“Great is his glory and endless his priesthood. Ever and ever the keys he will hold.”
Who would you say this is referring to?
Naturally we would assume this is a tribute to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Sadly, however, this is a quote from an article entitled, “Recurring Themes of President Hinckley” featured in the Ensign magazine, June 2000, p. 18. And it is referring to Joseph Smith – not, Jesus Christ.
Latter-day Saints will say they don’t worship Joseph Smith. They just look up to him as a great prophet.
That line came from the Mormon hymn, “Praise To The Man” which also includes the following lyrics: “Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer. Blessed to open the last dispensation, Kings shall extol him and nations revere…Long shall HIS blood, (referring to Joseph Smith’s blood), which was shed by assassins, plead unto heaven while the earth lauds his FAME (again, referring to the Fame of Joseph Smith)”
Listen to the comparison Brigham Young made in 1871, between Joseph Smith and Jesus from the Journal of Discourses, Vol. 14, p.203:
“Well, now, examine the character of the Savior, and examine the characters of those who have written the Old and New Testaments; and then compare them with the character of Joseph Smith…and you will find that his character stands as fair as that of any man’s mentioned in the Bible.”
Even, Smith himself had no problem in bragging. He stated,
“…I have more to BOAST of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, NOR JESUS ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.”
History of the Church, Vol. 6, pp.408-409
What do you think of that proud statement from the “prophet?”
A true prophet of God would never think of making such a statement! In 1 Corinthians 1:31, the Apostle Paul reminded the church at Corinth what the Prophet Jeremiah had to say regarding boasting: “Thus says the Lord, let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me…” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
Listen to another boast from Joseph Smith. “God made Aaron to be the mouthpiece for the children of Israel, and He will make me be god to you in His stead, and the Elders to be mouth for me; and if you don’t like it, you must lump it.”
That is from the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith p .363.
The Bible teaches that humility, not boastfulness, should be the primary character of someone who claims to be a Christian. Paul warned in Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
Even the Book of Mormon in Alma 5:27-28 says, “Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? …Behold, are ye stripped of pride?”
Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “…I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Joseph Smith never boasted in his weaknesses. Instead, he seems to have spent his life exalting himself.
