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Wesley P. Walters
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'''Wesley Preston Walters''' (20 January 1926 - November 1990) was a pastor of the United Presbyterian Church in [[Marissa, Illinois]].<ref>Wesley Preston Walters Manuscript Collection - Index, https://ift.tt/3elpxz2, Steven Craig. Joseph Smiths First Vision: a Guide to the Historical Accounts. Deseret Book, 2012. e-book location 1061 of 1932</ref> He is notable for his historical research critical of the [[Latter Day Saint Movement]], specifically [[Joseph Smith|Joseph Smith's]] [[First Vision]] account. Historian [[Richard Bushman]], who often differed with Walters' views, said that Walters, "performed a very positive service to the cause of Mormon History because he was a delver. He went deep into the heart of the archives. [He] made us realize that we can't assume anything. Everything had to be demonstrated and proved."<ref>Harper, Steven Craig. Joseph Smiths First Vision: a Guide to the Historical Accounts. Deseret Book, 2012. e-book location 1067 of 1932</ref>
==Biography==
Walters converted to Christianity and Presbyterianism as a teenager in [[Baltimore]], after being impressed by the preaching of Reverend Donald Barnhouse.<ref name=Harper2019>Walters, Helen "Wesley Walters, Sleuth for the Truth," 2, unpublished manuscript in Presbyterian Church of America Historical Archives, St. Louis, Missouri. As relayed in, Harper, Steven C. First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins. Oxford University Press, 2019.</ref><ref>Barnhouse, Margaret N. ''That Man Barnhouse'' (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1983)</ref> As a teenager in [[Baltimore]], he convinced two of his friends against converting to Mormonism.<ref name=Harper2019 />
==Critical Works==
In 1967, Walters published a pamphlet, "New Light on Mormon Origins from Palmyra Revival" that challenged the canonical history of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]](LDS Church). It asserted that contrary to Smith's claim, there was no revival where Smith grew up in [[Palmyra, New York]] prior his first vision, and that the setting for his story better fit a revival from 1823-1824.<ref>Walters, Wesley P. ''New Light on Mormon Origins from Palmyra Revival'' Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 10, no. 4 1967:pg 227-244</ref> Walters pamphlet created a stir, and provoked a strong response from scholars at [[Brigham Young University]](BYU). By spring of 1968 BYU Professor [[Truman G. Madsen]] organized around three dozen scholars to respond to Walters, and wrote to the First Presidency of the LDS Church that the "first vision has come under severe historical attack."<ref>Harper, Steven C. First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins. Oxford University Press, 2019. page 220</ref> Walters thesis and the subsequent response has framed the modern historical debate.<ref>Exploring the First Vision, ed. Samuel Alonzo Dodge and Steven C. Harper (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, 2012), 1–40</ref>
==Publications==
* '''[https://ift.tt/2wIY6yg The Challenge of the Cults]''' co-authored chapter, Jan 1, 1961
* '''[https://ift.tt/3eoc0H2 New light on Mormon Origins from Palmyra Revival]''' Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 10, no.4 (1967), republished in Dialogue 4 no.1 (1969)
==References==
==Biography==
Walters converted to Christianity and Presbyterianism as a teenager in [[Baltimore]], after being impressed by the preaching of Reverend Donald Barnhouse.<ref name=Harper2019>Walters, Helen "Wesley Walters, Sleuth for the Truth," 2, unpublished manuscript in Presbyterian Church of America Historical Archives, St. Louis, Missouri. As relayed in, Harper, Steven C. First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins. Oxford University Press, 2019.</ref><ref>Barnhouse, Margaret N. ''That Man Barnhouse'' (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1983)</ref> As a teenager in [[Baltimore]], he convinced two of his friends against converting to Mormonism.<ref name=Harper2019 />
==Critical Works==
In 1967, Walters published a pamphlet, "New Light on Mormon Origins from Palmyra Revival" that challenged the canonical history of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]](LDS Church). It asserted that contrary to Smith's claim, there was no revival where Smith grew up in [[Palmyra, New York]] prior his first vision, and that the setting for his story better fit a revival from 1823-1824.<ref>Walters, Wesley P. ''New Light on Mormon Origins from Palmyra Revival'' Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 10, no. 4 1967:pg 227-244</ref> Walters pamphlet created a stir, and provoked a strong response from scholars at [[Brigham Young University]](BYU). By spring of 1968 BYU Professor [[Truman G. Madsen]] organized around three dozen scholars to respond to Walters, and wrote to the First Presidency of the LDS Church that the "first vision has come under severe historical attack."<ref>Harper, Steven C. First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins. Oxford University Press, 2019. page 220</ref> Walters thesis and the subsequent response has framed the modern historical debate.<ref>Exploring the First Vision, ed. Samuel Alonzo Dodge and Steven C. Harper (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, 2012), 1–40</ref>
==Publications==
* '''[https://ift.tt/2wIY6yg The Challenge of the Cults]''' co-authored chapter, Jan 1, 1961
* '''[https://ift.tt/3eoc0H2 New light on Mormon Origins from Palmyra Revival]''' Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 10, no.4 (1967), republished in Dialogue 4 no.1 (1969)
==References==
April 15, 2020 at 09:36AM
