Monday, March 28, 2011

Joseph Smith: A Prophet of God

Elder Delbert L. Stapley, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, said:

“The Prophet, unschooled, unlearned, could not have given to the world what he was privileged to reveal unless God were with him. God inspired him in all that he did. There were living witnesses who testified to his divine calling for heavenly messengers had manifested this truth to several brethren. Surely if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is more certain. The office of the Holy Ghost is to testify of the Father and Son, it is also the spirit of truth, and when it testifies to the spirit of men there comes an inward feeling whether a thing is true or whether it is not true. In the case of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, it was true, for men in his day and since have received that witness and testimony which the Holy Ghost itself manifests unto those who seek after truth.

“And again the works of Joseph Smith—analyze them; everything about them indicates his prophetic calling. Where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of a testator, and surely this was a testament unfolding and revealing again God’s kingdom with all of its saving ordinances, principles, and divine powers. A testament is not of force until after men are dead. The Prophet gave his life to seal that testimony, and thus the sacrifice of his life becomes a witness to all men of the truth and power of his holy calling and ministry” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1954, 48–49).

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