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Difference between revisions of "Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Nauvoo Polygamy/Chapter 2a"
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* The author here follows Compton in misreading the Wyl data. Richard Anderson and Scott Faulring argue that | * The author here follows Compton in misreading the Wyl data. Richard Anderson and Scott Faulring argue that | ||
| − | ::''In Sacred Loneliness'' misleads the reader by claiming that “Sarah Pratt mentions that she heard a Mrs. Durfee in Salt Lake City profess to have been one of Smith’s wives.” But this changes the actual report of Sarah’s comments on Mrs. Durfee: “I don’t think she was ever sealed to him, though it may have been the case after Joseph’s death. . . . At all events, she boasted here in Salt Lake of having been one of Joseph’s wives.”{{ | + | ::''In Sacred Loneliness'' misleads the reader by claiming that “Sarah Pratt mentions that she heard a Mrs. Durfee in Salt Lake City profess to have been one of Smith’s wives.” But this changes the actual report of Sarah’s comments on Mrs. Durfee: “I don’t think she was ever sealed to him, though it may have been the case after Joseph’s death. . . . At all events, she boasted here in Salt Lake of having been one of Joseph’s wives.”<ref>{{FR-10-2-6}}<!--Anderson and Faulring--></ref> |
*If anything these data argue that Durfee was aware of and involved in promoting and teaching plural marriage but was not necessarily sealed to Joseph in life. | *If anything these data argue that Durfee was aware of and involved in promoting and teaching plural marriage but was not necessarily sealed to Joseph in life. | ||
*[[../../Use of sources]] {{nw}} | *[[../../Use of sources]] {{nw}} | ||
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=Further reading= | =Further reading= | ||
Revision as of 23:00, 6 June 2014
- REDIRECTTemplate:Test3
Contents
- 1 Response to claims made in "Chapter 2" (pp. 108-158)
- 1.1 108
- 1.2 Claim It is claimed that "Sarah Pratt told…Wyl…'There was an old Woman called Durfee…to keep her quiet, he admitted her to the secret blessings of celestial bliss—she boasted here in Salt Lake of having been one of Joseph Smith's wives."
- 1.3 Claim
Author's quote: "When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 and exposed the world to then-indecipherable ancient writings, Europe and the United States became fascinated with Egyptian artifacts. Egyptian hieroglyphics, like the origin of Native American tribes, were mysteries of the times, sometimes regarded as clues to Indian Origins."
- Author's quote: "Joseph Smith had grown up…during the time when public interest in the enigmatic Egyptians was burgeoning. The Manchester, New York, rental library, within five miles of the Smith family farm, had acquired a volume on Napoleon."
- 1.4 Claim The author then continues: "This is not to suggest that Smith necessarily visited the library…."
- 1.5 Claim The author then speculates: "…but from the age of ten…to about age twenty-two (December 1827) when he began dictating the Book of Mormon, published accounts of Napoleon and his foray into Egypt would have been available in books, periodicals, and possibly tracts."
- 1.6 Claim Regarding the Chandler papyri, the author claims that Joseph "translated some of the hieroglyphics by means of his white seer stone to produce 'an alphabet…[and] grammar of the Egyptian language' through July 1835."
- 1.7 Claim The author claims that "a scholar" in 1823 "rightly concluded that these American [Indian] symbols 'appear to have had little or nothing in common with those of the Egyptians.'"
- 1.8 Claim Author's quote: "As we consider Joseph Smith's new religious texts in early 1842, we should review what was known of the language of ancient Egyptian, not only in 1823 when Smith began to anticipate the Book of Mormon's 'reformed Egyptian records,' but later in the 1830s and 1840s when he prepared his second Egyptian scripture, the Book of Abraham."
- 1.9 Claim The author assumes that Joseph Smith made an association of Native American pictographs with 'reformed Egyptian.'
- 1.10 Claim The author speculates that "Smith's association of these unrelated cultures [Egypt and the New World] simply reflected the prevailing misperceptions of the pre- to mid-nineteenth century."
