Moroni's Visit to Joseph Smith

How did Moroni visit Joseph Smith so many times without waking up his whole household?

It's unclear how "physical" or "visionary" Moroni's[BIO] visitations to Joseph Smith[BIO] were. Joseph's home was small, and he likely slept in a small bed with his siblings.[1] It's possible someone could have woken up, but there is no record of anyone waking during these visitations.

Does this mean that this visitation was some kind of spiritual event rather than physical?

Possibly. There may have been some kind of spiritual or non-physical component to the event.

Could these “visits” have just been a very vivid, recurring dream that Joseph had?

Possibly, but probably not. The sources that describe Moroni's visitation as a dream are primarily from unsourced news stories about Joseph Smith.[2][3][4]

Related Question

Did Joseph Smith give more than one account of the First Vision?

How long were the visits?

There were multiple visits each night and according to Joseph’s 1838 history, the visits lasted "the whole of that night."[5]

Assuming Joseph and his family went to bed shortly after dark, then the visits lasted, at most, about nine hours.[6] But there are no records about these details, and it's just guesswork.

Did the angel say anything besides what is in the Joseph Smith—History in the Pearl of Great Price?

Probably. Oliver Cowdery[BIO] reported in the mid-1830s that the angel recited many biblical passages and prophecies besides those mentioned in the Pearl of Great Price account.[7]

“The Angel Moroni’s First Visit” by Linda Curley Christensen, a painting showing the angel Moroni visiting Joseph Smith in his small home while his brother sleeps. — “The Angel Moroni’s First Visit” by Linda Curley Christensen. In addition to appearing in the Church News, this painting was one of four paintings displayed in the Sacred Grove Welcome Center, as of 2021.

Why don’t the typical paintings show Joseph’s siblings in the room when Moroni appeared to Joseph?

Probably because it's more dramatic or interesting to just depict Moroni and Joseph alone. Or it could be that artists were unaware that Joseph slept in the same bed with his siblings. There is some more recent artwork (twenty-first century) included in Church publications that depicts Joseph and his siblings in the same bed.[8]

When did Joseph Smith first identify the angel as Moroni?

The earliest record of Joseph referring to the angel as "Moroni" is from 1835, while he had the vision in 1823.[9]

Why did Joseph wait so long to identify the angel?

It's unclear. Joseph never explained why he waited so long to name the angel. It may have been that he waited until he had a more pressing need to correct the public record.[10]

Did Joseph ever describe the visitation of the angel before the 1830s?

Yes. The earliest records that mention Joseph being visited by an angel are from 1829.[11] Joseph's uncle, Jesse Smith,[BIO] wrote a letter with concerns about an angel visiting Joseph and revealing a "gold book."[12] The first official account of the visit was composed in 1830.[13]

Is it true that Joseph originally identified the angel as Nephi,[BIO] not as Moroni?

No. Joseph and other Latter-day Saints were identifying the angel as Moroni in the mid-1830s[14] and continued to identify him this way into the mid-nineteenth century.[15]

The reason this comes up is that in an early draft of Joseph's 1838-39 history, a scribe named James Mulholland[BIO] mistakenly wrote Nephi in place of Moroni.[16] This mistake was reprinted for a number of years in various Church publications.[17] Eventually, this mistake was recognized and corrected.[18]

Did Joseph Smith originally imagine Moroni was a magical treasure guardian?

No, probably not. Critics have portrayed the account of Moroni and the gold plates as a type of folk magic superstition relating to buried treasure,[19] but Joseph consistently described Moroni as a divine messenger sent from heaven protecting an ancient record.[20]

Didn’t Joseph originally claim the angel was a toad or salamander who transformed into an angel?

No, probably not. Two members of the Chase family said that they had heard that Joseph saw a toad that transformed into human form.[21] There is also an account that said the messenger was a salamander, but the document of the account was later proven to be a forgery.[22]

What did Joseph's family think about his story of having seen an angel?

Members of Joseph's direct family believed him;[23] however, his uncle and grandfather did not.[24]

Why do some accounts conflate the First Vision with Moroni's visitation?

Probably because of the normal reasons people mix up events—they misremember or confuse two similar events. Neither Joseph[25] nor his close associates[26] ever mixed up the two, but his mother and younger brother seemed to when recalling them decades later.[27]

The Facts

It's unclear if Moroni's visit was physical or some type of non-physical vision.
Historical records refer to an angelic visit to Joseph Smith as early as 1829, but Joseph did not identify the angel as Moroni until 1835.
Some historical records used the name Nephi instead of Moroni because of a mistake by one of Joseph's scribes in 1838.
There are some unsourced accounts by critics that claimed Joseph simply dreamt the vision or was visited by a toad or a bloody ghost.
Joseph Smith was consistent in his description of the visitations of Moroni.

Our Take

Moroni’s visit is a big part of Joseph Smith's life story, his prophetic call, and the origins of the Book of Mormon. So feeling like this story is inconsistent or doesn't make sense can be concerning.

There are various questions we may ask about Joseph's angelic visit. Was it a physical event or some kind of dream? Why didn't Joseph record this important event when it happened? Why are there weird stories about it from many years after the experience?

The story is complicated somewhat by critics of Joseph who told strange stories that replaced the angel with toads and ghosts. It also doesn't help that Joseph did not keep a journal until years later.

Examining the complete historical record gives us a reasonably clear indication of what happened. Joseph had some kind of visit with an angel and told his close friends and family. Contemporary records corroborate this. As to whether it was physical or visionary, it's unclear.

Understanding how the Book of Mormon came to be is an important part of evaluating it. Knowing more about the historical records of the account can help us appreciate the difficulty of piecing together historical events, but also give us confidence that the primary narrative, which is available to readers of the Pearl of Great Price, aligns with the historical record.

What's Your Take?

Jared O.
“On my mission I had someone tell me that Moroni was a hologram recording sent by God.”
James W.
“I know for myself that it doesn’t matter whether it was a vision or a physical visitation, Moroni did visit Joseph and reveal these important things! In my head, I always pictured it as being really him as a physical personage though.”
Paula M.
“HOW it happened is irrelevant when the Holy Ghost testifies to you that WHAT happened was true.”
"Jody" GM H.
“I am certain that an actual angel (a resurrected human man) Moroni, appeared to Joseph Smith Jr. who was sleeping in the same bed as his siblings. Because I have had a powerful witness of the Holy Ghost confirm to me, after diligently praying to know these things!”

