Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Becoming Gods/Index

Index to claims made in Becoming Gods: A Closer Look at 21st-Century Mormonism

This is an index of claims made in this work with links to corresponding responses within the FAIRwiki. An effort has been made to provide the author's original sources where possible.

Claims made in Preface: "Can't We All Just Get Along?"

Page	Claim	Response	Use of sources
13	Mormons exist in "two distinct groups:" Chapel Mormons and Internet Mormons.	Internet Mormons vs. Chapel Mormons	Jason Gallentine (a.k.a. "Dr. Shades"), "Internet Mormonism vs. Chapel Mormonism"
15	The Journal of Discourses was viewed on par with the Standard Works by early Church members.	Journal of Discourses
16	"Gospel Principles" is published by the Church, but contains a disclaimer that states that it is not an official publication of the Church.

Claims made in Chapter 1: God's Latter-Day Prophet

Page	Claim	Response	Use of sources
24	Joseph's family survived by "money digging."	Joseph Smith and money digging	David Persuitte, Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2000) p. 35.
24	Joseph was adept at "occult ritual."	Joseph Smith and the occult	No reference given by the author: The note simply says "Smith was well-known as a money-digger throughout western New York and northern Pennsylvania."
24	Joseph's neighbors thought that he was "an imposter, hypocrite and liar."	The Hurlbut affidavits	Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed
26	During the First Vision, Joseph was told that "all Christian creeds" were an abomination and that "all Christian teachers" were corrupt.	Individual versus organizational apostasy  [needs work]
26	Many Mormons believe that "their salvation, to a limited degree, rests upon Smith."	Joseph Smith's status in LDS belief	In a note on page 332, Abanes says ""I do not mean to say the Mormons hold Joseph Smith on an equal par with Jesus Christ. Smith holds a place just below Christ. Tanner, The Case Against Mormonism (Utah Lighthouse Ministry, Salt Lake City, 1967), vol. 1, p. 75 Joseph Field Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, p. 302
26	Bruce R. McConkie said that "we must turn to Joseph Smith to gain salvation."	Joseph Smith's status in LDS belief	Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah (SLC: Deserat Book, 1982), p. 334.
26	Dallin Oaks said that "I have built my life on the testimony and mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith."	Joseph Smith's status in LDS belief	Dallin Oaks, "Joseph, the Man and the Prophet," Ensign, May 1996, p. 71.
27	Joseph Smith was "harsh and violent."	Personal failings of Joseph Smith
27	James E. Faust said that Joseph Smith "was the greatest prophet who ever lived upon the earth."	Joseph Smith's status in LDS belief	James E. Faust, "The Importance of Bearing Testimony," Liahona, Mar. 1997, p.3.
28	Joseph Smith may have been a "pious fraud," who believed that he had been called of God while perpetrating fraud.	Joseph Smith's character  [needs work]	Dan Vogel in Waterman, p. 50
28	Joseph Smith and other church leaders "often used deception to conceal their activities."	Joseph Smith's character  [needs work]
28	Polygamy was practiced in secret and denied publicly.	Joseph Smith and polygamy	Times and Seasons, Mar 15, 1843, vol. 4, no. 9, p. 143
28	Heber C. Kimball predicted that the world would someday see Joseph Smith as "a god."	Joseph Smith's status in LDS belief	Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, 5:88
28	Brigham Young applied 1 John 4:3 to Joseph Smith.		Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 8:176
29	LDS claim that Joseph Smith "told but one" First Vision.	First Vision accounts	Preston Nibley, Joseph Smith the Prophet (SLC: Deseret News, 1944), p. 30.
30	The 1832 account of the First Vision states that Joseph was in his "sixteenth year," and that he "probably meant when he was 16 years old.	Different age provided in the 1832 text	Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:28
30	The 1832 account does not mention two personages.	Only one Personage appears in the 1832 account	Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:28
30	The 1832 account does not mention that "all the churches in Joseph's day were false."	1832 account doesn't forbid joining a church	Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:28
31	Joseph claimed that he learned about the errors in Christendom through personal Bible study several years before the First Vision.		Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:27
31	Orson Pratt said the the two personages "declared themselves to be angels."	Orson Pratt confused about "angel" or Father-Son	Pratt in "Biography and Journal of William I. Appleby, Elder in the Church of Latter Day Saints," 1848 reprinted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, pp. 146-147.
31	Church historian Andrew Jenson said that "The angel again forbade Joseph to join any of these churches."	Andrew Jenson called personage an "angel"	Andrew Jenson, "Joseph Smith, The Prophet," Jan. 1888, vol. 3, nos. 1-3, p. 355.
31	Joseph dictated the 1838 account of the First Vision to counter the leadership crisis in Kirtland.	1838 account modified to offset leadership crisis?
31	The visit of Moroni was confused with the First Vision, and "was probably the real first vision."	First Vision fabricated to give "Godly authority"
34	"Not a single piece" of literature published in the 1830's mentions a visit by the Father and the Son.	No reference to First Vision in 1830s publications?
34	Joseph's mother said that the First Vision was of an angel.	Prophet's mother said First Vision was of an "angel"	Lucy Mack Smith, letter to Solomon Mack Jr., Jan. 6, 1831, reprinted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, p. 216.
34	Joseph privately began reworking the story of seeing an angel into a vision of Christ.	Oliver Cowdery not aware of First Vision in 1834-35	Oliver Cowdery, Messenger and Advocate, Feb. 1835, vol. 1, no. 5, pp. 77-80.
