Elder Andersen Testifies, Shares Witnesses of the Prophet Joseph Smith

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By Trent Toone Church News

The word of the evening was “witness.”

Speaking to several thousand seated inside Utah State University’s Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Sunday, February 23, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that witnesses can be observers or eyewitnesses who see, hear or know by personal experience.

“Witnesses establish the truth, helping others to strengthen their belief,” Elder Andersen said.

He taught and bore witness to Joseph Smith's life and mission through the words and testimonies of many witnesses.

“I am grateful tonight to share my own witness and the many other witnesses the Lord has given us to strengthen our assurance that God called and inspired the Prophet Joseph Smith,” he said.

Elder Andersen was accompanied by his wife, Kathy, at the Cache Valley-wide young adult devotional hosted by the Logan Institute of Religion.

Book of Mormon

Elder Andersen said one of the strongest, most convincing physical witnesses of Joseph Smith’s divine calling is the Book of Mormon. He quoted several witnesses, including the three and eight witnesses, the Prophet Nephi and President Russell M. Nelson.

“The Book of Mormon is tangible and irrefutable evidence of Joseph Smith’s foreordained designation as the prophet of his dispensation,” President Nelson said at the 2021 Mission Leader Seminar.

Elder Andersen invited the audience to recite 1 Nephi 3:7 with him. “These words and a thousand others have gone into my heart like fire,” he said. “I know they are true.”

Elder Andersen also reflected on Joseph and Hyrum Smith reading from the Book of Mormon before their deaths at Carthage Jail, holding up the copy they read from that day. The brothers died proclaiming the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

“I witness to you by the power of the Holy Ghost that I do know the Book of Mormon is God’s word to us today,” Elder Andersen said, “another testament of Jesus Christ, whose truth stands next to the truth of the Bible, in assuring us that Jesus is the Christ.”

To Know Joseph

Those who knew Joseph Smith personally are witnesses of his goodness. Elder Andersen quoted the likes of Brigham Young, John Taylor, Eliza R. Snow and Parley P. Pratt.

“I testify before God, angels and men, that [Joseph] was a good, honorable [and] virtuous man… [and] that his private and public character was unimpeachable — and that he lived and died as a man of God,” said Taylor, third president of the Church.

Men and women who study Joseph Smith's life can appreciate his goodness. Rev. Amos Brown, a prominent Christian and NAACP leader, spoke at the Washington D.C. Temple open house and applauded the Prophet’s efforts to run for President of the United States on a platform to abolish slavery.

“He is a great proponent of Joseph Smith,” Elder Andersen said.

The Fruit of Joseph’s Mission

While showing a slide depicting delicious fruit, Elder Andersen read the Savior’s words from the New Testament: “Ye shall know them by their fruits. … A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:16, 18).

“Inspired by heaven, planted by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and cultivated by thousands of others, the tree of the restored gospel is now in beautiful array,” Elder Andersen said. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fruit of a divine restoration. And the fruit is very good.”

Elder Andersen also quoted scholars and others not affiliated with the Church who have studied its fruits. One example is United Methodist Pastor Kenda Creasy Dean, who wrote that Latter-day Saint teenagers tend to be the “spiritual athletes” of their generation.

Final Witness

Although Elder Andersen’s testimony has been built in part by experiences at Church history sites, he said each person can know for themselves through the power of the Holy Ghost.

He then bore his own witness.

“Through the power of the Holy Ghost, the truthfulness of the voice of the Spirit, I do know that God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith. … I know he was called to restore the gospel and prepare a people for the return of our Savior Jesus Christ,” Elder Andersen said. “He is who we claim him to be.

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