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No testimony has come forth that these angels have been tested in the
biblical way.
It seems wise for us to review the historical events that happened in
the life of Joseph Smith from the moment where he began to seek God,
in 1820, at the age of 14, until the church he had founded was very
obviously found to be manifested as a NOXIOUS WEED in 1835, with the
publication of the DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS, where the doctrine of
polygamy was first brought forth.
The Mormon Church is the only American religion, to my knowledge,
that began with an angelic visitation.
It took 15 years for that plant to grow to the point where it was
obviously foul. Please be aware of that fact.
These notes were taken from the website at:
http://www.pbs.org/mormons/timeline/
I have read approximately 400 books about Mormon history, and I
believe this timeline is essentially accurate. I have added a few
comments, where noted, in parenthesis. I have also removed some
sections for the sake of brevity.
Stephen L. Bening
1820
Joseph Smith, now 14, has become increasingly troubled by
denominational differences among local Christians, but remains unsure
which church is the right one to follow. One spring morning, he goes
into the woods and witnesses a pillar of light descending from
heaven, followed by an image of God and Jesus Christ (who are
perceived by Joseph as separate "personages") forgiving his sins and
warning Smith that all denominations have strayed from the truth and
he should not join any of them. This event, known to Mormons as the
First Vision, does not dramatically change Smith's life. He continues
to work the farm and treasure hunt with his father, and when he
mentions the vision to a local minister, he is scorned. Smith will
not give his followers a detailed description of this vision until
1839.
(Note From Stephen L. Bening-This is the first departure from
scripture. Jesus Christ, according to scripture, is the fullness of
Deity in bodily form. God the Father does not have a physical body,
according to scripture)
1823
September 21: Fearing that he has fallen off the right path, Smith
prays forgiveness for all his "sins and follies" and receives a
vision of the angel named Moroni, who speaks of a book written on
gold plates and buried in a nearby hillside. According to Moroni, the
book describes the people who used to inhabit America and
contains "the fullness of the everlasting Gospel."
September 22: Guided by his vision, Smith locates the book in a box
in the Hill Cumorah, just three miles from the Smith farm, but is
told by Moroni that he cannot take the gold plates yet; instead he
must return on September 22 for each of the next four years and be
instructed on the mission God has in store for him. When Smith
attempts to touch the box anyway, he receives a shock and is thrown
to the ground.
(Note from Stephen L. Bening-please note the presence of a power like
electricity was mentioned in the ministry of William Branham, and is
now being mentioned by Todd Bentley)
November 19: Joseph Smith's eldest brother Alvin dies, putting
greater financial strain on the family.
1825
October: Smith and his father join a treasure hunting expedition 135
miles away in Harmony, Pennsylvania. No treasure is found, but Smith
meets and falls in love with 21-year-old Emma Hale while boarding at
her father's house.
1826
March: A criminal complaint is sworn out against Smith for fraudulent
use of seer stones. He admits to using them in the past but says he
has now given up the practice.
1827
January 18: Joseph Smith and Emma Hale marry against her father's
wishes.
September 22: Now that four years have passed, Smith successfully
digs up the gold plates. Warned by Moroni not to let anyone else see
them, he does show his mother an unusual pair of spectacles with
precious stones where the eyepieces would normally be. These stones
are to help Smith translate the book from the "reformed Egyptian" in
which it is written. But rumors of a golden Bible have begun to
circulate in the neighborhood, so Joseph and Emma Smith must flee
potential thieves. Financially assisted by a local farmer named
Martin Harris, the couple sets out for Harmony, hiding the gold
plates in a barrel of beans.
December: Emma's father allows the couple to stay in a small house on
his property, and Joseph begins the task of translating the writing
of the gold book, using his interpretation device and dictating the
results to Emma.
1828
April: Harris, who has followed Joseph Smith to Harmony, takes up
work on the book, writing down Smith's dictation. Over the next two
months, they produce 116 pages of text, but then Harris takes it back
to Palmyra to show his doubting wife and loses the only copy.
June 15: Emma gives birth to a child, Alvin, who dies that same day
(only five of the couple's 11 children will live beyond infancy).
When weeks pass with no word from Harris, Joseph heads back to
Palmyra and discovers the loss. Begging for forgiveness, he is
visited by an angel who takes the gold plates for a time as
punishment for Smith's indiscretion.
September 22: Smith gets the gold plates and interpretation device
back.
1829
April 5: Young schoolteacher Oliver Cowdery arrives in Harmony and
becomes a scribe for Smith as he resumes the translation of the gold
plates. The two men finish work in June.
May 15: In the midst of their translation, Cowdery and Smith take to
the woods to pray and are visited by John the Baptist, who confers
the Aaronic priesthood upon them. This is a critically important
event in the history of the church since it precedes the restoration
of the church. John the Baptist also tells the two young men that the
Melchizedek Priesthood will also be restored and that when it is
restored, it will give them power to "lay on hands for the gift of
the Holy Ghost." Then, in anticipation of the organization of
the "Church of Christ," John the Baptist announces that Smith will
be "the first Elder of the Church" and Cowdery the second. The two
men then baptize each other in the Susquehanna River.
June: Smith, who has completed the translation at Peter Whitmer's
farm in Fayette, New York, receives a copyright for The Book of
Mormon. Eleven witnesses will later sign statements that they have
seen the gold plates from which The Book of Mormon was translated;
three of them, including Harris and Cowdery, further assert that they
saw an angel bearing the plates.
August: Smith locates a publisher for the Book of Mormon in Palmyra
and typesetting begins. The 5,000 copy initial print run is financed
by a $3,000 mortgage on Harris' farm.
1830
March 26: The Book of Mormon is published, each copy selling for
$1.25. Young, a practicing Methodist who has moved to the area near
Palmyra with his wife, reads the Book shortly after publication and
will be baptized as a Mormon two years later.
April 6: The first organization meeting of the LDS is held at the
Whitmer farm with about 50 people in attendance. Smith and Cowdery
are ordained "elders," and Smith will also become known as "prophet."
The first four Mormon missionaries (including Cowdery) head west that
October.
June: Smith is arrested and charged with "being a disorderly person"
for his preaching, but is acquitted.
October: The missionaries taking The Book of Mormon's message to the
Indians in Ohio and Missouri have stopped in Kirtland, Ohio. A
Baptist minister named Sidney Rigdon decides to join the LDS and
bring his 100-member congregation with him. Soon afterward, a vision
instructs Smith to move the nascent Mormon community west to
Kirtland. Other missionaries proceed to Missouri and settle in
Independence.
1831
February: Joseph and Emma Smith reach Kirtland; other church members
will join them in the spring. For the next six years, Smith will be
based there and will announce some 65 revelations, most pertaining to
church structure and organization.
The concept of the gathering is put in place during this year.
June: After missionaries reach Missouri and settle in Independence,
Smith leads a group of Mormons from Kirtland west to Independence,
which, according to the story, God has revealed will be the gathering
place for Mormons and the site of a "New Jerusalem." In August they
lay the cornerstone for a temple; within a year, more than 800 more
church members have moved to the area. Yet Smith decides to keep his
headquarters in Kirtland.
Joseph Smith begins work on an inspired translation of the Bible.
1832
Smith and two counselors form the First Presidency of the Latter-day
Saints, with authority over all church matters.
Tarring and Feathering the Prophet from the Mormon Panorama.
March 24: A mob resentful of growing Mormon influence tars and
feathers Smith in front of his Kirtland house.
1833
Work begins on a grand Mormon Temple in Kirtland. It will take three
years to complete and measure 55 by 65 feet, soaring 110 feet high.
(Note From Stephen L. Bening-At the completion of this temple,
tongues of fire rested upon the heads of the believers as they
participated in the Temple Dedication Meeting in Kirtland, and they
spoke in other tongues)
The first collection of Smith's revelations is prepared for
publication as The Book of Commandments.
Summer: The Missouri Mormons begin to suffer violence at the hands of
other locals; their printing press (on which The Book of Commandments
is being printed) is destroyed in July. Mob violence will drive the
Mormons out of Jackson County and across the Missouri River to Clay
County in November. The pages of The Book of Commandments are rescued
from the muddy streets and bound, creating the first published
collection of Smith's revelations.
September: Brigham Young, now a widower, arrives with his two young
children in Kirtland.
1835
Doctrine and Covenants, Section 132 published
(Note From Stephen L. Bening-D and C 132 was the "Polygamy
Revelation", where any man who desired to have more than one wife was
required to marry more than one wife in order to enter the Celestial
Kingdom in Heaven, the highest heaven)
One hundred thirty eight of Smith's revelations are published in a
book called Doctrine and Covenants. Included among these are the
sixty-five revelations published in The Book of Commandments, plus
seven "Lectures on Faith" prepared by Joseph Smith, which are not
described as revelations.
Blessings,
Stephen L. Bening
Future Planned Foreign Missions/Activities:
Future--As soon as God provides---Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Sudan and Tanzania
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