Quotes of

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Safety for the Soul

“I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work – and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times – until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies.  If anyone is foolish enough or misled enough to reject 531 pages of a heretofore unknown text teeming with literary and Semitic complexity without honestly attempting to account for the origin of those pages – especially without accounting for their powerful witness of Jesus Christ and the profound spiritual impact that witness has had on what is now tens of millions of readers – if that is the case, then such a person, elect or otherwise, has been deceived; and if he or she leaves this Church, it must be done by crawling over or under or around the Book of Mormon to make that exit.  In that sense the book is what Christ Himself was said to be: “a stone of stumbling, . . . a rock of offence,” a barrier in the path of one who wishes not to believe in this work.  Witnesses, even witnesses who were for a time hostile to Joseph, testified to their death that they had seen an angel and had handled the plates. “They have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man,” they declared.  “Wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true.”  (“The Testimony of Three Witnesses,” Book of Mormon) — Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Safety for the Soul,” General Conference, October 11, 2009

The Value of Aged Men in Counsel

Section Six 1843-44, p.299

The way to get along in any important matter is to gather unto yourselves wise men, experienced and aged men, to assist in council in all times of trouble. Handsome men are not apt to be wise and strong-minded men; but the strength of a strong-minded man will generally create course features, like the rough, strong bough of the oak. You will always discover in the first glance of a man, in the outlines of his features something of his mind.

A man can bear a heavy burden by practice and continuing to increase it. The inhabitants of this continent anciently were so constituted, and were so determined and persevering, either in righteousness or wickedness, that God visited them immediately either with great judgments or blessings. But the present generation, if they were going to battle, if they got any assistance from God, they would have to obtain it by faith. (May 14, 1843.) DHC 5:387-390.

Meaning of Word Mormon

TPJS Section Six 1843-44, p.299

To the Editor of the Times & Seasons:

Sir:–Through the medium of your paper, I wish to correct an error among men that profess to be learned, liberal and wise; and I do it the more cheerfully, because I hope sober-thinking and sound-reasoning people will sooner listen to the voice of truth, than be led astray by the vain pretensions of the self-wise. the error I speak of, is the definition of the word “Mormon.” I has been stated that this word was derived from the Greek word “mormo.” This is not the case. There was no Greek or Latin upon the plates from which I, through the grace of God, translated the Book of Mormon. Let the language of that book speak for itself. On the 523rd page, of the fourth edition, it reads: “And now behold we have written this record according to our knowledge in the characters, which are called among us the “Reformed Egyptian,” being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech; and if our plates had been sufficiently large, we should have written in Hebrew: but the Hebrew hath been altered by us, also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold ye would have had no imperfection in our record, but the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also, that none other people knoweth our language; therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof.”

Section Six 1843-44, p.300

Here then the subject is put to silence, for “none other people knoweth our language,” therefore the Lord, and not man, had to interpret, after the people were all dead. And as Paul said, “the world by wisdom know not God,” so the world by speculation are destitute of revelation; and as God in his superior wisdom, has always given his Saints, wherever he had any on the earth, the same spirit, and that spirit, as John says, is the true spirit of prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus. I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation.–Before I give a definition, however, to the word, let me say that the Bible in its widest sense, means good; for the Savior says according to the gospel of John, “I am the good shepherd;” and it will not be beyond the common use of terms, to say that good is among the most important in use, and though known by various names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and is ever in opposition to “bad.” We say from the Saxon, “good”; the Dane, “god”; the Goth, “goda”; the German, “gut”; the Dutch, “goed”; the Latin, “bonus”; the Greek, “kalos”; the Hebrew, “tob”; and the “Egyptian, “mon.” Hence, with the addition of “more,” or the contraction, “mor,” we have the word “mormon”; which means, literally, “more good.”

Yours,

JOSEPH SMITH.

“The Saints can testify whether I am willing to lay down my life for my brethren. If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a ‘Mormon.’ I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves.” (History of the Church, 5:498.)

ANECDOTES AKD SAYINGS OF THE PROPHET.

“Seek ye wisdom from the best books.”

“The cause of human liberty is the cause of God.”

