Priesthood restoration

Today is May 15, the anniversary of the restoration of the priesthood. More precisely, it's the anniverary of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery's vision of John the Baptist. That was followed, over the years, by visions of visits from other biblical figures: Peter, James, and John; Moses, Elias, and Elijah; as well as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and "divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the present time . . . ; giving line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little; giving us consolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope!" (D&C 128:21).

A few potentially distracting statements for clarification's sake: I don't believe that the LDS Church has a unique, exclusive dispensation of divine authority, which is the point of these visions from the perspective of LDS orthodoxy. I don't believe these angelic visits were objectively real, meaning that if they happened, they happened inside the heads of the people having these visions. I say "if they happened" because I find it plausible that the priesthood restoration accounts were fabricated a few years after they were supposed to have occurred as a way to bolster Smith's authority. (Grant Palmer reviews the evidence for this in An Insider's View of Mormon Origins.)

But that's not the main point I want to make today. However they came about, these visions have become part of the Mormon tradition—an important part of the Mormon tradition. These visions have come to play an important role in telling Latter-day Saints who we are and what our mission is. The Spirit speaks through these visions—I bear testimony of that. In fact, I'll indulge in a moment of supercillious spiritual rank-pulling at the risk of inviting critical reactions in kind (and sad eyes from Jesus later): If you're someone who can't understand how these visions could have any religious significance apart from questions about their literal reality and the Church's authority, then you haven't felt the Spirit speaking to you through these visions and you therefore don't have a testimony of them. That's true whether you come down on the side of saying, "The visions have to be literally real because the Church can't be true otherwise" (testimony by syllogism, I call that) or whether you come down on the side of saying, "The visions aren't literally real, so Mormonism's a crock."

What I hear these visions telling me—what I hear the Spirit telling me through them—is this: that Latter-day Saints, as a people, are commissioned and empowered to carry out, in the modern world, the work of the God of the Bible. The work of the ancient prophets is our work: to be a voice crying repentance to wayward societies, especially to people in power; a voice calling for justice for the poor; a voice of consolation and hope reiterating God's millennial promises. Our work is the work of Jesus' apostles: to share with others the hope and joy that we have found in Christ and to continue the ministry of Jesus—a ministry of healing and teaching; of helping people in spiritual and physical need; of forging a community that cuts across cultural, economic, and ethnic divides. Our work is to build up Zion, a community one in heart and mind and where there are no poor. Our work is to prepare the way for Christ's millennial reign, to pave the way for the coming of the world envisioned by prophets—a world where swords are beaten into plowshares, where the poor will eat their fill at God's feast, where God will wipe away all tears. Our work is to gather exiles (D&C 110:11); to bless all the families of the earth (D&C 110:12; Abr. 2:9-11); to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents (D&C 110:13-16; D&C 2:2).

The visions of the restoration of the priesthood tell me that this is the work I am called to do as someone who is committed to the practice of Mormon spirituality. And these visions give me the "consolation" and "hope" (D&C 128:21) that this work can be accomplished. I struggle, frankly, to maintain that hope because the obstacles are so huge. And it's because of that struggle that I embrace these visions: because I believe that they are God's way of telling me: I am with you, my power is upon you, you can make a difference.