The First Vision

The First Vision

President Gordon B. Hinckley presents the truthfulness of the Church as an all-or-nothing proposition when he states, “Our whole strength rests on the validity of that [First] vision. It either occurred or it did not occur. If it did not, then this work is a fraud. If it did, then it is the most important and wonderful work under the heavens” (The Marvelous Foundation of Our Faith, General Conference, October 2002).

When studying the circumstances surrounding the First Vision, issues arise that are not taught to members of the Church. These issues involve: the timeline, common First Visionlike accounts, Joseph’s multiple accounts, contemporary statements, discrepancies with the official version, and continued concealment.

• Timeline Joseph Smith claimed to have experienced the First Vision in 1820, yet there appears to be no record before 1832. The Church confirms this fact when it states, “The oldest account, written in 1832, was part of an autobiography. This account emphasized Joseph's quest for religious truth and his desire to be forgiven of his sins. Therein, Joseph stated that the Lord said to him, “Joseph my son thy sins are forgiven thee.” (https://www.lds.org/topics/firstvision- accounts?lang=eng). If this event occurred in 1820, then it was 12 years later when Joseph decided to first make a record of it - 2 years after the organization of the Church. No contemporary periodicals in the 1830s mention Joseph Smith, none of the publications of the Church in that decade, and no journal or correspondence from that time mention the story of the First Vision. Former Church Historian James B. Allen, acknowledged that the story of the First Vision was not known in the 1830's. Elder Allen stated that in the 1830s "the general membership of the Church knew little, if anything, about it." (Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Autumn 1966) According to the historical record, there is no reference to the First Vision in any published or hand-recorded material in the 1830s. In 1833 the Church published the Book of Commandments, a predecessor to the Doctrine and Covenants. The first printing of the Book of Commandments also contained the Lectures on Faith, a series of seven lectures outlining the doctrine and theology of the Church up to that point; and again no reference was made to the First Vision. The first periodical to be published by the Church was The Evening and Morning Star, but it never tells the story of the First Vision. Nor do the pages of the Latterday Saints Messenger and Advocate, printed in Kirtland. In this newspaper Oliver Cowdery, who was second only to Joseph Smith in the early organization of the Church, published a series of letters dealing with the origin of the Church. These letters were written with the approval of Joseph Smith, but again, they contained no mention of any vision.

The first missionary pamphlet of the Church was the Voice of Warning and Instruction to All People, published in 1837 by apostle Parley P. Pratt. The book contains long sections on items important to missionaries of the 1830's, such as fulfillment of prophecy, the Book of Mormon, external evidence of the book's authenticity, the resurrection, and the nature of revelation, but again, nothing on the First Vision. The Times and Seasons began publication in 1839, but the story of the vision was not printed in its pages until 1842. There are no records of transcribed sermons by Joseph or the other elders of the Church, no personal journal entries by Joseph or journals entries by any of his family or followers, and no LDS periodicals or publications describing this historic event. By its first publication in 1842, not a single one of the 23,564 members of the Church ever recorded hearing about it. It appears that not a single person knew about this event until some 20 years after it was said to have happened. From all this it would appear that the general membership did not receive information about the First Vision until the 1840's and that the story certainly did not hold the prominent place in common knowledge that it does today.

• Common First Vision-like Accounts Several religious publications in the New England area demonstrate that such visions were common during the early Church.

1. Norris Stearns published his own vision in Greenfield, Massachusetts in 1815; not far from where the Joseph Smith Senior family lived in Vermont. “At length, as I lay apparently upon the brink of eternal woe, seeing nothing but death before me, suddenly there came a sweet flow of the love of God to my soul, which gradually increased. At the same time, there appeared a small gleam of light in the room, above the brightness of the sun, then at his meridian, which grew brighter and brighter… At length, being in an ecstasy of joy, I turned to the other side of the bed, (whether in the body or out I cannot tell, God knoweth) there I saw two spirits, which I knew at the first sight. But if I had the tongue of an Angel I could not describe their glory, for they brought the joys of heaven with them. One was God, my Maker, almost in bodily shape like a man. His face was, as it were a flame of Fire, and his body, as it had been a Pillar and a Cloud. In looking steadfastly to discern features, I could see none, but a small glimpse would appear in some other place. Below him stood Jesus Christ my Redeemer, in perfect shape like a man—His face was not ablaze, but had the countenance of fire, being bright and shining. His Father’s will appeared to be his! All was condescension, peace, and love!” (The Religious Experience Of Norris Stearns, 1815)

2. Minister Elias Smith published a book in which he told of his conversion in 1816. “... I went into the woods ... a light appeared from heaven.... My mind seemed to rise in that light to the throne of God and the Lamb.... The Lamb once slain appeared to my understanding, and while viewing him, I felt such love to him as I never felt to any thing earthly.... It is not possible for me to tell how long I remained in that situation ...” (The Life, Conversion, Preaching, Travels, and Sufferings of Elias Smith, 1816) 3. Asa Wild claimed to have a revelation that was published on October 22, 1823. “It seemed as if my mind ... was struck motionless, as well as into nothing, before the awful and glorious majesty of the Great Jehovah. He then spake ... He also told me, that every denomination of professing Christians had become extremely corrupt...” (Asa Wild, Wayne Sentinel, 1823. https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/BYUStudies/ article/viewFile/6482/6131)

4. Billy Hibbard, a New York preacher, published his memoirs in 1825 and included an experience with meeting Jesus and God the Father when was a young boy. “…when I came to the place of prayer, had kneeled down and closed my eyes, with my hands uplifted toward the heavens, I saw Jesus Christ at the right hand of God looking down upon me, and God the Father looking upon him. The look of Jesus on me removed the burden of my sins, while he spoke these words, “Be faithful unto death and this shall be thy place of rest.” (Memoirs of the Life and Travels of B. Hibbard: Minister of the Gospel)

5. John S Thompson, a New York minister, published another similar account in 1826. “I dreamed Christ descended from the firmament, in a glare of brightness, exceeding ten fold the brilliancy of the meridian Sun, and he came to me saying, ‘I commission you to go and tell mankind that I am come; and bid every man to shout victory.” (The Christian Guide to a Right Understanding of the Sacred Scriptures, John S Thompson, 1826)

6. Solomon Chamberlin, an early member of the Church, published a pamphlet of his experience before he met Joseph Smith. “Dissatisfied with the religions he had tried, Chamberlain prayed for further guidance, and in 1816, according to his account, "the Lord revealed to me in a vision of the night an angel," whom Chamberlain asked about the right way. The angel told him that the churches were corrupt and that God would soon raise up an apostolic church. Chamberlain printed up an account of his visions and was still distributing them and looking for the apostolic church when he stopped in Palmyra.” (John Taylor, Nauvoo Journal, Jan-Sept 1845, BYU Studies 23 no.3, p.45. Referring to A Sketch of the Experience of Solomon Chamberlin, Lyons, New York, 1829) It appears that when Joseph Smith penned the First Vision experience in 1832, his story was not unique in the company of visionary experiences related by others of his day. • Multiple Accounts of the First Vision Josephsmithpapers.org records 4 separate accounts of the First Vision by Joseph between 1832-1842.

1. Earliest account – Joseph Smith’s journal. Letterbook 1A, 27 November 1832. (http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/letterbook-1?p=9) In his first account written in 1832, Joseph mentions that he had already concluded that the world had apostatized from the faith and that “there was no society or denomination built upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament.” He then has an encounter with “the Lord,” but makes no mention of two separate personages. Joseph then writes that his sins are forgiven and the Lord agrees with Joseph’s conclusion about the corruption of Christianity. 2. Second account – Joseph’s 1835 account notes that while one of the two personages testifies that Jesus is the Son of God, neither personage is specifically identified as God or Jesus. Also sees “many angels.” (http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/journal-1835-1836&p=25)

3. Third account – 1838 (draft 2) account adopted as the official version. ( http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/history-circa-june-1839-circa-1841-draft- 2?p=2#!/paperSummary/history-circa-june-1839-circa-1841-draft-2&p=3)

4. Fourth account – 1842 account from the Wentworth Letter notes two personages; again neither identified as God or Jesus. (http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/church-history-1-march- 1842?p=1#!/paperSummary/church-history-1-march-1842&p=2) • Contemporary Accounts The details of Joseph’s experience appear to have changed when communicating to his followers. Even the elders of the Church, who labored with him closely, did not know that Joseph saw two personages.

