Joseph, the Seer: Commemorating 200 years
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
SHARON, Vt. — Only once before has a president of the Church stood where President Gordon B. Hinckley stood Dec. 23 to memorialize a centennial of the birth of Joseph Smith Jr. That President was Joseph F. Smith, who came to Sharon, Vt., Dec. 23, 1905. A comparable event cannot happen for another full century, said President Hinckley in his historic address.
"A sense of history overwhelms me," he said, speaking from a portable podium before a fireplace over which hangs a print of a portrait of the Prophet in the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial Visitors Center. Off to one side hang portraits of the Prophet's parents, Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. Only a couple of feet away from where President Hinckley stood is the hearthstone from the original home where Joseph Smith Jr. was born 200 years ago.
"I feel as if I am straddling the centuries. Two hundred years ago, on this very day, in this very place, there was born a child who was prophetically named Joseph, after the name of his father. He became the Prophet, Seer and Revelator of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He gave his life in testimony of the truth of all that he said concerning the work of the Lord restored through him in this dispensation. President Joseph F. Smith, 100 years ago, bore witness and testimony with great fervency of the divinity of the work of the Prophet Joseph."
President Hinckley then shared his own testimony of Joseph Smith.
"God the Father and His resurrected Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, visited (Joseph) in the grove at Palmyra. They spoke to him, the Father introducing His Son. Joseph heard them. He saw them. They were Beings in form like men, but indescribably more glorious.
"Nothing comparable had ever happened before. It marked the opening of this the last and final dispensation of the gospel. The visitation of angels and resurrected beings followed that great vision."
The Book of Mormon was brought forth as a witness to all the world that "Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting Himself unto all nations," President Hinckley said.
"The priesthood was restored, both the Aaronic and the Melchizedek, with all the keys, power and authority appertaining thereto.
"The Church was organized under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ, with its name being the very name of the Savior of the world.
"This is a glorious and wonderful day. It is a day of remembrance, a day of great rejoicing, a day for gratitude and thanksgiving, a day in which we acknowledge the moving hand of God in bringing to pass His eternal purposes in behalf of His sons and daughters of all generations."
A century ago, President Smith dedicated the monument in Vermont that marks the Prophet's birthplace, President Hinckley said.
He then shared the remarkable history of the 38 1/2-foot granite monument and how it came to be, in large part, by the efforts of Junius F. Wells, son of Daniel H. Wells who was associated with the Prophet in Nauvoo, Ill., and was a counselor for 20 years to President Brigham Young.
"In 1905, Junius Wells suggested to the First Presidency that the Church acquire the old Solomon Mack farm which straddled the line that separates South Royalton and Sharon, Vt. He further suggested that a fitting monument be erected here. The Presidency accepted his suggestion and authorized him to proceed. He came here and was able to check the titles of the old Mack holdings and was able to acquire the property. This spot where we stand was known as Dairy Hill."
He said that Brother Wells then set out to find a suitable piece of granite, searching the quarries of Vermont. Once found, the rough stone was laboriously taken from the quarry to the mill where it was shaped and polished.
"Eventually, the granite was ready, but there remained the almost insurmountable task of moving it, first by rail and then by wagon to the place where it was to be erected," President Hinckley said.
The work continued. A bridge over the White River had to be strengthened and a special steel-tired wagon was needed to move the hefty stone.
"Twenty-two horses were required to haul this load of some forty tons from the railroad terminal up the hill," President Hinckley said. "Slowly, day after day, the great, ponderous load was moved. It was now the middle of (November), and the monument was to be in place and ready for dedication on Dec. 23."
It was necessary to cross through a meadow, and a swamp lay directly where the wagon had to go, he added. Rocks that were dumped into the swamp sank out of sight. Hardwood planking proved useless. The determined Brother Wells took the matter to the Lord.
