PALMYRA, N.Y. — Set in the shadows of the historic Hill Cumorah and the Sacred Grove in western New York, the Palmyra New York Stake joined a yearlong celebration of the Prophet Joseph Smith by sponsoring a two-day conference, Nov. 4-5.
More than 600 Church members gathered at the Palmyra stake center to hear gospel speakers focus on various aspects of the Prophet's life.
Richard Turley, managing director of the Church's Family and Church History Department, reviewed the events of the Prophet's life. He set the stage for understanding the role Joseph Smith played in the Restoration by quoting President Gordon B. Hinckley:
"We do not worship the Prophet (Joseph Smith). We worship God our Eternal Father, and the risen Lord, Jesus Christ. But we acknowledge him, we proclaim him, we respect him."
There are doctrines within our religion that are often offensive to those outside our faith, said Joseph McConkie, author and professor of religion at BYU. Members of the Church need never feel ashamed of the doctrine purported by Joseph Smith that we are "the only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth."
Another gospel scholar, Jerry Perkins, professor of Religion at BYU, shared how Joseph Smith's 1839 incarceration in Liberty Jail in Missouri sheds light on appropriate behavior for our trials and suffering among faithful Church members.
Brother Perkins said, "We see in Doctrine and Covenants 121-122 that although Joseph's physical conditions in jail were intolerable, he gradually became sanctified, refined, purified and changed through these experiences.
"When we know that we are learning, we realize we can bear it; we know our Godlike capacity is increasing, and we know there is a purpose," said Brother Perkins.
Life is intentionally meant to be "rigorous and challenging," said Sheri Dew, president and CEO of Deseret Book. "We must give both heed and diligence to whatever is required of us."
She asked, "Do we understand the full expanse of what we have been given?" The restored gospel is filled with power, she said. "There is power in the priesthood, in covenants, in the word of God, the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, the sealing and binding of families, and temple ordinances and covenants."
Boyd Tuttle, a counselor in the Palmyra stake presidency, echoed the thoughts of many: "The conference motivated me to stand a little taller and to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ without apology."
Other presentations included: Larry Porter, "Joseph and Emma Smith Along the Susquehanna;" Claudia Bushman, "Presenting Joseph Smith;" Richard Bushman, "Joseph Smith and the Translation of the Book of Mormon;" and Scot and Maurine Proctor, "Witness of the Light."