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Posted on 01/02/2011 5:46:30 PM PST by Paragon Defender
Dennis B. Neuenschwander, “Joseph Smith: An Apostle of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Jan 2009, 16–22
Adapted from a presentation to the Seventy.
In the Doctrine and Covenants we read that Joseph Smith was “called of God, and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ” (D&C 20:2). The call of an Apostle is first to witness or testify of Jesus Christ. Old Testament prophets testified of His coming. The New Testament Apostles bore personal witness of Christ’s being and of the absolute reality of His Resurrection. This apostolic witness was the basis of their teaching. “Ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8) was Jesus’s instruction to the original Twelve. Peter testified on the day of Pentecost to the Jews who had gathered “out of every nation” (Acts 2:5) that “this Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:32). Similarly, Paul wrote to the Corinthians that Jesus “was seen of me also” (1 Corinthians 15:8). The sure witness of Christ’s being and the reality of His Resurrection is the first pillar of apostolic testimony.
The second pillar is centered on the Savior’s redemptive and saving power. Peter teaches that to the Lord “give all the Prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).
Without these twin pillars of testimony concerning Christ, there could be no Apostle. Such testimonies are born of experience, divine command, and instruction. For example, Luke writes that Christ showed Himself to the Apostles “alive after his passion … being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).
How does the Prophet Joseph Smith fit into these apostolic requirements? The answer is “Perfectly.”
Joseph Smith’s apostolic instruction began in 1820. Pondering the questions of religion, he soon found that there was no way to reason or argue one’s opinion to an authoritative conclusion concerning the correctness of the various churches or their doctrines. Short of a divine manifestation, young Joseph could add only one more opinion to the already existing “war of words and tumult of opinions” (Joseph Smith—History 1:10). But Joseph’s questions on religion were answered by the personal and physical manifestation of God the Father and His divine and living Son, Jesus Christ—an experience referred to as the First Vision.
Like that of the original Apostles, Joseph’s experience with Deity was direct and personal. There was no need for the opinion of others or the deliberations of a council to define what he saw or what it came to mean to him. Joseph’s vision was at first an intensely personal experience—an answer to a specific question. Over time, however, illuminated by additional experience and instruction, it became the founding revelation of the Restoration.
As apostolic as this manifestation of Christ’s being, existence, and Resurrection was to Joseph Smith, it was not the only thing Jesus wanted to teach him. The boy Joseph’s first lesson arose from the manifestation of Christ’s absolute, omnipotent, and divine power. Joseph learned firsthand at least one meaning of the redeeming and saving power of Christ when he prayed in the grove. As he began to pray, “Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction” (Joseph Smith—History 1:15). With every bit of energy Joseph had, he began to call upon God to deliver him from the grasp of this enemy.
“At the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction … , I saw a pillar of light. …
“It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound” (Joseph Smith—History 1:16–17).
Joseph Smith’s confrontation with the adversary is reminiscent of an experience Moses had, about which the Prophet would learn some few years later. Unlike the boy Joseph, however, Moses saw God’s greatness first and then was confronted with the power of the adversary before being delivered from his influence. (See Moses 1.)
The difference in the order of events is significant. Moses was already far into maturity and had much knowledge and influence prior to this event. By displaying His magnificent power to Moses before he faced the adversary, the Lord helped Moses put his life into perspective. After experiencing God’s glory, Moses said, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed” (Moses 1:10). This incident enabled Moses to withstand the temptations of the adversary that followed.
Joseph Smith, on the other hand, was an inexperienced young man, who in his lifetime would repeatedly face adversarial power and the overwhelming problems it brings. By facing the adversary first, then being saved from his assault by the appearance of the Father and the Son, Joseph learned this indelible lesson: as great as the power of evil might be, it must always withdraw with the appearance of righteousness.
This lesson was critical in Joseph’s apostolic education. He needed this knowledge not only because of the personal trials that lay ahead of him but also because of the overwhelming opposition he would face in founding and directing the Church.
The boy Joseph went into the grove seeking wisdom, and wisdom he received. His apostolic instruction had begun. Among the great apostolic lessons of this First Vision were both the physical nature of the Savior and Heavenly Father and the initial and fundamental lessons relating to Their power—each a pillar of apostolic testimony.
