The ends of the earth
shall inquire after thy [Joseph Smith's] name, and fools shall have thee in
derision, and hell shall rage against thee, while the pure in heart, and the
wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and
blessings constantly from under thy hand . . . The Son of Man hath descended
below them all. Art thou greater than he? (D&C 122:1-2, 8)
Commenting on D&C 122, Joseph Fielding
Smith wrote the following about the role and status of the prophet Joseph
Smith:
With comforting words
to the Prophet during this time when all the world looked so dark and he lay in
prison, the Lord informed him that the time would come when the ends of the
earth should inquire after his name. Naturally this seemed impossible at that
time, and only the Spirit of the Lord could have made it known. While fools
would have him in derision, and hell rage against him, yet the pure in heart,
the wise, the noble and the virtuous, should seek his counsel and also
blessings and authority from under his hand. We have lived to see all of this
fulfilled, and yet it has only been fulfilled in part. However, through the
preaching of the Gospel in most all parts of the earth, there have come out of
the world, the righteous, the pure in heart and the noble to pay tribute to his
name. They have sought after him and after his counsel. In the early days of
the Church when the message of salvation was proclaimed in Great Britain,
thousands accepted it and praised his name. They sought his counsel and the
authority of the Priesthood. Many came out of this land, and later out of other
European countries, seeking his fellowship, and his blessings under his hands.
According to the promises of the Lord, this will continue, for it is the decree
that the knowledge of the Gospel shall eventually cover the earth as the waters
do the sea. When that day comes, Joseph Smith will receive from those on the
earth who and remain, their fellowship and they will praise his name, while
those who reviled against him and held him in derision, shall be removed from
the face of the earth. Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation:
Being a Course of Study for the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums for the year 1949
Third Series [Salt Lake City: The Deseret News Press, 1946], 201-2)
Elsewhere, he wrote the following about
the grand sufferings of Christ:
No matter how much a
man may suffer for the truth, the fact remains that our Lord suffered more than
all. "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than
he?" This is the question asked of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The intense
suffering required of the Son of God, we cannot comprehend in its fulness. Not
only was he subject to the abuse of men, their hatred and chastisement, but he
had the great load to carry of the united burden of the sins of the world. Just
how this was done we do not know, but it was pain of spirit as well as of body
of the most excruciating nature. "For behold," he has said: "I,
God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they
would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; which
suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of
pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would
that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the
Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."
(D. & C. 19:16-19.)
We should not forget
the great love of our Father and his Son Jesus Christ, that the Father was
willing to see his Son a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and to redeem
mankind from death, and to pass through suffering, "how sore you know not,
how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not." Yet it
was all done that we might receive immortal life and the redemption from our
sins on condition of our repentance and faithfulness to the Gospel. Since we
were bought with a price, surely all men should be willing to serve him.
The Prophet was
admonished to hold on and be faithful, and the Priesthood would remain with him
and his blessings would be eternal. The Lord said that the bounds were set, his
enemies could not pass. His days were known to the Lord, and notwithstanding
his tribulation and persecutions and the hatred of the world, they should not
be less. He was, therefore, not to fear what man can do, for through his
faithfulness God would be with him for ever and ever. In this was the promise
which comforted him, that suffering and the hatred of his enemies were not to
shorten his life before the time appointed. There appears in this a
foreshadowing of his martyrdom when his work should be finished. (Ibid., 202-3)
Such statements show that, while Joseph
Smith has an important role in Latter-day Saint theology and thought, there is
an infinite chasm between him and the work of Jesus Christ, contrary to the lies from the
likes of the late Doug Harris and Mike and Ann Thomas.
For more, see: