The Restoration: Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon
October 15, 2009 by DH
Filed under LDS Beliefs
The Restoration Through the Prophet Joseph Smith
In 1820, in upstate New York, in the United States, God selected a prophet to RESTORE the true Church of Jesus Christ again on earth. Imagine you buy an old car, which is run down and beat up, which many years ago was the car of its day. You decide to restore it to its original form. So you work at it, and eventually put it all back together, just as it was before. That is the meaning of a restoration.
Beginning in 1820, God began the restoration of the truth, the true way, the true doctrine, the true gospel, the true church. Joseph Smith was a young boy of 14 years, who earnestly desired to find the true church among so many in his city. He eventually read a scripture in James that instructed him to ask God if he lacked wisdom. That is what he did, in the spring of 1820 he went to a grove of trees near his house and prayed, asking God which church was true. In a miraculous apparition, he was visited by God the Eternal Father, and Jesus Christ, the resurrected Lord. (You can watch “The Restoration” in the Mormon Videos section.).
They instructed him concerning his question, telling him that no church was true, that they were all far from the truth. He was told that he was going to be a prophet, just like the prophets of ancient times – God has not changed, nor will. Remember, God will do nothing unless he reveals his secrets (or his gospel) to his prophets.
Before I explain more about the steps of the restoration. I want to ask you: how do you feel? Do you believe what I have just told you? Are there nagging doubts in your heart? If so, it’s not unusual, as a missionary for 2 years in Chile, almost everyone I talked to found it hard to believe that a boy saw God and Jesus, and at 14 years of age he was called to be a prophet. As well, there is no evidence, just the story as described by Joseph Smith. You might say, amongst all of these so called false prophets and false Christs, how is Joseph Smith any different? I myself, in my investigation of this same story, asked many of the same questions, had the same concerns.
The Book of Mormon`s Central Role in The Restoration
Imagine, there is a man who claims to be a prophet from Brazil, who says that he had a vision of God and Christ. He also carries with him a book of the word of God, saying that it is the word of God. I myself, would read the book, and see if it is truly the word of God. If it is the word of God, and God confirms that to me by His spirit to my spirit, the man from Brazil would be a prophet, because he has revealed more of the word of God – a primary responsibility of a prophet.
Our Heavenly Father delivered a record of scripture from the ancient Americas called The Book of Mormon to Joseph Smith. It took the form of golden plates hidden away in a hill. Along with the plates, the Lord gave him the necessary mediums, gifts and powers to translate it from a foreign tongue to English. Since its publishing in 1829, it has been translated in many different languages and is available for one and all to read, study, ponder and judge. Christ said we shall know true prophets by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-21). A good fruit means a true prophet. The Book of Mormon is the fruit of Joseph Smith. A free copy can be obtained by clicking on the “Free Mormon Media“ link in the sidebar.
The Restoration of the Priesthood – God`s Authority
Part of the Restoration was that of the authority and the keys of the priesthood. In 1829, Joseph Smith received angelic visitations from John the Baptist, Peter, James, and John, who each placed their hands upon his head and gave him the necessary authority and keys of the kingdom of heaven to baptize (as one example) and receive divine communication from heaven.
With those keys, Joseph organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6th, 1830. Part of the restoration was to call twelve apostles and restore all the correct doctrines and principles. A set of the modern revelations and doctrinal teachings that establish and restore the teachings of Christ in his church are found in a book called “The Doctrine and Covenants”.
Now do you believe me? Belief is important, I suppose, it allows people to choose how they wish to think and shape the world around them according to expectations and judgements, but…. it is not always a strong representation of the truth. Think of the Spanish, who believed the earth was flat, and believed Columbus’s idea of a spherical world to be preposterous. Columbus was right. You might judge this to be preposterous, but there is a possibility that it is true.
In this article I have used scripture as some ‘evidence’ of the truth. Other churches will use the same book of scripture to try and prove us wrong. What we must finally do, as I have done, is ask He who knows all – God. He is your father and loves you, and desires that you know the truth, surely. Remember James 1:5, if ye lack wisdom, ask of God.
At the end of the Book of Mormon there is a promise known as Moroni’s promise, it states:
Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, 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.
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.
The Holy Ghost is light, understanding, a feeling and a thought of elevation, elation of peace and happiness, of comfort and love. That is how I know, and that is how you can know. Its worth a try, isn’t it? You have nothing to lose and an eternity to gain.
For those interested in reading further what Mormons believe in you can visit the LDS Beliefs section for more posts like this.
