Joseph Smith

There was a young 14 year old boy who lived in Palmyra, New York in 1820. His name was Joseph Smith. At that time there were many different churches in that area and Joseph wanted to know which of all of the churches was true so that he would know which he should join. He studied and went to the different churches. One day he was reading in the Bible, in James 1:5, “If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God, which giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” He decided to ask God which church to join.

Joseph went to a grove of trees near his home and began to pray. In his own words he says, “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!’

Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. He asked them which of all the churches he should join. He was told that he should join none of them and that none of them had a fullness of the truth.  Just as God had called prophets during biblical times, (Moses, Abraham, Noah, etc.), Joseph Smith was later called by God to be a prophet and through him God restored His church on the earth again. We have that church today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it is directed by a modern day prophet, Thomas S. Monson.

When I was 20 years old I wanted to know for myself that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. At the time I was going to college and attending a missionary preparation class. One of our assignments was to teach a friend about the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith. At that point in my life I had decided that I wanted to serve as a missionary for my church and I knew that while doing that I would be sharing the story of Joseph Smith a lot and asking people to pray to know if he was a prophet. How could I teach something and ask people to pray about something that I didn’t know for myself was true?
 
For quite some time I began to study all that I could about Joseph Smith. I read his personal history repeatedly. I studied the Book of Mormon diligently. And I prayed continuously to know if he was in fact a prophet. One morning I was up early and reading through his personal history again. I was specifically reading the section where he talks about having a vision of God and Jesus Christ and I was trying to memorize that part. As I said those words aloud, I had the greatest feeling of joy and surety overcome me. I knew that Joseph Smith had seen them, that he had had that vision. I knew that he was a prophet of God. I knew that through him the true church of Jesus Christ had been restored. It was the most glorious feeling! A feeling that I will never forget.

I know still that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he had that vision. If you haven’t done so already, I would invite you to learn about Joseph Smith and pray to know if he was a prophet. If you have already done that, I would invite you to remember what you already know.

"Ask, and ye shall receive.”