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Christ Visits Them Often
Philip Stevenson - Facebook Post May 28th 2026
First Vision or Visitation
Few Mormons know the difference between a vision and a visitation. They think that the First Vision was the First Visitation. This is not accurate. Joseph Smith did not see God the Father and the Son physically above him in the air when he prayed in the grove. It was a vision. When it was over, he came to himself, he found himself on the ground, lying on his back, looking up. His own words tell us that during the vision, he was not aware of his physical body. When he became aware of his physical body again, he found or discovered that he was physically laying on his back.
Joseph Smith History 1:20 - After the vision ended Joseph said,
“When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven.”
I have had multiple visions in which I was completely unaware of my physical body and after the visions, when I came to myself again, I discovered what my physical body was doing while I was in the vision. I understand what happened and why he said this. It was not a physical visitation and he never claimed it was. He himself called it a vision.
“I was enwrapped in a heavenly VISION and saw two glorious personages who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon-day.” – Joseph Smith, The Wentworth Letter.
Visions are always symbolic. ALWAYS. If you interpret them literal, then you miss the symbolic message and therefore the meaning of the vision. There is no physical rod made of iron that you can hold onto. There were never lean cows that ate fat ones. Nebuchadnezzar’s statue was not about a giant metal/clay man. The mutant animals in revelations do not exist. The mist of darkness was not physical. Visions are NEVER literal. They are symbolic.
Joseph's vision was symbolic and can only be understood from that point of view.
If we interpret this symbol literally, we would conclude that God the Father and Jesus Christ look physically identical, like identical twins. While identical twins share DNA and appearance, they often have different personalities, talents, and characteristics. The University of Utah’s Genetic Science Learning Center says,
“Identical twins have exactly the same DNA, but they are not exactly alike. Each twin has his or her own personality, talents, likes, and dislikes. There are even diseases that appear in one twin but not the other, including arthritis, diabetes, autism, schizophrenia, cancer, and many others.”
Taking the vision as literal, we would assume that they physically look exactly alike, but like twins, they are very different in those parts that really count, like their goals, desires, morality, and interests.
I’m reminded of the movie, “Oh, God! You Devil” when actor George Burns played the role of both God and the devil, showing what you look like on the outside doesn’t have anything to do with who you are on the inside.
Additionally, this interpretation would suggest that God is definitively a "Who" - a specific personage with a specific form. Joseph Smith interpreted his first vision literally and based on this interpretation, he thought he comprehended, understood, and knew the God he worshiped. This is why 13 years later, in revelation, the Lord told Joseph he did not yet possess that knowledge.
The Symbolic Interpretation
When we look at the symbolism of these two figures who "exactly resembled each other in features and likeness," we see a profound truth: the Son and the Father exactly resemble each other in Goals, Intents, Desires, Thoughts, Will, Purpose, and Morality. The vision teaches us that they are so perfectly aligned that speaking to one is like speaking to the other. This aligns perfectly with scripture but doesn't definitively answer whether God is a "Who" or a "What."
This distinction becomes crucial when we consider the Lord's words to Joseph in D&C 93:19. Thirteen years after the First Vision, the Lord still needed to teach Joseph "what you worship." If the First Vision had been a literal visitation showing God's physical form, Joseph would have already known what he worshiped. But if it was a symbolic vision teaching about divine unity and nature, then there was still more for Joseph to learn about what God truly is.
After this vision, the Lord said twice that Joseph still did not comprehend God or understand WHAT Joseph worshiped.
After the First Vision, the Lord tells Joseph Smith, He doesn't currently comprehend God, but promises that the day will come when he will. The Lord explains that when that day comes, Joseph will know that know that he has seen God, not in vision but in real life, because visions are symbolic and Joseph was asleep or in his mind in the first vision.
D&C 88
49 The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not; nevertheless, the day shall come when you (speaking to Joseph Smith) shall comprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him.
50 Then shall ye know that ye have seen me, that I am, and that I am the true light that is in you, and that you are in me; otherwise ye could not abound.
The Lord tells Joseph that he doesn't understand WHAT he worships and the Lord says He is trying to explain it to Joseph.
D&C 93
19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.