When it was first told, the story of the vision was used primarily to demonstrate the concept that Joseph Smith had been visited by Deity and that he had been told that all contemporary churches were wrong. [11] The document was brought to the attention of this writer in June 1966, and he had the opportunity to examine it. Nibley takes the point of view that the story of the vision was not told in those early years because of its sacred nature. Provo, UT 84602 Joseph Smith came of age during the Second Great Awakening. By the 1850s, the story of the vision had become an important part of Church literature. The mere existence of the manuscript, of course, does nothing to either prove or disprove the authenticity of the story, but it demonstrates the historical fact that in the early 1830s the story of the vision was beginning to find place in the formulation of Mormon thought. Their message concerned the Book of Mormon, but Corrill reported nothing of having heard of a prior vision. From all this, it would appear that the general Church membership did not receive information about the First Vision until the 1840s and that the story certainly did not hold the prominent place in Mormon thought that it does today. For Jeremiah Morgan the call to Zion's soil is tilled deep into his genealogy. When did Church members begin to make such use of the story? Another document of almost equal importance has recently been brought to light by a member of the staff at the Church Historian’s Office. . His grandfather, Asael Smith, lost most of his property in Topsfield, Massachusetts, during the economic … In 1823, Joseph Smith said he was visited by an angel named Moroni, who told him of an ancient record containing God's dealings with the former inhabitants of the American continent. This discovery is a handwritten manuscript apparently composed about 1833 and either written or dictated by Joseph Smith. The history commenced with the now famous account of what has been termed the “First Vision,” in which he told of the appearance to him, in 1820, of two heavenly personages. In the same year, Orson Hyde published in Germany a pamphlet entitled A Cry From the Wilderness, a Voice from the Dust of the Earth. The account published in the Pearl of Great Price in 1851 has become the standard account and is accepted by the Mormons as scripture. In that same year, 1834, in the midst of many large congregations the Prophet testified with great power concerning the visit of the Father and the Son, and the conversation he had with them. Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith wrote the Book of Mormon in 1830. [22]. Even though it is a LDS site with Mormon tourguides, they aren't pushy about their beliefs. [8]. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, was subjected to approximately thirty criminal actions during his life. [3] In 1844, I. Daniel Rupp published An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States, and this work contained an account of the vision provided by Joseph Smith himself. Information was what I most desired, at this time and with a fixed determination to obtain it. [24] Diary of Charles L. Walker, as quoted in Cheesman, “An Analysis of the Accounts,” 30. The fact that he existed was like a dim tradition in the minds of the people. In this account he told of a force of darkness which tried to stop him from proceeding, then the appearance in a pillar of light of two personages. A possible explanation for the fact that the story of the vision was not generally known in the 1830s is sometimes seen in Joseph Smith’s conviction that experiences such as these should be kept from the general public because of their extremely sacred nature. It is apparent, furthermore, that belief in the vision was not essential for conversion to the Church, for there is no evidence that the story was told to prospective converts of the early 1830s. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. When was it first published? There is little, if any, evidence, however, that by the early 1830s Joseph Smith was telling the story in public. He testified also unto me that Jesus Christ is the son of God. It stood aghast at the statement which he made, and the testimony which he bore. In 1830, Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon and founded what became the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At least, if he was telling it, no one seemed to consider it important enough to record it at the time, and no one was criticizing him for it. [11] It is located in the back of Book A-1 of the handwritten manuscript of the History of the Church (commonly referred to as the “Manuscript History”). Some thoughts on these questions might open the door to a better understanding of Mormon history and also demonstrate by example the gradually changing pattern of thought which one would expect to find in any church. Orson Pratt and Orson Hyde both said that it happened when Joseph was “somewhere about fourteen or fifteen years old.” The Wentworth letter said “when about fourteen years of age.” Joseph’s brother, William Smith, wrote that the Smith family’s concern with the prevailing religions of the day came when Joseph was about seventeen. The story is an essential part of the first lesson given by Mormon missionaries to prospective converts, and its acceptance is necessary before baptism. The First Vision, according to the Mormon prophet, came as a result of his prayerful inquiry concerning which church to join. Other vigilantes attacked Mormon farms around Nauvoo in an attempt to expel them. According to written accounts by Joseph Smith, he grew up in the Easter US in the early 1800's, during a time of great religious revival. Introductory material to the Book of Mormon, as well as publicity about it, told of Joseph Smith’s obtaining the gold plates and of angelic visitations, but nothing was printed that remotely suggested earlier visitations. Throughout most of the 1830s, the story was not circulated in either Church periodicals or missionary literature. It was published first in 1840 by Orson Pratt as a missionary tool, and two of Joseph Smith’s own versions were published in 1842. According to his account, while praying Joseph was visited by two "personages" who identified themselves as God the Father and Jesus Christ. Affected by the great religious excitement taking place around his home in Manchester, New York, in 1820, fourteen-year-old Joseph was determined to know which of the many religions he should join. Non-Mormon accounts of the rise of the Church written in the 1830s made no mention of the story of the vision. It continued descending, slowly, until it rested upon the earth, and he was enveloped in the midst of it. The force of opposition was not mentioned, and the description of the visitation was shorter than in Joseph’s earlier account. In 1835 the Doctrine and Covenants was printed at Kirtland, Ohio, and its preface declared that it contained “the leading items of religion which we have professed to believe.” Included in the book were the “Lectures on Faith,” a series of seven lectures which had been prepared for the School of the Prophets in Kirtland in 1834–35. [14] Quoted in LeRoi C. Snow, “How Lorenzo Snow Found God,” Improvement Era, February 1937, 83. . [1] The letter was reproduced in William Mulder and A. Russell Mortensen, eds., Among the Mormons (New York: Knopf, 1958), 28. Hear Him!”. [12] Compare with Roberts’s edition, History of the Church, 2:304. In 1838, however, Joseph Smith decided to write the story for publication, and within a few years it had begun to achieve wide circulation within the Church. but I saw no person, or thing that was calculated to produce the noise of walking. Note that Mr. Cheesman interpreted the handwriting in the original manuscript as saying that this event took place in the sixteenth year of Joseph’s age. The best missionary tool in that day was apparently the Book of Mormon, and most early converts came into the Church as a result either of reading the book or of hearing the “testimony” of others who declared their personal knowledge of its authenticity. [5] When Parley P. Pratt converted John Taylor in 1836, the story he told him was of the angelic visitations connected with the Book of Mormon, of the priesthood restoration, and of the organization of the Church. Neither Mormon nor non-Mormon publications made reference to it, and it is evident that the general membership of the Church knew little, if anything, about it. Precisely when these revival periods occur… [23] As quoted in Cheesman, “An Analysis of the Accounts,” 29. The question for historical consideration, then, is when and how the story of Joseph Smith assumed its present importance, not only as a test of faith for the Mormons but also as a tool for illustrating and supporting other Church doctrines. The conversation naturally turned to religion, and it is recorded that the Mormon prophet told his guest “the circumstances connected with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, as recorded in the former part of this history.” [12] From reading the “Manuscript History,” therefore, as well as the printed History of the Church, one would get the impression that at this time Joseph Smith related only the Book of Mormon story. During the thirty-nine years of his life, Joseph established thriving cities in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois; produced volumes of scripture; sent missionaries throughout the world; orchestrated the building of temples; served as mayor of Nauvoo, one of the largest cities in Illinois, and as general of its militia, the Nauvoo Legion; and was a candidate for the presidency of the United States. Its importance is second only to belief in the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. In Joseph Smith’s 1838 account, he said it happened in the fifteenth year of his age. . [15] By this time, obviously, the story had become well known both to members and non-members alike and was being used as a basic missionary tool. In 1835 he was willing to tell the story to a visitor. . Evidence indicates, however, that they were rare in these early days and that only gradually did this use of the story find place in the traditions of the Church. The third contemporary account to repeat the idea that one personage preceded the other is the diary of Alexander Neibaur. It is a blessing to have these records. These were printed the same year in the same periodical yet differed somewhat in their emphasis. Never before did I feel such power as was manifested on these occasions. What forces and events have led Church leaders to place special emphasis on special ideas in given periods of time? He encountered a passage in the Bible instructing any who lacked wisdom to "ask of God" (James 1:5). Finally, in order to read the document, one must turn the book upside down, which suggests that the manuscript certainly was not intended to be part of the finished history. Speculation concerning the being of God ceased among those who received the testimony of Joseph Smith. Other reminiscences may be found which would indicate that the story was being told in the 1830s, but at this point the extent of the telling is not clear, and the weight of evidence would suggest that it was not a matter of common knowledge, even among Church members, in the earliest years of Mormon history. (Salt Lake City) After the difficult journey they greatly improved their land through wise forms of