April 6, 2015 - Monday

Here is is April 6, 2015, just 185 years ago, today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized.  Here is a brief summary of that wonderful event;

On 6 April 1830, Joseph held a meeting to organize the Church. Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Samuel Smith, David Whitmer, and Peter Whitmer came to help him. They had all been baptized. Other people also came to the meeting.

 

The date of 6 April 1830 is significant to Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on that day. The organization of the Church climaxed a decade of preparation for the Prophet Joseph Smith, as then Elder Gordon B. Hinckley pointed out: 

“This day of organization was, in effect, a day of commencement, the graduation for Joseph from ten years of remarkable schooling. It had begun with the incomparable vision in the grove in the spring of 1820, when the Father and the Son appeared to the fourteen-year-old boy. It had continued with the tutoring from Moroni, with both warnings and instructions given on multiple occasions. 

Then there was the translation of the ancient record, and the inspiration, the knowledge, the revelation that came from that experience. There was the bestowal of divine authority, the ancient priesthood again conferred upon men by those who were its rightful possessors—John the Baptist in the case of the Aaronic Priesthood, and Peter, James, and John in the case of the Melchizedek. There were revelations, a number of them, in which the voice of God was heard again, and the channel of communication opened between man and the Creator. All of these were preliminary to that historic April 6.”

Today was a very special day for mom and I to be serving here in Carthage and we both felt the wonderful Spirit of Carthage in our tours.  We had only a few people here,today.  About 70 took the tour throughout the day.  Our first tour was with three sisters from Utah and a man walked up with them but was not part of their group.  Mom invited him in to the visitor's center but he declined and said he was just stretching his legs as he was passing through on his way to Indiana.  The Spirit sent me out into the courtyard to talk to him.  I said a hearty "good morning!" and started talking about the history of the jail.  It was pretty easy to tell he was not a member of the church but he was feeling the Spirit of the surroundings.  I invited him on a quiet and private tour of the jail and he readily agreed.  I kept it to under 10 minutes and gave him the history and my testimony of the events in the jail and specifically in the Martyrdom room.  It was a sweet feeling to give him a little more background of the Prophet Joseph and then wished him well on his trip to Indiana and invited him back.  

I have also had the sweet privilege today of testifying to Mutual age youth the importance of making good decisions.  I can't help but think about those who were caught up in the mob and following through on the murder of Joseph and Hyrum, who had second thoughts about their actions.  There is some record of members of that mob who joined the Church in later years.  Can you imagine the heartache they had when they realized what they had done?  I keep thinking about President Monson and his encouragement to stand for righteous decisions even when you might be standing alone.  

April 6, 2015 - Carthage, Illinois

I fully concur with this counsel and encourage all my grandchildren to stand strong in these latter-days for truth and righteousness.  We must stand strong and be willing to be a force for goodness, even if we have to stand alone, or in smaller groups, or as one family.  There will be no regrets if we do this and this lesson has to be learned at home and practiced as families, because things will get more difficult in the world, but our choices will have already been made.  ... "God gave us families, to help us become what He wants us to be!  This is how He shares His love; for the family is of God!"

What a great blessing it is to be a part of a righteous family.  Mom and I are learning more and more each day that our real mission in life is to be an eternal family.  We are grateful for the opportunity to serve a full time mission, for it has been a lifelong goal.  But our family, coupled with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is our most important treasure in this life, and in the life to come!

Thank you for checking in with us tonight.  It was a quiet day, but a wonderful place to be serving this mission together!  We love you!