FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Difference between revisions of "Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Nauvoo Polygamy/Chapter 1"
(→32–33: sp) |
(format) |
||
Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
| | | | ||
====1==== | ====1==== | ||
− | ||Louisa Beaman "was about to become the first plural wife of Joseph Smith." | + | || |
+ | *The author claims that Louisa Beaman "was about to become the first plural wife of Joseph Smith." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author ignores the Hancock testimony of a marriage ceremony with Fanny Alger. | *The author ignores the Hancock testimony of a marriage ceremony with Fanny Alger. | ||
Line 25: | Line 26: | ||
====1n1==== | ====1n1==== | ||
− | || | + | || |
+ | *The author dismisses a marriage with Fanny Alder by simply stating that "[t]here is some evidence that Smith might have engaged in the practice prior to this, but this is the first documented marriage." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author ignores the Hancock testimony of a marriage ceremony with Fanny Alger. | *The author ignores the Hancock testimony of a marriage ceremony with Fanny Alger. | ||
Line 38: | Line 40: | ||
====1==== | ====1==== | ||
− | ||"Had romance blossomed between her and the charismatic...prophet"? | + | || |
+ | *{{AuthorQuote|"Had romance blossomed between her and the charismatic...prophet"?}} | ||
|| | || | ||
* The author implies that romance was a commonly expressed reason for women practicing plural marriage with Joseph. | * The author implies that romance was a commonly expressed reason for women practicing plural marriage with Joseph. | ||
Line 51: | Line 54: | ||
====1==== | ====1==== | ||
− | ||Joseph age 35, | + | || |
+ | *It is noted that Joseph is age 35, while Louisa was 26. | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages. | *The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages. | ||
Line 63: | Line 67: | ||
====2==== | ====2==== | ||
− | ||Nauvoo "a bustling Mississippi River town with several thousand inhabitants." | + | || |
+ | *The author claims that Nauvoo was "a bustling Mississippi River town with several thousand inhabitants." | ||
|| | || | ||
*{{InternalContradiction|p. xv: Nauvoo was "a more or less insignificant river town". Yet, Nauvoo was ultimately largest city in the entire state except for Chicago.{{ref|p2fn2}}}} | *{{InternalContradiction|p. xv: Nauvoo was "a more or less insignificant river town". Yet, Nauvoo was ultimately largest city in the entire state except for Chicago.{{ref|p2fn2}}}} | ||
Line 81: | Line 86: | ||
====2==== | ====2==== | ||
− | |||
|| | || | ||
− | * The author leaves unmentioned that many Christians have | + | It is claimed that "[n]o one knew precisely when the final end would come, but they knew it was imminent." |
+ | || | ||
+ | * The author leaves unmentioned that many Christians have always seen the end as imminent, and that Joseph's view was more restrained and pragmatic than most of the sects of the day. See: {{BYUS | author=Richard Lloyd Anderson | article=Joseph Smith and the Millenarian Time Table|vol=3|num=3|date=1961|start=55|end=66 }} {{link|url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/Shop/PDFSRC/3.3-4Anderson.pdf}} | ||
|| | || | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
− | |||
====2==== | ====2==== | ||
− | ||"With an acquisitive eye on neighboring lands and the will to triumph over older settlers through political bloc voting, Joseph's behavior concerned some of the longtime Illinoisans who lived around the Saints." | + | || |
+ | *{{AuthorQuote|"With an acquisitive eye on neighboring lands and the will to triumph over older settlers through political bloc voting, Joseph's behavior concerned some of the longtime Illinoisans who lived around the Saints."}} | ||
|| | || | ||
* [[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | * [[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | ||
Line 109: | Line 115: | ||
====2==== | ====2==== | ||
− | ||"Now fear of [the Mormons'] city-wide militia, use of local petitions of habeas corpus to dismiss state warrants, and rumors of a 'plurality of wives' had put citizens on edge." | + | || |
+ | *"Now fear of [the Mormons'] city-wide militia, use of local petitions of habeas corpus to dismiss state warrants, and rumors of a 'plurality of wives' had put citizens on edge." | ||
|| | || | ||
* The author fails to tell us that | * The author fails to tell us that | ||
Line 125: | Line 132: | ||
====2==== | ====2==== | ||
− | || | + | || |
+ | *The author implies that Latter-day Saints had left their homes in New York "under uneasy circumstances." | ||
|| | || | ||
* It is not clear what "uneasy circumstances" the author refers to. The Mormons were not driven from New York, but immigrated to Kirtland, Ohio at Joseph's direction. | * It is not clear what "uneasy circumstances" the author refers to. The Mormons were not driven from New York, but immigrated to Kirtland, Ohio at Joseph's direction. | ||
Line 134: | Line 142: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
− | |||
====3==== | ====3==== | ||
− | || | + | || |
+ | *The author suggests that plural marriage "was central to the broad sweep of LDS experience..." | ||
