Joseph Smith

LDS Quotes About Joseph Smith

Thomas S. Monson

“I have read—and I believe—the testimonies of those who experienced the grief of Christ’s crucifixion and the joy of His Resurrection. I have read—and I believe—the testimonies of those in the New World who were visited by the same risen Lord. I believe the testimony of one who, in this dispensation, spoke with the Father and the Son in a grove now called sacred and who gave his life, sealing that testimony with his blood.”

Thomas S. Monson  |  “He Is Risen!”

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Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“Joseph Smith loved learning even though he had few opportunities for formal education. In his journals, he spoke happily of days spent in study and often expressed his love of learning. The Prophet Joseph taught, ‘Knowledge does away with darkness, [anxiety], and doubt; for these cannot exist where knowledge is.’”

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

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“Relief Society is not just a class on Sunday…. Joseph Smith advised the sisters to teach one another the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said, “The … Society is not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls.” He further said, “I now turn the key to you in the name of God, and this Society shall rejoice, and knowledge and intelligence shall flow down from this time.” …. We need to rescue “all that is finest down deep inside of [us]” so that as daughters of God we can do our part to build the kingdom of God. We will have help to do this. As Joseph declared, “If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.”

Barbara Thompson  |  Now Let Us Rejoice

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Genesis indicates that in the early history of the world the land masses were united. [See also D&C 133:23-24.] Moses recorded that one of the great-great-grandsons of Shem was named Peleg (a Hebrew word meaning division) because “in his days was the earth divided” (Genesis 10:25). Many scholars have passed this reference off as meaning some sort of cultural or political division, but modern prophets have taught that this statement should be taken literally.

An article published early in the history of the Church under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith stated: “The Eternal God hath declared that the great deep shall roll back into the north countries and that the land of Zion and the land of Jerusalem shall be joined together, as they were before they were divided in the days of Peleg. No wonder the mind starts at the sound of the last days!”

Anonymous  |  “The Last Days,” Evening and Morning Star, Feb. 1833, p. 1

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“At a time when the origins of Christianity were under assault by the forces of Enlightenment rationality, Joseph Smith [unequivocally and singlehandedly] returned modern Christianity to its origins in revelation.”

Richard L. Bushman

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“He [Joseph Smith] conducted us through with all the ordinances he rejoiced very much, and [said], now if they kill me you have got all the keys, and all the ordinances and you can confer them upon others, and the hosts of Satan will not be able to tear down the kingdom.”

Orson Hyde  |  Times and Seasons, September 15, 1844, 651

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Joseph Smith Portrait

“I cannot believe in any of the creeds of the different denominations, because they all have some things in them I cannot subscribe to, though all of them have some truth. I want to come up into the presence of God, and learn all things; but the creeds set up stakes, and say, ‘Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further’; which I cannot subscribe to.”

Joseph Smith  |  History of the Church, 4:536

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Joseph Smith Portrait

Joseph Smith also taught that we must be able to endure persecution in order to stand in the day when the Lord shall come: “Those who cannot endure persecution, and stand in the day of affliction, cannot stand in the day when the Son of God shall burst the veil, and appear in all the glory of His Father, with all the holy angels.”

Joseph Smith  |  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 42

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Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the infant child that was laid away in death would come up in the resurrection as a child; and, pointing to the mother of a lifeless child, he said to her: “You will have the joy, the pleasure, and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after is resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its spirit.” There is restitution, there is growth, there is development, after the resurrection from death. I love this truth. It speaks volumes of happiness, of joy and gratitude to my soul. Thank the Lord he has revealed these principles to us.

Joseph Fielding Smith  |  Gospel Doctrine, p. 455

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“When it is recalled that the language of science is made by men, and varies very often from age to age, and from country to country. Besides, the God who spoke to Joseph Smith, says, “These commandments were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.” If God had spoken the special language of science, the unlearned Joseph Smith would not, perhaps, have understood. Every wise man explains that which he knows in the language of those to whom he is speaking, and the facts and theories of science can be quite easily expressed in the language of the common man. It is needless to expect scientific phraseology in the writings of Joseph Smith

John A. Widtsoe  |  “Joseph Smith as Scientist.” iBooks.

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