In this blog post, one former Latter-day Saint wrote the following about Joseph Smith's 1832 account of the First Vision
· In the “official” account, Joseph claimed to have seen two physical beings: God and Christ.
· In most of the other accounts, he claimed to have only seen one and sometimes saw angels in addition to or instead of the figures.
In the corresponding infographic to the 1832 account of the First Vision the claim is that this account does not make reference to two personages (viz. the Father and the Son), but only "the Lord" (Christ).
There are many problems with this "argument." Firstly, in the preface to the 1832 account, God the Father is mentioned. Note the following:
"A History of the life of Joseph Smith Jr. an account of his marvilous experience and of all the mighty acts which he doeth in the name of Jesus Ch[r]ist the son of the living God of whom he beareth record and also an account of the rise of the church of Christ in the eve of time according as the Lord brough<t> [it] forth and established [it] by his hand <firstly> he receiving the testamony from on high secondly the ministering of Angels thirdly the reception of the holy Priesthood by the ministring of Aangels to adminster the letter of the Gospel—<—the Law and commandments as they were given unto him—>and the ordinencs, forthly a confirmation and reception of the high Priesthood after the holy order of the son of the living God."
The phrase I have put in red, “the testimony from on high” is a reference to the person of God the Father introducing Jesus Christ as evidenced from Joseph Smith’s contemporary writings as well as contemporary writings of other Latter-day Saints. Note the following:
“He [God the Father] testified unto me that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (1835 First Vision Account)
"[He] said...This is my beloved Son” (1838 First Vision Account)
The Father's "voice . . . came out of heaven" [i.e., 'from on high'] and testified of His "Beloved Son." (3 Nephi 11:3, 5-7)
Joseph Smith stated, "the Lord God has spoken it; and we . . . have heard . . . the words of the glorious Majesty on high." (D&C 20:16)
"And no man hath seen God at any time, except he [i.e., God the Father] hath borne record of the Son." (JST John 1:18-19)
So, while not explicit, the presence of God the Father is presupposed in the 1832 account of the First Vision.
A related criticism on this point is that the 1832 account reflects what they label "early Mormon Modalism" where Jesus and the Father are the one and same person. Of course, this rests on the non sequitur claim that Joseph Smith said he only saw the person of Jesus in the 1832 account. Furthermore, a killer blow to the charge of Modalism being the Christology of the 1832 account, however, is none other than the words of Jesus Christ Himself, where there is clearly a distinction of the persons of the Father and the Son:
[B]ehold, and lo I come quickly as it is written of me in the cloud clothed in the glory of my Father.
The glory that the person of Jesus Christ possesses when he comes again in glory (his Parousia) is not his own, but the glory given to Him by the Father; there would be no such distinction if they were one and the same person.
As with many claims against the Church's history, these "arguments" rests on fallacious claims; it would have better suited the critic to have studied the issue in more depth than rely on a ten second google search.
Recommended Reading
John W. Welch, ed. Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844
Samuel Alonzo Dodge and Steven C. Harper, eds. Exploring the First Vision
Steve C. Harper, Joseph Smith's First Vision - A Guide to The Historical Account
Matthew B. Brown, Pillar of Light: The History and Message of the First Vision
Matthew B. Christensen, The First Vision: A Harmonization of Ten Accounts from the Sacred Grove
