He had barely begun when an unseen power seized him and made him speechless. All grew frightfully dark, and he felt as though he were about to be destroyed. He realized that it was the awful power of the evil one, and he called on God to save him. But his strength was fast giving way and sickening despair was taking possession of him, when a pillar of divine light appeared above him and the prince of darkness fled.
The light descended, and within it Joseph beheld two radiant beings, too glorious and beautiful to be described. They looked just alike to him and appeared to have equal splendor and authority, until one of them, pointing to the other, said, "JOSEPH, THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, HEAR HIM."
The humble boy was almost overcome by the glory of the vision before him, and he could not at once continue his prayer for light. But the kindliness and love of the Father and of the Lord Jesus gave him assurance and he was at length able to speak. He asked which church was right that he might join it, and even in the glory of the vision he was surprised, for the divine instruction came that all were wrong.
Jesus said that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight; that those professors were all corrupt; they drew near Him with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him; they taught for doctrine the commandments of men, having a form of godliness but they denied the power thereof. He told Joseph that he should join none of them, but at some future time the true Gospel would be revealed to him. Other words of comfort and wisdom were spoken, and then the vision withdrew.
When Joseph came to himself he was lying on the ground looking up into heaven. He was filled with a spirit of peace and joy, for now he knew that he would yet be taught how he might save his soul. He knew that God and Jesus were living beings with bodies which his own resembled. He knew that they sympathized with him, and loved him, and oh, how intensely did he love them! He rose and returned home feeling that he had a glad message for mankind, which they would rejoice to hear.
CHAPTER III.
1820-23.
HOW THE ACCOUNT OF HIS VISION WAS RECEIVED—HIS FURTHER INQUIRY FOR LIGHT—ANOTHER VISION.
For many centuries no person on earth had asserted that he had seen and spoken with heavenly beings. People had almost forgotten that visions and the ministering of angels had any part in human life. When a country-bred lad declared that he had been visited by our Father in heaven and His Son Jesus, the Creators of this earth and its inhabitants, the people were astonished. Without thinking of the matter seriously or seeking to find a cause for such bold words, they immediately set them down as false, though the boy before this had been known to be honest and truthful.
Some that heard his words feared they might be true, and since they did not love the truth, sought to destroy it by ridicule and persecution. A Methodist minister, who had taken much interest in Joseph on account of his earnestness, was one of the first to whom the boy gave an account of what he had seen. This man must have had less faith in God's power than in Satan's, for he told Joseph that the vision was from the devil. He said that since the Apostles there had been no revelations from God; these things had ceased forever.