Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Use of sources/Prophetic Autobiography

Did Joseph Smith derive the name "Lemuel" from a neighbor?


A FAIR Analysis of:
One Nation Under Gods
A work by author: Richard Abanes

Author's Claims


One Nation under Gods, page 72 (hardbound and paperback)

The book claims that the name "Lemuel" as a "wicked character" in the Book of Mormon may have been derived from Lemuel Durfee, whom is said to be "a neighbor who in 1825 bought the Smith's farm when they could no longer afford it, thus forcing them to live as tenants."

Author's Sources


Endnote 61, page 514 (hardback); page 512 (paperback)

Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents vol. 1, 321, footnote #128.

Question: Could Joseph Smith have modeled the "villian" named "Lemuel" in the Book of Mormon upon the Smith's landlord, Lemuel Durfee?

Notes