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Joseph Smith/Moon inhabited
Revision as of 22:41, 4 May 2008 by RogerNicholson (talk | contribs) (→Source(s) of the criticism: Added a source)
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Contents
Criticism
Critics claim that Joseph Smith taught that the moon was inhabited, and that this is proof he was a false prophet.
Source(s) of the criticism
- Contender Ministries, Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves. Answers
- Tower to Truth Ministries, "50 Questions to Ask Mormons," towertotruth.net (accessed 15 November 2007). 50 Answers
- Jay Jacobson, "Three Reasons Not to Become a Mormon,": 7.
- Search for the Truth DVD (2007) Resources
- The God Makers (film, 1982)
Response
The source for this claim is not Joseph Smith himself; the first mention comes in 1881 in Oliver B. Huntington's journal, who claimed that he had the information from Philo Dibble. So, we have a late, third-hand account of something Joseph is supposed to have said.[1] Hyrum Smith[2] and Brigham Young[3] both expressed their view that the moon was inhabited.
A patriarchal blessing given to Huntington also indicated that "thou shalt have power with God even to translate thyself to Heaven, & preach to the inhabitants of the moon or planets, if it shall be expedient."[4]
Huntington later wrote an article about the concept for a Church magazine:
- As far back as 1837, I know that he [Joseph Smith] said the moon was inhabited by men and women the same as this earth, and that they lived to a greater age than we do -- that they live generally to near the age of a 1,000 years.
- He described the men as averaging nearly six feet in height, and dressing quite uniformly in something near the Quaker style.[5]
So, it would seem that the idea of an inhabited moon or other celestial body was not foreign to at least some early LDS members. It is not clear whether the idea originated with Joseph Smith.
However, it should be remembered that this concept was considered 'scientific fact' by many at the time. William Herschel, the discoverer of the planet Uranus, died in 1822. Herschel argued "[w]ho can say that it is not extremely probable, nay beyond doubt, that there must be inhabitants on the Moon of some kind or another?" Furthermore, "he thought it possible that there was a region below the Sun's fiery surface where men might live, and he regarded the existence of life on the Moon as 'an absolute certainty.'"[6]
Other scientists announced that they had discovered "a lunar city with a collection of gigantic ramparts extending 23 miles in either direction."[7]
The 1835 Hoax
In addition to these pronouncements from some of the most prominent scientists of the day, a clever hoax in 1835 only added to the belief in lunar inhabitants.
John Herschel, son of the famous William, went to South Africa to study stars visible only in the southern hemisphere. This was the cause of considerable public interest, given Herschel's involvement.
On 23 August 1835, Richard Locke published the first article in the New York Sun of what purported to be reports from Herschel's observations. Over a total of six installments, Locke claimed that Herschel was reporting lunar flowers, forests, bison, goats, unicorns, bipedal tailless bevers who cooked with fire, and (most provocatively) flying men with wings:
- They appeared to be constantly engaged in conversing, with much impassioned gesticulation; and hence it was inferred, that they are rational beings. Others, apparently of a higher order, were discovered afterwards. . . . And finally a magnificent temple for the worship of God, of polished sapphire, in a triangle shape, with a roof of gold.[8]
These reports were widely believed and caused a minor sensation. They were carried in the Painsville Telegraph, adjacent to Mormon Kirtland.[9] The Sun eventually hinted that the matter was a hoax:
- Certain correspondents have been urging us to come out and confess the whole to be a hoax; but this we can by no means do, until we have the testimony of the English or Scotch papers to corroborate such a declaration.[10]
No more than this was forthcoming, and the Painsville Telegraph made no mention of the possibility of a hoax. Popular belief in lunar inhabitants persisted for decades. Herschel initially found the episode amusing, but he eventually grew frustrated with having to continually explain to the public that the whole matter was a hoax, with which he had nothing to do.
Conclusion
Modern prophets and general authorities will sometimes cite newspaper articles or books to illustrate the points which they wish to make. In doing so, they are not endorsing such articles or books as being prophetically correct in all particulars. Rather, they are using the science and information of their day to enhance their preaching of the gospel.
LDS doctrine was not provincial, since it provided for "worlds without number" (Moses 1꞉33) created by Christ. These worlds held those who would require the gospel, since by Christ "the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." (DC 76꞉24)
Information given to the 19th century Saints by the authorities of the day were consistent with these doctrines, and so they believed them, and occasionally mentioned them in a religious context. As always, prophets and believers are products of their time. Biblical authors, for example, clearly accepted a geocentric (earth centered) cosmos, with a flat earth and heavens supported by four pillars. Like the authors of the Bible, modern prophets are generally beholden to their era's scientific concepts, except where corrections in those concepts are needed to permit the gospel to be understood and applied. This does not mean, however, that prophets of any era do not receive revelation about matters of eternal significance.
Endnotes
- [note] Van Hale, "Mormons And Moonmen," Sunstone 7 no. (Issue #5) (September/October 1982), 13–14. off-site
- [note] Hyrum Smith, "Concerning the plurality of gods & worlds," 27 April 1843; cited in Eugene England (editor), "George Laub's Nauvoo Journal," Brigham Young University Studies 18 no. 2 (Winter 1978), 177.off-site
- [note] Brigham Young, "The Gospel—The One-Man Power," Journal of Discourses, reported by D.W. Evans and John Grimshaw, (24 July 1870), Vol. 13 (London: Latter-day Saint's Book Depot, 1871), 271–271.off-site
- [note] Patriarchal Blessings Books 9:294–295.
- [note] Young Woman's Journal (1892) 3: 263.
- [note] Patrick Moore, New Guide to the Moon (W.W. Norton & Company, New York: 1976), cited by Van Hale, "Mormons And Moonmen," Sunstone 7 no. (Issue #5) (September/October 1982), 15. off-site
- [note] Van Hale, "Mormons And Moonmen," 15.
- [note] Moore, New Guide to the Moon 130–131; cited by Van Hale, "Mormons And Moonmen," 16.
- [note] Painesville Telegraph (11 September 1835).
- [note] New York Sun 16 September 1835; cited by Alex Boese, "The Great Moon Hoax," museumofhoaxes.comoff-site
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
| Prophetic opinion wiki articles |
FAIR web site
| Prophetic opinion FairMormon articles on-line |
FairMormon Topical Guide: Infallibility FairMormon link
FairMormon Topical Guide: Personal beliefs of prophets FairMormon link