34	Without "Mormonism's so-called" Melchizedek Priesthood, no man can see God and live.	D&C 84 says God not seen without priesthood	DC 84꞉21-22
34	Nobody knows "when or how" the Joseph received the Melchizedek Priesthood.	Date of the restoration of the Melchizedek priesthood	Online reference to anti-Mormon site "lds-mormon.com"
34	Joseph "had to backdate" the First Vision to 1820 in response to a leadership crisis.	1838 account modified to offset leadership crisis?	Grant Palmer, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, p. 251
35	The First Vision originally stated that the personages were angels.	The "Angels" of the 1835 account	William Smith, Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, p. 495. George A. Smith Lucy Smith Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 2:171 John Taylor, Journal of Discourses vol. ?, p. 167. Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, 6:29"
35	There was no 1820 revival in Palmyra that converted "great multitudes" of people.	Religious revivals in 1820	Oliver Cowdery, Messenger and Advocate, Feb. 1835, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 42.
35	Joseph Smith joined other churches after having been told that churches were wrong.	Joseph Smith joined other churches
35, 342 n. 79, n. 80	Newspapers reported in 1829 that Joseph Smith had a dream in 1827 about a spirit visiting him three times in one night.		From the Palmyra Freeman: Golden Bible, Niagra Courier, Aug. 27, 1829, vol. 2, no. 18. "The Gold Bible," Rochester Advertiser and Telegraph, Aug. 31, 1829.
35-36, 343 n. 83	Joseph Smiths First Vision may have been a dream of a "bloody ghost dressed as a Spaniard.		Hiel Lewis, letter ot James T. Cobb, Amboy Journal, Apr. 30, 1879, reprinted in Wyl, pp. 79-80 Fayette Lapham in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, p. 459."
36, 343 n. 85	Joseph Smith was an "occultist."	Joseph Smith and the occult	Lance S. Owens, "Joseph Smith: America's Hermetic Prophet," Gnosis, Spring 1995, no. 35, p. 60
36	Early Mormons believed in "witchcraft."		John L. Brooke, The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644-1844, pp. 71-72.
36	Joseph's mother talked about "magic circles" and the "faculty of Abrac."		Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, p. 285.
37, 344 n. 93	Joseph's family had a "magick dagger" that was owned by Hyrum Smith.		No source given. The endnote describes the dagger and its alleged importance to Joseph without acknowledging the source of the information.
37, 344 n. 94	Joseph's family had "three magick parchments." One of these was owned by Hyrum Smith.		No source given. The endnote mentions the ""Holiness to the Lord,"" the ""Saint Peter Bind Them,"" and the ""Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah"" parchments without showing how they are related to the Smith family. An indirect reference is made to the book Occult Sciences."
37, 344 n. 95	Joseph had a "Jupiter talisman" with him the day he died.	Joseph Smith and Jupiter talisman	No source given. The endnote simply states the date of Joseph's death."
38	"Researchers of Mormonism" now believe that Joseph was influenced by "Jewish kabbalism."
38	Joseph considered the date April 6th to have "astrological significance."		D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, pp. 76-79, 278-280.
38-39, 346 n. 104-109	Joseph was arrested in 1826 for being a "disorderly person and an imposter."	Joseph Smith's 1826 glasslooking trial	Dan Vogel, "Rethinking the 1826 Judicial Decision," Mormon Scripture Studies: An E-Journal of Critical Thought.
39	No "statements of repentance by Smith" for money digging have ever been found.		Sam Katich, "Joseph Smith," www.fairlds.org/apol/morm201/m20117b.html
40, 348 n. 123	Gordon B. Hinckley cited false documentation to support the story of an 1820 revival.	Religious revivals in 1820  [needs work]	Gordon B. Hinckley, Truth Restored, pp. 1-2.
42, 349 n. 126	There is no evidence that Joseph Smith was "persecuted" for telling the story of his vision between 1820 and 1824.		Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, p. 29, 46-47.
42	Contradictions in the stories of Paul's vision were "long ago resolved by scholars analyzing the Greek texts."		No reference given.
42	Brodie's idea that the First Vision may have been "the elaboration of some half-remembered dream stimulated by the early revival excitement" is a satisfactory way to "explain things."		Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History p. 25.
44	Brodie's idea that the First Vision may have been "created some time after 1830 when the need arose for a magnificent tradition to cancel out the stories of his fortune-telling and money-digging" "further weakens" Mormon claims.		Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History p. 25.
45, 351 n. 144	Joseph "continued practicing magick, divination, astrology, and soothsaying long after the LDS Church was founded in 1830."	Joseph Smith and seer stones	No specific reference is provided. The note simply mentions that seer stones continued to be used after the Church was organized in 1830 - a fact that could be easily deduced from reading the Doctrine and Covenants.
46	Brigham Young used Oliver Cowdery's divining rod to point out the location where the temple would be built in Salt Lake City.		D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, p. 206.
46	Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball were given divining rods by Joseph Smith.		D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, p. 256.
46	Joseph received a revelation praising Oliver's gift of using his divining talents.	Working with the rod
48	Joseph continued to discover and use new seer stones.	Joseph Smith and seer stones  [needs work]	D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, p. 200.
48	Joseph "never stopped being" an occultist.	Joseph Smith and the occult	Author's conclusion.
49	The activities of Joseph's family may have been "satanic."	Joseph Smith and the occult	Author's conclusion.

