Joseph Smith was a young boy of fourteen, living in upstate New York with his family, when a religious revival hit their area. Everyone was divided on which church was true, and in the Smith home, two religions were practiced. This was confusing to Joseph. How could both churches be right? One night as he read in the Bible, he happened upon the verse James 1:5 which reads:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.
Struck by the idea that he could ask God, Joseph went into the woods to pray, and as he asked which church he should join, he was given a vision of the Father and the Son, who told him that none of the churches currently on the earth contained the fullness of the Gospel.
This was the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That young boy grew up to be a young man—handsome, influential, charming, and very human. He was not suave. He was not educated. He became more educated as he went through his life, but book learning was not something he’d been privileged to have in his early years.
Mormons are frequently asked if we worship Joseph Smith. The answer to that is a resounding “no.”
Joseph Smith was a wonderful man. He was righteous and communed with God regularly. He was an example. He was a prophet. But he was not a form of Deity. We do not worship him—we respect him. We admire him. We appreciate the things he did to bring this church forth, and we feel sorrow for his martyrdom, yet gratitude for his willingness to die for his beliefs. We wish to thank him for his sacrifices, but never at any point do we pray to him or look upon him as anything more than a man. A good, righteous man, yes. But a man, not a God.
Since the time of Joseph Smith, we’ve had many prophets at the helm of the Church. Each of them have been wise, inspired leaders, and again, just men. We do not consider our prophets to be superhuman in any way, except, perhaps, in their goodness and kindness.
Related Blogs:
Do Mormons Think They Have the Only True Church?
Jesus Christ: Divine Redeemer of the World