Keywords

Joseph Smith, Mormon History, The First Vision, spiritual manifestations

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is not to recount and analyze Joseph Smith's First Vision, as others have already attempted that several times. Rather, it is to juxtapose the First Vision with accounts of other visionaries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and to discuss the religious atmosphere in which these visionaries lived.

Original Publication Citation

Hatch, T., "Joseph Smith's First Vision and a Culture of Spiritual Manifestations," When the Lights Came On: Joseph Smith and the Return of Heavenly Manifestations (p. 1-23). Springville, UT, Cedar Fort, 2016. Earlier edition of this chapter in Visions, Manifestations, and Miracles of the Restoration (1-40). Orem, UT: Granite Publishing, 2008.