“We will never- be justly charged with the sin of ingrat-

itude.”

 

” Baptism is a covenant with God that we will do His

will.”

 

” All men will be raised from the grave by the power ot

God, having spirit in their bodies and not blood.”

 

” Our affections should be placed upon God and His work

more intensely than upon our fellow-beings.’

 

” I WILL walk through the gates of heaven, and claim

w^hat I seal and those that follow me and my counsel.”

 

“I UNDERSTAND somc law, and more justice and know as

much about the rights of American citizens as any man.”

 

“All children are redeemed by the blood of Jesus

Christ, and the moment they leave this world they are taken

to the bosom of Abraham.”

 

” The Lord once told me that what I asked for I should

have. I have been afraid to ask God to kill my enemies, lest

some of them should, peradventure, repent.”

 

” Beware, oh earth ! how you fight against the Saints of

God and shed innocent blood ; for, in the days of Elijah, his

enemies came upon him, and fire was called down from

heaven to destroy them.”

 

” Sectarian priests cry out concerning me and ask : ‘Why

is it that this babbler gets so many followers and retains

them ? ‘ I answer : ‘ It is because I possess the principle of

love. All that I offer the world is a good heart and a good

hand.'”

 

 

 

496 JOSEPH THE PROPHET.

 

” I AM a rough stone. The sound of the hammer and

chisel was never heard on me until the Lord took me in hand.

I desire the learning and wisdom of heaven alone.”

 

“Tasked a short time since for the Lord to deliver me

out of the hands of the governor ; and if it needs must be to

accomplish it to take him away; and the next news that came

pouring down from there was that Governor Keynolds had

shot himself.”

 

Speaking of the death of Judge Higbee, a just and good

man, Joseph said:

 

“Who is there that would not give all his goods to feed

the poor, and pour out his gold and silver to the four winds

to go where Elias Higbee has gone ? ”

 

At Far West, Missouri, on the 4th day of July, 1838, the

liberty pole was struck by lightning and shattered into splin-

ters. Joseph walked around on the fragments, saying:

 

” As that pole was splintered, so shall the nations of th e

earth be.”

 

Soon after the nomination of the Prophet for the Presi-

dency of the United States, Apostle George A. Smith related

that Elder Farnham heard the people in St. Louis say :

 

“Things have come to a strange pass if Joseph Smith is

elected President, he will raise the devil with Missouri; and

if he is not elected he will raise the devil anyhow.”

 

An angry sectarian in Kirtland commanded fire to come

down out of heaven to consume the Prophet and his house.

Joseph smiled and said :

 

“You are one of Baal’s prophets; your God does not

hear you.”

 

A VISITOR, who remarked that the people had been gath-

ered from the four quarters of the earth, of different races and

creeds, asked the Prophet:

 

“Mr. Smith, how do you govern these people?”

“I teach them correct principles and they govern them-

selves.”

 

 

 

JOSEPH THE PROPHET. 497

 

“Salvation cannot come without revelation; it is in vain

for any man to minister without it. JSTo man is a minister of

Jesus Christ without being a Prophet. Xo man can be a

minister of Jesus Christ except he has the testimony of Jesus,

and this is the spirit of prophecy.”

 

The Prophet was preaching in Philadelphia, when a man

called out for a sign and would not let Joseph proceed peacea-

bly with his sermon. After having vainly warned the man

of what Christ said concerning sign-seekers, the person still

persisting, Joseph said to the congregation:

 

” This man is an adulterer.”

 

“It is true,” cried another, “for I caught him in the very

act;” and the sign-seeker afterwards confessed that the charge

was correct.

 

” The Saints can testify whether I am willing to lay down

my life for my brethren. If it has been demonstrated that I

have been willing to die for a Mormon, I am bold to declare

before heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the

rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist or a good man of any other

denomination ; for the same principle which would trample

upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon

the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomina-

tion who may be unpopular and too weak to defend them-

selves.”

 

“There are two Comforters spoken of. The first Com-

forter is the Holy Ghost. * * * Xow what is this other

Comforter? It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. When any

man obtains this last Comforter he will have the personage of

Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to

time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him. They

will take up their abode in him, and the visions of the heavens

will be opened unto him and the Lord will teach him face to

face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of

the kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the

ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions.”

