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| + | #REDIRECT[[Differences in First Vision accounts]] |
| − | {{Resource Title|Did Joseph join other churches contrary to commandment in the First Vision?}}
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| − | {{FirstVisionPortal}}
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| − | <onlyinclude>
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| − | == ==
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| − | {{Criticism label}}
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| − | *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 (during the 1820 First Vision experience) from joining any denomination?<ref>{{TS1|vol=3|num=9|date=1 March 1842|start=707}}</ref>
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| − | *Do Joseph's alleged actions argue strongly against the reality of any encounter he might have had with God in the Sacred Grove?
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| − | <!--*It is claimed that "at some point between 1821 and 1829," after the First Vision, that Joseph served as “a very passable exhorter” ''at Methodist camp meetings'' being held “away down in the woods, on the Vienna Road.” Since one could not be a licensed "exhorter" at such meetings unless one were a member of the Methodist church, critics therefore claim that this indicates that Joseph became a church member.--> | |
| − | *Did Joseph became a member of Emma Hale Smith's Methodist congregation in 1828?
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| − | {{CriticalSources}}
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| − | {{: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?}}
| + | [[es:La Primera Visión de José Smith/Unirse a otras iglesias]] |
| − | {{:Question: Did Joseph Smith become a baptized member of the Baptist Church in 1822?}}
| + | [[de:Joseph Smiths Erste Vision/Joseph Smith wurde Mitglied anderer Kirchen]] |
| − | {{:Question: Did Joseph Smith become a member of the Methodist Church while he was translating the Book of Mormon?}}
| + | [[pt:A Primeira Visão/Joseph Smith se juntou a outras igrejas]] |
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| − | {{:Question: Did Joseph Smith join the Presbyterian Church after the First Vision?}}
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| − | ====Summary re: critics' sources====
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| − | #The Lapham source is secondhand at best—putting forward information that reportedly came from the Prophet's father.
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| − | #The Lewis source presents a scenario that was directly contradicted in print by an adult eyewitness who was a Methodist church officer. It is certainly possible that Joseph attended a Methodist meeting with his wife and in-laws: even in the Lewis' telling, however, he was quickly made to understand that he was not wanted, and he persisted in his own beliefs rather than continue with them.
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| − | #The Anderick source may simply be recalling an occasion when the young Prophet attended a church service with his Presbyterian mother and siblings.
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| − | The three sources are all late, and all from hostile voices.
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| − | We must note too that none of these sources confirms the others—they all discuss different denominations and different time frames. Thus, the stories are not mutually reinforcing.
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| − | We turn now to the many sources (both friendly and hostile) that claim that Joseph had no formal affiliation with any religious denomination during this period. Critics typically leave these sources safely unmentioned.
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| − | ==Sources which contradict the critics==
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| − | The eyewitness sources that follow below indicate that up until the time that Joseph Smith announced the existence of the golden plates of the Book of Mormon to his family (23 September 1823) he was not formally attached to any church, but had instead publicly rejected all of them and manifested his desire NOT to join their ranks. Some are contemporaneous, others are later remembrances, but the hostile and friendly voices are clear that he had no denominational affiliation.
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| − | ===Reminiscence Around 1820===
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| − | :Pomeroy Tucker (a non-Mormon critic who knew Joseph Smith in Palmyra, New York) said that Joseph joined the Methodist probationary class in Palmyra but soon "withdrew from the class" '''without being converted'''; announcing that "all the churches [were] on a false foundation."<ref>{{TuckerOrigin|start=17|end=18}}</ref> This information corresponds with historical details dated by Joseph Smith at around 1820.
