God Appears to Martin Harris in Vision After He Gives $50 to Joseph Smith — Confirms the Work

When Martin Harris gave Joseph Smith fifty dollars to help fund the translation of the Book of Mormon plates, he did so in the face of strong opposition from his wife and community. The spiritual reward for his faith was immediate and overwhelming. Joseph Smith himself recorded what happened in his 1832 history:

'because of his faith and this righteous deed the Lord appeared unto him in a vision and shewed unto him his marvelous work which he was about to do and he immediately came to Susquehanna and said the Lord had shown him that he must go to New York City with some of the characters.'

This vision — of God appearing to Martin Harris to confirm the work about to be done — was so powerful that Harris immediately traveled from Palmyra to Susquehanna (a distance of over 100 miles) to report what he had seen and to follow the divine instructions he had received.