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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 3: Difference between revisions
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{{FAIRAnalysisHeader
{{FAIRAnalysisHeader
|title=[[../../]]
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|author=Richard Abanes
|author=Richard Abanes
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}}
=Claims made in "Chapter 3: From Profit to Prophet"=
=Claims made in "Chapter 3: From Profit to Prophet"=
{{BeginClaimsTable}}
 
|
====41, 500 n2-4 (HB)====
====41, 500 n2-4 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph use at least two seer stones?
*Did Joseph use at least two seer stones?
||
|response=
*[[Joseph Smith and seer stones]]
*[[Joseph Smith/Seer stones]]
||
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=245}}
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=245}}
*E.W. Vanderhoof, ''Historical Sketches of Western New York'', quoted in Quinn, 43.
*E.W. Vanderhoof, ''Historical Sketches of Western New York'', quoted in Quinn, 43.
*Quinn, 43.
*Quinn, 43.
|-
}}
|
====42, 500n7 (HB)====
====42, 500n7 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Isaac Hale, Emma's father, disapprove of Joseph because of his money digging activities?
*Did Isaac Hale, Emma's father, disapprove of Joseph because of his money digging activities?
||
|response=
*[[The Hurlbut affidavits#Isaac Hale|The Hurlbut affidavits—Isaac Hale]]
*[[Specific works/The Hurlbut affidavits#Isaac Hale|The Hurlbut affidavits—Isaac Hale]]
||
|authorsources=
*Isaac Hale, cited in {{CriticalWork:Howe:Mormonism Unvailed|pages=262-263}}.
*Isaac Hale, cited in {{CriticalWork:Howe:Mormonism Unvailed|pages=262-263}}.
*Martin Harris, ''Tiffany's Monthly'', August 1859, vol. 5, 164.
*Martin Harris, ''Tiffany's Monthly'', August 1859, vol. 5, 164.
|-
}}
|
====44====
====44====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Was Joseph pronounced "guilty" of performing illegal activities with his seer stone?
*Was Joseph pronounced "guilty" of performing illegal activities with his seer stone?
||
|response=
*[[Joseph Smith's 1826 glasslooking trial]]
*[[Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial]]
||
|authorsources=
*A.W. Benton, ''Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate'', April 9, 1831, New Series 2, 120.
*A.W. Benton, ''Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate'', April 9, 1831, New Series 2, 120.
|-
}}
|
====46, 503 n.18====
====46, 503 n.18====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Regarding Joseph's "trial," Hugh Nibley said, "If this court record is authentic, it is the most damning evidence in existence against Joseph Smith."
*Regarding Joseph's "trial," Hugh Nibley said, "If this court record is authentic, it is the most damning evidence in existence against Joseph Smith."
||
|response=
*[[Joseph Smith's 1826 glasslooking trial]]
*[[Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial]]
||
|authorsources=
*Hugh Nibley, ''The Myth Makers'', 142.
*Hugh Nibley, ''The Myth Makers'', 142.
|-
}}
|
====46, 503n20 (HB)====
====46, 503n20 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*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."
*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."
||
|response=
*[[Joseph Smith's 1826 glasslooking trial]]
*[[Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial]]
||
|authorsources=
*Francis Kirkham, '' A New Witness for Christ in the America'', 386.
*Francis Kirkham, '' A New Witness for Christ in the America'', 386.
|-
}}
|
====47, 503n22 (HB)====
====47, 503n22 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph realize that money-digging was only earning him $14 a month, and that this was "not nearly enough to support a family?"
*Did Joseph realize that money-digging was only earning him $14 a month, and that this was "not nearly enough to support a family?"
||
|response=
*[[Joseph Smith and money digging]]
*[[Joseph Smith/Money digging]]
||
|authorsources=
*''History of the Church'' 3:29
*''History of the Church'' 3:29
|-
}}
|
====47, 503n23 (HB)====
====47, 503n23 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Is it true that Joseph initially "attached no religious significance" to the "golden book" that he told people he would be retrieving, and that he instead said that the book would "tell him how to get money that was buried in the ground?"
*Is it true that Joseph initially "attached no religious significance" to the "golden book" that he told people he would be retrieving, and that he instead said that the book would "tell him how to get money that was buried in the ground?"
||
|response=
*[[The Hurlbut affidavits]]  
*[[Specific works/The Hurlbut affidavits|The Hurlbut affidavits]]  
||
|authorsources=
*Parley Chase, letter to James T. Cobb, April 3, 1879 quoted in Wyl, ''Joseph Smith, the Prophet, His Family, and His Friends'', 276.
*Parley Chase, letter to James T. Cobb, April 3, 1879 quoted in Wyl, ''Joseph Smith, the Prophet, His Family, and His Friends'', 276.
|-
}}
|
====48, 503n25 (HB)====
====48, 503n25 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph decide to convert his book into a saga about America's ancient inhabitants as a money making scheme?
*Did Joseph decide to convert his book into a saga about America's ancient inhabitants as a money making scheme?
||
|response=
*The author simply repeats Brodie's supposition. There is no actual evidence that this was the case.
*The author simply repeats Brodie's supposition. There is no actual evidence that this was the case.
*[[../../Mind reading]]
*[[../../Mind reading]]
||
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=83}}
*{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=83}}
|-
}}
|


