The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain

President Gordon B. Hinckley

The Lord is fulfilling His promise that His gospel shall be as the stone cut out of the mountain without hands.

Now, my brothers and sisters, we live with an interesting phenomenon. A soloist sings the same song again and again. An orchestra repeats the same music. But a speaker is expected to come up with something new every time he speaks. I am going to break that tradition this morning and repeat in a measure what I have said on another occasion.

The Church has become one large family scattered across the earth. There are now more than 13 million of us in 176 nations and territories. A marvelous and wonderful thing is coming to pass. The Lord is fulfilling His promise that His gospel shall be as the stone cut out of the mountain without hands which would roll forth and fill the whole earth, as Daniel saw in vision (see Daniel 2:31–45; D&C 65:2). A great miracle is taking place right before our eyes.

I take you back 184 years to the year 1823. The month was September—the night of September 21–22, to be exact.

The boy Joseph Smith had prayed that night before going to sleep. He asked the Lord for forgiveness of his light-mindedness. A miraculous thing then happened. He says:

“While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside. . . .

“He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God . . . and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people” (Joseph Smith—History 1:30, 33).

The boy must have been stunned by what he heard. In the eyes of those who knew him, he was simply a poor, unlearned farm boy. He had no wealth. His neighbors were in the same condition. His parents were struggling farmers. The area where they lived was rural and largely unknown. They were simply ordinary people trying to survive through hard work.

And yet an angel of God said that Joseph’s “name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues.” How could it be? That description fits the entire world.

Now, as we look back 177 years to the organization of the Church, we marvel at what has already happened. When the Church was organized in 1830 there were but six members, only a handful of believers, all residing in a largely unknown village. Today, we have become the fourth or fifth largest church in North America, with congregations in every city of any consequence. Stakes of Zion today flourish in every state of the United States, in every province of Canada, in every state of Mexico, in every nation of Central America and throughout South America.

Congregations are found throughout the British Isles and Europe, where thousands have joined the Church through the years. This work has reached out to the Baltic nations and on down through Bulgaria and Albania and other areas of that part of the world. It reaches across the vast area of Russia. It reaches up into Mongolia and all down through the nations of Asia into the islands of the Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand, and into India and Indonesia. It is flourishing in many of the nations of Africa.

Our general conferences are carried by satellite and other means in 92 different languages.

And this is only the beginning. This work will continue to grow and prosper and move across the earth. It must do so if Moroni’s promise to Joseph is to be fulfilled.

This work is unique and wonderful. It is fundamentally different from every other body of religious doctrine of which I know.

When Jesus walked the earth, He said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).

Joseph, when he was 14 years of age, had an experience in that glorious First Vision that was different from any other recorded experience of any man. At no other time of which we have any record have God our Eternal Father and His Beloved Son, the risen Lord, appeared on earth together.

At the time of the baptism of Jesus by John in the river Jordan, the voice of God was heard, but He was not seen. At the Mount of Transfiguration, again the voice of God was heard, but there is no record of His appearance. Stephen saw the Lord on the right hand of the Father, but They did not address or instruct him.

Following His Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the Nephites in the Western Hemisphere. The voice of the Almighty was heard three times, introducing the risen Christ, but there was no appearance of the Father.

How truly remarkable was that vision in the year 1820 when Joseph prayed in the woods and there appeared before him both the Father and the Son. One of these spoke to him, calling him by name and, pointing to the other, said, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith—History 1:17).

Nothing like it had ever happened before. One is led to wonder why it was so important that both the Father and the Son appear. I think it was because They were ushering in the dispensation of the fulness of times, the last and final dispensation of the gospel, when there would be gathered together in one the elements of all previous dispensations. This was to be the final chapter in the long chronicle of God’s dealing with men and women upon the earth.

Following the Savior’s death, the Church He had established drifted into apostasy. Fulfilled were the words of Isaiah, who said, “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 24:5).

Realizing the importance of knowing the true nature of God, men had struggled to find a way to define Him. Learned clerics argued with one another. When Constantine became a Christian in the fourth century, he called together a great convocation of learned men with the hope that they could reach a conclusion of understanding concerning the true nature of Deity. All they reached was a compromise of various points of view. The result was the Nicene Creed of A.D. 325. This and subsequent creeds have become the declaration of doctrine concerning the nature of Deity for most of Christianity ever since.

I have read them all a number of times. I cannot understand them. I think others cannot understand them. I am sure that the Lord also knew that many would not understand them. And so in 1820, in that incomparable vision, the Father and the Son appeared to the boy Joseph. They spoke to him with words that were audible, and he spoke to Them. They could see. They could speak. They could hear. They were personal. They were of substance. They were not imaginary beings. They were beings tabernacled in flesh. And out of that experience has come our unique and true understanding of the nature of Deity.

No wonder that when Joseph in 1842 wrote the Articles of Faith he stated as number one, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost” (Articles of Faith 1:1).

As all of you well know, there followed through the years a veritable “cloud of witnesses,” as Paul described prophetically (see Hebrews 12:1).

First came Moroni with the plates from which was translated the Book of Mormon. What a singular and remarkable thing this was. Joseph’s story of the gold plates was fantastic. It was hard to believe and easy to challenge. Could he have written it of his own capacity? It is here, my brothers and sisters, for everyone to see, to handle, to read. Every attempt to explain its origin, other than that which he gave, has fallen of its own weight. He was largely unschooled; and yet, in a very brief time, he brought forth the translation which in published form comes to more than 500 pages.

Paul declares that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1).

The Bible had stood for centuries. It is a precious and wonderful book. Now there was a second witness declaring the divinity of Christ. The Book of Mormon is the only book ever published, of which I know, that carries in it a promise that one who reads it prayerfully and asks concerning it in prayer will have revealed to him by the power of the Holy Ghost a knowledge that it is true (see Moroni 10:4).

Since its first publication in a rural print shop in Palmyra, New York, there have been more than 133 million copies produced. It has been translated into 105 languages. Not long ago it was named one of the 20 most influential books ever published in North America.

Recently a first edition sold for $105,000. But the cheapest paperback edition is as valuable to the reader who loves its language and message.

Through all of these years critics have tried to explain it. They have spoken against it. They have ridiculed it. But it has outlived them all, and its influence today is greater than at any time in its history.

In this series of events came next the restoration of the priesthood, bestowed by resurrected beings who held it when the Savior walked the earth. This occurred in 1829, when Joseph was only 23.

Following receipt of the priesthood, the Church was organized on the 6th of April, 1830, when Joseph was a young man not yet 25. Again, the organization is unique and different from that of traditional Christianity. It is largely operated by a lay ministry. Voluntary service is its genius. As it has grown and spread abroad, thousands upon thousands of faithful and able men have directed its efforts.

Today I stand in wonder at the marvelous things which God revealed to His appointed prophet while he was yet young and largely unknown. The very language of these revelations is beyond the capacity of even a man of great learning.

Scholars not of our faith, who will not accept our singular doctrines, are puzzled by the great unrolling of this work, which is touching the hearts of people across the earth. We owe it all to Joseph the Prophet, the seer and the revelator, the Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was foreordained to come forth in this generation as an instrument in the hands of the Almighty in restoring to the earth that which the Savior taught when He walked the roads of Palestine.

To you, this day, I affirm my witness of the calling of the Prophet Joseph, of his works, of the sealing of his testimony with his blood as a martyr to the eternal truth. Each of you can bear witness of the same thing. You and I are faced with the stark question of accepting the truth of the First Vision and that which followed it. On the question of its reality lies the very validity of this Church. If it is the truth, and I testify that it is, then the work in which we are engaged is the most important work on the earth.

I leave with you my testimony of the truth of these things, and I invoke the blessings of heaven upon you. May the windows of heaven be opened and blessings showered upon you as the Lord has promised. Never forget that this was His promise and that He has the power and the capacity to see that it is fulfilled. I so pray as I leave my blessing and love with you in the sacred name of our Redeemer, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

從山上鑿出的石頭

戈登‧興格萊會長

主正在實現祂的應許，祂的福音將如同非人手從山上鑿出的石頭。

弟兄姊妹們，我們的生活中有個有趣的現象。獨唱者會一再地唱同一首歌；管絃樂隊也會一再地演奏同一首樂曲。但人們卻期待演講者每次都要講些新的內容。今天早上我要打破這個傳統，重提我從前在別的場合講過的一些事。

本 教會已成為一個遍及全世界的龐大家庭。如今我們在176個國家及地區有超過1,300萬名教友。一件奇妙又奇妙的事正在發生，主正在實現祂的應許，正如但 以理在異象中所看到的，祂的福音將如同非人手從山上鑿出的石頭那樣滾動出去，直到充滿整個大地（見但以理書2:31-45；教約65：2）。一項偉大的奇 蹟正在我們眼前發生。

