The Restoration: A Continuation of the Story of Jesus Christ

When telling any story that involves multiple characters or people, the story teller has the option of choosing from which character's perspective the story should be told. Although it can be entertaining to hear the story told from the perspective of multiple characters, in general the most effective and intriguing stories are told from the perspective of the protagonist.

For obvious reasons, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has chosen to tell the story of the restoration of the gospel from the perspective of Joseph Smith. I would propose, however, that it would be far more effective to tell the story of the restoration from the perspective of the true protagonist, even Jesus Christ. Rather than speaking of the restoration of the gospel as a separate book closely related to the story of Jesus Christ and told from the perspective of Joseph Smith, I would submit that it would be far more powerful to consider and discuss the restoration as a continuation of the story of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the creator of the word, the Only Begotten of the Father, the light and the life of the world. He is the Savior of the world who has and will continue to call upon and work through imperfect and sinful humans to finalize His work on earth. It was Jesus Christ, not Joseph Smith, who initiated the restoration and empowered and authorized Joseph and other imperfect humans to assist in moving His work forward. It was Jesus Christ who appeared to Joseph Smith that incredible day in the Spring of 1820. It was Jesus Christ who sent messengers to inform and instruct Joseph Smith about his mission. It was Jesus Christ who was responsible for every good thing done by Joseph Smith and those who served with him.

It is easy to understand why so many question whether members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Christians and if we worship Joseph Smith instead of Jesus Christ. We speak of Joseph Smith as if he were the protagonist of the story, as if he were the light to be lifted up, as if he were the source of everything good we currently enjoy. And to top it off, we sing "Praise to the Man" in far too many of our meetings!!

As a lifelong member of the church, I am confident this has been done with good intentions. However, that does not make it right. I would encourage anybody reading this to evaluate how you speak about the restoration and to make adjustments as needed to ensure that your narratives deliberately give all of the glory to Jesus Christ rather than to Joseph Smith or any other man or woman He has used to realize His work. For example, consider the following common phrases shared in testimony meetings and how they might be modified to more accurately reflect our beliefs:

I feel this change is as important for improving our own understanding of the restoration as it is for improving how others perceive us. Once I became aware of how I had been emphasizing Joseph Smith rather than the Savior for so many years, I was stunned that I had never noticed it or questioned it before. I also became much more understanding of how others could question if we are Christians despite the name of the church. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words!

I invite everybody to keep telling the story of the restoration. But, let's make it clear that it is part of the ongoing story of Jesus Christ working miraculously and mercifully among imperfect mortals including Joseph Smith rather than a separate story in which Joseph Smith is portrayed as the star. It's an incredible story that needs to be shared, and as we improve our narratives for sharing it, the story will become less offensive and more inviting.