Lessons from the Doctrine and Covenants 2021
Lesson No. Forty-Seven

Joseph Smith Has Done More Save Jesus Only

“Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world than any other man that ever lived in it” (D&C 135:3) – This is an extremely bold statement, but when we ponder what the angel Moroni told Joseph when he first visited him on the night of September 21-22, 1823, and what has happened since, we understand why it is true.  First, Moroni spoke about the Book of Mormon and then about the coming of Elijah.  (See Joseph Smith History 1:34-39)  These two monumental events are the bookends of Joseph’s ministry.

The Book of Mormon is One Bookend the Prophet’s Ministry – During the seven years after Moroni’s first visit, from 1823 to 1830, Joseph’s entire focus was on bringing forth the Book of Mormon.  The evidence offered in D&C 135:3 about the importance of Joseph’s ministry first speaks of the Book of Mormon.  “In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarter of the earth.”  The Church has published over 200 million copies of the Book of Mormon, and in the Christian world this is second only to the Bible.  This number will certainly increase exponentially in years to come.

The role of the Book of Mormon in the salvation of mankind – By knowing the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon we also know “that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah” (Book of Mormon, Introduction page.  President Ezra Taft Benson spoke often about the importance of the Book of Mormon in the salvation of mankind.  The following are two of his many teaching about the Book of Mormon.  “Combined with the Spirit of the Lord, the Book of Mormon is the greatest single tool God has given us to convert the world” (A Witness and A Warning, p. 11).  President Benson also said:  “The Book of Mormon is the instrument that God designed to “sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out [His] elect” (Ibid).  I believe the Book of Mormon plays a similar role as the dead are taught and gathered to the Church of Jesus Christ in the spirit world.

The Restoration of Temple Worship is the Other End of the Prophet’s Ministry – Less than a year after the Book of Mormon was published Joseph received his first revelation on the temple.  He was commanded to “go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high” (D&C38:32).  The rest of Joseph’s life was primarily focused on the restoration of temple worship.  This is the other bookend of Joseph’s ministry.

An improved more glorious reason for the coming Elijah came through Joseph Smith – In the last two verses of the Old Testament, written 400 years before the coming of Christ, Malachi prophesied about the coming of Elijah:  "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6). 

Moroni gave Joseph an improved more glorious description of the reason for the coming of Elijah:  "Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.  And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.  If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming" (D&C 2).  Both versions are correct but the improved version is intended for people with greater spiritual understanding.  The improved version has the following two additional phrases which if understood and applied will qualify us for exaltation.

“Behold, I will reveal unto you the priesthood by the hand of Elijah the Prophet” (D&C 2:1) – Peter, James and John came in June 1829 and restored the Melchizedek Priesthood to Joseph and Oliver.  They gave them the keys of the kingdom, the keys of this dispensation, and the apostleship.  Elijah came in April 1836 and brought the keys of the sealing power, and in this way the Lord revealed the total and complete use of the priesthood.  This authorized the priesthood to be used to bind on earth and to seal everlastingly in heaven all the ordinances of the gospel, especially the exalting ordinance of celestial marriage.    Through this sealing power all of the ordinances of the gospel are sealed and eternal so we can enjoy the blessings that come from them both in this life and the next.

“And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers” (D&C 2:1) – President Joseph Fielding Smith observed:  “Before the year 1836 there was very little, if any, research being made anywhere in this world in behalf of the dead….There were no genealogical societies…genealogical organizations…anywhere in the world….One year after this revelation was given and these keys were bestowed Great Britain passed laws compelling the preservation of duplicate records of the dead….In 1844, the year of the martyrdom, the New England Historical and Genealogical Society was founded in Boston.  In 1869, in the city of New York, another society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, was organized.  Since that day societies have sprung up all over the land….The hearts of the children have since that day turned to their fathers, and they are searching out the records of their dead….The spirit has taken hold of the people, not only in the Church, but also of many who are not of the Church, and they too are searching the records, and compiling them, of the dead” (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol 2, Elijah and His Mission).

Redeeming the dead is a responsibility of our dispensation presided over by Joseph Smith The Prophet Joseph organized both missionary and temple work in mortality, and as the dispensation head of our dispensation he also presides of the redemption of the dead that is going on in the spirit world.  We learn in D&C 138 that the gospel is preached to those in the spirit world preparatory to their receiving the vicarious ordinances of the temple that make them heirs to salvation and exaltation.

My testimony – The work of our dispensation, in this life and in the spirit world, as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, affects people who have lived on the earth since the days of Adam.  With this understanding I testify that Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world than any other man that ever lived in it” (D&C 135:3).