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Difference between revisions of "Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Nauvoo Polygamy/Chapter 1"
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| − | ||…W.W. Phelps reported on the prophet's instructions in all their antebellum racism. Through intermarriage, Smith said, the Indians would become white, delightsome, and just" and fulfill the Book of Mormon prophecy that 'the scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white [pure] and delightsome people." | + | || |
| + | *…W.W. Phelps reported on the prophet's instructions in all their antebellum racism. Through intermarriage, Smith said, the Indians would become white, delightsome, and just" and fulfill the Book of Mormon prophecy that 'the scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white [pure] and delightsome people." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author presumes that Joseph's expression was about race, rather than behavior. (The expression is the Book of Mormon's, but for The author its views are always the same as Joseph Smith's because he is presumed to be the author.) | *The author presumes that Joseph's expression was about race, rather than behavior. (The expression is the Book of Mormon's, but for The author its views are always the same as Joseph Smith's because he is presumed to be the author.) | ||
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====14n34==== | ====14n34==== | ||
| − | ||The 1840 Book of Mormon substituted the word 'pure' for 'white,' although the wording reverted back to "white" again in the English 1841 and later foreign editions, then became 'pure' again in 1981. | + | || |
| + | *The 1840 Book of Mormon substituted the word 'pure' for 'white,' although the wording reverted back to "white" again in the English 1841 and later foreign editions, then became 'pure' again in 1981. | ||
|| | || | ||
* The author doesn't tell us dropping Joseph's change from "white" to "pure" was an accident, and intended to be permanent from 1837 onward. | * The author doesn't tell us dropping Joseph's change from "white" to "pure" was an accident, and intended to be permanent from 1837 onward. | ||
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====14n34==== | ====14n34==== | ||
| − | ||Even so, other passages in the Book of Mormon still refer to 'white' as 'delightsome' and a 'skin of blackness' as a 'curse' (2 Ne. 5; Jacob 3:5, 8-10; Alma 3-6-9; 3 Ne. 2:14-15; Morm. 5:15). | + | || |
| + | *Even so, other passages in the Book of Mormon still refer to 'white' as 'delightsome' and a 'skin of blackness' as a 'curse' (2 Ne. 5; Jacob 3:5, 8-10; Alma 3-6-9; 3 Ne. 2:14-15; Morm. 5:15). | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author ignores that many (if not most/all) of these scriptures have a symbolic role, as illustrated in Joseph's change discussed above (though the author apparently tries to undercut that impression). Richard L. Bushman, LDS author of a recent biography of Joseph Smith, writes: | *The author ignores that many (if not most/all) of these scriptures have a symbolic role, as illustrated in Joseph's change discussed above (though the author apparently tries to undercut that impression). Richard L. Bushman, LDS author of a recent biography of Joseph Smith, writes: | ||
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====14n34==== | ====14n34==== | ||
| − | ||Skin color was important in other LDS scriptures as well, and blacks of African ancestry were denied full participation in the church until 1978.|| | + | || |
| + | *Skin color was important in other LDS scriptures as well, and blacks of African ancestry were denied full participation in the church until 1978.|| | ||
*The author ignores that issues of race and skin color may well have been read into these scriptures in a ''post hoc'' manner. His brief treatment of these volatile issues is inadequate, and serves only to prejudice the reader against the early Saints and their later religious heirs. (See next entry below.) | *The author ignores that issues of race and skin color may well have been read into these scriptures in a ''post hoc'' manner. His brief treatment of these volatile issues is inadequate, and serves only to prejudice the reader against the early Saints and their later religious heirs. (See next entry below.) | ||
*[[../../Use_of_sources#.22Skin_color_imporant_in_other_LDS_scriptures.22.3F|Skin color important in LDS scriptures?]] | *[[../../Use_of_sources#.22Skin_color_imporant_in_other_LDS_scriptures.22.3F|Skin color important in LDS scriptures?]] | ||
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====14n34==== | ====14n34==== | ||
| − | ||"Interestingly, the rhetoric underlying the theology may have resulted from 1830s Mormons trying to convince their neighbors in the slave state of Missouri that they were not abolitionists." | + | || |
| + | *"Interestingly, the rhetoric underlying the theology may have resulted from 1830s Mormons trying to convince their neighbors in the slave state of Missouri that they were not abolitionists." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author avoids drawing the obvious conclusion—the "importance" of skin color "in other LDS scriptures" as it applied to race may have been read in as justification for the rhetoric. Thus, the scripture reading followed the rhetoric; the theology did not derive from the scriptures. | *The author avoids drawing the obvious conclusion—the "importance" of skin color "in other LDS scriptures" as it applied to race may have been read in as justification for the rhetoric. Thus, the scripture reading followed the rhetoric; the theology did not derive from the scriptures. | ||
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====15==== | ====15==== | ||
| − | ||Ezra Booth…[claimed] the expressed goal of the mission as being to secure a "matrimonial alliance with the natives." However, the missionaries did not seem successful in this area. Booth is probably wrong; the accounts say Joseph didn't explain the plural marriage issue until 3 years later, so married men could hardly be out looking for Indian wives in 1831.|| | + | || |
| + | *Ezra Booth…[claimed] the expressed goal of the mission as being to secure a "matrimonial alliance with the natives." However, the missionaries did not seem successful in this area. Booth is probably wrong; the accounts say Joseph didn't explain the plural marriage issue until 3 years later, so married men could hardly be out looking for Indian wives in 1831.|| | ||
*[[Native Americans to become "white and delightsome" through polygamous marriage? ]] | *[[Native Americans to become "white and delightsome" through polygamous marriage? ]] | ||
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| | | | ||
====15==== | ====15==== | ||
| − | ||"One wonders when Emma Smith might have first suspected that her husband was contemplating plural marriage…As Emma regarded her handsome spouse, what in Joseph's youthful experiences may have suggested the unusual family arrangements that were to follow?" | + | || |
| + | *"One wonders when Emma Smith might have first suspected that her husband was contemplating plural marriage…As Emma regarded her handsome spouse, what in Joseph's youthful experiences may have suggested the unusual family arrangements that were to follow?" | ||
|| | || | ||
* The author again presumes that Joseph's "youthful experiences" presaged plural marriage. He has not demonstrated this. | * The author again presumes that Joseph's "youthful experiences" presaged plural marriage. He has not demonstrated this. | ||
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====15==== | ====15==== | ||
| − | ||"We know Joseph often stayed overnight on visits with other families. Was Emma aware that later marriages would develop out of these family visits among their close friends? Could she have seen this coming—the injunction to enter into 'celestial marriage'?" | + | || |
| + | *"We know Joseph often stayed overnight on visits with other families. Was Emma aware that later marriages would develop out of these family visits among their close friends? Could she have seen this coming—the injunction to enter into 'celestial marriage'?" | ||
