In D&C
20:5-6, we read:
After
it was truly manifested unto this
first elder that he had received a remission of his sins, he was entangled
again in the vanities of the world; But after repenting, and humbling himself
sincerely, through faith, God ministered unto him by an holy angel, whose
countenance was as lightning, and whose garments were pure and white above all
other whiteness.
Many
Latter-day Saints have argued that, in this text, we have an early allusion
(though not the earliest--on this, see Joseph
Smith's First Vision in 2 Nephi 27:24-26) to the First Vision.
In this
post, I wish to focus on verse 5's use of "manifested." What is important about this is that this is the
language of theophany, whether of
Jesus and/or the Father. We see this in both the KJV New Testament and the Book
of Mormon, showing that this concept was
part-and-parcel of Joseph Smith’s theological vocabulary prior to April 1830,
adding further plausibility to this being an allusion to a theophany (i.e., the
First Vision).
For
instance, in the 1 Tim 3:16, an early Christological confession, we read:
And without
controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
(KJV [most modern translations have “he who” instead of “God”])
Elsewhere,
in Titus 2:13, the KJV uses the concept
of “manifestation” for both the Father and the Son:
Looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
“Glorious
appearing” is ἐπιφάνεια (alt. “epiphany”; “manifestation”), the noun form of
the verb φανερόω in 1 Tim 3:16.
"Manifest"
is used in the Book of Mormon in many senses, including the incarnation of
Jesus as well as appearances to prophets and nations:
And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having
heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision,
and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power
he received by faith on the Son of God-- and the Son of God was the Messiah who
should come-- I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know
of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto
all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that
he should manifest himself unto the
children of men. (1 Nephi 10:17)
And
the time cometh that he shall manifest
himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and
after he has manifested himself unto
the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the
last shall be first, and the first shall be last. (1 Nephi 13:42)
And now, the thing which our father meaneth
concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the
Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in
unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the
Messiah shall be manifested in body
unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah
come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed (1
Nephi 15:13)
Nevertheless, the Lord has shown unto me that
they should return again. And he also has shown unto me that the Lord God, the
Holy One of Israel, should manifest
himself unto them in the flesh; and after he should manifest himself they should scourge him and crucify him, according
to the words of the angel who spake it unto me. (2 Nephi 6:9)
But, behold, they shall have wars, and rumors
of wars; and when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea,
even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject
him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the
stiffness of their necks . . . And behold it shall come to pass that after the
Messiah hath risen from the dead and hath manifested
himself unto his people, unto as many as will believe on his name, behold,
Jerusalem, shall be destroyed again; for wo unto them that fight against God
and the people of his church. (2 Nephi 25:12, 14)
Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and
there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh,
the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do. (2 Nephi 32:6)
Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled
unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, and ye may
obtain a resurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in
Christ, and be presented as the first-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith,
and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh. (Jacob 4:11)
And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in
Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away
before he shall manifest himself in
the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole. (Enos 1:8)
And these are the words: Behold, I perceive
that this very people, the Nephites, according to the spirit of revelation
which is in me, in four hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall
dwindle in unbelief. (Alma 45:10)
Our father Lehi was driven out of Jerusalem
because he testified of these things. Nephi also testified of these things, and
also almost all of our fathers, even down to this time; yea, they have
testified of the coming of Christ, and have looked forward, and have rejoiced
in his day which is to come. And behold, he is God, and he is with them, and he
did manifest himself unto the, that
they were redeemed by him; and they gave unto him glory, because of that which
is to come. (Helaman 8:22-23)
And it came to pass that in the ending of the
thirty and fourth year, behold, I will show unto you that the people of Nephi
who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been
spared, did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out
upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven
he did truly manifest himself unto
them (3 Nephi 10:18)
And they understood me not that I said they
shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at
any time hear my voice-- that I should not manifest
myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost. (3 Nephi 15:23; cf. 16:2
[while Jesus is negating an appearance to the Gentiles, it does show that
"to manifest" is being
used here in the sense of a personal visitation])
Behold, I have written upon these plates the
very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things
made manifest than those which were
made manifest unto the brother of
Jared. (Ether 4:4 [the Brother of Jared experienced a Christophany in Ether
3:13-16 which is what "manifest" means in this context)
For the brother of Jared said unto the
mountain Zerin, Remove-- and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it
would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith. For thus
didst thou manifest thyself unto thy
disciples; for after they had faith, and did speak in thy name, thou didst show
thyself unto them in great power. (Ether 12:30-31; again, as with Ether 4:4,
"to manifest" hearkens back to the Brother of Jared who experienced a
Christophany)
In the KJV
New Testament, which clearly had a strong influence on his theological vocabulary,
as well as the Book of Mormon, “to manifest” would often have the sense of an
appearance of deity, predominately that of Jesus (sometimes, as with Titus 2:13 (KJV),
both the Father and the Son), adding further strength to the claim that, in
D&C 20, we have an early (April 1830) allusion to the First Vision.
2022 Update: Non-LDS Scholar on the use of "manifest"/"manifestation" in the Book of Mormon:
