Therefore What?

My wife and I are no longer full-time missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We arrived home from Indiana yesterday and were officially released today. We are excited to be home, but we are missing the members and the missionaries in the Indiana Indianapolis Mission.

The decision to serve a full-time mission as senior missionaries was the best decision we have made. There is no greater experience than to represent the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church and it was a great blessing. To serve it with my eternal companion made it even better.

President Page, President of the Indiana Indianapolis Mission, always asks at the end of each training session that he does “Therefore What?” He wants the missionaries to think about what they learned and how they are going to apply the principles they were taught. As I look back on our mission and asking, “therefore what?”, what have I learned and how has it changed my life?

Last Day as a Missionary

We learned firsthand that what King Benjamin said: "when you are in the service of your fellow beings you are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17) is true. We loved serving Heavenly Father's children in Indiana. We loved serving in the mission office with the other office couples. They were the greatest examples to us in how to love each other and go the extra mile in everything they did.

We learned to love the missionaries in our mission (young and old) as if they were family and we consider them part of our eternal family. We learned how much the Lord loves His missionaries and that he directs the mission through the mission president. The decision about what area the missionaries are to service in and who their companion should be is the Lord’s decision. He understands the trials and opportunities we each have as we serve are understood by the Lord and he knows where we are needed.

The most important lesson I have gained from this experience is that my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his participation in the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has increased. I am amazed that as a young boy, Joseph had a desire to know what his standing before God was and how his desire to know which of all the churches on the earth was God’s Church prompted to ask God. I know that when he went into the grove to pray 200 years ago, that he did indeed see God and Jesus Christ. I know the priesthood authority was given to him and that he established The Church of Jesus Christ under the direction of Jesus Christ himself. I know that Joseph translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God and that it stands as a second witness, along with the Bible, that Jesus is The Christ and that he lives and guides His Church through living prophets today.

Therefore what? I am grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission where I grew up, in Indiana. I am grateful for all the high school friends that I have been able to become reacquainted with as well as the new friends I have made. I am grateful for the blessing to represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Although I am taking off the name tag that identifies me as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I will always represent him and his church.

Your questions and comments are welcome. 

To All My Christian Friends

My invitation is to all my friends, Christian and non-Christian, to read this message and pray to know if what I say is true. I know “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” (Moroni 10:4).

Have ever wondered if God is real, if He speaks today, if He is real then why is there so much suffering, or is there any hope for a better life today and after we die? If you feel that you understand these questions and your faith in God and Jesus Christ is strong, I invite you to read on and see if there is more.

Last month, I posted two messages that dealt with the apostasy of the Lord’s ancient church and the attempt of the reformers to correct the changes in the doctrine and ordinances that happened over the centuries (Apostasy and Restoration). I also wrote of the role that the founding fathers of the United States of America had in preparing for the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (By the Hands of Wise Men). If you have not read them, I encourage you to read them and then read today’s message.

Two hundred years ago a young 14-year-old boy, Joseph Smith, wondered about many of these questions and read a passage in the Bible that said: “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.” (James 1:5) Joseph and his family had attended different churches but did not find the answers to the questions they were seeking. After reading that verse in the scriptures, Joseph decided that the only way to find out the truth was to ask God. He said:

“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. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.” (Joseph Smith-History 1:13)

Joseph Smith decided he would test God’s promise to answer his questions. It was in the spring of 1820. He said it was a beautiful clear day. He said it was his first attempt to pray vocally. As he knelt to pray, this is how he described what happened:

Joseph Smith's First Vision

“I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell 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!” (Joseph Smith History 1:16-17)

The two personages that had appeared to him were God, The Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. The first thing Joseph learned was that God does answer our prayers today. He also learned that God and Jesus Christ are two separate, physical beings and that we are created in their image. Jesus Christ called Joseph by name and told him that his sins were forgiven. Joseph learned that God knows his children and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and died for our sins. Joseph’s purpose in praying to God was to know which, if any, of all the churches were true. He asked his question and received and answer. Again, in his own words, he said:

“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 again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time.” (Joseph Smith History 1:19-20)

He had his answer, the true Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth. He was told that the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be revealed to him at a later time. Later when he was persecuted for saying that he had seen God The Father and Jesus Christ, he said:

“I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. 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.

So it was with me. 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? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.” (Joseph Smith History 1:24-25)

Three years after the First Vision, Joseph Smith was given the gold plates that contained an account of the people that lived here in the Americas anciently. It also contains an account of the visit of Jesus Christ to his people here in America (3 Nephi 11). Joseph Smith translated the gold plates by the gift and power of God, and it is published as the Book of Mormon.

