Smith and Johnny Ramone.

Joseph Smith was a Johnny Ramone punk. Both were counter culture. Both rebelled against the thoughts and social norms of the time. Johnny was a vocal conservative in an industry dominated by leftists.  Smith was in trouble with the law several times and threw orthodox Christianity on it’s head.  Both were truly rebellious and did not care what others thought of them. That alone is punk.

When Johnny Ramone said “punk is right-wing” he was really taking on the entire punk establishment. He alone was independent enough and able to think for himself. So was Smith. Instead of saying “punk is right wing” Smith said “Everything you know about Christianity is wrong.” 

You want to be punk and counterculture? Look at the famous Lehi’s dream. Many more people were laughing at those who “clung to the iron rod”. The real rebels were the minority-the ones who held on.

Punk is about rebellion. How rebellious are you if you are a walking clone of what society thinks rebellion is? 

Ten things you may now know about Joseph Smith Jr.

1. Many people believed that the book of Mormon was divine in origin. When The Prophets son, Joseph Smith III asked his mother if the Book of Mormon was a fake, she said, “The Book of Mormon is of divine authenticity—I have not the slightest doubt of it.” Oliver Cowdery was one of the original witnesses to the Book of Mormon. Even after he broke with the church, he never denied the divine origins, later saying, “I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated.” Cowdery re-affirmed his belief that the plates were genuine on his deathbed, saying, “My eyes saw, my ears heard, and my understanding was touched, and I know that whereof I testified is true. It was no dream, no vain imagination of the mind—it was real"

2. The revelations of Joseph Smith jr caused him, his marriage, his family and believers in the restored gospel nothing but misery. Joseph Smith jr knew that his revelations were unbelievable. He probably didn’t know how dangerous they would be. Tarred and feathered several times by angry mobs, Joseph Smith Jr was also shot at, constantly in debt, and subjected to nothing but ridicule for his entire life before a violent and tragic death by an angry mob at age 38.  Not only was he killed, but his brother also died with him.

3. Yup. Joseph Smith practiced polygamy. No question about it. Many of the teachings of Joseph Smith Jr are troublesome by today’s standards; this might be among the most, aside from the teaching on race. More on that later. The evidence shows Joseph Smith Jr had several wives at one time, even though he publicly denounced the lifestyle.  This one revelation more than any other caused Joseph the most pain and self-doubt. It devastated an otherwise healthy and strong marriage, often stretching the marriage to point of divorce. Much is often made of the many marriages of Joseph Smith Jr, but it’s interesting that no was has been ever been proven to be the actual DNA child of Joseph Smith Jr, aside from the ones he had with Emma.

4. Mormons believe Joseph Smith Jr was as prophet, which means we think had a direct line of communication with God that no one else had after the death of the original twelve apostles. One thing a prophet must do is being able to see the future when speaking in his prophetic voice. LDS people think Joseph Smith did that. While much has been written on failed prophets and prophecies, one that is seldom talked about-and should be better known, is listed in Doctrine and Covenants 87. On Christmas Day in 1832, Joseph foresaw that “a war would begin with the rebellion of South Carolina” and that the “southern states in rebellion would call on the aid of Great Britain ” (Doctrine and Covenants 87:1-3). Both events would come true. LDS apologists maintain that several other prophecies of Joseph Smith Jr also have come to pass.

5. Joseph Smith Jr was against inter racial marriage. That’s a shame, and even though it was commonplace at the time, it’s still not something to be proud of. There is even some evidence that in the beginning of his life he had some bigoted views, they were probably more of his upbringing than his actual beliefs. Later in his life, he spoke out against slavery and even ordained black men into the priesthood. Current scholarship shows that it might have been Joseph Smith Jr’s successor, Brigham Young, that had some bigoted views. Smith in his later years was fairly progressive on the issue of race for his time.

6. Joseph Smith Jr sometimes drank beer, tea, wine, and smoked tobacco as well.  Often times in public. Not only is this behavior unbecoming a prophet of the Lord, its also specifically against the rules of the church he founded.  To make his actions even more offensive, we also know that several members of the church at that time were excommunicated for the word of wisdom violations while his were treated more like an “open secret”. No longer excommunicated for word of wisdom violations, often times converts to the church find these rules harder to accept than any other of the church teachings. The prophet himself at many times showed he was anything but perfect, and his open violations remind us that he was also a man with flaws and weakness and also an anointed Prophet.

7. He was the victim of a lynch mob. Joseph Smith Jr, along with his brother Hyrum Smith, future church president John Taylor, and the uninjured Willard Richards were shot and killed by a group of men with “painted faces”. Though sadly common at the time, mob rule was seldom stopped by authorities. This time, there was no solider with a conscience to stop the angry men. They draped their faces in black and shot their guns in through the door, killing Hyrum first and causing Joseph to fall towards a window. He fell out the window to his death after getting shot again in the hip.

8. Joseph Smith Jr was a man of many passions, and we have some letters that might indicate he struggled with a severe depression at times. According to the brilliant “Rough Stone Rolling” by Richard Lyman Bushman, at a time when his companion was in bed with a broken leg, Joseph felt bored and disinterested. “With nothing to do buy mediate, old sorrows came flooding back (Bushman 185)” One can blame a temporary feeling of sadness, but feelings of despair and misery come up again later while the Prophet was imprisoned. “  O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? (Doctrine and Covenant 121:1) The entire revelation is a rather touching description of a Prophet seriously asking God questions that all people-prophet or not-have struggled with.

9.Joseph Smith Jr. was the always on the verge of bankruptcy and nearly almost broke. Though no one would ever say the Smith family was rich, or even middle class, there were many other families that it worse. Joseph Smith Sr kept his family fed, but that was it. They moved around while the Prophets father struggled to find work. Joseph Jr probably never learned how to handle money, and his handling of it later in life showed. Bankrupted by the temple construction and feeding a growing family without a steady source of income, Joseph Jr was always in debt, unable to provide Emma with the lifestyle her middle class parents might have gotten her accustomed too.

10. Latter Day Saints view him has a prophet, but they do not worship him. One of the biggest misconceptions of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are asked is: Do you worship Joseph Smith Jr? The answer should be obvious, we’re called the church of Jesus Christ after all, but it probably needs to be said again, and frequently. No, LDS members do not, have not, and never have at their time ever worshiped Joseph Smith Jr. Faithful LDS members accept the fact that while he was a mortal man, he did have the gift of being the anointed prophet of God.

First Vision

            As Mormons we believe that Smith Jr saw a vision of Heavenly Father (God) and his Son in the woods in rural New York state in the 1820s. It is said that Book of Mormon is the keystone to our religion, and it is.  However while the Book of Mormon is the keystone to our religion, the most important event in our religion is the first vision. Aside from the Resurrection of Christ, the First Vision is the most important event in history.

            While there were several versions of the First Vision, the most widely known is in the Pearl of Great Price. In Joseph Smith history 1:17-“I saw two personages. Whose 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.” In that moment Joseph Smith Jr saw God and Jesus Christ. If he is to believed, and I’m writing from the perspective that he can, then in that moment Smith Jr saw the Lord. Aside from any other confusion Josephs teaching caused, if we assume the First Vision is true that at least we know there is a God, and He does exist. One of the biggest questions ever asked by humankind is hereby answered.

            In his general conference speech We Are All Enlisted, Elder Jeffery Holland states, “When we rehearse the grandeur of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, we sometimes gloss over the menacing confrontation that came just prior to it”. Not only do we “gloss over the menacing confrontation, we often gloss over the First Vision in it’s entirety. People correctly focus on the Book of Mormon, but sometimes tat the expense of the First Vision.

            “I was seized upon by some power, which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.” JSH 1:15   There has never been official church dogma on what the “darkness gathered” around Joseph was. Believers are quick to think it is the devil. Not only does God exist, but the Devil does too.

            Joseph seems to imply it is the devil, or at least an enemy of God JSH 1:16”But exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this Enemy that had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction-not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being”.’

            Joseph is very worried not only a spiritual death, but also a physical one. His is terrified, lost in the woods and at the tender age of fourteen. This was probably the first time he went off in the woods under deep prayer and contemplation. What was going on this time? There seems to be genuine fear in him, and for good reason. This would be a terrifying moment in the life of any believer in God.

