Joseph Smith's First Vision/Multiple accounts of the First Vision

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Multiple accounts of the First Vision

Summary: Historians have published and discussed the various accounts of Joseph Smith's first vision for decades.

First video published by the Church History Department.

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• Joseph Smith's various accounts of the First Vision
• Joseph Smith's 1832 account of the First Vision
• Joseph Smith's 1835 accounts of the First Vision
• Joseph Smith's 1838 account of the First Vision
• Joseph Smith's first and second visitation of angels
• Joseph Smith's 1832 First Vision account states he was 15 years old
• Discrepancies in Paul's account of his vision

Joseph Smith's various accounts of the First Vision

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• Question: What are the criticisms related to Joseph Smith's accounts of the First Vision?
• Richard J. Maynes: "Joseph wrote or dictated four known accounts of his First Vision"
• Gospel Topics: "The various accounts of the First Vision tell a consistent story, though naturally they differ in emphasis and detail"
• Seminary Manual (2013): "Joseph Smith emphasized different aspects of his vision in his multiple accounts"
• Backman (1985): "On at least four different occasions, Joseph Smith either wrote or dictated to scribes accounts of his sacred experience of 1820"
• Allen (1970): "the Prophet described his experience to friends and acquaintances at least as early as 1831-32...he continued to do so in varying detail until the year of his death"
• Neuenschwander (2009): "Joseph's vision was at first an intensely personal experience...it became the founding revelation of the Restoration"
• Gordon B. Hinckley (1984): "I am not worried that the Prophet Joseph Smith gave a number of versions of the first vision"
• Prothero (2003): "in the 1832 version, Jesus appears to Smith alone, and does all the talking himself. Such complaints, however, are much ado about relatively nothing"
• Question: Did the details of Joseph’s First Vision experience appear to have changed when communicating to his followers such that the elders of the Church did not know that Joseph saw two personages?
• Question: Does Doctrine and Covenants 84 say that one cannot see God without holding the priesthood?
• Question: Did God tell Joseph Smith that all of the churches of the day were an "abomination"?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith change his stated motivation for praying in later years after he received the First Vision?

Joseph Smith's 1832 account of the First Vision

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• Question: What differences are there between Joseph Smith's 1832 First Vision account and later accounts?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith decide that all churches were wrong before he received the First Vision?
• Question: How could Joseph Smith come to the conclusion that all churches were wrong on his own?
• Question: Is there any reference to God the Father being present in Joseph Smith's 1832 account?

Joseph Smith's 1835 accounts of the First Vision

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• From Joseph's journal entry of 9 November 1835 (Monday)
• From Joseph's journal entry of 14 November 1835 (Saturday)
• Question: What are the two 1835 First Vision accounts that refer to angels?
• Question: Why does Joseph Smith's 9 November 1835 account of the First Vision mention "many angels?"
• Question: Does the use of the capitalized word "Angel" in the 14 November 1835 account refer to Deity?
• Question: Does the 14 November 1835 account reference to the "first vision of Angels" mean that Joseph Smith did not see Deity?
• Question: Was the History of the Church falsified when "first visitation of Angels" was changed to "my first vision"?

Joseph Smith's 1838 account of the First Vision

Summary: Joseph Smith's 1838 First Vision account is analyzed by critics of the Church in order to use it to prove that the First Vision never occurred. A variety of critical arguments are raised based upon the words Joseph used to describe the events leading up to his First Vision. We examine here the introduction to Joseph's 1838 First Vision account, found in the Pearl of Great Price and separate facts from opinion.

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• Question: What is the date of the Smith family's "removal to Manchester"?
• Question: Why did Joseph Smith claim that the religious excitement in the Palmyra area in 1820 "commenced with the Methodists"?
• Question: Why does Joseph Smith claim that his family was "proselyted to the Presbyterian faith" in 1820?
• Question: What was Joseph Smith referring to when he said that "I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit"?

Joseph Smith's first and second visitation of angels

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• Question: By what name did Joseph Smith refer to the First Vision?
• Question: What is the difference between Joseph Smith's first vision and other reported visions of God at the time?
• Juncker (1994): "Unknown to many, the early church fathers often referred to Jesus as an Angel....in antiquity the word 'angel' meant 'messenger.'"
• Joseph Smith: "Jesus Christ became a ministering spirit (while his body was lying in the sepulcher)...After His resurrection He appeared as an angel to His disciples"
• Joseph Smith (9 Nov. 1835): "I saw many angels in this vision...I was about 14 years old when I received this first communication"
• Joseph Smith (14 Nov. 1835): "I received the first visitation of angels, which was when I was about fourteen years old"

Joseph Smith's 1832 First Vision account states he was 15 years old

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• Question: Why does Joseph Smith state in his 1832 First Vision account that he was in his "16th year" of age?
• Question: Are the ages stated in Joseph's accounts of the First Vision "all over the place?"
• Question: Is there a case where Joseph stated that his age was 17 rather than 14 at the time of the First Vision?

Discrepancies in Paul's account of his vision

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• Question: How do the accounts of Paul's vision compare to the accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision?
• Question: Do Greek scholars solve the discrepancies in Paul's vision accounts?
• Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "Variants in the Stories of the First Vision of Joseph Smith and the Apostle Paul"

A "mormoninfographic" erroneously indicates that the words "God the Father" and "Jesus Christ" appear in Joseph's 1838 account.

Summary: An anti-Mormon "infographic" erroneously indicates that the words "God the Father" and "Jesus Christ" appear in Joseph's 1838 account, however, Joseph only refers to them as "personages." The link between the Father and the Son is only implied by the words spoken by the Father: "This is my beloved Son."

A "mormoninfographic" states that "pillar of fire" is not mentioned in Joseph's 1832 account.

Summary: An anti-Mormon "infographic" claims that Joseph Smith's 1832 account neglects to mention a "pillar of fire."

A "mormoninfographic" indicates that the 1835 "Erastus Holmes" account describes a different vision.

Summary: An anti-Mormon "infographic" indicates that the 1835 "Erastus Holmes" account describes a different vision. This short summary account of the "first visitation of angels" was written in Joseph's journal only five days after he described seeing two "personages" and "many angels."

Prophet's mother said First Vision was of an "angel"

Summary: The Prophet's mother—Lucy Mack Smith—wrote a letter in 1831 which seems to indicate that her son's First Vision consisted of seeing an "angel" instead of Deity. Critics suggest that this demonstrates that the Prophet's story evolved over time and that his claim to have seen God was a relatively late addition to his story.