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"What I think is the real failing of this piece is that it lacks scope. It just picks its way along from one little fact to another little fact, all of them ending up making Joseph Smith an ignoble character of some kind. And it never really assesses Joseph Smith's achievement. What was the significance of this person in history? After all, he was the founder of a church that is remarkable for continuing for a couple of centuries. Yet it doesn't give you any sense of how he did that. There's no explanation of how he acquired all these followers. … The article doesn't say anything about the impact of new revelation on followers or even make much of the fact that Joseph was continually receiving revelation. So it becomes a picky piece that isn't inaccurate, but it sort of lacks depth. It ends up being shallow, I think." (source) [1]

Lead edit

Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism, the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. At age twenty-four Smith published the Book of Mormon, and in the next fourteen years he gathered thousands of followers, built cities and temples, and created a religious culture that survived his death.

Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont. By 1817, Smith's family had moved to western New York, an area repeatedly swept by religious revivals during the Second Great Awakening. Smith family members held divergent views about organized religion, but they believed in visions and prophecies and engaged in folk religious practices typical of the era. According to Smith, beginning in the early 1820s he had visions, in one of which an angel directed him to a buried book of golden plates, inscribed with a Christian history of ancient American civilizations. In 1830, he published what he said was an English translation of these plates as the Book of Mormon, and organized the Church of Christ as a restoration of the early Christian church. Church members were later called Latter Day Saints, Saints, or Mormons.

In 1831, Smith and his followers moved west to Kirtland, Ohio and began establishing an outpost in Independence, Missouri, where Smith planned to build a city called Zion. In 1837 a bank established by Smith and other church leaders collapsed causing widespread defections. The following year Smith joined his followers in northern Missouri, who had been expelled from Independence by Missourians alarmed at the rapid growth of Mormon communities. The next year Conflicts erupted again between Mormons and the older Missouri settlers, and the Mormons were expelled from Missouri, while Smith was imprisoned for several months. In 1839, Smith rejoined his followers to settle at Nauvoo, Illinois where he served as both spiritual and political leader. In 1844, disaffected Mormons published an exposé criticizing Smith's theocratic aspirations and practice of polygamy. Three days later the Nauvoo City Council ordered the paper's destruction, precipitating a call to arms of non-Mormons outside Nauvoo who feared Smith's growing power. During the ensuing turmoil, Smith was imprisoned and killed in Carthage, Illinois.

During his lifetime Smith produced numerous revelations that are regarded as scripture by his followers. His teachings include unique views about the nature of God, cosmology, family structures, political organization, and religious collectivism. His followers regard him as a Biblical-style prophet of at least the stature of Moses and Elijah. Smith's legacy includes a number of religious denominations, including the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which claims a growing membership of more than 14 million worldwide.

Difference between Teaching and Interpretation edit

The article should focus on Smith's teachings, not the various interpretations of his teachings.

