John's first talk in Sacrament

John had to speak in Sacrament this last Sunday. He was nervous and really didn't want to do it but he did a really good job. His subject was on the first vision. Here is his talk.

I have been asked to talk on the First Vision.

In the spring of 1820, after much scripture reading and contemplation, 14-year-old Joseph Smith followed the counsel in James 1:5 to “ask of God.” He entered a grove of trees near his home and prayed to know which church was right. In response, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to him in what is now known as the First Vision. This sacred experience began the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and is one of the cornerstones of Latter-day Saint faith.

Joseph Smith and his family members were deeply religious and constantly sought for the truth. But many ministers claimed to have the true gospel. Joseph desired “to know which of all the sects was right”. The Bible taught there was “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Joseph attended different churches, but he remained confused about which church he should join.

He later wrote; “So great were the confusions and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was…to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong. In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself; What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it and how shall I know it?”

As Joseph sought truth among the different faiths, he turned to the Bible for guidance. He read, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and apbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Because of this passage, Joseph decided to ask God what he should do.

In the spring of 1820 he went to a nearby grove of trees and knelt in prayer. He described his experience; “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!”

In this vision God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith. The Savior told Joseph not to join any of the churches, for they “were all wrong” and “all their creeds were an abomination.” He stated, “They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

Even though many good people believed in Christ and tried to understand and teach His gospel, they did not have the fullness of truth or the priesthood authority to baptize and perform other saving ordinances. They had inherited a state of apostasy as each generation was influenced by what the previous one passed on, including changes in the doctrines and in ordinances such as baptism.

As God had done with Adam, Noah, Moses and other prophets, He called Joseph Smith to be a prophet through whom the fullness of the gospel was restored to the earth.

I would like to bare my testimony; I know that Joseph Smith saw God and His Son and that if you pray you will get the answers that you seek. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.