Joseph’s heart was full of joy for many days after the First Vision. When Joseph told us that he had seen the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and he had conversed with them, we rejoiced with Joseph and praised the Lord for His goodness.
We looked forward to the promise that the fulness of the gospel would in time be restored. We were anxious for that to happen but we along with Joseph had to wait patiently upon the Lord.
When Joseph told others outside the family about his vision, they did not believe him. A few days after the First Vision, Joseph had the opportunity to talk to Reverend George Lane, who had been involved in the religious excitement. During this time Joseph had become friends with Rev. Lane and he had tried to help Joseph in his search for the true religion. Rev. Lane had preached a sermon entitled “What Church Shall I Join?” and used the text from James, ‘If any man lacked wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all liberally…’ After hearing the sermon Joseph went home and read the text and received a powerful witness that he should do exactly what it said.
Since Rev. Lane’s text had given Joseph the inspiration to pray to God to learn the truth, he believed that Rev. Lane would be glad to hear of his vision. Joseph was greatly surprised by his behavior. Rev. Lane treated Joseph’s communication not only lightly, but with great contempt. He told Joseph that his vision was of the devil and there were no such things as visions or revelations these days for they had all ceased with the apostles and that there never would be any more.1
Most likely Rev. Lane told others of Joseph’s vision, which caused a great deal of prejudice to come against him from other religious leaders as well as the people in general belonging to all the different denominations. Bitter reviling persecution came against Joseph instead of love and gentle persuasion towards a lamb who they thought had gone astray.
Joseph was heartbroken and experienced great sorrow because of their treatment. He could not understand why people would have so much hatred for a poor farm boy of only 14 years of age who had had a vision of God. Why didn’t they believe him when he spoke the truth and rejoice with him? Why did they want to ridicule him instead? Joseph identified with the Apostle Paul who testified before King Agrippa that he had seen a light and had heard the Savior’s voice speaking to him and was willing to go through hatred, slander and bodily harm even unto to death if necessary for his testimony.
No matter the persecution that was heaped upon him, Joseph, like Paul, would not deny that he too had seen a light and, in this light, he had seen God the Father and His Son and they had spoken to him. 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, for I would offend God and come under condemnation.2
Joseph had love, peace and acceptance in our family. Our home was a sanctuary from the outside world. We believed his testimony and prayed for him in his trials. Every morning, we had a family devotional of prayer, singing and studying from the Bible. My husband taught the family in his own homeschool before we started our workday. Again, in the evening, after dinner we would gather for prayer, sing hymns, have scripture study and discuss the gospel. When my husband started feeling in his vest pocket for his spectacles the children knew that it was time for prayer.3
On July 18, 1821, our family circle was completed with the birth of our daughter Lucy. She was a true bundle of joy who cheered our hearts. Now we had nine children seated around our table.
Our children worked hard to provide for our food and other necessities of life by clearing land, planting, harvesting, milking, butchering, carting, churning, washing and making barrels and to make the needed improvements on our farm, building a cabin, barn, cooper shop, and digging and rocking wells, and cisterns. We also produced goods for sale such as split wood chairs and baskets, cordwood, garden produce, cider, bee-gum, maple syrup and maple sugar. We produced usually 1000 pounds of maple sugar every year in the spring. One year we produced 7,000 pounds in one season and won the fifty-dollar bounty for the highest production in the county. Since Joseph and our older boys had so much experience, they hired out for carpentry work and the digging and rocking of wells.4
After the First Vision we saw Joseph’s visionary ability as a seer. We came to realize that God had endowed Joseph with the gift of seeing things not visible to the human eye and obtaining knowledge and intelligence from heaven through his seer stones. By looking into a neighbor’s seer stone, he was able to see a white seer stone 150 miles away near the mouth of a creek near Lake Erie buried under a tree. Though we were concerned for Joseph to go alone such a great distance and the many days it would take to walk to and from Lake Erie, we finally gave Joseph permission to go and secure this white seer stone, which he accomplished. This was Joseph’s first seer stone and he kept this stone throughout his life.5
In 1822 Joseph found a brown colored seer stone while digging a well for our neighbor Mr. Chase. We realized that our son was endowed by God with prophetic gifts.6 He was like his visionary ancestor, Joseph, who was sold unto Egypt and called of God. We collected the needed materials to build our new two-story home before we started, to ensure its speedy construction. The frame was raised in November of 1822. The building of the home was under the control and management of Alvin. He would say, “I am going to have a nice, pleasant room for father and mother to sit in and everything arranged for their comfort, and they shall not work anymore as they have done.”7
Joseph was a cheerful and friendly individual who enjoyed merriment and at times he felt he became guilty of levity and associating with company not consistent with the character which should be maintained by one who was called of God as he had been.8 Joseph’s heart and soul were wounded over his sins and he desired to be forgiven.
