Susan E. Black, 2005 Ed Week - The Life and Contributions of the Prophet Joseph Smith

hello I'm Michelle King you're watching the annual broadcast of campus education week from Brigham Young University from his glorious vision in the palmyra woods to the tragic events at Carthage Joseph Smith was the choice seer whom the Lord raised up to bring forth the Word of God our next presenter is Susan Easton black professor of church history and doctorate at BYU this hour dr. black will examine the life and contributions of the Prophet Joseph Smith hello I'm delighted to have an opportunity to address you this day about the life and contributions of the Prophet Joseph Smith I grew up in a home in which the gospel was very prevalent learning about Joseph was almost walk and talk with my parents and my grandmother as well as my siblings it has been a great joy for me to be a professor on this campus now for thirty years to be able to focus much of my scholarly efforts on Joseph Smith I appreciate very much Education Week giving me a chance to be able to share that message with you Joseph Smith was born on December 23rd 1805 in the rural setting of Sharon Windsor County Vermont dr. Joseph Adam Denison a country practitioner reportedly assisted in his delivery and rode in an account book years later if I had known how he was going to turn out I'd have smothered the little cuss the assisting doctor never understood that it was decreed in the counsels of eternity long before the foundations of the earth were laid that Joseph Smith should be the man in the last dispensation of this world to bring forth the Word of God to the people but the Lord knew and guided Joseph's life from his earliest days there was a time when his mother said of him in the meanwhile I had my third son fourth child whom I named Joseph after his father it appears that mother smith didn't know who he would become it also appears that dr. Denison didn't know who he would become at least at first but it was the Lord that knew about Joseph Smith as far as his early childhood we don't know much about it except for when he was around seven years old at that time the family was living in a place called West Lebanon New Hampshire at that time there was a typhus fever epidemic which raged in the Connecticut Valley region of which the family lived Joseph's life was spared although afflicted at that time you would say there was a good in the bad reasons for living in these small communities the good reason was they had organized religion they also had schools they would have social get-togethers but the bad was always the epidemics as an epidemic fever then called typhus fever swept through this small community of West Lebanon New Hampshire Joseph was afflicted at first he suffered from a great fever then there was a blister that appeared near his right shoulder blade the blister was ultimately solved but soon another blister appeared right above his left ankle a local doctor was called in and the local doctor used a method called the shot shovel method we need to be grateful that doctors continued to practice medicine but very grateful that they don't use a shot shovel method what it was was you heated up a shovel in hot coals until it became hot and then you put it on the blister until it lanced for Joseph Smith the lansing of the blister didn't solve the problem he said Oh father the pain is so severe he cried how can I bear it but buried he must for the disease removed and ascended into his left leg and ankle with his father sitting on the bed and holding Joseph in his arms the operation ensued his recovery was slow and painful 14 additional pieces of bone after the surgery worked their way out before his leg was healed wrote Joseph about the experience this turbulent epidemic that's so marred Joseph's childhood also reduced father Smith to poverty father Smith had lost his farm in 1803 it wasn't until 1818 that he acquired another farm in the meantime he was a renter these were very difficult days for renters at that time didn't have contracts like we do today they moved on to land that was for sale if the land sold after the renter had improved it it would bless the landlord but the renter was just out of luck so for father Smith he moved again and again and again throughout that Connecticut Valley region finally seeking economic freedom he moved his family to a place called Norwich Vermont but unfortunately good news did not await him in Norwich the first year in Norwich our crops failed wrote mother smith the crops a second year whereas the year before a perfect failure the next year and untimely frost destroyed the crops this was enough mother smith continued my husband was now altogether decided upon going to New York so notice this will be the first time in young Joseph's childhood that the family will move from the Vermont area and they're now heading to western New York western New York was a place that was just opening up soon other Western climes would open up like the Western Carolinas the Western Virginia and in the case of Smith's they are drawn to western New York in 1816 Joseph Smith senior left this Connecticut River Valley and settled in a very small almost primitive commitment community that was just beginning called Palmyra Ontario County New York now Palmyra had originally been known as Swift's landing it was named after a business entrepreneur whose name was John Smith John Swift the name was chained at a town meeting in which one man that was engaged to the librarian felled in a very literary sense that the name needed to be changed from Swift's Landing to Palmyra father Smith went alone when he arrived in Palmyra he found that basically the town had Main Street and it also had some paths that some people called buffalo paths for him he set up a little tiny shop on Main Street and he went to work digging wells he found that the work was financially successful following father Smith came his family so his family then later followed his move to Palmyra there three hundred mile journey to Palmyra was not without incident caleb howard a hired man hired by father smith drove Joseph Smith Jr from the family wagon and as Joseph told the story he made me travel in my weak state through the snow I suffered the most excruciating weariness and pain all because of this Caleb Howard adding to Joseph's difficulties was a driver of her passing sleigh who deliberately knocked him to the ground the result was Joseph later wrote I was left to wallow in my blood wrote Joseph it was not until a stranger came along picked me up and carried me to the town of Palmyra that he again joined his family so notice how young Joseph arrived in his land of Destiny a land where there would be the hill in which the Book of Mormon plates would then be brought forth where there was a sacred grove was it his family that brought in their will part way through the help of Caleb Howard who eventually bailed out of the assignment but in reality who carried Joseph to Palmyra it was a stranger notice parallels with Joseph of Egypt remember Joseph of Egypt him had left by his brothers in a pit who got him to his land of destiny where he could provide salvation for his father's family was it the family and you'd say no it was the strangers it was a Midianites that carried him down into Egypt so we now know how Joseph got to Palmyra it was a stranger that picked him up and carried him there once in Palmyra The Smiths worked hard to acquire the necessary means to become property owners recall that father Smith had not been a property owner since 1803 and it is now 1816 in other words he without property for 13 years the quality of their labors is best described by Joseph brother William whenever the neighbors wanted a good day's work done they knew where they could get a good hand our family and so the Smiths were employed for father Smith he continued to dig wells for Alvin Smith Joseph's older brother he was a well digger as was Hiram for Joseph Smith Jr often he was mom's errand boy it was not unusual to see Joseph Smith then taking door-to-door molasses birch brooms various type of oil paintings that she had done whether it was blinds or some type of table covering as the family then put together their funds before long father Smith was able to sign a contract for a hundred acre farm that was nestled in a wooded tract less than two miles south of the Palmyra village and what today we call Manchester there the hand of friendship was extended on every side wrote mother Smith however the cordiality of neighbors and newfound friends ended abruptly in early spring of 1820 a curious message told to an itinerant minister by the fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith Jr caused townsfolk in Palmyra to withdraw fellowship youthful Joseph told the preacher that he had seen a heavenly vision on his family farm in the wooded area oddly enough the mere mention of this truth sparked a flame of hatred that went unchecked in Palmyra for years the teenagers unwavering affirmation that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to him and the Palmyra woods rancor day community leaders in that community wanted only confessing if some time contending Christians who profess salvation justice and grace to live in their town they wanted a community of upstanding citizens who shouted praises to God they didn't want living among them a young boy who claimed that he knew better than they priest contending against a priest and convert against convert was acceptable not the challenging views of young Joseph Smith it is remarkable that under such severe pressure from so many Joseph's refused to beer from his conviction that he had seen a pillar of light exactly over my head above the brightness of the Sun which descended gradually until it fell upon me 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 the divine answer to Joseph was clear but not to townsfolk who tried to convince him that his vision was all of the devil that there was no such things as visions a revelation in these days that all such things have ceased with the apostles then as if to censor the boy for his resolute stance ministers and farmers alike withdrew from him and cast aspersions yet nothing could make the boy deny that he had seen divine beings in the woods on his family farm I had actually seen a light and in the midst of that light I saw two personages and they did in reality speak to me and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I have seen of vision yet it was true I knew it and I knew that God knew it and I could not deny it lazy illiterate superstitious disorderly a drunkard and impostor and addicted to vice in the grossest immoralities where words hurled at the youth Joseph Smith when farmer Thomas Taylor was asked why didn't they like young Joseph he answered to tell the truth there was something about him they could not understand some way he knew more than