Joseph Smith was a true prophet and seer of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Joseph Smith the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was established. It is The Church of Jesus Christ of times meridian restored in our modern day.
Joseph Smith was born December 23, 1805 in the town of Sharon, Windsor County Vermont. He was born into a family that was extremely religious. The family said family and individual prayers each day. Each member of the Smith family wanted to have a good and personal relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ; however, there was one problem: they didn’t know which church to join. They did not know which church was true.
One day Joseph Smith was reading in the Bible and came across the passage in James 1:5-6: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth liberally and upbraidith not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that waverith is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
So Joseph did this very thing. He went into a grove of trees and prayed to God hoping to learn which church was true. While he was praying, the heavens were opened unto him. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him not to join any of the churches because the true church was not on the earth at the time. God and Jesus admonished Joseph to be true and faith and that he would be the instrument through which the true church of Jesus Christ would be restored.
Through Joseph Smith The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was established April 6, 1830. This is the Lord’s true church upon the earth today.
“Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!” (Doctrine and Covenants 135:3).
We honor Joseph Smith on his birthday December 23, 1805.
“Praise to the Man Who Communed with Jehovah” (Church Hymnal, “Praise to the Man”
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Lyrics
- 1. Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer.Blessed to open the last dispensation,Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.
- [Chorus]Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;Death cannot conquer the hero again.
- 2. Praise to his mem’ry, he died as a martyr;Honored and blest be his ever great name!Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins,Plead unto heav’n while the earth lauds his fame.
- 3. Great is his glory and endless his priesthood.Ever and ever the keys he will hold.Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom,Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.
- 4. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven;Earth must atone for the blood of that man.Wake up the world for the conflict of justice.Millions shall know “Brother Joseph” again.
Text: William W. Phelps, 1792–1872
Music: Scottish folk song
Website
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/joseph-smith
