Difference between revisions of "Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 18"

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*The minutes of a conference dealing with Sidney Rigdon discussed in Volume six of the ''History of the Church'' differs from the minutes originally printed in the ''Times and Seasons''.
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*''History of the Church'', vol. 6, 47-48.
 
*''History of the Church'', vol. 6, 47-48.
 
*''Times and Seasons'', vol. 4, 330.
 
*''Times and Seasons'', vol. 4, 330.
 
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Revision as of 23:07, 3 December 2014

  1. REDIRECTTemplate:Test3

Response to claims made in "Chapter 18: Cover-Ups, Conspiracies, and Controversies"


Claims made in "Chapter 17: Is Mormonism Christian?"
A FAIR Analysis of:
One Nation Under Gods
A work by author: Richard Abanes
 Claims made in "Postscript" (paperback only)
[T]he general public, especially outside America, still possesses little knowledge of the unsavory nature of Mormonism.
—One Nation Under Gods, p. 403.
∗       ∗       ∗

402 (PB)

Claim
  • Does the Mormon Tabernacle Choir "proselytize unsuspecting music lovers?"

Author's source(s)
  • Author's opinion.
Response

403

Claim
  •  Author's quote: "[T]he general public, especially outside America, still possesses little knowledge of the unsavory nature of Mormonism."

Author's source(s)
  • Author's opinion.
Response

403, 605n9 (PB)

Claim
  • Baptisms for the dead were performed for Nazis, including Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. Was this done so that they could "thereby become gods?"

Author's source(s)
  • Helen Radkey, "The Mormon Church Attempts to Conceal Temple Records for Adolf Hitler"
  • Jan Cienski, "Jews Urge Mormons to Curb Zeal," National Post, June 6, 2001.
Response
  • Members of the Church leave all judgment in God's hands. They are commanded to perform vicarious ordinances for all deceased persons for whom records exist. This is no way guarantees or implies Hitler's acceptance of Mormonism or forgiveness. Such matters are left to God.
  • Does the author really wish to imply, though, that even the most wicked sinner might be beyond the reach of Christ's atoning grace? The Latter-day Saints do not.
  • Temples/Baptism for the dead
  • Loaded and prejudicial language

403

Claim
  • Are baptisms for the dead incompatible with Christianity?

Author's source(s)
  • Author's opinion.
Response
  •  The author's claim is false: the Bible itself describes Christians carrying out this practice: 1 Corinthians 15:29.
  • It may not be a practice found in the author's brand of Christianity, but it has ample precedent among early believers.
  • Hugh W. Nibley, "Baptism for the Dead in Ancient Times," Improvement Era (1948, 1949), multiple. off-site
  • Temples/Baptism for the dead

404

Claim
  •  Author's quote: "It is possible that many readers of this book have had their deceased relatives baptized by proxy into Mormonism, even though such persons might not have wanted anything to do with Mormonism during their lives."

Author's source(s)
  • Author's opinion.
Response

404, 605n14 (PB)

Claim
  • Did Latter-day Saints perform vicarious baptisms for Jews who had died in the Holocast?

Author's source(s)
  • Bob Mims, "LDS Try to End Unauthorized Work for Jews," Salt Lake Tribune, May 2, 2001.
Response

405, 605n18-19 (PB)

Claim
  • Do LDS leaders suppress access to Church archives?

Author's source(s)
  • Fawn Brodie. Quoted by Newell G. Bringhurst, "Fawn McKay Brodie: Dissident Historian and Quintessential Critic of Mormondom," in Roger Launius, Linda Thatcher, Leonard J. Arrington, eds., Differing Visions: Dissenters in Mormon History, 290.
  • B. Carmon Hardy, "Truth and Mistruth in Mormon History," in Lavina Fielding Anderson and Janice Merrill Allred, eds., Case Reports of the Mormon Alliance, vol. 3, 279. (The author lists all three volumes as "available for purchase" from the Tanner's ULM.)
Response
  • Steven L. Olsen, "Is the Church Archives Closed?" (FAIR Conference, 2007). FAIR link
  • The author fails to note that Fawn Brodie worked in the 1940s, when the archives were less well-organized—her experience is irrelevant to the present-day.
  • Church history/Censorship and revision

405, 607n21 (HB) 605n21 (PB) - "LDS leaders re-write historical documents, deny that other documents exist, create fictitious historical data..."

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

 Author's quote: "LDS leaders re-write historical documents, deny that other documents exist, create fictitious historical data, add words to update old revelations so that they conform to current events/knowledge, and delete various sections of divine pronouncements said to have been transcribe perfectly when originally delivered."

Author's sources: Richard N. and Joan K. Ostling, Mormon America: The Power and the Promise, (New York:HarperCollins Publishers, 2000), 249. ( Index of claims ), summarizing the views of Mark P. Leone, Roots of Modern Mormonism, 204, 211.

FAIR's Response

Question: Has the Church "whitewashed" some of the information about its origins to appear more palatable to members and investigators?

406, 605n22 (PB) - The History of the Church was mostly written after his death, but reads as if he wrote it himself

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

The History of the Church was mostly written after his death, but reads as if he wrote it himself.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

  • This is no secret; using Joseph's authorial voice was standard practice for the day.
  • The history was completed up to 5 August 1838 under Joseph's direction (See Jesse, 466).

Contents
Overview
Accuracy of Church History
Forgeries and folklore


The History of the Church, which bears Joseph Smith’s name, was begun under his dictation and direction and completed after his death according to his instructions. The original sources used to compile the History were the Prophet’s own diaries, correspondence, and other documents. Those who may feel that the work is not a fundamental historical source because the Prophet did not personally write much of it are in error. The History, with its priceless collection of primary documents, remains the most important source of historical information on the life of Joseph Smith and early Latter-day Saint history.

—Dean C. Jessee, "I Have a Question," Ensign (July 1985)
∗       ∗       ∗

Who is the author of History of the Church?

The History of the Church, though credited to Joseph Smith, was not actually authored by him

Dean C. Jessee wrote of this question [1]:

The History of the Church, which bears Joseph Smith’s name, was begun under his dictation and direction and completed after his death according to his instructions. The original sources used to compile the History were the Prophet’s own diaries, correspondence, and other documents. Those who may feel that the work is not a fundamental historical source because the Prophet did not personally write much of it are in error. The History, with its priceless collection of primary documents, remains the most important source of historical information on the life of Joseph Smith and early Latter-day Saint history.

The work presents the teachings and activities of the Prophet with a remarkable degree of accuracy. A look at how it was produced, and at the concepts that governed historical writing at that time, helps tell us the nature of the history.

Production of the history

Continued Jessee:

Among the difficulties encountered by Joseph Smith was his own lack of formal literary education. He wrote that it took the exertions of all his father’s family to sustain themselves, “therefore we were deprived of the benefit of an education. … I was merely instructed in reading, writing and the ground rules of arithmetic, which constituted my whole literary acquirements.” [2] Throughout his life the Prophet seemed to be concerned with his lack of literary training. In his extant correspondence he refers to his “lack of fluency in address,” his limited “ability in conveying my ideas in writing,” and “the imperfections of my writing.” [3]

The Prophet thus relied on others to write for him. More than two dozen clerks are known to have assisted him in a secretarial capacity. Of these, nine left the Church (typical of the challenges of those years), and four others died while engaged in important writing assignments.

A major inhibition of efforts to keep a record was the persecution the Prophet and the Church experienced. During the years in which the history was being written, the Latter-day Saints moved or were driven across two-thirds of the North American continent. Such unstable conditions resulted in the loss of some records and affected the accuracy of many of those that were preserved. In addition, the Prophet endured lawsuits and repeated arrests that took his attention from the history.

When Willard Richards took over the duties of Church historian in December 1842, a mere 157 pages of a work that eventually numbered 2,000 pages had been written.

On 1 March 1842, publication of the history in serial form commenced in the Nauvoo newspaper Times and Seasons. By 27 June 1844, the date of Joseph Smith’s death, the manuscript had been completed only to 5 August 1838 and published to December 1831. However, important source material had been preserved for completing the history. Shortly before his death, the Prophet wrote: “For the last three years I have a record of all my acts and proceedings, for I have kept several good, faithful, and efficient clerks in constant employ: they have accompanied me everywhere, and carefully kept my history, and they have written down what I have done, where I have been, and what I have said.” [4] Some have indicated that, prior to his death, the Prophet reviewed most of what his clerks had written.

While in Carthage Jail shortly before his death, Joseph Smith instructed the Church historian, Willard Richards, who was there with him, to continue the history. [5] This Elder Richards did, and for the next decade he was the custodian of the records and the architect of the history. After Joseph Smith’s death, work on the history continued, even as the Saints prepared to leave Nauvoo for the Rocky Mountains. With the addition of 674 pages to the manuscript, nearly as much work was done on the history in the period between the Prophet’s death and the departure of the Saints from Nauvoo as had been done in the preceding years.

At the time the records of the Church were packed at Nauvoo for the journey west in February 1846, Willard Richards had compiled the history to 1 March 1843. But in the disruptive years that followed, he was never able to complete that work. After Brother Richards’s death in 1854, George A. Smith and Wilford Woodruff continued work on the history. To assure accuracy, every effort was made to collect information. Late in 1845, for instance, an epistle to the Saints urged all who knew of “any fact, circumstance, incident, event, or transaction” that should be in the history to please report it. [6]

Finally, in August 1856, eighteen years after the history was begun, the work was completed to the death of Joseph Smith. The entire manuscript had been read in the hearing of the First Presidency and other witnesses for a general appraisal.

The History of the Church

Modern standards of history writing were not always observed in earlier time periods. For example, some are surprised to learn at the six-volume History of the Church has portions which were written as if Joseph Smith had written the words, when in fact the original documents were written by others.

Is this an attempt at dishonesty?

The common nineteenth-century format of writing was chosen by Joseph Smith, who directed his clerks to write a first person

Historian Dean Jessee described the differences between historical writing as practiced by a modern writer, and those practices in place in Joseph Smith's day:

Since none of the manuscript of the history is in Joseph Smith’s handwriting, and apparently not much of the text was actually dictated by him, why did those employed on the work write in first person, as though the Prophet himself were writing? That common nineteenth-century format was chosen by Joseph Smith, who directed his clerks to write a first person, daily narrative based upon diaries kept by himself and his clerks. In addition, since Joseph Smith’s diary did not provide an unbroken narrative of his life, the compilers of the history were to bridge gaps by using other sources (diaries, Church periodicals, minute and record books of Church and civic organizations, letters and documents kept on file, and news of current world happenings), changing indirect discourse to direct as if Joseph Smith had done the writing himself. Not uncommon according to the editorial practices of the day, this method of supplying missing detail had the effect of providing a smooth-flowing, connected narrative of events.

Many examples from other works of the period show that this was the historical standard of the time. Nineteenth-century American methods of historical writing and editing were very different from those of today. In 1837, for example, Jared Sparks—regarded as “the first great compiler of national records”—edited in twelve volumes the Writings of George Washington. When his work was later compared with original manuscripts, it was found that he had rewritten portions of letters, deleted or altered offensive passages, and changed irregularities in style and awkward modes of expression.

In his review of historical editing in the United States, Lyman E. Butterfield has noted that changing text and creating text faithful to the ideas of the writer were not uncommon in early years, and that seldom were original texts left to speak for themselves. [7] The History of the Church was written in the general literary and historical climate of its time.

New Testament parallels

Jessee noted that this 19th century approach to historiography matches more ancient practices, such as those used by some Biblical authors:

New Testament writers apparently used a similar method in writing the Gospels. One Bible commentary records that Matthew and Luke borrowed from Mark (Interpreter’s Bible, 7:235–36) and omitted or altered what seemed to be critical of the Apostles. For example, Mark records that James and John came to the Savior and asked that he give them whatsoever they desired; whereupon, the Savior heard their plea that each might sit by his side when he came in glory. (Mark 10:35–37.) When Matthew recorded the event, he said that it was the mother of James and John who desired this privilege for her sons (Matt. 20:20–21.) This difference in recording the circumstances, presumably to place the Apostles in a better light, does not destroy the credibility of the Savior’s mission, nor may we believe that there was dishonesty in making the change.

