Greetings, peace, and blessings to all. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As we consider the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith it is easy for Mormons as well as those who hate the church to only look at the First Vision through natural or carnal eyes. While I do know that Joseph Smith was indeed a true prophet and that the First Vision is true, I have come to see the event through millennial eyes. It has blessed my life in new and profound ways and has created the dawning of a new millennial day within my temple.Nephi spoke well when he said: "Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him" (2Nephi 11:4). This important scripture plainly shows that symbolism of Christ is truly all around us. We are constantly being invited to come unto Christ and become prefected in Him. Nephi was blessed because he recognized that the multitude of laws within the law of Moses were customized sign posts for the stiffnecked children of Israel. Moses saught diligently to have his people perfected in Christ and enter into the rest of the Lord but they wanted Moses to speak on their behalf. As a result, they were given extensive carnal commandments until they were ready to awaken to who they really are. These carnal commandments all pointed to Christ. However, because the natural and literal man or woman becomes lost in the physical world of the senses, he or she ends up worshiping the symbols, instead of comprehending the meaning behind the symbols and applying the meaning to his or her own life.
Joseph was really no different than Moses. We as modern children of Israel are very similar to the ancient children of Israel. Stiffnecked literalists who wanted to be told exactly what to do. Joseph clearly wanted us to enter into the rest of the Lord and have the same experiences he had but history repeated itself and rather than Joseph being more like Enoch or Melchizedek he became more like Moses because of us and what we needed at the time. We really were not ready to learn who we are. As a result we received more and more commandments and doctrines that are camflouged in symbolism and allegory. The temple endowment is one of the more elegant and layered symbols that Joseph gave us. It is heavily layered in multiple levels of deep symbolism. This is in contrast to the straightforward school of the prophets and lectures on faith. The lectures on faith were eventually decanonized or "taken from our midst" because we as a people were not ready for them. Instead we received layer upon layer of complex structure, rules, laws, and commandments much like the children of Israel. It will continue to be this way until we are ready.
The First Vision is beautiful in its simplicity. When we go to this SOURCE of the RESTORATION and understand the profound symbolism of this event, then we will be RESTORED and connected with SOURCE. The First Vision is one of the most important symbols that is the typifying of Christ. When viewed through spirtual eyes we begin to comprehend our own nature and how we can be a blessing to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people.
As, I have mentioned in previous posts, when you see three individuals in unity and harmony, you are receiving a beautiful lesson concerning Jesus Christ and ultimately yourself. Jesus Christ is perfect and our great Exemplar as you know. He is Holy or in other words Whole-ly. Although, He was born into the world with a physical body like you and I and He had the same 5 senses and similar temptations, He did not succumb. He was directed purely by His Heavenly Father (Divine Intelligence). This Source of Intelligence and Purity was the revelation that guided his WHOLE life. As the Father spoke to His Spirit and His Spirit spoke to His body and senses, He was able to change the world forever. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of the triune nature of each one of us.
INTELLIGENCE ---> SPIRIT ---> BODY
Sometimes it is called:
MIND ---> SPIRIT ---> BODY
Or as I have mentioned before:
GOD ---> ADAM ---> EVE
Thus, to take upon ourselves, the name of Chirst, is to have an awareness of this principle and then to live in such a way. When we fail to do this, we choose another path that usually leads to partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. As we partake of this fruit from moment to moment in our lives, our body and senses call the shots, and our spirit ends up going along for the ride and then judging all things as either a great threat or giving us undisturbed pleasure. This fragmented perspective is in direct opposition to the Tree of Life which is about unity and oneness. Partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is a moment to moment occurence that leads to anxiety, fear, hiding, covering up, and blame. These feelings lead to an expansion of misery and take their toxic toll on our physical bodies and our minds which leads to death and decay. We fall into an illusion of a fragmented world of lone-ness, dreary-ness, and separateness. The Lord, in his mercy, puts cheribim and a flaming sword to guard the Tree of Life until we are ready to consecrate or give up this illusion. Once we give up the illusion, we are then free and can partake of the unity and AT-ONE-MENT of the Tree of Life. Jesus the Christ showed us the way. The First Vision event also gives us the clear "first vision" of who we really are so we can partake of the Tree of Life.
In the First Vision, you have a young uneducated farm boy going into a secluded grove of trees to pray. James 1:5 was a major influence on Joseph and gave him the courage to seek God in prayer and to ask questions. It was his first "uttered prayer" alone and as he opens his physical mouth, Satan attempts to foil his prayer and "thick darkness" gathered around him. Thus we see that worldy education and scholarship, as mighty as they may be, cannot answer the truly important questions of life. They will never be able to tell us who we are and in some ways we need to (as Yoda says) "unlearn what we have learned." Thus we see that the scriptures (dead and living prophets) point the way to God and personal revelation. Until we decide to "venture" (Joseph Smith History 1:13) as Joseph did, our spiritual journey will remain incomplete. Thus we see that "uttered prayer" because it uses physical voice, can be heard by Satan. When we ask God to physically hear the words that come from our physical mouth we may inadvertantly invite Satan to make an attempt to darken our minds. Thus we see that the territory of the physical and the senses is where Lucifer tries to influence. The prayer of the heart however, is always heard by God before we even have a chance to utter it with physical voice. As the Apostle Paul said: "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26).
As Joseph's tongue was bound and he was about to yield to this unseen dark force, the Spirit interceded and a pillar of light descended above his head. It was above the brightness of the sun. Pure Light. He saw two personages standing above him. One pointed to the other and said this is my Beloved Son. Hear Him. Thus we see that Joseph was on the cusp of succumbing to darkness but endured until the light came. Even so, we may feel as though our lives are filled with confusion and darkness. We may recognize that our senses cannot be relied upon to save us and are ineffective. Thus we see that our physical senses are easily manipulated by Lucifer. But our Spirit cannot be controlled by him unless we let it. Thus we see that the power of God to illuminate the darkness is superior to Satan's power. Thus we see our spirit being awakened. Pure intelligence flowing into us.
Thus we see who we are:
God the Father ---> Jesus Christ ---> Joseph Smith
Intelligence ---> Spirit ---> Body
When we awaken to this fact about ourselves we enter a brighter world and leave the darkness and confusion behind us. God the Father represents pure intelligence that is infinite, co-eternal and can never be created or destroyed. Jesus Christ represents our obedient and submissive spirit that seeks only to do the will of the Father. Joseph Smith represents our body that materializes God's will in the physical world. This is who we are. This is the source of all creation. We are not merely the created but we are awakening to our role as creator. We are not merely acted upon but we are awakening to act and create. When we live in harmony with our triadic nature, we have joy and create that which is good. When our body and senses are lied to, controlled, and tricked by Lucifer, and our Spirit loses awareness, and fails to judge properly, then Divine Intelligence gives us curses (for our sake) and misery to let us know that we are going in the wrong direction. Or in other words, we are walking in darkness when it is really brighter then noon day. We will need dead or living messengers to guide us back to Christ. We will need His AT-ONE-MENT. We will know the TRUTH and the TRUTH will set us free.
I thank God for the prophet Joseph Smith. I thank God for this First Vision that happened in a "garden" eastward. The East symbolizes light and enlightenment. The symbol of the West symbolizes darkness, death and confusion. Though the church grew as it moved West, so did the number of external (carnal) commandments. These carnal commandments point the way back to the East. They point the way to Christ. We must go to the "SOURCE" of the "RESTORATION". That is why almost every temple's entrance points East. Towards the source of light. Even so, may we now turn towards the simplicity and brilliance of the First Vision to see who we truly are and awaken to a new millennial morning within our temples.
God bless you my friends.
