June 3, 2010
It started with a pillar of light
The following is a true story.
Joseph Smith was just 14 when he went to a grove of trees to pray. I find that remarkable when I stop to think about it: at age 14, I was more concerned with algebra and fashion than I was with finding answers to life’s great questions. But Joseph was no average boy, and he lived in no average place. Western New York in the 1820s was rife with religious controversy: ministers competed for converts and locals thronged to camp meetings where the faithful (or curious) could “church shop” until they found a good fit. Caught in this ”war of words and tumult of opinions,” Joseph earnestly wanted to know which church he should join–which was Christ’s church that could forgive him of sins and lead him to live with God again (Joseph Smith History 1:10).
He sought his answer from the ministers. They disagreed. He sought his answer in the Bible. The different interpretations confused him. Finally, he decided he must ask of God directly in prayer. Question in mind, he went to a secluded grove near his home in full confidence that God would answer his prayer.
“It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of 1820. Finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God.”
He prayed to know which church was true. He prayed to find forgiveness of his sins. As he did so, he felt a dark power come over him and bind his tongue so he could not pray. Later, he would describe the helplessness of being overpowered by an “enemy… some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being” (Joseph Smith History 1:16). Something very real wanted to stop this young boy from saying a prayer that would change the world.
But Joseph called on God with all the strength he could muster, and then said:
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 saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. He spoke with them. They told him to join none of the churches because none was the church Christ had established 
when He was on the earth. No church on the earth at that time had 12 apostles, priesthood power, or baptism by immersion by proper authority. They told him that now was the time to bring back Christ’s original church. This was the Restoration, and Joseph was the prophet.
I know this is true. I have walked in that Sacred Grove and prayed and felt peace. I have watched people’s eyes light up as they realize that, yes, God is still speaking to us. Joseph Smith is a prophet. Praise to the man.
To read the whole account in Joseph’s words, read Joseph Smith History.
