New First Vision Video to Premier Prior to Face to Face with President Eyring, Elder Holland
Contributed By Lauren Hanson, Church News staff writer
Joseph Smith Jr. kneeling in the Sacred Grove during the First Vision.
Article Highlights
- Tune in 15 minutes before the Face to Face event to see a new video about the First Vision.
- The new film draws from all nine existing accounts of the First Vision.
- The Face to Face event will be broadcast March 4 at 11:00 a.m.
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A new film about the First Vision will receive its broadcast premier this Saturday, March 4, immediately preceding the live broadcast of Face to Face with President Henry B. Erying and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.
Tune in 15 minutes early to see a stunning new depiction of the events in the Sacred Grove titled Ask of God—Joseph Smith’s First Vision at 10:45 a.m. mountain standard time on ChurchofJesusChrist.org or the LDS Youth YouTube channel. The movie will be broadcast in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin and will be available to download and share following the event at history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org/first-vision.
The film was originally released in the Church History Museum in October 2015, where it is shown in a 240-degree surround format for an immersive experience. Now it has been remastered to fit traditional screens and will be broadcast for the first time prior to the Face to Face event.
While most movies about the First Vision use the 1838 Pearl of Great Price account, this movie draws from all nine existing accounts of the First Vision recorded during Joseph Smith’s lifetime to provide a rich and moving perspective on the event that opened this dispensation.
“Great effort has been taken to portray things as accurately as our knowledge of history permits. We hope that this will become the reference portrayal of the First Vision in classrooms, homes, and personal study,” said John Heath, manager of communication strategy in the Church History Department.
The scenes were shot on location in Palmyra, New York, using several cameras and helicopters to give viewers the sensation of being lifted above the treetops of the grove and to give an aerial perspective of the surrounding valley, including the Smith family farmhouse.
Elder Holland described the movie as “a moving account of Joseph Smith’s First Vision of the Father and the Son” that allows viewers to experience what it might have been like to be in the Sacred Grove that day.
The Face to Face event with President Eyring and Elder Holland originates in historic Palmyra, New York, where the 14-year-old Joseph Smith Jr. experienced the First Vision following a heartfelt prayer.
“Most youth of the Church across the world will never have the chance to visit Palmyra, New York, in person, but I hope that participating in this event will help some of them feel as if they are there,” said President Eyring. “I hope they will feel the spirit of this quiet, holy place and perhaps gain a stronger testimony of what took place here on a spring day in 1820.”
In a video invitation from the two Apostles, President Eyring invited youth to “prepare for the event by reading the account of the Prophet Joseph’s First Vision and also of trying yourself to ask God in faith for answers.” (See also First Vision Accounts.) Youth are also invited to consider what questions they would like to ask and share them on face2face.ChurchofJesusChrist.org or on other social media channels using #LDSface2face.
Watch the live Face to Face event at 11:00 a.m. MST (1:00 p.m. EST) on the home page of ChurchofJesusChrist.org or the LDS Youth YouTube channel, or view it later at face2face.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
