‘And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.’ Mark 15:23
History of the Church 7:101 “Sometime after dinner we sent for some wine. It has been reported by some that this was taken as a sacrament. It 
was no such thing; our spirits were generally dull and heavy, and it was sent for to revive us. I think it was Captain Jones who went after it, but they would not suffer him to return. I believe we all drank of the wine, and gave some to one or two of the prison guards. We all of us felt unusually dull and languid, with a remarkable depression of spirits. In consonance with those feelings I sang a song, that had lately been introduced into Nauvoo, entitled, ‘A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief’, etc.” – edited by John Taylor
Psalm 69:21a “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
Matthew 27:34 “They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.”
The significance of the word gall shouldn’t be overlooked! The transliteration for gall is cholē. It’s a green hued bitter herb used to dull the sense of pain and often given to those who were being crucified. Not surprisingly, while Jesus hung on the cross, He refused to partake of the liquid from the sponge offered to Him by the guards. The reason why is to show that He fully paid the price for sin.
Moreover, Jesus fulfilled what King David said in Psalm 69!
On the other end of the spectrum was Joseph Smith’s death. One of their prophets (Gordon Hinckley) falsely claimed Smith gave his life for the sake of Mormonism.
Joseph Smith, the Prophet, the Man, p. 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.” – Dedication remarks by Gordon B. Hinckley
See Martyrdom of Joseph Smith for more info.
Joseph Smith’s actions were the opposite of Jesus’ actions with every event in life. From drinking wine to soothe himself, being imprisoned for breaking the law…it’s not hard to see how Smith wasn’t a true representative of our Lord.
We pray members of the Church will keep their focus on Christ Jesus and Him crucified. He is, after all, the One and Only Redeemer whereby we have salvation!
We wonder…
What did Smith’s death do for LDS members?
If you’re LDS, please know that we pray you every day! We publish these things out of deep concern for your salvation and hope you’ll have a saving knowledge of Jesus!
With Love in Christ –
Michelle
Jesus didn’t attempt to avoid his death on the cross. In fact, he spoke of his upcoming death many times (Matthew 4:17;Matthew 16:21-23; Matthew 17:23;Matthew 20:18-19; John 7:1,6, 30). Jesus even avoided situations where there might have been attempts to jail him or to kill him before His appointed time (crucifiction). Jesus could have freed himself from captivity at any time or even brought harm to the people wanting to crucifying him. Instead he chose to be incarcerated and to go to the cross, as an innocent, sacrificial lamb for mankind.(John 10:18; John 19:11)
Joe Smith, on the other hand, was not a man innocent of any wrongdoing. He was a criminal, that even formed his own militia (mafia) to protect himself and to carry out his orders.Joe Smith was arrested for ordering a criminal act to be performed. He directed (ordered) his militia to destroy the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper and print shop. Why? Simply because the newspaper was printing articles about his shady ( deceitful) dealings with his own church members; such as stealing their money, having polygamous relations with female church members, including married women and underage girls.
Joe Smith did not die a martyr. In fact, he had firearms smuggled to him while in jail Why would he accept these pistols if he expected to die as one of God’s martyrs? When the mob came to his prison cell to take hold of him, Joseph did not submit himself willingly to his executioners, as did Jesus. Instead, Joe decided to defend himself from this angry mob by firing bullets at them. He engaged this unruly crowd in a firefight in order to protect himself. Why would a true lamb of God behave in such a way?. Joe Smith had no intention of sacrificing himself for God or the Mormon church. In the end, Joe Smith was nothing more than a feisty criminal and hustler of people, that got caught up in an unfortunate moment of deadly madness