“Martyrdom” of Joseph
Gospel Kingdom, pg. 360; “He, however, instantly arose, and with a firm, quick step, and a determined expression of countenance, approached the door, and pulling the six-shooter left by Brother Wheelock from his pocket, opened the door slightly, and snapped the pistol six successive times. Only three of the barrels, however, were discharged. I afterwards understood that two or three were wounded by these discharges, two of whom, I am informed, died.” – John Taylor (Third prophet of the Church.)
Mason
EM, pg. 1018; “For a time Nauvoo was a community almost unto itself. Its singular status, the inclusive character of its life patterns, and the extension of the religious vision into all aspects of culture were stabilized by a strong self-sufficient charter and even a militia, the Nauvoo Legion. Many visitors came to view the new city, and efforts to promote cultural and intellectual exchange increased. Joseph Smith and about 1,500 other Church members joined the Masonic lodges in Nauvoo and nearby Keokuk and Montrose to promote fraternal relations (see Freemasonry in Nauvoo). However, once again the old settlers outside the Church clashed with the LDS settlers, and hostilities grew.”
Mayor
Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 7; “Yet this man became mayor of the biggest town in Illinois…”
Medium
D&C 132:7; “…revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred)…”
Meekness of Joseph
History of the Church 5:218; ““I am meek and lowly in heart,” and will personify Jesus for a moment, to illustrate the principle, and cried out with a loud voice, “Woe unto you, ye doctors; woe unto you, ye lawyers; woe unto you, ye scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites!” &c. But you cannot find the place where I ever went that I found fault with their food, their drink, their house, their lodgings; no, never; and this is what is meant by the meekness and lowliness of Jesus.”
Mission of Joseph to Save All People
Journal of Discourses 7:290; “Should not this thought comfort all people? They will, by-and-by, be a thousand times more thankful for such a man as Joseph Smith, junior, than it is possible for them to be for any earthly good whatever. It is his mission to see that all the children of men in this last dispensation are saved, that can be, through the redemption. You will be thankful, every one of you, that Joseph Smith, junior, was ordained to this great calling before the worlds were.”
Money-digger
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 120; “—”Was not Joseph Smith a money digger?” Yes, but it was never a very profitable job for him, as he only got fourteen dollars a month for it.”
Name of Joseph to be Known for Good and Evil
Joseph Smith History 1:33; “He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.”
Name of Smith to Never Perish
Gospel Doctrine, pg. 479; “God lives, and Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God—living, not dead; for his name will never perish.”
No Error in Revelations
History of the Church 6:366; “When did I ever teach anything wrong from this stand? When was I ever confounded? I want to triumph in Israel before I depart hence and am no more seen. I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught. Must I, then, be thrown away as a thing of naught?”
Omniscience of Joseph
Gospel Through the Ages, pg. 125; “The holy men of the Lord, such as the beloved Prophet Joseph Smith, who understood the unseen world beyond the veil of mortality, not only had a firm conviction that life is eternal, but had a comprehensive philosophy of the stages of progression that men pass through. Shortly before the Prophet’s death he expounded in a masterful sermon the Mormon philosophy of progressive-eternalism. “As a teacher he reached the climax of his career in this discourse. After it there was but one thing more he could do—seal his testimony with his blood. This he did in less than three months.””
Original Sin, Joseph’s Idea of Original Sin
Joseph Smith’s Idea of the Gospel, pg. 9; “It is said in a revelation that no less personage than God explained this fact to Adam. After observing that the atonement took care of the legalities of the “original guilt,” God said: “Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.””
Osmosis
Joseph Smith Chronology, pg. 186; “Mar. 18, 1843 – Joseph writes, “About noon, I lay down on the writing table, with my head on a pile of law books, saying, . . . ‘I am going to study law, and this is the way I study it’; and then fell asleep.” (HC 5:307.)”
Parted the Veil
Joseph Smith: The Choice Seer, epilogue; “Ours is the song of praise to the man ordained from eternity past to part the veil and open the heavens, for through him the fulness of truth and the fulness of priesthood powers have come to earth again.”
People Studied at the Feet of Joseph
Joseph Smith, The Choice Seer, Preface #3; “In assessing the marvelous impact of the Choice Seer’s work on this dispensation, we will turn first and foremost to the doctrinal teachings of Joseph Smith as set forth in his sermons, letters, revelations, translations, and narrations. In addition, we will rely occasionally on the clarifications and expansions of those who knew Brother Joseph firsthand and studied at his feet, as well as those apostolic and prophetic successors to whom is given the divine mandate to build on the doctrinal foundation he laid.”
