| Non-members Laud the Prophet as 'A Hero'
The Church News, Sept. 9, 1989
Although not all who met the Prophet Joseph Smith joined the Church,
many were extremely impressed with the humble man who preached the
gospel with such conviction.
On Sept. 1, 1843, the New York Times stated: "This Joe Smith must be
set down as an extraordinary character, a prophet-hero as Carlyle might
call him; he is one of the great men of this age, and in future
history, will rank with those who, in one way or another, have stamped
their impress strongly on society...
"Few in this age have done such deeds, and performed such apparent
miracles. It is no small thing, in the blaze of this nineteenth
century, to give to men a new revelation, found a new religion,
establish new forms of worship, build a city with new laws,
institutions and orders of architecture, send out missionaries, and
make proselytes in two hemispheres; yet all this has been done by Joe
Smith, and that against every sort of opposition, ridicule and
persecution.
"That Joe Smith, the founder of Mormons, is a man of great talent, a
deep thinker, and an eloquent speaker, an able writer, and a man of
great mental power, no one can doubt who has watched his career." (The
Kingdom of God Restored, pp. 321-322)
Josiah Quincy, a man who eventually became mayor of Boston, Mass.,
wrote in his book, "The Figures of the Past: "A fine-looking man," is
"What the passerby would instinctively have murmured upon meeting the
remarkable individual who had fashioned the mould which was to shape
the feeling of so many thousands.... Capacity and resource were natural
to his stalwart person....
"It is by no means improbable that some future textbook, for the use of
generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this:
What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most
powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by
no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus
written: Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet."
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| Prophet Restored Doctrines, Revealed Insights
The Church News, Sept. 9, 1989
As the prophet called of God to re-establish His church on earth,
Joseph Smith received numerous revelations that called for the
restoration of lost doctrines, or doctrines previously unrevealed in
their entirety.
Indeed, the Prophet "revolutionized the world in many aspects" (Parley
P. Pratt, The Historical Record, 7:575) with startling insights into
the nature of God and His kingdom on earth.
Among these insights are the concepts that God has created multiple
works and that man, His greatest creation, has been sent to earth with
a divine purpose.
"These concepts - The multiplicity of the works of God and the central
role man plays in these works -- for the foundation of one of the most
profound and motivational doctrines expounded by the Prophet," wrote
Francis M. Gibbons in "Joseph Smith - Martyr, Prophet of God".
In 1830, Joseph received the transcript of a revelation given to Moses,
now known as the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. There, God
announced to Moses that He had created "worlds without number," and
that His chief work and glory was "to bring to pass the immortality and
eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39.)
Elder Gibbons explained that through subsequent explanations of the
distinction between immortality -- that which is grated to all through
Christ's atonement -- and eternal life -- that which is attainable only
be constant adherence to gospel principles -- Joseph Smith reconciled
the controversy surrounding the relative influence of grace and works
in gaining salvation.
The Prophet also made significant contributions to the world's limited
knowledge of the nature of the Godhead and their relationship to
mankind. Perhaps one doctrine that most distinquishes Latter-day Saints
from other denominations is the conviction that all worthy men and
women can become gods and goddesses.
The Prophet Smith first explained this doctrine in his discourse at the
funeral of Elder King Follett:
"If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend
themselves.... God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted
man.... If you were to see Him today, you would see Him like a man in
form -- like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a
man....
"It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the
character of God, and to know that we may converse with Him as one man
converses with another.... You have got to learn how to be Gods
yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods
have done before you, namely, by going form one small degree to
another...." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp.345-46.)
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| re .2
How does that go? " you have got to learn how to be *gods*
yourselves"
Joe Smith, pp 345-346
That sounds tooooo familiar. I believe the original of that is found
in Genesis 3:4,5 " you will not surely die," the serpent said to
the woman. "for God (only devine) knows that when you eat of it
your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil".
Am I missing something or is the originator of this doctrine the
great deciever himself!
Jesus said that God, the Faather is spirit and must be worshipped in
spirit and in truth.
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| Re .3
> That sounds tooooo familiar. I believe the original of that is found
> in Genesis 3:4,5 " you will not surely die," the serpent said to
> the woman. "for God (only devine) knows that when you eat of it
> your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and
> evil".
>
> Am I missing something or is the originator of this doctrine the
> great deciever himself!
I've already discussed the scripture you referenced in Genesis in Note 4.44.
If you would like to discuss it further, I'll be happy to switch to note 76
which is discussing Adam's transgression and exchange viewpoints with you.
This note is for discussing Joseph Smith, and switching to 76 will keep this
one from becoming fragmented.
> Jesus said that God, the Faather is spirit and must be worshipped in
> spirit and in truth.
I've discussed in note 4.2 the scripture from John 4:24 that you referenced
(note 4.1 should be read first to establish context about God), and if you
would like to continue that discussion, I'll be glad to switch to note 97 so
we can share our thoughts with each other.
If you decide you would like to continue the discussions, please post a reply
to the appropriate note, and I (and other LDS) will respond. I think it is
obvious to everyone that our purpose in this would be to exchange ideas so
we better understand one another, rather than trying to change the beliefs of
the other.
Allen
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