While Joseph was translating the Book of Mormon, he received the Aaronic Priesthood authority to baptize from John the Baptist, and the Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James and John. With this priesthood authority he was commanded to restore the Church of Jesus Christ again on the earth. On April 6, 1830 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized.

Two hundred years later, the testimony of Joseph Smith still stands as a witness that God is real, that he speaks to prophets today. We have a living prophet today, Russell M. Nelson, and twelve apostles. In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord Jesus Christ said:

“Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments;

And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually.” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:17, 30)

It is my testimony to the world that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is The true church and contains the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God and is a second testament of Jesus Christ along with the Bible. Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s prophet today. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ did appear to the boy Joseph Smith 200 years ago. I challenge all my Christian friends to come and see, come and hear, come and find out for yourself if the Kingdom of God has been resorted.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

Praise to the Man

April of this year – 2020, will be the 200^th anniversary of what is called the first vision. It is the vision that Joseph Smith had when he saw God and Jesus Christ. This vision started the restitution of all things that the Apostle Peter spoke about (Acts 3:21). Part of that restitution was restoring the Priesthood that Jesus Christ said he would give to Peter (Matthew 16:15-19) and was given to Peter, James and John on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). This same priesthood authority was given by Peter, James and John as resurrected beings to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery as well as the Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist (Doctrine and Covenants 27:7-9, 12). Having the two priesthoods restored once again, Joseph Smith was commanded by Jesus Christ to establish his church again on the earth, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Doctrine and Covenants 115:3-4).

 Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!

Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer.

Blessed to open the last dispensation,

Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.

Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!

Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.

Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;

Death cannot conquer the hero again. (Hymn #27)

We speak of Joseph Smith with reverence and there are those that accuse us of worshiping him. We do not worship Joseph Smith, we worship our Savior, Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith opened the windows of heaven and showed us the real God of Heaven and his Son, Jesus Christ. He taught that we are all sons and daughters of Heavenly Father and we lived with him prior to being born in mortality. He also taught that families are eternal, and marriage does not end at death, it can be eternal if we are married by the proper priesthood authority and are faithful to those marriage covenants.

First let’s look at what Joseph said about that vision with God and Jesus Christ. At age fourteen, Joseph and his family attended many of the religious revival meetings that were being held at that time. Joseph indicated that the ministers of the different churches claimed that their church was the true church. This was confusing to the boy Joseph. He said:

While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: 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.

Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.

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. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture. (Joseph Smith – History 1:11-13)

Joseph Smith did decide to ask God for help. He went into a grove of trees near his home and knelt down and offered up his prayer to God. While he was praying he said he saw a light over his head that descended gradually until it fell on him. He then said:

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! (Joseph Smith – History 1:17)

The personages that appeared to Joseph were God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The first thing Joseph learned that day was that God and Jesus were two distinct individuals and not part of a trinity that the religions of his day taught and most still believe today. The purpose of Joseph’s prayer was to know what church he should join. When he asked his question of the Lord, Joseph said:

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.” (Joseph Smith – History 1:19)

What an amazing experience that must have been for a fourteen-year-old boy? Is it hard to believe that such an experience could really have happened? If it were not for the many scriptures in the Old and New Testaments that tell of experiences of other prophets, some old and some very young, that had similar experiences it would be hard to believe. The scriptures say that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If God appeared to prophets anciently then he could and would do it today.

There are only two possible answers to the question if Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, one answer is yes and the other no. Either he was telling the truth about his first vision with God and Jesus Christ or he was not. There is no partial truth. As you examine the fruits of his teachings and revelations the answer is yes, he was a true Prophet of God. The other important thing to consider is if he was a true prophet then all his revelations and teachings are true whether we understand or believe them or not. If Joseph Smith was a true prophet, you cannot disregard some teaching or principle because you don’t like it or understand it.

The same is true about the prophet that is leading the church today. If Joseph Smith was a true prophet and he did restore the true Church of Jesus Christ on the earth again, then all the prophets since are true prophets including the current Prophet, Russell M. Nelson. What he teaches today is God’s will no matter how much the world disagrees, or others try to persuade us otherwise. There is no middle ground. Either the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ or it isn’t.

To the honest seeker of truth, the promise is the same as it was for the young boy Joseph Smith, if you want to know the truth, ask God and he will give you the answer if you ask in sincere prayer.  Not only is the promise in James 5:1 apply to us today, but also the promise that the Prophet Moroni gave us:

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. (Moroni 10:4)

I have tested the promise and can tell you that I know that Joseph Smith did see God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, that he did receive the priesthood authority to restore the true Church of Jesus Christ again on the earth, that President Russell M. Nelson is God’s Prophet today, that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God and it is another witness of Jesus Christ and that revelation continues from God to his prophets today.

