Once or Twice in a Thousand Years
Once or twice in a thousand years—perhaps a dozen times since mortal man became of dust a living soul—an event of such transcendent import occurs that neither heaven nor earth are ever thereafter the same.
Once or twice in a score of generations the hand from heaven clasps the hand on earth in perfect fellowship, the divine drama unfolds, and the whole course of mortal events changes.
Now and then in a quiet garden, or amid the fires and thunders of Sinai, or inside a sepulchre that cannot be sealed, or in an upper room—almost always apart from the gaze of men and seldom known by more than a handful of people—the Lord intervenes in the affairs of men and manifests his will relative to their salvation.
One such event took place six millennia ago in a garden which was planted eastward in Eden when the man Adam and the woman Eve fell that men might be. Another such event altered the course of history when an aged prophet believed God and built an ark wherein he and seven others, out of all the inhabitants of the earth, were saved from a watery grave.
The most transcendent of all such events occurred in a garden called Gethsemane, outside Jerusalem’s walls, when the Chief Citizen of planet earth sweat great drops of blood from every pore as he in agony took upon himself the sins of all men on conditions of repentance. Yet another of these events, destined to affect the life and being of every living soul, happened in the Arimathean’s tomb when the sinless spirit of the one perfect man returned from the paradise of God to inhabit again—this time in glorious immortality—the pierced and slain body that once was his.
But the occurrence of which we desire more particularly to speak, and which ranks in importance alongside the greatest verities of revealed religion, is one that took place in a grove of trees near Palmyra, New York, on a beautiful, clear day early in the spring of 1820. Was it on the sixth of April? Perhaps—such at least is the tradition. But be that as it may, what transpired at that time was destined to affect the salvation of the billions of our Father’s children who should live on earth from that day to the great winding up scene when the Son shall deliver up the kingdom, spotless, to his Father.
By comparison to what then occurred, the command of the man Moriancumer unto the mountain Zerin, “Remove,” and it was removed; or the decree of the man Moses to the Red Sea, “Divide,” and the waters were divided, congealing on the right hand and on the left; or the command of the man Joshua, “Sun, stand thou still, and thou moon likewise,” and it was so—by comparison to what happened in that grove of trees in western New York on that spring morning, such things as these fade into an obscure insignificance.
As we approach with awe and reverence, in the spirit of worship and thanksgiving, the heaven-sent miracle of that bright morn, let us view first the setting in which the heavens would be rent and the miracle wrought.
That year of grace, 1820, like the 1,400 years which preceded it, was one in which darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people. It was a day of spiritual darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains. Angels no longer ministered to their fellow beings; the voice of God was stilled, and man no longer saw the face of his Maker; gifts, signs, miracles, and all the special endowments enjoyed by the saints of old were no longer the common inheritance of those in whose hearts religious zeal was planted. There were no visions, no revelations, no rending of the heavens; the Lord was not raining down righteousness upon a chosen people as he had done in days of old.
The dead were not raised, nor the eyes of the blind opened, nor the ears of the deaf unstopped. There were no legal administrators whose acts were binding on earth and in heaven. That gospel preached by Paul, and for which Peter died, was no longer proclaimed from the pulpits of Christendom.
In short, apostasy reigned supreme; it was universal, complete, all pervading. The religion of the lowly Nazarene was nowhere to be found. All sects, parties, and denominations had gone astray. Satan rejoiced and his angels laughed. Such were the social and religious conditions of the day.
But in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things, who rules supreme o’er earth and hell, the hour had come for the promised restoration. Eighteen twenty was to be the year when the Great Jehovah would commence the restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began. The covenants made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob concerning their seed were about to be fulfilled.
When the season comes to plant and harvest, the Lord of the vineyard sends the needed husbandmen. The Lord’s work among men is done by men; choice and selected souls become his servants. And so at the time appointed came Joseph Smith, Jr., the man appointed. This spiritual giant of whom it is now said, “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it” (D&C 135:3)—this foreordained prophet came to usher in the Lord’s great latter-day work.[1]Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Once or Twice in a Thousand Years, October 1975 General Conference.
Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration
The purpose of Joseph Smith’s history is to put us “in possession of the facts” because so many false stories were circulating about the restoration and Joseph. In other words, the Joseph Smith History is a counter-attack to the claims being made against the Saints. And this is what scripture is, a polemic against the attacks coming from outsiders, or an attack against authoritative claims made by other groups.[2]This can be seen throughout the history of religions and religious texts. We see these kinds of things happening in the history of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. See John Currid, Against the … Continue reading
The Order of Events in the Restoration
A powerful testimony to the importance of the Book of Mormon is to note where the Lord placed its coming forth in the timetable of the unfolding Restoration. The only thing that preceded it was the First Vision. In that marvelous manifestation, the Prophet Joseph Smith learned the true nature of God and that God had a work for him to do. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon was the next thing to follow. Think of that in terms of what it implies. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon preceded the restoration of the priesthood. It was published just a few days before the Church was organized. The Saints were given the Book of Mormon to read before they were given the revelations outlining such great doctrines as the three degrees of glory, celestial marriage, or work for the dead. It came before priesthood quorums and Church organization. Doesn’t this tell us something about how the Lord views this sacred work?[3]Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1986, 4.
Joseph Smith’s Family
It would seem as though the Lord created historical events that would help to create circumstances that would cause the Smith family to move in order to be in the region of Palmyra and Manchester, New York, so that they would be near the Hill Cumorah. During the first twenty years of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy’s marriage, they had to move nine times. Throughout this period Joseph Sr. farmed, operated a mercantile business, crystallized ginseng root to be exported to China, and taught school.[4]Joseph Fielding McConkie and Craig Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants and Other Modern Revelations, Deseret Book, 2000, p. 4-5.
While the family was living in Lebanon, New Hampshire, typhus fever spread throughout New England. Young Joseph Jr. contracted this disease, and an abscess spread into the tibia of his left leg. The common medical practice of the day prescribed amputation of the afflicted limb; however, a short distance from the Smith home at Dartmouth Medical College, Dr. Nathan Smith taught another method for treating the abscess that saved the leg of afflicted individuals. The providence of the Lord placed the Smith family in the only known location in the world where such a procedure was practiced. The result was that young Joseph’s leg was not amputated.[5]Ibid., p. 5.
1816 The Year Without a Summer
Three years of crop failure in Norwich, Vermont, triggered the family’s subsequent move to Palmyra, New York. The year 1816 is known as “the year without summer.”[6] Mount Tambora and the Year Without A Summer. From this we read: The Year Without a Summer had many impacts in Europe and North America. Crops were killed – either by frost or a lack of sunshine. … Continue reading The eruption of the Indonesian Mount Tambora on the island of Sumbawa, east of Java, in April 1815 caused changes in the atmosphere. The volcanic ash and debris shaded the sun’s rays, and many believed that this caused snow to fall in June and July in the New England states. “Coming after several years of hardships, the crop failure was more than the Smith family could handle. This, with other factors, caused them to leave Vermont. Packing their belongings, they moved to Palmyra, New York, where young Joseph was to receive a series of remarkable visions and the Book of Mormon.”[7]Peter Bellville, “Year without a Summer,” Ensign, January 1983, p. 65.
JSH 1.4 His family consisting of eleven souls. At the time of the First Vision, the Joseph Smith Sr. family consisted of Joseph Sr., forty-eight; Lucy, forty-three; Alvin, twenty-two; Hyrum, twenty; Sophronia, sixteen; Joseph Jr., fourteen; Samuel, twelve; William, nine; Catherine, seven; and Don Carlos, four.[8]McConkie and Ostler, p. 5.
In an earlier account of his formative years, the Prophet wrote that he was born “of goodly Parents who spared no pains to instructing me in the Christian religion.”[9]Milton V. Backman Jr., Joseph Smith’s First Vision: Confirming Contemporary Accounts, p. 155. So while the Smith family was not wholly aligned with a particular Christian denomination, they did read their Bible and worked to live by the true principles taught in scripture.
Lo Here and Lo There
Joseph attended several camp meetings during this “time of great excitement.” The Presbyterian Church, according to one author, was the “only religious denomination in Palmyra before 1823,” and so Joseph must have attended the Methodist meetings in a camp meeting type setting. He did indicate that he was partial to the Methodist sect and felt that he should align himself with this particular group.[10]Joseph Smith History 1.8.
Many years after the fact in 1893, Joseph Smith’s youngest brother William Smith shared this detail regarding Joseph’s religious affiliation during this time and his questions regarding which faith was true. He said:
“There was a joint revival in the neighborhood between the Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians and they had succeeded in stirring up quite a feeling, and after the meeting the question arose which church should have the converts. Reverend Stockton was the president of the meeting and suggested it was their meeting and under their care and they had a church there and they ought to join the Presbyterians, but as father did not like Reverend Stockton very well, our folks hesitated and the next evening a Reverend Mr. Lane of the Methodists preached a sermon on ‘what church shall I join?’ And the burden of the discourse was to ask God, using as a text, ‘If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally.’ And of course when Joseph went home and was looking over the text he was impressed to do just what the preacher had said, and going out in the woods with child-like, simple, trusting faith, believing that God meant just what He said, he kneeled down and prayed.”[11]Deseret Semi-Weekly News, 23 January 1894, 6.
