Joseph Smith's First Vision

                When the Savior came to live among the inhabitants of the earth, He taught them the fullness of His gospel.  As time passed after His crucifixion, those who held the priesthood necessary to conduct His church in His absence were martyred.  The precious truths of the gospel became corrupted or were lost entirely.

                Heavenly Father wouldn’t allow the population of the world to continue living in ignorance of the fullness of the gospel of truth.  So He used righteous people who loved Him to start laying the foundation for restoring these truths.  Last week’s post focused on many of these acts of God through the hands of men.  All of these culminated in the early 19^th century in the United States of America.

                At this time and in this place, the various religions were highly active in attempting to convert the populations of the United States to their faith.  The various communities became divided between differing religions.  The believers of each religion would often find themselves contending with believers of another religion.  It was in this atmosphere that a young boy named Joseph Smith, Jr., found himself torn with indecision.

                Joseph Smith, Jr., was born to parents that loved their Heavenly Father and taught him that He should as well.  This family honored the Holy Bible, knowing it to be a precious gift of God.  Joseph was no exception.  He constantly searched the pages of this holy writ.  Young Joseph and his family wanted to please God and live as He would have them live.

                So, when Joseph heard the various religions contending with each other and sharing differing opinions about the same scriptures, he became very distraught.  He was certain they couldn’t all be right.  In fact, only one of them could be.  But how was he to know which one?  He spent hours, days, weeks, pondering upon this very matter.  He knew this was vitally important to the salvation of his soul.

                While he was pondering upon this matter, Joseph was studying the scriptures.  He came upon a verse that struck him to the core.  It seemed to speak to his very need.  This verse, found in James 1:5, read, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

                Joseph certainly lacked wisdom.  So why shouldn’t he ask of God?  He spent some time pondering upon this scripture and finally determined to do just as it suggested.  He would ask of God.  So he determined to retire to a grove of trees to ask this most important question.  And he did just that.

                Lucifer, the father of lies, knew what was about to happen, and he was determined to prevent it.  So it was that Lucifer exercised every ounce of power he had to seize Joseph and try to stop him.  The power of Lucifer and his wicked hosts is very real, and Joseph had to face it.  But the testimony of Joseph’s parents, and the many hours he had devoted to studying the scriptures and learning of God, had prepared Joseph to place his trust in Him.  So Joseph prayed for help.  And he got it.

                The Heavens opened.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared unto Joseph.  And Lucifer departed.  It was here, in this sacred grove, that Joseph learned the truth about God.  It was here that he learned that, though the religions of the world contained many precious truths, none of them contained the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  And it was here that he learned he would play an important role in restoring the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

                You may suppose this story can’t be true because miracles no longer happen.  Yet I know that if you search your heart, you will find you hope they do happen.  You hope they will happen for you.  Hope is the beginning of faith.  So let your hope grow into faith.  Let your hope that miracles happen compel you to ask God if miracles do happen.  Let yourself hope that God loves us enough that He would answer a prayer of faith from a young boy asking which church is true.  You will find that God will answer you and tell you He does still work in miracles, and He did give a miracle to Joseph Smith and answered his prayer. 

You may suppose this story can’t possibly be true because Joseph was merely a teenage boy.  Certainly Heavenly Father wouldn’t give a vision to a mere boy, let alone entrust this important mission to a mere boy.  Yet if you search the scriptures you will find evidence that God does just that.  Study the life of Samuel the prophet who was called in the temple when he was merely a boy.  Study the life of Joseph, who had visions in his youth that caused his brothers to hate him and sell him into Egypt.  The scriptures contain records of God working through youth to bring about His works.

I know that Joseph received the visions of which he spoke.  He truly saw God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus the Christ.  He truly heard from the mouth of Jesus the Gospel Head that none of the churches of the time contained His gospel.  And Joseph was truly called to restore the fullness of the gospel in these the latter days. 

That gospel was restored.  The priesthood keys necessary for revelation and the guidance of the true church were restored.    The truth about the nature and characteristics of God were restored.  And we live in a world where these truths will never again be removed from the earth, for God Himself has promised it.

Remember that the words of Isaiah, Malachi, John the Beloved, and many other ancient prophets testified of these things.  In the Book of Mormon, Nephi and many of the prophets of ancient America testified of these things.  And in our time, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and many other prophets all the way down to Thomas S. Monson, have testified of these things.  The gospel has been restored.