Joseph Smith’s early apostolic instruction continued with his translation of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon gave Joseph access to “the fulness of the everlasting Gospel” (Joseph Smith—History 1:34), principles that were necessary to understand even prior to the organization of the Church. The Prophet was introduced to numerous “plain and most precious” (1 Nephi 13:26) prophetic and apostolic testimonies regarding the Savior, all of which served as models for him.
Indeed, the Book of Mormon prophets employ over 100 titles in their teachings of Christ, each of which helped Joseph understand the Savior’s divine role.1 By virtue of these teachings, Joseph Smith became intimately acquainted with ancient prophets, giving him insight into the divine purpose of his responsibilities.
The Book of Mormon illuminates the universality of Christ’s Atonement. The Savior’s holy sacrifice is not confined to the borders of the Holy Land of His day or even restricted to the apostolic world of the original Twelve. The Atonement encompasses all of God’s creations—past, present, and future. What an impression Jacob’s teaching of the “infinite atonement” (2 Nephi 9:7) must have made on the mind of young Joseph, especially in contrast to Christian teachings at the time.
The Book of Mormon also introduces the universality of the Resurrection and other doctrines relating to it. Discourses on this doctrine by Lehi, Jacob, King Benjamin, Abinadi, Alma, Amulek, Samuel the Lamanite, and Moroni are all rich sources of instruction.
During the translation of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet received additional valuable personal instruction concerning the redemptive and saving power of Christ. In 1828 Martin Harris persuaded Joseph to lend him the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript. When Martin Harris lost those pages, the Prophet felt an enormous despair.2 His mother, Lucy Mack Smith, recorded that Joseph exclaimed: “Oh, my God! … All is lost! all is lost! What shall I do? I have sinned—it is I who tempted the wrath of God. … How shall I appear before the Lord? Of what rebuke am I not worthy from the angel of the Most High?”3
For well over a month the Lord left Joseph in this terrible condition of remorse.4 Then came relief and the apostolic lesson. The Lord told Joseph:
“The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught. …
“For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him” (D&C 3:1, 4).
These words carefully describe what Joseph Smith had been experiencing. He had learned the exacting nature of the apostolic call and to whom the Apostle, at all cost, owes his loyalty. “Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words,” Joseph was told, “yet you should have been faithful” (D&C 3:7–8). Joseph Smith had lost access to the plates for a season and had been taught an invaluable lesson. Subsequently, the plates were returned, and his position as translator restored.
How critical were the lessons provided by the translation of the Book of Mormon as Joseph Smith grew in his apostolic calling! The Book of Mormon is the “keystone of our religion”5 because it contains so many prophetic testimonies of Christ and stands as a tangible witness of the Restoration.
After finishing the translation of the Book of Mormon in 1829 and organizing the Church in 1830, Joseph Smith had the opportunity to receive continuing apostolic education through the process of translating other scripture. This included three years of translating the Bible and, beginning in 1835, translating the book of Abraham. Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible expanded his understanding of the role of Old Testament prophets and New Testament Apostles. It also resulted in additional revelation, namely the book of Moses.
The book of Moses provided the Prophet with important knowledge about the Savior’s ministry, including His role in the Creation. “The Lord spake unto Moses, saying: … I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things” (Moses 2:1). Further, He said, “And worlds without number have I created; … and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:33).
The book of Moses clarified Christ’s relationship to the Father in the premortal existence and reinforced the Prophet’s understanding of the ascendant power of righteousness. One of the most beautiful of all the apostolic lessons that came to Joseph Smith in this revelation was the confirmation of God’s love. It was so different from the harsh, unforgiving, and judgmental personage so many believed God to be; the book of Moses reveals a God of infinite compassion. Enoch saw that the “God of heaven … wept” (Moses 7:28) over those who would not receive Him. Wishing to know how it was possible, Enoch was given an answer that has a familiar biblical feel to it: “I [have] given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father. … Wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?” (Moses 7:33, 37; see also Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37–39).
Through the translation of the book of Moses, the Prophet also became more acquainted with the redeeming and saving power of the Savior. As the Lord said, this earth was created “by the word of my power” (Moses 1:32) for the purpose of bringing “to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Many long years before the Savior taught Thomas and the Twelve that “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6), He revealed to Moses that “this is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:62).
The First Vision in the grove, the translation of the Book of Mormon, the revision of the Bible, the revelation of the book of Moses, and the translation of the book of Abraham laid the basic foundation of the Church, largely through the rapidly expanding knowledge and testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith relating to Jesus Christ.
Revelations given to him and compiled in the Doctrine and Covenants contain a wealth of knowledge concerning the Savior. One could research the numerous topics and cross-references of the Topical Guide and Guide to the Scriptures referring to Jesus Christ and still not understand the breadth of information on the Savior that the Prophet Joseph Smith brought to the world. I am grateful to know that Jesus was “in the beginning with the Father” (D&C 93:21). I am grateful to know that He “suffered these things for [me], that [I] might not suffer if [I] would repent” (D&C 19:16).
I am grateful for yet one other thing about the Savior’s ministry that stirs my soul deeply. From studying the promises of Malachi, Moroni’s initial visit with Joseph, the Savior’s words to the Nephites, and the visit of Elijah in the Kirtland Temple, I learn that God loves His children and has provided a way for each to return to Him. I know of no doctrine more just, no teaching that gives more hope than that of redemption of the dead. I am so grateful for the revelations that teach me that the Savior’s Atonement reaches to those who have lived, loved, served, and hoped for a better day yet never heard of Jesus or had the opportunity to embrace His gospel. This knowledge alone would be sufficient to convert me to the gospel if I knew nothing else at all. Here, at least for me, is the ultimate testimony of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.
What, then, can be said of the incomparable saving power of Christ? That which Joseph Smith learned in the Sacred Grove about the power of righteousness overcoming evil foreshadows the final scene. So reveals the Lord:
“I, having accomplished and finished the will of him whose I am, even the Father, concerning me—having done this that I might subdue all things unto myself—
“Retaining all power, even to the destroying of Satan and his works at the end of the world, and the last great day of judgment” (D&C 19:2–3).
Our own testimonies of the Savior are framed by the testimony and teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Is it any wonder then that the Prophet taught that “the fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”6
Joseph Smith’s apostolic testimony of the divine reality and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as his knowledge of the redemptive and saving power of the Savior, can best be seen by the Prophet’s own beautiful, powerful, and succinct witness:
“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
“For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:22–24).
How grateful I am for the apostolic call of Joseph Smith.
4. The 116 pages were lost in June 1828. In July Joseph Smith received what is now section 3 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In September the plates were returned to the Prophet. See the historical introductions to D&C 3; 10.
Resty, according to your religion, Jesus wasn't even ALWAYS!
He was the firstborn "spirit child" born of spirit sex between the spirit "heavenly father" and one of the many spirit "heavenly mothers".
He was created as a spirit through spirit sex, and then created as a human through physical sex when "heavenly father" came down and "did" his OWN DAUGHTER, the suddenly-no-longer-vigin Mary.
It's presposterous, blasphemous and disgusting.
Straight out of Harry Reid's playbook.
Second - it is ‘the Lord’s annointed servant’ Joseph Smith. Notice Smith is the only one with adjectives attached?
Next they will be posting “Praise to the Man”...
That's true. It really is the Church of Joseph Smith and sometimes Christ*.
* Not the Christ of the bible.
Focus on what binds us to Christ not what divides us....
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How can we when the LDS believe in a DIFFERENT CHRIST? Their own prophet said so.
Do not confuse CHRISTIAN unity with Universalism (which includes non-Christians).
I say this a lot, but I used to be Mormon. I know their beliefs, their teachings and how they spin things to make those who know nothing or little about Mormonism think they are Christians.
Don’t fall for their propaganda, please. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about Mormonism (with their own sources).
Makes you wonder what Joseph’s pick up line was?
What’s your sign?
.......................
Joseph to other men’s wives: “Hey, babe! God spoke to me
about YOU!”
Caucus threads are not missionary outreaches; they are closed threads for people of like mind to discuss their beliefs amongst themselves, without being ridiculed.
So when the Catholics here want to discuss some bizarre aspect of their religion, like eating Christ’s body and worrying about dropping crumbs on the floor, they can do so without others making fun of them.
And when Presbyterians want to discuss their strange opinions on God choosing everybody, and all of us being predestined one way or another, they can do so without the free-will’ers laughing at them.
And so on. We all have our particular denominational beliefs, and might well find other beliefs to be bizarre or strange or even blasphemous. But this is a primarily political forum, where we have a common goal of pushing the political conservative movement.
