Jesus Christ organized His Church originally with twelve apostles (Peter being the senior apostle and Peter, James, and John comprising a presidency of the twelve), seventies, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and so on (Ephesians 4:11). However, following the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord, many of the church leaders were persecuted and killed. Many of the "churches" scattered around the Mediterranean region "fell away" from the truth and many clear and plain principles of the gospel were lost. Eventually, the Church of Jesus Christ was no longer found on the earth. The organization, doctrines, and gospel truths were lost or distorted over time. This falling away is known as "the great apostasy." After many centuries, faithful individuals attempted to reform the church and to return to the church Christ established. The Reformation paved the way for the full restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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In the spring of 1820 in western New York, a young farm boy named Joseph Smith was confused as to which church he should join. He read in the Book of James that if any man lacked wisdom, "let him ask of God" (James 1:5). Having faith he would receive an answer, Joseph went to a grove of trees near his house and prayed. In answer to his prayer, God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to him. They instructed him not to join any of the churches, and that in due time, the Lord would restore His Church through Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith would later be visited by the angel Moroni who would instruct him where to find the metal plates that would be translated into the Book of Mormon. In addition, Joseph Smith received the priesthood (the authority to act in God's name) from John the Baptist (appearing as an angel) and from Peter, James, and John (also appearing as angels). He was called as a prophet of the Lord and was instructed to restore The Church of Jesus Christ on April 6, 1830 in Fayette, New York.
Now, this all might sound a bit fantastic to many readers. Knowing this, I will add a couple of my own insights to perhaps be of assistance.
First, why would God choose a young farm boy to restore His Church? Why not the President of the United States or some rich and powerful figure? In the Bible, we find that one of God's patterns is that He often chooses humble servants to do His work. David was a shepard boy. Samuel was still a young boy when called by the Lord. Matthew was a tax collector! Many of the other New Testament apostles were fishermen. Some of the most precious miracles in the Bible involved widows and children. With very few exceptions, the Lord chooses those who will be humble and obedient--which is rarely the rich and powerful.
Second, if miracles occured in Old and New Testament times, why not today? If the Lord appeared to Moses, why could He not appear today? If angels were sent to deliver special messages, why could they not deliver them today? If God could work miracles and wonders millenia ago, why could He not do such wonders today?
I testify that He does. His work continues in our day--for we are just as important to Him as His children of ancient times.
The painting of the Savior and of the First Vision used in this post are by Del Parson.
4 comments:
looks great!
Hello Matt! I apologize for the tardy reply! But I hope that it will be worth the wait. I am quoting back what you wrote to me. My responses are in bolded text. I did not respond to every issue, but I highlighted some points... Here we go. : )
Those are two great questions. Forgive me for the long response as I do my best to provide some answers.
I thank you very much for responding so quickly and so thoroughly! I hope you don’t mind me asking a few more questions and making a few counter points. If you can convince me that the Mormon faith is the right faith, I shall join it. I hope to speak the truth firmly but kindly. I am unable to go into all of the issues that are presented in your statement but I will highlight some at present.
I am using the following resource and am quoting much of it verbatim: http://www.4truth.net/site/c.hiKXLbPNLrF/b.2950507/k.CD30/Mormons.htm
First, why do I believe what I believe? I believe the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the restored church of Christ because the Holy Spirit has testified to me that its teachings are true. The Spirit speaks to me through "the fruit of the Spirit" as Paul describes it in his letter to the Galatians. These feelings include "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, [and] faith" (Galatians 5:22). These do not come without effort nor all at once usually. For me, it required study, meditation, prayer, and a desire to know the truth. Little by little the Spirit whispered to me that it was true. I felt love, peace, and joy in my heart and my disposition changed. I had a desire to be good, a desire to repent of my sins, and a desire to share the "good news" with others. All of these personal experiences over the years have solidified within me a testimony that God lives, Jesus is my Savior, and that He has restored His Church on the Earth today through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I can conclusively say, "I know" these things are true.
Emotions are often misleading. The fruit of the Spirit is not the test by which we conclude whether something is God-inspired or not. It is an assurance but not the means by which we evaluate the truth. Now to combine those two thoughts: people can have faith, but sometimes it is in the wrong thing. People can love, but for selfish reasons. Many people who do not follow Christ are praised for their “goodness”. Likewise, it is possible for someone to feel confident that they are okay in their relationship with God but in reality are not (see Matthew 7:21-22). Think of the confidence many of the Jewish leaders in Jesus' time had that they were doing the will of God. Yet, Jesus said to them, "You are of your father, the devil" (John 8:44, NASB). The apostle Paul was a perfect example. He believed he was doing the will of God by persecuting and killing Christians, but found that he was actually persecuting the Son of God (see Acts 22:1-8). One can be both sincere and wrong.
