I baptized him first, and afterwards he baptized meafter 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 Priesthoodfor so we were commanded. Do you mean in the beginning? See also, Hinckley, claiming on Larry King that we don't teach the God was a man, we can become God thing. The Deseret News carried full reports of general conference at the time of the revelation. A third-party website called aboutcookies.org has been setup to help you with instructions how you can do that on various browsers. 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 . that he has never had an experience like Alma the Younger (you know, having a vision, seeing angels, or seeing Christ), and that he didnt know a single one of the 15 brethren who had either. 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. (c) Statistical Analysis: We may share Non-Personal Information and aggregated information with third parties, including but not limited to for advertising or marketing purposes. (0:44) Preparation of Joseph F. Smith: True Blue, Through and Through Joseph F. Smith faces an unruly mob and declares fearlessly his membership in the Church. Its not a stretch to think there may have been some gamesmanship here, especially considering Smoot was an apostle. Regardless, lying on trial to the United States rather than using ones heavenly power Bullshit. Hell that is the absolute central teaching of Mormonism! One of the witnesses summoned to testify was President Joseph F. Smith. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? The teachings of Jesus Christ in the Bible have long been a source of inspiration for mankind. : I have never pretended to nor do I profess to have received revelations. Smith: Perhaps I may say in this way: Chosen by the body, the twelve themselves, by and with the consent and approval of the first presidency. On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it? Joseph Smith was such a prophet. During the Smoot hearings, Elder B. H. Roberts was asked if he believed the first Manifesto was a revelation. I think this part of the conversation has direct relevance to what has happened with the churchs policy on LGBT families. He answered honestly that he did not believe it to be a revelation.) 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. . 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. LDS.org Gospel Topics Essays At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. As a member of the church, I frequently wondered why we werent receiving new scripture. A few weeks before his death, President Smith received an important revelation that now appears as Doctrine and Covenants 138. This website may permit third parties to collect information on its Site and combine that information with other information collected on non-affiliated websites or applications over time. Let that sink in for a minute. Smith: I do not now recall any since then except the manifesto. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.. But what was my surprise when again I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before; and added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my fathers family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1825 he took a job in Chenango County, New York. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, I participated in the motion to include in the Doctrine and Covenants section 138the vision of President Smith in 1918. Put all of your faith in us, the Q15 (because we are God's mouthpiece), even though we admit that we have never received revelations, just "impressions" and "good feelings." In A.D. 421 the prophetMoroni buried sacredrecords of his people inthe Hill Cumorah. You can opt out of participating in interest-based advertising networks but opting out does not mean you will no longer receive online advertising. What is so great about a living prophet if its likely hes never had an actual prophetic experience in his life? Thank you, Alice Watson Joseph worked a number of jobs and provided a comfortable living for his family. They do not associate your interaction with unaffiliated sites with your identity in providing you with interest-based ads. . During this exchange, then, Joseph F. Smith was essentially being examined as a "hostile witness." Tayler: Do you get that title by reason of being president or by reason of having been an apostle? Moroni returned once ayear for four years andfurther instructed theyoung prophet. Definition of a Modest Living Allowance, What happened was that Joseph F. Smith denied having had any revelations ever, except his testimony, LDS Church and Same Sex Marriage Timeline, The Pump LDS film and the original source, Ethan Smith, Hyrum Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Solomon Spaulding connections. Any attempt to judge Joseph F. Smith's complete beliefs and experiences about revelation from these hearings are, then, doomed to being incomplete. How are the apostles selected? A vision given to President JosephF. Smith in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 3, 1918. For example, we use cookies, which contains only certain statistical information. Smith: In the first place they were chosen by revelation. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.. He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He replied to me that it was of God, and told me to go and do as commanded by the messenger. . On September 21, 1823, after retiring to bed, Joseph prayed to know his standing before the Lord. That is, President Smith is replying about revelation which has been formally canonized. It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized. The purport of the revelation was calling to the apostolate or apostleship two men, who are named in the revelation. FAIR is controlled and operated by the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR), Smoot Hearings, Vol. 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 destructionnot 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 beingjust 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. On the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and standing before him; for I had full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had one. 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 soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges to keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had said that when I had done what was required at my hand, he would call for them. Smith: Well, according to my best recollection, it must have been about 1882. Looking To Cancel Or Unsubscribe From CB SYSPAY FACT Does The Designer. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. 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. Advertisers and other third-parties (including the ad networks, ad-serving companies, and other service providers they may use) may assume that users who interact with or click on a personalized ad or content are part of the group that the ad or content is directed towards (for example, readers in the Pacific Northwest who read certain types of articles). We invite you to give back. I remember when he said that! 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. Whatever anyone thinks of polygamy, he created the culture of aggression (so called "discipline") towards the members that is at the core of a lot of suffering. 2015 Zelph on the Shelf. That time span includes the entire presidencies of Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow. CES Letter Hear Him!. These companies may employ cookies and other identifiers to gather information which measures advertising effectiveness. Worthington: What do you mean by being presented to the church? It's pretty funny when you look at the preface to 138 and his congressional testimony side by side. Reed Smoot, a Senator from the State of Utah, to Hold His Seat 2, Proceedings Before the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the United States Senate in the Matter of the Protests Against the Right of Hon. Well, over 100 years ago, Joseph F. Smith burst that bubble. Worthington: Who was the president through whom that revelation came? Smith: They are sustained as such at our conferences. Let me read just a small portion of it. In compliance with the European Union legislation, we inform you that our website will store some information about your preferences on your own computer inside a tiny file called a cookie. Smith: I am now the president of the church. TSCC definitely had incentive to see him seated in the senate. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. on April 6, 1830. Tayler: They can say it? FairMormon (LDS apologists) That record is the Bookof Mormon. I think this part of the conversation has direct relevance to what has happened with the churchs policy on LGBT families. Every time an apostle speaks anywhere, members of the church go full-on fan girl, tripping over themselves to hear from a mouthpiece of the Lord. What they fail to realize is that an apostle isnt half a furlong better at receiving revelation than the lowest member of the church. 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. Joseph F. Smith, "Testimony Bearing . These cookies are not used for any purpose other than those described here. Now to have full context you have to understand that the mormons believed at that time, that it was no sin to lie to the federal government and so this is probably Joseph F. Smith lying through his teeth, knowing all the members would understand it. : They are sustained as such at our conferences. A seven-year-old son died in September 1841. 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 prophet's 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 For mankind before his death, President Smith received an important revelation that now appears as Doctrine and 138..., which is it, and baptized churchs policy on LGBT families when you look the! 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