我要帶你們回溯到184年前的1823年。那時候是九月，確實的日期是9月21-22日的晚上。

少年約瑟‧斯密那天晚上在就寢之前作了祈禱。他祈求主寬恕他的輕率行為。隨後發生了一件奇妙的事情。他說：

「我正這樣呼求神的時候，發現房中有光出現，那光不斷增強，直到房中比正午還亮，隨即有個人物出現在我床邊；……

「他叫我的名字，告訴我他是從神面前派……來的使者，名叫摩羅乃；他說，神有一件事工要我去做；我的名字必在各國、各族、各方中受好評或惡評，或者必在各民中受到褒貶」（約瑟‧斯密──歷史1：30，33）。

這位少年必定對他所聽到的事情大感驚愕。在熟識他的人們眼中，他只不過是個貧窮、沒受過什麼教育的農家男孩。他沒有財富，他鄰居們的處境也相同。他的父母是生活困苦的農夫，他們住在默默無聞的鄉下地方。他們只是很平凡的人，靠著努力工作來求得溫飽。

然而，神的使者卻說，約瑟的「名字必在各國、各族、各方中受好評或惡評，或者必在各民中受到褒貶」。這怎麼可能呢？這句話很適合用來描述整個世界的情形。

現 在，當我們回顧教會於177年前成立的情景，就會對發展至今的情況感到驚奇。教會於1830年成立時只有六位教友，只有一小群信徒，他們都住在沒沒無聞的 村莊裡。如今，我們已成為北美洲第四或第五大的教會，在各大城市都有會眾。今日的錫安支聯會在美國各州、在加拿大各省、在墨西哥各州、在中美洲各國以及南 美洲各地都蓬勃發展。

會眾遍佈英國和歐洲，多年來當地已有成千上萬的人加入教會。這事工已拓展到波羅的海各國，並且 往南延伸到保加利亞、阿爾巴尼亞及附近的幾個區域。這事工遍及俄羅斯的廣大區域，往上延伸到蒙古，往下遍及亞洲各國直到太平洋上的島國，澳洲和紐西蘭，並 進入印度和印尼。這事工也在非洲的許多國家快速成長。

我們的總會教友大會透過衛星及其他媒介，以92種不同的語言播送。

這只是起頭而已。這事工會繼續成長、蓬勃發展並遍及全世界。只要摩羅乃對約瑟的應許得以應驗，情況必會如此。

這事工獨特而奇妙，與我所知道的任何其他宗教團體的教義有很重大的差異。

耶穌在世時，曾說：「認識您──獨一的真神，並且認識您所差來的耶穌基督，這就是永生」（約翰福音17：3）。

約瑟14歲時經歷榮耀的第一次異象，這項經驗與任何其他人所記載的經驗都不相同。我們從未聽聞在任何其他時期曾有人記載，父神和祂的愛子──即復活的主──一起在世上顯現。

約翰在約旦河為耶穌施洗後，傳來神的聲音，但祂並未顯現。在變形山上，神的聲音再度傳來，但並沒有關於祂顯現的任何紀錄。司提反曾看見主在父的右邊，但是祂們並沒有與他交談，也沒有給他指示。

耶穌復活之後，在西半球向尼腓人顯現。全能者的聲音傳來三次，介紹復活的基督，但父並沒有顯現。

1820年，約瑟在樹林裡祈禱，結果父與子同時在他面前顯現，這真是件非常偉大的異象。祂們其中一位對他說話，叫著他的名字，指著另一位，說：「這是我的愛子。聽祂說！」（約瑟‧斯密──歷史1：17）。

這樣的事情從來不曾發生過。有人一定會想，為什麼父與子同時出現是那麼重要。我想那是因為祂們帶來了圓滿時代的福音期，即最後一個福音期；此時以往各福音期的所有重要部分都要聚集在一起。神與世上男女往來的悠久歷史，也將在此時寫下最後的篇章。

救主死後，祂所建立的教會逐漸陷入叛教的情況。以賽亞的話應驗了，他說：「地被其上的居民污穢；因為他們犯了律法，廢了律例，背了永約」（以賽亞書24：5）。

世 人明白認識神的真正本質之重要性，因此一直努力尋找方法來為神下定義。博學的神職人員為此互相爭論。君士坦丁在第四世紀成為基督徒時，召集了一大群博學之 士，希望他們能對神的真正本質作出定論。他們所得到的是綜合各種不同觀點的折衷看法，其結果就是公元325年的尼西亞信經（Nicene Creed）。從此以後，這份信經和隨後的信條就被大多數的基督徒奉為圭臬，成為有關神本質的教義宣言。

這些文件我 曾經從頭到尾讀了幾次，但我不了解其內容，我想其他的人也不了解。我相信主也知道有很多人不了解。所以，在1820年那次無與倫比的偉大異象中，父與子向 少年約瑟顯現。祂們用可以聽見的聲音與約瑟交談，約瑟也與祂們交談。祂們看得見、會說話，也會聆聽，祂們分別具有人的形象，是具體存在的人物，而非想像的 人物。祂們具有骨肉的身體。藉由那次的經驗，我們得以與眾不同地真正了解神的本質。

難怪約瑟在1842年寫信條時，便開宗明義地說：「我們信神，永恆的父，和祂的兒子耶穌基督，及聖靈」（信條第1條）。

如同你們大家所知道的，在隨後的這些歲月裡，確實就像保羅所預言的：「見證人多得如同天上的雲彩」（見希伯來書12：1）。

首 先是摩羅乃帶來了頁片，那些頁片後來被翻譯成摩爾門經，這是何等奇特偉大的事啊！約瑟得到金頁片的故事非常地奇妙，讓人難以置信，很容易讓人提出質疑。有 沒有可能是他自己撰寫的？弟兄姊妹們，這本書就在擺在眼前，可供每個人觀看、觸摸和閱讀。有關摩爾門經的起源，除了他自己所作的解釋外，其他的各種解釋都 無法證實。他沒受過什麼正規教育，然而，在極短的時間內，他完成了翻譯，並印成了一本500多頁的英文書。

保羅說：「憑兩三個人的口作見證，句句都要定準」（哥林多後書13：1）。

聖經已經存在了許多世紀，那是一本珍貴而奇妙的經典。現在，有第二本書為基督的神性作見證。據我所知，在所有已出版的書籍中，摩爾門經是唯一附帶著下列應許的一本書，也就是凡虔敬閱讀並祈禱求問此書的人，必會透過聖靈的力量知道此書的真實性（見摩羅乃書10：4）。

摩爾門經自從在紐約拋邁拉鄉下的印刷廠首度出版以來，至今已發行超過1億3,300萬本，且已翻譯成105種語言。不久前，摩爾門經被提名為北美歷來發行書籍中，最具影響力的前20本書之一。

最近有一本首版的摩爾門經以105,000美元賣出。但對於喜愛此書的語言文字與信息的讀者來說，最廉價的平裝本是同等珍貴。

多年來批評者一直設法要解釋摩爾門經，他們發表反對此書的言論，對此書冷嘲熱諷。但是摩爾門經比他們所有的人更禁得起時間的考驗，如今此書的影響力比以往任何時候都還要大。

在這一連串的事件中，接下來是聖職的復興，那是由救主在世時持有該聖職的復活人物所授予的。此事發生於1829年，當時約瑟年僅23歲。

獲 得聖職後，教會於1830年4月6日成立，當時約瑟是個未滿25歲的年輕人。本教會的組織方式，同樣也是非常獨特，有別於傳統的基督教派。本教會主要是由 非神職人員來管理，教友們的自願服務是本教會運作的神妙之處。隨著本教會逐漸成長並向海外擴展時，有成千上萬名忠信又有才幹的男女付出了他們的努力。

神向祂所指派的少年先知啟示了奇妙的事，如今我對這些事仍感到驚奇不已；當時這位先知非常年少且幾乎默默無聞。這些啟示甚至在用字遣詞方面都是一般飽學之士所望塵莫及的。

其 他宗教信仰的學者不願意接受我們獨特非凡的教義，他們對於本教會事工不斷推進，而且能觸動世界各地人們的心一事，感到困惑不解。我們有這些成就，都要感謝 約瑟──這位先知、先見和啟示者及主耶穌基督的使徒──他蒙預派在這世代誕生，成為全能者手中的工具，將救主在世上所教導的事復興到世上。

今 天，我要再次向你們見證先知約瑟的召喚、他的事工、他用自己的血來封印他的見證、為永恆真理犧牲了性命。你們每一位都可以為同樣的事作見證。你我都必須回 應這項明白直接的問題，即是否會接受第一次異象及隨之而來的事情之真實性。本教會是否是真實的，乃是取決於第一次異象的真實性。如果回答是肯定的，而我也 要見證事實的確如此，那麼我們所從事的事工就是世上最重要的工作。

親愛的弟兄姊妹，我見證我所說的這些事情是真實 的，我要把這見證留下來給你們，也祈求上天賜福給你們。願天上的窗戶敞開，將各種祝福傾注在你們身上，如同主所應許的那樣。絕不要忘記：這是主所應許的， 祂有權力和大能讓這些事一一實現。我這樣祈求，並留下我的愛與祝福給你們，奉我們的救贖主，主耶穌基督的聖名，阿們。