Andrew C. Skinner, “The Impact of the Doctrinal Restoration: How the World Was Different after Joseph Smith,” in
Joseph Smith and the Doctrinal Restoration (Provo: Brigham Young University, Religious Studies Center, 2005), 9–33.
Andrew C. Skinner was dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University when this was published.
“Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save
Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man
that ever lived in it” (D&C 135:3). What a statement! Thought
stunning to some, and even shocking to others, it is not exaggeration.
The Prophet Joseph Smith single-handedly changed the theological
landscape of the world. It was he who, after a long period of apostasy,
reintroduced the world to a true knowledge of God the Father. It was he
who made known to the world the full and far-reaching saving potential
of Christ’s atoning power. It was he who taught the doctrine and put
back into operation the powers that enable all who so desire to reenter
the Father’s presence.
The Impact of Joseph’s Personal Tutors
Latter-day Saints are not the first group of people to comprehend
the greatness of Joseph Smith. From the beginning of time, God and His
many prophets have known of declared the coming of Joseph Smith to
inaugurate and establish this, the dispensation of the fulness of times.
President Brigham Yong’s well-known statement on this topic has become a
classic but is well worth repeating because it is so mind-expanding! He
said:
It was decreed in the counsels of eternity, long before
the foundations of the earth were laid, that he, Joseph Smith, should be
the man, in the dispensation of this world, to bring forth the word of
God to the people, and receive the fulness of the keys and power of the
Priesthood of the Son of God. The Lord had his eyes upon Joseph, and
upon his father, and upon his father’s father, and upon their
progenitors clear back to Abraham, and form Abraham to the flood, and
from the flood to Enoch, and from Enoch to Adam. He had watched that
family and that blood as it has circulated form its fountain to the
birth of that man. He was fore-ordained in eternity to preside over this
last dispensation.[1]
Therefore, it is not surprising that Joseph Smith was personally
tutored in mortality by God as well as the many prophets who foreknew of
him and his mortal sojourn. Many of the ancient prophets and
patriarchs, and all of the heads of gospel dispensations, appeared to
Joseph and either instructed him one-on-one or laid their hands upon his
head and bestowed keys, powers, and knowledge that they had gained from
Deity themselves.
Who else among all the world’s leaders had stood in the presence of
God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, Adam, Noah, Raphael,
Moses, Elias, Elijah, John the Baptist, Peter, James, John, Moroni, and
many, many more, and received the power to bring salvation to
all of
Heavenly Father’s children? We can document at least fifty –nine
nonmortal or divine beings who appeared to, or were seen by, Joseph
Smith in vision, each one presenting to the Prophet a divine tutorial or
personalized lesson of eternal consequence for all of God’s children.
[2]
President John Taylor, beloved friend and trusted associate of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, summed up the matter regarding his friend in these
words:
Joseph Smith in the first place was set apart by the
Almighty according to the councils of the gods in the eternal worlds, to
introduce the principles of life among the people, of which the Gospel
is the grand power and the influence, and through which salvation can
extend to all peoples, all nations, all kindreds, all tongues and all
worlds. It is the principle that bring life and immortality to light,
and places us in communication with God. God selected him for that
purpose, and his mission and lived honorably and died honorably. I know
of what I speak, for I was very well acquainted with him and was with
him a great deal during hi life, and was with him when he died. The
principles which he had, placed him in communication with the Lord, and
not only with the Lord, but with the ancient apostles and prophets; such
men, for instance, as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, Adam, Seth, Enoch,
and Jesus, and the Father, and the apostles that lived on this
continent, as well as those who lived on the Asiatic continent. He
seemed to be familiar with these people as we are with one another. Why?
Because he had to introduce a dispensation which was called the
dispensation of the fulness of times, and it was known as such by the
ancient servants of God.[3]
The Prophet’s divine tutorials not only introduced the Restoration
in stages but also affected the way we think about God’s saving plan in
general, and our own lives and relationship to Deity in particular. Both
Joseph Smith’ life and the doctrine he restored show us just how
carefully and meticulously the Lord plans events. Joseph Smith did not
end up where he was by accident, just as you and I have not ended up
where we are by happenstance. As Paul taught, “[God] hath made of one
blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and
hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their
habitation” (Acts 17:26).
Joseph Smith’s experience also showed to the world the reality of
heavenly beings and the closeness of an unseen realm of existence.
The Impact of the Principles of Revelation
Joseph Smith is one who seems to have lived every day of his life
guided by the lodestar of revelation. This is impressive enough, but one
of the reasons we have come to appreciate Joseph and his ministry so
much is the assurance we have received from his that the same principle
of revelation by which he lived his life and restored so much truth to
the earth is available to each of us. As much as anything, the Prophet
restored to the world a knowledge of, and an appreciation for, the
doctrine of personal revelation—a kind of revelation that is not limited
to the educated or the wealthy, not restricted to the powerful or the
prelates, not intended only for those in some inner circle. But, rather,
Joseph restored a knowledge of revelation that is available to all who
simply call upon God in their quest for truth and in the sincerity of
their souls. Is this not the lesson of Joseph’s application of James
1:5?
The Prophet Joseph Smith, and all prophets since his inaugural
ministry, have constantly preached that revelation is an
“equal-opportunity” doctrine. Said Joseph, “The best way to obtain truth
and wisdom is not to ask it from books, but to go to God in prayer, and
obtain divine teaching.”
[4]
Similarly, “Reading the experience of others, or the revelation given
to them, can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and
true relation to God. . . . Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you
would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on
the subject.”
[5] Joseph consistently taught that “it is the privilege of the Children of God to come to God & get Revelation. . . When
any person receives a vision of heaven, he sees things that he never thought of before.”
[6]
In regard to Church members, he indicated that it was the privilege of
any officeholder in the Church to obtain revelations so far s it related
to his or her particular calling and duty in the Church.
[7]
This is truly liberating doctrine. Both men and women are called
into fellowship with God, to share equally in the glorious flood of
light, knowledge, and power restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
As Joseph found out when translating the Book of Mormon, God “imparteth
his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this
is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times,
which confound the wise and learned” (Alma 32:23). Equal opportunities
for all people to receive revelation and exaltation were inherent in the
system Joseph restored.
The Impact of the First Vision
Perhaps the most important revelation of this last and greatest
dispensation was Joseph Smith’s First Vision of the Father and the Son.
President Ezra Taft Benson certainly thought so. He declared, “The
appearance of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ to the boy prophet
is the greatest event that has occurred in this world since the
resurrection of the Master.”
[8] There are many lessons to learn from, as well as about, the First Vision.
Writing about the First Vision years after it had taken place,
Joseph Smith himself said that he had thought how much he felt “like
Paul [the Apostle], 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” (Joseph Smith—History 1:24). IN truth, the ministries of Paul
and Joseph demonstrate significant parallels, and these parallels,
beginning with a first vision for both, serve to help honest people see
that the same reasons for accepting Paul as a bona fide servant of Jesus
Christ should also lead them to accept and appreciate Joseph Smith as a
genuine, duly authorized and commissioned servant of the same Lord the
Paul followed.
[9]
When Paul came off the road to Damascus, where he was intending to
persecute the Christians, at least seven things were confirmed:
· Jesus Christ is lord.
· He is alive in heaven.
· He is a Being possessing great glory.
· Persecuting His followers is the equivalent of persecuting Him personally.
· Direct revelation is a continuing reality even after the Lord’s mortal ministry ended.
· Jesus Christ had the power to change men’s hearts.
· Jesus Christ continues to call men to be witnesses of Him after His death and Resurrection.
When Joseph Smith walked out of the Sacred Grove on that early
spring morning in 1820, at least fourteen things were clarified or
reestablished that had been lost or unknown during the previous
seventeen hundred years:
· God the Father and Jesus Christ are alive and reside in heaven
· Their relationship is a familial one—Father to Son.
· They are separate and distinct personages, not one spiritual essence.
· They possess a glory beyond description.
· They look, act, and speak like human beings.
· Humans are created in the image of the Father and the Son.
· The Father and the Son hear and answer prayers.
· The Father and the Son known individuals by name.
· There is an opponent to righteousness; he is real.
· That adversary to righteousness ties to thwart prayer.
· Revelation was a continuing reality seventeen hundred years after the so-called era or primitive Christianity.
· The Father testifies of His Son, and the Son of God deals directly with humankind.
· There had been an apostasy from Christ’s Church.
· None of the churches on the earth in Joseph’s day possessed the fulness of Christ’s gospel.
The first vision of both Paul and Joseph Smith did have, and will
continue to have, eternal consequences. Those visions inaugurated for
both men a long period of direct revelation that continued until their
martyrdoms. The instruction that accompanied both visions told their
recipients to change their respective courses and wait for further
instruction.
[10]
Out of these profound revelatory experiences came divine direction that
blessed lives and changed the way countless humans looked at God
dealings with mortals. Both Paul and Joseph added to a corpus of prior
revelations given by God to the human family in order to raise a new
generation to a higher level. The essence, or life-force, of prophecy is
a knowledge of what Jesus had done and will yet do for the world. Thus,
the essential job of every prophet is to testify personally of Jesus
Christ. “And in the case of the great prophets Paul and Joseph Smith,
they did so on the basis of their eyewitness contact with Christ.”
[11]
Paul and Joseph Smith
The Prophet made many references to Paul, both explicit and implicit, throughout his life.
[12]
He constantly invoked the example and language of Paul to illustrate
the way the Restoration unfolded and to describe the continuous,
unchanging nature of opposition to divine truth and the work of the
Father and the Son. Thus, one of the undervalued, perhaps unappreciated,
aspects of the Restoration is the increased understanding of previous
dispensations it provides—specially of Pal’s day, the doctrine the
ancient Apostle taught, what he thought and felt, and the social and
cultural context of the gospel restoration of the first century.
Significantly, Paul’s time was much like Joseph’s. We can learn
about much each period by studying the other. Both Joseph Smith and Paul
endured monumental challenges to their integrity and teachings as a
result of their first visions. For example, in describing his own
encounters with opposition and persecution over his First Vision, Joseph
Smith quoted the experience of the ancient Apostle:
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 haven could not
make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet
he knew. . . . So it was with 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 saying so, I was led to say in my heart: Why
persecute me for telling the truth? (Joseph Smith—History 1:24–25)
Paul gave us some appreciation for how the message of his vision was
received among his non-Christian contemporaries. “For the Jews require a
sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified,
unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness” (1
Corinthians 1:22–23). In other words, it was not easy to preach the
message of Christ in an environment of Jewish superiority and Greek
intellectualism. But, continued Paul, “The foolishness of God is wiser
than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. . . . God hath
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:25, 27).
Echoing the words of Paul, Joseph Smith presented a revelation
during a special conference of elders at Hiram, Ohio, in November 1831,
in which the Lord told His servants not to mind the wisdom of the world
nor pay attention to worldly estimations of weakness and foolishness.
For “the weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the
mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man,
neither trust in the arm of flesh . . . that the fulness of my gospel
might be proclaimed by the weak and simple unto the ends of the world. .
. . Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me,
and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of
their language, that they might come to understanding” (D&C 1:19,
23–4). One notes that the words of Joseph Smith and those of Paul are
truly interchangeable.
Many so-called “hearers of the word” in the first century regarded
the vision of Paul as foolishness. And many investigators in the
dispensation of the fulness of times have regarded Joseph Smith’s First
vision as a “delusion.”
[13]
It has been observed that most of the objections raised against Joseph
Smith’s First Vision also call into question Paul’s experience with
equal force.
[14]
For example, one of the points of attack leveled against Joseph Smith’s
First Vision is that the Prophet did not describe his experience until a
dozen years after it happened, and then he issued multiple versions of
it thereafter. However, critics should have realized this is perfectly
consistent with the timing of Paul’s report of his first vision and his
subsequent republicizing of it. The first known mention of Paul’s
dramatic experience is found in 1 Corinthians 9:1, written about two
dozen years after it happened: “Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have
I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?”
If fact, arguments regarding the historical validity of an event
that are based on the closeness of that event to the time it first
appears in written form present a problem for the whole New Testament as
well. According to tradition, the Gospel of John was composed between
AD 90 and 100. And the earliest extant fragment of John’s Gospel is
dated even later—to around AS 110–30 on paleographical grounds.
[15]
That means at least seventy years went by from the time the Savior’s
mortal ministry took place until the time John wrote his Gospel account.
Yet no committed Christian who believes the New Testament to be the
word of God would dismiss the Gospel of John as untrustworthy.
Other attacks leveled against Paul in his day and Joseph Smith in
his (and beyond) attempted to appeal to the principle of empirical
evidence as well as the irrationality of believing that God is
literally, physically, a resurrected Being. More to the point, in
Joseph’s day, how could anyone seriously believe that such a God would
appear to a teenage boy and call into questions all other denominations?
However, both Paul and Joseph Smith taught that the natural man—the man
or woman devoid of the Spirit of God—does not and cannot receive
knowledge conveyed by the Spirit of God. Here are Paul’s words: “But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Compare that statement with
one translated by Joseph Smith from the gold plates: “For the natural
man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be
forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit,
and putteth off the natural man and becometh and a saint through the
atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek,
humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which
the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to
his father” (Mosiah 3:19).
No insignificant parallel here! Neither Joseph Smith nor Paul
attempted to engage their critics in debate over the philosophical
possibility of resurrection or visions involving divine beings. Rather,
they both humbly offered the strongest evidence possible, evidence
against which there is no philosophical or logical counter: they
saw the resurrected Lord for themselves! Said Paul: “And last of all he was
seen
of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:8;
emphasis added). Said Joseph: “And now, after the many testimonies which
have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we
give of him: That he lives! For we
saw him” (D&C 76:22–23;
emphasis added). Without the help of the doctrinal restoration in modern
times, we would not be able to appreciate the significance of Paul’s
position or teaching and, thus, the consistency in the gospel of Jesus
Christ over time.
