In the spring of 1820, a fourteen-year-old boy in upstate New York witnessed one of the most transcendent visions in all recorded history. The boy was named Joseph Smith, and in response to an earnest prayer, he saw a glorious manifestation of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. In that encounter, Joseph was told that his sins were forgiven--and that the Lord had appointed him to do a vital work on the earth. That vision was followed...