 

32

 

 

 

498 JOSEPH THE PROPHET,

 

Sunday, March 10, 1844—” I prophesy in the name of

the Lord that Christ will not come this year; and I also

prophesy in the name of the Lord that Christ will not come

in forty years; and if God ever spoke by my mouth He will

not come in that length of time. Jesus Christ never did

reveal to any man the precise time that He would come.”

 

” The Savior, Moses and Elias, gave the keys of the Priest-

hood to Peter, James and John, on the Mount, when they

were transfigured before Him. * * * How have we come

at the Priesthood in the last days? It came down in regular

succession. Peter, James and John had it given to them,

ane they gave it to others.” [The Prophet and Oliver Cow-

dery.]

 

The Laws, and Fosters, and Higbees had threatened to

kill Joseph, alleging that he was a false Prophet and they

would do well to rid the world of him. He preached a

funeral sermon upon Elder King Follett, on Sunday, the 7th

day of April, 1844. Referring to the murderous hate of his

enemies he said :

 

” If any man is authorized to take away my life because

he thinks and says I am a false teacher, then, upon the same

principle, we should be justified in taking away the life of

every false teacher; and where would be the end of blood?

and who would not be the suiferer?

 

“But meddle not with any man for his religion ; and all

governments ought to permit every man to enjoy his religion

unmolested. No man is authorized to take away life in con-

sequence of difl^erence of religion, which all laws and govern-

ments ought to tolerate and protect, right or wrong. Every

man has a natural, and, in our country, a constitutional right

to be a false prophet as well as a true prophet. If I show,

verily, that I have the truth of God, and show that ninety-

nine out of every hundred professing to be religious ministers

are false teachers, having no authority, while they pretend to

hold the keys of God’s kingdom on earth, and was to kill

them because they are false teachers, it would deluge the

whole world with blood.”

 

 

 

JOSEPH THE PROPHET. 499

 

Elder 0. B. Huntington relates the following circum-

stance, which was detailed to him by Father Zera Cole while

they were at work in the Logan temple for the dead :

 

Brother Cole was with the Camp of Zion which went

up to Missouri in 1834. While traveling across avast prairie,

treeless and waterless, they encamped at night after a long and

wearisome day’s march. They had been without water since

early morning, and men and animals suffered greatly from

thirst, for it had been one of the hottest days of June. Joseph

sat in his tent door looking out upon the scene. All at once

he called for a spade. When it was brought he looked about

him and selected a spot, the most convenient in the camp for

men and teams to get water. Then he dug a shallow well,

and immediately the water came bubbling up into it and filled

it, so that the horses and mules could stand upon the brink

and drink from it. While the camp stayed there, the well

remained fidl, despite the fact that snout two hundred men

and scores of horses and mules were supplied from it.

 

Polder William Gaboon also told Brother Huntington of

this incident.

 

“There are but a few beings in the world who under-

stand rightly the character of God. The great majority of

mankind do not comprehend anything, either that which is

past or that which is to come, as it respects their relationship

to God. * * * If a man learns nothing more than to eat,

drink and sleep, and does not comprehend the designs of God,

then the beast comprehends as much. If men do not compre-

hend the character of God they do not comprehend themselves.

I want to go back to the beginning, and so lift your minds

into a more lofty sphere and a more exalted understanding

than what the human mind generally aspires to.

 

” I want to ask this congregation — every man, woman

and child — to answer the question in their own hearts, what

kind of a being is God? Ask yourselves: turn your thoughts

into your hearts, and say if any of you have seen, heard or

communed with Him. This is a question that may occupy

your attention for a long time. I again repeat the question,

 

 

 

500 JOSEPH THE PROPHET.

 

What kind of a being is God? Does any man or woman

know? The Scriptures inform us that ‘This is life eternal,

that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus

Christ whom thou hast sent.'”

 

“Men themselves must first become harmless

l)efore they can expect the brute creation to be so. When

man shall lose his own vicious disposition and cease to destroy

the inferior animals, the lion and the lamb may dwell together

and the suckling child play with the serpent in safety.”