One of the first things Joseph Smith learned in the Restoration was that God had to restore something the world had lost: the power that comes from covenant relationship with Him. Without priesthood ordinances binding us to Christ, we have only a “form of godliness”—missing the transformative power that makes exaltation possible.
Tag: First Vision
I Believe Joseph
I remember when I first received a spiritual affirmation of Joseph Smith’s experience when he saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, most often referred to as the First Vision. It was a few months before I left on a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My parents…
Return to the Grove
What happens when you return to a sacred place expecting to feel what you felt years ago, but God gives you something different? My second visit to the Sacred Grove taught me that sometimes we don’t need another witness. Sometimes we simply need to remember, with gratitude, the one already given.