Saturday, January 9, 2021

Joseph Fielding Smith on the Importance of Joseph Smith in Latter-day Saint Thought and the Sufferings of Christ as a Moral Example

  

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:

 

Joseph Smith Worship? Responding to Criticisms of the Role and Status of the Prophet Joseph Smith in Latter-day Saint Theology