The First Vision: What Did Joseph See?
In the canonical 1838 account of the First Vision, Joseph Smith describing seeing “two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above [him] in the air.” With one exception, the other firsthand accounts of the First Vision left by the Prophet also explicitly speak of two personages appearing in the vision. The exception occurs in Joseph Smith’s 1832 history. In this the earliest extant firsthand account of his vision, Joseph did not explicitly say that two personages appeared to him, but rather that “the Lord opened the heavens” upon him and then “[he] saw the Lord.” This has led some historians to wonder how, if at all, this might be reconciled with Joseph’s other accounts which do more overtly specify that two personages, the Father and the Son, appeared to him. By reading the different First Vision accounts in harmony, paying careful attention to both big and small details in each rendition, we can have a more rounded, informed picture of what Joseph experienced and who he saw on this remarkable occasion. Links: www.pearlofgreatpricecentral.org/did-both-the-father-and-the-son-appear-to-joseph-smith-in-the-first-vision/ www.pearlofgreatpricecentral.org/the-first-vision-as-a-divine-council-vision/