For a more complete outline of the history behind the restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, please read "Joseph Smith's--History".  This history can be found in The Pearl of Great Price.  You can also find this history at the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which can be found in the links to the left.  When you get to the website, click on the Menu at the top of the page.  Then select scriptures from the list of options.  Then click on the Pearl of Great Price link in the left margin and select "Joseph Smith--History".

People of Faith and the Reformation

     Two weeks ago my blog entry focused on the conditions of general apostasy that have often fallen upon the world and discussed God's answer to these conditions of apostasy.  Last week I shared the events that led to what members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call the great apostasy. 
     During this team the prophets of God who held the priesthood keys that gave authority to receive revelation from God on behalf of the world were killed and withdrawn from the earth.  The priesthood keys were lost with them.  Without these keys to guide the masses in interpreting the messages of the scriptures, the truths about God and His laws became corrupted.
     Fortunately the effort of righteous people of many faiths kept the knowledge of Jesus Christ alive.  These people also helped preserve the records of the Holy Bible.  For centuries these messages were carried to the populations of the world through the efforts of the Catholic church.  No one can deny the great debt we owe the Catholic religion and its people for the preservation of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the sacrifices He made.
     Unfortunately, the Catholic religion didn't contain all of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The truth about the Holy Trinity, the true nature of God, the characteristics of God, and many of the ordinances of the gospel instituted by Jesus Christ as He walked the earth had been lost or corrupted.  But the Lord started preparing the way for the full restoration of these truths.
    The efforts of many people in the history of the world were instrumental to bringing about the restoration of these truths.  Christopher Columbus was one such person.  Since his early childhood, he felt the stirrings of the Spirit of the Lord within him.  They drove him to learn the mariner's art and seek for funding for oceanic exploration.  He received that funding and found the American continents, where religion could have a fresh start from the harsh religious states of the European nations.  Here in the American continents religion would have the ability to blossom and grow.
     The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg and the translation efforts of Saint Jerome, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, and Erasmus of Rotterdam brought the Holy Bible to the average person, allowing everybody to study the precious messages of the gospel.  At the same time, reformers, such as an John Calvin, Jan Hus, William of Occam, and Martin Luther started seeing there were missing doctrines of truth and led the great Reformation.  This led the pilgrims to travel the paths Christopher Columbus traveled and come to America for religious freedom.
     Then the American continents declared independence from Great Britain and won their war for freedom.  The leaders of the nation met together to draw up the Constitution of The United States of America.  This historic document granted religious freedom to the inhabitants of America.
     God had a hand in every step of this process.  Through it all He was setting the stage for restoring the fullness of His gospel.  Through it all He was guiding righteous people to seek for Him.  These people were people of faith who believed God would protect them as they sought Him.  And He did.  He responded to their faith.  And because of their faith in Him, He was able to direct them to lay the foundation for religious freedom necessary to bring back the priesthood keys and restore the truths of the gospel.