So to the degree we have religious discussions at all, it’s a sidebar to what is advertised as the primary goal of the forum, something that seems to meet the needs of some members for discussing their own peculiar faiths while still being part of the larger whole.
Given the Caucus rules, it would be impossible for your to “battle with the likes” of a relgious group posting caucus threads — no battles are allowed.
“There was no proselytizing just Good Will to counter act all of the anti LDS daily propaganda!”
..........
Resty, all I can tell you is that I began posting in response
to the proselytizing and false claims of Mormonism. This was
at least 5 years ago - maybe more. I only posted in response
to the heresy that was posted.
ampu
Mromon apologist tactics are very much like islamic "lawfare", and the targets are very much the same, people that leave the "religion" are targets #1.
Somebody has got to photoshop a white shirt and missionary tag on the islamic rage boy picture ! :)
Nowhere in the Bible does it say to pray to know truth. Feelings are just that, not objective measurements of truth. That doesn’t mean we aren’t to pray, but we are not to pray to know something that can be objectively discovered. Do you pray to know if gravity is true?
Additionally, Moroni’s promise is a ‘catch 22’. It says you must be sincere, pray with real intent, and have faith in Christ and you will get the answer the the BoM is ‘true’.
So...if you get an answer that it is not, then there must be something wrong with you (either you don’t have faith, you aren’t sincere, no real intent). You get yourself into this point where you keep praying until you convince yourself that it is ‘true’.
It is a common brainwashing technique.
“By obedience and devotion to the truth he attained that pinnacle of intelligence which ranked him as a God, as the Lord Omnipotent, while yet in his pre-existent state.”—Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 129
Resty, I honestly don't get why JimRob hasn't banned you yet. You personally insult him and slander him, both to his face and snidely.
You DO understand you are his GUEST, don't you?
did Joseph Smith poke around with women ( married and teenagers) or not? Seriously...
If you can prove me wrong, then I will apologies to you and every other Mormon here. But if you find that he did, would you start to wonder what kind of prophet would resort to such carnal lust if he had truly been visited by Jesus and God?
At one time I was thinking on becoming a mormon, that was until I did some research on it. Coming to Free Republic saved me and my family from making a big mistake.
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PRAISE GOD!! I used to bemoan my time in the LDS church, but now I can see that God has used my knowledge and experience of the LDS to reach and witness to others and I am humbly grateful for that. All Glory to Him!
Now the guys pulling the curtain strings are a horse of a different color.
LOL!
I am not Mormon and I smoke and I drink
_______________________________________________
Whats smoking and drinking got to do with anything ???
Joey Smith and Briggie Young both drank booze...
Smith smoked while Young denounced it as unhealthy but hew didnt ban it...
But Joey Smith ran a bar in his hotel...
and wrote a doctrine of bathing in the stuff...
and Briggie Young had a monopoly on the beer industry in the Utah territory with his own huge brewery...
and the booze of all kinds flowed at Briggies parties...
and mormon do have to “sustain” Smith anfd Young...
Praise the Lord ! I too was led to salvation by Freeper defenders of Christianity !
Actually, Jim, I think this is consistent with the rules that were discussed when the "new" religion mod took up the mantle.
While caucuses, devotionals, etc., were allowed it was stated at the time that a caucus TITLE or the content of a caucus THREAD could not be worded in such a way as to provoke others. "Joseph Smith: an apostle of Jesus Christ" is a bit of a red flag, wouldn't you think?
"Joseph Smith: founder of the Mormon movement" would be a title that wouldn't provoke. It would just be a statement of fact.
The Relig Mod might remember all this. I'm pretty sure that I do.
Hard to believe these people could imagine this of Christ when His Crucifixtion and Resurrection was all about SAVING the life of those who trust in His finished work.
...Which then it is easy to assume they do not worship the same Christ of Christinaity by any means.....but one who was created and promoted by Joseph Smith... who himself was an occultist.
Equally troubling is how many posters relate of how "nice" and 'pleasant' Mormon people are. Forgetting that the enemy of mens souls masqurades as an angel of light... and so no secret those who follow false and dangerous teachings would also do so. Many Occultists and new Agers also give the impression of being "nice"..."family oriented"..and "friendly".
And least we forget....when satan appeared to Eve he was equally attractive or she would not have given him the time of day.
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