The Impact of Joseph’s Legacy of Sacrifice
From the moment of his First Vision onward, Joseph could never say
his life was his own. The Sacred Grove inaugurated a lifetime of service
to the Lord. Joseph smith taught us by example as well as precept what
it meant to live a consecrated life. (The word
consecrated literally means “to make or declare sacred, to devote irrevocably to the worship of God.”
[16])
This is another lasting legacy of the Restoration. The Prophet gave to
the world a template of unyielding loyalty in the face of continual
hardship and persecution. The world is a different place because many
individuals have hearkened to Joseph’s words and modeled his behavior.
In describing his experiences, Joseph again harked back to Paul’s
words as found in Second Corinthians where in the ancient Apostle spoke
of his “journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in
perils by [his] own countrymen, in perils by the sea, in perils among
false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often in
hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2
Corinthians 11:25–27). Joseph said of his won difficulties: “I, like
Paul, have been in perils, and oftener than anyone in this generation.
As Paul boasted, I have suffered more than Paul did. I should be like a
fish out of water if I were out of persecution. . . . The Lord has
constituted me so curiously that I glory in persecution.”
[17]
Writing to the Church in Nauvoo during a challenging period of legal
harassment that kept him out of that city, Joseph again made explicit
reference to Paul’s example and mentoring influence. His comment had
become part of the Church’s official canon of scripture, Doctrine and
Covenants 127:2:
And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem
but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my
common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems
mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of the
world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. Judge ye
for yourselves. God knoweth all these things, whether it be good or bad.
But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has
become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in
tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out
of them all, and will deliver me form henceforth; for behold, and lo, I
shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it.
President Brigham Young was a second witness to Joseph’s unrelenting
hardships. Of his friend and mentor, President Young said that Joseph
was
poor, harassed, distressed, afflicted, and tormented
with lawsuits, persecution upon persecution, and it cost thousands and
hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep him alive, which a few had to
sustain. . . .
Joseph, our Prophet, was hunted and driven, arrested and persecuted,
and although no law was ever made in these United States that would
bear against him, for he never broke a law, yet to my certain knowledge
he was defendant in forty-six lawsuits, and every time Mr. Priest was at
the head of and led the band or mob who hunted and persecuted him. And
when Joseph and Hyrum were slain in Carthage jail, the mob, painted like
Indians, was led by a preacher.[18]
In spite of their sufferings, both Paul and Joseph Smith possessed a
contagious optimism born of faith and hope in Jesus Christ. All members
of the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days are the
beneficiaries and the inheritors of this optimistic mind-set. In
addition to the trails and persecutions previously mentioned, Paul seems
to have suffered throughout this life with an affliction that he called
a thorn in the flesh. “And lest I should be exalted above measure
through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn
in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be
exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that
it might depart from me” (2 Corinthians 12:7–8).
An important lesson from this comment is that all mortals, even the
most dedicated, righteous servants of the Lord, will have afflictions to
endure throughout mortality. But the Lord’s power and grace are
sufficient to make weak things strong. Thus, the Lord’s response to
Paul’s petition regarding his thorn in the flesh and Paul’s subsequent
response to the Lord are comforting and fortifying: “And he [the Lord]
said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians
12:9).
It is important to emphasize that Joseph Smith came across this same
concept, in almost the same language used by Paul, when he was
translating Ether 12:27 of the Book of Mormon:
“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their
weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace
is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they
humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will make weak
things become strong unto them.”
In addition to Paul and Joseph Smith, other of the Lord’s prophets
have recognized that weaknesses and problems are inherent in mortality.
Most of these challenges come as a result of the Fall of Adam and
therefore impose limitations on all of us. We cannot escape them. But we
can overcome them through the grace, or enabling power, granted unto
mortals through the Atonements. “It is not just in the next life that
the ‘weak things’ are made strong through Christ. The Savior’s grace is
sufficient even in mortality to buoy up the spirit, to strengthen and
spiritually enlarge one above natural abilities.”
[19]
The prophet Ammon in the Book of Mormon describe dhow much God can help
us, saying, “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am
weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God,
for in his strength I can do all things” (Alma 26:12).
Precisely because of the doctrinal restoration accomplished through
Joseph Smith, we are able to recognize that even those who are not of
our faith have been inspired to see that God give to all men weakness
that all may humbly learn to rely upon Him,
and that once we have
entered unto a covenant partnership with Him, He has unlimited
resources to make us into something we could not ever fathom beforehand.
