Three Reasons We Teach Others about the First Vision
By Mark A. Mathews
Seminaries and Institutes
1. The First Vision lays the foundation of all that we believe.
One reason we teach the First Vision early in our missionary lessons is that it quickly introduces our unique belief that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, speak today through modern revelation to living prophets. So much of what we believe grows out of that basic doctrine. Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared an experience he had that beautifully illustrates this point:
“My wife and I once visited a university in Athens, Greece. As part of that visit, we were taken on a sightseeing tour. While we were actually inside the Parthenon, our hostess, a graduate student in archaeology, said, ‘Next, I would like to take you to my favorite coffee house in all of Athens.’
“My wife said that we would love to go with her, but she said, ‘Please don’t be offended if we don’t drink the coffee.’
“Our hostess asked, ‘You don’t drink coffee?’
“‘No,’ we answered.
“‘Why not?’ she asked.
“As I was formulating a response, my wife said, ‘The short answer is this: In 1820, a young man by the name of Joseph Smith went into a grove in upstate New York to pray. He wanted to know which church he should join. There he saw God, our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. Joseph was told he should join none of the churches. But he was told that through him, the Church Jesus had established while He was on the earth would be restored. The restoration would be through a process of revelation. And it is through revelation that we know that we shouldn’t drink coffee. My husband will now explain it to you further.’
“How do we really explain ourselves? How do we explain anything that we do or believe if we do not go back to the Sacred Grove and establish the principle of revelation, that God reveals His will to prophets in this day and age? We obey because we have understood through the Holy Ghost something of eternal import. The reason you and I observe the Word of Wisdom, obey the law of chastity, and keep other commandments is because of revelation.”
This story shows why sharing the First Vision with others lays a foundation to help them understand all of our other beliefs and teachings. So much of what we believe that is unique and interesting to others comes from modern revelation, beginning with the First Vision....
The story of my wife’s friend reminds us of another reason we should strive to share the First Vision at every opportunity—it brings the Spirit.