====503n25 (HB)====
====503n25 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph try to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon in Canada?
*Did Joseph try to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon in Canada?
||
|response=
*[[Did Joseph Smith attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright?]]
*[[Did Joseph Smith attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright?]]
||
|authorsources=
*Hiram Page, letter to William McLellin, February 2, 1848.
*Hiram Page, letter to William McLellin, February 2, 1848.
*David Whitmer, ''An Address to All Believers in Christ'', 30-31.
*David Whitmer, ''An Address to All Believers in Christ'', 30-31.
|-
}}
|
====48, 503-4n29-32 (HB)====
====48, 503-4n29-32 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Was one of Joseph's early descriptions of Moroni that of a "bloody ghost" with his throat cut?
*Was one of Joseph's early descriptions of Moroni that of a "bloody ghost" with his throat cut?
||
|response=
* These supposed "early" accounts comes from hostile statements made forty to fifty years later!
* 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.)
* 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.)
**{{FR-18-1-5}}
**{{FR-18-1-5}}
**{{FR-17-1-4}}
**{{FR-17-1-4}}
||
|authorsources=
*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.
*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 {{EarlyMormonDocs1|vol=1|start=459}}
*Fayette Lapham [May 1870], reprinted in {{EarlyMormonDocs1|vol=1|start=459}}
*{{CitationError}}: the reference to the dream and bloody clothes is on p. 458.
*{{CitationError}}: the reference to the dream and bloody clothes is on p. 458.
|-
}}
|


====50-51, n34-36 (HB)====
====50-51, n34-36 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did a "toad-like" creature which "assumed the appearance of a man" and struck Joseph on the side of his head, prevent him from retriving the gold plates?
*Did a "toad-like" creature which "assumed the appearance of a man" and struck Joseph on the side of his head, prevent him from retriving the gold plates?
||
|response=
*[[The Hurlbut affidavits#Willard Chase|The Hurlbut affidavits—Willard Chase]]  
*[[Specific works/The Hurlbut affidavits#Willard Chase|The Hurlbut affidavits—Willard Chase]]  
||
|authorsources=
*Willard Chase, cited in {{CriticalWork:Howe:Mormonism Unvailed|pages=242}}.  
*Willard Chase, cited in {{CriticalWork:Howe:Mormonism Unvailed|pages=242}}.  
|-
}}
|
====51 (HB)====
====51 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The author refers to "[A] subsequent version of Smith's ever-changing tale..."
*The author refers to "[A] subsequent version of Smith's ever-changing tale..."
||
|response=
*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:
*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:
**{{FR-18-1-5}}
**{{FR-18-1-5}}
**{{FR-17-1-4}}
**{{FR-17-1-4}}
||
|authorsources=
*No source given.
*No source given.
|-
}}
|


