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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805, in [[Sharon, Vermont]] to [[Lucy Mack Smith]] and her husband [[Joseph Smith, Sr.|Joseph]], a merchant and farmer. | Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805, in [[Sharon, Vermont]] to [[Lucy Mack Smith]] and her husband [[Joseph Smith, Sr.|Joseph]], a merchant and farmer. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
After a crippling bone infection at age eight, the younger Smith hobbled on crutches as a child. | After a crippling bone infection at age eight, the younger Smith hobbled on crutches as a child. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
In 1816–17, the family moved to the western [[New York]] [[Palmyra (village), New York|village of Palmyra]] | In 1816–17, the family moved to the western [[New York]] [[Palmyra (village), New York|village of Palmyra]] | ||
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}} | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
and eventually took a mortgage on a 100 acre [[Smith Family Farm|farm]] in nearby [[Manchester (town), New York|Manchester town]]. | and eventually took a mortgage on a 100 acre [[Smith Family Farm|farm]] in nearby [[Manchester (town), New York|Manchester town]]. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Smith family place of residence in 1820}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Smith family place of residence in 1820}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
During the [[Second Great Awakening]], the region was a hotbed of religious enthusiasm. | During the [[Second Great Awakening]], the region was a hotbed of religious enthusiasm. | ||
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Religious revivals in 1820|First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't mention a revival}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Religious revivals in 1820|First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't mention a revival}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Although the Smith family was caught up in this excitement, | Although the Smith family was caught up in this excitement, | ||
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}} | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCITE|editor=COgden|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Smith&diff=341396046&oldid=341391231}}The citation used to support this assertion doesn't support the claim that the Smith family was caught up in "this excitement" of "religious enthusiasm," instead implying that the Smith family was associated with "divining and counterfeiting." The citation is mismatched to the assertion in the main body text. | *{{WikipediaCITE|editor=COgden|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Smith&diff=341396046&oldid=341391231}}The citation used to support this assertion doesn't support the claim that the Smith family was caught up in "this excitement" of "religious enthusiasm," instead implying that the Smith family was associated with "divining and counterfeiting." The citation is mismatched to the assertion in the main body text. | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
they disagreed about religion. | they disagreed about religion. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Joseph Smith may not have joined a church in his youth, | Joseph Smith may not have joined a church in his youth, | ||
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*See the primary source online here: [http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Historical_Magazine_(second_series)/Volume_7/May_1870/Interview_with_the_Father_of_Joseph_Smith&oldid=314358 "Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, Forty Years Ago. His Account of the Finding of the Sacred Plates", Historical Magazine [second series] 7 (May 1870): 305–09.] | *See the primary source online here: [http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Historical_Magazine_(second_series)/Volume_7/May_1870/Interview_with_the_Father_of_Joseph_Smith&oldid=314358 "Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, Forty Years Ago. His Account of the Finding of the Sacred Plates", Historical Magazine [second series] 7 (May 1870): 305–09.] | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't forbid joining a church}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't forbid joining a church}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
but he participated in church classes | but he participated in church classes | ||
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Joseph became "partial to the Methodist sect" in 1820}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Joseph became "partial to the Methodist sect" in 1820}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
and read the Bible. With his family, he took part in [[folk religion|religious folk magic]], | and read the Bible. With his family, he took part in [[folk religion|religious folk magic]], | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic}} | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
a common practice at the time. | a common practice at the time. | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic}} | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Like many people of that era, | Like many people of that era, | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic}} | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
both his parents and his maternal grandfather had visions or dreams that they believed communicated messages from God. | both his parents and his maternal grandfather had visions or dreams that they believed communicated messages from God. | ||
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/Joseph Smith, Sr.'s dream and Lehi's vision}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/Joseph Smith, Sr.'s dream and Lehi's vision}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith later said that he had his own [[Joseph Smith's First Vision|first vision]] in 1820, in which God told him his sins were forgiven | Smith later said that he had his own [[Joseph Smith's First Vision|first vision]] in 1820, in which God told him his sins were forgiven | ||
