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it was not deemed necessary for Latter Day Saints before that time to be fully aware of the First Vision,
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You're actually correct on this point, as far as I can tell, the first vision was virtually unknown before the mid-late 1830's.
I can't be bothered replying to anything else in your post at the moment because I gotta go get some exercise. Interesting discussion though, and I'll make a response later.
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Grant Palmer has noted that Joseph Smith had a clear motive for changing his story in 1838, a period of crisis within the Latter Day Saint Movement. At the time there was open dissent against Smith's leadership. A quarter of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and some 300 members—perhaps fifteen percent of the total membership—had left the church. Palmer argues that Smith "fearing the unraveling of the church," wrote a new "more impressive version of his epiphany" in which Smith claimed that his original call had come from God the Father and Jesus Christ rather than from an angel.
From: Palmer, 248-252. Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer were excommunicated on April 12-13, 1838. The following week Smith contemplated rewriting his history. On April 26, he renamed the church. The next day he "started dictating a new first vision narrative." (248)
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