EIGHTEEN
(1823)
At age 17, Joseph continued to learn correct principles, which he would later attempt to teach others.
He also learned of his own previous incarnation as Mormon and met the “Three Nephites” and John
the Beloved. The marvelous visit of the “angel” Moroni is described in detail. Alvin’s death
as did his life, strengthened Joseph in his preparations as a true messenger.Joseph’s Knowledge as a Teenager
Before celebrating his eighteenth birthday, Joseph Smith, Jr. had become the most
knowledgeable and informed, fully mortal human being upon the earth. As outlined in
previous chapters, his childhood prepared his mind with experiences that helped him
understand and accept as a young teenager the information he learned from meeting with
an advanced human being. Joseph’s first advanced mentor was the man who will eventually
function in his full capacity as the Overseer of our solar system’s government. Some people
call him Jesus, others Yahweh, Allah, God and many other names culturally assigned to the
one in whom many have placed their hope for a better life—forever.
This advanced mentor taught Joseph that all humans are their own god,^1 having
free will to act for themselves and not to be acted upon by others.^2 With divine
assistance, Joseph’s childhood afforded him the opportunity to live in a country that
boasted religious freedom. Many religious groups located here each “acted upon” and
tried to impose their beliefs upon the individual. Religion took away human inalienable
free agency and set up man-made doctrines and precepts that told a person what they
should and shouldn’t do in order to be “saved.”
Joseph learned that “Lucifer” was one of the religious props used for centuries by spiritual
leaders to convince people that they were being “acted upon” from without. The respective
religious leaders had convinced the people that the only way to combat “Lucifer” was to please
God by turning to them, as they acted as God’s mouthpiece upon earth. Joseph’s own
immediate family added to the confusion he felt over religion; but the uncertainty was cleared
up completely in his mind when he met with the advanced Overseer.
Furthermore, the Christ taught Joseph that the “Holy Ghost” was another religious
prop misunderstood and used by religious leaders to take away human free will. The pious
were convinced that they were being “acted upon” by yet another unseen and
misunderstood being that stood in direct contrast to “Lucifer.” It was not hard for the young
boy to figure out how easily the people had given up their free will and been duped by their
religious fervor. Joseph saw how they were relentlessly persuaded (as they believed) by a
myriad of outside powers, both acting on the individual, and causing them to act in ways
outside of personal control.
All of the visions, revelations, revivals, speaking in tongues, and other religious
demonstrations going on at the time were explained away during a few hours of meeting with
Christ. With free will “gone wild,” Joseph realized that a human being could come up with all
kinds of “vain and foolish imaginations”^3 including, as mentioned, a belief in phantom beings
known as “Lucifer” and the “Holy Ghost.” True messengers understood that such imaginary