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| − | {{Main|First Vision/Methodist camp meetings|l1=Joseph Smith and Methodist camp meetings}}
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| − | ===Reminiscence of Fall 1823===
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| − | :Joseph Smith's mother recalled in her autobiography that shortly after her son Alvin died on 19 November 1823 Joseph "utterly refused" to attend church services with the intent to convert, and he made the specific request: "'''do not ask me to join them'''. I can take my Bible, and go into the woods, and learn more in two hours, than you can learn at meeting in two years, if you should go all the time."<ref>{{LucyMackSmith-Stevens1| start=90}}</ref> | |
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| − | As can be seen by the continuing chronological sources which follow, Joseph Smith and his associates were teaching from 1825 to 1832 that the Prophet did not belong to any church between the years 1825 and 1827.
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| − | ===Reminiscence Concerning 1825===
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| − | :Josiah Stowell, Jr. (a non-Mormon): “I will give you a short history of what I know about Joseph Smith, Jr. I have been intimately acquainted with him about 2 years. He then was about 20 years old or thereabout. I also went to school with him one winter. He was a fine, likely young man and at that time '''did not profess religion'''.”<ref>Letter, Josiah Stowell Jr. to John S. Fullmer, 17 February 1843.</ref>
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| − | ===Reminiscence Concerning 1827===
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| − | :In 1827 David Marks (a non-Mormon minister) went to Palmyra and Manchester, New York where he “made considerable inquiry respecting . . . [Joseph] Smith” and learned from “several persons in different places” that Joseph was “about 21 years [old]; that previous to his declaration of having found the plates '''he made no pretensions to religion'''.”<ref>''Morning Star'', 7 March 1833 [Limerick, Maine].</ref>
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| − | ===Reminiscence Concerning 1830===
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| − | :In October 1830 Peter Bauder (a non-Mormon minister) spoke directly to the Prophet. Bauder commented: “'''he could give me no Christian experience''',” meaning that he did not belong to any church before his experience with the angel and plates in September 1823.<ref>Peter Bauder, ''The Kingdom and Gospel of Jesus Christ'' (Canajoharie, New York: A. H. Calhoun, 1834), 36.</ref> | |
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| − | ===Contemporary Document - 1830===
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| − | :Four LDS men from New York state taught that at the time the angel appeared to Joseph Smith (22 September 1823) he “'''made no pretensions to religion of any kind'''.”<ref>''Observer and Telegraph'', 18 November 1830 [Hudson, Ohio].</ref>
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| − | ===Contemporary Document - 1831===
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| − | :The editor of a Palmyra, New York newspaper claimed that he has been “credibly informed,” and was “quite certain,” that “the prophet . . . '''never made any serious pretensions to religion''' until his late pretended revelation” -- meaning the Book of Mormon, which was made known among Palmyra's residents in the Fall of 1827.<ref>{{CriticalWork:Reflector:1 February 1831:Gold Bible 3}} </ref>
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| − | ===Contemporary Document - 1832===
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| − | :Orson Pratt and Lyman Johnson taught on 8 April 1832 that “in 1827 a young man called Joseph Smith of the state of New York, '''of no denomination''' [i.e., not belonging to a church], but under conviction, inquired of the Lord . . . [and] an angel [appeared to him] . . . who gave information where the plates were deposited.”<ref>''The Catholic Telegraph'', 14 April 1832 [Cincinnati, Ohio].</ref> Pratt clarified in a much later statement that between 1820 and 1823 Joseph Smith "'''was not a member of any church'''."<ref>{{JDfairwiki|vol=14|disc=20|start=140|end=141|author=Orson Pratt}}</ref>
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| − | Thus, a great deal of contemporary evidence disproves the late, second hand claims.
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| − | {{SeeAlso|First Vision/Methodist camp meetings|l1=Joseph Smith and Methodist camp meetings}}
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| − | </onlyinclude>
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| − | {{endnotes sources}}
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| − | [[de:Joseph_Smith_wurde_Mitglied_anderer_Kirchen]]
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| | [[Category:First Vision]] | | [[Category:First Vision]] |
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| − | [[fr:First Vision/Joseph Smith joined other churches]]
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