Praise To The Man |
~ A Brief Historical Perspectus ~JESUS had died. The accounts of his resurrection and administration to and meetings with his apostles after his death had ended and people would ask, "Was it really so?" The last to write and speak of visions, seeing God and writing scripture was John the Beloved upon the Isle of Patmos. And then the heavens became silent. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem. It was all as a night vision, there and gone. The ravenous wolves had entered in not sparing the flock. All that was left were contending factions disputing the very foundational doctrines of Christ's Christianity. And the stage gradually fell dark into the Dark Ages of the earth's history. With but strands and two major east and west competitors, the religion and doctrine of Christ was in a state of corruption which the leaders of the Reformation would identify and hold the corruption accountable for profaning and proliferating upon the world. The prophets were dead they said. All are dead they said and only the cannon of the Old and New Testaments remained for man to read and live by. And until written in the common language, man had not even the written Word of God to study, understand and to come to know God by.Before the great flood, there had been the most anciest Patriarchs and Prophets from Adam to Enoch and from Enoch to Noah. Then came the last later Patriarchs of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Jacob chose his son Joseph and he was the last Great Patriarch. Yet what Jospeh had written was but lightly touched upon in the remaining Jewish Torah of the surviving 5 books of Moses that had been transcribed, edited and commented upon over the ages. After Joseph, until the time of Moses, what records that may have remained were processed by Moses into his 'Five Books of Moses. From Joseph to Moses only a few transitional verses remained. Moses had revived the earth's history from Adam down to Joseph of Egypt in the Book of Genesis. From Adam, the Patriarch prophets, ancient and latter, had spoken with God, that is God had spoken with them. And they had led their people. The latter Patriarchs were limited family based from Abraham to Joseph of Egypt. The revival of Moses reclaimed Israel who had fallen into slavery to the Egyptians and into their corruptions of false and idolitrous forms of worship after the order of those Egyptians. No patriarch or prophet was any longer recorded among them. Then God had Moses restore to the House of Israel a lesser extent of his Gospel as they were not prepared to recieve the greater extents of his Gospel. To the last recorded prophets of the Old Testament the history of Israel was a roller coaster of ups and downs of faithfulness and wickedness. First Judges would rule the laws and the Prophets would prophesy. Then Kings were later instituted upon the demand of the people for such. The 'elders' ruled according to the laws of the 'church' and the Kings ruled according to the laws of the land. The role of the Prophets became to prophesy and warn the people according to the word of God to them for the people. Kings only variously paid attention to the prophets and even the elders who ruled the scriptural law but did follow the prophets in such manners as suited themselves as well. After the last prophets of the Old Testament, only the self serving quorum of elders and the priets of the Levites remained and a corrupt form of quasi 'Jewish' government of the Hebrew tabernacle and temple remained. No longer were there prophets among them whose words were written as a part of the scriptures of the people. Learned scholars, scribes and such as their honored Rabbis would tend to explain and write their insights and interpretations from passed on traditions. And until John the Baptist and Jesus himself, there had been a long silence again of the hearing of the Word of God from heaven. With the calling of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus, again prophets walked the earth. Jesus called and anointed Apostles who the faithful among them would develop into being prophets of God in their own right. They would be the foundation of the New Testament scriptures and either they themselves would again write scripture or they authorize a scribe to do so as with Mark for Peter and Luke to the Romans as authorized by Paul. But even then those records fell into a state of disrepair before assembled into the accepted and authorized 'cannon' of the surviving corrupt forms of Christ's Church. Yes, Jesus had died and was resurrected, yet man would eventually begin to disbelieve and ask, "Was it not just a myth and not really true?" Centuries passed when God did not speak directly to men who were called of God as prophets. A falling away, an apostasy had taken place. Corruptions had entered in. And by the time men began to translate the old works into the common language for people to read again. They could see that what was left in the Chruch, was not the same as what those scripture records had once taught. Out of those dark ages came a renewal of religious learn for the common man. And they began to attempt to return to what the scriptures taught. A period of Reformation and enlightenment from the readig of the scriptures had began. But still God had not began to speak to man but by the inspiraton of the mind from the reading of the scriptures of God. And left to their own feelings and interpretations, as honest as they might well be, there became many different interpreted views and a real need for God to speak again and clarify what was and was not really the truth was needed. It was not until the early 1800s that the voice of God was heard again from heaven. It would come as it had done so in the times of old. Only few would believe and most would defame, deny and fight against the called prophets of God. But again a prophet, then later Apostles and more Prophets again walked the earth. It had again begun with a man named Joseph Smith Junior. |
A Hymn's Overview of the Restoration
A Hymn's Overview of the Restoration
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Lyrics
1. Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah! Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer. Blessed to open the last dispensation, Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.
