Bam! Who is this fine fellow you might be asking yourself? Well, this my good man, is Joseph Smith Junior. What is so important about this snazzy dresser? Well, you see, this man was the first Prophet of our Dispensation of time! Woozah! Let me explain why that is so important. You see, there was a certain pattern established throughout the ages. Our Heavenly Father would call a Prophet, someone who was placed here on the Earth to reveal the fullness of the Gospel so that God's children could be truly and fully happy! Yup! How awesome is that! Adam was one such Prophet, Noah was a Prophet, and Moses was a Prophet. However, sooner or later the people of the time would decide that it would be much more fun to be wicked and not care about what is considered morally right and be more concerned about the matters of the world. As they began to enter this condition, which is called Apostasy, they would just ignore the prophet or cast him out from their presence, but sooner or later it would get so bad that they would outright kill the prophet! How terrible! When they would kill the last prophet of the dispensation, or he got out of their presence, Father would take away the authority that was given to them away from the world. This Authority is called the Priesthood; which is the Authority to act in God's name, using His Power to perform Miracles on His behalf. Don't worry, we will come back to this authority right here quick and in a jiffy!   
                              
                                       Dear Six Pound, 7 Ounce Baby Jesus

That right there is the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was born at the end of one of those periods of time called Apostasy. He came forth to take all of our sins upon Himself so that we would be able to return after this life to live with Him and Heavenly Father and be able to have one heck of an eternal family reunion! How awesome is that! Through Jesus Christ's suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, and having been raised upon the cross, He has made it able for us to return with Him! Talk about the most charitable act of Mankind! Luckily for us, before He was killed and risen upon the cross, Jesus Christ gave this certain twelve men, the Twelve Apostles, the Priesthood Authority! See, I told you we'd come back to that sooner or later!

As it says in Luke, chapter 9, verse 1:  Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

So Jesus Christ laid his hands upon these fine men and gave them the authority to act in His name; how awesome is that! He gave these men this authority because even Jesus couldn't be in more than one place at a time, so these fellas needed to be able to go out and do miracles in His name. Plus, Jesus knew that he wouldn't be around for a very long time but the authority and the ability to act in His name.  So, we have this 12 apostles going around and performing miracles in His name, doing great deeds, we should be set for life, right?


Sadly, not so! The Twelve Apostles were around for a little while, but the wickedness of the world prevailed. You see, after Christ was risen upon the cross the Jewish rulers did not wait long before they began to persecute the Apostles for preaching in Jesus Christ's name. The Jewish nation, and the Roman Empire, caused for the Twelve Apostles to be killed off which thus caused for the authority to be taken away from the world yet again. However, this time, the authority was going to be lost for a long time. Due to the people of the time having assumed that all the answers were given from Heaven, that the gates were closed and all the knowledge was known; nobody was asking questions any more.

The First Vision! Best Event in 1820.

 

      Nobody was asking Heavenly Father any questions, people were asking amongst themselves and of their churches and their pastors. One day in 1820, a fourteen year old boy was confused about which church he should join; he wanted to know which was the true church to get his salvation in order. He read a verse in the Holy Bible, James 1:5. 

   

 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

After reading the scripture, he decided to go and ask God himself as James advised. He went to a section in the woods and asked of Heavenly Father which church was true. He recorded just an utterly miraculous event, Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him that he should not join any church, that they were all wrong because they had drawn their hearts away from Jesus Christ. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith to call him as a prophet and to restore his original church back to the world. 

What an awesome message! The true church that Christ established in His mortal ministry has been brought back to the World and has given us the chance to hear His full Gospel again! Woo! 

Being the all-knowing God that He is, He gave Joseph Smith convincing evidence of his divine call of prophet-hood. That convincing evidence is the Book of Mormon.

                       

An angel, named Moroni, appeared to Joseph Smith and directed him to a hidden, sacred record of the ancient American inhabitants, the principal ancestors of the American Indian. This record contained God's dealings with this ancient Americans. Joseph Smith translated the records through the power of God so that the full Gospel would be able to be restored to the Earth; and along with that Gospel came the authority!

                              

Bam! The authority was restored to the Earth, allowing for us to enjoy the Miracles being worked through Jesus Christ's name.


Now I know that this was a lot to read, but the message of the Restoration of the Gospel is one of exceedingly importance to me. If it wasn't for this miraculous event to have occurred, I would not be able to enjoy the full happiness that I've been able to feel within my heart. I know that Joseph Smith was called to be a true prophet from our loving and caring Heavenly Father; I know that the Book of Mormon is true holy scripture that is comparable to the Holy Bible, but does not replace it. I know that this is the True Church, and I know that if you pick up a copy of the Book of Mormon and read a little bit; even if it's just the introduction, and ask God if it is true scripture inspired of God; that He will give you an answer that will change your life. And I leave you this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.