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.
Array
The Hurlbut affidavits: Difference between revisions
(→Response: Citation) |
(→Endnotes: Added note) |
||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
*{{note|hurlbut1}}"Doctor" was not a title—It was Hurlbut's actual given name. | *{{note|hurlbut1}}"Doctor" was not a title—It was Hurlbut's actual given name. | ||
*{{note|winchester.5}}Benjamin Winchester, ''The origin of the Spalding story, concerning the Manuscript Found; with a short biography of Dr. P. Hulbert, the originator of the same; and some testimony adduced, showing it to be a sheer fabrication, so far as in connection with the Book of Mormon is concerned.'' (Philadelphia: Brown, Bicking & Guilbert, Printers, 1834), p. 5. | |||
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
Revision as of 15:05, 26 May 2008
This article is a draft. FairMormon editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.
Criticism
Many of Joseph Smith’s friends and neighbors signed affidavits that accused him and his family of being lazy, indolent, undependable treasure-seekers.
Source(s) of the criticism
- Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 17–18.
- Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH: Telegraph Press, 1834)
- Grant Palmer, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002), 228.
- Dan Vogel, Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet, (Salt Lake City, Utah; Signature Books, 2004)
Response
Many critics cite a collection of affidavits from Joseph Smith’s neighbors which claim that the Smith family possessed a number of character flaws. These affidavits were collected by “Doctor” Philastus Hurlbut,[1] who had been excommunicated from the Church on charges of "unvirtuous conduct with a young lady."[2] Hurlbut sold this material to Eber D. Howe, who published it in his anti-Mormon book Mormonism Unvailed in 1834.
Conclusion
Endnotes
- [note] "Doctor" was not a title—It was Hurlbut's actual given name.
- [note] Benjamin Winchester, The origin of the Spalding story, concerning the Manuscript Found; with a short biography of Dr. P. Hulbert, the originator of the same; and some testimony adduced, showing it to be a sheer fabrication, so far as in connection with the Book of Mormon is concerned. (Philadelphia: Brown, Bicking & Guilbert, Printers, 1834), p. 5.
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
FAIR web site
- FAIR Topical Guide: