The Restoration - Mormon History Part II

So we left off on a bit of a dark note.

God's servants, who held his Authority, had been killed and that Authority, removed from the earth.

I said that it was roughly 1800 years until the next time the Priesthood would be restored to the world.

In the year 1820 there was a young man, his name was Joseph Smith. He was born April of 1805, so he was only 14-15 years of age at this time. This young man lived in Manchester, New York.

He lived in an area and a time of great religious debate. To quote him:

"Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying,“Lo, here!” and others, “Lo, there!” Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist." (Joseph Smith --History 1:5; Click here to see full text)

His family, even, were followers of more than one religion. Joseph, like the rest of his family (and the rest of his town) was very concerned about what he should do, and which church he should join. (he gives a full account found here. 5-12 are especially relevant to his difficulty in choosing a church)

In his account he tells us that he attended the different sects "as often as occasion would permit", and helps us understand that he truly just wanted to know which church God would have him join.

One day he was studying the scriptures, certainly searching for some kind of answer, when he came across the first chapter of The Book of James. In the first chapter, fifth verse, it reads:

"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)

Joseph Smith relates:
"Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know" (JS-H 1:12)

I have had the wonderful experience of finding an answer I need in the scriptures. This must have been such an incredible experience.

Joseph "reflected on it again and again". He says in the following verse that "at length [he] came to the conclusion that [he] must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else [he] must do as James directs, that is, ask of God."

And so he determined to go into a grove of trees near his house to pray. He tells us that he had never made any attempt to pray vocally before.

Now, I don't want this entire post to be padded with quotes, but I really feel that he shares his experience better than I can. So this next quote is a long one, and it tells us what happened as he prayed that day in the woods.

"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.

"But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

"It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" 

Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ that day. They appeared to him to begin The Restoration of The Priesthood of God.

But before they appeared, we read that he was "seized upon by some power which entirely overcame [him]." 

Satan had reigned on the earth for nearly 2000 years and he didn't want anyone to mess things up. The fact that the serpent tried to silence Joseph, gives me more reason to believe that this was a crucial moment in the Lord's Kingdom on Earth. Of course, there can be no darkness where there is light, and the devil could not bear God's presence; so he fled.

Having been delivered from evil, Joseph looked up into the faces of his Eternal Father, and his Saviour.

He, of course, asked them which church to join (though I'm sure he just sat in silence and astonishment for a very long time), and They told him that none of the churches on the earth at that time held God's Authority.

Joseph was not called to organize The Lord's church on this day, but a few years later.

There are a few key things that we learn about God from this boy's experience.

Satan's influence is real. And as much as he wants us to believe he doesn't exist, to better tempt us, he does.

We learn that God the Father and Jesus Christ are two distinct beings: a matter that, sadly, is debated.

We learn that we are made in the image of God.

We learn, also, that God answers prayers today. He has not closed heaven, he has not forsaken us. If we go to Him in sincere prayer, He will answer us. 

I know that on that day Joseph Smith did see God and Jesus Christ. I know that he was later called to be a prophet of God, and that the church established by God through him is the true church on the earth.

check out mormon.org if you have any questions.
                                                    

In my next post I will talk about The Book of Mormon. In short, it is an ancient record of the people of the Americas, delivered by an angel into the hands of Joseph to be translated. 

That sounds absolutely ludicrous.

But. I have read The Book of Mormon, and have prayed to ask God if it is true, and I know that it is.

The typical extrapolation we make in the church is that if The Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph really must have translated it from an ancient record. And if he did so, then he truly must have been called of God.

And so, it is through The Book of Mormon that we can know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of God on the earth.

The Great Apostacy - Mormon History Part I

In order to have a discussion about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we need to lay down a bit of a foundation. The basic foundation is that God exists, He is our Father, and He loves us. Second, The Holy Bible is true.

Now, I don't really expect you to accept those at face value. I do want to talk about real reasons why I know God exists, and why I believe the Bible to be true. However, the purpose of this blog being to discuss the LDS church I want to start with its origins. 

Later on we will most definitely talk about God and the Bible and other things. For now, let's assume that God exists and the Bible is true, so that we don't have to debate that every time they come up.

In my first post I referred to the "modern-day origins" of the Church. The reason I used that phrase is because the Church is not new. It has existed since the time of Adam. 

God communicated with Adam, and gave him instructions. He told him what was right in the sight of God, and what was wrong. I'm not talking at all about the Garden of Eden, I'm talking about after the Garden; after Adam and Eve were kicked out and started having children. Our Father sent angels to Adam to teach him, and to give him Authority.

This Authority is called the Priesthood of God. It is the authority to act in the name of God. To compare it to something mundane: it's like the authority a police officer has. The Officer is not the Crown. But he can act in the name of the Crown. When a police officer arrests someone, he does so in the name of the Crown. The King doesn't come down into the streets and slap handcuffs on the criminal, but if the authority of the law is exercised correctly the arrest is as valid as if His Majesty Himself were to say "you have the right to remain silent, etc."

The Priesthood of God works this way. It is the power to act in God's name. Many prophets of the Old Testament (the first half of the Bible) performed miracles. The most famous, probably, being Moses. He commanded the Red Sea to move out of the way, and it did! Not because Moses was so powerful as to command the elements, but because God is. And Moses held God's authority.

That kind of power and authority is precious, and is not to be abused, nor can it be. 

So when God's children generally stopped listening to him, and obeying his instructions, he of course removed that authority from the Earth. He cannot have unrighteous individuals teaching false principles in His name.

This happened a few times. 

God would select someone to be His prophet, restore the Priesthood to the earth, and teach His children. After some time (years, decades, centuries) men and women would start to disregard, and even kill, God's prophets. At which time he would again remove his authority. If you read the Old Testament you will see this pattern occur.

At the meridian of time God sent his Only Begotten Son to the earth: Jesus Christ. When The Saviour came to the earth we were in a state of "no priesthood". In addition to being the Son of God, he was also God's Prophet, and restored the Holy Priesthood. He gave this authority to several people, namely The Twelve Apostles (Peter, James, John, etc.)

Now, Christ's mission on earth was much (MUCH) greater than to reorganize God's church. He came down to perform The Atonement, and pay the price for all of our shortcomings. We will definitely discuss The Atonement, as it is the single most important part of God's plan and of our beliefs. But it deserves a post all to itself.

Jesus Christ, upon fulfilling his mission on earth, returned to our Heavenly Father, leaving his Priesthood Authority with his Apostles, who then led the church for many years.

The true doctrine of Christ's teachings very quickly began to change. In fact, the majority of the New Testament consists of letters written by the Apostle Paul to different cities correcting them, and the things that they had begun to change and teach incorrectly.

The Apostles were constantly persecuted, and eventually all were killed.

Once again the Authority of God was removed from the earth.

But this time was different than all other times. The following period with no Priesthood is known as The Great Apostacy.

God would not return to restore his Priesthood Power and Authority for roughly 1800 years!

______________________

In my next post I will talk about The Restoration of the Church, and the Priesthood.

I do want to pursue a more casual conversation about the things we teach and believe in the church. But it's important that you understand the "modern-day origins" of the LDS church, so that we can have a more meaningful discussion of these things.

check out mormon.org if you have any questions.

Born Into It

I believe that I was born into The Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints because it was the only way I would ever be a part of it.

If I had grown up outside the church and two guys in white shirts, ties, and black name tags came up to me to share their beliefs, here's the furthest that would've gone:

-polite introductions
-"No, I'm not interested"
-"Yeah, I guess I can listen 'til my bus comes"
-take pamphlet to later be thrown out
-"No, you can't come to my house. No, you can't have my phone number"
-The End

I'm not a particularly rude guy, but I also like things when they're simple, and when I have less to worry about. Being a member of the church just gives me more things to worry about and more things that I have to do.

So if being a member is such a pain, why do I still go? Why do I bother living the principles and beliefs of the church, and why on earth am I writing a blog to share these things with you?

Because it's worth it.
The things that I believe as a Mormon, and the principles that I live have brought a lot of happiness into my life. Way more than anything else ever could. My choices, as a result of what I believe, have led me to my wife, my daughter, my bun in the oven, and a myriad of non-family blessings.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of God on the earth, and it has given me the tools I need to make a wonderful life, and to have an amazing family.

If you do not want to read a blog about the Mormon Church, then read no further.
I am here to tell you what we do, why we do it, what we believe, and why I know it's true.

As I grew up I remember my parents always telling me that I shouldn't believe the things taught at church just because they believed them. They taught me that I should discover for myself if I too believed them.
That is how everyone in the church is taught, whether they're children or adults. Everyone is invited to find out for themselves if they believe what is taught, and they are given the tools to go and find out.

Before starting my next post I want to make a request.
This blog is intended to share what I truly believe. If you feel the need to challenge that, or argue with it, I would rather you gave me some way to contact you (email, etc) to have an interesting and enlightening discussion. However, I do not want this blog to become a grounds for heated debate (as the internet too often becomes). Please refrain from negative or aggressive comments. Though, I will respond to all comments, even those not in keeping with my request.

Thank you.