|| | || | ||
*Of course, everyone ''else'' at the time probably stayed overnight on visits with families too, especially if poor and on the frontier. | *Of course, everyone ''else'' at the time probably stayed overnight on visits with families too, especially if poor and on the frontier. | ||
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| | | | ||
====15-16==== | ====15-16==== | ||
| − | ||"An examination of Smith's adolescence from his personal writings reveals some patterns and events that might be significant in understanding what precipitated his polygamous inclination." | + | || |
| + | *"An examination of Smith's adolescence from his personal writings reveals some patterns and events that might be significant in understanding what precipitated his polygamous inclination." | ||
|| | || | ||
Or, it might not. As it turns out, it isn't. | Or, it might not. As it turns out, it isn't. | ||
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====16-20==== | ====16-20==== | ||
| − | ||" | + | || |
| + | *The book refers to "the vices and follies of youth…." | ||
|| | || | ||
* [[Polygamy book/Early womanizer#Early struggles with chastity?]] | * [[Polygamy book/Early womanizer#Early struggles with chastity?]] | ||
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| | | | ||
====19-20==== | ====19-20==== | ||
| − | ||William | + | || |
| + | *William Stafford talked about "Joseph…looking in his glass" and seeing "spirits…clothed in ancient dress" guarding treasures. | ||
|| | || | ||
The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. | The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. | ||
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====20==== | ====20==== | ||
| − | ||"Joseph cut 'a sheep's throat [and] led [it] around a circle while bleeding," his former acquaintances remembered, to appease the evil spirit." | + | || |
| + | *"Joseph cut 'a sheep's throat [and] led [it] around a circle while bleeding," his former acquaintances remembered, to appease the evil spirit." | ||
|| | || | ||
The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. | The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. | ||
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| | | | ||
====20==== | ====20==== | ||
| − | ||Joseph 'professed to tell people's fortunes' by gazing at a 'stone which he used to put in his hat,'…." | + | || |
| + | *Joseph is claimed to have "'professed to tell people's fortunes' by gazing at a 'stone which he used to put in his hat,'…." | ||
|| | || | ||
The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. | The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. | ||
| Line 606: | Line 619: | ||
| | | | ||
====21==== | ====21==== | ||
| − | || | + | || |
| + | *The author speculates that in the 1842 Wentworth letter that Joseph "left out any reference to the sinful thoughts he had previously mentioned" and that he did this in order to de-emphasize "the feelings of sin and guilt he had once experienced." | ||
|| | || | ||
The author again presumes that Joseph's works referred to "sinful thoughts," which he has tried to tie to chastity. | The author again presumes that Joseph's works referred to "sinful thoughts," which he has tried to tie to chastity. | ||
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| | | | ||
====21==== | ====21==== | ||
| − | ||"Despite his ambiguity on these points, there is every indication that he took an interest in polygamy at an early period, beyond what we read in his autobiographies or in the Book of Mormon." | + | || |
| + | *"Despite his ambiguity on these points, there is every indication that he took an interest in polygamy at an early period, beyond what we read in his autobiographies or in the Book of Mormon." | ||
|| | || | ||
* There is ''no indication'' that Joseph took this early interest in polygamy, unless one presumes Joseph wrote the Book of Mormon ''and'' follows the author's sexualized misreading of Joseph's early histories. | * There is ''no indication'' that Joseph took this early interest in polygamy, unless one presumes Joseph wrote the Book of Mormon ''and'' follows the author's sexualized misreading of Joseph's early histories. | ||
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====21==== | ====21==== | ||
| − | ||"What was new about this [1838] account [of Moroni's visit] was that this time the 1823 angelic announcement was preceded by an 1820 'First Vision,' which included not just 'personages' or 'angels' but a visitation by the God of heaven—'The Father and The Son.'" | + | || |
| + | *"What was new about this [1838] account [of Moroni's visit] was that this time the 1823 angelic announcement was preceded by an 1820 'First Vision,' which included not just 'personages' or 'angels' but a visitation by the God of heaven—'The Father and The Son.'" | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[First Vision accounts]] | *[[First Vision accounts]] | ||
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| | | | ||
====22==== | ====22==== | ||
| − | ||Lucy said, "in the course of our evening conversation[,] Joseph would give us some of the most ammusing [sic in Smith] recitals…[and] describe the ancient inhabitants of this [American] continent their dress their manner of traveling the animals which they rode." | + | || |
| + | *Lucy Mack Smith said, "in the course of our evening conversation[,] Joseph would give us some of the most ammusing [sic in Smith] recitals…[and] describe the ancient inhabitants of this [American] continent their dress their manner of traveling the animals which they rode." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Joseph Smith's "amusing recitals" of ancient American inhabitants]] | *[[Joseph Smith's "amusing recitals" of ancient American inhabitants]] | ||
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====22==== | ====22==== | ||
| − | ||" | + | || |
| + | *Implying that a ''lack'' of evidence is meaningful, the author points that that "[t]here is nothing in Lucy's account about women, wives, or early struggles with chastity…." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author is again presuming that he has demonstrated his claims about early struggles with chastity. He has not, but takes it as a given here. | *The author is again presuming that he has demonstrated his claims about early struggles with chastity. He has not, but takes it as a given here. | ||
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| | | | ||
====22==== | ====22==== | ||
| − | ||"…that same year [1832], [Joseph] had famously become involved with a sixteen-year-old carpenter's daughter named Fanny Alger, who eventually moved into the Smith home in about 1835." | + | || |
| + | *"…that same year [1832], [Joseph] had famously become involved with a sixteen-year-old carpenter's daughter named Fanny Alger, who eventually moved into the Smith home in about 1835." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The date is not at all sure. The evidence dates it to either 1833 or 1835; others have not argued for 1832 specifically, and the author provides no evidence or argument for this early date. | *The date is not at all sure. The evidence dates it to either 1833 or 1835; others have not argued for 1832 specifically, and the author provides no evidence or argument for this early date. | ||
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====22==== | ====22==== | ||
| − | ||"Emma never indicated that her husband had told her anything specifically about his experiences prior to their marriage or the details of his involvement with other women, although she did know about Fanny Alger." | + | || |
| + | *"Emma never indicated that her husband had told her anything specifically about his experiences prior to their marriage or the details of his involvement with other women, although she did know about Fanny Alger." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Despite the author's efforts, there is no good evidence of Joseph's involvement with any other women besides Emma before his plural marriage to Fanny Alger. | *Despite the author's efforts, there is no good evidence of Joseph's involvement with any other women besides Emma before his plural marriage to Fanny Alger. | ||
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====22==== | ====22==== | ||
| − | ||"…it must have been a fascinating courtship, conducted as it was among unseen spirits and Joseph's unsettling conversations with angels." | + | || |
| + | *"…it must have been a fascinating courtship, conducted as it was among unseen spirits and Joseph's unsettling conversations with angels." | ||
|| | || | ||
*This claim (besides mind reading) also distorts the textual record, since Cowdery's account ([[../Chapter_1#13|cited above]]) made it clear that there was nothing unsettling at all about it. | *This claim (besides mind reading) also distorts the textual record, since Cowdery's account ([[../Chapter_1#13|cited above]]) made it clear that there was nothing unsettling at all about it. | ||
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====22==== | ====22==== | ||
| − | ||"Joseph and Emma had been bound by treasure magic from their first meeting in 1825, because Joseph…[came] to help Josiah Stowell located buried treasure [and] boarded with Emma's father." | + | || |
| + | *"Joseph and Emma had been bound by treasure magic from their first meeting in 1825, because Joseph…[came] to help Josiah Stowell located buried treasure [and] boarded with Emma's father." | ||
|| | || | ||
* There is no evidence they felt "bound" by "treasure magic." | * There is no evidence they felt "bound" by "treasure magic." | ||
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====22==== | ====22==== | ||
| − | ||"It was in a mysterious atmosphere of imaginative lore and a mix of theology and magic that Joseph and Emma eloped." | + | || |
| + | *Elopement is mentioned yet again, when the author opines: "It was in a mysterious atmosphere of imaginative lore and a mix of theology and magic that Joseph and Emma eloped." | ||
|| | || | ||
*How does he know? A page earlier we are told, "Emma did not leave a diary, and her letters do not mention anything about Joseph's adolescence or later experiences with women." (p. 22) This is all supposition—invented out of thin air. | *How does he know? A page earlier we are told, "Emma did not leave a diary, and her letters do not mention anything about Joseph's adolescence or later experiences with women." (p. 22) This is all supposition—invented out of thin air. | ||
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| | | | ||
====23==== | ====23==== | ||
| − | ||"The treasure seeker presented himself as someone who had special knowledge that was beyond the woman's ken." | + | || |
| + | *"The treasure seeker presented himself as someone who had special knowledge that was beyond the woman's ken." | ||
|| | || | ||
*How does he know? Again, there is no evidence presented. | *How does he know? Again, there is no evidence presented. | ||
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| | | | ||
====25==== | ====25==== | ||
| − | ||"What Joseph failed to explain in this [1838] version [of his history of money digging] was the apparent continuum from treasure seeking to finding gold plates or the similar modus operandi in placing a 'seer stone' in a hat…" | + | || |
| + | *"What Joseph failed to explain in this [1838] version [of his history of money digging] was the apparent continuum from treasure seeking to finding gold plates or the similar modus operandi in placing a 'seer stone' in a hat…" | ||
|| | || | ||
* Joseph may not have seen it as a continuum, since he always insisted that the Book of Mormon was both revealed and translated "by the gift and power of God." God made him capable of things he was not otherwise able to do. The author is again presuming and assuming that Quinn's magic thesis is correct and applicable in this case. | * Joseph may not have seen it as a continuum, since he always insisted that the Book of Mormon was both revealed and translated "by the gift and power of God." God made him capable of things he was not otherwise able to do. The author is again presuming and assuming that Quinn's magic thesis is correct and applicable in this case. | ||
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====25==== | ====25==== | ||
| − | ||"It is also true that Joseph's career in money digging was much more extensive than he intimated in his 1838 narrative." | + | || |
| + | *"It is also true that Joseph's career in money digging was much more extensive than he intimated in his 1838 narrative." | ||
|| | || | ||
* The point of Joseph's 1838 account was not to give extensive details on his youth or past, but to provide the key events of the restoration as he understood them. | * The point of Joseph's 1838 account was not to give extensive details on his youth or past, but to provide the key events of the restoration as he understood them. | ||
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====25==== | ====25==== | ||
| − | ||Bainbridge "glass-looking" | + | || |
| + | *Joseph's Bainbridge "glass-looking" hearing is called "a trial" | ||
|| | || | ||
*This event was not a trial—current scholarship suggests that it was a hearing only. | *This event was not a trial—current scholarship suggests that it was a hearing only. | ||
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| | | | ||
====27==== | ====27==== | ||
| − | ||Isaac Hale not | + | || |
| + | *The fact that Isaac Hale was not allowed to look at the plates was characterized as a "clumsy subterfuge." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | *[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | ||
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| | | | ||
====28==== | ====28==== | ||
| − | ||"Joseph's personal charisma was working its effect where he needed to rely on others for help. He elicited sympathy and created a sense of urgency; his enterprises bore a strange significance." | + | || |
| + | *"Joseph's personal charisma was working its effect where he needed to rely on others for help. He elicited sympathy and created a sense of urgency; his enterprises bore a strange significance." | ||
|| | || | ||
* The author assumes that only charisma could get others to help Joseph. Those involved bore witness that they were convinced by God of the importance of Joseph's work. "Strange significance" is loaded and prejudicial. | * The author assumes that only charisma could get others to help Joseph. Those involved bore witness that they were convinced by God of the importance of Joseph's work. "Strange significance" is loaded and prejudicial. | ||
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| | | | ||
====28==== | ====28==== | ||
| − | ||"A talisman he is said to have worn while digging carried this inscription: 'Confirm O god thy strength in us so that neither the adversary nor any Evil thing may cause us to fail.'" | + | || |
| + | *"A talisman he is said to have worn while digging carried this inscription: 'Confirm O god thy strength in us so that neither the adversary nor any Evil thing may cause us to fail.'" | ||
|| | || | ||
*The talisman Joseph was "said to have worn"—was only said by someone selling it after his death. The author again ignores all the problems with Quinn's thesis, and acts as if it is proven. He ignores all the difficulties with the so-called "Jupiter talisman." | *The talisman Joseph was "said to have worn"—was only said by someone selling it after his death. The author again ignores all the problems with Quinn's thesis, and acts as if it is proven. He ignores all the difficulties with the so-called "Jupiter talisman." | ||
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| | | | ||
====28==== | ====28==== | ||
| − | ||"If his wife shared in his sense of triumph [for getting the plates], she was nevertheless forbidden to see the plates herself." | + | || |
| + | *"If his wife shared in his sense of triumph [for getting the plates], she was nevertheless forbidden to see the plates herself." | ||
|| | || | ||
*She explained this didn't trouble her. Emma insisted that she was ''not'' forbidden to see them, but that she was convinced that it was the work of God, and that this sufficed for her. The author also does not report Emma's witness about the tangible reality of the physical plates. | *She explained this didn't trouble her. Emma insisted that she was ''not'' forbidden to see them, but that she was convinced that it was the work of God, and that this sufficed for her. The author also does not report Emma's witness about the tangible reality of the physical plates. | ||
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====28==== | ====28==== | ||
| − | ||"Married life was not easy. In fact, it was riddled with doubts, rumors, and deception from the start." | + | || |
| + | *"Married life was not easy. In fact, it was riddled with doubts, rumors, and deception from the start." | ||
|| | || | ||
* This claim is the author's supposition. He provides no citations. Emma was faithful to Joseph through much—this is difficult to explain if she did not share his religious convictions, and if their relationship was constantly plagued by doubt and deception from the beginning. | * This claim is the author's supposition. He provides no citations. Emma was faithful to Joseph through much—this is difficult to explain if she did not share his religious convictions, and if their relationship was constantly plagued by doubt and deception from the beginning. | ||
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====28==== | ====28==== | ||
| − | ||"…Joseph was haunted by the suspicion, which followed him from place to place, that he crossed moral boundaries in his friendship with other women." | + | || |
| + | *"…Joseph was haunted by the suspicion, which followed him from place to place, that he crossed moral boundaries in his friendship with other women." | ||
|| | || | ||
*How does the author know that Joseph was "haunted by the suspicion"? He is attempting to read Joseph's mind. The only evidence he has provided are late, hostile attacks from the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits. The specific claims do not hold up to scrutiny (see below). | *How does the author know that Joseph was "haunted by the suspicion"? He is attempting to read Joseph's mind. The only evidence he has provided are late, hostile attacks from the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits. The specific claims do not hold up to scrutiny (see below). | ||
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====28-29==== | ====28-29==== | ||
| − | ||Joseph had an affair with Eliza Winters in 1828 | + | || |
| + | *It is claimed that Joseph had an affair with Eliza Winters in 1828 | ||
|| | || | ||
This hostile report is belied by other primary documents. | This hostile report is belied by other primary documents. | ||
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| | | | ||
====29==== | ====29==== | ||
| − | ||"When Emma's mother, Elizabeth Hale, was asked about this [the purported seduction of Eliza Winters] in an interview forty-six years later, she declined to comment. Whatever she might have known went with her to the grave in February 1842…." | + | || |
| + | *"When Emma's mother, Elizabeth Hale, was asked about this [the purported seduction of Eliza Winters] in an interview forty-six years later, she declined to comment. Whatever she might have known went with her to the grave in February 1842…." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author does not tell us that the same author interviewed Eliza (see above), she likewise said nothing about Joseph's attempted seduction. This is even stranger when we know that Eliza sued Martin Harris for slander because he accused her of loose morals; she lost the suit. She had no reason, then, to favor the Mormons—yet she never complained of Joseph's attempted seduction. | *The author does not tell us that the same author interviewed Eliza (see above), she likewise said nothing about Joseph's attempted seduction. This is even stranger when we know that Eliza sued Martin Harris for slander because he accused her of loose morals; she lost the suit. She had no reason, then, to favor the Mormons—yet she never complained of Joseph's attempted seduction. | ||
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| | | | ||
====29==== | ====29==== | ||
| − | ||"In the revelation [D&C 132] Emma was promised annihilation if she failed to 'abide this commandment.'" | + | || |
| + | *"In the revelation [D&C 132] Emma was promised annihilation if she failed to 'abide this commandment.'" | ||
|| | || | ||
* The term "annihilation" is nowhere used in D&C 132 or any LDS scripture. | * The term "annihilation" is nowhere used in D&C 132 or any LDS scripture. | ||
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====29==== | ====29==== | ||
| − | ||"Curiously enough, the revelation [D&C 132] did not invoke the Book of Mormon's justification for taking more wives—the call to raise a righteous seed." | + | || |
| + | *"Curiously enough, the revelation [D&C 132] did not invoke the Book of Mormon's justification for taking more wives—the call to raise a righteous seed." | ||
|| | || | ||
*This calls into question, then, the author's theory that Joseph wrote the Book of Mormon and had been concocting the whole polygamy idea since his teen years. If the Book of Mormon is Joseph's initial rationale for polygamy, why not use its best argument? | *This calls into question, then, the author's theory that Joseph wrote the Book of Mormon and had been concocting the whole polygamy idea since his teen years. If the Book of Mormon is Joseph's initial rationale for polygamy, why not use its best argument? | ||
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| | | | ||
====29==== | ====29==== | ||
| − | ||"The same year he married Emma…Joseph also probably had met Louisa Beaman, then only twelve years old." | + | || |
| + | *"The same year he married Emma…Joseph also probably had met Louisa Beaman, then only twelve years old." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | *The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | ||
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| | | | ||
====29==== | ====29==== | ||
| − | ||[Joseph's] "relationships in Ohio with various families and their daughters—some quite youthful at the time—allowed him to invite the young women into his further confidence when they were older." | + | || |
| + | *[Joseph's] "relationships in Ohio with various families and their daughters—some quite youthful at the time—allowed him to invite the young women into his further confidence when they were older." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | *The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | ||
| Line 896: | Line 935: | ||
| | | | ||
====30==== | ====30==== | ||
| − | ||"In most cases, the women were adolescents or in their twenties when he met the. About ten were pre-teens, others already thirty or above." | + | || |
| + | *"In most cases, the women were adolescents or in their twenties when he met the. About ten were pre-teens, others already thirty or above." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | *The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | ||
| Line 908: | Line 948: | ||
====30==== | ====30==== | ||
| − | ||"Whitney's daughter Sarah Ann would become one of Joseph Smith's wives, although at the time [1831] she was only five years old." | + | || |
| + | *"Whitney's daughter Sarah Ann would become one of Joseph Smith's wives, although at the time [1831] she was only five years old." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | *The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | ||
| Line 919: | Line 960: | ||
| | | | ||
====31==== | ====31==== | ||
| − | ||Mary Elizabeth Rollings was "an excitable and impressionable young woman…at age thirteen…had interpreted words spoken in tongues…." | + | || |
| + | *Mary Elizabeth Rollings was "an excitable and impressionable young woman…at age thirteen…had interpreted words spoken in tongues…." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | *The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages, or differences in their ages from his. | ||
| Line 930: | Line 972: | ||
| | | | ||
====31==== | ====31==== | ||
| − | ||"It was eleven years after the Smiths roomed with the Whitneys that Joseph expressed a romantic interest in their daughter, as well." | + | || |
| + | *"It was eleven years after the Smiths roomed with the Whitneys that Joseph expressed a romantic interest in their daughter, as well." | ||
|| | || | ||
* The author is again pushing his "romantic" version of the letter to the Whitneys | * The author is again pushing his "romantic" version of the letter to the Whitneys | ||
| Line 949: | Line 992: | ||
====31==== | ====31==== | ||
| − | ||"Another future wife, Marinda Johnson, was fifteen when she met Smith in Ohio. She said when he looked into her eyes, she felt ashamed. At the time, the Smiths were living with Marinda's family…." | + | || |
| + | *"Another future wife, Marinda Johnson, was fifteen when she met Smith in Ohio. She said when he looked into her eyes, she felt ashamed. At the time, the Smiths were living with Marinda's family…." | ||
|| | || | ||
*What is he trying to imply? Joseph made her ashamed? This is false—she felt ashamed for doubting Joseph's prophetic call once she'd met him. Note also that the author does not tell story of Marinda's mother being healed of a palsied arm by Joseph (See Compton, ''In Sacred Loneliness'', 230). | *What is he trying to imply? Joseph made her ashamed? This is false—she felt ashamed for doubting Joseph's prophetic call once she'd met him. Note also that the author does not tell story of Marinda's mother being healed of a palsied arm by Joseph (See Compton, ''In Sacred Loneliness'', 230). | ||
| Line 963: | Line 1,007: | ||
====32==== | ====32==== | ||
| − | ||"The seven-year-old daughter of Apostle Heber C. Kimball was still another future wife…When she married Smith a few years later in Nauvoo at the age of fourteen, it was with her father's encouragement." | + | || |
| + | *"The seven-year-old daughter of Apostle Heber C. Kimball was still another future wife…When she married Smith a few years later in Nauvoo at the age of fourteen, it was with her father's encouragement." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Joseph Smith and polygamy/Helen Mar Kimball|Helen Mar Kimball]] | *[[Joseph Smith and polygamy/Helen Mar Kimball|Helen Mar Kimball]] | ||
| Line 974: | Line 1,019: | ||
| | | | ||
====32–33==== | ====32–33==== | ||
| − | ||This series of events raises a few questions. What was the nature of Smith's relationships with these young women from the time he first met them? How relevant is it that in many instances he had lived under the same roof as his future wife prior to marrying her? | + | || |
| + | *This series of events raises a few questions. What was the nature of Smith's relationships with these young women from the time he first met them? How relevant is it that in many instances he had lived under the same roof as his future wife prior to marrying her? | ||
|| | || | ||
*Ah, now we see why it's brought up! But, the author explores none of these matters in detail—he just leaves it up to the readers' imagination. It does raise some questions, such as: | *Ah, now we see why it's brought up! But, the author explores none of these matters in detail—he just leaves it up to the readers' imagination. It does raise some questions, such as: | ||
| Line 987: | Line 1,033: | ||
====33==== | ====33==== | ||
| − | ||Lucinda and George [Harris] lived across the street from the Smiths. At an unspecified time, but probably by 1842, Lucinda became one more of the prophet's plural wives. | + | || |
| + | *Lucinda and George [Harris] lived across the street from the Smiths. At an unspecified time, but probably by 1842, Lucinda became one more of the prophet's plural wives. | ||
|| | || | ||
*Compton dates the marriage to 1838 (''In Sacred Loneliness'', 4). The author addresses none of the issues around the date's uncertainty. | *Compton dates the marriage to 1838 (''In Sacred Loneliness'', 4). The author addresses none of the issues around the date's uncertainty. | ||
| Line 996: | Line 1,043: | ||
| | | | ||
====34==== | ====34==== | ||
| − | ||[In Illinois Joseph] "was still hunted by law officials for old offenses." | + | || |
| + | *[In Illinois Joseph] "was still hunted by law officials for old offenses." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The language presumes Joseph was guilty, and that such tactics were not simply an excuse to seize him. This point should be argued and supported with data, not asserted. | *The language presumes Joseph was guilty, and that such tactics were not simply an excuse to seize him. This point should be argued and supported with data, not asserted. | ||
| Line 1,006: | Line 1,054: | ||
| | | | ||
====35==== | ====35==== | ||
| − | ||"During the 1837 recession, Smith's unchartered bank, called the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-banking Company, collapsed. Angry Ohioans could not be repaid for loans they had made to Mormon merchants and some church members lost their savings." | + | || |
| + | *"During the 1837 recession, Smith's unchartered bank, called the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-banking Company, collapsed. Angry Ohioans could not be repaid for loans they had made to Mormon merchants and some church members lost their savings." | ||
|| | || | ||
*We are not told that loans were made because the Saints (including Joseph) were considered good credit risks. The economic collapse caught everyone by surprise. | *We are not told that loans were made because the Saints (including Joseph) were considered good credit risks. The economic collapse caught everyone by surprise. | ||
| Line 1,016: | Line 1,065: | ||
====37==== | ====37==== | ||
| − | ||"Missourians were alarmed by the influx of Mormons…and met to decide what to do about the intrusion. Sidney Rigdon warned that if they lifted their hand against the church, they would be 'exterminated.' In response to this incendiary speech, violence erupted on both sides, and Governor Lilburn Boggs soon declared in an echo of Rigdon's rhetoric that 'the Mormons…must be exterminated,' 'treated as enemies,' and 'driven from the State if necessary' to protect 'the public peace.' | + | || |
| + | *"Missourians were alarmed by the influx of Mormons…and met to decide what to do about the intrusion. Sidney Rigdon warned that if they lifted their hand against the church, they would be 'exterminated.' In response to this incendiary speech, violence erupted on both sides, and Governor Lilburn Boggs soon declared in an echo of Rigdon's rhetoric that 'the Mormons…must be exterminated,' 'treated as enemies,' and 'driven from the State if necessary' to protect 'the public peace.' | ||
|| | || | ||
*Note that the author tells us nothing of the 1833 violent dispossession of the members in Jackson County, Missouri. The next paragraph says only that "Mormons found strife wherever they settled…this was true first in Jackson County….then to a succession of other counties." | *Note that the author tells us nothing of the 1833 violent dispossession of the members in Jackson County, Missouri. The next paragraph says only that "Mormons found strife wherever they settled…this was true first in Jackson County….then to a succession of other counties." | ||
| Line 1,033: | Line 1,083: | ||
====38==== | ====38==== | ||
| − | ||"…Smith and fellow prisoners escaped to join their people in Illinois, where they proceeded to found a theocratic society." | + | || |
| + | *"…Smith and fellow prisoners escaped to join their people in Illinois, where they proceeded to found a theocratic society." | ||
|| | || | ||
*This distorts the facts. Mormons were in the majority, but others lived there. Joseph did not rule by fiat, but government was conducted democratically under a charter granted by the Illinois legislature. | *This distorts the facts. Mormons were in the majority, but others lived there. Joseph did not rule by fiat, but government was conducted democratically under a charter granted by the Illinois legislature. | ||
| Line 1,043: | Line 1,094: | ||
| | | | ||
====38n81==== | ====38n81==== | ||
| − | ||"Todd Compton has assembled the most complete documentation regarding Joseph and Fanny's relationship. However, I hesitate to concur with Compton's interpretation of their relationship as a marriage." | + | || |
