002 What’s Unique About Joseph Smith’s 1835 and 1838 Accounts of His First Vision?

Church History Matters

Scripture Central

Religion & Spirituality:christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.9 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 March 2023

⏱️ 62 minutes

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Summary

In 1835, Joseph Smith shared his second recorded account of his First Vision with an eccentric visitor to Kirtland, Ohio who claimed to be a Jewish minister. How did this fact that Joseph believed he was speaking with a Jewish man shape and influence the details he chose to share and the language he used to tell about his experience? Also, three years later in 1838, after moving to Far West, Missouri in the aftermath of sever persecution in Ohio, Joseph began to record his official history with the help of several scribes, which begins with the account of his First Vision. What are the unique details of this account and why does it make sense to be the only “official” account of Joseph’s vision canonized in LDS scripture? And what are we to make of perhaps the most controversial line of this 1838 account where Jesus said of the Christian sects of the day that “they were all wrong” and “that all their creeds were an abomination” to him. What did this mean? And what did this NOT mean?

Transcript

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0:15.4	In 1835, Joseph Smith briefly received into his curtland Ohio home, an eccentric visitor who claimed to be a Jewish minister named Joshua.
0:17.6	According to Joseph's journal, it was to this supposedly Jewish man that he recounted what we know as Joseph's second recorded account of the
0:25.0	first vision. Today we'll explore how Joseph's perception that he was speaking with a
0:29.6	Jewish man influenced the details he chose to share and the language he used to tell
0:34.4	about his experience. Also three years later in 1838 Joseph moved to Far West
0:40.8	Missouri after a season of severe persecution in
0:44.0	curtland and the apostasy of several church members there.
0:47.0	It was while in Far West, with the help of several scribes,
0:51.0	the Joseph began recording his official history, which begins with the
0:54.4	account of his first vision that became the official version canonized in Latter-day
0:58.6	Saint's scripture. We'll explore the unique details of this account and why it makes sense as the official
1:04.2	account of Joseph's vision.
1:06.2	And we explore in depth, perhaps the most controversial line of this account, where Jesus
1:11.0	said of the Christian sex of the day that they were all wrong and
1:14.8	that all their creeds were an abomination to him. What did this mean and
1:19.5	what did this not mean? All of this and more coming your way
1:23.8	on today's episode of Church History Matters,
1:26.4	a podcast of Scripture Central.
1:28.6	I'm Scott Woodward, a managing director
1:30.8	at Scripture Central, and my co-host is Casey Griffiths, also a managing director at Scripture Central and my co-host is Casey Griffiths also a managing
1:34.7	director at Scripture Central and today Casey and I dive into our second episode in
1:39.2	this series dealing with Joseph Smith's first vision. So let we dive in we want to recap what we talked about last
	...

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