Date: 5 February 1840 Source: Letter from M. L. Davis. Also found in History of the Church, 4:78-80 The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 33 More Context This is from a private letter that Davis wrote to his wife which was later published in the New York Enquirer, in which he describes hearing “Joe Smith,…
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Date: 15 Dec 1840 Source: From History of the Church, 4:227; from a letter from Joseph Smith to the Twelve, Dec. 15, 1840, Nauvoo, Illinois, published in Times and Seasons, Jan. 1, 1841, p. 258; this letter is incorrectly dated Oct. 19, 1840, in History of the Church. More Full Context “Love is one of the…
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Date: 7 April 1844 Source: Thomas Bullock Report Background: King Follett Discourse This statement was made during Joseph’s Sunday morning talk of the April 1844 General Conference of the Church. This talk is often also referred to as the King Follett Discourse because a beloved Church member named King Follett had recently died and Joseph…
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Date: 15 September 1843 Source: Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette Where I Found this Quote I first heard this quote during a FAIR Mormon conference talk in 2017 by Gerrit Dirkmaat called Lost Teachings of the Prophets: Recently Uncovered Teachings of Joseph Smith and Others from the Council of Fifty Record. I immediately wanted to use it…
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Date: 18 June 1844 Source: William Clayton Diary, as quoted in The Words of Joseph Smith page 384 About this Quote This is one of the last known public discourses of Joseph Smith. He would die at the hands of a mob a little more than a week after this, on June 27, 1844. Tensions…
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Date: 5 December 1839 Source: Joseph Smith Papers, a letter to Hyrum Smith and the Nauvoo, Illinois, High Council More About this Quote This quote was taken from a letter signed by Joseph Smith and Elias Higbee. In parts of the letter, Joseph Smith is spoken of in the third person, so technically, these could…
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Date: 4 July 1843 Source: Wilford Woodruff Journal The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 228 Why I picked this quote? This quote seemed applicable given the 2016 presidential election is two weeks away. Neither Joseph Smith nor the prophets today of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have desire to prescribe who members…
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Date: 21 February 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 166 Why I like this quote? I think the principles espoused here by Joseph Smith are as applicable today as the day he uttered them, perhaps even more so in today’s political environment. While there could be multiple interpretations of…
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Date: 13 April 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 191 Why I picked this quote? The subject of what criteria we should use to select our elected officials has been on my mind lately. In my research, this quote from Joseph Smith came up, as did D&C 98:10. “Wherefore,…
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Date: Before 8 August 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 9 Why I love this quote? This is a great reminder of our celestial origins. God is our father, the father of our spirits. We are His children. He created this earth and put us on it for a purpose. God…
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Date: Before 8 August 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 12 Why I chose this quote? I love the thought that we should “look for angels” to intervene and assist in our lives. I believe the Lord is involved in our lives, he knows our struggles, and he often…
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Date: 8 April 1843 Source: William Clayton Report The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 183 Why I Like this Quote? I like this quote for a couple of reasons. One is that it takes you back to the days in the early Church when most of the public sermons were preached outdoors. They braved the elements…
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Date: Before 8 August 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 11 What does Joseph Smith mean by the building up of Zion? For Latter-day Saints (Mormons), there are a couple of different meanings to the word Zion. Zion is the pure in heart who are of one mind with…
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Date: Before 8 August 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 11 Why I Like this Quote? This quote is as true today as the day Joseph Smith uttered it. In 1839, it was vitally important that the Latter-day Saints look to the First Presidency of the Church, Joseph Smith…
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Date: Before 8 August 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 12
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Date: 2 July 1839 Source: Wilford Woodruff Journal The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 7 Why I picked this quote? This statement was made to some early traveling missionaries for the Church. It is a good reminder to current and future missionaries that they don’t need to be great orators to be effective instruments in…
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Date: 27 June 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 5 Why I like this quote? I love this quote because I have experienced it in my own life–sudden strokes of ideas, pure intelligence flowing into my mind, that I know were revelation from God through his Holy Spirit. It’s…
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Date: 27 June 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 5 Why I choose this Quote? It’s a great definition of the Second or Last Comforter. It’s also interesting to note that when I person receives the Second Comforter, Joseph Smith says that person is then in a position to have…
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Date: 27 June 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 5 Why I like this quote? I love this quote because it gets right to the heart of the purpose of this life: to prove that we are determined to serve God at all cost. Or, as the Lord put…
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Date: 27 June 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 4 Why I picked this quote? I like the description here of the Holy Ghost as “pure intelligence.” I have experienced that expanding of the mind and enlightening of the understanding through the Spirit of God, and pure intelligence flowing to…
