I was watching, listening, to church related music on you-tube, and I came across one titled: Joseph Smith: Lamb for slaughter? Naturally my curiosity got the better of me. I was sure of the fact that it was about Cartridge Jail. I semi-suspected by the question mark, and the first lines of the video, that this was made by an anti-lds.

But I watched it anyways in order to see what they were accusing Joseph of now. The whole video was basically about how Joseph fired back upon the mob who murdered him. This did not impress me. I've seen them use this against him before, and I scrolled through the comments.

It is not that I enjoy the anti-lds comments people make. I only read them to better prepare myself for the accusations they'll make against me one day. If I know what they are going to accuse me of, then I'll be prepared to strike back with an answer.

One man unintelligibly stated this, "If you saw God and Jesus (the) Christ and spoke with them...would you be scared in jail? Of course not! But Joseph was scared!!

I answer to this is that he is wrong. If you knew that you would be shot to death after watching your brother die, you'd be afraid. Nobody is like Jesus, if I'd been in that situation I'd defend myself for as long as I could. Even if it was all for nothing.

Joseph Smith Jr. was not the only man in history to get scared after seeing God. Moses was scared to return to Egypt, after conversing with God and Christ, because he wasn't fluent in Hebrew. People don't go after him about that. I mean, why would someone feel fear after seeing God and Jesus (sarcasm).

Even Jesus felt fear. He had spoken to God on many occasions, probably seen and spoken to many of the old prophets, and he lived in a terrestrial state.

He had been shone (like Joseph) the way he'd die. He would get  whipped, beaten, nailed to a cross, and stabbed with a spear before he'd would die.

This frightened him so badly that he bled from every pore, and he asked God to take the cup from him, he did not want to be the Savior. In the end, he accepted he was going to die, and he went through that torture so we could be forgiven.

Every great man who has seen the face of God and Jesus, has felt fear. We are mortal, and just because you see the Alpha and Omega doesn't mean you're automatically unafraid of everything. A part of the challenge of life is to feel fear, but overcome it. Which is what all these men have done.

I've seen the three Nephites, spoken to a Nephite, seen the beginning, a part of the end, given an explanation about Satan (the conversation was blocked), sat with Christ, beheld the army of God, seen the four angels and John, been told the Holy Ghost was by my side, saw a part of Jesus' life, seen on three seprate accounts of men being tortured (and felt the anger the destroying angels felt witnessing it), seen an evil spirit in a car, and yet I'm downright terrified every night.

I'm scared to sleep in my room every night. I'm scared of leaving the closet door open, and I have to have noise because I'm scared to hear something in the silence of the night. I don't like being alone anywhere, and I hate speaking in public.

You'd think I wouldn't be fearful if I've seen so many things in my life, but I am. Everyone gets scared in their life even if they've witnessed God and Christ. A part of the trials and tribulations is fear. Some people cannot overcome it, and they fail their mission and purpose in life. Yet, some will rise above the fear, and fulfill the commandments of God.

1 Nephi 3:7 states, "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father:

I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

That is why they overcame their fear of the world and its inhabitants. They went and fulfilled God's commandments, knowing he has a reason for what he does. If I'd been in jail, knowing I was going to be shot to death, I'd be scared. If I was in Joseph Smith's position I would've shot back.
But this is merely my opinion.

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