Joseph’s reading of James 1.5 which invites us to ask God for direction had a tremendous effect on this 14 year-old boy. As one author put it, “This may well be the most instructive passage in holy writ on how truth is found and how we as a people should present our message to those not of our faith. There is no end to the argument over the meaning of Bible texts. Those who most vehemently oppose the idea of continuous revelation while declaring that all answers are to be found in the Bible are the least able to agree with each other on its meaning.”[12]McConkie and Ostler, p. 9.
If I ask in faith, God will answer
Joseph could not “settle the question” from an appeal to the Bible.[13]Joseph Smith History 1.12. Joseph knew he must approach the God of heaven for an answer to his question. After reading James 1.5 Joseph says, “never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and agin, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did…” We read something similar in Nephi’s account:
And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men. For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round (1 Nephi 10.17-19).
Pray Out Loud – Elder Holland
As Joseph did, I believe it is important for us to pray out loud. It is basic to what God intends for us in our communication with Him. He invites a conversation, if you will, and wants so much to “hear us.” We should make every effort to let Him hear us—literally.
The scriptures occasionally talk about the Lord speaking, and they sometimes describe His voice. Sometimes it is a soft voice. Sometimes it is a loud voice. But it is always a penetrating voice. It is always a voice that captivates and engages the whole soul. For me, to say out loud the words of my prayer is to make it crisp and almost visible. Prayer takes on a meaning and a life that is not quite the same when I am just thinking words or mumbling a bit. When we communicate clearly to Him, we can expect to “hear Him” more clearly in return.
If you wait until midnight, when you are exhausted, and then say your prayers, it might be only a half-hearted effort before you tumble into bed. Consider moving that prayer up to earlier in the evening, when you are alert and attentive and can make it more powerful. Prayer time ought to be quality time, not just time that happens to be left over when everything else is done—the last gasp of the day, so to speak.[14]Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, To “Hear Him” Is the Essence of the Restoration, November 8, 2020.
Various accounts of the First Vision
There are various accounts of the First Vision – four primary accounts: 1832, 35, 38 (in our canonized scriptures) and 1842. There are also several second hand accounts of the First Vision from the 1840 account by Orson Pratt to the 1893 Charles Walker account. You can access the several accounts of the First Vision here on the Church website and I have added the secondary accounts to the primary accounts of Joseph’s vision here. Gordon B. Hinckley said this about the different accounts of the First Vision:
I am not worried that the Prophet Joseph Smith gave a number of versions of the first vision anymore than I am worried that there are four different writers of the gospels in the New Testament, each with his own perceptions, each telling the events to meet his own purpose for writing at the time. I am more concerned with the fact that God has revealed in this dispensation a great and marvelous and beautiful plan that motivates men and women to love their Creator and their Redeemer, to appreciate and serve one another, to walk in faith on the road that leads to immortality and eternal life.[15]Gordon B. Hinckley, “God Hath Not Given Us the Spirit of Fear,” Ensign, Oct 1984, 2.
Things Worth Mentioning in the Differing Accounts
1832 Account (see the handwritten account here)
Joseph saw the majesty and order of the universe and his heart “exclaimed well hath the wise man Said it is a fool that saith in his heart there is no God my heart exclained all these bear testimony and bespeak an omnipotent and omnipresent power a being who maketh Laws and decreeth and bindeth all things in their bounds…”[16]Milton V. Backman, Jr., Joseph Smith’s First Vision: Confirming Evidences and Contemporary Accounts, 2d ed. rev., p.157.
He writes that his soul was filled with love for many days.
1835 Account (see the handwritten account here)
In the 1835 account Joseph mentions hearing a noise of a person walking towards him while he prayed. He says “A pillar of fire appeared above my head; which presently rested down upon me, and filled me with un-speakable joy. A personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame, which was spread all around and yet nothing consumed. Another personage soon appeared like unto the first: he said unto me thy sins are forgiven thee. He testified also unto me that Jesus Christ is the son of God. I saw many angels in this vision. I was about 14 years old when I received this first communication.”[17]Journal, 1835-1836. See: The Joseph Smith Papers.
