The First Vision ~ Lesson 2

Foundations of the Restoration   A study of foundational revelations, doctrine, historical events, and people relevant to the unfolding Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ as found in the standard works, the teachings of modern prophets, and Church history. MAJOR DOCTRINAL EMPHASES The prophetic calling and doctrinal teachings of Joseph Smith Jr. Key sections and doctrine from the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith—History, and the Articles of Faith. The foundational events of the Restoration including the First Vision, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of the priesthood. The truthfulness, establishment, organization, doctrine, and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Reformation The Restoration A widely accepted translation of the Bible, in the dominant language and tied to the dominant culture of the period. The Restoration

The Reformation The Restoration A widely accepted translation of the Bible, in the dominant language and tied to the dominant culture of the period. A stable political system to provide a base of operations from which the Restoration could go forward. The Restoration

The Reformation The Restoration A widely accepted translation of the Bible, in the dominant language and tied to the dominant culture of the period. A stable political system to provide a base of operations from which the Restoration could go forward. A culture and language which fostered the establishment of the gospel, including a spirit of restoration which anticipated a new dispensation. The Restoration

The greatest event that has ever occurred in the world, since the resurrection of the Son of God from the tomb and his ascension on high, was the coming of the Father and of the Son to that boy Joseph Smith… Pres. Joseph F. Smith

Joseph Smith – History 1:1-26

What were some of the things Joseph Smith did to find answers to his questions? What are some important truths we learn from Joseph Smith’s first vision experience?

“Joseph Smith was the Lord’s anointed to restore Christ’s Church to the earth. When he emerged from the grove of trees, he eventually learned four fundamental truths… “First, he learned that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are two separate, distinct beings. “The second great truth Joseph Smith discovered was that the Father and the Son have glorified bodies of flesh and bones. Tad R. Callister

Smith learned was that God still speaks to man today – “The third truth that Joseph Smith learned was that God still speaks to man today – that the heavens are not closed… “The fourth truth that Joseph Smith learned was that the full and complete Church of Jesus Christ was not then upon the earth.” Tad R. Callister

God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are two separate, distinct beings. The Father and the Son have glorified bodies of flesh and bones. God still speaks to man today. The full and complete Church of Jesus Christ was not then upon the earth. So what?

Why do you think these truths about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are essential to know and understand? How is the validity of the Church linked to Joseph Smith’s First Vision? Why is it important – even vital – to have a testimony of the First Vision?

What will you do to gain a personal testimony of validity of the First Vision?

I am not worried that the Prophet Joseph Smith gave a number of versions of the First Vision anymore than I am worried that there are four different writers of the gospels in the New Testament, each with his own perceptions, each telling the events to meet his own purpose for writing at the time. Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

To me it is a significant and marvelous thing that in establishing and opening this dispensation our Father did so with a revelation of himself and of his Son Jesus Christ, as if to say to all the world that he was weary of the attempts of men, earnest though these attempts might have been, to define and describe him. . . . The experience of Joseph Smith in a few moments in the grove on a spring day in 1820, brought more light and knowledge and understanding of the personality and reality and substance of God and his Beloved Son than men had arrived at during centuries of speculation. Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

To you, this day, I affirm my witness of the calling of the Prophet Joseph, of his works, of the sealing of his testimony with his blood as a martyr to the eternal truth. Each of you can bear witness of the same thing. You and I are faced with the stark question of accepting the truth of the First Vision and that which followed it. On the question of its reality lies the very validity of this Church. If it is the truth, and I testify that it is, then the work in which we are engaged is the most important work on the earth. Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

Have ye inquired of the Lord?

Have ye inquired of the Lord?

Helpful websites with well-researched sources: www.ldschurch.org www.josephsmithpapers.org www.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu www.fairlds.org www.mormoninterpreter.com www.rsc.byu.edu www.byustudies.byu.edu Encyclopedia of Mormonism: www.lib.byu.edu/digital/Macmillian

The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon Next week: The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon ~ Lesson 3