Glad Tidings for You and the World
You can receive glad tidings of love and joy because Jesus Christ has restored His Church to bless all of God’s children.
Sacred Grove, by Al Rounds
Our message of hope and peace to all is that Jesus Christ lives and has restored His gospel and Church in these latter days. “How indescribably glorious are these things to mankind!” the Prophet Joseph Smith declared. They are “tidings of great joy to all people … that ought to fill the earth and cheer the hearts of every one when sounded in his ears.”
These glad tidings are a profound manifestation of the unending love of our Father in Heaven and our Savior. They will bless all people and prepare the world for the day when Jesus Christ returns. I rejoice that I can spend my life proclaiming these truths to all the world.
The Unlikely and the Remarkable
In a grove of trees, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared and spoke to Joseph Smith in answer to Joseph’s prayer about which church he should join (see Joseph Smith—History 1:16–20). Jesus told Joseph not to join any church. He promised that the fulness of His gospel would be revealed to Joseph in the future.
To many, Joseph seemed the most unlikely to be called to such an important work. In their eyes, he was only an uneducated boy from a small farm. But through Joseph, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would do the truly remarkable. Joseph would be given commandments, precious revelations, and essential doctrines about Heavenly Father’s loving plan and Jesus Christ’s redeeming love and Atonement to bless us and help us know how we can return home.
A Powerful Witness of God’s Love
The angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith and told Joseph of a record, written upon gold plates, buried nearby (see Joseph Smith—History 1:33–34). Eventually, Joseph translated that record into what would become the Book of Mormon, which stands alongside the Bible as another witness of Jesus Christ.
Throughout the Book of Mormon, people, hundreds of years before Christ, knew and foretold of His coming and yearned for it. We also read how the Savior appeared and ministered to the Nephites. He invited all to come unto Him. He healed the sick, the lame, the blind, and all who were afflicted. He then blessed the little children and prayed for them (see 3 Nephi 11:14–15; 3 Nephi 17:7–9; 3 Nephi 17:21).
The Book of Mormon teaches us so much of the Savior’s love and compassion. It truly testifies that “Jesus is the Christ.” It contains the beauty of His everlasting gospel. The Book of Mormon provides a clear picture of how our Father in Heaven and our Savior love us beyond anything we can imagine.
Gold Plates, by Robert Theodore Barrett
The Blessings of the Priesthood and the Church
Other heavenly messengers came to Joseph Smith. John the Baptist came to restore the authority to baptize. Peter, James, and John restored the apostleship and keys of priesthood authority. “Others came as well, including Elijah, who restored the authority to join families together forever in eternal relationships that transcend death.”
Jesus Christ then established through the Prophet Joseph a Church patterned after the one He organized in New Testament times (see Articles of Faith 1:6). Through Jesus Christ and His apostles and prophets, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes the blessings of restored priesthood power available to all of God’s children.
I would say that if you feel down and feel that you do not measure up or that you do not belong, be more kind to yourself and realize how loved you are by Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior, more than you can possibly imagine. All are invited to come unto Christ and His Church. The Church is not for the perfect. It is like a hospital where we find healing. At church we turn ourselves outward, serve others with love, and share the gospel. We can be “remembered and nourished by the good word of God” (Moroni 6:4). We can find peace and healing. What a tremendous blessing!
A Reason for Great Joy
Heavenly Father and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, love you and desire—more than anything—to bring you home and have forever the kind of life They live. The Restoration reveals that They have done everything to make this a glorious possibility for you. At times, you may experience trials and difficulties, but you are “that [you] might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25) in this life and the next. The Prophet Joseph knew this better than most. You will discover that you can have joy as you consistently repent and turn to your Father in Heaven and your Savior.
Joseph faced frequent opposition and persecution, yet he kept his “native cheery temperament” (Joseph Smith—History 1:28). He remained joyful, strong, and resilient, and he accomplished the work he had been given to do. The same is true for all who have succeeded him.
It was bumpy in the early days of the Church, and it can be bumpy today, but the Restoration continued then—and is ongoing today. Jesus Christ leads His Church. Living prophets continue to guide us. Houses of the Lord will continue to be built. The love of God and Jesus Christ will extend to all the world as we follow the Savior’s command to feed His sheep and share His gospel. The truths of the Restoration will go forth in ways and to places that would have hardly been imaginable in Joseph’s day. We will strive to make the world a little kinder and less divisive.
As you regularly study the gospel, pray often, and serve others, the message of the Restoration will touch your heart and change your life. It may not happen immediately, but it will bring you joy—as it did for the Prophet Joseph.
May the glad tidings of love and joy that the Restoration brings bless and guide your life—now and always.