Joseph Smith

In the Spring of 1820, a young boy wanted to know truth.  At 14 years of age, he was confused by the various religious parties contending for the faith in upstate New York.  If there was one book which everyone knew was the word of God, why were there so many different churches professing different opinions as to the interpretations thereof?

Finding that the teachers of religion were only adding to the chaos of his troubled heart, this young man went straight to the Bible, and in James 1:5 he read:

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God..."

If we have a question regarding truth, who better to ask than the author of ALL truth, our Heavenly Father?  So he asked God which of all the churches he should join, and in answer to his question he received an answer!  In his own words, he describes what happened:

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me… When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Joseph Smith, that young inquisitor, was answered by God the Father and His Only Begotten Son to join none of the churches currently established, but was to wait until a future period when Christ's church was to be Restored on the Earth again.  Joseph Smith was eventually called to be that Prophet to restore the Church of Jesus Christ as founded in the New Testament.