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Date: 6 August 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 237 Why I picked this quote? I like this quote for a couple of reasons. One, it is a follow up to the quote that Faith Comes by Hearing the Word of God. Secondly, I’m fascinated by the statement…
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Date: 6 August 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 236
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Date: 27 June 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 3
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Date: 9 July 1843 Source: James Burgess Notebook The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 230
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Date: 9 July 1843 Source: James Burgess Notebook The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 230 Why I like this Quote? I picked this quote because Joseph is encouraging us to do what he did. In the spring of 1820, Joseph prayed and found out for himself the truth about God and religion. Not only can we…
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Date: 16 July 1843 Source: Franklin D. Richards “Scriptural Items” The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 232 Context While this entry in Franklin D. Richards’ notes does not mention eternal marriage or the temple sealing, Joseph was clearly referring to it given the fact that Doctrine and Covenants Section 132 was committed to writing just four…
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Someone had asked the meaning of the expression of Jesus that among those born of the woman there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist (Luke 7:28), to which Joseph Smith responded: Date: 29 January 1843 Source: Times and Seasons 4 (15 May 1843) The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 163
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Date: 21 February 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 165 Why I picked this quote? This quote is, of course, more light hearted than many of the others. But I like this quote because it shows Joseph Smith’s personality and sense of humor. Of course it also speaks volumes…
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Date: 6 April 1843 Source: James Burgess Notebook The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 180 Why I picked this Quote? I found this quote fascinating because until reading it, I had always thought that no one would ever know the precise day or hour of the second coming in advance. But Joseph Smith here makes it clear that…
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Date: 11 June 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 212 Why I picked this Quote? I like this quote because it is direct and to the point. I don’t know if you can say this categorically about Joseph Smith’s personality, but in times like this, he certainly didn’t…
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Date: 6 April 1843 Source: James Burgess Notebook The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 181
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Date: 9 July 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 229 Why I picked this Quote? Like Joseph Smith, I love liberty, both religious freedom and civil liberty. A major tenet of the Mormon religion is agency, or in other words that God has given us the ability to…
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Date: 9 July 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary, by Williard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 229 Additional Context Joseph Smith made this comment in the context of dying for them to protect their religious liberty.
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Date: 13 April 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 191
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Date: 1838 Account of the First Vision, an event that occurred in spring of 1820 Source: Joseph Smith – History 1:20 Additional Context Joseph, in the religious excitement of the day, had been very desirous to know which church was right, so he could join the one that truly had power to save him. Earlier…
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Date: 1838 Account of the First Vision, an event that occurred in spring of 1820 Source: Joseph Smith – History 1:19
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Date: 1838 Account of the First Vision, an event that occurred in spring of 1820 Source: Joseph Smith – History 1:17 Why I Choose this Quote? I choose this quote because it is such a key moment in the life of Joseph Smith and in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.…
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Date: 7 April 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 182 Why I Choose this Quote? If you’ve ever been to a large gathering of Latter-day Saints, at a stake conference or at a general priesthood meeting, you’ll know why I picked this quote. In virtually every one…
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Date: 8 April 1843 Source: Joseph Smith Diary by Willard Richards The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 188 Why I Choose this Quote? This quote is funny to me because I have read the Book of Revelation several times and I have never found it to be plain, or easy to understand. Additional Context Joseph…
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Date: 8 April 1843 Source: William Clayton Report The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 186
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Date: Before 8 August 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 11 Why I Choose this Quote? I liked this quote because it reminds me that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be, and generally is, home to people of a wide variety of cultures, talents, preferences, and interests. It…
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Date: 5 October 1840 Source: Robert B. Thompson The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 39
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Date: 27 June 1839 Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion The Words of Joseph Smith: Page 4 Why I Choose this Quote? I love this quote. It speaks of spiritual self-reliance. Joseph Smith was a great prophet to whom the Lord revealed marvelous things, and there is nothing God revealed to Joseph that he won’t also…
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