Joseph Smith and the Structure of Mormon Identity

1981: Steven L. Olsen “Joseph Smith and the Structure of Mormon Identity,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol 14 No. 3 (1981): 89–100.

Joseph Smith’s 1838 account of the First Vision has taken priority in structuring Mormon identity, despite the existence of different versions. This article explores why that version is so meaningful to Latter-day Saints, reflecting on the symbolic strucutre of the account.