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Claim
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Response
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Author's sources
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108
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"Sarah Pratt told…Wyl…'There was an old Woman called Durfee…to keep her quiet, he admitted her to the secret blessings of celestial bliss—she boasted here in Salt Lake of having been one of Joseph Smith's wives." He follows Compton in misreading the Wyl data. Richard Anderson and Scott Faulring argue that In Sacred Loneliness misleads the reader by claiming that “Sarah Pratt mentions that she heard a Mrs. Durfee in Salt Lake City profess to have been one of Smith’s wives.” But this changes the actual report of Sarah’s comments on Mrs. Durfee: “I don’t think she was ever sealed to him, though it may have been the case after Joseph’s death. . . . At all events, she boasted here in Salt Lake of having been one of Joseph’s wives.”
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- If anything these data argue that Durfee was aware of and involved in promoting and teaching plural marriage but was not necessarily sealed to Joseph in life.
- SMITH FARMS article
- DISTORTION of SOURCE
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- Wyl, Mormon Portraits, 54.
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110-111
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"When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 and exposed the world to then-indecipherable ancient writings, Europe and the United States became fascinated with Egyptian artifacts. Egyptian hieroglyphics, ike the origin of Native American tribes, were mysteries of the times, sometimes regarded as clues to Indian Origins."
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- "Joseph Smith had grown up…during the time when public interest in the enigmatic Egyptians was burgeoning. The Manchester, New York, rental library, within five miles of the Smith family farm, had acquired a volume on Napoleon."
- Joseph and Egyptian, etc.
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111
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"This is not to suggest that Smith necessarily visited the library…."
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- Joseph Smith and the Manchester (New York) Library," BYU Studies 22 (Summer 1982): 333-56.
- So why mention it if not to give that impression? It is irrelevant to Joseph Smith's thought or career.
- CHECK SOURCE
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111
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"…but from the age of ten…to about age twenty-two (December 1827) when he began dictating the Book of Mormon, published accounts of Napoleon and his foray into Egypt would have been available in books, periodicals, and possibly tracts."
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- Fallacy of possibility
- Joseph and Egyptian, etc.
- Smith offers us only speculation, with no evidence that Joseph paid any attention to such matters.
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110 – 111 n. 150
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[Of the Chandler papyri] Joseph "translated some of the hieroglyphics by means of his white seer stone to produce 'an alphabet…[and] grammar of the Egyptian language' through July 1835."
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- Kirtland_Egyptian_Papers
- GD Smith here acts as if a highly debated matter is settled. It is not at all clear that Joseph's seer stone was used "to produce" the alphabet and grammar. Rather, the alphabet and grammar may have been an attempt by some (possibly including Joseph) to 'reverse-engineer' a translation of Egyptian from the divine translation given of the Book of Abraham.
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- History of the Church 2:235-36, 238.
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112
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A scholar in 1823 "rightly concluded that these American [Indian] symbols 'appear to have had little or nothing in common with those of the Egyptians.'"
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- Hebrew_and_Native_American_languages
- This is of no relevance to Joseph Smith unless we are to assume that Joseph taught that American writing could be used to illuminate ancient Egyptian. The Book of Mormon explicitly rejects any such idea, saying that "we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech…. none other people knoweth our language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof" (Mormon 9꞉31,34).
- GD Smith should also consider consulting scholarship more recent than 1823 if he wishes to know whether there are any links between Old World and New World languages.
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- Thomas Young, An Account of Some Recent Discoveries in Hieroglyphic Literature and Egypitan Antiquities (London: John Murray, 1823).
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112
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"As we consider Joseph Smith's new religious texts in early 1842, we should review what was known of the language of ancient Egyptian, not only in 1823 when Smith began to anticipate the Book of Mormon's 'reformed Egyptian records,' but later in the 1830s and 1840s when he prepared his second Egyptian scripture, the Book of Abraham."
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- GD Smith is again presuming that studies of ancient Egyptian would have had any relevance for the Book of Mormon records—yet the Book of Mormon explicitly says they would not.
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112
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"Joseph Smith… [made] the association of Native American pictographs with 'reformed Egyptian.'"
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- What evidence is there of this?
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112
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"Smith's association of these unrelated cultures [Egypt and the New World] simply reflected the prevailing misperceptions of the pre- to mid-nineteenth century."
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- Joseph's scriptural texts associated only a small group from the Old World with the New. His 1842 scriptures had nothing at all to do with the New World.
- That Joseph's own personal opinions may have reflected his time is irrelevant, unless we presume at the outset (as GD Smith does) that the Book of Mormon was a fabrication by Joseph. If it was not, then his personal views are irrelevant.
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113
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"The first ancient scripture Smith presented since the Book of Mormon was the Book of Abraham."
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- History unclear or in error
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113 n. 157
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The JST "altered over 3,400 verses but left the deities singular and in a Trinitarian format."
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- Godhead_and_the_Trinity
- Since the original Bible has no Nicene Trinitarian format, it would be difficult to Joseph to leave it there.
- If GD Smith does not mean a Nicene Trinity, then it would be strange for Joseph to alter it, since the Book of Mormon and Book of Abraham all teach a non-Nicene trinitarianism.
- The Book of Moses (Moses 1꞉3,6,13,24,32-33, Moses 2꞉1, Moses 4꞉2-3,28) also described the distinction between Father and Son in non-Nicene terms, as did the Enoch material (Moses 5꞉57, Moses 6꞉51-52,57,59,66, Moses 7꞉27,39), long pre-dating the Book of Abraham (Summer-Winter 1830).
- Joseph was also teaching a non-Nicene Trinitarianism long before 1842:
- 1830 statement about seeing "God"
- Only one Personage appears in the 1832 account
- Lack of contemporary Father and Son vision until 1838?
- GD Smith wants to display an evolution in Joseph's views, but he has not done the necessary legwork. He merely presumes, rather than demonstrates.
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- Quinn, Mormon Hierarchy: Origins, 620.
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114
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"The prophet coalesced astronomy, biblical mystery, ancient Egyptian writing, and Masonic ritual into portentous ceremony for his followers."
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- Oy vey. Lots to say here….
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114
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"The spring of 1842 was also the time when John C. Bennett began to separate himself from Smith…."
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- John C. Bennett
- Bennett did not separate himself, Joseph forced Bennett out because of his crimes.
- [See also ABOVE XXXX].
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116
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Marinda Johnson "met Joseph while he was retranslating the Bible with Sidney Rigdon in her parents' home in 1831."
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- [See also p. 31, 44 above.]
- GD Smith again does not tell us that Marinda testified against the version of Joseph's mobbing which he pushes on p. 44.
- See Smith FARMS, Marinda Nancy Johnson.
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117-118
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Orson Hyde "was reportedly 'furious'" with Joseph's plural marriage doctrine.
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- SMITH FARMS
- Cites Ann Eliza Young, but fails to tell the reader there are three other versions, each of which is different and hostile.
- Ann Eliza’s report of anger is also suspect. In the material cited by G. D. Smith, she describes Hyde “in a furious passion” because “he thought it no harm for him to win the affection of another man’s wife, . . . but he did not propose having his rights interfered with even by the holy Prophet whose teachings he so implicitly followed.” Yet Orson did not begin practicing plural marriage until after he knew of Marinda’s sealing to Joseph.
- Despite the hostile reports of Orson Hyde’s anger, there are no contemporary accounts of problems between Orson and Joseph, who repeatedly dined with the Hydes following Orson’s return from Palestine.
- While it is possible that his initial reaction was heated, this perspective derives entirely from authors writing scandalous exposés of the Mormons long after the fact.
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- Ann Eliza Young, Wife Number Nineteen, 324–26.
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119
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"[A]fter [John C. Bennett's] disagreement with Smith, the record of his celestial marriages was apparently expunged."
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- John C. Bennett
- GD Smith is arguing from negative evidence—he claims that the absence of any record of Bennett's "marriages" is proof that the Church or Joseph suppressed them!
- He is presuming that Bennett's "marriages" were at one time sanctioned by Joseph. All the evidence indicates that Joseph was upset whenever Bennett's behavior came to his attention.
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119
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"Smith told Bennett he could not withdraw from the church because he had been 'disfellowshipped' two weeks before on May 11. This apparent backdating was an attempt to discredit Bennett."
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- Smith has mentioned this before. He has now adopted Bennett's version completely, with no hint that there is more to the story.
- [Already addressed above, see pp. 65, 70, 72-73.]
- SMITH Bennett Material
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122
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"In Bennett's first letter…he reported that Smith 'attempted to seduce Miss Nany Rigdon,'…."
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- GLS Bennett Chapter #3 Bennett to Sangamo Journal, June 27, 1842.
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123-125
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Bennett's version of the Sarah Pratt episode
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129-134
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Emma Smith pushing Eliza Snow down the stairs
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- Eliza Snow pregnant
- GLS FARMS Paper
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131-132
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"…historian Fawn M. Brodie thought the documentation was strong enough to include it in her biography of Smith."
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- Fawn Brodie's evidentiary standard was often depressingly low. She was certain that Oliver Buell was Joseph's son (based on photographic evidence) but DNA evidence has resoundingly refuted her.
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131 n. 195
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Smith cites the BYU Studies on Emma and Eliza, but does not disclose that those authors find that the story is not plausible.
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- "“But where are we? Faced with a folk legend, with genuine documents that tell no tales, and dubious ones that contradict themselves and the contemporary accounts, perhaps it is best for us to respond as we must to many paradoxes of our history: consider thoughtfully and then place all the evidence carefully on the shelf, awaiting further documentation, or the Millennium, whichever should come first." – citation at right.
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- Maureen Ursenbach Beecher et al., “Emma and Eliza and the Stairs,” BYU Studies 22/1 (Fall 1982): 86–96.
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132
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Smith cites Newel and Avery, Mormon Enigma without acknowledging or engaging their arguments against the story of Emma and Eliza.
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- The statement that Eliza carried Joseph’s unborn child and lost it [due to an attack by Emma] is brought into question by Eliza’s own journal. While her Victorian reticence probably would have precluded mention of her own pregnancy, if she were indeed carrying Joseph’s child, other evidence in the journal indicates that she may not have been pregnant. Eliza’s brother Lorenzo indicated that by the time she married Joseph, she was “beyond the condition of raising a family.” Also if she was “heavy with child” as the Rich account states, she would not have been teaching school, for even legally married women usually went into seclusion when their pregnancies became obvious. Eliza continued to teach school for a month after her abrupt departure from the Smith household. Her own class attendance record shows that she did not miss a day during the months she taught the Smith children, which would not have been probable had she suffered a miscarriage.
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- Newell and Avery, Mormon Enigma, 134.
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133
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"Most convincing of all is to think that these stories [about Emma] were circulating widely and Eliza never bothered to clarify or refute them."
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- Uncorrected rumor or gossip is more convincing than the absence of diary or behavioral evidence for a pregnancy as outlined by Newel and Avery (see previous)? If I do not rebut an unfounded rumor, does this mean I give it my consent? This seems a strange standard. Joseph and the members of the church tried to rebut the rumors spread by the Hurlburt-Howe affidavits, yet G. D. Smith treats them as valuable insights. The Saints, it seems, are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
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137
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"The History of the Church reports the day's activities…without a hint of a wedding" to Sarah Ann Whitney.
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138
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"Three weeks after the wedding, Joseph took steps to spend some time with his newest bride."
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- Sarah Ann Whitney links
- Again, GD Smith fails to acknowledge that Joseph wanted Sarah Ann and her parents with her.
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139
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"In an extraordinary move, the Nauvoo City Council issued an ordinance limiting the power of state courts and claiming the right to review and dismiss future writs."
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- Roberts, Comprehensive History 2:468-69.
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142
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"It was the ninth night of Joseph's concealment, and Emma had visited him three times, written him several letters, and penned at least one letter on his behalf…For his part, Joseph's private note about his love for Emma was so endearing it found its way into the official church history. In it, he vowed to be hers 'forevermore.' Yet within this context of reassurance and intimacy, a few hours later the same day, even while Joseph was still in grave danger and when secrecy was of the utmost urgency, he made complicated arrangements for a visit from his fifteenth plural wife, Sarah Ann Whitney."
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- Joseph’s behavior is then pictured as callous toward Emma and also as evidence of an almost insatiable sexual hunger.
- Yet again, GD Smith does not acknowledge that Joseph wants all the Whitneys there.
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142-143
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"Smith urged his seventeen-year-old bride to 'come to night' and 'comfort' him—but only if Emma had not returned….Joseph judiciously addressed the latter to 'Brother, and Sister, Whitney, and &c."
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- Despite acknowledging (finally!) that the letter is addressed to all three Whitneys, Smith continues to insist that Sarah Ann is the one who is to "come" and "comfort" him.
- He here (p. 143) reproduces the letter's full text (having used it at least four times to push his reading of Joseph needing Sarah to "comfort" him), but does not address the reason why Joseph sought a visit with his plural wife and her parents: to “tell you all my plans . . . [and] to git the fulness of my blessings sealed upon our heads, &c.”
- Small wonder that Joseph didn’t want a hostile Emma present while trying to administer what he and the Whitneys regarded as sacred ordinances. And, it is unsurprising that he considered a single private room sufficient for the purposes for which he summoned his plural wife and her parents.
- Age of wife again…
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147
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"Invites Whitneys to visit, Sarah Ann to 'comfort me' if Emma not there. Invitation accepted."
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- Having just reproduced the letter, Smith again insists that Sarah Ann is the one to "comfort" Joseph, even though the letter says nothing of the sort.
- Smith does not indicate how he knows the invitation was accepted.
- We do know that the Whitneys were sealed in eternal marriage three days later. But, GD Smith does not tell us that either.
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147–154
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Nancy Rigdon episode
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- Smith Chapter #3 on Bennett
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149
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[Sidney Rigdon] "was in many ways a mentor to Joseph."
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- What evidence is there of this? Joseph was always in charge and always the senior partner, though he was happy to make use of Rigdon's skills as an orator.
- Joseph had published the Book of Mormon and had the Church well established before Rigdon appeared. He did not need Sidney to "mentor" him at all.
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149
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Sidney Rigdon "was not someone Joseph felt comfortable approaching to ask for his daughter's hand in polygamy. So Joseph appealed to the young woman directly."
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- Mind reading
- See Chapter #3 on Bennett
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149
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"For some reason, Marinda [Johnson Hyde] stayed [in the same house as] Apostle Willard Richards, whose wife, Jennetta, was in Massachusetts….Although the two may have lived in separate parts of the building…their living arrangements seemed to be an open scandal."
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- HoC 4:467
- Bennett, History of the Saints, 241; [error! The correct page is 243 for the claim of scandal.]
- Ebenezer Robinson, The Return (Oct 1890): 347 [actually most is on p. 346].
- (Did he copy these from Van Wagoner, Sidney Rigdon, who uses the same page numbers?)
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154
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"…both Nancy [Rigdon] and Martha [Brotherton] were…isolated in a locked room during the persuasive effort."
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- While Nancy and Martha may well have been approached about plural marriage, it is unlikely that they were locked in rooms or confined against their will. One RLDS author argues:
- "The records show that Martha changed her story. As Hyrum reported to the Conference, at first she had told that she was locked in a room for days. But since that was such a ridiculous, unbelievable story, she changed it in her St. Louis affidavit to read that Brigham locked her in Joseph's office for only "about ten minutes."
- "It would have been impossible for Martha to have been imprisoned in any room in the Red Brick Store without it being detected. In fact, she could not have gone up and down the stairs and from room to room without being observed by many. The store was a small, two-story building, and Joseph's office was only about ten feet square. Since dozens of people came to the store daily, her calls for help would have been heard. Martha had but one witness—John Bennett, who asserted in the Sangamo Journal for July 15, 1842, "She was locked up ... I saw her taken into the accursed room."
- "If Martha's story had been true, there would have been many witnesses, because Joseph' s store was the hub of activity in Nauvoo. People came to the store to buy everything from food to footwear. The store building also housed the headquarters for the Church and the city. There, the people paid their tithing and taxes, and conducted banking and real estate business. The store was alive with people by day and by night, for it was also in constant use as a civic and religious center…."
- One suspects Bennett's influence in this part of the story, since Bennett would likewise claim Joseph locked him in a room. In Bennett's case, the story is absurd and contradicted by a non-LDS eyewitnesses.
- SMITH Bennett Chapter #2.
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155
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"As if Sarah Ann Whitney's liaison were not enough…another marriage took place…."
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- Sarah Ann Whitney
- GD Smith persists with Sarah Ann Whitney and "liason."
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