(Isa. 29:14; D&C 4:1; 6:1; 11:1; 12:1; 14:1; 18:44; 3 Ne. 21:9)
More than seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ the Lord spoke through Isaiah of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the Gospel. Isaiah, by prophecy, spoke of the restoration of the new and everlasting covenant, and the Lord performing a “marvelous work and a wonder,” which should cause “the wisdom of their wise men” to perish, and “the understanding of their prudent men” to be hid… . This marvelous work is the restoration of the Church and the Gospel with all the power and authority, keys and blessings which pertain to this great work for the salvation of the children of men.
(Joseph Fielding Smith, as quote in Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr., Isaiah Plain and Simple[Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1995], 168.)
April 6, 1830, in the state of New York, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had its beginning in this dispensation, a beginning that went largely unnoticed by the world. A small number of the men and women, including the Prophet Joseph Smith, gathered in the home of Peter Whitmer, Sr., to witness and participate in the official organization of the Church. Today [1980] there are over 4 ? million members in eighty-one countries. We now look in retrospect of 150 years of the history of the Church and are led to exclaim with Isaiah, “Truly the work is marvelous and wonderful!”
That the Church of Jesus Christ would have an inconspicuous beginning and then enjoy phenomenal growth was likewise predicted. Jesus used the comparison of the small mustard seed to describe the early beginning of His church. But eventually, He declared, that insignificant seed would become a great tree and many would find refuge in its branches (see Matt. 13:31–32).
The prophet Daniel described the beginning and remarkable growth of the Church as a small stone which would become a great mountain and fill the entire earth! (see Dan. 2:34–35, 44).
As men have attempted to assess the Church at a given period of time, in many instances they have not been able to see its forward movement and potential. The growth of the Church, like the growth of grass or trees, has been almost imperceptible to the eye, but little by little, line by line, precept by precept, the Church has matured.
(Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, May 1980, 32.)
There are no wise men in this world today nor prudent men who can understand all of the prophecies like we Latter-day Saints can because of the restoration of this gospel… . [Isaiah] said … that the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. There are so many things that have transpired in this day that the wise men of this world cannot understand.
(LeGrand Richards, Ensign, Nov. 1980, 65.)
In August of 1852 … a special conference was held in the old tabernacle on this square. President Heber C. Kimball opened by saying:
“We have come together today … to hold a special conference to transact business, … inasmuch as there are elders to be selected to go to the missions of the earth.
“The missions we will call for during this conference are, generally, not to be very long ones; probably from three to seven years will be as long as any man will be absent from his family.”
The clerk then read ninety-eight names of individuals who had been proposed for foreign missions… .
To me it is a thing of wonder that at a time when our people were struggling to gain a foothold in these mountains, they put the spread of the gospel ahead of comfort, security, the well-being of their families, and all other considerations… .
It has gone on ever since, and it goes on today at an accelerated pace. In a hundred nations missionaries of the Church are teaching the doctrines of salvation… . They are fulfilling the declarations of ancient prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord concerning the “marvellous work and a wonder” that should come to pass in the dispensation of the fulness of times (Isa. 29:14).
(Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1989, 53.)
Joseph was a seer. He had the gift to translate ancient records (see History of the Church, 1:238), and a “seer is greater than a prophet” (Mosiah 8:13–17).
The process of translation was truly “a marvellous work and a wonder,” or, as rendered in Hebrew, “a miraculous miracle” (Isa. 29:14). Depending upon his sequence of translation, scholars estimate Joseph in 1829 was translating at a rapid daily equivalent of from eight to thirteen of today’s printed pages… . An able, professional translator recently told me he considers one page a day productive.
(Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, May 1992, 38.)