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	Cowdery's Letters

Oliver insisted that he was writing his account with Joseph's cooperation and with the assistance of "authentic documents." He started Letter III by stating that when Joseph Smith was fifteen years old, there was a religious excitement in the vicinity of Palmyra created by a Methodist elder. But in Letter IV he changed this, stating that it was an error, and that the year was 1823, when Joseph was seventeen years old. Oliver then writes as if Joseph's fervent prayer, and the subsequent first visitation of Moroni, arose from the religious excitement and Joseph's desire to know that his sins were forgiven. Joseph Smith, however, says that he was fifteen, when the religious excitement occurred, and that he went into the woods to pray in order to learn which of the religious sects was right. He then describes his vision of the Father and Son, which is wholly missing from Oliver Cowdery's account. This is not something which Oliver could have done by mistake, because Joseph had already given an account of his two separate visions in his 1832 history, and he also stated that no one believed his first vision and that he was persecuted for making the claim. Furthermore, the 1832 history and the two versions which Joseph gave in 1835 are all different. In the first account, it was the Lord who appeared to Joseph, but in the second, it was two distinct personages, while in the third Joseph spoke only of angels.

In the 1838 account Joseph Smith said that the messenger quoted Malachi 3 and 4, Isaiah 11, Acts 3:22-23 and Joel 2:28-32. But in Letter IV, Oliver uses quotations from 1 Cor. 1:27-29 and Isaiah 29:11, 13-14, and in Letter VI, when Oliver explains further the message of the angel, he assembles a pastiche of verses from Isaiah 1, Deuteronomy 32, Psalms 107, Isaiah 2 and 4, Jeremiah 30 and 31, Isaiah 43, Jeremiah 50, Isaiah 11, and Jeremiah 16. Oliver never refers to Malachi, Acts, or Joel.

Oliver Cowdery mentions only in passing that the angel appeared to Joseph two more times before morning, but Joseph Smith gives detailed information about these appearances. Joseph mentions that the messenger told him that Satan would tempt him, but Oliver stresses the fact that Joseph was already plotting how he could get rich, even before he arrived at the place where the plates were buried. Oliver and Joseph give different descriptions of the manner in which the stone box was constructed. Joseph says only that he made one attempt to take the plates out of the box (although he had referred to three attempts in the 1832 history), but was forbidden to do so by the messenger, because the time for that would not arrive for four more years. However, Oliver says that Joseph made three attempts to take the plates out of the box, but each time received a shock which weakened him. Finally, the angel told Joseph that he could not obtain the plates, because he had not kept the commandment of the Lord. Then as the glory of the Lord shone upon Joseph, he experienced a vision of the prince of darkness and his minions. Joseph says that he was told to return every year to the place where the plates were buried, where he received instructions from the messenger, but Oliver says that Joseph continued to receive instructions until he was told to return to the burial spot.

The various accounts of Joseph Smith's visions show a great deal of confusion about the identity of the messenger who told Joseph about the plates in 1823. In the 1832 history, the angel does not state his name but does say that the plates "was engraven by Maroni & his fathers the servants of the living God in ancient days." Oliver Cowdery's account did not supply the name of the heavenly messenger until Letter VI: "I believe that the angel Moroni, whose words I have been rehearsing, who communicated the knowledge of the record of the Nephites, in this age, saw also, before he hid up the same unto the Lord, great and marvellous things." In his conversation with Joshua in November 1835, Joseph did not refer to the messenger as Moroni, but only as "the angel." However, in the 1838 history, Joseph said of the personage who appeared to him: "He called me by name and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me and that his name was Nephi" (Joseph Smith 1984, 203). Nonetheless, in July 1838, Joseph wrote: "Moroni, the person who deposited the plates, from whence the book of Mormon was translated, in a hill in Manchester, Ontario County New York, being dead, and raised again therefrom, appeared unto me, and told me where they were" (Elders' Journal, July 1838). This followed directly after an article by David Patten, in which he referred to "Moroni, who holds the keys of the stick of Ephraim."

Orson Pratt published a tract in 1840, which included a description of Joseph's vision, in which he identified the personage only as an angel. In fact, he deliberately omitted the name of Moroni from two passages which he quoted from Oliver Cowdery's Letter VIII. These two passages read: "How far below the surface these records were placed by Moroni, I am unable to say," and "however deep this box might have been placed by Moroni at first . . . ." In both cases, the words "by Moroni" are missing from Orson's quotations, which makes it certain that these omissions could not have occurred by mistake.

