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{{Main|Life of Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1827 to 1830}} | {{Main|Life of Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1827 to 1830}} | ||
− | + | {{BeginWikipediaTable|link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith,_Jr.|section=|article=Joseph Smith, Jr.}} | |
− | {{BeginWikipediaTable|link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith,_Jr.|section= | ||
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− | wife moved to | + | wife moved from Palmyra to Harmony (now [[Oakland Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania|Oakland),Pennsylvania]], |
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*{{Harvtxt|Newell|Tippetts|1994|p=2}}. | *{{Harvtxt|Newell|Tippetts|1994|p=2}}. | ||
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− | + | a move made possible with money from their well-to-do neighbor [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]]. | |
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− | *{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=55}} (Harris' money allowed Smith to pay | + | *{{Harvtxt|Walker|1986|p=35}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=55}} (Harris' money allowed Smith to pay his debts and thus allowed him to move without being arrested for evading his creditors); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=113}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|1834}}. |
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− | + | Living near his disapproving in-laws, | |
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− | *{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=56 | + | *{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=56}}. |
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− | + | Smith transcribed some of the strange "[[reformed Egyptian]]" characters he said were engraved on the plates and dictated their translations to his wife. | |
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− | *{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=56}}; {{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=19}}. | + | *{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=56}}; {{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=19}};{{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|pp=270–71}} (Smith sat behind a curtain and passed transcriptions to his wife or her brother). |
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
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− | + | Smith said that he used the "[[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]]" for this early translation, | |
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− | *{{Harvtxt| | + | *{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838|p=9}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=57}} (noting that Emma Smith said that Smith started translating with the Urim and Thummim and then eventually used his dark seer stone exclusively); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=66}}. |
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
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− | + | a term he used to refer to the silver spectacles found with the golden plates, | |
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+ | *{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838|p=4}}. | ||
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+ | ===== ===== | ||
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+ | but no witnesses said they saw Smith using such spectacles. | ||
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− | *{{ | + | *Smith may have initiated the Mormon practice of using the term ''Urim and Thummim'' to refer to one of several seer stones he used had previously used for treasure digging, "to mainstream an instrument and practice of folk magic" {{Harv|Quinn|1998|pp=175}}. |
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− | + | Many witnesses did observe Smith translating using the same or similar method that he had previously used to find buried treasure: he would gaze at a [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stone]] in the bottom of his hat, excluding all light so that he could reportedly see the translation reflecting off the stone. | |
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*{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=71–72}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|Walters|1994|pp=103–04}}; {{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|p=52–53}} (citing numerous witnesses of the translation process). | *{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=71–72}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|Walters|1994|pp=103–04}}; {{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|p=52–53}} (citing numerous witnesses of the translation process). | ||
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− | By February 1828, Smith | + | The plates themselves were not directly consulted. |
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+ | *{{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|p=52}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|p=264}} (The box containing the plates was kept in the nearby woods when Smith translated); {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=56}} (box was first hidden in the nearby woods, then moved under the bed in the Smith house; Emma also said she saw the plates under a cloth on the table).}} | ||
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+ | ===== ===== | ||
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+ | Smith usually translated in full view of witnesses, but occasionally he concealed the process by raising a curtain or dictating from another room. | ||
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+ | *{{Howe|1834|p=14}}. | ||
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+ | ===== ===== | ||
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+ | By February 1828, Smith had become discouraged with translating. | ||
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+ | *{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=19}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|p=266}}; {{Harvtxt|Booth|1831a}}. | ||
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+ | ===== ===== | ||
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+ | Martin Harris arrived to spur him on | ||
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− | *{{Harvtxt| | + | *{{Harvtxt|Booth|1831}}. |
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− | + | by taking the [[Anthon transcript|characters]] and their translations to a few prominent scholars. | |
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− | *{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=57–58}}. | + | *{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=57–58}} (noting that the plan arose from a vision of Martin Harris). These scholars included at least [[Luther Bradish]] in [[Albany, New York]] {{Harv|Lapham|1870}}, [[Samuel L. Mitchill]] of New York City ({{Harv|Hadley|1829}}; {{Harvnb|Jessee|1976|p=3}}), and [[Charles Anthon]] of New York City {{Harv|Howe|1834|pp=269–272}}. |
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− | + | Though none of the scholars would lend support, Harris claimed that one of them, [[Charles Anthon]], initially authenticated the characters and their translation, then recanted upon hearing that Smith had received the plates from an angel. | |
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− | * | + | *{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=64–65}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=58–59}}. |
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− | + | Although Anthon denied this, | |
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− | * | + | *{{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|pp=269–72}} (Anthon's description of his meeting with Harris, claiming he tried to convince Harris that he was a victim of a fraud). But see {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=115}} (arguing that Anthon's initial assessment was likely more positive than he would later admit). |
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*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
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− | + | Harris returned to Harmony in April 1828 motivated to act as Smith's scribe. | |
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− | *{{ | + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} |
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Early years | A FairMormon Analysis of Wikipedia: Mormonism and Wikipedia/Joseph Smith, Jr. A work by a collaboration of authors (Link to Wikipedia article here)
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1831 to 1838 |
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. |
Every witness to Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon said that he looked at a stone in his hat. Arguing that Smith never said how he translated is arguing from silence. There is no evidence for anything else but the hat and just Mormon embarrassment at how silly this method must seem to most prospective converts today.....The burden of proof is on you. There are no accounts of Smith translating that indicate he used any other method but the hat. You can't argue from silence. Where are the references to any other method? Even the father of lies himself didn't spell one out.....Baloney. No other eyewitness said there was any other method. No scholarship argues for any other method. You're just pushing this POV because there's no reason to preserve golden plates for generations if Smith made no use of them. But according to all eyewitnesses that's exactly what happened. Embarrassing, isn't it?
—Hi540 insisting that the stone-in-hat was the only Book of Mormon translation method ever documented, 23 October 2009 off-site
- | Wikipedia Main Article: Joseph Smith, Jr.– | Wikipedia Footnotes: Joseph Smith, Jr.–Notes | A FAIR Opinion |
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In October 1827, Smith and his now-pregnant |
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wife moved from Palmyra to Harmony (now Oakland),Pennsylvania, |
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a move made possible with money from their well-to-do neighbor Martin Harris. |
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Living near his disapproving in-laws, |
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Smith transcribed some of the strange "reformed Egyptian" characters he said were engraved on the plates and dictated their translations to his wife. |
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Smith said that he used the "Urim and Thummim" for this early translation, |
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a term he used to refer to the silver spectacles found with the golden plates, |
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but no witnesses said they saw Smith using such spectacles. |
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Many witnesses did observe Smith translating using the same or similar method that he had previously used to find buried treasure: he would gaze at a seer stone in the bottom of his hat, excluding all light so that he could reportedly see the translation reflecting off the stone. |
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The plates themselves were not directly consulted. |
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Smith usually translated in full view of witnesses, but occasionally he concealed the process by raising a curtain or dictating from another room. |
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By February 1828, Smith had become discouraged with translating. |
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Martin Harris arrived to spur him on |
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by taking the characters and their translations to a few prominent scholars. |
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Though none of the scholars would lend support, Harris claimed that one of them, Charles Anthon, initially authenticated the characters and their translation, then recanted upon hearing that Smith had received the plates from an angel. |
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Although Anthon denied this, |
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Harris returned to Harmony in April 1828 motivated to act as Smith's scribe. |
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Harris's wife Lucy Harris, however, thought Joseph Smith was a con artist out for her husband's money. |
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That skepticism soon induced doubts in Martin Harris, |
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and he pressured Smith to either let him see the plates or let him take the 116 pages of manuscript to Palmyra to show his wife. |
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Smith reluctantly agreed. When Harris returned, long overdue, he told Smith that the manuscript had disappeared. There were no copies. At about the same time, Smith's wife Emma gave birth to a stillborn son. |
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Distraught over losing both his child and the manuscript, Smith may have briefly attended a Methodist church pastored by his wife's uncle. |
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Smith also dictated a revelation stating that his gift to translate had been taken away |
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and that the angel Moroni had taken back the plates and the Urim and Thummim. |
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Nevertheless, Smith said the angel returned the Urim and Thummim (and presumably the plates) on September 22, 1828, and that he continued to translate with Emma as his scribe. |
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According to Emma, Smith never claimed to use the Urim and Thummim for translation after the loss of the 116 pages. Rather, Smith exclusively used the same dark seer stone that he had previously used during his earlier profession as a treasure hunter. |
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On April 1829, Smith met Oliver Cowdery, |
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who took over as scribe, and the two worked full time between April and June 1829 to prepare most of the translation. |
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To Smith, the golden plates were more than just a curiosity; Smith viewed them as a "marvelous work…about to come forth among the children of men" |
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It would be entitled the Book of Mormon, and form the basis for a new religion. In early June 1829, Smith and Cowdery moved to Fayette, New York to complete the translation, and Smith began to seek converts. When people believed, "they did not just subscribe to the book; they were baptized." But as Smith "began to seek converts the question of credibility had to be addressed again. Joseph knew his story was unbelievable." |
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He had a revelation that others, known today as the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses, would bear testimony to the existence of the plates—which they did in early July 1829. |
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The two testimonies are undated, and the exact dates on which the Witnesses are said to have seen the plates is unknown. Smith said that when he finished translating the gold plates, the angel Moroni took them away.</ref> Finally, the Book of Mormon was published in Palmyra on March 26, 1830 by printer E. B. Grandin. Martin Harris financed the publication by mortgaging his farm. |
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On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith and his followers formally organized as the Church of Christ, |
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and small branches were established in Palmyra, Fayette, and Colesville, New York. There was strong opposition to the church, and in late June, Smith was again brought to court but acquitted. |
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Perhaps it was to this period that Smith and Cowdery referred when they later said that they had received a visitation from Peter, James, and John, three apostles of Jesus, who appeared to them in order to restore the Melchizedek priesthood, which they said contained the necessary authority to restore Christ's church. |
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After founding the church, Smith began dictating and compiling revelations defining his role within the church. Smith was to become full time clergy, supported by church funds, |
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and his wife Emma was to be similarly supported. |
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After one of the Eight Witnesses began producing his own well-received revelations about the location of the American New Jerusalem prophesied in the Book of Mormon, Smith dictated a revelation indicating that Smith alone could receive binding revelations for the church. |
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He also dictated a revelation about this "New Jerusalem": although the precise location was not yet known, it was to be somewhere in the Indian Territory, near Missouri. |
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In anticipation, Smith dispatched missionaries, led by Oliver Cowdery, to the area. On their way, they converted a group of Disciples of Christ adherents in Kirtland, Ohio led by Sidney Rigdon. To avoid growing opposition in New York, Smith moved the headquarters of the church to Kirtland. |
Wikipedia references for "Joseph Smith, Jr." |
Contents
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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.
</noinclude>
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