The more

carefully one studies Joseph Smith's first vision in the context of his world at that time,

the more interesting the questions become.

For example, if Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in a vision, does that mean

he didn't actually see them in reality?

And what are we to make of the fact

that other people around the time of Joseph Smith's vision

also claimed to have had visions of God,

many of whom were Methodists?

And how might the form of these Methodist conversion

narratives at the time have impacted how Joseph Smith recorded his vision.

Furthermore, what is the interplay between Joseph Smith's memory of his first vision and the various contexts in which he recalled it and recorded it?

Today on Church History Matters, we sit down with Dr. Stephen C. Harper, one of the world's foremost scholars on Joseph Smith's first vision,

to discuss these and other great questions.

And by the way, we apologize in advance for recording Dr. Harper's high quality responses in such poor quality audio.

In case you wonder, no he did not record his responses underwater,

though sometimes it sounds like he did.

We assure you we will repent and do better the next time we have a guest on our show.

I'm Scott Woodward, a managing director at Scripture Central,

and my co-host is Casey Griffiths, also a managing director at Scripture Central.

This is our fifth and final episode in this series dealing with Joseph Smith's first vision.

Now let's get into it. Hello Casey.

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