Angel Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, Jr.

Jump to Subtopic:

• The identity of the angel that visited Joseph Smith
• The physical characteristics of Moroni's visit

The identity of the angel that visited Joseph Smith

Jump to Subtopic:

• Some Church sources give the identity of the angel that visited Joseph Smith in 1823 as "Nephi" instead of "Moroni"
• Moroni's visit: spirit versus resurrected being
• Theories that Moroni could have actually been something other than an angel sent by God

Some Church sources give the identity of the angel that visited Joseph Smith in 1823 as "Nephi" instead of "Moroni"

Jump to details:

• Question: Did Joseph Smith originally identify the angel that visited him as "Nephi" instead of "Moroni"?
• Question: Which sources mention Nephi as the angelic visitor who told Joseph Smith about the gold plates?
• Question: Are there sources which identify the angel that visited Joseph as "Moroni" that date prior to the "Nephi" error?
• Question: Did the prophet Nephi visit Joseph at some point in time?
• D. Todd Christofferson: "The June 1839 Manuscript History of the Church says it was Nephi who appeared to Joseph Smith in 1823 rather than Moroni"
• Improvement Era (1970): "This wording in the present Pearl of Great Price is modified from the first printing, in which the messenger was identified as 'Nephi'"

Moroni's visit: spirit versus resurrected being

Summary: Critics are anxious to paint Joseph's early experiences as linked to "magick" or treasure seeking. They thus argue that Joseph Smith described his first angelic visitor as "a dream" in which "a spirit" visited him three times in one night.

Jump to details:

• Question: Did the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith evolve from that of a magical spiritual treasure guardian to an "angel"?

Theories that Moroni could have actually been something other than an angel sent by God

Summary: Some critics have charged that Moroni, the resurrected prophet who gave the Book of Mormon plates to Joseph Smith, was really an angel of Satan. They base this charge on two passages in the New Testament: 2 Corinthians 11:13–15 and Galatians 1:8.

Jump to details:

• Question: Could Moroni have been an "angel of Satan"?

The physical characteristics of Moroni's visit

Jump to Subtopic:

• Why didn't Joseph Smith's siblings wake up during Moroni's visit?
• Moroni would have struck his head on the ceiling?

Why didn't Joseph Smith's siblings wake up during Moroni's visit?

Summary: It is claimed that when Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith in his room on September 21, 1823, his siblings who were sleeping in the same room should have woken up. They claim that this is evidence that Joseph's story is false. It is claimed that no Church artwork shows Joseph's siblings asleep. The claim is false.

Jump to details:

• Question: Why didn't Joseph's siblings wake up during Moroni's visit?
• Mark Ashurst-McGee: "This argument falls short theoretically. For those who do not believe in Joseph's visions, there was nothing to wake anyone anyway"
• Question: Why didn't Joseph say that his family didn't wake up during Moroni's visit?
• Question: Has God used his power to enforce sleep on other occasions?
• Question: Why does Church artwork portray Joseph as being alone during Moroni's visit?

Moroni would have struck his head on the ceiling?

Summary: In one of the more absurd or desperate attacks upon Joseph's story, some claim that Moroni could not have stood "above the floor" because the ceiling would have been too low and he would have hit his head. Photos easily disprove this absurd claim.

Jump to details:

• Question: Would the angel Moroni have struck his head on the ceiling when he appeared to Joseph Smith in his room?