“I Saw the Lord in a Bright Vision” — Joseph Lee Robinson Sees the Savior in New York (1839)

Soon after he was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ, Joseph Lee Robinson prayed earnestly to the Lord and received a testimony that God would pour out His Spirit and cause a reformation in his neighborhood in New York — a prophecy he recorded came to pass a few years after. Then the Lord manifested Himself to him in a bright vision. “It seemed to be just as I knew Him as soon as I saw Him,” Robinson wrote. The Savior turned and came to the house: “He was a man as he was when He was upon the earth. He was a beautiful, heavenly man. He had a new book, white and clean.” The visitor held an argument with some of the family, and “His appearance, questions and answers were well worthy the Son of God.” After He had been there awhile, Robinson met Him in the door and embraced and kissed Him, and the Lord did the same to him. He asked Him questions, which the Lord answered very wisely, and then He was gone. “I was the only one that knew Him, but I knew I had seen my Saviour, Jesus.”

In the fall and winter of 1839 a small branch was organized in the neighborhood, and Robinson — though he felt his weakness almost more than he could bear — was ordained an Elder and chosen to preside over the Saints there, sustained by the Holy Ghost so that “the burden was lightened and the task made easier.” The reformation he had prayed for came: the gospel was preached by men with authority, people believed their testimony and were baptized for the remission of their sins, and the Saints received the Holy Ghost. Some received the gift of tongues and some prophesied. Robinson himself received the gift of tongues, “particularly the gift to sing in tongues which I did receive in a remarkable manner,” and the congregation many times sang in tongues. He recorded seeing strong men “sit and tremble like a poppy leaf,” the sick healed, devils cast out, and visions and dreams poured out upon the Latter-day Saints in that neighborhood — blessings which, he testified, proved “without a shadow of doubt the truth of God and His power attending His Gospel and His servants on the earth.”

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

Soon after I was baptized I prayed to the Lord to pour out his spirit upon the people in our neighborhood and cause a reformation and I had a testimony that he would and it came to pass a few years after. I saw the Lord in a bright vision. It seemed to be just as I knew him as soon as I saw him. He turned and came to the house. He was a man as he was when he was upon the earth. He was a beautiful heavenly man. He had a new book white and clean. He held some argument with some of the family. His appearance, questions and answers were well worthy the Son of God. After he had been there awhile I met him in the door and embraced and kissed him. He did me also. I asked him some questions. He answered them very wisely and then he was gone. I was the only one that knew him, but I knew I had seen my Saviour, Jesus. In the fall and winter of 1839 a small branch was organized in the neighborhood and I was ordained an Elder and chosen to preside over the Saints there. I felt my weakness almost more than I could bear, but the Lord sustained me by his Holy Ghost so that the burden was lightened and the task made easier. The reformation I had prayed for came. The gospel was preached by men with authority. People believed our testimony and were baptized for the remission of their sins and the Saints received the Holy Ghost. Some received the gift of tongues and some prophesied. I myself received the gift of tongues, particularly the gift to sing in tongues which I did receive in a remarkable manner, and the congregation many times sang in tongues. I saw strong men sit and tremble like a poppy leaf, the sick healed, devils cast out, and visions and dreams poured out upon the Latter-day Saints in that neighborhood, which proved without a shadow of doubt the truth of God and his power attending his Gospel and his servants on the earth.