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http://www.annuitech.com/ms/ftp/Jim/ComparisonChart.pdf |
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This is what some people are missing. If I believe that a 14 year old boy saw God in the woods and later translated gold plates, I believe it on a spiritual level or I have suspended disbelief and chosen to believe it. Either way, apparent inconsistencies in accounts even if it is assumed they mutually excluded one another aren't going to change the spiritual belief/choice. In the absence of those things, the whole thing is fantastical and absurd as is true with any religious tradition. But no one can convince me that chocolate and peanut butter ice cream from Baskin&Robbins isn't the very best kind of ice cream in the world by showing me evidence that 9 out of 10 prefer vanilla. That is why discussion about the likelihood of what "really" happened misses the point. |
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(Before reading my post any further, understand that I am still a strong member of the church through all of this...) I haven't read this entire thread, but I hope people aren't getting attacked for asking something like, "If JS was visited by two personages, why did he say 'a' personage?" That's a very good question isn't it? It's completely acceptable to me that people would leave the church over that, especially someone who served a mission and repeated the First Vision story over and over again in the First Discussion; "I saw two personages, standing above me in the air..." . I've had a really hard time with it since learning about it from Bushman's book, it really makes me scratch my head and I have a difficult time defending it. Also, for those who have finished Rough Stone Rolling, does Bushman address the issues surrounding the parallels between the Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews? If View of the Hebrews is news to anyone here, Ethan Smith was Oliver Cowdery's pastor. In 1823, Ethan Smith wrote a book (View of the Hebrews) speculating that Native Americans were of Hebrew origin. I'm just curious if Bushman brings it up (I'm only through two chapters). This is possibly a good topic for another thread, but do any of you get bothered when someone implies that the BOM is true if for no other reason than there's no way he could have written it based on his level of education? He was no doubt intelligent and could read and write, so what does his level of education have to do with anything? |
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Record keeping would not have been as detailed in my opinion during the nineteenth century, and I can see how one would speak of Christ talking to him with little mention of Father if the focus was upon the discussion with Christ. OTOH, it is odd to omit such a significant personage. |
I don't think the multiple accounts of the first vision are irrelevant in terms of the veracity of the first vision but I would like to ask another question about it.
Today, we use the first vision as a watershed moment that changed our understanding of the Godhead. Or the first vision gives us or allows us to understand the true nature of God (at least incrementally better than before). However, given the multiple accounts and their differences it is hard to argue that this is true for Joseph Smith. I suppose we can argue that it is true for Joseph Smith but only after 20 years of reflection about the event (and after other revelations clarified the nature of the Godhead). Does this suggest we should be careful in this regard? Did the vision really give Joseph and consequently us a better understanding of the Godhead? Does Joseph Smith's multiple accounts imply limitations about what one can infer or learn from a single theophany? Note: A better link to some of the first vision accounts: The Early Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision Dean C. Jessee, BYU Studies 1969 http://byustudies.byu.edu/Products/M...did=662&type=7 |
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I am no scholar in this area, as you know, and this is only my own specualtion, which is relatively uninformed. |
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Also, could have Joseph understanding of the Godhead affected how he retold the event? If he believed in the trinity then it hardly seems like a big deal to talk of one or multiple personages? |
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