Problems edit

History and Eschatology edit

Statement in Article Citation Problem Recommendation Comments
Smith taught that during a Great Apostasy, the Bible had degenerated from its original inerrant form, and the "abominable church," led by Satan, had perverted true Christianity. Hullinger Unfortunately I don't have this book, but does it really say the Bible was inerrant and that the "abominable church" was lead specifically by Satan? I can't put my finger on the exact problem, but the sentence seems off to me, compared to what I've read. Also, this is partially covered in the Early Life section where it says Smith discovered that "all the current churches were false." Delete redundant parts and move the rest to a paragraph on Smith's bible translation (I'm planning a new paragraph under Revelation).
He viewed himself as the latter-day prophet who restored those lost truths via the Book of Mormon and later revelations Hullinger (describing how the Book of Mormon solved biblical controversies) We've already got the bit about Smith viewing himself as a prophet elsewhere, and we now have an entire section on the Book of Mormon and later revelations. Delete (already covered elsewhere)
He described the Book of Mormon as a literal "history of the origins of the Indians." Bushman and Roberts There's not a real problem with the sentence, though it is picking out one of many interpretations that Bushman is discussing. Also, Bushman didn't actually use the word "literal." Nevertheless, this information is more or less duplicated in the second paragraph on Book of Mormon. Delete (already covered elsewhere)
The book called the Indians "Lamanites," a people descended from Israelites who had left Jerusalem in 600 BCE Smith (1830), Phelps (1833) This information is completely duplicated in the first paragraph of the new "Book of Mormon" section, where it is better sourced. Delete (already covered elsewhere)
and whose skin pigmentation was a curse for their sinfulness. Smith (1830) Quoted in Brodie. Quotes one interpretation of the primary source material (that being the Book of Mormon) but ignores the other side of the coin presented in Bushman, that the Book of Mormon "champions the Indians' place in world history, assigning them a more glorious future than modern American whites." Delete, or move to another section, expanding slightly and stating Bushman's interpretation along with Brodie's. I favor deletion, because it's a whole lot of detail that doesn't really say much about the man. (This kind of detail belongs in the Book of Mormon article.)
Though Smith first identified Mormons as gentiles, he began teaching in the 1830s that the Mormons, too, were literal Israelites. Brooke and Shipps Not sure what those sources say, but it certainly doesn't fit with what Bushman says. He says, "If the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God...they shall be numbered among the House of Israel...God calls upon modern Christians to assist in the restoration—and to become Israelites themselves." (103-104) It is an interesting doctrine, but if you correct the sentence, it really doesn't belong in a section on History. Delete
Smith also claimed to have regained lost truths of sacred history through his revelations and revision of the Bible No citation Did he actually say "lost truths of sacred history", or is this synth? Move to a future paragraph under "Revelations" on the bible revision and source.
For example, he taught that the Garden of Eden had been located in Jackson County, Missouri, No citation Interesting factoid, but probably belongs somewhere else. Delete or move (I recommend to a footnote in the Missouri subsection)
that Eve's partaking of the fruit was part of God's plan 2 Nephi 2:22–25 Primary source. Interesting, but more relevant under Cosmology Delete (preferred) or source and move to Cosmology
that Adam had practiced baptism No source, or sourced with next statement Interesting, but again, tells us little about Smith Delete (this is the reason we have articles on Mormonism, Mormon Cosmology, etc.)
that the descendants of Cain were "black," Hill, Donna (1977), Joseph Smith: The first Mormon (citing Book of Moses 7:22). Sounds like an interpretation of a primary source. Bushman only mentions Cain once (page 98), and this is not the context. Delete
that Enoch had built a city of Zion so perfect that it was taken to heaven, Bushman 138–41 The source does kind of say that, but that certainly wasn't the main point of those three pages, and Bushman doesn't say that Smith taught that specifically. No major problems Modify (to reflect cited source) and Move to somewhere talking about Smith's ideal of building a Zion society (probably Missouri section)
Smith declared that he would be one of the instruments in fulfilling Nebuchadnezzar's statue vision in the Book of Daniel: that he was the stone that would destroy secular government without "sword or gun", Bushman 521 Incorrect. If you read the page it is clear that the stone is the Kingdom of God. Smith only said he would be an instrument in setting up the Kingdom. This information should be corrected and moved elsewhere. I think this particular concept of the the theodemocratic Kingdom of God being the stone (instead of, say, the United States) is important. Political views would be a good destination.
which would then be replaced with a theocratic Kingdom of God. Brodie, Bushman, Bloom No problems Move with the above sentence.
Smith taught that this political kingdom would be multidenominational and "democratic" so long as the people chose wisely; but there would be no elections. Bushman No glaring problems Move to Political Views section.
Jesus would appear during the Millennium as the ultimate ruler. Following a thousand years of peace, Judgment Day would be followed by a final resurrection, when all humanity would be assigned to one of three heavenly kingdoms. Bushman 521, 536–37 The first bit about the Millennium is hardly unique to Mormonism, though I see no problems with keeping it elsewhere (Cosmology perhaps). The last bit is inaccurate (for a technicality related to Outer darkness), and is already covered under Cosmology. Correct and Move non-redundant parts to Cosmology.


