Joseph Smith is a very divisive figure in American religion–to found a church is one thing, but to have God and Jesus Christ appear to you is quite another.  Joseph Smith has been maligned time and time again, but his story, his life, and the events surrounding God calling him to be a prophet are not absurd, rather it is all congruent with how God has called a prophet and spoken to his children in all ages of the world.

The crux of any claim or statement that attempts to malign or discredit a Mormon’s belief, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in general, originates in the validity of Joseph Smith’s testimony of The Father and The Son coming to visit him (Please see Joseph Smith History 1:13-20).  Either They did in fact visit him, or They didn’t.   It is not my wish to convince you that Joseph Smith was God’s prophet, rather it is my hope that you will see that Joseph Smith meets the qualifications of a prophet as found in the Bible.  I urge you to ponder these points as you read them, and please do so with an open mind and heart.

1. According to the Bible, God has always led His church and people through a prophet.  “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7, emphasis added).  This doctrine of governing the affairs of the church through a prophet was reaffirmed when Christ established the new covenant and built His church upon prophets and apostles, Jesus, Himself, being the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-22).  This is shown clearly by Christ giving Peter the keys of the kingdom, or the right to direct the affairs of Christ’s church, when Christ himself was not on the earth (Matthew 16:18-19).  Joseph Smith received instructions from Jesus Christ on how to govern His church, and these were compiled into what is now known as the Doctrine and Covenants.
2. Prophets have always had direct authority from God to act in His name.  They did not just “feel” that they were called of God, they were actually given this right by either God Himself, or by another who could trace his authority back to God.  As clear example of this, before Aaron could officiate in the ordinances of the tabernacle, he was anointed and given the authority to do so by Moses who was a holder of this priesthood.  This same pattern of conferring the priesthood is still employed today in Jesus Christ’s church.  Furthermore,  this practice is in accordance with what Paul teaches the Hebrews, “No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron” (Hebrew 5:4).  John the Baptist who held the right to administer baptism for the remission of sins visited Joseph Smith in May 1829 and gave this authority to Joseph Smith (D&C 13:1 and section heading); furthermore, Peter, James, and John, Christ’s head apostles, came to Joseph and gave to him the authority to govern Christ’s church shortly after John the Baptist visited Joseph (D&C 27:7-8, 12).
3. Prophets have always written down their revelations to be handed down to the future generations.  Their writings, however, weren’t to be intended as the end of all revelation (and no where in the Bible does it say there will be no more revelation).  Thus, we now have the Bible–it is the compilation of some 4000 years of God’s revelations and teachings.  Once again, this has been the pattern and will continue to the pattern.  Through Joseph Smith came The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price.  These are physical evidences that God not only spoke to those of his children in Israel and the regions round about, but to others on a different continent and continues to speak to us today through prophets.
4. Peter himself prophesied that before Christ would come again, all things would be restored (Acts 3:19-21).  Paul taught of a dispensation of the fulness of times when all things would come together (Ephesians 1:10) and he also taught that before the second coming of Jesus Christ there would come a falling away, or a turning from the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 2 Timothy 4:3-4).  Furthermore, there is evidence from the New Testament that this falling away was already beginning to happen (Acts 20:29-31; 1 Corinthians 11:18; 2 Timothy 1:15; 1 John 2:18-19).  This restoration of all things began with Joseph Smith being visited by The Father and The Son.
5. God has always had only one church that He personally endorses.  Paul taught this to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4:5) and it is clear that Jesus Christ (Jehovah) was leading only one house of Israel.  As another example, if Jesus Christ is the head of multiple churches, then why was Paul not content with letting the wolves enter the flock and lead them astray?  Why was he so concerned that the doctrine is being corrupted and changed by others?  This further underscores that Christ leads only one church.  Yes, there are many good churches who do many good things in Christ’s name and sincerely strive to do what Christ taught-they have many pieces, but not the whole pie.  Through Joseph Smith, Christ declared, ”And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually–” (D&C 1:30, italics added).
6. A prophet of God does not doubt who God is–His character and attributes, because he knows God personally.  This pattern was established with Adam and has been reaffirmed over and over again down through history.  Joseph Smith and his prophetic calling is not out of context, rather it fits perfectly with the pattern that has long been established for God’s calling of a prophet.  He did not doubt if they came or what they looked like, he knew who it was that came to him in the spring of 1820.  He firmly declared the true character of God and His Son, Jesus Christ from that spring day until he gave his life.
7. The last point is that a prophet giving his life for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is something that has frequently occurred throughout the course of time.  Joseph Smith was true to his testimony–of the restoration of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ–to his death.   There will always be those that scoff and point the finger of scorn towards Joseph Smith.  There will always be those who try to lay subtle traps and search for supposed loop holes in the teachings and doctrine that Jesus Christ gave to the world through him.  But just as the prophets of old, Joseph Smith’s blood was shed as a final testimony of the validity of Jesus Christ restoring His church and authority once more.  How can a man suffer what he suffered–beatings, being tarred and feathered, whippings, persecution wherever he went, being arrested multiple times and being incarcerated in the worst of circumstances, being rejected and maligned by even some of his closest associates, seeing his fellow disciples be beaten, driven from their homes multiple times, and suffering all manner of cruelty, and then to finally lay down his life, and all the time be living a lie? (Please see Elder Jeffrey Holland’s most recent General Conference address, text and on YouTube.)