I add my voice in praise to the man who communed with Jehovah. He was and is the prophet of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that Gospel and priesthood authority is in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

Ask of God - Joseph Smith's First Vision

What I Learned from Joseph Smith’s First Vision

Tonight (Sunday, May 1^st, 2016) Elder Richard J. Maynes, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke to the young adults of the church in a CES Worldwide Devotional. He spoke of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith and focused on the First Vision that Joseph had when he was 14 years old. At the end of the fireside he asked those who were listening to share their answers to two questions at #LDSdevo:

1. What truths have you learned from Joseph Smith’s First Vision?
2. How has the Lord answered you as you have sought for truth and answers to questions you have had?

Before answering those questions, I would like to give you some of my background in the LDS Church. My parents joined the church before I was born. My two older brothers were very young when they joined and my mother was pregnant with me when they were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. They moved to Indiana after my father graduated with his teaching degree when I was two years old. We lived 30 miles from the nearest LDS Church and would attend fairly regularly. In those days the church had Sunday School and Priesthood meetings in the morning on Sunday and you would go back later in the day for Sacrament meeting. Primary, Mutual and Relief Society meetings were help during the week. From what I recall we mainly went to Sunday School on Sunday mornings and rarely went to Sacrament meetings. We never attended any of the week day meetings. We were the only members of the LDS church in our town and so I had no friends that were members. I was baptized when I was eighty years old but shortly after my parents stopped traveling the 30 miles to church and we started going to the Methodist Church that was next door to our home.

For the next ten years we attended the Methodist Church with my friends and classmates. We went to bible study classes in the summer and as a teenager attended their youth meetings. Even though I had very little knowledge of LDS Doctrine and beliefs, I did not understand or believe many of the teaching of the Methodist Church, especially the doctrine of the Trinity. It just did not seem right. I knew in my heart that God and Christ were more than just beings that did not have bodies and filled the universe. These teachings made no sense to me. Evidently the LDS teachings did manage to sink into my heart that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ was resurrected with a physical body just like His Father.

I remember one Sunday when our youth group had someone come speak to us. He talked of the importance of accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and developing a relationship with him. That night when I went home his challenge to ask Christ for his forgiveness and to accept him as my Savior made me want more. I remember praying and asking God for forgiveness and to know if I could be forgiven. I remember the warm feeling that came over me, I know my prayer was answered and that God was real and His Son, Jesus Christ, died for me and had forgiven me of my sins. Later when I became active again in the LDS Church (an even longer story for another time) I realized that the experiences I had as a youth attending the Methodist Church was because I had been baptized when I was eight and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. I was able to recognize the truth when it was taught and I could recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost to pray to know God and Jesus.

So with that background in mind hopefully you will understand my answers to Elder Maynes’ questions. First “What truths have I learned from Joseph Smith’s First Vision?

1. That God is our Father and that he is waiting for us to ask him which of all the churches on the earth is his church.
2. That Jesus Christ lives today as a separate being from God the Father.
3. That reading the scriptures and praying to understand their meaning and purpose for us will lead us to the truth and a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
4. hat Heavenly Father is no respecter of persons. If he was willing to answer the honest pray of a fourteen-year-old boy, he will answer our prayers and let us know what we need to do to develop a personal relationship with him.
5. That if we go to God in sincere prayer, we can know if we are forgiven of our sins or what we need to do to be forgiven. 

The Second question that Elder Maynes asked was “How has the Lord answered me as I have sought for truth and answers to questions I have had?”

1. This first answer is not so much of how he answered me but how the answer came. I have learned that there are wonderful God loving people in all churches and God loves them. We can be brought close to Heavenly Father and our Savior by learning truth and following it no matter who teaches it.
2. Just like the Prophet Joseph Smith wanted to know which church was true, I have asked the same question. Though my answer was not like Joseph Smith’s by a visit from God and Christ, I have felt the Holy Ghost witness to me that we have a loving Heavenly Father, that we are his children, and we are here to prove our worthiness to live with him after we leave this mortal existence.
3. The Lord has answered my prayers to know what he wants me to do, where he wants me to be, and how best to serve by putting the people in my life that have blessed me, or that needed me or my influence, or that have influenced me to know what I needed to do.
4. As I have prayed to know if I can be forgiven for my sins I have come to know the love that our Savior Jesus Christ has for me personally. I have come to know that he suffered for me personally. I know that atonement is a personal experience, not a group thing.
5. As a Bishop, I have seen how the atonement has changed the lives of the members in my ward that have confessed their sins and have been born again and become new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and “putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ” (Mosiah 3:19).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored again to the earth. We have living prophets to guide us today. God and Jesus Christ live today and are waiting for us to ask our questions and if we will ask with a “sincere heart, with real intent having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth unto us by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4)

Your comments and questions are welcome.