Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 3

Claims made in "Chapter 2: Moroni, Magic, and Masonry"

A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: Richard Abanes

Claims made in "Chapter 4: Smith's Golden Book"

Claims made in "Chapter 3: From Profit to Prophet"

Page	Claim	Response	Author's sources
41, 500 n.2-4	Joseph used at least two seer stones.	Joseph Smith and seer stones	D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), 245 ( Index of claims ) E.W. Vanderhoof, Historical Sketches of Western New York, quoted in Quinn, 43. Quinn, 43.
42, 500 n.7=	Isaac Hale, Emma's father, disapproved of Joseph because of his money digging activities.	The Hurlbut affidavits—Isaac Hale	Isaac Hale, cited in Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH, 1834), 262-263. (Affidavits examined). Martin Harris, Tiffany's Monthly, August 1859, vol. 5, 164.
44	Joseph was pronounced "guilty" of performing illegal activities with the stone.	Joseph Smith's 1826 glasslooking trial	A.W. Benton, Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate, April 9, 1831, New Series 2, 120.
46, 503 n.18	Hugh Nibley said, "If this court record is authentic, it is the most damning evidence in existence against Joseph Smith.	Joseph Smith's 1826 glasslooking trial	Hugh Nibley, The Myth Makers, 142.
46, 503 n.20	Francis Kirkham claimed that "If any evidence had been in existence that Joseph Smith had used a seer stone for fraud and deception, and especially had he made this confession in a court of law as early as 1826, or four years before the Book of Mormon was printed, and this confession was in a court record, it would have been impossible for him to have organized the restored Church.	Joseph Smith's 1826 glasslooking trial	Francis Kirkham, A New Witness for Christ in the America, 386.
47, 503 n.22	Joseph realized that "money-digging alone was bringing in only about $14 a month, which was not nearly enough to support a family."	Joseph Smith and money digging	History of the Church 3:29
47, 503 n.23	Joseph initially "attached no religious significance" to the "golden book" that he told people he would be retrieving. He instead "touted it as a book that would 'tell him how to get money that was buried in the ground.'"	The Hurlbut affidavits	Parley Chase, letter to James T. Cobb, April 3, 1879 quoted in Wyl, Joseph Smith, the Prophet, His Family, and His Friends, 276.
48, 503 n.25	Joseph decided to convert his book into a saga about America's ancient inhabitants as a money making scheme.	The author simply repeats Brodie's supposition. There is no actual evidence that this was the case.	Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 83. ( Index of claims )
503 n.25	Joseph tried to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon in Canada.	Did Joseph Smith attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright?	Hiram Page, letter to William McLellin, February 2, 1848. David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 30-31.
48, 503-4 n.29-32	One of Joseph's early descriptions of Moroni was of a bloody ghost with his throat cut.	These supposed "early" accounts comes from hostile statements made forty to fifty years later! The 1870 account from Lapham says only that "a man" with "bloody clothes" appeared in a dream. (He also says this is what Joseph Jr. told his father, so this is hearsay.) Mark Ashurst-McGee, "Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 34–100. [{{{url}}} off-site] wiki Larry E. Morris, "'I Should Have an Eye Single to the Glory of God’: Joseph Smith’s Account of the Angel and the Plates (Review of: "From Captain Kidd’s Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism")," FARMS Review 17/1 (2005): 11–82. off-site	Hiel Lewis, Amboy Journal, April 30, 1879, quote in Wesley P. Walters, "The Mormon Prophet Attempts to Join the Methodists," reprinted in Wyl, Mormon Portraits, 79-80. Fayette Lapham [May 1870], reprinted in Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 1:459.  Citation error: the reference to the dream and bloody clothes is on p. 458.
50-51, n.34-36	"The Smiths eventually changed Joseph's 'dream' of a ghost to a 'vision' of a spirit (but not yet an angel)...A 'toad-like' creature 'assumed the appearance of a man' and struck Joseph on the side of his head, telling him that it was not yet time to retrieve the plates."	The Hurlbut affidavits—Willard Chase	Willard Chase, cited in Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH, 1834), 242. (Affidavits examined).
51	"A subsequent version of Smith's ever-changing tale..."	The author wishes to portray all of these stories as successive evolutions. In fact, the religious aspects appear in the very earliest accounts; only later hostile accounts add more and more "magical" aspects: Mark Ashurst-McGee, "Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 34–100. [{{{url}}} off-site] wiki Larry E. Morris, "'I Should Have an Eye Single to the Glory of God’: Joseph Smith’s Account of the Angel and the Plates (Review of: "From Captain Kidd’s Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism")," FARMS Review 17/1 (2005): 11–82. off-site	No source given.
51	"Until well into the late 1800s it was widely understood that Smith found the golden plates not by a dream, or a ghost, or a vision—but by looking into his peep-stone and seeing where they had been deposited.	Absurd claims Mark Ashurst-McGee, "Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 34–100. [{{{url}}} off-site] wiki Larry E. Morris, "'I Should Have an Eye Single to the Glory of God’: Joseph Smith’s Account of the Angel and the Plates (Review of: "From Captain Kidd’s Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism")," FARMS Review 17/1 (2005): 11–82. off-site	Orasmus Turner, History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and Morris Reserve. (1852) Hosea Stout, On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, vol. 2, 593. Martin Harris, Tiffany's Monthly, vol. 5, 163, 169. Widely understood?? The author cites several second-hand sources...from the 1850s!
