The First Vision

The First Vision Opens the Restoration

In the spring of 1820, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith as he prayed in a grove of trees near his home in western New York. This event is known as the First Vision. (Click here to read about it in Joseph’s own words.)

Jesus Christ promised that He would restore His gospel to the earth. The First Vision began that restoration. It is one of the best-documented appearances of God in history, and it is a pattern for how everyone can receive divine guidance in their own lives. The videos, art, and documents collected here will help you understand this important event and “immerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration.”
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Joseph Smith's First Vision: Now You Know

You may have questions about the First Vision and why it’s important. You may wonder what it means to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or how it was initially documented. This short video answers those questions.

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“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.” – James 1:5

“Joseph went home and read the verse in the Bible. ‘Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine,’ he later remembered. ‘It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did.’ He had searched the Bible before as if it held all the answers. But now the Bible was telling him he could go directly to God for personal answers to his questions.”

“If Joseph Smith’s transcendent experience in the Sacred Grove teaches us anything, it is that the heavens are open and that God speaks to His children.”

- President Russell M. Nelson

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Accounts of the First Vision

“The experiences of the Prophet Joseph Smith offer a guide. He began and continued his ministry with the decision that his own wisdom was not sufficient to know what course he should pursue. He chose to... ask of God.”

-Henry B. Eyring

Living Prophets and Apostles

“[Joseph Smith’s] life asked and answered the question ‘Do you believe God speaks to man?’ In all else that he accomplished in his brief 38 and a half years, Joseph left us above all else the resolute legacy of divine revelation—not a single, isolated revelation without evidence or consequence, and not ‘a mild sort of inspiration seeping into the minds of all good people’ everywhere, but specific, documented, ongoing directions from God.”

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

The First Vision

A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast

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Personal Revelation

The way to receive personal revelation is really quite clear. We need to desire to receive revelation, we must not harden our hearts, and then we need to ask in faith, truly believe that we will receive an answer, and then diligently keep the commandments of God.” – Barbara Thompson

The First Vision

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