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Deus tocou os olhos com o dedo e disse: "[Joseph] este é o meu Filho amado ouvi-lo." Assim como o Senhor tocou os olhos com o dedo, ele imediatamente viu o Salvador. Após o encontro, alguns de nós o questionou sobre o assunto e ele disse-nos, na parte inferior da casa reunião os passos que ele estava na Casa de Pai Smith em Kirtland quando Joseph fez esta declaração, e que José ao falar dele colocou a dedo para seu olho direito, adequando a ação com as palavras de forma a ilustrar e, ao mesmo tempo impressionar a [ocorrência] nas mentes daqueles a quem ele estava falando.
—Diário de Charles Lowell Walker (Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 1980), 2:755–56 [registrou 02 de fevereiro de 1893]
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A Primeira Visão de Joseph Smith
Resumo: A afirmação de Joseph Smith de que ele viu o Pai eo Filho em 1820 produziu uma ampla variedade de críticas. Este conjunto de artigos aborda as várias reivindicações críticas relacionadas à Primeira Visão. Os artigos relacionados abaixo são projetados para ajudar os leitores a ver algumas das fraquezas que são encontradas em argumentos que são feitas contra contas de Joseph Smith First Vision. Alguns desses argumentos estão atualmente sendo defendidos na literatura anti-Mórmon que é entregue perto do Bosque Sagrado em Palmyra, Nova York.
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Resumo: Has the Church hidden the various accounts of the First Vision over the years?
Resumo: Critical analysis of Joseph Smith's 1832 First Vision account
Resumo: Critical analysis of Joseph Smith's 1835 First Vision account
Resumo: Joseph Smith's 1838 First Vision account is analyzed by critics of the Church in order to use it to prove that the First Vision never occurred. A variety of critical arguments are raised based upon the words Joseph used to describe the events leading up to his First Vision. We examine here the introduction to Joseph's 1838 First Vision account, found in the Pearl of Great Price and separate facts from opinion.
Resumo: Joseph Smith referred to the what we now know of as the First Vision as the "first visitation of angels." He referred to Moroni's visit as "another vision of angels."
Resumo: In Joseph Smith's 1832 First Vision recital he said that he was "in the 16th year of [his] age" when the manifestation took place but when he created the 1838 account he changed this information to say that he was "in [his] fifteenth year."
Resumo: 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.
Resumo: The Church's sectarian critics accept Paul's account as true despite the Bible containing apparently frank contradictions in its accounts, while refusing to give Joseph Smith the same latitude. Members of the Church have long pointed out that this is a clear double standard, designed to bias the audience against Joseph from the beginning. Perhaps because of the force of this argument, some critics have begun to argue that no contradiction exists between the versions of Paul's vision.
Resumo: 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 (
D&C 84:21-22) it is said that a person cannot see God without holding the priesthood. Therefore, it is claimed that Joseph Smith contradicted himself and this counts as evidence against his calling as an authentic prophet of God.
Resumo: It is claimed that Joseph Smith stated that during the First Vision that he was told that "all the churches of the day were an abomination."
Resumo: An anti-Mormon "infographic" erroneously indicates that the words "God the Father" and "Jesus Christ" appear in Joseph's 1838 account, however, Joseph only refers to them as "personages." The link between the Father and the Son is only implied by the words spoken by the Father: "This is my beloved Son."
Resumo: An anti-Mormon "infographic" claims that Joseph Smith's 1832 account neglects to mention a "pillar of fire."
Resumo: An anti-Mormon "infographic" indicates that the 1835 "Erastus Holmes" account describes a different vision. This short summary account of the "first visitation of angels" was written in Joseph's journal only five days after he described seeing two "personages" and "many angels."
Resumo: The Prophet's mother—Lucy Mack Smith—wrote a letter in 1831 which seems to indicate that her son's First Vision consisted of seeing an "angel" instead of Deity. Critics suggest that this demonstrates that the Prophet's story evolved over time and that his claim to have seen God was a relatively late addition to his story.
Resumo: Other people reported having visions of God during the early 1800s. What makes Joseph Smith's vision unique?
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Resumo: It is claimed that any association Joseph had with Methodism did not occur until the 1824-25 revival in Palmyra, and that his claim that the "unusual excitement" started with the Methodists in 1820 is therefore incorrect.
Resumo: It is claimed that Joseph didn't become "partial to the Methodist sect" until at least 1823, after Alvin's death, or as late as 1838, rather than in 1820 as he claimed in his 1838 First Vision account.
Resumo: It is claimed that there were no religious revivals in the Palmyra, New York area in 1820, contrary to Joseph Smith's claims that during that year there was "an unusual excitement on the subject of religion...indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it"
Resumo: It is claimed that there are discrepancies in Joseph's account of his family's early history, which make his 1820 and subsequent revelations impossible, and that there is no evidence that the Smith family was in the Palmyra area in 1820 for the religious excitement and First Vision which Joseph reported.
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Resumo: It is claimed that Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God, and only later developed his theology of the Godhead. What do we know about Joseph and the early Saints' views on God?
Resumo: It is claimed that there is no reference to the 1838 canonical First Vision story in any published material from the 1830s, and that nothing published in this period mentions that Joseph saw the Father and Son. They also assume that it would have been mentioned in the local newspapers at the time.
Resumo: It is claimed that, “Before the death of Brigham Young in 1877 the first vision was seldom mentioned in Mormon publications.” This evidence implies that the general membership of the LDS Church was not familiar with the First Vision story until late in the nineteenth century.
Resumo: It is claimed that Brigham Young never mentioned the First Vision. This is false.
Resumo: It is claimed that there is no mention of the First Vision in non-Mormon literature before 1843, and that if the First Vision story had been known by the public before 1840 (when Orson Pratt published it in his pamphlet) that the anti-Mormons “surely” would have seized upon it as an evidence of Joseph Smith’s imposture.
Resumo: Some have claimed that just because LDS missionaries were teaching around 1 November 1830 that Joseph Smith had previously seen “God” personally it cannot be assumed that this was a reference to God the Father since the Book of Mormon (completed ca. 11 June 1829) refers to Jesus Christ as “the eternal God” (title page; 2 Nephi 26:12). The argument is made that since this evidence indicates that Joseph Smith understood Jesus Christ to be “God” the statement by the missionaries may have simply meant that Joseph Smith had seen the Savior; not necessarily the Father.
Resumo: It is claimed that there is no mention of Joseph Smith seeing the Father and Son in any “contemporary” newspaper, diary, LDS publication, or writing of any kind until the year 1838.
Resumo: It is claimed that according to a historical document published in Kirtland, Ohio in 1835 the Prophet Joseph Smith did not know if God existed in the year 1823. This text, therefore, provides evidence that Joseph Smith simply made up the story about the First Vision happening in the year 1820.
Resumo: It is claimed that since there was a religious revival in Palmyra, New York in 1824-25 which appears to match details of Joseph Smith's official Church history, he must have mistakenly mixed this event in with his narrative about what happened in 1820, and that the Prophet's mother joined the Presbyterian church after Alvin Smith died in late 1823. This contradicts Joseph's statement that she joined in 1820, thereby dating Joseph's First Vision to no earlier than 1823.
Resumo: It is claimed that Joseph Smith joined the Methodist, Presbyterian, and 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.
Resumo: In his 1832 account of the First Vision, Joseph Smith said, “I found [by searching the scriptures] that mankind did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatized from the true and living faith and there was no society or denomination that built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament.” But in the 1835 account he said, “I knew not who [of the denominations] was right or who was wrong.” It is claimed that thus counts as evidence that the First Vision story evolved over time.
Resumo: It is claimed that Joseph Smith decided after he released the Book of Mormon to the public that he needed 'authority from God' to justify his claims as a religious minister. Therefore, it is claimed that he fabricated the First Vision story in order to provide himself with a more prestigious line of authority than that of the "angel" who revealed the golden plates.
Resumo: Some claim that Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision grew more detailed and more colorful after he first recorded it in 1832.
Resumo: It is claimed that in 1838 Joseph Smith revised his personal history to say that his original call came from God the Father and Jesus Christ rather than an angel. His motive for doing this was to give himself a stronger leadership role because an authority crisis had recently taken place and large-scale apostasy was the result.
Resumo: Some claim that there is no evidence that Joseph or his family were persecuted because of the First Vision. They argue that this means that Joseph invented the story later.
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Resumo: In 1839 Joseph Smith received a revelation from God in which it was stated that the time would come "in the which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many gods they shall be manifest" (D&C 121:28). This was an "unnecessary revelation," since according to the official LDS Church First Vision account Joseph Smith supposedly knew that there was more than one God since 1820. This information counts as evidence that the Prophet's story was fraudulent.
Resumo: When the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was published in 1835 it portrayed God the Father as a personage of spirit whereas Jesus Christ was portrayed as a personage of tabernacle, or one having a physical body. Yet the official LDS First Vision story portrays the Father as a physical Being.
Resumo: A list of known personages who appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith or who were seen by him in vision.
Resumo: It is claimed either that Brigham never taught about the First Vision, or that he taught that the Lord did not appear to Joseph. Both claims are false.
A Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias responde a estas questões (Inglês)
Os vários relatos da Primeira Visão contam uma história consistente, embora se diferenciem em ênfase e detalhes. Historiadores dizem que quando uma pessoa reconta uma experiência em várias situações e para diferentes públicos ao longo de muitos anos, cada relato vai salientar diversos aspectos da experiência e contêm detalhes incomparáveis. De fato, diferenças semelhantes encontradas nos relatos da Primeira Visão podem ser encontradas nos vários relatos nas escrituras da visão de Paulo na estrada para Damasco e a experiência dos apóstolos no Monte da Transfiguração.3 Mesmo assim, apesar das diferenças, existe uma consistência básica entre todos os relatos da Primeira Visão. Alguns erroneamente argumentaram que qualquer variação ao recontar a história é prova de sua invenção. Ao contrário, esse rico registro histórico nos permite aprender mais a respeito desse acontecimento extraordinário do que poderíamos aprender se estivesse menos bem documentado.
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A Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias responde a estas questões (Inglês)
A Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias, "Lição 6: Joseph Smith-História 1:1-20," Doutrina e Convênios e História da Igreja Manual do Seminário de Professores, (2013)
Assim como Joseph Smith enfatizou aspectos diferentes da sua visão em seus vários relatos, o apóstolo Paulo enfatizou diferentes aspectos de sua visão do Salvador para diferentes públicos (veja Atos 9:1-9, Atos 22:5-11, Atos 26:12 -20). Porque você acha que Joseph Smith e Paulo enfatizaram coisas diferentes em cada um de seus relatos?
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Resumo: A afirmação é às vezes feita por críticos que a Igreja SUD esconde os diversos relatos de Joseph Smith da Primeira Visão que não estão em seu cânone oficial. O seguinte banco de dados cronológico (compilado pelo voluntário da FairMormon Edward Jones) demonstra conclusivamente que este simplesmente não é o caso. Os vários relatos da Primeira Visão têm sido amplamente reconhecidos em fontes de autoria SUD ao longo dos séculos XX e XXI.
Resumo: Menções dos diversos relatos da Primeira Visão em publicações SUD (1910-1968)
Resumo: Menções dos diversos relatos da Primeira Visão em publicações SUD (1969-1978)
Resumo: Menções dos diversos relatos da Primeira Visão em publicações SUD (1979-1983)
Resumo: Menções dos diversos relatos da Primeira Visão em publicações SUD (1984-1989)
Resumo: Menções dos diversos relatos da Primeira Visão em publicações SUD (1990-1997)
Resumo: Menções dos diversos relatos da Primeira Visão em publicações SUD (1998-2003)
Resumo: Menções das diversas contas da Primeira Visão em publicações SUD (2004-Present)
Resumo: Texto original de relatos de José da Primeira Visão
Resumo: Este é o primeiro relato conhecido da Primeira Visão escrito por Joseph Smith. Fonte: Joseph Smith Letterbook 1, pp 1-6. Publicado em: Dean Jessee,
Personal Writings of Joseph Smith.
Resumo: Esta relato foi registrada por Joseph Smith em seu diário. Joseph descreveu sua visão de Robert Matthias, também conhecido como "Josué, o ministro judeu". Joseph Smith Diário (1835-1836), original em Joseph Smith Coleção, Arquivos da Igreja SUD, Salt Lake City, Utah. Publicado em: Dean Jessee,
Personal Writings of Joseph Smith.
Resumo: Relato de Erastus Holmes
Deseret News 2.15 (29 de maio de 1852); também em
Millennial Star 15. 27 (2 de julho de 1853): 424; Jessee,
The Papers of Joseph Smith, 2: 79-80; cf. Dan Vogel (editor),
Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 1:207.; DHC 2. 312.
Resumo: "Joseph Smith História da Igreja"
Times and Seasons 3. 10 (15 de março de 1842): 726-28
Resumo: Carta de Wentworth. (
Times and Seasons, 3.9 (1 de março de 1842), p. 706-710
Resumo: “The Prairies, Nauvoo, Joe Smith, the Temple, the Mormons, etc.,” editor, David Nye White,
The Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette 58 (September 15, 1843): 3
Resumo: Levi Richards’s diary about Joseph Smith preaching in the summer of 1843 and repeating the Lord’s first message to him that no church was His (see Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook,
The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of Joseph Smith, 2nd Edition, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996), 215. ISBN 0910523398
GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
Resumo: : “Latter Day Saints, by Joseph Smith, Nauvoo, Illinois,” in I. Daniel Rupp,
HE PASA EKKLESIA: An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States (Philadelphia: J. Y. Humphreys, 1844), pp. 404; A relato para Rupp foi publicado na história original da igreja publicado em “History of Joseph Smith,”
Millennial Star 22. 7 (February 18, 1860): 102-3; também em Dean Jesse,
Papers of Joseph Smith, 1:448.
Resumo: Diário de Alexander Neibaur, 24 de maio de 1844
Resumo: Como dito por John Alger