Aftermath

What happened next was nothing like what Joseph expected. Thinking that people would welcome this news from heaven with open arms he began to tell some acquaintances and close friends about his experience. Within his family there was general acceptance accompanied by a reassurance that Joseph's story was not just a wild imagination, but that it had actually happened. They were the first to stand by Joseph's side and remained there for the rest of their lives. On the other hand, many of the priests and ministers of religion he had become acquainted with in his search for greater understanding received his story with contempt and derision. "It's all of the devil. There is no such thing as visions or revelations in our day. Those things ceased with the death of the apostles," he was told on more than one occasion. 

Unsure of what to do now, he began to tell only those who were willing to listen and receive his words with an open mind and heart, truly desiring to know the truth. For the next three years nothing spectacular had happened. Life went on as normal--working for a living (which, throughout his life, would be meager at best). On the night of September 21, 1823, as he was praying to God, an angel named Moroni appeared to him and told him that he had been sent by God and that "God had a work for me to do; And that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people." He went on to tell Joseph of a book that was "deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the savior to the ancient inhabitants." He then quoted some prophecies from the Old Testament, including Malachi 3 and 4, Isaiah 11--saying that it was about to be fulfilled, Acts 3:22, 23 saying that "that prophet was Christ; but that the day had not come when 'they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people,' but soon would come." Joel 2:28-32, and others. The angel appeared two more times during the course of the night and once again the following morning offering the same message and each time giving more instruction to Joseph with regard to his calling. 

Over the next four years, at the same time each year he was taught more to prepare him for the task that lay ahead. On September 22, 1827, the angel Moroni delivered the plates into the hands of the Prophet Joseph. Although most of the Prophet's life was filled with persecution, it was only a taste of what was to come. Joseph said, "I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges to keep [the plates] safe, and why it was that the messenger had said that when I had done what was required at my hand, he would call for them. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me. Every stratagem that could be invented was resorted to for that purpose. The persecution became more bitter and severe than before, and multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from me if possible." 

Working with various scribes, Joseph translated the plates, and delivered them up to the angel Moroni who "has them in his charge until this day." The translation was published and the first copies of The Book of Mormon were made available to the public in 1830. 

This book contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting Gospel. They are meant to be used together. The Book of Mormon is not a "new version of the Bible," nor a replacement for it. It is its companion in testifying of the reality and divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, of his mission on this earth, of his atoning sacrifice, death, and resurrection for all mankind. 

  If you would like a copy of this marvelous book, visit www.mormon.org, or talk to your Mormon neighbor. This book will change your life. It has a power that touches the heart in a way that no other book can. It is true. It is the Word of God.

Where did we come from??

Reading the Bible and learning from the messages and stories contained therein will give the reader a desire to know what the purpose of life is about. If so many men were willing to give up all they had and even their lives, if necessary, to defend the things they proclaimed to be true, there must be some purpose in this life and some other life beyond this mortal period. If this life is all there is and there is nothing beyond mortality, why work so hard to teach people to believe in something that, in most cases, causes them to remove from their lives the so-called "pleasures" of mortality? 

Jeremiah, in the Old Testament, was told, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." From this simple statement of the Lord we are given the idea that sometime before we were born there was a period of time in which the Lord knew us. Other statements similar to this are found throughout the Bible. Further knowledge of this has been made known to us through the translation of the Book of Mormon and through revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Through these revelations we learn that we did live before we were born, but it was slightly different from the life we have here. 

We are all literal children of God, our Heavenly Father. He is the Father of our spirits and it is because of that relationship that He has such a great love for us and desire to be part of our life. Knowing that the only way we could learn is through our own choices, He has given us the great gift of agency, the ability to choose--right/wrong, good/bad, yes/no, etc. As spirits we were limited in what we could learn and needed to be able to experience mortality to progress and become like our Heavenly Father. 

Knowing this, the Father called a grand council of all His spirit children and laid before us a plan whereby we might be able to become like Him. The plan was called the Plan of Salvation, or the Plan of Happiness. In that plan we would be given the opportunity to experience mortal life and learn and grow from the challenges and blessings that would come from it. In order for us to truly gain all we could from mortality, we would have to pass through a veil of forgetfulness and enter this world without any memory of our previous existence. This would allow us to exercise faith in our decisions rather than base them on the knowledge we gained in our premortal life. All of us who are now living, have lived, or who will live on this earth accepted that plan and chose to come to earth and receive the blessings Heavenly Father promised us. 

Basic Principles

In order to better expound on principles and doctrines, it's important to understand the basic principles that are taught in and accepted by members of the church, such as myself. Please keep in mind that I do not speak for the Church as a whole, I have no authority to do so, but as a faithful member speaking of what I know to be true. Joseph Smith taught, "It is the first principle of revealed religion to know for a certainty the character of God." This has been an issue that has caused countless conflicts over the centuries. The only way we can know for a certainty of the character of God is if he reveals that information. In our day, we are blessed to have that information revealed through living prophets--chosen servants called by God to proclaim his Gospel to the world. 

    The first to be called in our dispensation, a period of time in which the gospel has been restored with priesthood authority to the earth, was a young man by the name of Joseph Smith. At the age of 14 he lived in Palmyra, New York, during a time of great religious excitement. Many churches were seeking converts in that area and many of Joseph's family had joined various different faiths: Methodist, Presbyterian, and others. Joseph's parents had taught him basic principles such as faith, prayer, truth, and scripture study, and as he searched for a church to join he noticed that the preachers and teachers of the different faiths understood the same passages of scripture so differently that he was confused as to which one was actually teaching the truth. So many opinions completely opposed to one another could not all be true.

   Since he couldn't settle his question--which one is true--by looking to the Bible, because so many different interpretations had been presented, he found some direction from that Holy book in James chapter 1 verse 5: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be give him." 

   In response to this scripture, Joseph said, "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... 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."

   He went to the woods near his home where he knelt to pray. In response to his prayer and sincere desire to know the truth, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph and answered him telling him that he should join none of the churches for they were all wrong. While they taught some principles that were true, he was told, "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."

   Joseph now knew the answer he had been searching for and that experience, followed by other experiences, opened the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, our current dispensation, and through Joseph, the Lord restored His true church to the earth, never to be taken again from the earth.