An Interesting Quote - And A Profound Truth

Joseph Smith purportedly once said the following: "Sectarian preachers condemn me and the [Latter-day] Saints to hell. Well, if that is true, we will turn the devil out of doors and make a heaven of it. This is the finest people on the face of the earth. Where this people is, there is good society."

I love this profound truth.I heard this quote from one of Truman Madsen's CDs, and although I've paraphrased it, the essence of the statement has stuck with me. Let me be clear: I do not believe, nor do I think, that the Prophet Joseph Smith thought that the Latter-day Saints were (or are) perfect. Speaking for myself, I am certainly not! Indeed, as I look around my ward (congregation), I look at people who are doing all they can, no matter how small or large, to become better. And ultimately, that is what this life is all about.

So I find it interesting that even today, "sectarian preachers" and others condemn the Saints to hell. "Cult" they exclaim to apparently mesmerized audiences. "Deceived" they (sometimes literally) scream at us. These statements used to (seriously) bother me. However, they now amuse me. And besides, even though I understand from a doctrinal perspective that all mankind are my brothers and sisters, do I really want to be in heaven with people who are holier-than-thou? (Speaking of which, I just found an article that you might find interesting, which talks about the relative biases of some people.) I'd rather spend it with my family in the spirit of worship and consecration.

For non-members of the Church, we do believe in heaven. In fact, the whole purpose of the Church is to bring individuals and family to be part of "the household of God." (Ephesians 2:19) For more, read this article from www.mormon.org. Finally, I have another video link that you might find useful: