There are so many things I want to say about this book, but first I want to tell a story.
When I was 21 years old I decided I wanted to be a missionary. I decided this because I felt an abundance of gratitude for the blessings the gospel of Jesus Christ had given me and I wanted to show God I was thankful by making the sacrifice of serving as a missionary. So, a few months after I made this decision, I was knocking on doors in Ithaca, NY and telling people that God had called a prophet in modern times and his name was Joseph Smith. But I found myself struggling, because I knew in my heart that I didn't really know that what I was telling them was true. So I did what I had learned to do from the time I was a little girl and I learned it from this story..
From Joseph Smith History
...I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: 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. Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine...At length I cam to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God.
So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding my self alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God.
I saw a pillar of light, exactly over my heard, 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!
I had learned that, like Joseph Smith, I could get an answer from God about anything. So I prayed, and I received an answer, not a vision like the one described above, but an experience that was just as certain. This answer was only the beginning. The peace I felt allowed me to share the story of Joseph Smith with more confidence. During that time I was a missionary, I must have shared the story of Joseph Smith 8-10 times a day, 6 days a week, for 18 months, who knows how many times I told that story. The amazing thing for me was that each time I told it, without exception, the Holy Ghost witnessed that it was true, and not just to me. I told that story to countless people and everyone who listened to what I was saying, felt the Holy Ghost too. How do I know that? Sometimes they cried, sometimes I could see it in their eyes, and sometimes they would tell me. A few of those people wanted to know more and a small handful of people changed their life because of that story.
So, what I am telling you is that I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet. I am not delusional. I am not weak minded. I would dare say, I am the opposite of those things. I know because the Holy Ghost testified to me in a very real way hundreds of times as that story came out of my mouth.
So, some things about Joseph Smith are hard to understand. They are hard because we don't know all the answers and his life is somewhat mysterious. They are hard because they are foreign. They are hard because we weren't there. They are hard because we want God's ways to be our ways. I don't have the answer.
But I do know that in the spring of 1820 a boy went to the woods to pray and God appeared to him and called him to a marvelous work. I know that the work involved bringing to light another book of scripture that witnessed to the world that Jesus is the Christ. I know that all of these things came about because of promises made to Abraham thousands of years ago. Most of all, I know that anyone who asks can get an answer from God.
I still feel like I want to talk about this book some more.
