{"id":39775,"date":"2020-02-27T08:34:10","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T13:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=39775"},"modified":"2020-02-27T08:26:31","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T13:26:31","slug":"the-first-vision-a-close-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2020\/02\/the-first-vision-a-close-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Vision-A Close Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year has been marked out as a bicentennial celebration of the year Joseph Smith experienced the First Vision.\u00a0 President Russell M. Nelson invited us to \u201cimmerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration,\u201d offering the suggestion to \u201cbegin your preparation by reading afresh Joseph Smith\u2019s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price.\u201d\u00a0 While he specifically mentions the official account of the First Vision as a starting point, President Nelson encourages each of us to go on from that account and do more study: \u201cSelect your own questions.\u00a0 Design your own plan.\u00a0 Act on any of these invitations to prepare yourself.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

As part of my own study of the First Vision, I reviewed all the primary accounts of the event to see what could be gleaned from them about what the messages of the vision were. \u00a0Based on documents we have available<\/a>, my feelings are that the First Vision was primarily a conversion experience for Joseph Smith and a confirmation that a general apostasy had occurred. \u00a0In looking at all of the contemporary accounts of the First Vision, the only messages that God presented to Joseph Smith were that (1) God forgave his sins, (2) a general apostasy had occurred, (3) Joseph Smith shouldn\u2019t join any existing churches, (4) Joseph Smith would learn the fullness of the gospel later on, and (5) the Second Coming would occur soon.\u00a0 There are corollaries that can be drawn from the narrative, but those were the five main topics I could find in the words spoken to Joseph.<\/p>\n

The earliest message that Joseph Smith focused on in retelling the First Vision was forgiveness of sins through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. \u00a0The first hint of the First Vision we have is a passing reference to a time when \u201cit was truly manifested unto this first elder that he had received a remission of his sins\u201d (D&C 20:5). \u00a0In the 1832 account of the First Vision, Joseph Smith recorded that he approached the Lord in part because he had \u201cimportant concerns for the welfare of my immortal Soul\u201d and \u201cbecame convicted of my sins.\u201d \u00a0When the Lord spoke to Joseph in that account, the first message given was: \u201cJoseph <my son> thy sins are forgiven thee. … \u00a0Behold I am the Lord of glory I was crucifyed for the world that all those who believe on my name may have Eternal life.\u201d[2]<\/a> \u00a0Likewise, in the 1835 account, Joseph recalled that the message of the Vision was that: \u201cHe said unto me thy sins are forgiven thee, he testifyed unto me that Jesus Christ is the son of God.\u201d[3]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0Thus, personal salvation and forgiveness of sins were Joseph Smith\u2019s initial interpretations of the experience.<\/p>\n

The other main message Joseph Smith recorded receiving is that there had been an apostasy. \u00a0Prior to the First Vision, Joseph Smith had concerns about being \u201cprepared for a future state,\u201d[4]<\/a> and gained \u201cintimate acquaintance with those of different denominations.\u201d \u00a0From this, he concluded that \u201cmankind . . . had apostatized from the true and liveing faith and there was no society or denomination that built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the new testament.\u201d[5]<\/a> \u00a0He believed that \u201cif God had a church it would not be split up into factions, and that if he taught one society to worship one way, and administer in one set of ordinances, he would not teach another principles which were diametrically opposed.\u201d[6]<\/a> \u00a0This was an important concern that Joseph sought answers to and it forms the burden of the Lord\u2019s message to Joseph Smith. \u00a0The Lord\u2019s answer was that: \u201cThe world lieth in sin and<\/span> at this time and none doeth good no not one they have turned asside from the gospel and keep not <my> commandments,\u201d[7]<\/a> and He stated that: \u201cAll religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God as his church and kingdom.\u201d[8]<\/a> \u00a0\u201cAll their Creeds were an abomination in his sight, that those professors were all corrupt.\u201d Joseph Smith also recalled that \u201che again forbade me to join with any of them\u201d (JS-H 1:20). \u00a0It seems clear that one of the primary messages Joseph Smith learned during the First Vision was that there had been a general apostasy.<\/p>\n

There are a few other minor things Joseph Smith mentions about the First Vision. \u00a0The 1832 account records that the Lord\u2019s final words were: \u201cBehold and lo, I come quickly, as it is written of me, in the cloud, clothed in the glory of my Father,\u201d[9]<\/a> meaning that the Second Coming was mentioned during the vision. \u00a0There are also references that more happened than is recorded. \u00a0In 1835, Joseph added that \u201cI saw many angels in this vision.\u201d[10]<\/a> \u00a0The official history also states that \u201cmany other things did [the Lord] say unto me\u201d (JS-H 1:20). \u00a0It should be observed that there are also things that we can infer from the First Vision, such as how the experience may have shaped Joseph Smith\u2019s patterns for seeking revelation and his understanding of the nature of God, but he did not make those connections explicit himself.<\/p>\n

