An Introduction to the First Vision

Mormons believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, in the spring of 1820. They call this event “the first vision” and according to former church president Gordon B. Hinckley, the credibility of the church hinges on the veracity of that story. But which version of the first vision story did he mean?

The Historical Development of the First Vision

In the time and place Joseph Smith grew up, spiritual experiences were rather common among young men of faith. Marquardt & Walters (1994, pp. 50-53) give a number of examples that bear a striking resemblance to Joseph Smith’s 1832 first vision story: a realization of one’s sins, followed by a period of contemplation and mental anguish, culminating in a personal salvation experience. The latter was often accompanied by the appearance of a bright light, seeing and/or hearing Jesus and/or God, and an intense feeling of peace and joy. Joseph Smith’s first experience, as written down by him in 1832, fits this type (Quinn 1994, p. 3).

First Vision Accounts

This is an annotated version of the article First Vision Accounts at lds.org. To display the annotation, click on the note numbers at the end of a paragraph (Note 1, Note 2, etc.). Click again to hide the note. The annotations are not part of the original article.

Joseph Smith recorded that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in a grove of trees near his parents’ home in western New York State when he was about 14 years old. Concerned by his sins and unsure which spiritual path to follow, Joseph sought guidance by attending meetings, reading scripture, and praying. In answer, he received a heavenly manifestation. Joseph shared and documented the First Vision, as it came to be known, on multiple occasions; he wrote or assigned scribes to write four different accounts of the vision. Note 1

What is also noteworthy about these accounts is that Joseph Smith waited a long time before sharing this special event. The first published version dates back to 1842 (written in the winter of 1838/39), 22 years after the fact and some 12 years after the foundation of the Mormon church on April 6, 1830.

There are virtually no sources from the years between 1820 and 1842 that refer to the first vision. Two unpublished versions from 1832 and 1835 are discussed later in this essay, but these were only discovered in the church archives in the 1960s (Jessee 1969, but see also this version from 1853, which describes hearing Joseph Smith mentioning elements of the first vision as early as 1833).

The story of Joseph Smith’s first vision plays no role whatsoever in early Mormonism. When looking at the contemporary historical sources, it appears as though it never happened.
 

First Vision, 1832 Version

From the foundation of the Mormon church in 1830, the Latter-day Saints have been commanded to keep a record (Doctrine and Covenants 2013, p. 40). The earliest known attempt is the record below, written by Joseph Smith himself, somewhere between the summer of 1831 and November 1832 (Jessee 1969; Faulring 1989, pp. 3-6; some minor editing (spelling, punctuation and paragraphing) by mormonism101.com).

First Vision, 1835 Version

In October 1834, Oliver Cowdery and William W. Phelps started publishing the first history of the church in the Mormon newspaper Messenger and Advocate. They were assisted by Joseph Smith. In 1835, Warren Parrish, Joseph Smith’s secretary, copied this publication to the prophet’s journal. Afterwards, this journal was continued in diary form by Warren A. Cowdery, amongst others. For November 9, 1835, we find the following description by Joseph Smith of his first vision (some minor editing (spelling, punctuation and paragraphing) by mormonism101.com).

First Vision, Orson Pratt Version (1840)

While on a mission in England, apostle Orson Pratt published the pamphlet “An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions”. There are indications that Joseph Smith may have authorised this publication (Anderson 1996) but Pratt embellished the story of the first vision to sound more dramatic than any story ever written by Smith (Allen & Arrington 1969).

First Vision, Wentworth Version (1842)

John Wentworth was the owner and editor of the newspaper Chicago Democrat. At his request, Joseph Smith wrote a letter outlining “the rise, progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-Day Saints”. Among the Mormons, this letter is best known for the 13 articles of faith with which Joseph Smith ended the letter (Smith 1842). Some minor editing (spelling, punctuation and paragraphing) by mormonism101.com.

First Vision, Orson Hyde Version (1842)

After an extensive mission among the Jewish communities of New York, London, Amsterdam, Constantinopel (present-day Istanbul) and Jerusalem, apostle Orson Hyde stayed in Germany for a while. There he published the pamphlet Ein Ruf aus der Wüste (A Call from the Desert), which includes an account of the first vision in chapter one “How the Angel of the Lord Appeared to Joseph Smith Jr.” (Hyde 1842, pp. 13-17).

First Vision, Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette (1843)

After a visit to Joseph Smith in August 1843, the editor of the Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, David Nye White, ran an article on September 15, 1843 about "The Prairies, Nauvoo, Joe Smith, the Temple, the Mormons, etc.". According to the article, Joseph Smith gave the following account of his first vision.

First Vision, Milo Andrus Version (1853)

Milo Andrus was born on March 6, 1814. He became a member of the Mormon church in 1833, at 19 years of age. Twenty years later, on July 17, 1853, he held a sermon in which he also mentioned Joseph Smith’s first vision.

This sermon is one of the very few evidences that Joseph Smith spoke about his vision in public as early as 1833. The year before, he had written down the story for the first time but that 1832 version does not match Andrus’ version here. In his 1832 version, Joseph Smith described seeing Jesus but according to Andrus, it was an “angel”: