As we close out our study of the Book of Mormon this year, we need to remember the warnings of the prophet Mormon as he witnessed the destruction of his people. As hard as those events were for him to endure, he lamented more the unrighteousness of the Nephites that eventually sealed their destruction.

Mormon's hope was that his words would survive him and that the record he kept would be preserved for a later people to read, ponder and share. When his sacred record was entrusted to the Prophet Joseph Smith, Mormon's words were translated. Today, millions of people have come to read the record — Another Testament of Jesus Christ — and found the truthfulness of its account.

Brigham Young said that before he met Joseph Smith, "the secret feeling of my heart was that I would be willing to crawl around the earth on my hands and knees, to see such a man as Peter, Jeremiah, Moses or any man that could tell me anything about God and heaven." (Journal of Discourses 8:228). "When I saw Joseph Smith, he took heaven, figuratively speaking, and brought it down to earth; and he took the earth, brought it up, and opened up, in plainness and simplicity, the things of God; that is the beauty of his mission." (JD 5:332.) Thousands of others have followed Brigham Young's journey to the feet of the Prophet Joseph Smith to feast on the messages recorded by the ancient prophets on this continent and abridged by the prophet Mormon.

President Gordon B. Hinckley has observed: "Anyone who has any doubt about Joseph Smith's powers of leadership need only look at the men who were attracted to him. They did not come for wealth. They did not come for political power. They were not drawn by dreams of military conquest. His offering to them was none of these; rather, it concerned only salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It involved persecution with its pains and losses, long and lonely missions, separation from family and friends, and in many cases death itself." (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 501.)

Mormon in his youth was a sober and spiritual child. He was entrusted with the things of God at an early age. He commanded the Nephite armies at just 16 and he led them, at various times, over the course of more than 60 years. He compiled and abridged the Book of Mormon, which bears his name. The nickname of this modern-day Church bears his name. His son, Moroni, was God's messenger to a young Joseph Smith, and through Joseph, Mormon's words to us live today and testify of the Savior's visit to the Nephites, their eventual apostasy and their ultimate destruction. Mormon and Joseph are linked eternally in the gospel. Through them, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spreads their messages around the world to those willing to embrace its spirit and drink at the pure waters of knowledge.

More than a half century ago, the First Presidency issued this statement: "We solemnly declare that in these the latter days, God has again spoken from the heavens through His chosen Prophet, Joseph Smith; that the Lord has, through that same Prophet, again revealed in its fullness His gospel — the plan of life and salvation; that through that Prophet and his associates He has restored His holy Priesthood to the earth, from which it had been taken because of the wickedness of men; and that all the rights, powers, keys and functions appertaining to the Priesthood as so restored are now vested in and exercised by the chosen and inspired leadership of His Church — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, even as the Priesthood has been exercised on the earth from the Beginning until this day, whenever His Church was here or His work had place among the children of men." (Conference Report of April 1942 by Presidents Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark Jr. and David O. McKay.)

As we again commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ this Christmas season, let us also remember the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith on the 23rd of December. Let us continue to testify of his special mission in translating the words of the prophet Mormon and his role in the restoration of the gospel in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times. Both Mormon and the Prophet Joseph excelled in their youth and accomplished mighty works. We, the recipients of their efforts, are blessed eternally because of them.

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