Often, one will hear some critics who claim that John Taylor (1808-1887), third president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was ignorant of the First Vision (e.g., Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism, p. 164). However, when one reads his sermons, such is refuted. For instance, in a sermon dated January 4, 1880, Taylor is recorded as having said the following:
You cannot teach a child algebra, nor arithmetic, until it has gone through a certain system of training. You cannot teach the arts and sciences without necessary preparation for their introduction, nor can you teach people in the government of God without they are placed in communication with him, and hence comes the Church of God, and what is meant by that? A school, if you please, wherein men are taught certain principles, wherein we can receive a certain spirit through obedience to certain ordinances. And we, having received this spirit through those ordinances, were then prepared to take the initiatory steps in relation to other matters, and hence as a commencement the Lord appeared unto Joseph Smith, both the Father and the Son, the Father pointing to the Son said "this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him." Here, then, was a communication from the heavens made known unto man on the earth, and he at that time came into possesion of a fact that no man knew in the world but he, and that is that God lived, for he had seen him, and that his Son Jesus Christ lived, for he also had seen him. What next? Now says the Father, "This is my beloved Son, hear him." The manner, the mode, the why, and the wherefore, he designed to introduce through him were not explained; but he, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the Redeemer of man, he was the one pointed out to be the guide, the director, the instructor, and the leader in the development of the great principles of that kingdom and that government which he then commenced to institute. What next? The next step was that men having held the priesthood, that had ministered in time and eternity and that held the keys of the priesthood came and conferred them upon Joseph Smith. John the Baptist conferred upon him the Aaronic priesthood, and Peter, James and John the Melchisedec priesthood; and then others who had operated in the various ages of the world, such as Moses and Enoch, appeared and conferred upon him the authority that they held pertaining to these matters. Why? Because it was "the dispensation of the fullness of times," not of one time only but of all the times; it was the initiatory step for the development of all the principles that ever existed, or would exist pertaining to this world, or the world to come. What next? He was commanded to set apart other men, to baptize them that believed, that had faith in God and in his kingdom, and in his revelations and in his government. After they were put in possession of these principles, they were commanded to baptize those who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who repented of their sins, that they were to be baptized for a remission of their sins and to have hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost. (JOD 21:65-66, emphasis added)
Such shows that one should take the claims of critics about LDS Church history with a lot of skepticism and that one should actually check the relevant primary sources and scholarly literature on the issues.
For those wishing to delve into this particular issues in more detail, D. Charles Pyle and Cooper Johnson wrote a great response to the Tanners about John Taylor and other early LDS' knowledge of the First Vision in their article:
