The narration of the First Vision best known to Latter-day Saints today is the 1838 account. First published in 1842 in the Times and Seasons, the Church's newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, the account was part of a longer history dictated by Joseph Smith between periods of intense opposition. This best-known account of Joseph Smith's first vision opened what was to become a six-volume history of his life.
Copied by scribes into a large bound volume, this account was later canonized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter. A look at Joseph Smith's multiple First Vision accounts along with the problems and apologetic responses regarding the Mormon church's claims about this miraculous event. We review the 1832, 1825, 1838, and 1842 versions and address the contradictions and official LDS essay.
From the historical introduction to this account, we learn that for Joseph Smith, "scriptural record keeping overshadowed personal and institutional record keeping" until 1832. Prior to that time, Joseph was focused on recording the Book of Mormon and other revelations rather than recording his own story or the Church's history. The different accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision and their significance in LDS theology, historical records, and the church's narrative.
The official account of this first vision found in Mormon Scripture (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith - History, 1:14-20) was not recorded by Joseph Smith until 1838, 18 years after the supposed event. However, for years before this, Joseph, and his close associates did talk about his early visionary experiences. Stained glass depiction of Joseph Smith 's First Vision, completed in 1913 by an unknown artist (Church History Museum, Salt Lake City).
The First Vision (also called the grove experience by members of the Community of Christ) refers to a theophany which Latter Day Saints believe Joseph Smith experienced in the early 1820s, in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, called the Sacred Grove. Joseph Smith-History Insight #1 Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are inspired by Joseph Smith's account of his First Vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ as recorded in Joseph Smith-History in the Pearl of Great Price. Canonized as scripture on Sunday, October 10, 1880,1 this account of the First.
Accounts of the First Vision The First Vision is the foundational event of the Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter. The beginning pages of this history were in time canonized as scripture in the Pearl of Great Price and contain the best-known account of the First Vision. See handwritten account at JosephSmithPapers.org Joseph Smith So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt.