The most commonly used account of Joseph Smith’s
first vision can be found in the Pearl of Great Price;
but four other of his firsthand accounts and several secondhand accounts have survived.
Each provides unique and insightful details
to that pivotal moment in the grove.
Because events like the First Vision are defining
moments for prophets,
it is common for them to speak of them often enough to provide several records of the same event.
Visionary experiences from the scriptures
can help shed light on why each one of
Joseph Smith’s First Vision accounts is different
from the others.
This is especially true of Alma the Younger’s
encounter with the angel of the Lord.
Alma told of his vision of an angel on three
different occasions.
Each time he gave emphasis to different aspects of his experience, making each account noticeably different.
It is not unusual for anyone repeatedly telling
about an experience
to slightly shift the focus or emphasize different aspects of that event.
In the case of both Alma the Younger and Joseph
Smith, this was because they were communicating
their experiences at different points in their
lives to different audiences for different reasons.
With Alma, the varying accounts make sense
in the detailed ways that they were recounted,
at different points in his life, progressively
reflecting the perspectives of an older,
more confident and more faithful man.
Each telling of their visions gives insight
to where Joseph and Alma where
at that moment in their mortal lives and spiritual stewardships.
Each version meaningfully and naturally reflects
how they understood their experience in that
particular moment with that particular audience in mind.
And now you know why.