Claims made in Chapter 2: And it Came to Pass

Page	Claim	Response	Use of sources
51, 353 n. 2	The Book of Mormon plagiarizes from the Bible and the Apocrypha.	Book of Mormon plagiarized from the Bible
51, 354 n. 3	Some Book of Mormon stories are simply reworked Bible stories.	Book of Mormon plagiarized from the Bible	Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, p. 62-63
55	The 1839 history of the Church identified the angel who delivered the plates to Joseph as Nephi rather than Moroni.	Nephi or Moroni	Joseph Smith 1839 History Messenger and Advocate, vol. 3, no 12, pp. 53, 71. 1851 Pearl of Great Price, "Joseph Smith History," p. 41 Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for many Generations, p. 79. John C. Whitmer, "The Eight Witnesses," published in Andrew Jenson, HR, Oct. 1888, vol. 7, p. 621."
56	The name "Nephi" is related to "generic terms used by nineteenth-century occultists for spirit messengers."		D. Michael Quinn, Mormonism and the Magic World View, pp. 198-199.
56, 357 n. 34	Joseph used his seer stone to locate the plates.		Martin Harris, Tiffany's Monthly interview, 1859. Hosea Stout, On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, Juanita Brooks, ed., vol. 2. p. 593.
56, 357 n. 33	Joseph Smith's vision of Moroni may have taken place through his seer stone		Steven C. Walker, "Joseph Smith: 'The Gift of Seeing,'" in Bryan Waterman ed., The Prophet Puzzle, p. 97.
56, 357 n. 35, 36	The "golden book" was originally supposed to be about "hidden treasure" — the "religious twist" was added later.		Parley Chase, letter to James T. Cobb, Apr. 3, 1879, in Wilhelm Ritter von Wymetal, Joseph Smith, the Prophet, His Family, and His Friends, p. 276, reprinted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 3, p. 135. Hiel Lewis, The Amboy Journal, Apr. 30, 1879, quoted in Wesley P. Walters, "The Mormon Prophet Attempts to Join the Methodists"
56	Joseph translated the plates by looking at his seer stone in his hat. The plates were not nearby.	Joseph Smith and seer stones	Isaac Hale, "Mormonism," Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian, May 1, 1834, p. 1.
57, 358-9 n. 47	Each sentence and word in the 1830 Book of Mormon "had supposedly come directly from God."		Joseph F. Smith, quoted by Oliver B. Huntington, Journal of Oliver Huntington, p. 168.
57-58, 359 n. 49	A voice from heaven proclaimed that the translation was correct, therefore no further editing should have been required.	Book of Mormon textual changes	History of the Church, vol. 1, pp. 54-55.
58, 359 n. 50, 51	The use of the word "synagogue" in the Book of Mormon is an anachronism.	Book of Mormon anachronisms/Synagogues  [needs work]	Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, p. 268 Alma 16꞉13 The New International Dictionary of the Bible, p. 972
58, 359 n. 52, 53	There are references to cows, oxen, horses, and goats in the New World hundreds of years before Christ.	Book of Mormon anachronisms/Animals	1 Nephi 18꞉25 Thomas D.S. Key, ""A Biloogist Looks at the Book of Mormon,"" Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, June 1985, XXX-VIII, p. 3."
58, 359 n. 53	"LDS apologist John Sorenson has suggested that Smith mistranslated numerous words" from the gold plates and that "cattle and oxen should have been rendered deer and bison," and that "horses should also have been translated deer."	Book of Mormon anachronisms/Animals	John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, pp. 191-276, 299.
58, 359 n. 54	The Book of Mormon "is simply a rehashing" of the speculation in the 19th century regarding Indian origins due to the presence of burial mounds "dotting the land."	Book of Mormon and the Mound Builders	*Brodie, No Man Knows My History, p. 34.
60, 360 n. 58	Joseph Smith incorporated text from Josiah Priest's The Wonders of Nature into the Book of Mormon.	Book of Mormon plagiarism accusations/The Wonders of Nature	*Josiah Priest, The Wonders of Nature, 1825 Abanes, p. 69 The Tanners are the source of this comparison, although it is not explicitly stated by the author. The author does mention that the Tanners demonstrate that a copy of the book was available in the Manchester library."
60-61, 360 n. 59-63	Joseph Smith plagiariazed Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews	Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews	Ethan Smith, View of the Hebrews, 1825 David Persuitte, p. 107, 122 Sandra Tanner, ""Where Did Joseph Smith Get His Ideas for the Book of Mormon?"""
61	Anyone who looked on the gold plates would die.	Viewing the gold plates would result in death?	Martin Harris, Tiffany's Monthly interview, 1859.
62, 361 n. 69-72	The witnesses never actually physically saw the plates - they only saw them in visions.	Book of Mormon witnesses/Spiritual or literal	Grant Palmer, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, pp. 175-176.
64	Martin Harris said that he never saw the plates with his "natural eyes."	"Eye of Faith"/"Spiritual Eye" statements by Martin Harris	LDS apostle Stephen Burnett, letter to Lyman E. Johnson, April 15, 1838 reprinted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents 2:291
64, 362 n. 81-82	Cowdery, Whitmer and Harris's statements that they actually saw the plates only refer to times that the plates were either covered with a cloth or in a wooden box.	Book of Mormon witnesses/Spiritual or literal	Palmer, An Insider's View, pp. 198-199. Harris, Tiffany's Monthly interview, 1859."
64, 362 n. 83-84	Martin Harris said that none of the eight witnesses had seen or handled the plates.	Book of Mormon witnesses/Spiritual or literal	Palmer, An Insider's View, p. 204-206.
65	The Book of Mormon "can hardly be considered unique" since James Strang produced a set of plates that were seen by witnesses.	James Strang	Palmer, An Insider's View, p. 208-212.
65, 362 n. 87	LDS defenders (apologists) have redefined many of the terms that Joseph Smith used in the Book of Mormon text: steel means iron, horses are deer, tents are huts, etc.		Dan Vogel, Brent Metcalfe, American Apocrypha, p. xiii.
66, 362 n. 88	LDS scholars such as Dee F. Green have stated that Book of Mormon archaeology is a "myth."	Book of Mormon archeology	Dee F. Green, "Book of Mormon Archeology: The Myths and the Alternatives," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Summer 1969), vol. 4, pp. 72-80
66, 362 n. 89	Dr. Michael Coe stated that there was no Book of Mormon archaeology.	Amerindians as Lamanites/Maya and Olmec	Michael Coe, "Mormons and Archaeology: An Outside View," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Winter 1973), vol. 8, p. 44.
66, 363 n. 92	LDS scholar Terryl L. Givens "admitted" that no connection has been made between the Book of Mormon and cultures or civilizations in the Western hemisphere.	Amerindians as Lamanites/Maya and Olmec	Terryl L. Givens, By the Hand of Mormon, p. 155. The author acknowledges in his endnote that Givens "however, also quoted BYU professor Daniel Peterson, who made a statement in support of the BOM's unique character." Daniel C. Peterson, "Editor's Introduction: By What Measure Shall We Mete? (Review of Hodgson's Test)," FARMS Review of Books 2/1 (1990): vii–vii. off-site"
67, 363 n. 95-96	The limited geography theory "cannot bear rigorous scrutiny" and "does violence" to the text of the Book of Mormon.	Book of Mormon geography/New World/Limited Geography Theory	Vogel and Metcalfe, American Apocrypha, pp. viii-ix. Deanne G. Matheny, "Does the Shoe Fit? A critique of the Limited tehuantepec Geography," in New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology.
67, 363 n.99	Apologists have suggested that "not a single early Mormon, including Joseph Smith, ever bothered reading the Book of Mormon 'closely enough to grasp the fact' " that the plates were not buried in the hill where the final Nephite battle occurred.		John L. Sorenson and Matthew Roper, "Before DNA," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12/1 (2003). [6–23] link, p. 10.
71, n. 120	Joseph Smith founded the "Restored Church" on the belief that all Native Americans were descendants of the Israelites.		Oliver Cowdery's Speech to the Delawares. Parley P. Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt.