A Christian's Answer to the First Vision

Imagine you lived in a time in history when travelling long distances was done mainly by horse-drawn carriage, a time when you had to live solely off of the fruit of the land, a time when candlelight was your main source of light at night. Sounds like a long time ago. However, it really wasn't that long ago; just a century or so. The time period addressed in this article is that of a professing prophet of God by the name of Joseph Smith, Jr., who lived just under two centuries ago. His claim in his day was that he had a vision of God and His Son Jesus Christ in a grove of trees in Palmyra, New York, around the year 1820. In his vision, referred to as "The First Vision" by the prophet's faithful followers, Smith claimed that he was told by Jesus himself that he should join no Christian Church, "... for they (all churches in the entire world) were all wrong ... all their creeds (even the Bible allegedly became corrupted) were an abomination in his sight ... (and) those professors were all corrupt." He also claimed to be specially chosen by God to restore the true Church of Christ to the earth. This was not just a reformation to the existing Christian Church; it was to be a complete restoration of the Church to the earth. (Smith's claim is that the Church that Christ had built (Matthew 16:18) ceased to exist shortly after the last Apostle died.)

Now, once again, imagine that you were living in the time in which this event allegedly took place. (And it's really not too difficult to imagine, since it wasn't that long ago.) How do you think you personally would have responded to the claims of Joseph Smith? There are really only two ways to respond to his claims, after you searched it out thoroughly: You can embrace what he claimed with all of your being because your eternity is at stake or you can reject what he claimed with all of your being because your eternity is at stake. What Joseph Smith taught was either from God or it wasn't; there is absolutely no middle ground. Perhaps we need to fast forward to the present day to get a better perspective on this. What if a young man (around the age of 14) appeared on the national news today, claiming to be God's prophet? What if he preached that every Christ-follower today was wrong and that he was the only one sharing the whole truth from God? How would you respond to that?

What we are getting at is this ... how can we really know what is from God and what is not? Have we been left alone on this earth by God to determine what is right and what is wrong? According to the Bible, absolutely not! Throughout history many have claimed to be representatives of God. Some have been found to be true and many have been found to be false. Joseph Smith, Jr., was either a true representative of God or he was a false prophet. Jesus Christ said these words: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many ... if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect ..." (Matthew 24:4-5, 23-27)

Now if the Lord Himself gave warning against those bringing in deception, then it must be true that God has not left us alone to determine what is right and what is wrong. If Jesus warned us of false Christs and false prophets, then there must be some way we can protect ourselves from what is false. There must be a way of testing someone that is claiming to be a representative of God.

There is a way and it is very simple.

God says ...

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn [you] away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

False prophet =

If a professing prophet gives a sign or a wonder (even if it comes to pass) and that prophet directs you to other gods.

God says ...

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

False prophet =

If a professing prophet presumes to speak words in God's name, words that God never commanded, and/or speaks in the name of other gods.

If that prophet makes a prophecy and it does not come to pass.

So was Joseph Smith, Jr., truly a prophet of God? If you use this simple test on what he taught, you will find that he was indeed a false prophet. He spoke to turn people away from the LORD God of the Bible. He spoke words that the LORD God never commanded. He made prophecies that did not come to pass. One case in point is this ... what proof is there outside of the words of Joseph Smith in the Book of Mormon that any of the events within the Book of Mormon even took place? There is absolutely no proof.

Plain and simple, the First Vision is in opposition to the God of the Bible ("if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not") and it goes against the very words of Jesus Christ. There was not a total and complete apostasy, as Joseph Smith had claimed:

Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)

He also said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus made a promise to build His Church, preserve His Church, and be with His Church until the end of the world. It is mentioned within the Bible that there would be an apostasy, but there is no mention of a total apostasy, where Christ's Church would cease to exist on the earth. My answer to the First Vision, as a Christian, is this ... I will stand on the words of Jesus Christ and reject anything contrary, which is exactly what Joseph Smith had taught in his day.


Always be ready to give an answer,

One Clay Soldier among many