I wish to emphasize that it cannot be proven empirically by me or any other human being that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.  There will always be those who want this type of proof, but God does not work this way.  He teaches his children truth when they are willing to hear it and when they are willing to believe, and act accordingly.  God does not confirm his words through complex philosophical methods, rather through the undeniable feelings of the Holy Ghost, a burning in the heart so to speak.  In this way, I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.  I cannot deny those feelings–I know it and I know that God knows I know.  You, too, are free to embrace the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and you are free to accept Joseph Smith as one of God’s prophets.  This will take belief and action, pondering and sincere prayer, but the answers will come.  Please feel free to contact me through the question box by leaving your e-mail address, or by contacting the missionaries of our church through the link on the side bar of our website.

Today, I want to share with you a talk given by Jeffrey R. Holland, one of the 12 apostles. His testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon is powerful. I invite all to listen to this address, “Safety for the Soul”, and ponder what is taught and then study the Book of Mormon for yourself (you can get a free copy by following this link).   If you do so with a sincere heart and pray to know, with intent to act, if the book is from God, God will tell you in your heart and mind by the Holy Ghost that it is from Him.   The validity of Joseph Smith as one of God’s prophet goes hand in hand with knowing that the Book of Mormon is from God–if the book is from God, the man by whom God brought forth the book must also be of God.  Enjoy.

(I have embedded the talk from YouTube and included a link as well if you want the video to load faster.)

Safety for the Soul, Part 1

Safety for the Soul, Part 2

While preparing for a class, I came across this talk given by Hugh B. Brown, a member of the First Presidency of our church, who passed away some years ago.  It details a conversation that he had with a member of the British House of Commons and a former justice of the supreme court of Britain regarding our belief in the reality of modern-day prophets.

I will never understand why people reject the doctrine of God still being able to call prophets.  He has always done so and will continue to do so.  I firmly declare that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that there is a prophet today who speaks for God.  Prophets are essential to us knowing who God and Jesus Christ are—their characters and their teachings that will bring salvation.  You too can know of this truth if you will sincerely ask God in prayer with faith to act.

“[This man] called me on the phone one day and asked if I would meet him at his office and explain some phases of my faith. He said, “There is going to be a war [World War II], and you will have to return to America, and we may not meet again.”

When I went to his office, he said he had been intrigued by some things I had told about my church. He asked me if I would prepare a brief on Mormonism and discuss it with him as I would discuss a legal problem. He said, “You have told me that you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that you believe that God the Father and Jesus of Nazareth appeared to him in vision.

“I cannot understand,” he said, “how a barrister and solicitor from Canada, a man trained in logic and evidence and unemotional cold fact, could accept such absurd statements. What you tell me about Joseph Smith seems fantastic, but I wish you would take three days at least to prepare a brief and permit me to examine it and question you on it.”

I suggested that, as I had been working on such a brief for more than 50 years, we proceed at once to have an examination for discovery, which is briefly a meeting of the opposing sides in a lawsuit where the plaintiff and defendant, with their attorneys, meet to examine each other’s claims and see whether they can find some area of agreement and thus save the time of the court later on.

I began by asking, “May I proceed, sir, on the assumption that you are a Christian?”

“I am.”

“I assume that you believe in the Bible—the Old and New Testaments?”

“I do!”

“Do you believe in prayer?”

“I do!”

“You say that my belief that God spoke to a man in this age is fantastic and absurd?”

“To me it is.”

“Do you believe that God ever did speak to anyone?”

“Certainly, all through the Bible we have evidence of that.”

“Did he speak to Adam?”

“Yes.”

“To Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and to others of the prophets?”

“I believe he spoke to each of them.”

“Do you believe that contact between God and man ceased when Jesus appeared on the earth?”

“Certainly not. Such communication reached its climax, its apex at that time.”

“Do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God?”

“He was.”

“Do you believe, sir, that after the resurrection of Christ, God ever spoke to any man?”

He thought for a moment and then said, “I remember one Saul of Tarsus who was going down to Damascus to persecute the saints and who had a vision, was stricken blind, in fact, and heard a voice.”

“Whose voice did he hear?”

“Well,” he said, “the voice said `I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.’”

“Do you believe that actually took place?”

“I do.”

“Then, my Lord”—that is the way we address judges in the British commonwealth—”my Lord, I am submitting to you in all seriousness that it was standard procedure in Bible times for God to talk to men.”

“I think I will admit that, but it stopped shortly after the first century of the Christian era.”

“Why do you think it stopped?”

“I can’t say.”

“You think that God hasn’t spoken since then?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“May I suggest some possible reasons why he has not spoken. Perhaps it is because he cannot. He has lost the power.”

He said, “Of course that would be blasphemous.”

“Well, then, if you don’t accept that, perhaps he doesn’t speak to men because he doesn’t love us anymore. He is no longer interested in the affairs of men.”

“No,” he said, “God loves all men, and he is no respecter of persons.”

“Well, then, if you don’t accept that he loves us, then the only other possible answer as I see it is that we don’t need him. We have made such rapid strides in education and science that we don’t need God any more.”

And then he said, and his voice trembled as he thought of impending war, “Mr. Brown, there never was a time in the history of the world when the voice of God was needed as it is needed now. Perhaps you can tell me why he doesn’t speak.”

My answer was, “He does speak, he has spoken; but men need faith to hear him.”

(President Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1967, Third Day—Morning Meeting 118.)

Ecclesiates 12:7 (italics added)  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Jeremiah 1:5 (italics added)  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Jude 1:6 (italics added)  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day.

Revelation 12:7-9 (italics added)  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought againts the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Abraham 3:22-24 (italics added)  Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was: and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones.  And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.  And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

It is clear from just the Bible that there was a “pre-existence” where we, as spirits, lived with God.  The scripture that God has given us through Joseph Smith (I picked only one) confirms this doctrine.  Thanks for your inquiry.

I can understand why.  We aren’t like most break-off sects, based on our peculiar interpretation of scripture.  People are more or less comfortable with these groups.  After all, if Martin Luther said something you don’t agree with, you can rest assured that his foundation is firmly rooted in the Bible.  He might be mistaken on some things, but by and large he agrees with mainline protestantism.  He never claimed to be a prophet.

But Mormons are new and different.  It’s all or nothing.  It can’t be swallowed half-way.

Either Joseph Smith was honest about his first encounter with God or he lied about it.  He was visited frequently by angels or he wasn’t visited at all.  He was a prophet or a hoaxer.  If one is not Mormon and will not be baptized, “Joseph Smith was a fraud” is the stance one is required to take.  The middle ground is removed.

This polarization has energized detractors to produce mountains of criticism to discredit Mormonism, which if seen by itself makes our religion look plain silly, or worse.  The criticisms range from sophomoric name-calling and laughably-inconsistent retelling of our beliefs to historical documentation and intellectual DNA analysis.  Most of this is aimed not at Mormons (these kinds of attacks rarely have the gravitas to significantly shake LDS faith), but primarily at potential investigators of Mormonism.  They are designed to damage the Church’s reputation enough that you’ll dismiss anything we might offer.

The criticism, in turn, has prompted Latter-day Saints for years to rebut the arguments and point out evidences in our favor.  This rebuttal in defense of faith is called apologetics from the Greek apologia, meaning “defense.”

The leading body defending Mormon doctrine from critical arguments is the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR).  It is an independent, non-profit group of Latter-day Saints dedicated to “providing well-documented answers to criticisms of LDS (Mormon) doctrine, belief and practice.”  They have a website and a wiki full of every piece of anti-Mormon material you could ask for and a confident, clear response to each.

A few weeks ago I attended their annual conference in Sandy, UT.  They had speakers from a variety of professional backgrounds.  A lawyer-economist spoke on the failed Kirtland Safety Society, a banking endeavor that Joseph Smith initiated (and according to critics, caused to fail in order to steal parishioners’ money).  A physicist (a former member of the federal government’s — and no, this isn’t a joke – Dark Energy Task Force) gave a lecture on Joseph’s cosmology compared with a modern physics account of the creation of the universe.  There were talks with titles like, “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Plural Marriage (but were afraid to ask),” “Haplogroup X in Light of Recent Book of Mormon Claims,” and “Joseph the Seer, or Why Joseph Translated with a Rock in His Hat.” I came away impressed with their professionalism and their ability to make the topics accessible, interesting, and relevant.

My favorite FAIR contributor is a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic named Daniel C. Peterson.  I became a fan through watching his FAIR presentations on YouTube.  (Click here to see Dr. Peterson’s review of Christopher Hitchens’ infamous book god is Not Great).

Members of FAIR look into the criticisms in their spare time and on their own dime; the Church doesn’t fund their research.  There are important reasons for that.  One of the key reasons is that Father has a different method for teaching us, which the Church favors.  It doesn’t require advanced degrees or superior reasoning capacity, and the objective isn’t merely knowledge.  The objective is goodness, even Godliness.  He created this whole world as a sort of school.  A proving ground.  What is required is a humble heart and a will to follow Jesus Christ.  Learning how to pray is much more vital to this kind of education than writing a thesis.

So, if you are investigating the Church, and you’ve been bombarded with defamatory information in anti-Mormon pamphlets or movies, first go to God.  You can learn a lot through prayerful revelation.  This should be your first step.  Always.  If it still bothers you, poke around FAIR’s website.  They’ve heard it all.  You may find peace in knowing that when you don’t have all the answers, some smart, faith-filled people have blazed the trail ahead of you.  It certainly helps me.

In the course of my journey as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, there have been numerous times where I have questions come up that challenge my faith.   I can’t speak for all Mormons, but I would assume that we all go through these cycles from time to time.  I picked this topic to write about, because I want others who are not of our faith to know that I do have questions and from time to time finding answers to these questions causes spiritual turmoil.  However, it is during these times that I grow the most spiritually.

The foundation of my belief is rooted in Joseph Smith’s testimony that he was in fact visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ.  This visit came in response to Joseph’s prayer to know which church he should join.  They gave him specific instructions — he was to join none of the churches, because none of them were right (Joseph Smith History 1:1-20).  What followed next in Joseph’s life is phenomenal:  through him Jesus Christ re-established his Church, the Book of Mormon was translated, the authority to act and perform ordinances in God’s name was given to man again, and the list could go on.  I will always remember the day that the truthfulness of this man’s testimony was written upon my heart by the Holy Ghost.  I feel much the same as Joseph did:  I know it and I know that God knows it and I cannot deny it (JS-H 1:25).

However, even though I know Joseph Smith’s story to be true, from time to time, something will come up that causes me to wonder.  For example, polygamy, or how the priesthood was distributed prior to 1978.  These challenges of faith, no matter how big or small, cause me to reflect and evaluate.  Sometimes, they cause me to think, “how could God’s prophet do this, or say that?”  I learned a long time ago that there is a reason; however, in these times I have yet to discover the puzzle piece that makes the picture complete.  Often I have to go back to the basics that I know to be undeniably true–that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he did in fact translate the Book of Mormon.  In other instances, I have to sit down and think about other confirmations that I have received from the Holy Ghost about a particular piece of doctrine, whether it is prayer, fasting, scripture study, marriage, or the priesthood for a few examples.  As I do this and ponder my question throughout the day or weeks, eventually someone will say something, or I will have a thought that comes to me, always accompanied by another confirmation through the Holy Ghost.  Then I can clearly see what I was missing.

