Posts
According to Webster's, the word restore means:
My grandpa loved to restore antique furniture. He would follow my grandma to antique stores and cart home old, worn (sometimes dilapidated) tables and chairs, take them back to his garage, then lovingly sand, stain and oil them by hand until they shone like new, their rich wood color and grain enhanced. Sometimes Grandma would embroider new seats for the chairs, adding her special touch to the project. Then they'd put the renewed furniture in their living room, or gift the pieces to one of us...so the item was not only renewed, but put back in use.
When we upgraded from our starter house we bought a gracious two-story Craftsman home designed by Sylvanus Marston. Many referred to it as the "crown jewel of the neighborhood." Built in 1908, the house needed a lot of work. We walked in and immediately fell in love with its potential. We then spent every weekend working to restore it to its original Pasadena charm. We did careful research into what hardware and materials were best suited to the original time period. We looked at styles of the era and made sure that what we selected in terms of color and fabrics was in line with former trends. Three years later we opened our doors for a neighborhood home tour. It was immensely satisfying to see the home we saw in our minds restored to its former beauty, yet improved with modern updates.
In each case, restoration involved great respect for the character of the original, down to the minutest detail. Something was also added, to make the restored product both personal and relevant to today, as well as honoring the past. Each attempt at restoration, no matter how beautiful the end product, was attempted by mere mortals and bears traces of both time and humanness.
In the scriptures, the word restore also refers to the resurrection, when our lifeless bodies will be restored to their former shape and function, only better, perfected. One major addition: immortality. Oh, how I love the concept of restoration, and the hope that it gives to each of us.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe that our church is a modern-day restoration of the church Jesus set up while he was here on earth. It includes a living prophet, just as in biblical times, and twelve apostles, called and ordained, the way Jesus Christ established his church during his earthly ministry. These men are called to be special witnesses of the Savior. We believe God talks to our prophet just like he talked to Moses, Noah, Abraham and Isaiah anciently.
We also believe that over centuries, both the authority and some important truth from Christ's original church was lost. Every one of Jesus' apostles was killed. Secular rulers and monarchs manipulated the doctrine to fit their personal whims. Some hired translators to rewrite the words of the Bible to suit their personal ideologies. Gospel scholars like Tyndale were labeled heretics and martyred for bringing forth more accurate translations and/or pointing out flaws in the church's teachings.
For that reason, God the Father initiated the promised restoration (foretold by prophets anciently) by answering a young farm boy's prayer and instructing him to listen to his Son. Jesus told young Joseph that he should join none of the existing churches, but that he would be instrumental in restoring Jesus's own true church to the earth.
