Item Detail
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5643
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1
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0
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English
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History, Faith, and Myth
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Sunstone
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November/December 1982
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7
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Salt Lake City, UT
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Sunstone Education Foundation
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10-13
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This article defines the words history, faith, and myth, then explores these terms in context of the First Vision. "Regardless of one's historical judgment about whether Joseph actually had a vision or one's concern about multiple accounts of the vision, there can be no doubt that the story of that vision eventually (though apparently not originally) became a central means by which Joseph Smith, Jr., and Latter-day Saints have explained to themselves and others 'who we are.' In telling this story, Joseph was acting not as historian but as myth maker. We should realize this and present his accounts of the First Vision as successive attempts to explain who he was, how he saw the world, and to what he was committed. In so doing, I believe we will be telling a more accurate truth about Joseph's view of history and of himself and will thus be providing a more solid foundation for the faith of our communities." [Author]