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First Vision
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==Comparison of written accounts== [[File:SacredGroveEntrance.jpg|thumb|right|Entrance to the Sacred Grove—property owned by the LDS Church—is open to visitors.]] In the first written accounts of the First Vision, the central theme is personal forgiveness, while in later accounts the focus shifts to the apostasy and corruption of churches.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=40}} ("In the 1835 account and again in 1838, the balance of the two parts of the story—personal forgiveness as contrasted to apostasy of the churches—shifted. Joseph's own salvation gave way to the opening of a new era of history.")</ref> In early accounts, Smith seems reluctant to talk about the vision; in later versions, various details are mentioned that were not mentioned in the earliest narratives.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=39–40}} ("At first, Joseph was reluctant to talk about his vision .... When he described the First Vision in 1832, he abbreviated the experience.")</ref> [[Jerald and Sandra Tanner]] cite the multiple versions of the First Vision as evidence that it may have been fabricated by Smith.<ref>{{Citation |title=Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? |first1=Jerald and Sandra |last1=Tanner |author-link=Jerald and Sandra Tanner |publisher=Utah Lighthouse Ministry |year=1987 |edition=5th |pages=143–62}}</ref> For instance, they have specifically pointed out that it is unclear between various versions whether Smith was 14 or 15 at the time of the vision; whether he attended a contemporaneous religious revival; whether the supernatural personages told Smith that his sins were forgiven; whether the personages were angels, Jesus, God, or some combination; and whether Smith had already determined for himself that all churches were false before he experienced the vision. However, [[Stephen Prothero]] argues that any historian should expect to find differences in narratives written many years apart, and that the key elements are present in all the accounts.<ref>{{cite book|title=American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon Publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux| year=2003 |page=171}} ("Any good lawyer (or historian) would expect to find contradictions or competing narratives written down years apart and decades after the event. And despite the contradictions, key elements abide. In each case, Jesus appears to Smith in a vision. In each case, Smith is blessed with a revelation. In each case, God tells him to remain aloof from all Christian denominations, as something better is in store.")</ref> Some believers view differences in the accounts as overstated. [[Richard Lloyd Anderson|Richard L. Anderson]] wrote, "What are the main problems of interpreting so many accounts? The first problem is the interpreter. One person perceives harmony and interconnections while another overstates differences."<ref name="Anderson">"One person perceives harmony and interconnections while another overstates differences. Think of how you retell a vivid event in your life—marriage, first day on the job, or an automobile accident. A record of all your comments would include short and long versions, along with many bits and pieces. Only by blending these glimpses can an outsider reconstruct what originally happened. The biggest trap is comparing description in one report with silence in another. By assuming that what is not said is not known, some come up with arbitrary theories of an evolution in the Prophet's story. Yet we often omit parts of an episode because of the chance of the moment, not having time to tell everything, or deliberately stressing only a part of the original event in a particular situation. This means that any First Vision account contains some fraction of the whole experience. Combining all reliable reports will recreate the basics of Joseph Smith's quest and conversation with the Father and Son."{{Harv|Anderson|1996}}</ref> Other believers view the differences in the accounts as reflective of Smith's increase in maturity and knowledge over time.<ref>"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." {{citation |contribution-url=https://www.pbs.org/mormons/interviews/jensen.html |contribution=Interview: Marlin Jensen |title=The Mormons |author=''[[Frontline (US TV series)|Frontline]]'' and ''[[American Experience]]'' |editor=[[Helen Whitney]] |publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]|title-link=The Mormons (film) }}</ref> The following table compares elements of First Vision accounts: {| class="wikitable" style="width:99%;" |- !width=35%|Source of First Vision !width=20%|Supernatural beings !width=23%|Messages from beings !width=22%|Notes |- | '''1832 Joseph Smith's own handwriting from his Letterbook'''<ref name="Jessee 1989">{{harvnb|Jessee|1989}}</ref><ref>''Early Mormon Documents'', v 1, p. 27-29, Dan Vogel, Signature Books, 1996.</ref> || "The Lord" || "Thy sins are forgiven thee"; the "world lieth in sin" and has "turned aside from the gospel"; and a brief apocalyptic note.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=30}}: "...the vision confirmed what [Smith] and his father had suspected, that the world was spiritually dead. Jesus told Joseph Jr. that 'the world lieth in sin at this time and none doeth good no not one they have turned aside from the gospel and keep not my commandments they draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me.'"</ref> || Only account in Joseph Smith's handwriting. [[Frederick G. Williams]] edited Joseph's account to take place in his "16th year" (i.e. when he is 15 years old). All other accounts state his age as 14.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} |- | '''1835, Nov. 9, 14 - Joseph Smith diary (Ohio Journal, handwritten, [[Warren Parrish]] scribe)'''<ref>{{harvnb|Jessee|1989| pp=68–69}}</ref> || Two personages, and "many angels" || "Thy sins are forgiven thee" and Jesus is the "son of God" || No mention of revivals or corrupt churches. |- | '''1838/1839 - History of the Church, Early Draft (James Mulholland Scribe)'''<ref>[https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-circa-june-1839-circa-1841-draft-2/2 "History, circa June 1839–circa 1841 [Draft 2]," p. 2, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 2, 2020]</ref> || Two personages appear, and one says "This is my beloved Son, hear him". || The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. || No mention of "sins forgiven". A revival is mentioned. First edited and published in 15 March, 1 April 1842 Times and Seasons,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v3n11.htm|title=Times and Seasons Volume 3, Number 11|website=www.centerplace.org}}</ref> later incorporated into ''[[History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History of the Church]]'', and later into the [[Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)|Pearl of Great Price]] as [[Joseph Smith–History]] and thus is sometimes referred to as the "canonized version".<ref>Published in 1842</ref> |- | '''1842, March 1 - ''[[Times and Seasons]]'', as part of the [[Wentworth letter]]'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/times-and-seasons-1-march-1842/4|title=Times and Seasons, 1 March 1842, Page 706|website=www.josephsmithpapers.org}}</ref> || Two personages appear, and one says "This is my beloved Son, hear him". || The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. || No mention of "sins forgiven". A revival is mentioned. |- | '''1843, July - Letter from Joseph Smith to D. Rupp''' <ref>''An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States'', Daniel Rupp, Philadelphia, 1844. pp. 404–10.</ref> || Two personages appear. No mention of "this is my son". || The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. || No mention of "sins forgiven". No revival mentioned. Available online [[wikisource:The Rupp Letter|here]]. See also the [[Wentworth letter]]. |- | '''1843, Aug 29 - Interview with journalist David White''' <ref>'''Interview with journalist David White''' Reprinted in [[Dean Jessee|Jessee]] vol. 1 pp. 443–44.</ref> || Two personages appear. "Behold my beloved son, hear him". || The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. || Revival ''is'' mentioned. No mention of "sins forgiven". |} Accounts of others: {| class="wikitable" style="width:99%;" |- !width=35%|Source of First Vision !width=20%|Supernatural beings !width=23%|Messages from beings !width=22%|Notes |- | '''1834: Cowdery Account'''<ref>Oliver Cowdery in the ''Latter-day Saints Messenger and Advocate'' February 1835 issue.</ref> || An angel appears to Joseph in his bedroom. || Angel grants forgiveness of his sins. || Remainder of the story roughly parallels Smith's later description of a visit by an angel in 1823 who told him about the golden plates. |- | '''1840, September - ''[[wikisource:Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions|Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions]]'' ''', [[Orson Pratt]],<ref>[https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-orson-pratt-an-interesting-account-of-several-remarkable-visions-1840/3 Ballantyne and Huges publ], reprinted in: "Appendix: Orson Pratt, A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, 1840," p. [3], The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 2, 2020</ref> || Two "glorious personages, who exactly resembled each other in their features". || "his sins were forgiven". The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. || This is the first published version. No mention of revival. Online [[wikisource:Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions/First Vision|here]]. |- | '''1841, June - ''A Cry from the Wilderness'' ''', [[Orson Hyde]]<ref>[[Orson Hyde]], published in German, Frankfurt, 1842 (reprinted in [[Dean Jessee|Jessee]], vol. 1 pp. 405–09).</ref> || Two "glorious personages" who resembled "each other in their features". || No specific message. || No mention of "sins forgiven" or revival. Smith determines for himself that all churches are corrupt. |- | '''1844, May 24 - as told to Alexander Neibaur''' <ref>Alexander Neibaur Journal, reprinted in [[Dean Jessee|Jessee]], vol. 1, pp. 459–61.</ref> || Two personages appear. One has a "light complexion" and "blue eyes". "This is my beloved son harken ye him". || Methodist churches are wrong. All churches are corrupt. || Revival ''is'' mentioned. No mention of "sins forgiven". |- | '''1845 - Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, draft copy'''<ref name="LucySmith1844 3 10"/> | An angel visited Joseph in 1823 | "...there is not a true church on the Earth." | The fair copy prepared under Lucy's direction by her scribe includes in the narrative a copy of the 1838 version of the first vision as found in the ''Times and Seasons''.{{sfnp|Smith|1845|p=73}} |}
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