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Mormon Beliefs
"The First Vision Of Joseph Smith"
The year 1820 forever changed human perception on
the nature of the Godhead, and became the starting point of the
restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That
was the year Joseph Smith had what members of the Mormon Church
refer to as "The
First Vision".
When
Joseph Smith
was twelve years old he began to feel the need for redemption and
investigated different religions. At the time there was a great
religious fervor in the Manchester New York area, where his family
now lived. Each religion professed to be true yet each taught
different doctrine. They often argued with each other and Joseph
Smith observed that the members, who professed to be of Christ, were
lost in "strife of words and a contest about opinions." 1 His mother
and father belonged to different congregations and he felt pressured
to choose.
Joseph Smith often asked himself, "What is to be
done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong
together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I
know it?"2
After two years of searching Joseph Smith decided
that, "no society taught New Testament Christianity," 3 but felt
most inclined to join the Methodist sect, which his mother belonged
to. But he wasn't sure that it was the right choice.
So young
Joseph Smith
went to the Bible searching for answers. One night he read, "If any
of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." 4
Recognizing that he needed wisdom from God he
decided to go to the woods near Palmyra, New York and pray about
which church he should join. As Joseph Smith knelt down he was
seized upon my some dark power, which was Satan attempting to thwart
his prayer. Darkness surrounded Joseph Smith and just as he thought
that he would be consumed a light shone down.
"When the light rested upon me 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!'"5
When Joseph Smith asked which church he should
join Christ told Joseph that he should join none of them for they
were all wrong. Christ said, “they draw near to me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the
commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the
power thereof.” 6 Joseph Smith was told that the fullness of the
gospel would be made known to him at a later date.
Joseph Smith's family believed his account of the
vision and supported him, but they were the only ones. The
persecution and opposition of Joseph Smith began soon after as
others riled him, "with great contempt, saying it was all of the
devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in
these days." 7
But as
Joseph Smith
stated, "I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew
it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew
that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation." 8
"When Joseph left the grove, he possessed the
knowledge that God and his Son were actual personages, that the
Godhead was
composed of separate individuals, that God hears and answers
prayers," 9 and that no church on earth was true. These facts became
the base of the doctrine of the
Mormon Church
and the beliefs that set them apart from most other Christian
religions.
For more information about Joseph Smith follow the
links below:
Joseph Smith - Home
Joseph Smith, Jr. - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
The Testimony of the Prophet Joseph
Smith
Joseph Smith Daguerreotype
Fulfilled Prophecies of Joseph Smith
JS-H 1
Joseph Smith
BBC - Religion & Ethics - The Story of
Joseph Smith
BBC - Religion & Ethics - The Story of
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith, Jr. - Wikiquote
Joseph Smith: Prophet, Revelator, Human;
Interview with Richard Lyman
(1) Joseph Smith History 1:6
(2) JS-H 1:10
(3) Backman, Milton V., Jr. Joseph Smith's First
Vision. Salt Lake City, 1980. pg 156.
(4) James 1:5
(5) JS-H 1:17
(6) JS-H 1:19
(7) Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1, First
Vision
(8) JS-H 1:21
(9) JS-H 1:25
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