====51 (HB)====
====51 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Was it "widely understood" in the 1800s the Joseph located the plates by using his seer stone to see where they had been deposited?
*Was it "widely understood" in the 1800s the Joseph located the plates by using his seer stone to see where they had been deposited?
||
|response=
*[[One Nation Under Gods#Absurd claims|Absurd claims]]  
*[[One Nation Under Gods#Absurd claims|Absurd claims]]  
*{{FR-18-1-5}}
*{{FR-18-1-5}}
*{{FR-17-1-4}}
*{{FR-17-1-4}}
||
|authorsources=
*Orasmus Turner, ''History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and Morris Reserve. (1852)
*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.
*Hosea Stout, ''On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout'', vol. 2, 593.
*Martin Harris, ''Tiffany's Monthly'', vol. 5, 163, 169.
*Martin Harris, ''Tiffany's Monthly'', vol. 5, 163, 169.
*Widely understood?? The author cites several second-hand sources...from the 1850s!
*Widely understood?? The author cites several second-hand sources...from the 1850s!
|-
}}
|


====51 (HB)====
====51 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Is it true that "all of the ''religious'' aspects" of Joseph's story were added later?
*Is it true that "all of the ''religious'' aspects" of Joseph's story were added later?
||
|response=
* {{FalseStatement}}: In fact, the religious aspects appear in the very earliest accounts; only later hostile accounts add more and more "magical" aspects:
* {{FalseStatement}}: In fact, the religious aspects appear in the very earliest accounts; only later hostile accounts add more and more "magical" aspects:
**{{FR-18-1-5}}
**{{FR-18-1-5}}
**{{FR-17-1-4}}  
**{{FR-17-1-4}}  
||
|authorsources=
*Orasmus Turner, 214.
*Orasmus Turner, 214.
*Hiel Lewis.
*Hiel Lewis.
|-
}}
|


====52 (HB)====
====52 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph Smith claim that the moon was inhabited?
*Did Joseph Smith claim that the moon was inhabited?
||
|response=
*[[Joseph Smith and moonmen]]
*[[Joseph Smith/Moon inhabited]]
||
|authorsources=
*Oliver B. Huntington, "The Inhabitants of the Moon," ''The Young Woman's Journal'', 1892, vol. 3, 263-264.
*Oliver B. Huntington, "The Inhabitants of the Moon," ''The Young Woman's Journal'', 1892, vol. 3, 263-264.
|-
}}
|
====52 (HB)====
====52 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph teach the doctrine of "Caucasians advancing to godhood?"
*Did Joseph teach the doctrine of "Caucasians advancing to godhood?"
||  
||  
*We would like to see a reference to this doctrine of "Caucasians advancing to godhood."
*We would like to see a reference to this doctrine of "Caucasians advancing to godhood."
*[[Deification of man|Human deification/''theosis'']]
*[[Nature of God/Deification of man|Human deification/''theosis'']]
||
|authorsources=
*No source provided.
*No source provided.
|-
}}
|


====52 (HB)====
====52 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph teach the notion that "Blacks, Indians, and other people of color are cursed spirits?"
*Did Joseph teach the notion that "Blacks, Indians, and other people of color are cursed spirits?"
||
|response=
*[[Lamanite curse]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Curse]]
*[[Blacks_and_the_priesthood/The_%22curse_of_Cain%22_and_%22curse_of_Ham%22|Blacks cursed?]]
*[[Blacks and the priesthood/The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"]]
||
|authorsources=
*No source provided.
*No source provided.
|-
}}
|


====53, 505-506n47 (HB) 53, 503-504n47 (PB)====
====53, 505-506n47 (HB) 53, 503-504n47 (PB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The author states: "After all, no one had actually seen the plates, nor would anyone ''ever'' see them"
*The author states: "After all, no one had actually seen the plates, nor would anyone ''ever'' see them"
||
|response=
*{{FalseStatement}}: [[../../Use of sources/Seeing the Plates|Use of sources: Seeing the Plates]]
*{{FalseStatement}}: [[../../Use of sources/Seeing the Plates|Use of sources: Seeing the Plates]]
*[[One Nation Under Gods#Absurd clams|Absurd claims]]
*[[One Nation Under Gods#Absurd clams|Absurd claims]]
*[[Book_of_Mormon_witnesses]]  
*[[Book of Mormon/Witnesses]]  
||
|authorsources=
*{{SourceDistortion}}: these testimonies cited below assert that they ''did'' see the plates, not that "no one" had.
*{{SourceDistortion}}: these testimonies cited below assert that they ''did'' see the plates, not that "no one" had.
**Testimony of the Three Witnesses
**Testimony of the Three Witnesses
**Testimony of the Eight Witnesses
**Testimony of the Eight Witnesses
|-
}}
|


