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Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision grew more detailed and more colorful after he first recorded it in 1832.
PBS documentary on “The Mormons”
The above claim is not accurate simply because 24 story elements found in the 1832 account do not show up again in later recitals. In other words, the story actually becomes significantly LESS detailed over time because it does not include all of the elements that were initially rehearsed.
The 24 missing story elements from the 1832 recital are as follows:
The same type of thing happens with the 9 November 1835 recital of the story. There are several story elements presented that do not show up in subsequent retellings. The later recitals are, therefore, LESS detailed.
The missing 1835 elements are:
A comparison of the Prophet's 1838 and 1842 recitals yields the same result. The following details from the 1838 recounting do not show up in the 1842 rehearsal:
Again, it is apparent that the Prophet's later tellings of the First Vision story were LESS detailed than his earlier ones.
Even though some of Joseph Smith's critics believe that the First Vision story changing over time is evidence of fabrication the documents demonstrate that this belief is not well-founded. The change over time tends to be in the way of less individual detail but more elaboration on main themes.
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