Joseph Fielding Smith Quotes - 42 quotes

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Joseph Fielding Smith

Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) was an American religious leader and writer who served as the tenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1970 until his death in 1972. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he was the son of Joseph F. Smith, the sixth president of the LDS Church, and the great-nephew of church founder Joseph Smith. Smith was ordained an apostle in 1910 and served in various leadership roles, including Church Historian and Recorder. He was known for his extensive writings on LDS doctrine and history, authoring numerous books and articles. His tenure as church president was marked by efforts to improve church administration and communication.

quote icon From eternity to eternity means from the spirit existence through the probation which we are in, and then back again to the eternal existence which will follow. Surely this is everlasting, for when we receive the resurrection, we will never die. We all existed in the first eternity. I think I can say of myself and others, we are from eternity; and we will be to eternity everlasting, if we receive the exaltation.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon When a baby dies, it goes back into the spirit world, and the spirit assumes its natural form as an adult, for we were all adults before we were born. When a child is raised in the resurrection, the spirit will enter the body and the body will be the same size as it was when the child died. It will then grow after the resurrection to full maturity to conform to the size of the spirit. If parents are righteous, they will have their children after the resurrection. Little children who die, whose parents are not worthy of an exaltation, will be adopted into the families of those who are worthy.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The telestial kingdom. Into this kingdom will go all of those who have been unclean in their lives. See verses 98 to 112, in Section 76. These people who enter there will be the unclean; the liars, sorcerers, adulterers, and those who have broken their covenants. Of these the Lord says: These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work; (D. & C. 76:106.) Yet these, after they have been punished for their sins and having been turned over to the torments of Satan, shall eventually come forth, after the millennium, to receive the telestial kingdom.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon May I say for the consolation of those who mourn, and for the comfort and guidance of all of us, that no righteous man is ever taken before his time.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Perhaps this is the reason Jesus Christ was sent here instead of some other world, for in some other world they would not have crucified Him, and His presence was needed here because of the extreme wickedness of the inhabitants of this earth.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon THEY SHALL NOT SLEEP IN THE DUST. Explaining this glorious day [the Millennium] the Lord has given us the following: [D&C 63:50-52; 101:28-31]. Isaiah also says that the age of man, or the age of a tree, is one hundred years, and adds his testimony as follows: “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” (Isaiah 65:20).

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Mentally deficient persons, those who are incompetent of understanding, are classed among those who are redeemed as little children through the atonement of our Redeemer. They need no baptism.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The great object of this mortal life is that the spirits of men may obtain tabernacles of flesh and bones, for without these tabernacles the spirits of men could not rise to exaltation, neither could they be perfect without the union of flesh and bones with the eternal spirit. It was for this purpose that Adam and Eve were placed upon this earth and given the commandment to multiply.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The more nearly perfect our lives are here, the more nearly perfect they will be there. If we have practiced principles of perfection, and sought the will of the Father here, then we will find it less difficult to continue on the same path when we pass beyond this mundane sphere. Now, what is the full duty of man? The Preacher says: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear (love) God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Eccl. 12:13-14). And the writer to the Hebrews says: “Therefore not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God.”—Heb. 6:1, Inspired Scriptures.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon We learn from the writings of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price that the fall was part of the great plan prepared in the heavens before the earth was formed. Mortality was decreed, and the passing through all the conditions of mortal life was part of the plan, and Jesus our Savior is spoken of as the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”; in other words, chosen to come to earth and be our Redeemer from mortality.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon If covenants are broken and enormous sins are committed, but not unto death, there are certain punishments to be inflicted. The mere confession is not enough; the sinners are: 1—to “be destroyed in the flesh”; and 2—to “be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan unto the day of redemption.” Who in the world is so foolish as to wish to sin with the hope of forgiveness, if such a penalty is to be inflicted? No one but a fool! To be “destroyed in the flesh’ means exactly that. We cannot destroy men in the flesh, because we do not control the lives of men and do not have power to pass sentences upon them which involve capital punishment. In the days when there was a theocracy on the earth, then this decree was enforced. What the Lord will do in lieu of this, because we cannot destroy in the flesh, I am unable to say, but it will have to be made up in some other way. Then to be turned over to the buffetings of Satan unto the day of redemption, which is the resurrection, must be something horrible in its nature. Who wishes to endure such torment? No one but a fool! I have seen their anguish. I have heard their pleadings for relief and their pitiful cries that they cannot endure the torment. This was in this life. Add to that, the torment in the spirit world before the redemption comes—all of this, mark you, coming after severe and humble repentance!

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Now, when Christ comes, we will get a new heaven and a new earth and every corruptible thing will be destroyed. Everything that pertains to the telestial Kingdom, every person that has lived a telestial law will be swept off. You read the first verses of the last chapter of Malachi. He tells you that the inhabitants of the earth will be burned when Christ comes and all the wicked who are not destroyed before he comes shall be as stubble and they will be consumed. They can’t stay here. Why? Because this earth is going to pass from the telestial to a terrestrial order. That is why.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Those who gain exaltation in the celestial kingdom are those who are members of the Church of the Firstborn; in other words, those who keep all the commandments of the Lord. There will be many who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who shall never become members of the Church of the Firstborn … So being ordained an elder, or a high priest, or an apostle, or even President of the Church, is not the thing that brings the exaltation, but obedience to the laws and the ordinances and the covenants required of those who desire to become members of the Church of the Firstborn, as these are administered in the house of the Lord. To become a member of the Church of the Firstborn, as I understand it, is to become one of the inner circle. We are all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by being baptized and confirmed, and there are many who seem to be content to remain such without obtaining the privileges of exaltation.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon What is meant by the end of the world? ... The Lord will give us a new heaven and a new earth, a cleansed earth, a restored earth, the one we sing about and preach about; as stated in the tenth Article of Faith, the earth renewed to receive its paradisiacal glory, cleansed from wickedness. For a thousand years we will have that kind of an earth and there will not be any war, any turmoil, envying, lying; there will be no wickedness. Men will learn then to love the Lord and keep His commandments, and if they don't they will not stay here. That’s the end of the world, and that is what the Savior prayed for when His disciples came to Him and said, "Teach us to pray." What did He do? He taught them, "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." That’s what I'm praying for. The Lord was praying for the end of the world, and so am I.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The keys or power to go forth and proclaim the gospel was restored to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery when Peter, James, and John conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood before the organization of the Church. It is true that John the Baptist had conferred upon them the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood before the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored. This was necessary because the time had come for them to be baptized and hold this priesthood preparatory to the coming of the higher priesthood. We read in the Doctrine and Covenants (D. & C. 84:26-27.) that the Aaronic Priesthood holds the keys of the preparatory gospel; that is to say, the teaching of faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins. This authority was given on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, but there was no commandment given for Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to go forth to teach and baptize until the Church was organized, although a few earnest souls who were acquainted with the restoration had sought baptism and had been baptized. It remained for Peter, James, and John to come with the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood to complete the authority to proclaim the gospel to the world.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon This ancient book of remembrance and genealogical record of the children of God, which contained the generations of Adam, was intended to be preserved and handed down from generation to generation. These records were kept by the Church. Those whose names were found therein, were known as the "children of God." This title was given to them because they had been baptized and had made covenant with the Lord. What a glorious thing it would have been if men had remained faithful through all ages, and this wonderful record had been handed down from father to son without a break! But Satan came among the people and tempted them, so "men became carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God." Nevertheless as long as men remained faithful to their covenants, this book of remembrance was had among them and the names of the righteous were recorded therein.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The doctrine of baptism for the dead was first made known to the Saints in a discourse by the Prophet at the funeral of Elder Seymour Brunson, August 10, 1840. This doctrine was not understood by him until after the restoration of the keys and the Priesthood of Elijah in the Kirtland Temple, although it had been referred to since the night of the first appearance of Moroni. In this revelation of January, 1841, the Lord revealed greater light regarding this wonderful principle. It was here made known that this ordinance was to be performed in the temple of the Lord. A baptismal font for this purpose was to be placed in the basement of the temple, “as a simile of the grave, and was commanded to be in a place underneath where the living are wont to assemble, to show forth the living and the dead; and that all things may have their likeness, and that they may accord one with another; that which is earthly conforming to that which is heavenly” (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 128:13).