- 1.11 Claim Author's quote: "The first ancient scripture Smith presented since the Book of Mormon was the Book of Abraham."
- 1.12 Claim The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible is claimed to have "altered over 3,400 verses but left the deities singular and in a Trinitarian format."
- 1.13 Claim The author presumes that Joseph "coalesced astronomy, biblical mystery, ancient Egyptian writing, and Masonic ritual into portentous ceremony for his followers."
- 1.14 Claim The author claims that "[t]he spring of 1842 was also the time when John C. Bennett began to separate himself from Smith…."
- 1.15 Claim Marinda Johnson "met Joseph while he was retranslating the Bible with Sidney Rigdon in her parents' home in 1831."
- 1.16 Claim Orson Hyde "was reportedly 'furious'" with Joseph's plural marriage doctrine.
- 1.17 Claim The author assumes censorship when he note that "after John C. Bennett's disagreement with Smith, the record of his celestial marriages was apparently expunged."
- 1.18 Claim Author's quote: "Smith told Bennett he could not withdraw from the church because he had been 'disfellowshipped' two weeks before on May 11. This apparent backdating was an attempt to discredit Bennett."
- 1.19 Claim The author reports that in John C. Bennett's first letter that "he reported that Smith 'attempted to seduce Miss Nany [check spelling] Rigdon,'…."
- 1.20 Claim The author recounts John C. Bennett's version of the Sarah Pratt episode.
- 1.21 Claim The story of Emma Smith pushing Eliza Snow down the stairs is mentioned.
- 1.22 Claim The author notes that "…historian Fawn M. Brodie thought the documentation was strong enough to include it in her biography of Smith."
- 1.23 Claim The author cites BYU Studies on Emma and Eliza, but does not disclose that those authors find that the story is not plausible.
- 1.24 Claim The author cites Newel and Avery, Mormon Enigma without acknowledging or engaging their arguments against the story of Emma and Eliza.
- 1.25 Claim The author assumes rumors are evidence: "Most convincing of all is to think that these stories [about Emma] were circulating widely and Eliza never bothered to clarify or refute them."
- 1.26 Claim Censorship is again implied, when the author notes that the History of the Church "reports the day's activities…without a hint of a wedding" to Sarah Ann Whitney.
- 1.27 Claim The author talks about Joseph's letter to the Whitneys again: "Three weeks after the wedding, Joseph took steps to spend some time with his newest bride."
- 1.28 Claim The book claims that in an "extraordinary move, the Nauvoo City Council issued an ordinance limiting the power of state courts and claiming the right to review and dismiss future writs."
- 1.29 Claim The author really wants readers to understand Joseph's letter to the Whitneys: "It was the ninth night of Joseph's concealment, and Emma had visited him three times, written him several letters, and penned at least one letter on his behalf…For his part, Joseph's private note about his love for Emma was so endearing it found its way into the official church history. In it, he vowed to be hers 'forevermore.' Yet within this context of reassurance and intimacy, a few hours later the same day, even while Joseph was still in grave danger and when secrecy was of the utmost urgency, he made complicated arrangements for a visit from his fifteenth plural wife, Sarah Ann Whitney."
- 1.30 Claim Referring to the Whitney letter, the author notes: "Smith urged his seventeen-year-old bride to 'come to night' and 'comfort' him—but only if Emma had not returned….Joseph judiciously addressed the letter to 'Brother, and Sister, Whitney, and &c."
- 1.31 Claim Referring yet again to the Whitney letter, the author notes: "Invites Whitneys to visit, Sarah Ann to 'comfort me' if Emma not there. Invitation accepted."
- 1.32 Claim The book recounts the Nancy Rigdon episode
- 1.33 Claim The author assumes that Sidney Rigdon "was in many ways a mentor to Joseph."
- 1.34 Claim The author speculates that Sidney Rigdon "was not someone Joseph felt comfortable approaching to ask for his daughter's hand in polygamy. So Joseph appealed to the young woman directly."
