48 Has Sealed His Mission and His Works with His Own Blood

Has Sealed His Mission and His Works with His Own Blood

Has Sealed His Mission and His Works with His Own Blood



John Taylor and Willard Richards accompanied Joseph and Hyrum to prison. They sang songs to comfort one another. Jospeh and Hyrum were martyred, but this was not the end to the ongoing restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

See Saints1:521–52

For Kids

Joseph and Hyrum Smith gave their lives for Jesus Christ and His gospel.
Doctrine and Covenants 135:1–2, 4–5

135:1 To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith the Patriarch. They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about five o’clock p.m., by an armed mob—painted black—of from 150 to 200 persons. Hyrum was shot first and fell calmly, exclaiming: I am a dead man! Joseph leaped from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming: O Lord my God! They were both shot after they were dead, in a brutal manner, and both received four balls.

Video: Chapter 57: The Prophet Is Killed: Joseph and Hyrum Give Their Lives for the Gospel

135:4–5 When Joseph went to Carthage to deliver himself up to the pretended requirements of the law, two or three days previous to his assassination, he said: “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—he was murdered in cold blood.”—The same morning, after Hyrum had made ready to go—shall it be said to the slaughter? yes, for so it was—he read the following paragraph, near the close of the twelfth chapter of Ether, in the Book of Mormon, and turned down the leaf upon it:

And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. And now I … bid farewell unto the Gentiles; yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood. The testators are now dead, and their testament is in force.

Hyrum read a Book of Mormon verse before going to Carthage Jail.

Read Ether 12:36–38 36 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity.

37 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.

38 And now I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles, yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood.

They found comfort in these scriptures. Which verses of scripture bring you comfort?

Pictures of prophets 71467

The Lord has asked the prophets to do many things. What are some of the things that prophets have done because they are obedient to the Lord?

In the home, learning and living are inseparable. “The gospel takes on immediate relevance in the home. There the people with whom you are learning the gospel are the people with whom you will live it—every day. In fact, much of the time, living the gospel is how we learn the gospel” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way31).

For Kids

Joseph Smith was a prophet and witness of Jesus Christ.
Doctrine and Covenants 135:3

How have we been blessed by the Lord through the mission and work of the Prophet Joseph Smith?

(Objects to jog memory: Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Temple, activity page)

135:3  Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!

Are you grateful for the Prophet Joseph? Why? Are you grateful for the love Jesus shows us in our day that we have a living prophet? What is his name?

Conference Talk: The Man Who Communed with Jehovah (Elder Kyle S. McKay): https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/10/33mckay?lang=eng
“The real resonance of the First Vision today is to know that it’s the nature of God to give to those who lack wisdom. … The God that reveals Himself to Joseph Smith in the sacred grove is a God who answers teenagers in times of trouble.”

Praise to the Man: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/hymns/praise-to-the-man?lang=eng

Joseph Smith was a prophet and witness of Jesus Christ.
Doctrine and Covenants 135:3

135:3 What things were accomplished during Joseph’s twenty years in serving to aid the Restoration?

Vs 3 1. Joseph brought forth the Book of Mormon.

2. He translated it by gift and power of God.

3. He had it published on two continents.

4. Missionaires were sent forth to prclaim the everlasting gospel.

5. Brought forth revelations and commandments found in the Doctrine and Covenants.

6. Also, other wise documents and instructions to benefit the world.

7. Gathered many thousands of Latter-day Saints.

8. Found a great city.

9. Left a wonderful legacy

10. He sealed His mission and his works with his own blood.

Because Joseph was faithful, many will be brought to the truth and accept the gospel, church, and atonement of Jesus Christ. So next to Jesus Christ, Joseph has done more for the salvation of human because this is the culmination of all dispensations of time. This is the Lord's work and the glory be to Hi

Joseph and Hyrum seal not only their testimonies, but the testimony of this great Latter-day work.

Share your feelings and testimony of the Restoration of Christ’s Church through His prophets in these latter days. Share how the privileges of discipleship and temple privileges and blessings has blessed your life and strengthened you.

Could you write an obituary or eulogy about Joseph Smith?

You have read about many truths that Jesus restored through His Prophet Joseph. How do these truths help you understand Heavenly Father and Jesus better and grow closer to them?

Video: Joseph Smith: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2011-03-0001-joseph-smith-the-prophet-of-the-restoration?lang=eng (Watch this movie presentation later)

Joseph Smith—Prophet of the Restoration

Praise to the Man: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2021-09-2990-praise-to-the-man-the-tabernacle-choir-at-temple-square?lang=eng&alang=eng

 Joseph Smith

A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief

Come, Come Ye Saints: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ia3gYSvG8M

Faith in Every Footstep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jH4mOEDu5w

Joseph and Hyrum Smith sealed their testimonies with their blood.
Doctrine and Covenants 135136:37–39

Saints1:554–55 “I give unto you this commandment, that ye bind yourselves by this covenant,” the Lord declared, “every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.” Bound thus together, they called themselves the United Firm.

