Joseph Smith's First Vision
The Official Story of the Founding of the Mormon Church
Although multiple accounts of the first vision exist, which suggests the story changed over time, the official version paints an inspiring tale of courage.
Mormon children learn the story of Joseph Smith's first vision at an early age. When the same Mormon children grow up, they may become aware that there are multiple accounts of the first vision according to Bob McCue's website and lds-mormon.com, but the story itself can be found in the pages of the Pearl of Great Price. The story itself is inspirational even if one is not Mormon.
Joseph Smith Wonders which Church to Join
Americans in the 1830s struggled with religion, if groups like the formation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Spirtualist movement are any indication. It is little wonder that a young Joseph Smith would wonder which church was true, as practically all made that claim.
The future Mormon prophet struggled with this idea for some time before he came across a passage in the epistle of James in the Bible. James, Chapter 1 Verse 5 in the King James Version reads, "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God." After reading that passage, Joseph Smith went to pray in the woods behind his family's Palmyra home.
Joseph Smith Prays in the Sacred Grove
Visitors to the Palmyra area today have the option of visiting several Mormon shrines including one known as the Sacred Grove. Mormon theology holds that one of the most important events in human history after the resurrection of Christ took place in these woods. Somewhere in the middle of the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith knelt in prayer and found that he could not speak and was overcome by darkness.
Joseph Smith being struck mute, according to Mormon belief, was Satan trying to keep Christ's original church from being restored on the earth. When the darkness finally cleared and he could speak again, two personages -- God the Father and Jesus Christ stood before him. The light in the grove at the time was far brighter than the noonday sun.
The Answer to the First Vision Prayer
Elohim, the Mormon God, introduced his son, Jehovah, better known to modern readers as Jesus Christ. The question of which church was true would be settled finally, and it turned out that no church currently in existence on the planet was the one Christ had set up during his ministry on Earth. God had chosen the young, uneducated farm boy to restore his truth and he would later produce a text Mormons even today believe to be a true history of the ancient Americas.
Multiple Accounts of the First Vision
Mormon historians track the changes the first vision story until it appeared in its official form, but the story outlined above is the one presented to Mormon children and investigators and is a cornerstone of faith for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other groups who are part of the Restoratoinist Movement.
But whether or not the account is true, the willingness to question everything the future Mormon prophet had been told shows the courage of Joseph Smith, even though his very human failings would ultimately lead to his assassination.
Sources:
Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Pirce. Deseret Books.
