The Restoration
Stake Conference, General Session, September
22, 2024
One of the
most significant events in history occurred in the Spring of the year
1820. The world was a different place
back then. In 1820 The United States of
America had only been operating under the Constitution for 31 years. James Monroe was serving as the fifth
president of the United States and Maine was admitted as the 23rd
state in the Union.
Internationally,
Britain was still considered the most important power in the world.1 Britain was ruled by King George IV. Following Britain were Russia, France and
Prussia. In early 1820 those countries were
ruled by Czar Alexander I, King Louis XVIII, and King Frederick William III
respectively.
There were
literally only a couple of people in the whole world who would know on that day
what happened. A young boy in a small
town in upstate New York would go into the woods to pray. In the region where this young boy, named
Joseph Smith, lived there had been a great religious fervor. This young boy with an innocent and open mind
wanted nothing more than to know what was true.
He felt confused as he listened to the philosophies of the various
churches so he had determined that we would go into a grove of trees and pray
to our Heavenly Father that He might enlightened his mind and let him know
where he could find God’s truth.
In Joseph
Smith’s own words, this is what happened when he prayed. “I saw a pillar of
light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended
gradually until it fell upon me. When
the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy
all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me,
calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear
Him!”2
God the
Father and His son Jesus Christ had appeared to young Joseph. The Heavens had been opened and God had
descended to call a modern-day prophet in order to commence the restoration of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it had existed at the time of Christ. This event, known only to a few initially,
would be one of the most significant events to prepare the world for the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ.
The
scriptures state that when Christ was upon the earth, and growing up, that he
increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.3 Much the same happened with Joseph Smith over
the next few years. He was only 14 years
old when God appeared to him. He faced
much tribulation over the next several years, but he was growing in
wisdom. In stature, he even became a
tall and strong young man. Eventually,
as he recognized his weaknesses and humbled himself before the Lord, another
heavenly messenger appeared to him. This
time it was a person who identified himself and Moroni. Moroni had been a great prophet in the
Americas anciently and had hidden a record of his people. He told Joseph that he would be instrumental
in translating the ancient record that contained the fullness of the gospel and
would be the means of spreading the gospel throughout the world.
This
translation, which we now have as the Book of Mormon, would be key in the
process of restoring truths to the earth that had been lost after the Savior
was crucified and his early Apostles were killed. In the midst of translating the Book of
Mormon, Joseph learned about baptism. Through
inquiring of the Lord concerning baptism, the Aaronic Priesthood, which held
the authority to baptize, was restored to Joseph by another heavenly messenger,
John the Baptist. Shortly thereafter the
keys of the Melchizedek priesthood were restored through yet another set of
messengers sent from heaven. This time it
was Peter, James, and John, the Lord’s apostles who held this authority
anciently. Throughout the translation of
the Book of Mormon, Joseph learned important truths about the great Plan of
Happiness or the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us here on earth. Other marvelous truths were restored over
time. A church was organized in order to
administer the affairs of the newly restored gospel. Further revelation taught Joseph how to
organize this church and how to manage its affairs. He was taught that he needed to again call
apostles as Christ had done anciently.
He was instructed to spread the word through missionary work and begin
to teach the people of the world that Christ’s true church had been restored to
the earth.
Let’s
consider for a minute the consequences of the Heavenly Visit in 1820 and why it
is the most significant event in the past thousand years
God the
Father and His son Jesus Christ appeared to a young boy and called him as a
prophet. Telling him that we would be
instrumental is restoring the gospel to the earth.
As a
prophet, seer, and revelator, Joseph Smith was able to translate the Book of
Mormon which contains the fullness of the gospel.
As a
prophet, the keys of the priesthood were restored to Joseph Smith. The divine authority could then be passed on
to others directly in an unbroken chain from those Heavenly messengers.
Temple
ordinances and covenants were restored to the earth which further enable man to
repent, follow Jesus Christ, and return to the presence of our Father.
The sealing
power was restored that allowed families to continue in their familial
relationships throughout eternity.
As a
prophet, Joseph Smith could show the world that God could speak to them again
through those with the proper authority.
As this
authority was passed from prophet to prophet, revelation continued to come from
Heaven that was pertinent to our specific time and circumstances.
A firm faith
in and testimony of the events of that Spring day in 1820 lays the foundation
for everything we need in these latter days.
Because of the events of that day, we have a prophet here on the earth
today. We have additional scripture that
teaches of how to return to our Heavenly Father. We have priesthood authority which allows us
to continue in the ordinances and covenants needed to return to Father and to
bless our fellow man here on the earth.
We have everything we need to be exalted.
Now we know
that we will face the fiery darts of the adversary in these latter-days. We will have the philosophies of men heaped
upon us in books, movies. Podcasts, and social media. But, having a testimony of God the Father and
in the atonement of his son Jesus Christ. Having a testimony of the restoration
of the gospel, and a testimony of our current prophets and apostles will be a
foundation upon which we can answer all our questions, combat all our
weaknesses, and find the joy in this life that the savior promises.
Building
from that basic testimony we can know that what the prophets say is the word of
God. We can avoid the confusion and
noise of the world as we hear the philosophies of men trying to teach as truth
things contrary to the word of God. We
can know that even though we feel inadequate we can rely on the Atonement to
help us change our hearts and become better people. We can look to the prophets to teach us that
Discipleship is rarely convenient or in fashion. We can have the courage to stand for what we
know to be true despite ridicule from both inside and outside the church.
From time to
time the prophets of these latter-days have issued proclamations to the
world. In April 2020, in commemoration
of the heavenly vision Joseph Smith received, our current prophet and apostles
issued a new proclamation titled “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World.”
In part this
proclamation reads: We affirm that under the direction of the Father and the
Son, heavenly messengers came to instruct Joseph and re-establish the Church of
Jesus Christ. The resurrected John the Baptist restored the authority to
baptize by immersion for the remission of sins. Three of the original twelve
Apostles—Peter, James, and John—restored the apostleship and keys of priesthood
authority. Others came as well, including Elijah, who restored the authority to
join families together forever in eternal relationships that transcend death.
We
further witness that Joseph Smith was given the gift and power of God to
translate an ancient record: the Book of Mormon—Another Testament of Jesus
Christ.
We
declare that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, … is Christ’s New
Testament Church restored. This Church is anchored in the perfect life of its
chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, and in His infinite Atonement and literal
Resurrection. Jesus Christ has once again called Apostles and has given them
priesthood authority. He invites all of us to come unto Him and His Church, to
receive the Holy Ghost, the ordinances of salvation, and to gain enduring joy.4
As the first
presidency and the quorum of the twelve apostles have proclaimed, the
restoration of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ includes the
authority to baptize, the priesthood authority to perform the ordinances of
salvation, the sealing power, the church as Christ would have it organized, and
the Book of Mormon as another testament of Jesus Christ, along with so much
more.
If we just
consider the Book or Mormon, it is evidence of the prophetic calling of Joseph
Smith. If we come to believe that the
Book of Mormon is true and contains the word of God, we know that only a prophet
of God could have brought that forth.
And if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, then all the other truths that
he restored stand as truth from our Heavenly Father.
There is a
video series, hosted by Scott Christopher, that I have watched that focuses on
evidence for different aspects of the Book of Mormon.5 One episode explores geographic evidence,
another historical evidence, another literary evidence and so forth. But each episode ends with the admonition
that none of this evidence will prove anything for certain. The only way to know for certain that the
Book of Mormon is true is to pray about it and gain a spiritual witness that it
is true. The things of God can only be
learned from God and not from mortal philosophy or experiment.
The prophet
Moroni knew this and ended the book with the admonition to the reader to seek
this spiritual confirmation. Moroni says
in chapter 10 verses 4 and 5, “And when ye shall receive these things, I would
exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if
these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real
intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by
the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the
truth of all things.”6
The only way
to know of the truth of the Book of Mormon is to have that manifest to you by
the power of the Holy Ghost. I know that
for some that manifestation comes at a very powerful moment. For others, that manifestation comes over
time as you read and study. I don’t
think I remember a specific time when I came to know the Book of Mormon was
true. I remember believing it as a youth at some level. Over time as I had experiences with the Book
of Mormon that testimony grew to the point where today I have a very strong
testimony that the Book of Mormon is true and that it can change lives.
There is one
more thing I have learned in Moroni’s admonition. If we back up one verse to verse 3, he says,
“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, … that ye
would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from
the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these
things, and ponder it in your hearts.”
He tells us
that we should remember how merciful the Lord has been and ponder that in our
heart. I find that gratitude and
humility are very closely tied together. As we consider the mercies of the Lord and become
truly grateful for all that he has done, it opens up our hearts. So, in verse 3 he asks us to remember the mercies
of God and in verse 4 he tells us to ask with a sincere heart. I believe that developing the gratitude
spoken of in verse 3 will allow us to have the sincere heart spoken of in verse
4.
One other truth
that we have been taught is that we must remember. Here are a few examples of this teaching from
the Book of Mormon.
·
remember,
remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the commandments of God.
·
And
if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.
·
O,
my beloved brethren, remember my words.
·
And
now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great
knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him,
·
remember,
remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
One might
say, I have read the Book of Mormon many, many times. I have a strong testimony of the Book. Why do I need to keep reading it? It doesn’t ever change. The answer is in remembering. We have just read about this in 3 Nephi
chapter 2. Not many years after an indisputable
sign was given of the Saviors birth we read that, “the people began to forget
those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less
astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be
hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all
which they had heard and seen”7
We need to
make a conscious effort to continue to remember the things we know to be
true. We need to constantly remember the
words of the Book of Mormon and the words of our current prophets. Without daily remembering the words of Christ
we will begin to forget and then become hard in our hearts and blind in our
minds.
Brothers and sisters, I bear testimony to you that God the Father and His son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. I bear testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth in these latter days. I know that Russell M Nelson is a modern-day prophet that gives to us today the words of Christ. I am grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost that makes these things known to me. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_relations_(1814%E2%80%931919)#:~:text=Britain%20continued%20as%20the%20most,defeat%20of%20Mexico%20in%201848.
- Joseph
Smith – History 1:17 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng#p17
- Luke
2:52 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/2?lang=eng#p52
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-restoration-of-the-fulness-of-the-gospel-of-jesus-christ/a-bicentennial-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng#subtitle1
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6030mVPhoaw
- Moroni 10: 4-5 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/moro/10?lang=eng#p4
- 3 Nephi 2:1 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/2?lang=eng#p1
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