Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources: Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26, Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources (2025)
Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26, Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources
Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26
The Sacred Grove, Manchester, New York, USA. Joseph Smith experienced his First Vision in this stand of trees in the spring of 1820.
Historical Background
Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days
Narrative history of events surrounding the revelations
Volume 1, Chapter 2
The First Vision: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast
The First Vision: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is a six-part miniseries from the Joseph Smith Papers Project that explores the history and legacy of Joseph Smith’s first vision.
Episode 1: “An Unusual Excitement”
Episode 2: “What Is to Be Done?”
Episode 3: “I Retired to the Woods”
Episode 4: “A Pillar of Light”
Episode 5: “It Caused Me Serious Reflection”
Episode 6: “I Had Seen a Vision”
People
Biographical facts and historical images of individuals associated with the revelations
Places
Maps and information about places associated with the revelations from The Joseph Smith Papers, Historic Sites, and other helpful sources
Events
Timeline placing each revelation in the context of key events in the Church’s first century
Walter Rane, The Desires of My Heart, 2004, oil on canvas, Church History Museum.
Topics
Essays on subjects related to the revelations
Christian Churches in Joseph Smith’s Day
Joseph Smith’s First Vision Accounts
Sources
Historical background and the earliest version of each section of the Doctrine and Covenants, as published in The Joseph Smith Papers and the Church History Library catalog
Primary Accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision of Deity
The firsthand accounts recorded by Joseph Smith or under his direction are as follows:
Early Contemporary Accounts
Early accounts written by contemporaries who heard Joseph Smith speak about the vision include the following:
Orson Pratt, A[n] Interesting Account
Orson Hyde, Ein Ruf aus der Wüste [A cry out of the wilderness] (original German) (modern English translation).
Levi Richards, Journal, 11 June 1843.
Interview, Joseph Smith by David Nye White, Nauvoo, Illinois, 21 Aug. 1843
Ask of God: Joseph Smith’s First Vision
“I considered it of the first importance that I should be right in matters that involved eternal consequences.”
The First Vision, 1913, stained-glass, Church History Museum.