Christian revival

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Christian revival

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• Joseph Smith doesn't mention a "revival" in his 1832 First Vision account
• Religious activity in the Palmyra area in 1820

Joseph Smith doesn't mention a "revival" in his 1832 First Vision account

Summary: A religious revival is not mentioned in Joseph Smith's handwritten 1832 First Vision account. Since this detail does not show up in the narrative until the 1838 'official text' some claim that it provides evidence that the First Vision story evolved over time and became more elaborate.

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• Question: At what age did Joseph Smith become concerned about religion?
• Question: What religious excitement was occurring in Palmyra in 1820?
• Question: What statements did Joseph Smith make about religious excitement in the area of Palmyra?

Religious activity in the Palmyra area in 1820

Summary: It is claimed that there were no religious revivals in the Palmyra, New York area in 1820, contrary to Joseph Smith's claims that during that year there was "an unusual excitement on the subject of religion...indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it"

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• Christofferson (2013): "Critics have also claimed that there were no religious revivals in the Palmyra, New York, area in 1820"
• Question: What religious excitement was occurring in Palmyra in 1820?
• Question: Was there no mention of revival activity in 1820 in the newspaper?
• Question: At what age did Joseph Smith become concerned about religion?
• Question: What evidence of religious excitement is there from non-Mormon sources?
• Question: Were revivals and religious excitement too common to be noticed in the newspapers?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith simply conflate elements of the 1818 and 1824-25 revivals in his story of the First Vision?
• Palmyra Register (1820): "It was far from our intention to charge the Methodists with retailing ardent spirits while professedly met for the worship of their God"
• Benajah Williams (1820): "Had a two Days meeting at Sq Bakers in Richmond. Br. Wright being gone to campmeeting on Ridgeway circuit I expected to find Br. J. Hayes at the Meeting"
• Question: Did Gordon B. Hinckley cite false information regarding an 1820 Palmyra revival in a book called Truth Restored?