Shipps 1985, p. 30. The first extant account of the First Vision is the manuscript account in Joseph Smith, "Manuscript History of the Church" (1839); the first published account is Orson Pratt, "An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records" (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840); and the first American publication is Smith's letter to John Wentworth in Times and Seasons3 (March 1842): 706–08, only two years before Smith's assassination. (These accounts are available Vogel 1996) Shipps, Jan (1985), Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, ISBN0-252-01159-7. Vogel, Dan, ed. (1996), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN1-56085-072-8, archived from the original on 2013-02-02.
"Historians have pondered the various phrases of this vision's evolution and tend to see its present form as a 'late development,' only gaining an influential status in LDS self-reflection late in the nineteenth century." Davies, Douglas J. (2003), An Introduction to Mormonism, Cambridge University Press, p. 136; Widmer 2000, pp. 92–107; Shipps 1985, pp. 30–32. Widmer, Kurt (2000), Mormonism and the Nature of God: A Theological Evolution, 1833-1915, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, ISBN0-7864-0776-X. Shipps, Jan (1985), Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, ISBN0-252-01159-7.
Shipps 1985, p. 30. The first extant account of the First Vision is the manuscript account in Joseph Smith, "Manuscript History of the Church" (1839); the first published account is Orson Pratt, "An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records" (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840); and the first American publication is Smith's letter to John Wentworth in Times and Seasons3 (March 1842): 706–08, only two years before Smith's assassination. (These accounts are available Vogel 1996) Shipps, Jan (1985), Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, ISBN0-252-01159-7. Vogel, Dan, ed. (1996), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN1-56085-072-8, archived from the original on 2013-02-02.
According to Mormon apologist Larry C. Porter, the Methodist minister, George Lane, may have passed very near the Smith home and preached at a camp meeting along the way in July 1820. "In the pursuit of his ministerial duties Rev. Lane was in the geographical proximity of Joseph Smith on a number of occasions between the years 1819-1825. The nature degree or indeed the actuality of their acquaintanceship during this interval poses a number of interesting possibilities .... In July 1820 Lane would have had to pass through the greater Palmyra-Manchester vicinity..unless he went by an extremely circuitous route. Present records do not specify Lane's itinerary or exact route ... but they do for Lane's friend, Rev. George Peck .... [Peck's] conference route took him north to Ithaca, then on to a camp meeting in the Holland Purchase, subsequently passing along the Ridge Road to Rochester .... As Rev. Peck, [Lane] may even have stopped at a camp meeting somewhere along the way. A preacher of his standing would always be a welcome guest." (Porter 1969, p. 335). Smith never mentions the name of the minister. Porter, Larry C. (1969), "Reverend George Lane—Good 'Gifts', Much 'Grace', and Marked 'Usefulness'", BYU Studies, 9 (3): 321–40.
"First Vision Accounts", churchofjesuschrist.org, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
"Lesson 3: 'I Had Seen a Vision'", Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual, LDS Church, 1999, p. 11; Widmer 2000, p. 92: "The concepts of the apostasy of Christianity, God having a body of flesh and bone, the existence of a plurality of Gods, and the divine call of Joseph Smith as Prophet all have their foundation in the First Vision story." Widmer, Kurt (2000), Mormonism and the Nature of God: A Theological Evolution, 1833-1915, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, ISBN0-7864-0776-X.
"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."(Anderson 1996) Anderson, Richard Lloyd (April 1996), "Joseph Smith's Testimony of the First Vision", Ensign.
According to its website, the church "does not legislate or mandate positions on issues of history. We place confidence in sound historical methodology as it relates to our church story. We believe that historians and other researchers should be free to come to whatever conclusions they feel are appropriate after careful consideration of documents and artifacts to which they have access. We benefit greatly from the significant contributions of the historical discipline." "Frequently Asked Questions", Community of Christ, archived from the original on 2007-02-03
(Flake 2003, p. 84) ("The First Vision changed the arena of confrontation over differences from social action to theological belief, a necessity created not only by the experience of persecution but also by Supreme Court law .... New emphasis on the First Vision successfully reframed the Latter-day Saints' necessary sense of otherness so that it fit safely within the politics of American religion. Unlike his teachings on plural marriage, Joseph Smith's First Vision placed his followers at odds only with other churches, not the state, and shifted the battle from issues of public morality to theological tenets.") Flake, Kathleen (Winter 2003), "Re-placing Memory: Latter-day Saint Use of Historical Monuments and Narrative in the Early Twentieth Century", Religion and American Culture, 13 (1): 69–109, doi:10.1525/rac.2003.13.1.69, S2CID56393456.
Hill (1982), p. 39. "I am inclined to agree that the religious turmoil that Smith described which led to some family members joining the Presbyterians and to much sectarian bitterness does not fit well into the 1820 context detailed by Backman. ... Indicating that the angel had told Smith of the plates prior to the revival, Lucy added that for a long time after Alvin's death the family could not bear any talk about the golden plates, for the subject had been one of great interest to him and any reference to the plates stirred sorrowful memories. She said she attended the revival with hope of gaining solace for Alvin's loss. That kind of detail is just the sort that gives validity to Lucy's chronology. She would not have been likely to make up such a reaction for herself or the family nor mistake the time when it happened. I am persuaded that it was 1824 when Lucy joined the Presbyterians." Hill, Marvin S. (1982). "The First Vision Controversy: A Critique and Reconciliation". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 15 (2): 31–46. doi:10.2307/45225076. JSTOR45225076.
"One of the most significant documents of that period yet discovered was brought to light in 1965 by Paul R. Cheesman, a graduate student at Brigham Young University. This is a handwritten manuscript apparently composed about 1833 and either written or dictated by Joseph Smith. It contains an account of the early experiences of the Mormon prophet and includes the story of the first vision. While the story varies in some details from the version presently accepted, enough is there to indicate that at least as early as 1833 Joseph Smith contemplated writing and perhaps publishing it. The manuscript has apparently lain in the L.D.S. Church Historian's office for many years, and yet few if any who saw it realized its profound historical significance." (Allen 1966, p. 35) Allen, James B. (1966), "The Significance of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Thought", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 1 (3), doi:10.2307/45223817, JSTOR45223817, archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
Abanes,[specify] 16: the 1835 accountArchived April 14, 2005, at the Wayback Machine[unreliable source?]. In 1835, Smith approved the "Lectures on Faith", an orderly presentation of Mormonism (probably written by Sidney Rigdon) in which it was taught that although Jesus Christ had a tangible body of flesh, God the Father was a spiritual presence—a view not out of harmony with orthodox Christian belief. The "Lectures on Faith" were canonized by the LDS Church and included as part of the Doctrine and Covenants until de-canonized after 1921. (Bushman,Rough Stone Rolling, 283–84.)
johnpratt.com
Lefgren, John C. (October 9, 2002), "Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning: Sun 26 Mar 1820?", Meridian Magazine. Online reprint The article's authors reject many other dates that fit the weather and maple sugar constraints, including April 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 30. The authors appear to favor March 26 based on their theory of this date's significance in the Enoch calendar, dismissing any date after April 14 as not being "early spring".
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
Hill (1982), p. 39. "I am inclined to agree that the religious turmoil that Smith described which led to some family members joining the Presbyterians and to much sectarian bitterness does not fit well into the 1820 context detailed by Backman. ... Indicating that the angel had told Smith of the plates prior to the revival, Lucy added that for a long time after Alvin's death the family could not bear any talk about the golden plates, for the subject had been one of great interest to him and any reference to the plates stirred sorrowful memories. She said she attended the revival with hope of gaining solace for Alvin's loss. That kind of detail is just the sort that gives validity to Lucy's chronology. She would not have been likely to make up such a reaction for herself or the family nor mistake the time when it happened. I am persuaded that it was 1824 when Lucy joined the Presbyterians." Hill, Marvin S. (1982). "The First Vision Controversy: A Critique and Reconciliation". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 15 (2): 31–46. doi:10.2307/45225076. JSTOR45225076.
"One of the most significant documents of that period yet discovered was brought to light in 1965 by Paul R. Cheesman, a graduate student at Brigham Young University. This is a handwritten manuscript apparently composed about 1833 and either written or dictated by Joseph Smith. It contains an account of the early experiences of the Mormon prophet and includes the story of the first vision. While the story varies in some details from the version presently accepted, enough is there to indicate that at least as early as 1833 Joseph Smith contemplated writing and perhaps publishing it. The manuscript has apparently lain in the L.D.S. Church Historian's office for many years, and yet few if any who saw it realized its profound historical significance." (Allen 1966, p. 35) Allen, James B. (1966), "The Significance of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Thought", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 1 (3), doi:10.2307/45223817, JSTOR45223817, archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
"About midnight I saw a light about a foot from my face as bright as fire; the doors were all shut and no one stirring in the house. I thought by this that I had but a few moments to live, and oh what distress I was in .... Another night soon after, I saw another light as bright as the first, at a small distance from my face, and I thought I had but a few moments to live. And not sleeping nights and reading, all day I was in misery; well you may think I was in distress, soul and body. At another time in the dead of the night I was called by my Christian name; I arise up to answer to my name. The doors all being shut and the house still, I thought the Lord called, and I had but a moment to live." (Mack 1811, p. 25) Mack, Solomon (1811), A Narraitve {{sic}} of the Life of Solomon Mack, Windsor: Solomon Mack.
"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." Frontline and American Experience, "Interview: Marlin Jensen", in Helen Whitney (ed.), The Mormons, PBS
Michael Coe, professor emeritus of Anthropology at Yale, has called Joseph Smith "a great religious leader" and "one of the greatest people who ever lived" because "like a shaman in anthropology," like "magicians doing magic," he "started out faking it" but ended up convincing himself (as well as others) that his visions were true (Frontline and American Experience, "Interview: Michael Coe", in Helen Whitney (ed.), The Mormons, PBS )
(Frontline and American Experience, "Interview: Gordon B. Hinckley", in Helen Whitney (ed.), The Mormons, PBS. The full quotation mentions the ultimate reality of Moroni and the Book of Mormon translated from the plates: "Well, it's either true or false. If it's false, we're engaged in a great fraud. If it's true, it's the most important thing in the world. Now, that's the whole picture. It is either right or wrong, true or false, fraudulent or true. And that's exactly where we stand, with a conviction in our hearts that it is true: that Joseph went into the [Sacred] Grove; that he saw the Father and the Son; that he talked with them; that Moroni came; that the Book of Mormon was translated from the plates; that the priesthood was restored by those who held it anciently. That's our claim. That's where we stand, and that's where we fall, if we fall. But we don't. We just stand secure in that faith.
(Flake 2003, p. 84) ("The First Vision changed the arena of confrontation over differences from social action to theological belief, a necessity created not only by the experience of persecution but also by Supreme Court law .... New emphasis on the First Vision successfully reframed the Latter-day Saints' necessary sense of otherness so that it fit safely within the politics of American religion. Unlike his teachings on plural marriage, Joseph Smith's First Vision placed his followers at odds only with other churches, not the state, and shifted the battle from issues of public morality to theological tenets.") Flake, Kathleen (Winter 2003), "Re-placing Memory: Latter-day Saint Use of Historical Monuments and Narrative in the Early Twentieth Century", Religion and American Culture, 13 (1): 69–109, doi:10.1525/rac.2003.13.1.69, S2CID56393456.
For a counter argument—that there was a second cabin on the Smith property in Manchester—see Vogel (2000), pp. 416–419. Vogel argues that based on archaeological and documentary evidence, the Manchester cabin was constructed prior to the Smiths' building of their frame home. "To argue for the existence of only the Jennings cabin, which the Smiths inadvertently built on the Palmyra side of the township line, one must assume that the error was perpetuated not only by the Smiths but also by authorities in both counties. However, the existence of the names of Joseph Sr., Alvin, and Hyrum on the Palmyra road lists for 1820–22 strongly argues that both the Smiths and village authorities understood that the cabin was in Palmyra township." (p. 419) Vogel, Dan, ed. (2000), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 3, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN1-56085-133-3, archived from the original on 2011-08-10.
Shipps 1985, p. 30. The first extant account of the First Vision is the manuscript account in Joseph Smith, "Manuscript History of the Church" (1839); the first published account is Orson Pratt, "An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records" (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840); and the first American publication is Smith's letter to John Wentworth in Times and Seasons3 (March 1842): 706–08, only two years before Smith's assassination. (These accounts are available Vogel 1996) Shipps, Jan (1985), Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, ISBN0-252-01159-7. Vogel, Dan, ed. (1996), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN1-56085-072-8, archived from the original on 2013-02-02.