51	"all of the religious aspects of Smith's adventures came much later."	In fact, the religious aspects appear in the very earliest accounts; only later hostile accounts add more and more "magical" aspects: Mark Ashurst-McGee, "Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 34–100. [{{{url}}} off-site] wiki Larry E. Morris, "'I Should Have an Eye Single to the Glory of God’: Joseph Smith’s Account of the Angel and the Plates (Review of: "From Captain Kidd’s Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism")," FARMS Review 17/1 (2005): 11–82. off-site	The author's claim is false Orasmus Turner, 214. Hiel Lewis.
52	Joseph Smith claimed that the moon was inhabited.	Joseph Smith and moonmen	Oliver B. Huntington, "The Inhabitants of the Moon," The Young Woman's Journal, 1892, vol. 3, 263-264.
52	Joseph taught the doctrine of "Caucasians advancing to godhood"	We would like to see a reference to this doctrine of "Caucasians advancing to godhood." Human deification/theosis	No source provided.
52	Joseph taught the notion that "Blacks, Indians, and other people of color are cursed spirits."	Lamanite curse Blacks cursed?	No source provided.
53, 505-506n47 (HB) 53, 503-504n47 (PB)	"After all, no one had actually seen the plates, nor would anyone ever see them"	Absurd claims Use of sources: Seeing the Plates Book_of_Mormon_witnesses	The author's claim is false  Misrepresentation of source: these testimonies assert that they did see the plates, not that "no one" had. Testimony of the Three Witnesses Testimony of the Eight Witnesses
505 n.47	The witnesses only saw the plates through "visionary experiences."	Book of Mormon witnesses/Spiritual or literal Book of Mormon witnesses/Eight witnesses/shown to me by a supernatural power	No source provided.
505 n.47	The eight witnesses only saw the plates as long as they were covered with a cloth of some kind.	Book of Mormon witnesses/Spiritual or literal Book of Mormon witnesses/Eight witnesses	No source provided.
505 n.47	Martin Harris said that none of the eight witnesses ever saw the plates, and that he only handled them in a box or under a cloth.	"Eye of Faith"/"Spiritual Eye" statements by Martin Harris	Stephen Burnett, letter to Br Johnson, April 15, 1838, Joseph Smith Papers, Letterbook, April 20, 1837-February 9, 1843, 64-66 cited in Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), 108.( Index of claims ).
505 n.47	Joseph Smith claimed that the Three Witnesses saw the plates in a vision.	Book of Mormon witnesses/Spiritual or literal	Joseph Smith, "History of Joseph Smith—Continued", Times and Seasons, September 1, 1842, vol. 3, no. 21, 897-898.
505 n.47	David Whitmer "agreed that neither he, nor the other Three Witnesses, ever physically saw or handled the plates.	Whitmer wrote a letter in which he said: "As to what you Say about the correspondence ublished by P Whilhelm Poulson M D Aug[ust] 20th 1878. I surely did not make the Statement which you Say he reports me to have made, for it is not according to the facts. And I have always in the fear of God, tried to give a true statement to the best of my recollection in regard to all matters which I have attempted to Explain."[1] The author ignores multiple confirmed statements from the witnesses, and cites a statement which the witness explicitly rejects. Book of Mormon witnesses/Recant Spiritual or literal?	The author's claim is false David Whitmer, interview recorded by P. Wilhelm Poulson, c. early 1878, reprinted in Deseret Evening News, August 16, 1878. [Available in Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 6:37–40.] Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 77-80. ( Index of claims ) Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism—Shadow or Reality?, 5th edition, (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987), 50-55.
508 n.59	"Mormons often try to discredit Anthon by pointing out an alleged discrepancy between his letters, but there exists no such discrepancy.	Richard Bushman disagrees: Anthon transcript	Persuitte, 303-304, endnote#19.
55, 508n60 (HB) 55, 506n60 (PB)	Scholars have declared that there is no language called "Reformed Egyptian."	Reformed Egyptian Use of sources: Reformed Egyptian	John A. Wilson, letter to Marvin Cowan, March 16, 1966 quoted in Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), 144.( Index of claims )
55, 508 n.62	Joseph used his "peep-stone" to translate the Book of Mormon.	Book of Mormon translation method Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language	Hiel Lewis, "Review of Mormonism: Rejoinder to Elder Cadwell." Amboy Journal, June 4, 1879, quoted in D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), 172 ( Index of claims ).
56, 508 n.63-65	Emma Smith and David Whitmer said that Joseph translated using his seer stone in a hat.	Book of Mormon translation method	Emma Smith Bidamon, Interview with Joseph Smith, III, February 1879, reprinted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, 539. Martin Harris, Interview with Anthony Metcalf, c. 1873-1874. Quoted in A. Metcalf, Ten Years Before the Mast..., reprinted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 2, 346-347. David Whitmer, An Address to all believers in Christ, 12.

Endnotes

1. [note]  David Whitmer to S.T. Mouch, letter (18 November 1882), Whitmer Collection, RLDS Church Library -Archives, Independence, Missouri; cited in Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 6:36.

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