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Hi, I'm G. Smith
I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
About Me
I'm married to a wonderful friend, and we have three children of whom we are absurdly proud.
I studied research physiology and English, but escaped into medical school before earning my bachelor’s degree. After receiving my MD, I completed a residency in family medicine in Montréal, Québec. There I learned the medical vocabulary and French Canadian slang that I didn’t pick up during the two years I lived in Paris, France as a volunteer missionary for the Church.
Why I am a Mormon
I am a Mormon for one simple reason: because the gospel as taught by the Church brought me to Christ, and I have learned more about Him from the Church of Jesus Christ than any other source. And, much of that hinges on the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon
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In May 1983, I first read the Book of Mormon with any seriousness. As I did so, it struck me for the first time just how radical this book and its claims were. It came to me with great force how incredible this whole tale of Joseph Smith's was, and how we Mormons were the only people who believed all this stuff: angels, gold plates, Christ in America.
This lightning bolt rather quickly led me to the realization that I had gone along with the idea because my parents had taught it to me, but why would anyone else? I knew people talked about prayer for this sort of thing, but wondered if you might just "want it" to be true to the point that you could "create" your own answer.
I didn't talk about this with anyone; I didn't explain it to my parents or anything—partly, I think, because I had the sense that I didn't want to be biased by their reply. It was a lonely moment.
After spinning the matter in my mind, I concluded that such a momentous question (for so it suddenly seemed) would probably take many weeks of struggling and prayers to settle, at best. I knew it entirely possible that I wouldn't get an answer, and wondered what I would do if I didn't. And, even if I was answered, would I recognize it? And, would my worries about the implications of not getting an answer lead me to manufacture a reply?
I had, I think, decided that if this went on for a while with no reply, I'd tell my parents that I didn't know. I pictured them as a bit sad, but not angry. And, I decided I could live with that.
So, I got down on my knees—I asked God to forgive me my sins. I explained to Him that I'd just read part of the Book of Mormon, and that I didn't know if it was true or not. I asked Him to tell me.
I was completely unprepared for the experience that followed. I was filled with a joy, a warmth, a love, and a sensation of such overwhelming mental clarity that it left me tired and weak afterwards. I could barely stand. I wrote a brief account in my journal, and noted that I had to keep stopping for a break because I didn't have the strength to write.
In the moment of revelation, any doubts I had were gone—I literally couldn't entertain them, and I tried. I might as well have been trying to convince myself I wasn't thinking. I was filled with insight, as if mental connections and understanding were being made almost too rapidly to process them.
I then asked if Joseph had been a true prophet, and the experience returned. I felt as if I was back home, after a long absence, and that I had found something that I hadn't known was missing until that moment. I had never experienced anything remotely like this, and so knew I hadn't created it. If I couldn't even conceive of it, how could I fabricate it? Besides, I was too surprised.
Well, I didn't tell anyone about that experience for some time. But, everything was transformed for me, and I could never look at the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith the same way again. God knew what I needed to persuade me, and I got it.
Another testament of Jesus Christ
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When Joseph Smith produced the Book of Mormon at the tender age of 23, with his all of three years of formal education, the last thing that the religious world would have thought they needed was "Another Testament of Jesus Christ". What a strange thing to produce in the midst of what was probably the most pluralistically Christian nation of all time, at perhaps one of the most religiously vibrant times in its history. Even the early Church members tended to use the Book of Mormon as an aid to conversion and witness of Joseph Smith's prophetic ministry, and then teach a great deal of their doctrine from the Holy Bible.
In Joseph Smith's day, few doubted the biblical accounts, and many or most took the Bible to be largely or wholly inerrant—without error. Who would have questioned Jesus' reality and His divinity?
And yet, with time the Book of Mormon's value as a "Christ centred" volume is now apparent. The following are from scholars of various persuasions:
• "Jesus was a social gadfly, upsetting now this, now that, convention…he was clearly no conserver of traditional values; he was no good-two-shoes"
• Jesus "is something of a party animal, somewhat shiftless, and disrespectful of [his parents]"
• Jesus is born as an illegitimate child to Mary, an abused and unwed mother;
• Jesus an "ancient charismatic wonder-worker"
• Jesus is "like a mirror for us all, showing us who we essentially are"
• "a charismatic, who was a healer, sage, prophet, and revitalization movement founder", but surely not "the divine savior whose purpose was to die for the sins of the world"
• a "Peasant Jewish Cynic" , referring to a type of Greek philosopher
• Jesus set in motion a "social experiment" with nothing of the divine or unique about it. [Collected in Luke Timothy Johnson, _The Real Jesus_ (HarperCollins, 1996).]