The Great Apostasy

     The last post discussed the conditions of apostasy and how Heavenly Father responds to these conditions.  As discussed there have been many times when the children of men have fallen into conditions of apostasy.  Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognize one of these times as the Great Apostasy. 
     As we know Jesus came to earth as the son of Mary.  During His sojourn, He taught the messages of His gospel to the inhabitants of the lands around Jerusalem.  He called and ordained twelve apostles to lead His church when He no longer walked upon the earth.  He gave these men the Holy Priesthood, which is the authority to act in the place of Jesus Christ with the power of God.  Then came the day of His crucifixion.  Shortly thereafter He broke the bonds of death by taking up His physical body again and becoming the Resurrected Lord. 
     He then appeared unto many people, including Mary Magdalene, the twelve apostles, and a few others.  He demonstrated His resurrected condition and charged these individuals with the responsibility of teaching the inhabitants of the earth the messages of His gospel.
     The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ teaches that Jesus also appeared unto the inhabitants of the American continent after His resurrection.  He called and ordained twelve ministers in America to lead in sharing the messages of truth just as the Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem would do.  These men were also given the priesthood.  In Jerusalem, the Twelve Apostles and any other minister called to the work of teaching the gospel were successful, especially among the Gentiles, even though they faced harsh persecution.  In America, however, the people accepted their Lord and lived in peace.
     Both of these nations recorded the ministry of the Lord to their people.  This record in the areas around Jerusalem would become known as the New Testament.  In America, this record became a part of The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  These books of scripture were priceless to both nations. 
     Unfortunately, persecution lead to the martyrdom of the Apostles in the Jewish regions.  As these just men were martyred so quickly it became impossible to pass the Holy Priesthood on to others under the authority of Jesus Christ.  So the Holy Priesthood of Jesus Christ was lost. 
     With the loss of the Holy Priesthood, the remaining leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ found many differing interpretations of the Holy Scriptures testifying of Jesus Christ.  Such events as the Council of Nicaea were held in order to reconcile the differing opinions.  Many precious truths of the true gospel of Jesus Christ were lost, such as the truth about the individuality of the three members of the Holy Trinity, the true nature and personality of God, and the truth about the physical bodies of the Father and the Son. 
     Meanwhile, in America, the people started willfully rejecting the truths of the gospel.  The people even started slaughtering the people of God, hunting them until they became extinct.  So, the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, meaning all the important truths needed in order to follow the path set out by Jesus Christ, were lost from the earth.  The Holy Priesthood of God was also lost.  So it was that a state of apostasy descended upon the entire world.
     Fortunately, there were many who tried to hold true to the truth of the gospel through the Catholic Religion.  It's true that at many times leaders of this religion did wicked things in the name of God.  But a large number of people tried to hold true to what truths they had through this wonderful religion.  Through this religion God kept the path open to restore the fullness of the gospel in later times.  My next blog will turn to the history of just men who helped restore the truth.

Conditions of Apostasy

     Throughout the scriptures, we find many times when the children of God had lost the true gospel of Jesus Christ and fallen into a state of apostasy.  Sometimes this was done willfully, as with the Sadducees and pharisees at the time Jesus came to walk upon the earth with mortal men.  Sometimes it was done unintentionally, as with many of the people at the time of Noah and the flood.  Whatever the case, it happened many times throughout the history of the world as recorded in the Holy Bible.
     Some of these times include the time of Noah, the time of Abraham, the time of Isaiah, the time of Jeremiah and his contemporaries, and the time of Malachi in the Old Testament.  In the New Testament, Christ comes to Israel when many had fallen into apostasy and few followed His gospel.  He restored the truth of His gospel while walking among the children of men.
     The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, also demonstrates this condition.  The majority of the population of the world fell into this state of apostasy at the time of the Tower of Babel.  Because of this, Jared and his family were separated from the rest of the people because they were faithful to God, continuing to have faith and hope in their Redeemer. 
     Many generations later, the descendants of Jared and his family also fell into a state of apostasy.  Their apostate condition became so severe that Heavenly Father withdrew His Spirit from among them.  The entire nation was destroyed in war as Lucifer, the great destroyer, fed upon their lusts for power.
     The Nephites and Lamanites, who inhabited the American continents after the Jaredites, came to America because of apostate conditions in Israel that would have resulted in the death of Lehi, the father of these two great nations.  The Lamanite nation fell into a state of apostasy from almost the moment they came to America, and most of their history is lived in this condition. 
     The Nephites, on the other hand had the gospel of Jesus Christ through much of their existence.  They fell into apostasy many times throughout their history, but would return with either the call of the prophets, or the call of death and destruction, depending on their level of resistance.  Ultimately, however, both nations fell into a state of apostasy that resulted in the destruction of the Nephites and the loss of the gospel light in the lives of the Lamanites.
     As we study these many occasions of apostasy, we find one common response the Lord made.  In every instance, the Lord sent prophets to testify to the people of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.  If the people heeded the call of the Lord's prophets, they came back to His ways and were spared from destruction.  Study the life of King Hezekiah in the book of Isaiah to learn of this.  So prophets were always the first response to apostasy.  And as long as the people were righteous these prophets were present to help keep them on the path of God.
     However, when the people became so wicked that they rejected the prophets, the Lord would allow death and destruction to fall upon them.  Sometimes He would even withdraw His prophets from among them because of the magnitude of their apostate condition.  If this was the case, He would allow them to suffer in apostasy until they had become humble enough for His truth to be restored.  He would then send prophets again to bring the people back to the truth through their testimony.
     So, by studying the apostasies of the scriptures, we can learn that God taught His gospel to the people through prophets in order to call them back to Him.  In my next blog entry, I will focus on what members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognize as the great apostasy.