Challenges with direct citation

Jessee cautions:

One of the challenges facing those who compiled the history was that of presenting the Prophet’s sermons and teachings. Since none of Joseph’s clerks had mastered shorthand during his lifetime, reports of what he said were made longhand. Many of these were smooth-flowing, well-connected summaries and were copied into the history almost as recorded. In some instances, however, it was necessary to reconstruct an address from brief notes and disconnected ideas. George A. Smith’s editorial work was careful, and when he was finished, each discourse was read to members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, some of whom had also heard the original address. Their input proved invaluable. These measures no doubt guaranteed the doctrinal accuracy of such reporting of Joseph Smith’s discourses, but the result obviously would not reflect his personality and speaking style as accurately as a verbatim report would have done.

An analysis of the History reveals those portions obtained from material written personally by Joseph Smith. These clearly reflect his loving and warm spirit. For example, the following is an entry from the History stemming from a portion of Joseph Smith’s 1835 diary written by himself:

“September 23. I was at home writing blessings for my most beloved brethren, but was hindered by a multitude of visitors. The Lord has blessed our souls this day, and may God grant to continue His mercies unto my house this night, for Christ’s sake. This day my soul has desired the salvation of Brother Ezra Thayer. Also Brother Noah Packard came to my house and loaned the committee one thousand dollars to assist building the house of the Lord. Oh! may God bless him a hundred fold, even of the things of the earth, for this righteous act. My heart is full of desire today, to be blessed of the God of Abraham with prosperity, until I shall be able to pay all my debts, for it is the delight of my soul to be honest. O Lord, that thou knowest right well. Help me, and I will give to the poor.” [8]

Is History of the Church not accurate because Joseph Smith did not write it himself?

The content of the History of the Church is likely largely accurate

Dean C. Jessee noted:

The History will continue to be the most important source of information on the life of the Prophet and early Latter-day Saint history. Since the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve—some of whom were participants in the historical events—reviewed the history, it is reliable. It should be known that the revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants are also recorded in the History of the Church and most assuredly are true and reliable.

It is important to realize that the content of the History of the Church is likely largely accurate, though it can of course be supplemented with other material to expand or correct it. Areas which may be less accurate are the precise wording attributed to Joseph Smith, or the 'personality' of some of the entries, especially the later ones written after his death. Though the History of the Church speaks in the first person as if Joseph were writing, these words are put in his mouth by admirers, often after his martyrdom. Thus, small details of Joseph's "personality" in the History are less likely to be accurate.

Related article:History of the Church as the "most correct" history?
Summary: Quote mining of Doctrines of Salvation about the History of the Church being "the most correct" of any history.


Source(s) of the criticism
Critical sources


Notes

  1. ↑ Text is from Dean C. Jessee, "I have heard that Joseph Smith didn't actually write his history—that it was prepared by clerks under his direction. If so, how reliable is it?," Ensign (July 1985): 15. off-site; headings and additional material have been added as noted.
  2. ↑ Joseph Smith (“Autobiography,” 1832), Kirtland Letter Book, p. 1, manuscript.
  3. ↑ Letters to Moses Nickerson, 19 November 1833; to Emma Smith, 6 June 1832, original in the Chicago Historical Society, Chicago, Ill.; and to Emma Smith, 21 March 1839.
  4. ↑ Joseph Smith address, 26 May 1844, reported by Thomas Bullock; published in Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 6:409. Volume 6 link
  5. ↑ George A. Smith to Wilford Woodruff, 21 April 1856.
  6. ↑ Manuscript History of the Church, 16 November 1845.
  7. ↑ L. H. Butterfield and Julian Boyd, Historical Editing in the United States (Worcester, Mass.: American Antiquarian Society, 1963), 19, 24–25.
  8. ↑ History of the Church, 2:281. Volume 2 link

406 - Was writing the History of the Church as if Joseph himself wrote it a "flagrant breach of standard protocol for persons producing historical works" as the book claims?

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Was writing the History of the Church as if Joseph himself wrote it a "flagrant breach of standard protocol for persons producing historical works" as the book claims?

Author's sources: No citation provided.

FAIR's Response

  •  The author's claim is false: using Joseph's authorial voice was standard practice for the day.
  • The Jesse article cited above by the author demonstrates that no effort was made to hide who had written the history.
  • Presentism

406, 608n23 (HB) 606n23 (PB) - Was a "forged prediction" added to the history that a "mighty people" that would dwell "in the midst of the Rocky Mountains"?

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Was a "forged prediction" added to the history that a "mighty people" that would dwell "in the midst of the Rocky Mountains"?

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response
Articles about Joseph Smith
Life and Character
Youth
Revelations and the Church
Prophetic Statements
Society
Plural marriage (polygamy)
Death

Question: Did Joseph Smith make "forged predictions" and add them retroactively to the history of the Church that a "mighty people" that would dwell "in the midst of the Rocky Mountains"?

To accept a "forgery" theory, we must accept that all of the people listed who remembered Joseph speaking about the Rocky Mountains were lying or fabricating their experience

Furthermore, we must also accept that Joseph was sending explorers to the west with no real expectation of moving, and the discussion of heading west by both members and enemies was all idle talk.

Furthermore, the mention of moving to the west is often incidental—Church leaders mention the matter as if many of their hearers from Nauvoo would recall it. No great effort is made to establish the truth of the matter; it is presumed to be too obvious to require much demonstration.