they and it made them mad one church-going man said the very influence the boy carried was a danger they feared for the coming generation that not only the young men but all who came in contact with him would follow him and he must be put down the mob like tone of his sentiment was followed by a bullet intended for young Joseph Joseph Smith endur'd the persecution little knowing that there were men and women who would have rejoiced to know of his vision Brigham Young said if I could see the face of a prophet such as had lived on the earth in former times a man that had revelations to whom the heavens were opened who knew God and his character I would freely circumscribe the earth on my hands and knees unfortunately neither Brigham or others who would one day hail Joseph as a prophet of God were in Palmyra to defend the rebuffed youth adding to his difficulties were Joseph's own actions which caused him to feel condemned on Sunday evening September 21st 1823 Joseph's supplicated the Lord for forgiveness of all my sins and follies while calling upon the Lord a light appeared in his room and then an angelic being appeared at his bed sigh the angel called Joseph by name and said God had a work for me to do and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations Kindred's tongues and people the conflicting reputation would center on a book written upon gold plates and a Urim and Thummim prepared for the purpose of translating the book as the angel conversed with Joseph the place where the plates were deposited was shown him and vision this visionary scene and subsequent angelic visitations through the night and the next morning ended at a hill of considerable size about 3 miles southeast of the family farm on the hill Joseph was told the time for bringing the plates forth had not arrived and would not until he had learned to keep the commandments of God not only till he was willing but able to do it four years passed before Joseph received the plates during those years interesting things happen to the Prophet Joseph Smith during those four years his oldest brother Alvin Smith died in November of 1823 his mother said of that death that Alvin was killed by a quack physician in other words a doctor gave a medicine that lodged in his stomach and eventually it led to his death during those same four years the family worked on building a family farmhouse with the retire plan that the parents would retire at that house and they would spend out their days in Palmyra in western New York also during that time Joseph Smith will marry Emma it was during those years in addition that Joseph shared with his family heavenly truths among those heavenly truths mother wood Smith wrote that the family would get together nightly to listen to young Joseph he shared some of the most amusing recitals that could be imagined he told about the people who had lived on this continent about their dress their warfare their roads their worship seemingly as if he had spent his whole life among them the family then became confirmed in the opinion that God was about to bring a more perfect knowledge of the plan of salvation and the redemption of the human family to the earth through Joseph Smith this opinion was confirmed near midnight on September 22nd 1827 when Joseph having gone to the place where the plates were deposited was met by the same heavenly messenger who delivered the plates up to me with this charge that I should should be responsible for them and if I would use all my endeavors to preserve them they should be protected keeping the plates safe proved difficult because the mob element of Palmyra shouted we will have them plates in spite of Joe Smith or all the Devils a birch lug heart stones floorboards flax and a barrel of beans were used to keep thieves away but as the frenzied mounted Joseph was under the necessity of leaving Palmyra for the next two and a half years he resided with his bride his loved one Emma Hale Smith in a farmhouse in harmony Pennsylvania during those years Emma gave birth to a son whom they named Alvin only to lay him in a grave a few hours later after his birth it was also while they lived there in harmony Pennsylvania that the hundred and sixteen page manuscript of the Blue Book of lehigh that that manuscript was lost through broken coven made by a man named Martin Harris these tragedies were perhaps tempered by the translation of the Book of Mormon Joseph would dictate to me hour after hour and when returning after meals or after interruptions he would at once begin pray left off without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read to him wrote his wife Emma Oliver Cowdery testified these were days never to be forgotten to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven awakened the utmost gratitude Oliver also wrote of being present when the priesthood was conferred by John the Baptist and Peter James and John of the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood Oliver penned I was present with Joseph when the hirer Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred by holy angels from on high this priesthood we then conferred on each other by the will and commandment of God priesthood brought at a dimension to the translation process our minds being now enlightened wrote Joseph we began to have these scriptures laid open to our understandings and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us as the work neared closure three witnesses one being Oliver Cowdery described the others being David Whitmer and Martin Harris were shown the plates by the angel Moroni their testimony so moved Joseph Smith that he said to his parents father mother do you not know how happy I am it rejoices my soul that I am NOT any longer to be entirely alone in the world soon their testimony meaning the testimony of the three witnesses and the translated book of Mormon manuscript was published together this publication set the country in an uproar friends and strangers took opposing sides for or against what Joseph was calling the Word of God enemies to the church had this to say about the translation process some claimed that how Joseph was able to do it is that when he did so he had a veil between he and his scribe and that each time he translated he was doing it while having an epileptic fit others claimed know that he had stolen a manuscript and the reason there was some kind of veil between him and his scribe is because it was a manuscript that he was merely reading well that manuscript claimed lost was written by a man whose name was Solomon Spalding the Solomon Solomon Solomon Spalding manuscript was found years later it has nothing to do with the Book of Mormon basically it has to do with Christian Crusaders who were going off to fight in the Holy Land whose boat then got definitely off course and ended in America's most of the book is about romance it's about the romance of Indian maidens along with the Crusaders it has nothing to do with the current Book of Mormon so as you look at the Book of Mormon as enemies tried to come up with rationale as to how young Joseph could do it the one answer that always stood clear were the words of the Prophet Joseph who said that he was able to translate the book by the gift and power of God many were convinced of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon like Joseph's sister Catherine Smith she knew that without God's guidance my brother could not have brought forth such a work many times when I'd read its sacred pages I have wept like a child while the spirit has borne witness with my spirit of its truth believers like Catherine Smith look forward to the day when the Lord would fulfill his promise if this generation harden not their hearts I will establish my church among them that day arrived on Tuesday April 6 1830 in what became the first organizational meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ the meeting opened with prayer emblems of the Savior's sacrifice were blessed and passed and the Holy Ghost was poured out upon us to a very great degree Joseph was acknowledged as a seer a translator a prophet an apostle of Jesus Christ an elder of the church through the will of God the Father and the grace of the Lord Lord Jesus Christ after the meeting Joseph witnessed his father and mothers baptism as well as others including Martin Harris and Orrin Puerta Rockwell for the church established there in Fayette New York was like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field when it was grown it was the greatest among the herbs those opposed to the baptisms attempted to stop them but failed again and again when a mob destroyed it down to prevent baptisms in the stream the Dan was immediately rebuilt and believers immersed in baptismal covenants when Joseph was charged with being a disorderly person of setting the country in an uproar by preaching the Book of Mormon he was acquitted by a court of law in reflecting upon the overt follies of his enemies to stop the work of God from moving forward Joseph mused we feared not our opponents knowing that we had both truth and righteousness on our side we had the doctrines of Christ and abided in them young and old rich and poor farmer and educators stopped to listen as early missionaries of the church shared with strangers and newfound friends the Book of Mormon the religious stir created by their restoration message and the Book of Mormon in small settlements near Kirtland Ohio is legendary the people thronged us night and day wrote missionary parley P Pratt and so much that we had no time for a rest or retirement most notable of the throng was a preacher named Sidney Rigdon Rigden advised those in his congregation who listened to the missionary prove all things hold fast to that which is good many did and the work continued to spread the newly baptized ask God to send the Prophet Joseph Smith to Ohio their prayers were answered when at age 25 Joseph arrived in February of 1831 at the new Kate Whitney store in Kirtland you prayed me here now what do you want of me he asked the storekeeper Nilka Whitney the answer was to set in order the church the Prophet was needed to teach the Ohio Saints about discerning the spirit the workings of the priesthood and keeping the commandments of God over the next several years he would do just that but for now there were new friends like Mary Elizabeth Rollins to greet I have never seen anything like it on the earth said Mary I could not take my eyes off you convert Brigham Young was more impressed with the prophets doctrinal teachings than his personal what a delight to hear brother Joseph talk upon the great principle of eternity he would bring them down to the capacity of a child and he would unite heaven with earth he took unkindly to false reports lies and foolish stories and individuals who found fault with brother Joseph to the man who loudly railed against Joseph Smith Brigham Young then became