Also, defenders of the Christian faith (patriarchs and apostles) did not use feelings, but proof. The Old Testament leaders encouraged people to remember what God did for them: delivering them from Egypt, the plagues and the parting of the Sea, delivering them in the wilderness from the snakes, giving them manna from Heaven, and bringing them into the land he promised (see 1 Chron. 16:12; Is. 46:9). The New Testament leaders "reasoned" from the Scriptures (see Acts 17:2; 18:4, 19) and offered proof, namely Jesus' resurrection (see Acts 9:22; 17:31). No one ever suggested, "Just read this book and pray about it. God will show you that it's true."
It seems that Mormon leaders are continually telling Mormons that they must believe in spite of the facts. The Old Testament prophets nor the New Testament apostles were hesitant to provide evidence for their claims. What the Mormon church is asking you to do is to believe that God worked a certain way until less than 200 years ago.
There is more that I can state here concerning Joseph Smith and the “restored” Church but I shall leave it at that.
Second, What is my explanation for it? Excellent question. I assume you are talking about logic and reasoning here. In other words, how do I explain the miraculous dealings of God with His children?
A testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ does not require perfect knowledge of how things are done, only that they were done. I will provide two examples to illustrate:
(1) Regarding miracles: I believe that Jesus Christ was resurrected following His crucifixion. That means, His physical body was reunited with His spirit--never again to be divided. Now, I am not a chemist; I do not know how to make a dead being become alive again. Not only that, I do not think any chemist at any university knows how to do it. But I still believe that Christ was resurrected because I believe He is all powerful. Likewise, when He tells us that we will all be resurrected someday--I believe Him. (2) Regarding internal contradictions within a book of scripture: I believe the Holy Bible is the word of God. I love the Bible. That being said, it was written by inspired prophets and disciples who may have made minor mistakes in their recording of testimonies and experiences. But that does not change the fact that I believe it to be the word of God. For example, in recounting Saul's vision of the Lord, the New Testament records minor contradictions. These do not affect my testimony of the basic truth that Saul was visited by the Lord on the road to Damascus and was subsequently converted. We are only human, and humans sometimes make mistakes, even when acting under inspired direction. God, however, is perfect. His gospel and doctrines are perfect. Therefore, any question regarding specific doctrines should be answered by members of the Church.
Surely if people make mistakes in God-inspired writing, people with in the Church of Latter-Day Saints will also make mistakes in giving direction. Also, about the reliability of the Bible, I shall not attempt to counter that myself but rather, reference you here: http://www.4truth.net/site/c.hiKXLbPNLrF/b.1002755/k.17D/Chapter_2__The_Bible_is_Reliable.htm. Also, if we are pointing out errors in documents, I would have to say that the Book of Mormon stands far below the credibility of the Bible. This is a loaded issue and I think I shall wait on it until your prompting. To make Mormonism credible, you must truly do away with the entire Bible. Why? The Bible explicitly warns against adding to or detracting from its teaching (see Rev. 22:18-19; Deut. 4:2).
Finally, I do not believe that God can be either "proved" or "disproved" by men. If so, faith would not be required. Rather, it is our duty, each one of us, to seek to know God for ourselves. This requires effort and hard work. It is OK to ask the difficult questions and seek answers--and perhaps, as Mormons, we should do a better job to try and articulate answers even to the hard questions. But in the end, true believers must all acknowledge that the Lord was right when He told Isaiah, "my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (Isaiah 55:8). How then can you say that your emotions are true if your thoughts aren’t his? Scientific evidence and logical reasoning do not need to be "thrown out the window" by believers--but we must recognize that they are not the true basis for a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I believe I addressed this issue somewhat above so I shall refrain from repeating myself.
I shall once again state, that if you can prove to me that Mormonism is true, I’d be a fool not to join it.
If you have any specific questions regarding the restored Church and its doctrines and how I would explain them, I would be happy to reply.
I wait excitedly for your reply!!!
Sincerely, Jamie
Hi Jaime,
Thank you for your additional questions. I apologize that I have not been as diligent in my blogging this past week--I take the bar exam next week and have been a little preoccupied with studying! Thank goodness for Sundays and a day off from studying law!
I thought your question regarding "adding and subtracting" to the Bible was a good one. In fact, I recall many discussions with my Christian friends in high school regarding the subject. Therefore, I decided to make a post out of it. I hope it answers your inquiries in that regard.
Later today I will post a response in the "Comments" section with responses to your other questions listed here--mostly dealing with faith, evidence, and testimonies. All of which are very legitimate questions.
Hi Jaime,
Thank you again for your questions. They certainly helped me to think hard about what faith is and how one can obtain true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope my responses are helpful.
Jaime: Emotions are often misleading. The fruit of the Spirit is not the test by which we conclude whether something is God-inspired or not. It is an assurance but not the means by which we evaluate the truth. Now to combine those two thoughts: people can have faith, but sometimes it is in the wrong thing.
Matt: I think you make a couple of good points here. First, emotions can be misleading. Absolutely. However, the feelings of the Spirit (the Holy Ghost) can readily be discerned with experience. They are not mere emotions, but are instead, deep feelings of peace, joy, and love that burn in the heart. They become more than emotions when they change the person you are and what you think, desire, say, and do. I believe these are the feelings Paul is referring to when he speaks of the word of God being "written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in the fleshy tables of the heart." (2 Cor. 3:3). These feelings come directly from God through the Holy Ghost.
The manifestations of the Spirit that burn in our hearts are very different from emotions of excitement, adrenaline, and fleeting pleasure that the world provides.
I imagine you have felt the manifestations of the Spirit before. Perhaps it was while praying, or reading the Bible, or attending worship services. The Spirit of God testifies of ALL truth, no matter where it is found. I have felt that same Spirit, and it has testified to me of truth.
Where we disagree, is that the Spirit is not the test by which we can know if something is God-inspired or not. Christ himself taught: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsover I have said unto you." (John 14:26).
James taught in the New Testament that "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." (James 1:5). So, God does teach us and helps us know what is true.
In fact, the ONLY way we can know if something is God-inspired or not is through the manifestation of the Spirit. One example: Peter. "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 16:15-17).
It was not logic or reasoning that brought Peter a knowledge of the truth. He did not rely on the wisdom of men, but instead, the Spirit of God manifested unto him that Jesus was the Son of God. It is the same with us today.
Second, I agree with you that people will place their confidence in the wrong thing. Often, they are convinced of the rightness of their cause. This begs the question, how can we know our faith is true?
In order to have true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must know His true nature and character. We must know that He is the Only Begotten of the Father, that He came to Earth and suffered for the sins of all mankind, that He was resurrected, and that each of us can be forgiven of our sins and live with Him again as we exercise faith in Him and repent.
Now, faith requires belief. In order to believe we must know something of the thing we will believe in. This foundation for belief comes from the evidence and testimony of others. In order to have faith, we must believe in, or even desire to believe in their words. We then begin to "exercise" our faith when we study it out, pray about it, live the commandments, and seek to know more. As we do so, the Spirit manifests to us that what we are doing is right. If we do not receive the manifestations, we can assume that it is NOT right.
As for those who are convinced they are correct, but are actually in the wrong, all we can do is to try to teach them the true nature and character of God and help them build faith in the true and living God.
Jaime: The New Testament leaders "reasoned" from the Scriptures (see Acts 17:2; 18:4, 19) and offered proof, namely Jesus' resurrection (see Acts 9:22; 17:31). No one ever suggested, "Just read this book and pray about it. God will show you that it's true."
It seems that Mormon leaders are continually telling Mormons that they must believe in spite of the facts...What the Mormon church is asking you to do is to believe that God worked a certain way until less than 200 years ago.
Matt: First of all, Latter-day Saints believe that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We believe that He works the same today as He did in the days of the Old Testament. That is why he continues to call prophets, that is why he continues to reveal His word unto His children, and that is why the canon of scripture is not closed. He never changes and His words never cease.
Yes, belief begins with evidence and testimonies. I believe the Book of Mormon is the word of God because the Spirit has manifested it to me. However, that manifestation came after studying the Book of Mormon, living its teachings, and studying the Bible. The Bible is full of Book of Mormon prophecies. The story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is full of miracles that serves as evidence of God's work. Likewise, we are taught the same as our forebearers in ancient times: that we should look to the miracles of the Lord in times past as evidence that He exists and loves His children, that we should remember what He has done for us in our lives, and that we should study the prophecies of ancient and modern prophets so that we might know the truth.
When speaking of evidence of truth, I must add that the evidence of the truthfulness of the restored Church is in its fruits. Christ instructed His apostles that they could discern false prophets by their fruits. If the fruits are bad, then they are bad. If the fruits are good, they are good. That is why we encourage everyone to read and study and Book of Mormon and to pray about it. The Book of Mormon is one of the fruits of the restored Church and of the Prophet Joseph Smith. If the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith is a prophet. If Joseph Smith is a prophet, then the Church he established is the Church of Jesus Christ. Do you see why we place such emphasis on this?
Jaime: Also, if we are pointing out errors in documents, I would have to say that the Book of Mormon stands far below the credibility of the Bible. This is a loaded issue and I think I shall wait on it until your prompting. To make Mormonism credible, you must truly do away with the entire Bible. Why? The Bible explicitly warns against adding to or detracting from its teaching (see Rev. 22:18-19; Deut. 4:2).
Matt: See the post on Sunday, July 27 regarding the Bible. As far as the credibility of the Book of Mormon goes, I know it is true. Not just from the manifestations of the Spirit, but also from its miraculous translation and the teachings, text, and prophecies within the book. It is the word of God. If you haven't read it, I invite you to.
Finally, I must add that I cannot "prove" to you that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. If I could prove to you that it is true, faith would not be required. And we know that faith is required.
In any event, we cannot rely on the wisdom of men. We must trust in God and in the manifestations of the Spirit. Again, that does not mean we ignore facts. But it does mean that we begin by desiring to believe and to know the truth by studying the evidence and testimonies of others. We can then begin exercising faith as we receive answers to our prayers.
Also, I must caution that many of the doctrinal points regarding Mormonism on the site you sourced were incorrect or misleading. Remember, the best place to find correct information regarding the beliefs of Mormons is on www.mormon.org.
Whew! I hope I didn't bore you with all that.
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