Notably absent from the Lord\u2019s words are indications of a prophetic call.\u00a0 \u00a0It is only in the later accounts of the First Vision\u2014which were written when Joseph Smith was approaching the height of his prophetic career\u2014that Joseph even mentioned hints of his future role as a prophet. \u00a0In 1838, he stated that he was \u201cone called of God\u201d during the interim between the First Vision and the first visit of the Angel Moroni (JS-H 1:28), and in 1842, he wrote that he received \u201ca promise that the fulness of the gospel should at some future time be made known unto\u201d him.[11]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0Instead, it seems that the translation of the Book of Mormon was the beginning of what Joseph Smith considered his calling as a prophet.[12]<\/a> \u00a0This was indicated by the fact that 1835 account of the First Vision was only considered a part of \u201ca relation of the circumstances connected with the coming forth of the book of Mormon.\u201d[13]<\/a> \u00a0In other writings, he indicated that his prophetic career began in 1827 rather than 1820\u2014with the translation of the Book of Mormon rather than the visit of God and Christ.[14]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0Thus, it may not be entirely accurate to declare things like: \u201cLight had flooded a grove of trees, and God the Father and Jesus Christ had called a 14-year-old boy to be their prophet.\u201d[15]<\/a><\/p>\n

While perhaps surprising, the idea that Joseph Smith treated the First Vision as a personal experience rather than a prophetic call could be attributed the possibility that Joseph Smith didn\u2019t understand the experience to be particularly unique.\u00a0 Dozens of other individuals in the same region and the same era reported having visions, some of which involved both God the Father and the Son or declarations of a general apostasy.[16]<\/a>\u00a0 The forms in which Joseph Smith wrote the major narratives of the First Vision also follow existing genres of personal conversion experiences. For example, it has been observed that the 1832 account is written in the form of a Protestant \u201cborn again\u201d spiritual autobiography, while the 1838 account is similar to Methodist conversion narratives of the time.[17]<\/a>\u00a0 He seems to have only rarely spoken of the event during his lifetime and the narrative of the First Vision wasn\u2019t used frequently within the Church until the late 1800s.[18]<\/a>\u00a0 The First Vision may have seemed less unique to Joseph Smith and his contemporaries than it often has to us.<\/p>\n

What, then, are some of the significant takeaways from the First Vision? \u00a0There are several things that could be mentioned,[19]<\/a> but I find that it is fitting that a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ was the first message Joseph received directly from God. \u00a0The central purpose of the Church and gospel is to provide full access to the Atonement of Christ. \u00a0As Joseph Smith would later write: \u201cThe fundamental principles of our religion is the testimony of the apostles and prophets concerning Jesus Christ, \u2018that he died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended up into heaven;\u2019 and all other things are only appendages to these, which pertain to our religion.\u201d[20]<\/a> \u00a0I appreciate how one Latter Day Saint historian approached the First Vision, noting that, first and foremost, he was \u201coverwhelmed with the centrality of God and Christ in the inception and mission of the Restoration in the world.\u201d[21]<\/a>\u00a0 All accounts of the First Vision put Jesus Christ front and center in the Restoration from the start, but the earlier accounts put particular emphasis on His role as our Savior.<\/p>\n

The rejection of Christianity based on their doctrines and creeds is important because it provides the rationale for the work that Joseph Smith would do throughout the remainder of his life. \u00a0As Elder B. H. Roberts stated: \u201c[By] this great revelation . . . the errors of the age were swept aside and the ground cleared for the re-establishment of His Church in the earth.\u201d \u00a0Elder Roberts continued: \u201cFrom the revelation referred to I learn that \u2018Mormonism\u2019 came into existence because there was an absolute necessity for a new dispensation of the Gospel, a re-establishment of the Church of Christ among men.\u201d[22]<\/a> \u00a0In this manner, the First Vision paved the way for the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Russell M. Nelson, \u201cMy 2020 Invitation to You: Share the Message of the Restoration of the Savior\u2019s Gospel,\u201d Church Blog<\/em>, 1 January 2020, https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/blog\/my-2020-invitation-to-you-share-the-message-of-the-restoration-of-the-saviors-gospel?lang=eng<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> “History, circa Summer 1832,” pp. 2-3, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/history-circa-summer-1832\/2<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> “Journal, 1835\u20131836,” p. 24, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/journal-1835-1836\/25<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> “\u201cChurch History,\u201d 1 March 1842,” p. 706, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/church-history-1-march-1842\/1<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> “History, circa Summer 1832,” p. 2, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/history-circa-summer-1832\/2<\/a><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> “\u201cChurch History,\u201d 1 March 1842,” p. 706, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/church-history-1-march-1842\/1<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> “History, circa Summer 1832,” p. 3, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/history-circa-summer-1832\/3<\/a><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> “\u201cChurch History,\u201d 1 March 1842,” p. 707, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/church-history-1-march-1842\/2<\/a><\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> “History, circa Summer 1832,” p. 3, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/history-circa-summer-1832\/3<\/a><\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> \u201cJournal, 1835\u20131836,” p. 24, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/journal-1835-1836\/25<\/a><\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> “\u201cChurch History,\u201d 1 March 1842,” p. 706, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 25, 2020, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/church-history-1-march-1842\/1<\/a><\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Elder M. Russell Ballard indicated this subtly when he noted that after the First Vision, \u201clife continued as usual for Joseph and the rest of the Smith family for several years.\u201d \u00a0In contrast, when Moroni came: \u201cinstead of simply telling him that all was well and that God still loved him, Moroni came to put Joseph to work.\u201d\u00a0 (M. Russell Ballard, Our Search for Happiness<\/em> [SLC: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2006], 40-41.)<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> “Journal, 1835\u20131836,” p. 23, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed October 5, 2016, http:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/journal-1835-1836\/24<\/a><\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> In 1835, he wrote that: \u201cI have been laboring in this cause for eight years,\u201d in Messenger and Advocate <\/em>1.12 (September 1835): 179<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> Our Heritage: A Brief History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints <\/em>(SLC: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1996), 4.<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> See Bushman, Richard Lyman. \u201cThe Visionary World of Joseph Smith.\u201d\u00a0BYU Studies<\/em>\u00a037, no. 1 (1997-1998), 183-204<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[17]<\/a> See Neal E. Lambert and Richard H. Cracroft, \u201cLiterary Form and Historical Understanding: Joseph Smith\u2019s First Vision,\u201d Journal of Mormon History<\/em>, 7 (1980): 31-42; Christopher C. Jones, \u201cThe Power and Form of Godliness: Methodist Conversion Narratives and Joseph Smith\u2019s First Vision,\u201d Journal of Mormon History <\/em>37 (Spring 2011): 88-114.<\/p>\n

[18]<\/a> See James B. Allen, \u00a0\u201cEmergence of a Fundamental: The Expanding Role of Joseph Smith\u2019s First Vision in Mormon Religious Thought.\u201d\u00a0Journal of Mormon History<\/em>, Vol. 7 (1980) 43-61<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[19]<\/a> For example, the story functions in the missionary discussions as an example of how to seek revelation so that individuals have a model to follow in seeking to know whether God approves of the Church and wants them to join it.\u00a0 That seems like a fitting use of the First Vision narrative that will likely continue.<\/p>\n

[20]<\/a> Elder\u2019s Journal, <\/em>Vol.1, No.3 (July 1838): 42-44.<\/p>\n

[21]<\/a> Howard, Richard P. \u201cJoseph Smith\u2019s First Vision: The RLDS Tradition.\u201d\u00a0Journal of Mormon History\u00a0<\/em>Vol. 7 (1980) 23-29<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[22]<\/a> B. H. Roberts, Address, General Conference Report, April 1906, 13-14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year has been marked out as a bicentennial celebration of the year Joseph Smith experienced the First Vision.\u00a0 President Russell M. Nelson invited us to \u201cimmerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration,\u201d offering the suggestion to \u201cbegin your preparation by reading afresh Joseph Smith\u2019s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price.\u201d\u00a0 While he specifically mentions the official account of the First Vision as a starting point, President Nelson encourages each of us to go on from that account and do more study: \u201cSelect your own questions.\u00a0 Design your own plan.\u00a0 Act on any of these invitations to prepare yourself.\u201d[1] As part of my own study of the First Vision, I reviewed all the primary accounts of the event to see what could be gleaned from them about what the messages of the vision were. \u00a0Based on documents we have available, my feelings are that the First Vision was primarily a conversion experience for Joseph Smith and a confirmation that a general apostasy had occurred. \u00a0In looking at all of the contemporary accounts of the First Vision, the only messages that God presented to Joseph Smith were that (1) God forgave his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":39776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-history"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/474px-Sacred_Grove_1907.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39775"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39782,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39775\/revisions\/39782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}