Joseph Smith Is A Prophet Of God

  For the past 23 months I have been sharing a message of happiness with the marvelous people in Montana. This message is so remarkable and has changed my life. This message is simply that God is our Father and we are His children. He as always called prophets and he has, once again, done that in our day. In the year 1820 Joseph Smith was visited by our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. After Jesus Christ's ministry, a period of spiritual darkness occurred - preparing the way for Joseph to be the one to restore many plain and precious truths back to the earth. 

 

  Segment from Rob Gardner's "Joseph Smith the Prophet: Live at Abravanel Hall." This segment depicts John Taylor, friend of Joseph Smith, mourning the loss of the Prophet and his brother Hyrum in his own words.

   

    I stand with my head high and boldly declare that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of the Almighty God. Joseph spent his whole life giving all he had to build up the kingdom of God. Joseph, along with his family and friends, were constantly being persecuted, hated, mocked, and even killed because of the things they knew to be true. This upcoming Monday is June 27th. On that date in 1844 - 167 years ago - the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered in Carthage Jail. They were killed because of the things that they knew were true. I have never met Joseph Smith, nor did I witness his martyrdom. Although I do often times feel to say, "Oh, give me back my prophet, dear!"

    John Taylor, who was in Carthage on that dreadful June day, made the following statement about Joseph: "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. . . 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 (Doctrine & Covenants 135:5).

    "In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth? . . . They would NOT DO THAT! " - Jeffrey R. Holland