On the evening of September 21, 1823, during the time of our wheat harvest we sat and conversed on the subject of religion before retiring.9 Joseph and the boys slept in the upper loft room of the cabin. The boys went to sleep but Joseph kept praying by the side of his bed.
His heart was drawn out in fervent prayer, and everything of a temporal nature was blocked out due to the intent with which he prayed. He was very conscious that he had not kept all the commandments perfectly and he repented heartly for all his sins and transgressions and humbled himself.10
He asked for his heart to be prepared to receive and talk to a heavenly messenger who could communicate to him if his sins were forgiven and if he was accepted by God. Joseph continued to pray hours unnumbered after the noise and bustle of the family had long since ceased and he continued to pray as his brothers slept.11
At this time, I would like to give you what Joseph later said about his experience as if he were speaking to you:
“…while I was praying unto God and endeavoring to exercise faith in the precious promises of scripture, immediately a light like that of noonday, only of a far purer and more glorious appearance and brightness burst into the room. Indeed, the first sight was as though the house was filled with consuming fire. The appearance produced a shock that affected the whole body. In a moment a personage stood before me, surrounded with a glory yet greater than that with which I was already ssurrounded.12
“[This] personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor. He had on a loose robe of exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen, nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also above the wrist; so also, were his feet naked, as were his legs a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but his robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom. Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person.
“When I looked upon him, I was afraid, but the fear soon left me. He called me by name and said that the Lord had forgiven my sins. He said that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God and that his name was Moroni. He said that God had a work for me to do, and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues; or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.13
“This messenger proclaimed himself to be an angel of God sent to bring the joyful tidings that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled; that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the gospel in all its fullness to be preached in power unto all nations, that a people might be prepared for the millennial reign. I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of His purposes in this glorious dispensation.14 He quoted scripture from Malachi, Isaiah, Acts, Joel and many other passages of scripture and offered many explanations …
“I was informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country [of America] and shown who they were, and from whence they came; a brief sketch of the origin, progress, civilization, laws, governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people, … I was told where were deposited some gold plates on which were engraved an abridgment of the records of the ancient prophets that had existed on this continent.
“He said that the fulness of the gospel was contained in these records as delivered by the Savior to these prophets. He said that there were two stones in silver bows, and these stones fastened to a breast plate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim, deposited with the plates, and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “Seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.13
“Again, he told me that when I got those plates of which he had spoken (for the time that they should be obtained was not then fulfilled) I should not show them to any person, neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim, only those to whom I should be commanded to show them: If I did, I should be destroyed. While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it.
“After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him; when instantly I saw, as it were a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended up till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light made its appearance.
