[Key Excerpts] Joseph begins by describing his family background and their move to Palmyra, New York. He recounts that from the age of twelve he became deeply concerned about the welfare of his soul and the state of the world's religions. On his motivations: Joseph writes that by searching the scriptures he found that mankind had departed from the true and living faith, and that there was no society or denomination built upon the gospel as recorded in the New Testament. He states he already felt grieved over the apostasy before seeking divine guidance. On the vision itself: Joseph describes crying out to the Lord for mercy and testifies that a pillar of light appeared above his head. He describes seeing the Lord, who spoke to him, telling him that his sins were forgiven. The Lord declared that the world lieth in sin and that no one was following the true gospel. Joseph was told not to join any of the existing churches. Distinctive features of this account: (1) The primary motivation is personal forgiveness, not a question about which church to join. (2) Only one divine personage is explicitly mentioned. (3) Joseph indicates he already knew the churches were wrong before praying. (4) The manuscript is written in Joseph's rough, phonetic handwriting. Historical significance: This account was unknown to the general church membership until the 1960s. It was first identified by Paul Cheesman and later published by Dean Jessee. The manuscript is part of Joseph Smith's earliest known autobiography, written approximately twelve years after the described event.