The Restoration of The Gospel

The Restoration of Truth

God is your loving Heavenly Father

God is your Father in Heaven (Matthew 6:9).  We call God Heavenly Father because He is the Father of our spirits and we are created in His image ( Genesis 1:27).

God has a body that looks like yours, though His body is immortal, perfected, and has a glory beyond description.  He knows you personally and loves you more than you can comprehend.  To help you find happiness in this life and guide you to return to live with Him, Heavenly Father provided a plan called the gospel of Jesus Christ, a guide based on the life and teachings of His Son, Jesus Christ.

From the beginning, Heavenly Father has called prophets to testify, record His word, and provide His plan for His children on the earth.  The teachings of prophets are found in sacred books called scriptures ( Amos 3:7).

Your Heavenly Father knows you and loves you and wants to help you return to Him.  Your life on Earth is part of His plan for you to gain a body, learn, grow, and find joy.  Sometimes life is hard, lonely, or frightening, but your Heavenly Father is always there.  He sorrows when you suffer and rejoices when you do what is right.  He wants to communicate with you as you sincerely pray to Him, and He stands ready to give you comfort, peace, and guidance in your life.

Jesus Christ taught that you must know the only true God to have eternal life ( John 17:3).  As His child, you must know who He is and what He is like to find greater peace and joy, both in this life and in the life to come.

What is the Gospel?

The following outline summarizes a few of the important events in the restoration of the gospel and the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which the Lord has declared is “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth” (D&C 1:30).

Early spring, 1820. Seeking the true Church of Jesus Christ, 14-year-old Joseph Smith prayed in a grove of trees near his home in Palmyra, New York. In answer to his humble prayer, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ visited him and told him that he must not join any of the churches on the earth at that time. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:11–19.) In the Church we refer to this experience as Joseph Smith’s First Vision.

September 21–22, 1823. Joseph Smith was visited by an angel named Moroni. Moroni prophesied of coming events and told Joseph of the Book of Mormon record, written on plates of gold. The angel allowed Joseph to see the gold plates, which were buried in the nearby Hill Cumorah. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:27–53.)

September 22, 1827. Joseph Smith received the gold plates from Moroni at the Hill Cumorah after having met with Moroni on 22 September of each of the previous four years. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:53, 59.)

May 15, 1829. Having read about baptism for the remission of sins as they worked on the translation of the gold plates, Joseph Smith and his scribe Oliver Cowdery went to a secluded area to inquire of the Lord concerning the matter. There, on the banks of the Susquehanna River near Harmony, Pennsylvania, they received the answer to their prayer. John the Baptist, a resurrected being, came to them as “a messenger from heaven . . . in a cloud of light.” He conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood. Then, in obedience to his instructions, Joseph and Oliver baptized each other and ordained each other to the Aaronic Priesthood. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:68–72; see also D&C 13.)

May 1829. The ancient Apostles Peter, James, and John conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. (See D&C 128:20.)

June 1829. Guided “by the gift and power of God” (D&C 135:3), the Prophet Joseph Smith completed the translation of the Book of Mormon.

March 26, 1830. The first printed copies of the Book of Mormon became available in Palmyra, New York.

April 6, 1830. The Church was organized in Fayette Township, New York, beginning with six members.

March 27, 1836. The Kirtland Temple, the first temple built in this dispensation, was dedicated. The Prophet Joseph Smith offered the dedicatory prayer, which had been given to him by revelation. (See D&C 109.)

April 3, 1836. The Savior appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. Moses, Elias, and Elijah also appeared and gave priesthood keys to Joseph and Oliver. Elijah brought the keys of the sealing power, which make it possible for families to be sealed together forever. (See D&C 110.)

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Part of our mortal training is to walk by faith, repent of our sins, and call upon the Lord in daily prayer. We rejoice in the moments when promptings by the Holy Ghost are kindly given, and we are urged along the proper path of life. But each of us faces many difficult times here in mortality. All sorts of voices are screaming at us from the stadiums of public opinion. Our course will never be the popular way of the world. There are obstacles strewn in our path upon which we trip and fall. But we must keep going. We move on in the strength of the Lord, each accountable for our own performance at the end of our mortal race. We must be able to declare with Paul:

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7–8).

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Hel. 5:12).

Not only must we build upon the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, but the prophet Jacob identified Him as the “safe foundation”! This stone, he said, shall be “the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation” (Jacob 4:15–16).

Who are Prophets?

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are blessed to be led by living prophets—inspired men called to speak for the Lord, as did Moses, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, Nephi, Mormon, and other prophets of the scriptures. We sustain the President of the Church as prophet, seer, and revelator—the only person on the earth who receives revelation to guide the entire Church. We also sustain the counselors in the First Presidency and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators.

Like the prophets of old, prophets today testify of Jesus Christ and teach His gospel. They make known God’s will and true character. They speak boldly and clearly, denouncing sin and warning of its consequences. At times, they may be inspired to prophesy of future events for our benefit.

We can always trust the living prophets. Their teachings reflect the will of the Lord, who declared: “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38).

Our greatest safety lies in strictly following the word of the Lord given through His prophets, particularly the current President of the Church. The Lord warns that those who ignore the words of the living prophets will fall (see D&C 1:14–16). He promises great blessings to those who follow the President of 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;

“For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.

“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 21:4–6).

What do you mean by ‘Sacred’ ?

Regarded with reverence; holy.

• The Sacred Call of Service [talk by President Thomas S. Monson]
• Marriage & Family: Our Sacred Responsibility [talk by Elder W. Douglas Shumway
  Of the Seventy]
• Holy Place, Sacred Space [talk by Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander
  Of the Presidency of the Seventy]
• Our Sacred Duty to Honor Women [talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson
  Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]
• The Sacred Responsibilities of Parenthood [talk by By Elder M. Russell Ballard
  Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]
  

What is a scripture?

A sacred writing or book; the word of God as revealed to His inspired prophets.