Episode 16: Harmonizing the First Vision Accounts (Kerry Muhlestein)

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BYU Religious Education

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🗓️ 15 September 2020

⏱️ 40 minutes

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Summary

Most Latter-day Saints are familiar with the First Vision account in Joseph Smith-History. Many, however, are not as familiar with the numerous other contemporary sources of the event. In this episode, Dr. Kerry Muhlestein discusses powerful insights from his publication, I Saw the Lord, harmonizing nine historical accounts of the First Vision. When we study the available accounts collectively, fascinating new perspectives can be gained from this foundational event that otherwise may be missed.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi there podcast friends Professor Anthony Sweat from the Department of Church History and Doctrine at BYU.
0:06.0	I want to kick off this episode by asking you a few questions.
0:10.0	If I were to ask you what were the first words that God spoke to teenage Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove?
0:16.0	What would you say?
0:21.0	You might have answered with,
0:22.0	Joseph, this is my beloved son hear him but what any of you have said Joseph my son thy sins are forgiven me
0:41.0	Or fill in the blink from the first vision, quote, I saw a column of what? Light, right? Actually, a few of the first vision accounts don't use the word light.
0:45.0	Instead, they use the word fire.
0:48.0	Who else did Joseph Smith see in the first vision other than the father and the son? One account says, quote, you old was Joseph when he began his search for truth.
1:03.0	14 you say?
1:05.0	Well actually listen to this quote
1:08.0	at about the age of 12 years my mind became seriously impressed with regard for the all-important concerns for the
1:15.9	welfare of my immortal soul."
1:17.9	End of quote.
1:18.9	Where are these details coming from and how is it that you may not be familiar with some of them?
1:24.2	Well they come to us from the nine contemporary accounts of the First Vision produced
1:28.6	during Joseph's lifetime. Most of us are already very familiar with the official 1838 account in Joseph
1:37.0	in Joseph Smith history canonized in the Pearl of Great Price, but there are also
1:41.6	accounts from Joseph in 1832, 1835, and 1842, along with Orson Pratt's
1:48.8	1840 account, Orson Hyde 1842 account, David Nywight's 1843 one Aunt Alexander Nybar's 1844
1:57.7	account of the First Vision.
2:02.0	Professor Kerry Mulestein from Buele's Department of Ancient Scripture has taken these nine
	...

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