Fact or Fiction

As several of us already mentioned, it's quite hard to capture an experience or memory through writing. Despite how hard we try, or how many times we attempt, we can never truly convey to our reader what it is we experienced.

Almost 200 years ago, Joseph Smith struggled several times to effectively portray his "first vision". There are several widely accepted accounts that all stress different points and even contain contradicting details. His early accounts, for example, attribute his vision to him wanting to receive a remission of his sons, while later accounts claim he wanted to find the true church. Even the number of heavenly beings seen by Joseph changes from account to account.

Many critics claim that such inconsistencies discredit his story and conclude he must be a fraud. I remember a few years ago when my dad approached me with these inconsistencies and the doubts they raised within him.

However we realized how hard it was for Joseph to communicate such a divine experience. There are several logical and practical reasons for the inconsistencies. As we've discussed, all history and stories are biased and used to persuade. Joseph often shaped his account to his audience, monitoring his kairos. His job was to testify of what happened to him, and let his reader feel the truth for themselves.

I now feel that "absolute" truths, such as what occurred in Joseph's First Vision, cannot be accurately nor justly portrayed merely through writing. Fortunately God blessed us with other tools, such as the Holy Ghost, that help us comprehend and discover these truths as Plato implies we should.