This is a message to all who profess to believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
God said:
11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
12 For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith.
13 And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal. (D&C 98)
And where will you find every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God?
God said:
But this generation shall have my word through you; (D&C 5:10)
3 Which church was organized and established in the year of your Lord eighteen hundred and thirty, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April.
4 Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;
5 For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
6 For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory. (D&C 21)
For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth
Has God ever said this about anyone else in your church? No he has not.
Have you done this? No you have not.
Have you read the Book of Mormon and D&C cover to cover? Probably, at least once.
Have you studied them deeply, daily, continuing to build your fluency in the ideas given in them? Probably not.
Have you deeply studied and gained fluency in Joseph Smith’s teachings, published in the Joseph Smith Papers, or Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, or Words of Joseph Smith? Doubtful.
But even if you have done all of those things, have you lived what you have learned? Absolutely not.
And how do I know this so clearly? Because if you had, you would be better than you are.
Light cleaves to light, truth cleaves to truth, and we progress towards God line upon line.
44 For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.
45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.
47 And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.
48 And the Father teacheth him of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you, which is confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole world.
49 And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin.
50 And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me.
51 For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.
52 And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.
53 And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now.
54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—
55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.
56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. (D&C 84)
If you knew and lived the teachings of Joseph Smith, you would be like him in understanding, works, and character. And you are not. You do what he would never do, you leave undone what he would do in your place, you do not believe the things he believed, and you believe many things he would never believe.
And because of this, you do not come unto Christ, to become like him in understanding, works, and character. And it is no wonder that you are without any of the fruits that his disciples of all times and places always demonstrated, let alone the greater things he promised to provide through sending other servants made possible by his ascent to the Father.
Do not claim the blessings and authority of Joseph Smith without knowing and obeying the words God gave him. You have no claim on anything you think you have without knowing and obeying what he taught, no matter what ordinances you have received or what anyone else has told you.
You may think, “who are you to tell us of such things?” I don’t need to be anyone, just as Jesus didn’t need to be the Christ to tell the Jews that they had no claim on the blessings and authority of Moses without obeying his teachings, and just as John the Baptist did not need to be the greatest prophet born of women (see Matthew 11:11) to say “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2), and just as Abinadi didn’t need to be a prophet to tell the people “If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it?” (Mosiah 12:29)
Like Amulek said, I say to you:
For behold, have I testified against your law? Ye do not understand; ye say that I have spoken against your law; but I have not, but I have spoken in favor of your law, to your condemnation. (Alma 10:26)
It is time for you to repent, and live up to the bounty of what you claim to believe by reading and living the teachings of Joseph Smith. As the Lord said:
57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—
58 That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion. (D&C 84)
Here are several practical things you can do:
- Spend at least as much time in the scriptures as you do in church meetings or assignments.
- Spend at least as much time studying the teachings of Joseph Smith in his own words as you do the teachings of anyone else.
- Pay attention to any changes you need to make to align yourself with what you learn, and make them completely and immediately.
- Get a copy of “Words of Joseph Smith,” which contains the firsthand contemporary transcriptions of his Nauvoo sermons, or if you can’t get a copy of that, get a copy of “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” which is an edited version of many of the same sermons.
God has so much to offer you in this life, and you have barely scratched the surface.
A video recording of this message is uploaded here.