The Restoration

The first and fundamental truth is that there is a God and that He loves us! That He is literally the Father of our spirits. "The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God;" Romans 8:16 He has a body of flesh and bones that is perfected and glorious. He cares about our life and wants us to be happy, and so He has a plan to help our life called the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is centered in His Son. The purpose of this plan is to have us return to live with Him again.

Noah the prophet

The way Heavenly Father reveals the gospel to us is through prophets! Prophets of old were called of God and given the Priesthood, or the permission to act in God's name. They were commanded to teach the gospel to the people. Often times they were to write down what God wanted them to. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Amos 3:7 We still read these words today, they are called scriptures! When the people followed the prophet they were blessed and happy. When they rejected the prophet or his teachings they fell into what is called apostasy, or a turning away from truth into spiritual darkness.

The Last Supper by Walter Rane

Eventually, as part of the plan, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to the earth. He had the priesthood and healed the sick, raised the dead, and performed many other miracles by it. He also established His church by calling 12 men to be His apostles and so on. "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manenr of sickness and all manner of disease." Matthew 10:1 He was our perfect example, He was even baptized to show us the right path. Most importantly, He accomplished the Atonement, which was His suffering in the Garden of Gethesemane, His death on the cross, and His ressurection. This provided the way for us to repent and be freed from our sins and to also overcome death. He is our Savior and He did all that His Father asked of Him.

When the people in ancient Jerusalem killed Jesus Christ, and eventually the apostles were killed or died, the greatest time of spiritual darkness occured. This time is called the great apostasy. The priesthood authority was lost from the earth and unauthorized changes were made to Christ's church and teachings. "I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not." 3 John 1:9 Many churches were built and reformed. The writings of the prophets were translated into english at great cost, but there was no one on the earth with the authority to organize the church. A restoration of the gospel was needed.

In the year 1820, in a small town in the state of New York, a young boy named Joseph Smith saw all the different churches that had formed and felt confused and lost. He desired to be united with the church that was true. Many of these churches contended with eachother and taught the passages of the Bible so differently. He had been raised in a good Christian home and taught that he should read the scriptures and pray to God. One day while he was yet again searching through the scriptures for an answer that would help him know which church he should join, he read, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and ubraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith..." James 1:5-6 He decided to act on this scripture. One morning he went into th quiet woods near his home and knelt down and prayed. In his own words he 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, who 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 1:17-18 Joseph Smith saw in a vision God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The Creator of the whole universe appeared to a 14yr old boy! The Savior of the World showed Himself in these the last days! It was a miracle an ushering in of the final dispensation of the earth. They answered his prayer and his question. They told him to join none of the churches but that through him, the fullness of the gospel would be restored to the earth prepartory to the second coming of the Messiah!

Joseph was called to be a prophet. The priesthood authority was restored to the earth to Joseph Smith by heavenly messengers. He was also called to translate an ancient record of scriptures, now known as the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It is the record of the ancient inhabitants of the americas and their dealings with God and just like the Bible contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel. "Ye shall know them by their fruits..." Matthew 7:16 The translation of this book is the fruit of Joseph Smith. It is the evidence of the restoration. If it is a true book, containing the word of God, then Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, Joseph Smith is a true prophet, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the fullness of the gospel again on the earth.

Have you knelt and asked if it's true?

You can know if this is true by reading the Book of Mormon and praying to ask God if it is true. The last prophet to write in the Book of Mormon writes, "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." Moroni 10:4-5 If you read the Book of Mormon with sincerity, pray to Heavenly Father with the intention to act on your answer, then He will let you know by the power of His Spirit what is just and true!

I have read and prayed about the Book of Mormon and about the restoration of the gospel and know that it is true. I have a personal witness from the Spirit that God lives and loves us, that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and that the fullness of the gospel is back on the earth!

(The video clips are Part I and Part II of the film Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration.  Parts III-V can be found on YouTube.)