Will the Prophet Joseph Smith ever Speak at General Conference?

In the book Visions of Glory, John Pontius tells of the near-death vision that a man named Spencer had. In this vision, Spencer saw many things, from plagues, governments being destroyed, and the Second Coming. 

While a lot of this may sound crazy, The Joseph Smith papers showcase the prophecy of Adam, the First Man, having a meeting at Adam-ondi-Ahman, to officially turn the government of the human family over to Jesus Christ. It is also believed that other patriarchal prophets throughout the Bible will gather there to return keys of their dispensation to Christ. Such an event as this would most likely not be made public knowledge; thus, fulfillment would be difficult to verify. 

With that being said, Joseph Smith, holding the keys to this particular dispensation, would most likely be asked to return his keys to Adam. At some point during his vision, Spencer attends General Conference and the prophet Joseph Smith appears. This account is from that vision:

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The conference started like any other. The senior remaining Apostle stood and welcomed us and announced the first portion of the meeting. Seated in their usual red seats were about half of the Tabernacle Choir.

Instead of grouping toward the front, they sat in their usual seats, leaving obvious gaps between them in tribute of the fallen among them. They stood and sang. Prayer followed and the choir sang again. The power went off several times during the choir performance, which made them sound small, then large, then small again. After this they named the new apostles who would fill the vacancies in the Twelve. I recognized some of these brethren but not all of them.

They announced the new First Presidency, and the new Brethren moved to their seats. We were asked to sustain these actions, and did so with raised arms and with an exclamation of “Yes!” which I had never before heard in conference, but it was spontaneous and filled with joy. The first person who spoke was my friend from the Twelve who had now been dead many years. It thrilled me to see him again, and I wept, because I loved him and had missed him, but also because of his being here, speaking to this conference with other dignitaries from former days.

It was a powerful sign of these great times now dawning. He spoke of the fulfillment of all that the prophets had foretold. He testified of Christ in such powerful terms that I knew—everyone knew—he had seen Christ and been in His arms. He read scriptures about the fulfilling of the dispensations, but he changed some words so that instead of speaking of future things, they were testifying of present things.

The presiding authority then announced that we had a special person that was going to address us. He then introduced Joseph Smith Jr., who stood and walked to the pulpit. He was taller and broader of shoulder than I had imagined. He stood silently for a moment, gazing out across that vast assembly.

When he spoke, his voice was mild, pure, and unshaken. His voice had the power of absolute knowledge behind it. We understood that his faith and knowledge were perfect. He had a commanding use of the language and was able to speak with color and powers of description few people possess.

Coupled with the fact that we were infused with the Holy Ghost, you can understand why we were so stunned by him. He wove the prophetic utterances of the scriptures and his own testimony together with such eloquence that no one could doubt or deny their truth and power. I am also certain that every soul present already flowed with light and truth, and his testimony brightly illuminated our understanding and gave us additional cause to rejoice.

It was so silent in the building that you could have heard someone inhale. They didn’t even want the sound of their hearts to make them miss a single word. Every eye was glued upon him, captured by his presence. There was a luminescence of righteousness about him.

He welcomed us and bore his testimony of the Savior. He turned and recognized the living authorities and named each of them. He verified that they had been called of God and that he was not there to take over, or to be the current prophet. He said that he had his own assignment regarding the building of Zion, which would assist us in the great task before us, and that he would work through the ordained prophet and not on his own.

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In regard to Adam-ondi-Ahman, President John Taylor had this to say: 

To read more about Spencer's vision, check out the book Visions of Glory currently on sale at cedarfort.com