The First Vision

The many accounts of the first vision--How the first vision evolved

The official account told today:
The official account as told by the mormon church today is in the Pearl of Great Price (Joseph Smith-History, History of the church, vol.1, ch.1:17-20). It was published in 1842, 22 yrs. after the event supposedly took place in 1820. Joseph Smith claims that, due to a revival in 1820 when he was 14 yrs. old, he went into the woods to pray, two personages appeared to him. One spake,calling Joseph by name & pointed to the other personage saying "This is my beloved son. Hear him!" Joseph asked which church to join and he was told not to join any, that they were all wrong.
--Later the angel Moroni appears to Joseph & tells him about the gold plates that Smith translates into the book of mormon.

The 1st known account in 1832:
(See The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, compiled by Dean Jessee, Deseret Book, 2002, pp. 11 and 17. Also in An American Prophet's Record, edited by Scott Faulring, Signature Books, 1989, p. 5 and Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1.)
-This acount was handwritten by Joseph Smith in 1832
-Smith's first draft of his history. Only Jesus was mentioned as appearing.
-Smith started serious study of the scriptures at age 12
-Determined all churches were wrong
-No mention of a revival
-At age 15 (in his 16th year) he went into the grove and had a vision of the Saviour
-His sins were forgiven. He reverted back to old ways
-At age 17 he again prayed and an angel appeared telling him about the plates and announced he was forgiven of his sins.

The 2nd account in 1834:
Oliver Cowdery, with the help of Joseph Smith, published the first history of Mormonism in the LDS paper Messenger and Advocate, Kirtland, Ohio, Dec. 1834, Vol. 1, No. 3.
-He began Smith's story with the angel vision in the bedroom in 1823. On page 42 Cowdery started the account when Smith was 14 (in his 15th year) telling of a revival in the area. He named Mr.Lane, of the Methodist Church, as participating in a great revival. Large additions were made to the Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist churches. During this revival his mother, one sister and two brothers joined the Presbyterians.
-On page 78 Cowdery corrected Smith's age, stating Smith would have been in his 17th year (16) not his 15th year (14) and placed the date at "1823."
-During this religious excitement Smith prayed to know "if a Supreme being did exist, to have an assurance that he was accepted of him."
-His prayer was answered on Sept. 21, 1823, when a "messenger" appeared to him in his bedroom "to deliver a special message, and to witness to him that his sins were forgiven, and that his prayers were heard;..."
-There was no mention in Cowdery's history of a vision prior to the angel coming to Smith's bedroom.

The 3rd & 4th account in 1835:
Joseph related his first vision to two different men. Both accounts relate seeing angels but not God or Jesus.
3rd The Nov. 9, 1835 Account (Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, pp. 75-76, 1984 ed., p. 105 in the 2002 edition. Also in An American Prophet's Record, p. 51. This account appeared in the serial printing of Smith's history in the Millennial Star, Vol. 15, p. 396. However, this account has been deleted from the History of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 304.)
-Smith related his story to a Jewish minister
-He didn't know which church was teaching the truth
-No mention of a revival
-He went into the grove to pray
-Two personages appeared—the second one "testified unto me that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
-He "saw many angels in this vision"
-At age 17 he "saw another vision of angels"—one told him about the plates
4thThe Nov.14, 1835 Account (Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, p. 84, also An American Prophet's Record, p. 59)
-Smith related his story to Erastus Holmes:
-"...I received the first visitation of Angels which was when I was about 14 years old..."
-Later received the vision regarding the plates
This same account was later printed in the Deseret News, May 29, 1852. This entry has been changed in the History of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 312. It now reads "my first vision" instead of "visitation of angels."

1838
Joseph started working on his history but it wasn't published until 1842.

5th account in 1840:
Orson Pratt published A Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, Scotland, 1840. He related that when Smith was "about fourteen or fifteen years old" he was praying in the woods when "two glorious personages" appeared. But they were not specifically identified as the Father and Son.

6th account, John Wentworth letter in 1842:
The letter to John Wentworth, March 1, 1842 Account (Personal Writings, p. 213). Also printed in Times and Seasons, Nauvoo, Ill., March 1, 1842, Vol. 3, No. 9, pp. 706-710
-At about 14 Smith started wondering which church was right.
-Went into the grove to pray.
-"Two glorious personages" appeared and informed him that none of the churches "was acknowledged of God."
-He was told not to join any of them but wait for further revelation.
-In 1823 an angel appeared to tell him about the plates

7th account in 1842 Smith published his 1838-39 account:
Smith published his 1838-39 account in the Times and Seasons, Nauvoo, Ill., March 15, 1842, Vol. 3, No. 10, pp. 727-728; pp. 748-749; pp. 753.
-When he was in his 15th year (age 14) his mother, sister, and two brothers joined the Presbyterian Church due to a revival in the neighborhood. The revival started with the Methodists and soon spread to the Presbyterians and Baptists.
-Joseph went into the grove to ask God which church to join "for at this time it had never entered my heart that all were wrong." Two beings appeared. One spoke, pointed to the other being and said "This is my beloved Son, hear him."
-He was told to join none of the churches "for they were all wrong...all their creeds were an abomination in his sight;..."
-On Sept. 21st, 1823 he again prayed and the angel "Nephi" appeared to him to tell him of the plates ("Nephi" was later changed to "Moroni" in the History of the Church, Vol. 1, p. 11).

8th account in 1844:
Smith wrote a chapter on Mormonism for the book, An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States, edited by Daniel Rupp. But he did not state that he saw God and Christ in the vision: "I retired to a secret place, and began to call upon the Lord. ...two personages, who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light, which eclipsed the sun at noonday. They told me that all the religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines,..." (p. 404-405)