God loves us. He is our loving Heavenly Father. He knows each of us. We lived with Him before we came to this earth. We came to this earth to learn and gain experience so we could eventually become perfect as He is. He presented a plan for us, which is centered around Jesus Christ, and if we follow that plan, we can live with Him forever.
AWESOME!! Right? If we follow Jesus Christ, we will be able to live with God forever. We can become perfect as He is. Well, let's keep going. This plan was that we would all come to earth with the ability to choose. God would send us to families where we have the opportunity to grow in the gospel of Christ. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't have this in their lives. There are billions of imperfect people and no family is perfect, but through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can come to find peace in our lives and love in our homes.
Our Heavenly Father has given us prophets that lead and guide His church. Prophets speak directly with God and teach what God would have us know. This pattern is seen throughout time in the bible. The prophet calls a prophet, and has done so at the beginning of each dispensation ("A dispensation of the gospel is a period of time in which the Lord has at least one authorized servant on the earth who bears the holy priesthood and the keys, and who has a divine commission to dispense the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth." Bible Dictionary). When a prophet and God's authority is on the earth, it is a dispensation.
As we see throughout time, many people choose not to listen to prophets and God takes His prophets off the earth for a time. This is called an apostasy. Easy enough? When people won't listen, God will not continually send in prophets trying to teach them.
What's wonderful though, is that when people are ready, God will call prophets again. The greatest of all is Jesus Christ. He came to earth as the Son of God, and also as a prophet. He established His gospel, which is that we must have Faith in Him and His Atonement, we must repent, be baptized by proper authority, receive the Holy Ghost and endure to the end. Though He was perfect, though He was the Son of God, the people still rejected Him, and after He was crucified and His apostles killed, His authority was again taken from the earth in what we call the Great Apostasy.
This Great Apostasy is also known as the Dark Ages where people didn't have the truth. Many very good men sought to find the truth and reform the corrupt religions of the time, hoping to come as close to the truth as they could, but recognizing that only really truth and authority can come from God.
After hundreds of years of being lost though, His gospel is again on the earth in it's fulness. In 1820 a young boy, Joseph Smith, was confused about which church to join. Here's his story. (This is the hour version, so if you don't have time now to watch it, I recommend finding a time you can.)
Joseph Smith was 14 years old. He was living in a time of religious revival. He was taught to love God, to pray, and to study the bible. He knew that spiritual truths come from God and he trusted in the promise in James 1:5 that states: "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."
Joseph retired to a grove of trees and knelt in prayer, having faith that his prayer would be answered.
And it was.
In his own words, "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 saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and they told Him that none of the churches on the earth at that time had the fulness of the gospel, but that Joseph would be the means of restoring the church in its fulness.
There's that word again, RESTORE. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the RESTORED gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the exact same church that Christ Himself organized while He was on the earth.
Bold claim, right? Well, I don't expect you to take my word for it. The Lord knew the world would need a way to know that the church has been restored, which is why, through the power of God, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is the proof and comes with a promise (as seen in this post) that if we will "ask God" with "real intent" we can know "the truth of all things" by "the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moroni 10:3-5).
I know that if we pray in faith, the Lord will answer our prayers. I have come to know for myself that Joseph Smith is a prophet. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's true church on the earth. I know God loves each of us and wants us to return to live with Him.
I don't want you to take my word for it, read the Book of Mormon and ask God. Then go and do. Talk to the missionaries, turn your life towards Christ, and enter the path that leads to eternal life and happiness.
