Did Joseph Smith See The Father During “The First Vision”? 

The LDS Church teaches that Joseph Smith physically saw both the Father and the Son appear to him during “The First Vision”. But God tells us that He is Spirit and cannot be seen. So what should we do with a person’s claims to have seen God the Father? 

 God is Invisible

The Bible tells us that God the Father is invisible and that he cannot be seen by human eyes. 1 Timothy 6 refers to God,

“who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15-16).

So what do we do with Old Testament passages like Moses speaking to God face-to-face? Well, the Bible often uses poetic imagery to refer to God and even impersonal objects without intending those things to be literal.

OT passages tell us that mountains and hills sing (Isaiah 55:12), that rivers clap their hands (Psalm 98:8), and that we can take refuge in the wings of God (Psalm 91:4). These verses convey literal truths with illustrative language, just like when it says that Moses spoke to God “face-to-face”.

This is why even Moses himself—who is the one said to have communed with God “Face to face” declares,

“No one can see God and live.” (Exodus 33:20). 

Jesus said that no one HAS ever seen God

While speaking to the Jews in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells them that they’ve never seen The Father. He said

“…the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen.” (John 5:37).

But it wasn’t just the Jews who had not seen God, Scripture is clear about whether or not anyone has ever seen God (John 1:18)! The Bible says

“No one has ever seen God…if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”  (1 John 4:12).

This is what is so significant about Jesus’ claims to have seen the Father. His audience knew that these claims were claims of divinity, because no mere human can see God and live. Jesus told them

“not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.” (John 6:46).

The beginning of John’s Gospel says

“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (John 1:18)

The Apostle Paul even describes Jesus as the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

At one point in Jesus’ ministry, one of the disciples, Philip, asks Jesus if He can show the Father to the disciples (John 14:8). Jesus simply responds by saying,

“’Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”?’” (John 14:9).

So, if you want to see the Father, look to Christ. 

So should we believe Joseph’s claims to have seen the Father? Again—our God is spirit (John 4:24), invisible (1 Timothy 1:17), without flesh and bones (Luke 24:39), and He cannot be seen (1 Timothy 6:15-16).

So the answer is no, he didn’t.

The Bible is super clear about this point, regardless of what a person might claim, no one has ever seen God.