| + | *"Todd Compton has assembled the most complete documentation regarding Joseph and Fanny's relationship. However, I hesitate to concur with Compton's interpretation of their relationship as a marriage." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Note that the author does not engage or do more than mention Compton's strongest evidence: the Hancock autobiography. (He says only "Compton…draws from a late reminiscence by Mosiah Hancock to suggest that Smith married Alger in early 1833."[41 n. 90] But, we are nowhere told that this witness claimed to have performed the marriage ceremony. | *Note that the author does not engage or do more than mention Compton's strongest evidence: the Hancock autobiography. (He says only "Compton…draws from a late reminiscence by Mosiah Hancock to suggest that Smith married Alger in early 1833."[41 n. 90] But, we are nowhere told that this witness claimed to have performed the marriage ceremony. | ||
| Line 1,058: | Line 1,110: | ||
====39==== | ====39==== | ||
| − | ||"Joseph wrote in his journal on December 4, 1832, 'Oh, Lord, deliver thy servant out of temtations [sic] and fill his heart with wisdom and understanding.' If this was not in reference to Fanny Alger, it coincided with the report of two of Joseph's scribes, Warren Parrish and Oliver Cowdery, that Joseph had been 'found' in the hay with his housekeeper." | + | || |
| + | *"Joseph wrote in his journal on December 4, 1832, 'Oh, Lord, deliver thy servant out of temtations [sic] and fill his heart with wisdom and understanding.' If this was not in reference to Fanny Alger, it coincided with the report of two of Joseph's scribes, Warren Parrish and Oliver Cowdery, that Joseph had been 'found' in the hay with his housekeeper." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Neither Parrish nor Cowdery said anything about them being found in the hay together. That relies entirely on William McLellin's second and third hand reports. | *Neither Parrish nor Cowdery said anything about them being found in the hay together. That relies entirely on William McLellin's second and third hand reports. | ||
| Line 1,071: | Line 1,124: | ||
====39==== | ====39==== | ||
| − | ||Parrish said Joseph and Fanny were discovered together "as a wife"… | + | || |
| + | *Parrish said Joseph and Fanny were discovered together "as a wife"… | ||
|| | || | ||
*The Parrish report is from Benjamin F. Johnson, who the author fails to tell us went on to say, "without a doubt in my mind, Fanny Alger was, at Kirtland, the Prophet’s first plural wife." | *The Parrish report is from Benjamin F. Johnson, who the author fails to tell us went on to say, "without a doubt in my mind, Fanny Alger was, at Kirtland, the Prophet’s first plural wife." | ||
| Line 1,084: | Line 1,138: | ||
====39==== | ====39==== | ||
| − | ||Cowdery called it a "dirty, nasty, filthy affair." | + | || |
| + | *Cowdery called it a "dirty, nasty, filthy affair." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Polygamy_book/Introduction_of_the_eternal_marriage|Fanny Alger—affair or marriage?]] | *[[Polygamy_book/Introduction_of_the_eternal_marriage|Fanny Alger—affair or marriage?]] | ||
| Line 1,095: | Line 1,150: | ||
| | | | ||
====39–41==== | ====39–41==== | ||
| − | ||William McLellin claims | + | || |
| + | *William McLellin claims | ||
|| | || | ||
*Note that the author nowhere mentions some evidence which supports the marriage theory: | *Note that the author nowhere mentions some evidence which supports the marriage theory: | ||
| Line 1,112: | Line 1,168: | ||
====40–41==== | ====40–41==== | ||
| − | ||McLellin sometimes claims there was also a "Miss Hill." | + | || |
| + | *McLellin sometimes claims there was also a "Miss Hill." | ||
|| | || | ||
*McLellin claims Emma Smith confirmed ''[[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Fanny_Alger_and_William_McLellin#McLellin:_Letter_No._2.E2.80.94July_1872|both]]'' tales, yet later claims she confirmed only [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Fanny_Alger_and_William_McLellin#McLellin:_Newspaper.E2.80.94October_1875|one]]. There are other aspects of the supposed "confirmation" which likewise cast doubt on McLellin's tale. | *McLellin claims Emma Smith confirmed ''[[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Fanny_Alger_and_William_McLellin#McLellin:_Letter_No._2.E2.80.94July_1872|both]]'' tales, yet later claims she confirmed only [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Fanny_Alger_and_William_McLellin#McLellin:_Newspaper.E2.80.94October_1875|one]]. There are other aspects of the supposed "confirmation" which likewise cast doubt on McLellin's tale. | ||
| Line 1,123: | Line 1,180: | ||
| | | | ||
====41–42==== | ====41–42==== | ||
| − | ||"It might be important to mention that the testimony here and elsewhere regarding "[having] Fanny Alger as a wife" employs a Victorian euphemism that should not be construed to imply that Fanny was actually married to Joseph." | + | || |
| + | *"It might be important to mention that the testimony here and elsewhere regarding "[having] Fanny Alger as a wife" employs a Victorian euphemism that should not be construed to imply that Fanny was actually married to Joseph." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Yet it is not clear why we should not so construe it. G. D. Smith does not tell us that Johnson (the same person who reported the term 'had…as a wife') then insisted in the same document that “without a doubt in my mind, Fanny Alger was, at Kirtland, the Prophet’s first plural wife.” | *Yet it is not clear why we should not so construe it. G. D. Smith does not tell us that Johnson (the same person who reported the term 'had…as a wife') then insisted in the same document that “without a doubt in my mind, Fanny Alger was, at Kirtland, the Prophet’s first plural wife.” | ||
| Line 1,136: | Line 1,194: | ||
| | | | ||
====42==== | ====42==== | ||
| − | ||"There is no evidence to corroborate the claim that Fanny was pregnant." | + | || |
| + | *"There is no evidence to corroborate the claim that Fanny was pregnant." | ||
|| | || | ||
*There is reason to [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Fanny_Alger_and_William_McLellin#The_Webbs|doubt]] this claim, not merely to regard it as unconfirmed. | *There is reason to [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Fanny_Alger_and_William_McLellin#The_Webbs|doubt]] this claim, not merely to regard it as unconfirmed. | ||
| Line 1,148: | Line 1,207: | ||
| | | | ||
====42–43==== | ====42–43==== | ||
| − | ||Five "primary accounts" of the Fanny relationship: | + | || |
| + | *Five "primary accounts" of the Fanny relationship: | ||
#) Oliver Cowdery & Warren Parrish | #) Oliver Cowdery & Warren Parrish | ||
#) FG Williams via McLellin | #) FG Williams via McLellin | ||
| Line 1,172: | Line 1,232: | ||
====44==== | ====44==== | ||
| − | ||"Rumors may have been circulating already as early as 1832 that Smith had been familiar with fifteen-year-old Marinda Johnson, a member of the family with which Smith lived in Ohio." | + | || |
| + | *"Rumors may have been circulating already as early as 1832 that Smith had been familiar with fifteen-year-old Marinda Johnson, a member of the family with which Smith lived in Ohio." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Compton and Van Wagoner both reject this version of events. | *Compton and Van Wagoner both reject this version of events. | ||
| Line 1,184: | Line 1,245: | ||
| | | | ||
====44==== | ====44==== | ||
| − | ||"Lucinda Harris…[claimed] she was Joseph's 'mistress' four years before an 1842 conversation with Sarah Pratt…." | + | || |
| + | *"Lucinda Harris…[claimed] she was Joseph's 'mistress' four years before an 1842 conversation with Sarah Pratt…." | ||
|| | || | ||
* Such a claim is inconsistent with the mores of the time. The author does no source criticism on the problems with the Sarah Pratt statement from a virulently anti-Mormon work. | * Such a claim is inconsistent with the mores of the time. The author does no source criticism on the problems with the Sarah Pratt statement from a virulently anti-Mormon work. | ||
| Line 1,196: | Line 1,258: | ||
====44 n. 100==== | ====44 n. 100==== | ||
| − | ||“Van Wagoner...and Compton...argue that the mobsters...reacted to financial shenanigans, not to indiscretions with their sister. In defense of this position, Van Wagoner and Compton point to the fact that Sidney Rigdon was also tarred and feathered that night” | + | || |
