The Vision
1820
Joseph Smith's Own Story
Never has the story of the wonderful vision of the Father and the Son
to Joseph Smith been told so effectively and clearly as by Joseph
Smith, himself, as he has related it in complete simplicity. Therefore
it is repeated here:
"Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there
was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject
of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general
among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole
district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united
themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small
stir and division amongst the people, some crying, 'Lo, here!' and
others, 'Lo, there!' Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some
for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist. For notwithstanding
the great love which the converts to these different faiths expressed
at the time of their conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the
respective clergy, who were active in getting up and promoting this
extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have everybody
converted as they were pleased to call it, let them join what sect they
pleased--yet when the converts began to file off, some to one party and
some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both
the priests and the converts were more pretended than real; for a scene
of great confusion and bad feeling ensued; priest contending against
priest, and convert against convert; so that all their good feelings
one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife
of words and a contest about opinions.
"I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father's family was
proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that
church, namely--my mother Lucy; my brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison;
and my sister Sophronia.
A Time of Religious Excitement
"During this time of great excitement, my mind was called up to serious
reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and
often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties,
though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would
permit. In process of time my mind became somewhat partial to the
Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them; but so
great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations,
that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted
with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right
and who was wrong. My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and
tumult were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided
against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of either
reason or sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least to make the
people think they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists
and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to
establish their own tenets and disprove all others.
The Promise of James Tested
"In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said
to myself, 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? While I was laboring under the extreme
difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists,
I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth
verse, which reads: _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._
"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 again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did;
for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom
than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion
of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so
differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by
an appeal to the Bible. At length I came to the conclusion that I must
either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James
directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to
'ask of God,' concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked
wisdom, and would give liberally and not upbraid, I might venture. So,
in accordance with this my determination to ask of God, I retired to
the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful
clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was
the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst
all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.
The Vision
"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to
go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down
and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely
done so, when immediately 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.
"But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of
the power of this enemy which 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--just at this moment of great alarm, I
saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the
sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
"It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the
enemy which held me bound. 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!_
"My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the
sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore,
did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked
the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects
was right--and which I should join. I was answered that I must join
none of them, for they were all wrong; and the personage who addressed
me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that
those professors were all corrupt; that '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.' He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many
other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time.
When I came to myself again I found myself lying on my back, looking up
into heaven.
"When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in
some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother
enquired what the matter was. I 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.'
Sectarian Opposition
"It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of
my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his
kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me?
Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me almost in my
infancy?
"Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company
with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the
before-mentioned religious excitement; and, conversing with him on the
subject of religion, I took occasion to give him an account of the
vision which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he
treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt,
saying it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as
visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased
with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.
"I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great
deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the
cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I
was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and
my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the
world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite
the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this
was common among all the sects--all united to persecute me.
Joseph Smith's Reflections
"It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very
strange it was that an obscure boy, a little over fourteen years of
age and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a
scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character
of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of
the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them
a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling. But strange or
not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself.
However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have
thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense
before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when
he saw a light and heard a voice; but still there were but few who
believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and
he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality
of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the
persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they
should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his
latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking
unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe
otherwise.
"So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of
that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak to me;
and though 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.
"I had now got my mind satisfied so far as the sectarian world was
concerned; that it was not my duty to join with any of them, but to
continue as I was until further directed. I had found the testimony of
James to be true, that a man who lacked wisdom might ask of God, and
obtain, and not be upbraided."
Joseph Smith's Great Honor
There is no account in history or revelation extant, where ever before
both the Father and the Son appeared in the presence of mortal man in
glory. Most wonderful was the honor bestowed upon this unsophisticated
boy. Great was his faith--so great that he was able, like the brother
of Jared, to penetrate the veil and behold the glory of these holy
Beings, whose glory rested upon him. Without this power overshadowing
him, he could not have endured their presence, for their brightness
was far greater than the brightness of the noonday sun. It was not,
therefore, with the power of the natural eye that this great Vision
was beheld, but by the aid of the eye of the spirit. The natural man,
without the saving grace of the power of the Lord, could not behold
his presence in this manner, for he would be consumed. Joseph Smith,
through the power of the Lord, was able to behold the presence of the
Great Creator and his Glorified Son, for they deigned to honor him with
their presence and converse with him.
The Heavens No Longer Sealed
No longer were the heavens as brass. No more would man be forced to
stumble and grope in darkness. Salvation was made known and the glad
tidings were to sound forth, as with the blast of a mighty trumpet,
to the ends of the earth. Satan's reign was nearing its end, and the
message of eternal peace was shortly to be proclaimed to every nation,
and kindred, and tongue and people.
The Vision Rejected by the World
No wonder Joseph Smith rejoiced, he now possessed greater knowledge
than all the professors and divines in all the world! Naturally he
desired that others should share his joy and partake of his wonderful
information. He would proclaim it to them with gladness, surely
they would be pleased to receive it and would rejoice with him! But
great disappointment awaited him, for with one accord his message
was rejected. Only the members of his household would believe. He
was treated with scorn by great men of learning, although he was but
a boy. He was mocked and shamed. Instead of the spirit of love and
gratefulness following him for revealing this glorious message of
truth, it was the spirit of contempt and hatred with which he had to
contend. In sorrow he learned to hold his peace and wait--wait for
further light and inspiration which he had been promised. Though all
the world should mock and former friends deride, he knew he had beheld
the Vision. There was one Friend to whom he now could go and pour out
his soul in humble hope of encouragement and succor. What did it matter
though the whole world should laugh, if the Son of God would hearken to
his humble pleadings?
Not Strange that the Message Should be Rejected
Yet, when we stop to reflect, it is not strange that this message of
light and truth should be rejected by the world, for the Lord had said
long years before, "Men love darkness rather than light, because their
deeds are evil." As for the priests, was not their craft in danger?
The message left with the youthful seer by the God of heaven was
most drastic. It had been declared in language that could be clearly
understood, that the creeds of men were not in accord with his Gospel.
This was not a message to please the religious teachers of the day.
Moreover, the Vision had shattered the traditions of the times. The
doctrines taught in the churches were emphatically contradicted and
disproved. The world was teaching and believing that the canon of
scripture was full; that there was not to be and could not be, more
revelation; that the visitation of angels had ceased with the early
Christian fathers, and such things as these had passed away forever.
Again, the doctrine was taught that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost were
incomprehensible, without body, parts and passions. A revelation of
the Father and the Son as separate persons, each with a body tangible
and in the form of the body of man, was destructive of this doctrine,
as revelation was of the doctrine of the closed heavens. The world had
held that perfection in religion and the organization of the Church of
Christ was not to be expected, but that men were led by their own human
reason to interpret the word of the Lord as set forth in the scriptures.
A Bold Denunciation of False Doctrine
A bold denunciation of all such false teachings and traditions,
although told in confiding simplicity by a humble youth, fourteen years
of age, was not likely to bring rejoicing and peace of mind to those
who thus believed and loved their old traditions dearly. Nevertheless
the story must be told; for in the world were thousands of honest souls
who were likewise praying that the light of the everlasting Gospel
would be restored, and the message of salvation again be proclaimed as
a witness before the end of unrighteousness should come.