Joseph Smith's First Vision

Table of Contents

Joseph Smith's First Vision

Summary: Joseph Smith's claim that he saw the Father and the Son in 1820 has produced a wide variety of criticism. This set of articles addresses the various critical claims related to the First Vision. The linked articles below are designed to help readers to see some of the weaknesses that are found in arguments that are made against Joseph Smith's First Vision accounts. Some of these arguments are currently being advocated in anti-Mormon literature that is handed out near the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York.

Jump to Subtopic:

• Criticisms of the First Vision accounts
• Criticisms of events leading up to the First Vision
• Criticisms of events occurring after the First Vision
• Doctrinal issues related to the First Vision
• Primary sources related to Joseph Smith's First Vision

God touched his eyes with his finger and said “[Joseph] this is my beloved Son hear him.” As soon as the Lord had touched his eyes with his finger he immediately saw the Savior. After meeting, a few of us questioned him about the matter and he told us at the bottom of the meeting house steps that he was in the House of Father Smith in Kirtland when Joseph made this declaration, and that Joseph while speaking of it put his finger to his right eye, suiting the action with the words so as to illustrate and at the same time impress the [occurrence] on the minds of those unto whom He was speaking.

—Diary of Charles Lowell Walker (Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 1980), 2:755–56 [recorded 2 February 1893]

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Criticisms of the First Vision accounts

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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?

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.

Jump to Subtopic:

• 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.

Criticisms of events leading up to the First Vision

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• Joseph Smith and the Methodists
• Lucy Mack Smith and the Presbyterians
• Religious activity in the Palmyra area in 1820
• The Smith family place of residence in 1820

Joseph Smith and the Methodists

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• Question: What critical claims are related to Joseph Smith becoming "partial to the Methodist sect" near the time of the First Vision?
• Question: When did Joseph Smith become "partial to the Methodist sect?"
• Question: When did the Methodists acquire property near Palmyra to hold their camp meetings?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith join the Methodists as an "exhorter" years after being told not to join another church during the First Vision?

Lucy Mack Smith and the Presbyterians

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• Question: When was Lucy Mack Smith baptized?
• Question: Did Lucy Mack Smith join the Presbyterian Church after her son Alvin died in 1823?
• Question: Did Lucy Mack Smith state when she joined the Presbyterians?

Religious activity in the Palmyra area in 1820

Summary: It is claimed that there were no religious revivals in the Palmyra, New York area in 1820, contrary to Joseph Smith's claims that during that year there was "an unusual excitement on the subject of religion...indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it"

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• Christofferson (2013): "Critics have also claimed that there were no religious revivals in the Palmyra, New York, area in 1820"
• Question: What religious excitement was occurring in Palmyra in 1820?
• Question: Was there no mention of revival activity in 1820 in the newspaper?
• Question: At what age did Joseph Smith become concerned about religion?
• Question: What evidence of religious excitement is there from non-Mormon sources?
• Question: Were revivals and religious excitement too common to be noticed in the newspapers?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith simply conflate elements of the 1818 and 1824-25 revivals in his story of the First Vision?
• Palmyra Register (1820): "It was far from our intention to charge the Methodists with retailing ardent spirits while professedly met for the worship of their God"
• Benajah Williams (1820): "Had a two Days meeting at Sq Bakers in Richmond. Br. Wright being gone to campmeeting on Ridgeway circuit I expected to find Br. J. Hayes at the Meeting"
• Question: Did Gordon B. Hinckley cite false information regarding an 1820 Palmyra revival in a book called Truth Restored?

The Smith family place of residence in 1820

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• Question: Is there evidence that the Smith family was in the Palmyra area in 1820?

A FairMormon Analysis of Wikipedia article "First Vision"

Summary: FairMormon analyzes the Wikipedia treatment of the First Vision.