I find this fascinating, this mention of a pillar of fire. One scholar had to say this about the fire associated with visions:
The temple mystics believed it was necessary to pass through the river of fire, the ultimate purification, in order to become an angel and enter the holy of holies. This was the baptism of fire. Malachi prophesied that the LORD would ‘purify the sons of Levi’, the priests, with fire (Malachi 3.2-3), there was a river of fire flowing from the throne in Daniel’s vision (Dan. 7.10) and Paul alludes to the belief: ‘each man’s work will be made manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done’ (1 Cor. 3.13). Later mystical texts described the angels purifying themselves in a river of fire before joining the heavenly worship in the holy of holies (3 En. 36). Perhaps the most remarkable parallel to the fire in the Jordan is a story told of Rabbi Johannan ben Zakkai, a contemporary of the first Christians. He saw a fire burning around one of his disciples as he expounded the mysteries of the chariot throne…. The references to fire and open heavens were intended for those who knew the secret tradition and what these phenomena really implied.[18] Margaret Barker, The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Which God Gave to Him to Show to His Servants What Must Soon Take Place (Revelation 1.1), T&T Clark, 2000, p. 127, emphasis added.
It is worth mentioning here that Lehi beheld a pillar of fire in his vison in 1 Nephi 1. We read: “as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly” (1 Nephi 1.6). This vision of the pillar of fire then started Lehi on his journey to his second vision in which he was carried into the heavens and beheld God on his throne in the midst of the heavenly council (1 Nephi 1.7-14).
1838 Account (see the handwritten account here)
The 1838 account is the one that it is in our canonized scriptures.[19]See: Joseph Smith – History
1842 Account (see the handwritten account here)
Joseph writes that “his mind was taken away from the objects which (he) was surrounded…” and that he saw two glorious personages who exactly resembled each other in features, and likeness and that a future time the fulness of the gospel would be made known unto him.[20] “Church History,” 1 March 1842. See: The Joseph Smith Papers.
Other Noteworthy Things Shared Relating to His Vision
Joseph expected the leaves and boughs of the trees to be consumed by the light… he was enwrapped in a heavenly vision and saw two glorious personages who exactly resembled each other in their features or likeness. He was informed that his sins were forgiven him and he was told that none of the denominations on the earth was acknowledged by God as his church and kingdom.[21]Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, 1840.
Joseph went to the place where I last stuck his axe in a stump when he last quit working. The personages appeared one at a time.[22]David Nye White, a non-Mormon, was the senior editor of the Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette. He visited Nauvoo in 1843 and published this account based on an interview with Joseph Smith. This account was … Continue reading
1844 Alexander Neibaur Account
Joseph saw a fire towards heaven and saw in the fire a personage of light complexion and blue eyes with a piece of white cloth drawn over his shoulders. In this account he specifically asked if he should join the Methodist sect and was told that he should not.[23]Alexander Neibaur, Journal, 24 May 1844, extract. See: The Joseph Smith Papers.
Elder Cannon relates the James 1.5 experience Joseph had in pondering this scripture, the powers of darkness before the vision, a pillar of celestial fire… brighter than noonday, two personages of “incomparable beauty, alike in form and feature and clad in snowy raiment…”He was told that he must join none of the churches.[24]George Q. Cannon, The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, Deseret Book 1888, p.30-33.
This is a third-hand account wherein Charles Walker records his recollection of John Alger’s memory of Joseph recounting his First Vision when John was a small boy.
2nd Feb Thurs [1893] Cold and chilly. Attended Fast Meeting…. Br John Alger said while speaking of the Prophet Joseph, that when he, John, was a small boy he heard the Prophet Joseph relate his vision of seeing The Father and the Son, That God touched his eyes with his finger and said “Joseph this is my beloved Son hear him.” As soon as the Lord had touched his eyes with his finger he immediately saw the Savior. After meeting, a few of us questioned him about the matter and he told us at the bottom of the meeting house steps that he was in the House of Father Smith in Kirtland when Joseph made this declaration, and that Joseph while speaking of it put his finger to his right eye, suiting the action with the words so as to illustrate and at the same time impress the occurence on the minds of those unto whom He was speaking. We enjoyed the conversation very much, as it was something that we had never seen in church history or heard of before.[25]Diary of Charles Lowell Walker (Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 1980), 2:755–56 [recorded 2 February 1893].
This account that Joseph shared with John Alger is significant in that it relates an experience to an “insider group.” John was in a group of insiders who heard a personal account of Joseph’s vision in a very intimate setting. In this account Joseph relates that the Savior touched his eyes, something related to being a seer (see below).
