Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p

First Vision

Why so many accounts and versions?

Which one do we believe?

Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.112

A recent effort to discredit the First Vision is the publication of several accounts of this vision. Some of these accounts, written during Joseph Smith's lifetime, vary in detail. Because of this variance, detractors charge that the vision was a product of Joseph Smith's imagination. How would you answer such a charge? Well, you must remember that each account understandably differs in some detail because he wrote or explained the First Vision under different circumstances to different audiences, including nonmembers. The fact that every account that has come to light does not exactly agree in every minute detail does not discredit the essential truth of the First Vision. There are at least three recorded accounts of Paul's vision in the New Testament, each of which differs in details, with one account seemingly contradicting the other two. Each was presented to different audiences under different circumstances. Should we reject the testimony of Paul's vision because Luke's report appears contradictory in minor detail?

Robert L. Millet, Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, p.194

The author appears to be operating under what I consider to be a flawed historical and theological assumption. She accepts fully (as many seem to do) that Joseph Smith’s pre-1835 teachings differ markedly from his teachings toward the end of his ministry. She offers two illustrations: Joseph Smith’s reference to the appearance of one personage only—“the Lord”—in his 1832 account of the First Vision, and the reference to only two personages in the Godhead in the Lectures on Faith. A careful reading of the 1832 account of the First Vision leads me to the conclusion that the thrust of this early account was not who appeared but rather the Lord’s message to him. In addition, it is worth noting that in his 1835 account one Personage appeared and then another followed. Though spoken many years after the First Vision, it is interesting to note the following statement from Elder John Taylor: “The Lord appeared unto Joseph Smith, both the Father and the Son.”6

FARMS, Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol.7, Number 2, p.32

Charles is wrong again when she claims that Joseph Smith's 1838 account of his first vision contains a "new element," which is Joseph's seeing "two heavenly beings: God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ." Of the ten known accounts of the First Vision recorded firsthand from Joseph Smith, all but one mention that two heavenly beings, the Father and the Son, appeared to him. The earliest of these, the so-called "Matthias" account, was recorded in 1835 by Warren Cowdery, several years before the 1838 account.

FARMS, Review of Books, Vol.8, Number 1, p.86

Crane calls Joseph Smith a liar many times. For example, "Was this a real encounter with God, or is it possible that Joseph Smith fabricated the whole story?" (p. 64). Crane chooses to doubt the story of the First Vision because, supposedly, no known written account was made of the event until nearly two decades after the vision occurred. Crane says, "If, in truth, Joseph Smith had this memorable experience in 1820, it passed totally unnoticed by all for twenty-two years" (p. 59). In addition, Crane rejects the story of the First Vision because there are different versions of the First Vision story in existence. By Crane's standards, the resurrection of Christ is also a false story since research indicates that the gospel writers did not make the first written records of this momentous event until some twenty years after the resurrection10 and variances exist in the reports surrounding the occasion.

John A. Tvedtnes, Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, p.16-17

Charles uses the 1832 first vision account (in which Joseph Smith reports seeing “the Lord”) as evidence that Joseph Smith saw only “one being,” and notes that the 1838 version follows the Lectures on Faith. She fails to note that the first account in which Joseph Smith mentions two beings is the one given in November 1835 and published in 1971 by Backman,16 which postdates the Lectures on Faith by months rather than years. But there is no real contradiction in any of these accounts. Presumably, the “Lord” mentioned by the Prophet in 1832 was Christ, the one who gave him instructions and answered his question about which church was true. I have often told a story more than once, emphasizing different details each time and omitting others that did not fit my current theme or audience. Why critics continue to harp on what is really a nonissue continues to amaze me.

Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.9, Ch.15, p.480

And whatever became of President Kimball's remarkable address to the Church? It was given the instant deep-freeze, the most effective of censorship, a resounding silence. In 1969 an even more painful silence greeted another voice, that of the Lord Jesus Christ. In that year was reproduced in the pages of the BYU Studies the earliest known and fullest account of Joseph Smith's First Vision, written in the hand of Warren Parrish in the winter of 1831-32 at the dictation of the Prophet. When I heard the news, which was just before general conference, I declared that there would be dancing in the streets when this document came out. Instead I have heard not a mention of it from that day to this. How is that possible that we should censor the words of the Lord himself? Well, those words began with unflattering picture of all us of: "Behold the world at this time lieth in sin, and there is none that doeth good, no not one, and mine anger is kindling against the inhabitants of the world to visit them according to their ungodliness."

Verification of the 1838 Account of the First Vision

Milton V. Backman, Jr.*

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p. 237

During the October 1880 General Conference, President George Q. Cannon, First Counselor in the First Presidency, acting under the direction of the newly sustained president of the Church, John Taylor, presented two books to Church officers and members: a new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. President Cannon proposed that those present accept these books and their contents "as from God, and binding upon…[the]people…and Church." Then President Joseph F. Smith, Second Counselor in the First Presidency moved that the membership receive and accept these books as containing revelations from God to the Church. By unanimous vote, leaders and members agreed that the information contained in these two books was inspired of God (Conference Proceedings 42:724). Included in this canonized edition of the Pearl of Great Price was an account of the First Vision initially written by Joseph Smith in 1838 and prepared for publication before the Prophet left for Washington in 1839.

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.237

A number of questions might be asked regarding this 1838 account of the theophany near Palmyra. Since Joseph Smith wrote or dictated four accounts of the First Vision, why was the 1838 one included in the Pearl of Great Price, [p.238] rather than any of the other accounts? How is this 1838 version different from those? And what confirming evidence supports the reliability of the 1838 recital?

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.238

The four accounts of the First Vision given by Joseph Smith during a ten year period are very different from each other because each was given from a different perspective, to a different audience, and for a different purpose. All four accounts are available in Backman's Joseph Smith's First Vision and Jessee's The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith. A harmony of the four accounts is in Backman's Eyewitness Accounts of the Restoration. Two of the accounts (the 1832 and 1835 versions) are scribal renditions of what the prophet was speaking to two different audiences and have remained in a rough draft stage not being prepared or polished for publication (see Backman 155-60, or Jessee 4-6 and 75-76). The last two accounts were written or prepared by Joseph Smith and were initially published in the spring of 1842. The 1838 recital was written as part of Joseph Smith's history of the Church; and the other, contained in the "Wentworth Letter," was written at the request of, and basically for, non-Mormons (see Backman, 160-70, or Jessee 197-200 and 213-15). Although the historical portion of the Wentworth Letter, which Joseph Smith prepared with the assistance of others, was not included in the Pearl of Great Price, the thirteen statements of faith were included in that modern-day scripture.

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.238

The history which Joseph Smith initiated on 30 April 1838 at Far West, Missouri, was written as part of an official history of the Church (Jessee 196); it was probably completed by 2 May 1838 and was initially published in Nauvoo in the Times and Seasons in 1842, when Joseph Smith was editor of that publication. From a literary point of view, it is the best of the four accounts. Written in the language (meaning the style or word usage) of Joseph Smith, it is an account that reflects the inspired writings of a prophet of God rather than the awkward language of a poorly educated American. Joseph Smith not only wrote this account from a perspective of a deep conviction (in harmony with all other accounts), but he used words and phrases employed by literary artists.

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.238

The 1838 account is not only a literary masterpiece [p.239] reflecting the work of an inspired prophet, but it contains the most comprehensive account of the First Vision, and includes more information on the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of God's authority than any of the other histories prepared by Joseph Smith.

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.239

All of Joseph Smith's accounts of the First Vision contribute to our understanding of that sacred experience. In order to better understand the contents of the 1838 account, we need to examine that version in relation to the other recitals.

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.239

There is a different emphasis in each of the accounts of the First Vision regarding the circumstances preceding Joseph's theophany near Palmyra. In the 1832 account, for example, Joseph emphasized that his desire to secure a remission of sins led to an investigation of the churches. This quest, he said, continued with him from the age of twelve to fifteen. To be more specific, Joseph wrote that his mind became seriously impressed with the all important concerns for the welfare of his immortal soul which led to a search of the scriptures. He had been taught and believed that they contained the word of God. He was not only distressed because of his recognition that he was a sinner but was concerned because mankind did not come unto the Lord. Joseph said, "I felt to mourn for my own Sins and for the Sins of the world"; therefore, he "cried unto the Lord for mercy for there was none else to whom [he] could go and obtain mercy . . ." (Backman, Joseph Smith's First Vision 156-157).

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.239

The second rendition of his theophany is found in Joseph's 1835 diary and is quite different from the 1832 account. This diary entry was also a scribal summary of a long conversation between Joseph Smith and Robert Matthews, who was also known by the name Matthias and disguised himself initially in Kirtland by calling himself Joshua, the Jewish prophet (Jessee 654 fn. 57). What we have here is an abbreviated version recorded by Warren Parrish (Jessee 651 fn. 27). There is a similarity between some of the concepts in the 1835 diary and information included in the Wentworth Letter and implied in the 1838 history. Joseph Smith probably declared the following in 1835: [p.240]

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.240

Being wrought up in my mind, respecting the subject of religion and looking at the different systems taught the children of men, I knew not who was right or who was wrong, and I considered it of the first importance that I should be right, in matters that involve eternal consequ[e]nces; being thus perplexed in mind I retired to the silent grove and bow[e]d down before the Lord, under a realising sense that he had said (if the bible be true) ask and you shall receive knock and it shall be opened seek and you shall find and again, if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men libarally and upbradeth not (Jessee 75).

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.240

Although there was a brief statement in the Wentworth Letter regarding the fourteen year old boy's reflection upon the need to prepare for a future state, the thrust in that account presented to a non-Mormon audience was his confusion arising from a clash of religious sentiment in America. "If I went to one society," he observed,

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.240

they referred me to one plan, and another to another; each one pointing to his own particular creed as the summum bonum of perfection: considering that all could not be right, and that God could not be the author of so much confusion I determined to investigate the subject more fully, believing that if God had a church it would not be split up into factions…(Jessee 213).

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.240

The 1838 recital (JS-H 1:5-20) contains the most detailed account of the historical setting of his religious experience prepared by the Prophet. This is the only account that describes specific religious conditions in the area where he lived. In this version, the Prophet mentioned that his mind was called up to serious reflection by the religious agitation in his neighborhood and that he labored under extreme difficulties caused by the contests of parties of religionists. Then he discussed with some detail the religious excitement that was occurring at the time of his vision. He declared that in the second year after his family's removal to Manchester (which would have been Farmington in 1820 but in 1839 had been changed to Manchester),

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.240

there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, [p.241] and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people (JS-H 1:5).

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.241

He not only discussed the war of words but identified the religious groups involved in the contest of opinions as Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. This is the only account in which he said that he personally leaned toward Methodism while his mother Lucy, his brothers Hyrum and Samuel, and his sister Sophronia were proselyted to the Presbyterian faith. Moreover, this is the only account in which Joseph mentioned that this was the first time in his life that he had made an attempt to pray vocally, possibly meaning his first attempt to follow the admonition of James regarding his anxieties. And this is the only account in which the Prophet identified the date of the vision: "It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty" (JS-H 1:14).

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.241

In both the 1835 and 1838 accounts, there is a reference to Joseph Smith's encounter with evil. According to the 1835 account,

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.241

I made a fruitless attempt to p[r]ay, my toung seemed to be swolen in my mouth, so that I could not utter, I heard a noise behind me like some person walking towards me, I strove again to pray, but could not, the noise of walking seemed to draw nearer, I sprang up on my feet and looked around, but saw no person or thing that was calculated to produce the noise of walking, I kneeled again my mouth was opened and my toung liberated, and I called on the Lord in mighty prayer . . .(Jessee 75).

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.241

A similar thought was related in 1838 employing different wording. He declared in Joseph Smith-History that after he had knelt in prayer he was seized upon "by some power which entirely overcame [him]. Thick darkness gathered around [him] and it seemed…for a time [that he was] doomed to sudden destruction" (v. 15). But at the very moment when he was ready to sink into despair and abandon himself to destruction, he saw a pillar of light above his head (v.16).

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.241

The 1838 account is the only one of the First Vision in which Joseph Smith clearly identified the personages who appeared to him. Although Joseph Smith might have referred to the Father when he said in 1832 that he cried unto "the Lord" who opened the heavens, the emphasis in [p.242] that account was the message of forgiveness related by the Savior. In the two accounts prepared for non-Mormons (1835 and 1842 accounts), Joseph mentioned the appearance of two heavenly personages without identifying them. In the 1842 account he added that they resembled each other in features and likeness, and the 1835 diary version reported that during this vision he also saw many angels. In the 1838 account he declared that he beheld "two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description.…One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" (JS-H 1:17). There is no evidence that Joseph changed this story based on an evolutionary development in his attitude toward the Godhead. Instead, it seems apparent that Joseph Smith hesitated in identifying the personages when he related this experience to people outside the Church. Some critics believed that with God all things were possible except appearing to Joseph Smith. It is apparent, in the two non-Mormon accounts which included the last account of the First Vision which Joseph prepared, the Prophet did not want to intensify the public criticism of this sacred experience by identifying the Father and the Son.

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.242

There is a definite harmony in the messages in the different versions of the First Vision, related to the audience to which each account was addressed and the purpose for which each version was written. In the most complete account of the First Vision he prepared (1838 account), Joseph Smith concluded that he learned many other things. At no time did he unfold everything that he learned during this theophany near Palmyra. Yet all accounts include some portions of that sacred message, and by reviewing all of these versions, we can gain a better understanding of the truths unfolded in 1820 and some of the other things Joseph learned in the sacred grove.

The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.242

The major emphasis in the 1832 outline was Joseph Smith's desire to secure a remission of sins. Therefore, in that account the Prophet said that Jesus forgave him of his sins, adding that he learned at that time that Jesus took upon himself the sins of mankind. He further said that the Redeemer would return to the earth. While describing the [p.243] state of religion, the prophet wrote the Lord's description of it as follows: