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Restoration of All Things (J. Smith)

Joseph Fielding Smith

Deseret Book Company
Salt Lake City, Utah

© 1945 Joseph Fielding Smith
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Deseret Book Company, P.O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City, Utah 84130. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book Company.

Deseret Book is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company.

President Joseph Fielding Smith, author of The Restoration of All Things, is gifted with unusual spiritual insight and has a profound interest in things spiritual. Through diligent study and patient research he has developed an understanding of the doctrines of the Church and a comprehension of the magnitude of the gospel which has made him an authority in this field.

Ordained an apostle in 1910, he served the Church as a General Authority for 62 years. His sermons and writings have been published in 24 books, plus numerous tracts and pamphlets.

Back of all his endeavors is a deep desire to help mankind. His books and pamphlets have been written with this thought in mind.

"Like Alma of old," President Smith has said, "I have felt keenly the responsibility upon me and my fellows, of proclaiming to the world the words of eternal life and the crying of repentance.... I have kept this in mind, that I might stand before the judgment seat free from the blood of this generation, that no hand or voice might be raised against me in accusation for failure to give the warning."

THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS

Joseph Fielding Smith

Published by

DESERET BOOK COMPANY

Salt Lake City, Utah 1973

ISBN-0-87747-227-0

Copyright by

JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH 1945

Introduction

In many respects the history of humanity has been like the story of a blind man groping in the dark, fearing for his very existence as he takes each insecure step, yet resisting the guiding hand of those who would willingly lead him into safety's path.

Throughout the years men have sought for happiness and security, but they have gone along doggedly in their own way trying to satisfy their desires for pleasure, affluence and prestige. They have been face to face with the realities of life, have had to work and at times fight to live. They have known the bitter meaning of "the survival of the fittest."

Always they have looked for short cuts and panaceas, only to learn that they live in a world of law, that those laws are inexorable and exact their toll no matter how much we try to dodge them.

Men have been told repeatedly that the way to the abundant life is not through human devices, but through obedience to the teachings of God. Yet, generally they have disbelieved. Hosts have not so much as accepted the fact of the existence of God; others, passively acknowledging belief, have lacked the faith to apply divine principles to their lives, and have therefore been little better off for their belief.