First Vision

            As Mormons we believe that Smith Jr saw a vision of Heavenly Father (God) and his Son in the woods in rural New York state in the 1820s. It is said that Book of Mormon is the keystone to our religion, and it is.  However while the Book of Mormon is the keystone to our religion, the most important event in our religion is the first vision. Aside from the Resurrection of Christ, the First Vision is the most important event in history.

            While there were several versions of the First Vision, the most widely known is in the Pearl of Great Price. In Joseph Smith history 1:17-“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.” In that moment Joseph Smith Jr saw God and Jesus Christ. If he is to believed, and I’m writing from the perspective that he can, then in that moment Smith Jr saw the Lord. Aside from any other confusion Josephs teaching caused, if we assume the First Vision is true that at least we know there is a God, and He does exist. One of the biggest questions ever asked by humankind is hereby answered.

            In his general conference speech We Are All Enlisted, Elder Jeffery Holland states, “When we rehearse the grandeur of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, we sometimes gloss over the menacing confrontation that came just prior to it”. Not only do we “gloss over the menacing confrontation, we often gloss over the First Vision in it’s entirety. People correctly focus on the Book of Mormon, but sometimes tat the expense of the First Vision.

            “I was seized upon by some power, which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.” JSH 1:15   There has never been official church dogma on what the “darkness gathered” around Joseph was. Believers are quick to think it is the devil. Not only does God exist, but the Devil does too.

            Joseph seems to imply it is the devil, or at least an enemy of God JSH 1:16”But exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this Enemy that had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction-not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being”.’

            Joseph is very worried not only a spiritual death, but also a physical one. His is terrified, lost in the woods and at the tender age of fourteen. This was probably the first time he went off in the woods under deep prayer and contemplation. What was going on this time? There seems to be genuine fear in him, and for good reason. This would be a terrifying moment in the life of any believer in God.

            Good overcomes it. JSH 1:17 “It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound.” Then Joseph goes on to see the two personages described above. For believer this should also be defining moment. Whatever the reason, the evil spirit that was surrounding the Prophet and about to do him physical harm has disappeared, only Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are left. “But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; 1 Nephi 15:34

            Richard Buhsman, writing in his brilliant biography, Rough Stone Rolling, “During the fourteen years following the Smiths ‘ move to Palmyra in 1816, Joseph jr had the experiences that led him to believe he was a prophet.’ Bushman understands that the First Vision lead to Smith Jr believing he was a prophet. Perhaps the best summary of Joseph Smith Jr ‘s  early life ever written, Bushman than states, “Around 1820, the visions began, first of the Father and the son and then, three years later, of the Angel who gave instructions about the gold plates. In 1830 at twenty-four he published the Book of Mormon, organized a church, and was identified as a “Prophet, Seer, and Revelator.” Bushman correctly places the First Vision in the front, before anything else in Smiths life. Obviously without the First Version, Moroni never would have visited Smith to tell him where the Golden Plates were.

            At the time, the Palmyra newspapers, never a friend of Joseph Smith Jr did not write anything about the "First Vision". Of course at the time, Joseph himself never knew it would be the "first vision".  No one called World War One World War One until the second. A vision of God and Jesus Christ would be a memorable event for anyone, and Brodie almost gets it right when she says it would have been a "soul shattering experience”. Joseph himself seemed to be quiet about it at first. When his mother asked him what happened that day, he mentioned only that he found out that "Presbyterianism isn't true." This is to be expected, but Joseph is also in a catch-22, which he is often. If he immediately told everyone of his experience, the reaction would surely have been the same as the Methodist preacher he would eventually tell.

            Just by seeing the First Version, Joseph has gone down in history as someone who claims to have seen God. Perhaps forgotten or dismissed. In some cases, he is. Believers, however, believe more than Smith just seeing the two personages. They actually spoke to him. When asked what denomination is true, the personage who addressed me said that all “creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors are all corrupt.” JSH 1:19.  Those are harsh words, and are often misunderstood by non-members. While it’s true they imply a level of exclusivity, in truth all value systems and religions do. From Atheism to pantheism, all belief systems claim a degree of exclusivity. Mormons believe salvation is possible for everyone and that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father.

            No one believed him at first, outside of his family. I’m not sure if I would either. Faith should be based on many things, and our Father above has his own plan for us that we do are not aware of. If we take the leap of faith and believe that Joseph really did see the Godhead that day, it supports the belief that he really was an ordained prophet of God. Belief in the First Version calls upon us to accept that God chose Joseph Smith Jr to restore the church over anyone else. If he was called to restore the church, perhaps the Angel Moroni really did come visit that night and inform Joseph about a set of Gold Plates hidden nearby.

Belief in the First Vision requires more faith than belief in the divine origins of the Book of Mormon. Since Smith Jr lived in a culture filled with visionaries, one can easily write him off as just another country boy who was a product of his environment and culture. Not so fast. We know for certain that other visionaries claimed to see God and Jesus Christ. However they have faded into oblivion. The church Smith Jr founded is still in existence today. It is the First Vision and not the Book of Mormon that is the keystone to the religion, for in the First Vision, for reasons known only to Heavenly Father, Heavenly Father chose Smith Jr to restore his church.

             People often forget that prophets from Adam to Moses to Amos to Joseph Smith Jr to our current prophets today are not perfect. As said many times, the only perfect person to ever live was Jesus.  Joseph was mortal. He was subject to the same insecurities and frailties that we all are. He was not an intellectual, nor did he have a perfect memory. When critics point out the discrepancies in the First Vision (and there clearly are) they often expect Joseph to remember every detail and state every detail in precise, exact precision.  That's not how memory works for you, and that's not how memory works for him either. Too many people suggest/demand that seeing a vision of Heavenly Father would be so momentous that he would remember every detail with total accuracy, leaving nothing out.  It doesn't work that way.   Could a fourteen year old have created account of a vision that would make his family believe he had special powers or was perhaps differently blessed, of course. Could that same fourteen year old child have started a movement that continues to change 15 million lives to this day without divine intervention? I don’t think so.