(Part twenty of a series compiled by Dennis B. Horne)
As the
concluding item of this series on the First Vision, I have sifted through most
of the preceding nineteen pieces and selected brief quotations—nuggets of pure
testimony—from those holding the holy Apostleship (including the keys of the
Kingdom as received in direct line from the Prophet Joseph Smith, who got them
from Peter, James, and John, and other ancient prophets), declaring their
incontrovertible spiritual witness of the reality of Joseph Smith’s First
Vision. In these testimonies, we find no doubt, just perfect knowledge:
“I am
grateful that early in my life I was blessed with a simple faith that Joseph
Smith was a prophet of God, that he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus
Christ, in a vision. He translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of
God. That testimony has been confirmed to me over and over again.
“As one of
the least among you, but in my calling as one of the Apostles of Jesus Christ,
I testify that He truly lives, that He is the Messiah. I do have a personal
witness of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. I received
this knowledge by the unspeakable peace and power of the Spirit of God.”
