The First Vision
I spent 2 years of my life going door to door to share with others the most priceless gift I possess - a sure testimony that God, our Heavenly Father lives, and that He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world as a ransom for us. Christ organized His Church while He was on the earth (Imagine that - his followers didn't belong to various sects preaching opposing doctrines, but they all belonged to one church - His church). After the Savior ascended into Heaven, the church continued under the direction of his Apostles, Peter, James, John, and all the rest. Over time, each of the Apostles was martyred for the gospel's sake.
With the Apostles gone, many religions sprang up, each claiming divine authority; but the authority had been lost with the death of the apostles and the disolution of the true church. Christ's church was missing from the earth for quite some time - though the Apostle Paul and others had forseen a day when the gospel would be restored, never to betaken from the earth again. That glorious day came in answer to a young boy's prayer in 1820. The lad had read the Apostle Jame's report found in James 1:5 that "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be give him."
Confused by the various claims of religions of the day, Joseph Smith entered a grove of trees near his home in upper state New York to pour out his soul to God. The result of that prayer is best understood from Joseph's own account, "... I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me... When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
Once again the heavens were opened and God had spoken to man just as He had with Adam, Moses, Abraham, and all the rest. The Lord then proceeded to set up his church just as he had in New Testament times. Only this time, the church would remain on the earth until His glorious Second Coming prophesied by all the holy prophets since the world began.