very upset where the man said whoa whoa and to the inhabitants of this place said Brigham then he münster words he said I put on my pants and shoes I took my cowhide I went out and laying hold on this man I jerked him round and assured him that if he did not stop his noise and let the people enjoy their sleep without interruption I would cowhide him on the spot for we had the Lord's prophet right here and we did not want the devil's prophet yelling around the streets of Kirtland the man stopped but not all others Joseph found it necessary to move from Kirtland Ohio to Hiram oh hi oh they're in the John Johnson farmhouse Joseph's renewed his work on the translation of the Scriptures until March of 1832 whence when violence erupted apparently about sixty men met in an old Brickyard there in Hiram Ohio as they did so they came from many small communities around Kirtland including Jarrettsville inch and shellers Ville with the idea that they would kill Joseph from the Brickyard the sixty men worked their way to the Johnson's house and they as they did so near midnight a dozen men then stimulated by whiskey among these 60 entered the bedroom there in the Johnson house where Joseph and Emma were staying and they were caring for their two adopted twins when was named Joseph and the other Julia as the mob burst into the bedroom some had their hands in my hair and some had hold of my shirt drawers and limbs said Joseph you will have mercy and spare my life I hope he cried harsh profanities and laughter were followed by the director calling your God for help will show you no mercy one Marber tried to force an obnoxious drug into his mouth his name was dr. Denison others often to tar and feather him before fleeing in that night like cowards the shameful hand of oppression had worked its craft well that night a prophet of God had reeled in pain what was his reaction to the maava Craddock rule rather than curse God for his woes Joseph spoke of comfort God is my friend and him I shall find comfort I have given my life into his hands I count not my life dear to me only to do his will in speaking of his loyal followers Joseph Smith said our trust is in God and we are determined His grace assisting us to maintain the cause and hold out faithful unto the end his well-chosen words encouraged latter-day saints to turn their thoughts from vengeance and return to their sickles and plows and bring order from lawless lawlessness and beauty to Kirtland as they were Joseph called apostles 70s bishops and stake presidents to administer the affairs of the kingdom he established a school of the Prophet for instructions of the priesthood he called elders to share the gospel throughout the United States Canada and England he taught with power the laws of God and the steps necessary to enter his kingdom truly these were glorious days in Kirtland Ohio days of learning from and heeding the words of the Lord it was also a day for building a house even a house of prayer house of fasting a house of faith a house of learning a house of glory a house of order a house of God one Latter day Saint suggested a wood frame structure with suffice for this house of God another proposed a log house shall we brethren build a house for our God of logs Joseph Smith asked no he retorted I have a better plan than that I have a plan of the house of the Lord given by himself the plan was magnificent in design but financially beyond the reach of the poverty stricken saints notwithstanding the church was poor Joseph observed latter-day saints began to build the imposing edifice and notwithstanding the threats of the ma temple construction went steadily forward until finished the day of the dedication of the Kirtland temple was as on the day of Pentecost the Holy Ghost was profusely poured out wrote Brent Benjamin Browne convert William Draper added the Spirit of God entered the temple like a mighty rushing wind and filled the house many that were present spoke in tongues and had visions and saw angels and prophesied Eliza R snow observed that the ceremonies of that dedication may be rehearsed but no mortal language can describe the heavenly manifestations of that memorable day the congregation saying the spirit of God like a fire is burning and the Saints shouted Hosanna to God in the Lamb they then sealed their shout with a United Amen one week later on Easter morning and on the Jewish holy day of Passover the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote of another glorious manifestation in the temple I retired to the pulpit the veil is being dropped and bowed myself with Oliver Cowdery in solemn and silent prayer while praying the veil was taken from our minds and the eyes of our understanding were opened we saw the Lord standing upon the breast work of the pulpit before us the glory of that April 3rd day was never excu difficulties that followed in 1837 in that year the shout Joseph Smith a fallen prophet was heard even among the elect at one time Joseph Smith was walking through the streets of Kirtland Ohio and saw one of the elect Wilford Woodruff he said to Wilford are you friend or foe Wilford said I am a friend of a prophet of God Joseph then took out a piece of paper and wrote on it Wilford Woodruff friend of a prophet of God Wilford never felt fully dressed unless he had that piece of paper on his personage nevertheless there were those that didn't feel as Wilford and sought Joseph's life Joseph fled from the volkl apostates in Kirtland as did faithful followers like Wilford Woodruff what the Lord will do with us I know not wrote John Smith although he slay me I will trust in him we are like the ancients wandering from place to place in the wilderness just as Kirtland real with apostasy Mormonism in Missouri was following the same forbidden paths the vectra's lawsuits rumors and falsehoods confronted Joseph at every Soloman Hancock's testimony brother joseph has not a fallen prophet but will yet be exalted was jeered for the prevailing sentiment was Joseph had fallen and must be stopped apostates joined with the mob element in perpetuating lies and sending them to even the governor of Missouri Lilburn w Boggs reacting to the falsehoods and in disgrace to the public trust that he held governor Boggs on October 27 1838 issued an extermination order which read the Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public good mormon outrages are beyond all description Haun's mill Massacre in the fall of adam and i amon both latter-day saint communities were outgrowths of the order frightened saints of god were subjected to the glitter of steel and the sheen of muskets as other towns failed to the Missouri militia Hyrum Smith endeavoured to find out for what caused latter-day saints were being subjected to death all that we could learn was because we were Mormons Joseph said we have been driven time after time and without cause and smitten again and again and that without provocation this time the abuse was unprecedented it put in harm's way every man woman and child who would not deny that Joseph Smith was a prophet Joseph Smith and other latter-day Saint leaders did not escape the extremities of Missouri when they were captured outside of Farwest the militia yelled like so many bloodhounds let loose upon their prey had the army been composed of wolves and Panthers they could not have made a sound more terrible wrote parley P Pratt guards blasphemy God and mocked Jesus Christ and taunted brother Joseph come mr. Smith show us an angel give us one of your revelations show us a miracle even as they taunted the Prophet an illegal court-martial was being held and Joseph and fellow captives were condemned in abstention without representation to death general Alexander Donovan's defiance if you execute these men I will hold you responsible before an earthly tribunal so help me God so alarmed the militia leaders that they dared not put the decree in execution instead they forced Joseph and other prisoners into a wagon curiosity seekers clamored to see Joseph Smith has a wagons journey toward the frontier community of Independence which of the prisoners is the Lord whom the Mormons worshipped a woman asked in Independence when a soldier pointed to Joseph she approached him and inquired whether he professed to be the Lord and Savior Joseph replied I profess to be nothing but a man and a minister of salvation sent by Jesus Christ to preach the gospel he then preached a discourse on the doctrines of faith repentance baptism and the Holy Ghost all seem surprised and the lady in tears went her way praising God for the truth and praying aloud that the Lord would bless and deliver the prisoners instead of being delivered the prisoners were placed under military guard and independence and then taken to Richmond Missouri where they were forced to listen to the profane cursing and taunting of the guards that was until Joseph exclaimed silence ye fiends of the infernal pit in the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you and command you to be still I will not live another minute and hear such language see such talk or you or I die this instant there was such a tone of finality in Joseph's words that the coiling guards crouched at his feet begged his pardon and remained quiet till the change of guards the civil hearing often referred to as a mock trial provided little relief for the prisoners for 15 days Joseph listened to a seemingly endless parade of perjured witnesses Judge Austin Kings order that latter-day Saint leaders be jailed in Liberty evoked from the defense attorney if a cohort of angels were to come down and declare the prisoners innocent it would all be the same for King the judge had determined from the beginning to cast them into prison of these proceedings Joseph pinned the soldiers and officers of every kind hated us and the most profane blasphemer --zz and drunkards and whoremongers hated us he wrote they all hated us of most cordiality and now what did they hate us for purely because of the testimony of Jesus Christ yet from Liberty jail Joseph penned letters of encouragement to Emma he wrote if God will spare my life once more to have the privilege of taking care of you I will ease your care and endeavour to comfort your heart to the Saints gathered in Quincy Illinois he wrote at his confidence in the Lord what powers shall stay the heavens as well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri River in its decreed course or turn it upstream as to hinder the almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter day Saints when hope seemed only a momentary glimmer Joseph cried o God where art thou and where is a pavilion that covereth thine hiding-place the Lord answered my son peace be unto thy soul then adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment fear not what man can do for God shall be with you forever and ever in April 1839 Joseph and fellow prisoners did escape bondage we felt