This glorious gospel was ushered in with the appearance of the Father and the Son to the boy Joseph."
Today was Fast and Testimony Sunday, so the Young Women joined the Relief Society for opening exercises.
Sister Sydney Dennis conducted this portion of the meeting. We welcomed two new members, Sister Gail Blakeley and Sister Amy Brewer who have recently moved into the Ward.
Sister Haley Joslin led us in reciting the Young Women's Motto. Then Sister Cindy Johnson reminded us that Thursday, January 12, 2017 at 6:30 the Relief Society would be meeting to work on and learn more about Family History. Those who have a tablet or a laptop are encouraged to bring them so as many as possible can participate. There will be knowledgeable family history experts attending who can assist those in need of extra help. Light refreshments will be served.
There were no missionary experiences to be reported, but Sister Wasden did share with us that when Brother Wasden was in the emergency room last week, she was asked if she was his bishop. That was good for a chuckle!
Sister Shery Curren is, unfortunately, not well today so Sister Terry Josephs guided us through Chapter 1 of our new manual on President Gordon B. Hinckley.
The introduction of this Chapter describes how President Gordon B. Hinckley "fostered a deep respect for the people and places involved in the restoration of the gospel. He felt a special gratitude for Joseph Smith and his role in the Restoration, and he spoke of 'an ever-growing compulsion to bear testimony of the divinity of the Lord and of the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith.'"
On his journey home from his mission to England, he and other returning missionaries visited many of the historic sites of the Restoration. They visited the Sacred Grove and Hill Cumorah in New York. They also stopped in Illinois to see Carthage Jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred and they walked the streets of Nauvoo. Throughout his life Gordon returned to the sacred sites of the Restoration many, many times.
At the First Presidency Christmas devotional on December 3, 2000, President Hinckley shared a personal experience from a visit to the Sacred Grove. He had been assigned to the Rochester New York Stake conference. On Saturday, he suggested to the other brethren who were with him that they get up very early in the morning, Sunday morning, and go to the Sacred Grove before the conference. They all agreed. So, very early on the Sabbath, the mission president,the stake president, the regional representative and President Hinckley went out to Palmyra and walked into the grove.
He described the grove as quiet, peaceful and beautiful. They could see the raindrops from the night before on the leaves of the trees. They knelt on the damp ground and prayed. He says they heard no audible voice and they saw no vision, but "in an indefinable way we were told in our minds, each of us, that yes, it happened here just as Joseph Smith said it happened. It was here that God our Eternal Father and His Beloved Son, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, appeared to the 14-year old boy and spoke with him. Their matchless light rested upon him and he was instructed in what he should do
"That sublime occasion, the First Vision, parted the curtains through which came the restoration to earth of the Church of Christ. The Book of Mormon followed as another witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. His holy supernal priesthood was restored under the hands of those who held it anciently. Keys and powers were bestowed upon the Prophet and his associates. The ancient Church was again upon the earth with a of the blessings, powers, doctrines, keys, and principles of previous dispensations. It is [Christ's] Church. It carries His name. It is governed by His priesthood. There is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved. Joseph Smith . . . became His great testator."
Sister Josephs said that, while we all know the story of the First Vision, when she read this powerful account by President Hinckley it had the most impact on her that she had ever felt.
She asked the question: What happened to the Church structure after Christ's crucifixion? What happened to the twelve Apostles?
Following the Savior's death, the Church He had established drifted into apostasy.
Before his death, the Savior had ordained His Apostles and they carried on directing the Church for a while, but as they died, the Church He had established drifted into apostasy. The majority of people in those days were uneducated and without a strong leader to guide them, they fell away from the teachings of the Savior.
A spiritual darkness settled over the earth as Isaiah had described it in prophecy: "For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people."
The Renaissance and Reformation helped prepare the way for the restoration of the gospel.
During the long period of spiritual darkness there was a culture of the rich landowners and royalty ruling over the poor serfs. As the great Plague spread over the land, so many people died that the whole culture and society changed. At the same time, the Renaissance lead to a "flowering of learning, art, and science. The printing press was invented and books became more readily available for all.
The primary reformers such as Luther, Melachthon, Hus, Zwingli and Tyndale began working to change the Christian church. These men were bold and courageous and many of them were persecuted and suffered cruel deaths because of their beliefs. Other churches were established, but without priesthood authority. They were simply trying to find a niche in which they could worship God as they felt he should be worshiped. Following accusations of heresy, many escaped to the New World to avoid persecution.
Political upheaval and a desire to seek freedom of religion were also at work. Then along came the American Revolutionary War which resulted in the birth of a nation with a Constitution which declared that the government should not interfere in matters of religion. Here there was no state church and no one faith was favored above another.
Centuries of darkness, pain and struggle now lead to a time when the climate was ripe for the restoration of the gospel.
The Restoration was ushered in with the appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith.
The great,new day of the Restoration arrived with the remarkable vision in the year 1820 when Joseph prayed in the woods and there appeared before him both God the Father and the Son. One of these personages called Joseph by name, pointing to the other saying, "This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him."
Nothing like this had happened before. President Hinckley says he believes the importance of both the Father and the Son appearing together was because, "They were ushering in the dispensation of the fulness of times, the last and final dispensation of the gospel where there would be gathered together in one the elements of all previous dispensations. This was to be the final chapter in the long chronicle of God's dealing with men and women upon the earth."
"This was the time when God promised that He would restore all the power, the gifts, the blessings, of all previous dispensations."
Priesthood authority and keys were restored.
Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood took place when John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. He laid his hands upon their heads and 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."
Later, in a visitation by Peter, James, and John, Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred upon Joseph and Oliver Cowdery as it had been received by these Apostles under the hands of Jesus Christ, Himself. They placed their hands upon their heads and conferred upon them this holy authority.
One of the amazing things about the Melchizedek Priesthood is that each Priesthood holder has a direct line of authority showing how the priesthood can be traced from their ordination back to the bestowal made by Peter, James, and John whose authority came directly from the Savior.
Through Joseph Smith, the Lord revealed truths that distinguish us from other churches.
THE GODHEAD
The members of the Godhead have been a topic of discussion and argument for centuries. Constantine assembled a group of religious scholars at Nicea in the year 525 in order to establish one definition to be used by all. After two months of bitter debate, they compromised on a definition which has been the accepted doctrine among Christians for generations.
Compared to the complex, confusing definition of the Nicean Creed, the boy Joseph simply said that God stood before him and spoke to him. Joseph "could see Him and could hear Him. He was in form like a man, a being of substance. Beside Him was the resurrected Lord, a separate being, whom He introduced as His Beloved Son and with whom Joseph also spoke."
THE BOOK OF MORMON AS A COMPANION WITNESS WITH THE BIBLE
Most people have no idea how the Bible came to man, yet the Christian world accepts the Bible as the word of God.
We believe that the Bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. We believe that the Bible no longer stands alone. We have another witness of the "significant and important truths found therein."
". . . in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." (2 Corinthians 13:1)
"The Book of Mormon has come forth by the gift and power of God. It speaks as a voice from the dust in testimony of the Son of God. It speaks of His birth, of His ministry, of His Crucifixion and Resurrection, and of His appearance to the righteous in the land Bountiful on the American continent.
"It is a tangible thing that can be handled, that can be read, that can be tested . . . the Bible is the testament of the Old World, the Book of Mormon is the testament of the New. They go hand in hand in declaration of Jesus as the Son of the Father."
PRIESTHOOD AUTHORITY AND CHURCH ORGANIZATION
"Priesthood is the authority to act in the name of God. The priesthood was bestowed under the hands of those who held it when the Savior walked the earth."
"The very name of the Church came of revelation." It is not the Church of Joseph Smith or the Church of Oliver Cowdery. "No, it was the Church of Jesus Christ restored to earth in these latter days."
THE FAMILY
We believe the family is a creation of the Almighty. It is the fundamental organization of society. We believe families are to be sealed together not only for this life but for all eternity.
THE INNOCENCE OF LITTLE CHILDREN
The general practice in most Christian religions is the baptism of infants to take away the effects of the Fall of Adam and Eve. The doctrine of the Restoration is that baptism is for the remission of one's individual and personal sins. It is a covenant between God and man, to be performed at the age of accountability, when people are old enough to recognize right from wrong.
SALVATION FOR THE DEAD
". . . in no other church of which I am aware, is provision made for those beyond the veil of death to receive every blessing which is afforded the living. The great doctrine of salvation for the dead is unique to this Church. The dead are given the same opportunity as the living."
THE NATURE, PURPOSE, AND POTENTIAL OF GOD'S CHILDREN
"We are sons and daughters of God. God is the Father of our spirits. . . We were born into this life under a divine plan. We are here to test our worthiness, acting in the agency which God has given to us. . Our eternal life is comprised of three phases: one, our premortal existence; two, our mortal existence; and three, our post mortal existence."
MODERN REVELATION
"We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." (Articles of Faith 1:9)
President Hinckley's testimony is firm and direct:
"Standing as the 15th in line from Joseph Smith and bearing the prophetic mantle which came upon him, I solemnly declare my testimony that the Prophet Joseph's account of [the events of the Restoration] is true, that the Father. . . bore witness of the divinity of His Son, that the Son instructed the boy prophet, and that there followed a train of events which led to the organization of 'the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth'." (Doc & Cov 1:30)
Your bloggess,
Karen
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