Testimony of Joseph Smith

After Sunday's lesson, I have not been able to stop thinking about Joseph Smith and his mission here on earth. It was suggested that if Joseph Smith had not restored the gospel, that the Lord would have had someone else fill that void. At the time, I couldn't think of any reason why that would not be the case, but I have since come to the realization the only Joseph Smith could have brought to pass the restoration of the gospel. This is because he was foreordained in the great council in heaven to be the prophet of the restoration. He was very specifically mentioned in 2 Nephi, chapter 3. His name would be Joseph and his father's name would also be Joseph. Just as Christ was the only one capable of performing the Atonement on our behalf, Joseph Smith was the only person able to bring to pass the restoration of the gospel, as he was foreordained to do so by the Lord.

The Lord Jesus Christ called Joseph Smith as a prophet to prepare the way for His coming in glory. Joseph Smith's life is a testimony to the reality of that calling. "I was called of my Heavenly Father to lay the foundation of this great work and kingdom in this dispensation, and testify of His revealed will to scattered Israel."

"This 'dispensation'" is our time—the time prophesied when God will "gather . . . all things in Christ." Ancient prophets foretold a final gospel dispensation and prophesied of Joseph Smith, who would lead it. Jesus Christ and His prophets Moses, Moroni, and Joseph of Egypt are just a few that spoke of a great prophet to come.

Joseph Smith was foreordained by God to restore His work from all previous dispensations. "Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world," taught Joseph Smith, "was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council."

I invite anyone who is doubting their testimony of the prophet Joseph to read 2 Nephi 3 and the testimony of the prophet and pray for a witness of the divinity of the prophet's calling. You can also visit http://josephsmith.net to learn more information about the life of the prophet. I testify that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the restoration and that without his sacrifice and labor on our behalf, we would not have the opportunity to live the gospel today.

Daily Focus

Recently, I saw a portion of a program on public television by Dr. Wayne Dyer. He adopted a practice while studying Taoism that I think would be great to apply to scripture study. He would take four lines of text and try to apply the principles of the text to his life for 3 days. The result of focusing intently on one or two principles for a space of time helped him to master those principles. Think of it as literal application of Nephi's "liken" doctrine 2 Ne 2:23.

As a side note, I do believe Dr. Dyer is crazy, as he believes that he is akin to Jesus and that people who read his book will be using his work as a ladder to reach enlightenment and eternal life. I guess he is either unfamiliar with the story of the tower of babel or he really believes that he can create a ladder to reach the heavens.

In any event, I want to start applying principles that I find in the scriptures to my life in a similar fashion. My first application will come from:

2 Ne 9:39 "O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.

Over the next 3 days, I will focus all my energies on thinking thoughts of a spiritual nature. I will try to avoid the thinking that directs my attention towards the things of this world. I will resist the temptation to make rude remarks by trying to think of those around me as the Lord thinks of them. This will be a hard task to measure progress since the results are entirely hidden from view.

This concept is spoken of by King Benjamin in one of my favorite sections of scripture. In Mosiah 4:30, he gives us a clear formula. He states, "watch your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds". There is a clear progression from things that we think, becoming words that are spoken, which then become actions. If we can stop the thoughts, we will be able to hold our tongues and keep ourselves from acting out spoken plans of evil.

This formula is certainly cyclical in nature. As temporal beings, our first instinct is to try and stop the behavior that is leading us astray. We set goals to be nice to the person in the office that gets on our nerves. We do our best to perform kind gestures and strike up conversation. But we still have trouble not talking about this person when they are not around. Over time, our hope is that by changing our actions, we will also be able to avoid speaking about this person in an unkind fashion. After we are able to do that, we hope that we will be able to actually stop having thoughts about this person when they do things that annoy us.

While changing our behavior first may be the most common approach to overcoming bad habits or temptations, I believe that it is also possible for this process to work in the same fashion as described by King Benjamin. I believe that if we were to have enough faith, with prayer and fasting, we could have our thoughts replaced by the power of the Atonement with the thoughts of the Savior. This is our greatest struggle in my opinion. Our greatest wrestle may be with our own thoughts. It is much easier to change behavior and words than it is to avoid thinking certain things at all. Truly, if we can control our thoughts, we will be in control of our lives at a level that would most certainly lead to Christ. Until that is possible, I will continue to repent for my natural way of thinking and strive to think better thoughts.

Self Evaluation

"There is not a man or boy in this vast congregation tonight who cannot improve his life. And that needs to happen. After all, we hold the priesthood of God. If we are boys who have received the Aaronic Priesthood, we are entitled to the ministering of angels to guide and direct, to bless and protect us. What a remarkable and wonderful thing that is. If we have had conferred upon us the Melchizedek Priesthood, we have been given the keys of the kingdom that carry with them eternal powers. These were spoken of by the Lord when He laid His hands upon the heads of His disciples."

(Gordon B. Hinckley, "Rise Up, O Men of God," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 60)

I have been thinking alot lately about ways that I can and should improve my life. Every once in a while, it is good to take an inventory of your life and see if you are on a path that will lead to your ultimate desired destination.

That being said, I am trying to make improvements in the following areas:

1. Improve Physical Fitness
1. Start using the elliptical sitting in my family room
2. Perhaps start something like p90x
2. Improve Spirituality
1. Begin Reading Scriptures in the am
2. Pray more regularly
3. Continue with family history work in the temple

If I am able to make progress in these areas, I think I will find more satisfaction in everyday living. I also believe that I would be better able to serve in my callings at church and find greater peace. I challenge anyone who reads this to similarly take a look at your life and see where you have room to improve. In so doing, I am confident that you will be better able to achieve your goals and live a richer, more meaningful life.