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
Pillar of Light and Pillar of Fire

Pillar of Light and Pillar of Fire

Last updated on: November 16, 2017 at 3:04 am by Delisa Hargrove

Pillar of Light and Pillar of Fire 2017-11-16T03:04:49-10:00 Delisa Hargrove

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.

Have you ever wondered about stories that include a pillar of light in the scriptures? I used to think pillar of light experiences were reserved for chosen and specific individuals. As I’ve read the scriptures, I realized that pillars of light impacted a wide variety of people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Here are six canonical stories where a pillar of divine light descended from heaven. What’s the pattern in these manifestations?

Moses and the Children of Israel

Circumstance

Hosts of Israel led by Moses
Fleeing Egypt into the wilderness
Didn’t know the way they should go

Experience

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

Result

Led by the Lord to the land of promise
Stopped when the pillar stopped, continued on the journey when the pillar moved
Although the people all saw the pillar and cloud, they did not see the Lord directly

Joseph Smith

Circumstance

Alone
Praying to know which church he should join
Seized upon by unknown being of darkness
At the moment of great alarm, he saw a pillar of light

Experience

I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

Result

Joseph asked which church to join
He was told to not join any church
Restoration unfolded shortly thereafter
Joseph bore witness of Jesus Christ

Lehi

Circumstance

Prophets called Jerusalem to repentance
Lehi prayed for the people with all his heart
Lehi was alone during the experience

Experience

And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.

Result

Lehi saw and heard much
Overcome, he went home, cast himself on his bed, and was carried away in a vision
Saw God the Father, Jesus Christ, others, and many future events
Began prophesying in Jerusalem and testifying of Jesus Christ
People threatened his life
Commanded to leave Jerusalem for the promised land

Nephi and Lehi

Circumstance

Preaching the Gospel to Lamanites
Thrown in prison and left without food or water for many days
Lamanites went to the prison to kill them

Experience

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned.

And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage.

Result

Lamanites feared to carry out their plans to kill Nephi and Lehi
Lamanites struck dumb with amazement
Nephi and Lehi acknowledged the pillar of fire and their safety within it as the power of God

Which led into the next example as a continuation of Nephi and Lehi’s

300 Lamanites Attempting to Slay Nephi and Lehi

Circumstance

Imprisoned two prophets, Nephi and Lehi
When going to kill the prophets, found them encircled with a pillar of fire
God protected Nephi and Lehi
Earthquake and aftershocks
Cloud of darkness overshadowed them
They heard a voice of perfect mildness three times from the cloud tell them to repent
Aminadab saw Nephi and Lehi’s faces shone like angels and they spoke to someone in the cloud
Aminadab told the others to look at Nephi and Lehi and to repent and pray until they had faith in Christ

Experience

It came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw that the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire.

And Nephi and Lehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were encircled about; yea, they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and they were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.

Result

Holy Ghost filled their hearts like fire
They spoke marvelous things
They heard a pleasant voice saying, “Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.”
Angels ministered to them
They went forth and preached to other people testifying of Jesus Christ
Many were converted because of their testimony/experience

2,500 Nephites during the Savior’s Visit at Bountiful

Circumstance

Jesus appeared to the Nephite people after His resurrection
He taught them, organized them, and healed all of their infirmities
The Savior asked for their children to come to Him
Jesus blessed and prayed for each child

Experience

He spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.

And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

Result

Everyone bore witness of the Savior
Jesus Christ institutes the Sacrament

Pillar of Light Experiences

A traumatic experience preceded every pillar of light occurrence. The recipient acted in great faith.

A recipient heard the voice of or saw the presence of God the Father. The recipient saw the Savior, except in the case of the children of Israel who only heard the Lord’s voice. In other scripture, the Lord said they could have seen Him but refused to do so.

The recipient became a testifier of Jesus Christ.

Do pillars of light and fire occur today? If God follows His pattern, then yes. In order to receive a gift, we must follow the pattern to receive it.

Uncategorized

Light

Nature of God

Previous Post

November 11, 2017

A Tessera

Next Post

November 19, 2017 When "Easy to be Entreated" Comes to Life

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Discovery How Tos Realization Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 November 2025 October 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 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

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz