By Sam Scorup
The road to Joseph Smith”s receiving the First Vision did not come in a simple or expected manner, Susan Easton Black said Wednesday at BYU”s Education week.
As a child, many of the prophet”s family members, including his mother, Lucy, his sister, Sophronia, and brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison, joined the Western Presbyterian Church.
The prophet described his feelings at the time in Joseph Smith-History 1:8 of The Pearl of Great Price.
“I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit. … My mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them; but so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong.”
What many people know is that the prophet, at the age of 14, read 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.”
The prophet then went to a grove of trees to ask God which of all the churches he should join. After being overcome by a thick darkness from an unseen power, he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, who told him not to join any of the churches at that time.
While many are familiar with the account of the prophet”s First Vision, some don”t realize how long his struggles lasted, Black said. Some students say they want to open the scriptures and immediately find an answer to their questions, like they think the prophet did. However, they don”t realize he probably searched for the true church for about two years, Black said.
Another interesting fact about the prophet”s experience is that he prayed in a place that may have been considered dangerous. In modern times, parents tend to tell their children to stay away from high-traffic streets. In the 1800s, on the other hand, parents told their children to stay in the more inhabited areas, so they were visible and safe. The forest was more dangerous because of wild animals, among other things, Black said.
She also compared the latter-day prophet and the First Vision to Moses and his experience in Exodus, when the Lord led the people by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, similar to the pillar of light described in the First Vision.
