New Era, ‘Why Do I Need to Know Joseph Smith Is a Prophet?,’ December 2015;
On December 23, 1805, the founder of the LDS Church was born. His life’s work was arguably, one that affected more people than he ever dreamt of in his short thirty-nine years.
Although he was a busy guy, we should be ever mindful of what the Lord said in James 4:14!
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
This month the Church has employed the use of their many media outlets to broadcast, not only the birth of the Savior, but to remind people of their founder’s great purpose.
One of their magazines, the New Era, provided a dozen or so articles for LDS youth, and so we’re looking at a couple of them in the next few days. Their lessons focused on a number of topics from school to Jesus, and as we’ll see in this one, the life of Joseph Smith.
In this article they provided a checklist of 20 major doctrines the Church espouses, and kids were asked to mark how many of the items listed were introduced by Smith. It should come as no surprise, every single item qualified…
We’re listing the items so you can quickly scan over what they’ve said, but we’re not getting into each and every one of them.
Our purpose in posting about this article is to ask a few questions about some of the things they said. One thing is certain, for the Mormon, everything hinges on Smith. Here we go!
“Think about it. Everything you know in the Church, everything you believe, everything you do, really hinges on this question: Was Joseph Smith really called as a prophet? If the answer is yes, then the Church really is true, the Book of Mormon really is a book of holy scripture, the doctrines of the Church are true, and the Church really is led by prophets today. That pretty much affects every aspect of your life.
This statement is more true than you can possibly imagine. Everything in the life of a Mormon rises and sets on whether or not, Smith was a true prophet of God. I’ve always said when I left the Church, I quickly discovered that everything I knew in life was a lie.
Which of the following doctrines and principles were taught by Joseph Smith, revealed through him, or made clear by his teachings? Check all that apply.
- God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings.
- Heavenly Father answers prayers and takes an active role in our lives.
- God calls prophets and apostles today to lead and guide us in His work.
- The Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price are true scripture.
- Priesthood authority and power reside in the Church.
- Mormon, Moroni, Alma, Nephi, Lehi, and many other individuals in the Book of Mormon were real people.
- Jesus Christ visited the Americas and taught His gospel to the people there.
- Priesthood blessingscan provide comfort and heal the sick.
- There are three degrees of heaven, and the highest is the celestial kingdom.
- We lived with God before we were born.
- God’s grace can bless me now and in the future.
- There really is a purpose to life: to become like Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father through our choices and with Their help.
- God is more powerful than the adversary.
- Youth can receive callings and receive priesthood authority to serve.
- The Word of Wisdomis a true principle.
- Great blessings come when we keep the law of tithing.
- Fasting with a purpose draws us closer to God.
- All people will be resurrected with spirit and body reunited forever in an immortal frame.
- Families can be together forever through the sealing ordinances in the temple.
- The leaders of my class or quorum, ward, and stake have been called of God.
How many principles did you check? The truth is, Joseph really did teach or reveal all of those things, and most of them are things people in his day did not know before he taught them.
The man who wrote this article, Mr. Joshua Perkey, hit the nail on the head with that statement.
Most of the items listed weren’t being taught as Christian doctrine before Smith came along. The priesthood belonging to man, no Trinity, apostles on earth today, extra-biblical canon, 3 degrees of heaven, a new form of reincarnation (aka, living with God before coming here to earth), families are forever…
These, and other Mormon doctrines, weren’t even on the radar for true Christians. And therein lies the rub…
Smith’s ideologies aren’t Christian.
So if you really want to know who you are, where you came from, and what God has in store for you in life, you really need to know that Joseph Smith was called as a true prophet. Knowing that leads you closer to Jesus Christ, and that makes all the difference.” – Joshua J. Perkey
Think of the implications this statement brings! If you don’t know and/or believe Smith was a true prophet of God, then you can’t be led to know Jesus. Really?
Our question about their statement is this –
What did God do before Smith came along?
If Smith was that important, how did God ever come up with the idea, let alone the power, to bring His Son to earth to be the fulfillment of everything He promised in the Bible? How did He function from the time of creation to 1805?
Does this sound reasonable to you?
How does this fit in with what God said in James 4:14?
If it does, may I ask why you’re worshiping a god that can’t function without Joseph Smith?
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