| + | *“Van Wagoner...and Compton...argue that the mobsters...reacted to financial shenanigans, not to indiscretions with their sister. In defense of this position, Van Wagoner and Compton point to the fact that Sidney Rigdon was also tarred and feathered that night” | ||
|| | || | ||
*G. D. Smith fails to mention the strongest arguments advanced by those who disagree with him. He provides no citation for the explanation that he adopts. | *G. D. Smith fails to mention the strongest arguments advanced by those who disagree with him. He provides no citation for the explanation that he adopts. | ||
| Line 1,207: | Line 1,270: | ||
| | | | ||
====45==== | ====45==== | ||
| − | ||"Gary James Bergera…[argued that] 'Smith introduced members…to the ordinances of…eternal marriage (1841)…." | + | || |
| + | *"Gary James Bergera…[argued that] 'Smith introduced members…to the ordinances of…eternal marriage (1841)…." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Joseph was teaching the doctrine of eternal marriage well before 1841. | *Joseph was teaching the doctrine of eternal marriage well before 1841. | ||
| Line 1,218: | Line 1,282: | ||
====44–45==== | ====44–45==== | ||
| − | ||"Civil marriage" was "an outdated marriage contract which, church members came to understand, was an inefficacious as an improper baptism." | + | || |
| + | *"Civil marriage" was "an outdated marriage contract which, church members came to understand, was an inefficacious as an improper baptism." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Not true, since one could be in good Church standing if one was civilly married, but not if one was committing adultery. | *Not true, since one could be in good Church standing if one was civilly married, but not if one was committing adultery. | ||
| Line 1,229: | Line 1,294: | ||
====48==== | ====48==== | ||
| − | ||"In Smith's narrative, an otherworldly being Smith called 'the Lord' defends polygamy…." | + | || |
| + | *"In Smith's narrative, an otherworldly being Smith called 'the Lord' defends polygamy…." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | *[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | ||
| Line 1,238: | Line 1,304: | ||
====48-49==== | ====48-49==== | ||
| − | ||"The revelation [D&C 132] contravenes the Book of Mormon passage where polygamy is said to be allowed under certain conditions but is likely an indication of wickedness…." "However, Smith's 1843 revelation changes all this. Section 132 establishes polygamy as a virtuous higher law that is forever 'true'—no longer a time-sensitive practice." | + | || |
| + | *"The revelation [D&C 132] contravenes the Book of Mormon passage where polygamy is said to be allowed under certain conditions but is likely an indication of wickedness…." "However, Smith's 1843 revelation changes all this. Section 132 establishes polygamy as a virtuous higher law that is forever 'true'—no longer a time-sensitive practice." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Contradiction between D&C 132 and Jacob 2 ]] | *[[Contradiction between D&C 132 and Jacob 2 ]] | ||
| Line 1,247: | Line 1,314: | ||
| | | | ||
====49==== | ====49==== | ||
| − | ||"Another revelation, almost seeming to recall Smith's teenage concerns about sinful thoughts and behavior, reiterated this standard: 'Thou shalt not commit adultery….'" | + | || |
| + | *"Another revelation, almost seeming to recall Smith's teenage concerns about sinful thoughts and behavior, reiterated this standard: 'Thou shalt not commit adultery….'" | ||
|| | || | ||
*Again presuming what he has failed to prove—that Joseph was challenged by sexual sin from early adolescence. | *Again presuming what he has failed to prove—that Joseph was challenged by sexual sin from early adolescence. | ||
| Line 1,257: | Line 1,325: | ||
| | | | ||
====50==== | ====50==== | ||
| − | ||"…in 1841, Joseph Smith and Luisa Beaman participated in the first formal ceremony to legitimize a plural coupling." | + | || |
| + | *"…in 1841, Joseph Smith and Luisa Beaman participated in the first formal ceremony to legitimize a plural coupling." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Again ignores the Hancock autobiography, Ann Eliza Webb, Chauncery Webb, and Benjamin F. Johnson. | *Again ignores the Hancock autobiography, Ann Eliza Webb, Chauncery Webb, and Benjamin F. Johnson. | ||
| Line 1,269: | Line 1,338: | ||
====50==== | ====50==== | ||
| − | ||"…Smith engaged in even more perilous anti-social behavior by indulging in sexual relations with the daughters and wives of close friends, albeit mostly in marital and religious contexts." | + | || |
| + | *"…Smith engaged in even more perilous anti-social behavior by indulging in sexual relations with the daughters and wives of close friends, albeit mostly in marital and religious contexts." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Sexual relations in a marital context is not an "anti-social" act. If all the data are taken into account (i.e., the Hancock autobiography) all were sanctioned in this way (see above). | *Sexual relations in a marital context is not an "anti-social" act. If all the data are taken into account (i.e., the Hancock autobiography) all were sanctioned in this way (see above). | ||
| Line 1,280: | Line 1,350: | ||
| | | | ||
====51==== | ====51==== | ||
| − | ||"…LDS leaders denied violating Illinois law…." | + | || |
| + | *"…LDS leaders denied violating Illinois law…." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Joseph Smith and polygamy#Hiding the Truth?|Joseph Smith and polygamy—Hiding the truth?]] | *[[Joseph Smith and polygamy#Hiding the Truth?|Joseph Smith and polygamy—Hiding the truth?]] | ||
| Line 1,289: | Line 1,360: | ||
| | | | ||
====51==== | ====51==== | ||
| − | ||[Today there is] "the continued abusive coercion of underage girls in polygamous communities. Although polygamy has been repeatedly condemned by the contemporary LDS Church, the Nauvoo beginnings of the practice remain in LDS scripture as Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants and in the church's temple sealings. | + | || |
| + | *[Today there is] "the continued abusive coercion of underage girls in polygamous communities. Although polygamy has been repeatedly condemned by the contemporary LDS Church, the Nauvoo beginnings of the practice remain in LDS scripture as Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants and in the church's temple sealings. | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Logical_fallacies#Guilt_by_association|Logical fallacy—Guilt by association]] | *[[Logical_fallacies#Guilt_by_association|Logical fallacy—Guilt by association]] | ||
Revision as of 17:22, 15 March 2009
| Preface | A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: George D. Smith
|
Chapter 2 |
Claims made in Chapter 1
| Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
|
Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
1n1 |
|
|
Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
1 |
|
|
Womanizing & romance (edit) |
1 |
|
|
Ages of wives (edit) |
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
It is claimed that "[n]o one knew precisely when the final end would come, but they knew it was imminent." |
|
|
2 |
|
Bloc voting (edit) See NOTE on bloc voting | |
|
2 |
|
|
Nauvoo city charter (edit) |
2 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
| |
3-4 |
|
Hiding polygamy (edit) | |
4 |
|
|
John C. Bennett (edit) |
5 |
|
Censorship of Church History (edit) | |
5 |
|
| |
6 |
|
|
Necessary for salvation? (edit) |
6 |
|
|
Predicting 2nd Coming (edit) |
7 |
|
Environmental explanations (edit) | |
7 |
|
| |
8 |
|
|
Environmental explanations (edit) |
9 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
Predicting 2nd Coming (edit) |
10 |
|
| |
11 |
|
| |
11 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
12 |
|
|
Emma and Joseph Eloped (edit) |
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12n29 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
13-14 |
|
|
Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
14 |
[In 1831 Joseph] "sanctioned the first breach in marriage mores. It occurred in Smith's charge to missionaries to the Indians when he told single and married men alike that they should marry native women. Polygamy may have been on his mind…." |
