5 Simple Ways Every Latter-day Saint Family Can Study The First Vision in preparation for General Conference.

In October 2019 President Russell M. Nelson announced that April 2020 General Conference we would be celebrating a bicentennial of the First Vision. He said:

The year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. General conference next April will be different from any previous conference. In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel.

I was recently talking with my aunt Melanie when she expressed a desire for help following President Nelson’s counsel to prepare for General Conference by studying the First Vision. But as a mother of a big family doing Come Follow Me is hard enough alone, she suggested that her situation was not unique and that a simple guide with suggestions on what you can to do study and prepare would be helpful.

She asked me to write that guide. So here it is. This guide was written for those with kids but is applicable to everyone. Here are 5 Simple ways every Latter-day Saint family can study the First Vision in preparation for General Conference.

1st. Read The Backstory in Saints.

Saints Volume 1, Chapters 1-2 give the backstory leading up to the events of the First vision. Detailing the hand of the Lord in bringing the Smith Family to New York. Personally I enjoyed listening to these two chapters of the Gospel Library app, you can read them also. Here are the links.
Chapter 1 Ask in Faith.
Chapter 2 Hear Him.

2nd. Address Multiple Versions.

Joseph Smith was a farm boy who could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter. As such, it is to be expected that as a young, 14 years old at the time of the first vision, he would’ve retold the story orally rather than writing it down. We do have a written version, but it was written down only years later.

This is a fact of oral storytelling. your emphasis changes as your audience changes. To illustrate this, if you have small kids, ask them to retell their experience with the same event. Explain to your kids that Joseph Smith when he told the First Vision story focused on different aspects with different people. This does not change the truthfulness of the First Vision if anything it adds to the authenticity.

Consider as a family watching the following video which is a compilation of the versions:

For more on the multiple versions of the First vision see First Vision Accounts gospel topics essay Also see this Facebook Live I did on this topic:

3rd. Understand the Gravity of Seeing and Hearing God the Father.

As the First Born Son of God, Jehovah, was chosen as the Savior in the council in heaven. Now commonly referred to by His mortal name, Jesus Christ is our still our Advocate with the Father. Almost all references to God in the Old Testament are referring to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or in other words Jehovah, the Great I AM. This means that all of these references of God talking, and referring to Jesus Christ speaking to us.

Within the scriptures, God the Father does speak, but most often it is rare, and almost exclusively to introduce or endorse Jesus Christ and the Gospel. A fun exercise would be to review 2 Nephi 31 highlighting every time Nephi specifies that it was Heavenly Father speaking compared to Christ. This is an interesting exercise to continue through the scriptures but 2 Nephi 31 is one of the few chapters that God the Father speaks repeatedly.

What did Heavenly Father say in 2 Nephi 31?
What did Heavenly Father command us to do?
What reward did Heavenly Father promise to the faithful?
President Nelson addresses this in his recent video he shared on social media, #HearHim.

4th. Write Down Your Testimony.

Within the gospel, there is an opportunity for a lot of questions, but also a lot of answers. Taking a moment to write down how you gained your testimony of the gospel, this will give you an opportunity to stop, ponder, and receive witnesses afresh. Once you have written your testimony of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, the First Vision, the Book of Mormon or any other aspects of the restoration listen to Elder Hollands testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon

How can you be faithful to your testimony? When was the last time you shared it? Save this testimony and read it whenever you have doubts. If you have kids, share it with them.

5th. Get the full picture view.

Watch Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration. This hourlong film is perfect for Sunday’s and it will give your family a snapshot view of the life of Joseph Smith from the perspective of his mother.

Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration is by far this is the best video production about the life of Joseph Smith as it lays out not just what happened, but the doctrines that were restored in an easily digestible format. This video is great for children, adults, members, and non-members alike. I used it as often as I could as a missionary.

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