On Sunday April 19, the Relief Society lesson in many
wards was titled “Joseph Smith, an Instrument in the Hands of the Lord.”
(Chapter 7 from Teachings of Presidents
of the Church Ezra Taft Benson)
It was an incredibly spiritual lesson for me, and influenced me to share my
testimony of Joseph Smith – I also have been wanting to do this since Elder
Neil L. Andersen’s October 2014 General Conference talk “Joseph Smith.”
So, this post- done in two parts - will be how both Elder Andersen’s talk and
this Relief Society lesson strengthened my testimony of Joseph Smith. Part 1
will be about Elder Andersen’s talk, and Part 2 will be about the Relief
Society lesson.
I want to preface Part 1 by saying that Elder
Andersen’s messages always speak directly to me. I first noticed him during
October 2011 conference when he gave his talk “Children”,
and ever since then his talks have always touched my heart. So, fast forward
three years later, and I have pen and paper ready to take notes on what he is
going to tell me.
During his talk I wrote down in my journal “How to
handle false stories about Joseph Smith – how to determine the truth from the
lies.” This was very important in my personal life. Elder Andersen talked about
how we can help ourselves and others when questioning Joseph Smith as a true
Prophet. And one of the most important things he said was, “you won’t be of
much help to others if your own testimony isn’t securely in place.” That really
got me thinking about my own testimony of Joseph Smith. I had always had one, I
never doubted he was a true prophet who restored Christ’s Church to the earth,
but I only shared it with people who also had a testimony because I didn’t
think I was strong enough to stand up to the adversary that is against Joseph
Smith. Elder Andersen’s talk started to give me the strength that I need.
Elder Andersen began his talk by reminding us that
Joseph Smith’s name has been and will continue to be spoken of in both positive
and negative ways. He asked, “Why does the Lord allow the evil speaking to
chase after the good?” And immediately answered, “One reason is that opposition
against the things of God sends seekers of truth to their knees for answers.” I
have heard so many converts’ stories talk about how they were searching for an
answer to something when they found the Church. And it rings true for anyone,
the times I pray most fervently are the times something is troubling me.
“Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration.
His spiritual work began with the appearance of the Father and the Son,
followed by numerous heavenly visitations. He was the instrument in God’s hands
in bringing forth sacred scripture, lost doctrine, and the restoration of the
priesthood. The importance of Joseph’s work requires more than intellectual
consideration; it requires that we, like Joseph, ‘ask of God.’ Spiritual
questions deserve spiritual answers.” (emphasis added)
That statement by Elder Andersen is so powerful, and I
am working towards having the courage to saying something similar. I want to
point out the two underlined portions. The first, “Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration.” He
didn’t say “I believe Joseph Smith is…” He stated as fact, because it is.
Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration. Because of Joseph Smith, we
have Christ’s true Church on the earth today. One of my goals with
strengthening my testimony is to replace “I believe” with “I know.” The second
underlined portion, we need to “ask of God.” After all of the research and
study, the next step is to kneel down and pray. Moroni challenges us to do the
same thing with the Book of Mormon, and now Elder Andersen has challenged us to
do that with Joseph Smith. And really, the two are interconnected. Whenever I
have prayed about that, I usually feel silly asking a question I already know
the answer to: I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I know Joseph Smith is a
true prophet. So, I am changing my question to what I need next: how can I
teach that and share it with others?
Elder Andersen next talks about those who are
criticizing Joseph Smith and how Latter Day Saints should respond. He said,
“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.”
I’ll be honest here, offering kindness is the last
thing on my mind when I come across a negative conversation about Joseph Smith.
It usually makes my blood boil, and I don’t say anything because I’m so angry that
I don’t have the Spirit with me and I don’t think I would say the right thing.
And when I do calm myself enough to invite the Spirit in, I am usually prompted
to not say anything because those in the conversation are not in a place to
listen. And so I take Elder Andersen’s advice and feel comfort that I know in
my heart, even if I don’t it say out loud at that time.
Elder Andersen then talked about what he calls
“sincere inquirers”, or people who are not asking questions to attack, but
because they honestly want to understand. I can’t remember if I have ever come
across a sincere inquirer, but the advice Elder Andersen offered helped me
tremendously with my own testimony – or how to share it.
One thing we can do is “share the words” of those who
knew Joseph Smith personally. Elder Andersen gave an example by John Taylor
(one of the men who was with Joseph when he was killed): “I testify before God,
angels, and men, that [Joseph] was a good, honorable and virtuous man - …[and]
that his private and public character was unimpeachable – and that he lived and
died as a man of God.” This obviously requires research, but I know that as we
search these accounts out to help others, our own testimonies will be
strengthened as well.
When coming across information Elder Andersen
differentiates between the secular and spiritual: “You may understandably
question what you hear on the news, but you need never doubt the testimony of
God’s prophets.” A couple months before the October 2014 General Conference, I
had an experience that prompted me to start to learn more about Joseph Smith
and early Church history. As I searched out materials to begin with, I felt
uncomfortable with the ones I had found. I thought that maybe I shouldn’t be
researching this at all, and so I prayed and asked Heavenly Father if I was
doing the right thing, and if I was where should I begin. I got the impression
to start with the material found on lds.org and published by the Church – which
should have been the obvious choice all along.
Elder Andersen also reminded me that while some
information about Joseph may be true, it is presented out of context. As a
History major I see this quite often in any discussion about any past event or
person. There are some things that once put back into the correct historical
context make sense, and are easily acceptable; others can still be confusing.
When that happens, I go by faith. I know that can feel like an overused answer,
“Just have faith!” But it is so true, which is why we hear it so often. Faith
has helped me and strengthened me when intellectual and material answers have
let me down.
Elder Andersen ends this section of his talk by saying
that “Each believer needs a spiritual confirmation of the divine mission and
character of Joseph Smith. This is true for every generation. Spiritual
questions deserve spiritual answers from God.” A couple paragraphs later he
tells us how we can receive these confirmations: prayer, reading the first
vision (and he challenges us to read Joseph’s testimony out loud so we can hear
it in our voice), reading the Book of Mormon (he challenges us to find verses
that we know to be true and share them with others), and/or bearing your own
testimony. It will come to each person differently.
I haven’t had one big confirmation and that was it,
but rather several little ones that have added to my growing testimony; and
Elder Andersen’s talk was the cherry on top for me. His talk encouraged me to
put myself out there and state that I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know
he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know he restored the gospel to this
earth. And just as I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, I know that Thomas
S. Monson is a prophet now. I know it because I have felt the Holy Ghost
testify it to me, and the witness of the Holy Ghost is a true witness.
