The First Vision and 1820 revivals


Hemidakota
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EXCERPT: Backman, who was speaking at BYU's Church History Symposium, indicated that the importance of the First Vision in Mormon thought makes it a target for others to criticize. He told about how an anti-Mormon pamphlet claimed that there was no revival activity in Palmyra, New York where the First Vision took place. The critic's reasoning was that since Joseph said there was a revival in 1820, and since there was no record of a revival until 1823, then Joseph must have made everything up.

ARTICLE LINK: MormonTimes - The First Vision and 1820 revivals

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Just because no revival was recorded in 1823 doesn't mean there was no religious furvor in the area. This was the heart of the "burned over district" which is called the Second Great Awakening a period between 1790 and 1840 which covered all of Western New York. It seems more implausable that Smith woudn't have known of such things prior to 1820. The flaw in the anti-Mormon argument is that they are limiting time and geography to prove a point.

Edited by bytebear
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Just because no revival was recorded in 1823 doesn't mean there was no religious fervor in the area. This was the heart of the "burned over district" which is called the Second Great Awakening a period between 1790 and 1840 which covered all of Western New York. It seems more implausible that Smith wouldn't have known of such things prior to 1820. The flaw in the anti-Mormon argument is that they are limiting time and geography to prove a point.

Bytebear is so right with this point. Those who dwell on exact dates and happenings are just being sticklers for detail. They are forgetting the overall message.

:)

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which is why you only hear this particular argument from anti-Mormons and not from historians. Real historians know better.

Exactly. In fact, I often find the anti-Mormons arguing with 'facts' that are disproved by history and archeology. As time goes on, it seems that the science of archeology is drifting towards validating the Book of Mormon and the Church's claims completely.
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