These experiences strengthen my faith and further buttress my basic testimony of God.  In this way I have been able to move from truth to truth and from grace to grace, learning about God and the grand plan that He has designed for our eternal happiness.  I am grateful that there is a God and that He loves me perfectly (as He does all of us), even if that means that from time to time I have to struggle in my faith, because it helps me to grow stronger.

Let me introduce to you Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Noah looking formidable with billowing clouds in the background signaling the impending torrents of rain.

We Mormons believe in Figure 1. While certainly the artist took some creative license in recreating this scene (who ever said Noah had a giant staff?), the basic idea that it conveys is real. There was a man named Noah who gathered up a bunch of animals, put them on an ark, and then weathered one crazy storm with the miraculous help of God.

We also believe in science. For years I was a TA for physics classes at my university where I would teach everything from F=ma to quantum mechanics. I am currently working on a project for NASA that requires using more science than any grown man should ever have to use. With this background I know that there are equations and models that we’ve derived from our objective view of the universe that work. That is, we have discovered laws and theories that, as far as we know, accurately predict how our universe functions.

Sometimes science seems to butt heads with religion. Noah and the Flood is one of times. Many geologists discount the Biblical narrative of Noah as being improbable and not scientifically sound. This is fine by me. I do not need science to prove my belief in the Bible. There are many things I believe in that science can’t prove. How can people be resurrected after they have died? How can heavenly messengers such as angels defy Newton and his apple? How do miracles occur? I have chosen to place my ultimate confidence in God, not in the models and equations of science, which, in just the last couple hundred years alone, have been shown to change time and again as new experiments are performed.

The argument that geologists give that the Flood never really occurred is based on a few underlying assumptions that are important to understand. First, the concept of uniformitarianism which assumes that the natural processes that we observe occurring in our world today are the same as those operating in the past. That is, the geologic processes scientists have tracked over the last few hundred years are sufficient to predict what has happened to the earth over the past millions of years.

Another bold assumption is that God doesn’t exist. This assumption conveniently gets rid of Moses parting the Red Sea and the earth ever being modified in any unnatural way. I refute this assumption, believing Christ’s words, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).

I love the Bible. I know it to be the word of God. Its teachings (especially those of Christ) lead us to God and to a happier, fuller life. Science can’t always promise that.

Further reading: “The Flood and the Tower of Babel”, “The Gospel and the Scientific View: How Earth Came to Be”

Even though I like writing doctrinal posts I want to take a recess from answering questions for this post and share with you why I believe what I believe. In some ways I suppose that my journey of discipleship in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints could be compared to the construction of a house. First, there was the question of whether I really believed in God, then taking upon myself the name of Jesus Christ and wanting to be numbered among his fold, then came Joseph Smith and whether or not the Book of Mormon is from God. As I have moved from the “foundation” to the “trusses” my “house” has taken shape in the past 10 years and I see now, more than ever, how it all fits together.

I will never forget the day that the Holy Ghost witnessed to me that Joseph Smith truly did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and that through him the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. It had been a rough few days. At the time I was spending 8-10 hours a day learning a language that was so foreign to me (Russian) and I was suffering from immense feelings of inadequacy. I was faced with the realization that I had left everything that was familiar to me for two entire years; I felt isolated and completely alone. I realized for the first time that I wasn’t as tough or as smart as I thought I was, I felt that I was a little child again. In addition to learning Russian, I was also learning how to teach. Part of this learning process included teaching various principles of the Gospel. Of course, I didn’t know what I was teaching verbatim, so I was reading and teaching it to my colleagues. I came to Joseph Smith’s account of what he saw on that spring day of 1820 in a grove of trees near Palmyra, New York:

“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).

As I spoke these words, it was like there was a fire in my body, even to the point that I wondered if it could consume me. My heart was burning so strongly and I was so overcome with a feeling of peace that tears flowed freely from my young eyes. I knew that it was the Holy Ghost bearing witness to me that what I was teaching was true. It was so powerful that there was no room for doubt in my mind any longer and I knew that it was from God. The language still wasn’t easy and it was still hard learning to adapt to my new situation, but I pressed forward with a sure conviction that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Jesus Christ’s church. (As an aside, I hope that you can now understand why Mormons believe so strongly in their religion. One cannot deny that an experience such as the one that I had is from God.)

That experience laid a solid foundation for me. I have been taught much by the Holy Ghost since that day. I have been taught about love, kindness, the reality of the Atonement and Resurrection, forgiveness, covenants, and the ins and outs of many doctrines. On a more tangible level, I have been taught about life, how to live it, what brings happiness and what doesn’t. I have been taught how to refine myself. I have been taught how to interact with others. I have learned how to lead and how to follow. The list could go on and on. These are all invaluable lessons learned. In my chosen profession I will spend the rest of my life acquiring knowledge about the human body and all of its intricacies, but that knowledge does not hold a candle to the knowledge of the mysteries of God that I have been blessed to receive through the Holy Ghost.

Why else am I a Mormon? Here are a few reasons: I have the utmost assurance that I will be with my beautiful wife and children for all of eternity–if my wife and I are true and faithful to the covenants that we have made with God and each other. I know every night when I give my son and daughter a kiss on the forehead before they drift off to sleep that if they or I shouldn’t wake in the morning that we will be together again, this time never to part. That in itself is an incomprehensible blessing. I am privileged to have the authority to act in God’s name and with this authority comes the blessing of being able to administer to and serve all those around me. As I have served others in this capacity I have been witness to how God has worked through me to bless the lives of His children. Those are sweet, sacred experiences. In addition, I have the assurance that Jesus Christ is directing the church of which I am a member. Thus I can act in faith, knowing that what I am taught and learn is in essence from Him–I have no doubt that the course that I am on will lead to nothing but joy and happiness in this part of my life and in the next. It is all so beautiful; I thank God everyday for the innumerable mercies and blessings that have come my way.

Q. If God had two separate revelations to America and Israel, why did he leave out the complicated afterlife progression in the middle eastern revelation and then give them to Joseph Smith?

Good question. I assume that you are inquiring about how we, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that there are “three kingdoms of glory” in the afterlife, not simply the heaven and hell concept that the rest of the Christian world teaches.

It is apparent that we don’t have all of the teachings of all the prophets of Biblical times. The Bible is a compilation of assorted writings of various prophets; it is not a complete book. Here are some references made by some of the authors to other epistles/books of scripture that we simply do not have today—they are lost books of scripture (Num. 21: 14, Josh. 10: 13, 1 Chr. 29: 29, 2 Chr. 9: 29, 2 Chr. 12: 15; 2 Chr. 13: 22, 2 Chr. 20: 34, 2 Chr. 33: 19, 1 Cor. 5: 9, Col. 4: 16, Jude 1: 14 ). If we know that manuscripts have been lost, isn’t it safe to assume that teachings and doctrines have also been lost? That is a logical conclusion and a safe conclusion.  The Bible does not contain a complete record of what has been taught by Biblical prophets. This is where the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith comes in—through Joseph Smith, God restored doctrines and truths that had been lost in previous eras. This is a beautiful concept. I love that God follows this same pattern over and over through history.   When people fall away from His gospel and truths are lost, He calls a prophet just as He always has and restores the fullness of the Gospel through that prophet.

There is, however, evidence from the Bible that the doctrine of “three kingdoms of glory” was taught. In fact, it seems to be so well understood that Paul just refers to it offhandedly.   In 1 Corinthians 15:31-42, he teaches about the resurrection of the dead. Just as all animals are different (fish, birds, beasts), Paul clearly teaches that not all resurrected bodies are the same—there are celestial bodies, terrestial bodies, and telestial bodies, each with its own glory.  In addition, there are different glories (kingdoms)—the glory of the sun (Celestial kingdom), glory of the moon (Terrestial kingdom), and glory of the stars (Telestial kingdoms, of which there are many). It follows that if there are celestial bodies, then they must inherit the Celestial kingdom or glory of the sun and so forth. This is what was revealed to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in February 1832 (see Doctrine and Covenants 76).  In addition to there being celestial bodies and a celestial kingdom and so on, it was given to them what the basic characteristics would be of the people who are assigned to these different kingdoms.

