They told me that all religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God as His Church and kingdom: and I was expressly commanded ‘to go not after them,’ at the same time receiving a promise that the fullness of the Gospel should at some future time be made known unto me. ![]() “Believing the word of God, I had confidence in the declaration of James-‘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.’ I retired to a secret place in a grove, and began to call upon the Lord while fervently engaged in supplication, my mind was taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapped in a heavenly vision, and saw two glorious personages, who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon day. Considering that all could not be right, and that God could not be the author of so much confusion, I determined to investigate the subject more fully, believing that if God had a Church it would not be split up into factions, and that if He taught one society to worship one way, and administer in one set of ordinances, He would not teach another, principles which were diametrically opposed. When about fourteen years of age, I began to reflect upon the importance of being prepared for a future state, and upon inquiring the plan of salvation, I found that there was a great clash in religious sentiment if I went to one society they referred me to one plan, and another to another each one pointing to his own particular creed as the summum bonum of perfection. My father was a farmer and taught me the art of husbandry. ![]() When ten years old, my parents removed to Palmyra, New York, where we resided about four years, and from thence we removed to the town of Manchester. “I was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, on the 23rd of December, A.D.ġ805. The Wentworth Letterįollowing is the complete text of the Wentworth Letter, as written by the Prophet Joseph Smith: But the Church’s newspaper, Times and Seasons, published it in March 1842, and it has become one of the most important statements of inspiration, history, and doctrine for the Church” ( Church History in the Fulness of Times, 256–57). “Wentworth did not publish this document in the Chicago Democrat, nor did it ever appear in any history of New Hampshire. The document also contained thirteen statements outlining Latter-day Saint beliefs, which have come to be known as the Articles of Faith. … … Joseph complied with this request and sent Wentworth a multi-page document containing an account of many of the early events in the history of the Restoration, including the First Vision and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. In the spring of 1842, John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat, asked Joseph Smith to provide him with a sketch of ‘the rise, progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-Day Saints’. A significant example was the Wentworth Letter. ![]() “The Prophet was occasionally called on to explain the teachings and practices of Mormonism to outsiders. The need for and the nature of authority in the ministry The first principles and ordinances of the gospel We will be punished only for our own sinsĪll may be saved through the Atonement of Christ
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