The brother of Jared saw a vision which transcends all divine communications. He was shown the history of the earth and every soul to be born thereon. But he was not the first nor the last to be shown such an incredible display. Moses had a similar experience, for he beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the spirit of God. And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God (Moses 1:27-28). Enoch witnessed the same great vision, Enoch beheld…all the nations of the earth…And there came generation upon generation…and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth…And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world (Moses 7:23,24,45,67). Even the vision of Nephi is similar (1 Nephi 11-14). He had seen much of the history of the earth, the coming of the Savior, and the latter-days. He saw the end of the world and the Second Coming in such detail that the Lord had to keep him from writing it—that was to be the privilege of John the Revelator.
The mortal mind can only imagine what it would be like to view the things these great prophets have seen! To perceive the history of the entire world, all its inhabitants, the marvelous doings of the Lord, and the glorious triumph of God at the last day must have been inconceivable. To have such an experience and then return to the mundane, petty things of the world must have been equally difficult for the brother of Jared. Talk about perspective! No experience could change one’s perspective as completely and universally as the vision described. This is the perspective of which Elder Neal A. Maxwell frequently speaks—to know things as they really are, really were, and really will be. (Meek and Lowly, p. 46)