"[M]y name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people" (Joseph Smith History 1:33 [Joseph Smith's record of the prophetic words of the angel Moroni in September 1823])
Today is the 209th anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the human instrument through whom the Lord restored His Gospel to the earth. While, as with all of us, he was fallen and imperfect, he was a great man who played a pivotal role in salvation history that places him among the greatest prophets of all dispensations. As a result of the great revelations he received, his writings, teachings, and the scriptures he translated through divine inspiration, most notably the Book of Mormon, the lives of countless millions, my own included, have been (eternally) changed for the better.
All I can
say is “Amen” whenever I read D&C 135:3, written on the occasion of the death of Joseph and his brother, Hyrum:
Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has
done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any
other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has
brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of
God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the
fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of
the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose
this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and
instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of
the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that
cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his
people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his
mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life
they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!
Suggested reading:
Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith, "Rough Stone Rolling": A Cultural Biography of Mormonism's Founder (New York: Knopf, 2005).