C.S. Lewis observed:
When a man turns to Christ and seems to be getting on
pretty well (in the sense that some of his bad habits are now
corrected), he often feels that it would now be natural if things went
fairly smoothly. When troubles come along—illnesses, money troubles, new
kinds of temptation—he is disappointed. These things, he feels, might
have been necessary to rouse him and make him repent in his bad old
days; but why now? Because God is forcing him . . . into situations
where he will have to be very much braver, or more patient, or more
loving, than he ever dreamed of being before. It seems to us all
unnecessary: but that is because we have not yet had the slightest
notion of the tremendous thing He means to make of us. . . .
Imagine yourself as a living house. God come into rebuild that
house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is
getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on:
you knew that those jobs needed doing and so youa re not surprised. But
presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts
abominably and does not make sense. What on earth is He up to? The
explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one
you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor
there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going
to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He
intends to come and live in it Himself. . . .
He said (in the Bible) that we were “gods” and He is going to make
goods His words. If we let Him—for we can prevent Him, if we choose—He
will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a
dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such
energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright
stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of
course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and
goodness.[20]
Some of the most magnificent declarations uttered by the Prophet
Joseph about the eternal triumphs we may expect through God’s power came
in the midst of some of his most terrible trials. Said Joseph as he
incarcerated in liberty Jail: “Do not think that our hearts faint, as
though some strange thing had happened unto us, for we have seen and
been assured of all these thing before hand, and have an assurance of a
better hope than that of our persecutors. Therefore God hath made broad
our shoulders for the burden. We glory in our tribulation, because we
know that God is with us, that He is our friend, and that He will save
our souls.”
[21]
For me personally, the most profound of the Prophets’ inspiring
exhortations are those Liberty Jail revelations we all know so well but
sometimes forget or fail to comprehend. “My son, peace by unto thy soul;
thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and
then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt
triumph over all thy foes” (D&C 121:7–8).
For his total service and sacrifice, the Prophet Joseph Smith was
promised a crown of exaltation and given the pattern for the way in
which God will deal with each of us. To Joseph the Lord declared: “I am
the Lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the end of the world,
and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation,
and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham
your father. Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all
your sins’ I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which I have
told you. Go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I
accepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac” (D&C 132:49–50).
Though Joseph Smith ultimately did escape the grasp of his enemies, t
might not have been the way he originally thought it would—though he
finally came to know that he would suffer a martyr’s death (see D&C
135:3). SO it was with most of the ancient Apostles, including Peter and
Paul. Our knowledge of Peter’s and Paul’s martyrdoms comes form sources
outside the canon of scripture. The early church historian Eusebius
(c.260–339), whose
History of the Church fills in many gaps in
our knowledge about the early church, recorded: “So it came about that
this man [Nero], the first to be heralded as a conspicuous fighter
against God, was led on to murder the apostles. It is recorded that in
his reign Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was
crucified.”
[22]
Eusebius’s perspective on Peter and Paul was further informed by
another of the early church’s theologians, Origen (c. 185–254). Eusebius
wrote: “Peter . . . came to Rome where he was crucified, head downwards
at his own request. What need be said of Paul, who from Jerusalem as
far as Illyricum preached in all its fulness the gospel of Christ, and
later was martyred in Rome under Nero? This is exactly what Origen tells
us in Volume III of his
Commentary on Genesis.”
[23]
Our English word
martyr is a loanword from Greek and
originally meant “witness.” Truly, Peter, Paul and Joseph were such true
and faithful witnesses that they gave their very lives for the cause of
revealed truth. All three were killed for restoring to the world a
correct understanding of the nature of God the Father and His Son, Jesus
Christ. All three died at the hands of unscrupulous men, who were
lovers of self more than lovers of God. The rough treatment and eventual
deaths of Peter, Paul and Joseph can be laid squarely at the feet of
political rulers—not a happy parallel, but an important one as we
examine the history of the interaction between governments and God’s
people through the ages.
The Profundity of Joseph Smith’s Intimate Acquaintance with Deity
When all is said and done, no one was better acquainted with God
than the Prophet Joseph Smith. He stood in the presence of the
resurrected Lord a number of times. And though others, like Paul for
example, speak of similar experiences (Paul records seeing the Lord on
three other occasions after his Damascus experience), I believe there is
a difference between Joseph Smith and others. The depth of Joseph’s
association with and understanding of Deity seems greater, so much so
that Joseph’s seeric powers come through with an intensity, constancy,
majesty, and directness matched by few other personalities in all of
scripture.
