Is the Account of Joseph’s First Vision Reliable?
For a more detailed account of the documents listed in this article, refer to THIS website
 The “Evolution” of an Account
Over time, it appears that Joseph’s story about his first vision from God related to his discovery of the golden pates (from which the Book of Mormon was translated) changed a great deal. Key elements vary over the years in which it was first described. Remember that Joseph said that he received this vision (prior to the discovery) yet kept quiet about it for several years before he ever shared it with anyone! So, all his descriptions are well after the fact. We might just want to start with a couple of KNOWN historical facts and dates to help us verify Joseph’s claims.
A Spiritual Revival in 1824-25
A spiritual revival takes place in the area of Palmyra, New York, where Joseph and his family were living at the time. We know this date due to the fact that church attendance and conversion records indicate strong growth starting in 1824.
Joseph is On Trial in 1826
At the age of 20, Joseph Smith is on trial for divination in South Bainbridge, New York. We know this from the 1826 Bainbridge Court Records of Judge Albert Nealy that indicate that Joseph was being tried as a “glass looker” (using a ‘seer stone’ to discover buried gold in the ground) on March 20th, 1826. Joseph was found guilty of a misdemeanor in violation of the New York State vagrancy law because he was pretending to locate lost treasures with this seer stone placed in a hat (interestingly, this is the same method that he later said he used to translate the Book of Mormon). The court records also indicate that Joseph used other occult rituals to help him locate the treasures, including the sprinkling of animal blood to break the enchantment that was thought to guard the treasure. Because Joseph was a minor, he was allowed to leave the county rather than face jail time.
Looking at All the Stories
With these two known historical dates in mind, let’s examine the first vision accounts provided by Joseph and his closest friends over the years. In general, the accounts eventually developed several key elements. Joseph is initially visited by a spiritual being who tells him about buried Gold plates, but he is not allowed to retrieve the plates for some period of time. Let’s take a look at the changing nature of the vision as it was described over time, and track the three key elements of the story: the motivation Joseph had for seeking God to begin with, Joseph’s age and the date of the vision, and exactly who it is that appears to him in the vision…
 1827
Joseph Smith, Sr. and Joseph Smith, Jr. give an account to Willard Chase, as related in his 1833 affidavit.
How He Describes His Motivation
Joseph says the gold book was found in the context of his money-digging activities. There is no mention of a revival
When He Says This Occurs
Joseph says he is approximately 17 (1823) when he has a vision. He is then 21 (1827) when he finally retrieves the plates
What He Says He Saw
Several years before obtaining the plates, a ‘spirit’ appeared to Joseph in a vision telling him of a record on gold plates.
 1827
Martin Harris gives an account to Rev. John Clark, as published in his book Gleanings by the Way, printed in 1842, pp. 222-229.
How He Describes His Motivation
No revival. The vision occurs after an evening of money-digging
When He Says This Occurs
Joseph is approximately 18-19 (1824-25) when he has a vision
What He Says He Saw
An ‘angel’ appeared to Joseph in a vision telling him he has been chosen to be a prophet and bring forth a record on gold plates.
 1830
Joseph Smith is interviewed by Peter Bauder, (recounted by Bauder in his book The Kingdom and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, printed in 1834, pp. 36-38).
How He Describes His Motivation
No revival is mentioned. In fact, Joseph could give Bauder no “Christian experience”, ie. no conversion experience or manifestation of saving grace in his life
When He Says This Occurs
No age is mentioned
What He Says He Saw
Joseph claimed an ‘angel’ told him where to find a secret treasure
 1832
Joseph Smith handwrites the earliest known attempt at an ‘official’ recounting of the ‘First Vision, from History, 1832, Joseph Smith Letterbook 1, pp.2,3
How He Describes His Motivation
Joseph now says he started serious study of the scriptures at age 12 and felt convicted of sins. He also says that he determined all churches were wrong. He makes no mention of a revival and omits all information about the money-digging context of the first accounts.
When He Says This Occurs
Joseph now says that he is 15 (in his 16th year) when he had a first vision, and now adds a second vision that occurs at the age of 17 (he says he again prayed and then had the second vision)
What He Says He Saw
Joseph claimed to see ‘Jesus’ in the first vision at 15, and an ‘angel’ at the second vision (this angel told him where to find the plates)
 1834-35
Oliver Cowdery, with Joseph Smith’s help, published the first history of Mormonism in the LDS periodical Messenger and Advocate, Kirtland, Ohio, Dec. 1834, vol.1, no.3
How He Describes His Motivation
Joseph says a revival stirred in him a desire to “know for himself of the certainty and reality of pure and holy religion.”
When He Says This Occurs
Joseph says he is 17 (1823) when he had the vision in his bedroom
What He Says He Saw
Joseph claimed an ‘angel’ appeared to him
 1835
Joseph Smith gives an account to Joshua the Jewish minister, (Joseph Smith Diary, Nov. 9, 1835).
How He Describes His Motivation
Joseph now says he was “wrought up” in his mind about religion, but there is no mention of a revival.
When He Says This Occurs
Joseph now claims that he was 14 (1820) when he had a vision in a grove. He maintains that he later had another vision at the age of 17
What He Says He Saw
Says he had a vision of one personage and then another. One personage testifies about Jesus, but neither is identified as Jesus. Said he saw many angels in this first visitation. In the second visitation, Joseph sees ‘angels’
 1835
Joseph gave an account to Erastus Holmes on November 14, 1835, originally published in the Deseret News of Saturday May 29, 1852.
How He Describes His Motivation
None was given
When He Says This Occurs
Joseph says that he was 14 (1820) when he had the vision
What He Says He Saw
Says he had a vision of ‘angels’
 1838
This account became the official version, now part of Mormon Scripture in the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith — History, 1:7-20. Though written in 1838, it was not published until 1842 in Times and Season, March 15, 1842, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 727-728, 748-749, 753.
How He Describes His Motivation
Joseph says a local revival caused him to wonder which church was right, it had never occurred to him all were wrong
When He Says This Occurs
He says that at age 14 (1820) he had a vision in a grove. Three years later has yet another vision of an angel
What He Says He Saw
Joseph says that in the first vision, he had a vision of two personages. One identifies the other as his son (by implication God the Father and Jesus, but not explicitly stated), in the second vision, he only sees an ‘angel’
 1844
Joseph describes the vision while writing a chapter on Mormonism in “An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States”, edited by Daniel Rupp
How He Describes His Motivation
Joseph says he began reflecting on the importance of being prepared for the future state, but upon inquiring found a great conflict of religious opinion. There is no mention of a revival.
When He Says This Occurs
Joseph says that at the age of 14 (1820) he had a vision in a grove. Three years later he has a second vision.
What He Says He Saw
He had a vision of two personages, but they are unidentified. Three years later he says he has a vision of a single personage (same description as previous personages) which is identified as an angel
 1859
Martin Harris is interviewed in Tiffany’s Monthly, 1859, New York: Published by Joel Tiffany, vol. v.—12, pp. 163-170.
How He Describes His Motivation
Joseph found the plates using the seer stone in the context of money-digging. There is no mention of a revival at all
When He Says This Occurs
Joseph is at the age of 21 (1827) at the time of the vision
What He Says He Saw
An ‘angel’ appeared to Joseph after finding the plates, and told him it [Book of Mormon] was God’s work and Joseph must “quit the company of the money-diggers.”
A Summary of the Variations
Clearly there is a variation in the key elements of the first vision story. It begins with discrepancies related to Joseph’s initial motivation to find the plates or seek God to begin with. The motivational descriptions range from ‘no motive’ (a spirit appears with the news of gold plates), to active Bible reading and conviction of sins, to a revival, and to a desire to know if God exists. In addition to this, Joseph and his immediate associates vary on the age and date of the first vision, ranging from 1823 (Joseph at age 16), to 1821 (age 15), to 1820 (age 14). The vision initially is described in a bedroom, then in a grove. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there are discrepancies in just who it is that appears to Joseph. Is it a spirit, an angel, two angels, Jesus, many angels, or the Father and the Son?
The Official Version Has A Problem with Known History
Ultimately, the church maintains that Joseph was responding to the spiritual revival in Palmyra when he had his first vision, and it stands by this account. We know however, that this revival did not occur until years after the 1820 date the church stands by related to the vision. In addition, we know that Joseph had a history as a convicted Gold Digger even after the time of the first vision by ANY account (based on his arrest in 1826)!
There appears to be a gradual evolution of the account, moving from the earliest accounts given to Chase and Harris that mention NO spiritual foundation for the discovery of the plates (these accounts agree hat he was simply digging for gold), to later accounts that describe a strong spiritual motivation (like a revival in Palmyra or intense Bible study on the part of Smith). Joseph is described early as a 17 year old money digger who finds the plates, but later as a 14 year old spiritual seeker who is led to the plates by God. It does seem as though Joseph, over the course of time, omitted and changed the facts of the vision to make them less offensive (from a money digging perspective) and more compelling (from a spiritual perspective). |
