Some scholars claim that Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church, told a consistent story of the vision he claimed to have that started Mormonism. Other scholars claim the story is inconsistent. I won't introduce the arguments from either side here as I am looking for unbiased opinions. What say you, /r/AskHistorians?
Here are the 5 firsthand accounts he gave (original documents can be found linked within the pages below):
A few second hand accounts given during Smith's life:
Dan Vogel is a historian (not a mormon, not a ex mormon, just a historian). His view is that Joseph Smith created a pious fraud-- a fraud to convince people to convert to Christianity.
In this view, the first vision may have begun as a spiritual conversion experience, not unlike the kind most converts experienced in that time and place. But the subsequent stories show extensive elaboration over time.
I'm a bit confused as to what you are looking for here. Do you want input from a historian who has studied Joseph Smith, or are you just asking people to compare the accounts off the cuff?