Joseph Smith Sr.’s job
Dad was a treasure hunter, failed at farming and failed at a business venture. They were broke.
Where was Joseph Smith Jr born and raised?
- Born in Sharon, Vermont (December 23, 1805)
- But then they moved to Palmyra, NY, where he grew up
Smith’s first vision
- spring of 1820 (he was 14)
- he asked which Christian denomination was the true church
- God the Father and Jesus Christ said none of them are true
Smith’s second vision
- Sept. 21, 1823 (17 years old)
- The angel Moroni appears to him (3 visits in one night) and said that he has a salvation ministry for him to perform worldwide
- He revealed to him a hidden box buried on Hill Cumorah that contained the gold plates, Urim and Thummim (see other card)
Urim and Thummim
- Obscure objects mentioned in the OT
- composed of two special seer stones attached on silver bows that fastened to a breastplate
- used to translate the gold plates from Reformed Egyptian into King James English
Who did JS meet in Pennsylvania?
- Emma Hale while he was boarding at Isaac Hale’s home
- When Isaac strongly disapproved of their marrying, they ran off and eloped
Who conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery?
(May 15, 1829)
- Joseph and Oliver go into the woods to pray
- John the Baptist, acting under the authority of the apostles Peter, James, and John, descended from heaven, laid his hands on them, and imparted on them the Aaronic priesthood
- Shortly after this, they were visited by Peter, James, and John, who ordained them into advanced Melchizedek priesthood and gave them the keys of apostleship
Where was Zion?
New Jerusalem was Jackson County, Missouri. Independence Missouri was the epicenter of Zion.
-JS had a revelation once they got to Jackson County that Zion was in Independence
First temple
Kirtland, Ohio (1836, Mormon Pentecost)
JS after Missouri
(Mormons attacked Missouri State Militia, Missourians killed 14 Mormons, Mormons surrendered and left the next day. BY moved them to Iowa and Illinois)
-(1839) Get a charter for land and establish Nauvoo, IL
JS’s death
-June 27, 1844
-Carthage jail, IL
(A mob entered and killed Hyrum instantly. Joseph had a smuggled gun and shot two to three mobsters. He was shot, tried to jump out a window, shouting: “Oh Lord, My God”)
JS Succession
- Sidney Rigdon: he was part of the first presidency, claimed he was the chosen one of God
- Brigham Young: Member of the Quorum of Twelve. He used Joseph Smith’s Prophecy: “The Quorum was equal in power and authority to the First Presidency.” It is reported that he seemed to be transfigured into JS himself
- James Strang/Joseph Smith III: Emma Smith claimed that JS had ordained his son before he died
Brigham Young
“Mormon Moses”
-led the “pioneers” to Utah
Mountain Meadows Massacre
1857 Fancher party wanted to pass through Utah.
-emigrants from Arkansas were passing through to CA; they heard the Mormons were part of the Missouri persecution; Mormons did not allow them to pass through; Indians attacked the emigrants, which led to a conspiracy between the Indians and Mormons; 120 men, women and children were killed. Mormons took an oath of silence and blamed it all on the Indians.
First few Mormon presidents
- JS
- BY
- John Taylor
- Wilford Woodruff
- Lorenzo Snow
Name 2 of the 14 fundamentals
- The Prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
- The prophet will never lead the Church astray
What Mormon President eradicated polygamy?
(1890) Wilford Woodruff
What Mormon President allowed Black Priesthood?
President Spencer W. Kimball (1978)
What does Joseph Smith say about the Book of Mormon in its introduction?
“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”
Who are the Nephites? Who are the Lamanites? Who are the Mulekites?
- Nephites: Descendants of Nephi, the son of Lehi, who were righteous but then fell into a state of unbelief and wickedness. Destroyed by Lamanites in AD 385
- Lamanites: Wicked rivals to Nephites. They destroyed the Nephites. They are the present-day Native American cultures.
- Mulekites: Descendants of Mulek, the surviving son of Zedekiah, last king of Judah, after Babylonian conquest. Mulek left for the Americas and this people group eventually mixed with the Nephites
when Jared came to the Americas? When did Lehi come to the Americas?
- Jaredites: Group that left to the Americas after the Tower of Babel beginning in 2500BC.
- Prophet in Jerusalem around 600BC. Father of Nephi. Left for Americas.
Who is Mormon?
Prophet-historian/narrator of the Book of Mormon. Wrote the Golden Plates
Who is Moroni?
Nephite Prophet/historian/Commander who was forced to wander and eventually buried the golden plates on Mount Cumorah
BOM verse about salvation by grace after all we can do
2 Nephi 25:23
“For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”
