“I Saw a Pillar of Light”

The prophet Joseph Smith testified that as a teenager he was visited by God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. He went on to have many more interactions with heavenly beings, but this “First Vision” is what began the unfolding of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in the latter days.

Four firsthand accounts of Joseph’s First Vision exist, and there are at least five secondary accounts written of the event by Joseph’s contemporaries. That’s nine accounts of that spectacular experience. Some members of the Church are surprised to find that there are additional accounts beyond the one canonized in the Pearl of Great Price, and some reject them all because of what they see (or hear) as irreconcilable differences. I have analyzed each of the nine accounts for myself and can find nothing that would cause me to question the validity of Joseph’s claim. More importantly, however, is that textual evidence is not why I believe Joseph. I believe Joseph because the Holy Ghost has witnessed to me that the Father and the Son did indeed appear to him. It’s that simple.

In the spirit of sharing, though, I thought I would post some of what I learned from my experience reading and analyzing the various First Vision accounts. I won’t share in great detail because I’d hate to rob you of the same learning, but here are some thoughts.

My initial focus was on the four primary accounts written or dictated by Joseph Smith himself. As I read, I kept a running list of elements or details that I discovered from each account. Then I poured over the resulting list and grouped similar items together. Eventually, I was able to identify several traits common to at least three accounts. Those, I felt, must have been important or at least memorable enough to have been repeated. Here are a few of those traits:

• God’s true church was not discernable to Joseph
• Joseph read, believed, and appealed to the Bible
• Joseph prayed alone in the woods to 1.) know which church was right, and/or 2.) to secure the saving of his own soul
• God (in the form of two beings) appeared to Joseph and spoke to him
• The Lord told Joseph that none of the existing churches was His church

I later turned to the five secondary accounts of the First Vision and found that they too contained many common elements. One element that was affirmed in the additional accounts was that of opposition to Joseph’s prayer in the grove. I find that a very interesting aspect to the story, that prior to such a glorious visitation was darkness/opposition.

In the end, I wrote a summary based on the common characteristics of the nine accounts. Here is that summary:

A teenaged boy saw contradictions between the existing Christian sects of his day such that he felt he could not rely on any of them to help him find salvation. He knew instinctively that salvation would come through the aid of a church or religion, but none he investigated seemed right. He believed in and trusted God, relying on the Bible to guide him. He followed in faith the admonition of James 1:5 that if he lacked wisdom he could ask of God, and he had faith that he would receive an answer. He went to the woods to be alone and pray. His attempt was opposed by evil/darkness, but he was ultimately delivered by the appearance of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, who told him that none of the contemporary churches contained the fullness of the Gospel. 

For me it doesn’t much matter whether Joseph was 14 or 15 years old at the time of the vision. It doesn’t matter whether he saw the Father and Son only or whether he also saw many angels. It doesn’t matter whether or not he left his ax behind to mark the spot where he intended to pray. What matters is the core message: he yearned, he prayed in great faith, and he was visited by God. Of course God doesn’t personally appear in answer to every faithful prayer, but because he did appear to Joseph Smith each of us now has a way to receive the answers we seek, and we have a path to salvation.

It’s a glorious event with a glorious message: the heavens are opened! Ask, and ye shall receive…