Explanation for JS's initial first vision account?

[NorCal Cat]

Does anyone know an explanation as to why Joseph Smith's initial first vision account says he saw only one being?

[Indy Coug]

Link to the entire text?

[NorCal Cat]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

Link to the entire text?

A few days ago someone posted a link to a table that showed the different attributes of each of JS' documented accounts of the FV. His first account, and I believe second account, said he saw only one being.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by NorCal Cat

A few days ago someone posted a link to a table that showed the different attributes of each of JS' documented accounts of the FV. His first account, and I believe second account, said he saw only one being.

Well, in order to give you a good answer (or perhaps you could also answer this for yourself), it makes sense to be reading the actual account rather than some tabular checklist.

[Jim Swarthout]

Originally Posted by NorCal Cat

A few days ago someone posted a link to a table that showed the different attributes of each of JS' documented accounts of the FV. His first account, and I believe second account, said he saw only one being.

Here's the link you speak of:

http://www.annuitech.com/ms/ftp/Jim/ComparisonChart.pdf

[ilmf]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

Link to the entire text?

For those who have Bushman's Rough Stone Rolling, it's documented in there. His first two written accounts, the first one being several years after the first vision (without the book in front of me to reference I seem to remember it being the year 1833), reference "a personage", not two. The second account was a couple of years later.

(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?

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by NorCal Cat

Does anyone know an explanation as to why Joseph Smith's initial first vision account says he saw only one being?

He made it all up?

[woot]

Apologist version: He chose to emphasize different things in different accounts depending on his audience.

More likely: He decided he wanted his church to reject the trinity only after he'd gotten the ball rolling.

[All-American]

In the Pearl of Great Price account, he said that he saw a lot more which he could not speak about at that time. I wonder if he was nervous about spilling out all the details, and as time went by, he felt comfortable sharing more significant details to the public in general.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by All-American

In the Pearl of Great Price account, he said that he saw a lot more which he could not speak about at that time. I wonder if he was nervous about spilling out all the details, and as time went by, he felt comfortable sharing more significant details to the public in general.

That's the ticket.