We have a new tradition in our family regarding the opening of mission calls. When my older sister received hers about a year and a half ago, she was about to open it when my mom stopped her. She instructed my youngest brother to hurry into the kitchen and grab something for her to use to open it, as to preserve the appearance of the envelope. He came back a few moments later with the largest steak knife in the house. I look back fondly on the memory of her clutching the letter in one hand, and brandishing a serrated steak knife in the other. I’m proud to say that almost a year later, I had the chance to open my own mission call with a large steak knife. I have the opportunity to serve in the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission, which is in Africa for those who don’t know. It’s okay, I had no clue where it was either.
The message I bring to you today is the very same message I will be teaching during the next two years on my mission, that is, the message of the Restoration of the Gospel. The Restoration of the Gospel is the most compelling and powerful change to be brought about in these latter days. Without the Restoration, we would live lives full of doubt and despair, littered with fleeting pleasures, selfishness and skepticism. Without the Restoration, we would be kept from many great and wonderful truths. There have been many ages of the earth that have passed in such a manner, without the full light and hope of God to lead His children.
The story of the Restoration is very familiar to us as Latter-Day Saints. It all began in New York, where God called a young man prepared to bring His word back into this world. Joseph Smith lived in the town of Palmyra, which was a place of great religious excitement. He and his family were deeply religious and constantly desired to find truth. This was difficult, because many ministers claimed to have the one and only true gospel. Joseph desired “to know which of all the sects was right.” The Bible taught that there was “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Joseph attended many different churches in search of the truth. He later described his efforts in these words:
“So great were the confusions and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was . . . to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong . . . In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often thought to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?”
Young Joseph continued to search, and turned to the Bible for guidance. He found in James 1:5 that “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.” This passage inspired Joseph to ask the Lord what he should do. In the spring of 1820, he knelt in a nearby grove of trees and knelt in prayer. He later writes of the experience:
“I saw 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!”
In this vision, Joseph beheld both the Father and the Son. They instructed him that he was to join none of the churches, as they “were all wrong.” These churches contained many good people who strove to follow Christ and his teachings in the Bible, but they did not have the fullness of truth or authority of the priesthood. They lived in a state of apostasy, where the priesthood authority and ordinances could not exist. The Lord called Joseph Smith to be his prophet in Latter Days, much like He had done with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and other prophets. Through Joseph Smith, these enduring ordinances and priesthood keys could be brought again to the earth after centuries of apostasy.
After the vision of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith saw other heavenly messengers, or angels, who instructed him further on the Lord’s work. Through John the Baptist, Joseph and his colleague Oliver Cowdery received the Aaronic Priesthood, which is requisite to the performing of baptism. Peter, James, and John (some of Christ’s early apostles) appeared to them and restored the greater priesthood, referred to as the Melchizedek Priesthood, which was the same power and authority given to Christ’s apostles of old. With this authority, Joseph was directed to organize the Lord’s Church again, as it was in ancient times. He was guided to call twelve apostles. With this new groundwork set in these Latter Days, Joseph Smith had begun the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ as it had been from the beginning of time.
Many people question the necessity of the Restoration. They believe that the words contained in the Bible are merely enough, and that the Lord has nothing more to communicate to the children he so dearly loves. Understanding this doubt and disbelief that would rob people of joy, Heavenly Father prepared a holy volume of scripture very similar to the Bible, “which contains the fullness and everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ.” This book also provides compelling evidence that Joseph Smith was a true and ordained prophet of God. This volume of scripture is known today as The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
Joseph Smith was guided by a messenger named Moroni to find brass plates which were hidden away on a hillside for centuries. Joseph Smith, a man with very little education, was able to translate the characters on these plates by the power of God. They contained a record of the dealings of Christ and His followers on the American continents. The prophets in The Book of Mormon knew of Christ and his divine mission. He came to them and taught them much like He did in Jerusalem. The Book of Mormon proves that “God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old” (D&C 20:11). Every person who reads the Book of Mormon can know for themselves of its truth through pondering its words, and asking the Lord if it is true, much like Joseph Smith did. The Book of Mormon also teaches in Moroni 10:4-5 how we can learn of its truth, or the truth of anything:
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”
Two summers ago, I had the opportunity to see the Sacred Grove where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. It was a warm day, and the mosquitoes were incessant and ravenous. On our first trip through the Grove as a family, we enjoyed soaking in all the senses of the pristine forest. It was very lovely, and the Spirit was very strong. We later revisited on another day, and my mother asked us to do something I’m very grateful for to this day.
Our family split up, and we went our separate ways to find somewhere to be alone. She instructed us to do whatever we felt we needed to, whether it be reading scriptures or saying prayers, or simply pondering. She said that it was personal time to ourselves, and we could do whatever we wanted for it.
I wandered off a short distance until everyone was out of sight and sound, and I looked around, and saw that I was alone. It was here that I opened to Joseph Smith’s record of The First Vision, and began reading. It was a powerful experience, to be able to look through the canopy of trees, and pretend to myself that the rays of sun piercing through the leaves were the rays of God’s radiant glory. I pictured myself kneeling before His presence, much like young Joseph had done. I didn’t have any miraculous encounters with celestial beings, or any other physical manifestations. The Spirit simply spoke to me, as it often does, with a gentle whisper, though it sounded much louder in the gentle quiet of the Grove. I knew that God visited there with his Son, and I could not deny it.
I have grown up with a Book of Mormon in my hands, so to speak. I’ve read every night with my family for as long as I remember, and I guess I’ve always had a testimony of its truth But I feel like I often took it for granted. I knew that the words of the Book of Mormon had the power to change lives, but I had never really witnessed that change in myself or anyone else until I saw it in my sister. She has dutifully served over a year of her mission now, and the change in her is absolutely amazing. Her confidence in herself and others has grown tremendously. Her face is constantly lit up in happiness as she carries the Spirit of God with her. Most importantly, it’s plain to see the tender relationship she has nurtured with her loving Heavenly Father, and the peace and joy she has found in it.
Now at last, it is my turn to serve as she has served. I greatly look forward to stepping off that plane into a world of wonder. I will be challenged like I never have been before in my life. I might be miserable at times, and wish that I was home. But, this is my opportunity to bring the light of Christ into the lives of those who do not yet have it. Though I may be discouraged and downtrodden at times, I know for myself of the truth of the Lord’s church. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that he brought about the Restoration of the Gospel. I know that The Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that it has the power to truly change someone’s life. I have faith that regardless of what befalls me or my family while I am away, we will live forever as a family.
This testimony I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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