Joseph Smith’s Character
Will the Real Joseph Smith Please Stand Up?
By Mark Grote 2004
Born on December 23, 1805, Joseph Smith could run faster, throw farther and jump higher than the other kids in Sharon, Vermont. If you tour the sites in Nauvoo, IL., the place of his death, that’s what you’ll hear of Joseph Smith as you move about the historical landmarks.
But if you are interested in facts, instead of legends, you might find yourself questioning whether it’s a good idea to put your eternity in the hands and beliefs of this man.
Born to Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph Smith Jr. grew up on a series of tenant farms in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. Though in his youth Joseph was largely deprived of a formal education, he was adequately “instructed in reading, writing, and the ground rules of arithmetic.” 1 Joseph’s mother said that he was often “given to meditation and deep study.” 2 It also widely known that Joseph Smith was “nimble-witted, ambitious, and gifted with a boundless imagination, he dreamed of escape into an illustrious and affluent future.” 3 Joseph Smith could always tell stories with amazing detail of ancient civilizations.
According to the church, affected by the the religious movement taking place around his home in Manchester, New York, in 1820, fourteen-year-old Joseph (depending on which account you believe) was determined to know which of the many religions he should join. He encountered a passage in the Bible instructing any who lacked wisdom to “ask of God” (James 1:5).
Early one morning in the spring of 1820, it said that Joseph went to secluded woods to ask God which church he should join. According to his account, while praying Joseph claims he was visited by two “personages” who identified themselves as God the Father and Jesus Christ.
He was told not to join any of the churches. “Oddly enough, there is no mention of this “vision” in the early Mormon church records and the Improvement Era admits: “Joseph Smith’s ‘official’ account of his first vision and the visits of the angel Moroni was…first published in the Times and Seasons in 1842.”4 For such a dramatic event such as this in one’s life, you would think the person would be changed profoundly by the events and that they would be in the forefront of his mind. But Joseph Smith didn’t give an account of the vision before 1842. Why not?
Jesus said in the Bible that He would only return in the fullness of Glory that would be visible from one end of the sky to the other, and God told Moses that “no one can see Him and live” [italics added], indicates more biblical evidence that Joseph Smith lied about this encounter with God, because God is unchanging and not a liar. Either Joseph Smith lied or God did. Who do you believe?
Despite the obvious differences with scripture, people still wanted to believe Joseph Smith because they wanted to know God was real. It is no surprise that, in 1823, that Joseph Smith was visited by another spirit, this time by an angel named Moroni (some accounts say THIS was Joseph’s first vision), who told him of an ancient record containing God’s dealings with the former inhabitants of the American continent that just happened to be buried a short walk from his home in Palmyra, NY. In 1827, Joseph supposedly retrieved this record, inscribed on thin golden plates, although weighing in excess of 250 pounds each, and shortly afterward began translating its words by the “gift of God.”4
A gift so great, that it contained many grammatical errors. Apparently, God was so busy creating the earth in six days, He didn’t have time to brush up on his grammar skills. The resulting manuscript, the Book of Mormon, was published in March 1830. On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became its first president and High Priest of the Melchizedek.
Now, if you read Mormon literature, you’ll read “Joseph married Emma Hale on January 18, 1827, and was described as a loving and devoted husband. They had eleven children (two adopted), only five of whom lived past infancy. During the thirty-nine years of his life, Joseph established thriving cities in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois; produced volumes of scripture; sent missionaries throughout the world; orchestrated the building of temples; served as mayor of Nauvoo, one of the largest cities in Illinois, and as general of its militia, the Nauvoo Legion; and was a candidate for the presidency of the United States.” 1 Wow! That’s very impressive.
You won’t read, however, that Joseph Smith was also into mysticisms and Masonic practices, was a reader of seer stones, and was a money-digger who engaged in fortune telling. In addition to the militia he formed, what you won’t hear that it was against the law. You won’t hear that he destroyed a printing press. You won’t hear that he burned down the building that it was in. You won’t hear that he shot and killed two men with a gun he had smuggled into the jail. And you won’t hear that he had more than 30 wives.
Smith was a controversial figure in American history because of his bizarre and unbiblical interpretations such as polygamy— and was as much beloved by his followers as he was hated by his detractors. One thing that Mormons do not talk much about are the facts surrounding Joseph Smith’s arrest. In what some would call terrorism today, Joseph Smith destroyed a printing press and burned down the building around it after some of Smith’s critics printed things about Smith and the Church in a publication called the Nauvoo Expositor. Apparently, the truth hurts. As one might expect, Joseph was persecuted much of his adult life for his unbiblical beliefs and was killed along with his brother Hyrum by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844, following the uprising surrounding the destruction of the press, the destruction of the building and, candidly speaking, the destruction of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.
Now, considering the monument events of above, you would think that they would profoundly impact a person for every thought, action or plan that one might endeavor to take on. Not so for Joseph Smith. Consider these facts:
Mormon apostle and leader, David O. McKay once stated: “The appearing of the Father and Son to Joseph Smith is the foundation of the church.” Got that? The foundation of the church.
According to John Widstoe, another Mormon apostle, “The First vision of 1820 is of first importance in the history of Joseph Smith. Upon its reality rests the trust and value of the his subsequent work.”
Let’s examine these dates of significance in light of the above quotes.
1820 – The Mormon Church’s official date when Joseph Smith supposedly had his first vision. He was 14. His vision was a visit of the Father and Son together, separate, standing in the air, talking to him.
1829 – The Book of Mormon is published.
1829 – Joseph Smith enters the priesthood when he and Oliver Cowdery are visited, this time by James, Peter and John.
1830 – The Mormon Church is established.
1832 – Joseph Smith gives prophecy that no man can see the face of God without being in the priesthood. So how did he see the Father in 1820 when, by his own admission, he was not in the priesthood? Or is the “Priesthood” prophesy false? Which is it?
1834 – Oliver Cowdery, assisted by Joseph Smith, recounts in the Messenger and Advocate, published in Sept. 1834, that the first vision actually came in 1823. Joseph Smith would have been 17 instead of 14 as told by the church.
1842* – Joseph Smith publishes his ‘official’ account of his first vision in the publication Times and Seasons.
1844 – Brigham Young takes over control of the Mormom Church after the murder of Joseph Smith. Young had 363 sermons published in the inspired Journal of Discourses. Never once does he mention the first vision upon which the foundation of the church is set.
1820-1850 – Numerous publications describe the first vision as Joseph being visited by the angel, Moroni.
1851 – Mormon publication of the first edition of the Pearl of Great Price reveals it was actually the angel, Nephi, that Joseph Smith actually saw in 1820, contrary to all other Mormon publications that previously said it was Moroni. This is quite troubling. Was is it God the Father and Son, the angel Moroni or the Angel Nephi? And how did we get from two visitors to one?
1853 – Joseph Smith’s mother, after Smith’s death, wrote in her biographical Sketches, confirming it was, Nephi, that Joseph Smith saw.
The book of Mormon is published in 1830, 10 years after the so-called First Vision, yet the 1820 vision upon which the Church if founded is not officially given until 1842?
Only one conclusion can be drawn from these events, which are backed up by facts and reliable sources including the Mormon Church’s own historical records, and that is that Joseph Smith was a false prophet, money-digger and lying manipulator of people of the worst kind. Please, do not put your trust and eternity into the hands of Joseph Smith. Jesus Christ said, “I am the truth, the way and the life, no man goes to the Father but by way of the Son.” Jesus is all you need. No church, belief in no prophet is required.
Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today you’ll be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43). Instant, FULL Salvation! No works, no church, no baptism, nothing but faith.6 The Greek word for “paradise,” that Jesus uses in Luke 23:43, is paradeisos, the same word in the Greek that Paul uses in 2 Cor. 12:4 to describe the third heaven that Mormons use to explain the “three degrees of glory” doctrine. Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:2-4:
I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
You can see that Paul refers to the third heaven as “paradise.” Closer examination of the word, paradeisos, the same word that Jesus said to the thief. How can you reconcile this, my Mormon friends? This passage clearly contradicts Mormon teachings about heaven and how to get there. Paul goes on in the passage to reveal that it was himself who was caught up into paradise, the third heaven, where Jesus took the saved thief.
Even if one was to put the “three degrees of glory” doctrine aside, the thief is still a problem for Mormon apologists. There simply is not enough exegesis (reading out of the bible) to explain the Mormon position that the thief, a lying cheat and swindler who lived a life of reprobate, could never be in the third heaven with Jesus. By the Mormon Church’s own doctrine and admission, you need to be a member of the “true church,” their church, be baptized and married and having performed many works (how many?…no Mormon for nearly 200 years can tell you), in order to go to the third heaven after you die. Yet, here we see Jesus and Paul, clearly describing the same heaven in the bible’s original language, paradeisos (meaning no misinterpretations here), the same heaven that will have the thief there. You see my Mormon friends, there is but one way to heaven, and that is Jesus. Confess your sins to Him, pray to Him, read His word, the holy bible, and KNOW you are saved (1 John 5:13).
* Note: 22 years went by before Joseph Smith published his account of the first vision upon which, according to McKay, “is the foundation of the church.” If it was so significant, why did it not appear in the Book of Mormon?
Footnotes
1. History of Joseph Smith, Jr., by himself, in Joseph Smith’s Letter Book at Kirtland, November 27, 1832 to August 4, 1835 (Church Historian’s Library, Salt Lake City, Utah).
2. History of the Prophet Joseph, Improvement Era, vol. 5, p. 257.
3. No Man Knows My History, The Life of Joseph Smith. 1971, 1973. New York. p. 18
4. God’s Word, Final, Infallible and Forever. 1985. Grand Rapids, MI. p. 24
5. Book of Mormon, title page.
6. God’s Word, Final, Infallible and Forever. 1985. Grand Rapids, MI. p. 162
Banned Utah Humor !
(1) Three levels of LDS heaven: celestial, terrestrial, cholesterol !
(2) LDS houses are painted by Ladder-Day Saints.
(3) Brigham Young, when looking down on the Salt Lake Valley, said “This is the place.” How come so many folks settled in that valley if he looked down on it?
(4) Did Adam Swapp get his wives at a Swapp meet?
(5) New Mormon cat food: 9 Wives !
(6) What’s a plastic covered Indian? A laminated Lamanite. Of course I’ve known this since I was Nephite to a grasshopper.
(7) Mormon: Someone who is more man than woman. Is “Mormon” short for “More Money”?
(8) Mormonism teaches that we can know truth if there is a “burning in the bosom.” Joseph Smith was the first Mormon who had a bosom below his belt !
(9) Brigham lived in the Lion House which helped him to keep on Lion.
(10) Utah is the only state where you can spell “Moron” with two m’s. And it’s the only state where the sheep take care of the cattle !
(Glenn Beck, Jon Huntsman Jr., Warren Jeffs, Thomas Monson, and Mitt Romney did not approve of the above humor.)
[above humor seen on the internet! Wendy]
To you are saying that Jesus being perfect needed baptism but you don’t? At least to me that doesn’t add up.
John’s baptism was by water, but Jesus’ baptism (what all followers of Jesus should do, if they have the chance) was by fire and the Holy Spirit. Before His resurection it was commonly practiced as a symbol of repentence. That is what John was preaching, “repent, make straight the paths…” We as believers should follow Jesus, therefore, we should be baptized… but our salvation doesn’t rely on it.
Paul describes baptism in Romans Chapter 6 as a symbol of our “death to the old life” (being buried under the water to symbolize the grave) then being raised up new in Christ. I had a conversion and turned away from my old life the moment I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I “confessed with my mouth and believed in my heart…” and I was saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit.