Their Creeds Were an Abomination in His Sight
JSH 1.19 In the darkest of nights, the stars in the heavens shine brighter. Before Joseph was ever born, there were lights in the Christian world that worked diligently to prepare the world for a time when Joseph Smith could bring to pass the Restoration. We could not even have a restored gospel in 1500, as the events of that day had to precede Joseph’s work. Had the revolution against Great Britain not occurred, the seedbed of the Restoration could not have been prepared. And so it goes. We know that an innumerable host of good, noble, and wise men and women worked to radiate the light that was available to them in their day, in their circumstances. In a future day, many of them acknowledged that brighter lights would eventually chase away the powers of fear, ignorance, and superstition that had ruled for so long.[26]Thomas Jefferson was such a person. He knew that greater light and knowledge would eventually sweep away the darkness of his day. He once wrote to Benjamin Waterhouse on July 19, 1822, “I am old, … Continue reading
Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated: “There was a Calvin, a Zwingli, a Luther, a Wesley; there were wise and good men—morning stars who shone more brightly than their fellows—who arose in every nation. There were men of insight and courage who were sickened by the sins and evils of the night. These great souls hacked and sawed at the chains with which the masses were bound. They sought to do good and to help their fellowmen—all according to the best light and knowledge they had.
“In Germany and France and England and Switzerland and elsewhere groups began to break away from the religion of centuries past. A few rays of light were parting the darkness of the eastern sky.
“Many who sought freedom to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience migrated to America. And in due course, by the power of the Father, a new nation was created, a nation ‘conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equal’ (Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.) The United States of America came into being. Beyond the mountains, now not many leagues away, a new day was gestating in the womb of nature.
“As the earth continued to turn slowly and steadily on its decreed course, as the dawn brightened and the morning light increased, as the Constitution of the United States guaranteed religious freedom, as men were tempered in their feelings and began to view each other with more equity and fairness, as the Bible was published and read by more people, as darkness fled and light increased, the time for the rising of the gospel sun was at hand”[27]Bruce R. McConkie, The Morning Breaks, the Shadows Flee, Conference Report, April 1978, 17.
Such was the setting in which the youthful Joseph Smith went into a quiet grove not far from his parents’ log home in the spring of 1820 to inquire of the Lord which of all the churches he should join. In response to his humble prayer, both the Father and the Son appeared to him. Calling him by name, the Father said, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith–History 1:17). Everything that Joseph Smith was told and witnessed in the grove that day stood as a rejection of Christian tradition and placed him at odds with it. He learned that the heavens were not sealed and that God could and did speak directly to mankind as he had done in ages past. He learned that both the Father and the Son were personal beings and that they had, contrary to the creeds of Christendom, body, parts, and passions. He learned that they were separate and distinct and that they were offended by both the creeds and the churches of men.[28]McConkie and Ostler, p. 15.
I Can Remain True to the Truth Amid Opposition
Joseph identified with Paul in the persecution faced during his day. He wrote, “I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For 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.[29]JSH 1.25.
Results of the First Vision
When Joseph walked away from the grove of trees near his home, he knew more about the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, than any other living soul. The heresy of the great apostasy concerning the trinity was dispelled in a moment of vision. No amount of philosophical debate can hold a flicker of light to the revelatory flame, brighter than noonday sun, that Joseph witnessed.[30]McConkie and Ostler, p. 11.
Joseph Smith’s First Vision as an Endowment
There were many things in this vision that Joseph did not reveal to his audiences at first. For this reason, one historian has termed this vision as an esoteric endowment.[31]Don Bradley, Joseph Smith’s First Vision as Endowment and Epitome of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Accessed from Fairmormon.org December 27, 2020. This vision has been compared to Peter, James, and John’s experience on the Mount of Transfiguration in the sense that in both instances, the entirety of what was experienced was not revealed. In Joseph’s account we read that when his mother asked him about how he was, he replied, ‘Never mind, all is well–I am well enough off.’ I then said to my mother, ‘I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true’” (JS-H 1:20). Bradley says, “So from the very moment he comes out of the Grove, the first time he talks to someone else about the First Vision, he holds back 99.99% of what that experience was, and just gives out the part that is immediately relevant.”[32]Ibid.
He then later says, “If Joseph only told elements of the First Vision to others as they were ready for them, then it is significant to note that the familiar published accounts of the First Vision were all either written for general publication or recorded as Joseph narrated them to a non-Latter-day Saint audience. In other words, the familiar accounts of the First Vision that we have were given precisely in contexts directed to audiences where we would expect Joseph to have held back much of the experience.”
In contexts of faith, where Joseph was relating his experience to the Saints, rather than to the non-Latter-day Saint public, we would expect him to have disclosed additional details. Fortunately, there are times when Joseph told the vision to a Latter-day Saint audience rather than to outsiders.
