From 1820 on, Joseph Smith was steadily attacked in a pattern

of accusations—followed by eventual vindications. The pattern

continues.

Just as prophesied, fools deride him, hell rages against him, and his

name is "both good and evil spoken of" (JS—H 1:33). This swirl

needlessly preoccupies a few who seem to prefer chewing on old

bones in the outer courtyard instead of coming inside to the

resplendent, revelatory banquet, thus diverting them from giving

due attention to Joseph's mission as "a choice seer" (see 2

Nephi

3:6–7).

As Ammon's experience taught, a seer has the power to translate

ancient records, and "a seer is greater than a prophet." But, said

Ammon, "a seer is a . . . prophet also" (see Mosiah

8:11–16). Thus

called, Joseph has become "a great benefit to his fellow beings" (Mosiah

8:18).

The "choice" translator brought forth—"by the gift and power of

God" (D&C 135:3)—the Book of Mormon, something tangible and

verifiable. For all who heed it, the Book of Mormon is like the

flinging open of long-closed doors on what was assumed to be a

complete canon of scripture.

Noted on the very title page is the book's special role in "convincing" mortals "that Jesus is the Christ" (see also 2 Nephi

25:18). In a day of disbelief and equivocation regarding this

preeminent fact, this "convincing" effect is so needed! How

sharp-edged that promise!

The Book of Mormon will be "read upon the housetops" (2

Nephi 27:11). Even if neglected, it will constitute a lingering

invitation for "as long as the earth shall stand" (2

Nephi 25:22).

No wonder "the ends of the earth shall inquire after [Joseph's]

name" (D&C 122:1). Reassuring prophecies further declare that

Joseph's enemies "shall be confounded" and that the Prophet's

people will not be "turned against [him]" by the testimony of

traitors (see 2 Nephi 3:14; D&C 122:3).

As President Faust reminded us yesterday, of his own

imperfections, Joseph said, "I never told you I was perfect—but

there is no error in the revelations which I have taught" (Andrew F.

Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, The Words of Joseph Smith [1980],

369).

Ironically, young Joseph Smith went into the grove merely wanting

to know which church to join—not seeking to be called as a seer,

revelator, translator, and prophet (see D&C 21:1). In the grove and

subsequently, there came sunbursts of serendipity! The resulting

revelations and translations were not mere speculations, thoughts

for the day, or even epigrams, but instead they were divine,

declarative disclosures.

The volume of resulting revelations and translations is enormous,

underscoring the words "choice seer." But it isn't just the sheer

volume of what Joseph received which is now being shared with

mankind; it is also the existence of "stunners" in the midst of such

abundance.

Through multiple revelations and translations, for example, came a description of a universe far, far exceeding the astrophysics of the

1830s, a cosmos containing "worlds without number" and advising

us further that the "inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and

daughters [of] God" (Moses

1:33; D&C 76:24).

Anciently, the vastness of Abraham's eventual posterity was

compared to the sand of the sea, a staggering promise (see Genesis

22:17). The Restoration's revelations and translations

accommodate a vast universe; thus it is no surprise to us that

scientists' latest estimate of the number of stars in the universe is

approximately 70 sextillion— "more stars in the sky," scientists

say, "than there are grains of sand in every beach and desert on

Earth" (Allison M. Heinrichs, "The Stellar Census: 70 Sextillion,"

Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2003; see also Carl Sagan, Cosmos [1980],

196).

Revelations and translations also came regarding God's central

purpose "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,"

giving us divine, succinct reassurances (see Moses

1:39). God's

plans for the development of souls have not changed. They were

described to ancient Israel, whose 40 years in the wilderness were

"to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine

heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no"

(Deuteronomy 8:2). Therefore, disciples today can understand why

our faith and patience are tried at times—so that we can be

prepared to go Home (see Mosiah

23:21).

Brothers and sisters, we do not go many hours in our lives

without having to decide again "which way do we face" and

whether we will pitch our tents facing Sodom or the holy temple

(see Genesis 13:12; Mosiah

2:6).

God has no distracting hobbies off somewhere in the universe. We are at the very center of His concerns and purposes. What a sharp

contrast to those who believe that man lives in an "unconscious

universe" (Bertrand Russell, "A Free Man's Worship," in Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays [1917], 50), a "universe . . . without a master" (Albert

Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other

Essays, trans. Justin O'Brien [1955], 123).

Revelations likewise came about our longevity as God's spirit

children, since "man was also in the beginning with God"—a

declaration accompanied by even further glimmers about man's

eternal nature (see D&C 93:29). These enunciations with their

profound implications are major, challenging, for instance, the

teaching that man was created in an instant "out of nothing."

A further reality of our being with God "in the beginning"

means that you have been you for a long time. Hence the Apostle

John correctly wrote that "[God] first loved us" (see 1

John 4:19).

Likewise, amid the mortal turbulence, we learn who other mortals

really are—our spiritual brothers and sisters, not functions, rivals,

or enemies. Moreover, we should have a special sanctity and

regard for human life.

"Stunners" all, these three revelations and translations are

especially responsive to the deepest human yearnings and

puzzlements. They restructure our understanding of the nature of

God, of the universe, and likewise of our personal identity and of

life's meaning! What could be more personal than these brief but

encompassing declarations?

If Joseph Smith had been the conduit for only one such divine revelation, it would be, standing alone, sufficient to ensure his

prophetic greatness. Yet even though God wants to give us "all that

[He] hath," we suffer from a poverty of perceptions! (see D&C

84:38).

Little wonder that Paul commended Abraham, who "staggered not . . . [in] unbelief" (Romans 4:20). There is a risk when we

contemplate the doctrines of the Restoration that we might

"stagger" in the face of such bold and promising truths.

Given such breathtaking revelations and translations, let us,

therefore, heed King Benjamin's counsel: "Believe in God; . . . believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the

Lord can comprehend" (Mosiah

4:9).

An omnicompetent God leaves all mortals free to choose, but how

grateful we should be that God chose long, long ago to rescue and

to resurrect all His children through the Atonement of His Son.

Nevertheless, some reject and many are indifferent to these and

other divine beckonings, mostly because they are too caught up in

the cares of the world. They are strangers to the Savior, who is far

from the thoughts and intents of their hearts (see Mosiah

5:13).

In the midst of God's plan and the universe's incredible vastness is

incredible personalness. For example, "[God] looketh down upon

all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents

of the heart" (Alma 18:32; see also Isaiah

66:18).

Since we are thus fully accountable to Him, on Judgment Day we

cannot invoke the Fifth Amendment!

I have saved for last the preeminent revelation that truly ranks first:

the theophanies showing the reality of a resurrected Jesus Christ

who is our Savior! Beginning with the Sacred Grove, other

confirming appearances soon followed in obscure locations like

Kirtland and Hiram, and all mankind thereby received this

desperately needed confirmation.

Alas, in a secular world Jesus is regarded by many, at best, as a

distant figure; He is even denigrated. How transcendingly special,

therefore, that the revelations of the Restoration confirm this

cosmic fact: "God so loved the world, that he gave his only

begotten Son" (John 3:16).

Jesus, who performed the "infinite atonement," thereby suffered

infinitely and is a fully comprehending Savior, having "descended

below all things" and "comprehended all things" (2

Nephi 9:7; D&C 88:6). Yes, as in the lyrics of the moving spiritual of

yesteryear, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows

but Jesus."

Brothers and sisters, the cast of players on this planet for whom the revelations and translations are so pertinent includes those who, in

that familiar phrase, are living "lives of quiet desperation" (see

Henry David Thoreau, Walden [1965], 7). They have now been

joined by those living lives of noisy, slurping indulgence, wrongly

celebrating their capacity to feel so that they finally lose their

capacity to feel and become "past feeling" (see Moroni

9:20; Ephesians 4:19; 1

Nephi 17:45). Hence they lick their particular

platters in a desperate search for more sensations. Such individuals,

however, are still not a majority but a "lesser part" of the people

(see Mosiah 29:26–27).

Notably, at the last day the adversary "will not support" those who

followed him anyway (see Alma

30:60). He cannot. Jesus will

triumph majestically, and the adversary's clever constructs,

"pleasing to the carnal mind," will also collapse, and "the fall

thereof will be exceedingly great" (see Alma

30:53; 1 Nephi

11:36). Even now, one can see in the lives of those prodigals who

come to themselves the devil's doctrines dripping in early

meltdown (see Luke 15:17). Many, having experienced the utter

emptiness of the lower ways, are "in a preparation to hear the

word" and now await being informed of the rescuing revelations

and translations (see Alma 32:6).

Brothers and sisters, we dare not hold back the restored gospel's declaratives! We dare not hold back the reassuring revelations and

truth-telling translations about "things as they really are, and . . . things as they really will be." These are so needed by those whose

weary hands hang down because they suffer from doctrinal anemia,

which can best be treated by the red blood cells of the Restoration

(see Jacob 4:13). To hold back would be to restrain repentance and

to obscure the beckoning spiritual alternative, which will become

"fair as the sun, and clear as the moon" (see D&C 105:31).

Meanwhile, let us expect that many will regard us indifferently. Others will see us as quaint or misled. Let us bear the pointing

fingers which, ironically, belong to those finally who, being bored,

find the "great and spacious building" to be a stale and cramped

third-class hotel (see 1

Nephi 8:31–33). Let us revile not the

revilers and heed them not (see D&C 31:9). Instead, let us use our

energy to hold up the shield of faith to quench the incoming fiery

darts—aided perhaps by a touch of spiritual Teflon (see 1

Nephi

15:24).

Brothers and sisters, given all of the foregoing, "what can I say

more" except "Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!"

(Jacob 6:12; "Praise to the Man," Hymns, no. 27). In the name of

Jesus Christ, amen!