People Thank God for Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration, pg. 112; “…Joseph Smith is held in reverence, his name is honored; tens of thousands of people thank God in their heart and from the depths of their souls for the knowledge the Lord has restored to the earth through him . . . They revere him and they love him as they love no other man, because they know he was the chosen instrument in the hands of the Almighty of restoring the Gospel of life and salvation unto them.”
Priest
D&C 13:1; “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.”
Priesthood, Holds Eternal
LDS Hymn #27 & Joseph Smith, the Prophet, the Man, pg. 3; “Great is his glory and endless his priesthood. Ever and ever the keys he will hold. Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom, Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old. (“Praise to the Man,” Hymns #27)”
Prophesied About in the Bible
D&C 113:5-6; “What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter? 6 Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days.”
Prophet
Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 30; “My enemies say that I have been a true prophet. Why, I had rather be a fallen true prophet than a false prophet. When a man goes about prophesying, and commands men to obey his teachings, he must either be a true or false prophet. False prophets always arise to oppose the true prophets and they will prophesy so very near the truth that they will deceive almost the very chosen ones. (HC 6:364.)”
Prophet, Smith has Natural & Constitutional Right to be a False
HC 6:304; “But meddle not with any man for his religion: all governments ought to permit every man to enjoy his religion unmolested. No man is authorized to take away life in consequence of difference of religion, which all laws and governments ought to tolerate and protect, right or wrong. Every man has a natural, and, in our country, a constitutional right to be a false prophet, as well as a true prophet.”
Prophet – not Always
Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 178; “A Prophet Not Always a Prophet – I read German, and visited with a brother and sister from Michigan, who thought that “a prophet is always a prophet”; but I told them that a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such. (HC 5:265.)”
Related to Jesus
CR, April 1929, pg. 124-125; Great Are the Words of Isaiah, pg. 71; “Isaiah 11:1 – The interpretation of this passage has been given by Joseph Smith in D&C 113:1-4. The stem of Jesse is Christ. The book of Revelation also identifies Jesus as such (see Rev. 5:5; 22:16). The rod is “a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim” (D&C 113:4). That the servant is Joseph Smith himself seems evident. President Brigham Young taught that Joseph was a “pure Ephraimite,” and this was confirmed by President Joseph Fielding Smith (see DS, 3:253-54, for both statements). His being a pure Ephraimite does not necessarily mean he had only the blood of Ephraim; it may mean he had some of the pure blood of Ephraim in his veins. This is also evidenced by the fact that his father was the Patriarch to the Church, which office belongs to “the oldest man of the blood of Joseph or of the seed of Abraham” (TPJS, p. 151). Joseph Smith would likely have had the blood of other tribes in his veins as well, since Israel lived among the Gentiles for hundreds of years. Certainly Joseph Smith had “much power” laid upon him, as D&C 113:4 states. All this fits well with the angel Moroni’s declaration to Joseph Smith that the eleventh chapter of Isaiah was about to be fulfilled (see JS-H 1:40).”
Restorer & Teacher
Handbook of the Restoration, pg. 25; “Joseph Smith was a restorer of the pure and uncorrupted gospel of Jesus Christ. At no time did he declare that he brought a new message of salvation to the world; his mission was to restore and declare, to expound and enlarge the old truth, which has always been part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith was also an interpreter of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The accounts in the Holy Bible are but outlines of the labors and teachings of the Savior; and the commentaries by the apostles, which constitute the latter part of the New Testament, are fragmentary and incomplete.”
Reverence for Smith’s Name Advised
Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book, pg. 181; “Whenever we speak of the Prophet Joseph Smith … it should be in reverent appreciation of the Lord who called him and whom Joseph served so well. (“‘A Choice Seer,'” p. 113.)”
Root of Jesse
D&C 113:1-6; “Who is the Stem of Jesse spoken of in the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th verses of the 11th chapter of Isaiah? 2 Verily thus saith the Lord: It is Christ. 3 What is the rod spoken of in the first verse of the 11th chapter of Isaiah, that should come of the Stem of Jesse? 4 Behold, thus saith the Lord: It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power. 5 What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter? 6 Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days.”
