On Dec. 23, 2005, President Gordon B. Hinckley stood just a few yards from the site of the home of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith at Sharon, Vt., where was born to them Joseph Smith Jr. on Dec. 23, 1805.

On the 200th anniversary of the birth of that baby boy who would become the Prophet of the Restoration, President Hinckley delivered an address that was carried by satellite to the Conference Center in Salt Lake City and the worldwide Church. Standing in the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial Visitors' Center, President Hinckley said, "A sense of history overwhelms me. 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 Hinckley bore his testimony of Joseph Smith: "God the Father and His resurrected Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, visited [Joseph] in the grove near 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."

President Hinckley said 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."

Through Joseph Smith, the priesthood was restored, both Aaronic and Melchizedek, with all the keys, power and authority appertaining thereto and 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," President Hinckley declared.

Further, he said, "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 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. He added, "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. ...

"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" (Church News, Dec. 31, 2005, p. 3).

President Thomas S. Monson, today's Church president, bore testimony of Joseph Smith on the 200th anniversary of the Prophet's birth. Then first counselor in the First Presidency, he addressed the worldwide Church in the satellite broadcast linking President Hinckley's remarks at Sharon, Vt., to the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.

President Monson said: "Though reviled and persecuted, the Prophet Joseph never wavered in his testimony of Jesus Christ. His peers watched him lead with dignity and grace, endure hardships, and time and again rise to new challenges until his divine mission was completed. Today that heritage he established still shines for all the world to see. The teachings he translated and his legacy of love for his fellow man continue in the millions of hearts touched by the message he declared so long ago. …

"We do not worship the Prophet Joseph Smith; however he left behind a legacy that enables [his] followers today on every continent to proclaim him as a prophet of God. May we, each of us, strive to continue the Prophet Joseph's vision for this work and to magnify his legacy through our works and testimonies to others, that they may know him as we do and that they may experience the peace and joy of the gospel he restored."

President George Albert Smith, who presided over the Church from 1945 to 1951, said, "To my mind one of the strongest testimonies of the divinity of the life of our Savior is the testimony of Joseph Smith who laid down his life as a witness of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Indeed, Joseph Smith was the Prophet of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this dispensation. He is numbered among the prophets of the ages who testified of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, whose birth we commemorate during this season of the year.