Criticisms of events occurring after the First Vision

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• Joseph Smith's early knowledge of the nature of God
• Published references to Joseph Smith's First Vision
• Brigham Young and Joseph Smith's First Vision
• John Taylor's understanding of the First Vision
• Did Joseph Smith join other churches contrary to commandment in the First Vision?
• Is there evidence that Joseph or his family were persecuted because of the First Vision?
• Claims that the First Vision was fabricated by Joseph Smith to give him a line of "Godly authority"
• Some Church leaders referred to the personages that appeared in the First Vision as "angels"

Joseph Smith's early knowledge of the nature of God

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Did Joseph begin his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?
• Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?
• Question: Is the fact that Latter-day Saint missionaries were teaching around 1 November 1830 that Joseph Smith had seen “God” personally a reference to having seen Jesus Christ, but not the Father?

Published references to Joseph Smith's First Vision

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• Question: How early was the story of the First Vision known among the members of the Church?
• The Joseph Smith Papers: "The historical preamble to the 1830 'articles and covenants,' for example, appears to reference JS’s vision in speaking of a moment when 'it truly was manifested unto this first elder, that he had received a remission of his sins'"
• Question: Why didn't the newspapers in Palmyra take notice of Joseph Smith's First Vision?
• Question: What references to the First Vision exist in published documents from the 1830s?
• Question: Was the general membership of the LDS Church not familiar with the First Vision story until late in the nineteenth century?
• Question: What LDS publications between 1840 and 1877 include references to Joseph Smith's First Vision?
• Question: Is there any mention of the First Vision in non-Mormon literature before 1843?
• Question: If the First Vision story was known by the public before 1840, then would anti-Mormons “surely” have seized upon it as an evidence of Joseph Smith’s imposture?

Brigham Young and Joseph Smith's First Vision

Summary: It is claimed either that Brigham never taught about the First Vision, or that he taught that the Lord did not appear to Joseph. Both claims are false.

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: What is Brigham Young claimed to have said that leads one to doubt that he denied the First Vision?
• Juncker (1994): "Unknown to many, the early church fathers often referred to Jesus as an Angel....in antiquity the word 'angel' meant 'messenger.'"
• Question:Is there anything wrong with early Church leaders using the term "angel" to refer to Jesus Christ?
• Question: Did Brigham Young confirm or expound on Joseph Smith’s first vision?
• Question: When and how often did Brigham Young refer to elements of Joseph Smith's First Vision in his discourses?
• Brigham Young (1861): "The Lord chose Joseph Smith, called upon him at fourteen years of age, gave him visions"
• Brigham Young (1855): "The Lord did not come with the armies of heaven...But He did send His angel to this same obscure person, Joseph Smith jun"
• Brigham Young (1867): "the Lord called upon Joseph he was but a boy—a child, only about fourteen years of age"

John Taylor's understanding of the First Vision

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• Question: What do critics of the Church say about John Taylor and the First Vision?
• Question: What did John Taylor have to say about Joseph Smith's First Vision?
• Question:Is there anything wrong with early Church leaders using the term "angel" to refer to Jesus Christ?
• John Taylor (2 March 1879): "the Father and the Son...came to Joseph Smith" and "the Prophet Joseph asked the angel"

Did Joseph Smith join other churches contrary to commandment in the First Vision?

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Did Joseph Smith join the Methodist, Presbyterian, or Baptist churches between 1820 and 1830 despite the claim made in his 1838 history that he was forbidden by Deity from joining any denomination?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith become a baptized member of the Baptist Church in 1822?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith become a member of the Methodist Church while he was translating the Book of Mormon?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith join the Presbyterian Church after the First Vision?
• Questions: Are there contemporary witnesses that confirm that Joseph Smith didn't join any church after the First Vision?

Is there evidence that Joseph or his family were persecuted because of the First Vision?

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Do contemporary documents shed any light on the possible persecution of the Smith family after Joseph Smith's First Vision?
• Question: What did Joseph Smith's mother Lucy Smith say regarding the persecution of the Smith family after the First Vision?
• Question: What did Joseph Smith's brother William Smith say regarding the persecution of the Smith family after the First Vision?
• Question: What did Joseph Smith's contemporaries say regarding the persecution of the Smith family after the First Vision?
• Question: Does Joseph Smith's 1832 account of the First Vision not mention that he was persecuted for telling others about the vision?