In short, to the modern thinker—and even to the modern Christian—Jesus can be many things. Indeed, people tend to recreate Him in whatever image suits them, in whatever way makes them comfortable, in whatever mold matches their own idea of how things should be: a "politically correct" Jesus, if you will.
To be sure, the Bible is still with us—and, as Latter-day Saints we remain profoundly grateful for it. Yet, as the world has realized what Joseph Smith always insisted upon—that no scripture can come through mortal men without being changed, edited, and partially corrupted if only due to mortal imperfection—things have descended into a bit of a free-for-all. (The alternative is an inerrantist fundamentalism which is both implausible, and causes as many problems as it is intended to solve.)
The situation is the same as it was for the young Joseph Smith:
"great multitudes united themselves to the different religious [or, in our day, academic or cultural] parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, "Lo, here!" and others, "Lo, there!" [Or, in our days, a cynical or disinterested, "Who cares?"] [History of Joseph Smith, 1:5-6]
The debate has changed—but the ground rules have not. Now the debate, rather than being about what an inerrant Bible means, is about what a fallible Bible can tell us at all, and what that means—if anything.
A Book Addict!
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I've often described myself as a book addict. I would rather read than do just about anything—I'd rather read than sleep or even eat, and I have on occasion. Some people climb mountains—my brain is always saying, "Yes, that's very pretty. But, you know, you could be home reading."
I had grown up on C.S. Lewis' Narnia books, and so one day my book addiction led me to pick up Lewis' _Mere Christianity_.
Lewis altered how I looked at discipleship. Even now, he still appeals to me more than most Christian apologists because of his intense self-awareness of his own fallibility and weakness, and the necessity to actively engage in the process of on-going sanctification. Reading _Mere Christianity_ was a deeply spiritual experience in which I was taught a number of things that continue to influence how I look at—and try to live—the gospel. And, doing so took me back to the Book of Mormon, where I learned about mercy and grace and the transforming power of Christian discipleship in a way I hadn't before.
I've read Lewis' book twice since. The second time was after my mission, and the third was a few years ago. In both cases, I enjoyed rereading it—but, it didn't seem to have more to teach me. It had taught me what it could (which was, and continues to be, very valuable), but the spiritual power and transformation of the first reading was not repeated. (Granted, this may say more about me than Lewis!)
I first read the Book of Mormon with any seriousness more than two decades ago. I've continued to read it ever since—I've lost count, but I'm sure I've read it cover-to-cover at least once a year for more than a quarter century, and many sections much more often. Remember, I'm an addict—I can't help myself. I need help. :-)
As for the Book of Mormon, the truly amazing thing to me is that more than twenty-five years later, it's still doing the same thing. Lewis was educated in the great universities of the world. He read and spoke multiple languages. He was a subtle thinker, and gifted communicator. And, yet, his book seems to have done all it can for me after only a reading or two.
By contrast, this Book of Mormon, produced by a backwoods farm boy with three years of formal education, dictated over a period of about two months continues to enlighten and transform my life.
If it wasn’t helping me, I'd have quit reading it. There's too much to read—and I love reading too much—to read things that I don't get anything out of. Life's too short, and no one knows that better than a book-addict in a library.
Any book that could get me to read it that many times, that often, and still benefit would have to be something special—an astonishing production, a work of staggering genius even if there were no divine claims with it at all. No other book has ever done that, save the gospels and parables of Jesus.
I may not know much—but, I do know books.
I occasionally hear critics dismiss the Book of Mormon as trivial, or not terribly complex or impressive—well, there are people who don't see what the fuss about Bach or Shakespeare is either. Such dismissiveness says far more about the critic than it does the work being dismissed.
Almost every significant spiritual experience in my life has been tied closely to the Book of Mormon—it has an uncanny ability to serve as a catalyst or driving force to insight and transformation. You run into Jesus on every page, and there's no remaking this Jesus—you can't water Him down, or run away, or assume He was just a clever Jewish peasant.
No, in the Book of Mormon you must confront Him as Jehovah, as the Bright and Morning Star, the Hope of Israel. And, I've seen revelation change me and change others.
But, it gets better: not only must you confront this Jesus—and your own inadequacy before Him—but you must also deal with an immediate sense of His love and tender concern for you. Then, in dizzying succession you get detailed, step-by-step, oft-repeated instructions about how to follow Him.
• How to have faith in Him, when you aren't sure that you do;
• How He can change you from things that seem unchangeable;
• How the ordinances and His authority are a key part of His tender designs for you;
• How He can heal you when you're most wounded;
• How the Bible—with its multitude of possible interpretations—can teach you so much more about Him with the Book of Mormon as a "frame of reference";
• How following Him does not guarantee a life of ease or freedom from adversity—indeed, the Book promises you'll get exactly the opposite. But, you can learn how that adversity can be consecrated and sanctified in your life through Him.
