Anything is possible with God my freind. Also you must remember that if he personaly saw the fave of God with his own two eyes maybe be what he means when he stated that. He may have seen the Lord in a dream. Also you must remember Moses saw God in some shape or form himself and lived.

In a "Delusional" state!!! John

Good question. I have often wondered that myself.

TOTC, I’m sorry, but you’ve misunderstood these verses. (Of course, I’m guessing you didn’t find them on your own, anyway—it would seem that most of your questions come directly from “anti-Mormon” literature, but I digress….) Here are the verses in question, in their entirety:   “And without the ordinances [of the greater Priesthood], and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; “For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live” (Doctrine & Covenants 84:21-22, http://tinyurl.com/dc84-19).   “The ordinances” is plural; “the authority” is singular, but forms part of a compound subject and would thus also be referenced by a plural pronoun. However, the pronoun in v.22 is singular: “this.” Thus, “this” must refer to “the power of godliness”—the only singular subject in this passage. Actually, as I was typing this, it occurred to me to check the Castilian translation of this passage, which reads: “Y sin sus ordenanzas y la autoridad del sacerdocio, el poder de la divinidad no se manifiesta a los hombres en la carne; “porque sin esto, ningún hombre puede ver la faz de Dios, sí, el Padre, y vivir” (Doctrina y Convenios 84:21-22, http://tinyurl.com/dc84-19es). The Castilian “esto” corresponds to the English “this,” but when used following a list, it specifically and exclusively denotes the last item in the list. Thus, the alternate translation leaves no possible room for misinterpretation. Finally, after reading the passage and drawing my own conclusions, I found this: http://tinyurl.com/6lh4e4 . Good reading.

Joseph Smith also stated prior to this revelation,(D&C 84;21,22) that something else was needed. This can be found in D&C 67:11.."For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God." And as you will notice during the first vision Joseph was totally enveloped by the Holy Ghost. whew4

because he made it up. The simple answer is typically the right one.

according to LDS doctrine he was transfigured so that he could see god and live, when you deal with a being of infinite power there are many exceptions to general rules.

I thought he claimed that he saw an Angel, not God? .. From that one PBS documentary I saw haha! So clearly not an expert! .... To me, he lived because he saw neither God nor Angel!!!

No man can see God and live PERIOD, priest or not. Thats why we have spirits, so that when the gap is closed via Christ, He can communicate with us. Just because the Jewish high priests in the OT could enter The Most Holy Place once a year doesn't mean God showed Himself.

SHORT ANSWER: The narrative doesn't give an answer. LONG ANSWER: Joe, I not sure if you're referring to the 1838 Joseph Smith account which is considered the "official" account that reads . . . 1838 OFFICIAL VERSION "I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" http://scriptures.lds.org/js_h/1 ... or than the 1832 handwritten Journal Account that was suppressed by the LDS Church (and locked in the Church archvives) until 1965 which reads: 1832 DIARY VERSION: "...the Lord heard my cry in the wilderness and while in [the] attitude of calling upon the Lord [in the 16th* year of my age] a pillar of {fire} lightabove the brightness of the Sun at noon day come down fromabove and rested upon me and I was filld with the Spirit of God and the [Lord] opened the heavens upon me and I Saw the Lord and he Spake unto me Saying Joseph [my son] thy Sins are forgiven thee. go thy [way] walk in my Statutes and keep my commandments behold I am the Lord of glory I was crucifyed for the world that all those who believe on my name may have Eternal life" http://www.lds-mormon.com/fv.shtml And it is unclear from BOTH narratives HOW Joseph Smtih could see God and live. Furthermore the two accounts contradict each other in the following areas: How he discovered the Great Apostasy: ====================================== 1838 OFFICIAL ACCOUNT Joseph Smith learned of Christendom’s apostasy through his First Vision and direct revelation. 15. 1832 DIARY ACCOUNT Joseph Smith learned of Christendom’s apostasy through “searching the scriptures.” 19. His age when the First Vision occurred: ======================================== 1838 OFFICIAL ACCOUNT Joseph Smith prayed and received his First Vision in the “fifteenth year” of his life. 16. 1832 DIARY ACCOUNT Joseph Smith prayed and received his First Vision in the “16th year” of his life. 20. Who was manifest and spoke to him: =================================== 1838 OFFICIAL ACCOUNT In his First Vision, Joseph saw “two Personages”—the Father and the Son. 17. 1832 DIARY ACCOUNT In his First Vision, Joseph saw “the Lord of glory” who was “crucifyed for the world” with no mention of the Father. 21. The Date that Moroni visits him: ================================= 1838 OFFICIAL ACCOUNT The angel Moroni visits Joseph Smith on“the twenty-first of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three.” 18. 1832 DIARY ACCOUNT The angel Moroni visits Joseph Smith “on the 22nd day of Sept. AD 1822.” 22. Either way, your question is not answered by the narrative - which is highly suspect due to these glaring contradictions. Sorry. NOTES: 15. Joseph Smith—History 1:18-19 16. Joseph Smith—History 1:7 17. Joseph Smith—History 1:17 18. Joseph Smith—History 1:27-29 19. The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 1984, p. 5 20. The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 1984, p. 6 21. The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 1984, p. 6 22. The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 1984, p. 7

He may have seen a God. I have seen many Gods and I am still alive. What difference does it make if you are a priest?

I believe that Joseph Smiths idea and many of his ideas are very innocorrect. And I say that without meaning to offend anyone its just how I think.

He was probably drunk on fire water and took a drunken story and turned it into a super scam, and of course, people bought his bunk. :-)

This question is a duplicate, but for some reason I can’t find the other instance thereof, so I guess I’ll respond again. The problem with this question is that Joseph never said any such thing. Let’s read what he did say, which is found in Doctrine & Covenants 84:19-22:    ”[The Melchizedek] priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the keys of     the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in     the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the     ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is     not manifest unto men in the flesh; For without this no man can see the face of     God, even the Father, and live” (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/84/19-22#6). Unfortunately, the English version is a little difficult to parse, but the Castilian version is much simpler. v.22 reads:    “porque sin esto, ningún hombre puede ver la faz de Dios, sí, el Padre, y vivir”     (http://scriptures.lds.org/es/dc/84/19-22#6). The operative word here is “esto,” which means “this” but carries the implicit connotation of “the last noun mentioned.” If this verse were actually talking about the Melchizedek Priesthood, the word “this” would have been translated “eso,” not “esto.” So what Joseph *actually* said was:    “…without [the power of godliness] no man can see the face of God… and live.” HTH! * * * * * ETA: Okay, there it is. I’ve flagged this question, but until it gets combined, here’s the original: http://www.answerbag.com/a_view/3423918

Obviously old Joe wasn't a Man. He must've been a superman. Understand?