Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision. It either occurred or it did not occur. If it did not, then this work is a fraud.
Gordon B. Hinckley
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2002/10/the-marvelous-foundation-of-our-faith
Interesting to read these quotes from President Hinckley. He’s either not aware of the various first vision accounts, or doesn’t expect anyone else to be aware of them. Resting everything on that occurrence is very black and white literal thinking. If we embrace that and then see the difficult reality of the first vision stories, where does it leave us?
Well, it’s either true or false. If it’s false, we’re engaged in a great fraud. If it’s true, it’s the most important thing in the world. Now, that’s the whole picture. It is either right or wrong, true or false, fraudulent or true. And that’s exactly where we stand, with a conviction in our hearts that it is true: that Joseph went into the [Sacred] Grove; that he saw the Father and the Son; that he talked with them; that Moroni came; that the Book of Mormon was translated from the plates; that the priesthood was restored by those who held it anciently. That’s our claim. That’s where we stand, and that’s where we fall …
Gordon B. Hinckley
http://www.pbs.org/mormons/interviews/hinckley.html
Share your truth – contribute your story today! Discuss the nuance you have learned to live with or the fall when it all came crumbling down.