Joseph’s Eyes
In the 1893 account Joseph talks about God touching his eyes with his finger. Bradley notes that the touching of Joseph’s eyes is significant because it is comparable to the Lord touching Isaiah’s mouth (Isaiah 6), as well as Abraham’s eyes being touched by the Lord in Abraham 3. This is also analogous to the anointing of Enoch’s eyes with clay (Moses 6.35), or the account of the man at the Pool of Siloam being anointed with clay by Jesus (John 9) as well as the account of the Lord touching the stones of the Brother of Jared (Ether 3). Bradley makes the point that the touching of Joseph’s eyes was part of his becoming a seer.[33]Ibid. Bradley writes, “In the story of the brother of Jared, of course, the Lord does not touch his eyes, but the brother of Jared wants to be able to see. That is the issue, just like with the … Continue reading
A Heavenly Ascent
Bradley compares Joseph’s vision to Lehi’s experience in 1 Nephi 1. He notes that both visions begin on earth and they end up in heaven before the God’s throne. In the 1832 account Joseph relates that a “pillar of fire descended,” something that he changes in the 1838 canonized account to “pillar of light.” This would have been more familiar to audiences today. Later in the vision there seems to be an indication that Joseph was in another place, I would support the view that his spirit was taken up to heaven. Joseph relates in the 1842 account that “my mind was taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapped in a heavenly vision.” In the 1838 canonized account we read that “When I came to myself again I found myself lying on my back looking up into Heaven.”[34]Bradley notes that “Those details are similar to the heavenly ascent portion of Lehi’s theophany, which we just discussed, in which he was “overcome by the Spirit” and “carried away in a … Continue reading
There is evidence that many of the things in section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants relating to the Cosmic Covenant or what the scriptures call The New and Everlasting Covenant were revealed to Joseph when he was 14. In Nauvoo in 1843 near the end of his life Joseph Smith bore testimony to the same saying that when he was a youth he began to think about these things but could not find out which of all the sects was right he went into the grove and enquired of the Lord which of all the sects were right he received for answer that none of them were right, that they were all wrong and that the Everlasting Covenant was broken.[35]Joseph Smith, Sunday, June 11, 1843, Levi Richards Diary.
The First Vision Led to Joseph Acquiring His Seer Stone
Bradley makes the connection that shortly after his vision, Joseph acquired his white seer stone. He writes, “Joseph received his white stone in the wake of the First Vision. This process of being initiated as a seer, where his eyes are touched so that he can see, and then he is given a stone that is connected with a new name, and so on, and revelation of truth that he can’t just go out and share willy-nilly. There is an endowment scene here.”[36]Bradley, Joseph Smith’s First Vision as Endowment and Epitome of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Joseph reported in his 1826 legal hearing that he traveled around 150 miles to obtain this stone. We … Continue reading
Joseph Smith’s First Vision is a Perfect Example of The Gospel of Jesus Christ
The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus came down to our level so that he might exalt us to his station. The early Christians believed that God became man, that man might become God. This is the idea behind 3 Nephi 27.13-14, which says, “this is the gospel I have given unto you- that I came into the world to do the will of the Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father…” In other words, Jesus came down so that he might take us up, or that we might be exalted, which literally means “to be lifted up.”
This teaching is also recorded in scripture. The Savior Jesus Christ taught, “Be ye therefore perfect; even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Likewise the vision which Jesus sees of the destiny of his followers in his grand prayer in John 17 has lofty ideals: the Savior has given them the glory of God with which he was endowed, and they will be one, even as Christ and his Heavenly Father are one, “that they may be perfect in one.” (John 17:11)
The idea that the saints are the children of God, with a divine future inheritance in the afterlife is a common one among the authors of the text of the New Testament, something that parallels the Savior’s prayer in John 17. As we read in the writings of Paul, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:16-17)
Many early Christians understood and taught these ideas. For example Cyprian (200-258 AD) said, “What Christ is, we Christians shall be, if we imitate Christ.”[37]The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 5:469. Irenaeus also made similar comments. He said, “God stood in the in the congregation of the gods, He judges among the gods.” He [here] refers to the Father and the Son, and those who have received the adoption; but these are the Church.”[38]The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1.419. He also said, “We have not been made gods from the beginning, but at first merely man, then at length gods.”[39]The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1:522.
Bradley puts it simply when he says, “In Joseph Smith’s First Vision there is an encapsulation of the Gospel. In Joseph Smith’s experience, God came down to earth to take Joseph up to heaven. God came down to his level in order to lift him up to God’s level. This was not just an experience that taught the Gospel. This was an experience of the Gospel. The First Vision presents the Gospel, in fact, in its fullness.