Claims that the First Vision was fabricated by Joseph Smith to give him a line of "Godly authority"

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• Question: Was the First Vision fabricated to give Joseph Smith "Godly authority?"
• Question: Did Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision grow more detailed and more colorful after he first recorded it in 1832?
• Don Bradley, "The Original Context of the First Vision Narrative: 1820s or 1830s"
• Question: Did Joseph Smith revise his account of the First Vision in 1838 to respond to a leadership crisis?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith lose control of the Church during the 1838 Kirtland apostasy?

Some Church leaders referred to the personages that appeared in the First Vision as "angels"

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Is it possible that as late as the end of the nineteenth century that there was uncertainty among Mormon Church officials about the identity of the personages that appeared to Joseph Smith during his First Vision?
• Question: Who was the "angel" in the First Vision that Andrew Jenson was referring to?
• Juncker (1994): "Unknown to many, the early church fathers often referred to Jesus as an Angel....in antiquity the word 'angel' meant 'messenger.'"
• Question:Is there anything wrong with early Church leaders using the term "angel" to refer to Jesus Christ?

Joseph Smith's First Vision and the nature of God

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Does Doctrine and Covenants 121:28 contradict the First Vision?
• Question: Is the Father embodied or a spirit in the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants?

Did the Church hide accounts of the First Vision?

Summary: The claim is sometimes made by critics that the LDS Church hides the various accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision that are not in its official canon. The following chronological database (compiled by FairMormon volunteer Edward Jones) demonstrates conclusively that this is simply not the case. The various accounts of the First Vision have been widely acknowledged in LDS-authored sources throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Primary sources related to Joseph Smith's First Vision

Summary: Original text of Joseph's accounts of the First Vision

1832 account

Summary: This is the earliest known account of the First Vision written by Joseph Smith. Source: Joseph Smith Letterbook 1, pp. 1-6. Published in: Dean Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith.

1835 account

Summary: This account was written by Joseph Smith in his diary. Joseph described his vision to Robert Matthias, also known as "Joshua the Jewish minister". Joseph Smith Diary (1835–1836), original in Joseph Smith Collection, LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah. Published in: Dean Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith.

1835 (Erastus Holmes account)

Summary: Erastus Holmes account Deseret News 2.15 (May 29, 1852); also in Millennial Star 15. 27 (July 2, 1853): 424; Jessee, The Papers of Joseph Smith, 2: 79-80; cf. Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 1:207.; DHC 2. 312.

1842 (Joseph Smith History of the Church)

Summary: "Joseph Smith’s History of the Church," Times and Seasons 3. 10 (15 Mar. 1842): 726-28

1842 (Wentworth letter account)

Summary: Wentworth letter. (Times and Seasons, 3.9 (1 Mar. 1842), p. 706-710

1843 (The Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette)

Summary: “The Prairies, Nauvoo, Joe Smith, the Temple, the Mormons, etc.,” editor, David Nye White, The Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette 58 (September 15, 1843): 3

1843 (Levi Richards account)

Summary: Levi Richards’s diary about Joseph Smith preaching in the summer of 1843 and repeating the Lord’s first message to him that no church was His (see Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of Joseph Smith, 2nd Edition, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996), 215.

1844 (Daniel Rupp account)

Summary: : “Latter Day Saints, by Joseph Smith, Nauvoo, Illinois,” in I. Daniel Rupp, HE PASA EKKLESIA: An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States (Philadelphia: J. Y. Humphreys, 1844), pp. 404; The account for Rupp was published in the original history of the Church published in “History of Joseph Smith,” Millennial Star 22. 7 (February 18, 1860): 102-3; also in Dean Jesse, Papers of Joseph Smith, 1:448.

1844 (Alexander Neibaur account)

Summary: Alexander Neibaur Journal, 24 May 1844

1893 (Charles L. Walker account)

Summary: As told by John Alger

• "Reported accounts of the First Vision" (Video), The Joseph Smith Papers.