“If Joseph Smith had never been born”
Elder Glen L. Rudd, emeritus general authority
A wonderful talk by Elder Rudd concerning the prophetic call of Joseph Smith, followed by some interesting information about the family of Joseph Smith
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Each December, Latter-day Saints throughout the world commemorate the birthday of Joseph Smith, the Prophet. His birth attracted little, if any, notice beyond his own family. No doubt, his father and mother were thrilled, as all parents are; and his six older brothers and sisters were happy also. The birth of a baby always has a joyous effect on a family. However, the President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was not even aware of his birth, nor were any of the governors, senators, or congressmen. As far as we know, not a single mayor or other public official was even remotely interested, except possibly the county recorder of Windsor County in Vermont, whose job it was to make an entry in the record of all births. But now, 186 years later, in almost every civilized country of the world and among all levels of people, the birthday anniversary of the Prophet will be noted. No big celebration is planned, but the world is different and considerably affected because of his birth and life.
If Joseph had not yet been born, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would not have been restored. His birth wa planned centuries before. He was that superb spiritual being chosen by the Lord to stand at the head of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. He was foreordained to bring about the restoration of the Gospel and to establish the Church of Jesus Christ once more and for the last time on the earth. His mission was to usher in the dispensation which is to prepare the saints for the Second Coming of Christ to the earth. His birth was to fulfill the prophecies of old, and quite possibly, it was the second most important brith ever to occur here on this earth. Less that 15 years after the day of his birth, God the Father and Jesus Christ the son revealed themselves to him in the Sacred Grove. He was but a boy; however, he was not an ordinary boy. That great spirit within his body was choice in the sight of the Lord. It had been prepared, loved, honored, and designed by the Lord to stand as one of the great men of all history. With each passing year, more and more thousands of people learn of Joseph Smith and accept him and his work. In 1844, when his testimony was sealed with his blood, there were approximately 20,000 saints. In 1930, when the Church was 100 years old, there were about 3 quarters of a million members, and today there are over 1800 stakes with over 8 million Latter-day saints who honor the name of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the tempo of missionary work constantly increases.
We, as Latter-day Saints, should stop and think of the effect of his birth and life on each of us as individuals. If Joseph had never been born, we would not know of the Book of Mormon; Lehi, Nephi, Alma, Moroni, and Mormon would not be part of our lives. We would not know the story of the visit of Jesus to the American continent. Without the Book of Mormon we would not have the concept of the divine nature of the constitution nor the idea that America is a choice land above all others. If Joseph had never been born, there would be no Doctrine and Covenants, no Pearl of Great Price. The great revealed truths in these scriptures would still be withheld from the people of the earth. Had he not been born, there would be no Aaronic Priesthood and no Melchizedek Priesthood on earth. There would be no concept of the Celestial Kingdom. There would be no Word of Wisdom, noo seminaries, no Brigham Young University, no temples, no family history work. If Joseph had never lived, there would be no Church College of New Zealand, no church schools in Tonga, in Samoa, in Tahiti, or Mexico. If Joseph had never been born, there would be no Nauvoo, or Palmyra, or Hill Cumorah, or Carthage Jail, as far as we are concerned. There would be no Salt Lake City, as we know it, and most of the small cities and town of western America would be entirely different from what they are today, even if they did exist. There would be no Welfare Plan, no storehouses or work projects, no divine system to take care of those in need. There would be no Tabernacle, no Tabernacle Choir, no Temple Square, no visitors centers anywhere.
