joseph smith story lds
We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation. He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. Called upon My Servant Joseph, Gentleness and Meekness and Love Unfeigned, The Church of Jesus Christ Restored Gallery, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. on April 6, 1830. That record is the Book of Mormon. The angel Moroni appeared to him. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom. Robert N. Hullinger, in his book: Joseph Smith’s Response to Skepticism, cites a personal interview Emma Smith-Bidamon gave to a committee of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1879. The Joseph Smith Story by Joseph Smith From The History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Biographical note: Joseph Smith (1805-44), born in Sharon, Vermont, received a visitation from the Father and the Son in the spring of 1820. If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it? I shortly after arose from my bed, and, as usual, went to the necessary labors of the day; but, in attempting to work as at other times, I found my strength so exhausted as to render me entirely unable. The Greatest Gospel Dispensation of All Time, The Rise of the Church of Christ in These Last Days, The Priesthood of God Returns to the Earth, We Need the Temple More Than Anything Else, I the Lord . Crucial visions received by the Prophet Joseph Smith are the source of many cardinal doctrines and teachings of the Latter-day Saints. In making this confession, no one need suppose me guilty of any great or malignant sins. Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. He stated to me that having been teaching school in the neighborhood where my father resided, and my father being one of those who sent to the school, he went to board for a season at his house, and while there the family related to him the circumstances of my having received the plates, and accordingly he had come to make inquiries of me. On the 5th day of April, 1829, Oliver Cowdery came to my house, until which time I had never seen him. According to Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, in 1823 the angel Moroni guided him to some golden plates buried on a hill near to where he lived. THE FIRST VISION. He and five associates formally organized the Church at Fayette, New York, on 6 April 1830. The Joseph Smith Story. Thus, the plates are foundational to the Mormon religion. 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 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 over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. In accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. 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. While deciding which church to join, Joseph turned to the Bible for guidance. Joseph Smith’s famous leg surgery was actually the fourth in a series of surgeries. The word Mormon originally derived from the Book of Mormon, a religious text published by Smith as "Another Testament of Jesus Christ". He shares his story. My father, who was laboring along with me, discovered something to be wrong with me, and told me to go home. Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario county, New York, stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in the neighborhood. It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized. No sooner had I baptized Oliver Cowdery, than the Holy Ghost fell upon him, and he stood up and prophesied many things which should shortly come to pass. He then again related unto me all that he had related to me the previous night, and commanded me to go to my father and tell him of the vision and commandments which I had received. Nevertheless, Smith told the story to his family, friends, and acquaintances, and many of them provided second-hand accounts. And one to which Joseph Smith, prophet and seer of the Mormon Church, has given his own peculiar interpretation. Joseph Smith, originally Joseph Smith, Jr., (born December 23, 1805, Sharon, Vermont, U.S.—died June 27, 1844, Carthage, Illinois), American prophet and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.. Smith apparently collected these plates, took them home, and subsequently translated them into the Book of Mormon which he then published in 1830. He replied to me that it was of God, and told me to go and do as commanded by the messenger. 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. Mormon historian Barrett relates how Cowdery was excommunicated in 1838 for (among other things) attempting to “destroy the character of President Joseph Smith,” for selling his own land in defiance of one of Smith’s down-to-earth “revelations,” and for disgracing the church by his dishonest business practices (Barrett, p.370). He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter; and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and that afterwards he should baptize me. His head and neck were also bare. On the twenty-second day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, 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; but that if I would use all my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should call for them, they should be protected. 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. My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. Moroni returned once a year for four years and further instructed the young prophet. Printed in the United States of America. After Joseph finished, other people were privileged to see the gold plates. From that day, Joseph labored in God’s service, working to establish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to build up God’s kingdom on earth in the latter days. But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself. The Book of Mormon, first printed in 1830, is currently being published in more than 80 languages worldwide. (CNN) — The founder of the Mormon church, Joseph Smith, wed as many as 40 wives, including some who were already married and one as young as 14 years old, the church acknowledged in a … Joseph Smith’s Character. Although Joseph accomplished many things during his life, most important was his commitment to being a disciple and witness of Jesus Christ. She crossed the Mississippi river on foot with four children in the middle of winter. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; 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. “I was called of my Heavenly Father to lay the foundation of this great work and kingdom in this dispensation, and testify of His revealed will to scattered Israel.” He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants; Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book. Joseph Smith Devoted members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints honor its founder, Joseph Smith, with saint-like reverence. Joseph Smith: A Prophet of God When Joseph Smith was 14 years old, he wanted to know which church he should join, so he asked God in sincere prayer. Joseph Smith was the founder and first president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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. Every stratagem that could be invented was resorted to for that purpose. Two days after the arrival of Mr. Cowdery (being the 7th of April) I commenced to translate the Book of Mormon, and he began to write for me. We still continued the work of translation, when, in the ensuing month (May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. … I often said to myself: What is to be done? American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith offers a fascinating portrait of a man whose name has indeed been had for good and evil among all nations. Smith is the only source for a great deal of the story because much of it occurred while he was the only human witness. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me. In April 1829 Joseph Smith, with Oliver Cowdery as scribe, began to translate the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me. He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise. . The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—“This is My Beloved Son. The Lord Jesus Christ called Joseph Smith as a prophet to prepare the way for His coming in glory. By Mark Grote 2004 Born on December 23, 1805, Joseph Smith could run faster, throw farther and jump higher than the other kids in Sharon, Vermont.If you tour the sites in Nauvoo, IL., the place of his death, that’s what you’ll hear of Joseph Smith as you move about the historical landmarks. Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65: “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn to Their Fathers”. They can also know the peace and happiness that come through the Savior Jesus Christ, whom Joseph Smith worshipped and served. The first thing that I can recollect was a voice speaking unto me, calling me by name. After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him; when, instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance. I lay musing on the singularity of the scene, and marveling greatly at what had been told to me by this extraordinary messenger; when, in the midst of my meditation, I suddenly discovered that my room was again beginning to get lighted, and in an instant, as it were, the same heavenly messenger was again by my bedside. A disposition to commit such was never in my nature. The opposition that made Joseph and Emma Smith’s marriage special LDS Living - In 2 Nephi 2 , we read, “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.” When it comes to relationships, having opposite personality traits can sometimes be a point of conflict or stress. Having related these things, he again ascended as he had done before. I baptized him first, and afterwards he baptized me—after which I laid my hands upon his head and ordained him to the Aaronic Priesthood, and afterwards he laid his hands on me and ordained me to the same Priesthood—for so we were commanded. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join. The latter story seems to provide a stronger case. 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