By Steve Farrell
Thanks to Mitt Romney’s presidency run, who hasn’t heard a thing or two about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed “The Mormons”) and their founder the Prophet Joseph Smith in the past several months?
The trouble is, ambition and partisanship being what it is, and misinformation on the Church and its prophet being all too easy to pick up from peddlers who earn a paycheck picking dead man’s bones, and by the re-telling of silly, sensational, and salacious stories; wrong, strange, and wild ideas abound, such as this one: “Mormons” aren’t Christians – and so, neither is Mitt Romney, and, so, there ya go! He is a mere “opportunist,” a “flip-flopper,” to so testify.
That line of thought is easy for the uninformed to accept, especially when the media, a supposed unbiased source of news and information, joins in with the anti-Mormon chorus, by refusing to use anything but the once derisive nickname “Mormon Church,” rather than the Church’s correct name, The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, nearly every time it pens or broadcasts a story.
The same is true of its refusal to call the “The Book of Mormon” by its full name, printed in gold on every single cover: “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”
It has a different ring, now, doesn’t it? Open up the cover, and turn to the title page, and we discover the book’s purpose, “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”
I think you see where I’m taking this. Go a few pages into the book and one of its first prophets, Nephi, declares to his future readers “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
That is, to look to Christ as their personal savior, as I do, as Romney does, probably since he was but a lad sitting on mom and dad’s lap on family night, singing “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam!”
There are in fact, in this volume translated by the young man, Joseph Smith, far more references to Jesus Christ and His atonement per page than there are even in The New Testament (which we also study and believe). A 36 to 1 advantage on the word atonement alone.
The book’s climax recounts the appearance of Jesus Christ, shortly after his resurrection in Palestine, to His “other sheep” here in America; where we find he taught the same gospel, healing their sick, raising their dead, blessing their children, teaching them to pray, and organizing His church with twelve disciples – or special witnesses – just as he had in the old world.
The book’s last prophet, Moroni, the same depicted upon the top of our temples with trumpet in hand announcing the restoration of the primitive gospel of Christ in this latter time, concludes his testimony by inviting everyone, everywhere to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.”
Well, you get the idea.
Now, Joseph Smith was the translator of this American testament of Jesus Christ, but he also had much more to say about the Savior and His gospel in speeches, letters, journals, and additional books of scripture, than can be found in the Book of Mormon. But I want you to discover those for yourself, in the privacy of your own home.
I invite you to read the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, hear and now, available for free in multi-media format; and decide for yourself, ‘Christian or not?’ After you have, if you feel so inclined, I would hope that you will pass on to others, especially family members and close associates what you have read, learned, and felt. It may change your life, and bless you and your family forever. At the very least, it will shed light on what us “Mormons,” that is, we members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, really believe.
As a convert, who has over a long course of years paid the price to know its doctrines, I declare from the bottom of my heart that you will be pleasantly surprised, deeply moved, and intellectually and spiritually fed, by what you find. It is my witness that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God, a modern mouthpiece and witness for Jesus Christ. May you take the time to read, ponder, and pray about his words so that you may know for yourself, as I have come to know. God bless you. SF.
Please note: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not endorse political candidates, nor does The Moral Liberal, which is a private organization unaffiliated with the Church, or any political party.
_____________________
Steve Farrell is a former longtime pundit with NewsMax.com (1999-2008), author of the inspirational novel Dark Rose, and Founder and Editor in Chief of The Moral Liberal.
