Today we’re looking at an event in Mormon history we briefly checked out a few days ago. As we discovered, visions Smith and friends thought they saw were a result of ingesting local hallucinogens. The other twist in this saga is how the Church deliberately went out of its way to not tell the whole story in a concise manner.
None of the references they list alludes to ‘the rest of the story’, which means the Mormon people are led down another rabbit trail of unknowns.
We’re listing all the references to this event in chronological order, followed by God’s ominous warning of why Joseph’s stories of seeing Jesus are biblically unsound. I originally saw this eerie ‘coincidence’ on another site, which reminded me a lot of Moroni’s 3 visits w/ Smith, and the cock crowing. It’s baffling to me that they aren’t up front about something they’re obviously proud of. The only explanation to the confusion is that they’re hiding something.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave…
Smith’s 1st Visit with Jesus, The Sacred Grove
Joseph Smith-History 1:15; “After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.”
Smith’s 2nd Visit with Jesus, the Kirtland Temple
Six years after the sacred grove incident, Smith claims he, and Oliver Cowdery, saw Jesus at the Kirtland Temple.
Doctrine and Covenants 110:1-2; “The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened. 2 We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us…”
When reading this, one would naturally think everyone in attendance saw Jesus as well, but that isn’t the case at all.
No one but Smith and Cowdery, saw this part of the vision with Jesus. You wouldn’t know this if you didn’t know to visit the Church History website –
‘Key Events
Revelations Received …
…
Apr. 3, 1836. One week after the Kirtland Temple was dedicated, the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery, separated from the congregation by a veil, offered silent prayer at the pulpit. When they finished, this glorious vision was given to them…’
Jesus’ Warning about Other Christs
Matthew 24:26-27; “Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
The two places Smith claims he saw Jesus, are the same two places Jesus warned believers to avoid.
Desert & Secret Chambers
The secret chamber is the veil that was dropped between the pulpit and audience, shielding onlookers from witnessing Jesus’ appearance in the glorious vision Smith, and Cowdery claimed they received.
The word ‘desert’ in the KJV is erēmos, which means wilderness (Strong’s #2048). While it can mean desert, the broader meaning is understood as describing any place that is wild, or desolate. Smith out in the woods, with no one around during his first vision, fits this description.
Why did Smith ignore Jesus’ warnings, and why haven’t the Mormon people denounced this? Clearly, this isn’t the Jesus of the Bible!
Furthermore, when have you ever read about an evil presence being likened to the Lord?
Hey Michelle,
Just wanted to let you know from an ex-Mormon’s perspective…the dark force JS apparently felt come upon him was Satan attempting to stop him from having his wondrous vision. When the light descended with the two personages in it, the darkness fled and released him. So, Smith claims Satan was trying to stop his holy work from going forth.
Of course, we know it’s a crock.
Thanks for the work you’re doing. I marking my scriptures along with your posts.
Love you,
Sara xxx
Intellectual consistency is not strong on this site. Otherwise, we would be condemning Stephen for having a vision of Jesus in Acts chapter 7 (since apparently he was the only one who saw it). Then again, the Sanhedrin already did that.
The verses you cited are talking about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, not personal appearances or visions/manifestations. When He comes again, it will not be secret but known to all (just like lightning in the east will light up the west), but Joseph Smith did not claim that the Second Coming occurred.
Voro –
this is the one and only warning you’ll receive about behavioral rules on this blog. If you choose to be rude, and not discuss things rationally, you will be blocked from further correspondence. Just because you don’t agree with someone, doesn’t make a person intellectually inconsistent.
If you want to be rude to others, you’ll have to do it elsewhere.
Michelle Grim
Life After Ministries
Sorry, I didn’t think that was rude. Though I suppose I can see why some may take issue with the first sentence. However, the rest of the comment was a rational discussion of the part of the article that I thought to be inconsistent.
The response I was expecting would have been some kind of rebuttal explaining to me why the “secret chambers” applies to Joseph and not to Stephen. Unless there is no good reason, then maybe just an acknowledgement of “I didn’t think of it like that” or something. That’s how I would expect a rational discussion to go, anyway.