Joseph Smith

This last week has caused me to think a lot about the church and more especially the humble beginnings of it. The church was once just a small handful of people who all believed in the Prophet Joseph Smith. Now, church membership has grown to 14,000,000 world wide. All of those people have considered the story and testimony of Joseph Smith and have prayed about him and the Book of Mormon. They have received a witness of their own through the power of the Holy Ghost. I am one of them. I have searched the scriptures diligently, pondered what I have read, and I have followed the exhortation of the ancient prophets; I've prayed with faith to know if it was all true or not. I am a missionary today because I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's church established on the earth and that through Joseph Smith we have this Gospel. Thomas S. Monson  is a real, living prophet today. He is a prophet called by God.

There is much attacking the church and the truth in this day and age. People call Joseph Smith many terrible things that I hope no one will ever call me due to the vulgarity and cruelty that makes me cringe. Joseph Smith was many things, but he wasn't a coward! How many times were there that he could have denied what he had seen? How much pain and affliction did he suffer through because he wouldn't deny it? What could his life been like if he would have denied everything? He probably could have lived a semi-normal life...But he wouldn't deny the fact that he had seen God and our Savior Jesus Christ. He was willing to be mocked on every hand. He would drug out of his home in the night to be tarred and feathered while his wife had to witness. He would be chased from his home and be faced with threats to himself and his family. He would be imprisoned many times and eventually killed because he would not deny what he had seen.

Today, we have the Book of Mormon as another witness and testament of Jesus Christ because of the sacrifices and afflictions of Joseph Smith . Having the Bible and Book of Mormon together makes the path to Salvation clear. We must follow that path so we can return to the presence of our Father to dwell in His kingdom.

I love the testimony of Jeffrey R. Holland in his talk "Safety for the Soul"

I echo my testimony in that of Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and Jeffrey R. Holland. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and has been kept away from the world for our time. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. I bear my witness of it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. Amen.