Comfort Food for Thought

You know those foods that when you eat them you just feel good all over?  The ones that make you feel warm and safe and happy all the way the very core of your being?  Well, I also have those comfort foods for my thoughts.  They are things that when I reflect on them I feel this sense of peace that settles over me and sinks down deep into my soul.  The story of Joseph Smith and what we mormons call "The First Vision" is just such comfort food for my thoughts.  I was 9yrs old the first time I heard this story.  I will NEVER forget it.  

My grandmother was a lover and seeker of truth. She had a great passion for it. A friend of hers, that was a member, stopped in to her work one day to visit with her. During the course of their conversation he asked if he could bring the missionaries to share with her more about the church. She accepted. My sister and I lived with her at the time and were eager to hear these discussions as well. I am not sure the order in which we learned about the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ to the earth but, I will never forget how I felt the first time I heard the story - A young boy of 14 who went to a grove of trees and knelt down in prayer asking God what church he should join. As I heard his testimony of how God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to him I was filled with light, joy and the sweetest peace I have ever felt. I knew he had seen God and Jesus Christ and that this young boy was God’s instrument in restoring His church to the earth. I have never doubted it.

Why, you might ask would this story be comfort food for my thoughts?  Because there are some simple but precious truths I learned from it.  God hears and answers my prayers. He knows me personally by name. I am His child. The Heavens are once again open and He speaks to a prophet to lead and guide us, His children, back to our Heavenly Home.

The words near Joseph's childhood home where he saw God, our Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ"  We call it "The Sacred Grove"

Yesterday on the spur of the moment I took my children to see the movie "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration" on temple square.  My Joaquin was deeply moved by what he witnessed so much so that he refused to talk about it afterwards.  Have you ever had experiences like that?  Ones where they are so personal and special that you want to keep them for yourself to think over, to ponder to savor?  I'm hoping this story too will become comfort food for his thoughts.  

Here is the full-length film to view on YouTube if you are interested.