JOSEPH SMITH: IF SOMEONE HAD SHARED GRACE...
Jesus was gracious to the woman taken in adultery. Sometimes, that is what reaches people. Sometimes, Christians are like the scribes and Pharisees, choosing to be judgmental instead of gracious.
In the 1820's, a young woman named Emma gave birth to her first child. The child was born deformed and died in a matter of hours. For two weeks, it was uncertain if Emma would live or die.
During that time, her husband tried to join a local church. Local people, knowing his reputation, did not want him. Some demanded that he specifically repent for his corrupt dealings and occult practices, and it was proper for him to do that, but I am aware of no indication that anyone tried to minister to him or his family.
If someone had shared God’s grace with him when he was a broken man, history might have been different. He might have become a great revival preacher or missionary. Instead, Joseph Smith went on to found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons. He went on to spread a false gospel which has reached around the world, to engage in bloody conflicts, and to wreck
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