We Have Received From The...

We have received from the Lord — in this day and age in which we now live — a commission to proclaim his divinity and to invite all men to come and worship him as Lord and King. ¶

To most people now living, God is unknown and unknowable. Some consider him to be a mystical spirit essence that fills the immensity of space; others feel that the laws of nature and the forces that govern the universe are God; while yet others are not sufficiently concerned with spiritual things to give any serious thought to matters pertaining to Deity. ¶

Even the religious creeds of almost the whole body of modern Christendom state flatly that he is uncreated and incomprehensible, that he is a spirit without body, parts, or passions, and that in some inexplicable way he is three gods and yet one God. ¶

"We are the offspring of God"

We know him, however, as a living and real being, a personage of tabernacle in whose image man is created. He is our Father in heaven, meaning, as Paul expressed it, that "we are the offspring of God" (Acts 17:29); that he is "the Father of spirits" (Heb. 12:9); that he is the parent of the intelligent, sentient beings who dwelt with him during their pre-mortal or first estate. ¶

The gospel restored

When the Beloved Disciple John, as the last of our Lord's ancient apostles to minister among men, saw in vision the latter-day restoration of "the everlasting gospel," he recorded that this proclamation would then go forth "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, ¶

". . . Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water." (Rev. 14:6-7.) ¶

It is of this God — the only true and living God, the God whom Jesus said it was life eternal to know, the God who is the Creator of all things, who made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters — it is of him we now desire to speak and testify. ¶

The proclamation we now make, and the testimony we now bear, is that God our Father has revealed himself anew in this day and age of the earth's history, and that he has commissioned us to take the knowledge of him to his other children. ¶

God stands revealed, and we are commissioned to teach all men what and who he is, and — standing as legal administrators, authorized and appointed, so to speak — we are commanded to carry his message of salvation to the world. ¶

In the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith, Jun., a choice and favored youth, then in his 15th year, sought wisdom from God. Finding himself in the midst of a religious revival that was sweeping the then frontier area of America, and desiring to know which of all the churches was true, he asked of God in accordance with the divine promise: ¶

"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." (Jas. 1:5.) ¶

To fulfill his own inscrutable purposes, and because the time had then come to usher in the prophetically promised era of restoration, God then gave to this young man one of the greatest visions of all time. Of this glorious manifestation Joseph Smith wrote: ¶

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. ¶

". . . . When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other — This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" (Joseph Smith 2:16-17.) ¶

Thus the heavens were opened, and thus the knowledge of God and of salvation began to be revealed in modern times. ¶

Proclaim that God lives and has spoken again

And so it is that we into whose hands these modern revelations have come, we who have been called and commissioned to represent the Lord in testifying of him and his gospel, are now prepared — and to fulfill the divine commission must — proclaim that God lives and has spoken again in this day. ¶

Our announcement, thus, in the language of the scripture is this: ¶

". . . we know that there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them; . . . ¶

"Wherefore, the Almighty God gave his Only Begotten Son, as it is written in those scriptures which have been given of him. ¶

"He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them. ¶

"He was crucified, died, and rose again the third day; ¶

"And ascended into heaven, to sit down on the right hand of the Father, to reign with almighty power according to the will of the Father; ¶

"That as many as would believe and be baptized in his holy name, and endure in faith to the end, should be saved." (D&C 20:17, 21-25.) ¶

And so now, obedient to the divine commission that is ours, and speaking as those having authority and who know whereof they speak, we the elders of Israel proclaim that God is our Father, literally and personally; that we are his offspring, created in his image and likeness; and that he has endowed us with the talents and abilities which, if developed to the full, will enable us, as Jesus said, to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect. (Matt. 5:48.) ¶

A new revelation of God

We announce a new revelation of God to the world and invite our Father's other children everywhere to come and see, to learn for themselves by the power of his Spirit of the truth and divinity of these glorious things. ¶

We bear testimony of the divine Sonship of our Lord and know that he came into the world with the power of immortality, thus enabling him to work out the infinite and eternal atonement. ¶

We assert that God was in Christ revealing himself to the world; that Christ represents and speaks for the Father; and that, as Jesus said, "no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." (Matt. 11:27.) ¶

Invitation to come unto Him

Thus our invitation is to come unto Christ and worship the Father in his name. It is to learn of God, of Christ, and of the laws and ordinances of the gospel. It is to listen to the voices of living prophets, who represent Deity, and who reveal him to the world and speak forth his mind and will. ¶

Thus our invitation is for men to come and "worship the Father in spirit and in truth for," as the scripture saith, "the Father seeketh such to worship him." (John 4:23.) It is for men to learn of Christ and his laws and to take his yoke upon them and keep his commandments. ¶

Thus our invitation is for men to read the Book of Mormon, which is a new witness for Christ and his gospel, and which also has been given of God to prove the truth of his great latter-day work. It is for men to study the life and teachings of Joseph Smith, the American Prophet, the man who saw God in modern times, and who received revelations and commandments from him. It is for men to learn how to recognize the voice of the prophets and to lend listening ears to their teachings. ¶

Thus our invitation is for men to investigate the message of the restoration, to come to a knowledge of him whom it is life eternal to know, to find the path leading to the celestial city. It is for men to accept The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the kingdom of God on earth, as "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth." (D&C 1:30.) It is for truth seekers everywhere to sell all that they have and come and buy the gospel pearl, the pearl of great price. ¶

Now our cause is just. It is true. It came from God. It is his cause. It shall triumph, for truth shall prevail. To hasten that glorious day when the light and truth of heaven will dwell in every heart; that day when it shall no longer be necessary for every man to say to his neighbor, "Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. . . ." (Jer. 31:34) — to hasten that day we now, obedient to our divine commission, proclaim the divinity of the great Creator and invite all men to worship him and thereby gain his friendship here and his association hereafter. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