"One of the most significant documents of that period yet discovered was brought to light in 1965 by Paul R. Cheesman, a graduate student at Brigham Young University. This is a handwritten manuscript apparently composed about 1833 and either written or dictated by Joseph Smith. It contains an account of the early experiences of the Mormon prophet and includes the story of the first vision. While the story varies in some details from the version presently accepted, enough is there to indicate that at least as early as 1833 Joseph Smith contemplated writing and perhaps publishing it. The manuscript has apparently lain in the L.D.S. Church Historian's office for many years, and yet few if any who saw it realized its profound historical significance." (Allen 1966, p. 35) Allen, James B. (1966), "The Significance of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Thought", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 1 (3), doi:10.2307/45223817, JSTOR45223817, archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
The Changing World of Mormonism by Jerald and Sandra Tanner (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Mission, 1981), p. 159. The Elias Smith citation is from Elias Smith, The Life, Conversion, Preaching, Travels, and Sufferings of Elias Smith (Portsmouth, N.H., 1816, pp. 58-59).
For a counter argument—that there was a second cabin on the Smith property in Manchester—see Vogel (2000), pp. 416–419. Vogel argues that based on archaeological and documentary evidence, the Manchester cabin was constructed prior to the Smiths' building of their frame home. "To argue for the existence of only the Jennings cabin, which the Smiths inadvertently built on the Palmyra side of the township line, one must assume that the error was perpetuated not only by the Smiths but also by authorities in both counties. However, the existence of the names of Joseph Sr., Alvin, and Hyrum on the Palmyra road lists for 1820–22 strongly argues that both the Smiths and village authorities understood that the cabin was in Palmyra township." (p. 419) Vogel, Dan, ed. (2000), Early Mormon Documents, vol. 3, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN1-56085-133-3, archived from the original on 2011-08-10.
"One of the most significant documents of that period yet discovered was brought to light in 1965 by Paul R. Cheesman, a graduate student at Brigham Young University. This is a handwritten manuscript apparently composed about 1833 and either written or dictated by Joseph Smith. It contains an account of the early experiences of the Mormon prophet and includes the story of the first vision. While the story varies in some details from the version presently accepted, enough is there to indicate that at least as early as 1833 Joseph Smith contemplated writing and perhaps publishing it. The manuscript has apparently lain in the L.D.S. Church Historian's office for many years, and yet few if any who saw it realized its profound historical significance." (Allen 1966, p. 35) Allen, James B. (1966), "The Significance of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Thought", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 1 (3), doi:10.2307/45223817, JSTOR45223817, archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
Abanes,[specify] 16: the 1835 accountArchived April 14, 2005, at the Wayback Machine[unreliable source?]. In 1835, Smith approved the "Lectures on Faith", an orderly presentation of Mormonism (probably written by Sidney Rigdon) in which it was taught that although Jesus Christ had a tangible body of flesh, God the Father was a spiritual presence—a view not out of harmony with orthodox Christian belief. The "Lectures on Faith" were canonized by the LDS Church and included as part of the Doctrine and Covenants until de-canonized after 1921. (Bushman,Rough Stone Rolling, 283–84.)
According to its website, the church "does not legislate or mandate positions on issues of history. We place confidence in sound historical methodology as it relates to our church story. We believe that historians and other researchers should be free to come to whatever conclusions they feel are appropriate after careful consideration of documents and artifacts to which they have access. We benefit greatly from the significant contributions of the historical discipline." "Frequently Asked Questions", Community of Christ, archived from the original on 2007-02-03
Bucci, Timothy Dom (1952), Apostasy and Restoration, Monongahela, Pa: Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonites), OCLC34452615. The reference quotes the 1842 account as found in the LDS Church Pearl of Great Price, with some exceptions including the following paraphrases: 1) "As the light shown down on him, a personage appeared...." (2, 6) "This was in the year 1820" (6). The summary following the excerpt (10) emphasizes the importance of the Book of Mormon, but makes no additional comment about the First Vision.