The thief on the cross was still under the law (only after the debt for our sins had been paid by His death, burial, and resurection, were we under G.R.A.C.E. “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”)
Think about “the hall of faith” in Hebrews… The thief on the cross believed that Jesus was Lord and Savior, and (quoting from Hebrews) “it was acredited to him as righteousness”
Jesus was asked in the Gospels, “What must we do to do the works of God?” Jesus replied, “Believe in the One that God has sent”. It’s all about believing and following Him. Putting your trust in Him and making Him the Lord of your life.
Love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength… and love your neighbor as yourself.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1992/04/i-have-a-question/did-brigham-young-confirm-or-expound-on-joseph-smiths-first-vision?lang=eng
Okay, I am going to ask that you read my whole comment before dissing on me.
14-year-old Joseph Smith was struggling with which church to join. The churches in his day were preaching Christian love yet they were always bickering with each other. They claimed that it didn’t matter which church you joined as long as you had faith, yet when you did choose a church you were targeted and shamed by the other churches.
Joseph had been trying to find which church was right for years, he read scriptures, went to different meetings, and talked with preachers and leaders of the churches. In 1820 he read in James 1:5 and decided that he was going to pray. He went into the “Sacred Grove” as we call it, or a grove of trees next to his home to pray.
While he was praying God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ came down and spoke with him. They told him not to join any of the churches because they were all wrong, Christ said, “…they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me…” (JSH 1:19). Three years later, all the while being mocked, laughed at, made fun of, etc. he was saying his evening prayer when the Angel Moroni came to him and told him that God had a work for him to do. There was an ancient record hidden up that he was to translate. The ancient record is written on gold plates, gold mixed with other alloys so that it would be preserved, it didn’t weigh a lot. The Angel Moroni came three times that night and once the next day.
There are grammatical errors in the “Book of Mormon” but no doctrinal errors, “…And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ. …” (Title page in the Book of Mormon). You need to understand that grammar and language was different then, so while there may be errors now there weren’t then. Also, it was written by a scribe who wrote what Joseph said, the scribe never saw the plates. This could also account for grammatical errors. However, the doctrine never contradicts the bible or itself. You will find no doctrinal errors or contradiction in “The Book of Mormon”
You may be thinking, “well ‘The Book of Mormon’ says they had horses and horses weren’t over there at that time” Yes, it does say there are horses. There are a few answers to this.
1) Horses are mentioned very rarely and the dates when they are mentioned coincide with the dates of horse skeletons found in the Americas. Yes, small amounts of horse bones have been found.
2) While Joseph was translating he may have come across a word that he didn’t know, so he used context clues to conclude that this may have been a horse.
Joseph finished translating “The Book of Mormon” in 1829 and in 1830 he organized the church, making an official religion.
While translating Joseph and Oliver Cowdery, his scribe, came across a passage about baptism, they went into the woods to call upon the Lord. When they did a holy messenger came down and gave them the Aaronic Priesthood. “…The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized. …” (JSH 1:72). After they were ordained to the priesthood they baptized each other. They were later given the Melchizedek Priesthood during the dedication of the Kirtland Temple.
The Lord says constantly that you cannot enter the kingdom of God without being baptized. Jesus was baptized by immersion of water, “…And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: …” (Matthew 3:16). “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. …” (John 3:5). It is not enough to simply be a good person, you have to make covenants with God and baptism is the first of those covenants.
There are three degrees of glory, the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial.
The Telestial kingdom is for the people who rejected Christ and His teachings, “…And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament.
These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus.
These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit. . ..” (D&C 76:81-83).
“…These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. . ..” (D&C76:103).
The Terrestrial kingdom is for the people who were good God-fearing people but rejected His church and ministry, “…These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.
These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness.
These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father.
Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.
These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God. . ..” (D&C 76: 75-79).
The Celestial Kingdom has three degrees of glory in it. All are for the people who are received Christ and followed his teachings and church. However, the highest degree of glory in the Celestial kingdom is only for those who have made all the covenants with God and kept them. You do have to be married to enter the highest degree of glory because that is a covenant you make between you, your spouse, and God.
The scriptures say that we will be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ and if Christ is heir to all the things of His Father, then so are we. Which means in the highest degree of glory we will become Gods, we will not replace God but we will be rewarded and become Gods. In order to do this, you have to be married, just like God and Jesus Christ are.
The Highest Glory of the Celestial kingdom is for, “…They who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized . . .
That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;
And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.
They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—…
who have received of his fulness, and of his glory; …
Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God— Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
And they shall overcome all things. …” (D&C 76:51-60).
Joseph did practice plural marriage. He, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Hyrum Smith, and several others had multiple wives. Every single person who practiced it struggled.
We don’t know why the Lord asked us to practice it but one of the reasons given was to raise seed unto Him. Joseph was told three times by the Angel Moroni to practice it after he refused. The third time he was told that if he didn’t practice it Moroni was to slay him there.
Brigham, Heber, Hyrum, and all the others who practiced it had to take time to inquire of the Lord weather it was from Him or Joseph. They all got confirmation from the Lord, as did their wives.
Joseph Smith loved Emma Hale Smith with all his heart and was a clean and chaste man. He never could have come up with this on his own. The fact that he himself struggled with accepting and practicing it shows that it was from the Lord and not him.
When Joseph Smith, acting as the mayor of Nauvoo, gave the order to destroy the press it was completely legal. The first amendment only applied to the federal government and not state/local government. It was legal until the 14th amendment in 1868. With all that was going on, the lies that were published inflamed their enemies even more and conflict started. Joseph had the press destroyed so that there would not be conflict between the people.
Joseph Smith and his companions were able to bring two pistols into Carthage Jail for protection. Joseph and Hyrum absolutely hated using guns in any way, so they only brought them for defense if it came to that. When the mob stormed into Carthage and started shooting at them they tried to hold them off by holding the door shut and hitting the pistols out of the door, but not shooting. When the mob started entering it became time for self-defense.
You have to remember the four men in that jail were supposed to be under the state’s promised protection so they could stand trial for things they did not do. That mob was acting illegally and should have been tried for the murder of two innocent men. Joseph and Hyrum did fire on them and could have killed a few but it was in self-defense.
Does the killing of a few men in self-defense add up to the number of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) killed and whipped? Does it add up to being driven from place to place? Does it add up to driving women, men, children, the sick, the elderly, and the pregnant, from their homes in nothing but nightclothes and maybe a small covering and shoes, if they were lucky?
If we are going to get after Joseph and Hyrum for self-defense then we had better get after everyone who participated in whipping and killing us, everyone who participated in burning our homes and crops making us starve, everyone who raped and then brutally murdered our women, everyone who tarred and feathered us, everyone who beat us, and everyone who drove us from our homes at the point of a gun.
I believe if you search the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with an intention to learn and not to find a flaw you’ll learn that we’re not so bad. We are accepting of all people no matter their religious beliefs, ethnicity, culture, race, sexual orientation, etc. We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father who wants more than anything to see us follow Him and be happy. If you want to hate our church fine, but please don’t go and try to bring other people down. We don’t go up to you and try to tell you lies about your church or beliefs so please don’t do it to us.
I testify that this is the true church of Christ and that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. We don’t know everything, we only know what God has revealed to us. We have faith that God will reveal all secrets to us and make all things known unto us, weather that is in this life or the next we don’t know, but it will come.
I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Hi Member,
Wow!!! That was quite a diatribe. This isn’t about who’s unicorn is more magical… it’s about facts and truth…and if you read the post the author backed it up with facts. Every claim made is from approved LDS sources. You can verify it for yourself.
For a church to testify in the name of Christ, you sure go on and on and on about Joseph Smith and other leaders, and LDS doctrine. Did you forget Jesus and what he did? By your lofty post sure sounds like Joseph Smith is more.important.
As a Christian I share the Gospel of Christ. I don’t glorify men. The Truth is in Christ alone. He saved me from my sins…not Joseph Smith or anyone else.
Jesus came to save not a church. Polygamy/polyandry isn’t required Just Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15: 1-6 in case you didn’t know that’s the Gospel my friend.
Simple and beautiful.
Sorry, it’s been a while, I’ve been busy.
