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Joseph Smith's First Vision
Revision as of 09:37, 2 June 2009 by RogerNicholson (talk | contribs) (→Does D&C 84 say God cannot be seen without the priesthood?: format)
Contents
- 1 Criticism
- 2 Events leading up to the First Vision
- 2.1 What constituted the "unusual excitement" that ultimately resulted in Joseph's vision?
- 2.2 Was the Smith family in the proper area at the proper time for Joseph's 1820 vision?
- 2.3 Was Joseph Smith mistaken about religious revivals in his area in 1820?
- 2.4 Did Joseph Smith conflate his 1820 narrative with an 1824-25 revival?
- 3 The Vision
- 4 Events occurring after the First Vision
- 4.1 Published references to the vision
- 4.1.1 Is there no reference to the First Vision in 1830s publications?
- 4.1.2 When missionaries said that the Prophet had seen "God" personally did they mean Jesus Christ?
- 4.1.3 Was there no mention of the First Vision in non-LDS literature before 1843?
- 4.1.4 Is there a lack of contemporary evidence for a Father and Son vision before 1838?
- 4.1.5 Did the LDS Church seldom publicize the First Vision until after 1877?
- 4.1.6 Why is there no mention of Joseph's First Vision in the newspapers in 1820?
- 4.2 Did Lucy Mack Smith actually join the Presbyterians in 1823, three years after Joseph said she did?
- 4.3 Was Joseph unsure about God's existence in 1823, after the First Vision?
- 4.4 Did Joseph join other churches after 1820, in direct contradiction to his instruction during the First Vision?
- 4.5 Did Joseph Smith contradict himself about knowing which churches were wrong?
- 4.6 Was the First Vision story fabricated to provide the Prophet with "Godly authority"?
- 4.7 Did the First Vision story become more detailed and colorful after 1832?
- 4.8 Was the 1838 account modified to offset a leadership crisis?
- 4.1 Published references to the vision
- 5 Additional First Vision issues
Criticism
Joseph Smith's claim that he saw the Father and the Son in 1820 has produced a wide variety of criticism. This set of articles addresses the various critical claims related to the First Vision. The linked articles below are designed to help readers to see some of the weaknesses that are found in arguments that are made against Joseph Smith's First Vision accounts. Some of these arguments are currently being advocated in anti-Mormon literature that is handed out near the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York.
Events leading up to the First Vision
What constituted the "unusual excitement" that ultimately resulted in Joseph's vision?
Was the Smith family in the proper area at the proper time for Joseph's 1820 vision?
Was Joseph Smith mistaken about religious revivals in his area in 1820?
Did Joseph Smith conflate his 1820 narrative with an 1824-25 revival?
The Vision
Variations between different accounts of the First Vision
Comparison of Joseph's First Vision to Paul's vision
Paul the apostle gave more than one account of his vision of the resurrected Lord while on the road to Damascus. Like Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision, Paul's accounts differ in some details but agree in the overall message. Richard Lloyd Anderson made the following comparisons.
- Many Christians who comfortably accept Paul’s vision reject Joseph Smith’s. However, they aren’t consistent in their criticisms, for most arguments against Joseph Smith’s first vision would detract from Paul’s Damascus experience with equal force.
- For instance, Joseph Smith’s credibility is attacked because the earliest known description of his vision wasn’t given until a dozen years after it happened. But Paul’s earliest known description of the Damascus appearance, found in 1 Corinthians 9꞉1, was recorded about two dozen years after his experience.
- Critics love to dwell on supposed inconsistencies in Joseph Smith’s spontaneous accounts of his first vision. But people normally give shorter and longer accounts of their own vivid experiences when retelling them more than once. Joseph Smith was cautious about public explanations of his sacred experiences until the Church grew strong and could properly publicize what God had given him. Thus, his most detailed first vision account came after several others—when he began his formal history.
- This, too, parallels Paul’s experience. His most detailed account of the vision on the road to Damascus is the last of several recorded. (See Acts 26:9–20.) And this is the only known instance in which he related the detail about the glorified Savior prophesying Paul’s work among the Gentiles. (See Acts 26:16–18.) Why would Paul include this previously unmentioned detail only on that occasion? Probably because he was speaking to a Gentile audience, rather than to a group of Jewish Christians. Both Paul and Joseph Smith had reasons for delaying full details of their visions until the proper time and place.[1]
Does D&C 84 say God cannot be seen without the priesthood?
Critics argue that Joseph Smith claimed that he saw God in 1820 and also claimed that he received the priesthood in 1829. But in a text which he produced in 1832 (DC 84꞉21-22) it is said that a person cannot see God without holding the priesthood. Therefore, critics claim that Joseph Smith contradicted himself and this counts as evidence against his calling as an authentic prophet of God.
Events occurring after the First Vision
Published references to the vision
Is there no reference to the First Vision in 1830s publications?
When missionaries said that the Prophet had seen "God" personally did they mean Jesus Christ?
Was there no mention of the First Vision in non-LDS literature before 1843?
Is there a lack of contemporary evidence for a Father and Son vision before 1838?
Did the LDS Church seldom publicize the First Vision until after 1877?
Why is there no mention of Joseph's First Vision in the newspapers in 1820?
Did Lucy Mack Smith actually join the Presbyterians in 1823, three years after Joseph said she did?
Was Joseph unsure about God's existence in 1823, after the First Vision?
Did Joseph join other churches after 1820, in direct contradiction to his instruction during the First Vision?
Did Joseph Smith contradict himself about knowing which churches were wrong?
Was the First Vision story fabricated to provide the Prophet with "Godly authority"?
Did the First Vision story become more detailed and colorful after 1832?
Was the 1838 account modified to offset a leadership crisis?
Additional First Vision issues
- What about the "Angels" of the 1835 account? FAIRWiki link
- Controversy Concerning D&C 121:28 FAIRWiki link
- The Father: A Spirit vs. Embodied FAIRWiki link