- 1.35 Claim Author's quote: "For some reason, Marinda [Johnson Hyde] stayed [in the same house as] Apostle Willard Richards, whose wife, Jennetta, was in Massachusetts….Although the two may have lived in separate parts of the building…their living arrangements seemed to be an open scandal."
- 1.36 Claim The author claims that both Nancy Rigdon and Martha Brotherton were "isolated in a locked room during the persuasive effort."
- 1.37 Claim The author refers to Joseph's visit by the Whitneys as a "liaison" with Sarah Ann.
- 1.38
Response to claims made in "Chapter 2" (pp. 108-158)
| Chapter 2 (pp. 52-107) | A FAIR Analysis of: Nauvoo Polygamy: "... but we called it celestial marriage" A work by author: George D. Smith
|
Chapter 3 (pp. 159-237) |
108
Claim
It is claimed that "Sarah Pratt told…Wyl…'There was an old Woman called Durfee…to keep her quiet, he admitted her to the secret blessings of celestial bliss—she boasted here in Salt Lake of having been one of Joseph Smith's wives."
Author's source(s)
- Wyl, Mormon Portraits, 54.
Response
- The author here follows Compton in misreading the Wyl data. Richard Anderson and Scott Faulring argue that
- In Sacred Loneliness misleads the reader by claiming that “Sarah Pratt mentions that she heard a Mrs. Durfee in Salt Lake City profess to have been one of Smith’s wives.” But this changes the actual report of Sarah’s comments on Mrs. Durfee: “I don’t think she was ever sealed to him, though it may have been the case after Joseph’s death. . . . At all events, she boasted here in Salt Lake of having been one of Joseph’s wives.”[1]
- If anything these data argue that Durfee was aware of and involved in promoting and teaching plural marriage but was not necessarily sealed to Joseph in life.
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Use of sources [needs work]
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
110-111
Claim
Author's quote: "When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 and exposed the world to then-indecipherable ancient writings, Europe and the United States became fascinated with Egyptian artifacts. Egyptian hieroglyphics, like the origin of Native American tribes, were mysteries of the times, sometimes regarded as clues to Indian Origins."
- Author's quote: "Joseph Smith had grown up…during the time when public interest in the enigmatic Egyptians was burgeoning. The Manchester, New York, rental library, within five miles of the Smith family farm, had acquired a volume on Napoleon."
Author's source(s) Egyptian influence? (edit)
- A string of speculations on the part of the author.
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries
- The author or publisher responds: The publisher notes that the author was not attempting to imply that Joseph plagiarized Napoleon, but rather that both of them wrote "amorous letters" and "shared a profound fascination with Egypt." off-site
111
Claim
The author then continues: "This is not to suggest that Smith necessarily visited the library…."
Author's source(s)
- Joseph Smith and the Manchester (New York) Library," BYU Studies 22 (Summer 1982): 333-56.
Response
- So why mention it if not to give that impression? If he did not, then it is irrelevant to Joseph Smith's thought or career.
111
Claim
The author then speculates: "…but from the age of ten…to about age twenty-two (December 1827) when he began dictating the Book of Mormon, published accounts of Napoleon and his foray into Egypt would have been available in books, periodicals, and possibly tracts."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Fallacy of probability (edit)
Response
- The author offers us only speculation, with no evidence that Joseph paid any attention to such matters.
- This is the fallacy of probability.
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries
110 – 111 n. 150
Claim
Regarding the Chandler papyri, the author claims that Joseph "translated some of the hieroglyphics by means of his white seer stone to produce 'an alphabet…[and] grammar of the Egyptian language' through July 1835."
Author's source(s)
- History of the Church 2:235-36, 238.
Response
- The author here acts as if a highly debated matter is settled. It is not at all clear that Joseph's seer stone was used "to produce" the alphabet and grammar. Rather, the alphabet and grammar may have been an attempt by some (possibly including Joseph) to 'reverse-engineer' a translation of Egyptian from the divine translation given of the Book of Abraham.
- For a detailed response, see: Kirtland_Egyptian_Papers
112
Claim
The author claims that "a scholar" in 1823 "rightly concluded that these American [Indian] symbols 'appear to have had little or nothing in common with those of the Egyptians.'"
Author's source(s)
- Thomas Young, An Account of Some Recent Discoveries in Hieroglyphic Literature and Egyptian Antiquities (London: John Murray, 1823).
Response
- This is of no relevance to Joseph Smith unless we are to assume that Joseph taught that American writing could be used to illuminate ancient Egyptian. The Book of Mormon explicitly rejects any such idea, saying that "we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech…. none other people knoweth our language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof" (Mormon 9꞉31,34).
- The author should also consider consulting scholarship more recent than 1823 if he wishes to know whether there are any links between Old World and New World languages.
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Anachronisms/Language/Hebrew and Native American languages
112
Claim
Author's quote: "As we consider Joseph Smith's new religious texts in early 1842, we should review what was known of the language of ancient Egyptian, not only in 1823 when Smith began to anticipate the Book of Mormon's 'reformed Egyptian records,' but later in the 1830s and 1840s when he prepared his second Egyptian scripture, the Book of Abraham."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Response
- The author is again presuming that studies of ancient Egyptian would have had any relevance for the Book of Mormon records—yet the Book of Mormon explicitly says they would not.
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Assumptions and presumptions
112
Claim
The author assumes that Joseph Smith made an association of Native American pictographs with 'reformed Egyptian.'
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Response
- What evidence is there of this?
112
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Environmental explanations (edit)
Response
- Joseph's scriptural texts associated only a small group from the Old World with the New. His 1842 scriptures had nothing at all to do with the New World.
- That Joseph's own personal opinions may have reflected his time is irrelevant, unless we presume at the outset (as the author does) that the Book of Mormon was a fabrication by Joseph. If it was not, then his personal views are irrelevant.
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Assumptions and presumptions
113
Claim
Author's quote: "The first ancient scripture Smith presented since the Book of Mormon was the Book of Abraham."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
- History unclear or in error
Response
- The author's claim is false Joseph had also produced a Book of Moses and a Book of Enoch (begun June 1830) as part of his revision of the King James Bible. These materials, however, did not rely on a modification of any extant Bible text.
- See: here, here, and here.
113 n. 157
Claim
The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible is claimed to have "altered over 3,400 verses but left the deities singular and in a Trinitarian format."
Author's source(s)
- Quinn, Mormon Hierarchy: Origins, 620.
Response
- Since the original Bible has no Nicene Trinitarian format, it would be difficult to Joseph to leave it there.
- If The author does not mean a Nicene Trinity, then it would be strange for Joseph to alter it, since the Book of Mormon and Book of Abraham all teach a non-Nicene trinitarianism.
- Godhead and the Trinity
- The Book of Moses (Moses 1꞉3,6,13,24,32-33, Moses 2꞉1, Moses 4꞉2-3,28) also described the distinction between Father and Son in non-Nicene terms, as did the Enoch material (Moses 5꞉57, Moses 6꞉51-52,57,59,66, Moses 7꞉27,39), long pre-dating the Book of Abraham (Summer-Winter 1830).
- Joseph was also teaching a non-Nicene Trinitarianism long before 1842:
- The author wants to display an evolution in Joseph's views, but he has not done the necessary legwork. He merely presumes, rather than demonstrates.
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Assumptions and presumptions
114
Claim
The author presumes that Joseph "coalesced astronomy, biblical mystery, ancient Egyptian writing, and Masonic ritual into portentous ceremony for his followers."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Temple (edit)
Environmental explanations (edit)
Egyptian influence? (edit)
Response
- The author presumes that all these were sources for the temple endowment, and that Joseph combined them.
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mind reading
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries
114
Claim
The author claims that "[t]he spring of 1842 was also the time when John C. Bennett began to separate himself from Smith…."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
- History unclear or in error
John C. Bennett (edit)
Response
- Bennett did not separate himself, Joseph forced Bennett out because of his crimes.
