FIRST VISION BICENTENNIAL: IN RESPONSE TO THE PROPHET’S INVITATION (Part 1)

By: Norberto Betita

The restoration of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which commenced with the appearance of Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ, in the spring of 1820, to the boy Joseph Smith, known as the First Vision, is now 200 years. As we are about to celebrate the bicentennial of such a very significant event of the restoration, President Russel M. Nelson extended his personal invitation for us, "…to be a major part in sharing the message of the ongoing Restoration of the Savior’s gospel.” He also directed us, “…to begin [our] preparation by reading afresh Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price.” (See the personal letter of President Nelson sent through e-mail of all members).

Acting on such personal invitation from the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whom I personally sustained as prophet, seer and revelator, and living oracle of God, I am writing my personal testimony of that marvelous chapter in the history of the world. I am immeasurably grateful for having been privileged of actively participating in the work of the ongoing restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ during the last 43 years, as a member of the restored church.

My testimony of the First Vision and the Restoration is aligned with my personal testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, which during those 43 years I have borne witness unequivocally and with solemn conviction countless times, both in my personal writings and in emotional and joyful declarations in church congregations.

At this time of the grand celebration of this magnificent and remarkable episode of church history, I again feel the need to respond to the divine call to, “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places...even until death.” (Mosiah 18:9). I should do it as a solemn and profound duty of a bearer of the Holy Priesthood of God.

MY PERSONAL TESTIMONY OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH

I have to leave behind and break myself free from the incredulity of brilliant critics within the diversity of believers in this modern world and those who are not of my faith. I stand strong on the spirit of prophecy and revelation upon which my own testimony and witness of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith is based, even at this day and time. There are so much logical proofs that are clearly understandable even by such simple man as I am from the history of the prophet. In so far as intellectual prominence is concerned, I am no genius of scriptural records and religious history. My intelligence is far from scholarly. But I am confident in what I have to say for such witness came from the very source of all knowledge and pure intelligence, even from God through the Holy Ghost, which expands my understanding and deepens the profundity of my conscience.

I have studied much about the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith both from the unsympathetic and critical side and from the most earnest of his adherents, as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I knew by spiritual manifestations from the Holy Ghost that he indeed lived like a prophet and died like a prophet. This witness of the spirit had been confirmed through decades of study about his life and teachings of the doctrines and principles which to him was revealed as part of the ongoing restoration of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have since testified with boldness and declared with fervent affirmation of such truths.

Logic and reason would enlighten that it would be such a reckless and ridiculous thing to offer one’s life for something that is fictitious or counterfeit assertions. It would be such a crazy bid for a young father, who had so much potentials in life, to bear persecutions almost beyond any man could endure, and to finally lay down his life for the cause he had espoused, if his declarations were false. Yet the Prophet Joseph Smith continued to declare with dignity and honor, and with boldness bore his witness: “...I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true, and while they were persecuting me, reviling me and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision, and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision, I knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it, at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God and come under condemnation.” (Joseph Smith---History 1:25.)

In the midst of his agonizing pain from incarceration at Liberty, in a dungeon jail, worthy only for ruthless criminals, he raised a grieving petition to his Maker, “O God, where art thou and where is the pavilion which covereth thy hiding place. How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?” (D&C 121:1-3). The spiritual undertone of such desperate heavenly communion during those most difficult and defining moments of life, appeared to show that his feelings must have been truly beyond all patience, his faith must have been pushed to the limit, and his ailing soul seemed to have given the impression of raising a flier for surrender. But then he heard God’s penetrating and reassuring answer, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.” (D&C 121;7-8.) In such most undesirable and hostile setting, the heavens again opened and revealed to him many more instructions, principles and doctrines, which soon became part of the modern canon of scriptures and which to me, personally, have been a guide and an inspiration during my most trying moments. 

Then his final hours came when he was summoned to Carthage, “to deliver himself up to the pretended requirements of the law,” whereupon he declared with solemnity, prophetic words of his own fate, and face to face with his death, he said, “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer’s morning. I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me---he was murdered in cold blood.” (D & C 135: 4.)

I believe with the same conviction, as did President George Albert Smith as he bore his testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith, saying, “Many of the benefits and blessings that have come to me have come through that man who gave his life for the gospel of Jesus Christ. There have been some who have belittled him, but I would like to say that those who have done so will be forgotten and their remains will go back to mother earth, if they have not already gone, and the odor of their infamy will never die, while the glory and honor and majesty and courage and fidelity manifested by the Prophet Joseph Smith will attach to his name forever” (Teaching of the Presidents of the Church, George Albert Smith, Chapter 4---The Prophet Joseph Smith, God’s Instrument in Restoring the Truth, lds.org).

Beyond the knowledge I gained from the printed pages of church history, the Holy Scriptures, and the words and phrases written and spoken by millions of those who revered his name, lies the power of personal revelation. It is the spiritual power that binds my testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith to all other fundamental beliefs revealed through his instrumentality. These include, my testimony of the Book of Mormon, my testimony of the living reality of God the Father and Jesus Christ, my testimony of the restoration of the Holy Priesthood, my testimony of the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, my testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His redeeming love and mercy, my testimony of the Holy Ghost, and my testimony of the living Prophets and Apostles, and that God speaks to man even at this time and season. To isolate my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith from these links is like excavating and hauling off the foundations leaving the entire testimony structure to crumble and collapse.

As the church now commemorates the bicentennial of the First Vision, I again declare my testimony of the truthfulness of that sacred event when Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ appeared to the boy Joseph Smith with the Father declaring, “This is my Beloved Son, hear Him.” (Joseph Smith History 1:17). That in the ongoing process of the restoration, the Angel Moroni appeared to him on several occasions and taught him the things pertaining to “how and in what manner his kingdom was to be conducted in the last days.” (Joseph Smith History 1:54). I knew these events did happen, the Holy Ghost bearing witness to me that it is true. I testify with solemn conviction that Joseph Smith was commissioned by the Lord to restore His church in this last dispensation of the fullness of times. To borrow the words of the prophet, I say, “I knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it, at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God and come under condemnation.” (Ibid).