JOSEPH SMITH: THE FIRST VISION

Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith Jr. was born in 1805 in Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, as the son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. He had ten brothers and sisters. His parents taught him to pray, to read the Bible and have Faith in God.

In a first vision at the age of 14, Joseph saw God the Father and His son Jesus Christ. When Joseph was 17, messengers from heaven came to him to prepare him for his task in restoring the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth. He was a Prophet like the prophets in biblical times. 

The First Vision

When Joseph Smith was still small, there were various churches in the vicinity of his home, all of which asserted that they were teaching the truth. That concerned him. He wanted to find out which church was true. One day, he read a passage in the Bible where it said, "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." (James 1:5). Joseph made up his mind to accept this challenge and ask God.

In the spring of 1820 he went to a small grove of trees near his home and prayed to find out which church he should join. In answer to his prayer, Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to him. Joseph described this as follows, "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!" Joseph was told that he should join none of the churches that existed in his day.

Joseph Smith's first vision marks the beginning of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth.

His written report of this event represents a powerful witness of what he saw and experienced.