The Best Blood of the Nineteenth Century

Turn back the clock to this day--June 27th--in 1844.  In the late afternoon of a muggy day in Carthage, Illinois, two brothers and two of their friends sat in a cell on the upper floor of the local jail.  They knew their time was short, but they found comfort and solace in the words they read from a Book for which they were about to give their lives.

Thou hast been faithful; wherefore … thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.

“And now I, Moroni, bid farewell … until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ."

Minutes later, an armed mob stormed the jail and after a brief struggle, the two brothers lay dead--first the elder brother, and then the younger.  One of their friends who was there, John Taylor, later described the martyrdom of these two men, Joseph Smith Jr.--a modern prophet of God--and his brother Hyrum, in these words:

Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. ... He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated! ...henceforward their names will be classed among the martyrs of religion; and the reader in every nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon...cost the best blood of the nineteenth century...

I too want you to know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet.  Anyone can come to know that for themselves.  All you have to do is read the Book of Mormon and ask God to help you see it's true.  I know God works through prophets today like He did anciently and that your life will be blessed if you listen to His modern prophets.

I pay tribute to Joseph Smith on this anniversary of his death.  The media may mock his life, but I celebrate it.  Have questions about him or what he did?  Just ask.

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

Want more? Watch this film about the life of the prophet Joseph Smith!