Ezekiel 1

Ezekiel’s Vision of God’s Glory

Ezekiel 1, after a brief introduction, describes Ezekiel’s vision of God and His glory. Because the glory of God and heaven are very hard to describe in the language of mortals, prophets often use symbolic terms and images to describe what they saw. Some people have tried to explain what the symbols represent, but the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “Whenever God gives a vision of an image, or beast, or figure of any kind, He always holds Himself responsible to give a revelation or interpretation of the meaning thereof, otherwise we are not responsible or accountable for our belief in it. Don’t be afraid of being damned for not knowing the meaning of a vision or figure, if God has not given a revelation or interpretation of the subject” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 291).

Even if we do not fully understand the meaning of what Ezekiel saw, his dramatic description can still give us a feeling for how incredible the vision was and how great God’s glory truly is.