- John C. Bennett
116
Claim
Marinda Johnson "met Joseph while he was retranslating the Bible with Sidney Rigdon in her parents' home in 1831."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Womanizing & romance (edit)
Response
- The author again does not tell us that Marinda testified against the version of Joseph's mobbing which he pushes on p. 44.
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
117-118
Claim
Orson Hyde "was reportedly 'furious'" with Joseph's plural marriage doctrine.
Author's source(s)
- Ann Eliza Young, Wife Number Nineteen, 324–26.
Response
- Cites Ann Eliza Young, but fails to tell the reader there are three other versions, each of which is different and hostile.
- Ann Eliza’s report of anger is also suspect. Later in the same work cited by the author, she describes Hyde “in a furious passion” because “he thought it no harm for him to win the affection of another man’s wife, . . . but he did not propose having his rights interfered with even by the holy Prophet whose teachings he so implicitly followed." Yet Orson did not begin practicing plural marriage until after he knew of Marinda’s sealing to Joseph.
- Despite the hostile reports of Orson Hyde’s anger, there are no contemporary accounts of problems between Orson and Joseph, who repeatedly dined with the Hydes following Orson’s return from Palestine.
- While it is possible that his initial reaction was heated, this perspective derives entirely from authors writing scandalous exposés of the Mormons long after the fact.
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
119
Claim
The author assumes censorship when he note that "after John C. Bennett's disagreement with Smith, the record of his celestial marriages was apparently expunged."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
John C. Bennett (edit)
Censorship of Church History (edit)
Response
- The author is arguing from negative evidence—he claims that the absence of any record of Bennett's "marriages" is proof that the Church or Joseph suppressed them!
- He is presuming that Bennett's "marriages" were at one time sanctioned by Joseph. All the evidence indicates that Joseph was upset whenever Bennett's behavior came to his attention.
- For a detailed response, see: John C. Bennett
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and history/Censorship and revision
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Censorship
119
Claim
Author's quote: "Smith told Bennett he could not withdraw from the church because he had been 'disfellowshipped' two weeks before on May 11. This apparent backdating was an attempt to discredit Bennett."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
- History unclear or in error
John C. Bennett (edit)
Response
- The author has mentioned this before. He has now adopted Bennett's version completely, with no hint that there is more to the story.
- (Already addressed above, see pp. 65, 70, 72-73.)
- For a detailed response, see: John C. Bennett
122
Claim
The author reports that in John C. Bennett's first letter that "he reported that Smith 'attempted to seduce Miss Nany [check spelling] Rigdon,'…."
Author's source(s)
- Bennett to Sangamo Journal, June 27, 1842.
John C. Bennett (edit)
Response
- For a detailed response, see: John C. Bennett
123-125
Claim
The author recounts John C. Bennett's version of the Sarah Pratt episode.
Author's source(s)
John C. Bennett (edit)
Response
- For a detailed response, see: John C. Bennett
129-134
Claim
The story of Emma Smith pushing Eliza Snow down the stairs is mentioned.
Author's source(s)
Emma, Eliza & stairs (edit)
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Emma, Eliza, and the stairs
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
131-132
Claim
The author notes that "…historian Fawn M. Brodie thought the documentation was strong enough to include it in her biography of Smith."
Author's source(s)
- Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 470–71. ( Index of claims )
- Emma, Eliza & stairs (edit)
- Presendia Buell (edit)
Response
- Fawn Brodie's evidentiary standard was often depressingly low. She was certain that Oliver Buell was Joseph's son (based on photographic evidence) but DNA evidence has resoundingly refuted her.
- For a detailed response, see: Emma, Eliza, and the stairs
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
131 n. 195
Claim
The author cites BYU Studies on Emma and Eliza, but does not disclose that those authors find that the story is not plausible.
Author's source(s)
- Maureen Ursenbach Beecher et al., “Emma and Eliza and the Stairs,” BYU Studies 22/1 (Fall 1982): 86–96.
Emma, Eliza & stairs (edit)
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Emma, Eliza, and the stairs
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
132
Claim
The author cites Newel and Avery, Mormon Enigma without acknowledging or engaging their arguments against the story of Emma and Eliza.
Author's source(s)
- Newell and Avery, Mormon Enigma, 134.
Emma, Eliza & stairs (edit)
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Emma, Eliza, and the stairs
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
133
Claim
The author assumes rumors are evidence: "Most convincing of all is to think that these stories [about Emma] were circulating widely and Eliza never bothered to clarify or refute them."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Emma, Eliza & stairs (edit)
Response
- Uncorrected rumor or gossip is more convincing than the absence of diary or behavioral evidence for a pregnancy as outlined by Newel and Avery (see previous)?
- For a detailed response, see: Emma, Eliza, and the stairs
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
137
Claim
Censorship is again implied, when the author notes that the History of the Church "reports the day's activities…without a hint of a wedding" to Sarah Ann Whitney.
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Censorship of Church History (edit)
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and history/Censorship and revision
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Censorship
138
Claim
The author talks about Joseph's letter to the Whitneys again: "Three weeks after the wedding, Joseph took steps to spend some time with his newest bride."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Whitney "love letter" (edit)
Response
- Again, The author fails to acknowledge that Joseph wanted Sarah Ann and her parents to visit him.
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Whitney letter
- Use of sources—Letter to Whitneys
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mind reading
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Romance
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
139
Claim
The book claims that in an "extraordinary move, the Nauvoo City Council issued an ordinance limiting the power of state courts and claiming the right to review and dismiss future writs."
Author's source(s)
- Roberts, Comprehensive History 2:468-69.
Nauvoo city charter (edit)
Response
- For a detailed response, see: City of Nauvoo/City charter
142
Claim
The author really wants readers to understand Joseph's letter to the Whitneys:
"It was the ninth night of Joseph's concealment, and Emma had visited him three times, written him several letters, and penned at least one letter on his behalf…For his part, Joseph's private note about his love for Emma was so endearing it found its way into the official church history. In it, he vowed to be hers 'forevermore.' Yet within this context of reassurance and intimacy, a few hours later the same day, even while Joseph was still in grave danger and when secrecy was of the utmost urgency, he made complicated arrangements for a visit from his fifteenth plural wife, Sarah Ann Whitney."
"It was the ninth night of Joseph's concealment, and Emma had visited him three times, written him several letters, and penned at least one letter on his behalf…For his part, Joseph's private note about his love for Emma was so endearing it found its way into the official church history. In it, he vowed to be hers 'forevermore.' Yet within this context of reassurance and intimacy, a few hours later the same day, even while Joseph was still in grave danger and when secrecy was of the utmost urgency, he made complicated arrangements for a visit from his fifteenth plural wife, Sarah Ann Whitney."
Author's source(s)
Whitney "love letter" (edit)
Response
- Joseph’s behavior is painted as callous toward Emma and also as evidence of an almost insatiable sexual hunger.
- Yet again, the author does not acknowledge that Joseph wants all the Whitneys there.
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Whitney letter
- Use of sources—Letter to Whitneys
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Romance
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
142-143
Claim
Referring to the Whitney letter, the author notes: "Smith urged his seventeen-year-old bride to 'come to night' and 'comfort' him—but only if Emma had not returned….Joseph judiciously addressed the letter to 'Brother, and Sister, Whitney, and &c."
Author's source(s)
Whitney "love letter" (edit)
Ages of wives (edit)
Response
- Despite mentioning (finally!) that the letter is addressed to all three Whitneys, the author continues to insist that Sarah Ann is the one who is to "come" and "comfort" him.
- He here (p. 143) reproduces the letter's full text (having used it at least four times to push his reading of Joseph needing Sarah to "comfort" him), but does not address the reason why Joseph sought a visit with his plural wife and her parents: to “tell you all my plans . . . [and] to git the fulness of my blessings sealed upon our heads, &c.”