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Motivation is different}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Motivation is different}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
and that all the current churches were false. | and that all the current churches were false. | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/No reference to First Vision in 1830s publications|First Vision/No mention in non-LDS literature before 1843}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/No reference to First Vision in 1830s publications|First Vision/No mention in non-LDS literature before 1843}} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Seldom mentioned in LDS publications before 1877}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Seldom mentioned in LDS publications before 1877}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
The Smith family supplemented its meager farm income by treasure-digging, | The Smith family supplemented its meager farm income by treasure-digging, | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
likewise relatively common in contemporary [[New England]] | likewise relatively common in contemporary [[New England]] | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
though the practice was frequently condemned by clergymen and rationalists and was often illegal. | though the practice was frequently condemned by clergymen and rationalists and was often illegal. | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Joseph claimed an ability to use [[Seer stones (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]] for locating lost items and buried treasure. | Joseph claimed an ability to use [[Seer stones (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]] for locating lost items and buried treasure. | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
To do so, Smith would put a stone in a white [[stovepipe hat]] and would then see the required information in reflections given off by the stone. | To do so, Smith would put a stone in a white [[stovepipe hat]] and would then see the required information in reflections given off by the stone. | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
In 1823, while praying for forgiveness from his "gratification of many appetites," | In 1823, while praying for forgiveness from his "gratification of many appetites," | ||
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*Note that D. Michael Quinn postulates that Joseph "once made an extraordinarily candid reference to his sexual struggle from 1820 to 1823" based upon the "gratification of many appetites" quote in Joseph's 1838 account, but the account itself says nothing about a "sexual struggle." | *Note that D. Michael Quinn postulates that Joseph "once made an extraordinarily candid reference to his sexual struggle from 1820 to 1823" based upon the "gratification of many appetites" quote in Joseph's 1838 account, but the account itself says nothing about a "sexual struggle." | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith said he was visited at night by an angel named [[Angel Moroni|Moroni]], who revealed the location of a buried book of [[golden plates]] as well as other artifacts, including a [[breastplate]] and a set of [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|silver spectacles]] with lenses composed of [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]], which had been hidden in a hill near his home. | Smith said he was visited at night by an angel named [[Angel Moroni|Moroni]], who revealed the location of a buried book of [[golden plates]] as well as other artifacts, including a [[breastplate]] and a set of [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|silver spectacles]] with lenses composed of [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]], which had been hidden in a hill near his home. | ||
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*It should be noted that the hill near Joseph Smith's home was not named "Cumorah" at this point in time. The name was only applied later after the publication of the Book of Mormon. | *It should be noted that the hill near Joseph Smith's home was not named "Cumorah" at this point in time. The name was only applied later after the publication of the Book of Mormon. | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith said he attempted to remove the plates the next morning but was unsuccessful because the angel prevented him. | Smith said he attempted to remove the plates the next morning but was unsuccessful because the angel prevented him. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
During the next four years, Smith made annual visits to the hill, only to return without the plates because he claimed that he had not brought with him the right person required by the angel. | During the next four years, Smith made annual visits to the hill, only to return without the plates because he claimed that he had not brought with him the right person required by the angel. | ||
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Stories circulated of a requirement to bring Alvin to the hill to get the plates; and when he died, someone else. Emma, it was said, was designated as a key. The stories have a magical flavor, but other stories have the angel warning Joseph about greed and the evildoings of the money-diggers, as if the messenger was moving him away from his treasure-hunting ways. | Stories circulated of a requirement to bring Alvin to the hill to get the plates; and when he died, someone else. Emma, it was said, was designated as a key. The stories have a magical flavor, but other stories have the angel warning Joseph about greed and the evildoings of the money-diggers, as if the messenger was moving him away from his treasure-hunting ways. | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Meanwhile, Smith continued traveling western New York and Pennsylvania as a treasure seeker and also as a farmhand. | Meanwhile, Smith continued traveling western New York and Pennsylvania as a treasure seeker and also as a farmhand. | ||
