Some Thoughts From the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr - Thoughts while writing my Sunday School lesson.

The "Come Follow Me" lesson topic for April is The Apostasy and The Restoration.

I love the Restoration of the gospel.  I love the wonderful feeling of life, and growth, and brightness I get when I think about the Restoration.  I think about those wonderful days when I wake up early, and go outside early in the morning and accomplish some great task or have a great experience.  Most recently I have risen early to work on movies for school, or gone on hikes, or played Frisbee with friends.  On my mission we would run in the thick, wet air of the south, beams of sun lighting up the humidity looking like fairy dust falling from heaven.  Each of these experiences are filled with the wonderful feeling of endless possibilities and potential.  The day is young, and the world is waiting for us to experience it.

In preparation for my lesson coming up this Sunday, a suggested reading came from the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.  I was greatly moved by some of these passages, and felt I should share them, as well as some of my thoughts concerning them.

In January 1843, Joseph Smith had a conversation with some people who were not members of the Church: “I stated that the most prominent difference in sentiment between the Latter-day Saints and sectarians was, that the latter were all circumscribed by some peculiar creed, which deprived its members the privilege of believing anything not contained therein, whereas the Latter-day Saints … are ready to believe all true principles that exist, as they are made manifest from time to time.”⁶

This wonderful paragraph helped to word my feelings of personal revelation, as well as thoughts that have been on my mind recently.  The prophet states that we are not bound to believe only what is stated in scripture or from the mouths of our prophets.  We are welcome to grow and learn on our own, to learn more  than what has been written, or preached.

“I cannot believe in any of the creeds of the different denominations, because they all have some things in them I cannot subscribe to, though all of them have some truth. I want to come up into the presence of God, and learn all things; but the creeds set up stakes [limits], and say, ‘Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further’ [Job 38:11]; which I cannot subscribe to.”⁷

 If we can believe only what we hear or read, and are not allowed to learn more through our own research, feelings and spiritual responses, how are we expected to one day learn all things?  The Lord wants us to "come unto" Him, not "come up to here, then stop".

“I say to all those who are disposed to set up stakes for the Almighty, You will come short of the glory of God. To become a joint heir of the heirship of the Son, one must put away all his false traditions.”⁸

“The great thing for us to know is to comprehend what God did institute before the foundation of the world. Who knows it? It is the constitutional disposition of mankind to set up stakes and set bounds to the works and ways of the Almighty. … That which hath been hid from before the foundation of the world is revealed to babes and sucklings in the last days [see D&C 128:18].”⁹

 Joseph is a fantastic example on how to learn and grow in the gospel.  He had uneasy feelings about the things he was seeing and experiencing in his family and in his township.  He saw a religious revival, but could find no lasting substance in any of the sects.  Yet he knew, through the Spirit of God, that the words he read in the Bible were true.  He prayed, himself, alone in the woods.  It was quiet.  There were no trucks or cars driving by, there were no text messages coming to him while he knelt.  Of course we know he was distracted in other ways, but came through with faith, and received his own personal revelation that he later was prompted to share with the world.

And he was just a 14 year old boy.

“When men open their lips against [the truth] they do not injure me, but injure themselves. … When things that are of the greatest importance are passed over by weak-minded men without even a thought, I want to see truth in all its bearings and hug it to my bosom. I believe all that God ever revealed, and I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief.”¹⁰ 

“When God offers a blessing or knowledge to a man, and he refuses to receive it, he will be damned. The Israelites prayed that God would speak to Moses and not to them; in consequence of which he cursed them with a carnal law.”¹¹

I think my favorite part of that segment is "I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much".  Ashley and I talked about this a lot.   We talked about how people have had personal revelation and acted on that personal revelation and been mocked because that revelation was more than what has been stated.  For example, a great friend of mine from days gone by once asked me if Green Tea was OK to drink.  The Word of Wisdom states "hot drinks are not for the body or belly".  More modern prophets have stated that these hot drinks are tea and coffee.  That's it.  Green Tea has proven to be very healthy for the body, and when the church made "hot drinks" specific to tea, the only tea was dark tea.  Now we have Green Tea, Sweet Tea, Mint Tea, etc.  I told my friend that that was something she should probably ask the Lord.  She came back the next day to say that she felt strongly through the spirit that she should not drink Green Tea.

Another one would be where one should draw the line in the media we enjoy (and willingly pay for many times).  There have been many many times where I have decided not to watch a film, or listen to a song, or watch a TV show, or read a book, and have been asked why not?  The rules for movies is no R rated films, yes?  Well, yes and no.  For the Strength of Youth states "Avoid anything that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way."  The more I try to understand the Lords will for me in this, the more I am drawn away from PG-13 movies, and sometimes even PG movies.  As I do so, I feel a growth of the spirit, and a stronger testimony that by following every quiet whisper from the Lord I am entitled to receive more revelation in the future.  Friends have mocked me, and even become angry when I say that I have not seen a certain film.  "There's nothing wrong with it," they say.  I cannot deny the feelings and whispering from the spirit regarding this matter.  Nor can my friend deny her feelings toward the Green Tea.  And so to paraphrase the prophet, it cannot hurt us to believe that these changes in our lives can only make us better, and bring us closer to becoming like our Savior Jesus Christ.

“I have always had the satisfaction of seeing the truth triumph over error, and darkness give way before light.”¹²

The prophet saw much darkness in his life, but I am sure that each morning he awoke, and saw the beautiful day provided by our loving Father in Heaven, and felt the same spirit I feel each morning.   The day is young, and the world is waiting for us to experience it.  The Lord is ready to help us come closer to him, and to teach us in our own hearts and minds, more than what comes through gospel media.

I testify that the wonderful crisp feeling of new life can be anyone's if you see each day as an opportunity to take advantage of all the wonderful gifts we have been promised, including personal and intimate revelation from our Lord.