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Mission of the Prophet
Pres. Thomas S. Monson:
"Continuous revelation is the very lifeblood of the gospel of Jesus Christ." ( Liahona Nov. 2008 )
The First Vision
The first thing that happened in connection with the restoration of the Gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ in modern times was the visit of the Father and the Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph's own account tells that in 1820, he and his family lived in Manchester, NY, where there was an unusual excitement on the subject of religion and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties. This created no small stir and division amongst the people.
Joseph, who was only a young boy, was confused because the different sects interpreted the same scripture passages in the Bible so differently. Some cried "Lo, here is Christ!", others "no, here!" Some believed in the Methodists, some in the Baptists, some in other churches. Joseph believed in God and Jesus Christ and he wanted to join the right church, but it was difficult for a person, young as he was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong. Due to the contention and differences between these churches Joseph's mind was troubled in that period.
A promise in the Bible
Then one day Joseph read the following promise in The Epistle of James:
"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 )
He later testified of his experience with the following words:
"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; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible." ( Joseph Smith - History 1:12 )
A Prayer of Faith
Due to this experience Joseph decided to try the word of God. One day he went out to a grove to ask God to give him wisdom to make the right decision as regards to which church he should join. As answer to his prayer God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him. Joseph testified about what happened:
"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!" ( Joseph Smith - History 1:16-17 )
Joseph Smith spoke face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ
Thereafter the Lord spoke face to face with Joseph Smith, as He for instance did with the Prophet Moses:
(
Ex. 33:11 / Deut. 5:4 ).
Among other things the Lord told Joseph not to join any of the existing churches. He learned that an apostasy had happened from the Church that Jesus Christ organized in the meridian of time, and that there was no church on the earth that was accepted by the Lord. Joseph was told that he should work as an instrument in the hands of the Lord to restore The Gospel of Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ in the same form in which the Savior organized it in the meridian of time.
A holy record which contains the fullness of The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Later Joseph was visited by an angel of God, Moroni, who in a vision showed him where the ancient record was hidden. The ancient record contained the fullness of The Gospel of Jesus Christ as it was preached to inhabitants in ancient America. Joseph received the record, The Book of Mormon, in 1827 and translated it into modern language by the gift and power of God. The Book of Mormon contains 15 books written by Prophets of God who lived on the american continent in ancient times, before America was discovered by Christopher Columbus. These prophets wrote the prophecies and revelations that God gave them, on Gods command and with our time in mind. The Lord told them that these things should come forth in the latter days to testify to the world of the Lords mission as the Savior and Redeemer of the world, to confirm the truthfulness of the Bible, and to make it possible for anyone who would receive it, to be prepared for the Second Coming of the Lord which is near at hand.