Why didn’t Joseph remember or share the First Vision in the exact same way each time he gave an account of it?

As you study Church history, it is important to remember that God gives us understanding line upon line. Learn more about this and other principles for seeking answers and helping others with their questions.

Joseph Smith left four accounts of his First Vision. In addition to these accounts, five of his contemporaries wrote accounts after hearing Joseph speak of his experience.

Joseph’s accounts are excellent examples of how people narrate their experiences over time for different audiences. A scriptural example of this can be found in the multiple accounts of Paul’s conversion in the New Testament. They vary in emphasis and detail but tell a consistent story. Joseph’s vision accounts are similarly consistent.

His accounts were produced under varying circumstances: writing a private history, recounting his life to visitors in his home, dictating his life story for publication, or responding to an inquiry from a reporter. In each case, he drew on memories of the event that he felt were most relevant for the audience. The variations between the accounts are the kind historians and scholars who study memory often find in documents produced in such different contexts.

Differences between the accounts also show how Joseph’s understanding and perspective expanded with time, experience, and further revelation. When Joseph dictated his first account in 1832, it was still early in his ministry. The account is largely personal and focuses on the vision’s meaning for Joseph. When he later dictated the account now found in the Pearl of Great Price, he reflected on the vision’s meaning not only to him personally but to the Church. The multiple accounts with their different emphases and details give us a more complete picture of this miraculous event.

Learn more

“First Vision Accounts,” Gospel Topics Essays

“Joseph Smith and the First Vision” (2:09): The Joseph Smith Papers volume editor Mark Ashurst-McGee describes the accounts of the First Vision found in Histories, volume 1

“‘Owing to the Many Reports’: Different Accounts for Different Audiences” (3:00), Church History Department

Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults: A Face to Face Event with Elder Quentin L. Cook, Sept. 9, 2018 Segment: “Why are the various accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision different?”

“It Caused Me Serious Reflection,” The First Vision: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast