BYU Studies Quarterly
Keywords
Joseph Smith’s First Vision, Bicentennial, revelation
Abstract
In October 2019, Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reminded Church members that “in the springtime of the year 2020, it will be exactly 200 years since Joseph Smith experienced the theophany that we now know as the First Vision. God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph, a 14-year- old youth. That event marked the onset of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness, precisely as foretold in the Holy Bible.” President Nelson then designated 2020 as a bicentennial year and invited listeners to prepare for a memorable commemoration. Among his suggestions for preparation was “reading afresh Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price.” His remarks and the subsequent bicentennial celebration evidence the First Vision’s status as a founding narrative and key collective memory for Latter-day Saints. While the Pearl of Great Price remains the traditional place to brush up on Smith’s account, the twenty-first- century Church’s approach to his historical record has expanded. Despite the existence of an official, canonized version of the story, speaking or teaching about Joseph Smith’s experience without significantly referencing its multiple accounts has become virtually impossible.
Recommended Citation
Perez, William G.
(2023)
"Reclaiming the “Primary Question”: A New Beginning for Joseph Smith’s First Vision,"
BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 62:
Iss.
3, Article 10.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol62/iss3/10