During the past three-hundred-plus years, or from the period known as the Age of Reason or simply the Enlightenment, to the present day, the belief that God is actively involved in the lives of his children on earth, in our daily walks, in our families and our communities and nations has diminished greatly. The idea going back to the creation and placement of Adam and Eve into the Garden of Eden, that living prophets of God actually saw and spoke with Deity, such as Adam, Enoch, Noah and Abraham, and many others, and received divine revelations, performed miracles and opened the windows of heaven to those who would listen to God’s voice through them, was swallowed up in the new wisdom and science that developed in the Age of Reason.

The failing or loss of spiritual gifts and signs from heaven and the rise of the state run churches during the Medieval Ages and Reformation period that followed did little to correct the problem for the millions who lived during those times. A few believers in God and Jesus Christ during these dark ages sought after these gifts of God but most of them could not find them. Pilgrims and Separatists sought freedom and a new world to practice their faith without persecutions from kings and prelates. The ancient idea of prophets of God who saw visions and performed miracles had all but disappeared among them. This was the prevailing culture and practice of religion during the life of the young Seer of Palmyra.

Among Christians in the “burned over district” of upstate New York, there rose up a young man named Joseph Smith Jr. (1805-1844) who read the scriptures and actually believed what his King James Holy Bible said, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,...” (James 1:5). This youth took the ancient apostle’s challenge seriously and personally, and his life and the lives of millions were changed forever because of the things which God revealed to the young prophet during his shortened but productive life.

How can Joseph Smith’s First Vision of 1820 be compared to ancient Biblical epiphanies? How can the story of Joseph Smith’s revelation coexist with current religious views of Deity? How can one’s personal faith be eventually proven as Galileo proved the earth orbited the sun or as Newton proved the laws of earthly physics? How can Joseph Smith’s vision of the Father and Son be considered with any degree of assurance that it is true?

The Seer Of Palmyra, who is the Prophet Joseph Smith, gave the reader the answer to these most important questions in a very simple but undeniable way.

Each of us can spend our mortal lives seeking temporary wealth, power and status, or we can seek eternal truth. We can seek human knowledge or revealed knowledge. To many the latter seems beyond our reach. Yet, there is a very practical and even scientific way to seek and obtain eternal truths. It is the exact same method employed by the young prophet Joseph Smith in 1820 and during the remainder of his life as he restored the ancient truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It involves similar efforts that one would apply to any clinical or scientific study, problem or question. Studying and investigating, developing a hypothesis, conducting an experiment, and following through until actual results are received.

As in science, so in revelation, a peer may claim to have gotten different results. Usually that’s because the two studies and efforts were not identical in their attitude and integrity, or in their assumptions and methodology. The divine truths of God that come by revelation need not be counter to the universal truths of science.

Ultimately, anyone can discover eternal truths regarding God, man and this earth as easily as one can discover that the earth moves around the sun, which the ancient prophets already knew. THE SEER OF PALMYRA brings the message that God and Jesus Christ live and reminds the modern world of the ancient method to discover that truth. The Prophet Joseph Smith witnessed these truths with his own eyes as did others later who were his associates. We too by the gifts of the Spirit of God can see and feel with equal assurance that what God has given to us is true. But we cannot do this without making a similar effort that begins with faith!

Why should seekers of truth and scholars alike read THE SEER OF PALMYRA?

THE SEER OF PALMYRA will confirm that the Prophet Joseph Smith’s first vision of Deity was not only unique among all the revelations of religious history, but of supreme importance to initiate the prophetic mission of the most important religious figure since the birth of Jesus Christ and establishment of the Early Church in Jerusalem. This book probes the depths of fourteen primary documents of the First Vision and answers important questions about the Godhead and of the Prophet's critics. THE SEER OF PALMYRA recounts twenty sacred truths revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith’s First Vision and their relevance to every living soul. This book provides a deep and wide look at the Prophet’s first vision of Deity, his use of the Urim and Thummim and seer stones, and the revelations that followed as he was commanded by the Lord to organize the restored Church of Jesus Christ.

Steven A. Wilden
June 5, 2022

THE SEER OF PALMYRA, Reflections Of The First Vision
By Steven A. Wilden Copyright 2020, 2023, 312 pp.
Publisher, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Springville, Utah
Estimated Publication Date: February 2023;