|| | || | ||
*Polygamy was unpracticed by anyone but Joseph Smith prior to Nauvoo. Polygamy had nothing to do with Mormons moving from New York. The need to flee Missouri likewise had little to do with plural marriage. Joseph's marriage to Fanny Alger was one factor among many causing problems in Ohio (though the financial problems and collapse of the [[Kirtland Safety Society]] were probably more significant). | *Polygamy was unpracticed by anyone but Joseph Smith prior to Nauvoo. Polygamy had nothing to do with Mormons moving from New York. The need to flee Missouri likewise had little to do with plural marriage. Joseph's marriage to Fanny Alger was one factor among many causing problems in Ohio (though the financial problems and collapse of the [[Kirtland Safety Society]] were probably more significant). | ||
Line 146: | Line 154: | ||
| | | | ||
====3==== | ====3==== | ||
− | || | + | || |
+ | *It is claimed that plural marriage was illegal in 1841 when Joseph married Louisa Beaman. | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Joseph Smith and polygamy#Illegal?|Joseph Smith and polygamy—Illegal?]] | *[[Joseph Smith and polygamy#Illegal?|Joseph Smith and polygamy—Illegal?]] | ||
Line 154: | Line 163: | ||
| | | | ||
====3-4==== | ====3-4==== | ||
− | ||Joseph "chose some thirty three men...who would join him in denying its practice." | + | || |
+ | *The author claims that Joseph "chose some thirty three men...who would join him in denying its practice." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Joseph Smith and polygamy#Hiding the Truth?|Joseph Smith and polygamy—Hiding the truth?]] | *[[Joseph Smith and polygamy#Hiding the Truth?|Joseph Smith and polygamy—Hiding the truth?]] | ||
Line 164: | Line 174: | ||
====4==== | ====4==== | ||
− | ||The inner circle of plural marriage "would lose one of its key members in 1842 when John C. Bennett quarreled with Smith and then left." | + | || |
+ | *The inner circle of plural marriage "would lose one of its key members in 1842 when John C. Bennett quarreled with Smith and then left." | ||
|| | || | ||
*There is no evidence that Bennett was ever sanctioned to practice plural marriage. He was never part of the Quorum of the Anointed who received the full temple endowment. | *There is no evidence that Bennett was ever sanctioned to practice plural marriage. He was never part of the Quorum of the Anointed who received the full temple endowment. | ||
Line 175: | Line 186: | ||
====5==== | ====5==== | ||
− | || | + | || |
+ | *The author considers it remarkable that Joseph's involvement in polygamy was "largely excised from the official telling of LDS history." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Censorship and revision of LDS history]] | *[[Censorship and revision of LDS history]] | ||
Line 186: | Line 198: | ||
====5==== | ====5==== | ||
− | ||that Danel Bachman and Ron Esplin's Encyclopedia of Mormonism entry on plural marriage briefly mention[s] the | + | || |
+ | *The author claims that Danel Bachman and Ron Esplin's Encyclopedia of Mormonism entry on plural marriage only "briefly mention[s] the 'rumors' of plural marriage in the 1830s and 1840s but only obliquely refer[s] to the teaching [of] new marriage and family arrangements." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[../../Use of sources#Items "briefly" and "obliquely" mentioned?|Items "briefly" and "obliquely" mentioned?]] | *[[../../Use of sources#Items "briefly" and "obliquely" mentioned?|Items "briefly" and "obliquely" mentioned?]] | ||
Line 195: | Line 208: | ||
| | | | ||
<!--====5==== | <!--====5==== | ||
− | || | + | || |
+ | *{{AuthorQuote|"Such revisionism continues today. When asked about polygamy on national television in 1998 LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley dismissed its historical importance, positing that 'when our people came west [in 1846-47], they permitted [polygamy] on a restricted scale.' He failed to acknowledge how important the 'law of celestial marriage' had been for the church's founder and his followers. Particularly revealing was how the church president phrased his answer to exclude the entire pre-Utah period of church history. He made it clear he would not welcome any probing into the life of Joseph Smith and his wives or of Smith's requirement that others embrace the practice."}} | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author does not explain why what President Hinckley would "not welcome" had any influence on a non-LDS journalist. Does Smith think that such an interview is the time for an accurate, in-depth discussion of a subject as complex as LDS plural marriage?{{nw}} | *The author does not explain why what President Hinckley would "not welcome" had any influence on a non-LDS journalist. Does Smith think that such an interview is the time for an accurate, in-depth discussion of a subject as complex as LDS plural marriage?{{nw}} | ||
Line 208: | Line 222: | ||
====6==== | ====6==== | ||
− | || | + | || |
+ | *It is claimed that Joseph revealed "God's rule" that "no one can reject [polygamy] and enter into my glory" (D&C 132, 51, 52, 54). | ||
+ | || | ||
*The actual text reads: "I reveal unto you a <u>'''new and an everlasting covenant'''</u>; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory." Plural marriage was at times a manifestation of the new and everlasting covenant, but even during the polygamous era leaders were clear that one did not necessarily have to practice polygamy to be saved. | *The actual text reads: "I reveal unto you a <u>'''new and an everlasting covenant'''</u>; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory." Plural marriage was at times a manifestation of the new and everlasting covenant, but even during the polygamous era leaders were clear that one did not necessarily have to practice polygamy to be saved. | ||
* [[Polygamy a requirement for exaltation]] | * [[Polygamy a requirement for exaltation]] | ||
Line 219: | Line 235: | ||
====6==== | ====6==== | ||
− | ||Joseph predicted | + | || |
+ | *It is claimed that Joseph predicted that the Second Coming would occur in 1890. | ||
|| | || | ||
* The author does not provide Joseph's careful caveats about his prediction, and his admitted uncertainties surrounding this issue. | * The author does not provide Joseph's careful caveats about his prediction, and his admitted uncertainties surrounding this issue. | ||
Line 232: | Line 249: | ||
| | | | ||
====7==== | ====7==== | ||
− | ||" | + | || |
+ | *It is claimed that Joseph "was familiar with nineteenth century writer Thomas Dick..." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Was Joseph Smith's theology influenced by the writings of Thomas Dick?]] | *[[Was Joseph Smith's theology influenced by the writings of Thomas Dick?]] | ||
Line 242: | Line 260: | ||
| | | | ||
====7==== | ====7==== | ||
− | ||Joseph "had already proven his own mettle among God's elect when he mastered the use of magic stones and 'translated' the Book of Mormon." | + | || |
+ | *The author states that Joseph "had already proven his own mettle among God's elect when he mastered the use of magic stones and 'translated' the Book of Mormon." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[Joseph Smith and seer stones]] | *[[Joseph Smith and seer stones]] | ||
Line 253: | Line 272: | ||
| | | | ||
====8==== | ====8==== | ||
− | ||Joseph's dispensationalism had many past antecedents | + | || |
+ | *It is claimed that Joseph's "dispensationalism had many past antecedents." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author here presumes that past dispensationalism had an influence on Joseph. This must be proved, not assumed. | *The author here presumes that past dispensationalism had an influence on Joseph. This must be proved, not assumed. | ||
Line 264: | Line 284: | ||
====9==== | ====9==== | ||
− | ||"Joseph preached [apocalyptically] as regularly as any other apocalyptic preacher of his day…." | + | || |
+ | *"Joseph preached [apocalyptically] as regularly as any other apocalyptic preacher of his day…." | ||
|| | || | ||
*How does The author know this? How frequently did other preachers use apocalyptic imagery and themes? Was their percentage of such uses equal to or greater than Joseph's usage? | *How does The author know this? How frequently did other preachers use apocalyptic imagery and themes? Was their percentage of such uses equal to or greater than Joseph's usage? | ||
Line 275: | Line 296: | ||
====9==== | ====9==== | ||
− | ||" | + | || |
+ | *The author speculates that Joseph was "understandably hesitant to specify a precise date for the end of the world," but that he knew that "our redemption draweth near." | ||
+ | || | ||
*The source is referring to the redemption of the Saints in Missouri and their deliverance from persecution. The quote has nothing to do with the "end of the world." | *The source is referring to the redemption of the Saints in Missouri and their deliverance from persecution. The quote has nothing to do with the "end of the world." | ||
*[[../../Use of sources#Missouri Saints' "redemption draweth near" reinterpreted to refer to refer to the "end of the world?"|Missouri Saints' "redemption draweth near" reinterpreted to refer to refer to the "end of the world?"]] | *[[../../Use of sources#Missouri Saints' "redemption draweth near" reinterpreted to refer to refer to the "end of the world?"|Missouri Saints' "redemption draweth near" reinterpreted to refer to refer to the "end of the world?"]] | ||
Line 284: | Line 307: | ||
| | | | ||
====10==== | ====10==== | ||
− | ||On Joshua the Jewish minister [Robert Matthews]: "Smith found him credible enough to converse with from 11:00 a.m. until evening when Smith invited him to stay for dinner." "Without objection from Smith, Matthias asserted: 'The silence spoken of by John the Revelator…is between 1830 & 1851…." | + | || |
+ | *On Joshua the Jewish minister [Robert Matthews]: "Smith found him credible enough to converse with from 11:00 a.m. until evening when Smith invited him to stay for dinner." "Without objection from Smith, Matthias asserted: 'The silence spoken of by John the Revelator…is between 1830 & 1851…." | ||
|| | || | ||
*[[../../Use of sources#"Without objection from Smith...?|"Without objection from Smith...?]] | *[[../../Use of sources#"Without objection from Smith...?|"Without objection from Smith...?]] | ||
Line 312: | Line 336: | ||
====12==== | ====12==== | ||
− | ||Polygamy was evidently on Smith's mind even before founding the Mormon Church, if that can be deduced from the marriage formula inscribed in the Book of Mormon. | + | || |
+ | *{{AuthorQuote|Polygamy was evidently on Smith's mind even before founding the Mormon Church, if that can be deduced from the marriage formula inscribed in the Book of Mormon.}} | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author assumes that the Book of Mormon reflects Joseph's mind and preoccupations. If Joseph was the translator, it may not. | *The author assumes that the Book of Mormon reflects Joseph's mind and preoccupations. If Joseph was the translator, it may not. | ||
Line 323: | Line 348: | ||
| | | | ||
====12==== | ====12==== | ||
− | |||
|| | || | ||
− | *''Nauvoo Polygamy'' reminds us that Joseph and Emma eloped whenever their marriage is discussed. Perhaps this is intended to demonstrate Joseph's disregard for authority or propriety in all romantic matters. | + | *Yet again the author mentions "elopement," when he notes that the Book of Mormon was "…begun shortly after he eloped with Emma Hale in January 1827." |
+ | || | ||
+ | *''Nauvoo Polygamy'' reminds us that Joseph and Emma eloped ''whenever'' their marriage is discussed. Perhaps this is intended to demonstrate Joseph's disregard for authority or propriety in all romantic matters. | ||
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | *[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | ||
|| | || | ||
Line 334: | Line 360: | ||
====12==== | ====12==== | ||
− | ||Joseph " | + | || |
+ | *Joseph is claimed to have performed a "ritualized five-year search for the gold plates…" | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author assumes that Joseph's acquisition was ritualized, and he presumes that the "magick" thesis is correct in this instance.|| | *The author assumes that Joseph's acquisition was ritualized, and he presumes that the "magick" thesis is correct in this instance.|| | ||
Line 346: | Line 373: | ||
| | | | ||
====12==== | ====12==== | ||
− | ||" | + | || |
+ | *It is notes that "[e]ach year at the autumnal equinox, which according to rodsmen and seers was a favourable time to approach the spirits guarding buried treasures, Smith had gone to the hill where he sought after the plates. | ||
|| | || | ||
* The author presumes that the "magick" thesis is correct in this instance. He ignores the ''religious'' significance of this date: | * The author presumes that the "magick" thesis is correct in this instance. He ignores the ''religious'' significance of this date: | ||
Line 359: | Line 387: | ||
====12n29==== | ====12n29==== | ||
− | ||" | + | || |
+ | *Quoting D. Micheal Quin, it is noted that "that day in September 1823 was ruled by Jupiter, Smith's ruling planet…" | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author ignores the many problems which have been pointed out with Quinn's "magick" argument. Chief among these is that (as even Quinn admits), "according to the standard contemporary interpretations of astrology, Joseph was born under Saturn, not Jupiter." Quinn's only source for this claim is an 1870 book which used an alternative means of performing such calculation. Joseph can hardly have been aware of a method outlined nearly 50 years later.{{ref|hamblin1}} The present author acknowledges or treats none of these issues. | *The author ignores the many problems which have been pointed out with Quinn's "magick" argument. Chief among these is that (as even Quinn admits), "according to the standard contemporary interpretations of astrology, Joseph was born under Saturn, not Jupiter." Quinn's only source for this claim is an 1870 book which used an alternative means of performing such calculation. Joseph can hardly have been aware of a method outlined nearly 50 years later.{{ref|hamblin1}} The present author acknowledges or treats none of these issues. | ||
Line 373: | Line 402: | ||
====13==== | ====13==== | ||
− | ||Oliver Cowdery said Joseph wanted to "commune with some kind of messenger." | + | || |
+ | *Oliver Cowdery is claimed to have said that Joseph wanted to "commune with some kind of messenger." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The quote is incorrect. The correct phrase is "some kind messenger." | *The quote is incorrect. The correct phrase is "some kind messenger." | ||
Line 387: | Line 417: | ||
====13==== | ====13==== | ||
− | ||Oliver Cowdery said Joseph "had heard of the power of enchantment, and a thousand like stories, which held the hidden treasures of the earth." | + | || |
+ | *Oliver Cowdery said Joseph "had heard of the power of enchantment, and a thousand like stories, which held the hidden treasures of the earth." | ||
|| | || | ||
*The phrase is removed from context to emphasize the words "enchantment" and "treasures of the earth." | *The phrase is removed from context to emphasize the words "enchantment" and "treasures of the earth." | ||
Line 401: | Line 432: | ||
| | | | ||
====13-14==== | ====13-14==== | ||
− | ||"Smith elaborated this idea to 'raise up seed' [in Jacob 2:30] with the signal might [sic] be given again and polygamy would be re-introduced…. | + | || |
+ | *{{AuthorQuote|"Smith elaborated this idea to 'raise up seed' [in Jacob 2:30] with the signal might [sic] be given again and polygamy would be re-introduced….}} | ||
|| | || | ||
*The author again presumes that Joseph is the author of the Book of Mormon. | *The author again presumes that Joseph is the author of the Book of Mormon. |
Revision as of 23:59, 14 March 2009
Preface | A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: George D. Smith
|
Chapter 2 |
Claims made in Chapter 1
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
|
Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
1n1 |
|
|
Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
1 |
|
|
Womanizing & romance (edit) |
1 |
|
|
Ages of wives (edit) |
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
It is claimed that "[n]o one knew precisely when the final end would come, but they knew it was imminent." |
|
|
2 |
|
Bloc voting (edit) See NOTE on bloc voting | |
2 |
|
|
Nauvoo city charter (edit) |
2 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
| |
3-4 |
|
Hiding polygamy (edit) | |
4 |
|
|
John C. Bennett (edit) |
5 |
|
Censorship of Church History (edit) | |
5 |
|
| |
6 |
|
|
Necessary for salvation? (edit) |
6 |
|
|
Predicting 2nd Coming (edit) |
7 |
|
Environmental explanations (edit) | |
7 |
|
| |
8 |
|
|
Environmental explanations (edit) |
9 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
Predicting 2nd Coming (edit) |
10 |
|
| |
11 |
|
| |
11 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
12 |
|
|
Emma and Joseph Eloped (edit) |
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12n29 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
13-14 |
|
|
Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
14 |
[In 1831 Joseph] "sanctioned the first breach in marriage mores. It occurred in Smith's charge to missionaries to the Indians when he told single and married men alike that they should marry native women. Polygamy may have been on his mind…." |
|
|
14 |
…W.W. Phelps reported on the prophet's instructions in all their antebellum racism. Through intermarriage, Smith said, the Indians would become white, delightsome, and just" and fulfill the Book of Mormon prophecy that 'the scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white [pure] and delightsome people." |
|
|
14n34 |
The 1840 Book of Mormon substituted the word 'pure' for 'white,' although the wording reverted back to "white" again in the English 1841 and later foreign editions, then became 'pure' again in 1981. |
|
|
14n34 |
Even so, other passages in the Book of Mormon still refer to 'white' as 'delightsome' and a 'skin of blackness' as a 'curse' (2 Ne. 5; Jacob 3:5, 8-10; Alma 3-6-9; 3 Ne. 2:14-15; Morm. 5:15). |
|
|
14n34 |
Skin color was important in other LDS scriptures as well, and blacks of African ancestry were denied full participation in the church until 1978. |
|
|
14n34 |
"Interestingly, the rhetoric underlying the theology may have resulted from 1830s Mormons trying to convince their neighbors in the slave state of Missouri that they were not abolitionists." |
|
|
15 |
Ezra Booth…[claimed] the expressed goal of the mission as being to secure a "matrimonial alliance with the natives." However, the missionaries did not seem successful in this area. Booth is probably wrong; the accounts say Joseph didn't explain the plural marriage issue until 3 years later, so married men could hardly be out looking for Indian wives in 1831. |
| |
15 |
"One wonders when Emma Smith might have first suspected that her husband was contemplating plural marriage…As Emma regarded her handsome spouse, what in Joseph's youthful experiences may have suggested the unusual family arrangements that were to follow?" |
|
|
15 |
"We know Joseph often stayed overnight on visits with other families. Was Emma aware that later marriages would develop out of these family visits among their close friends? Could she have seen this coming—the injunction to enter into 'celestial marriage'?" |
|
|
15-16 |
"An examination of Smith's adolescence from his personal writings reveals some patterns and events that might be significant in understanding what precipitated his polygamous inclination." |
Or, it might not. As it turns out, it isn't.
|
Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
16-20 |
"The vices and follies of youth…." |
|
Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
19-20 |
William Stafford…remembered "Joseph…looking in his glass" and seeing "spirits…clothed in ancient dress" standing guard over treasures." |
The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems.
|
|
20 |
"Joseph cut 'a sheep's throat [and] led [it] around a circle while bleeding," his former acquaintances remembered, to appease the evil spirit." |
The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. |
|
20 |
Joseph 'professed to tell people's fortunes' by gazing at a 'stone which he used to put in his hat,'…." |
The author is here using the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits uncritically, without addressing their numerous problems. |
|
21 |
"In a March 1, 1842 letter to John Wentworth…he left out any reference to the sinful thoughts he had previously mentioned. He had come effectively to de-emphasize the feelings of sin and guilt he had once experienced." |
The author again presumes that Joseph's works referred to "sinful thoughts," which he has tried to tie to chastity.
|
Womanizing & romance (edit) |
21 |
"Despite his ambiguity on these points, there is every indication that he took an interest in polygamy at an early period, beyond what we read in his autobiographies or in the Book of Mormon." |
|
Womanizing & romance (edit) |
21 |
"What was new about this [1838] account [of Moroni's visit] was that this time the 1823 angelic announcement was preceded by an 1820 'First Vision,' which included not just 'personages' or 'angels' but a visitation by the God of heaven—'The Father and The Son.'" |
| |
22 |
Lucy said, "in the course of our evening conversation[,] Joseph would give us some of the most ammusing [sic in Smith] recitals…[and] describe the ancient inhabitants of this [American] continent their dress their manner of traveling the animals which they rode." |
| |
22 |
"There is nothing in Lucy's account about women, wives, or early struggles with chastity…." |
|
Womanizing & romance (edit) |
22 |
"…that same year [1832], [Joseph] had famously become involved with a sixteen-year-old carpenter's daughter named Fanny Alger, who eventually moved into the Smith home in about 1835." |
|
Fanny Alger (edit) Ages of wives (edit) |
22 |
"Emma never indicated that her husband had told her anything specifically about his experiences prior to their marriage or the details of his involvement with other women, although she did know about Fanny Alger." |
|
Fanny Alger (edit) |
22 |
"…it must have been a fascinating courtship, conducted as it was among unseen spirits and Joseph's unsettling conversations with angels." |
|
|
22 |
"Joseph and Emma had been bound by treasure magic from their first meeting in 1825, because Joseph…[came] to help Josiah Stowell located buried treasure [and] boarded with Emma's father." |
|
|
22 |
"It was in a mysterious atmosphere of imaginative lore and a mix of theology and magic that Joseph and Emma eloped." |
|
|
23 |
"The treasure seeker presented himself as someone who had special knowledge that was beyond the woman's ken." |
|
|
25 |
"What Joseph failed to explain in this [1838] version [of his history of money digging] was the apparent continuum from treasure seeking to finding gold plates or the similar modus operandi in placing a 'seer stone' in a hat…" |
|
|
25 |
"It is also true that Joseph's career in money digging was much more extensive than he intimated in his 1838 narrative." |
|
|
25 |
Bainbridge "glass-looking" appearance is called "a trial" |
|
|
27 |
Isaac Hale not being allowed to look at the plates was a "clumsy subterfuge." |
| |
28 |
"Joseph's personal charisma was working its effect where he needed to rely on others for help. He elicited sympathy and created a sense of urgency; his enterprises bore a strange significance." |
|
|
28 |
"A talisman he is said to have worn while digging carried this inscription: 'Confirm O god thy strength in us so that neither the adversary nor any Evil thing may cause us to fail.'" |
|
|
28 |
"If his wife shared in his sense of triumph [for getting the plates], she was nevertheless forbidden to see the plates herself." |
|
|
28 |
"Married life was not easy. In fact, it was riddled with doubts, rumors, and deception from the start." |
|
|
28 |
"…Joseph was haunted by the suspicion, which followed him from place to place, that he crossed moral boundaries in his friendship with other women." |
|
|
28-29 |
Joseph had an affair with Eliza Winters in 1828 |
This hostile report is belied by other primary documents. |
Eliza Winters (edit) |
29 |
"When Emma's mother, Elizabeth Hale, was asked about this [the purported seduction of Eliza Winters] in an interview forty-six years later, she declined to comment. Whatever she might have known went with her to the grave in February 1842…." |
|
Eliza Winters (edit) |
29 |
"In the revelation [D&C 132] Emma was promised annihilation if she failed to 'abide this commandment.'" |
|
|
29 |
"Curiously enough, the revelation [D&C 132] did not invoke the Book of Mormon's justification for taking more wives—the call to raise a righteous seed." |
|
Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit) |
29 |
"The same year he married Emma…Joseph also probably had met Louisa Beaman, then only twelve years old." |
|
Ages of wives (edit) |
29 |
[Joseph's] "relationships in Ohio with various families and their daughters—some quite youthful at the time—allowed him to invite the young women into his further confidence when they were older." |
|
Ages of wives (edit) |
30 |
"In most cases, the women were adolescents or in their twenties when he met the. About ten were pre-teens, others already thirty or above." |
|
Ages of wives (edit) |
30 |
"Whitney's daughter Sarah Ann would become one of Joseph Smith's wives, although at the time [1831] she was only five years old." |
|
Ages of wives (edit) |
31 |
Mary Elizabeth Rollings was "an excitable and impressionable young woman…at age thirteen…had interpreted words spoken in tongues…." |
|
Ages of wives (edit) |
31 |
"It was eleven years after the Smiths roomed with the Whitneys that Joseph expressed a romantic interest in their daughter, as well." |
|
Whitney "love letter" (edit) Womanizing & romance (edit) |
31 |
"Another future wife, Marinda Johnson, was fifteen when she met Smith in Ohio. She said when he looked into her eyes, she felt ashamed. At the time, the Smiths were living with Marinda's family…." |
|
|
32 |
"The seven-year-old daughter of Apostle Heber C. Kimball was still another future wife…When she married Smith a few years later in Nauvoo at the age of fourteen, it was with her father's encouragement." |
|
|
32–33 |
This series of events raises a few questions. What was the nature of Smith's relationships with these young women from the time he first met them? How relevant is it that in many instances he had lived under the same roof as his future wife prior to marrying her? |
|
Womanizing & romance (edit) |
33 |