            Good overcomes it. JSH 1:17 “It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound.” Then Joseph goes on to see the two personages described above. For believer this should also be defining moment. Whatever the reason, the evil spirit that was surrounding the Prophet and about to do him physical harm has disappeared, only Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are left. “But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; 1 Nephi 15:34

            Richard Buhsman, writing in his brilliant biography, Rough Stone Rolling, “During the fourteen years following the Smiths ‘ move to Palmyra in 1816, Joseph jr had the experiences that led him to believe he was a prophet.’ Bushman understands that the First Vision lead to Smith Jr believing he was a prophet. Perhaps the best summary of Joseph Smith Jr ‘s  early life ever written, Bushman than states, “Around 1820, the visions began, first of the Father and the son and then, three years later, of the Angel who gave instructions about the gold plates. In 1830 at twenty-four he published the Book of Mormon, organized a church, and was identified as a “Prophet, Seer, and Revelator.” Bushman correctly places the First Vision in the front, before anything else in Smiths life. Obviously without the First Version, Moroni never would have visited Smith to tell him where the Golden Plates were.

            At the time, the Palmyra newspapers, never a friend of Joseph Smith Jr did not write anything about the "First Vision". Of course at the time, Joseph himself never knew it would be the "first vision".  No one called World War One World War One until the second. A vision of God and Jesus Christ would be a memorable event for anyone, and Brodie almost gets it right when she says it would have been a "soul shattering experience”. Joseph himself seemed to be quiet about it at first. When his mother asked him what happened that day, he mentioned only that he found out that "Presbyterianism isn't true." This is to be expected, but Joseph is also in a catch-22, which he is often. If he immediately told everyone of his experience, the reaction would surely have been the same as the Methodist preacher he would eventually tell.

            Just by seeing the First Version, Joseph has gone down in history as someone who claims to have seen God. Perhaps forgotten or dismissed. In some cases, he is. Believers, however, believe more than Smith just seeing the two personages. They actually spoke to him. When asked what denomination is true, the personage who addressed me said that all “creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors are all corrupt.” JSH 1:19.  Those are harsh words, and are often misunderstood by non-members. While it’s true they imply a level of exclusivity, in truth all value systems and religions do. From Atheism to pantheism, all belief systems claim a degree of exclusivity. Mormons believe salvation is possible for everyone and that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father.

            No one believed him at first, outside of his family. I’m not sure if I would either. Faith should be based on many things, and our Father above has his own plan for us that we do are not aware of. If we take the leap of faith and believe that Joseph really did see the Godhead that day, it supports the belief that he really was an ordained prophet of God. Belief in the First Version calls upon us to accept that God chose Joseph Smith Jr to restore the church over anyone else. If he was called to restore the church, perhaps the Angel Moroni really did come visit that night and inform Joseph about a set of Gold Plates hidden nearby.

Belief in the First Vision requires more faith than belief in the divine origins of the Book of Mormon. Since Smith Jr lived in a culture filled with visionaries, one can easily write him off as just another country boy who was a product of his environment and culture. Not so fast. We know for certain that other visionaries claimed to see God and Jesus Christ. However they have faded into oblivion. The church Smith Jr founded is still in existence today. It is the First Vision and not the Book of Mormon that is the keystone to the religion, for in the First Vision, for reasons known only to Heavenly Father, Heavenly Father chose Smith Jr to restore his church.

             People often forget that prophets from Adam to Moses to Amos to Joseph Smith Jr to our current prophets today are not perfect. As said many times, the only perfect person to ever live was Jesus.  Joseph was mortal. He was subject to the same insecurities and frailties that we all are. He was not an intellectual, nor did he have a perfect memory. When critics point out the discrepancies in the First Vision (and there clearly are) they often expect Joseph to remember every detail and state every detail in precise, exact precision.  That's not how memory works for you, and that's not how memory works for him either. Too many people suggest/demand that seeing a vision of Heavenly Father would be so momentous that he would remember every detail with total accuracy, leaving nothing out.  It doesn't work that way.   Could a fourteen year old have created account of a vision that would make his family believe he had special powers or was perhaps differently blessed, of course. Could that same fourteen year old child have started a movement that continues to change 15 million lives to this day without divine intervention? I don’t think so. 

From bad Catholic to Jack Mormon.

I began to question the church I was raised in during my mid-late 20’s, with a final intense attempt leading to a rejection of the Church-but never Christ.

I tried to read every book I could about Christianity. From St. Augustine – Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel. I also read books by atheists. Dawkins, Hitchens, Sam Harris. I went to different churches, but never felt as though I was home to Christ. Everyone was very nice, but it never felt as though it was true.  I took up reading the bible more seriously on my own, and before I knew it, it was covered in post it notes, Acts 4:12 and Matthew 25:40 being among my personal favorites.