First, in canonized scripture Joseph speaks of seeing
both
the Father and the Son a number of times: during his First Vision in
1820, in a vision in 1832 that is so spectacular it is called “The
Vision” (see D&C 76:20), and in an 1836 vision in the Kirtland
Temple. Regarding the latter he said: “The heavens were opened upon us,
and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof,
whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty
of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which
was like unto circling flames of ire; also the blazing throne of God,
whereon was seated the Father and the Son” (D&C 137:1–3). While
other prophets may have had such experiences, they do not mention them.
Joseph Smith alone helps us to see that the nature and person of Jesus
Christ can only be fully comprehended and appreciated by gaining a
knowledge of God the Father as well. This is truly remarkable and unique
aspect of the Restoration of the latter days. What the doctrinal
restoration does, purely and simply, is reintroduce the world to a
knowledge of God the Father (much the same way the same kind of
restoration did during the meridian dispensation) after a long period of
apostasy.
In addition to his mention of Elohim in scriptural passages, Joseph
Smith also discussed God the Father in many of his non-canonical
sermons, writings, musings, and dialogues. This rich and deep contact
with and understanding of the nature and person of Elohim in nowhere
better demonstrated that in the Prophet’s 1844 sermons, especially the
King Follett discourse. In that magnificent sermon, delivered before
some 20,000 Saints at the April conference of the Church in Nauvoo, the
Prophet asked and answered the question regarding what kind of being God
is.
The necessity of possessing the right answer to the question about the nature of God is simple according to Joseph Smith:
If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do
not comprehend themselves. . . . The Scriptures inform us that “This is
life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom thou hast sent.”
If any man does not know God, and inquires what kind of a being he
is,—if he will search diligently his own heart—if the declaration of
Jesus and the apostles be true, he will realize that he had not eternal
life; for there can be eternal life on no other principle.[24]
When one reads and ponders material like the King Follett discourse,
one quickly realizes that there is not another person besides Joseph
Smith to whom we may go to find such depth of insight about Deity. The
reason Joseph spend so much time dwelling on this information about God
was to bless the Saints. “I want you all to know him, and to be familiar
with him,” Joseph said.
[25]
What are some of the critical concepts Joseph Smith taught about God
t he Father that are not articulated elsewhere in such clarity?
· “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” (D&C 130:22).
· The Father is “the Eternal God of all other gods” (D&C 121:32).
· “In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the
Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world
and people it.”
[26]
· “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!”
[27]
· “{God] was once a man like us. . . . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself.”
[28]
· “[We] have got to learn how to be Gods . . . and to be kings and
priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before [us], namely, by
going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a
great one’ from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until
[we] attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in
everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory as do those who sit enthroned
in everlasting power.”
[29]
· “When we are ready to come to [God], he is ready to come to us.”
[30]
All of these insights about God the Father that came through the
Prophet Joseph Smith present us with new information that is unique or
uniquely states in Christian theology. This is a profound and lasting
consequence of the doctrinal restoration. The great Prophet of the
Restoration knew God the Father in a special, intimate way. And yet
there remained with Joseph a profound respect for Deity that eschewed
any hint of inappropriate familiarity.
Another profound aspect of Joseph Smith’s intimate association with
Deity deserves to be noted. Often the canonized thoughts and words
expressed by Joseph Smith were, in actuality, the thoughts and very
words of the Lord Himself. Much of the doctrine and theology imparted to
us by Joseph Smith is composed of nothing less than the direct,
first-person declarations of Jesus Christ. Often Joseph was simply the
amplifier through whom the Lord’s own words passed to others.
Even a cursory examination of the Doctrine and Covenants shows how
often Joseph Smith was simply relaying the actual declarations of the
Lord in unmistakable language to various recipients:
· Four sections of the Doctrine and Covenants begin with the declaration “Behold, I am God.”
· At least twenty-nine sections begin with the direct expression of the Lord “Behold [or Verily], I say unto you.”
· At least thirty-seven sections of the Doctrine and Covenants begin
with “Thus saith the Lord” or a slight variation of that formula.
· At least ten sections open with “Hearken and listen to the voice
[words] of Jesus Christ” or some slight variation of that direct call to
give undivided attention to the Lord Himself.
What the Apostle Paul said of his day and ministry may be said even
more intensely and literally about Joseph Smith’s day: “For who hath
known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the
mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). We have the mind of Christ, and we
have it through the Prophet Joseph Smith!
The Impact of the Keys of the Kingdom
From Joseph’s interactions with God and angels there have come to us
the keys to perform the ordinances of exaltation for both the living
and the dead. This is one of the most important of the Restoration’s
many facets.
Keys are conduits of power and information. The revelations of the
Restoration speak of keys in two major senses: one is the power and
authority to
direct the priesthood and the Church; the other is
the means to reveal, to discover, to bring to light things unknown or
hidden. In this second sense, for example, “Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery were given the
keys to translate and bring hidden scripture to light” (see D&C 6:24–28).
[31]
For our discussion, we will define the keys of the kingdom of God in
the first sense, as the right and power to direct and govern the Lord’s
affairs on this earth. Joseph Smith taught, “The fundamental principles,
governments, and the doctrine of the Church are vested in the keys of
the kingdom.”
[32]
These keys are part of the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. As
revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, this higher priesthood, which
encompasses the Aaronic and Levitical Priesthood,
[33]
hold “the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church” and “ the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (D&C 107:18–19); it “holds the
right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the office in
the church in all ages of the world” (D&C 1078). Like God Himself,
the Melchizedek Priesthood is an everlasting principle, and existed with
God from eternity, and will to eternity.”
[34]
The Melchizedek Priesthood was instituted “prior to the foundation
of this earth” said the Prophet Joseph, and “is the channel through
which the Almighty commenced revealing His glory at the beginning of the
creation of this earth, and through which He had continued to reveal
Himself . . . and through which He will make known His purpose to the
end of time.”
[35] This is critical doctrine, and without the revelations and work of Joseph Smith we would not know these things.
Consider what knowledge has come to us as a direct result of Joseph
Smith’s instruction. He revealed that before the time of the Old
Testament patriarch Melchizedek, the higher priesthood was called “the
Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God.” But out of respect
or reverence for the name of Deity, its name was changed to the
Melchizedek Priesthood in honor of the great Patriarch (see D&C
107:2–4). Joseph taught that all the prophets in ancient times held the
Melchizedek Priesthood.
[36]
Furthermore, he said that the Melchizedek Priesthood is the power by
which men and women become like our heavenly parents, heirs of our
Heavenly Father’s kingdom and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, possessing
every power and every blessing the Father and the Son possess.
[37] This is at the very core of God’s work and glory (see Moses 1:39).
Joseph Smith revealed that the first person on this earth to possess
the keys of the priesthood was Adam. In fact, our first father hold the
keys of presidency over
all dispensations and eras of the
gospel. He is the presiding high priest, under Christ’s direction, over
all the earth. Noah stands next to Adam in priesthood authority,
[38] and “after these two come all the heads of the different gospel dispensations, together with a host of other mighty prophets.”
[39]
Not the least of these are Elijah, who held the keys of the sealing
power in ancient Israel (see D&C 27:9; 110:13–16), and Nephi the son
of Helaman, who held the keys of the sealing power among the Nephites
(see Helaman 10:4–10).
The scriptures given through Joseph Smith speak of others who hold
keys. Another Book of Mormon prophet, Moroni, holds “the keys of the
record of the stick of Ephraim” (D&C 27:5). The prophet Moses holds
the keys of the gathering of Israel and the leading of the ten tribes
from the land of the north (see D&C 110:11). A prophet named Elias
hold the keys of the Abrahamic covenant (see D&C 110:12).
[40]
An angel named Raphael holds the keys of his dispensation (see D&C
128:21). The chief Apostles, Peter, James, and John, hold the keys of
the kingdom of God on the earth in their day (see D&C 27:12–3;
128:20).
All of these specific keys we have mentioned constitute the keys of
the kingdom of god. And all of these prophets who held keys, and many
other “divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the present time,”
have returned in these latter days to the Prophet Joseph Smith and
declared “their dispensations, their rights, their keys, their honors,
their majesty and glory, and the power of their priesthood,” according
to D&C 128:21. Joseph Smith and his successors have been, and now
are, the possessors of all the keys and powers of the kingdom of God
that are possible for mortal men to possess.
Key and Sealing Power
Among the keys of authority and power bestowed upon the Prophet
Joseph Smith, none are of greater of more far-reaching significance than
those given by Elijah.
[41]
This ancient prophet held the keys of the kingdom in his day; he held
the keys of presidency and the keys of the sealing power that continue
the fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood. President Joseph Fielding
Smith said that “it is the sealing power which gave [Elijah] the right
and authority to officiate. And the Lord said unto him, ‘That which you
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.’ That is how great his power
was, and in the day Elijah stood up and officiated for the people in the
sealing power.”
[42]
So great and important are the keys of the sealing power that
sometimes we equate the keys of the kingdom with the keys of the sealing
power. The “Sealing power puts the stamp of approval upon every
ordinance that is done this Church and more particularly those that are
performed in the temples of the Lord.”
[43]
And as the revelation states, “All covenants, contracts, bonds,
obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations or
expectations, that are
not made and entered into and sealed by
the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed . . . whom I have
appointed on the earth to hold his power, . . . and there is never but
one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this
priesthood are conferred . . . are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in
and after the resurrection form the dead; for all contracts that are not
made unto this end have an end when men are dead” (D&C 132:7;
emphasis added).