1. Brigham Young “The Lord did not come with the armies of heaven ... 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.” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, 1855, p.171)

2. Wilford Woodruff “The same organization and Gospel that Christ died for ... is again established in this generation. How did it come? By the ministering of an holy angel from God, out of heaven, who held converse with man, and revealed unto him the darkness that enveloped the world ... He told him the Gospel was not among men, and that there was not a true organization of His kingdom in the world ... Joseph was strengthened by the Spirit and power of God, and was enabled to listen to the teachings of the angel. ... The man to whom the angel appeared obeyed the Gospel.” (Journal of Discourses, vol.2, 1855, pp.196-197)

3. George A. Smith “He [Joseph Smith] went humbly before the Lord and inquired of Him, and the Lord answered his prayer, and revealed to Joseph, by the ministration of angels, the true condition of the religious world. When the holy angel appeared, Joseph inquired which of all these denominations was right and which he should join, and was told they were all wrong.” (President George A. Smith, Journal of Discourses, 1863, vol.12, pp.334)

4. John Taylor “How was it, and which was right? None of them was right, just as it was when the Prophet Joseph asked the angel which of the sects was right that he might join it. The answer was that none of them are right. What, none of them? No. We will not stop to argue that question; the angel merely told him to join none of them that none of them were right.” (Journal of Discourses, 1879, vol.20, pp.158-171) The above statement from 3rd president of the Church, John Taylor, reveals that as late as 1879 (35 years after Joseph Smith’s death) the Church was still not teaching that he saw two personages but only an “angel.” This makes it seem that the official version in the Pearl of Great Price was a much later revision.

• Which Is One Correct? In 1902 The Church decided to adopt the 1838 version of Joseph’s First Vision as the official account now contained in The Pearl of Great Price – Joseph Smith History. Pearl of Great Price - Official account. 15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. 16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. 17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! 18 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. 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. (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History 1:16-18)

Summary from Joseph’s First Account ⋅ Already thought all churches were not true ⋅ Desired for mercy ⋅ Prayed ⋅ Saw a pillar of light ⋅ Saw the Lord Summary from Pearl of Great Price ⋅ Desired to know which church was true ⋅ Prayed ⋅ Overcome by power of Satan ⋅ Saw a pillar of light ⋅ Saw 2 personages “I saw the Lord” vs “I saw two Personages” The difference is quite significant, especially in the most important piece of information they are communicating. If they are both supposed to be of the same event, then why would the official account say he spoke to God and Jesus, while Joseph’s journal say he only saw the Lord? Also, his motivation for praying seem to be different and his experience with Satan is missing. No priesthood or Sunday school manual has ever mentioned that Joseph himself originally wrote that he only saw one personage, not two.

• Continued Concealment Using the vast resources of the Church education system, members are not informed of the inconsistencies relating to Joseph’s visions. It also appears that average members are not the only ones surprised by this evidence. President of the First Quorum of the Seventy, S. Dilworth Young, published a statement in the Improvement Era on this subject. “I cannot remember the time when I have not heard the story, concerning the coming of the Father and the Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am concerned however with one item which has recently been called to my attention on this matter. There appears to be going about our communities some writing to the effect that the Prophet Joseph Smith evolved his doctrine from what might have been a vision, in which he is supposed to have said that he saw an angel, instead of the Father and the Son. According to this theory, by the time he was inspired to write the occurrence in 1838, he had come to the conclusion that there were two beings.

This rather shocked me. I can see no reason why the Prophet, with his brilliant mind, would have failed to remember in sharp relief every detail of that eventful day. I can remember quite vividly that in 1915 I had a mere dream, and while the dream was prophetic in nature, it was not startling. It has been long since fulfilled, but I can remember every detail of it as sharply and clearly as though it had happened yesterday. How them could any man conceive that the Prophet, receiving such a vision as he received, would not remember it and would fail to write it clearly, distinctly, and accurately?” (S. Dilworth Young, Improvement Era – general conference edition, June 1957)

Considering that First Vision-like accounts were common in the New England area, considering that it took at least 60 years for even the leadership of the Church to know that Joseph was visited by two personages, and considering the active suppression of this information, it seems hard to feel confident in the truthfulness of the First Vision.

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