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Joseph Smith's First Vision and Latter-day Saint Relations with Other Christians
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Joseph Smith's First Vision and Latter-day Saint Relations with Other Christians
Summary: Christians take umbrage to the fact that Joseph Smith's canonized account of his First Vision has Jesus Christ saying that all the Christian creeds of Joseph Smith's day were an "abomination" in his sight. This page clarifies the Lord's words in the account with the hope of building better relationships with other Christians.
One of the most frequently cited—and often misunderstood—statements in Latter-day Saint scripture appears in Joseph Smith–History 1:19, where Joseph Smith records:
I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” (Joseph Smith–History 1:19)
Later in 1842, Joseph Smith expressed the same idea in language that appears deliberately restrained, likely reflecting sensitivity to his broader public audience. Rather than repeating the sharper wording of earlier accounts, he summarized the message of the heavenly personages by stating that existing religious denominations held incorrect doctrines and that none were recognized by God as His Church or kingdom.
Critics sometimes interpret this language as a blanket condemnation of historic Christianity or an expression of hostility toward Christians generally. A closer reading of the historical context, the nature of creeds, and Latter-day Saint theology suggests a more nuanced interpretation.
The statement comes specifically from Joseph Smith’s 1838–39 account of the First Vision, written nearly two decades after the experience and during a period of intense persecution and institutional consolidation for the early Church. This account differs in tone from earlier narratives, placing greater emphasis on apostasy, authority, and doctrinal corruption. As with other historical documents, the rhetorical force of this account must be understood within its context rather than read as a systematic theological judgment on all Christian belief across time.
Historically, Christian creeds are formal statements of belief designed to define orthodoxy and establish doctrinal boundaries. From the Latter-day Saint perspective, the problem is not that creeds attempt to articulate belief, but that they function as fixed, authoritative formulations that limit future revelation. Joseph Smith later criticized creeds for “setting up stakes” that restrict how far divine understanding may progress. In this sense, the objection is structural rather than personal: creeds are seen as replacing continuing revelation with inherited formulations.
Additionally, several creedal definitions—particularly those concerning the nature of God—conflict directly with distinctive Latter-day Saint teachings. Classical formulations of God as immaterial, without body, parts, or passions differ fundamentally from the restored doctrine of an embodied Father and Son. From within Latter-day Saint theology, such differences are not minor interpretive disagreements but reflect what is understood as a post-apostolic departure from original gospel truths.
The nineteenth-century religious environment also plays an important role in understanding the language of “abomination.” Joseph Smith lived amid intense denominational competition, fragmentation, and polemic. By his day, multiple confessions and theological systems claimed exclusive authority while sharply disagreeing with one another. Since Jesus condemns contention (3 Nephi 11:29), the First Vision account frames this condition as evidence of religious confusion resulting from reliance on human tradition rather than divine revelation.
Importantly, Latter-day Saint thinkers have long cautioned against reading the passage as a condemnation of individual Christians or as a denial that truth exists outside the restored Church. Latter-day Saints have consistently affirmed that other Christian traditions possess elements of truth, moral insight, and sincere devotion to God. The criticism, therefore, is aimed at systems that claim finality and authority without priesthood keys or ongoing revelation, not at the faith or sincerity of believers themselves. Modern scholarship further emphasizes that the phrase “all their creeds” should not be read as a technical evaluation of every historical confession, nor as an attempt by Joseph Smith to engage in patristic theology. Rather, it reflects the prophetic claim at the heart of the Restoration: that God had spoken again, and that existing religious frameworks were insufficient to contain that revelation.
Thus, the characterization of Christian creeds as an “abomination” emerges from a specific historical moment and theological perspective within the Restoration. It reflects Latter-day Saint objections to creedal finality, inherited authority, and certain doctrinal formulations, rather than an indiscriminate rejection of Christianity or Christian believers. When read carefully and in context, the statement underscores the Restoration’s emphasis on continuing revelation rather than serving as a polemical dismissal of the broader Christian tradition.