I did not mean to make my post sound like it was offensive. All, I was trying to do was state the facts about Joseph Smith and the beginnings of the church. I will admit at the end I did get a little defensive because I have family members who witnessed that and went through that.
While the author did use church sources, they also used a lot of their own opinion. Such as, “A gift so great, that it contained many grammatical errors. Apparently, God was so busy creating the earth in six days, He didn’t have time to brush up on his grammar skills.” While it may seem subtle it isn’t. The author clearly does not believe Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God, which is fine, mind you, but what they put is not fact, it’s a hidden insult. The grammar and punctuation may be wrong, but people should be focused on the MESSAGE not the GRAMMAR.
Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that what the author wrote is a mix of fact, opinion, misunderstanding, and lies.
Melissa, I agree with you, Joseph Smith does not save us from our sins, nor does any man, Jesus Christ does. We only believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, same with the other prophets of our church. The reason Joseph Smith is so important to us is because he brought abut the Restoration.
In my post if I made it sound like Joseph Smith was a perfect man, that was not my intention. By all means, he was not perfect. He was human and made mistakes. One mistake he made was not listening to God when He(God) told him(Joseph) not to give the translated copy of the Book of Mormon to Martin Harris. Due to this, he lost the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon. After that Joseph was chastised by the Lord and lost the gift of Translation for a while. Another one of Joseph’s mistakes was not obeying the Lord when He(the Lord) told him(Joseph) to practice polygamy. He was told three times by an angel and the third time the angel came with a drawn sword and said if he did not obey the Lord he was to be struck dead right then.
A little side note about polygamy, Joseph Smith did not actually have any relations with his wives. So, in Seminary I learned that there are actually three types of sealings, time, time & all eternity, and eternity.
Time means you’re only married until death, so sexual intimacy would be part of the marriage. Time & all eternity is what it says, you will be married in this life and the next, so sexual intimacy would be part of the marriage. Eternity is in the next life only. So, sexual intimacy would not be part of the marriage. Joseph Smith was sealed to his wives for eternity only. Joseph Smith never actually knew any woman but Emma.
In order to understand this you have to understand that when the revelation of sealing came, it was with the revelation of polygamy. The people believed that in order to be sealed to their families in the eternities they had to be sealed to the prophet. We know now that that’s not true but at the time they didn’t know that.
When I learned this I was blown away. I had no idea! I hope you’re better able to understand polygamy now.
So, Joseph Smith was not perfect but in the words of Elder John Taylor, “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 emphasis added)
Just a question, Melissa? Are you a Protestant? I’m just wondering because in my history class we just covered the Protestant Revolution and learned that they believe faith alone is what gets you to Heaven, not your works and what you said in your post it sounds like that it what you believe. Correct me if I’m wrong.
I am not being rude or anything I genuinely want to know. I love learning about different religions and cultures and since you have listened to what I have said about my religion I would love to hear about yours.
P.S. when I typed in all caps that is supposed to represent typing in italics. I know that it could also represent yelling and I am definitely not yelling.
Dear LDS member, I guess the first thing I would take issue with is the efficacy of Christ’s death. Jesus died for our sins past present and future so in the eyes of the Lord we take on Jesus’s righteousness. So dividing Heaven into multiple divisions according to our works denigrates Jesus finished work on the cross. Joseph Smith was convicted in the state of New York for using the sear stones to defraud people. And there’s documentation to prove that, so his character would be in great question. The God I believe in is eternal meaning he had no beginning and he will have no end, that he is The Great I Am, meaning he’s self-existing outside of creation. If LDS Doctrine believes that either God the Father or Jesus had some sort of beginning or Evolution to who they are now then you believe in a different God than I do. Thank you for the dialogue
Dear Francis –
Thank you so much for writing in and sharing your thoughts on how Jesus’ death on the cross is sufficient! PTL!
From past experience on this blog alone we’ve seen how members of the Church do read what Christians have to say and it does indeed make a difference – they do take the info an do further study.
Thanks again for your kind and thoughtful words!
With Love in Christ –
Michelle