Principle elements of the account:
- A local revival caused him to wonder which church
was right, it had never occurred to him all were wrong
- age 14 (1820)
- he was in a grove
- had a vision of two personages
- One identifies the other as his son (by implication
God the Father and Jesus, but not explicitly stated)
- Was told all churches are wrong and is to join none
of them
- Claimed to come under great persecution
- Fell into all kinds of temptations
- Three years later has vision of an angel
The Account
7 I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father's
family was proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of
them joined that church, namely, my mother, Lucy; my
brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison; and my sister Sophronia.
8 During this time of great excitement my mind was called up
to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my
feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself
aloof from all these parties, though I attended their
several meetings as often as occasion would permit. In
process of time my mind became somewhat partial to the
Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with
them; but so great were the confusion and strife among the
different denominations, that it was impossible for a person
young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to
come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was
wrong.
9 My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult
were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most
decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all
the powers of both reason and sophistry to prove their
errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in
error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in
their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish
their own tenets and disprove all others.
10 In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions,
I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these
parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any
one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?
11 While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties
caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I
was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and
fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
12 Never did any passage of scripture come with more power
to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It
seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my
heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if
any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I
did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then
had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the
different sects understood the same passages of scripture so
differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the
question by an appeal to the Bible.
13 At length I came to the conclusion that I must either
remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James
directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the
determination to "ask of God," concluding that if he gave
wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally,
and not upbraid, I might venture.
14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of
God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on
the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring
of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my
life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my
anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray
vocally.
15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously
designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself
alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of
my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I
was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me,
and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my
tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered
around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were
doomed to sudden destruction.
16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver
me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me,
and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair
and abandon myself to destruction÷not to an imaginary ruin,
but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world,
who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in
any being÷just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar
of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the
sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from
the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me
I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all
description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake
unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other
— This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
18 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know
which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to
join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself,
so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who
stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was
right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart
that all were wrong)÷and which I should join.
19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they
were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that
all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that
those professors were all corrupt; that: "they draw near to
me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they
teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form
of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."
20 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many
other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at
this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying
on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had
departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some
degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace,
mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, "Never mind,
all is well—I am well enough off." I then said to my mother,
"I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not
true." It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very
early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a
disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the
powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition
and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?
27 I continued to pursue my common vocations in life until
the twenty-first of September, one thousand eight hundred
and twenty-three, all the time suffering severe persecution
at the hands of all classes of men, both religious and
irreligious, because I continued to affirm that I had seen a
vision.
28 During the space of time which intervened between the
time I had the vision and the year eighteen hundred and
twenty-three — having been forbidden to join any of the
religious sects of the day, and being of very tender years,
and persecuted by those who ought to have been my friends
and to have treated me kindly, and if they supposed me to be
deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate
manner to have reclaimed me—I was left to all kinds of
temptations; and, mingling with all kinds of society, I
frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the
weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I
am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, offensive
in the sight of God. In making this confession, no one need
suppose me guilty of any great or malignant sins. A
disposition to commit such was never in my nature. But I was
guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with jovial
company, etc., not consistent with that character which
ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had
been. But this will not seem very strange to any one who
recollects my youth, and is acquainted with my native cheery
temperament.
29 In consequence of these things, I often felt condemned
for my weakness and imperfections; when, on the evening of
the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had
retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to prayer
and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my
sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I
might know of my state and standing before him; for I had
full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I
previously had one.
30 While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I
discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to
increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when
immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in
the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.
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This account is now LDS Scripture and is often the only account known to members of the Mormon Church. However, it contains numerous conflicts with previous versions given by Joseph Smith and is at odds with historical details that relate to Joseph Smith and his family. Some of these include:
- Date of the initial visitation being 1820. This
conflicts with Joseph's statement that the revival came
two years after their removal to Manchester - which took
place in 1822 (brings it to 1824), the Palmyra /
Manchester revival which led to his Mother and siblings
joining the Presbyterian church after Alvin's death
which was in 1823, and the revival itself which took
place in 1824 (see
Inventing Mormonism review for
additional details).
- Joseph's claim that it had never entered into his
heart that the existing churches were all wrong. This
conflicts with his 1832 History where he claimed it was
from Bible reading starting at age 12 that he concluded
all churches were wrong.
- Joseph's claim that the Father and Son appeared, both in bodily form. This conflicts with all previous versions that mention either a spirit, an angel, Jesus, or various angels. It also conflicts with Joseph's 1832 revelation now found in D&C 84:22 which states, "For without this [authority of the priesthood] no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live."
For a detailed and documented analysis of the problems and discrepancies related to this 1838-39 First Vision account see Vogel's Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, pp. 56 ff., New Light on Joseph Smith's First Vision, and Inventing Mormonism, pp. 89 ff.
It would appear that Joseph Smith incorporated elements from various earlier versions and attempted to harmonize them into a single account that (a) eliminated the questionable and occultic aspects of his seer stone and treasure seeking days, and (b) instead presented Joseph Smith as a young, spiritual seeker who had had singular encounters with God and angels. In doing so, however, he created an account that appears to be more fabrication than factual. This in turn raises questions about the veracity of any of the accounts provided by Joseph on the origins of Mormonism.