"Thy Kingdom Come"

"Many have asked, 'How is it that the Prophet Joseph Smith, age 14, could go into a grove, never having prayed before vocally, according to his own account, and in that first prayer receive such great and marvelous blessings?' Does that mean that he simply had far greater faith and worthiness than the rest of us?
"One response is that the visitations received by the Prophet Joseph Smith weren't just an answer to his own prayer, but to the prayers of literally millions, maybe even those beyond the veil, who had been seeking and reaching for generations for the restoration of the gospel and the reestablishment of the kingdom of God on the earth; fulfillment, in fact, of a phrase offered by billions, 'Thy kingdom come.' (Matthew 6:10.)
"That is an important insight. You and I pray not alone. We pray as part of a great modern movement and, in effect, we can be empowered in that very process. And if we care - or even care enough to try to care - to be instruments, unique privileges descend upon us, among them the authorities and gifts and blessings of the Holy Ghost and the crowning blessings of the priesthood." - Truman Madsen

Monday, September 24, 2012

Links and Questions related to CHFT 4-5

According to the Ensign article, "I Have a Question," Jan. 1988, it took Joseph Smith only about 65 working days to translate the Book of Mormon. Amazing! This Thursday we will look at the period in Church history that covers the time between Joseph's First Vision and the publication of the Book of Mormon (1820-1830). Lesson material can be found in Church History in the Fulness of Times, chapters 4 and 5 (click here for html of the student manual). If you are interested in other reading, here are some links to Ensign articles that relate to this subject matter: (1) "Book of Mormon Personalities Known by Joseph Smith," Ensign, Aug. 1978; (2) "Moroni's Message to Joseph Smith," Ensign, Aug. 1990; (3) "Prepared for the Restoration," Dec. 1984; (4) "By the Gift and Power of God," Ensign, Jan. 1997; (5) "The Book of Mormon Goes to Press,"Dec Ensign, Dec. 1972; (6) "A New Prophet and a New Scripture: The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon," Ensign, Jan. 1988; (7) "The Restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods," Ensign, Dec. 1996. For those who want a few study questions, please consider the following: (1) How much time elapsed between Joseph Smith's First Vision and the first visitation of Moroni to the Smith's log house? How much time between Moroni's first visit and Joseph's receipt of the plates of Mormon? (2) Why wasn't Joseph able to obtain the plates on his first visit to Cumorah? (3) Who went with Joseph when he was finally able to receive the plates? (4) What was going on in Joseph's personal life when Martin Harris lost the first 116 pages of manuscript? (5) What question did Joseph and Oliver ask that resulted in their receiving the blessings of the priesthood?(6) How did Joseph become acquainted with the Whitmer family? How were the Whitmers blessed because of their association with the prophet?
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