The First Vision: This week’s post came from last week’s joke

This week’s post evolved from a joke I made on social media last week that was tied to the First Vision. It wasn’t about the First Vision – I’m not a heretic. It was adjacent to the First Vision. Hopefully, you can see what the target was:

“It makes perfect sense that the Lord ushered in the Restoration by responding to a 14-year-old’s question, because by 15, teenagers have all the answers to everything.”

See? It was a dig directed at know-it-all teenagers, not Joseph Smith, or the Lord. Promise.

Interestingly enough, since then I have been thinking about the significance of Joseph’s youth and how it did matter in the grand scheme. There is a message in there somewhere…

But first, a story:

Many years ago, when I was a young missionary serving in Chile, we had one of those “one more door” experiences. It was late, almost time to call it a night, but we decided to finish knocking on the archetypal one more door.

To our surprise, a man answered the door and invited us inside. For the sake of the retelling, I’ll call him “Hermano Oro.” (Oro meaning gold.) It was a lovely family of four—a couple and two children. We asked if we could share a message with them, and they readily agreed.

Back then, the lessons were called discussions, and our first mini-discussion was the sharing of the First Vision and the concept of the Restoration. The family was engaged and responsive. They asked questions and seemed to readily accept the answers we gave them.

The instruction at the time was that if the discussion went well, we were to immediately challenge the family to be baptized. The Oro family accepted the challenge and agreed to hear the rest of the discussions and then be baptized. We closed with a prayer and scheduled our next discussion.

Outside, we were giddy and grateful. We had pressed on, knocked that one last door, and found a golden family.

Over the next two weeks, we taught the discussions. They were well-versed in their Catholic faith. (The mother taught catechism for many years previously.) Even so, they embraced the teachings, the commandments, and especially the Book of Mormon. Hermano Oro was especially motivated and began reading the Book of Mormon at a blistering pace.

Confident in their progress, we set a baptismal date for a few weeks out.

One evening, we headed to their home to teach the last lesson and schedule their baptismal interviews. When we arrived, Hermano Oro stood outside, waiting for us, with his Book of Mormon in hand. Something was wrong.

He explained, “We have decided that we will not be baptized. Here is your book.”

We were dumbfounded. We asked him why. He demurred. We asked him if he believed in the teachings he had received. He said that he did. We asked him if he believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He said that he did. We asked him if he believed that the Book of Mormon was the word of God. With tears in his eyes, he said that he did.

My companion asked for the Book of Mormon he was holding and opened it to Mosiah 18:10:

“Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?”

Instead of softening, his face hardened, and he explained, “I know that this book is the word of God. I have read the entire book, and God has told me it is true. I know the Church is true, but we will not be baptized.”

We were shocked and were hoping for a better explanation. What he told us was this, “I am Catholic, I was born Catholic, I have lived Catholic. I will not change. I will die Catholic, and my family with me.”

We tried to push back and pleaded with him to allow us inside to talk more, but he was firm. We didn’t realize how serious he was until he said these words that are embedded in my memory:

“I know that the Church is true, but I will die Catholic. If the Lord decides to condemn me for it, so be it.”

I responded with a somber, Asi sera.” So it will be. (My companion gasped.)

He told us goodbye and went inside. This beautiful, chosen, golden family never opened the door to us again. I still dread that one day I will have to stand as a witness and recount this experience–at the judgment seat.

Why this sad story? This is an example of how hard it is to change when we are committed to something. This brings me to the deeper point that evolved from the joke.

The Lord chose to speak to a boy who was not yet committed. He had not embraced any religion at that point. Had he been an active member of one of the sects at the time, he probably wouldn’t have asked the same questions and would have been less likely to abandon his current faith.

Again, change is hard. It is especially hard when we are committed to something. We often live with a confirmation bias, which is the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.

It happens to all of us. We look to support our beliefs and behaviors. It happens in many areas: culture, religion, politics, health, sexuality, and myriad beliefs and opinions.

I find it fascinating and understandable that the Lord chose someone who was not subject to confirmation bias at the early age of fourteen. Joseph was still uncommitted, yet curious and serious. Joseph Smith had an open heart and an open mind. Qualities that, sadly, seem to decline as we get older and more engaged.

Joseph Smith later told Brigham Young, “Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it.” (link)

Alma taught, “And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.” (Alma 12:10)

The Holy Ghost is great at softening hearts. Sometimes, the process can be a not-so-tender mercy. I’ve heard said that “a broken heart is an open heart,” and I agree.

To usher in the Restoration, the Lord needed someone with an open heart who was not tainted by the world or already on a path of commitment to something less than what the Lord would reveal.

I am so gratefulto–and for–that teenager who went before the Lord with an open heart and an open mind. What an example for the rest of us.

(But I still think the joke was funny.)