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Praise to his mem’ry, he died as a martyr; Honored and blest be his ever great name! Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins, Plead unto heav’n while the earth lauds his fame.
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3. Great is his glory and endless his priesthood. Ever and ever the keys he will hold. Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom, Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.
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4. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven; Earth must atone for the blood of that man. Wake up the world for the conflict of justice. Millions shall know “Brother Joseph” again.
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Chorus:
Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven! Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain. Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren; Death cannot conquer the hero again. Text: William W. Phelps, 1792–1872 Music: Scottish folk song
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A Personal Testimony of Joseph Smith Jr.
I am but one among millions today who have a testimony of Joseph Smith Jr. as being a prophet of God. And before I proceed further upon the topic of this page, I desire to give a rendering of that witness and testimony. And this that all might know that I am not an enemy of the prophet Joseph of the latter days, neither am I a descenting voice against The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am a member of the Chruch, fully believing and trusting in the prophets and the apostles, the officers and leaders of the Chruch today.
"I have a great respect and love for the Prophet Joseph Smith. I testify that he is the Lord's first leading latter day Prophet and Seer of the restoration of the Lord's Church and gospel to the earth in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Great Millennial Day to follow. One of two of my 2nd great grandfathers who personally knew the Prophet Joseph Smith did withness the prophet Joseph receiving a great vision of grand importance from the powers of heaven (D&C 76). Joseph Smith did translate the scriptural record known as the Book of Mormon by the inspiration and powers of God given to him to do so from ancient metal golden plates. These were given to him by an angel of God named Moroni. I know the Book of Mormon is absolutely a true scriptural record containing the word of God. Further, through Joseph Smith the priesthood of God and the keys thereof have been restored to the earth by the visitations and the ministering of angels, whereby the Church of Jesus Christ has gone forth to the world; blessing all those who come unto Christ and join to His church to the end that they do strive to live by God's laws, statutes and the ordinances thereof; and that they may obtain Eternal Life and Exaltation in the Kingdom of God. Even in death does the prophet Joseph Smith, the empowered head of this dispensation of the fulness of times, continue to guide and direct the work of the Latter day Church as he lives on in that Paradise of the Lord and continues to perform his duties as God's chosen prophet. I bear testimony of this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
Give Joseph Smith Jr. His Dues!
This now being established, I venture into the areas wherein LDS members are not those who are merely brain-washed into the 'doctrine of Mormonism.' Neither are we of the type who do not exercise our own agency and have our own various opinions on various matters, political, societal and even religious. One mormon member will consider such and such to be that of which is to be the lands of the Book of Mormon, another considers something else. The Chruch has not established an Official Position upon that matter and opinions vary. And thus it is. We may discuss among ourselves as to this or that with some thinking and even believing somethings apart from one another. Thus is the topic here.
Some have been critical of the LDS Church over such statements that the Church does set up Joseph Smith so high that we do worship him even above Jesus Christ. That is not actually true. Some do even charge that the Chruch does estabish Joseph Smith in the stead of Jesus Christ. This is of course absolutely not true, but there is a bit of a mis-understanding that maybe or has been given where there is some honesty in this critic's position.
