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Vision, 16 February 1832 [D&C 76]

Source Note

“The Vision,” , OH, 16 Feb. 1832; signed by and JS. Featured version copied [between 16 Feb. and 8 Mar. 1832] in Revelation Book 2, pp. 1–10; handwriting of and JS; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 2.

Historical Introduction

On 16 February 1832, JS and saw a vision “concerning the economy of God and his vast creation throughout all eternity,” likely while in the upstairs bedroom of the and Alice (Elsa) Jacobs Johnson home in , Ohio. This vision came after JS returned from the January in , Ohio, and after he resumed his work of revising the New Testament at the Johnson home, with Rigdon working as scribe. According to a later JS history, revelations JS had dictated up to February 1832 showed “that many important points, touching the salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled.” Included in these “important points” was information on what happens after death. This information led JS to think “that if God rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body, the term ‘heaven,’ . . . must include more kingdoms than one.” According to the description of the vision, on 16 February 1832, JS and Rigdon reviewed John 5:29, wherein Jesus Christ prophesies that the dead will “come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” They reported that when they pondered this verse they together beheld a vision of what awaited humankind after death.
JS and ’s description of the vision outlined three levels of heavenly glory—, , and —and the requirements for entrance into each. According to their report, every person who lived on earth—apart from followers of known as “sons of perdition”—would spend the afterlife in one of these “kingdoms.” These concepts differed considerably from views of the afterlife held by most Protestant churches that the souls of the “righteous” are received into heaven while the “wicked” are cast into hell. Other thinkers and theologians, however, had conceptions of heaven that were more similar to JS and Rigdon’s vision: The Universalist church, with which JS’s grandfather Asael Smith had affiliated, proclaimed that Christ would temporarily punish sinners but eventually redeem all people. Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish scientist and mystic, posited in the mid-1700s that heaven consisted of three different levels (celestial, spiritual, and natural). , Rigdon’s former associate in the Disciples of Christ, also wrote about “three kingdoms”—the Kingdom of Law, the Kingdom of Favor, and the Kingdom of Glory. Campbell’s Kingdoms of Law and Favor, however, could be experienced during mortal life, and only the Kingdom of Glory was reserved for the afterlife. In describing these three kingdoms, Campbell wrote that the first was entered through birth, the second through baptism, and the third through good works. One differed from the next, Campbell declared, “as the sun excelled a star.”
Neither JS nor described in detail how the vision occurred—only that they both saw it at the same time. The shared nature of the vision made it somewhat unusual. Although some experiences of angelic visitations had multiple participants—including the appearance of John the Baptist to JS and in May 1829 and the appearance of an showing the to Cowdery, , and in the summer of 1829—most visions and revelations had been experienced by JS alone. , who claimed to have been with JS and Rigdon in the Johnson home when the vision occurred, later recounted that JS and Rigdon sat in the upstairs room, where they had conducted much of their work on the Bible revision, with twelve other men. By turns, either JS or Rigdon would ask, “What do I see?” and then relate the scene, after which the other would reply, “I see the same.” There is no indication in Dibble’s account that anyone was recording the vision as it occurred; instead, Dibble said there was “not a sound nor motion made by anyone” in the room. Dibble recalled that neither JS nor Rigdon “moved a joint or limb during the time I was there.”
The text of the vision account itself contains JS and ’s descriptions of what they saw, interspersed with the voice of Deity explicating parts of the vision. According to this record, Jesus Christ conversed with JS and Rigdon during the vision. In some ways, such interaction parallels other visions recounted in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon, for example, describes a prophet named Nephi being taken by “the spirit” to “an exceeding high mountain,” where he is shown, among other things, Jesus Christ’s life on earth. Nephi’s account of this vision records both what he saw and questions and statements made by “the spirit” and by an angel as they observed the vision with Nephi.
How or precisely when JS and recorded the experience of seeing the vision is unknown. According to the written account of the vision, JS and Rigdon were commanded four separate times to record what they were seeing. It may be that they made a record after each command and then proceeded. Alternatively, JS and Rigdon may not have recorded anything until after the vision concluded. They were instructed to write their account while they were “yet in the spirit,” and the text in the account indicates that they did so. If JS and Rigdon recorded the event after its conclusion, therefore, they apparently did so soon thereafter. The first part of the vision (beginning “Here O ye heavens” and ending “. . . yet entered into the heart of man”) seems similar in language and style to JS’s revelations, suggesting that JS may have dictated the first part separately from the rest of the account. It is unknown whether JS dictated the entire record to Rigdon, Rigdon wrote it himself, or the two worked collaboratively. Whatever the case, both apparently signed the record after its preparation as a testament to its legitimacy. The placement of Rigdon’s signature before JS’s indicates that Rigdon was serving as the scribe for the account and signed after completing it. Moreover, JS and Rigdon’s vision occurred, as their own account attests, “as we sat doing the work of translation”—in which process Rigdon served as a scribe. Rigdon had also recently transcribed some of JS’s dictated revelations.
The earliest extant copy of the account of the vision is in ’s handwriting, with a few lines penned by JS. Williams was doing scribal work for JS in July 1832 (and possibly as early as February). He and JS copied the account of the vision into a new blank book—probably during February or March 1832—making the vision the first item in Revelation Book 2. Indeed, JS may have purchased the book for the purpose of entering the account of the vision, given the vision’s emphasis on writing down what was seen. Additional copies of the document quickly circulated.
Reaction to the contents of the vision varied among individuals in the community and among church members in other areas. Some, such as , thought it contained “great & marvilous things.” Others struggled to reconcile its concepts of the afterlife with traditional notions of heaven and hell. It also became a target of criticism by outsiders, some of whom regarded it as both “pompous” and an attempt to “embrace and teach Universalism.” A later JS history stated that the vision transcended the knowledge of the afterlife available at the time, declaring that “nothing could be more pleasing to the Saint, upon the order of the kingdom of the Lord, than the light which burst upon the world, through the . . . vision.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 183.

  2. [2]

    Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 199.

    Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.

  3. [3]

    McDannell and Lang, Heaven: A History, 181–182, 199–200; Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 198–199.

    McDannell, Colleen, and Bernhard Lang. Heaven: A History. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001. 07

    Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.

  4. [4]

    Alexander Campbell, “Three Kingdoms,” Christian Baptist, 1 June 1829, 253–257; see also Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 322–326.

    Christian Baptist. Bethany, VA. 1823–1830.

    Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.

  5. [5]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 17–18; Testimony of Three Witnesses, Late June 1829.

  6. [6]

    Dibble gave his recollection of the experience on at least three occasions, and each retelling included unique features. Dibble told a congregation in Payson, Utah, in 1877 that “he was present when Jos. Smith and Sidney Rigdon . . . had that glorious vision of the creation &c.” In 1882, Dibble stated that he arrived at the Johnson home “just as Joseph and Sidney were coming out of the vision.” In neither of these accounts did he give a description of how JS and Rigdon experienced the vision; that detail came only in a retelling published in 1892. (Payson Ward, General Minutes, vol. 5, 7 Jan. 1877; Dibble, “Philo Dibble’s Narrative,” 81; Dibble, “Recollections of the Prophet,” 303–304.)

    Payson Ward. General Minutes, 1850–1892. CHL. LR 6814 11.

    Dibble, Philo. “Philo Dibble’s Narrative.” In Early Scenes in Church History, Faith-Promoting Series 8, pp. 74–96. Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1882.

    Dibble, Philo. “Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” Juvenile Instructor, 15 May 1892, 303–304.

  7. [7]

    Dibble, “Recollections of the Prophet,” 303–304.

    Dibble, Philo. “Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” Juvenile Instructor, 15 May 1892, 303–304.

  8. [8]

    Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 23–26 [1 Nephi chap. 11]. John the Revelator is also instructed by “the Son of man” in his apocalyptic vision of the last days. (Revelation 1:10–13.)

  9. [9]

    Extant records do not show that any other revelatory text was signed in this way.

  10. [10]

    Seth Johnson and Joel Johnson brought a copy to New York state and showed it to Samuel Smith and Orson Hyde on 27 March 1832 while Smith and Hyde were proselytizing. William W. Phelps also published it in the second issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, which indicates its importance to church members. (Samuel Smith, Diary, 27 Mar. 1832; “A Vision,” The Evening and the Morning Star, July 1832, [2]–[3].)

    Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  11. [11]

    Samuel Smith, Diary, 21 Mar. 1832.

    Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.

  12. [12]

    See, for example, JS et al., Kirtland, OH, to “Dearly Beloved Brethren,” Geneseo, NY, 23 Nov. 1833, CHL; “Special Conference of the Elders,” Deseret News, Extra, 14 Sept. 1852, 24–25.

    Smith, Joseph, et al. Letter, Kirtland, OH, to “Dearly Beloved Brethren,” Geneseo, NY, 23 Nov. 1833. CHL. MS 3414.

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  13. [13]

    “Mormonism,” Ohio Atlas and Lorain County Gazette (Elyria), 11 Oct. 1832, 2; “Changes of Mormonism,” Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate, 17 Mar. 1832, 67.

    Ogden Junction. Ogden, Utah Territory. 1870–1881.Ohio Atlas and Lorain County Gazette. Elyria, OH. 1832–1833.

    Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate. Utica, NY. 1830–1850.

  14. [14]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 192.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Vision, 16 February 1832 [D&C 76] Revelation Book 2 Vision, 16 February 1832, as Recorded in Gilbert, Notebook [D&C 76] Revelation Book 1 Revelations printed in The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832–June 1833 Revelations printed in Evening and Morning Star, January 1835–June 1836 Doctrine and Covenants, 1835 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] Doctrine and Covenants, 1844 “History of Joseph Smith”

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only begotten son wherefore as it is writen they are Gods even the sons of God wherefore all things are theres whethe[r] life or death or things present or things to come, all are thers and they ar[e] christs and christ is Gods and they shall overcome all things wherefore let no man glory in man but rather let them glory in god who shall subdue all enimies under his feet these shall dwell in the presence of God and his christ for ever and ever these are they whom he shall bring with him when he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people these are they who shall have part in the first resurection these are they who shall come forth in the resurection of the just these are they who are come unto mount Zion and unto the city of the Living God the heavenly place the holiest of all these are they who are come to an innumerable company of Angels to the general assembly and church of Enoch and of the first born these are they whose names are writen in heaven where God and Christ is judge of all[.] these are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenent who wrought out this perfect attonement through the shedding of his own blood these are they whose bodies are whose glory is that of the sun even God the highest of all whose glory the son <​sun​> of the firmament is writen of as being typical and again we saw the world and lo these are they who are of the Terestrial [p. 6]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Vision, 16 February 1832 [D&C 76]
ID #
2949
Total Pages
10
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:179–192
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. [35]

    See Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:6; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 259 [Alma 13:9]; and Old Testament Revision 1, pp. 33–35 [Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 14:25–40]. This is apparently a reference to the office of high priest. Ezra Booth, one of those ordained to the high priesthood at a June 1831 conference (and who subsequently left the church), recalled in fall 1831 that elders had “been ordained to the High Priesthood, or the order of Milchesidec.” (Ezra Booth, “Mormonism—No. II,” Ohio Star [Ravenna], 20 Oct. 1831, [3].)

    Ohio Star. Ravenna. 1830–1854.

  2. [36]

    See Psalm 82:6; and John 10:34.

  3. [37]

    See 1 Corinthians 3:21–23.

  4. [38]

    See Revelation, 25 Jan. 1832–A [D&C 75:16, 22].

  5. [39]

    See 1 Corinthians 3:21.

  6. [40]

    See Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:22].

  7. [41]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 531 [Mormon 7:7].

  8. [42]

    See Matthew 26:64; and Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:44].

  9. [43]

    See Revelation 20:6; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 187–188 [Mosiah 15:22–25]; and Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:54].

  10. [44]

    See Hebrews 12:22. JS’s late 1830–early 1831 revision of part of the book of Genesis produced what The Evening and the Morning Star referred to as “the Prophecy of Enoch.” According to this document, Enoch, who is mentioned briefly in Genesis 5, built up a city called Zion that became so righteous that “God received it up into his own bosom.” The prophecy stated that, at Christ’s second coming, the city of Enoch would come back from heaven, join with the New Jerusalem, and be received again into God’s bosom. (“Extract from the Prophecy of Enoch,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1832, [2]–[3].)

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  11. [45]

    See Luke 10:20.

  12. [46]

    See Hebrews 12:23–24.

  13. [47]

    See 1 Corinthians 15:40.

  14. [48]

    TEXT: Possibly “son” changed to “sun”.

  15. [49]

    JS and Rigdon’s use of the term “terrestrial” (which generally is associated with the earth) is similar to the usage in 1 Corinthians 15:40–42. Walter Scott, one of Rigdon’s former associates in the Disciples of Christ, used the term “terrestrial” to describe the world where Adam and Eve dwelt before partaking of the forbidden fruit. Mark Staker characterizes Scott’s view of this “terrestrial” world as “an idyllic state where God came to visit his children; it experienced neither death, pain, nor sorrow.” (Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 320–321.)

    Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.

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