"The weather was relatively warm for (November)," President Hinckley said. "Before retiring for the night he opened his heart, pleading with the Lord to help him find a way to get the monument in place. That night when he was in such desperate need and offered such a moving prayer, the temperature miraculously dropped 30 degrees in a very short time. In the morning when Junius examined the swamp it was frozen solid. The horse-drawn wagon was able to pass over without difficulty."
A proper foundation was prepared and the polished granite shaft was raised without a problem. "It was a miracle. At that time, it was probably the largest single polished shaft anywhere in America, if not the entire world. It may still be so."
President Hinckley said the monument's creation and erection were almost like Joseph's description of his own life when he said: "I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down . . . a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by . . . striking with accelerated force against . . . mobs, blasphemers, licentious and corrupt men and women — all hell knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty."
President Hinckley then spoke of the simple, clapboard cottage near the monument site where Joseph Smith was born. The Prophet was likely born in the cottage's small bedroom.
He then turned his attention to the boy himself. "His family had very little in the way of earthly goods," President Hinckley said. "The father lost his fortune to a dishonest associate. The family moved from Sharon to Tunbridge, to South Royalton, and then across the state line to West Lebanon, N.H."
The family would move yet again to Norwich, Vt., where they experienced crop failures. Looking for better opportunities, the Smiths settled in western New York in the vicinity of Palmyra.
"It appears that it was all a part of the plan of the Lord to get them where they needed to be," President Hinckley said. "Here they built a modest home, and it was while here that they experienced the gospel revival meetings which were held in the area. Various ministers spoke and called out for converts to their cause. It was at this time that the boy Joseph read in the Bible in the Book of James, 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him' " (James 1:5).
The events that followed, including the previously mentioned First Vision, were miraculous, President Hinckley said. The first 5,000-copy edition of the Book of Mormon has increased to nearly 130 million copies.
"Each year more than 4 million are printed. The book has been translated into 77 languages. It has inspired millions across the world, as it stands as another witness of the reality and the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those of you who have read it this year can testify to this."
The priesthood was also restored and is now held by over 5 million men and boys, President Hinckley added. The Church, which began with six members, has blossomed into a vast family of believers in more than 160 nations, with some 12 million members. The women's Relief Society — organized by Joseph Smith in 1842 — has become the largest women's organization in the world.
"Whoever could have dreamed that the infant who was born in these extremely humble circumstances on a rented farm would ever be associated with such a miraculous thing?" asked President Hinckley.
The Church leader then spoke of the statement the Angel Moroni made to Joseph when he appeared in the bedroom of the Smith home.
"Joseph was a simple farm boy," President Hinckley said. "His family had nothing, really. Palmyra was a largely unknown rural village. But Moroni said to him on that occasion that his 'name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues' " (Joseph Smith History 1:33).
How could Joseph, in these circumstances, have believed such a thing would come to pass? President Hinckley asked.
"And yet that is what happened. Thousands all across the earth sing his praise and tribute. They read the Book of Mormon, they exercise the priesthood, they go on missions, they pay their tithes and offerings, all under a system of religion founded on divine revelation given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet."
At this time when the world celebrates the Christ's birth, it can be said that no man has born a stronger witness to the reality of the Savior than did Joseph Smith, President Hinckley said. "His written testimony is repeated, it is echoed and re-echoed in scores of languages throughout the world. In an age of skepticism and doubt, his witness is unequivocal and certain."
President Hinckley then again paid tribute and honor for the Lord's appointed Prophet in the dispensation of the fullness of times.
"We speak our personal testimony that he who was born here on Dec. 23, 1805, was the instrument in the hands of the Almighty in restoring to earth the ancient gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."
As President Hinckley and Elder Ballard left the visitors center, they paused with a handful of others and, in sight of the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial, sang one verse of "We Thank, Thee, O God, for a Prophet." It was a tender and fitting tribute in honor of the first Prophet of the last dispensation.
E-mail to: gerry@desnews.com
