And my father dwelt in a tent." Fun stuff. Lehi likes tents.


So we covered who Lehi is, why he left Jerusalem, and the beginning of Laman and Lemuel's "murmuring." Next time, we'll learn how Nephi felt about leaving Jerusalem and what he did differently from Laman and Lemuel so that he knew that Lehi was actually commanded of the Lord and he wasn't just nuts.

Book of Mormon Stories

Now that I've explained a bit about what The Book of Mormon is, I'm going to start a post series called "Book of Mormon Stories."  I'll start at the beginning of The Book of Mormon and every couple weeks post another story from it.  The Bible has stories such as Noah and the Ark, Moses, Job, Jonah and the Whale, Daniel and the Lions, etc.  The Book of Mormon has fun stories as well. We learn a lot from these stories which is why I'd like to start posting Book of Mormon stories so that we can all learn more about God together.

Stay tuned for the very first Book of Mormon story tomorrow!

What is The Book of Mormon?

What is The Book of Mormon? Why are Mormon missionaries always trying to get you to read it? What is it about? Why do we need it if we have the Bible? I'm glad you asked.

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.  Just like we have the Old Testament and the New Testament, this is another or a "third" testament.  And also like the Bible, it was written by ancient prophets. We read both The Book of Mormon and the Bible. We don't consider one to be better than the other, they are both the word of God. 

The book of Ezekiel prophecies about The Book of Mormon: "Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand"(Ezekiel 37:16-17).

The stick of Judah is the Bible. The tribe of Judah is the Jews and the Bible is the record of the Jews. The stick of Ephraim is The Book of Mormon. The people in The Book of Mormon were of the tribe of Ephraim.

The Book of Mormon takes place 600 B.C. during the time of Jeremiah the prophet and the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah.  It starts with the record of a family living in Jerusalem.  The father, Lehi, had a vision and was called as a prophet to preach repentance to the people.  He told them that if they didn't repent then Jerusalem would be destroyed.  The people didn't listen. They also wanted to kill him. So God in His mercy told Lehi and his family to leave Jerusalem.  They did so and traveled in the wilderness for 8 years and then eventually sailed across the ocean to the American continents. 

One of Lehi's sons, Nephi, was righteous and believed in his father's visions and received many more visions from God because of his faith.  He later became a prophet and wrote the first two books in The Book of Mormon. His descendants called themselves the Nephites.  Lehi had two other sons, Laman and Lemuel, who did not believe he was a prophet and were bitter about leaving Jerusalem.  They rebelled when they arrived in the Americas. Their descendants were thereafter called the Lamanites.

The rest of The Book of Mormon is a record written by prophets who passed the records on to the next prophets.  It covers 1000 years of history of this people.  The crowning event in The Book of Mormon is when Jesus Christ appeared to the people after His death and resurrection. Moroni was the very last prophet to write in The Book of Mormon before the Great Apostasy. His father was a man named Mormon. Mormon abridged and compiled the records written by the prophets and gave the gold plates they were written on to his son.  Moroni buried the record in a hill after writing his final testimony in it shortly before he died.  Moroni appeared as an angel 1400 years later in 1823 to the Prophet Joseph Smith to show him where the record was buried.  The record is named The Book of Mormon after Moroni's father, Mormon, since he was the one who abridged and assembled the record written by all of the prophets. 

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are nicknamed the Mormons because we have The Book of Mormon.

This ancient scripture was so important that God waited until the restoration of Jesus Christ's gospel to bring it forth so that it wouldn't be altered or tainted by men and so that it can stand as proof that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that Jesus Christ's Church is once again on the earth. 

I am so grateful for The Book of Mormon!  Together with the Bible, it testifies of Jesus Christ. Why wouldn't we want further revelation from God?  If your favorite author wrote a second book, you wouldn't get mad and say that you won't read it because they can only write one. It's the same with the scriptures! Why would you try to limit God and say that He can't speak to multiple people and have multiple scriptures? God is our loving Heavenly Father.  We are all His children.  He loves the Jews and the Gentiles.  He loves every race, nationality, gender, and age regardless of a person's standing in the world, financial situation, or level of education.  He revealed Himself to the prophets in the ancient Americas just like He did to the prophets in the Bible. He has probably revealed Himself to so many other people that we have no record of. He is the God of the whole world.  I know that The Book of Mormon is the word of God as is the Bible. 

If you read and pray about the book, you can know for yourself that it's true.  Moroni, in his final testimony in the book before he died, wrote:

"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.  And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things"(Moroni 10:4-5).

I know that whoever reads this book and prays about it with real intent and faith (faith meaning hope, not a perfect knowledge) in Christ will receive an answer through the power of the Holy Ghost. And how does the Holy Ghost speak to us? The Bible tells us: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.."(Galatians 5:22-23).  If you feel any of those things as you read and pray about it, then that's the Holy Ghost telling you that it's true.

Amen.

(You can go here to read The Book of Mormon online or click here to request a free copy.) 

The Gold Plates

Joseph had the First Vision in 1820 when he was 14 years old.  It wasn't until 1823, when he was 17, that he even learned about the ancient record which would become The Book of Mormon.  

During this three year period, he passed through his mid-teens.  When teachers and friends should have been helping and strengthening him, they were instead hostile towards him. Even though some trusted friends turned against him, Joseph continually had the support of his family.

Joseph is not a perfect man by any means.  He acknowledged that during this period he "frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth."  He was a teenage boy and was cheery and enjoyed having fun and didn't always act in consistency with the character of one called of God.  But during this time he grew and matured and continued to work on his family's farm.

On September 21, 1823, Joseph Smith retired for the night.  Concerned about his standing before the Lord, he earnestly prayed for a forgiveness of his sins.  Suddenly his room filled with a light and a heavenly messenger stood by his bedside.  Joseph described this messenger as such: "He had on a loose robe of the most exquisite whiteness.  It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant... Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person.  When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me."

This messenger introduced himself as Moroni, a prophet who had lived on the American continent about 400 years after Christ.  He came to tell Joseph Smith about an ancient record written on gold plates that had "an account of the former inhabitants of this continent...He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to ancient inhabitants."  Moroni told Joseph where to find this record which had been buried by Moroni himself 1400 years prior in a hill close to Joseph's home. Moroni also recited many passages from the Bible quoting prophets such as Malachi, Isaiah, Joel, and Peter. This message was so important that Moroni returned twice more that night and repeated the same instructions.  He also appeared again in the morning to Joseph and recited his message again.

The morning after Moroni appeared to him, Joseph went to the place where Moroni had told him the record was.  The plates were concealed in a stone box underneath a larger stone. Joseph managed to remove the stone and find the plates underneath.  As Joseph attempted to take them out, he was forbidden by Moroni to do so.  For the next four years on that exact day, Joseph went to the place and was there tutored by Moroni and other heavenly messengers until he was deemed ready to receive them.  


"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people"(Revelations 14:16).

"Having gone as usual at the end of another year to the place where they were deposited, the same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off;...I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges to keep them safe...For no sooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me...But by the wisdom of God, they remained safe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand."

Through the power of God, Joseph was able to translate this ancient record written on gold plates into The Book of Mormon.  Many people were scribes to Joseph but only 11 others besides him were allowed to see the plates.  Their testimonies of the plates can be found here and here at the beginning of the book. The Book of Mormon was first published on March 26, 1830, 11 days before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was officially established.  You can read Joseph Smith's testimony of The Book of Mormon here and another account by him about the gold plates in verses 27-65 here.

I know that Joseph Smith did translate the Book of Mormon through the power of God.  In my next post I'll talk more about what The Book of Mormon is and how you can know that this is true. I know that this is true because I've prayed about it and have received an answer.

Isaiah 29:11 - "And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed."

Joseph Smith History 1:65 - "He then said to me...that there was no such thing now as ministering of angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him he would translate them.  I informed him that part of the plates were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, 'I cannot read a sealed book...'"

Amen.

Joseph Smith's First Vision

Jesus Christ restored His church back to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Bible suggests that God has always called the humble and meek to be His prophets rather than the wise and powerful. Indeed Jesus Christ Himself was as humble and meek as you can get.  

Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805 in Sharon, Vermont, in very humble circumstances.  He was the fifth of eleven children.  Because of their financial circumstances, Joseph only received a formal education for 3 years before being unable to continue.  His family was very religious.  His parents taught their children to read from the Bible and to pray.

In 1820, he was living with his family in Palmyra, New York, working on the family farm.  During this time, the Second Great Awakening was sweeping the United States.  Many denominations were preaching and trying to bring religion to these people.  Nearly all the churches in upstate New York conducted revivals which were evangelistic gatherings in the form of camp meetings held on the edge of groves of trees or in small clearings in the forest.

At a young age, Joseph became "seriously impressed with regard to the all important concerns for the welfare of [his] immortal soul." The many different religions confused Joseph and he wasn't sure which one to join. Joseph said, "I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit... It was impossible for a person young as I was and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong." They were all Christian and all preached from the Bible, but each of their interpretations were different. "The teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.". Joseph's mother, a sister, and two brothers joined the Presbyterian faith although that system of belief didn't satisfy Joseph.

One day, Joseph was reading in the Bible and he came across James 1:5 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."  Joseph said that "never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did 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, I would never know."

Joseph decided to do as James directs.  He prepared to ask God. 

One day in the spring of 1820, Joseph went into a grove of trees near his home.  He knelt down to pray aloud, which he had never done before.  As he began to pray, an incredible thing happened.  In his own words, 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 spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other - This is my Beloved Son. Hear Him!"  God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him.  "No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself... than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right...and which I should join.  I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong."

Why did Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appear to this humble, 14 year old farm boy living in New York?  Because it was time for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored.  This period of darkness, the Great Apostasy, was ending, and it was time for the glorious light of the restored gospel to penetrate the earth. 

After this heavenly manifestation, Joseph Smith ran home and told his family.  He told others about this experience, expecting them to be overjoyed, but instead he was treated coldly and harshly: 

"I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution...

"It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling.  But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself."

Although he was severely persecuted and mocked, Joseph never wavered in his testimony.  He knew what he had seen and nothing anyone said or did could make him deny that.  Like prophets of old, he was called upon by God to do a great and marvelous work.  And, like prophets of old, he was rejected and persecuted, yet he stayed true to God until the very end of his life.  I am very grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith.  

"For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it."

Amen.

Click here to read Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision.
Click here to watch a video of the First vision.