Does God Answer Prayers? The 3 Mormons talk about their beliefs and how they came to know that God restored His church to the earth and that Joseph Smith really did see and speak with God the Father and His son Jesus Christ.
Joseph Smith is the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the Mormon church) who translated The Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God.
In 1820 Joseph Smith wanted to know which church was God’s true church. He searched the Bible and read the scripture in James 1:5, which says “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.” Joseph acted on this scripture and went to the woods and prayed to God and asked which church was true. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him he was to join none of the churches in existence. Through this first vision and many others that followed, God chose Joseph to be His prophet and restore the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Hi, so can you help me out here? I am an active member of the church for 38 years now, and I just recently learned about the different versions of the first vision, and I am somewhat shocked that I never knew of these. The LDS Gospel Topics essays don’t really help me either because they seem to just confirm my issues that revolve around the differences in each experience. Are you aware of these? Your video is great for describing our church, but if an investigator now asks me what the first vision story is,,,, I’m stuck. Thoughts?
Try this article on our website: http://mormonhub.com/blog/faith/lds-history/why-are-there-differences-between-joseph-smiths-4-first-vision-accounts/
Have you ever explained an experience the same way every time? It depends upon your audience and the part of the experience you are emphasizing.
Well, I guess my answer would be that if God and His son Jesus Christ showed up to give me some advice, that particular slightly Important point would be in each of the tellings. Sorry, I guess I was hoping for some feedback, not more apologetic articles.
As soon as a visit from God the Father and Jesus Christ occurs for you, and then you wait 12 years, 15 years, 18 years and 22 years to tell different people what happened to you, then you will be in a position to judge Joseph Smith and what he should have remembered.
I do not mean to sound harsh, but you are being the judge for what Joseph should have said and are now shocked that he did not tell the story the way that you want him to. The only way to move past this is to study it out in your mind from sources that do not want to destroy your faith and then ask Heavenly Father.
I had to do the same thing and I testify that God did answer my prayer with the sure knowledge that Joseph was a prophet. He can and will help you with this problem =)
The definition of a vision is something seen in a dream, trance, or religious ecstasy, especially a supernatural appearance that usually conveys a revelation.
Joseph Smith did not have a ‘vision’ – he had a ‘visitation’. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were physically present in a conduit of light and the Holy Ghost was also present to bear witness to Joseph Smith that this event was true.
Every time that Joseph Smith saw a resurrected being – Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James and John, Elijah, Moses, Noah, (and probably others that are not recorded) those persons were there in person.
Critics state that Joseph Smith was delusionary and that the event was all in his mind, so when I tell people about the results of Joseph Smith’s ‘First Prayer’ to ask what church to join, I always tell that that he had a visitation (not a vision).