Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
“How Lovely was the Morning!”

“How Lovely was the Morning!”

Last updated on: January 1, 2020 at 12:10 pm by Dan Peterson

“How Lovely was the Morning!” 2020-01-01T12:10:22-07:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Joseph Smith’s First Vision
(A stained glass window from roughly 1913)
Wikimedia Commons public domain image

Most of you will recall this brief announcement from the end of last year’s October general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

“President Nelson Announces Plans for Special Celebration of First Vision”

I’m excited for what will be coming. All of us at the Interpreter Foundation are looking forward to this next year.

***

This morning, the Interpreter Foundation launches a new series of blog entries, kindly contributed by Dennis B. Horne, devoted to the grand opening revelation of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. We hope that you will find them of value as, this year, we mark the bicentennial of the commencement of the Restoration:

“Teachings and Testimony of the First Vision: Introduction and Faithful Women Testify of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s First Vision”

***

In my immediately previous blog entry (“Entering the Bicentennial Year”), I mentioned two researchers who came independently to the conclusion that Joseph Smith’s First Vision occurred on the morning of Sunday, 26 March 1820. For further information on that theory, you might want to take a look at this independently produced film, which runs just slightly less than 35 minutes in length:

“How Lovely Was the Morning”

***

As I write, I’m listening to New Year’s Eve 1996 performance of the Vienna Philharmonic, under the baton of Lorin Maazel, performing the Emperor Waltz (the Kaiser-Walzer) of Johann Strauss II. (Isn’t it amazing that I can listen to a 1996 performance by the Vienna Philharmonic while sitting in Orem, Utah, in 2020? We take such things for granted, I think. But our still-relatively-recent ancestors would have thought it miraculous.) It occurs to me that it would be very, very difficult to feel morose or negative while listening to the Emperor Waltz or, for that matter, to any Strauss waltz.

***

In that mood, and in the afterglow of thinking about the First Vision yet again, I share a recent link from the Church newsroom that some will want to include, yet again, in their Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything File:

“Latter-day Saints Around the World: Country Newsroom Websites, December 30, 2019”

***

Nevertheless and unfortunately, some rather negative bits of housekeeping do occasionally need to be carried out. Replying to the aggressive blogging of Mr. Jonathan Neville is one of those obligations, and so I’m very happy that the Neville-Neville Land blog has undertaken the necessary task. Here are four recent entries from that Neville-Neville Land blog:

“Jonathan Neville’s broken scriptural allegory”

“Disagree with Neville? You’re a “disloyal” teacher of “poisonous thoughts””

“January 2020 is a bad month to be Jonathan Neville”

“Examining the Heartlander brain”

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Previous Post

January 1, 2020

Entering the Bicentennial Year

Next Post

January 1, 2020 LDS Inc. (Part 20)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Mark is the only Gospel that records Jesus asking 'Who touched my clothes?' after power went out from him.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE