Church History Gems - 2 November 2009

That's the Miracle of It

"When I was interviewed by Mike Wallace on the 60 Minutes program, he asked me if I actually believed [the story of the First Vision]. I replied, 'Yes, sir. That's the miracle of it.'

"That is the way I feel about it. Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision. It either occurred or it did not occur. If it did not, then this work is a fraud. If it did, then it is the most important and wonderful work under the heavens.

"Reflect upon it, my brethren and sisters. For centuries the heavens remained sealed. Good men and women, not a few—really great and wonderful people—tried to correct, strengthen, and improve their systems of worship and their body of doctrine. To them I pay honor and respect. How much better the world is because of their bold action. While I believe their work was inspired, it was not favored with the opening of the heavens, with the appearance of Deity.

"Then in 1820 came that glorious manifestation in answer to the prayer of a boy who had read in his family Bible the words of James: '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).

"Upon that unique and wonderful experience stands the validity of this Church."

Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Marvelous Foundation of Our Faith," Ensign, Nov. 2002, 80

Topics: First Vision, Joseph Smith

Church History Gems - 14 October 2009

Real as the Sunrise

"The year was 1820, the season spring. The boy with questions walked into the grove of his father's farm. There, finding himself alone, he pleaded in prayer for that wisdom which James promised would be given liberally to those who ask of God in faith. (See James 1:5.) There, in circumstances which he has described in much detail, he beheld the Father and the Son, the great God of the universe and the risen Lord, both of whom spoke to him.

"This transcendent experience opened the marvelous work of restoration. It lifted the curtain on the long-promised dispensation of the fulness of times.

"For more than a century and a half, enemies, critics, and some would-be scholars have worn out their lives trying to disprove the validity of that vision. Of course they cannot understand it. The things of God are understood by the Spirit of God. There had been nothing of comparable magnitude since the Son of God walked the earth in mortality. Without it as a foundation stone for our faith and organization, we have nothing. With it, we have everything.

"Much has been written, much will be written, in an effort to explain it away. The finite mind cannot comprehend it. But the testimony of the Holy Spirit, experienced by countless numbers of people all through the years since it happened, bears witness that it is true, that it happened as Joseph Smith said it happened, that it was as real as the sunrise over Palmyra, that it is an essential foundation stone, a cornerstone, without which the Church could not be 'fitly framed together.' "

Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Cornerstones of Our Faith," Ensign, Nov. 1984, 52

Topics: Joseph Smith, First Vision

Church History Gems - 28 September 2009

Greater Faithfulness

"If Joseph saw what he claimed to have seen, and I testify that he did, then in sharing his vision he did more than any man who has ever lived to reveal the nature, character, and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ to the world. As a consequence, we Latter-day Saints have some duties and responsibilities.

"President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) eloquently expressed himself in this regard:

" 'I read this morning a part of Joseph Smith's testimony of the First Vision. You are all familiar with it. His going into a grove, pleading with the Lord, a light shining above him, and then the appearance of the Father and the Son. I read that testimony and thought of it. I said to myself, "If every one of us knew in our hearts that that statement is true, then we would know that all else which follows it, which came through the restoration of the gospel, is true also." And we would walk and live with greater faithfulness.

" 'Tithing would not be a problem with us. Temple service would not be a problem with us. Keeping the Sabbath day holy would not be a problem with us. . . . Missionary service would be no problem with us.

" 'All else that follows would be true. We would know it in our hearts if we had a solid, firm, immovable conviction of the truth and validity of that great vision wherein God the Eternal Father and the risen Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the boy Joseph Smith and the Father said, "This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" ' (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 225–26)."

F. Burton Howard, "Hearing and Heeding the Message from the Grove," Ensign, Feb. 2009, 12–13

Topics: First Vision

Church History Gems - 22 June 2009

Foundation upon Which Church Is Built

"Joseph Smith was not only a great man, but he was an inspired servant of the Lord, a prophet of God. His greatness consists in one thing—the truthfulness of his declaration that he saw the Father and the Son and that he responded to the reality of that divine revelation. . . .

"For the first time in eighteen hundred years, God had revealed himself as a personal being. Furthermore, the Father and the Son demonstrated the undeniable truth that they are separate and distinct personages. Indeed, the relationship of the Father and the Son was reaffirmed by the divine introduction to the boy prophet, 'This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him.' (JS—H 1:17.) Those who were baptized into the Church on the sixth of April, 1830, believed in the existence of a personal God; they believed that his reality and the reality of his Son, Jesus Christ, constitute the eternal foundation upon which this Church is built.

"Once we accept Christ as divine, it is easy to visualize his Father as being just as personal as he. Christ said, 'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.' (John 14:9.) Faith in the existence of a divine and real and living personal God was the first element that contributed to the perpetuity of the Church of Jesus Christ in ancient times, and it is the everlasting foundation upon which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built today."

Howard W. Hunter, The Sixth Day of April, 1830, Ensign, May 1991, 64

Topics: God the Father, First Vision, Joseph Smith

Daily Gems - 21 May 2009

Revelation a Constant Compass

"Continuing revelation is a fundamental feature of [the faith of our Father]. Joseph Smith's first prayer is a powerful testimony of this. Revelation is a constant compass that keeps us always true to the will and the faith of our Heavenly Father.

"Our Heavenly Father loves His children. He hears the prayers of the humble and sincere of every nation, tongue, and people. He grants light to those who seek and honor Him and are willing to obey His commandments. We joyously proclaim that the faith of our Father is on the earth today."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Faith of Our Father," Ensign, May 2008, 75

Topics: Children of God, Revelation, First Vision

Church History Gems - 9 March 2009

Epochal Event

“Our origins did not spring from protest of any kind; hence, we are not a Protestant denomination. Rather, we understand that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, established, as the Apostle Paul once declared, ‘upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone’ (Eph. 2:20).

“God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, literally appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith in April 1820. While this may be relatively unknown in the annals of history, yet it constituted an epochal event in the history of humanity—a profound demonstration of the love of God for all of His children. Because this milestone is of such importance, I would like to quote excerpts from the Prophet’s written account:

“ ‘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!’ (JS—H 1:17).”

Russell M. Nelson, “Combating Spiritual Drift—Our Global Pandemic,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 104

Topics: Joseph Smith, Restoration, First Vision

Church History Gems - 15 September 2008

Real as My Conversation with You

"God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, literally appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith in April 1820. While this may be relatively unknown in the annals of history, yet it constituted an epochal event in the history of humanity--a profound demonstration of the love of God for all of His children. Because this milestone is of such importance, I would like to quote . . . from the Prophet's written account:

" '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!' (JS--H 1:17). . . .

"We regard that theophany--which we designate as the First Vision--and subsequent communications of heavenly beings with the Prophet Joseph Smith to be as real as my conversation with you now. These and other visitations relating to the promised restitution of the Church are well documented.

"For his singular service as the prophet called to inaugurate this dispensation, Joseph Smith gave his life as a martyr at the young age of thirty-eight years. As we honor prophets of former days, so we honor the Prophet Joseph Smith. May I quote from an account written shortly after his martyrdom in 1844, penned by one of his contemporaries:

" 'In the short space of twenty years, he [the Prophet Joseph Smith] has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood' (D&C 135:3)."

Russell M. Nelson, "Combatting Spiritual Drift--Our Global Pandemic," Ensign, Nov. 1993, 104-5

Topics: First Vision