In doing so, I do not distract from Christmas or take away any meaning or attention from the life of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, learning about the life of this servant of the Lord only accents the life of the Savior and better illustrates His eternal plan and love for us.
Jesus Christ said of His own life and mission, "And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me" (3 Nephi 27:14). For those who did not live at the time of Christ, God has called prophets to draw us unto Him. One prophets taught of his responsibility from the Lord, "we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26).
Our day is no different. In 1820, Jesus Christ and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith and called him to be the prophet to usher in the "dispensation of the fulness of times" (Ephesians 1:10) and restore the Church of Jesus Christ in these, the latter days. Joseph Smith's mission and calling was to establish once again the Church and fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, thus enabling us-the sons and daughters of God-to make the proper choices that we may return to live with our Father in Heaven.
In commemoration of the 200th birthday of the prophet Joseph Smith, President Gordon B. Hinckley, prophet, seer, and revelator and successor of Joseph Smith, wrote an article in the December 2005 Ensign entitled, "Joseph Smith Jr.—Prophet of God, Mighty Servant." Read this talk and find out more about the man who communed with Jehovah, Jesus anointed this prophet and seer!
Joseph's life was given in the service of Jesus Christ. His mission was to bring to light and knowledge of the Redeemer and His atonement all who wandered in darkness searching for truth. He talked of Christ, he rejoiced in Christ, he preached of Christ, he prophesied of Christ, and he wrote and proclaimed and published and died that we may know to what source to look for a remission of our sins.
Indeed, praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!
Jeremy
see also: josephsmith.net and Joseph Smith on this blog
So I was in charge of my Christmas program at church and I decided to focus on the attributes of what it means to become a Saint as talked about in Mosiah. One of the attributes that I love is his patience and his love through His atonement. It occurred to me that Heavenly Father probably answered this same prayer offered by His Son in the Garden by saying: "My Son, peace be unto your soul. Thine adversities and Thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. And then, if Thou endure it well, I will exalt Thee on high." The Savior and Joseph Smith had a lot in common and I bet they are very close friends on the other side.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post!