First Vision
The First
Vision! Just pondering the idea that God would
reveal himself to a man in answer to prayer fills me with
amazement. Of course, some of our critics think we're
nuts to assert that such a thing ever happened or even that
it could happen.
I
spent two years of my life telling this story from memory
several times every day. Even when told in a foreign
language and using the formal vocabulary of the time in which
it was written, it caused me to thrill each time I related
the events.
Critics within and
without the church have denounced the reality of the
theophany, but as Joseph said, "I had seen a vision; I knew
it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it;
neither dared I do it, at least I knew that by so doing I
would offend God."
Links to a few of my essays on the subject
of the First Vision:
For They Were All Wrong - I
love the answer that Joseph said he received in
the sacred grove. I don't think we emphasize
it enough in our message to the world
today.
Multiple
versions of the First Vision - I confess I was a little
"in your face" when I wrote this. I was tired of reading that
I should be shocked by all the different versions.
Man
of Holines is His Name - Although the essay focuses on
Moses 6:57, I discuss the idea of God being a glorified
man, a doctrine that came from the First
Vision.
Mormon
Visitors From Outer Space - A little tounge-in-cheek look
at the idea of viewing the First Vision and Moroni's visits in
a slightly different way - as space visitors!
God
is a Glorified Being of Flesh and Bones - The first of my
responses to a critic who claimed that we are not Christians
specifically because of our belief in this doctrine.
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