MY TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH SMITH

I just taught a GD lesson on his martyrdom - and just want to pass along my testimony of his mission and incredible life.  First of all, I want to say that in all my ravings about him, I am grateful for him because he points me to the source of my salvation, Jesus Christ.  Through Jesus' sacrifices, I can live with the Father (and Mother) of my spirit once again.

Where would I be without his great witness?  Two divine personages, two perfect beings of light - testifying of each other just as they did to Stephen, at the Baptism by John, to our first earthly parents - giving irrefutable witness of their love for us.  This fact ALONE sets the world on end.  TWO perfected beings with bodies of flesh and bone.  During the lesson, I pointed to a chair and told people that they might as well have faith in that chair as to believe the old sectarian notion of God before Joseph corrected the world.  A being who is everywhere at once, but no where, who can dwell in us (did he take his resurrected body and throw it on a hook in the front room closet once he got to heaven??).  A being who is a ventriloquist and announces himself, calling himself "My beloved Son"??  Sorry - the rational mind cannot buy it......

I would be ripping my hair out if I were presented with such doctrinal anomalies - so I can honestly give my praises to the man who communed with Jehovah and set things straight for those of us who are lesser mortals and who may well be content to beg for a few crumbs from the table he will be eating from in future spheres.  I would be content to hear him preach from the nosebleed section of a large hall.  I would love to hear his thoughts on how the early Saints had failed at Consecration and to pick his brain on how things would be if they had been able to pull off the near-impossible on this telestial sphere around 150 years ago.

My greatest thrill, from a teaching standpoint, was teaching a few Baptist "missionaries" on the steps of the Masonic Hall in Nauvoo about the doctrines of the gospel and asking them why, when they were surrounded by some of the best people on earth in one of the most amazing places on earth, would feel to kick against the pricks - just as those wicked men in Jesus' day did in similar fashion.  I called them out as wicked and adulterous (fornicatious) men (Matthew 12:38-39) and told them that if they would repent and accept the true gospel of Jesus Christ, they could enjoy the temple blessings that Joseph had given his life for, and go through the temple to have their sweethearts sealed to them for time and all eternity.  I fancied Joseph there on the steps of the same building on Main Street in Old Nauvoo, doing the same thing to some lost soul.

My first fire burned within me for this man after reading Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith right before my mission.  I immediately fell in love with his character and his spunk (no better word).  You do not get kicked to the ground as many times as he did and get right back up and keep on going - knowing you are going to take such horrifying damage during the next round.  Most people would just up and run.  My wife and I lost one kid and it kicked our butts to the curb.  He and Emma lost many and he did not lose hope or drive.  He did not - because he kept his eyes fixed on the prize.  He had seen it - he knew.  He could not deny it.  At the end of my lesson today, I talked about what I had accomplished by 39 1/2 years of age.  Not even a drop - compared to this man.  Any honest person who simply could look at the facts of his life - would be humbled.  There is nothing that gets me more hot around the collar than a person who is arrogant enough to judge a person (to be off the tracks, or less than they are, or to judge in any way) someone who is greater than they are.  It is the ultimate insult - and yet it was borne with grace by all the greats of this earth.  The people who crucified Jesus were the worst.  There was NO THING they could do that could even come close to His lowliest of acts in His life.  Yet - they esteemed Him as naught.  HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??  It is so incomprehensible to me as to leave me without words at times.  I just have to walk away shaking my head and muttering to myself.....

I had pictures of martyrs up on the wall during the lesson.  John baptizing Jesus.  Joseph situated in front of the Kirkland Temple and another showing Jesus coming at the Second Coming (the real one - in glory - that no man knows the hour of, but the Father).  John was the "Elias" - or one who came before Jesus' first coming to save us spiritually.  He had his head lobbed off and gave his life to seal his testimony.  Jesus, of course, gave His life and sealed His testimony.

Joseph, in like manner, was the "Elias" or forerunner of the Second Coming of Jesus - where we are saved temporally from our enemies.  Joseph laid the foundation for the restoration of all things - which is still in progress since we are still not a fully consecrated people (all of us).  I did have my book, "Fate of the Persecutors of the Prophet Joseph Smith" on display and made note that it is like the Apocrypha and that Dallin H. Oakes has said that some of the anecdotal accounts cannot be fully corroborated.  One account - that did have a second witness - was the bounty on Joseph's head of $1,000.  According to the book, "Fate...", on a clear day something akin to a lightning bolt struck the two men attempting to retrieve Joseph's head - who then were temporarily paralyzed.  The rest of the mob, thinking that the Nauvoo Legion was on the way - fled in terror.  Interesting to note that the Elias of the Second Coming had a claim on his head, as well. 

In the ancient Church, the head was lost, and it quickly fell into apostasy.  In the modern Church, we will nearly lose our head, but if we stay with the Prophet, a majority of the 12, and the records of the Church as we pass thru division and difficulty, all will be well.

I cannot wait to meet Joseph one day.  I can honestly say of all mortals, I have the greatest admiration and love for him.  I love my Savior - but on a different level that I cannot relate to as much as my love for Joseph.  Maybe its because I know Joseph had foibles and I can read about them in the extensive writings on him.  I cannot do the same for Jesus as so little was written.  By nature, there is a form of separation or non-familiarity with my Redeemer - much as a father and son relationship where one's role is to act as a guide and mentor.  In the case of Joseph, I feel like he would be more of a brotherly role - a contemporary.  Most likely - I need to work on my relationship with my Savior and modify my perceptions to include Him as a much older and much wiser eldest brother - but a brother none-the-less.....

God lives and loves ALL of His children!  Jesus is the Messiah who will come shortly.  Joseph was the one to warn and bring all keys and knowledge together under the same tent in this final dispensation - in preparation for this winding up scene that you and I are amazingly a part of.  Think of how amazing that is!

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.