El Evangelio de Jesucristo Se Ha Restaurado- July 8, 2015

Since the beginning of time, after Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, our Loving Heavenly Father began to reveal the way that we could grow and take advantage of the time He has given us. He revealed it to prophets, men called of God, who, by the authority that had been given them BY HIM, would reveal those secrets as many people as could hear their voice. Adam, being the first prophet, was followed by others. But, as we know, many times the words rang hollow to the ears of the wicked, and even though it was true, they did not care. They spit upon them, stoned them, and killed the prophets many times. God, in those moments of rebellion, would take away the great priviledge of having a prophet to guide them so that they could recieve what they had asked for. Just as a loving father must punish his children according to how they act, This Loving Father does the same with His Children. But, out of his pure and merciful love for us, he always brought these great blessings and priviledges back when he saw that they were ready once again.

After the prophets that finalize what we know as the Old Testament, there was another time in which the people showed thier disloyalty to God, and he once again took away these things. Each time that he did it, it was called an apostasy. But as we know, in the meridian of times, one was born to a virgin in Bethlehem. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, began his earthly ministry at the age of 30, being baptized by the Prophet John the Baptist. Truly the words of Moses were true when he said "A prophet shall the Lord your God raiseup unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet,shall be destroyed from among the people." (Acts 3:22-23). He taught the truths of the Gospel that had been revealed to prophets before him, and he explained it in the perfect form of teaching. He organized a church, with apostles and prophets, with pastors and teachers. He did this so that the same word that he spoke would reach to everyone possible. He finished his work in that sense, in which he preached, served, healed the sick and was perfectly obedient, and then took upon himself all of our sins and pains, and even death. Why? So that we wouldnt have to do it alone. He taught that through what he did, he would be able to make us spotless before God. If man lived according to the teachings of Christ, he would recieve that help from him.

His apostles kept in the same work that He was doing, healing the sick, preaching the gospel, and calling people to repentance and baptizing by water and by the spirit. But, as sad as it is, they did the same thing with them. They killed them and the same thing happened, in which God took away the prophets, the apostles, the power which they had  that is named the Priesthood of God, and he stopped talking with his children through inspired men for a time. He did not guide His people for that time because they were not willing to follow. Many wanted to, but they were still not ready. Christ had told the israelites, "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringingforth the fruits thereof." (Matthew 21:43) Amos had prophecied that there would be a hunger and thirst for the word of God, but it would not be able to be found (Amos 8:11-12). But Peter assured that the Second Coming of Christ would not come until the times of the restitution of all things (Actos 3:21). Resitution being a RESTORATION. A bringing back of all that was.

God let the world be stuck in this "rut" for a while, confused spiritually, because the inhabitants of the world had not proven themselves ready for this Restitution. Many churches were created, some with good intentions, some with worldly intentions. God is great! He will not allow his children to be alone in this great confusion, this war of words. He called a prophet. Joseph Smith asked, and was given an answer. God himself and Jesus Christ came and appeared to them, and Christ told him that no church was in the truth, but that he would need to wait for further instructions. God began the restitution. The RESTORATION. Smith was called as a Prophet of God. He was given by the imposition of hands of celestial beings from the times of Christ the Priesthood of God, the power that they had had, but that had been lost. THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY THAT SOMEONE COULD RECIEVE THIS. No one had it, and it had to be recieved by the imposition of hands. With this authority, he recieved the revelation to call 12 apostles, Seventy, teachers, bishops and all the other places that were in the Church of Christ in the primitive times. It was and is the same church. Joseph Smith recieved the same Gospel, the thing that God has given us to be happy here and after the life here on earth. The corrupted doctrines were clarified, the lost doctrines were found.

The Book of Mormon is proof that this happened. It is not written by Joseph Smith, but he was given the power of God to translate it. We are perfectly willing to help people understand this. They, nevertheless, MUST READ THE BOOK TO JUDGE IT. Do not judge a book by its cover. It helps us understand so much more what Christ wants us to know and do.

God does all this because he loves us. OUT OF HIS ETERNAL, PURE, PERFECT LOVE FOR US AS HIS FATHER, HE GIVES US THE SAME TEACHINGS, GOSPEL, CHURCH, AND WORD THAT THE CHILDREN OF ADAM HAD, THE SAME AS THE FRIENDS OF ABRAHAM, AND THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. Why would he give us anything different?

These last 2 years, I have had to live a life completely focused on this. The truth is that these 2 years have been the happiest of my life. I have been frustrated and  sad, but never have not been happy. I am so happy, and I cannot explain it. I thank God every day for the opportunity he gave me to be who I am and serve in Vila Gonzalez, Hato Mayor, Bella Vista, and Conani. I have seen lives change, I have seen people recieve answers, and I have seen happiness be recieved that cannot be matched. There is only one Gospel of Christ, and there is only one Lord, one faith and one baptism. There is nothing in this world that can give us more happiness than live these things. I know that these things are true. I can say I dont know everything and that I have a lot to learn, but I cannot deny the happiness that I have felt giving this message to all the people that I can. It is a unique and different message. Almost all religion, social group and theologist criticizes what I have written today, but it does not mean that it is not true.

God is great. That is my testimony and we cannot expect anything less from Him.

Elder Dallin Murphy