Week 13: The First Vision

Song: Joseph Smith's First Prayer (H. 26)

Thought:

In the spring of 1820, 14-year-old Joseph Smith was searching for the true Church of Jesus Christ when he read a passage in the Bible: “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” ( James 1:5; see also Joseph Smith—History 1:11–12). With simple, unwavering faith, young Joseph followed the counsel in that passage. He went alone to a grove of trees, where he prayed to know which church he should join. In answer to his prayer, God the Father and
Jesus Christ appeared to him. Among other things, They told him that he should join none of the churches then in existence. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:13–20.) (Taken from True to the Faith: Joseph Smith)


Object Lesson:
(Ahead of time: Take two cans of food that are similar in size, but contain different foods. Remove the labels.) Show your family the two cans and discuss how from the outside they look the same. The only difference between them is possibly what is on the inside. Compare these two cans to the many different churches found on the earth. Explain that from the outside they may seem the same, but the difference is on the inside. Joseph Smith had questions about the many different churches on the earth in his day and wanted to know which church he should join. He decided to pray to Heavenly Father to find out for himself. What happened when he prayed we now refer to as the First Vision. (Idea adapted from here.)

Video: The Restoration
(This video in full is almost 30 minutes long. I would not necessarily recommend watching the entire video in today's lesson. Consider previewing the video and cuing it up so that the focus of it is on The First Vision.)

Lesson Activity:

Here is a coloring page that younger members of your family may enjoy coloring!

Consider the following activity from the Come, Follow Me curriculum for members of your family able to participate:
Invite them to write down some of the blessings they have received because of the First Vision. Ask them to look for other blessings of the First Vision as they read the last 10 paragraphs of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s talk “The Fruits of the First Vision.” Invite them to share what they find and their feelings about the importance of the First Vision.

This Week's Challenge: Challenge each of your family members to find time this week to go off to a quiet place and pray out loud to their Heavenly Father to find out for themselves about the First Vision. If there are members of your family who have already received a witness of the First Vision, challenge them to pray for an opportunity to share their testimony of it with someone else.