PROVO, Utah — The purpose of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith was to seal testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, said Susan Easton Black on Oct. 28.

Photo by Sarah Jane Weaver

A near-capacity crowd gathers in the Joseph Smith Building on BYU's Provo campus to hear Susan Easton Black, BYU professor of Church History, deliver keynote address for the 34th annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium Oct. 28-29.

"The Book of Mormon is now published in 105 languages with 49 translations in process. The Doctrine and Covenants is published in 42 languages. These books are the keystone and capstone of the Latter-day Saint faith for they witness that Jesus is the Christ. They are bookends."

Speaking at the 34th annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium in Provo, Utah, Sister Black said it was worth the "best blood of the nineteenth century" — that of Joseph and Hyrum Smith — to seal a testimony of the truth of these books.

"I will be forever grateful for the martyrs," she said to a near-capacity crowd — the largest in recent memory — gathered in the Joseph Smith Building on BYU's Provo campus. "Because of them I have an opportunity to read the words of God."

Sister Black, a BYU professor of Church History, offered a keynote address at the annual symposium, speaking on the topic "Joseph Smith: June 27, 1844."

The two-day symposium, titled "Joseph Smith and the Doctrinal Restoration" honored the Prophet on the 200th anniversary of his birth. Typically, the Sperry Symposium has followed the course of study for the gospel doctrine classes for the coming year, which will be the Old Testament. But this year the symposium committee decided to focus on Joseph Smith and the Restoration.

Thirty-six presenters — including Truman G. Madsen who addressed "Joseph Smith and the Last Charge," Columbia University faculty emeritus Richard L. Bushman who spoke on the topic "Joseph Smith and Abraham Lincoln," and popular artist Kenneth Cope who performed musical compositions about the Prophet Joseph Smith — participated in the event. Other presenters included BYU faculty, members of the Church Educational System, and other Latter-day Saint scholars.

Sister Black began her address by detailing the 12 hours of June 27, 1844, before Joseph Smith, 38, and Hyrum Smith, 44, died in Carthage Jail.

"The workers of destruction left more than the corpses of two men," Sister Black said. "They left 'a broad seal affixed to "Mormonism" that cannot be rejected by any court on earth' and 'truth of the everlasting gospel that all the world cannot impeach' (Doctrine and Covenants 135:7). They left two martyrs' crowns that they helped forge with their senseless brutality."

Many, Sister Black continued, have tried to explain why the two were shot. Some blame the Illinois governor or the Carthage Grays who did not protect them or the newspaper editor who had been calling for the "extermination of the Mormons."

Although these, and many other scenarios might be plausible, Sister Black said John Taylor recorded his explanation in Doctrine and Covenants 135: "To seal the testimony of this book (the Doctrine and Covenants) and the Book of Mormon, we announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet and Hyrum Smith the Patriarch."

"If such a statement be true, it means that the lives of two men were required to seal the truthfulness of two books. It also means that it was not enough for Joseph or Hyrum Smith to advocate, preach from or vocally testify of the truth of the words within the covers of the books. An ultimate sacrifice was required — that of a martyr's blood."

To learn if that sacrifice was worth it, Sister Black said Church members need only to study the Book of Mormon.

The title page of the book tells its purpose: "To learn of what great things the Lord has done for our fathers. To learn of the covenants of the Lord so that we will not be cast off forever. To learn that Jesus is the Christ."

Sister Black said the book does fulfill those goals.

First, she said, it tells of the "Lord's mindfulness of a people that lived from 600 B.C. to 421 A.D. It tells of the great things the Lord did for those people. Prophets were in their midst."

Second, she said, the Book of Mormon teaches the Lord's covenants. "It speaks of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the covenant of sacrament and of baptism, a broken heart and a contrite spirit."

Finally, she said, the book testifies that Jesus is the Christ.

"Prophetic scribes of the Book of Mormon wrote about the earthly existence of the Savior before His birth. They wrote of His coming to earth, of His Eternal Father, and of His mortal mother. They wrote of His baptism, of His ministry and His disciples, of His atonement, of His suffering and death and of His resurrection. . . .

"The contents of the Book of Mormon are an irrefutable testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is clearly the central focus of the book."

The Doctrine and Covenants, Sister Black continued, is unique among the Standard Works. It is not a translation of an ancient document.

"The explanation tells us that within (the Doctrine and Covenants) 'is initiated herein to prepare for the Second Coming of the Savior.' "

Examples of this are sprinkled throughout the Doctrine and Covenants, she said. "What I the Lord have decreed in them shall be fulfilled (Doctrine and Covenants 1:7). Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh" (Doctrine and Covenants 1:12).

Sister Black continued, "Ezra Taft Benson stated, 'The bringing forth of these sacred volumes of scriptures for the salvation of a ruined world cost the best blood of the nineteenth century (Doctrine and Covenants 135:6) — that of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum."

Millions today know that the martyrdom was more than the result of mob brutality or of Governor Ford's inaction, she concluded. "Its purpose was to seal testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants."

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