Assassination
attempt upon fourteen-year-old Joseph. The seventh and final
vision of Joseph Smith Sr. Religious excitement in the region
of Palmyra. Young Joseph wants to know which church he should
join. Account of the First Vision. Account of the first
three visits of the angel Moroni.
December 1819 to September 22, 1823
I now come to the history of Joseph, who was born December
23, 1805. [1] I shall say nothing respecting him
until he arrived at the age of fourteen. [2] However, in this I am aware that some
of my readers will be disappointed, for I suppose, from
questions which are frequently asked me, that it is thought
by some that I shall be likely to tell many very remarkable
incidents which attended his childhood; but, as nothing
occurred during his early life except those trivial circumstances
which are common to that state of human existence, I pass
them in silence.
At the age of fourteen an incident occurred which alarmed us
much, as we knew not the cause of it. Joseph being a remarkably
quiet, well-disposed child, we did not suspect that anyone
had aught against him. He was out on an errand one evening
about twilight. When he was returning through the dooryard,
a gun was fired across his pathway with evident intention
of killing him. He sprang to the door, threw it open, and
fell upon the floor with fright.
We went in search of the person who fired the gun, but found
no trace of him until the next morning when we found his
tracks under a wagon where he lay when he fired. We found
the balls that were discharged from his piece the next day
in the head and neck of a cow that stood opposite the wagon
in a dark corner, but we never found out the man, nor ever
suspected the cause of the act. [3]
I shall here insert the seventh vision that my husband had,
which was received in the year 1819. [4] It was
as follows:
“I dreamed,” said he, “that a man, with a peddler’s budget
[5] on his back came in and thus addressed
me: ‘Sir, will you trade with me today? I have now called
upon you seven times, I have traded with you each time,
and have always found you strictly honest in all your dealings.
Your measures are always heaped and your weights overbalance;
and I have now come to tell you that this is the last time
I shall ever call on you, and that there is but one thing
which you lack in order to secure your salvation.’ As I
earnestly desired to know what it was I still lacked, I
requested him to write the same upon paper. He said he would
do so. I then sprang to get some paper, but in my excitement,
I awoke.”[6]
Shortly after my husband received the foregoing vision, there
was a great revival in religion, which extended to all the
denominations of Christians in the surrounding country in
which we resided. [7] Many of the world’s people, becoming
concerned about the salvation of their souls, came forward
and presented themselves as seekers after religion. Most
of them were desirous of uniting with some church but were
not decided as to the particular faith which they would
adopt. When the numerous meetings were about breaking up,
and the candidates and the various leading church members
began to consult upon the subject of adopting the candidates
into some church or churches, as the case may be, a dispute
arose, and there was a great contention among them.
While these things were going forward, Joseph’s mind became
considerably troubled with regard to religion; and the following
extract from his history will show, more clearly than I
can express, the state of his feelings and the result of
his reflections on this occasion: [8]
“I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father’s family
was proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them
joined that church, namely, my mother, Lucy, my brothers
Hyrum and Samuel Harrison; and my sister Sophronia.
“During this time of great excitement my mind was called up
to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my
feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself
aloof from all those parties, though I attended their several
meetings as often as occasion would permit. In process of
time my mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect,
and I felt some desire to be united with them; but so great
were the confusion and strife among the different denominations,
that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and
so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain
conclusion who was right and who was wrong.
“My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were
so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided
against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers
of both reason and sophistry to prove their errors, or,
at least, to make the people think they were in error. On
the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn
were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own
tenets and disprove all others.
“In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions,
I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these
parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any
one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know
it?
“While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused
by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was
one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and
fifth verse, which reads, ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth
not; and it shall be given him.’
“Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to
the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It
seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my
heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if
any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act
I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than
I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion
of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture
so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling
the question by an appeal to the Bible. [9]
“At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain
in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs,
that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination
to ‘ask of God,’ concluding that if he gave wisdom to them
that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid,
I might venture.
“So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God,
I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the
morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of
eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my
life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my
anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.
“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. [10]
“But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me
out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me,
and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair
and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin,
but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world,
who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt
in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a
pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness
of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon
me.
“It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the
enemy which held me bound. 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! [11]
“My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which
of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join.
No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so
as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who
stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was
right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart
that all were wrong)—and which I should join.
“I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were
all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that
all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that
those professors were all corrupt; that: ‘they draw near
to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me,
they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having
a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.’
“He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other
things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this
time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying
on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed,
I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree,
I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother
inquired what the matter was. I replied, ‘Never mind, all
is well—I am well enough off.’ I then said to my mother,
‘I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.’
It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early
period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber
and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers
of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution
that arose against me, almost in my infancy?
“Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in
company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very
active in the before mentioned religious excitement; and,
conversing with him upon the subject of religion, I took
occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had
had. [12] I was greatly surprised at his behavior;
he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great
contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there was
no such thing as visions or revelations in these days; that
all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there
would never be any more of them.
“I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited
a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of
religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which
continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy,
only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances
in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world,
yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to
excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution;
and this was common among all the sects—all united to persecute
me.
“It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since,
how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little
over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed
to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his
daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient
importance to attract the attention of the great ones of
the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create
in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling.
But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause
of great sorrow to myself.
“However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision.
I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he
made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account
of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice;
but still there were but few who believed him; some said
he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed
and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of
his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all
the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise;
and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he
knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both
seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all
the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.
“So it was with me. 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 knew that God 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.”
We were still making arrangements to build us a comfortable
house, the management and control of which devolved chiefly
upon Alvin. [13] And when November 1822 arrived, the
frame was raised, and all the materials necessary for its
speedy completion were procured. This opened to Alvin’s
mind the pleasing prospect of seeing his father and mother
once more comfortable and happy. He would say, “I am going
to have a nice, pleasant room for Father and Mother to sit
in and everything arranged for their comfort, and they shall
not work anymore as they have done.”
From this time until the twenty-first of September, 1823, Joseph
continued, as usual, to labor with his father, and nothing
during this interval occurred of very great importance—though
he suffered every kind of opposition and persecution from
the different orders of religionists.
The third harvest time had now arrived since we opened our
new farm, and all our sons were actively employed in assisting
their father to cut down the grain and store it away in
order for winter.
On the evening of the twenty-first of September, as he recorded: [14]
“After I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself
to prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness
of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation
to me, that I might know of my state and standing before
him; for I had full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation,
as I previously had one. [15]
“While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered
a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase
until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately
a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air,
for his feet did not touch the floor.
“He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was
a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor
do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear
so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked,
and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were
his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles.
His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that
he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open,
so that I could see into his bosom.
“Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person
was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly
like lightning. [16] The room was exceedingly
light, but not so very bright as immediately around his
person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but
the fear soon left me. [17]
“He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger
sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was
Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name
should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds,
and tongues; or that it should be both good and evil spoken
of among all people.
“He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates,
giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent,
and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that
the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it,
as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants; also,
that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones,
fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the
Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession
and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in
ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them
for the purpose of translating the book. [18]
“After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies
of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third
chapter of Malachi; and he quoted also the fourth or last
chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation
from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting
the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:
‘For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven,
and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn
as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the
Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
branch.’
“And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: ‘Behold, I will
reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the
prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day
of the Lord.’
“He also quoted the next verse differently: ‘And he shall plant
in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers,
and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted
at his coming.’
“In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah,
saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also
the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third
verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He
said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet
come when ‘they who would not hear his voice should be cut
off from among the people,’ but soon would come.
“He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth
verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled,
but was soon to be. And he further stated the fulness of
the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages
of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot
be mentioned here.
“Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he
had spoken—for the time that they should be obtained was
not yet fulfilled—I should not show them to any person; [19]
neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim;
only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them;
if I did I should be destroyed. While he was conversing
with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind
that I could see the place where the plates were deposited,
and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place
again when I visited it.
“After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin
to gather immediately around the person of him who had been
speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room
was again left dark, except just around him; when, instantly
I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven,
and he ascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room
was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made
its appearance.
“I lay musing on the singularity of the scene, and marveling
greatly at what had been told to me by this extraordinary
messenger; when, in the midst of my meditation, I suddenly
discovered that my room was again beginning to get lighted,
and in an instant, as it were, the same heavenly messenger
was again by my bedside.
“He commenced, and again related the very same things which
he had done at his first visit, without the least variation;
which having done, he informed me of great judgments which
were coming upon the earth, with great desolations by famine,
sword, and pestilence; and that these grievous judgments
would come on the earth in this generation. Having related
these things, he again ascended as he had done before.”
When the angel ascended the second time, he left Joseph overwhelmed
with astonishment, yet gave him but a short time to contemplate
the things which he had told him before he made his reappearance,
and rehearsed the same things over, adding a few words of
caution and instruction, thus: that he must beware of covetousness,
and he must not suppose the record was to be brought forth
with the view of getting gain, for this was not the case,
but that it was to bring forth light and intelligence, which
had for a long time been lost to the world; and that when
he went to get the plates, he must be on his guard or his
mind would be filled with darkness. The angel then told
him to tell his father all which he had both seen and heard.
——————
Notes