So, while we don’t have as full of an account of the afterlife progression from the Biblical prophets as we do from Joseph Smith there is still evidence that it has been taught the way Joseph Smith revealed it from at least the time of Paul and the early Church leaders.

For a more detailed explanation of our doctrine on the afterlife, see these two great posts: Life After Death: Part 1 and Life After Death: Part 2

Thanks for your inquiry.

The best place to go for the answer to this question is a Lutheran pastor.  There could be many reasons he would hold such a position, and I don’t pretend to know the ins and outs of Lutheran doctrine.  However, I will tell you about our beliefs regarding baptism, so that when you talk to the pastor you will be moderately well-informed (in case he doesn’t know the ins and outs of Mormonism).

One thing I want to make clear:  baptism is a covenant between an individual and his Heavenly Father.  It is not a covenant with the rest of Christianity.  Whether any other denomination accepts my baptism is immaterial if I know that it was authorized by God.

But which baptisms does He authorize?  I’ll get to that in a moment; first, I’d like to shed a little light on what baptism means and why we do it.

The purpose of baptism

Baptism is found among the very first principles and ordinances of the gospel:  faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and receipt of the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Baptism is a token of faith in Christ, and a sign that we have repented of our sins.  It is also a prerequisite to receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost as a daily, constant companion.

Like I mentioned above, baptism is a covenant (or contract) with God.  We promise to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, become one of His people, and to serve God and keep all of His commandments.  He promises to forgive us of our sins, to guide us through the Holy Spirit, and to give us eternal life.  After baptism, we must be faithful to the promises we made.

Baptism by water is the gateway to the straight and narrow path leading home to God.  Jesus taught, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).  Being baptized is not optional for salvation.  Even Jesus Christ, the holy and perfect Son of God, made this covenant with His Father when He was baptized by John.  Why?  Nephi, from the Book of Mormon teaches us:

“Notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments” (2 Nephi 31:7).

Baptism must be done in the right way

How can you be sure your baptism was authorized by God?  First, it must be done in the right way.

When Jesus appeared to the people in America (in the Book of Mormon), He very first taught them who He was, followed by detailed instructions on how to properly baptize:

“Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.  And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:  ‘Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.’  And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water” (3 Nephi 11:23-26).

We’ll talk more about that phrase, “Having authority given me of Jesus Christ” in the next section.

Immersion in water is a key component of baptism.  The very word “baptize” comes from the Greek word baptizein, meaning “to immerse.”  Immersion is a symbol of death and burial.  It represents both the death of our old, sinful life and the death and entombment of the Savior.  We come out of the water to symbolize resurrection and rebirth.  We have a new, clean life ahead of us.  Baptism allows us to start with a clean slate.

Another key to proper baptism is accountability.  Baptism must be administered to individuals who understand right and wrong.  They must be capable of making and keeping this important covenant with God.  Baptism of babies is not only unnecessary — because “little children are alive in Christ” (Moroni 8:12), and “of such is the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:14) — it is condemned.  Babies are whole; they are not capable of committing sin.  It is a wicked thought to say that one baby is saved and another condemned because the parents baptized the first and not the second (see Moroni 8).

Baptism must be done by authority

“We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof” (Article of Faith 5).  We call this God-given authority ‘Priesthood.’  It is what allows a baptism on earth to be counted in heaven.

Not everyone holds the priesthood, though.  After the deaths of the twelve Apostles, the authority to baptize was lost for hundreds of years.

The Lord never intended for it to be lost forever.  When Joseph Smith was translating 3 Nephi 11, where it mentions, “Having authority given me of Jesus Christ…” he and his scribe, Oliver went to the banks of the Susquehanna river to ask the Lord for more information about this authority.

An angel appeared to them both.  He said he was John the Baptist, and laying his hands on their heads, he said, “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins…” (Doctrine & Covenants 13).

The priesthood authority for baptism has been passed down from the prophet Joseph through the laying on of hands ever since.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is today the only church with the power to authoritatively baptize anyone for the remission of sins.  This is the reason we send missionaries all over the world, including to the doors of faithful Christians.  We hope to take the preparation of the gospel they’ve received and supplement it with the restored priesthood power and revelations from a living prophet.

We make baptism available to any who desire it.  Please contact your local missionaries to set up an authorized baptism for yourself and your family.