====505n47 (HB)====
====505n47 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did the witnesses only see the plates through "visionary experiences?"
*Did the witnesses only see the plates through "visionary experiences?"
||
|response=
*[[Book of Mormon witnesses/Spiritual or literal]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Witnesses/Spiritual or literal]]
*[[Book of Mormon witnesses/Eight witnesses/shown to me by a supernatural power]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Witnesses/Eight witnesses/shown to me by a supernatural power]]
||
|authorsources=
* No source provided.
* No source provided.
|-
}}
|


====505n47 (HB)====
====505n47 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did the eight witnesses only "see" the plates as long as they were covered with a cloth of some kind?
*Did the eight witnesses only "see" the plates as long as they were covered with a cloth of some kind?
||
|response=
*[[Book of Mormon witnesses/Spiritual or literal]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Witnesses/Spiritual or literal]]
*[[Book of Mormon witnesses/Eight witnesses]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Witnesses/Eight witnesses]]
||
|authorsources=
*No source provided.
*No source provided.
|-
}}
|
====505n47 (HB)====
====505n47 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Martin Harris say that none of the eight witnesses ever saw the plates, and that he only handled them in a box or under a cloth?
*Did Martin Harris say that none of the eight witnesses ever saw the plates, and that he only handled them in a box or under a cloth?
||
|response=
*[["Eye of Faith"/"Spiritual Eye" statements by Martin Harris]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Witnesses/"Eye of Faith" and "Spiritual Eye" statements by Martin Harris]]
||
|authorsources=
*Stephen Burnett, letter to Br Johnson, April 15, 1838, Joseph Smith Papers, Letterbook, April 20, 1837-February 9, 1843, 64-66 cited in {{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=108}}.
*Stephen Burnett, letter to Br Johnson, April 15, 1838, Joseph Smith Papers, Letterbook, April 20, 1837-February 9, 1843, 64-66 cited in {{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=108}}.
|-
}}
|
====505n47 (HB)====
====505n47 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Joseph Smith claimed that the Three Witnesses saw the plates in a vision.
*Joseph Smith claimed that the Three Witnesses saw the plates in a vision.
||
|response=
*[[Book of Mormon witnesses/Spiritual or literal]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Witnesses/Spiritual or literal]]
||
|authorsources=
*Joseph Smith, "History of Joseph Smith—Continued", ''Times and Seasons'', September 1, 1842, vol. 3, no. 21, 897-898.
*Joseph Smith, "History of Joseph Smith—Continued", ''Times and Seasons'', September 1, 1842, vol. 3, no. 21, 897-898.
|-
}}
|
====505n47 (HB)====
====505n47 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did David Whitmer say that none of the Three Witnesses ever actually physically saw or handled the plates?
*Did David Whitmer say that none of the Three Witnesses ever actually physically saw or handled the plates?
||
|response=
*{{FalseStatement}}: Whitmer wrote a letter in which he said: "As to what you Say about the correspondence published 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."{{ref|whitmer.1}}
*{{FalseStatement}}: Whitmer wrote a letter in which he said: "As to what you Say about the correspondence published 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."{{ref|whitmer.1}}
* The author ignores multiple confirmed statements from the witnesses, and cites a statement which the witness explicitly rejects.
* The author ignores multiple confirmed statements from the witnesses, and cites a statement which the witness explicitly rejects.
*[[Book of Mormon witnesses/Recant]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Witnesses/Recant]]
*[[Book_of_Mormon_witnesses/Spiritual_or_literal|Spiritual or literal?]]
*[[Book_of_Mormon/Witnesses/Spiritual_or_literal|Spiritual or literal?]]
||
|authorsources=
*David Whitmer, interview recorded by P. Wilhelm Poulson, c. early 1878, reprinted in ''Deseret Evening News'', August 16, 1878. [Available in {{EarlyMormonDocs|vol=6|start=37|end=40}}]
*David Whitmer, interview recorded by P. Wilhelm Poulson, c. early 1878, reprinted in ''Deseret Evening News'', August 16, 1878. [Available in {{EarlyMormonDocs|vol=6|start=37|end=40}}]
*{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=77-80}}
*{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=77-80}}
*{{CriticalWork:Tanner:Mormonism Shadow|pages=50-55}}
*{{CriticalWork:Tanner:Mormonism Shadow|pages=50-55}}
|-
}}
|
 
====508n59 (HB)====
====508n59 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Do Latter-day Saint try to discredit statements of Charles Anthon by pointing out a discrepancy between his letters, where no actual discrepancy exist?
*Do Latter-day Saint try to discredit statements of Charles Anthon by pointing out a discrepancy between his letters, where no actual discrepancy exist?
||
|response=
* Richard Bushman disagrees:
* Richard Bushman disagrees:
**[[Anthon transcript]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript]]
||
|authorsources=
*Persuitte, 303-304, endnote#19.
*Persuitte, 303-304, endnote#19.
|-
}}
|


====55, 508n60 (HB) 55, 506n60 (PB)====
====55, 508n60 (HB) 55, 506n60 (PB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Have scholars have declared that there is no language called "Reformed Egyptian?"
*Have scholars have declared that there is no language called "Reformed Egyptian?"
||
|response=
*[[Book of Mormon anachronisms/Reformed Egyptian|Reformed Egyptian]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Anachronisms/Reformed Egyptian|Reformed Egyptian]]
*[[../../Use of sources/Reformed Egyptian|Use of sources: Reformed Egyptian]]
*[[../../Use of sources/Reformed Egyptian|Use of sources: Reformed Egyptian]]
||
|authorsources=
*John A. Wilson, letter to Marvin Cowan, March 16, 1966 quoted in {{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=144}}
*John A. Wilson, letter to Marvin Cowan, March 16, 1966 quoted in {{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=144}}
|-
}}
|
====55, 508n62 (HB)====
====55, 508n62 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph use his "peep stone" to translate the Book of Mormon?
*Did Joseph use his "peep stone" to translate the Book of Mormon?
||
|response=
*[[Book of Mormon translation method]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Translation/Method]]
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]]
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]]
||
|authorsources=
*Hiel Lewis, "Review of Mormonism: Rejoinder to Elder Cadwell." ''Amboy Journal'', June 4, 1879, quoted in {{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=172}}.
*Hiel Lewis, "Review of Mormonism: Rejoinder to Elder Cadwell." ''Amboy Journal'', June 4, 1879, quoted in {{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=172}}.
|-
}}
|


====56, 508n63-65 (HB)====
====56, 508n63-65 (HB)====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Emma Smith and David Whitmer confirm that Joseph translated using his seer stone in a hat?
*Did Emma Smith and David Whitmer confirm that Joseph translated using his seer stone in a hat?
||
|response=
*[[Book of Mormon translation method]]
*[[Book of Mormon/Translation/Method]]
||
|authorsources=
*Emma Smith Bidamon, Interview with Joseph Smith, III, February 1879, reprinted in Vogel, ''Early Mormon Documents'', vol. 1, 539.
*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.
*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.
*David Whitmer, ''An Address to all believers in Christ'', 12.
{{EndClaimsTable}}
}}


==Endnotes==
==Endnotes==

Revision as of 03:52, 12 February 2010


Claims made in "Chapter 2: Moroni, Magic, and Masonry"
A FAIR Analysis of:
One Nation Under Gods
A work by author: Richard Abanes
 Claims made in "Chapter 4: Smith's Golden Book"

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

41, 500 n2-4 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Joseph use at least two seer stones?

Author's source(s)

Response

42, 500n7 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Isaac Hale, Emma's father, disapprove of Joseph because of his money digging activities?

Author's source(s)

Response

44

Claim
  • Was Joseph pronounced "guilty" of performing illegal activities with his seer stone?

Author's source(s)

  • A.W. Benton, Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate, April 9, 1831, New Series 2, 120.

Response

46, 503 n.18

Claim
  • Regarding Joseph's "trial," Hugh Nibley said, "If this court record is authentic, it is the most damning evidence in existence against Joseph Smith."

Author's source(s)

  • Hugh Nibley, The Myth Makers, 142.

Response

46, 503n20 (HB)

Claim
  • 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."

Author's source(s)

  • Francis Kirkham, A New Witness for Christ in the America, 386.

Response

47, 503n22 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Joseph realize that money-digging was only earning him $14 a month, and that this was "not nearly enough to support a family?"

Author's source(s)

  • History of the Church 3:29

Response

47, 503n23 (HB)

Claim
  • Is it true that Joseph initially "attached no religious significance" to the "golden book" that he told people he would be retrieving, and that he instead said that the book would "tell him how to get money that was buried in the ground?"

Author's source(s)

  • Parley Chase, letter to James T. Cobb, April 3, 1879 quoted in Wyl, Joseph Smith, the Prophet, His Family, and His Friends, 276.

Response

48, 503n25 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Joseph decide to convert his book into a saga about America's ancient inhabitants as a money making scheme?

Author's source(s)

Response

503n25 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Joseph try to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon in Canada?

Author's source(s)

  • Hiram Page, letter to William McLellin, February 2, 1848.
  • David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 30-31.

Response

48, 503-4n29-32 (HB)

Claim
  • Was one of Joseph's early descriptions of Moroni that of a "bloody ghost" with his throat cut?

Author's source(s)

  • 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.

Response

50-51, n34-36 (HB)

Claim
  • Did a "toad-like" creature which "assumed the appearance of a man" and struck Joseph on the side of his head, prevent him from retriving the gold plates?

Author's source(s)

Response

51 (HB)

Claim
  • The author refers to "[A] subsequent version of Smith's ever-changing tale..."

Author's source(s)

  • No source given.

Response

51 (HB)

Claim
  • Was it "widely understood" in the 1800s the Joseph located the plates by using his seer stone to see where they had been deposited?

Author's source(s)

  • 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!

Response

51 (HB)

Claim
  • Is it true that "all of the religious aspects" of Joseph's story were added later?

Author's source(s)

  • Orasmus Turner, 214.
  • Hiel Lewis.

Response

52 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Joseph Smith claim that the moon was inhabited?

Author's source(s)

  • Oliver B. Huntington, "The Inhabitants of the Moon," The Young Woman's Journal, 1892, vol. 3, 263-264.

Response

52 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Joseph teach the doctrine of "Caucasians advancing to godhood?"

Author's source(s)

  • No source provided.

Response
 FAIR WIKI EDITORS: Check sources

52 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Joseph teach the notion that "Blacks, Indians, and other people of color are cursed spirits?"

Author's source(s)

  • No source provided.

Response

53, 505-506n47 (HB) 53, 503-504n47 (PB)

Claim
  • The author states: "After all, no one had actually seen the plates, nor would anyone ever see them"

Author's source(s)

  •  Misrepresentation of source: these testimonies cited below assert that they did see the plates, not that "no one" had.
    • Testimony of the Three Witnesses
    • Testimony of the Eight Witnesses

Response

505n47 (HB)

Claim
  • Did the witnesses only see the plates through "visionary experiences?"

Author's source(s)

  • No source provided.

Response

505n47 (HB)

Claim
  • Did the eight witnesses only "see" the plates as long as they were covered with a cloth of some kind?

Author's source(s)

  • No source provided.

Response

505n47 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Martin Harris say that none of the eight witnesses ever saw the plates, and that he only handled them in a box or under a cloth?

Author's source(s)

Response

505n47 (HB)

Claim
  • Joseph Smith claimed that the Three Witnesses saw the plates in a vision.

Author's source(s)

  • Joseph Smith, "History of Joseph Smith—Continued", Times and Seasons, September 1, 1842, vol. 3, no. 21, 897-898.

Response

505n47 (HB)

Claim
  • Did David Whitmer say that none of the Three Witnesses ever actually physically saw or handled the plates?

Author's source(s)

  • 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.

Response

  •  The author's claim is false: Whitmer wrote a letter in which he said: "As to what you Say about the correspondence published 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?

508n59 (HB)

Claim
  • Do Latter-day Saint try to discredit statements of Charles Anthon by pointing out a discrepancy between his letters, where no actual discrepancy exist?

Author's source(s)

  • Persuitte, 303-304, endnote#19.

Response

55, 508n60 (HB) 55, 506n60 (PB)

Claim
  • Have scholars have declared that there is no language called "Reformed Egyptian?"

Author's source(s)

Response

55, 508n62 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Joseph use his "peep stone" to translate the Book of Mormon?

Author's source(s)

Response

56, 508n63-65 (HB)

Claim
  • Did Emma Smith and David Whitmer confirm that Joseph translated using his seer stone in a hat?

Author's source(s)

  • 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.

Response

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.

Further reading

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