Lucinda and George [Harris] lived across the street from the Smiths. At an unspecified time, but probably by 1842, Lucinda became one more of the prophet's plural wives. |
|
Lucinda Harris (edit) |
34 |
[In Illinois Joseph] "was still hunted by law officials for old offenses." |
|
|
35 |
"During the 1837 recession, Smith's unchartered bank, called the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-banking Company, collapsed. Angry Ohioans could not be repaid for loans they had made to Mormon merchants and some church members lost their savings." |
|
|
37 |
"Missourians were alarmed by the influx of Mormons…and met to decide what to do about the intrusion. Sidney Rigdon warned that if they lifted their hand against the church, they would be 'exterminated.' In response to this incendiary speech, violence erupted on both sides, and Governor Lilburn Boggs soon declared in an echo of Rigdon's rhetoric that 'the Mormons…must be exterminated,' 'treated as enemies,' and 'driven from the State if necessary' to protect 'the public peace.' |
|
|
38 |
"…Smith and fellow prisoners escaped to join their people in Illinois, where they proceeded to found a theocratic society." |
|
|
38n81 |
"Todd Compton has assembled the most complete documentation regarding Joseph and Fanny's relationship. However, I hesitate to concur with Compton's interpretation of their relationship as a marriage." |
|
Fanny Alger (edit) Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
39 |
"Joseph wrote in his journal on December 4, 1832, 'Oh, Lord, deliver thy servant out of temtations [sic] and fill his heart with wisdom and understanding.' If this was not in reference to Fanny Alger, it coincided with the report of two of Joseph's scribes, Warren Parrish and Oliver Cowdery, that Joseph had been 'found' in the hay with his housekeeper." |
|
Fanny Alger (edit) |
39 |
Parrish said Joseph and Fanny were discovered together "as a wife"… |
|
Fanny Alger (edit) |
39 |
Cowdery called it a "dirty, nasty, filthy affair." |
|
Fanny Alger (edit) |
39–41 |
William McLellin claims |
|
Fanny Alger (edit) Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
40–41 |
McLellin sometimes claims there was also a "Miss Hill." |
|
|
41–42 |
"It might be important to mention that the testimony here and elsewhere regarding "[having] Fanny Alger as a wife" employs a Victorian euphemism that should not be construed to imply that Fanny was actually married to Joseph." |
|
Fanny Alger (edit) |
42 |
"There is no evidence to corroborate the claim that Fanny was pregnant." |
|
Fanny Alger (edit) |
42–43 |
Five "primary accounts" of the Fanny relationship:
|
The author fails to mention:
These are "second hand," but so are Parrish, William, Emma, Johnson, and Fanny Brewer!
|
Fanny Alger (edit) |
44 |
"Rumors may have been circulating already as early as 1832 that Smith had been familiar with fifteen-year-old Marinda Johnson, a member of the family with which Smith lived in Ohio." |
|
Womanizing & romance (edit) |
44 |
"Lucinda Harris…[claimed] she was Joseph's 'mistress' four years before an 1842 conversation with Sarah Pratt…." |
|
Lucinda Harris (edit) |
44 n. 100 |
“Van Wagoner...and Compton...argue that the mobsters...reacted to financial shenanigans, not to indiscretions with their sister. In defense of this position, Van Wagoner and Compton point to the fact that Sidney Rigdon was also tarred and feathered that night” |
|
Womanizing & romance (edit) |
45 |
"Gary James Bergera…[argued that] 'Smith introduced members…to the ordinances of…eternal marriage (1841)…." |
|
|
44–45 |
"Civil marriage" was "an outdated marriage contract which, church members came to understand, was an inefficacious as an improper baptism." |
|
|
48 |
"In Smith's narrative, an otherworldly being Smith called 'the Lord' defends polygamy…." | ||
48-49 |
"The revelation [D&C 132] contravenes the Book of Mormon passage where polygamy is said to be allowed under certain conditions but is likely an indication of wickedness…." "However, Smith's 1843 revelation changes all this. Section 132 establishes polygamy as a virtuous higher law that is forever 'true'—no longer a time-sensitive practice." | ||
49 |
"Another revelation, almost seeming to recall Smith's teenage concerns about sinful thoughts and behavior, reiterated this standard: 'Thou shalt not commit adultery….'" |
|
Womanizing & romance (edit) |
50 |
"…in 1841, Joseph Smith and Luisa Beaman participated in the first formal ceremony to legitimize a plural coupling." |
|
Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
50 |
"…Smith engaged in even more perilous anti-social behavior by indulging in sexual relations with the daughters and wives of close friends, albeit mostly in marital and religious contexts." |
|
Ignoring Hancock autobiography (edit) |
51 |
"…LDS leaders denied violating Illinois law…." |
Hiding polygamy (edit) | |
51 |
[Today there is] "the continued abusive coercion of underage girls in polygamous communities. Although polygamy has been repeatedly condemned by the contemporary LDS Church, the Nauvoo beginnings of the practice remain in LDS scripture as Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants and in the church's temple sealings. |
|
Endnotes
- [note] Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton, The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-Day Saints, 2nd ed. (New York: Knopf : distributed by Random House/University of Illinois Press, [1979] 1992), 69. ISBN 0252062361. off-site
- [note] William J. Hamblin, "That Old Black Magic (Review of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, by D. Michael Quinn)," FARMS Review of Books 12/2 (2000): 225–394. [{{{url}}} off-site]
- [note] W.W. Phelps, Letter to Brigham Young, 1861, original in Church Archives, emphasis in original; cited by B. Carmon Hardy, Doing the Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy: Its Origin, Practice, and Demise, Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier (Norman, Okla.: Arthur H. Clark Co., 2007), 36–37.