On 1 March 1842, Joseph Smith wrote a letter to John Wentworth, the editor of the Chicago Democrat, which gave an account that closely followed the wording of Orson Pratt's publication. In this letter, Joseph also withheld the name of the personage, referring to him only as "the angel." However, when Joseph's history was published in the Times and Seasons on 15 April 1842, the angel was identified as Nephi, as stated in the 1838 manuscript. Furthermore, the Times and Seasons was at this time under the editorship of Joseph Smith.

In 1851 Franklin D. Richards published Joseph's history in the first edition of the Pearl of Great Price. Richards used the history as it was printed in the Times and Seasons: "He called me by name and said unto me, that he was a messenger sent from the prescence of God to me, and that his name was Nephi." In 1853 Orson Pratt published Lucy Smith's family history, which also quotes the same words from the Times and Seasons. Orson inserted an asterisk by the name "Nephi" and added a footnote, which cited the Doctrine and Covenants, the Elders' Journal, Joseph's 1838 history, and the Deseret News as evidence that the name should be "Moroni." Although the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants and the 1838 Elders' Journal did refer to Moroni, the manuscript of Joseph's 1838 history clearly stated that the angel's name was Nephi. Apparently the identity of the angel still had not been cleared up as late as 1878, because in September of that year, John Christensen wrote a letter to Orson pointing out that in the Millennial Star the angel's name was given as Nephi, while a catechism published by John Jaques said that his name was Moroni. In his reply, Orson again appealed to the Doctrine and Covenants as proof that the angel was Moroni. However, in 1888 J. C. Whitmer made this statement: "I have heard my grandmother (Mary M. Whitmer) say on several occasions that she was shown the plates of the Book of Mormon by an holy angel, whom she always called Brother Nephi" (Quinn 1987, 157). The appearance of Nephi to Mary Whitmer occurred in 1829.

Some notes recorded by John Taylor in July or August of 1839 may help us to understand why there was so much confusion about the identity of the angel. Taylor wrote: "The Priesthood was first given to Adam: he obtained the first Presidency & held the Keys of it, from generation to Generation . . . . He is Michael, the Archangel, spoken of in the Scriptures, -- Then to Noah, who is Gabriel, he stands next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood." In another entry, Taylor added: "Michael = = Adam. Noah. I am Gabriel -- Well says I. Who are you? I am Peter, the angel flying through the midst of heaven Moroni delivered the Book of Mormon" (Joseph Smith 1980, 8, 13). This note states that Moroni delivered the Book of Mormon, but it implies something more. If Adam was Michael and Noah was Gabriel, the angel Moroni might actually be Peter. And why would Moroni be Peter? Taylor also wrote: "The Savior, Moses, & Elias -- gave the Keys to Peter, James & John on the Mount when they were transfigured before him" (Joseph Smith 1980, 9). Thus we may reason that if an angel aided Joseph Smith in the restoration of the gospel, he must be someone of importance, someone who held the keys of the priesthood. And since the keys were conferred upon Peter, he must have been the angel Moroni. In 1838 David Patten had said that the keys of this dispensation were given to Joseph Smith by an angel and that anyone who sinned against Joseph also sinned against Moroni (Elders' Journal, July 1838). This again implies that Moroni was the last person to hold the keys of this dispensation, and since no one held the keys between Peter and Joseph Smith, Moroni must be Peter. If the Savior conferred the keys on Peter, James, and John and then appeared on the American continent, where he chose twelve other disciples, it is apparent that he could not have also given the keys to any of those disciples. Therefore, the Moroni of the Book of Mormon could not have had any great authority; he might have held the priesthood, but he could not have held the keys. Joseph Smith may have realized this and may have taught that "Moroni" was really an angelic name, like Michael or Gabriel, and was a code word for Peter. John Taylor's notes seem to identify both Peter and Moroni with the angel in the apostle John's vision: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" (Rev. 14.6).

However, Joseph must have later decided that he could not identify Moroni with Peter. On 6 September 1842 Joseph wrote a letter, in which he said:

And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfillment of the prophets -- the book to be revealed . . . . The voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light! The voice of Peter, James, and John . . . declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times! . . . And the voice of Michael, the archangel; the voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, and of divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the present time, all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys . . . and the power of their priesthood . . . . (D&C 128:20-21)

The differences between the accounts of Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith suggest that they were both drawing upon the same story, but chose to change details and stress different aspects. Oliver did not want to talk about the distinction between the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, and he also had nothing to say about the authority of John the Baptist, as compared to Peter, James, and John. Oliver placed more stress on the restoration of the gospel and the restoration of Israel, but Joseph emphasized the restoration of the priesthood and the authority of the priesthood orders. It might be understandable that Oliver decided not to relate Joseph's vision of the Father and Son, but it didn't seem to matter to Oliver whether the period of religious excitement occurred when Joseph was fifteen or seventeen years old, despite the fact that this detail has a direct bearing on the nature of the vision which followed. While Oliver was adjusting his account and identified the 1823 visitor as Moroni, Joseph apparently could not decide whether the messenger who visited him was Nephi or Moroni.

Many of the elements of Joseph Smith's visions can be found in the Book of Mormon. Joseph said that mention of baptism for the remission of sins on the Nephite plates was followed by the vision of May 1829. Oliver stated that they first heard the voice of the Redeemer and then an angel descended. Oliver described the angel's voice: "Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, 'I am thy fellow servant,' dispelled every fear." Nephi chastises his brothers: "Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice" (1 Nephi 17:45). When Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman, were thrown in prison, a voice was heard: "And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul" (Helaman 5:30). When Jesus appeared to the Nephites, they heard the voice of the Father: "and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center" (3 Nephi 11:3). Joseph said that the angel ordained them into the Priesthood of Aaron, which held the keys "of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins," but "not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost," which they would receive later. Oliver also wrote that after the plates were translated, "the Lord will give the holy priesthood to some, and they shall begin to proclaim this gospel and baptize by water, and after that they shall have power to give the Holy Ghost by the laying on of their hands." In 2 Nephi 31, Nephi declares: "And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do. Therefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism -- yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel" (2 Nephi 31:12-13). After Jesus' crucifixion, people on the American continent heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not" (3 Nephi 9:20). Jesus also told the people that he had given his twelve American disciples "power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost" (3 Nephi 12:1).

Joseph Smith said that after he and Oliver had baptized each other, the Holy Ghost fell upon them and they prophesied. The Book of Mormon says of the twelve disciples: "And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them. And when they had thus prayed they went down unto the water's edge, and the multitude followed them. And it came to pass that Nephi went down into the water and was baptized. And he came up out of the water and began to baptize. And he baptized all those whom Jesus had chosen. And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (3 Nephi 19:9-13).

The Book of Mormon has further parallels with Joseph Smith's 1820 vision of the Father and Son in the woods. Enos relates: "And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins. Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart. And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed" (Enos 2-5). Joseph Smith states that when he started to pray, he "was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak." When an angel appeared to Alma, "the astonishment of Alma was so great that he became dumb, that he could not open his mouth" (Mosiah 27:19). Joseph Smith said further that he was surrounded by thick darkness and felt doomed to destruction, but then "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air." When Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman, went on a mission to the land of Nephi, they were thrown in prison, but they "were encircled about with a pillar of fire." Those in the prison were then "overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them. And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness . . . . And it came to pass that the Lamanites could not flee because of the cloud of darkness which did overshadow them; yea, and also they were immovable because of the fear which did come upon them." Nephi and Lehi conversed with angels above them. After the people cried to the Lord, the cloud of darkness dispersed and "they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire," after which they heard the voice of the Father and saw angels (Helaman 5:24-48).

In relating Joseph Smith's 1823 visit from Moroni, Joseph and Oliver emphasized the brilliant light surrounding Moroni and the whiteness of his robe. In one of Lehi's early visions, he beheld the Lord descend from heaven and "his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day." In a later dream, Lehi was led by a man dressed in a white robe to a field, where he saw a tree and "the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen." Nephi also beheld a man dressed in a white robe, and he later describes the justice of God: "the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire . . . ." (1 Nephi 1:9; 8:5,11; 14:19; 15:30). When Jesus appeared to the Nephites, he was dressed in a white robe: "And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof" (3 Nephi 11:8; 19:25).

Joseph Smith described the conclusion of his 1820 vision: "When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven." He also said that after his 1823 visions, "I found my strength so exhausted as to render me entirely unable [to work]. . . . I started with the intention of going to the house; but, . . . my strength entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a time was quite unconscious of anything." After Lehi's first vision of a pillar of fire, "he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen" (1 Nephi 1:7). Nephi also complains that "I have workings in the spirit, which doth weary me even that all my joints are weak" (1 Nephi 19:20). When an angel appeared to him, Alma "became weak, even that he could not move his hands," and he remained in that condition for two days (Mosiah 27:19-23). After king Lamoni was converted by Ammon, "he fell unto the earth, as if he were dead," and like Alma, remained so for two days (Alma 18:42-43). Lamoni's father had a similar experience (Alma 22:18). And a number of people also fell to the earth both before and after Christ's crucifixion (3 Nephi 1:16-17; 11:12).

Oliver Cowdery stressed the fact that Joseph Smith was required to have no expectations of getting gain from the gold plates, and Joseph said that Moroni told him that "I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them." According to Cowdery, Joseph made three attempts to take the plates out of the stone box, but was shocked each time. Moroni told him that he could not obtain the plates, because he had thoughts of getting rich. Joseph then "beheld the prince of darkness, surrounded by his innumerable train of associates," and was told that the plates "are not deposited here for the sake of accumulating gain and wealth for the glory of this world: they were sealed by the prayer of faith, and because of the knowledge which they contain they are of no worth among the children of men, only for their knowledge." Samuel the Lamanite prophesied: "For I will, saith the Lord, that they shall hide up their treasures unto me; and cursed be they who hide not up their treasures unto me; for none hideth up their treasures unto me save it be the righteous; and he that hideth not up his treasures unto me, cursed is he, and also the treasure, and none shall redeem it because of the curse of the land. And the day shall come that they shall hide up their treasures, because they have set their hearts upon riches; . . . because they will not hide them up unto me, cursed be they and also their treasures . . . . Behold, we are surrounded by demons, yea, we are encircled about by the angels of him who hath sought to destroy our souls" (Helaman 13:19-37). Moroni also states: "And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless. For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given him of God; for God wills that it shall be done with an eye single to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient and long dispersed covenant people of the Lord" (Mormon 8:14-15).

Other sources provide parallels for Joseph Smith's visions. Joseph said that his visions left him weakened and even resulted in unconsciousness. Daniel describes the effect which his visions had upon him: "Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me . . . . then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground" (Dan. 10:8-9). Both Joseph and Oliver said that Moroni's countenance was like lightning. Daniel declared: "Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen . . . and his face as the appearance of lightning" (Dan. 10:5-6). John described his vision: "And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open" (Rev. 10:1-2).

Joseph said that prior to his first vision, he had opened his Bible to James 1:5: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." He then retired to the woods, where he prayed and beheld a pillar of light and two personages, "whose brightness and glory defy all description." Daniel Defoe used a similar motif in Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe repeatedly sought guidance by opening his Bible at random. He described his initial experience: "only having opened the book casually, the first words that occurred to me were these, 'Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver, and thou shalt glorify me'" (Defoe 1980, 95). This followed a vision which Crusoe had seen in a dream: "I saw a man descend from a great black cloud, in a bright flame of fire, and light upon the ground. He was all over as bright as a flame, so that I could but just bear to look towards him; his countenance was most inexpressibly dreadful, impossible for words to describe; when he stepped upon the ground with his feet, I thought the earth trembled, just as it had done before in the earthquake, and all the air looked, to my apprehension, as if it had been filled with flashes of fire" (Defoe 1980, 89). Lehi "did quake and tremble exceedingly," after beholding a pillar of fire. The Book of Mormon describes Alma's vision: "the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood" (Mosiah 27:11).

Joseph Smith's visions should also be compared to Jonathan Edwards' "Personal Narrative," first published in 1765. Edwards said that he had two "remarkable seasons of awakening."

The first time was when I was a boy, some years before I went to college, at a time of remarkable awakening in my father's congregation. I was then very much affected for many months, and concerned about the things of religion, and my soul's salvation . . . . And besides, I had particular secret places of my own in the woods, where I used to retire by myself; and was from time to time much affected.

But in process of time, my convictions and affections wore off . . . and went on in the ways of sin. Indeed I was at times very uneasy, especially towards the latter part of my time at college; when it pleased God, to seize me with the pleurisy; in which he brought me nigh to the grave, and shook me over the pit of hell. And yet, it was not long after my recovery, before I fell again into my old ways of sin. But God would not suffer me to go on with my quietness; I had great and violent inward struggles . . . .