Rough, Rolling Stone
HC 5:401; “I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else…Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty, who will give me dominion over all and every one of them, when their refuge of lies shall fail, and their hiding place shall be destroyed, while these smooth-polished stones with which I come in contact become marred.”
Salvation, Smith Brings Assurance of
Joseph Smith, The Choice Seer, Prologue: Praise to the Man #4; “Because of Joseph Smith, we know that we are members of the house of Israel and heirs to all the blessings promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph Smith did more than restore a New Testament church. Indeed, the genius of the Restoration is found in the Old Testament. It centers in the covenant God made with father Abraham.”
Salvation Available because of Smith
MD, pg. 396; “Joseph Smith’s greatness lies in the work that he did, the spiritual capacity he developed, and the witness he bore of the Redeemer. Since the keys of salvation were restored to the Prophet, it is in and through and because of his latter-day mission that the full redemptive power of the Lord has again become available to men. It is because the Lord called Joseph Smith that salvation is again available to mortal men. “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.””
Shed his Blood for Truth
Joseph Smith, the Prophet, the Man, pg. xxxiv; “For the truths that will be taught here, he gave his life. For the testimonies that will be spoken here, he shed his blood. I like these words spoken by one who admired and loved him.”
Teacher
Joseph Smith the Educator, pg. 1; “Joseph Smith held that man can obtain truth through spiritual and intellectual processes. He should utilize both methods in his quest for understanding. In evaluating the two methods, he said: “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 teachings.””
Three Questions to Ask About Joseph Smith
Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book, pg. 181; “Yet another way of testing and appreciating the significance of the ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith is to ask oneself: (1) “What would we know about the holy temples and about the sealing power without the Prophet Joseph Smith?”; (2) “What would we know about the plan of salvation with its different estates without the Prophet Joseph Smith?”; (3) “What would we know about the precious and plain doctrine of premortality of mankind without the Prophet Joseph Smith?” The answer to each question is the same: “Very, very little; certainly not enough.” (“‘A Choice Seer.'”)”
Visage of Joseph and Jesus Compared
Straightforward Answers to Tough Gospel Questions, pg. 125-126; “In a prophetic description of the promised Messiah, Isaiah said “his visage” would be more “marred” than that of any man (Isa. 52:14). Though no mortal man has endured what Christ did in his matchless labor of atonement, the effect of his suffering was not such that it distorted his appearance in a manner to justify this prophecy…Christ gave a dual meaning to these words by applying them to another servant of the Lord in the last days (see 3 Ne. 20:44). We understand that servant to be Joseph Smith…”
Visits of Jesus, Moses & others
Lord Needed a Prophet, pg. 14; “There in the Kirtland Temple Joseph again saw the Savior as well as the ancient prophets Moses, Elias, and Elijah. Those heavenly messengers strengthened Joseph’s faith, gave him important priesthood authority, and filled him with courage to face the trials that were soon to come.”
Vocabulary of Joseph
Evidences and Reconciliations, pg. 362; “It is pretty generally agreed, however, that on the average a fairly well-educated man uses about eight thousand words in daily conversation. Joseph Smith used only between two thousand and three thousand words in his written publications. This smaller number would be expected from a knowledge of his educational opportunities. An actual count shows (leaving out all inflected forms of words) the following vocabulary for the Book of Mormon: General Words 2,896; Persons’ Names 245; Place Names 166; Total 3307.”
Voice of the One Crying in the Wilderness
Discourses of Joseph Smith, pg. 200; “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Repent ye of your sins and prepare the way for the coming of the Son of Man; for the kingdom of God has come unto you, and henceforth the ax is laid unto the root of the tree; and every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, God Almighty (and not Joe Smith) shall hew it down and cast it into the fire.” (HC 6:273-74.)”
Work of Joseph is Eternal
Gospel Doctrine, pg. 481; “The work in which Joseph Smith was engaged was not confined to this life alone, but it pertains as well to the life to come, and to the life that has been. In other words, it relates to those who have lived upon the earth, to those who are living and to those who shall come after us. It is not something which relates to man only while he tabernacles in the flesh, but to the whole human family from eternity to eternity.”
http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6972&x=50&y=5
“A Choice Seer” by NEAL A. MAXWELL
“From Joseph Smith, one unlearned and untrained in theology, more printed pages of scripture have come down to us than from any other mortal–in fact, as President Holland has pointed out, more than the combined pages, as available at present, from Moses, Paul, Luke, and Mormon.”