Joseph Smith’s First Vision is not just about… God comes down, Christ suffers for us, so that most of us maybe can be thrown into flames forever, and some of us just become angels, just sort of happy singing, or whatever we are doing for all time. Instead, this is, from the very beginning of the Restoration, from the First Vision, we see the Gospel in its fullness—a Gospel in which God reaches down to invite us to join Him in His life… Joseph Smith’s First Vision is perhaps the paramount example of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ can look like in human life. In the First Vision, we see what the Gospel is and what the Gospel does. If you want to see what the Gospel of Jesus Christ looks like in action, this is it.”[40]Bradley, Joseph Smith’s First Vision as Endowment and Epitome of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
References
| ↑1 | Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Once or Twice in a Thousand Years, October 1975 General Conference. |
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| ↑2 | This can be seen throughout the history of religions and religious texts. We see these kinds of things happening in the history of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. See John Currid, Against the Gods: The Polemical Theology of the Old Testament, Crossway, 2013. Mark S. Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel’s Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts, Oxford University Press, 2001. Ziony Zevti, The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches, Continuum, 2003. For examples in Christianity see: Raymond E. Brown, The Community of the Beloved Disciple: The Life, Loves, and Hates of an Individual Church in New Testament Times, Paulist Press, 1979. Bart Ehrman, Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew, Oxford University Press, 2005 and Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, HarperOne, 2007. One author writes, “It could be argued that religious traditions are born in polemic, that they did not achieve definition except through some sort of conflictual relationship with other contending visions. This seems true at least in the cases of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the major religious traditions with which I am most familiar. It seems that their foundational origin stories, enshrined in their scriptural texts, are saturated with a sense of the crucial necessity of (and ambiguity about) separating from other options. The Tanakh is laced with a foreboding sense that the Israelites must set themselves apart from the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Canaanites and other peoples and behaviours, and the ideologies associated with them, or else suffer extreme consequences. The New Testament is likewise imbued with conflict between contending viewpoints: Jesus versus the scribes and Pharisees, Paul versus his opponents, the church versus the claims of the empire. And the Qur’an clearly manifests a polemical context vis-à-vis Jews, Christians and Arabian polytheists. And yet, in the academy, polemic is generally eschewed.” See: F.V. Greifenhagen, Scripture Wars: Contemporary Polemical Discourses of Bible versus Qur’an on the Internet, Luther College, University of Regina. |
| ↑3 | Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1986, 4. |
| ↑4 | Joseph Fielding McConkie and Craig Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants and Other Modern Revelations, Deseret Book, 2000, p. 4-5. |
| ↑5 | Ibid., p. 5. |
| ↑6 | Mount Tambora and the Year Without A Summer. From this we read: The Year Without a Summer had many impacts in Europe and North America. Crops were killed – either by frost or a lack of sunshine. This caused food to be scarce and caused farmers who were able to grow crops to fear that they would be robbed. The lack of successful crops that summer made the food which was grown more valuable, and the price of food climbed. Because the price of oats increased, it was more expensive for people to feed their horses. Horses were the main method of transportation, so with expensive oats, the cost of travel increased. This may have been one of the factors that inspired a German man named Karl Drais to invent a way to get around without a horse: the bicycle. The early versions of the bicycle were sometimes known as the Hobby Horse. See Evan Andrews, Pedal Your Way Through the Bicycle’s Bumpy History for more on the development of the bicycle. The gloomy summer weather also inspired writers. During that summer-less summer, Mary Shelley, her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and poet Lord Byron were on vacation at Lake Geneva. While trapped indoors for days by constant rain and gloomy skies, the writers described the bleak, dark environment of the time in their own ways. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, a horror novel set in an often stormy environment. Lord Byron wrote the poem Darkness, which begins, “I had a dream, which was not all a dream. The bright sun was extinguish’d.” |
| ↑7 | Peter Bellville, “Year without a Summer,” Ensign, January 1983, p. 65. |
| ↑8 | McConkie and Ostler, p. 5. |
| ↑9 | Milton V. Backman Jr., Joseph Smith’s First Vision: Confirming Contemporary Accounts, p. 155. |
| ↑10 | Joseph Smith History 1.8. |
| ↑11 | Deseret Semi-Weekly News, 23 January 1894, 6. |
| ↑12 | McConkie and Ostler, p. 9. |
| ↑13 | Joseph Smith History 1.12. |
| ↑14 | Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, To “Hear Him” Is the Essence of the Restoration, November 8, 2020. |
| ↑15 | Gordon B. Hinckley, “God Hath Not Given Us the Spirit of Fear,” Ensign, Oct 1984, 2. |
| ↑16 | Milton V. Backman, Jr., Joseph Smith’s First Vision: Confirming Evidences and Contemporary Accounts, 2d ed. rev., p.157. |
| ↑17 | Journal, 1835-1836. See: The Joseph Smith Papers. |
| ↑18 | Margaret Barker, The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Which God Gave to Him to Show to His Servants What Must Soon Take Place (Revelation 1.1), T&T Clark, 2000, p. 127, emphasis added. |
| ↑19 | See: Joseph Smith – History |
| ↑20 | “Church History,” 1 March 1842. See: The Joseph Smith Papers. |
| ↑21 | Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, 1840. |
| ↑22 | David Nye White, a non-Mormon, was the senior editor of the Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette. He visited Nauvoo in 1843 and published this account based on an interview with Joseph Smith. This account was published in the New York Spectator, September 23, 1843. |
| ↑23 | Alexander Neibaur, Journal, 24 May 1844, extract. See: The Joseph Smith Papers. |
| ↑24 | George Q. Cannon, The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, Deseret Book 1888, p.30-33. |
| ↑25 | Diary of Charles Lowell Walker (Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 1980), 2:755–56 [recorded 2 February 1893]. |
| ↑26 | Thomas Jefferson was such a person. He knew that greater light and knowledge would eventually sweep away the darkness of his day. He once wrote to Benjamin Waterhouse on July 19, 1822, “I am old, and tranquility is now my summum bonum. Keep me therefore from the fire & faggots of Calvin and his victim Servetus. Happy in the prospect of a restoration of primitive Christianity, I must leave to younger Athletes to encounter and lop off the false branches which have been engrafted into it by the mythologists of the middle & modern ages. |
| ↑27 | Bruce R. McConkie, The Morning Breaks, the Shadows Flee, Conference Report, April 1978, 17. |
| ↑28 | McConkie and Ostler, p. 15. |
| ↑29 | JSH 1.25. |
| ↑30 | McConkie and Ostler, p. 11. |
| ↑31 | Don Bradley, Joseph Smith’s First Vision as Endowment and Epitome of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Accessed from Fairmormon.org December 27, 2020. |
| ↑32 | Ibid. |
| ↑33 | Ibid. Bradley writes, “In the story of the brother of Jared, of course, the Lord does not touch his eyes, but the brother of Jared wants to be able to see. That is the issue, just like with the blind. The Lord asks him, “What will ye that I should do for you?” What he wants is for the Lord to touch these stones so that they can see. And then the Lord also gives him with those two other stones that He has touched, the interpreters, that enable the brother of Jared to act as a seer. And others, later, to act as seers with these interpreters. So that question, it has been pointed out before, that the Lord asked the brother of Jared, “What is it that ye would that I should do for you?” happens to be the very question that Jesus asks the blind in the synoptic Gospels, and then they say, “Lord that we might see” and he touches their eyes so that they can see. So there is a scriptural theme of the sanctifying by touching, particularly or the opening of the eyes of the physically or spiritually blind by the touching of the eyes.” |
| ↑34 | Bradley notes that “Those details are similar to the heavenly ascent portion of Lehi’s theophany, which we just discussed, in which he was “overcome by the Spirit” and “carried away in a vision.” Joseph also tells the Saints in 1843 that part of his vision was seeing the heavens opened. He said, “If they were to be stuffed into one person that would make a great God. If I were to testify (he is mocking the idea that the persons of the Godhead could all be one person) that the world was wrong on this point it would be true. Peter says that Jesus Christ sat on the right hand of God. [So note here the parallel with Joseph Smith’s own experience where he sees the Father, and on his right hand, the Son.] Any person that has seen the heavens opened knows that their [sic] is three personages in the heavens holding the Keys of Power. – Joseph Smith, Sunday, June 11, 1843, Wilford Woodruff Diary. |
| ↑35 | Joseph Smith, Sunday, June 11, 1843, Levi Richards Diary. |
| ↑36 | Bradley, Joseph Smith’s First Vision as Endowment and Epitome of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Joseph reported in his 1826 legal hearing that he traveled around 150 miles to obtain this stone. We read, “After traveling some one hundred and fifty miles he found himself at the mouth of the creek… He borrowed an old ax and a hoe, and repaired to the tree. With some labor and exertion he found the stone, carried it to the creek, washed and wiped it dry, sat down on the bank, placed it in his hat, and discovered that time, place, and distance were annihilated; that all the intervening obstacles were removed, and that he possessed one of the attributes of Deity, an All-Seeing-Eye.” See: The Joseph Smith Papers, People v. JS, Chenango Co., NY, Justice of the Peace Court, 20 March 1826 Appendix: Reminiscence of William D. Purple, 28 April 1877 [People v. JS]. |
| ↑37 | The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 5:469. |
| ↑38 | The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1.419. |
| ↑39 | The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1:522. |
| ↑40 | Bradley, Joseph Smith’s First Vision as Endowment and Epitome of the Gospel of Jesus Christ |
Thanks so much for providing all of these supporting materials surrounding the first vision. There is so much more to understand than what Joseph shared with us. Perhaps that is the message, that we can have our own first vision if we will live to receive it. Thanks for all your work to enlighten us.