- [note] Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Knopf, 2005), 99.
Further reading
Template code | Inserts this reference | Click to edit |
---|---|---|
{{To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition}} | To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition | edit |
{{To learn more box:''Under the Banner of Heaven''}} | To learn more about responses to: Under the Banner of Heaven | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Robert Price}} | To learn more about responses to: Robert Price | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon}} | To learn more about responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ashamed of Joseph}} | To learn more about responses to: Ashamed of Joseph | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Moser}} | To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Moser | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Parrish}} | To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Parrish | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Benjamin Park}} | To learn more about responses to: Benjamin Park | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith}} | To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon}} | To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: ''Big Love''}} | To learn more about responses to: Big Love | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Brett Metcalfe}} | To learn more about responses to: Brett Metcalfe | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bill Maher}} | To learn more about responses to: Bill Maher | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bruce H. Porter}} | To learn more about responses to: Bruce H. Porter | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Carol Wang Shutter}} | To learn more about responses to: Carol Wang Shutter | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: CES Letter}} | To learn more about responses to: CES Letter | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Charles Larson}} | To learn more about responses to: Charles Larson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Christopher Nemelka}} | To learn more about responses to: Christopher Nemelka | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Colby Townshed}} | To learn more about responses to: Colby Townshed | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Contender Ministries}} | To learn more about responses to: Contender Ministries | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Crane and Crane}} | To learn more about responses to: Crane and Crane | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: D. Michael Quinn}} | To learn more about responses to: D. Michael Quinn | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Dan Vogel}} | To learn more about responses to: Dan Vogel | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: David John Buerger}} | To learn more about responses to: David John Buerger | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: David Persuitte}} | To learn more about responses to: David Persuitte | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Denver Snuffer}} | To learn more about responses to: Denver Snuffer | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Dick Bauer}} | To learn more about responses to: Dick Bauer | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Duwayne R Anderson}} | To learn more about responses to: Duwayne R Anderson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Earl Wunderli}} | To learn more about responses to: Earl Wunderli | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ed Decker}} | To learn more about responses to: Ed Decker | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Erikson and Giesler}} | To learn more about responses to: Erikson and Giesler | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ernest Taves}} | To learn more about responses to: Ernest Taves | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Fawn Brodie}} | To learn more about responses to: Fawn Brodie | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: George D Smith}} | To learn more about responses to: George D Smith | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Grant Palmer}} | To learn more about responses to: Grant Palmer | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Hank Hanegraaff}} | To learn more about responses to: Hank Hanegraaff | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Hurlbut-Howe}} | To learn more about responses to: Hurlbut-Howe | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: James Brooke}} | To learn more about responses to: James Brooke | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: James Spencer}} | To learn more about responses to: James Spencer | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: James White}} | To learn more about responses to: James White | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner}} | To learn more about responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD}} | To learn more about responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: John Dehlin}} | To learn more about responses to: John Dehlin | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jonathan Neville}} | To learn more about responses to: Jonathan Neville | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Kurt Van Gorden}} | To learn more about responses to: Kurt Van Gorden | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Laura King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery}} | To learn more about responses to: Laura King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Loftes Tryk aka Lofte Payne}} | To learn more about responses to: Loftes Tryk aka Lofte Payne | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Luke WIlson}} | To learn more about responses to: Luke WIlson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Marquardt and Walters}} | To learn more about responses to: Marquardt and Walters | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Martha Beck}} | To learn more about responses to: Martha Beck | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Mcgregor Ministries}} | To learn more about responses to: Mcgregor Ministries | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: McKeever and Johnson}} | To learn more about responses to: McKeever and Johnson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: New Approaches}} | To learn more about responses to: New Approaches to the Book of Mormon | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard Abanes}} | To learn more about responses to: Richard Abanes | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard Van Wagoner}} | To learn more about responses to: Richard Van Wagoner | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard and Joan Ostling}} | To learn more about responses to: Richard and Joan Ostling | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Rick Grunger}} | To learn more about responses to: Rick Grunger | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Robert Ritner}} | To learn more about responses to: Robert Ritner | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Rod Meldrum}} | To learn more about responses to: Rod Meldrum | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Roger I Anderson}} | To learn more about responses to: Roger I Anderson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ronald V. Huggins}} | To learn more about responses to: Ronald V. Huggins | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Sally Denton}} | To learn more about responses to: Sally Denton | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Simon Southerton}} | To learn more about responses to: Simon Southerton | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Thomas Murphy}} | To learn more about responses to: Thomas Murphy | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Todd Compton}} | To learn more about responses to: Todd Compton | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Vernal Holley}} | To learn more about responses to: Vernal Holley | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Walter Martin}} | To learn more about responses to: Walter Martin | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Wesley Walters}} | To learn more about responses to: Wesley Walters | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Will Bagley}} | To learn more about responses to: Will Bagley | edit |