Not long after I began to experience these things, I gave an account to my father of some things that had passed in my mind. I was pretty much affected by the discourse we had together; and when the discourse was ended, I walked abroad alone, in a solitary place in my father's pasture for contemplation. And as I was walking there and looking up on the sky and clouds, there came into my mind so sweet a sense of the glorious majesty and grace of God, that I know not how to express. . . .

After this my sense of divine things gradually increased, and became more and more lively, and had more of that inward sweetness. . . . God's excellency, his wisdom, his purity and love, seemed to appear in every thing; in the sun, moon, and stars; in the clouds, and blue sky; in the grass, flowers, trees; in the water, and all nature; which used greatly to fix my mind. . . .

I very frequently used to retire into a solitary place, on the banks of Hudson's river, at some distance from the city, for contemplation on divine things, and secret converse with God; and had many sweet hours there. Sometimes Mr. Smith and I walked there together, to converse on the things of god; and our conversation used to turn much on the advancement of Christ's kingdom in the world, and the glorious things that God would accomplish for his church in the latter days. . . .

Once as I rode out into the woods for my health, in 1737, having alighted from my horse in a retired place, as my manner commonly has been, to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of God, as Mediator between God and man, and his wonderful, great, full, pure and sweet grace and love, and meek and gentle condescension. This grace that appeared so calm and sweet, appeared also great above the heavens. The person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception -- which continued as near as I can judge, about an hour; which kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears, and weeping aloud. (Edwards 1962, 88-97)

This classification of spiritual beings as angels and ministering spirits may have been an attempt to bring order to the various accounts of spirits and angels in the Bible. The idea that spirits can appear only in flaming fire may be derived from Exodus, Psalms, and Acts. When Moses came to Horeb, "the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed" (Exod. 3:2) When the Israelites fled from Egypt, the Lord led them by night in a pillar of fire (Exod. 13:21), and when they reached Sinai, the Lord descended upon the mount in fire (Exod. 19:18). Exodus also states, "And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel" (Exod. 24:17). The angel who appeared to Manoah, the father of Samson, ascended in the flame of the altar (Judg. 13:20). Psalm 104:4 says that the Lord "maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire." Acts states that on the day of Pentecost, "there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:3-4).

However, spiritual beings in the Bible sometimes appear as ordinary men. The Lord and two angels appeared as men to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre, and the two angels journeyed on to Lot's dwelling in Sodom. Moses, Aaron, and seventy-two other men saw God standing upon a pavement of sapphire on mount Sinai. Angels also sometimes touch humans. Elijah rested under a tree near Beersheba: "And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. . . . And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him" (1 Kings 19:5-7). Jeremiah stated that "the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth" (Jer. 1:9). Daniel was touched by Gabriel: "there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. . . . Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright" (Dan. 8:15-18). In a later passage, Daniel says, "Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation" (Dan 9:21). After his crucifixion, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and told her, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father" (John 20:17). Later, when Christ appeared to his disciples, the gospels insist on the fact that he had a body of substance. According to Luke, Jesus said, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:39). Jesus instructed Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side" (John 20:27).

It was probably from passages such as these that the distinction was drawn between angels, which have translated or resurrected bodies, and ministering spirits, which appear in flaming fire. However, this distinction creates many problems. Joseph Smith said that the Father and Son appeared to him in a pillar of fire or light, and the brightness and glory of the two personages defied all description. He and Oliver also stated that the appearance of Moroni was accompanied by a bright light, like a "consuming and unquenchable fire" and that an additional glory surrounded him. However, Joseph stated in the Elders' Journal that Moroni had been raised from the dead. Therefore, both Christ and Moroni should have been resurrected beings, angels rather than spirits.

Edwards, Jonathan. 1962. "Personal Narrative." In The American Tradition in Literature, rev., vol. 1, edited by Sculley Bradley, Richmond Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc.

Quinn, D. Michael. 1987. Early Mormonism and the Magic World View. Salt Lake City: Signature Books.

Smith, Joseph. 1980. The Words of Joseph Smith. Compiled and edited by Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University.

Smith, Joseph. 1984. The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith. Edited by Dean C. Jessee. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.