Current Version

Untitled

In Latter Day Saint movement theology, the First Vision (also called the grove experience) was a theophany that Joseph Smith, Jr. experienced during the early 1820s in a wooded area, now called the Sacred Grove, near his home in western New York. Smith said that he prayed to know which church was true, and in response, a heavenly messenger told him that all existing churches were corrupt and false.

During the early years of the Latter Day Saint movement, Smith's status as a prophet was derived primarily from his publication of the Book of Mormon, which he claimed to have translated from golden plates revealed to him by an angel. Later, during the 1830s and 40s, Smith gave various accounts of the First Vision, as did a number of his associates and acquaintances. Although the vision was not emphasized during Smith's lifetime,^[1] by the end of the nineteenth century it had become a foundational element of the faith. Today, most denominations within the movement teach that it was an actual event that marked the beginning of the Latter Day Saint restoration.

Although most Latter Day Saints believe in the veracity of this theophany, they differ in regard to its significance and the accuracy of its canonical details. Even current LDS Church Historian Marlin Jensen, who affirms belief in the vision "with all [his] heart" and who reflects on his own changed understanding of his early journals, admitted being "struck by the difference in [Smith's] recountings." ^[2] On the other hand, Richard Mouw, an evangelical theologian and student of Mormonism, who rejects Smith's claim that "members of the godhead really appeared" to him, has attributed an instinctive "sincerity to Joseph Smith," a belief that Smith was not "simply making up a story that he knew to be false in order to manipulate people." And so, said Mouw, "I live with the mystery."^[3]

Historical context

Smith family religious beliefs

Like many other Americans living on the frontier at the beginning of the nineteenth century...

Joseph Smith, Jr.'s paternal grandfather, Asael Smith...

Between 1811 and 1819, Joseph, Sr. reported seven visions...

Richard Bushman has called the spiritual tradition of the Smith family...

The family also practiced a form of folk magic, also not uncommon ...

Joseph Smith, Jr.

Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, [[1805...

Because of his family's poverty, Smith had a very limited education...

Revivalism in the Palmyra area

Smith's First Vision occurred during the [[Second Great Awakening...

Smith's religious confusion

Smith said that at about the age of 12 (1818), he became concerned...

Smith's concern for his soul and confusion as to which church was right...

The vision

Date of the First Vision

Smith said that his First Vision occurred during the early 1820s...

In one of Smith's later accounts of the vision, he dated the religious revival...

Joseph Smith also said that the First Vision occurred in "the second year...

What Smith said he saw

What Joseph Smith said he saw during the first vision may be reconstructed...

On a beautiful, clear spring day,^[4] Smith...

His prayer was interrupted by an encounter with an evil spirit...

Smith said he saw a pillar of "fire light," brighter than the noon-day sun...

While in the vision, he said he saw one or more "personages," who are described...

In one account, Smith said that "the Lord" told him his sins were forgiven...

People Smith said he told about the vision in the 1820s

Smith said he told others about the vision during the 1820s, and some family members...

Smith said that he made an oblique reference to the vision in 1820 to his mother...

Smith said that he had mentioned the first vision to "one of the Methodist preachers...

How the vision story has been presented

The importance of the First Vision within the Latter Day Saint movement evolved...

Accounts of the First Vision prior to 1838 are less detailed than those thereafter...

Possible 1830 allusion

A possible first mention of the First Vision occurs in the Articles and Covenants...

For, after that it truly was manifested unto the first elder...

The reference to "remission of sins" might allude to the First Vision...

Joseph Smith's 1832 account

The earliest account of the First Vision was written in 1832...

[T]he Lord heard my cry in the wilderness and while in <the> attitude...

Unlike later accounts of the vision, the emphasis of the 1832 account is on...

1834 account by Oliver Cowdery

In several issues of the LDS periodical Messenger and Advocate (1834-35)...

Therefore, according to Cowdery, the religious confusion led Smith to pray...

Joseph Smith's 1835 account

On November 9, 1835, Smith recorded an account of the First Vision in his diary...

Joseph Smith's 1838 Account

In 1838, Joseph Smith said that eighteen years previous, in the spring of 1820...

One morning, deeply impressed by this scripture, the fourteen-year-old Smith...

In the light, Smith "saw two personages standing in the air" before him

Possible anachronisms in the 1838 account

Joseph Smith became involved with at least two Methodist churches between 1820...

In the 1838 account, when describing his confusion about the various churches...

In recounting her own memories of the events that led to the founding...

According to Grant Palmer, a former paid LDS religious...

Accounts created for publication

An 1840 missionary tract stated that after Smith saw the light...

In 1842, two years before his assassination, Joseph Smith, Jr. wrote a letter...

Smith's accounts found in later reminiscences

Late in his life, Smith's brother William gave two accounts...

William Smith said he based his account on what Joseph had told William...

[A] light appeared in the heavens, and descended until it rested...

In an 1884 account, William also stated that when Joseph first saw the light...

Treatment of the vision within the late nineteenth century church

The First Vision was not emphasized in the sermons of Smith's immediate successors...

Contemporary beliefs

All contemporary denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement affirm belief...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has canonized Smith's 1838 account...

Our entire case as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

In 1961 Hinckley went even further, "Either Joseph Smith talked with the Father...

Community of Christ

Throughout the nineteenth century, the Community of Christ (then called...

In the mid- to late-twentieth century, writers within the Community of Christ...

In the 21st Century, the Community of Christ generally refers to the First Vision...

Church of Christ (Temple Lot)

Although the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) considers Joseph Smith...

Notes

References

Notes and references can be found at the end, I didn't think we needed more than one copy in this work space. 74s181 03:43, 4 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

74s181 Proposal 1

In Latter Day Saint movement theology, the First Vision (also called the grove experience) was a theophany that Joseph Smith, Jr. experienced during the early 1820s in a wooded area, now called the Sacred Grove, near his home in western New York. Smith said that he prayed to know which church was true, and in response, a heavenly messenger told him that all existing churches were corrupt and false.

During the early years of the Latter Day Saint movement, Smith's status as a prophet was derived primarily from his publication of the Book of Mormon, which he claimed to have translated from golden plates revealed to him by an angel. Later, during the 1830s and 40s, Smith gave various accounts of the First Vision, as did a number of his associates and acquaintances. Although the vision was not emphasized during Smith's lifetime,^[5] by the end of the nineteenth century it had become a foundational element of the faith.

Today, most denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement teach that the First Vision was an actual event that marked the beginning of the Latter Day Saint restoration, although some groups differ in regard to its significance and the accuracy of its canonical details. Most outside of the Latter Day Saint movement reject the First Vision outright, pointing to alleged contradictions, lack of corroboration, Biblical warnings of 'false Christs', and Joseph Smith, Jr's character as evidence that the First Vision was a fabrication.

Historical context

Smith family religious beliefs

Like many other Americans living on the frontier at the beginning of the nineteenth century...

Joseph Smith, Jr.'s paternal grandfather, Asael Smith...

Between 1811 and 1819, Joseph, Sr. reported seven visions...

Richard Bushman has called the spiritual tradition of the Smith family...

The family also practiced a form of folk magic, also not uncommon ...

Joseph Smith, Jr.

Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, [[1805...

Because of his family's poverty, Smith had a very limited education...

Revivalism in the Palmyra area

Smith's First Vision occurred during the [[Second Great Awakening...

Smith's religious confusion

Smith said that at about the age of 12 (1818), he became concerned...

Smith's concern for his soul and confusion as to which church was right...

The vision

Date of the First Vision

Smith said that his First Vision occurred during the early 1820s...

In one of Smith's later accounts of the vision, he dated the religious revival...

Joseph Smith also said that the First Vision occurred in "the second year...

What Smith said he saw

What Joseph Smith said he saw during the first vision may be reconstructed...

On a beautiful, clear spring day,^[6] Smith...

His prayer was interrupted by an encounter with an evil spirit...

Smith said he saw a pillar of "fire light," brighter than the noon-day sun...

While in the vision, he said he saw one or more "personages," who are described...

In one account, Smith said that "the Lord" told him his sins were forgiven...

People Smith said he told about the vision in the 1820s

Smith said he told others about the vision during the 1820s, and some family members...

Smith said that he made an oblique reference to the vision in 1820 to his mother...

Smith said that he had mentioned the first vision to "one of the Methodist preachers...

How the vision story has been presented

The importance of the First Vision within the Latter Day Saint movement evolved...

Accounts of the First Vision prior to 1838 are less detailed than those thereafter...

Possible 1830 allusion

A possible first mention of the First Vision occurs in the Articles and Covenants...

For, after that it truly was manifested unto the first elder...

The reference to "remission of sins" might allude to the First Vision...

Joseph Smith's 1832 account

The earliest account of the First Vision was written in 1832...

[T]he Lord heard my cry in the wilderness and while in <the> attitude...

Unlike later accounts of the vision, the emphasis of the 1832 account is on...

1834 account by Oliver Cowdery

In several issues of the LDS periodical Messenger and Advocate (1834-35)...

Therefore, according to Cowdery, the religious confusion led Smith to pray...

Joseph Smith's 1835 account

On November 9, 1835, Smith recorded an account of the First Vision in his diary...

Joseph Smith's 1838 Account

In 1838, Joseph Smith said that eighteen years previous, in the spring of 1820...

One morning, deeply impressed by this scripture, the fourteen-year-old Smith...

In the light, Smith "saw two personages standing in the air" before him

Accounts created for publication

An 1840 missionary tract stated that after Smith saw the light...

In 1842, two years before his assassination, Joseph Smith, Jr. wrote a letter...

Smith's accounts found in later reminiscences

Late in his life, Smith's brother William gave two accounts...

William Smith said he based his account on what Joseph had told William...

[A] light appeared in the heavens, and descended until it rested...

In an 1884 account, William also stated that when Joseph first saw the light...

How people have responded to the First Vision

The First Vision has been a polarizing issue since Joseph Smith, Jr. began speaking and writing about it. In the 1838 account, Smith provides additional details about the First Vision, including what he said was the first critical reaction to the vision. After sharing his experience with a Methodist minister, Smith wrote:

I was greatly surprised at his behavior, he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there was no such thing as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there never would be any more of them. ^[7]

Today, people respond to the First Vision much as they did in Smith's time. Some believe, many do not. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has canonized Smith's 1838 account and most who believe that the First Vision happened accept this account as the most accurate and complete description of the event, while those who do not believe generally focus on this account when offering criticism.

Beliefs about the First Vision

All contemporary denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement affirm belief in the First Vision, although some smaller denominations question its significance.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has canonized Smith's 1838 account of the First Vision as the book Joseph Smith—History in the Pearl of Great Price, and it is a foundational belief of the Church. An official website of the Church calls the First Vision "the greatest event in world history since the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ," and the Vision is often cited to support such uniquely LDS doctrines as the nature of the Godhead.^[8] Gordon B. Hinckley, Church President and Prophet, has declared,

Our entire case as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rests on the validity of this glorious First Vision. It was the parting of the curtain to open this, the dispensation of the fullness of times. Nothing on which we base our doctrine, nothing we teach, nothing we live by is of greater importance than this initial declaration. I submit that if Joseph Smith talked with God the Father and His Beloved Son, then all else of which he spoke is true. This is the hinge on which turns the gate that leads to the path of salvation and eternal life.^[9]

In 1961 Hinckley went even further, "Either Joseph Smith talked with the Father and the Son or he did not. If he did not, we are engaged in a blasphemy." ^[10]

Community of Christ

In 1883, William B. Smith, younger brother of Joseph Smith, Jr., and key figure in the early days of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints gave his own account of the First Vision but stated: "A more elaborate and accurate description of his vision, however, will be found in his own history,"^[11] refering to the 1838 account written by Joseph Smith, Jr. and later published as part of his History of the Church.

Throughout the nineteenth century, the RLDS Church did not emphasize the First Vision.^[12] In the early twentieth century, there was a revival of interest, and during most of the century, the First Vision was viewed as an essential element of the Restoration. In many cases, it was taught as the foundation and even embodiment of the Restoration.^[13] The Vision was also interpreted as a justification for the exclusive authority of the RLDS Church as the Church of Christ.^[14]

In the mid- to late-twentieth century, writers within the RLDS church emphasized the First Vision as an illustration of the centrality of Jesus.^[15] The church began taking a broader view of the Vision, and emphasized it as an example of how God evolves the church over time through revelation and restoration.^[16] There was less emphasis on the Great Apostasy and an understanding that the First Vision itself was not necessarily the same as Joseph Smith's later reconstructions and interpretations of the vision, what the Church Historian once called "genuine historical sophistication."^[17]

In the late 20th Century, the RLDS church changed its name to Community of Christ. Today, the Community of Christ generally refers to the First Vision as the "grove experience" and takes a flexible view about its historicity,^[18] emphasizing the healing presence of God and the forgiving mercy of Jesus Christ felt by Joseph Smith.^[19]

Church of Christ (Temple Lot)

Although the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) considers Joseph Smith a fallen prophet and rejects many of his post-1832 revelations,^[20] it does accept the essential elements of the 1838 account of the First Vision including Smith's desire to know which church he should join, his reading of James 1:5, his prayer in the grove, the appearance of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, the statement by Jesus Christ that all existing churches were corrupt, and the instruction that he should join none of them.^[21]

Objections to the First Vision

Objections to Joseph Smith Jr.'s assertions concerning the First Vision fall into two categories:

Historicity concerns including differences in the accounts, statements by Smith's contemporaries, and lack of corroboration of Smith's assertions.
Character concerns relating Joseph Smith, Jr's fitness to be a prophet of God.

Historicity concerns

Some cite apparent discrepencies among the various accounts as evidence that Smith fabricated the experience‹The template Talkfact is being considered for merging.› ^{[citation needed]}. Current LDS Church Historian Marlin Jensen, who affirms belief in the vision "with all [his] heart", said:

I'm struck by the difference in [Smith's] recountings. But as I look back at my missionary journals, for instance, which I've kept and other journals which I've kept throughout my life, I'm struck now in my older years by the evolution and hopefully the progression that's taken place in my own life and how differently now from this perspective I view some things that happened in my younger years." ^[22]

On the other hand, Richard Mouw, an evangelical theologian and student of Mormonism, said:

My instinct is to attribute a sincerity to Joseph Smith. And yet at the same time, as an evangelical Christian, I do not believe that the members of the godhead really appeared to him and told him that he should start on a mission of, among other things, denouncing the kinds of things that I believe as a Presbyterian. I can't believe that. And yet at the same time, I really don't believe that he was simply making up a story that he knew to be false in order to manipulate people and to gain power over a religious movement. And so I live with the mystery.^[23]

The First Vision was not emphasized in the sermons of Smith's immediate successors Brigham Young and John Taylor. Hugh Nibley noted that although a "favorite theme of Brigham Young's was the tangible, personal nature of God," he "never illustrates [the theme] by any mention of the first vision."^[24] Taylor's comments on the First Vision shift from emphasizing angels to God the Father and Jesus Christ.^[25]

Joseph Smith may have become involved with at least two Methodist churches between 1820 and 1830. ^[26] Smith was said to have been influenced by the preaching of the Rev. George Lane, a Methodist presiding elder,^[27] While he almost certainly never formally joined the Methodist church, he did associate himself with the Methodists eight years after being instructed by God not to join any established denomination.^[28]

In the 1838 account, Joseph stated that he was unable to determine which, if any, of the churches he studied were correct but that that it had never entered into his heart that all churches were wrong.^[29] In the 1832 account he said that he knew that all the churches he knew about were wrong.^[30]

In recounting her own memories of the events that led to the founding of the LDS Church, Lucy Mack Smith did not mention Joseph Smith having had a vision before his bedroom visitation from Moroni in 1823. This experience, she said, had followed a family discussion about the "diversity of churches."^[31]

Character concerns

Following the death of Smith's first-born son and the loss of 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript, Smith asked to be enrolled in a Methodist class in Harmony Township, Pennsylvania,^[32] but a cousin of his wife's "objected to the inclusion of a 'practicing necromancer' on the Methodist roll."^[33]

Grant Palmer, a former paid LDS religious instructor and currently a disfellowshipped member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, noted that Joseph Smith had a clear motive for changing his story in 1838, a period of crisis within the Latter Day Saint Movement. At the time there was open dissent against Smith's leadership. A quarter of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and some 300 members—perhaps fifteen percent of the total membership—had left the church. Palmer argues that Smith "fearing the unraveling of the church," wrote a new "more impressive version of his epiphany" in which Smith claimed that his original call had come from God the Father and Jesus Christ rather than from an angel.^[34]

John Foxe Proposal 1

In Latter Day Saint movement theology, the First Vision (also called the grove experience) was a theophany that Joseph Smith, Jr. experienced during the early 1820s in a wooded area, now called the Sacred Grove, near his home in western New York. Smith said that he prayed to know which church was true, and in response, a heavenly messenger told him that all existing churches were corrupt and false.

During the early years of the Latter Day Saint movement, Smith's status as a prophet was derived primarily from his publication of the Book of Mormon, which he claimed to have translated from golden plates revealed to him by an angel. Later, during the 1830s and 40s, Smith gave various accounts of the First Vision, as did a number of his associates and acquaintances. Although the vision was not emphasized during Smith's lifetime,^[35] by the end of the nineteenth century it had become a foundational element of the faith.

Historical context

Smith family religious beliefs

Like many other Americans living on the frontier at the beginning of the nineteenth century...

Joseph Smith, Jr.'s paternal grandfather, Asael Smith...

Between 1811 and 1819, Joseph, Sr. reported seven visions...

Richard Bushman has called the spiritual tradition of the Smith family...

The family also practiced a form of folk magic, also not uncommon ...

Joseph Smith, Jr.

Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, [[1805...

Because of his family's poverty, Smith had a very limited education...

Revivalism in the Palmyra area

Smith's First Vision occurred during the [[Second Great Awakening...

Smith's religious confusion

Smith said that at about the age of 12 (1818), he became concerned...

Smith's concern for his soul and confusion as to which church was right...

The vision

Date of the First Vision

Smith said that his First Vision occurred during the early 1820s...

In one of Smith's later accounts of the vision, he dated the religious revival...

Joseph Smith also said that the First Vision occurred in "the second year...

What Smith said he saw

What Joseph Smith said he saw during the first vision may be reconstructed...

On a beautiful, clear spring day,^[36] Smith...

His prayer was interrupted by an encounter with an evil spirit...

Smith said he saw a pillar of "fire light," brighter than the noon-day sun...

While in the vision, he said he saw one or more "personages," who are described...

In one account, Smith said that "the Lord" told him his sins were forgiven...

People Smith said he told about the vision in the 1820s

Smith said he told others about the vision during the 1820s, and some family members...

Smith said that he made an oblique reference to the vision in 1820 to his mother...

Smith said that he had mentioned the first vision to "one of the Methodist preachers...

How the vision story has been presented

The importance of the First Vision within the Latter Day Saint movement evolved...

Accounts of the First Vision prior to 1838 are less detailed than those thereafter...

Possible 1830 allusion

A possible first mention of the First Vision occurs in the Articles and Covenants...

For, after that it truly was manifested unto the first elder...

The reference to "remission of sins" might allude to the First Vision...

Joseph Smith's 1832 account

The earliest account of the First Vision was written in 1832...

[T]he Lord heard my cry in the wilderness and while in <the> attitude...

Unlike later accounts of the vision, the emphasis of the 1832 account is on...

1834 account by Oliver Cowdery

In several issues of the LDS periodical Messenger and Advocate (1834-35)...

Therefore, according to Cowdery, the religious confusion led Smith to pray...

Joseph Smith's 1835 account

On November 9, 1835, Smith recorded an account of the First Vision in his diary...

Joseph Smith's 1838 Account

In 1838, Joseph Smith said that eighteen years previous, in the spring of 1820...

One morning, deeply impressed by this scripture, the fourteen-year-old Smith...

In the light, Smith "saw two personages standing in the air" before him

Accounts created for publication

An 1840 missionary tract stated that after Smith saw the light...

In 1842, two years before his assassination, Joseph Smith, Jr. wrote a letter...

Smith's accounts found in later reminiscences

Late in his life, Smith's brother William gave two accounts...

William Smith said he based his account on what Joseph had told William...

[A] light appeared in the heavens, and descended until it rested...

In an 1884 account, William also stated that when Joseph first saw the light...

Reception of the First Vision

In 1838, Joseph Smith claimed that a minister rejected his account of the First Vision just a few days after it had occurred in 1820. Nevertheless, there are no extent accounts of the First Vision until two years after Smith had founded the LDS Church. The first certain mention was written by Smith in 1832, and a printed account was not published until 1840 (and in England), only four years before Smith's assassination. The First Vision was mentioned only obliquely, if at all, in the sermons of Smith's immediate successor Brigham Young; neither was the event emphasized by John Taylor, the next president of the Church. Hugh Nibley noted that although a "favorite theme of Brigham Young's was the tangible, personal nature of God," he "never illustrates [the theme] by any mention of the first vision."^[37] Taylor's comments on the First Vision shift from emphasizing angels to God the Father and Jesus Christ.^[38]

By the twentieth century, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had made the 1838 account the canonical version. The First Vision grew in theological importance during the century, and today the 1838 account is the standard against which critical commentary is directed. As an official website of the LDS Church declares, "Joseph Smith's first vision stands today as the greatest event in world history since the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. After centuries of darkness, the Lord opened the heavens to reveal His word and restore His Church through His chosen prophet."

Not surprisingly, such an important part of the Mormon story has been attacked by non-Mormons as a fabrication and has been defended with equal intensity by Mormon apologists.

One of the most significant problems with the story is its date. There is no evidence that any revival occurred in 1820 in the environs of Palmyra, especially one that might precede the early spring date given by Joseph Smith. Mormons respond that the revival to which he referred may have occurred at a greater distance from Palmyra, that the revival was a Methodist camp meeting rather than the interdenominational meeting that Smith made it out to be, and that the revival occurred in 1820 after the early spring in which Smith placed the First Vision. Four years later, in 1824, an interdenominational revival certainly occurred in the Palmyra area, but if the earlier revival had ended in disharmony and divisiveness, as Joseph Smith claimed, it is therefore difficult to understand why the denominations would have joined together so soon afterwards.

As has been mentioned, Joseph Smith claimed that he was persecuted as a child for publicly telling about his vision, but there is no published mention by either Mormons or non-Mormons until 1840. Prior to 1838, there is also no record that Smith had declared that God and Jesus were separate deities with corporeal bodies.

Joseph Smith became involved with at least two Methodist churches between 1820...

In the 1838 account, when describing his confusion about the various churches...

In recounting her own memories of the events that led to the founding...

According to Grant Palmer, a former paid LDS religious...

Contemporary beliefs

All contemporary denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement affirm belief...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has canonized Smith's 1838 account...

Our entire case as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

In 1961 Hinckley went even further, "Either Joseph Smith talked with the Father...

Community of Christ

Throughout the nineteenth century, the Community of Christ (then called...

In the mid- to late-twentieth century, writers within the Community of Christ...

In the 21st Century, the Community of Christ generally refers to the First Vision...

Church of Christ (Temple Lot)

Although the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) considers Joseph Smith...

'No facts were harmed' version

I wanted to check and see if there was anything useful in the 'no facts were harmed' version of the article, and found that I am essentially re-creating it. So, in the interest of full disclosure I am including the 'criticism' section from the 'no facts were harmed' version of the article as of 06:28, 10 May 2007. The full article as of that date can be found here[1].

Criticism

Joseph Smith's 1838 account of the First Vision also contains an account of the first criticism of his experience:

Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned religious excitement; and, conversing with him on the subject of religion, I took occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.^[39]

The various criticisms that have been written since that time can be broken down into two general categories, inconsistencies among the different accounts and lack of corroboration.

Inconsistencies

Although The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has canonized Smith's 1838 version of the Vision,^[40] even the current LDS Church Historian has admitted that he was "struck by the difference in [Smith's] recountings."^[41]

Content

Certain historical problems cast doubt on the accuracy of the 1838 account. First, Joseph Smith became involved with at least two Methodist churches between 1820 and 1830. He served as a Methodist exhorter^[42] in the Palmyra area early in the period, and then after the stillbirth of his first son in 1828, he briefly joined a Methodist class in Harmony Township, Pennsylvania.^[43] While he almost certainly never became a member of either church, associating himself with the Methodists was curious behavior for one who had been instructed by God not to join any established denomination eight years previous.^[44]

In the 1838 account Joseph claims that it had never entered into his heart "that the existing churches were all wrong," but according to the 1832 account in his own handwriting, he had already concluded from reading the Bible that all churches were wrong.^[45]

In 1855, Young stated that Smith, in his First Vision, had seen an angel rather than God himself.^[46] Taylor's comments on the First Vision shift from emphasizing angels to God the Father and Jesus Christ.^[47]

Dates

Smith said that the First Vision occurred in the early 1820s when he was in his early teens, and that it was prompted by religious revivalism in the Palmyra area, which had "commenced with the Methodists." ^[48] Nevertheless, Smith's various accounts give different dates. In 1832, when Joseph wrote the first account of the event in his own handwriting, he said that the vision had occurred in 1821, after he become concerned about religious matters in his "twelfth year" (1818).^[49] Between 1818 and 1821 there are two known Methodist revivals in the Palmyra area,^[50] and a large methodist conference attended by Rev. George Lane in the nearby town of Vienna (15 miles from Palmyra) in 1819^[51].

In one of Smith's later accounts of the vision, however, he dated the religious revivalism as having taken place "in my fifteenth year" (1820) and the vision as having taken place "early in the spring of 1820".^[52] Smith's brother William dated the vision to 1823, soon after the Rev. George Lane had visited the "neighborhood" in 1822 and 1823, which he "very much stirred up with regard to religious matters" by his preaching.^[53] William's date is in error, however, because the date of Lane's visit to Palmyra is known to have been 1824-25.^[54]

One difficulty with an early revival date is that in the 1838 version of his story, Smith says that the First Vision occurred in "the second year after our removal to Manchester."^[55]Manchester land assessment records suggest that the Smiths completed their Manchester cabin in 1822, thus making the revival described consistent with the one that occurred in Palmyra in 1824-25.^[56]

Lack of Corroboration

In recounting her own memories of events that led to the founding of the LDS Church, Lucy Mack Smith, did not mention the First Vision, but instead reflected on Joseph's bedroom visitation from Moroni in 1823.^[57]

There is no reference to the 1838 canonical First Vision story in any published material from the 1830s.^[58] According to some critics, Joseph Smith had a motive for changing his story in 1838, a period of crisis within the church. Many early leaders had left the church in 1838, and there was open dissent against Smith's leadership. A quarter of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and some 300 members—perhaps fifteen percent of the total membership—had left the church. To declare that his original call had come from God the Father and Jesus Christ rather than an angel would have strengthened Smith's leadership role—and in fact, it did so.^[59] Finally, the First Vision was not emphasized in the sermons of Smith's immediate successors Brigham Young and John Taylor. Hugh Nibley noted that although a "favorite theme of Brigham Young's was the tangible, personal nature of God," he "never illustrates [the theme] by any mention of the first vision."^[60]

References

Leave this at the end so that the citations in the workspace function properly.

Notes

^ The first extant account of the First Vision is the manuscript account in Joseph Smith, "Manuscript History of the Church" (1839); the first published account is Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840); and the first American publication is Joseph Smith's letter to John Wentworth in Times and Seasons, 3 (March 1842), 706-08, only two years before Smith's assassination. (All of these accountss are available in Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1996), volume 1.)
^ "I've actually studied the various accounts of Joseph's First Vision, and I'm struck by the difference in his recountings. But as I look back at my missionary journals, for instance, which I've kept and other journals which I've kept throughout my life, I'm struck now in my older years by the evolution and hopefully the progression that's taken place in my own life and how differently now from this perspective I view some things that happened in my younger years." PBS interview with Marlin Jensen.
^ "My instinct is to attribute a sincerity to Joseph Smith. And yet at the same time, as an evangelical Christian, I do not believe that the members of the godhead really appeared to him and told him that he should start on a mission of, among other things, denouncing the kinds of things that I believe as a Presbyterian. I can't believe that. And yet at the same time, I really don't believe that he was simply making up a story that he knew to be false in order to manipulate people and to gain power over a religious movement. And so I live with the mystery.PBS documentary "The Mormons.
^ Smith 1842b, p. 728.
^ The first extant account of the First Vision is the manuscript account in Joseph Smith, "Manuscript History of the Church" (1839); the first published account is Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840); and the first American publication is Joseph Smith's letter to John Wentworth in Times and Seasons, 3 (March 1842), 706-08, only two years before Smith's assassination. (All of these accountss are available in Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1996), volume 1.)
^ Smith 1842b, p. 728.
^ (Smith 1842c, p. 748)
^ http://www.josephsmith.net/portal/site/JosephSmith/menuitem.da0e1d4eb6d2d87f9c0a33b5f1e543a0/?vgnextoid=497679179acbff00VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRD JosephSmith.net, a website of the LDS Church.
^ Gordon B. Hinkley (November 1998). "What Are People Asking about Us?". Ensign. Retrieved 2007-05-12..
^ Improvement Era (December 1961), 907. David O. McKay, the ninth president of the LDS Church, also declared the First Vision to be the foundation of the faith. David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1951), 19.
^ (Smith 1883, p. 9)
^ Howard 1980, p. 24.
^ Howard 1980, p. 25.
^ Howard 1980, p. 25–26.
^ Howard 1980, p. 27.
^ Howard 1980, p. 27–28.
^ Howard 1980, p. 28.
^ According to its website, the church "does not legislate or mandate positions on issues of history. We place confidence in sound historical methodology as it relates to our church story. We believe that historians and other researchers should be free to come to whatever conclusions they feel are appropriate after careful consideration of documents and artifacts to which they have access. We benefit greatly from the significant contributions of the historical discipline." Community of Christ website.
^ http://www.cofchrist.org/history/default.asp
^ Church of Christ (Temple Lot) website - History
^ Church of Christ (Temple Lot) website - Book of Mormon
^ PBS interview with Marlin Jensen.
^ PBS documentary "The Mormons.
^ Improvement Era (November 1961), 868.
^ See Sandra Tanner, "Evolution of the First Vision and Teaching on God in Early Mormonism".
^ He may have even spoken during some Methodist meetings—a childhood acquaintance of Smith's, Orsamus Turner (1801-1855) described him as a "very passable exhorter," which Dan Vogel has interpreted to mean some involvement with the Methodists "during the 1824-25 revival in Palmyra. Nevertheless, Vogel admits that Smith "could not have been a licensed exhorter since membership was a prerequisite."EMD, 3: 50, n. 15; Turner 1851, p. 429 Turner says that "after catching a spark of Methodism in the camp meeting, away down in the woods, on the Vienna road, he was a very passable exhorter in evening meetings." According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an "exhorter" is either "One who exhorts or urges on to action" or "a person appointed to give religious exhortation under the direction of a superior minister." Exhorters were common in early Methodism. (For instance, see Abel Stevens, History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of America (New York: Phillips & Hunt, 1884), 2: 235.) Nevertheless, according to Craig N. Ray, the word "exhorter" refers to Smith's activities in a debating club, not in Methodist meetings. (No other reputable scholar has adopted this interpretation.)Brown The full text of the Turner quote can be found at Olivercowdery.com It is a single very lengthy sentence, but in summary, it says: "...the mother's intellect occasionally shone out in him feebly, especially when he used to help us to solve some portentous questions of moral or political ethics, in our juvenile debating club... and, subsequently, after catching a spark of Methodism in the camp-meeting, away down in the woods, on the Vienna road, he was a very passable exhorter in evening meetings.
^ Cowdery 1834, p. 13; Smith 1883
^ Bushman, 69-70. The Methodists did not acquire property on the Vienna Road until July 1821, so it is likely that Smith's first dabble with Methodism occurred during the 1824-25 revival in Palmyra.
^ JSH:1:10 In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be aright, which is it, and how shall I know it?
^ ...from the age of twelve years to fifteen I pondered many things in my heart concerning the sittuation of the world of mankind the contentions and divisions the wickedness and abominations and the darkness which pervaded the minds of mankind my mind become excedingly distressed for I become convicted of my Sins and by Searching the Scriptures I found that mankind did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatised from the true and liveing faith and there was no society or denomination that built upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the new testament..." in EMD 1: 28. JSH:1:18 ... No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.
^ Lucy Mack Smith notes that after the family's third wheat harvest in Palmyra/Manchester (1823), "we were sitting till quite late conversing upon the subject of the diversity of churches that had risen up in the world and the many thousands opinions in existence as to the truths contained in scripture. Joseph never said many words upon any subject but always seemed to reflect more deeply than common persons of his age upon everything of a religious nature. After we ceased conversation he went to bed and was pondering in his mind which of the churches were the true one but he had not laid there long till he saw a bright light enter the room where he lay he looked up and saw an angel of the Lord standing by him." Lucy Smith, "Preliminary Manuscript" LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah in EMD, 1: 289.
^ (Lewis & Lewis 1879; McKune 1879).
^ Joseph Lewis and Hiel Lewis, Statement, in EMD, 4: 305. Richard Bushman writes: "Sometime in this dark period, Joseph attended Methodist meetings with Emma, probably to placate her family. One of Emma's uncles preached as a Methodist lay minister, and a brother-in-law was class leader in Harmony. Joseph was later said to have asked to be enrolled in the class. Joseph Lewis, a cousin of Emma's rose in wrath when he found Joseph's name....He confronted Joseph and demanded repentance or removal. For some reason Joseph's name remained on the roll for another six months, although there is no evidence of attendance." Bushman, 69-70.
^ Palmer, 248-252. Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer were excommunicated on April 12-13, 1828. The following week Smith contemplated rewriting his history. On April 26, he renamed the church. The next day he "started dictating a new first vision narrative." (248)
^ The first extant account of the First Vision is the manuscript account in Joseph Smith, "Manuscript History of the Church" (1839); the first published account is Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840); and the first American publication is Joseph Smith's letter to John Wentworth in Times and Seasons, 3 (March 1842), 706-08, only two years before Smith's assassination. (All of these accountss are available in Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1996), volume 1.)
^ Smith 1842b, p. 728.
^ Improvement Era (November 1961), 868.
^ See Sandra Tanner, "Evolution of the First Vision and Teaching on God in Early Mormonism".
^ Pearl of Great Price, JSH, 1:21
^ Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith -- History, 1:7-20,
^ PBS interview with Marlin Jensen.
^ In that period, a Methodist "exhorter" followed the minister's sermon, urging the congregation to follow its teachings.
^ (Lewis & Lewis 1879; McKune 1879).
^ Bushman, 69-70. A childhood acquaintance of Smith's, Orsamus Turner (1801-1855), noted that "after catching a spark of Methodism in the camp meeting, away down in the woods, on the Vienna road, [Joseph] was a very passable exhorter in evening meetings." in O. Turner, History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase (Rochester, New York: William Alling, 1851), in Vogel, III, 50. The Methodists did not acquire property on the Vienna Road until July 1821, so it is likely that Smith's first dabble with Methodism occurred during the 1824-25 revival in Palmyra.
^ ...from the age of twelve years to fifteen I pondered many things in my heart concerning the sittuation of the world of mankind the contentions and divisions the wickedness and abominations and the darkness which pervaded the minds of mankind my mind become excedingly distressed for I become convicted of my Sins and by Searching the Scriptures I found that mankind did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatised from the true and liveing faith and there was no society or denomination that built upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the new testament..." in Vogel, I, 28
^ "The messenger did not come to an eminent divine of any of the so-called orthodoxy, he did not adopt their interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. The Lord did not come with the armies of heaven, in power and great glory, nor send His messengers panoplied with aught else than the truth of heaven, to communicate to the meek, the lowly, the youth of humble origin, the sincere enquirer after the knowlege [knowledge] of God. But He did send His angel to this same obscure person, Joseph Smith jun., who afterwards became a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and informed him that he should not join any of the religious sects of the day, for they were all wrong; that they were following the precepts of men instead of the Lord Jesus; that He had a work for him to perform, inasmuch as he should prove faithful before Him." Journal of Discourses, 2: 171.
^ See Sandra Tanner, "Evolution of the First Vision and Teaching on God in Early Mormonism".
^ Joseph Smith-History 1: 5.
^ (Smith 1832, p. 3)
^ Diary of Aurora Seager (June 1818); Backman 1969, p. 309 (June 1820).
^ (Porter 1969, p. 330)
^ (Roberts 1902, vol. 1, ch. 1, p. 7) According to two LDS scholars, the most likely exact date was Sunday, March 26th, 1820, a date they base partly on weather reports and maple sugar production Meridian Magazine.
^ (Smith 1883, pp. 6, 7–8)
^ Vogel, EMD, 1: 61, note 25.
^ http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/5.
^ Joseph Smith, Sr.'s was first taxed for Manchester land in 1820. In 1821 and 1822, the land was valued at $700, but in 1823, the property was assessed at $1000, "which indicates that the Smiths had completed construction of their cabin and cleared a significant portion of their land." Vogel, EMD, 3: 443-44.
^ Lucy Mack Smith notes that after the family's third wheat harvest in Palmyra/Manchester(1823), "we were sitting till quite late conversing upon the subject of the diversity of churches that had risen up in the world and the many thousands opinions in existence as to the truths contained in scripture. Joseph never said many words upon any subject but always seemed to reflect more deeply than common persons of his age upon everything of a religious nature. After we ceased conversation he went to bed and was pondering in his mind which of the churches were the true one but he had not laid there long till he saw a bright light enter the room where he lay he looked up and saw an angel of the Lord standing by him." Lucy Smith, "Preliminary Manuscript" LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah in Vogel, I, 289.
^ Allen 1966, pp. 33–34 Allen states, "[I]t is apparent that the story of Joseph Smith's First Vision was not given general circulation in the 1830's. Neither Mormon nor non-Mormon publications made reference to it."
^ Palmer, 248-251
^ Improvement Era (November 1961), 868

References

Abanes, Richard (2002), One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church, New York: Four Walls Eight Windows.
Allen, James B. (1966), "The Significance of Joseph Smith's "first Vision" in Mormon Thought", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 1 (6): 29.
Anderson, Richard Lloyd (1969), "Circumstantial Confirmation Of the first Vision Through Reminiscences" (PDF), BYU Studies, 9 (3): 373–404.
Backman, Milton V., Jr. (1969), "Awakenings in the Burned-over District: New Light on the Historical Setting of the first Vision" (PDF), BYU Studies, 9 (3): 301–315{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
Bauder, Peter (1834), "The Kingdom and the Gospel of Jesus Christ", in Vogel, Dan (ed.), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, pp. 16–17 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |publication-year= ignored (help).
Brown, Matthew B., Historical or Hysterical— Anti-Mormons and Documentary Sources, Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research.
Bushman, Richard Lyman (2005), Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, New York: Knopf, ISBN 1400042704.
Cowdery, Oliver (June 9 1830), "Minutes of the Church of Christ", in Cannon, Donald Q.; Cook, Lyndon W. (eds.), Far West Record: Minutes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1844, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |publication-year= ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link).
Cowdery, Oliver (1834), "Letter III", Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, 1 (3): 41–43.
Cowdery, Oliver (1835), "Letter IV", Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, 1 (5): 77–80.
Howard, Richard P. (1980), "Joseph Smith's First Vision: The RLDS Tradition", Journal of Mormon History, 7: 23–30.
Howe, Eber Dudley, ed. (April 19 1831), "The Mormon Creed", The [Painesville] Telegraph, 2 (44) {{citation}}: |first= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
Jessee, Dean C. (Spring, 1971), "How Lovely was the Morning", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 6 (1): 85 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link).
Lewis, Joseph; Lewis, Hiel (April 30, 1879), "Mormon History", Amboy Journal, vol. 24, no. 5, p. 1 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link).
Mack, Solomon (1811), A Narraitve [sic] of the Life of Solomon Mack, Windsor: Solomon Mack.
McKune, Joshua (June 11 1879), "Review of Mormonism: Rejoiner to Elder Cadwell", Amboy Journal, vol. 24, no. 11, p. 1 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link).
Neibaur, Alexander (1841–48), Journal of Alexander Neibaur.
Palmer, Grant H. (2002), An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, Signature Books, ISBN 156085157 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help).
Phelps, W.W., ed. (1833), A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ, Zion: William Wines Phelps & Co. {{citation}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
Porter, Larry C. (1969), "Reverend George Lane—Good "Gifts", Much "Grace", and Marked "Usefulness"" (PDF), BYU Studies, 9 (3): 321–40.
Pratt, Orson (1840), A Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records, Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes.
Quinn, D. Michael (1998), Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (2d ed.), Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-089-2.
Ray, Craig N. (2002), Joseph Smith's History Confirmed (PDF), Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research.
Roberts, B. H., ed. (1902), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 1, LDS Church.
Smith, Joseph, Jr. (1832), "History of the Life of Joseph Smith", in Jessee, Dean C (ed.), Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, ISBN 1-57345-787-6 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |publication-year= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
Smith, Joseph, Jr. (1835), "Diary of Joseph Smith, Jr.", in Jessee, Dean C (ed.), Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, ISBN 1-57345-787-6 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |publication-year= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
Smith, Joseph, Jr. (1 March 1842), "Church History [Wentworth Letter]", Times and Seasons, 3 (9): 706–10 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
Smith, Joseph, Jr. (15 March 1842), "History of Joseph Smith", Times and Seasons, 3 (10): 726–28 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
Smith, Joseph, Jr. (1 April 1842), "History of Joseph Smith", Times and Seasons, 3 (11): 748–49 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
Smith, Lucy Mack (1853), Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations, Liverpool: S.W. Richards.
Smith, William (1883), William Smith on Mormonism: A True Account of the Origin of the Book of Mormon, Lamoni, Iowa: RLDS Church.
Smith, William (1884), "The Old Soldier's Testimony", The Saint's Herald, 34 (39): 643–44.
Taylor, John (December 7, 1879), "How a Knowledge of God is Obtained—The Gospel to the Dead—Various Dispensations of the Most High to Mankind—Power of the Priesthood—Restoration of the Gospel Through Joseph Smith—Failings of the Saints—Corruptions of the Wicked", Journal of Discourses, 21: 155–167{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link).
Tucker, Pomeroy (1867), Origin, Rise and Progress of Mormonism, New York: D. Appleton.
Turner, Orasmus (1851), History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and Morris' Reserve, Rochester, New York: William Alling.
Vogel, Dan, ed. (1996), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-072-8.
Vogel, Dan, ed. (1999), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 2, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-093-9 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help).
Vogel, Dan, ed. (2000), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 3, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-133-2 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help).
Vogel, Dan, ed. (2002), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 4, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-159-2 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help).
Vogel, Dan, ed. (2003), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 5, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-170-8.
Waite, David Nye, Sr. (August 30, 1843), "The Prairies, Nauvoo, Joseph Smith, the Temple, the Mormons &c.", Pittsburgh Gazette{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).