Read More Difficult Questions

79 Primary Sources

Footnotes

BIOMoroni
Moroni (circa 400 AD) was a son of Mormon, the Nephite a military leader and prophet. He authored the final book in the Book of Mormon, concluding the record, and was the last survivor of the Nephite civilization. According to Joseph Smith's history, Moroni, as a resurrected angel sent from God, appeared to the young visionary and instructed him between the years 1823 to 1827 about the coming forth and translation of the Book of Mormon.
BIOJoseph Smith, Jr.
Joseph Smith (1805–1844) organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Sharon, Vermont, he began to experience visions of deity and angels at a young age. One vision featured the Angel Moroni, who revealed the location of gold plates with an account of ancient Americans. He translated this record and published it as The Book of Mormon. He continued to receive revelations throughout his life which serve as the foundation for the Church's doctrine today. He led the Latter-day Saints across the country from New York to Illinois. In 1844, he was martyred while awaiting trial in Carthage, Illinois.
BIOOliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery (1806–1850) was a scribe for the Book of Mormon and served as one of the Book of Mormon's Three Witnesses. In 1838, he was excommunicated from the church for a number of reasons, including encouraging lawsuits against the Church and defaming Joseph Smith by accusing him of adultery. He returned to the faith near the end of his life and never denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon's veracity.
BIOJesse Smith
Jesse Smith (1768–1853) was an early Latter-day Saint. He was the brother of Joseph Smith, Sr. and uncle to Joseph Smith Jr. and Hyrum Smith. He wrote a letter to Hyrum Smith dated June 17, 1829, expressing his skepticism about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith's claims.
BIONephi
Circa 600 BC. Nephi was a prophet in the Book of Mormon. He left Jerusalem in the years leading to its destruction by the Kingdom of Babylon and traveled to the Promised Land, which is believed to be at some location in the Americas. He and his followers separated from his two brothers, Laman and Lemuel, regarding a succession dispute following the death of their father, Lehi. Nephi served as a king over his people, the "Nephites," until his death.
BIOJames Mulholland
James Mulholland (1804-1839) was an early Latter-day Saint. Mulholland was born in Ireland. He served as a scribe for Joseph Smith in 1838 at Far West as well as a scribe for two of Joseph Smith’s journals in 1838 and 1839.
[1]↩︎
There isn't any primary documentation showing Joseph slept with his siblings. However, when Joseph had his vision of Moroni in 1823, Lucy and Joseph Sr. and their nine children were living in a small two-floor farmhouse.
According to a reconstruction of the Smith home in the Ensign, "the chamber above the two rooms probably served as sleeping quarters for most of the Smith children."
- Donald L. Enders offers summary of Joseph log house reconstruction.
[2]↩︎
For example, the Palmyra Freeman reported Joseph Smith's experience as a "dream," but Joseph himself never uses this language.
A person by the name of Joseph Smith, of Manchester, Ontario county, reported that he had been visited in a dream by the spirit of the Almighty. . . .
Another account using the word "dream" is a thirdhand account from John A. Clark, who was paraphrasing Martin Harris:
According to Martin Harris, it was after one of these night excursions, that Jo, while he lay upon his bed, had a remarkable dream.
- John A. Clark reports Martin Harris's account of Moroni's visit.
- Rochester Daily Advertiser reprints report of Moroni visit and Joseph finding plates.
[3]↩︎
For instance, in 1829, the Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegraph reported that Joseph believed that "he had been visited in a dream by the spirit of the Almighty."
Other newspapers used similar "dream" language to describe Joseph's experiences.
[4]↩︎
The accounts that use "dream" language tend to be unsourced or secondhand.
[5]↩︎
In the official manuscript history of the Church, Joseph describes Moroni appearing several times through the night.
- Joseph's 1838 history narrative of Moroni visit.
[6]↩︎
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Solar Calculator indicates that sunset on September 21, 1823, in Palmyra, New York, was at approximately 6:09 p.m. and sunrise the following day was 5:55 a.m.
Astronomical twilight is when the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon and is a practical indicator of "night." Night would begin a little over an hour (about 72 minutes) after sunset and end a little over an hour before sunrise.
This means it was dark at about 7:21 p.m. If Joseph's family went to bed at 8 p.m. and night lasted until 72 minutes before sunrise at 5:55 a.m. (darkness until about 4:43 a.m.), then the maximum meeting time would be about 8 hours and 43 minutes.
- GML hosts a NOAA solar calculator that says sunset on 9/21/1823 was at 6:09 p.m.
[7]↩︎
According to Joseph's canonical history, the angel quoted or expounded on Malachi 3, 4:1–6; Isaiah 11:1–16; Acts 3:22–23; and Joel 2:28–32.
Oliver Cowdery, in his 1835 Messenger and Advocate letters, indicates that the angel also quoted, paraphrased, or expounded upon on the following scriptures: Deuteronomy 32:23–24, 43; Psalm 100:1–2; 107:1–7; 144:11–13; 146:10; Isaiah 1:7, 23–26; 2:1–4; 4:5–6; 29:11–14; 43:6; Jeremiah 16:16; 30:18–21; 31:1, 6–9, 27–33; 50:4–5; and 1 Corinthians 1:27–29.
- OC discusses scriptures recited to JS by angel.
- Oliver Cowdery describes scriptures recited to Joseph by Moroni.
[8]↩︎
This artwork has appeared in the Ensign, in manuals, on the Church's website, and in visitors' centers at Church sites.
[9]↩︎
In the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (now D&C 27:5), Joseph Smith's revelation identifies the angel as Moroni.
- In a revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord references Moroni's visit to Joseph.
[10]↩︎
In the opening of his 1838 history, which is the most detailed account of Moroni's visitation, Joseph said he was composing the account to combat public misinformation.
- Joseph explains he is composing a history to combat misinformation.
[11]↩︎
Several early secondhand and thirdhand reports allude to Joseph Smith discussing Angel Moroni's visit. Both The Gem and Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegraph reported on Joseph Smith's visitation and "the Golden Bible."
[12]↩︎
In June 1829, Joseph's uncle, Jesse Smith, wrote a critical letter to his nephew Hyrum expressing outrage at Joseph Smith's account of the plates:
If it be a gold book discovered by the necromancy of infidelity, & dug from the mines of atheism, he writes that the angel of the Lord has revealed to him the hidden treasures of wisdom & knowledge, even divine revelation, which has lain in the bowels of the earth for thousands of years [and] is at last made known to him, he says he has eyes to see things that art not, and then has the audacity to say they are; and the angel of the Lord (Devil it should be) has put me in possession of great wealth, gold & silver and precious stones so that I shall have the dominion in all the land of Palmyra.
- Joseph Smith's uncle writes to Hyrum Smith expressing skepticism of Jospeh Smith's story about angel.
[13]↩︎
This document, now known as section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants, speaks of Joseph being visited "by an Holy Angel, whose countenance was as Lightning & whose garments were pure & white above all whiteness . . . ."
- D&C 20 from Revelation Book 1, mentions Moroni as an angel.
[14]↩︎
Joseph publicly identified the angel as Moroni in Church publications and speeches from the mid to late 1830s.
Oliver Cowdery also identified the angel as Moroni in 1835 in the Messenger and Advocate, and apostle David W. Patten connected Moroni with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in the Elders' Journal.
[15]↩︎
In 1842, the Times and Seasons published "The History of Joseph Smith" which wrongly identified the angel as Nephi. In that same year, Joseph identified the angel as Moroni in a letter to the Church.
One year later, in that same series, Joseph again identified the angel as Moroni. Other Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint sources from the mid to late 1800s also identified the angel as Moroni.
[16]↩︎
James Mulholland recorded the name of the angel as Nephi and added Moroni above it as a correction:
He called me by name and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me and that his name was Nephi <*Moroni>.
- Joseph's 1838 history identifies angel as Nephi.
[17]↩︎
Joseph Smith's 1838–39 manuscript history was first published in 1842 in the Times and Seasons as "The History of Joseph Smith." This published version rendered the name of the angel as Nephi. Church periodicals and books circulated and reprinted the Times and Seasons, including the Millennial Star and the first edition of the Pearl of Great Price. Lucy Mack Smith, like others, copied the Times and Seasons version into her own history, which was later published in the 1850s.
[18]↩︎
The error was recognized as early as 1866 when President Brigham Young discussed the problem with his son in a private letter.
A decade later, Apostle Orson Pratt mentioned being aware of the problem. Brigham Young placed the fault on Orson Pratt, while Pratt attributed it to "the ignorance or carelessness of the historian or transcriber."
George A. Smith and Orson Pratt conducted a study of the matter and recommended to President John Taylor that the error be corrected. Occasionally, some Latter-day Saints said that both Moroni and Nephi visited Joseph Smith.
[19]↩︎
Multiple critics attacked Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon, arguing that it was the product of folk "treasure-hunting."
For instance, one explanation surfaced in the late 1800s identifying Moroni as a ghost with a long beard and a slit, bloody throat.
[20]↩︎
Joseph authored or dictated several firsthand accounts of Moroni's visitation. They express the common theme that the messenger was offering an ancient record.
[21]↩︎
The first account comes from Willard Chase in the statement included in E. D. Howe's Mormonism Unveiled. Chase recalled:
He saw in the box something like a toad, which soon assumed the appearance of a man, and struck him on the side of his head.
The second account comes from Willard Chase's brother-in-law, Benjamin Saunders:
I heard from <Joe> tell my Mother and Sister how he procured the plates. He said he was directed by an angel where it was. He went in the night to get the plates. When he took the plates there was something down near the box that looked like a toad that rose up into a man which forbid him to take the plates.
- Willard Chase describes the angel Joseph saw as a toad.
- BS says a toad transformed into an angel.
[22]↩︎
The document was a letter allegedly from Martin Harris to William W. Phelps and described how "the spirit [Moroni] transfigured himself from a white salamander in the bottom of the hole" when Joseph went to retrieve the plates.
Scientific testing, as well as the confession of the author, has confirmed that this letter is a forgery.
- Salamander Letter, forged by Mark Hofmann.
- RAJ of LAT reports MH admission to forgery.
[23]↩︎
Joseph's mother (Lucy) and two siblings (William and Katharine) left behind detailed reminiscences documenting their belief in Joseph Smith's account of Moroni.
[24]↩︎
Jesse Smith wrote a letter to Hyrum that expressed his disapproval of Joseph. Jesse said he was writing on behalf of Joseph's grandfather.
- Joseph Smith's uncle writes to Hyrum Smith expressing skepticism of Jospeh Smith's story about angel.
[25]↩︎
In his 1832, 1835, 1838–39, and 1842 histories, Joseph clearly narrates his First Vision and then the visitation from Moroni.
[26]↩︎
Orson Pratt's 1840 history of Joseph's early visions clearly separates the two events.
However, Oliver Cowdery's 1834 and 1835 letters in the Messenger and Advocate seem to lead up to the First Vision in Letter III, but then skips it entirely and instead shared Moroni's visit in Letter IV. It's unclear why he did this, but it could be that, between issues of the newspaper, Joseph instructed Oliver not to make the First Vision public yet.
[27]↩︎
Over 50 years after Moroni's visit, William Smith, Joseph's younger brother, recorded his memories of Joseph, and he conflated the First Vision and Moroni's visit.
Lucy Mack Smith may have also conflated the First Vision and Moroni's visit. In an early draft of her history, she relates a story that combines elements of the First Vision and also Moroni's visit.