I know it might be difficult to tell, at times, but I am alive and well. I’ve spent considerable time rewriting several of my longer posts and am satisfied that they are as good as my talent permits. I am happy with the work.

Lingering on my mind today, as been the death of dear Joseph. Not a word from LDS Corp. Nothing on their website about the date. Well, I understand, if you start thinking about Joseph’s murder, you might wonder who really killed him. 

If you take the path that many have taken, and study the available forensics, you might come to a conclusion that a “mob” did not kill Joseph. And LDS Corp can’t have you thinking such things that might lead to Brigham Young’s complicity, along with his polygamous apostles and other church leaders. That’s a paradigm shift many are not willing to entertain. I understand. Light and truth are difficult, and almost blinding, when we have entertained darkness for so long.

Joseph Smith, Jr., was, perhaps, the purest man since Jesus only. His weakness was thinking better of a man than he should have. “Well,” you ask, “he wasn’t much of a prophet then, was he.” This misunderstanding stems from an incorrect notion of what a prophet of God does, and is. God selects a man from society and gives the gift of being a prophet. That gift is to benefit those the prophet serves, not himself. God uses men, among men, to further His work. This allows us to use our faith and the Spirit while in mortality. We grow by giving heed to the words of a prophet and then asking God for confirmation that the concepts, if not the very words, are His. And then we must act.

Our connection is with God. The prophet provides light and truth from God and we are free to accept and act on the light and truth, or not. For Joseph to misjudge men, from time to time, is evidence of his shared mortality. Prophets are men who learn from challenges just as everyone else. God does not provide an unlimited supply of fairy dust to a prophet to magically make everything okay. So, Joseph trusted some he shouldn’t have. Joseph was a mortal man who was given spiritual gifts only a pure and virtuous man could have successfully wielded.

Whether Joseph knew he was walking into a trap at Carthage Jail, we do not know for certain. I suspect he knew. Those close to him, brothers in the priesthood, in the jail with him, sang to him. Then, under the cover of the mob’s actions outside, those Joseph trusted, murdered Hyrum first, and then took Joseph. It had to be that way. Hyrum had the birthright. Hyrum fell first so Joseph would inherit the birthright. Father made sure of that.

Those to whom our Lord gave abundant light and truth, murdered their own prophet so they could be free to live a libidinous lifestyle of adultery, the things of this world, and the honors of men. They succeeded and built a church on honors and things. It should be called the Church of Honors and Things. Joseph would not be welcomed today in Salt Lake City. They’d have to eliminate him again.

I morn on this day for a man I respect in the highest degree. He was a virtuous man who had but one wife. The light and truth spread by Joseph Smith continues to enlighten my mind and heart. I am grateful for his life and sacrifice. No one has taught me more.