“A testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith can come differently to each of us. It may come as you kneel in prayer, asking God to confirm that he was a true prophet. It may come as you read the Prophet’s account of the First Vision. A testimony may distill upon your soul as you read the Book of Mormon again and again. It may come as you bear your own testimony of the Prophet or as you stand in the temple and realize that through Joseph Smith the holy sealing power was restored to the earth. With faith and real intent, your testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith will strengthen.”
Elder Neil L. Anderson, “Joseph Smith”, General Conference, October 2014
The Savior said by their fruits, we will know what type of person they are. And, just look at the fruits of the labors of Joseph Smith. Sure, he was a man. He made mistakes as does any mortal. But he brought forth the gospel again and the Church of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth. No other man, save Christ Himself, has done more for the salvation of you and I. What a blessing it is to have what we have. I can’t imagine a life without the hope of the gospel, without knowing the Plan of Salvation, without the hope of being saved, that life does go on after we die.
As we get closer to the Second Coming, the ridicule, slander and defamation of Joseph Smith will get worse. His name, that is already being used for evil as predicted, will get worse. As Elder Andersen says, we may get wet from the constant volley of water balloons, but our fire of testimony will not be extinguished.
During this special year, let’s put some focus on learning about the man, Joseph Smith. Learn more about what he did, what he had to go through and how difficult it was, why he was called to go through that, and, ultimately, what he will yet do. Read his testimony. Read about his revelations, especially as recorded in the D&C. Learn about Church history. Learn about what will happen in the future.
A testimony of Joseph Smith comes in many ways. Study, pondering, prayer, revelation, etc., and as you do those things, your own testimony of him and what he did, will develop and strengthen. So when that volley of evil water balloons hits, or, rather, when evil sends forth their volley of water balloons, that will try to discredit Joseph Smith, it will have no effect on your testimony. And if you know he is a Prophet of God, you will know that this is the true church. And you will know that this is where you need to be.