History of Joseph Smith
Evidences and Reconciliations, pg 334; “Because the earliest available written or printed account of this vision is dated 1838 and 1839, some enemies of the Church have cast doubt upon the authenticity of the date claimed for the vision. They have suggested that the vision was invented by the Prophet in 1838, when he set about to write the formal history of the Church. This not only implies that Joseph Smith lied, but also that the facts of history to be acceptable must be written and circulated at the time of their occurrence. This is a preposterous claim, made only by enemies of the Church to mislead those who are unacquainted with Mormon history. Whether the story of the first vision existed in written form in the early days of the Church is not known.”