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*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Early Smith family history/Early work as a farmhand}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Early Smith family history/Early work as a farmhand}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
In 1826, he was tried in [[Chenango County, New York|Chenango County]], New York, for "glass-looking," the crime of pretending to find lost treasure. | In 1826, he was tried in [[Chenango County, New York|Chenango County]], New York, for "glass-looking," the crime of pretending to find lost treasure. | ||
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*{{WikipediaCITE}}Joseph never claimed to have ''found'' lost treasure. He was tried for ''attempting'' to find lost treasure using a stone. | *{{WikipediaCITE}}Joseph never claimed to have ''found'' lost treasure. He was tried for ''attempting'' to find lost treasure using a stone. | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
While boarding at the Hale house in Harmony, he met [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma Hale]] and, on January 18, 1827, eloped with her because her parents disapproved of his treasure hunting. | While boarding at the Hale house in Harmony, he met [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma Hale]] and, on January 18, 1827, eloped with her because her parents disapproved of his treasure hunting. | ||
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*Joseph and Emma eloped because her father would not allow them to be married due to his disapproval of Joseph's treasure seeking activities. | *Joseph and Emma eloped because her father would not allow them to be married due to his disapproval of Joseph's treasure seeking activities. | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Claiming his stone told him that Emma was the key to obtaining the plates, | Claiming his stone told him that Emma was the key to obtaining the plates, | ||
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Emma, it was said, was designated as a key. | Emma, it was said, was designated as a key. | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith went with her to the hill on September 22, 1827. This time, he said, he retrieved the plates and placed them in a locked chest. | Smith went with her to the hill on September 22, 1827. This time, he said, he retrieved the plates and placed them in a locked chest. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
He said the angel commanded him not to show the plates to anyone else but to publish their translation, reputed to be the religious record of [[indigenous Americans]]. | He said the angel commanded him not to show the plates to anyone else but to publish their translation, reputed to be the religious record of [[indigenous Americans]]. | ||
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Relationship to Amerindians}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Relationship to Amerindians}} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Joseph later promised Emma's parents that his treasure-seeking days were behind him. | Joseph later promised Emma's parents that his treasure-seeking days were behind him. | ||
Line 461: | Line 461: | ||
# | # | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Although Smith had left his treasure hunting company, his former associates believed he had double-crossed them by taking for himself what they considered joint property. | Although Smith had left his treasure hunting company, his former associates believed he had double-crossed them by taking for himself what they considered joint property. | ||
Line 473: | Line 473: | ||
}} | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
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− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
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They ransacked places where a competing treasure-seer said the plates were hidden, | They ransacked places where a competing treasure-seer said the plates were hidden, | ||
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
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{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
− | |title= | + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> |
|claim= | |claim= | ||
and Smith soon realized that he could not accomplish the translation in Palmyra. | and Smith soon realized that he could not accomplish the translation in Palmyra. | ||
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*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation}} | ||
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==References== | ==References== |
A FairMormon Analysis of Wikipedia: "Joseph Smith" A work by a collaboration of authors (Link to Wikipedia article here)
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Founding a church (1827–30) |
The name Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. Wikipedia content is copied and made available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
The article has remarkable balance right now. Any attempts to deliberately add Mormon POV will both spark an edit war and in the end degrade the literary quality of the current article because of the difficulty of clearing the corpses from the battlefield when it concludes. Improvements in this article are more likely to come from deletions than additions.
—Editor "John Foxe," 13 January 2009 off-site
I think Smith is handled with kid gloves in this article. There needs to be more emphasis on the fraudulent means that he used to start his religion and also the emphasis on sex at the end of his life.