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Whitney letter
- Use of sources—Letter to Whitneys
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mind reading
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Romance
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
- Small wonder that Joseph didn’t want a hostile Emma present while trying to administer what he and the Whitneys regarded as sacred ordinances. And, it is unsurprising that he considered a single private room sufficient for the purposes for which he summoned his plural wife and her parents.
- Smith commonly exploits the presentist fallacy in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages.
- Age of wives
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Presentism
147
Claim
Referring yet again to the Whitney letter, the author notes: "Invites Whitneys to visit, Sarah Ann to 'comfort me' if Emma not there. Invitation accepted."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Whitney "love letter" (edit)
Response
- Having just reproduced the entire letter, the author again insists that Sarah Ann is the one to "comfort" Joseph, even though the letter says nothing of the sort.
- The author does not indicate how he knows the invitation was accepted.
- We do know that the Whitneys were sealed in eternal marriage three days later. But, the author does not tell us that either.
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Whitney letter
- Use of sources—Letter to Whitneys
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Romance
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
147–154
Claim
The book recounts the Nancy Rigdon episode
Author's source(s)
John C. Bennett (edit)
Response
- For a detailed response, see: John C. Bennett
149
Claim
The author assumes that Sidney Rigdon "was in many ways a mentor to Joseph."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Response
- What evidence is there of this? Joseph was always in charge and always the senior partner, though he was happy to make use of Rigdon's skills as an orator.
- Joseph had published the Book of Mormon and had the Church well established before Rigdon appeared. He did not need Sidney to "mentor" him at all.
149
Claim
The author speculates that Sidney Rigdon "was not someone Joseph felt comfortable approaching to ask for his daughter's hand in polygamy. So Joseph appealed to the young woman directly."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
John C. Bennett (edit)
Response
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mind reading
- For a detailed response, see: John C. Bennett
149
Claim
Author's quote: "For some reason, Marinda [Johnson Hyde] stayed [in the same house as] Apostle Willard Richards, whose wife, Jennetta, was in Massachusetts….Although the two may have lived in separate parts of the building…their living arrangements seemed to be an open scandal."
Author's source(s)
- History of the Church 4:467
- Citation error Bennett, History of the Saints, 241; [Error! The correct page is 243 for the claim of scandal.]
- Ebenezer Robinson, The Return (Oct 1890): 347 [Actually most is on p. 346].
- (Did the author just copy these from Van Wagoner, Sidney Rigdon, who uses the same page numbers, rather than check the originals?
Response
- This hardly has the appearance of an "open scandal." From History of the Church:
Thursday, 2.—I received the following revelation to Nancy Marinda Hyde— Revelation.
Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have called upon me to know my will concerning my handmaid Nancy Marinda Hyde—behold it is my will that she should have a better place prepared for her, than that in which she now lives, in order that her life may be spared unto her; therefore go and say unto my servant, Ebenezer Robinson, and to my handmaid his wife—Let them open their doors and take her and her children into their house and take care of them faithfully and kindly until my servant Orson Hyde returns from his mission, or until some other provision can be made for her welfare and safety. Let them do these things and spare not, and I the Lord will bless them and heal them if they do it not grudgingly, saith the Lord God; and she shall be a blessing unto them; and let my handmaid Nancy Marinda Hyde hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph in all things whatsoever he shall teach unto her, and it shall be a blessing upon her and upon her children after her, unto her justification, saith the Lord.
154
Claim
The author claims that both Nancy Rigdon and Martha Brotherton were "isolated in a locked room during the persuasive effort."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Women locked in a room
- For a detailed response, see: John C. Bennett
155
Claim
The author refers to Joseph's visit by the Whitneys as a "liaison" with Sarah Ann.
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Whitney "love letter" (edit)
Response
- The author persists with Sarah Ann Whitney and "liaison" fiction.
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Whitney letter
- Use of sources—Letter to Whitneys
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mind reading
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Romance
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
Notes
- ↑ Richard Lloyd Anderson and Scott H. Faulring, "The Prophet Joseph Smith and His Plural Wives (Review of In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith)," FARMS Review of Books 10/2 (1998): 67–104. off-site
Further reading
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