Happy Birthday to the Church!

April 6th is a momentous day to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was on this day 181 years ago that the Church was organized in a log cabin belonging to Peter Whitmer, Sr. at Fayette, Seneca County, New York.

The Church was organized in a way "agreeable to the laws of our country." (D&C 20:1) Six men were selected to become incorporators of the Church as required by law. Those men are Joseph Smith Jr., Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum and Samuel Smith, David Whitmer and Peter Whitmer Jr. Organizing legally was important, but it is easy for anyone to organize a church according to the law. More importantly, the Church was organized in a way agreeable to the Lord.

On April 7, 1829 Joseph received golden plates on which the prophet Mormon had abridged the ancient record of the early inhabitants of the American continent. Like the Bible, this record testifies of Jesus Christ. With Oliver as his scribe Joseph translated the plates in less than three months and the first edition of the publication called the Book of Mormon was completed in the spring of 1830. For anyone who has ever written or attempted to write a work of significant length, the speed with which the translation was completed is a witness to the miraculous work and divine intervention which made it possible. (For more information about the translation process read By the Gift and Power of God, by Elder Neal A. Maxwell) The coming forth of the Book of Mormon was a marvelous work and a wonder and key in preparing to organize the Church.

In June of 1829 Joseph and Oliver were instructed to wait for the proper time to organize and then in early April of 1830 Joseph receieved a revelation that directed him when he should organize the church.

D&C 20:1 The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April.

On April 6, 1830 the Church of Christ was established, restoring to the earth the same organization with prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers, evangelists and so forth, that existed in Christ's church. Amos taught that "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7) Once again, a prophet holding the keys of priesthood government was set in place to lead the people in accordance with the Lord's will and desires.

April 6th was absolutely a momentous day. During the events of this Church organization and Gospel Restoration, many who were present followed the Savior's example. Just as Jesus was baptized by immersion by an authorized priesthood holder, many in attendance chose to be baptized by those holding the restored priesthood authority from God. The Sacrament was administered to the baptized members and they received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. April 6th was a marvelous and historic day.

As an interesting side note, there is some diputation among memers of the church about whether or not April 6 is also the true birthday of Jesus Christ. I won't go into details of the arguments for or against, but you might check out these links if you are curious.

http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/aprilsixth.html Defense of April Sixth by John Pratt http://www.mormonfortress.com/april6b.html Mormon Myths-April 6 Michael R. Ash http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basic/christ/april6.html by John Franklin Hall

While this debate is interesting, the exact date of the Savior's birth doesn't really matter to me all that much. I don't mean to be ambivalent about His birth, in fact I feel quite the contrary. To me personally, the significant fact is not the exact date of His birth, but rather the fact that He was born. The fact that He is the Son of God. The fact that He is the Savior and Redeemer. The fact that through His atoning sacrifice of pain and death all mankind can be saved through faith in Him and His tender mercy and grace. The fact that Christ restored His church through the prophet Joseph Smith. Knowing the "when" doesn't concern me nearly as much as knowing and believing the "who" the "how" and the "why". These questions are all answered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So--Happy Birthday Church!

*The official name of the Church was changed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 26, 1838 according to a revelation received at Far West, Missouri. (D&C 115:4)

Book Review: Who's At The Door? by Dan Harrington

Who’s At The Door? is a classic “Stranger Comes to Town” master plot. In this case the “Stranger” is the full time missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dan is the hero of his own story and as is always the case, the “Stranger” enters the scene and provides a disruption, which is the basis of this page-turning memoir.

To start out, I have a couple of confessions to make. 1- I have never read a memoir before, 2- Because I am such a slow reader, I really don’t read all that often. When I say I’m slow, I mean I’m REALLY slow so for me reading is a huge commitment of time. With those two confessions made, I must tell you that I read Who’s At the Door? in one afternoon. I stretched out on the couch with the fire roaring in front of me and I lost myself in the story. Since I really didn’t know what to expect from this book, I intended to read a chapter or two to get a feel for it, but just as in good fiction, each chapter had a hook that compelled me to keep reading.

As a private person myself, I find it fascinating how Dan is able to open up and share so much of his personal thoughts and feelings with the reader. There are moments of deep thought and doctrinal searching but also many moments of fun and humor as he describes the process of getting to know and become friends with various sets of missionaries. When the missionaries first show up at his door, Dan describes the excitement he feels for having the chance to teach these hay-seed Elders a thing or two about the world. He plans to awe them with the modern contraptions like…the microwave oven and microwave popcorn. He’s sure they’ve never seen anything so wonderful in their lives. Dan quickly learns that he has some misconceptions about the Elders and the entire LDS church.

Who’s At The Door? challenges members of other faiths to evaluate their misconceptions of the Mormon Church. It also challenges members of the church to look at the culture and doctrines of the church through fresh eyes, viewing it as an investigator or returning member might. If we do this we may find ways to connect with people in a meaningful way and advance our own goals in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When a “Stranger” comes into our life, do we treat them with mistrust and fear, or are we open to learn from their unique perspectives and life history? Dan’s book is not a conversion story or even a recommendation that people investigate or join the LDS church. It is simply one man’s experience as he broadens his horizons to understand a people and a faith he previously did not know. He sought knowledge directly from the people and scriptures of the LDS faith, which is a good example to all of us. He accepted the “Strangers” into his home and grew from the experience.

After finishing the book, I had many questions so I inquired of Dan and he graciously agreed to do an interview. I posted the interview on my blog before Christmas. Check out my interview here.

In case you couldn’t tell, I recommend this book. The writing style is easy and the story is compelling. Great combination. Buy it here…