When satan tempted Christ to gratify His hunger the Lord responded: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Re Matt. 2:5.) His response was quoting from RE Deuteronomy 3:8.
The challenge is to determine when there is a word proceeding out of the mouth of God. There are ministers aplenty, ‘revelators’ and even ‘apostles’ vying for attention by claiming to preach “the word of God.” Some are obvious hucksters but others are not so clearly identifiable as charlatans. Some are honestly deluded and think themselves capable of speaking for God.
From my vantage point, it is clear to me that Joseph Smith was indeed called of God, and delivered faithfully words coming from God. He was and is still reliable and trustworthy. But God told him at the beginning, and again toward the end of his life, that he would be both questioned, challenged, rejected and dismissed on the one hand, and accepted and honored on the other. He was told: “God had a work for me to do, and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.” (T&C 1: JSH 3:3.) Then later while in prison in Missouri he was told: “The ends of the earth shall inquire after your name, and fools shall have you in derision, and hell shall rage against you, while the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under your hand. And your people shall never be turned against you by the testimony of traitors, and although their influence shall cast you into trouble, and into bars and walls, you shall be had in honor.” (T&C 139:7.) Even Joseph Smith’s harshest critics are fulfilling prophecy.
Joseph Smith made this observation about the various people claiming to speak for God: “The world always mistook false prophets for true ones, and those that were sent of God they considered to be false prophets, and hence they killed, stoned, punished, and imprisoned the true prophets, and they had to hide themselves in deserts, and dens, and caves of the earth, and though the most honorable men of the earth, they banished them from their society as vagabonds, while they cherished, honored, and supported knaves, vagabonds, hypocrites, impostors, and the basest of men.” (T&C 147:6.)
When we are asked to live by “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” it requires care and solemn thought. One of the great projects assigned to Joseph was to edit the Old and New Testaments and publish them as God’s word. The commandment was given in 1830 and stated “the scriptures shall be given, even as they are in my own bosom, to the salvation of my own elect, for they will hear my voice[.]” (T&C 19:6.) These new scriptures are mentioned in numerous revelations thereafter. (See, e.g., T&C 20:1; 26:5, 15; 31:13; 66:2, etc.) It was the new edited Old and New Testaments that were used exclusively in the Lectures on Faith. This is commonly referred to as either “The Joseph Smith Translation” or the “Inspired Version” of the Bible.
In Lecture 3:1 the issue of faith and necessity of having the correct scriptures are taught: LoF 3:1: “is essential to the exercise of faith in him. Romans 10:14 [Rom. 1:49]: How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher (or one sent to tell them)? So then faith comes by hearing the word of God. (New Translation.)” Those parentheses are in the original. The importance of living by “every word” of God was directly linked to the new scriptures when in 1831 Joseph stated: ““God had often sealed up the Heavens because of covetousness in the church. Said the Lord would cut his work short in righteousness and except the church receive the fullness of the scriptures they would yet fall.” JSP , Documents Vol 2: July 1831 –January 1833, p. 85.)
The only people who are publishing the fullness of the scriptures is our small group. Our second edition of the scriptures is arriving by ship in New York today. When it finally gets delivered to those who purchased copies, they will be in possession of “every word” that has to date “proceeded out of the mouth of God.” Based on the explanation given in Lecture 3 of the Lectures on Faith, this means that those who receive these scriptures in faith are the only ones who can possess faith in God.
The Book of Mormon clarifies how we obtain faith in Christ. The first writer, Nephi, heard his father’s testimony about a visionary message he received from God. Nephi believed his father’s words. Because of his belief in the words of his father, an angelic messenger told Nephi he was blessed because he had faith in Christ. Believing in the Lord’s words, even when they come from another person, is believing in God. Here is the account: “For it came to pass, after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart, I was caught away in the spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceeding high mountain, a mountain which I never had before seen and upon which I never had before sat my foot. And the spirit said unto me, Behold, what desirest thou? And I said, I desire to behold the things which my father saw. And the spirit said unto me, Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken? And I said, Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father. And when I had spoken these words, the spirit cried with a loud voice, saying, Hosanna to the Lord, the Most High God, for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all! And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the Most High God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.” (NC 1 Ne. 3:6/also LDS 1 Ne. 11:1-6.)
This same passage appears in Covenant of Christ in these words: “After I had asked to personally experience the things my father had seen, and believing the Lord could reveal them to me, as I sat pondering in my heart, I was carried away in the Spirit of the Lord to a very high mountain, one I had never seen or set foot on before. The Spirit asked me: What do you want? I replied: I want to see what my father saw. The Spirit asked me: Do you believe your father saw the tree he has talked about? I replied: Yes, you know that I believe all my father’s words. When I had said these words, the Spirit shouted: Hallelujah to the Lord, the Most High God! He is God over the whole earth, even above all! And you are blessed, Nephi, because you believe in the son of the Most High God; therefore you’ll see the things you’ve asked to see.” Faith is in God’s words. Even if those words come from another person, if they are from God we are accountable.
Here is a revelation received in 2022: “When the king sends a messenger to deliver his letter, and the messenger delivers the message by reading it with a stammering tongue, but hands the letter to the recipient, then the letter can be read, and the messenger has been faithful to his king. The letter stands as the king’s word, and the messenger has done his part.” (T&C 180:1.) I believe Joseph Smith was the Divine King’s messenger and I respect the message as God’s.
I assure anyone who is reading this material that if you would not accept Joseph Smith as a spokesman for God, and accept what is happening today, you would not have accepted Jesus Christ when He was here. We have these words told to Nicodemus by Christ (also preserved only in our new scriptures): “Every thing about my assignment, which I am now performing, was foretold by the prophets sent earlier to teach Israel, for they all testified of me. They told you I would come, and I am now here doing what was prophesied, but you refuse to see it happening. Enough is underway that rejecting it means you prefer darkness to light. Humble yourself and admit the prophets foretold the very things now underway; repent and be baptized and the Spirit of Truth will open your eyes. If you want greater light, you will obey this instruction.” (TSJ 2:4.)
Generations have wanted to hear the words that are being taught today and have not heard them. To hear them is to become accountable for receiving their warning (even if you choose to ignore them) and then accountable for acting on what is taught (even if you fail to do so).
Christ said we are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. God is now speaking.
