Tammy’s Family Home Evening Lesson
February 1, 2015
Joseph Smith
Opening hymn: “Joseph Smith’s First Prayer” hymn number
26
Opening prayer: by invitation
Joseph
Smith: A Prophet of God
“When Joseph Smith was 14 years old, he wanted to know
which church he should join, so he asked God in sincere prayer. In response to
this prayer, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph and
told him the true Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth and They had
chosen Joseph to restore it.
“From that day, Joseph labored in God’s service,
working to establish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to
build up God’s kingdom on earth in the latter days….
Which Church
Is Right?
Joseph Smith was born in 1805 in Sharon, Vermont. At the time
this narrative begins, he was 14 years old, living with his family in New York,
and earnestly considering which church to join. The following is Joseph’s
experience, written in his own words.
During this time of great
excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness. …
I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right;
or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and
how shall I know it?
While I was laboring
under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of
religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and
fifth verse, which reads: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Never did any passage of
scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time
to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I
reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from
God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom
than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different
sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy
all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.
At length I came to the
conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must
do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination
to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom,
and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.
Joseph Smith’s First Vision
In accordance with this,
my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It
was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen
hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an
attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to
pray vocally.
After I had retired to
the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and
finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my
heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by
some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence
over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered
around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden
destruction.
But, exerting all my
powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had
seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and
abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of
some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had
never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a
pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which
descended gradually until it fell upon me.
It no sooner appeared
than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light
rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all
description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling
me by name and said, pointing to the other—“This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”
My object in going to inquire
of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know
which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to
be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light,
which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my
heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.
I was answered that I
must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who
addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that
those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of
men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”
He again forbade me to
join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot
write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my
back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength;
but soon recovering in some degree, I went home.
Persecution
Joseph obeyed God and did not join any
existing church. As he told people what he had seen and heard, he began
experiencing opposition and persecution.
I soon found … that my telling the story had excited a
great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the
cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an
obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my
circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet
men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind
against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the
sects—all united to persecute me.”…--End of excerpt from “The Testimony of the
Prophet Joseph Smith”
“On his first visit to
the Prophet Joseph
Smith at age 17, an angel called Joseph by name and told him that he,
Moroni, was a messenger sent from the presence of God and that God had a work
for him to do. Imagine what Joseph must have thought when the angel then told
him that his name would “be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds,
and tongues.”1 Perhaps the shock in
Joseph’s eyes caused Moroni to repeat again that both good and evil would be spoken
of him among all people.2
The good spoken of Joseph
Smith came slowly; the evil speaking began immediately. Joseph wrote, “How very
strange it was that an obscure boy … should be thought … of sufficient
importance to attract … the most bitter persecution.”3
While love for Joseph
grew, so also did hostility. At the age of 38, he was murdered by a mob of 150
men with painted faces.4 While the Prophet’s
life abruptly ended, the good and evil spoken of Joseph was just beginning.
Should we be surprised
with the evil spoken against him? The Apostle Paul was called mad and deranged.5 Our Beloved Savior, the
Son of God, was labeled gluttonous, a winebibber, and possessed of a devil.6
The Lord told Joseph of
his destiny:
“The ends of the earth
shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell
shall rage against thee;
“While the pure in heart,
… the wise, … and the virtuous, shall seek … blessings constantly from under
thy hand.”7
Why does the Lord allow
the evil speaking to chase after the good? One reason is that opposition
against the things of God sends seekers of truth to their knees for answers.8
…
Many of those who dismiss
the work of the Restoration simply do not believe that heavenly beings speak to
men on earth. Impossible, they say, that golden plates were delivered by an
angel and translated by the power of God. From that disbelief, they quickly
reject Joseph’s testimony, and a few unfortunately sink to discrediting the
Prophet’s life and slandering his character.
We are especially
saddened when someone who once revered Joseph retreats from his or her
conviction and then maligns the Prophet.10
“Studying the Church … through the eyes of its
defectors,” Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said, is “like interviewing Judas
to understand Jesus. Defectors always tell us more about themselves than about
that from which they have departed.”11
Jesus said, “Bless them
that curse you, … and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute
you.”12 Let us offer kindness
to those who criticize Joseph Smith, knowing in our own hearts that he was a
prophet of God and taking comfort that all this was long ago foretold by
Moroni.
…
We might remind the sincere inquirer that Internet information does not have a
“truth” filter. Some information, no matter how convincing, is simply not true.
Years ago I read a Time magazine article that reported the
discovery of a letter, supposedly written by Martin Harris, that conflicted
with Joseph Smith’s account of finding the Book of Mormon plates.14
A few members left the
Church because of the document.15
Sadly, they left too
quickly. Months later experts discovered (and the forger confessed) that the
letter was a complete deception.16 You may understandably
question what you hear on the news, but you need never doubt the testimony of
God’s prophets.
We might remind the
inquirer that some information about Joseph, while true, may be presented
completely out of context to his own day and situation.
[relate story of Elder Russell M. Nelson from Elder
Andersen’s talk]
There are now more than 29,000 congregations and 88,000 missionaries teaching
the gospel across the world. Millions of Latter-day Saints are seeking to
follow Jesus Christ,
live honorable lives, care for the poor, and give of their time and talents in
helping others.
Jesus said:
“A good tree cannot bring
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. …
“… By their fruits
ye shall know them.”20
These explanations are
convincing, but the sincere inquirer should not rely on them exclusively to
settle his or her search for truth.
Each believer needs a
spiritual confirmation of the divine mission and character of the Prophet
Joseph Smith. This is true for every generation. Spiritual questions deserve
spiritual answers from God.
…
The negative commentary
about the Prophet Joseph Smith will increase as we move toward the Second
Coming of the Savior. The half-truths and subtle deceptions will not diminish.
There will be family members
and friends who will need your help. Now is the time to adjust your own
spiritual oxygen mask so that you are prepared to help others who are seeking
the truth.21
A testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith can come
differently to each of us. … With faith and real intent, your testimony of
the Prophet Joseph Smith will strengthen. The constant water balloon volleys
from the sidelines may occasionally get you wet, but they need never, never
extinguish your burning fire of faith.
To the youth listening today or reading these words in
the days ahead, I give a specific challenge: Gain a personal witness of the
Prophet Joseph Smith. Let your voice help fulfill Moroni’s prophetic words to
speak good of the Prophet.
…
There are great and
wonderful days ahead. President Thomas S. Monson has said: “This great
cause … will continue to go forth, changing and blessing lives. … No force in
the entire world can stop the work of God. Despite what comes, this great cause
will go forward.”23
…
In our society beyond the
veil of death, we will clearly understand the sacred calling and divine mission
of the Prophet Joseph Smith. In that not-too-distant day, you and I and
“millions [more] shall know ‘Brother Joseph’ again.”—end of excerpt from Elder
Andersen’s talk.
[close with my own testimony of the Prophet Joseph
Smith]
Closing hymn: “Praise to The Man” hymn number 27
closing prayer: by invitation
coloring pages for kids:
