{"id":49645,"date":"2025-04-19T03:25:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T09:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=49645"},"modified":"2025-04-22T10:14:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T16:14:07","slug":"a-new-look-at-the-1832-account-of-the-first-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/a-new-look-at-the-1832-account-of-the-first-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Look at the 1832 Account of the First Vision"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fromthedesk.org\/1832-account-of-the-first-vision-kyle-beshears\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1832 account of the First Vision<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has always been treated as the black sheep of the family when it comes to contemporary accounts of that event. It is the most unique out of the accounts in several ways. Kyle Beshears recently published a chapter, giving an important explanation of some of those differences. He also spoke about these ideas in a recent interview at the Latter-day Saint history blog <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the Desk<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. What follows here is a copost to that interview.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ZwcymkW83e\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fromthedesk.org\/1832-account-of-the-first-vision-kyle-beshears\/\">What Is the 1832 Account of the First Vision?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;What Is the 1832 Account of the First Vision?&#8221; &#8212; From the Desk\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fromthedesk.org\/1832-account-of-the-first-vision-kyle-beshears\/embed\/#?secret=NR0p00o3WQ#?secret=ZwcymkW83e\" data-secret=\"ZwcymkW83e\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the interview, Kyle Beshears offered an overview of what makes the 1832 account unique:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 1832 account is Joseph Smith\u2019s earliest written record of the First Vision and the only one written by his own hand. These facts alone make it unique among the others, which emphasize restoration and Joseph\u2019s role in it. The 1832 account, however, is more personal. Joseph\u2019s spiritual distress is more palpable\u2014his conviction of sin, his desire for forgiveness, and his direct encounter with Christ.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He added, however, that there is a unique feature that is often overlooked:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What sets this account apart is not its \u2018strangeness\u2019 of details or presentation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather, the 1832 account\u2019s biblical intertextuality makes it unique from the others. Nearly every sentence echoes scripture, from the \u201cpillar of light\/fire\u201d\u2014a blend of Exodus and Paul\u2019s conversion\u2014to God calling Joseph by name, like he did with Moses, Samuel, and Paul. This suggests Joseph framed his vision within biblical patterns, making it resonate with Bible-literate readers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And although it was never published in his lifetime, the 1832 account reveals how Joseph originally understood his vision as both a moment of redemption and the beginning of his divine calling.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like many of Smith\u2019s early revelations, the 1832 account is shared in language that is a bricolage of Biblical text.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beshears shared some of the examples from the text:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 1832 account is jam-packed with biblical phrases, allusions, and echoes. Virtually every sentence contains language drawn from the Bible, ranging from direct citations to more subtle references, like echoes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Joseph used things like biblical vocabulary, structure, and themes to describe his experience, penning a narrative that aligns his vision with scriptural patterns of how God called prophets and apostles. This intertextuality suggests that the Bible wasn\u2019t merely a common touchstone but actually the framework through which Joseph articulated his experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI am the Lord of glory. This phrase very closely resembles 1 Corinthians 2:8, in which the Apostle Paul describes Christ as \u201cthe Lord of glory.\u201d The phrase is surprisingly rare in the Bible, and specifically refers to Jesus.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn the glory of my Father.\u201d This phrase appears toward the end of the vision. While it isn\u2019t a direct quote, it strongly echoes Matthew 16:27: \u201cFor the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNone doeth good, no, not one.\u201d This is a direct citation of Romans 3:12, which is itself a quote from Psalms 14:1\u20133 and 53:1\u20133. This is among the clearest biblical references in the 1832 account.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These examples (and over thirty others) show how Joseph Smith wove together biblical material\u2014sometimes subtly, other times explicitly\u2014to form and frame his visionary experience in a language that Bible-literate Protestants would recognize and respect.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These insights allow Beshears to make an argument for a point that other scholars have missed. In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.timesandseasons.org\/2020\/02\/the-first-vision-a-close-reading\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">my own analysis of the First Vision<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for example, I pointed out that in the early accounts, \u201cNotably absent from the Lord\u2019s words are indications of a prophetic call. It 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.\u201d Through use of Biblical language and allusions, however, Beshears argues that Joseph Smith did, in fact, state that the First Vision was the beginning of his calling:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The phrase \u201che spake unto me saying Joseph\u201d follows a biblical pattern where God calls individuals by name, often prior to calling them to become a prophet or apostle. For example, God said \u201cMoses, Moses\u201d (see Exodus 3:4), \u201cSamuel, Samuel\u201d (see 1 Samuel 3:4, 10) and \u201cSaul, Saul\u201d (see Acts 9:4).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This pattern isn\u2019t simply a stylistic feature of biblical authors. I think it serves a theological function. In each of these instances, the repeated name signals a sort of divine urgency and summons. It marks an important moment of transition, marking the person\u2019s pivot from their former life into a divinely appointed role. \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am very convinced that the 1832 account of the First Vision is written so that Joseph is clearly receiving a prophetic calling, which runs contrary to the opinion of other researchers. \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">True, the later (and more canonical) accounts more explicitly frame the First Vision as a church-restoring commission. However, this earliest version still follows a recognizable pattern of divine calling, especially for people who could \u2018pick up\u2019 what Joseph was \u2018putting down.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, whether Joseph understood it that way at the time or not, the way he structured his account suggests that something beyond a personal conversion moment was taking place.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was a fascinating insight for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Altogether, Kyle Beshears\u2019s analysis has given me a renewed appreciation for the 1832 account of the First Vision. As he put it himself,<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 1832 account is commonly dismissed as an unpolished, simple version of the First Vision. It\u2019s framed as an early, somewhat naive attempt that lacks the clarity and structure of later retellings. But I think this view really underestimates the 1832 account\u2019s literary sophistication and theological depth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Far from being some kind of \u2018rough draft,\u2019 the 1832 account of the First Vision is a carefully composed narrative that speaks in the language of the Bible, skillfully weaving together biblical themes, literary structure, and theological context.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s far more complex and intricate than it has been given credit for being in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more on the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fromthedesk.org\/1832-account-of-the-first-vision-kyle-beshears\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1832 account of the First Vision<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, head on over to the Latter-day Saint history blog <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the Desk<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to read the full interview with Kyle Beshears. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 1832 account of the First Vision has always been treated as the black sheep of the family when it comes to contemporary accounts of that event. It is the most unique out of the accounts in several ways. Kyle Beshears recently published a chapter, giving an important explanation of some of those differences. He also spoke about these ideas in a recent interview at the Latter-day Saint history blog From the Desk. What follows here is a copost to that interview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":49646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2890,2910],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-desk","category-joseph-smith"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/temple_square_first_vision_nielsen.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49645","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=49645"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49648,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49645\/revisions\/49648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}