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Joseph Smith's First Vision/Multiple accounts of the First Vision/The first and second visitation of angels
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Contents
Joseph Smith's first and second visitation of angels
a personage appeard in the midst of this pillar of flame which was spread all around, and yet nothing consumed, another personage soon appeard like unto the first, he said unto me thy sins are forgiven thee, he testified unto me that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; and I saw many angels in this vision I was about 14 years old when I received this first communication; When I was about 17 years old I saw another vision of angels in the night season after I had retired to bed...
Joseph Smith's journal, 9 November 1835. The phrase "and I saw many angels in this vision" was written in above the line later after the original entry was made. off-site
Questions
Joseph Smith never actually referred to what we now call the "First Vision" by that name. Instead, he referred to it as the "first visitation of angels" or the "first communication." Joseph also referred to Moroni's visit as "another vision of angels."
- One critic of Mormonism states that "Who appears to [Joseph] – a spirit, an angel, two angels, Jesus, many angels, the Father and the Son – are all over the place." [1]
Answer
Joseph Smith's 9 November 1835 journal entry describes a visit of two personages, then, goes back and inserts the phrase "and I saw many angels in this visioin" between the lines. Image from "Journal, 1835–1836," Joseph Smith Papers off-site
The account that Joseph entered in his journal on 9 November 1835 was a detailed account which clearly describes two personages, as well as "many angels." The account that Joseph wrote just five days later in his journal on 14 November 1835 was a one line summary of the event, which he described as "the first visitation of Angels." Critics of the Church seem to believe that Joseph completely changed his story from "two personages" to "Angels" over the course of only five days. The truth is that Joseph referred to all of the personages that appeared to him as "angels."
This confusion regarding "angels" versus "personages" is illustrated in a critical "Mormoninfographic".[2] We have illustrated the error by comparing Joseph's journal entries on both days.
Notes