Removed material to re-integrate edit

that Eve's partaking of the fruit was part of God's plan,[1]

Jesus would appear during the Millennium as the ultimate ruler. Following a thousand years of peace, Judgment Day would be followed by a final resurrection, when all humanity would be assigned to one of three heavenly kingdoms.[2]

COgden's comment

Smith's idea that Mormons were Israelites should be mentioned prominently, because it is an important theme of his teachings. Also very significant is his belief that the Indians were Hebrews, and that he believed that a significant part of his mission was their "restoration." Also, you cannot underestimate the importance of his New Jerusalem teachings, or his teachings about Enoch, particularly Enoch's United Order. The racial elements ("Lamanites" and the descendants of Cain and Canaan) of his teachings are also very historically significant, and ought to be addressed somewhere as well, perhaps in the "political views" and "revelations" sections

Moses and Abraham

In June 1830 Smith received a "revelation of Moses" telling of a series of visions in which Moses sees "the world and the ends thereof" and asks God questions about the purpose of the creation, the destiny of man, and his relationship to God.[3] This revelation initiated a revision of the Bible on which Smith worked sporadically until 1833.[4] Unlike traditional translations or revisions, Smith's "translation" added long passages and re-wrote sentences "according to his inspiration."[5] Smith believed that the original text had been corrupted in its descent through the ages, and proposed to strengthen biblical authority by restoring the original.[5] While many changes involved straighting out contradictions, and making small interpolations and clarifications, other changes added large "lost" portions.[6] For instance, Smith nearly tripled the length of the first five chapters of Genesis in writing what would become the Book of Moses.[7] Smith's bible translation was not published during his lifetime.[4]

The Book of Moses begins with Moses's "cosmic inquiry," in which Moses learns that God made the earth and heavens to bring humans to eternal life.[8] The book then gives another account of the creation story that Moses was believed to have described in Genesis. The Book of Moses expands the story of Enoch, the ancestor of Noah, saying he spoke with God, received a prophetic calling, and eventually built a city of Zion so righteous that it was taken to heaven.[9] The book elaborates and expands upon foreshadowing and "types" of Christ, in effect Christianizing the Old Testament.[10]

In 1835 Smith encouraged some of the Kirtland Saints to purchase rolls of ancient Egyptian papyri from a traveling exhibitor. Over the next several years Smith worked off and on as events allowed, producing a translation of one of these rolls which he published in 1842 as the Book of Abraham.[11] The Book of Abraham told of the founding of the Abrahamic nation, spoke of astronomy, cosmology, lineage and priesthood, and gave another account of the creation story.[12]

Ethics and Behavior edit

  • Change name to "Character"
  • Add interpretations from Bushman (character of a prophet section), Vogel (pious deceiver), Brodie
  • Merge with material from first 2 paragraphs of "Legacy"

Old material edit

New material edit

Smith attracted thousands of devoted followers before his death in 1844[13] and millions within a century.[14] During his lifetime, Smith's role in the Latter Day Saint religion was comparable to that of Muhammad in early Islam,[15] and his followers regarded him as a prophet and apostle of at least the stature of Moses, Elijah, Peter and Paul.[16]

It is unlikely, though, that there will ever be consensus on Smith's character and achievements.[17] Mormons and Ex-Mormons have produced a large amount of scholarly work about Smith, and while Mormons tend to shield their prophet's reputation, those who have broken away from the faith have to justify their decision to leave.[17] Interpretations range from viewing Smith as a prophet who restored the true faith,[18] to a "pious fraud" who believed he was called of God to preach repentance, and felt justified inventing visions in order to convert people,[19] to a "mythmaker" who was the product of his Yankee environment.[20] Most agree though that Smith was one of the most influential, charismatic, and innovative figures in American religious history.[21]

Buildings named in honor of Joseph Smith
 
The Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City
 
The Joseph Smith Building on the campus of Brigham Young University

Smith's teachings and practices aroused considerable antagonism, with newspapers as early as 1829 dismissing him as a fraud[22] (a view still held by many evangelical Christians).[23] He was twice imprisoned for alleged treason,[24] the second time falling victim to an angry mob that stormed the jail.[25] After his death at age thirty eight, the Saints believed he had died as a martyr to seal the testimony of his faith.[26] Smith himself made no claims to perfection, comparing himself to a "rough stone", speaking of his impetuosity and lack of polish.[17]

Of all Smith's visions, Saints gradually came to regard his First Vision as the most important[27] because it inaugurated his prophetic calling and character.[28] Memorials to Smith include the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Joseph Smith Building on the campus of Brigham Young University.

Some problesm to fix edit

Trim Succession crisis section edit

Current section is wordy, unclear, messy, and spends an inordinate amount of time on something that biographers practically ignore.

Trials section edit

Much of what we know about Smith comes from court records. Give a quick overview of the many trials he had, the charges, and outcomes.

RFC: First Vision paragraph edit

How should the subject of the First Vision be treated in the Early Life section? Below are four different versions that have been discussed.


1. Original statement (as of mid-December)
Smith later said that he had his own first vision in 1820, in which God told him his sins were forgiven[29] and that all the current churches were false.
2. Current paragraph
Smith became concerned with religion at about the age of twelve.[30] Probably around 1820[31] he decided to pray for a forgiveness of his sins and to ask which church was right.[32] Smith later said that in response to his prayer he had a theophany or first vision, in which God appeared, told him his sins were forgiven, and that all contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel."[33] Smith may have told a few people about his vision, but the event passed unnoticed in his home town.[34]
3. Recommendation by Adjwilley
Smith became concerned with religion at about the age of twelve,[35] saying later that he was concerned for the welfare of his soul and confused by competing religious denominations.[36] Probably around 1820[37] Smith went to a wooded area to pray[38] and later said that in response to his prayer he had a vision (or theophany) in which God appeared, told him his sins were forgiven, and that all contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel."[39] Smith may have told a few people about his vision, but the event passed unnoticed in his home town.[40] Though this "First Vision" would be seen by later generations as Mormonism's founding event, Smith probably understood it as a personal conversion.[41]
4. Recommendation by John Foxe
During the 1830s, Smith said he too had experienced a theophany as an adolescent.[42]
Arguments
  • Adjwilley argues that a longer paragraph gives due weight to the First Vision in the context in which it's presented in reliable sources (i.e. Smith's early life), and that it reflects the story as it is described in the sources.
  • John Foxe argues that a paragraph pushes a Mormon POV, and doesn't belong in the Early life section because there's no historical evidence that the First Vision occurred in 1820, and it didn't become important to Momronism until much later.

Comments edit

  • I think 2 is ok, but that 3 corrects some potential issues that were brought up by John Foxe and COgden, notably an accusation of synth in the reasons for Smith's prayer, and the fact that the First Vision did not receive its high status in Mormonism until much later.

First Vision paragraph edit

Current version

During the 1830s Smith wrote that as a youth he had become concerned for the welfare of his soul and was confused by competing religious denominations. Probably around 1820 Smith went to a wooded area to pray and later said that in response to his prayer he had a vision in which God appeared, told him his sins were forgiven, and that all contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel." Smith said he told a preacher about the experience, who he said dismissed the vision with contempt, further distancing Smith from organized religion. Though his "First Vision" would be seen by later generations as Mormonism's founding event, Smith probably understood it as a personal conversion, and the story was unknown to most early believers.

Possible replacement

During the 1830s Smith wrote that as a youth he had become concerned with religion and that around 1820 he had a vision in which God told him his sins were forgiven, and that contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel." Smith said he told a preacher about the experience, who he said dismissed the vision with contempt, distancing Smith from organized religion. Though his "First Vision" would be seen by later generations as Mormonism's founding event, Smith probably understood it as a personal conversion, and the story was unknown to most early believers.

