Joseph Smith

"Joseph read Bro Pratts 2 letters to the Editors of "T. & Seasons" concerning the death of Lorenzo Barns. 4 & remarked he read it because it was so appropriate to all who had died in the faith.—Almost all who have fallen in these last days, in the church, have fallen in a strange land, this is a strange land, to those who have come from a distance, we should cultivate sympathy for the afflicted among us. If there is a place on earth, where men should cultivate this Spirit & pour in the oil & wine in the bosom of the afflicted it is this place, and this spirit is manifest here, and although he is a stranger & afflicted when he arrives, h[e] finds a brother & friend ready to administer to his necessities." (Joseph Smith, Diary 16 April 1843)

"I despise the idea of being scared to death at such a doctrine." (JS, TPJS)

"nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of God. Thousands have felt the influence of its terrible power and baneful effects. Long pilgrimages have been undertaken, penances endured, and pain, misery and ruin have followed in their train; nations have been convulsed, kingdoms overthrown, provinces laid waste, and blood, carnage and desolation are habiliments in which it has been clothed." (Joseph Smith, HC ch. 33, p. 573)

"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.

"But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

"It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. 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!" (JSH 1:15-17)

"No man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations. The Holy Ghost is a revelator." (Joseph Smith, HC 6:3, p. 58)

"Before (the earth) rolled into existence,…(God) contemplated the whole of the events connected with the earth…(God) knew…the depth of iniquity that would be connected with the human family, their weakness and strength,…the situation of all nations and…their destiny,…and (He) has made ample provision (for mankind’s) redemption

“Our heavenly Father is more liberal in His views, and boundless in His mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive.”

“Every man lives for himself....Wherefore, we again say, search the revelations of God; study the prophecies, and rejoice that God grants unto the world Seers and Prophets. They are they who saw the mysteries of godliness; they saw the flood before it came; they saw angels ascending and descending upon a ladder that reached from earth to heaven; they saw the stone cut out of the mountain, which filled the whole earth; they saw the Son of God come from the regions of bliss and dwell with men on earth; they saw the deliverer come out of Zion, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob; they saw the glory of the Lord when he showed the transfiguration of the earth on the mount; they saw every mountain laid low and every valley exalted when the Lord was taking vengeance upon the wicked; they saw truth spring out of the earth, and righteousness look down from heaven in the last days, before the Lord came the second time to gather his elect; they saw the end of wickedness on earth, and the Sabbath of creation crowned with peace; they saw the end of the glorious thousand years, when Satan was loosed for a little season; they saw the day of judgment when all men received according to their works, and they saw the heaven and the earth flee away to make room for the city of God, when the righteous receive an inheritance in eternity. And, fellow sojourners upon earth, it is your privilege to purify yourselves and come up to the same glory, and see for yourselves, and know for yourselves. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 12)

Fifth Lecture on Faith:

Q. What is the Son?
A. First, he is a personage of tabernacle. [§5. ¶2.]
Q. How do you prove it?
A. John 14:9, 10, 11, Jesus says unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Phi lip? He that has seen me has seen the Father; and how do you say then, Show us the Father? Do you not believe, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me.
Secondly, and being a personage of tabernacle, was made or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man. [§5. ¶2.]
Philip. 2. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man, and, being found in fashion as a man, he hum bled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Heb. 2:14, 16. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels: but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

Repeated:

Thirdly, he is also in the likeness of the personage of the Father. [§5. ¶2.]
Heb. 1:1, 2, 3. God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past to the fathers, by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who, being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person. Again, Philip. 2:5, 6. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.

To me, this implies that we are doing something to prevent that same mind from taking precedence.

"The mind or intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God himself." (Joseph Smith, TPJS p. 353)

"There are two personages who constitute the great matchless, governing and supreme power over [p. 52] all things—by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible: whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space —They are the Father and the Son: The Father being a personage of spirit, glory and power: possessing all perfection and fulness: The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle, made, or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man, or, rather, man was formed after his likeness, and in his image;—he is also the express image and likeness of the personage of the Father: possessing all the fulness of the Father, or, the same fulness with the Father; being begotten of him, and was ordained from before the foundation of the world to be a propitiation for the sins of all those who should believe on his name, and is called the Son because of the flesh—and descended in suffering below that which man can suffer, or, in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions than any man can be. But notwithstanding all this, he kept the law of God, and remained without sin: Showing thereby that it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin. And also, that by him a righteous judgment might come upon all flesh, and that all who walk not in the law of God, may justly be condemned by the law, and have no excuse for their sins. And he being the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fulness of the glory of the Father—possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one, or in other words, these three constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things: by whom all things were created and made, that were created and made: and these three [p. 53] constitute the Godhead, and are one: The Father and the Son possessing the same mind, the same wisdom, glory, power and fulness: Filling all in all—the Son being filled with the fulness of the Mind, glory and power, or, in other words, the Spirit, glory and power of the Father—possessing all knowledge and glory, and the same kingdom: sitting at the right hand of power, in the express image and likeness of the Father—a Mediator for man—being filled with the fulness of the Mind of the Father, or, in other words, the Spirit of the Father: which Spirit is shed forth upon all who believe on his name and keep his commandments: and all those who keep his commandments shall grow up from grace to grace, and become heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; possessing the same mind, being trans formed into the same image or likeness, even the express image of him who fills all in all: being filled with the fulness of his glory, and become one in him, even as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one." (Lectures on Faith, Lecture Fifth)

"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us." (D&C 130:6)

"The inquiry is frequently made of me 'Wherein do you differ from others in your religious views?' In reality and essence we do not differ so far in our religious views but that we could all drink into one principal of love." (The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star, Volume 21, pg. 699)

"As you increase in innocence and virtue, as you increase in goodness, let your hearts expand, let them be enlarged towards others; you must be long-suffering, and bear with the faults and errors of mankind. How precious are the souls of men!" (History of the Church 4:602-607)

“the nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more are we disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls—to take them upon our shoulders and cast their sins behind our back....If you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another.” (TPJS, pg. 241)

“Knowledge is necessary to life and godliness. Woe unto you priests and divines who preach that knowledge is not necessary unto life and salvation. Take away Apostles, etc., take away knowledge, and you will find yourselves worthy of the damnation of hell. Knowledge is revelation. Hear, all ye brethren, this grand key: knowledge is the power of God unto salvation.” (Quoted by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, reporting a discourse given by Joseph Smith on May 21, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois; Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, Notebook, Church Archives; emphasis mine)

“Why will not man learn wisdom by precept and example at this late age of the world and not be obliged to learn everything we know by sad experience?” (Joseph Smith, HC 3:26)

"Never be discouraged. If I were sunk in the lowest pits of Nova Scotia, with the Rocky Mountains piled on me, I would hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage, and I would come out on top." (Quoted in Memoirs of George A. Smith, in George A. Smith papers, ms 1322, box, folder 1, Family and Church History Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

"Come to God weary him until he blesses you." (Joseph Smith, July 1839, Commerce, Illinois; reported by Willard Richards, in Willard Richards, Pocket Companion, pp. 75, 78–79. Words of Joseph Smith)

"The intelligence out of which we were created might just as accurately be referred to as the 'word' or the 'thought' of God. In Genesis 1:3 we read: 'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.' God speaks light into existence. Or we might describe it as God imagining or conceiving light into existence. Since we are made of light, or truth, or the glory of God, it would be equally true that He conceives or imagines us into existence. It was both a creative act and an act of faith for God to conceive of us...."

"It is absolutely essential to the process of 'creation' or 'conceiving' for God the Father to have a female consort or Mother God. If we were the product of only one mind’s thought, or word, or intelligence we could never act independently of the one mind. Everything about the conceived individual would be under the exclusive control of the one mind. Therefore such an individual would be wholly predictable and subordinate in all of its acts to the single mind. Only when two are jointly conceiving an individual does it become possible for the individual conceived to be independent of control. So long as both have input, neither one can fully control what the personality will choose to do. The life’s choices, the story-line, the events and decisions of any given personality cannot be fully controlled by either the Father or the Mother when both are allowed to create, conceive or organize the personality. Intelligences require parents in the plural; otherwise they could not acquire independence of thought.

"When the Father and Mother hold the thought (or word, or intelligence) long enough, with faith in the existence of this new creation, while neither one is fully controlling the individual intelligence, then existence becomes possible. The person has everything necessary to exist in her own right. It becomes possible for the intelligence to make her own choice. Only when the intelligence accepts that right and makes a choice freely, without control by the Father and Mother, does the intelligence begin to exist. 'All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.' (D&C 93:30) It was an act of faith by God the Father and His consort to cause the intelligence to be conceived or organized. But it requires an act of faith on the part of the intelligence to exercise her own free will to accept its creation. Unless she is free to act by making her own choice and actually does so, there is no existence." (Beloved Enos, Chapter 1, p. 17-20)

"Who cannot see, that if God framed the worlds by faith, that it is by faith that he exercises power over them, and that faith is the principle of power? And that if the principle of power, it must be so in man as well as in the Deity? This is the testimony of all [p. 7] the sacred writers, and the lesson which they have been endeavoring to teach to man." (Lectures on Faith, Lecture First)

"We must conform to the truth, the pattern given to us by God in order to be true to our core. God is in our core. He is now sustaining us from moment to moment. Without Him we would not exist at all. But He intends for us to become like Him." (Beloved Enos, Chapter 1, p. 28)

"Now I will liken these things unto a parable. For it is like as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway went on his journey. Then he that had received the five talents, went and traded with the same; and gained other five talents. And likewise he who received two talents, he also gained other two. But he who had received one, went and digged in the earth and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received the five talents came, and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents; behold, I have gained besides them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents; behold, I have gained two talents besides them. His lord said unto him, Will done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he who had received the one talent came, and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not scattered. And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth; and lo, here is thy talent; take it from me as thou hast from thine other servants, for it is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, O wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not scattered. Having known this, therefore, thou oughtest to have put my money to the exchangers, and at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. I will take, therefore, the talent from you, and give it unto him who hath ten talents. For unto every one who hath obtained other talents, shall be given, and he shall have an abundance. But from him that hath not obtained other talents, shall be taken away even that which he hath received. And his lord shall say unto his servants, Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."(Matthew 25:13-31 IV)

"Without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6 IV, Lectures on Faith)

"Salvation is for a man to be saved from all his enemies; for until a man can triumph over death, he is not saved." (TPJS)