What is the First Vision of Joseph Smith?
Smith described it as a vision in which he received instruction from God the Father and Jesus Christ. According to the account Smith told in 1838, he went to the woods to pray about which church to join but fell into the grip of an evil power that nearly overcame him.
Why is Joseph Smith’s First Vision important?
This vision, which marked the beginning of the Restoration of the gospel, is the most important event since the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith’s humble prayer led to the restoration of gospel truths, priesthood authority, and saving ordinances. One prayer began a movement—a rough stone rolling.
How many versions of Joseph Smith’s First Vision are there?
Joseph Smith published two accounts of the First Vision during his lifetime.
What year did Joseph Smith have his First Vision?
1820
On a spring day in 1820 14-year-old Joseph Smith sought solitude in a grove of trees and prayed to know which church was true. God the Father and Jesus Christ, “two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description,”1 appeared and spoke with him.
Why is it called the first vision?
In the spring of 1820, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith as he prayed in a grove of trees near his home in western New York. This event is known as the First Vision. Joseph exerted all his power to call upon God.
Did Joseph Smith see Jesus?
According to LDS doctrine, Smith had this Vision in 1820, when he went out to the grove to pray. While praying, he is said to have seen a “pillar of light” and two images — identified as God and Jesus Christ — who told him that his sins were forgiven and that all churches were false.
Why is vision important in the church?
This is also one of the practical reasons why functioning with vision in the church is so very important. Vision releases people in the church to contribute in innumerable ways toward the success of the shared dream. “Vision is specific, detailed, customized, distinctive and unique to a given church.
Who restored the Melchizedek Priesthood?
When Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery asked about the priesthood while translating the Book of Mormon, the Lord’s great answer was to restore it to the earth, sending John the Baptist to confer the Aaronic Priesthood on May 15, 1829, then Peter, James and John to restore the Melchizedek Priesthood in June of the same …
Is the first vision real?
There are some events in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that hold supreme importance. The First Vision is one such event. He never disclosed the actual date when he ventured into the woods to meet God. …
What do we learn from the first vision LDS?
We learn that we can overcome Satan by calling upon God and putting our complete faith and trust in Him. We learn that where there is light, darkness must depart. We learn that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are two separate and distinct beings, resembling each other in features and likeness.
What did Joseph see in his first vision?
The retelling, recorded in Joseph’s journal by his scribe Warren Parrish, emphasizes his attempt to discover which church was right, the opposition he felt as he prayed, and the appearance of one divine personage who was followed shortly by another. This account also notes the appearance of angels in the vision.
When was the first account of the First Vision published?
The narration of the First Vision best known to Latter-day Saints today is the 1838 account. First published in 1842 in the Times and Seasons, the Church’s newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, the account was part of a longer history dictated by Joseph Smith between periods of intense opposition.
Where was the first vision of Jesus Christ?
In the spring of 1820, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith as he prayed in a grove of trees near his home in western New York. This event is known as the First Vision. (To read about the vision in Joseph’s own words, click here .) In the early 1800s in the United States there was great excitement about religion.
Who was the first person to have a vision?
This 1832 narrative contains the earliest known account of Joseph’s First Vision and the only account in his own handwriting. In the transcription that follows, the bold-faced type indicates the portions of the document written in the Prophet’s handwriting. The remainder is in the handwriting of his secretary, Frederick G. Williams.