God's Tool Box Part 1: Panoramic Visions
When reading LDS history from the past 190 years or so, some
things really jump out at me. It occurs that although God can give his children
about any experience one can think of, there are a handful of repeat
experiences that pop up again and again. God seems to favor handing out
certain, specific experiences. He reaches into his toolbox and pulls out the
same few devices. The device I’m talking about today is panoramic visions.
Panoramic visions may be something you haven’t heard of. If
you have heard of them, it was probably as a piece of a near-death-experience -
occurring just before the person gets zapped back into their body while
promising to be nicer to people with opposing political views. Or something.
The fact that these absolute encompassing visions are so
closely related to NDEs might make you brush them aside. Don’t do that. These
things have happened to completely sane LDS people outside of the NDEs. Some of
the people did get life reviews out of it. Some got scripture-study assistance
that’s even better than those oversized seminary bookmarks. Some saw visions of
things to come.
Some saw significant excerpts from Christ’s life. This one
is my favorite – because you can hear it straight from the experiencer’s lips.
The experiencer, incidentally, was David B. Haight. He told the story in a 1989
General Conference talk. I’ve included the video below.
First to lay some groundwork:
Enoch
“Enoch, who was preaching at the place of Mahujah, was commanded of the
Lord to go to mount Simeon so the Lord could speak to him. Having ascended the
mount, Enoch said, “I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with
glory; And I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me,
even as a man talketh one with another, face to face” (Moses 7:3–4). Enoch was then shown the panoramic vision of
earth’s future history, a matter to which we will yet come. Moses in like
manner was caught away in the spirit “to an exceeding high mountain, And he saw
God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses;
therefore Moses could endure his presence” (Moses 1:1–2)…
“Closely associated with the high mountain experience and the ritual
endowment in which the prophetic participants are “taught from on high” is the idea of a magnificent panoramic vision in which the
purpose of earth life and its history is revealed. The
perspective thus enjoyed seems most appropriate for those prophets called to
head the various gospel dispensations and through them to be a part of the
understanding had by the faithful of their day…” (https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/pearl-great-price-revelations-god/preparation-prophets)
Now on to some of the experiences!
When Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, he used
seer stones in the process – like so many other people! When he finished the BOM, he
started reading the Bible with a seer stone study guide. The stories jumped off
the page:
Joseph Smith
"After
I got through translating the Book of Mormon, I took up the Bible to read with
the Urim and Thummim. I read the first chapter of Genesis and I saw the things
as they were done. I turned over the next and the next, and the whole passed
before me like a grand panorama; and so on chapter after chapter until I read
the whole of it. I saw it all!" (http://scottwoodward.org/bookofmormon_translationprocess_debunkingmyths.html)
The
panoramic scripture study didn’t end with the martyred prophet:
Harold B. Lee
I shall never forget my feelings of loneliness the Saturday
night after I was told by the President of the Church that I was to be
sustained the next day as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. That
was a sleepless night....
And then one of the Brethren, who arranged for Sunday
evening radio programs, said, “Now you know that after having been ordained,
you are a special witness to the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ. We want you
to give the Easter talk next Sunday night.”
The assignment was to bear testimony of the mission of the
Lord concerning His resurrection, His life, and His ministry, so I went to a
room in the Church Office Building where I could be alone, and I read the
Gospels, particularly those that had to do with the closing days and weeks and
months of the life of Jesus. And as I read, I realized that I was having a new
experience.
It wasn’t any longer just a story; it seemed as though I was actually seeing the events about
which I was reading, and when I gave my talk and closed with my testimony, I
said, “I am now the least of all my brethren and want to witness to you that I know,
as I have never known before this call came, that Jesus is the Savior of this
world. He lives and He died for us.” Why did I know? Because there had come a witness,
that special kind of a witness, that may have been the more sure word of prophecy
that one must have if he is to be a special witness. (https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Question:_Did_any_twentieth_century_leader_after_Joseph_Smith_report_divine_visions%3F)
The
panoramic tool is commonly associated with the life review. Your standing there
with different scenes from your life flashing all around you. This one is no
different:
George A. Smith
After his call to the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles, President Smith had a dream in which his grandfather
George A. Smith appeared to him. He recalled: “I lost consciousness of my
surroundings and thought I had passed to the Other Side...I began to look
around, to see if I could not find someone... I began to explore, and soon I
found a trail through the woods which seemed to have been used very little and
which was almost obscured by grass. I followed this trail, and after I had
walked for some time...[saw] in the distance...a man coming towards me. I
became aware that he was a very large man, and hurried my steps to reach him,
because I recognized him as my grandfather...I remember how happy I was to see
him coming. I had been given his name and had always been proud of it. When
grandfather came within a few feet of me, he stopped...He looked at me very
earnestly and said: ‘I would like to know what you have done with my name’. Everything that I had ever done passed
before me as though it were a flying picture on a screen – everything I had
done...my whole life had passed before me. I smiled and looked at my
grandfather and said: ‘I have never done anything with your name of which you
need be ashamed’...He stepped forward and took me in his arms, and as he did
so, I became conscious again of my earthly surrounds. My pillow was wet as
though water had been poured on it – wet with tears of gratitude that I could
answer unashamed.” (https://historyofmormonism.com/2008/07/08/george-albert-smith/)
And here’s a
similar one:
Mission President Friend of D. Todd Christofferson
“Not long ago, a friend
recounted to me an experience he had while serving as a mission president. He
had undergone a surgery that required several weeks of recuperation. During his
recovery, he devoted time to searching the scriptures. One afternoon as he pondered
the Savior’s words in the 27th chapter of 3 Nephi, he drifted
off to sleep. He subsequently related:
““I fell into a dream in which I
was given a vivid, panoramic view of my
life. I was shown my sins, poor choices, the times . . . I had
treated people with impatience, plus the omissions of good things I should have
said or done. . . . [A] comprehensive . . . [review of] my life
was shown to me in just a few minutes, but it seemed much longer.
“I awoke, startled, and
. . . instantly dropped to my knees beside the bed and began to pray,
to plead for forgiveness, pouring out the feelings of my heart like I had never
done previously. “Prior to the dream, I didn’t know that I [had] such great
need to repent. My faults and weaknesses suddenly became so plainly clear to me
that the gap between the person I was and the holiness and goodness of God
seemed[like] millions of miles. In my prayer that late afternoon, I expressed
my deepest gratitude to Heavenly Father and to the Savior with my whole heart for
what They had done for me and for the relationships I treasured with my wife
and children. While on my knees I also felt God’s love and mercy that was so
palpable, despite my feeling so unworthy. . . .
“I can say I haven’t been the same since that day. . . . My
heart changed.”
There’s a shift here. This one shows Woodruff
seeing the future through a panoramic vision:
Wilford Woodruff
I know what
the will of God is concerning this people, and if they will take the counsel we
give them, all will be well with them.... Speaking of the administration of
angels. I never asked the Lord in my life to send me an angel or to show me any
miracle.... I have had the administration of angels in my day and time, though
I never prayed for an angel. I have had, in several instances, the
administration of holy messengers....The room was filled with light. A
messenger came to me. We had a long conversation. He laid before me as if in a panorama, the signs of the last days,
and told me what was coming to pass. I saw the sun turned to darkness, the moon
to blood, the stars fall from heaven. I saw the resurrection day. I saw armies
of men in the first resurrection, clothed with the robes of the Holy
Priesthood. I saw the second resurrection. I saw a great many signs that were
presented before me, by this personage; and among the rest, there were seven
lions, as of burning brass, set in the heavens. He says, "That is one of
the signs that will appear in the heavens before the coming of the Son of Man.
It is a sign of the various dispensations.".... Now, I have had all these
testimonies, and they are true. But with all these, I have never had any testimony
since I have been in the flesh, that has been greater than the testimony of the
Holy Ghost. That is the strongest testimony that can be given to me or to any
man in the flesh. Now, every man has a right to that, and when he obtains it,
it is a living witness to him....I know what awaits this nation. I know what
awaits the Latter-day Saints. Many things have been shown to me by vision and
by revelation. (https://books.google.com/books?id=f8qeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA224&lpg=PA224&dq=%22A+messenger+came+to+me.+We+had+a+long+conversation.+He+laid+before+me+as+if+in+a+panorama%22&source=bl&ots=voB8KLcsaX&sig=SeVZ2uW6hNyU4vne7dcgox5kiAs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiF85-33vfaAhXNz1MKHWjvBVgQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=%22A%20messenger%20came%20to%20me.%20We%20had%20a%20long%20conversation.%20He%20laid%20before%20me%20as%20if%20in%20a%20panorama%22&f=false)
Here’s my
favorite. It’s from what may be the best conference talk ever given. Towards
the end of his life David Haight seemed to talk off the cuff during his talks.
It was very casual – and kind of comfortable if that makes any sense. Here is
an excerpt from the talk. The video for it is posted below:
David B. Haight
“The evening of my health
crisis, I knew something very serious had happened to me…
“While still praying, I began to
lose consciousness. The siren of the paramedic truck was the last that I
remembered before unconsciousness overtook me, which would last for the next
several days.
“The terrible pain and commotion
of people ceased. I was now in a calm, peaceful setting; all was serene and
quiet. I was conscious of two persons in the distance on a hillside, one
standing on a higher level than the other. Detailed features were not
discernible. The person on the higher level was pointing to something I could
not see…
“I was shown a panoramic view of His earthly ministry: His baptism,
His teaching, His healing the sick and lame, the mock trial, His crucifixion,
His resurrection and ascension. There followed scenes of His earthly ministry
to my mind in impressive detail, confirming scriptural eyewitness accounts. I
was being taught, and the eyes of my understanding were opened by the Holy
Spirit of God so as to behold many things.
“The first scene was of the
Savior and His Apostles in the upper chamber on the eve of His betrayal.
Following the Passover supper, He instructed and prepared the sacrament of the
Lord’s Supper for His dearest friends as a remembrance of His coming sacrifice.
It was so impressively portrayed to me—the overwhelming love of the Savior for
each. I witnessed His thoughtful concern for significant details—the washing of
the dusty feet of each Apostle, His breaking and blessing of the loaf of dark
bread and blessing of the wine, then His dreadful disclosure that one would
betray Him.
“He explained Judas’s departure
and told the others of the events soon to take place.
“Then followed the Savior’s
solemn discourse when He said to the Eleven: “These things I have spoken unto
you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world…” (John 16:33.) (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/10/the-sacrament-and-the-sacrifice?lang=eng)
There you
have it. Panoramic visions seem to be handed out like candy. Almost. Not
everybody experiences it, obviously, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to hear
of another one.
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