As far as the world at that time was concerned, nothing of consequence transpired in Peter Whitmer's small farm house in upstate New York on April 6, 1830. But we know differently. Nothing of greater consequence had happened for nearly 2,000 years, since the time that Jesus and His apostles walked the earth in the meridian of time.
Six men comprised the official membership of the Church when it was organized on the sixth day of April 170 years ago. Honorable and good citizens though they were, not one who stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith had any claim to widespread fame. Most likely, none other than Joseph was recognized beyond his own community. Ordinary men, they convened for an extraordinary mission, to carry out a divine mandate -- to organize again Christ's Church on the earth.Think of it: "Ordinary men." At times, we are astonished to realize that the Lord makes use of ordinary people to fulfill His purposes, that He reaches into the rank and file of humanity to call forth humble servants to perform noble works, that He touches the hearts of ordinary men, women and children who testify of Him and, thereby, lead others to Him and in so doing literally change the world.
Joseph Smith was an ordinary boy when he went into the woods to pray in the spring of 1820. He was an ordinary lad in the sense that he had no exceptional skills or opportunities in education or life's experiences. His was an ordinary farm family trying to eke out a living by the sweat of their brows, much like their neighbors.
But Joseph emerged from that grove of trees 180 years ago, about this time of the year, with a mantle that cloaked him with an extraordinary commission. He came forth as the Prophet of the Restoration, the first prophet to walk the earth for nearly two millennia.
Joseph would never be the same. Neither would the world. Joseph's unshakable testimony brought a mixture of rejoicing and ridicule. While some believed on his words, most did not. We recognize that his testimony was the most significant pronouncement to the world since Jesus Himself taught His doctrines. Joseph brought news that God had spoken again. Joseph, who had been an ordinary man, became the instrument for organizing Christ's Church in the latter days and the spokesman for teaching and preaching the doctrines and will of the Lord. He who had been an ordinary lad became a specially called and chosen servant of the Lord. His testimony affected not only those who heard his voice in his day but also those of later generations, including our own and those yet to come.
Ordinary men and women have answered calls to serve as missionaries, leaders, teachers and in various positions, each helping the Church grow, each doing his or her part in furthering the work of the Lord. Even children -- ordinary boys and girls -- have added their voices and examples to help bring about this great work.
The testimony of Joseph Smith is unassailable. His mere humanness did not prevent him from being led by the Spirit nor from being inbued with great spiritual powers. We do not attach any divine attributes to nor do we worship Joseph Smith, but we thank God that He called this man Joseph to be His prophet, seer and revelator. We do not place Joseph Smith on a pedestal reserved for the perfect; we recognize his human frailties as well as his human strengths; we know he laughed in times of joy and wept in seasons of sorrow, that he was subject to pain and suffering, even to death at the hands of those who aligned themselves with truth's adversaries.
No one professed his humanness more so than Joseph himself, who described a meeting he had with new arrivals in Nauvoo, Ill., on Oct. 29, 1842: "I told them I was but a man, and they must not expect me to be perfect; if they expected perfection from me, I should expect it from them; but if they would bear with my infirmities and the infirmities of the brethren, I would likewise bear with their infirmities." (History of the Church 5:181.)
Could that ordinary farm boy have known what would be the results of his earnest prayer in the woods 180 years ago? Could even the young Prophet who, 170 years ago, stood at the head of the newly restored Church have comprehended the truths of his extraordinary mission, of the verity of the angel Moroni's declaration that Joseph's "name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people"? (Joseph Smith-History 1:38.) Could he have foreseen the role of ordinary men, women and children in carrying the message of the Restoration to the ends of the earth?