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Mormonism and Wikipedia/First Vision/Interpretations and responses to the vision
| How the vision story has been presented | A FairMormon Analysis of Wikipedia: Mormonism and Wikipedia/First Vision A work by a collaboration of authors (Link to Wikipedia article here)
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An analysis of the Wikipedia article "First Vision" (Version September 2009)
The article is indeed one of the most neutral articles about Mormon doctrine on Wikipedia, and I'll do my best to keep it as neutral as one non-Mormon can.
—Wikipedia editor John "Foxe" (6 October 2007) off-site
—Wikipedia editor John "Foxe" (6 October 2007) off-site
How people have responded to the First Vision (Version September 2009)
Acceptance of the First Vision
| - | Wikipedia Main Article: First Vision–Acceptance_of_the_First_Vision | Wikipedia Footnotes: First Vision–Notes | A FAIR Opinion |
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1A |
The importance of the First Vision within the Latter Day Saint movement evolved over time. Early adherents were unaware of the details of the vision until 1840, when the earliest accounts were published in Great Britain. An account of the First Vision was not published in the United States until 1842, shortly before Joseph Smith's death. Jan Shipps has written that the vision was "practically unknown" until an account of it written in 1838 was published in 1840. |
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1B |
The canonical First Vision story was not emphasized in the sermons of Smith's immediate successors Brigham Young and John Taylor. Hugh Nibley noted that although a "favorite theme of Brigham Young's was the tangible, personal nature of God," he "never illustrates [the theme] by any mention of the first vision." |
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1C |
John Taylor gave a complete account of the First Vision story in an 1850 letter written as he began missionary work in France, |
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1D |
and he may have alluded to it in a discourse given in 1859. |
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1E |
However, when Taylor discussed the origins of Mormonism in 1863, he did so without alluding to the canonical First Vision story, |
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1F |
and in 1879, he referred to Joseph Smith having asked "the angel" which of the sects was correct. |
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1G |
Three non-Mormon students of Mormonism, Douglas Davies, Kurt Widmer, and Jan Shipps agree that the LDS emphasis on the First Vision was a "'late development', only gaining an influential status in LDS self-reflection late in the nineteenth century." |
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1H |
Mormon historian James B. Allen also argues that the First Vision "did not figure prominently in any evangelistic endeavors by the Church until the 1880s." |
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1I |
The first important visual representation of the First Vision was painted by the Danish convert C. C. A. Christensen sometime between 1869 and 1878, and George Manwaring, inspired by the artist, wrote a hymn about the First Vision (later renamed "Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning") first published in 1884. |
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1J |
Kurt Widner states that it was primarily through "the post 1883 sermons of LDS Apostle George Q. Cannon that the modern interpretation and significance of the First Vision in Mormonism began to take shape." |
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1K |
As the sympathetic but non-Mormon historian Jan Shipps has written, "When the first generation of leadership died off, leaving the community to be guided mainly by men who had not known Joseph, the First Vision emerged as a symbol that could keep the slain Mormon leader at center stage." |
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1L |
The centennial anniversary of the vision in 1920 "was a far cry from the almost total lack of reference to it just fifty years before." |
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1M |
By 1939, even George D. Pyper, an LDS Sunday School superintendent and manager of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, found it "surprising that none of the first song writers wrote intimately of the first vision." |
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Beliefs about the First Vision
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| - | Wikipedia Main Article: First Vision–The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints | Wikipedia Footnotes: First Vision–Notes | A FAIR Opinion |
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2A |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has canonized Smith's 1838 account of the First Vision within the book Joseph Smith—History in the Pearl of Great Price, and it is a foundational belief of the Church. |
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2B |
An official website of the Church calls the First Vision "the greatest event in world history since the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ." |
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2C |
In 1998, Gordon B. Hinckley, then Church President and Prophet, declared,
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2D |
In 1961 Hinckley went even further, "Either Joseph Smith talked with the Father and the Son or he did not. If he did not, we are engaged in a blasphemy." |
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2E |
Likewise, in a January 2007 interview conducted for the PBS documentary "The Mormons," Hinckley said of the First Vision, "[I]t's either true or false. If it's false, we're engaged in a great fraud. If it's true, it's the most important thing in the world....That's our claim. That's where we stand, and that's where we fall, if we fall. But we don't. We just stand secure in that faith." |
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2F |
According to the LDS church the vision teaches that God the Father and Jesus Christ are separate beings with glorified bodies of flesh and bone; that mankind was literally created in the image of God; that Satan is real but God infinitely greater; that God hears and answers prayer; that no other contemporary church had the fullness of Christ's gospel; and that revelation has not ceased. In the twenty-first century, the Vision features prominently in the Church's program of proselytism. |
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Community of Christ
| - | Wikipedia Main Article: First Vision–Community_of_Christ | Wikipedia Footnotes: First Vision–Notes | A FAIR Opinion |
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3A |
William B. Smith, a younger brother of Joseph Smith, Jr., and a key figure in the early Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, renamed Community of Christ in 2001) gave several accounts of the First Vision, although in 1883 he stated that a "more elaborate and accurate description of his vision" was to be found in Joseph Smith's own history |
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3B |
REMAINDER OF SECTION SKIPPED - NOT RELEVANT |
The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
Skipped
Church of Christ (Temple Lot)
Skipped
Academic interpretations
Alleged chronological problems (Section Version 1/2/2010)
| - | Wikipedia Main Article: First Vision–Alleged_chronological_problems | Wikipedia Footnotes: First Vision–Notes | A FAIR Opinion |
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Writing of the revivals described in the canonized First Vision story (which has been canonized by the LDS Church), Milton V. Backman, Jr., associate professor of history and religion at Brigham Young University, said that although "the tools of the historian" could neither verify nor challenge the First Vision, "records of the past can be examined to determine the reliability of Joseph's description regarding the historical setting." |
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Grant Palmer and others claim that there are serious discrepancies between the various accounts, as well as anachronisms revealed by lack of contemporary corroboration. |
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For instance, in the canonized account, Smith said that when he shared his vision with a Methodist minister, the latter treated his "communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days." Smith said that he became the "subject of great persecution, which continued to increase." |
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But according to emeritus Brigham Young University history professor James B. Allen, there is no evidence beyond Smith's word that he ever mentioned his vision to a minister—or in fact, to anyone else—for years after the event is supposed to have occurred. Nor is there any evidence that the young Smith was persecuted for telling the First Vision story during the 1820s. |
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Discrepancies cited by critics (Section Version 1/2/2010)
| - | Wikipedia Main Article: First Vision–Alleged_chronological_problems | Wikipedia Footnotes: First Vision–Notes | A FAIR Opinion |
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Critics specifically identify the following discrepancies between the various versions: |
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Joseph Smith's Accounts (Section Version 1.2.2010)
| - | Source of First Vision | Supernatural beings | Messages from beings | Notes | A FAIR Opinion |
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1832 Joseph Smith's own handwriting from his Letterbook The Papers of Joseph Smith, v1, p5-7, Dean Jessee (ed.), Deseret Book Company 1989.Jessee, Dean (1989), The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings {{{pages}}}</ref> And Early Mormon Documents, v 1, p27-29, Dan Vogel, Signature Books, 1996. | "The Lord" | "Thy sins are fogiven thee". | Smith decides for himself that all churches are corrupt. Vision in Smith's "16th year" (i.e. when he is 15 years old). All other accounts state his age as 14. |
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1835, Nov. 9 - Joseph Smith diary (Ohio Journal, handwritten, Warren Parrish scribe) The Papers of Joseph Smith, Dean Jessee (ed.), v2, p68-69. Deseret Book Company 1989. | Two unidentified personages, and "many angels" | "Thy sins are fogiven thee" and Jesus is the "son of God" | No message of revivals or corrupt churches. |
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1835, Nov. 14 - Joseph Smith diary (Ohio Journal, handwritten, Warren Parrish scribe) The Papers of Joseph Smith, Dean Jessee (ed.), v2, p79. Deseret Book Company 1989. | "visitation of angels" | None. | No mention of revival, or sins forgiven, or corrupt churches. |
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1838/1839 - History of the Church, Early Draft (James Mulholland Scribe) | Two personages appear, and one says "This is my beloved Son, hear him". | The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. | No mention of "sins forgiven". A revival is mentioned. |
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1842, March - Times and Seasons March 1, 1842, v3 no 9, p706-707. | Two personages appear, and one says "This is my beloved Son, hear him". | The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. | No mention of "sins forgiven". A revival is mentioned. | |
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1842, March - Times and Seasons March 15, 1842, v3 no 11, p727-728, April 1, 1842, v3, no 11, p748-749. This version was later incorporated into The History of the Church, and later into the Pearl of Great Priceand thus is sometimes refered to as the "canonized version". | Two personages appear, and one says "This is my beloved Son, hear him". | The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. | No mention of "sins forgiven". A revival is mentioned. When this version was incorporated into the History of the Church, it was put into a context that suggests it was composed in 1838, but 1842 is the first known publication of this version. | |
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1843, July - Letter from JS to D. Rupp An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States, Daniel Rupp, Philadelpha, 1844. p404-410. | Two personages appear. No mention of "this is my son". | The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. | No mention of "sins forgiven". No revival mentioned. Available online here. See also the Wentworth letter. | |
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1843, Aug 29 - Interview with journalist David White Reprinted in Jessee v1 p443-444. | Two personages appear. "Behold my beloved son, hear him". | The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. | Revival is mentioned. No mention of "sins forgiven". |
Accounts of Others (Section Version 1.2.2010)
| - | Source of First Vision | Supernatural beings | Messages from beings | Notes | A FAIR Opinion |
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1840, September - Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions , Orson Pratt, Ballantyne and Huges publ, 1840 (reprinted in Jessee, v1 p 149-160).[1] | Two unidentified "glorious personages, who exactly resembed each other in their features". | "his sins were forgiven". The personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. | This is the first published version. No mention of revival. Online here. | |
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1841, June - A Cry from the Wilderness , Orson Hyde, published in German, Frankfurt, 1842 (reprinted in Jessee, v1 p405-409).[1] | Two unidentified "glorious personages" who resembed "each other in their features". | No specific message. | No mention of "sins forgiven" or revival. Smith determines for himself that all churches are corrupt. | |
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1844, May 24 - as told to Alexander Neibaur Alexander Neibaur Journal, reprinted in Jessee, v1, p 459-461.[1] | Two personages appear. One has a "light complexion" and "blue eyes". "This is my beloved son harken ye him". | Methodist churches are wrong. All churches are corrupt. | Revival is mentioned. No mention of "sins forgiven". |
Apologetic Responses (Section Version 1/2/2010)
Although this section is titled "Apologetic Responses," we see no apologists quoted here. We see Church leaders, a BYU professor, and an evangelical theologian. It is inaccurate to classify any and all believers as "apologists."
| - | Wikipedia Main Article: First Vision–Apologetic_Responses | Wikipedia Footnotes: First Vision–Notes | A FAIR Opinion |
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Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have acknowledged that the differences in the accounts "constitute stumbling blocks for many." Apostle Neal A. Maxwell wrote:
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Some believers view differences in the accounts as overstated. Richard L. Anderson, a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University wrote, "What are the main problems of interpreting so many accounts? The first problem is the interpreter. One person perceives harmony and interconnections while another overstates differences." |
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Other believers view the differences in the accounts as reflective of Smith's increase in maturity and knowledge over time. In a recent PBS interview, Marlin K. Jensen, General authority and Church Historian said:
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In another interview on the same PBS documentary, Richard Mouw, an evangelical theologian and student of Mormonism summarized his feelings about the First Vision in this way:
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References
| Wikipedia references for "First Vision" |
- Abanes, Richard, (2002), One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church , New York: Four Walls Eight Windows .
- Allen, James B., (1980), Emergence of a Fundamental: The Expanding Role of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Religious Thought off-site .
- Allen, James B., (1966), The Significance of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Thought off-site .
- Anderson, Richard Lloyd, Joseph Smith’s Testimony of the First Vision off-site .
- Anderson, Richard Lloyd, (1969), Circumstantial Confirmation Of the first Vision Through Reminiscences off-site .
- Backman, Milton V., Jr., (1969), Awakenings in the Burned-over District: New Light on the Historical Setting of the first Vision off-site .
- Berge, Dale L., Archaeological Work at the Smith Log House off-site .
- Bauder, Peter, Vogel, Dan (editor) (1834), Early Mormon Documents , Salt Lake City: Signature Books .
- Bitton, Davis, (1994), Historical Dictionary of Mormonism , Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press .
- Brown, Matthew B., Historical or Hysterical— Anti-Mormons and Documentary Sources Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research off-site .
- Bushman, Richard Lyman, (2005), Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling , New York: Knopf .
- Cowdery, Oliver, Far West Record: Minutes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1844 , Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company .
- Cowdery, Oliver, (1834), Letter III off-site .
- Cowdery, Oliver, (1835), Letter IV off-site .
- Flake, Kathleen, (2004), The Politics of American Religious Identity: The Seating of Senator Reed Smoot, Mormon Apostle University of North Carolina Press .
- Hill, Marvin S., (1980), The First Vision Controversy: A Critique and Reconciliation .
- Howard, Richard P., (1980), Joseph Smith's First Vision: The RLDS Tradition off-site .
- Howe, Eber Dudley, ed., The Mormon Creed off-site .
- Jessee, Dean (1989), The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings {{{pages}}}
- Jessee, Dean C., (Spring, 1971), How Lovely was the Morning off-site .
- Jessee, Dean C., (1969), Early Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision .
- Mormon History off-site .
- Mack, Solomon, (1811), A Narraitve [sic] of the Life of Solomon Mack Windsor: Solomon Mack off-site .
- Matzko, John A., (2007), The Encounter of the Young Joseph Smith with Presbyterianism .
- McKune, Joshua, Review of Mormonism: Rejoiner to Elder Cadwell off-site .
- Neibaur, Alexander, (1841–48), Journal of Alexander Neibaur off-site .
- Palmer, Grant H., (2002), An Insider's View of Mormon Origins Signature Books .
- Phelps, W.W., ed., (1833), A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ , Zion: William Wines Phelps & Co. off-site .
- Porter, Larry C., (1969), Reverend George Lane—Good "Gifts", Much "Grace", and Marked "Usefulness" off-site .
- Pratt, Orson, (1840), A Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records , Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes off-site .
- Quinn, D. Michael, (1998), Early Mormonism and the Magic World View Signature Books .
- Ray, Craig N., (2002), Joseph Smith's History Confirmed Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research off-site .
- Riley, I. Woodbridge, (1903), The Founder of Mormonism: A Psychological Study of Joseph Smith, Jr. , New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. off-site
- Roberts, B. H. (editor) (1902), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints LDS Church off-site .
- Smith, Joseph, Jr., Jessee, Dean C (editor) (1832), Personal Writings of Joseph Smith , Salt Lake City: Deseret Book off-site .
- Smith, Joseph, Jr., Jessee, Dean C (editor) (1835), Personal Writings of Joseph Smith , Salt Lake City: Deseret Book off-site .
- Smith, Joseph, Jr., (1838), History of the Church , copied to Jessee, Dean C (editor) (1839–1843), Personal Writings of Joseph Smith Deseret Book .
- Smith, Joseph, Jr., (1842a), Church History [Wentworth Letter] off-site .
- Smith, Joseph, Jr., (1842b), History of Joseph Smith off-site .
- Smith, Joseph, Jr., (1842c), History of Joseph Smith off-site .
- Smith, Lucy Mack, (1853), Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations , Liverpool: S.W. Richards off-site .
- Smith, William, (1883), William Smith on Mormonism: A True Account of the Origin of the Book of Mormon , Lamoni, Iowa: RLDS Church off-site .
- Smith, William, (1884), The Old Soldier's Testimony off-site .
- Tanner, Jerald and Sandra (1987 (5th ed)), Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? {{{pages}}}
- Taylor, John, How a Knowledge of God is Obtained—The Gospel to the Dead—Various Dispensations of the Most High to Mankind—Power of the Priesthood—Restoration of the Gospel Through Joseph Smith—Failings of the Saints—Corruptions of the Wicked off-site .
- Tucker, Pomeroy, (1867), Origin, Rise and Progress of Mormonism , New York: D. Appleton off-site .
- Turner, Orasmus, (1851), History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and Morris' Reserve , Rochester, New York: William Alling off-site .
- Vogel, Dan (editor) (1996), Early Mormon Documents , Salt Lake City: Signature Books .
- Vogel, Dan (editor) (1999), Early Mormon Documents , Salt Lake City: Signature Books .
- Vogel, Dan (editor) (2000), Early Mormon Documents , Salt Lake City: Signature Books .
- Vogel, Dan (editor) (2002), Early Mormon Documents , Salt Lake City: Signature Books .
- Vogel, Dan (editor) (2003), Early Mormon Documents , Salt Lake City: Signature Books .
- Vogel, Dan, (2004), Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet , Salt Lake City: Signature Books .
- Waite, David Nye, Sr., The Prairies, Nauvoo, Joseph Smith, the Temple, the Mormons &c off-site .
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