If Joseph had never lived, we would not revere and honor the names of Brigham Young, Hyrum Smith, John Taylor, and the other great men of the Church. Orson Pratt, Parley P. Pratt, Heber C. Kimball, and others of the past would be of no importance to us. Heber J. Grant, David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, Spencer W. Kimball, and Ezra Taft Benson may have lived as great men, but surely not as prophets of the Lord. If Joseph had never lived, President Ezra Taft Benson, our esteemed prophet today, would not be serving the world as the Lord’s mouthpiece on earth. There would be no Ensign Magazine, no New Era. There would be no tithing, no fast offering program, no home teaching and no family home evenings. If Joseph had never been born, there would be no LDS songs to sing such as ‘Come, Come Ye Saints’, ‘O My Father’, or ‘We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet’. We would know nothing of marriage for time and all eternity or temple work or baptism for the dead. There would be no Thirteen Articles of Faith, mo Mormon Battalion. There would be no missionary program, and we would not have the many thousands of missionaries today preaching the gospel in all parts of the world, on every continent.
Without much effort, we could go on for page after page listing wonderful things in our lives which would not exist had it not been for the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The testimony that he gave that God the Father and the Son did appear to him is of utmost importance in the lives of each of us. With each passing year, the birth and life of Joseph the Prophet means more and more to the people of the earth. People in all walks of life now honor his name. Many presidents of the United States have heard of him, and teachers, laborers, housewives, and people of other professions honor, revere, and respect him as their Prophet, leader, and founder of their Church. Hundreds of thousands of people in dozens of different languages bear testimony of the divine mission of this great man, and his fame and fortune continue to grow with each passing day. The single and most important organization in all the world, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to grow in power and strength because of that magnificent birth that occurred in a little town in Vermont so many years ago.
Glen L. Rudd, written originally in 1967 and revised in 1991.
The children of Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith:
#1 — a son, named Alvin, died at birth in June of 1828.
#2 and #3 — twins, a boy and a girl, named Thadeus and Louisa, both died within 3 hours of birth on April 30, 1831.
#4 and #5 — twins were born to the Murdocks on the same day (April 30, 1831) and Sister Murdock died shortly after childbirth. Brother Murdock gave the twins to the Smiths to adopt and raise. The boy died at a very young age and the girl lived to maturity. The boy was named Joseph Murdock Smith and the girl was named Julia.
#6 — a son, named Joseph Smith III, was born in 1832. He was 12 years old at the time of the martyrdom of his father. He became the President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ at age 28. He was the father of 17 children. He died at age 82 in the year 1914.
#7 — a son, named Fredrick Williams Smith, was born in 1836. He lived to the age of 26, passing away in the year 1862.
#8 — a son, named Alexander Hale Smith, was born in 1838. He lived to the age of 71, dying in 1909. Some of his descendants are converts to the Church of Jesus Christ. His grandson, Paul Denning, ws ordained a Deacon in 1968, becoming the first grandson of Joseph Smith to hold the restored priesthood.
#9 — a son named Don Carlos, ws born in 1840 and died in 1841, being only 18 months old.
#10 — a son, not given a name, was born in 1842 and died shortly after birth.
#11 — a son, named David Hyrum Smith, was born in 1844, five months after his father, Joseph, was martyred. He was a tall, handsome man with an outstanding personality, being very talented. He was an artist, a painter, a writer, and a poet. He was an active missionary for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ. He made two trips to Salt Lake City and became friendly and close to the church leaders and his relatives. At age 30 he had an emotional and nervous breakdown and was committed to the Illinois State Mental Hospital, where he lived for over 30 years. He passed away at age 60 in 1904.
A timeline for Joseph Smith and the United States:
- Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805. America was a new country at that time, it being less than 30 years since its declaration of independence from Great Britain.
- In 1805, Thomas Jefferson was serving his second term as President of the United States.
- When Joseph turned 3 years old, James Madison was elected President, and the population of America was 7 million citizens.
- In 1820, the year of the First Vision, the population of the United States was over 10 million citizens, and James Monroe was President.
- In 1829 Joseph translated ancient plates and produced the Book of Mormon. He received the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist and the Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James, and John. Andrew Jackson was elected as the President of the United States in that year.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830. The United States of America had grown to 23 states, with 12 million citizens. Only 10% of the people lived in cities, and in all of America there were only 32 miles of railroad lines.
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