“I lay musing on the singularity of the scene and marveling greatly at what had been told me by this extraordinary messenger, when, in the midst of my meditation, I suddenly discovered that my room was again beginning to get lighted, and, in an instant, as it were, the same heavenly messenger was again by my bedside. He commenced and again related the very same things which he had done at his first visit, without the least variation, which having done, he informed me of great judgments which were coming upon the earth, with great desolations by famine, sword and pestilence; and that these grievous judgments would come on the earth in this generation. Having related these things, he again descended as had done before.”16
Now I would like to finish the story as I remember Joseph telling me. When the angel ascended the second time, he left Joseph overwhelmed with astonishment, yet he gave him but a short time to contemplate the things which he had told him before he made his third appearance and rehearsed the same things over, adding a few words of caution and instruction.
The angel told him he must beware of covetousness, and he must not suppose the Record was brought forth for gain, for this was not the case, but that it was to bring forth light and intelligence which had for a long time been lost to the world. At the time when he went to get the plates, he must be on his guard, or his mind would be filled with darkness and all manner of evil would rush into his mind to prevent him from keeping the commandments. Then the angel told him to tell his father all which he had seen and heard …17
After the third visitation of the angel Joseph was again left to ponder the strangeness of what he had just experienced but was almost immediately interrupted by a rooster announcing the break of dawn. Joseph arose and went to work as usual.18
We are not finished with the visits of Angel Moroni on September 21 and 22, 1823. In the next installment we will cover 2 more visits. I want to bear testimony to you that the Angel Moroni who was a prophet on this continent in ancient times came to instruct my son Joseph and he came many times, some have counted as many as 22 times. Because of Joseph’s purity and faith, he was able to communicate with angels sent from God that you and I may be blessed today with the knowledge and understanding Joseph gave to us revealed through angels.19
Footnotes:
[1] See: “The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith By His Mother”, edited by Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor, 1996, pg. 106, footnote 12. “History of the Church”, Vol. 1 pgs. 3-8.
[2] Times and Seasons, Vol.3, p. 727. Supp. To Mil. Star, Vol. 14. P. 2.
[3] “Faith Crisis” Volume 2 Behind Closed Doors Leonard Arrington and the Progressive Rewriting of Mormon History” Joseph Smith Foundation 2020, pg. 228 footnote 23.
[4] “Faith Crisis” Volume 2 Behind Closed Doors Leonard Arrington and the Progressive Rewriting of Mormon History” Joseph Smith Foundation 2020, pgs. 226-228.
[5] “Joseph Smith’s First Vision as Endowment and Epitome of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (or Why I Came Back to the Church)” Fair Conference Sept. 9, 2019; “Joseph Smith Had a Second Seer Stone. Here’s What We Know About It” by Michael Hubbard McKay and Nicholas J. Federick, Sept. 6, 2016. It is clear that Joseph Smith had his white stone in the 1820’s along with his brown stone.
[6] “The Visions of Joseph Smith” by Alex Baugh BYU Devotional July 26, 2007. Joseph was 16 when he obtained a dark brown seer stone in digging Willard Chase’s well around 1822, a year before Moroni’s visit, and he used the seer stone for 5 years before he obtained the Urim and Thummim.
[7] “The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith By His Mother” Edited by Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor, 1996, pg. 100.
[8] Joseph Smith History 1:28.
[9] “The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith By His Mother,” Edited by Proctors pg. 101 & 106.
[10] Joseph Smith Papers Journal I, pages 88 -89.
[11] Joseph Smith Papers pgs. 50 – 51. Proctors pg. 107. Oliver Cowdery relating what Joseph told him of his experience of Moroni’s first visits.
[12] “The Wentworth Letter” by Joseph Smith, May 1842.
[13] “Joseph Smith 2”.
[14] “The Wentworth Letter” by Joseph Smith, May 1842.
[15] “Wentworth Letter” by Joseph Smith, May 1842.
[16] “Joseph Smith 2”.
[17] Proctors, Note 14, pg. 107.
[18] “Joseph Smith Papers, H1: 230 – 231.
[19] “The Visions of Joseph Smith” by Alex Baugh, BYU Devotional July 26, 2007.