“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.” (Jude 1:3-5)
Jude gives a chilling warning to the Saints of his day and it is wise to remember it and to ponder whether it might apply to the Saints of these latter-days. In connection with this, personally speaking, I have been saddened by an attitude amongst some of the Saints that seems to denigrate the role of the Prophet Joseph Smith and regard him as one of the prophets of this dispensation, rather than being the leader and head of this the final dispensation before the millennium. It has even been suggested by one local Church leader, that if Joseph Smith were alive today and did not follow the teachings of President Benson, (whether or not the teachings were wrong) then he should be excommunicated!! The quotations that follow, illustrate the thinking of the Church in the earlier part of this dispensation, and my desire is that we should all “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3) and an understanding that the role of Joseph Smith is an essential part of that faith in these the latter days.
The whole of Section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants should be read to gain a feel of the Lord’s regard for Joseph, verse 13 is especially instructive:
13 “Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;” (D&C: Section 27:13)
How did Brigham Young regard himself with regards to Joseph Smith? An article in the Spring 1979 “BYU Studies” p.396-398 by Ronald K. Esplin, a Church research historian gives some ideas:
“Brigham Young was first a great disciple and student of Joseph Smith and only secondly a great leader in his own right. He saw himself as the master – builder – not the architect – of the Kingdom and of Zion. And while he taught the necessity of revelation to carry out the program, and claimed revelation himself, he felt it was Joseph Smith’s special calling to have given the patterns and to have taught all the necessary principles of Priesthood and government. The responsibility of Brigham Young and the Twelve, then, was to erect, on the foundation of Joseph, the building Joseph had envisioned. This was stressed time and time again by President Young and his associates. For example, in 1866, he explained that, “on the things of God, on the building up of His Kingdom, or the doctrines Joseph taught, or anything that pertains to the Priesthood,” the memory of what he had learned at Joseph’s feet was of primary importance. “An angel never watched him closer than I did, and that is what has given me the knowledge I have today. I treasure it up, and ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to help my memory when information is wanted and I have never been at a loss to know what to do concerning the Kingdom of God.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, 8th Oct. 1866, CHO) Again in 1868: “No matter how great my poverty – if I had to borrow meal to feed my wife and children, I never let any opportunity pass of hearing what the Prophet had to impart. This is the secret of the success of your humble servant.” (J.D. 12:270)
In a postscript to President Young’s 1866 address above, Church Historian, George A. Smith added his “testimony that the work that has been carried out by President Young and his brethren has been in accord with the plans and designs, and Spirit, and instructions of Joseph Smith, as the Lord lives.” (G.A.Smith. Minutes of meeting. 12th Feb.1848 CHO)
Brigham Young spoke very directly about the importance of Joseph on many occasions. In 1862 he said:
“I have taught for thirty years, and still teach, that he that believeth in his heart and confesseth with his mouth that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is his Prophet to this generation, is of God; and he that confesseth not that Jesus has come in the flesh and sent Joseph Smith with the fulness of the Gospel to this generation, is not of God, but is antichrist. All who confess that Joseph Smith is sent of God in the latter days, to lay the foundation of his everlasting kingdom no more to be thrown down, and will continue to keep his commandments, are born of God.” (J.D. 9:312)
In the October General Conference of 1859 Brother Brigham spelt out the eternal significance of Joseph Smith:
“Joseph Smith holds the keys of this last dispensation, and is now engaged behind the vail in the great work of the last days. I can tell our beloved brother Christians who have slain the Prophets and butchered and otherwise caused the death of thousands of Latter-day Saints, the priests who have thanked God in their prayers and thanksgiving from the pulpit that we have been plundered, driven, and slain, and the deacons under the pulpit, and their brethren and sisters in their closets, who have thanked God, thinking that the Latter-day Saints were wasted away, something that no doubt will mortify them – something that, to say the least, is a matter of deep regret to them – namely, that no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding-up scene of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are – I with you and you with me. I cannot go there without his consent. He holds the keys of that kingdom for the last dispensation – the keys to rule in the spirit-world; and he rules there triumphantly, for he gained full power and a glorious victory over the power of Satan while he was yet in the flesh, and was a martyr to his religion and to the name of Christ, which gives him a most perfect victory in the spirit-world. He reigns there as supreme a being in his sphere, capacity, and calling, as God does in heaven. Many will exclaim – “Oh, that is very disagreeable! It is preposterous! We cannot bear the thought!” But it is true.
I will now tell you something that ought to comfort every man and woman on the face of the earth. Joseph Smith, junior, will again be on this earth dictating plans and calling forth his brethren to be baptized for the very characters who wish this was not so, in order to bring them into a kingdom to enjoy, perhaps, the presence of angels or the spirits of good men, if they cannot endure the presence of the Father and the Son; and he will never cease his operations, under the directions of the Son of God, until the last ones of the children of men are saved that can be, from Adam till now.
Should not this thought comfort all people? They will, by-and-by, be a thousand times more thankful for such a man as Joseph Smith, junior, than it is possible for them to be for any earthly good whatever. It is his mission to see that all the children of men in this last dispensation are saved, that can be, through the redemption. You will be thankful, every one of you, that Joseph Smith, junior, was ordained to this great calling before the worlds were. I told you that the doctrine of election and reprobation is a true doctrine. It was decreed in the counsels of eternity, long before the foundations of the earth were laid, that he should be the man, in the last dispensation of this world, to bring forth the word of God to the people, and receive the fulness of the keys and power of the Priesthood of the Son of God. The Lord had his eye upon him, and upon his father and upon his father’s father, and upon their progenitors clear back to Abraham, and from Abraham to the flood, from the flood to Enoch, and from Enoch to Adam. He has watched that family and that blood as it has circulated from its fountain to the birth of that man. He was foreordained in eternity to preside over this last dispensation, as much so as Pharaoh was fore-ordained to be a wicked man, or as was Jesus to be the Saviour of the world because he was the oldest son in the family.” (J.D. 7:289-290)
President George Q Cannon, in 1882, covered many of the points that need to be considered in relation to the leadership of this dispensation. For example, there are those who feel that the living prophet takes precedence over the dead prophets – but can truth contradict truth? Surely, the error is when we try to make eternal principles merely passing fancies or conveniently re-categorise them as policies, subject to updating. Also, in the eyes of God, is anyone dead?
I witness that Brother Joseph and Brother Brigham are alive today.
The following very lengthy excerpt from President Cannon is included because of its great relevance to the issues before us, and refutes most of the negative assertions of today, such as the lie that Joseph relinquished his keys by passing them on.
“God revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith the necessity of the Priesthood, and until the Priesthood was bestowed, though he had the gifts which constitute a Prophet, Revelator and Seer prior to receiving it, having had the gift of prophecy, and revelations from God, and having exercised the Seer’s gift by looking through the Urim and Thummim – he never attempted to act in any capacity beyond that in which God authorized him to act. Although he possessed the gifts that I have referred to, he never attempted to act in any ordinance of the house of God, or that belongs to the Church of God, until he received authority to do so. And that authority was not conferred upon him when he first saw angels and had some of the gifts of which I have spoken. It required the laying on of the hands of some personage or personages who had the authority of the holy Priesthood. No, Joseph never ran until he was sent. He exhibited in this the qualities of a man that he was; because there are few men, as we well know, who, if they had obtained the gifts that he possessed, would not have overstepped the limit of their calling and authority, and done something beyond their province. But Joseph did not err in this way; he had been too well taught of the Lord, and therefore he waited. He never attempted to preach the Gospel, or to baptize for the remission of sins. But when he found that it was necessary for him to receive the Priesthood, he called upon the Lord, and the Lord heard his prayer, and in answer to his call and that of Oliver Cowdery, sent to them John the Baptist, a literal descendant of Aaron who, by virtue of his descent, held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, be being the last man upon the earth that held these keys. John had been ordained by the angel of the Lord at the time he was eight days old unto this power, and to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to prepare the way of the Lord. Having been thus ordained by the angel of the Lord, and having been baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and holding the authority and the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, he was a fit personage to come and bestow the keys upon Joseph, who had been chosen to stand at the head of this dispensation. He came, and he laid his hands upon Joseph, and upon Oliver, and conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood, which authorized them to administer the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins. When Joseph received that authority he administered the ordinance of baptism unto Oliver, and then Oliver unto him.
They afterwards received the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, under the hands of those who last held the key of the Priesthood upon the earth. When Jesus, you will remember, took His three disciples into the mount, He was transfigured before them, and Moses and Elias administered unto them; and at that time Peter was ordained to hold the keys of that dispensation. He held the keys in conjunction with his brethren, James and John. They came and unitedly laid their hands upon the heads of Joseph and Oliver, and ordained them to the authority that they themselves held, namely, that of the Apostleship. In this way they received the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and could administer in the ordinances that belong to that Priesthood; one of which is the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Until that time they had not received that ordinance. Some might think it strange that a man like Joseph, so gifted of the Lord, should deem it necessary to be administered to by a man or men holding the holy Priesthood, in order to receive the Holy Ghost. But it is upon the same principle that the Son of God had to be baptized in order to fulfil all righteousness; and yet He was a pure and holy being. And when John said to him, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” Jesus said to him, “Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness:” and John then administered the ordinance of baptism to the son of God, pure and holy as He was. Our Saviour could not, and did not, refuse to comply with any of the ordinances which are placed in the Church for the salvation of God’s children; on the contrary, He set the example by going down into the water and being baptized by John, even as the most humble of his followers did. In like manner it was as necessary that Joseph should be baptized, and have hands laid upon him for the reception of the Holy Ghost – for there is no doubt in my mind that Joseph Smith was called just as the Son of God, our Lord and Redeemer was called, before the foundation of the earth, as Jeremiah in his record says he was – and was ordained to be a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and to stand at the head of this last dispensation. Although this was the case, it was still necessary that he should be baptized and have hands laid upon him for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and also be ordained to the Priesthood of Aaron and Melchizedek. You remember reading in the Book of Mormon that the Twelve on this continent, whom the Saviour chose after His resurrection, are to be judged by the Twelve Apostles that were at Jerusalem. It was with Peter, who was the senior Apostle there, that the keys rested. He was at the head of that dispensation; therefore, those that received the Apostleship on this land were to be judged by the Twelve at Jerusalem. There the keys were; and it was right and proper that Peter, with James and John, should come and bestow them upon him who was to be the head of this dispensation, namely, Joseph Smith.
In addition to this the Prophet Joseph informs us in his letter, addressed to the Saints when he fled away from Nauvoo to escape the hands of his enemies, that “It is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fullness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time.” He, therefore, received the ministration of divers angels – heads of dispensations – from Michael or Adam down to the present time; every man in his time and season coming to him, and all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their Priesthood. So that Joseph, the head of this dispensation, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, whom God raised up, received from all these different sources, according to the mind and will of God, and according to the design of God concerning him; he received from all these different sources all the power and all the authority and all keys that were necessary for the building up of the work of God in the last days, and for the accomplishment of His purposes connected with this dispensation. He stands at the head. He is a unique character, differing from every other man in this respect, and excelling every other man. Because he was the head God chose him, and while he was faithful no man could take his place and position. He was faithful, and died faithful. He stands therefore at the head of this dispensation, and will throughout all eternity, and no man can take that power away from him. If any man holds these keys, he holds them subordinate to him. You never heard President Young teach any other doctrine; he always said that Joseph stood at the head of this dispensation; that Joseph holds the keys; that although Joseph had gone behind the veil he stood at the head of this dispensation, and that he himself held the keys subordinate to him. President Taylor teaches the same doctrine, and you will never hear any other doctrine from any of the faithful Apostles or servants of God, who understand the order of the Holy Priesthood. If we get our salvation we shall have to pass by him; if we enter into our glory it will be through the authority that he has received. We cannot get around him; we cannot get around President Young; we cannot get around President Taylor; we cannot get around the Twelve Apostles. If we ever attain to that eternal glory that God has promised tot the faithful we shall have to pass by them. If we enter into our exaltation, it will be because they, as the servants of God, permit us to pass by, just as the revelation says, “pass by the angels and the Gods, which are set there,” to our exaltation.
You know that Jesus said to His Apostles in ancient days, that they should “sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” And Paul says, “The Saints shall judge the world.” This is true. Joseph, then, stands at the head; and then every man in his place after him until you come down to the Elder, the most humble Elder of the Church who has proclaimed the Gospel of the Son of God to the inhabitants of the earth. He will sit as a judge to judge those who have received or those who have rejected his testimony. He will stand as a swift witness before the judgment seat of God against this generation. He will lift up his voice testifying as to that which he has done, and men will be condemned, and men will be justified and women will be justified according to the testimony of the faithful servants of God, each one in his place and station; but Joseph, holding the keys, and presiding over all, subordinate, however, to him from whom he received the keys, as he (Peter) will be subordinate to the Son of God who placed them upon him; each one in his dispensation; each one in his place; each exercising the authority of his Priesthood; each man honouring God according to his faithfulness and diligence in magnifying that Priesthood and calling that God has placed upon him; and each woman in her place receiving her share of glory and honor according to her faithfulness in keeping the commandments of God, and honouring the Priesthood.
I present this matter before you that you may see that when Joseph died he had embodied in him all the keys and all the authority, all the powers and all the qualifications necessary for the head of a dispensation, to stand at the head of this great last dispensation. They had been bestowed upon him through the providences of God, and through the command of God to his faithful servants who lived in ancient days. There was no end scarcely, in many respects, to the knowledge that he received. He was visited constantly by angels; and the Son of God Himself condescended to come and minister unto him, the Father having also shown Himself unto him; and these various angels, the heads of dispensations, having also ministered unto him. Moroni, in the beginning, as you know, to prepare him for his mission, came and ministered and talked to him from time to time, and he had vision after vision in order that his mind might be fully saturated with a knowledge of the things of God, and that he might comprehend the great and holy calling that God has bestowed upon him. In this respect he stands unique. There is no man in this dispensation can occupy the station that he, Joseph did, God having reserved him and ordained him for that position, and bestowed upon him the necessary power. Think of what he passed through! Think of his afflictions, and think of his dauntless character! Did any one ever see him falter? Did any one ever see him flinch? Did any one ever see any lack in him of the power necessary to enable him to stand with dignity in the midst of his enemies, or lacking in dignity in the performance of his duties as a servant of the living God? God gave him peculiar power in this respect. He was filled with integrity to God; with such integrity as was not known among men. He was like an angel of God among them. Notwithstanding all that he had to endure, and the peculiar circumstances in which he was so often placed, and the great responsibility that weighed constantly upon him, he never faltered; the feeling of fear or trembling never crossed him – at least he never exhibited it in his feelings or actions. God sustained him to the very last, and was with him, and bore him off triumphant even in his death.
While he was in possession of all his faculties, and likely to live for many years to lead the Church – in fact the people believed that he would live to redeem Zion – when he was thus situated, impressed by the Spirit and power of God, he called together our leading men, and he bestowed upon the Twelve Apostles all the keys and authority and power that he himself possessed and that he had received from the Lord. He gave unto them every endowment, every washing, every anointing, and administered unto them the sealing ordinances and taught them the character of those ordinances, and revealed unto them the doctrine of celestial marriage, and impressed upon them the importance of their obedience to the same, and made it obligatory upon them that they should obey it and carry it out in their lives, and teach it to others. He taught these brethren that unless they did this the kingdom would stop, it could not make further progress. And filled with the power of God, he blessed them and placed those keys and this authority upon them, and told them that he had thus ordained them to bear off the kingdom. That there was no key that he held, there was no authority that he exercised that he did not bestow upon the Twelve Apostles at that time. Of course, in doing this he did not divest himself of the keys; but he bestowed upon them these keys and this authority and power, so that they held them in their fullness as he did, differing only in this respect, that they exercised them subordinate to him as the head of the dispensation. He ordained them to all this authority, without withholding a single power or key or ordinance that he himself had received.” (J.D. 23:359-363)
A strong and beautiful confirmation that Joseph Smith still holds the keys to this dispensation.
Why is it so important to understand the issue of Presidency of this dispensation? Simply because we must always be very careful to look to the Lord in all things. He has given categorical witness of Brother Joseph, He has used him to open this dispensation and will yet use him to close it.
The Fulness of the Priesthood was given to Joseph and, through him, to others. If we are to look for the fulness, we need to search for those who hold the keys and who live the fulness, head of which in our dispensation is Joseph Smith. Where any conflict or dispute may arise it is to the scriptures and the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith that we must look, for, as Brother Brigham said, it is Joseph whom we must pass by to reach our Saviour and God. Do not be misled.
Parley P. Pratt was trudging back to Nauvoo with a heavy heart, and an air of despair, after learning that Joseph had been killed, when he found out, as we can all find out, through the promptings of the Spirit of God:
“As I walked over the plains of Illinois (toward Nauvoo) …The Spirit said unto me: “Lift up your head and rejoice; for behold! It is well with my servants Joseph and Hyrum. My servant Joseph still holds the keys of my Kingdom in this dispensation, and he shall stand in due time upon the earth, in the flesh, and fulfil that to which he is appointed.” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. p.333)
The choice is yours: Joseph Smith, A Prophet of this dispensation, or THE Prophet of this dispensation. We would be wise to follow the counsel given to Thomas B. Marsh by the Lord in 1837, as we await the Second coming of our Saviour.
15 Exalt not yourselves; rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not be taken from him till I come. (D&C: Section 112:15)
From Volume 1, Issue 2 of LDS Truth Seeker magazine.