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
14n34 |
|
|
|
14n34 |
|
|
|
14n34 |
|
| |
14n34 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
| |
15 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
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15-16 |
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Or, it might not. As it turns out, it isn't.
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Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
16-20 |
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Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
19-20 |
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The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems.
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20 |
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The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. |
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20 |
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The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. |
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21 |
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The author again presumes that Joseph's works referred to "sinful thoughts," which he has tried to tie to chastity.
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Womanizing & romance (edit) |
21 |
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Womanizing & romance (edit) |
21 |
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22 |
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22 |
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Womanizing & romance (edit) |
22 |
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Fanny Alger (edit) Ages of wives (edit) |
22 |
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Fanny Alger (edit) |
22 |
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22 |
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22 |
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23 |
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25 |
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25 |
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25 |
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27 |
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28 |
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28 |
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28 |
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28 |
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28 |
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28-29 |
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This hostile report is belied by other primary documents. |
Eliza Winters (edit) |
29 |
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Eliza Winters (edit) |
29 |
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29 |
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Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
29 |
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Ages of wives (edit) |
29 |
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Ages of wives (edit) |
30 |
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Ages of wives (edit) |
30 |
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Ages of wives (edit) |
31 |
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Ages of wives (edit) |
31 |
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Whitney "love letter" (edit) Womanizing & romance (edit) |
31 |
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32 |
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32–33 |
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Womanizing & romance (edit) |
33 |
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Lucinda Harris (edit) |
34 |
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35 |
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37 |
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38 |
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38n81 |
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Fanny Alger (edit) Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
39 |
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Fanny Alger (edit) |
39 |
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Fanny Alger (edit) |
39 |
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Fanny Alger (edit) |
39–41 |
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Fanny Alger (edit) Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
40–41 |
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41–42 |
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Fanny Alger (edit) |
42 |
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Fanny Alger (edit) |
42–43 |
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The author fails to mention:
These are "second hand," but so are Parrish, William, Emma, Johnson, and Fanny Brewer!
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Fanny Alger (edit) |
44 |
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Womanizing & romance (edit) |
44 |
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Lucinda Harris (edit) |
44 n. 100 |
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Womanizing & romance (edit) |
45 |
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44–45 |
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48 |
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48-49 |
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49 |
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Womanizing & romance (edit) |
50 |
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Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
50 |
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Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
51 |
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Hiding polygamy (edit) | |
51 |
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Endnotes
- [note] Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton, The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-Day Saints, 2nd ed. (New York: Knopf : distributed by Random House/University of Illinois Press, [1979] 1992), 69. ISBN 0252062361. off-site
- [note] William J. Hamblin, "That Old Black Magic (Review of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, by D. Michael Quinn)," FARMS Review of Books 12/2 (2000): 225–394. [{{{url}}} off-site]
- [note] W.W. Phelps, Letter to Brigham Young, 1861, original in Church Archives, emphasis in original; cited by B. Carmon Hardy, Doing the Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy: Its Origin, Practice, and Demise, Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier (Norman, Okla.: Arthur H. Clark Co., 2007), 36–37.
- [note] Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Knopf, 2005), 99.
Further reading
| Template code | Inserts this reference | Click to edit |
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| {{To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition}} | To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition | edit |
| {{To learn more box:''Under the Banner of Heaven''}} | To learn more about responses to: Under the Banner of Heaven | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Robert Price}} | To learn more about responses to: Robert Price | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon}} | To learn more about responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Ashamed of Joseph}} | To learn more about responses to: Ashamed of Joseph | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Moser}} | To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Moser | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Parrish}} | To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Parrish | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Benjamin Park}} | To learn more about responses to: Benjamin Park | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith}} | To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith | edit |
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| {{To learn more box:responses to: Hank Hanegraaff}} | To learn more about responses to: Hank Hanegraaff | edit |
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