Revision as of 23:35, 13 March 2009

Loaded and prejudicial language

The author's hostile bias to the truth claims of the LDS Church often lead him to use loaded, prejudicial, or necessarily negative language when discussing events or people. These choices both reveal his bias, and serve to prejudice the incautious reader against Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints. More accurate, neutral language would create quite a different impression.

The following are some examples of the use of loaded and prejudicial language as a way to lead the reader to a predetermined conclusion regarding Joseph Smith:

Implications that Joseph needed constant companionship with women

The author claims that Joseph had a "predilection" to "take an interest in more than one woman." (p. x) and refers to Joseph's "quest for female companionship." (p. xii) Joseph's marriage to Emma is never mentioned without mentioning that he "eloped." (p. xiv, p. 12)

Joseph's behavior

• p. 2: "With an acquisitive eye on neighboring lands and the will to triumph over older settlers through political bloc voting, Joseph's behavior concerned some of the longtime Illinoisans who lived around the Saints."
• p. 2: "Now fear of [the Mormons'] city-wide militia, use of local petitions of habeas corpus to dismiss state warrants, and rumors of a 'plurality of wives' had put citizens on edge."

Association of Joseph with magical practices

Joseph is claimed to have "mastered the use of magic stones" during the translation of the Book of Mormon." (p. 7) The process of obtaining the plates becomes a "ritualized five-year search" and that takes place "[e]ach year at the autumnal equinox, which according to rodsmen and seers was a favourable time to approach the spirits guarding buried treasures, Smith had gone to the hill where he sought after the plates." (p. 12) The author relies upon D. Michael Quinn's magical assessments when he notes that "September 1823 was ruled by Jupiter, Smith's ruling planet…"(p. 12n29) The author even repeats Quinn's misquote by claiming that Oliver Cowdery said Joseph wanted to "commune with some kind of messenger." In reality, Oliver said "some kind messenger." (p. 13) The removal of Oliver Cowdery's quote from context makes this quote sound more "magical" when he said that Joseph "had heard of the power of enchantment, and a thousand like stories, which held the hidden treasures of the earth." (p. 13)

Association of the United Order with Communism

In an attempt to create a tie-in between the United Order and Communism, the book makes sure that we note that "[a]cross the Atlantic, the communal experiment advocated by Marx and Engels appeared in London only a few years later in 1848." (p. 11)

Implications of racism

The author portrays Joseph as racist when "W.W. Phelps reported on the prophet's instructions in all their antebellum racism..." (p. 14)

Endnotes

None

Further reading