Way back when Facebook was just beginning, college students with too much time on their hands and who were tired of playing Nintendo 64 would spend time passing playful quizzes around, with titles such as, “Are you a Republican or a Democrat”, or “What will your future spouse be like?” One time I was sent a “What religion are you?” The test was from Belief . net, and it was fairly in depth for an online quiz talking about incredibly deep topics such as religion. The answer was overwhelming “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” Other religions weren’t even close.

In the beginning of 2013 I got into a car accident. My car was totally destroyed, but I walked away without a scratch.  After the shock wore off, I began to do what many people do after such an event-I thanked God a thousand times –still do today-and began to redouble my efforts in trying to find His church.

In my entire search for Him throughout my life, I always believed in His Son.  There were times I wasn’t sure of Gods existence, but I was sure that Jesus was the Christ. I thought of that Belief. Net quiz from time to time, and I decided to take it again. Sure enough, same results. LDS came in first.

I looked up Joseph Smith on-line. I read about his birthplace being in Vermont, and since my wife and I both love road trips, I decided to give it a drive. It was my first serious exposure to the faith, and along with being very informative, it was very moving. We saw a beautiful brass statue of Joseph Smith Jr, and before I knew it, I found myself weeping and holding my wife’s hand very tightly and listening to a Missionary tour guide talk about the building of the obelisk.  After viewing more of the grounds the missionary left us with some pamphlets and we drove off. 

I looked up Mormon.org and spoke with a missionary online. She gave some videos-and, even better-she answered all my questions and concerns. What? No coffee? No cigars? I always have champagne on New Years Eve! Yikes. By the way-I really like heavy metal music and video games-is that okay?  After bombarding her with questions, I told her that, yes, I was finally going to attend my first Mormon services to see what it was like. I’m a morning person, so walking up early wasn’t a problem. Finding a tie could be.

I had hoped to be like Batman on this one-sneak in, sit in the back, observe, and then duck out without being noticed. Then go back and report to my new online friend. I quickly realized that was easier said than done. After my first time at Sacrament Meeting  and Gospel Principles , I met with two Missionaries, easily two of the nicest people I've ever met in my life.  It was my first time sitting down with someone who identified as a Mormon. Living in New England, there just aren’t many of them up here.

Sure, I’d meet up with you guys again. In fact, do you have a book of Mormon I could have? Thanks. They also suggest that Youtube has a Mormon channel I think I’ll check it out . I did, and while watching the  General Conference in April of 2013, I heard from Elder Jeffery Holland, who said, “imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him but he deals with it. “

Go home and read it-and I did. I also found myself agreeing with a lot of it, and it was quickly becoming as highlighted as my bible was. I was shocked at how much insight it had.  Some quotes, such as Alma 30:25 really hit home personally.  I was adopted and I was born “out of wedlock”.  Even in a “progressive” era such as the 90’s. I was still made fun of because of it. Only in a religious school. No one in public school cared. Maybe it was true-all of us kids born out of wedlock are disliked by God. It’s still one of my favorite quotes.

The missionary whom I spoke to online, asked me how it was going. How was my trip to Vermont and reading going? I did what I often do. Talked without thinking and said, “Well, I believe Joseph Smith Jr to be an appointed prophet on earth by Christ.” Bam. There it was.

A moment of silence was between us. I asked myself-did I believe this? Before I could answer, she asked again-“well, if you know he was, why not join Christs restored church?” Another quick moment of silence. “I know it’s the true Church. I’ve always felt that.” Just like what Princess Leia said in Return of the Jedi.

I know the book of Mormon of is true. I know fiction from non-fiction. You could not make this up if you tried.  It doesn’t read like fantasy. It’s actually somewhat dull in parts.  It might be dull in parts, but it is the full truth.

I know Joseph Smith is the prophet. Prophet doesn’t mean perfect. He never claimed to be. He did claim to be a 
prophet because he was one. You think he made it up? Oh really? What did he have to gain from it? He risked public ridicule and scorn. His name is still controversial to this day.  Who benefited except the death of his family and loved ones?  Liars do not make good martyrs.

The book of Mormon is true, and Joseph Smith is the Prophet. President Thomas S. Monson leads the church today and is the Living Prophet.