The source of the prophecy account

The prophecy source is the biography of Anson Call, in August 1842. The relevant section reads as follows:

"A block schoolhouse had been prepared with shade in front, under which was a barrel of ice water. Judge Adams, the highest Masonic authority in the State of Illinois, had been sent there to organize this lodge. He, Hyrum Smith and J. C. Bennett, being high Masons, went into the house to perform some ceremonies which the others were not entitled to witness. These, including Joseph Smith, remained under the bowery. Joseph as he was tasting the cold water, warned the brethren not to be too free with it. With the tumbler still in his hand, he prophesied that the Saints would yet go to the Rocky Mountains, and said he, 'This water tastes much like that of the crystal streams that are running from the snow-capped mountains. I had before seen him in a vision, and now saw, while he was talking, his countenance change to white, not the deadly white of a bloodless face, but a living, brilliant white. He seemed absorbed in gazing upon something at a great distance and said, "I am gazing upon the valleys of those mountains."

I had before seen him [Joseph Smith] in a vision [i.e., while seeing or reporting a divine vision or revelation], and now saw while he was talking his countenance change to white; not the deadly white of a bloodless face, but a living brilliant white. He seemed absorbed in gazing at something at a great distance, and said: "I am gazing upon the valleys of those mountains." This was followed by a vivid description of the scenery of these mountains, as I have since become acquainted with it. Pointing to Shadrach Roundy and others, he said: "There are some men here who shall do a great work in that land." Pointing to me, he said, "There is Anson, he shall go and shall assist in building up cities from one end of the country to the other, and you, rather extending the idea to all those he had spoken of, shall perform as great a work as has been done by man, so that the nations of the earth shall be astonished, and many of them will be gathered in that land and assist in building cities and temples, and Israel shall be made to rejoice."

It is impossible to represent in words this scene which is still vivid in my mind, of the grandeur of Joseph's appearance, his beautiful descriptions of this land, and his wonderful prophetic utterances as they emanated from the glorious inspirations that overshadowed him. There was a force and power in his exclamations of which the following is but a faint echo: "Oh the beauty of those snow-capped mountains! The cool refreshing streams that are running down through those mountain gorges!" Then gazing in another direction, as if there was a change in locality: "Oh the scenes that this people will pass through! The dead that will lay between here and there." Then turning in another direction as if the scene had again changed: "Oh the apostasy that will take place before my brethren reach that land! But," he continued, "The priesthood shall prevail over its enemies, triumph over the devil and be established upon the earth, never more to be thrown down!" He then charged us with great force and power, to be faithful to those things that had been and should be committed to our charge, with the promise of all the blessings that the Priesthood could bestow. "Remember these things and treasure them up. Amen." [1]

Thus, the accusation must be not only that the Church decided to "forge" a prophecy by Joseph, but that Anson Call did as well. Can we assess how likely these claims are?

It could be, of course, that Anson Call forged his account, and all the Church leaders and members lied about remembering Joseph speak about the matter. But why then appeal to "many of you" remembering Joseph speaking about it? Why not claim it was a private, secret teaching given to the apostles—for, they certainly also reported these. If the claim was fraudulent, why risk exposure?

Or, the story could have started after the Saints reached the valley, and simply grown in the telling with members "remembering" the story as it was retold to them. But, the contemporary evidence would seem to argue against this, and witnesses often mentioned how struck they were by Joseph's remarks. They also described him discussing this idea in a variety of setting, which argues against an accumulated "folklore."

It is strange to see critics argue that Joseph would not prophesy about this—in their view, Joseph was always larding his ideas with prophetic pronouncement. And, is it any stretch to think that he would say that the people would grow "mighty" there. Would even a false prophet or charlatan tell his beleaguered followers that they were going into the wilderness to become weak and oppressed?

The simplest explanation seems to be that Joseph discussed moving to the west several times, and likely prophesied about it. Too many witnesses would have to collude or self-deceive for it to have no basis in fact. Whether the story grew in the telling, of course, is difficult to determine.

None of this, to be sure, proves that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. But, to claim that the account of him discussing and even prophesying a move to the west rests on nothing but "forgery" is to distort and ignore too many sources, from too broad a time period, over what is essentially a peripheral issue.

How have less friendly historians treated this prophecy?

We have seen that believing historians such as B. H. Roberts or Orson F. Whitney would be likely to accept this claim. How have less friendly historians treated it?

Hubert Howe Bancroft opined that "In 1842 an expedition had been planned to explore the country toward or beyond the Rocky Mountains; but when Joseph Smith put himself forward as a candidate for the presidency of the United States, all other matters were for the time forgotten." [2] Thus, Bancroft saw the move west as one long contemplated.

D. Michael Quinn, whose work has been repeatedly cited by the author of the critical work One Nation Under Gods, includes this in his Church timeline without comment or qualification, even using the date traditionally ascribed it in the History of the Church:[3]

6 Aug [1842]. While attending a Masonic ceremony Smith prophesies that Mormons would settle in the Rocky Mountains.[4]

Historian Dale Morgan, certainly not an LDS apologist or propagandist, wrote to a private correspondent who seemed to share the author's views of this account:

it is my understanding from reading controversial works involving the Reorganized Church that you have combatted the idea that Joseph Smith ever intended leading the Mormons out of the Mississippi Valley to the West, and that you tend to regard proofs advanced by the L.D.S. church as being revisions of original history to serve the propagandic purposes of this church. This is a matter to which I have given especial attention, and in the work on the Mormons that I have conceived, I believe I shall be able to demolish once and for all any argument that Joseph Smith did not entertain this purpose.

My materials have been drawn in some part, though by no means wholly, from the L.D.S. archives here, but I do not think historians of the Reorganized Church will seriously question my findings when I am enabled to publish them. I cannot speak so authoritatively about the authenticity of the Rocky Mountains prophecy, but I am by no means disposed to doubt it, in view of what I have learned about Smith's purposes in the winter of 1844. I cannot undertake to discuss the whole subject at length here, so for the present I must content myself with assuring you that the statements in the Utah Guide about the proposal to migrate to the Rocky Mountains have a firm factual foundation, and I will publish the proofs in due course.[5]

Thus, Morgan thought it clear that Joseph Smith had intended to go to the Rockies with the Saints, and felt it plausible that Joseph had made a prophecy to that effect. Thus, whatever the facts, it seems unlikely that a crude "forgery" is at work.

Many other Church members later wrote about Joseph's discussion of the Rocky Mountains area

Before the Nauvoo Expositor incident, Benjamin F. Johnson said,

...the Prophet had foreshadowed the close of his own earthly mission, and the near approach of the time when the Saints in tribulation would find a place of refuge in the far-off vales of the Rocky Mountains, which has already taken place; and also relating still to the future, when a path will be opened for the Saints through Mexico, South America, and to the center Stake of Zion.

These, and many more great things were given by him, some of which, as with the ancient disciples, we could not comprehend until fulfilled....It was now revealed to the Prophet that his only safety was in flight to the Rocky Mountains, and he crossed the river with a few faithful friends with a full purpose not to return.[6]

"These things did not come upon us unexpectedly," observed Wandle Mace,

--at least to those who were watching the signs of the times--the Prophet Joseph had told us that many of us would live to go the "Rocky Mountains', and there become a mighty people, therefore we were looking forward to this time. Some of us was afraid we would not have time to finish the [Nauvoo] temple before these things came upon us, they were coming so fast.[7]

Samuel W. Richards remembered being assigned by Joseph to "explore the Rocky Mountains with 23 other men to find a place where the Church could be established." [8]

In 1864, Brigham Young remembered:

In the days of Joseph we have sat many hours at a time conversing about this very country. Joseph has often said, "If I were only in the Rocky Mountains with a hundred faithful men, I would then be happy, and ask no odds of mobocrats." And neither do I.[9]

In 1880, Orson Pratt asked:

Was it upon our own natural judgment [that we came to the valley]? No; we founded our expectation upon that which God had spoken in the modern revelations which He had given to us as a people. He told us, by revelation, before our prophet was martyred, that we would have to leave the United States: go beyond the Rocky Mountains, and seek our home in the wilderness, and that we would have a great people gather with us.[10]

John Taylor spoke of Joseph's frequent mention of this idea:

Many a time have I listened to the voice of our beloved Prophet, while in council, dwell on this subject [the removal of the Saints to the Rocky Mountains] with delight; his eyes sparkling with animation, and his soul fired with the inspiration of the Spirit of the living God. It was a theme that caused the bosoms of all who were privileged to listen, to thrill with delight; intimately connected with this, were themes upon which prophets, patriarchs, priests and kings dwelt with pleasure and delight: of them they prophesied, sung, wrote, spoke and desired to see, but died without the sight. My spirit glows with sacred fire while I reflect upon these scenes, and I say, O Lord, hasten the day! [11]

As is often the case, Mosiah Hancock confirmed Joseph's Rocky Mountain destination in an off-hand manner:

Before the Prophet spoke from the frame [in his last speech before Carthage], he had started to go to the rocky mountains, and went as far a Montrose; but through the interference of some pretended friends, he returned. I was a witness to these things--and when the Prophet spoke from the frame, he spoke with power, and the people loved him.[12]

Some of these later witnesses discussed the matter under different circumstances, which strongly suggests that this was no "secret" teaching of the prophet's, but well noised about. For example, Bathsheba W. Smith remembered:

Joseph, the Prophet, said we would come to the Rocky Mountains, and he had a company of young men selected to hunt a location for a home for the Saints. Samuel Richards was one of that company. I heard of it when we were in Illinois, and I remember an old lady coming in and talking to mother about what Joseph, the Prophet, had said that we would be in the Rocky Mountains sometime. I said I would like the time to come soon, I would like to get away from our enemies. She gave me a right good scolding, saying it was terrible to think of going to the Rocky Mountains.[13]

Rachel Grant remembered that "It tried a great many people when the Prophet gave out the word that there was to be no more gathering at Nauvoo, as the people thought that was the place. He first told them to gather there, but later told them the Rocky Mountains would be the gathering place. It was his thought that they would come to the Rocky Mountains." [14]

Rudger Clawson's diary described a talk he heard:

Patriarch Jas. H. Leathead bore an interesting testimony. Said that he was a resident of [p.613] Nauvoo in the early days of the church and filled the position of drummer boy in the Nauvoo band. Said that he was present and heard the Prophet Joseph Smith predict that the saints would move to the Rocky Mountains.[15]

Wilford Woodruff reported the earliest account of Joseph's teaching on the west. He recorded one of his own addresses on 5 October 1884:

spok 10 M, & gave an Account of the first testimony of the Prophet Joseph in kirtland Aprail 1834 of filling the Rocky Mountains with the Saints of God.[16]

Woodruff would also copy Philo Dibble's record of Joseph's last address to the Nauvoo legion, noting that "Broth J Jaques this Book is W Woodruffs private Historical Book. I wish you to take special care of it yourself until I call for it. I wish you to copy last pages in red ink & file in the office as it is the Last Address of Joseph Smith before his death [from Philo Dibble] and I think we have no Copy of it in the office. The Book itself I wish locked up." [17]

Confirmatory witnesses

Other members also mentioned their own spiritual experiences about the west. Wilford Woodruff recalled that

When in the western country, many years ago, before we came to the Rocky Mountains, I had a dream. I dreamed of being in these mountains, and of seeing a large fine looking temple erected in one of these valleys which was built of cut granite stone, I saw that temple dedicated, and I attended the dedicatory services, and I saw a good many men that are living today in the midst of this people.[18]

The same or a similar account was also noted by L. John Nuttall on 7 October 1891 at a meeting

Over fifty years ago, while in Boston, he [Woodruff]...dreamed that the Saints migrated to the Rocky Mountains, built a Temple and dedicated it; that at the dedicatory services Elders were set apart to go among the Gentile nations to bind the law and seal the testimony.[19]

Other evidence from Joseph's lifetime

There is other evidence recorded during Joseph's lifetime that lends plausibility to the account given by Call and others.

For example, Elder Jonathan Dunham was sent to explore the western countries, and was "most probably prospecting a possible trail and locating resting places for the Saints when engaged in a great westward movement." [20] Why else would Joseph send Dunham—whom he later trusted to head the Nauvoo Legion during his final days before being taken to Carthage—on such a long and difficult journey, given all the pressing difficulties which remained in Nauvoo? As one author noted, "During the Council of Fifty's first meetings in March and April 1844, the Mormon prophet urged the exploration of the American West. In this region the Saints would make a settlement and raise "a standard and ensign of truth for the nations of the earth." [21]

Members of the Council of Fifty believed, in "a retrospective statement on Smith's purposes" according to William Clayton, that when Joseph

crossed the Mississippi River intending to go to the Rocky Mountains. Several hours before his departure, he asked his followers to make a sixteen-foot emblematic flag "for the nations," apparently hoping to take a Mormon, scripture-fulfilling banner with him on his journey. However after less than a day on the Iowa side of the river, he returned to Nauvoo and began his fateful journey to Carthage. The day prior to Smith's death, not fully understanding his danger, Nauvoo citizens responded to his earlier wish and began preparation of a flag of white cloth. The flag, said one of the Saints later, was not intended for Nauvoo. Smith undoubtedly meant the banner to be a tangible symbol of a restored latter-day Kingdom in the mountainous West.[22]

In a related vein, Lorenzo Snow later remembered that

On the 20th of February, 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith instructed the Twelve Apostles to send a delegation and make explorations in Oregon and California, and seek a good location to which we can remove after the Temple is completed, and "where we can build a city in a day, and have a government of our own....Previous to this, the Prophet had remarked to me that he anticipated moving to the Rocky Mountains with all his family, where he could live in peace and worship God unmolested. But other scenes and prospects awaited us.[23]

There is also a Times and Seasons newspaper account of a conference held on November 1, 1842 in Kirtland, Ohio by LDS missionaries. Reporting on their success, one wrote:

One woman, who at the commencement of the conference declared herself good enough without re baptism, has now come forward before the close and says that she would go to the Rocky Mountains if Joseph said so....[24]

This might be a mere figure of speech, i.e., such as "to the moon and back if Joseph said so." On the other hand, it may be that Joseph's thoughts about the west were beginning to percolate among the Saints and even their enemies, so it can hardly have been much of a secret. Oliver Olney, an apostate member who was supporting John C. Bennett, wrote a letter to Joseph Smith on the matter on 20 July 1842:

"They say with your numerous wifes and maidens you are about to start west as far as the Rocky Mountains where you will raise up a Righteous Branch without being molested by the Laws of the Land." Olney later noted that the Saints "are fast a fixing to go West where they can live in peace without being molested By the laws of the land. They say soon to start If what I hear is correct as far West as Origen Territory and establish a stake of Zion." [25]

As we have seen above, there are accounts of Joseph discussing the matter at least as early as 1834.

Source(s) of the criticism
Critical sources


Notes

  1. ↑ Tullidge's Histories, Vol I. History of Northern Utah, and Southern Idaho.--Biographical Supplement, p. 271. See History of the Church, 5:85, note. note Volume 5 link; Orson F. Whitney, Conference Report (April 1916), 66-67.
  2. ↑ Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of Utah, 1540-1886, 198.
  3. ↑ The History of the Church note by B.H. Roberts says of this matter: "While in Tullidge's biography of Call the date is given as the 14th of July, 1843, evidently an error. There is no entry in the Prophet's journal for the 8th of August, 1842, and the entries for the 8th of August, 1843, and the 14th of July, 1843, relate to matters of quite a different character. Tullidge, in relating Anson Call's recollection of the incident also says that J. C. Bennett was present on the occasion, which must also be an error, as the rupture between Bennett and the Church and its authorities occurred and he had left Nauvoo previous to the 6th of August, 1842. In the Call statement as published by Tullidge, the name of Mr. Adams, the Deputy Grand Master Mason in charge of the ceremonies, is given as George, it should be James."
  4. ↑ D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power (Signature Books, 1994), 635.
  5. ↑ Dale Morgan to S.A. Burgess, "Dear Mr. Burgess" (1 July 1842); citing in John Phillip Walker, editor, Dale Morgan on Early Mormonism: Correspondence and a New History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1986), 38. (emphasis added)
  6. ↑ Autobiography of Benjamin F. Johnson, from My Life's Review (Independence, MO: Zion's Printing and Publishing Co., 1947), 101.
  7. ↑ Autobiography of Wandle Mace, 188–189.
  8. ↑ Samuel W. Richards, cited in Autobiography and Diary Excerpts of Anthony W. Ivins (8 October 1905); compare similar story recorded by Diary Excerpts of Thomas A. Clawson, 1904-1906 Bk, p. 350 (Aug 6, 1906).
  9. ↑ Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 11:16.
  10. ↑ Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses 21:274.
  11. ↑ B.H. Roberts, The Life of John Taylor, 179–180.
  12. ↑ Autobiography of Mosiah Lyman Hancock, 28.
  13. ↑ Bathsheba W. Smith, Young Woman's Journal 16 (1905): 549-58
  14. ↑ Rachel Ridgeway Grant, Young Woman's Journal 16 (1905): 549-58
  15. ↑ Larson, Diaries of Rudger Clawson, 612–613.
  16. ↑ Wilford Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 9 vols., ed., Scott G. Kenny (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1985), 8:279. ISBN 0941214133.
  17. ↑ Wilford Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 9 vols., ed., Scott G. Kenny (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1985), 8:appendix (journal entry dated 24 November 1878). ISBN 0941214133.
  18. ↑ Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses 21:299.
  19. ↑ L. John Nuttall Papers, Letter Press Book #4, 285.
  20. ↑ History of the Church, 5:xxviii. Volume 5 link
  21. ↑ Ronald W. Walker, "'A Banner is Unfurled': Mormonism's Ensign Peak," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26 no. 4, 72.
  22. ↑ Walker, 72-73; citing Council Meeting, 26 Feb. 1847, Thomas Bullock minutes, LDS Archives.
  23. ↑ Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, 76.
  24. ↑ John P. Green, "Kirtland, October 28, 1842," Times and Seasons 4 no. 3 (15 December 1842), 39. off-site GospeLink
  25. ↑ Marvin S. Hill, Quest for Refuge, 120; citing Olney papers, #15 and #30.

406, 606n23 (PB)

Claim
  • Was a "forged prediction" added to the history of the Church regarding the future political career of Senator Steven (sic) A. Douglas?"
  • (Note: Should be "Stephen" A. Douglas)

Author's source(s)
  • History of the Church, vol. 5, 85, 393-394, 398.
  • No other citation is given to support this claim.
Response
  •  The author's claim is false: in fact, the prediction was published more than a year before Douglas' attack on the Church; this was well-before his aspirations to the U.S. presidency or fall in political fortunes.
  • Timing of Stephen A. Douglas prophecy

407, 606n26 (PB)

Claim
  • Were over 62,000 words were added or deleted from the history of the Church?
  • The endnote adds that LDS leaders claim that the "official history" is not "the most accurate history in all the world."

Author's source(s)
  • John Widtsoe, Joseph Smith-Seeker After Truth, 297.
  • Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, 199.
Response

407 - The minutes of a conference dealing with Sidney Rigdon discussed in Volume six of the History of the Church differs from the minutes originally printed in the Times and Seasons

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

The minutes of a conference dealing with Sidney Rigdon discussed in Volume six of the History of the Church differs from the minutes originally printed in the Times and Seasons.

Author's sources:
  • History of the Church, vol. 6, 47-48.
  • Times and Seasons, vol. 4, 330.

FAIR's Response

  1. REDIRECTAlleged whitewashing of Church history

408, 608n28 (HB) 606n28 (PB)

Claim
  • Were Joseph's revelations revised to make them "more palatable?"

Author's source(s)
  • Hugh Nibley, letter to Morris L. Reynolds, May 12, 1966. Quoted in Jerald Tanner and Sandra Tanner, Case Against Mormonism (Salt Lake City: ULM, 1967), vol. 1, 132.
Response

408, 607n33 (PB)

Claim
  • Did the Church attempt to suppress a copy of the Book of Commandments that was locked in the vault?

Author's source(s)
  • Tanner and Tanner, Major Problems of Mormonism, 135.
Response

412

Claim
  • Is "academic dishonesty foisted upon church members by LDS scholars" as the book claims?

Author's source(s)
  • No source provided.
Response

412

Claim
  •  Author's quote: "Mormonism has been an emotion-based religion opposed to intellectual, rational thought."

Author's source(s)
  • Author's opinion.
Response
  • Many Mormons seem to have been able to use "intellectual, rational thought" to demonstrate the many errors, distortions, and misstatements in this work attacking their faith.
  • LDS testimonies involve both mind and heart.
  • Members of the Church become more active and committed to their faith as their degree of education increases: Education and belief. This does not prove the Church true, but it does put the lie to claims that members are ill-informed, uneducated, or ignorant.
  • Loaded and prejudicial language

412

Claim
  • Why are Latter-day Saints supposed to only rely on the "burning in the bosom" even if they are "faced with irrefutable facts that undermine the LDS church?"

Author's source(s)
  • Author's opinion.
Response

412, 609n34 (HB) 607n34 (PB)

Claim
  • Are Latter-day Saints instructed to "simply not think and obey church authorities?"
  • The endnote states that this message was never officially rescinded by the Church.

Author's source(s)
  • "Ward Teachers Message," Deseret News, May 26, 1945, 5.
  • Improvement Era, June 1945, 354.
Response
  • Actually, President George Albert Smith immediately repudiated this message:

Even to imply that members of the Church are not to do their own thinking is grossly to misrepresent the true ideal of the Church, which is that every individual must obtain for himself a testimony of the truth of the Gospel, must, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, work out his own salvation, and is personally responsible to His Maker for his individual acts.


413-414, 609-610n39 (HB) 607n39 (PB)

Claim
  • Did Ezra Taft Benson's talk about "Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet" speech eliminate the possibility of Latter-day Saints exercising independent thought?

Author's source(s)
  • Ezra Taft Benson, "Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet," February 26, 1980.
Response

414, 610n42 (HB) 608n42 (PB)

Claim
  • Steve Benson said "When the prophet has spoken, the debate is over."

Author's source(s)
  • Steve Benson, 60 Minutes, April 7, 1996.
Response
  • The original claim that "the thinking is done" was made once in a church magazine, and the president of the Church immediately declared it to be false. Anti-Mormons continue to invoke it.
  • N. Eldon Tanner did say the following in 1979 regarding moral issues:

Why should there be any debate over the moral issues which are confounding the world today? When the prophet speaks the debate is over. ("The Debate is Over", Ensign, August 1979} (emphasis added)


415, 608-609n43-57 (PB)

Claim
  • Did the Church excommunicate a number of "dissidents?"

Author's source(s)
  • Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Mormon Inquisition?" LDS Leaders Move to Repress Rebellion," Salt Lake City Messenger (#85), November 1993.
  • Lavina Fielding Anderson, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Spring 1993), vol. 26.
  • Paul Toscano, "All Is Not Well in Zion: Falsoe Teachings of the True Church" (1993), Sunstone Symposium lecture.
  • Maxine Hanks, Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism.
  • D. Michael Quinn, "On Being a Mormon Historian (and Its Aftermath)," in George D. Smith, Faithful History: Essays On Writing Mormon History, 76 (endnote #22 in Quinn).
  • Boyd K. Packer, "The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect", August, 22, 1981.
  • Boyd K. Packer, Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled, 106.
  • Boyd K. Packer. Quoted in Salt Lake Tribune, September 20, 1993.
  • Private Eye Weekly, Oct. 20, 1993. Quoted in Tanner and Tanner, "Mormon Inquisition?", 9.
  • Bryan Waterman and Brian Kagel, The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at BYU.
  • David P. Wright, "In Plain Terms that We May Understand: Joseph Smith's Transformation of Hebrews in Alma 12-13" in Brent Metcalfe, ed., New Approaches to the Book of Mormon, 207.
Response

418, 611n58 (HB) 609n58 (PB)

Claim
  • Did President Hinckley say that "dissidents" that were excommunicated got what they deserved "as cursed servants of Satan?" President Hinckley said:

"I think the Lord had them in mind when he declared: 'Cursed are all those that shall life up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord.'...[T]hey are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves."

Author's source(s)

  • Gordon B. Hinckley, "Prophet Pre-eminently Grateful for Testimony," LDS Church News, April 8, 2000.

Response


418, 611n59-60 (HB) 609n59-60 (PB)

Claim
  • Is the "Strengthening Church Members Committee" is a group used to spy on members of the Church?

Author's source(s)
  • Richard N. and Joan K. Ostling, Mormon America: The Power and the Promise, (New York:HarperCollins Publishers, 2000), 354. ( Index of claims )
  • Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormon Spies, Hughes, and the C.I.A.
  • Peggy Fletcher Stack, "Feminist BYU Professor Fired, but Not Discredited," Salt Lake Tribune, June 8, 1996.
Response

419

Claim
  • Why did the 1997 Relief Society manual make it sound as if Brigham Young only had one wife and six children?

Author's source(s)
  • 1997 Relief Society manual.
Response

420, 611n63 (HB) 609n63 (PB)

Claim
  • Did Gordon B. Hinckley try to cover up the Church's polygamous past when he appeared on Larry King Live and said that only two to five percent of the early LDS practiced it?

Author's source(s)
  • Larry King Live
Response
  • The author is assuming motive, and presuming that President Hinckley knew that his figure was wrong.
  • The calculated incidence of polygamy varies depending on one's assumptions. The 2-5% figure is true if all polygamous males are divided by total members, but this is probably not the best measure to use.
  • Polygamy/Prevalence of in Utah

420, 612n68-71 (HB) 610n68-71 (PB)

Claim
  • Does the Book of Mormon claim that Native Americans will miraculously turn "white-skinned" by accepting "Mormon beliefs?" *Didn't Brigham Young and Spencer W. Kimball say that they would become "white and delightsome?"

Author's source(s)
  • 2 Nephi 5꞉21
  • Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 7:336.
  • Spencer W. Kimball, Improvement Era, December 1960, 922-923. Qjuoted in Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson, "Pure and Delightsome," Mormonism Researched, Spring 1994, 5.
Response

422, 612n75 (HB) 610n75 (PB)

Claim
  • Did the Church acquire the Hofmann documents (later disovered to be forgeries) in order to suppress them?

Author's source(s)
  • Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Hofmann Talks," Salt Lake City Messenger (#64), January 1987, 7.
Response

424

Claim
  • Did LDS officials hinder the Hofmann investigation by not providing information about the Hofmann document acquisitions?

Author's source(s)
  • No source given.
Response

424

Claim
  •  Author's quote: "Mormon leaders also blocked efforts by police to see exactly what documents were in LDS church vaults, apparently knowing that some of their authentic documents not yet released to the public might further damage the church's reputation if the contents of them were to be revealed."

Author's source(s)
  • This is pure conjecture on the part of the author.
Response

424, 610n77

Claim
  • According to the Tanners, Richard Turley's book Victims: The LDS Church and the Mark Hofmann Case "shows that Mormon Church leaders were engaged in a conspiracy of silence with regard to the McLellin collection to save the church's image."

Author's source(s)
  • Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Mormon Leaders suppress 'Key' Item in Murder Case," Salt Lake City Messenger (#83), November 1992, 3-4.
Response

424, 612n78 (HB) 610n78 (PB)

Claim
  • Should LDS leaders have been capable of detecting the Hofmann deception?

Author's source(s)
  • Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 197.
  • DC 46꞉27
Response
  •  The author's claim is false: LDS doctrine is very clear that prophets will not always know deception when they see it. For it to be otherwise would be to threaten moral agency. Said the Lord to Joseph Smith: "as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world concerning the matter" (DC 10꞉37).
  • Use of sources: Church leaders will always know deception

427

Claim
  •  Author's quote: "The Mormon habit of sometimes taking detours around truth to protect the church has not always led to murder."

Author's source(s)
  • Author's statement.
Response

428, n85

Claim
  • Paul H. Dunn defended his embellishments in order to "illustrate his theological and moral points."

Author's source(s)
  • Richard Robertson, Arizona Republic, February 16, 1991, B9.
Response
  • Paul H. Dunn was disciplined by the Church, and required to apologize for his actions.
  • This demonstrates that the Church does not endorse or support Dunn's choices. His decision to justify himself is immaterial. Ought we to judge Jesus and his teachings by the choices of one of his apostles, Judas?

430-433

Claim
  • Was the Salt Lake Olympic bribery scandal the fault of the Church?

Author's source(s)
  • Various citations regarding the scandal.
Response
  • It is not clear what the actions of these individuals, despite the fact that some were LDS, has to do with the Church itself. Do we condemn other Christian faiths simply because their ministers may be found guilty of sex scandals, financial impropriety, or child abuse? Or, do we conclude that not all members of a faith live up to its precepts?
  • The author ignores that a Church member, Mitt Romney, was hired to "clean up" the games and eventually stage a successful Olympics.
  • Logical fallacies: guilt by association

434, 614n117-127

Claim
  • Do Latter-day Saints believe they will rescue the Constitution from ruin, thus allowing "Mormonism" to take over the world?

Author's source(s)
  • Joseph F. Smith, conference Report, October 1912, 11.
  • Melvin J. Ballard, Conference Report, October 1928, 108.
  • Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1946, 171.
  • Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference REport, April 1950, 159.
  • Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1952, 18.
  • Senator Wallace F. Bennett, BYU Speeches, February 15, 1961, 13.
  • Dr. Ernest L. Wilinson, BYU speeches, April 21, 1966, 7.
  • Ezra Taft Benson, "Jesus Christ-Gifts and Expectations," New Era, May 1975, 19.
  • Ezra Taft Benson, Teaching of Ezra Taft Benson, 619.
  • Daniel H. Ludlow, ed. Selections from Encyclopedia of Mormonism, "The Church and Society," 122.
  • "Weatherman's politics cloud his role on TV," Seattle Times, November 24, 2000, 2.
Response

Further reading

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