This Bookshelf Single is an excerpt from the book Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820–1844, Second Edition.
In 1965, a BYU graduate student discovered an earlier account of Joseph Smith's First Vision than the 1838 account included in History of the Church. This discovery opened the door for Church historians to search out and examine other accounts of and references to the First Vision. In this chapter, James B. Allen and John W. Welch examine each of Joseph Smith's ten known accounts. This study includes an analysis of the differences between the accounts and the audience. They also include narratives of other Saints who had close association with Joseph Smith and reported what they had heard him say about his First Vision. The article then consolidates all of the accounts into a chart that shows where and when he included specific details of the vision. Although each account is different and focuses on different details of the event, none are contradictory. They blend nicely to create a fuller picture of the early events surrounding the Prophet's miraculous First Vision.