like shouting Hosanna in the highest and giving glory to that God who had delivered us wrote parley P Pratt has he and Joseph met as free men on Illinois soil this was indeed a time for praising God for near an unlikely bluff overlooking a swampy bend in the Mississippi River the city of Nauvoo was rising from the north the south and across the ocean converts have come to make their home in nabu my house has been a home in a resting place for thousands and my family many times obliged to do without food after having fed all they had two visitors said Joseph as the Prophet and his wife graciously welcomed the poor and the acclaimed into their home other latter-day saints followed suit by opening their homes to host the needy when possible Joseph gave them a hand when he learned that a fire had destroyed a latter-day Saint home he pulled a five dollar coin from his pocket and said I feel sorry for this brother to the amount of five dollars how much do you feel sorry for him in this way Nava was built of all the buildings under construction none captivated both heart and soul like the Nauvoo temple when men hauled stone day after day by hitching teams up to the wagons and pulling the stones through the streets Joseph seeing brother by Bea's wagons stuck in a mud hole waited in mud halfway to his knees and getting his shoulder covered with mud just to help another man in his distress Joseph cut limestone and chopped wood but often interrupted his physical Labor's on the temple to discuss the gospel the Prophet would unravel the scriptures and explain doctrine as no other man wrote Wendell mace during these gospel conversations Joseph Smith explained covenants and ordinances made in holy temples he assured his followers that through participating in temple ordinances they would become more committed to a christ-like life and have a greater love for God he taught the pleasing joys of family ties and associations contribute to the happiness power and Dominion of those who attain to the celestial glory these sublime moments ended all too soon as mobs threatened invasion Joseph's advice let us keep cool as a cucumber on a frosty morning was difficult for even conspirators in Nauvoo itself were swearing before God and all holy angels the destruction of Joseph Smith although Joseph believed that these men could not scare off an old setting in their evil plans ignited public sentiment to a feverish pitch when they printed the Nauvoo expositor the first issue of the paper bells forth the most intolerable and the blackest of all lies Joseph Smith in conjunction with the novice City Council denounced the newspaper as a public nuisance and authorized a sheriff to stop future publications the Swift destructive actions of the sheriff led publishers to charge Joseph and the novice city council with inciting a riot to his brother Hiram Joseph cried there is no mercy no mercy here as others countered Joseph said if my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself I am going like a lamb to the slaughter but I am calm as a summers morning I have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward all men On June 24 1844 Joseph bid farewell to his family and made his final journey to a place called Carthage in Carthage accusations of riot were turned to treason by the afternoon of June 27th a mob loitering outside the Carthage Jail sang where now is the Prophet Joseph where now is a prophet chosen where now is the Prophet Joseph safe in Carthage Jail has the day weighing Joseph and Hyrum and two members of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles John Taylor and Willard Richards lingered in the East bedroom of the Carthage Jail their elder Taylor sang a poor wayfaring man of grief around 5:00 in the afternoon and armed ma overpowered the jailer rushed the stairs and fired shots into the East bedroom Hiram was the first to fall from an assassin's bullet bending over the body of his lifeless brother Joseph sobbed oh dear brother Hyrum as Joseph moved toward the East bedroom window two bullets hit him from the doorway and two struck him from outside he fell from the window to the ground below and was heard to exclaim Oh Lord my god Joseph the prophet of God laid ahead outside the jail unknowingly these assassins left more than the corpses of two men they left two broad seal affixed to Mormonism that cannot be rejected by any Court on earth and the truth of the everlasting gospel that all the earth cannot impeach they left two martyred crowns they helped Forge with their senseless brutality the testimony of Joseph lives on it to this I wish to add my testimony I know that Joseph Smith was a great prophet of God I view it as a great privilege to have shared with you a few highlights of his life today to share with you some of the contributions of his life I am very grateful to be a member and one of the millions today that knows that Joseph Smith was a great prophet of God I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen

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Keywords: The Life and Contributions of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Susan Easton Black, Susan E. Black, Susan Black, 2007 BYU Campus Education Week, 2007 BYU Education Week, 2007 Education Week, Education Week, BYU Education Week, BYU Campus Education Week

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Length: 60min 19sec (3619 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 18 2014