he
people and let them worship God in any way they thought right.

Thus was the way prepared for the gospel to be restored again to the earth;
and the Lord himself came from heaven, also his servants Moroni, Peter,
James, and John to bring the glad tidings to all who live on the earth.

Then the Lord called some more servants to preach the gospel to the world
and build up his Church. The first and greatest of these servants is known
by the name of Joseph Smith, the Prophet. How the Lord called him to this
great work and delivered to him the gospel will be told you in the next
chapter.

Topics.--1. The Parable. 2. Explanation.

Questions and Review.--1. Name some of Christ's first disciples. 2: Tell
how some of them were killed. 3. How long was the world without the gospel?
4. Tell how Columbus discovered America. 5. Who were the Pilgrims? 6. What
was the Revolutionary war about? 7. What is the Constitution of the United
States? 8. Find out what it says about religious liberty. 9. Why is America
the "Land of liberty?"

CHAPTER II.

THE FIRST VISION.

At the time when Thomas Jefferson was president of the United States, there
was born among the Green Mountains of Vermont a boy who was to become the
great prophet of the last days. The hills and valleys of Vermont look
beautiful in the summer, but at the time here spoken of they were no doubt
covered with snow, for it was the 23rd of December, 1805, in the town of
Sharon, Windsor county, that Joseph Smith first saw the light of the world.

Joseph was named after his father, whose name was Joseph. His mother's
maiden name was Lucy Mack. Joseph had five brothers and three sisters whose
names were Alvin, Hyrum, (then Joseph), Samuel, William, Don Carlos,
Sophronia, Catherine and Lucy; so you see that there was a large family for
the father and mother to take care of. Joseph's parents were poor and had
to work hard for a living, so when the boys were old enough they had to
help on the farm; this they willingly, did. For this reason Joseph did not
go to school much, but he learned to read, to write fairly well, and to
work some examples in arithmetic. Though Joseph did not get much of an
education at school, yet he was a great student; and then God became his
teacher, so that before he died, as you will see, he became one of the most
learned men in the world.

When Joseph was ten years old they all moved from Vermont to Palmyra, in
the western part of the state