Golden plates draft edit

According to witnesses, Smith began using a single seer stone (not part of a set of spectacles) during a second phase of translation,[43] the same brown stone he had earlier used in treasure seeking.[44][45] Smith placed the stone in a hat, buried his face in it to eliminate all outside light, and peered into the stone to see the words of the translation.[46]


  1. ^ 2 Nephi 2:22–25
  2. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 521, 536–37).
  3. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 133)
  4. ^ a b Bushman (2005, p. 142) (noting that though Smith declared the work finished in 1833, the church lacked funds to publish it during his lifetime); Brodie (1971, p. 103) (Brodie suggests that Rigdon may have prompted Smith to revise the Bible in response to an 1827 revision by Rigdon's former mentor Alexander Campbell); Hill (1977, p. 131) (although Smith described his work beginning in April 1831 as a "translation," "he obviously meant a revision by inspiration").
  5. ^ a b Bushman (2005, p. 133) (Smith said later in life, "I believe the Bibile, as it ought to be, as it came from the pen of the original writers.")
  6. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 132, 142)
  7. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 138)
  8. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 137)
  9. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 138–41) (in Genesis, Enoch is summed up in 5 verses. Joseph Smith's revision extends this to 110 verses)
  10. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 133) ("Joseph Smith's Book of Moses fully Christianized the Old Testament. Rather than hinting of the coming of Christian truth, the Book of Moses presents the whole Gospel. God teaches Adam to believe, repent, 'and be baptized even by water'")
  11. ^ Brodie (1971, pp. 170–75); Bushman (2005, pp. 286, 289–290).
  12. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 157, 288–290)
  13. ^ Brodie (1971, p. 380).
  14. ^ Brodie (1971, p. 15).
  15. ^ Weber, Max (1978), Economy and society: an outline of interpretive sociology, vol. 1, University of California Press, p. 446, ISBN 0520035003 (In his role as the founder of Mormonism, Smith "resembled, even in matters of detail, Muhammad."); Brodie (1971, p. 230) (speech dated October 14, 1838 at the Far West town square, in which Smith called himself "a second Mohammed"); Bushman (2005, p. 352).
  16. ^ Widmer (2000, p. 97); Shipps (1985, p. 37) (making comparisons with Moses (law-giver), Joshua (commander of the "armies of Israel"), and Solomon (king)); Bushman (2005, p. xx) (describing Smith as "a biblical-style prophet—one who spoke for God with the authority of Moses or Isaiah."); Brodie (1971, p. vii) (noting that "[i]n official Mormon biographies he has been made a prophet of greater stature than Moses").
  17. ^ a b c Bushman (2005, p. xii–xiii)
  18. ^ Brodie (1971, pp. 72–73, 116–17) (noting the "choice seer" prophecies in the Book of Mormon and Smith's revision of the Bible); Smith (1830, pp. 66–67) (claiming that the biblical Joseph prophesied, "A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins... And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation.").
  19. ^ Vogel (2004, p. xxi)
  20. ^ {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=ix
  21. ^ Bloom (1992, pp. 96–99) (Smith "surpassed all Americans, before or since, in the possession and expression of what could be called the religion-making imagination," and had charisma "to a degree unsurpassed in American history".); Abanes (2003, p. 7) (noting that even Smith's harshest critics acknowledge his inventive genius); Persuitte (2000, p. 1) (calling Smith "one of the most controversial and enigmatic figures ever to appear in American history"); Remini (2002, p. ix) (Calling Smith "the most important reformer and innovator in American religious history).
  22. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 82–83, 88–89) (describing the editorial reaction to the publication of the Book of Mormon); Brodie (1971, pp. 16–17).
  23. ^ Richard J. Mouw, The Possibility of Joseph Smith: Some Evangelical Probings in Neilson & Givens (2008) at 189.
  24. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 369, 547); Brodie (1971, pp. 223, 248, 388).
  25. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 550).
  26. ^ Brodie (1971, pp. 396–97).
  27. ^ Smith et al. (1839–1843, p. 3). This vision was generally unknown to early Latter Day Saints. See Bushman (2005, p. 39) (story was unknown to most early converts); Allen (1966, p. 30) (the first vision received only limited circulation in the 1830s). However, the vision story gained increasing theological importance within the Latter Day Saint movement beginning roughly a half century later. See Shipps (1985, pp. 30–32); Allen (1966, pp. 43–69); Quinn (1998, p. 176) ("Smith's first vision became a missionary tool for his followers only after Americans grew to regard modern visions of God as unusual.").
  28. ^ Allen (1966, pp. 43–44) ("Next to the resurrection of Christ, nothing holds a more central place in modern Mormon thought than" the First Vision.... The most sacred event in church history, a belief in its literal reality is fundamental to belief in Mormonism itself."); Shipps (1985, pp. 9, 32) (First Vision came to be regarded as the "initial episode in Mormon history," and "emerged as a symbol that could keep the slain Mormon leader at center stage"); Widmer (2000, p. 105).
  29. ^ Smith (1832); Bushman (2005, p. 39) (When Smith first described the vision twelve years after the event, "[h]e explained the vision as he must have first understood it, as a personal conversion".)
  30. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 37) (pointing to the aftereffects of the 1817 revival); Vogel (2004, pp. 26–7) (that around 1817 Smith was beginning to feel his own religious stirrings); D. Michael Quinn (December 20, 2006). "Joseph Smith's Experience of a Methodist "Camp-Meeting" in 1820" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. p. 3. (arguing that a Methodist camp meeting in June 1818 provided a local context for the statement from Smith's "earliest autobiography").
  31. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 39) ("Probably in early 1820, Joseph determined to pray"); Brodie (1971, p. 21) (when he was fourteen years old); Vogel (2004, p. 30) (dating the vision to 1820–21 and rejecting the suggestion that the story was invented later); Quinn (1998, p. 136) (dating the first vision to 1820)
  32. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 38–9) ("He had two questions on his mind: which church was right, and how to be saved. The two questions were actually one."); Vogel (2004, p. 30) ("Joseph's first vision is preceded by Bible reading and a sudden awareness of his sins"); Quinn (1998, p. 136) (that Joseph was concerned with obtaining a forgiveness of sins); Brodie (1971, p. 21) (Smith wrote that he was troubled by religious revivals and went into the woods to seek guidance of the Lord)
  33. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 39) (When Smith first described the vision twelve years after the event, "[h]e explained the vision as he must have first understood it, as a personal conversion"); Brodie (1971, p. 21) (that all the churches were wrong); Vogel (2004, p. 30) (confirmed to Joseph that the world was spiritually dead)
  34. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 39–40) ("At first, Joseph was reluctant to talk about his vision" though he did tell a Methodist preacher. The first written reference was in 1830); Vogel (2004, p. 30); Roberts (1902, vol. 1, ch. 1, p. 5) (Smith said he told his mother he had learned that Presbyterianism was not true); Brodie (1971, pp. 23, 25) (Though Smith reported feeling persecuted by clergy over his vision, Palmyra newspapers took no notice of Joseph's vision at the time it was supposed to have occurred. "If something happened that spring morning in 1820, it passed totally unnoticed in Joseph's home town"); Richard Lloyd Anderson (1969), Circumstantial Confirmation of the First Vision through Reminiscences (PDF) {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help) (Smith may have told Oliver Cowdery and members of his family in the 1820s).
  35. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 37) (pointing to the aftereffects of the 1817 revival); Vogel (2004, pp. 26–7) (that around 1817 Smith was beginning to feel his own religious stirrings); D. Michael Quinn (December 20, 2006). "Joseph Smith's Experience of a Methodist "Camp-Meeting" in 1820" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. p. 3. (arguing that a Methodist camp meeting in June 1818 provided a local context for the statement from Smith's "earliest autobiography").
  36. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 38–9) ("He had two questions on his mind: which church was right, and how to be saved. The two questions were actually one."); Vogel (2004, p. 30) ("Joseph's first vision is preceded by Bible reading and a sudden awareness of his sins"); Quinn (1998, p. 136) (saying that Joseph was concerned with obtaining a forgiveness of sins); Brodie (1971, p. 21) (Smith wrote that he was troubled by religious revivals and went into the woods to seek guidance of the Lord)
  37. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 39) ("Probably in early 1820, Joseph determined to pray"); Brodie (1971, p. 21) (when he was fourteen years old); Vogel (2004, p. 30) (dating the vision to 1820–21 and rejecting the suggestion that the story was invented later); Quinn (1998, p. 136) (dating the first vision to 1820)
  38. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 39) ("With little hope for privacy in the little cabin filled with children and household activity, he went to a place in the woods..."); Vogel (2004, p. 30) (According to Smith's earliest and least embellished account, Joseph goes into the "wilderness" to pray); Brodie (1971, p. 21) (Smith wrote that he was troubled by religious revivals and went into the woods to seek guidance of the Lord)
  39. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 39) (When Smith first described the vision twelve years after the event, "[h]e explained the vision as he must have first understood it, as a personal conversion"); Brodie (1971, p. 21) (that all the churches were wrong); Vogel (2004, p. 30) (confirmed to Joseph that the world was spiritually dead)
  40. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 39–40) ("At first, Joseph was reluctant to talk about his vision" though he did tell a Methodist preacher. The first written reference was in 1830); Vogel (2004, p. 30); Roberts (1902, vol. 1, ch. 1, p. 5) (Smith said he told his mother he had learned that Presbyterianism was not true); Brodie (1971, pp. 23, 25) (Though Smith reported feeling persecuted by clergy over his vision, Palmyra newspapers took no notice of Joseph's vision at the time it was supposed to have occurred. "If something happened that spring morning in 1820, it passed totally unnoticed in Joseph's home town"); Richard Lloyd Anderson (1969), Circumstantial Confirmation of the First Vision through Reminiscences (PDF) {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help) (Smith may have told Oliver Cowdery and members of his family in the 1820s).
  41. ^ Bushman (2005, pp. 39) (In the minds of Mormons today, the events of that morning marked the beginning of the restoration of the Gospel and the commencement of a new dispensation. The vision is called the First Vision because it began a series of revelations. But at the time, Joseph…understood the experience in terms of the familiar…[a message of forgiveness and redemption or a personal conversion]"); The Significance of Joseph Smith’s “First Vision” in Mormon Thought (PDF), vol. 1, No 3, Autumn 1966 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |auther= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |publication= ignored (help) ("...it would appear that the general church membership did not receive information about the first vision until the 1840's and that the story certainly did not hold the prominent place in Mormon thought that it does today."); Vogel (2004, p. 30) ("the experience emerges as a personal epiphany in which Jesus appeared, forgave Joseph's sins, and declared that the sinful world would soon be destroyed. Indeed, Joseph's 1832 account is typical of a conversion experience as described by many others in the early nineteenth century").
  42. ^ Bushman (2005, p. 37) (pointing to the aftereffects of the 1817 revival); Vogel (2004, pp. 26–7) (that around 1817 Smith was beginning to feel his own religious stirrings); D. Michael Quinn (December 20, 2006). "Joseph Smith's Experience of a Methodist "Camp-Meeting" in 1820" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. p. 3. (arguing that a Methodist camp meeting in June 1818 provided a local context for the statement from Smith's "earliest autobiography").
  43. ^ Hale (1834, p. 265); Smith (1879, pp. 536–40); (Van Wagoner & Walker 1982, pp. 59–62) (containing an overview of witnesses to the translation process).
  44. ^ Quinn (1998, p. 172). Smith's father-in-law, Isaac Hale, said that the "manner in which he pretended to read and interpret was the same as when he looked for the money-diggers, with the stone in his hat, and his hat over his face, while the Book of Plates were at the same time hid in the woods!" (Hale 1834, p. 265).
  45. ^ Van Wagoner (1982, p. 53).
  46. ^ Whitmer (1875) ("Having placed the Urim and Thummim in his hat, Joseph placed the hat over his face, and with prophetic eyes read the invisible symbols syllable by syllable and word by word."). Michael Morse, Smith's brother-in-law, stating that he watched Smith on several occasions: "The mode of procedure consisted in Joseph's placing the Seer Stone in the crown of a hat, then putting his face into the hat, so as to entirely cover his face." (Van Wagoner et al., quoting W.W. Blair, Latter Day Saints' Herald 26 (15 Nov. 1879): 341, who was quoting Michael Morse). Smith's wife Emma stated that she took dictation from her husband as she sat next to him, and that he would put his face into a hat with the stone in it, dictating for hours at a time. (Smith 1879, pp. 536–40).
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