irrigation. Smith came from an unremarkable New England family. This, of course, is to be expected, for the same thing happens in the retelling of any story. Since the document is bound with the “Manuscript History,” it is unusual that someone had not found it earlier and recognized its significance. . Joseph Smith’s mother, Lucy, dated the Palmyra revivals after Alvin’s death in 1823—during the time she began seeking comfort in the religious community. See William Smith, William Smith on Mormonism (Lamoni, IA: Herald Steam Book, 1883). The vision, according to the Mormon prophet, came as a result of his prayerful inquiry concerning which church to join, and in it he was forbidden to join any of them, for all were wrong. John Corrill tells of his first contact with the Mormons through Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and Ziba Peterson. [17]. The canonization of the Pearl of Great Price in 1880, with Joseph Smith’s 1838/39 account of the First Vision in it, was naturally an important factor in how the Vision came to take center stage, but there were other factors as well. . In 1827, Joseph retrieved this record, inscribed on thin golden plates, and shortly afterward began translating its words by the "gift of God. It was entitled Delusions: An Analysis of the Book of Mormon. People who heard it were obviously impressed with different details and perhaps even embellished it a little with their own literary devices as they retold or recorded it. The most unusual statement, however, is Joseph’s declaration that he saw many angels in this vision. I kneeled again, my mouth was opened and my tongue loosed; I called on the Lord in mighty prayer. While not specifically named in the story, the two personages have been identified by Latter-day Saints as God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ; Joseph Smith indicated that the one said of the other, “This is My Beloved Son. He first saw Joseph Smith in 1834, and, according to Stevenson. The first regular periodical to be published by the Church was the Evening and Morning Star, but its pages reveal no effort to tell the story of the First Vision to its readers. [8] Hugh Nibley, “Censoring Joseph Smith’s Story,” Improvement Era, July 1961, 522. As a result, he said, he received immediate criticism in the community. He was forbidden to join any of them, for all were wrong. . Joseph married Emma Hale on January 18, 1827, and was described as a loving and devoted husband. A personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame, which was spread all around and yet nothing consumed. They had eleven children (two adopted), only five of whom lived past infancy. It seems apparent that if Joseph Smith told the story to friends and neighbors in 1820, he stopped telling it widely by 1830. James B. Allen, "The Significance of Joseph Smith's 'First Vision' in Mormon Thought," in Exploring the First Vision, ed. Belief in the vision is one of the fundamentals to which faithful members give assent. Joseph Smith’s 1838 account is the only contemporary account to date the vision in a definite manner as occurring in the spring of 1820. [20] For a copy of the Pratt story, see Cheesman, “An Analysis of the Accounts,” appendix C. [21] Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840), 5. saw a fire toward heaven come nearer and nearer; saw a personage in the fire; light complexion, blue eyes, a piece of white cloth drawn over his shoulders, his right arm bear [sic]; after a while another person came to the side of the first.” [23] A fourth reference to this idea is seen in the diary of Charles L. Walker on February 2, 1893. [19] For a transcribed copy of the handwritten manuscript, see Cheesman, “An Analysis of the Accounts,” appendix A. He was told not to join any of the churches. Additionally, his contemporaries recorded their memories of what they heard Joseph say about the vision; five such accounts are known. He related the religious revival which he ascribed to the discovery of the Book of Mormon. Did it have the significant place in early Mormon thought that it has today? The Untold Story of the Death of Joseph Smith The events leading to the death of Mormon founder Joseph Smith are much like the events surrounding his life—full of contradiction. [1] The earliest anti-Mormon literature attacked the Book of Mormon and the character of Joseph Smith but never mentioned the First Vision. As far as Mormon literature is concerned, there was apparently no reference to Joseph Smith’s First Vision in any published material in the 1830s. Before 1880, Orson Pratt relentlessly shared and re-shared the vision in various publications. Samuel Alonzo Dodge and Steven C. Harper (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, 2012), 283–306. There were probably earlier sermons or writings that used the story of the First Vision to demonstrate the Mormon doctrine of God. He testified that God was a being of body, that He had a body, that man was in his likeness, that Jesus was the exact counterpart of the Father, and that the Father and Jesus were two distinct personages, as distinct as an earthly father and an earthly son. Brigham Young University Such important early converts as Parley P. Pratt, Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young, and Heber C. Kimball all joined because of their conversion through the Book of Mormon, and none of their early records or writings seem to indicate that an understanding or knowledge of the First Vision was in any way a part of their conversion. 