Foundations of the Restoration

The historical spine, told with the documents in view — the several First Vision accounts and what each contributes, the restoration of priesthood authority, and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon with its witnesses and its problems.

3 lessons written2 hr 25 min of reading

01
Four Accounts of One Morning
The First Vision, read the way historians read it
There is not one account of the First Vision; there are four in Joseph Smith's own voice and at least five more from people who heard him tell it. They differ, and the differences are the most interesting thing about them. This lesson lays them side by side and says plainly what agrees, what does not, and what follows.
Joseph Smith—History 1:5–20; James 1:5–6; Acts 26:12–1950 min4 sections
02
The Restoration of Authority
D&C 13, D&C 110, and why a line of conferral matters
The Restoration's most distinctive claim is not that Joseph Smith had a vision. Plenty of people have visions. It is that authority to act in God's name was conferred by named persons, on datable days, by the laying on of hands — and that without that, ordinances are ceremony.
D&C 13; D&C 27:12–13; D&C 110; D&C 107; Hebrews 5:445 min4 sections
03
The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon
How it was produced, who saw it, and what the honest questions are
Sixty-five working days, a young man with three years of formal schooling, eleven witnesses who had every reason to recant and did not, and a set of questions about the translation process that the Church now answers publicly. This lesson covers all of it, including the parts that are uncomfortable.
Title Page of the Book of Mormon; 2 Nephi 27; D&C 3; D&C 17; Ether 5:2–450 min4 sections