My thoughts while listening to another BYU speech. Sister Oscarson's Speech "Lesson's from Joseph Smith" is featured in the Joseph Smith the Prophet webpage.
While listening to her talk, I reflected on the fact that Joseph Smith's First Vision came at a singular moment in his life: 20 years after his mother had been praying which church to join, 2 years after Joseph had been searching to find salvation for his soul, about 3 years prior to receiving another visitation from the holy messenger Moroni, about 9 years prior to completing the Book of Mormon translation, and 10 years prior to the first meeting of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. The First Vision was not a "you've been saved, now you can have a carefree life!" kind of experience. The First Vision was a preparation step in many more demanding spiritual tasks and divine responsibilities entrusted to his care. The Lord came in answer to his prayers, yet He also had a plan for young Joseph.
With these reflections on my mind on how the First Vision was an answer to his immediate prayer, I was impressed by the early discussion in Sister Oscarson's speech of how Joseph was foreordained and prepared to fulfill his mission on Earth. We can learn from the example of Joseph Smith that we are also sent to fulfill a mission. I have a work to do and you have a work to do. However big or small a part we have to play. Despite any doubts that we may have about our abilities, despite how clear our direction is, and despite our repeated mistakes in our efforts, God believes in me and He believes in you. He believes in us. And when we need answers to prayers he will be there. He may not come out of the sky in full glory. He may not answer today or tomorrow. But He is listening and will provide what we need as long as we continue to look towards him. And He will answer us individually in a unique way that each of us needs.
I hope you find my thoughts uplifting. If you haven't seen my previous blog posts, please read about President Nelson's invitation on this page and other posts I wrote to help you get started with his invitation.
Additionally, the forum provides a great place to connect with others about your plan to follow President Nelson's invitation.
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