How do you know?

[ElizabethJ25]

How do you know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God?

[HiJolly]

You start with knowing what it is to be a prophet. Is a prophet perfect? NO. Is a prophet without faults? NO. And this from scripture. See Moses, see Jonah, see Peter, see Paul.

So what is a prophet? One who has a testimony of Jesus via revelation, like Peter & Paul. One who is called of God to perform a duty, which usually is testifying of Christ. One who's long term results are 'good fruit'.

Oh, and it does help to get some revelation of your own on the matter. Joseph said he would like all people to be prophets in their own right.

HiJolly

[ElizabethJ25]

Great answer! Thank you! I am an investigator, and love the church, and SHOULD be getting baptized soon (had a little bump in the road), but I am just a little curious about the big gap from the "old" prophets to Joseph. You know? It's confusing, but I know I just need to have faith.

[captmoroniRM]

I prayed and asked Heavenly Father, with faith and real intent, and received an answer that he was.

[SeekerofTruth]

Honestly I test it. Prayer is awesome and important but God also gave me a brain to question and to think deeply about. If He is True and His Word is True, then nothing can dismember it, not even our own critical analysis. Read the story of 1 King 13 in the Old Testament and Deuteronomy 18:21-22.

How do I know any prophet is a prophet of God is a better question and it is when the prophet speaks more of God and less of himself. John the Baptist said, "He must increase, I must decrease" any prophet that puts himself or his cause over who God is and God's character should not be listened to.

I remember an LDS friend of mind commented on how she liked reading the Gospels in the New Testament because the writers of the Gospels spoke less of themselves and more of Jesus. Not once did they ever refer to themselves as they do in the Book of Mormon. It is rather refreshing reading the Gospels in the New Testament after reading the Book of Mormon. You really sense the heart of the New Testament writers. Always pointing to Jesus. :-)

[Guest mormonmusic]

I prayed about whether I should join the Church and was filled with waves of energy (the best I can describe it) that convinced me to do it. I've had similar feelings in other contexts related to teaching the gospel, sometimes strong waves of peace that was visibly felt by others in the room.

However, in spite of that, acting on those feelings is still a matter of faith. I can't say "I know" in the sense I have perfect knowledge -- so I interpret "I know" to mean "I believe". For me, those experiences are the best evidence I have of what is true and what is not. So, on judgment day, if it turns out I'm wrong, I intend to tell God that I acted on the best informaton I had available at the time, and stuck to it. I'll let him know I'll show that same tenacity if, in finding out I was wrong, he points me in a new direction.

[hungrytrash]

A good way to understand the big gap between Joseph Smith and the last dispensation is to look at the situation of the world at the time. To me, it follows, that the apostasy following Christ's dispensation would be the longest and worst of them all (dark ages!) People killed Christ and his apostles. All throughout the New Testament, the apostles are constantly writing epistles to people who are changing doctrines/ordinances and trying to keep them in check. The moment the apostles were gone, there was nothing to keep them in check anymore, and the Catholic church happened. I have nothing against practicing Catholics, but history makes it pretty clear why God didn't call a prophet sooner. Anyone who went against Catholic beliefs would be killed. America was founded for this very reason. The Protestant movement helped pave the way for religious freedom and tolerance, which made the time for the restoration ideal. When Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet, America was likely one of the only countries with that true freedom. God never seals the Heavens, we do. The moment the world was ready to listen, God called a prophet once more. We live in the last dispensation :)

[ElizabethJ25]

Wow, thanks so much for that last answer. It makes things very clear! :)

[Traveler]

How do you know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God?

This is a very good question. As a member of the LDS church and a scientist I think many live and follow religion on personal emotion and what they want or desire. As well a person may ask - what is the difference between good and evil and how do we know the difference. Perhaps most judge such things based on what they want and desire.

For me - G-d is the most logical explanation. Even if G-d did not create all as we understand; the principles of evolution are such that eventually within all the possibilities that can be, intelligence can evolve with the ability to transcend space-time to alter our space-time environment - thus we define G-d, even by trying not to define him.

Since it is logical to believe in G-d and the possibility of G-d; so is it logical to believe that G-d would structure means to bring enlightenment through prophets (or enlightened individuals). Once we understand the structure of ancient enlightened prophets - we must assume that - ether similar enlightened individuals are among us or that we live in a period of un-enlightenment.

The end game here is simple - If Joseph Smith is not a prophet in our time; who is? If we say that this is not a time of prophets; then from a Christian point of view this cannot possibly be “the last days” or the time in which man will become enlightened prior to the Second Coming of Christ.

The Traveler

[rameumptom]

I was 16 when I joined the Church. For me, it made lots of sense that if God anciently used prophets and apostles to accomplish his work, then he would continue in that same pattern.

For me it was exciting to think that God still does talk with man through prophets! Imagine, having a living Moses or Peter upon the earth today. That really was a wonderful thing to learn about for me. And when I studied it, then prayed about Joseph Smith as prophet of God, the Lord witnessed its truthfulness to me through the Holy Ghost.

[prophetofdoom]

I have had many struggles with my testimony in the past. Mainly, about the Prophet Joseph Smith. I read every bit of anti-mormon literature out there. After a few years, I started learning about Jesus Christ. I read the New Testament and then started reading the Book of Mormon. I started to gain a real testimony about Jesus Christ as my foundation. Then, I realized that the Book of Mormon strengthened my testimony in Christ. I knew that Joseph Smith must have been a prophet. A prophet is here to testify of Christ.

The Book of Mormon is the real litmus test of Joseph Smith being a prophet. The book is absolutely full of spiritual treasures and spiritual truths. I have felt the Spirit of God witness to me that the Book of Mormon was true, while reading it.