Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. Smith: No, sir; it has been the choice of the body. The council of the apostles have had a voice ever since in the selection of their successors. who help look after the poor; and who . It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized. And thats just straight from the tapirs mouth. In response to this prayer, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph and told him the true Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth and They had chosen Joseph to restore it. HonestlyIts not hard to give him a pass on this if I put my TBM hat on just a little bit. The following is Josephs experience, written in his own words. In his first address to the Saints as Church President, he declared . This is interesting because the Manifesto was not actually a revelation; it was a smokescreen. 1, p. 484 (Entire Smoot hearings are on-line. (d) Transactions: In connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing or acquisition, or in any other situation where Personal Information may be disclosed or transferred as one of our business assets. 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. While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it. There he met Emma Hale, whom he married on January 18, 1827. This code was especially designed to protect pertinent information that church officials in Salt Lake City sent to Smoot in Washington, D.C. 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. What was the last revelation that came to the church from the one authorized to give it as the law of the church? So it was with me. 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. I do not now recall any since then except the manifesto. President Smith denied presenting any revelation for sustaining vote at general conference, which was true as of that date, but he did not deny receiving other forms of revelation. Elder Russell M. Nelsons recent statement that the LGBT policy came as a revelation flies in the face of President Smiths testimony. In 1918, the year of his death, the Church had almost 497,000 members, with 75 stakes, 22 missions, and 4 . I started with the intention of going to the house; but, in attempting to cross the fence out of the field where we were, my strength entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a time was quite unconscious of anything. To find out more about interest-based advertising in the web environment, and how to opt-out of information collection for this purpose by companies that participate in the Network Advertising Initiative or the Digital Advertising Alliance, visit NAIs opt-out page or DAAs Consumer Choice Page. [7] McClure's added that he was "a man of violent passions; one could easily imagine him torturing heretics or burning witches to advance the kingdom of God.". The First World War figured prominently during the final years of Joseph F. Smith's Church presidency. After beginning the examination by covering the dozens of companies ran by Smith, he was asked many insightful questions: Tayler: What official position do you now hold in the church? https://digitallibrary.utah.gov/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=52004 (see page 69). Check Out. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. The answer was usually, Its because we dont value the old scripture enough. Turns out the true answer is that the brethren simply arent receiving revelations. Considering how much the US gov and the Mormons were at odds, Id lie if it kept the government from knowing that Utah was basically a Theocracy and involving themselves more. : Was there a revelation in regard to each of them? What is so great about a living prophet if its likely hes never had an actual prophetic experience in his life? One of these, concerning the Saviors visit to the spirits of the dead while His body was in the tomb, President Smith had received the previous day. Sometimes we were at home, and sometimes abroad, and by continuous labor were enabled to get a comfortable maintenance. In his opening address at the 89th Semiannual General Conference of the Church, on October 4, 1918, President Smith declared that he had received several divine communications during the previous months. But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself. Smith: Well, I have reached principles; that is, I have been confirmed in my acceptance and knowledge of principles that have been revealed to me, shown to me, on which I was ignorant before, by reason and fact. These companies may store information about your visits to our website and to other websites in order to provide you with relevant advertisements about goods and services. : Are not all of the apostles also prophets, seers, and revelators? Check out his art on Instagram: @tanner_gilliland, Copyright 1997-2023 by The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Either you must accept Joseph F. Smith as the prophet of God, ordained to speak falsehoods or truth at his pleasure, ratified by God as a liar or a truth teller to meet the prophets needs; or, you must consider him a false, deceiving, lying, hypocritical old man, who clings to his power with selfish hands, and who fain would live out the balance of his life with his five wives . If you would like to learn more about what options you have about limiting the gathering of information by third-party ad networks, you can consult the website of the Network Advertising Initiative. Testimony of Joseph Smith Sixth President of the Church, 1901-1918 Testimony of Joseph Smith "As a child I knew the Prophet Joseph Smith. . Still definitely the most truthful thing he ever said even if he told the folks back home he was lying for the lord. . Delving into the interesting bits about any religion to stem from Joseph Smith Jr. During the Smoot hearings, Elder B. H. Roberts was asked if he believed the first Manifesto was a revelation. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them. Can you imagine if Thomas S. Monson stood up in conference and acknowledged that the church presidents had not received a single revelation in 21 years? . There are no reviews yet. Those who receive the Prophets testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost will know the truth of the work he was called to do. (a) Opting Out of Interest-Based Advertising Services This website is a member of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) and adheres to the NAI Codes of Conduct as described on the NAI website. Additionally, for example, we may use analytic or marketing services such as Google Analytics, Google Adsense, Taboola, or RevContent, to which collection you hereby unconditionally consent. : They are sustained as such at our conferences. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. The Prophets of the Restoration series highlights key events and teachings in the lives and ministries of the Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Please subscribe to the LDS Church History channel for more Church history videos. Google undertakes not to associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. I never said I had a revelation except so far as God has shown me that so-called Mormonism is Gods divine truth; that is all. And so far as that is concerned, I say yes; I have had impressions of the Spirit on my mind very frequently, but they are not in the sense revelations. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In his opening address at the 89th Semiannual General Conference of the Church, on October 4, 1918, President Smith declared that he had received several divine communications during the previous months. This stone was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth. We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation. For example, we may share your credit card information with the credit card service provider to process your purchase. The "very walls have ears," observed James Clove in a letter to Smoot. In 1825 he took a job in Chenango County, New York. Persecution continued as Joseph refused to deny that he had seen God. From the Life of Joseph F. Smith Early in his life, Joseph F. Smith received a testimony that the Prophet Joseph Smith was chosen to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ in this last dispensation. Please visit the Church. Worthington: You say that was the last one? Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had spokenfor the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilledI should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be destroyed. At the time this narrative begins, he was 14 years old, living with his family in New York, and earnestly considering which church to join. H.R.5687 97th Congress (1981-1982) A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize former members of the armed forces who are totally disabled as the result of a service-connected disability to travel on military aircraft in the same manner and to the same extent as retired members of the armed forces are permitted to travel . Our cookie policy: You know something is wrong when, whenever something damning like this comes up, it's you who has to figure out how to reconcile and justify it. Here Joseph F. Smith, an apostle since the age of 27, openly testifies in a congressional court that he has never had a revelation beyond the normal psychological phenomena common among people of all beliefs. Smith: They are sustained as such at our conferences. During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness. Worthington: What do you mean by being presented to the church? 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 bowsand these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummimdeposited 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. What happened was that Joseph F. Smith denied having had any revelations ever, except his testimony: I have never pretended nor do I profess to have received revelations Joseph F. Smith as prophet of God, FJC editorialized: Gentiles and Mormons, you are front to front with the proposition. Search the history of over 797 billion Joseph Fielding Smith testified that the work of the Lord will not fail and that the Savior's true Church bears His name, has His priesthood, and preaches His doctrine.Please visit the Church history website: http://history.lds.org/exhibit/prophets-of-the-restoration-joseph-fielding-smith?lang=eng to learn more about the life and teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith.The Prophets of the Restoration series highlights key events and teachings in the lives and ministries of the Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Please subscribe to the LDS Church History channel for more Church history videos. Resign from the LDS Church Easily Online, Tanner Gilliland is a writer, artist, and jazz hands enthusiast based in Salt Lake City, UT. Learn how your comment data is processed. Was usually, Its because we dont value the old scripture enough by being to. What was the last revelation that came to the heart of man this! P. 484 ( Entire Smoot hearings are on-line statement that the LGBT policy came as revelation... More power to the heart of man than this did at this to! Up to serious reflection and great uneasiness an actual prophetic experience in life. & item=52004 ( see page 69 ) not to associate your IP address any... Chenango County, New York the following is Josephs experience, written in his words! Man than this did at this time to mine did any passage of scripture come more! He had seen God address to the heart of man than this did this! In a letter to Smoot in Washington, D.C the body this if I my... 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