And, finally, not only do you learn of a promised reunion with Him—but, you can see actual reunions as they happened, and feel of the majesty of those moments.
Not bad for a nineteenth century New York farm boy. The book he translated by "the gift and power of God" has done what no other writer has managed: for me, anyway. And, he keeps on doing it.
God be thanked for the Book of Mormon—that book of books.
Personal Stories
Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.
I say more about this in the "Why I Am A Mormon."
I honor Joseph Smith for what he endured to bring greater light about God and Christ to the world.
And, I'm grateful for him because of his humanity--Jesus is a wonderful model, but He was perfect. That sort of example has many advantages, but one disadvantage is that it can be hard to see ourselves in Jesus.
Joseph's fallibility, his mistakes, his doubts, and his human foibles make him dear to me. If God can use a man like Joseph Smith to do good in this world, perhaps he can use me as well, as long as I--like Joseph--remained dedicated to the cause of Christ.
And, when I compare Joseph's weakness early in life with the strengths he developed later, that is a constant goad and source of hope for my own.
Why do Mormons go on missions?
I went on a mission because I had been saved, healed, and transformed by Christ. And, I was convinced that those doctrines were most fully taught in the gospel as taught by the Church of Jesus Christ.
Quite simply, I wanted to share something that had blessed me so enormously. Had I not wanted to go, it probably would have suggested that I didn't realize how much I had been blessed.
How has the Book of Mormon helped you understand the purpose of life?
I discuss this in the section on "Why I Am A Mormon."
How does making right choices help us make more right choices?
I like how the Book of Mormon puts this issue:
12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.
13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.
(Book of Mormon | Moroni 7:12 - 13)
This is a profound thought, and it broadens the influence of Christ substantially. Anything and everything that incites the least bit of goodness or service to God is sent by Christ. He is actively, even aggressively involved in calling to all people, everywhere. And, Satan is likewise engaged. There is no neutral ground in this world. Christ does not act just through prophets, or just through scriptures—anything that edges people even a little bit toward Him is under his influence and intent.
Christ works in the Church of Jesus Christ, but he works through other churches, other faiths, and even among those of no faith at all. His is a pervasive, continuous invitation all around us.
16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.
(Book of Mormon | Moroni 7:16 - 17)
If something pushes you toward Christ, in even the least degree, then it comes from Him. If anything draws you away from Him, then you ought to abandon it. As we keep saying, Jesus is all that matters—everything focuses on Him, and it all comes down to Him.
These scriptures also clear up a major misunderstanding for much of Christian history, though we often don’t realize it. A key doctrine ever since St. Augustine was the “depravity of man.” This doctrine—especially as extended by Martin Luther and John Calvin—held that because people were fallen and evil, they were completely unable of doing good on their own. Only Christ’s grace could enable them to make even the smallest step toward goodness.
Mormon teaches a different doctrine here. Rather than considering men and women completely unable to make even the smallest steps toward goodness under their own power, Mormon teaches that good things “persuade to believe in Christ”; and Satan aims to “persuade men to do evil.” We are in the middle, and pulled by influences in both directions. What is the outcome of this pulling? The Book of Mormon continues:
18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.
19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.
(Book of Mormon | Moroni 7:18 - 19)
You can know for yourself through the light of Christ—given to every man—and if you choose to “lay hold upon every good thing,” this will bring you closer to God.
So, unlike how some see it, we understand mankind to be genuinely free due to an unconditional gift of grace from God through Christ—we are balanced, as it were, between two poles, and can go either way. We can, of our own nature and choice, be drawn in either direction and can yield to the persuasion of both sides. That leads to acts, and if we choose good acts (“lay hold on every good thing”) this can bring us into a covenant relationship with Christ.
That covenant relationship can transform us, and remake us in His image. Thus, right choices allow Jesus to alter us and remould us (even if only a little bit). That makes it that much easier next time to act as He would act--because we both know His voice a little better, and we approximate His nature and character a bit further.
How I live my faith
All local Church units operate based entirely on volunteer work by the individual members. There is no professional, full-time clergy. All Church workers have their own "secular" jobs. For example, I'm a physician. But, under assignment from my Church leaders, I also:
* visit the home of three families each month, watch over their needs, and teach them about spiritual matters
* meet with the youth of our area to help them in their service and religious duties
* act as a "counselor" to the bishop, the lay leader who supervises our congregation of about 100 families (about 300 people).
* clean the church building
I also have an interest in the doctrine, theology, and history of my faith, so I've published some material in a university journal dedicated to such topics.
Most importantly, I try (however imperfectly) to live a life of Christian discipleship in public and at home. I have three children who seem so far to be internalizing the lessons my wife and I hope they learn about kindness, service, charity, and patience.
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