I'd like to present some of the differences (maybe you will find more):
Them: Jesus personally ministered to those at Bountiful after His Resurrection.
Us: Almost none of the Saints in Joseph's day to the present day have been ministered to by Jesus Christ. Those lay members that do claim to have seen Him are ignored or looked at as a person to avoid.
Them: Jesus left 3 translated beings among them.
Us: Joseph died when the church was in its infancy and no one knew who should lead the church until a vote was taken. Our Church continued on by a vote. There were no translated beings among them then or us today.
Them: Jesus told His disciples at Bountiful that they would go on to do the works they saw Him do (3 Nephi 27:21) They went on to heal the sick, raise the dead, cause the lame to walk, be put in fire and not burned, put in dens of beasts and received no harm (4 Nephi 1: 5, 32-33).
Us: After Joseph died there have been almost none of those miracles listed above by those in leadership.
Them: They were personally ministered to by Jesus Christ. They witnessed and some experienced many being raised from the dead (can you imagine hearing the testimony of those guys?). They witnessed and experienced profound healing, even people that couldn't walk - walked! They watched disciples be thrown into fire or in dens of beasts and come out unscathed (That had to be unforgettable to witness). And lastly, they were left with three translated beings. Even with all of that, 200 years after Jesus came to Bountiful, the church fell into apostasy.
Us: Miracles nowhere near the magnitude of what they experienced. No visitation from Jesus Christ to those who testify they are Special Witnesses of Christ (and if you argue that maybe it has happened but it's just too sacred to share - the first chapter in 1 Nephi blows the belief of "not sharing sacred things" out of the water). Additionally we have no translated beings living among us. And yet - we proclaim, "We will never be lead astray." Translation: We will never go into apostasy.
I write this today because the church, 200 years after those at Bountiful were ministered to by Jesus, fell into apostasy.
We are nearing 200 years since the Church was organized (and over 200 years since the first vision) and we are lightyears away from what the people of Bountiful experienced. To believe that they (who had Jesus as their leader) got it wrong but we never could (and never will) is vanity and pride. (2 Nephi 28:11, Moroni 7: 36-37)
The 144,000 spoken of in the book of Revelation won't miraculously spawn itself. Zion doesn't come about from mentioning it casually every six months in General Conference. It starts in your home.
The 144,000 spoken of in the book of Revelation won't miraculously spawn itself. Zion doesn't come about from mentioning it casually every six months in General Conference. It starts in your home.
My greatest desire for my children is to know Jesus, and know Him personally. If we don't know Him, it won't matter who or what we knew instead.
What I share below may not seem like much, but I want share something we are doing with our kids. Maybe it will help you to consider doing something similar in your continued quest to know Him.
I bought these journals for each person in our family to study a name of Jesus each week and then write about that name in their Journal. After they study the scriptures about that name and write it in their journal, we share it together in a lesson.
It may not seem like much, but it's a start. They wake up on Sunday morning excited to pray and ask the Lord to lead them to one of His names. Here are some photo's below:
