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YouTube creator asks 'Who did Joseph Smith actually see?'

August 19, 2026 at 11:09 AM MT · via YouTube / Nemo the Mormon · Summarized by Mormon News from original reporting

YouTube creator Nemo the Mormon examines competing accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision, asking which version reflects what Smith actually experienced in the Sacred Grove in 1820. The video walks through the multiple accounts Smith gave over his lifetime, noting significant differences in who appeared, what was said, and when the vision occurred.

Nemo the Mormon, an ex-Latter-day Saint creator, argues the variations suggest the First Vision narrative evolved over time rather than representing a consistent memory of a single event. The video contrasts official church teaching—that Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ—with earlier accounts in which Smith described seeing only angels or a single divine figure.

The video has drawn more than 10,000 views in 20 hours and generated debate in the comments between defenders of the official account and those who see the variations as evidence the vision was a later construction.

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