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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
New Age, Old Revelation, George M. Marsden
New Age, Old Revelation, George M. Marsden
BYU Studies Quarterly
First let me say something about my point of view—which I can do with a personal story. I first met Richard Bushman in 1974 when I was spending a semester in the Boston area, and in order to get area library privileges, I had a nominal affiliation with Boston University. Someone arranged a meeting for Richard and me at his impressive office. I knew him only as the author of an excellent book on Colonial America. So when we met, we did what historians do and exchanged accounts of what we were working on. I said I was working on …
First Vision Controversies, Ann Taves
First Vision Controversies, Ann Taves
BYU Studies Quarterly
When I accepted this invitation to speak, I expected that I would focus on the methods that Steven Harper and I used to compare and discuss the different accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision. We were both quite pleased with the process because we found that careful juxtaposition of the accounts allowed us to agree on the historical data and present a case for our different interpretations. If you look at the published version of our conversation, however, you’ll see that when we attempted to date events that Smith mentioned in his 1838 history, Steve tended to argue for 1820 …
Joseph Smith And Modernism, Richard Lyman Bushman
Joseph Smith And Modernism, Richard Lyman Bushman
BYU Studies Quarterly
One of the questions we ask about Joseph Smith’s First Vision is, What did visions mean in those days? How did Smith understand his encounter with God? The most established interpretation is that questions about the churches prompted Smith to pray. He was confused by the melee of voices coming from ministers of various denominations and wanted guidance. When the heavenly personages appeared, he asked them which church to join, and they replied none of them. His prayer was answered.
When Did Joseph Smith Know The Father And The Son Have “Tangible” Bodies?, John W. Welch
When Did Joseph Smith Know The Father And The Son Have “Tangible” Bodies?, John W. Welch
BYU Studies Quarterly
Joseph Smith learned many things in the First Vision—it was a burst of knowledge that poured down upon him in the spring of 1820. Particularly, he was greeted by two divine beings, “whose brightness and glory defy all description.” The first of the two, “pointing to the other,” said, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (JS–H 1:17). Joseph then listened as Jesus spoke. That experience gave more authoritative answers to questions about the Godhead than anyone in the world had received since the vision of Stephen, who saw a heavenly vision of Jesus, “the Son of man standing on …
Raising The Stakes: How Joseph Smith’S First Vision Became All Or Nothing, Steven C. Harper
Raising The Stakes: How Joseph Smith’S First Vision Became All Or Nothing, Steven C. Harper
BYU Studies Quarterly
Joseph Smith (1805–1844) inhabited a visionary world and belonged to a visionary family.1 At about age twelve, he began to worry about his soul and started searching the Bible. As he compared the scriptures to the Christian denominations where he lived in western New York State, he found discord. For two or three years, he worried about “the darkness which pervaded the minds of mankind.” He became “exceedingly distressed” and “convicted” of his sins, a problem compounded by his inability to find any “society or denomination that built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the new …