Elder Tad R. Callister: Joseph Smith – Prophet of the Restoration

Focusing on minor weaknesses of the Prophet Joseph Smith misses the mark, the man and his mission of restoring the gospel, said Elder Tad R. Callister of the Seventy.

"Joseph Smith was the Lord's anointed to restore Christ's Church to the earth. When he emerged from the grove of trees he eventually learned four fundamental truths not then taught by the majority of the contemporary Christian world," Elder Callister said.

He noted that the first thing Joseph learned was that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ are two separate and distinct beings, a truth confirmed by the Bible. The second truth he discovered was the Father and the Son have glorified bodies of flesh and bones. Third, Joseph learned that the heavens are not closed, that God still speaks to man today. This is achieved by asking if God loves His people as much today as in the past, if He has the same power today as then and whether His people need Him as much today as in ancient times, Elder Callister said.

"If the answers to those questions are 'yes,' and if God is the same yesterday, today and forever, as the scriptures so declare, then it leaves little doubt — God does speak to man today exactly as Joseph Smith testified."

The fourth truth learned was that the full and complete Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth at that time. "Of course there were good people and some components of the truth, but the apostle Paul had anciently prophesied that the second coming of Christ would not come, "'except there come a falling away first,' " Elder Callister said.

"Through Joseph Smith have been restored all the powers, keys, teachings and ordinances necessary for salvation and exaltation. You cannot go anywhere else in the world and get that," he said. "Salvation is only to be found in one place, as so designated by the Lord Himself."

Watch video of this talk and other conference talks at ksl.com