Doctrine and Covenants
Week 2: Joseph Smith’s childhood; the First Vision; Moroni₂, & the gold plates
Joseph Smith—History
◀ Week 1 | D&C home page | Week 3 ▶
12 September 2024
Lesson Materials
Notes and slides will be posted after the class has been held.
Notes
Slides
Download PowerPoint slides with animation
Handout
ardc02_handout.pdfLesson video
Additional reading and links
“First Vision Accounts,” Gospel Topics Essays, November 2013. An excellent summary on the Church’s website of Joseph Smith’s various accounts of the First Vision, along with a response to criticisms that he misremembered or embellished his accounts over time.
Dean C. Jessee, “The Early Accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision,” BYU Studies 9, no. 3 (Spring 1969): 275–94. (The entire issue is devoted to the historical setting of the First Vision.) This article was updated and expanded as the opening chapter of John W. Welch and Erick b. Carlson, eds., Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820–1844 (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press and Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005), 1–33.
Dean C. Jessee, “The Reliability of Joseph Smith’s History,” Journal of Mormon History 3, no. 1 (1976): 23–46. Jessee explores how the official history of the Church was compiled between 1838 and 1856, the historiographical methods the clerks used, and the limitations of the record.
Steven C. Harper, “Was Joseph Smith a Money Digger?,” BYU Studies 62, no. 4 (2023): 37–55. Harper evaluates the historical claims that Joseph Smith used his spiritual gifts to seek for buried treasure and find lost items.
Audio
The First Vision: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is a six-part documentary miniseries that explores the history and legacy of Joseph Smith’s first vision. The podcast recreates the world in which Joseph Smith was seeking answers to the pressing questions of his soul. Series host Spencer W. McBride interviewed historians and Church leaders for this podcast.
The episodes can be listened to on the Church website at the link above. You can also listen through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or by subscribing to the podcast’s RSS feed in your podcast app.
Videos
“Joseph Smith’s First Vision: Seeking the Accounts,” YouTube video playlist (7 parts), 1:05:48. This documentary features the finest scholars of Joseph Smith's First Vision and explores with them the circumstances and history of the various accounts of the visitation of God the Father and Jesus Christ to the boy Joseph Smith.