Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge: The Prophet Joseph Smith

523

Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the Seventy focused his talk on the Prophet Joseph Smith and the evidence of his divine calling.

Courtesy Mormon Newsroom
Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge speaks at the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference on April 6, 2014. (Photo courtesy Mormon Newsroom)

He began by recounting the story of Joseph as a young boy of 14 years searching for the truth.

“He is only 14, but in his haste to know, he is not hasty,” he said. “This is not to be just any prayer. He decides where to go and when to make the attempt. He prepares to talk to God.”

He described the sacredness of the occasion when the Lord appeared to Joseph. However, he also mentioned the opposition to the Gospel that began at that point and has continued to this day.

“Opposition, criticism and antagonism are companions to the truth,” he said. “Whenever the truth is revealed with regard to the purpose and destiny of man, there will be a force to oppose it. There will always be an effort to deceive, derail, oppose and frustrate the plan of life.”

He listed some of the important revelations Joseph Smith received that affirmed his sacred calling as a prophet. Among these is the doctrine that God is our Father and the Godhead is made up of separate beings. The Church of Jesus Chirst today is the same as the one Christ set up when he was on the earth, and the heavens are still open for revelation. Salvation is possible for the dead, and marriages are intended to last forever.

He said there is no doubt about the things Joseph Smith accomplished; we just have to decide how and why he did them.

“Where did it all come from, these revelations which give light to darkness, clarity to doubt and which have inspired and improved millions of people?” he asked. “Which is more likely, that he dreamed it all up on his own or he had the help of heaven? Do the scriptures he produced sound like the words of man or the words of God?”

He said we must ask on our own, just as Joseph did. We must learn for ourselves the truthfulness of his calling as a prophet.

He closed with his testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet, just as Thomas S. Monson is today.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email