How do you think the members must have felt following the Martyrdom. The Restoration was new. I think they must have felt a little like Jesus Christ’s apostles and disciples. The what now? would be an unsettling question. With faith in Jesus Christ, they would know how to proceed and what to do. Will we?

When Doctrine and Covenants 135 was published three months later, it was a welcomed help. Many believe that John Taylor penned these inspired words.

135 What verses bring you understanding and reassurance? (See notes below)

136:37–39

37 Therefore, marvel not at these things, for ye are not yet pure; ye can not yet bear my glory; but ye shall behold it if ye are faithful in keeping all my words that I have given you, from the days of Adam to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, from Moses to Jesus and his apostles, and from Jesus and his apostles to Joseph Smith, whom I did call upon by mine angels, my ministering servants, and by mine own voice out of the heavens, to bring forth my work;

38 Which foundation he did lay, and was faithful; and I took him to myself.

39 Many have marveled because of his death; but it was needful that he should seal his testimony with his blood, that he might be honored and the wicked might be condemned.

Sometimes people wonder why God always bad things to happen to good people. What would you say to them?

section 135 How does this section inspire you to be faithful? (See notes below)

Doctrine and Covenants 5:21–22 21 And now I command you, my servant Joseph, to repent and walk more uprightly before me, and to yield to the persuasions of men no more;

22 And that you be firm in keeping the commandments wherewith I have commanded you; and if you do this, behold I grant unto you eternal life, even if you should be slain.

Remembering the Martyrdom

 522–23529–40

Video: Testimony of the Book of Mormon” (video), Gospel Library: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2010-03-0008-testimony-of-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng

For Kids

The Lord can bless me when I am struggling.
Doctrine and Covenants 136

It must have been very sad and hard for the Saints to leave their homes in Nauvoo and their beloved temple. Must they had to for the safety oft their lives.

Watch chapters 5860, and 62 

58 When Joseph died, Sidney Rigdon wanted to be the church’s leader, but Brigham reminded the brethren that the Quorum of the Twelve had the authority to lead the Church; so, they did until Brigham was called, sustained, and set apart to that position.

60 The Saint’s left Nauvoo

62 Winter Quarters

To Be a Pioneer: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/PTH_PRJ12714977_D&CScriptureStories_46_LeavingNauvooAndGoingWest_Delivery_10Mar2025_UHD-2997_ENG.?lang=eng

The Lord gave counsel to help the Saints on their journey to the Salt Lake Valley.

I can help accomplish the Lord’s will as I follow His counsel.
Doctrine and Covenants 136

When the Saints were traveling from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City, Brigham was concerned for their safety and survival. Winter Quarters was set up. There, Brigham sought inspiration from the Lord. Section 136 was the Lord’s response.

. “By helping the Saints remember that their conduct on the journey was as important as their destination, the revelation helped transform the westward migration from an unfortunate necessity into an important shared spiritual experience” (“This Shall Be Our Covenant,” in Revelations in Context, 308).

section 136. What counsel do you find that could help turn a difficult trial in your life “into an important … spiritual experience”? (See notes below)

How will you respond to counsel given to you in the scriptures and through the power of the Holy Ghost?

This Shall Be Our Covenant

Come, Come, Ye Saints

Succession of Church Leadership

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/135?lang=eng

Announcement of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet and his brother, Hyrum Smith the Patriarch, at Carthage, Illinois, June 27, 1844. This document was included at the end of the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, which was nearly ready for publication when Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered.

section 135 What verses bring you understanding and reassurance? How does this section inspire you to be faithful?

To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith the Patriarch.

Vs 2 John Taylor and Willard Richards were with Hyrum and Joseph when they were martyred. They escaped death.

Vs 3
1. Joseph brought forth the Book of Mormon.

2. He translated it by gift and power of God.

3. He had it published on two continents.

4. Missionaires were sent forth to prclaim the everlasting gospel.

5. Brought forth revelations and commandments found in the Doctrine and Covenants.

6. Also, other wise documents and instructions to benefit the world.

7. Gathered many thousands of Latter-day Saints.

8. Found a great city.

9. Left a wonderful legacy

10. He sealed His mission and his works with his own blood.

Because Joseph was faithful, many will be brought to the truth and accept the gospel, church, and atonement of Jesus Christ. So next to Jesus Christ, Joseph has done more for the salvation of human because this is the culmination of all dispensations of time. This is the Lord's work and the glory be to Hi

Joseph and Hyrum seal not only their testimonies, but the testimony of this great Latter-day work.

