Of Visions and Stories: The Distinctive Problems with Joseph Smiths First Vision

April 15, 2005 Posted by Roger Overton

I’ve
finally gotten around to posting my research paper on Joseph Smith’s
First Vision. The LDS Church teaches that in 1820 Joseph was praying to
God, enquiring as to which religion is true. God and Jesus then
appeared to Smith, told him all the religions were false, that his sins
were for forgiven, and that he was chosen to bring forth the fullness
of the gospel (lost by Christians after the apostles died). Since my
paper is 32 page printed, I’ve summarized my analysis below:

In
my paper I analyze the earliest 11 first or second person accounts of
the First Vision. I draw out six important elements that differ between
the accounts: Smith’s age & therefore the date of the vision, the
mention of revivals, attacks by dark powers, the appearance of
personages, the message of corrupt churches, and the central message of
the vision.

The
first problem is the differing ages in Smith’s own accounts, either 14
or 15. This wouldn’t matter much if it were just a man telling a story,
but if Smith contradicted himself this brings into question his
authority as a prophet of God, especially since the LDS Church has
accepted the age 14 into their Scriptures.

The
next and most complex problem is of revivals. In only one of Smith’s
accounts does he even mention revivals, and this happens to be the
account accepted as Scripture. There are a number of difficulties, but
the most damaging one is that Smith claims four of his family members
joined a church as a result of the revivals that occurred prior to his
vision. Every piece of historical evidence (particularly his mother’s
autobiography) says they went to church in 1822 at the earliest, which
would make Joseph Smith at least 15, but more like 16 when all of his
family went.

The
earliest mention we have of Smith seeing both God the Father and Jesus
Christ in his vision are 19 years after the vision (1839). The earliest
account only mentions Jesus, the others simply say personages or
angelic beings. This doesn’t disprove that Smith saw them, but it seems
questionable that no one knew about it until the Church had been chased
once again from their homes and settled in Illinois.

On
the issue of which church was the true church, Joseph Smith’s earliest
account said he had already made up his mind and was actually praying
for mercy. Most subsequent vision accounts tell us Smith was praying to
find out which was true. Here again the “prophet” contradicted himself.

Regarding
the central message, it’s interesting to note that the first five
accounts contain the message of Smith’s sins being forgiven while the
first three make no mention of the fullness of the gospel being
restored. While the omission of the differing messages is not a
contradiction, they present a pattern that cannot go without notice.

It’s
also important to note that most early Mormon documents fail to mention
the First Vision. Smith’s mother skips right to the Second Vision when
Smith was told about the Book of Mormon. This is difficult to
understand in light of the important of the First Vision in Mormon
history…

“This
vision was the most important event that had taken place in all world
history from the day of Christ’s ministry to the glorious hour when it
occurred.” – Apostle Bruce R. McConkie

“Our
whole strength rests on the validity of that vision. It either occurred
or it did not occur. If it did not, then this work is a fraud. If it
did, then it is the most important and wonderful work under the
heavens.” –current LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley

The
historical evidence points to a story about a vision that does not at
all resemble what the LDS Church teaches today. Instead, it evolved
over time to meet the needs of a new and growing church under the
leadership of Joseph Smith. If his original story refers to anything in
actual history, it is nothing but a figment of Smith’s imagination (a
dream).

Here's my full paper.

Here's a handy chart comparing the 11 vision accounts.