Joseph Smith

 I've shared what I think and believe about a variety of topics on my blog before, from The Book of Mormon to the standards I choose to live to Jesus Christ, but I have yet to write about my thoughts on Joseph Smith and the history of the Church.

And since that is all that has been consuming my every thought for a little while now I thought I'd write it down to maybe put it somewhere else besides the very front of my mind.

Not to convince anyone else of what they should think and feel, but to help me better understand what I think and feel for myself.

Someone recently said to me, "You have to trust me that what we know would make you see the Church differently at the least."

And I wonder what it is that this person thinks they know that I do not?

Because I am not a blind follower. I didn't just take my parent's word for it when it came to my own testimony and what I believe. I have been open to learning.

My best friend growing up was Presbyterian and I visited her church a number of times. I visited another friends Lutheran church and I've been to a Catholic mass. I learned a little about Seventh Day Adventist from another high school friend, a sliver about Islam from my cousin and about a number of other religions on my mission in Brasil.
When it comes to my religion, I have read the "sugar coated" Gospel Topics Essays published on lds.org, more than once. And I have read a not at all sugar coated article on 'Mormon Faith Crisis', (which is as anti as I will go) I have read the book 'When Mormon's Doubt' (which is awesome!) and I just finished reading a cultural biography of Joseph 
Smith, Rough Stone Rolling.

But I haven't stopped my study at merely feeding my doubts or what will answer only secondary questions. 
(Lawrence Corbridge of the Seventy gave an awesome talk,
Stand Forever, about primary vs. secondary questions. As part of an assignment, he had to read a great deal of material antagonistic to the Church. There isn't much of it that he hasn't read.
"Answers to the primary questions do not come by answering the secondary questions. There are answers to the secondary questions, but you cannot prove a positive by disproving every negative. You cannot prove the Church is true by disproving every claim made against it. That will never work. It is a flawed strategy. Ultimately there has to be affirmative proof, and with the things of God, affirmative proof finally and surely comes by revelation through the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost. Ultimately the things of God are made known by the Spirit of God, which is usually a still, small voice.
We may not know the answer to every question, we must know the answers to the primary questions.")

I have tried to search out sources that feed my faith and help me grow spiritually (through feeling the Spirit and having experiences with the Lord) by learning and applying the basic doctrine that will ultimately improve my life, my spirituality and my relationship with God.

So I have read and re-read The Book of Mormon, Jesus the Christ, Hearing the Voice of the Lord, The Infinite Atonement, the Continuous Atonement, Putting on the Armor of God, The Miracle of Forgiveness, all the conference talks since I've been married, etc. These sources help me answer the primary questions.

And when I hear others say that the Church has lied to them or systematically hid information, I just don't see that from my personal experiences.

Everything I have read about the Church history and Joseph Smith were things that I have already known. I learned these things in seminary and institute. I knew that Joseph Smith was a polygamist and a mason. I know about Mountain Meadows Massacre and that Blacks were denied the Priesthood, all things we believe are not right anymore.

When I read that there are "significant" differences in the First Vision accounts, I don't see that either. I have read all of them and they are very similar to me. If they had all been exactly the same people would argue that it was a rehearsed and memorized lie so Joseph's credibility is whatever anyone wants to see in it either way.

When there are arguments about whether or not Joseph Smith used the Urim and Thumim to translate the Book of Mormon or a seer stone I wonder what does it matter? The point is that he used some divine instrument and DID translate the Book of Mormon. ELEVEN witnesses saw the gold plates and none of them ever denied it, even after being excommunicated from the Church.

Joseph Smith was a regular, human guy. Members who put him up on a level of perfection near Jesus Christ are wrong. He was here being tested, to learn and grow like the rest of us. He went through his own trial and error period and He too had to learn about faith and recognizing the voice of the Spirit. There was a steep learning curve for very imperfect people, making big changes not only in their religion, but also in their culture. "Imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we." -Elder Holland. I guess the way I am able to reconcile his flaws are by separating the man Joseph from the prophet Joseph. To me they are two separate things. I rely on the answers I receive from the Spirit of God because I am never going to have all of the information in this life and the Spirit of God is the only way to know truth.

Elder Uchtdorf said, "Sometimes we think of the Restoration of the gospel as something that is complete, already behind us—Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, he received priesthood keys, the Church was organized. In reality, the Restoration is an ongoing process; we are living in it right now. It includes “all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal,” and the “many great and important things” that “He will yet reveal.” Brethren, the exciting developments of today are part of that long-foretold period of preparation that will culminate in the glorious Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ."

 In this process the Church progresses. This is a living, breathing Church. The policies change, but the doctrine of Christ does not. “Though his prophet is mortal, God will not let him lead his church astray." -Wilford Woodruff even though the truth will always be opposed.

I love what the Church stands for TODAY. I love the way it helps facilitate the relationship I have with my Savior and helps me study His teachings. Nothing in the Church's history affects the personal relationship I have with MY Savior now or the blessings that living His gospel brings to my family.

The Church, the people and the prophet are not perfect. What is perfect is Jesus Christ, His gospel, His doctrine and His plan of happiness for us. I'm not going to change my life based on any other one person, unless it is Jesus Christ. My testimony revolves around Him being my Savior and what I believe He wants for me. I need His light in my life.
So even though everything inside of the Church is not perfect, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is still the most perfect Church on the earth because it is Christ's. I guess for me the question isn't whether the Church is "true" cause semantics play into what that word means to different people, but whether the Church contains a fullness of Christ's gospel, built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20), which I believe that it does. How the fullness of Christ's gospel was restored, is far less important than the fact that it has been restored.

 The purpose of Church on Sunday isn't to fill us spiritually for the rest of the week or the rest of our lives. We are commanded to "feast upon the words of Christ" which means that our spirituality is our responsibility outside of learning at Church. We need to take control of our learning, because it's not the Church's job to teach us everything we need to know and feel for our spirituality. It's not the Church's job to provide us with our own relationship with the Savior. We go to church to simply renew our covenants by partaking of the sacrament. Praying and studying the scriptures are all up to you.

I remember being on my mission when everything just seemed to really click about the gospel and the Plan of Salvation. I had learned about all the different parts, but until my mission I hadn't completely put together how the gospel all connects and makes so much sense and works and is so simple! Beautifully simple.

Because of the fall we die physically and spiritually. Because of Christ's Atonement we will be resurrected and can repent of our sins, saving us from both physical and spiritual death. That is how God's plan is perfect. It takes care of everything.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion, the laying on of hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost, endure to the end. Simple.  
Families sealed together forever, work for the dead, personal revelation, Priesthood; simply beautiful.

One of my most favorite talks ever is Safety For The Soul by Elder Holland. Although hearing him speak it is much more powerful than just reading it! Gives me goosebumps when I watch it.

"As one of a thousand elements of my own testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, I submit this as yet one more evidence of its truthfulness. In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth?

Never mind that their wives are about to be widows and their children fatherless. Never mind that their little band of followers will yet be “houseless, friendless and homeless” and that their children will leave footprints of blood across frozen rivers and an untamed prairie floor. Never mind that legions will die and other legions live declaring in the four quarters of this earth that they know the Book of Mormon and the Church which espouses it to be true. Disregard all of that, and tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as imposters and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that! They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

For 179 years this book has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart like perhaps no other book in modern religious history—perhaps like no other book in any religious history. And still it stands. Failed theories about its origins have been born and parroted and have died—from Ethan Smith to Solomon Spaulding to deranged paranoid to cunning genius. None of these frankly pathetic answers for this book has ever withstood examination because there is no other answer than the one Joseph gave as its young unlearned translator. In this I stand with my own great-grandfather, who said simply enough, “No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so.”

So I will praise the prophet Joseph Smith for giving His life for Christ's gospel, for bringing forth the Book of Mormon, for his faith to ask God and his courage to face persecution, for never denying what he knew was true. He was a prophet of God. An imperfect person, but a prophet of God nonetheless. He was an instrument to do God's work and I am grateful that he did, because Christ's gospel has changed my life for the best. The revelations that The Prophet Joseph Smith revealed came from heaven.

I believe that Faith is a choice. Believing is a choice that each of us has to make. Every single day. The first step is just desiring to believe. "Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek it and hold on to it. Faith does not come by chance, but by choice. Faith never demands an answer to every question but seeks the assurance and courage to move forward, sometimes acknowledging, “I don’t know everything, but I do know enough to continue on the path of discipleship.”-Elder Anderson
I loved the movie The Case For Christ and even wrote about some of my favorite parts in this blog post.
"Even is disbelief you take a leap of faith"

In this talk by Sheri Dew, Will You Engage In The Wrestle?, she asks,

"Do you want a testimony?

Are you willing to work for it?

Just because you have questions doesn't mean you don't have a testimony.

None of us are entitled to revelation without effort on our part. Answers from God don't just magically appear. If we want to grow spiritually, the Lord expects us to ask questions and seek answers.

We all have questions. May I answer your questions by posing a question: Are you willing to engage in the wrestle? In an ongoing spiritual wrestle?

Spiritual wrestling leverages the strength of true doctrine to overpower our weaknesses, our wavering faith, and our lack of knowledge. Spiritual wrestlers are seekers. They are men and women of faith who want to understand more than they presently do and who are serious about increasing the light and knowledge in their lives.  

But "doubting not" does not mean understanding everything.            

When questions arise or when blessings you've been pleading for remain unfulfilled, they are not an indication that you don't have a testimony or that the gospel isn't true. They are an invitation for you to grow spiritually." 

To quote someone else that I love, "I may have my questions, but I don't have any doubts. I know this is the true Church." 

I get that truth is complicated, man do I get that, but "If I am honest with myself, I must admit that the Spirit has touched me more than once and the testimony of the Spirit is real." -Elder Christofferson

There is no way I could ever doubt the Spirit I have felt, the experiences I have had or the answers I have received. The only way to know truth is to ask God.

God Lives.

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

The Book of Mormon testifies of Him.

 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is His restored church upon the earth today, containing the fullness of His gospel.

Teaching me what God requires of me for my happiness and my salvation.