The sealing powers for the living and the dead constitute the
fulness of the priesthood. We can receive a fulness of the priesthood
only in the temples of the Lord. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared: “If a
man get a fulness of the priesthood of God, he has to get it in the
same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the
commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord.”
[44]
Further commenting on the Prophet’s words, President Joseph Fielding
Smith stated: “let me put this in a little different way. I do not care
what office you hold in this Church—you may be an apostle, you may be a
patriarch, a high priest, or anything else—you cannot receive the
fulness of the priesthood unless you go into the temple of the Lord and
receive these ordinances of which the Prophet speaks. No [one] can get
the fulness of the priesthood outside of the temple of the Lord.”
[45] But the fulness of the priesthood
is available to anyone who is worthy to enter the house of the Lord.
There is no exaltation in the kingdom of God without the fulness of
priesthood, including the sealing keys. Thus, the fulness of the
priesthood or the sealing power might also be termed the keys of
exaltation. Again, President Smith said: “Only in the temple of the Lord
can the fulness of the priesthood be received. Now that temples are on
the earth, there is no other place where the endowment and the sealing
powers for all eternity can be give. No man [or woman] can receive the
keys of exaltation in any other place.”
[46]
In the temples of the Lord that now dot the earth, men and women can
be sealed as husbands and wives for eternity. Children can be sealed to
parents in family units forever. “What a glorious privilege it is to
know that the family organization will remain intact.”
[47]
Through the doctrinal restoration, we know that what is enacted on
earth by the Lord’s authorized stewards is bound in heaven. What value
can be put on this knowledge? There is great comfort in knowing t his.
There is great security. There is great stability. There is a great
anchor that comes to the soul in knowing this. Has any aspect of the
Restoration had greater impact on the entire human family than the
return of the keys of the priesthood—the sealing power of eternity?
My father died when I was young. I idolized him. Those were dark
days. But tremendous peace, security, and motivation to carry on came
from my knowledge that we had been to the temple and had been sealed as a
family for eternity. I believe there would be significant value in
having mothers and father spend some time with their children talking
about the ordinances of eternity and the sealing power that binds
families together forever. I believe our children would be more secure
in their faith, better prepared to face life’s challenges, and come to
regard living prophets with a new love and appreciation if they could
understand the incomparable sealing power, found in the temples of the
Lord because of the ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Conclusion
There are invaluable, even incomparable, benefits that have issued
forth from the restoration of all things through the Prophet Joseph
Smith. Humankind has been impacted in profound ways. First, we see that
God is consistent. He has had a plan for His children from before this
world was created, and that plan has been administered through prophets
who have held priesthood power and priesthood keys.
Second, we see that God has fulfilled and fulfilling His prophecies
and promises concerning the restoration of all things in this, the
dispensation of the fulness of times. We may have perfect confidence and
trust in Him. He had the power to fulfill all His purposes, which are
perfectly just and fair. God does
not deal in accidents or coincidences.
Third, divine being, Gods and angels, are real and they have
ministered to men and women on earth since its creation. Divine
tutorials are powerful tools of instruction.
Fourth, not only is revelation a principle of power with prophets
but it is also available to every man, woman, and child who desire to
have it. The heavens are not closed!
Fifth, the restoration of all things is founded on the First Vision,
the most important event since the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Sixth, the doctrinal restoration in this dispensation teaches us
about all other dispensations: what they were like, how God dealt with
His children in those dispensations, and what challenges previous
prophets and apostles (Paul and others) had to contend with.
Seventh, our gratitude for the Prophet Joseph Smith will continue to
increase as we expand our understanding of the doctrinal restoration—as
we begin to comprehend the magnitude of his prophetic office and
calling, and the depth of his association with God the Father and His
Son Jesus Christ. The doctrinal restoration reintroduced the world to a
knowledge of God the Father.
Eighth, every aspect of the doctrinal restoration points to the
fulness of the priesthood and the culminating power we call the keys of
the sealing power. This power is so great that is has an impact on both
the living and the dead for eternity.
Ninth, our gratitude and respect for all of Joseph’s successors will
increase profoundly as we are able to understand the nature of the
power and authority held by all the Presidents of the Church up to the
current day.
Tenth, knowing that the keys and fulness of the priesthood are upon
the earth and available to all who desire them gives us security and
stability in a world that is horribly unstable. It gives us assurance of
the continuation of the bonds of love and association with friends and
family through the eternities.
All of this is made possible by the Father and the Son through the
great Prophet of the Restoration. God be thanked for Joseph Smith and
his successors.
The Impact of the Doctrinal Restoration: How the World Was Different after Joseph Smith 