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Little children who die before they reach the years of accountability will automatically inherit the celestial kingdom, but not the exaltation in that kingdom until they have complied with all the requirements of exaltation. For instance: The crowning glory is marriage and this ordinance would have to be performed in their behalf before they could inherit the fulness of that kingdom … the Lord will grant unto these children the privilege of all the sealing blessings which pertain to the exaltation.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The terrestrial kingdom. Into this kingdom will go all those who have lived clean lives, but were not willing to receive the gospel; also those who have lived clean lives but who, notwithstanding their membership in the Church, were not valiant, and those who refused to receive the gospel when they lived on the earth, but in the spirit world accepted the testimony of Jesus. All who enter this kingdom must be of that class who have been morally clean.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Christ Bridged the Gulf. Christ came and through his death bridged that gulf [between the righteous and the wicked], proclaimed liberty to the captives, and the opening of this prison door to those who sat in darkness and captivity. From that time forth this gulf is bridged so that the captives, after they have paid the full penalty of their misdeeds, satisfied justice, and have accepted the gospel of Christ, having the ordinances attended to in their behalf by their living relatives or friends, receive the passport that entitles them to cross the gulf.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon It is an important fact, shown by direct acts and by implication in all the scriptures, that God has done for men all that men cannot do for themselves to secure salvation, but he expects men to do all for themselves that is in their power. In accordance with this principle, it is contrary to the order of heaven instituted before the foundation of the earth, for holy messengers who have passed through the resurrection, or messengers who belong to the heavenly sphere, to come to earth and perform work for men which they can do for themselves.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon A place where those who cannot be redeemed and who are called sons of Perdition will go into outer darkness. This is the real hell where those who once knew the truth and had the testimony of it and then turned away and blasphemed the name of Jesus Christ, will go. These are they who have sinned against the Holy Ghost. (See Matthew 12:31-32.) For them there is no forgiveness, and the Lord said he had prepared a place for them. (D. & C. 76:31-37; 88:32-33.)

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Now, brethren, I think there is one thing which we should have exceedingly clear in our minds. Neither the President of the Church, nor the First Presidency, nor the united voice of the First Presidency and the Twelve will ever lead the Saints astray or send forth counsel to the world that is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord. An individual may fall by the wayside, or have views, or give counsel which falls short of what the Lord intends. But the voice of the First Presidency and the united voice of those others who hold with them the keys of the kingdom shall always guide the Saints and the world in those paths where the Lord wants them to be.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon It doesn't matter whether your computer is able to compile all the family group sheets for everyone that ever lived on the earth, it remains the responsibility of each individual to know his kindred dead... Even if the work is done, then it is still each person's responsibility to study and become acquainted with his ancestors.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The Lord has said that “every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety” ... It appears from the revelation, that there must be a time when Zion—the pure in heart—will be isolated from the rest of the world, and in the world there will be bloodshed and wickedness. The wicked will say in that day, “Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand. And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy.”

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Baptism is the door into the celestial kingdom. All the ordinances of the gospel pertain to the celestial kingdom, and any person who is faithful to the covenant of baptism will be entitled to enter there, but no person can receive an exaltation in the celestial kingdom without the ordinances of the temple. The endowments are for advancement in that kingdom, and the sealings for our perfection, provided we keep our covenants and obligations. People baptized, and who are not endowed in the temple of the Lord, may enter the celestial kingdom. But that does not mean that a baptized person is going to get the exaltation in that kingdom. He is not going to pass on to the fulness but by being baptized. He will not pass on to the fulness even after he has been baptized and received an endowment in the temple. He has also to receive the other ordinances so that he can become through his faithfulness and obedience a son of God … his sons, his daughters, receiving a fulness of his kingdom.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon This earth is a probationary state, or a place prepared where we are tested and given the privilege of walking by faith, that we may become worthy to return to our Father to dwell in his presence, and become his eternal sons and daughters.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon I maintain that had there been no restoration of the gospel, and no organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there would have been no radio; there would have been no airplane, and there would not have been the wonderful discoveries in medicine, chemistry, electricity, and the many other things wherein the world has been benefited by such discoveries. Under such conditions these blessings would have been withheld, for they belong to the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times of which the restoration of the gospel and the organization of the Church constitute a central point, from which radiates the Spirit of the Lord throughout the world.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Now there is a clear-cut definition in detail of the new and everlasting covenant. It is everything-—the fulness of the gospel. So marriage properly performed, baptism, ordination to the priesthood, everything else—every contract, every obligation, every performance that pertains to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise according to his law here given, is a part of the new and everlasting covenant.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon We should remember, as Latter-day Saints, that outside of the celestial kingdom, there is no family organization. That organization is reserved for those who are willing to abide in every covenant and every obligation which we are called upon to receive while we sojourn here in this mortal life.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Now, do you think that these...inventions by Marconi, by Edison, by Bell, by Stephenson and by the other inventors... discovered them through their thought or accidentally?...Now let me say briefly that that I do not believe for one moment that these discoveries have come by chance, or that they have come because of superior intelligence possessed by men today over those who lived in ages past. They have come because the time is ripe, because the Lord has willed it, and because he has poured out his Spirit on all flesh.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon “They used the term ordain in the early days of the church for everything. Today we would say set apart.”

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon We know, however, that there is something called intelligence which has always existed. It is the real eternal part of man, which was not created or made. This intelligence combined with the spirit constitutes a spiritual identity or individual.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon When the reign of Jesus Christ comes during the millennium, only those who have lived the telestial law will be removed. The earth will be cleansed of all its corruption and wickedness. Those who have lived virtuous lives, who have been honest in their dealings with their fellow man and have endeavored to do good to the best of their understanding, shall remain.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon Knowledge of the Ancients. Moreover, Abraham records that he received by revelations the fact that Kolob is the “first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God,” and its time is the Lord’s time and by it he reckons. These ancient prophets knew not only of the revolutions of the earth and the planets, but they had superior knowledge of the fixed stars. Abraham and Methuselah were astronomers with knowledge revealed through higher powers than the telescope. They knew more about the heavenly bodies than all the astronomers of this age put together.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The punishment of Satan and the third of the host of heaven who followed him, was that they were denied the privilege of being born into this world and receiving mortal bodies. They did not keep their first estate and were denied the opportunity of eternal progression. The Lord cast them out into the earth, where they became the tempters of mankind—the devil and his angels.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon When Israel came out of Egypt under the guidance of Moses, the Lord prepared to make of the twelve tribes a royal priesthood and honor them by choosing from among them faithful men to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood. Because of their constant rebellion and murmuring, in which they had Aaron make for them a golden calf to worship when they thought that Moses was dead, the Lord’s anger was kindled against them. Therefore he took Moses and the Melchizedek Priesthood from them and left them with another authority or priesthood, which he bestowed upon Aaron and his sons, and chosen men of the tribe of Levi, (D.&C. 84:23-27.) to be the priests and ministers for all the tribes of Israel … We discover that it was Levi and Joseph who were not numbered as tribes in Israel. Joseph received a double portion through his sons, each inheriting through their adoption by their grandfather, and Levi’s descendants becoming the ministers to all the other tribes of Israel.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The celestial kingdom is prepared for the righteous, those who have been faithful in the keeping of the commandments of the Lord, and have been cleansed of all their sins. These dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son. They become like the Son and are joint heirs with him in the Father’s kingdom.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The Rebelliousness of Man. Of all our Father’s creations man stands out practically alone as rebellious against divine authority and commandment. For this reason an ancient prophet declared: “O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth. For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.” (Helaman 12:7-8). The thought expressed here is that man is less than the dust of the earth in the matter of obedience to the will of God. The same prophet continues: “O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world! Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom's paths! Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide.” (Helaman 12:4-6).

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon It is the righteous who go to paradise. It is the righteous who cease from those things that trouble … The righteous, those who have kept the commandments of the Lord, are not shut up in any such place [as spirit prison or hell], but are in happiness in paradise. They cease from all this trouble, and trial, and tribulation, and anguish of soul. They are free from all these torments, because they have been true and faithful to their covenants.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon The Holy Ghost is not a personage with a body of flesh and bones, and in this respect differs from the Father and the Son. The Holy Ghost is not a woman, as some have declared, and therefore is not the mother of Jesus Christ.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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quote icon I do not believe for one moment that these discoveries have come by chance, or that they have come because of superior intelligence possessed by men today over those who lived in ages that are past. They have come and are coming because the time is ripe, because the Lord has willed it, and because he has poured out his Spirit on all flesh.

- Joseph Fielding Smith

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