L. Petersen recalls his discussion with L.E. Young about a "strange account" of the First Vision.

Date
1998
Type
Book
Source
LaMar Petersen
Resigned
Critic
Hearsay
2nd Hand
Late
Reference

LaMar Petersen, The Creation of the Book of Mormon: An Historical Inquiry (Salt Lake City: Freethinker Press, 1998), xii

Scribe/Publisher
Freethinker Press
People
David O. McKay, Joseph F. Merrill, Hartman Rector, Jr., Levi Edgar Young, Richard L. Evans, J. Reuben Clark, Milton R. Hunter, LaMar Petersen, John A. Widtsoe, James E. Talmage, Charles A. Callis, Joseph Wirthlin
Audience
Reading Public
Transcription

As I was seeking information in the years that followed, I had several visits with some of the General Authorities (David O. McKay; J. Reuben Clark, Jr.; James E. Talmage; John A. Widtsoe; Richard L. Evans; Joseph Wirthlin; Milton R. Hunter; and Hartman Rector, Jr.)—some more memorable than others. The most noteworthy were six sessions in which my wife and I spent with Levi Edgar Young in 1952. He was forthright in discussing Mormon problems in history and theology, but always in loyal church terms. He told us that he had been defended before the First Presidency by his “buffers”—Apostles Merrill, Callis, and Widtsoe. He told us of a “strange account” (Young’s own term) of the First Vision, which he thought was written in Joseph’s own hand and which had been concealed for 120 years in a locked vault. He declined to tell us details, but stated that it did not agree entirely with the official version. Jesus was the center of the vision, but God was not mentioned. I respected Young’s wish that the information be withheld until after his death.

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