—Editor "John Foxe," posting using his banned sockpuppet "Hi540," 13 January 2009 off-site
Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vermont to Lucy Mack Smith and her husband Joseph, a merchant and farmer.Author's sources:
After a crippling bone infection at age eight, the younger Smith hobbled on crutches as a child.Author's sources:
In 1816–17, the family moved to the western New York village of PalmyraAuthor's sources:
and eventually took a mortgage on a 100 acre farm in nearby Manchester town.Author's sources:
During the Second Great Awakening, the region was a hotbed of religious enthusiasm.Author's sources:
Although the Smith family was caught up in this excitement,Author's sources:
they disagreed about religion.Author's sources:
Joseph Smith may not have joined a church in his youth,Author's sources:
After this, Joseph spent about two years looking into this stone, telling fortunes, where to find lost things, and where to dig for money and other hidden treasure. About this time he became concerned as to his future state of existence, and was baptized, becoming thus a member of the Baptist Church. Soon after joining the Church, he had a very singular dream; but he did not tell his father of his dream, until about a year afterwards. He then told his father that, in his dream, a very large and tall man appeared to him, dressed in an ancient suit of clothes, and the clothes were bloody.
but he participated in church classesAuthor's sources:
and read the Bible. With his family, he took part in religious folk magic,Author's sources:
a common practice at the time.Author's sources:
At this time the revivals of western New York's so-called "Burned-over District" were bringing thousands out of private folk religion and into organized churches, whose clergy opposed folk magic.
Like many people of that era,Author's sources:
Standing on the margins of instituted churches, they [the Smiths] were as susceptible to the neighbors' belief in magic as they were to the teachings of orthodox ministers.
both his parents and his maternal grandfather had visions or dreams that they believed communicated messages from God.Author's sources:
Smith later said that he had his own first vision in 1820, in which God told him his sins were forgivenAuthor's sources:
and that all the current churches were false.Author's sources:
The Smith family supplemented its meager farm income by treasure-digging,Author's sources:
Some neighbors also said that in "1819 or '20, they [the Smith family] commenced digging for money for a subsistence." Other neighbors specified that during "the spring of 1820" Joseph Jr. was extremely active in the treasure-quest.
likewise relatively common in contemporary New EnglandAuthor's sources:
though the practice was frequently condemned by clergymen and rationalists and was often illegal.Author's sources:
Joseph claimed an ability to use seer stones for locating lost items and buried treasure.Author's sources:
To do so, Smith would put a stone in a white stovepipe hat and would then see the required information in reflections given off by the stone.Author's sources:
In 1823, while praying for forgiveness from his "gratification of many appetites,"Author's sources:
Smith said he was visited at night by an angel named Moroni, who revealed the location of a buried book of golden plates as well as other artifacts, including a breastplate and a set of silver spectacles with lenses composed of seer stones, which had been hidden in a hill near his home.Author's sources:
Smith said he attempted to remove the plates the next morning but was unsuccessful because the angel prevented him.Author's sources:
During the next four years, Smith made annual visits to the hill, only to return without the plates because he claimed that he had not brought with him the right person required by the angel.Author's sources:
Stories circulated of a requirement to bring Alvin to the hill to get the plates; and when he died, someone else. Emma, it was said, was designated as a key. The stories have a magical flavor, but other stories have the angel warning Joseph about greed and the evildoings of the money-diggers, as if the messenger was moving him away from his treasure-hunting ways.
Meanwhile, Smith continued traveling western New York and Pennsylvania as a treasure seeker and also as a farmhand.Author's sources:
In 1826, he was tried in Chenango County, New York, for "glass-looking," the crime of pretending to find lost treasure.Author's sources:
While boarding at the Hale house in Harmony, he met Emma Hale and, on January 18, 1827, eloped with her because her parents disapproved of his treasure hunting.Author's sources:
Claiming his stone told him that Emma was the key to obtaining the plates,Author's sources:
Emma, it was said, was designated as a key.
