Joseph Smith Sr.'s Vision of Tree of Life - Foreknowledge of Book of Mormon
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Lucy Mack Smith recorded her husband Joseph Smith Sr.'s remarkable vision of the tree of life in 1811. He dreamed he was traveling in a field and came upon a large tree bearing fine fruit. He also saw a book open before him and a personage telling him to read. In the vision Joseph saw buildings and experienced a scene that remarkably paralleled Lehi's vision in the Book of Mormon, which had not yet been translated. This vision, recorded 19 years before the Book of Mormon was published, demonstrates Joseph Sr.'s spiritual sensitivity and the preparatory nature of spiritual manifestations within the Smith family.
In Their Own Words
“"[T]here was a low, but very pleasant valley, in which stood a tree, such as I had never seen before. It was exceedingly handsome, insomuch that I looked upon it with wonder and admiration. . . . and it bore a kind of fruit, in shape much like a chestnut bur, and as white as snow, or, if possible, whiter. . . . I drew near, and began to eat of it, and I found it delicious beyond description. As I was eating, I said in my heart, 'I cannot eat this alone, I must bring my wife and children, that they may partake with me.' Accordingly, I went and brought my family . . . and we all commenced eating, and praising God for this blessing. We were exceedingly happy, insomuch that our joy could not easily be expressed. While thus engaged, I beheld a spacious building standing opposite the valley which we were in, and it appeared to reach to the very heavens. It was full of doors and windows, and they were all filled with people, who were very finely dressed. When these people observed us in the low valley, under the tree, they pointed the finger of scorn at us, and treated us with all manner of disrespect and contempt. . . . I presently turned to my guide, and inquired of him the meaning of the fruit that was so delicious. He told me it was the pure love of God, shed abroad in the hearts of all those who love him, and keep his commandments."”
— Joseph Smith Sr., describing his dream of the tree of life to his family in about 1811 — a decade before the Book of Mormon was published with its strikingly similar account of Lehi's vision — as recorded by his wife Lucy Mack Smith in her History of Joseph Smith by His Mother (Project Gutenberg edition)
Sources & References
Lucy Mack Smith History (1844-1845) ; Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, ch. 14 (dreams of Joseph Smith Sr.), Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45619/45619-h/45619-h.htm
Related Miracles
Similar miracle types and stories from the 1810s.