801-422-6975, New Evidence of​ Limited Circulation in the 1830s. As Smith’s followers moved westward again and again in response both to his revelations and to conflict with neighbors, they played an important role in expanding the frontiers of the United States—particularly after Joseph Smith’s death, when thousands migrated west of the Rocky Mountains. From a separate section in the back of Book A-1, 120–21. This paper has been an attempt to trace the significance of the story of Joseph Smith’s First Vision in the development of Mormon thought. If not, when did it begin to take on its present significance in the writings and teachings of the Church? Present-day Mormons use it to demonstrate such things as the factual existence of Satan, the doctrine that God can hear and answer prayers, and especially the concept of God and Christ as distinct and separate physical beings. The book contains long sections on items important to missionaries of the 1830s, such as fulfillment of prophecy, the Book of Mormon, external evidence of the book’s authenticity, the Resurrection, and the nature of revelation, but nothing, again, on the First Vision. On Dec. 23, 1805, Joseph Smith was born in Vermont; in 1816 his family migrated to western New York. . Lorenzo Snow heard Joseph Smith for the first time when he was seventeen years old. Joseph Smith’s First Vision Invite the young women to silently read and ponder Joseph Smith’s First Vision and his testimony in Joseph Smith—History 1:11–19, 24–25 Pin It Neither of these statements is contained in the Pearl of Great Price account, but the first one is included in both the 1833 and 1835 manuscripts. Years later, he recalled the experience in these words: As I looked upon him and listened, I thought to myself that a man bearing such a wonderful testimony as he did, and having such a countenance as he possessed, could hardly be a false prophet. [20] He describes in more detail, for example, the problems running through young Joseph’s mind when he was “somewhere about fourteen or fifteen years old.” The appearance of the light is described in more vivid detail, and the whole account takes on a more dramatic air than any recorded story told by Joseph himself. In conclusion, this essay perhaps demonstrates the need for new approaches to Mormon history by sympathetic Mormon historians. B. H. Roberts, 2nd ed. [10] If Cheesman’s discovery is authentic, Brodie’s argument will have to be revised. If Edward Stevenson’s account is correct, however, he heard Joseph Smith say in 1834 that he had seen both the Father and the Son. [18]. The two personages were not defined nor quoted directly, but they were said to exactly resemble each other in their features, and the promise to reveal the fullness of the gospel was mentioned. In 1833 the Church published the Book of Commandments¸ forerunner to the present Doctrine and Covenants, and again no reference was made to Joseph’s First Vision, although several references were made to the Book of Mormon and the circumstances of its origin. Brother Joseph, as I said, startled the world. Joseph Smith was not the first person to claim divine revelation. The famous “Wentworth Letter,” which contained a much less detailed account of the vision, appeared March 1, 1842, in the same periodical. The nature and importance of the vision is the subject of frequent sermons by Church members in all meetings and by General Authorities of the Church in semiannual conferences. Being thus perplexed in mind I retired to the silent grove and there bowed down before the Lord, under a realising sense (if the Bible be true) ask and you shall receive, knock and it shall be opened, seek and you shall find, and again, if any man lack wisdom, let of God [sic], who giveth to all men liberally & upbraideth not. When it is discovered that Joseph Smith was a false prophet, what he taught, and what Mormonism has become based on those teachings, can and should be abandoned. Early one morning in the spring of 1820, Joseph went to a secluded woods to ask God which church he should join. Although a mere widow’s son, I felt proud and blessed of God, when he honored us by coming under our roof and partaking of our hospitality. Therefore, he declared, I cried unto the Lord for mercy for there was none else to whom I could go and to obtain mercy and the Lord heard my cry in the wilderness and while in the attitude of calling upon the Lord in the 16th [see footnote] year of my age a piller of light above the brightness of the sun at noon day came down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the Spirit of God and the Lord opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord and he spake unto me saying Joseph my son Thy Sins are forgiven thee, go thy way walk in my Statutes and keep my commandments behold I am the Lord of glory I was crucifyed for the world. The story was accepted as scripture by the Mormons in 1880. On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became its first president. [13]. Joseph Smith Joseph Smith (1805-1844), American religious leader, was the founder of a unique American sect, the Mormons, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Another source reports that Smith was arrested at least 42 times, including in the states of New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. [17] As transcribed in Cheesman, “An Analysis of the Accounts,” 129. Not even in his own history did Joseph Smith mention being criticized in this period for telling the story of the First Vision. Orson Pratt’s account, published in 1840, may also have escaped him as he prepared his manuscript, for Pratt’s work was published in England for circulation there. The only way to keep it from changing is to write it only once and then insist that it be read exactly that way each time it is to be repeated. It seems apparent, however, that, as in the case of Cheesman’s document, few, if any, people had been aware of it. 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