Smith went with her to the hill on September 22, 1827. This time, he said, he retrieved the plates and placed them in a locked chest.Author's sources:
He said the angel commanded him not to show the plates to anyone else but to publish their translation, reputed to be the religious record of indigenous Americans.Author's sources:
Joseph later promised Emma's parents that his treasure-seeking days were behind him.Author's sources:
Although Smith had left his treasure hunting company, his former associates believed he had double-crossed them by taking for himself what they considered joint property.Author's sources:
They ransacked places where a competing treasure-seer said the plates were hidden,Author's sources:
and Smith soon realized that he could not accomplish the translation in Palmyra.Author's sources:
Wikipedia references for "Joseph Smith, Jr." |
FairMormon regularly receives queries about specific LDS-themed Wikipedia articles with requests that we somehow "fix" them. Although some individual members of FAIR may choose to edit Wikipedia articles, FairMormon as an organization does not. Controversial Wikipedia articles require constant maintenance and a significant amount of time. We prefer instead to respond to claims in the FAIR Wiki rather than fight the ongoing battle that LDS Wikipedia articles sometimes invite. From FAIR’s perspective, assertions made in LDS-themed Wikipedia articles are therefore treated just like any other critical (or, if one prefers, "anti-Mormon") work. As those articles are revised and updated, we will periodically update our reviews to match.
Editors who wish to participate in editing LDS-themed Wikipedia articles can access the project page here: Wikipedia:WikiProject Latter Day Saint movement. You are not required to be LDS in order to participate—there are a number of good non-LDS editors who have made valuable contributions to these articles.
FAIR does not advocate removing any references from Wikipedia articles. The best approach to editing Wikipedia is to locate solid references to back up your position and add them rather than attempting to remove information. Individuals who intend to edit should be aware that posting information related to the real-world identities of Wikipedia editors will result in their being banned from editing Wikipedia. Attacking editors and attempting to "out" them on Wikipedia is considered very bad form. The best approach is to treat all Wikipedia editors, whether or not you agree or disagree with their approach, with respect and civility. An argumentative approach is not constructive to achieving a positive result, and will simply result in what is called an "edit war." Unfortunately, not all Wikipedia editors exhibit good faith toward other editors (see, for example, the comment above from "Duke53" or comments within these reviews made by John Foxe's sockpuppet "Hi540," both of whom repeatedly mocked LDS beliefs and LDS editors prior to their being banned.)
Although there exist editors on Wikipedia who openly declare their affiliation with the Church, they do not control Wikipedia. Ironically, some critics of the Church periodically falsely accuse Wikipedia editors of being LDS simply because they do not accept the critics' desired spin on a particular article.
Again, the answer is no. The truth is that Wikipedia is generally self-policing. Highly contentious articles do tend to draw the most passionate supporters and critics.
Although some LDS-related Wikipedia articles may appear to have a negative tone, they are in reality quite a bit more balanced than certain critical works such as One Nation Under Gods. Although many critical editors often accuse LDS-related Wikipedia articles of being "faith promoting" or claim that they are just an extension of the Sunday School manual, this is rarely the case. Few, if any, Latter-day Saints would find Wikipedia articles to be "faith promoting." Generally, the believers think that the articles are too negative and the critics believe that the articles are too positive. LDS Wikipedia articles should be informative without being overtly faith promoting. However, most of the primary sources, including the words of Joseph Smith himself, are "faith promoting." This presents a dilemma for Wikipedia editors who want to remain neutral. The unfortunate consequence is that Joseph's words are rewritten and intermixed with contradictory sources, resulting in boring and confusing prose.
We examine selected Wikipedia articles and examine them on a "claim-by-claim" basis, with links to responses in the FairMormon Answers Wiki. Wikipedia articles are constantly evolving. As a result, the analysis of each article will be updated periodically in order to bring it more into line with the current version of the article. The latest revision date may be viewed at the top of each individual section. The process by which Wikipedia articles are reviewed is the following:
The ability to quickly and easily access literature critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been made significantly easier through the advent of the Internet. One of the primary sites that dominates search engine results is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that “anyone can edit.” Wikipedia contains a large number of articles related to Mormonism that are edited by believers, critics, and neutral parties. The reliability of information regarding the Church and its history is subject to the biases of the editors who choose to modify those articles. Even if a wiki article is thoroughly sourced, editors sometimes employ source material in a manner that supports their bias. This essay explores the dynamics behind the creation of Wikipedia articles about the Church, the role that believers and critics play in that process, and the reliability of the information produced in the resulting wiki articles.
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