Section 135

Announcement of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet and his brother, Hyrum Smith the Patriarch, at Carthage, Illinois, June 27, 1844. This document was included at the end of the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, which was nearly ready for publication when Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered.

1–2, Joseph and Hyrum martyred in Carthage Jail; 3, The preeminent position of the Prophet is acclaimed; 4–7, Their innocent blood testifies of the truth and divinity of the work.

To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith the Patriarch. They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about five o’clock p.m., by an armed mob—painted black—of from 150 to 200 persons. Hyrum was shot first and fell calmly, exclaiming: I am a dead man! Joseph leaped from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming: O Lord my God! They were both shot after they were dead, in a brutal manner, and both received four balls.

John Taylor and Willard Richards, two of the Twelve, were the only persons in the room at the time; the former was wounded in a savage manner with four balls, but has since recovered; the latter, through the providence of God, escaped, without even a hole in his robe.

Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!

When Joseph went to Carthage to deliver himself up to the pretended requirements of the law, two or three days previous to his assassination, he said: “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—he was murdered in cold blood.”—The same morning, after Hyrum had made ready to go—shall it be said to the slaughter? yes, for so it was—he read the following paragraph, near the close of the twelfth chapter of Ether, in the Book of Mormon, and turned down the leaf upon it:

And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. And now I … bid farewell unto the Gentiles; yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood. The testators are now dead, and their testament is in force.

Hyrum Smith was forty-four years old in February, 1844, and Joseph Smith was thirty-eight in December, 1843; and henceforward their names will be classed among the martyrs of religion; and the reader in every nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine and Covenants of the church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world; and that if the fire can scathe a green tree for the glory of God, how easy it will burn up the dry trees to purify the vineyard of corruption. They lived for glory; they died for glory; and glory is their eternal reward. From age to age shall their names go down to posterity as gems for the sanctified.

They were innocent of any crime, as they had often been proved before, and were only confined in jail by the conspiracy of traitors and wicked men; and their innocent blood on the floor of Carthage jail is a broad seal affixed to “Mormonism” that cannot be rejected by any court on earth, and their innocent blood on the escutcheon of the State of Illinois, with the broken faith of the State as pledged by the governor, is a witness to the truth of the everlasting gospel that all the world cannot impeach; and their innocent blood on the banner of liberty, and on the magna charta of the United States, is an ambassador for the religion of Jesus Christ, that will touch the hearts of honest men among all nations; and their innocent blood, with the innocent blood of all the martyrs under the altar that John saw, will cry unto the Lord of Hosts till he avenges that blood on the earth. Amen.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/136?lang=eng

The word and will of the Lord, given through President Brigham Young at Winter Quarters, the camp of Israel, Omaha Nation, on the west bank of the Missouri River, near Council Bluffs, Iowa.

section 136. What counsel do you find that could help turn a difficult trial in your life “into an important … spiritual experience”?

Vs 2 Today, we are organized into quorums and auxillaries, into wards, stakes, areas, and districts. Ministering Brothers and Sisters should be aware and care for one another.

4 And this shall be our covenant—that we will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord.

10 Let every man use all his influence and property to remove this people to the place where the Lord shall locate a stake of Zion.

11 And if ye do this with a pure heart, in all faithfulness, ye shall be blessed; you shall be blessed in your flocks, and in your herds, and in your fields, and in your houses, and in your families.

17 Go thy way and do as I have told you, and fear not thine enemies; for they shall not have power to stop my work.

18 Zion shall be redeemed in mine own due time.

20 Seek ye; and keep all your pledges one with another; and covet not that which is thy brother’s.

21 Keep yourselves from evil to take the name of the Lord in vain, for I am the Lord your God, even the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.

22 I am he who led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; and my arm is stretched out in the last days, to save my people Israel.

30 Fear not thine enemies, for they are in mine hands and I will do my pleasure with them.

31 My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom.

32 Let him that is ignorant learn wisdom by humbling himself and calling upon the Lord his God, that his eyes may be opened that he may see, and his ears opened that he may hear;

33 For my Spirit is sent forth into the world to enlighten the humble and contrite, and to the condemnation of the ungodly.

Vs 37 The Lord has given all we need, so taht we in due time can be sanctified and made pure. We cannot bear His glory now, but one day we shall.

Vs 30 We needn't marvel because Joseph was taken, anymore than we do when our prophets die of old age. The Lord has taken them unto Himself. Joseph sealed his testimony with His blood, so that he can be honored and the wicked condemned.

 

40 Have I not delivered you from your enemies, only in that I have left a witness of my name?

41 Now, therefore, hearken, O ye people of my church; and ye elders listen together; you have received my kingdom.

42 Be diligent in keeping all my commandments, lest judgments come upon you, and your faith fail you, and your enemies triumph over you. So no more at present. Amen and Amen.

 

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