Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.
For the early saints The Book of Mormon, given the way it was both received and translated, was a sign that the heavens were open and God was once again speaking to man as He has in the past. They believde that He was the same now as He always had been.
I find it refreshing that we are reminding ourselves of that again as we reevaluate the doctrine and teachings regarding the true nature of God and how He (They) work(s) among men. We testify today that we have loving Heavenly Parents whose work and glory is to help us become like Them - to live the principles of happiness, to become fully realized as individuals.
We see Joseph Smith grow into this understanding over the years of his life. But it does seem as if Protestant teachings of sin and judgment have prevailed. The God portrayed in the Old Testament prevailed. In spite of the fact that we believe the Bible to be true only to the extent it has been translated correctly and acknowledging some parts Joseph felt were so wrong that he began an "inspired translation" of the Bible - yet in Sunday School classes too often we see teachers and members still try to justify every word. When they are doing so they often vilify the character of God.
If we have loving Heavenly parents today, we had them 2000 years ago. At last we are seeing some of our LDS people reject the angry, vengeful god. It is about time!
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