Mormonism: Who was Joseph Smith?

Mormonism: Who was Joseph Smith?

A Prophet of God

Like most prophets, Joseph Smith was not born a prophet. He was born into a humble, loving family. He grew as any other child of his time, doing what he was capable of to help support the family of eleven. Joseph was the third-oldest son. Not only did work and play sustain this family, but also daily study of the Holy Bible. Joseph would even study the Bible on his own as he searched to know which church he should join.

Joseph read in the New Testament, James 1:5 which reads, "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." Joseph knew in his soul that this is exactly what he needed to do. So, Joseph went into a grove of trees near his family's home and knelt to pray. After some struggle, a beam of light appeared high above his head and in it were two personages descending down towards him. These personages were God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. They told Joseph not to join any of the current churches, that none were led by God himself.




In time, Joseph was told about the ancient American prophets' recordings, written on thin plates of gold. Joseph was instructed over a period of four years before getting the plates in order to translate them with God's power into English. These records are what are known as the Book of Mormon, named after the prophet-historian Mormon.

Joseph was instructed on how to organize Christ's Church back on the earth again after centuries of apostasy. All of what Joseph did for Mormonism was under the direction of Jesus Christ through prophetic revelation. Joseph was martyred and became the first of a line of subsequent latter-day prophets in our time. Today's prophet is Thomas S. Monson.

This video depicts a small portion of Joseph Smith's history in Mormonism.

I've written more about Joseph Smith and who he was at http://www.squidoo.com/history-of-mormonism-who-was-joseph-smith
My story of conversion regarding this latter-day prophet can be read at http://www.squidoo.com/joseph-smith5

Read more about Mormonism and Joseph Smith:

http://www.mormontopics.org 
(read more answers to the question: who was Joseph Smith?)

http://www.mormon.org/chat?cid=sgo-csm-cm
(CHAT live with a missionary about Joseph Smith and Mormonism)

http://www.mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon
(read your own copy of the Book of Mormon)

http://www.lds.org
(read the scriptures online and other words of prophets and leaders in Mormonism)

Mormonism: What is the Book of Mormon?

Mormonism: What is the Book of Mormon?

(It's NOT a bible)

There is only one Bible, so what is the Book of Mormon? Just as the Bible is a collection of prophets' recordings from the eastern hemisphere, the Book of Mormon is a collection of prophets' recordings who lived in the western hemisphere of the earth.

Think about it, if God is the Father of all of us, all human beings are His children; He loves His children and wants all of us to return back to Him after this life is over; and we all need Jesus Christ as our Savior to atone for our mortal death and sin.

How does God communicate with His earthly children? Through trusted people whom he calls as prophets. Prophets receive God's words, then record those messages and preach them to the people living where they live.

Remember that we are all God's children and we all need His words. Before modern communication, the only way God could get His words to all of His children is to call prophets around the world wherever God's children live. That, in turn, leads to other recordings (scriptures) for the other places people lived. I can't help but wonder if there are even more books of scriptures from other lands that we just don't know about. If they are written by prophets and testify of Jesus Christ then they are holy scripture just as the Bible is.


Mormonism is a nickname derived from the Book of Mormon... the book of scripture is named after the prophet-historian, Mormon. Mormon compiled and condensed many recordings kept by the prophets and leaders who lived on the ancient American continents. The scriptural history covers one thousand years, from 600 B.C. to 400 A.D.

This video is a great introduction to the Book of Mormon.

This video gives a few more details of how the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.

 

Learn More about Mormonism and the Book of Mormon:

More answers to the question: What is the Book of Mormon?

http://www.mormontopics.org

Official site for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

http://www.lds.org

More about Mormonism

http://www.mormon.org

CHAT live with a Mormon about Mormonism

http://www.mormon.org/chat?cid=sgo-csm-cm

Get your own copy of the Book of Mormon; read it yourself!

http://www.mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon

I know that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God; both teach me about Christ and God's will for me to follow. I feel the spirit when I'm reading either book of scripture. I'm thankful to know as much as I can about my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Mormonism: Christianity

Mormonism -- Are Mormons Christians?

Mormonism is about being Christian. Mormons study and learn all they can about Jesus Christ and His teachings to be prepared to receive His grace and mercy in order to return to Heavenly Father's presence.

Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior of us all

Mormonism includes the Holy Bible and its teachings of God through His holy prophets. Thus, we believe in Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith. It is Jesus Christ who we learn of and forever work to emulate in our daily lives. It is the goal of the Church to have all its members truly converted to Christ and also share the full knowledge of Christ and His teachings with all people on earth. 

This video addresses the question: Are Mormons Christians?

Watch a sample of Mormon prophets and apostles testifying of Jesus Christ.

I'm a Mormon and believe in and do my best to worship my one God, Jesus Christ. I know that Christ is my personal Savior and that all people must turn to Him and believe Him enough to follow Him.

More About Jesus Christ:

Mormons answer the question: Are Mormons really Christians?

http://www.mormontopics.org

Mormonism and what we know about Jesus Christ

http://www.jesuschrist.lds.org/SonOfGod/eng/

Read about Mormonism, members of the Church and their testimonies of Christ

http://www.mormon.org

CHAT online with a Mormon about Mormonism and Jesus Christ

http://www.mormon.org/chat?cid=sgo-csm-cm

Free copy of the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ

http://www.mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon

Mormonism and the Holy Bible

Mormonism and the Holy Bible

Mormonism -- do Mormons believe in the Bible?

Mormonism does include the Holy Bible. In fact every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will have a Bible next to (or even bound with) the Book of Mormon and other books of scripture. Since Mormonism is Christian, of course we not only possess and use the Bible, we also believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.

The Bible is just as crucial to Mormons and Mormonism as it is to any Christian because the Bible contains the life of Jesus Christ, His words and teachings in addition to prophets' writings. The Bible is a compilation of scriptural records of prophets who lived in Jerusalem and those surrounding areas. Christ was born and lived in that area of the world, so Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) needs those scriptural recordings.

People only get the idea that Mormonism has a "different bible" because of our use of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon does NOT replace the Bible in any way... it can't, it's records do not replace Bible facts and history. The Book of Mormon is a historical and scriptural record of the people who lived on the American continents from 600 B.C. to 400 A.D. Again, Mormonism uses both books of holy scripture; both are recordings of prophets who testify of Jesus Christ, who is the God of the whole world, not just the central eastern lands.

This video explains the  importance of scriptures in our lives for the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

This video exemplifies the miracle that the Holy Bible is for us today... the sacrifices made and endured in order to have it in our hands to read ourselves.

Learn more about Mormonism and the Holy Bible:

• Read many responses to the question about Mormons believing in the Bible http://www.mormontopics.org

• Read all about Mormonism here
  http://www.mormon.org

• The official site for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
  http://www.lds.org

• Chat live with a Mormon about Mormonism and the Bible
  http://www.mormon.org/chat?cid=sgo-csm-cm
   
• Get your own free copy of the Book of Mormon so you can see it does not replace the beloved Bible
  http://www.mormon.org/free
  

What is a Mormon Temple?

Mormonism: What is a Mormon Temple?

  

Mormonism and temples are quite a unique pair -- at least in the Christian realm. There are Jewish temples and other non-Christian religious temples, but the only Christian temples I know about are the Mormon temples.

The first temples associated with Mormonism would be the Kirtland temple and then the Nauvoo temple. Both were abandoned due to early Church members needing to flee from persecutions and mobs. The Kirtland, Ohio temple is owned and maintained by the Re-Organized Church of Jesus Christ (not part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). The Nauvoo, Illinois temple was burned and destroyed to the ground, but was rebuilt and dedicated in 2002. From there, the Saints moved west to the Utah territory, started building temples and never stopped. Currently, there are 140 temples around the world, 12 under construction, and 16 additional temples announced to be built.

Temples are places of reverent and sacred worship of Jesus Christ and His teachings. Ordinances, like baptism, are done for living members of the Church, and proxy ordinances are done for people who have died. Ordinance work for the dead is only mentioned a couple of times in the Holy Bible, but full knowledge of this important work of salvation has been restored through latter-day prophets.

 

Watch this video to learn more about Mormonism and temples!

I'm grateful for the calm, peaceful spirit I feel inside temples; it further witnesses to me of the truths of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This video tells of a new family in the Church and how they had to sacrifice to receive the eternal blessings of temple ordinances.

Learn more about Mormonism and temples:

• http://www.lds.org
• http://www.mormontopics.org
• http://www.mormon.org

Learn about the Book of Mormon:

• http://www.mormon.org/chat?cid=sgo-csm-cm
• http://www.mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon

You can also read all the scriptures online at lds.org;
you can learn about the Book of Mormon at mormon.org
and even get your own copy of that book of scripture there :)