Now the Prophet Joseph Smith desires all of the truthful aclaims that are his, and they are many. Yet over Zealous supports of the Prophet Joseph Smith have began to take their 'adoration' beyond those realms of supportable truth. And they have began to confuse Joseph Smith with that which does but pertain unto the Messiah.
Three areas: 1) The mixing of Joseph Smith with the suffering Jewish preached Messiah ben Joseph. 2) The grammatically poor confusing of Joseph Smith with Jesus Christ of Isaiah 11 and D&C 113. 3) The attributing to Joseph that which applies to the Patriarch Joseph of Egypt and his ancestry of Jesus Christ relative to the JST of Genesis 50 and the Book of Mormon's related report of the same by Lehi from the plates of brass in 2 Nephi 3.
This wrongful mixing of Joseph Smith Jr. with the Messiah Jesus Christ, who is the same as Jehovah, has given the 'nay sayers' and critics of Joseph Smith and Mormons the room to claim that we of the LDS Church do worship Joseph Smith as Jesus Christ. Based upon half truths and lies, the Mormon critics do have a partial truth basis for their claims in this thing which they ought to not have.
Joseph Smith, as any righteous prophet of God who attempts to emulate Jesus Christ and be liken unto him for such, is proper to do. What is not proper to do is to attribute direcly to Joseph Smith that which pertains but solely to Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah our Ministering God in the name and in the stead of the Father.
1) From a Jewish legend of their Messiah ben Joseph to whom they attribute the scriptures that speak of the suffering Messiah, have some Mormon scholars sought to associate Joseph Smith. The fact is that if anyone is this suffering Messiah ben Joseph, that is Jesus Christ himself; who is also the promised Messiah ben David.
2) Furher, due to a poorly designed question that makes of an adverb modifying prepositional phrase of Isaiah 11:1 to incorrectly be the direct object noun of their question. Thus, rather than the true two subject nouns of the parallalism of Isaiah 11:1 that should be the properly constructed, the question's direct object, being the correct antecedents of the sentence's pronoun 'who;' some tend to read Isaiah improperly using D&C 113 as their excuse.
3) From the three great Dispensation Heads of Moses, Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith who have descended from the last Great Patriarch Joseph of Egypt of the Patriarchal Fathers line of authority and Covenant Birthright of the Firstborn blessings held by that lineage; some have taken that part which was the promise of the Messiah to come of Joseph and attributed to Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith is one of the Dispensation Heads spoken of in the promised blessing by Joseph by Jehovah, but that portion belonging to the Christ has by many been transfered upon Joseph Smith as they have failed to understand the scriptures properly.
And Give Joseph of Egypt His Due Too
As the last Great Patriarch of the Patriarchal Order, it was to be in and through those blessings of the birthright held by Joseph of Egypt that the earth was to be blessed:
~ Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 3:4 ~
1) Israel's freedom from Egypt in Moses
And who comes to stand in the midst of them but Moses. How and Why?
From Moses back to the heir seed of Joseph, Joshua.
Then to Judges.
Then to Kings.
2) Ancestry of the Septre - Judah blood line from Boaz
3) The Ancestry of the Book of Mormon - Wall jumpers Joseph:
4) The Ancestry of Scattered Israel - Joseph etc.
& the wall jumper of the latter-day many
5) Ancestry of Jesus Christ - Joseph via Mahlon - Ruth 4:10 (9-11)
6) Ancestry of Joseph Smith - Same as Jesus.
A. Right to the Priesthood - Patriarch Joseph
B. Right to the Birthright Covenant - Patriarch Joseph
C. Right to the Keys - Patriarch Joseph
D. Right to the Fulness - Patriarch Joseph
10 And also with Joseph and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, your fathers, by
whom the promises remain;
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 27:10)