- May 22: Relief Society night, 7pm at the Thomasville Rd Building
May 2014 Lesson Schedule
- May 4: Temple dedication (9am, 12pm or 3pm sessions)
- May 11: Chapter 7: Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Witnesses for Christ
- May 18: Chapter 8: The Church and Kingdom of God
- May 25: The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood by Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Lesson Review
Teachings
of the Presidents of the Church – Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph
Fielding Smith never knew his Smith grandparents (Hyrum Smith, older brother
and loyal friend to the Prophet Joseph, and Mary Fielding Smith). He learned a great deal about them from his
aunt, Mercy Thompson. He also learned
about them from his father, Joseph F. Smith, who had known the Prophet Joseph,
personally. Although President Smith was
grateful for the teachings and heritage of his family, his testimony was his
own. He testified:
“It is my
knowledge, by the gift of God, that Joseph Smith in the year 1820 did see the
Father and the Son; that the Father introduced his Son; that the son spoke to
him, asked him what he wanted to know, and gave him counsel; told him what to
do, with the promise that eventually other light would come and the fullness of
the gospel, which was not then upon the face of the earth, would be restored.”
Question
to ponder: Why is it important to have a testimony of Joseph Smith, what he
did, and his role in this dispensation?
President
Smith said, “We link the names of Jesus Christ and of Joseph Smith. Christ is the Lord; he worked out the atoning
sacrifice; he is the resurrection and the life; through him all men are raised
in immortality, while those who believe and obey his laws shall also gain
eternal life….Joseph Smith was a prophet, called in these last days to receive
by revelation the saving truths of the gospel and to stand as a legal
administrator, having power from on high, to administer the ordinances of the
gospel.
Why
did the Lord call Joseph Smith?
President Smith explains:
“In
choosing a representative to stand at the head of this “great and marvelous
work about to come forth unto the children of men, the Lord did not select one
who was versed in the learning and traditions of the world. His ways are not the ways of man, neither are
his thoughts like the thoughts of men. One taught in the learning of the world
would have had too much to unlearn of the traditions and philosophy of
men. In his great wisdom, the Lord chose
an unsophisticated child – a boy fourteen years of age….Joseph Smith was
prepared to direct the work of the restoration of the Gospel and the building
of the Kingdom of God.”
President
Smith further states: “In a spirit of testimony and thanksgiving, I [share]
these inspired words from the Doctrine and Covenants: ‘Joseph Smith, the
Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation
of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.”
The
Lord provided help and support to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the form of his
elder brother, Hyrum. President Smith
tells us that he “stood by the side of his brother Joseph and strengthened him
by encouragement, faith and devoted love. Hyrum was a man of wonderful
tenderness of heart. He possessed deep humility and loved his brother better
than he loved his own life. This is shown
in his death through which he obtained a martyr’s crown. He was fearless in his defense of the truth.
Verily he ‘loved that which is right.’”
President
Smith further states, “Joseph Smith could not have stood alone, else his work
would have failed, just as the work of the Savior required the confirmation of
another witness, and who could testify for Christ other than his Father? And so
the Lord called another man to stand with Joseph Smith and to hold the keys of
salvation in this dispensation as a witness with him.”
Question
to ponder: How can Joseph and Hyrum Smiths’ examples help us in our assignments
from the Lord?
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