“I at length came to the determination to ‘ask of God’…I retired to the woods to make the attempt…I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God…I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me…When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other – This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” Joseph Smith

I know that brother Joseph saw what he said he saw. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored shortly after this experience, through him. He sacrificed greatly to bring the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price forth as well as translations of some of the Bible. He started the building of temples and through him the Priesthood of God was restored to the earth. He organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Priesthood keys were given to him in the temple he and the saints built. He suffered greatly at the hands of his persecutors. The Lord sealed upon him his exaltation as found in the 132^nd section of the Doctrine and Covenants. His eternal reward will be glory.

In the Doctrine and Covenants 45:54-59  the Lord states:

"And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection; and it shall be tolerable for them. And Satan shall be bound, that he shall have no place in the hearts of the children of men. And at that day when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived - verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. And the earth shall be given them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation. For the Lord will be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver."

I look forward to those days and plan to do my part in helping others be prepared for those days.

A vision was manifested to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Part of it is as follows:

"The veil was taken from our minds and the eyes of our understanding were opened...For Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi - testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come - To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse - Therefore, the keys of this despensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors."

The spirit of Elijah is family history work and it was first conferred upon Joseph Smith and has now gone forth into the world.

"Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name...Seek the Lord and ye shall live."
Amos 5:8, and verse 6

Sing Praises Unto the Lord our God

"Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee away."
2 Nephi 8:11

"Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery."
Psalm 81:1-2

"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens."
Psalm 89:1-2

I am thankful for the word of the Lord. I love to hear his holy word. I love the Lord. I am everlastingly grateful to Him for his sacrifice for sin and the redemption and resurrection of man. My redemption will be brought to pass through Jesus Christ, my Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Importance of the Book of Mormon:

In first Nephi chapter 13 verses 40 and 41, an angel states to Nephi, "These last records [The Book of Mormon and other scriptures that have and will come forth] which thou has seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, [the Holy bible] which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth."

I find another scripture valuable in 1 Nephi 15:24 where Nephi says to his brethren and to all of us, "And I said unto them that it was the word of God, and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things."

"And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem."
Moses 7:62

One of the messages that will come forth is found in this, one of my favorite scriptures:

"Then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works."
Alma 33:22