John Davidson Burt's Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith (May 1848)
Published August 26, 2026 at 6:57 AM
Contributed by
Todd Morgan
Beaumont, CA, 92223
In May of 1848, John Davidson Burt had a vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He had gone that day to listen to missionaries who had arrived in his town. In the vision he beheld a man and, upon inquiring who he was, was informed that the man was the Prophet Joseph Smith. The heavenly manifestation confirmed to Burt that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and that the restored gospel was genuine; he expressed his intent to join with the Latter-day Saints and was thereafter baptized. The vision sustained him through the trials of his conversion and emigration. Burt later became a faithful local leader in Utah, serving as bishop of the Brigham City Third Ward.
In Their Own Words
“There, for the first time in my natural life, I heard the true and everlasting Gospel proclaimed. ... Coming toward me I beheld a noble-looking, dignified person, attired in broadcloth with a white neckerchief on and a cane in his right hand. ... “If you are a Latter-day Saint,” the man replied, “then you may go in.” John pulled open the doors and promptly awoke. ... Dare I attribute this concurrent train of circumstance to mere casualty or imagination? No, verily no! Rather, I do perceive and acknowledge in these manifestations the unerring hand of God, kindly guiding me, by his Holy Spirit, to the ever-flowing fountain of light and everlasting life, inasmuch as I may prove faithful to the end.”
— John Davidson Burt, journal, May 1848 (as published in “Power From The Past: The Faith Of An Ancestor,” LDS Daily)
Sources & References
John Davidson Burt, vision recorded in his journal, May 1848, Clackmannan, Scotland; family memory preserved on FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/LKVY-1NK); quoted verbatim in LDS Daily, “Power From The Past: The Faith Of An Ancestor” (https://www.ldsdaily.com/personal-lds-blog/power-from-the-past-the-faith-of-an-ancestor/); Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church (Brigham City 3rd Ward). (research confidence: high)
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