View source for Question: Did Joseph Smith simply conflate elements of the 1818 and 1824-25 revivals in his story of the First Vision?

{{FairMormon}}
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==Question: Did Joseph Smith simply conflate elements of the 1818 and 1824-25 revivals in his story of the First Vision?==
{{POGPCentralJSH|title=Religious Excitement near Palmyra, New York, 1816–1820|url=https://www.pearlofgreatpricecentral.org/religious-excitement-near-palmyra-new-york-1816-1820/|number=7}}
===There is documentary evidence that shows abundant religious activity in the region surrounding Palmyra, New York during the 1819-1820 time period===
Some critics and armchair scholars have come to the conclusion that some of the revival story elements found in Joseph Smith's 1838 historical narrative are not really accurate, but rather are representative of a conflation of facts. These people believe that Joseph Smith was actually mixing parts of 1818 and 1824-25 Palmyra revival activities into his storyline about what happened in 1820. In other words, they claim that the Prophet's narrative is not historically accurate - but not deceptively so. 

The problem with the 'conflation theory' is two-fold: (1) It can be demonstrated that one of the most important pieces of documentary evidence which is used to support this theory does not actually say what some people think it says - see the FAIRwiki paper called [[Conflation of 1824-25 revival?]]. See also the Insight from Pearl of Great Price Central linked above. (2) There is plenty of documentary evidence that shows abundant revival activity in the general region surrounding Palmyra, New York during an 1819-1820 time period. A careful examination of Joseph Smith's 1838 narrative reveals that three distinct zones of revival activity are being referred to by him and each of these can be confirmed in non-LDS newspapers and ecclesiastical sources. When all of these sources are taken into account the idea of conflation loses most of its strength.
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[[Category:An Insider's View of Mormon Origins]]
[[Category:MormonThink]]
[[Category:One Nation Under Gods]]
[[Category:Difficult Questions for Mormons]]

[[de:Frage: Hat Joseph Smith einfach Elemente der 1818 und 1824-25 Wiederbelebung in seiner Geschichte von der Ersten Vision zusammengebracht?]]
[[es:Pregunta: ¿José Smith simplemente combinó elementos de los avivamientos de 1818 y 1824-25 en su historia de la Primera Visión?]]
[[pt:Pergunta: Será que Joseph Smith simplesmente fundir elementos dos 1818 e 1824-25 avivamentos em sua história da Primeira Visão?]]