Orson Pratt Pamphlet (1840)
About the Account
Over the years, many people heard Joseph Smith speak about his visionary experiences. Some made brief references in their letters or recollections. A few recorded more detailed descriptions during Joseph’s lifetime.
Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles authored the earliest published account of Joseph’s First Vision of Deity in this pamphlet in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1840. Pratt was called to the Quorum in 1835, at age 23. He participated with Joseph in meetings of Church leadership, spent time in the company of the Prophet, and attended the public speeches Joseph delivered in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in December 1839.
Pratt’s pamphlet, titled A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, proved to be one of the Church’s more influential of early printed materials and was reprinted in the United States, Europe, and Australia. It served as a principal source for subsequent publications in German and French and was later translated into Danish, Swedish, and Dutch. The pamphlet was later quoted extensively in Joseph’s letter to John Wentworth.