The
1838 account of the visitation of the Father and the Son is recorded in the
Pearl of Great Price. It was approved by the Church as scripture. This means
that it is the “will of the Lord, . . . the mind of the Lord, [and] . . .the
word of the Lord” to the Saints (see D&C 68:4). No one can be a member of
the Church in full faith who does not accept this testimony of Joseph Smith as
a true. . . . The reality of that appearance is just as central to our theology
as our declaration and belief in the atonement and resurrection of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. (Russell M. Nelson, “As the Heart of the Church,” in The
Prophet and His Work: Essays from General Authorities on Joseph Smith and the
Restoration [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996], 53)