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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/American Massacre/Chapter 2
| Chapter 1 | A FAIR Analysis of: American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows A work by author: Sally Denton
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Chapter 3 |
Claims made in "Chapter 2: Kirtland/Far west, 1831"
12
Claim
The author claims that in Kirtland that Joseph Smith was "infected with the virus of speculation."
Author's source(s)
- Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 188-189. ( Index of claims )
Response
- Prejudicial or loaded language
- Quotes another author's opinion as if it were fact
- How does the author know that Joseph was "speculating"?
13
Claim
It is claimed that Joseph stated that Independence Missouri was the site of the Garden of Eden and that the location of Far West was where Cain killed Abel.
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Garden of Eden in Missouri?
14
Claim
The author, in describing the Kirtland period, states that Joseph became a "swaggering general in his Army of Israel" and that "[d]rilling and pageantry were quite suddenly pervasive aspects of a once-pacific Kirtland existence."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided
Response
- The author's claim is false The author seems to be confusing Kirtland and Nauvoo.
14
Claim
Author's quote: "He then initiated the secret rituals that would further repel their conventional Christian neighbors-anointings, endowments, proxy baptisms, visions, healings, writhing ecstasies, and, especially, the concepts of 'eternal progression' and 'celestial marriage.'"
Author's source(s)
- No source provided
Response
- History unclear or in error: Proxy baptisms were not introduced until Nauvoo, they were not known at Kirtland. Healings and visions were present from the Church's very beginnings. "Writhing ecstasies" were condemned by LDS scripture by 1831 (see DC 50).
- Prejudicial or loaded language: The U.S. Constitution protects private religious practices that do not harm others, including those which might "repel" one's conventional Christian neighbors.
14
Claim
The name of the Church was changed to the "Church of Latter-day Saints" in 1834.
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Changes in the name of the Church
14
Claim
Emma is claimed to have driven "the girl" [Fanny Alger] out of her house because she was "unable to conceal the consequences of her celestial relation with the Prophet."
Author's source(s)
- Wilhelm Wyl, Mormon Portraits Volume First: Joseph Smith the Prophet, His Family and Friends (Salt Lake City: Tribune Printing and Publishing Co., 1886), 57.
- Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 459. ( Index of claims )
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Hostile accounts of Fanny Alger from the Webbs
- For a detailed response, see: Fanny Alger and William McLellin
- For a detailed response, see: Fanny Alger and the introduction of plural marriage
15
Claim
Joseph issued his prophecy regarding the Civil War after visiting New York and hearing about how President Jackson should deal with "a rebellious South Carolina."
Author's source(s)
- Joseph Smith's December 25, 1832 prophecy, quoted in D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power (Signature Books, 1994), 619.
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Civil War prophecy
- For a detailed response, see: Attitude of Saints to Civil War prophecy
15
Claim
Failure of the bank in Kirtland caused Joseph to leave Kirtland in the middle of the night.
Author's source(s)
- Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 199. ( Index of claims )
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Kirtland Safety Society
16
Claim
Joseph "organized a secret group of loyalists" called the Danites.
Author's source(s)
- D. Michael Quinn, quoting Hallwas and Launius, Cultures in Conflict, 8.
[ATTENTION!] - Check source--there's nothing by H&L on that page about Danites at all.....
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Danites
- For a detailed response, see: Danites in anti-Mormon polemic
16
Claim
The Danites introduced "blood atonement" who would "save" people by slitting their throats.
Author's source(s)
- John D. Lee
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Blood atonement
- For a detailed response, see: Danites
- For a detailed response, see: Danites in anti-Mormon polemic
20
Claim
Joseph's "Mohammad speech" in Far West.
Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph and Mohammad speech?