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Multiple accounts of the First Vision/1832/Different age provided
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Criticism
In Joseph Smith's 1832 First Vision recital he said that he was "in the 16th year of [his] age" when the manifestation took place but when he created the 1838 account he changed this information to say that he was "in [his] fifteenth year." This discrepancy is evidence that the Prophet's story evolved over time.
Source(s) of the criticism
Richard Abanes, One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church (New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2003), 16.
Response
The dating anomaly of the 1832 First Vision account can best be understood by taking a look at all of the dates and timeframe indicators that are provided within the document.
"at the age of about ten years my father Joseph Smith Sr. moved to Palmyra" [23 Dec. 1815 – 23 Dec. 1816]
"At about the age of twelve years my mind become seriously impressed" [23 Dec. 1817 – 23 Dec. 1818]
"from the age of twelve years to fifteen I pondered many things in my heart" [23 Dec. 1817 – 23 Dec. 1821]
"while in <the> attitude of calling upon the Lord <in the 16th year of my age> a pillar of fire" [23 Dec. 1820 – 23 Dec. 1821]
"for many days"
"about that time"
"after many days"
"when I was seventeen years of age I called again upon the Lord . . . [and an] angel [appeared]. . . . it was on the 22d day of Sept. AD 1822"
"the plates [I] obtained them not until I was twenty one years of age"
"in this year I was married . . . 18th [of] January AD 1827"
"on the 22d day of Sept of this same year I obtained the plates"
"in December following we moved to Susquehanna"
Conclusion
Endnotes
None
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
FAIR web site
- FAIR Topical Guide: