Mormonism and Wikipedia/Joseph Smith, Jr./Distinctive views and teachings

1. REDIRECTTemplate:Test3

An analysis of Wikipedia article "Joseph Smith"

Death

A FairMormon Analysis of Wikipedia: "Joseph Smith" A work by a collaboration of authors (Link to Wikipedia article here)

Legacy

The name Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. Wikipedia content is copied and made available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Distinctive views and teachings

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith taught that all existence was material,

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Creation/Creatio ex nihilo

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

including a world of "spirit matter" so fine that it was invisible to all but the purest mortal eyes.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Matter, in Smith's view, could neither be created nor destroyed;

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  
• For a detailed response, see: Creation/Creatio ex nihilo

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

the creation involved only the reorganization of existing matter.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  
• For a detailed response, see: Creation/Creatio ex nihilo

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Like matter, "intelligence" was co-eternal with God, and human spirits had been drawn from a pre-existent pool of eternal intelligences.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Embodiment, therefore, was the purpose of earth life.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

The work and glory of God, the supreme intelligence,

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , pp. 455–56 (arguing that in Smith's theology, God's authority arose not from being an ex nihilo creator, but from having the greatest intelligence).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

was to create worlds across the cosmos where inferior intelligences could be embodied.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Though Smith at first taught that God the Father was a spirit,

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/God is a Spirit
• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/God is a Spirit/Lecture of Faith 5 teaches the Father is "a personage of spirit"

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

he eventually viewed God as an advanced and glorified man,

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/"God is a man"

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

embodied within space

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 421 ("Piece by piece, Joseph redefined the nature of God, giving Him a form and a body and locating Him in time and space."); Bloom (1992) , p. 101 ("Joseph Smith's God...is finite.... Exalted now into the heavens, God necessarily is still subject to the contingencies of time and space.").

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

with a throne situated near a star or planet named Kolob, and measuring time at the rate of a thousand years per Kolob day.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Book of Abraham/Kolob
• For a detailed response, see: Book of Abraham/Astronomy/Revolution Time

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Both God the Father and Jesus were distinct beings with physical bodies, but the Holy Spirit was a "personage of Spirit."

Author's sources:

1. • Roberts (1909) , p. 325.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Through the gradual acquisition of knowledge,

Author's sources:

1. • Larson (1978) , p. 7 (online ver.).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

those who were sealed to their exaltation could eventually become coequal with God.

Author's sources:

1. • Widmer (2000) , p. 119.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

The ability of humans to progress to godhood implied a vast hierarchy of gods.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  
• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Each of these gods, in turn, would rule a kingdom of inferior intelligences, and so forth in an eternal hierarchy.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  
• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man
• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man/Gods of their own planets

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

The opportunity to achieve godhood extended to all humanity; those who died with no opportunity to accept Latter Day Saint theology could achieve godhood by accepting its benefit in the afterlife through baptism for the dead.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  
• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and temples/Baptism for the dead

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Children who died in their innocence were guaranteed to rise at the resurrection and rule as gods without maturing to adulthood.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Violates Wikipedia: Citing sources off-site— There is either no citation to support the statement or the citation given is incorrect.
  Violated by COgden —Diff: off-site
  The cited source says nothing about children rising to "rule as gods without maturing to adulthood." Joseph Smith said that "children would be raised in the resurrection just as they were laid down, and that they would obtain all the intelligence necessary to occupy thrones, principalities and powers.” (History of the Church, volume 4, page 556.) Children will rise from the resurrection as children, but they will be raised to maturity. There is no Mormon doctrine of "immature gods."

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Apart from those who committed the eternal sin, Smith taught that even the wicked and disbelieving would achieve a degree of glory in the afterlife,

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Correct, per cited sources
  

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

where they would serve those who had achieved godhood.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

•  Violates Wikipedia: Citing sources off-site— There is either no citation to support the statement or the citation given is incorrect.
  
  The Bushman reference refers to those who are not married by priesthood authority, not the "wicked and disbelieving." Bushman states that "the worldly wed became single again, and a permanent cap limited their progress." Ne notes that they are appointed "angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory."
•  Violates Wikipedia: Synthesis off-site: Do not put together information from multiple sources to reach a conclusion that is not stated explicitly by any of the sources.
  
  This passage coupled with the previous one constitutes Wikipedia synthesis. The second Bushman passage referring to eternal marriage is used in the Wikipedia article to make a point about those who are "wicked and disbelieving."

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith's teachings were rooted in dispensational restorationism.

Author's sources:

1. • Brooke (1994) , p. 33.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

He saw his teachings and the Church of Christ as a restoration of early Christian ideals that had been lost in a great apostasy.

Author's sources:

1. • Remini (2000) , p. 84.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

At first, Smith's church had little sense of hierarchy, Smith's religious authority being derived from visions and revelations.

Author's sources:

1. • Quinn (1994) , p. 7 (describing Smith's earliest earliest authority as charismatic authority).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Though Smith did not claim exclusive prophethood,

Author's sources:

1. • Quinn (1994) , pp. 7–8.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

an early revelation designated him as the only prophet allowed to issue commandments "as Moses."

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , pp. 121, 175; Phelps (1833) , p. 67 ("[N]o one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church, excepting my servant Joseph, for he receiveth them even as Moses.").

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

This religious authority encompassed economic and political as well as spiritual matters. For instance, in the early 1830s, he temporarily instituted a form of religious communism, called the United Order, requiring Saints to consecrate all their property to the church.

Author's sources:

1. • Brodie (1972) , pp. 106, 112, 121–22.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

He also envisioned that theocratic institutions he established would have a role in the world-wide political organization of the Millennium.

Author's sources:

1. • Quinn (1994) , pp. 111–12, 115 (describing the expected role of the Council of Fifty).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

By the mid-1830s, Smith began teaching a hierarchy of three priesthoods (Melchizedek, Aaronic, and Patriarchal),

Author's sources:

1. • Quinn (1994) , pp. 27–34; Bushman (2005) , pp. 264–65.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

each of them a continuation of biblical priesthoods through patrilineal succession or ordination by biblical figures appearing in visions.

Author's sources:

1. • Quinn (1994) , p. 7.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Upon introducing the Melchizedek or "High" Priesthood in 1831,

Author's sources:

1. • Brodie (1971) , p. 111;Bushman (2005) , pp. 156–60; Quinn (1994) , pp. 31–32;Roberts (1902) , pp. 175–76 (On 3 June 1831, "the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood was manifested and conferred for the first time upon several of the Elders.").

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith taught that its recipients would be "endowed with power from on high," thus fulfilling a need for a greater holiness and an authority commensurate with the New Testament apostles.

Author's sources:

1. • Prince (1995) , pp. 19, 115–116, 119 (noting influence ofSidney Rigdon in developing this idea); Gospel of Luke 24:49 (Authorized King James Version) ("And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endowed with power from on high.").

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

This doctrine of endowment evolved through the 1830s,

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Temples/Endowment

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

until in 1842, the Nauvoo endowment included an elaborate ceremony containing symbolism similar to that of Freemasonry.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Temples/Endowment/Freemasonry

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

The endowment was extended to women in 1843,

Author's sources:

1. • Prince (1995) , p. 140.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

though Smith never clarified whether women could be ordained to priesthood offices.

Author's sources:

1. • Prince (1995) , p. 201.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith taught that the High Priesthood's endowment of heavenly power included the sealing powers of Elijah, allowing High Priests to effect binding consequences in the afterlife.

Author's sources:

1. • Brooke (1994) , pp. 30, 194–95, 203, 208 (Smith introduced the sealing power in 1831 as part of the High Priesthood, and then attributed this power to Elijah after he appeared in an 1836 vision in the Kirtland Temple).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

For example, this power would enable proxy baptisms for the dead

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Baptism for the dead

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

and priesthood marriages that would be effective into the afterlife.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Marriage/As a requirement for exaltation

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Elijah's sealing powers also enabled the second anointing, or "fulness(sic) of the priesthood"

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Temples/Second anointing

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

which, according to Smith, sealed married couples to their exaltation, thus virtually guaranteeing their eternal godhood.

Author's sources:

1. • Brooke (1994) , p. 294 ("The ritual of the second anointing...granted a virtually unconditional promise of divinity in the celestial kingdom."); Bushman (2005) , pp. 497–98 (The second anointing ceremony "was Joseph's attempt to deal with the theological problem of assurance" of one's eternal life).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

During the early 1840s, Smith unfolded a theology of family relations called the "New and Everlasting Covenant"

Author's sources:

1. • Roberts (1909) , pp. 502–07 (1842 revelation describing the New and Everlasting Covenant).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

that superseded all earthly bonds.

Author's sources:

1. • Foster (1981) , pp. 161–62.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

He taught that outside the Covenant, marriages were simply matters of contract,

Author's sources:

1. • Foster (1981) , pp. 161–62 (quoting a source stating that in Smith's view, sex within earthly marriages was not sinful if the marriage was cemented by bonds of love and affection, but sex could be sinful even within marriage if the partners were alienated from each other).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

and Mormons outside the Covenant would be mere ministering angels to those within, who would be gods.

Author's sources:

1. • Foster (1981) , p. 145.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

To fully enter the Covenant, a man and woman must participate in a "first anointing", a "sealing" ceremony, and a "second anointing".

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , pp. 497–98 (those who were married eternally were then "sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise" through the second anointing); Brooke (1994) , pp. 256–57.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

When fully sealed into the Covenant, Smith said that no sin nor blasphemy (other than the eternal sin) could keep them from their "exaltation," that is, their godhood in the afterlife.

Author's sources:

1. • Roberts (1909) , pp. 502–03; Bushman (2005) , pp. 497–98 (the second anointing provided a guarantee that participants would be exalted even if they sinned); Brooke (1994) , p. 257.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

According to Smith, only one person on earth at a time—in this case, Smith—could possess this power of sealing.

Author's sources:

1. • Roberts (1909) , pp. 501 ("I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this Priesthood are conferred.")

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith taught that the highest exaltation would be achieved through "plural marriage" (polygamy),

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and polygamy/Brigham Young said that the only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

which was the ultimate manifestation of this New and Everlasting Covenant.

Author's sources:

1. • Bloom (1992) , p. 108 (polygamy and consequent progression towards godhood were "the true essence of becoming a Latter-day Saint, the heart of Mormon religion making.").

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Plural marriage allowed an individual to transcend the angelic state and become a god

Author's sources:

1. • Bloom (1992) , p. 105.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

by accelerating the expansion of one's heavenly kingdom.

Author's sources:

1. • Foster (1981) , p. 145 ("[I]f marriage with one wife...could bring eternal progression and ultimate godhood for men, then multiple wives in this life and the next would accelerate the process, in line with God's promise to Abraham that his seed eventually would be as numerous as the sand on the sea shore."); Brodie (1971) , p. 300 ("[I]f a man went to heaven with ten wives, he would have more than ten-fold the blessings of a mere monogamist, for all the children begotten through these wives would enhance his kingdom.").

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith taught and practiced this doctrine secretly but publicly denied it.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Hiding the truth

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Nevertheless, Smith taught that once he revealed the doctrine to any man or woman, failure to practice it would be to risk God's wrath.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Did women turn Joseph down

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith taught that during a Great Apostasy, the Bible had degenerated from its original inerrant form, and the "abominable church," led by Satan, had perverted true Christianity.

Author's sources:

1. • Hullinger (1992) , p. 154.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

He viewed himself as the latter-day prophet who restored those lost truths via the Book of Mormon

Author's sources:

1. • Hullinger (1992) , p. 154-54 (describing how the Book of Mormon solved various 19th century biblical controversies).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

and later revelations. He described the Book of Mormon as a literal "history of the origins of the Indians."

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Historicity

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

The book called the Indians "Lamanites," a people descended from Israelites who had left Jerusalem in 600 BCE

Author's sources:

1. • Smith (1830) , p. 51 (Jesus "cometh according to the words of the angel, in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem."); Phelps (1833) , p. 41 ("Lamanites are a remnant" of the Jews).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

and whose skin pigmentation was a curse for their sinfulness.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Curse

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Though Smith first identified Mormons as gentiles, he began teaching in the 1830s that the Mormons, too, were literal Israelites.

Author's sources:

1. • Brooke (1994) , pp. 213–14 (arguing that the shift occurred after 1832 and may have related to Oliver Cowdery's failed mission to the Missouri "Lamanites"); Shipps (1985) , pp. 82–83 (arguing that the identification of the Saints as literal Israelites was in place prior to 1838).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith also claimed to have regained lost truths of sacred history through his revelations and revision of the Bible. For example, he taught that the Garden of Eden had been located in Jackson County, Missouri, that Eve's partaking of the fruit was part of God's plan,

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Garden of Eden in Missouri

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

that Adam had practiced baptism, that the descendants of Cain were "black,"

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood/The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

that Enoch had built a city of Zion so perfect that it was taken to heaven,

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , pp. 138–41.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

that Egypt was discovered by the daughter of Ham,

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 288.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

that the descendants of Ham were denied the patriarchal right of priesthood,

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• The idea that the “mark of Cain” and the "curse of Ham" was a black skin is something that was used by many Protestants as a way to morally and biblically justify slavery. This idea did not originate with Latter-day Saints, although the existence of the priesthood ban prior to 1978 tends to cause some people to assume that it was a Latter-day Saint concept.
• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood/The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

that Abraham had discovered astronomical truths by peering into a Urim and Thummim,

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Book of Abraham/Astronomy

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

that King David had been denied his godhood because of his sin, and that John the Apostle would walk the earth until the Second Coming of Jesus.

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 74.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith declared that he would be one of the instruments in fulfilling Nebuchadnezzar's statue vision in the Book of Daniel: that he was the stone that would destroy secular government without "sword or gun",

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , pp. 521.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

which would then be replaced with a theocratic Kingdom of God.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and government/The Council of Fifty

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith taught that this political kingdom would be multidenominational and "democratic" so long as the people chose wisely; but there would be no elections.

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , pp. 522–23.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Jesus would appear during the Millennium as the ultimate ruler. Following a thousand years of peace, Judgment Day would be followed by a final resurrection, when all humanity would be assigned to one of three heavenly kingdoms.

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , pp. 521, 536–37.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith ran for President of the United States in 1844, campaigning as "General Joseph Smith" because he had earlier been appointed Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion. Smith considered the United States Constitution, and especially the Bill of Rights, to be inspired by God and "the Saints' best and perhaps only defense."

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 377.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

He believed a strong central government crucial to the nation's well-being but thought democracy better than tyranny—although he also taught that a theocratic monarchy was the ideal form of government.

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 522.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

In foreign affairs, Smith was an expansionist, though he viewed "expansionism as brotherhood."

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 516: "If Texas petitions Congress to be adopted among the sons of liberty, give her the right hand of fellowship; and refuse not the same friendly grip to Canada and Mexico."

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith favored a strong central bank and high tariffs to protect American business and agriculture. He disfavored imprisonment of convicts except for murder, preferring efforts to reform criminals through labor; he also opposed courts-martial for military deserters. He supported capital punishment but opposed hanging,

Author's sources:

1. • Roberts (1902) , p. 435.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

preferring execution by firing squad or beheading in order to "spill [the criminal's] blood on the ground, and let the smoke thereof ascend up to God."

Author's sources:

1. • Roberts (1909) , p. 296.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Despite having published a pro-slavery essay in 1836,

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , pp. 289, 327–28 (the essay "exhibited the conventional prejudiced of his day in asserting that blacks were cursed with servitude by a 'decree of Jehovah.'"); Hill (1977) , p. 381 (noting that Smith did not want to be identified as an abolitionist, even when he disfavored slavery).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith later strongly opposed slavery.

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 289; Hill (1977) , pp. 380, 383 (citing 1833 revelation stating that "it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another").

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

During his presidential campaign, he proposed abolishing slavery by 1850 and compensating slaveholders

Author's sources:

1. • Hill (1977) , p. 384.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

through sale of public lands.

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , pp. 516, 327–28. Smith also proposed cutting congressional pay from eight to two dollars per day and requiring only two representatives per million people, thus reducing the number of representatives in the House to forty.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith did not believe blacks to be genetically inferior to whites;

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 289; Hill (1977) , pp. 384–85.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

he welcomed both freemen and slaves into the church and even ordained free black members into the priesthood

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 289; Hill (1977) , pp. 381–82, 85.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

But he opposed baptizing slaves without permission of their masters, and he opposed miscegenation.

Author's sources:

1. • Bushman (2005) , p. 289; Hill (1977) , p. 379.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith said his ethical rule was, "When the Lord commands, do it";

Author's sources:

1. • Roberts (1904) , p. 170.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

and by issuing revelations, Smith supplemented biblical imperatives with new directives. One of these revelations, called the "Word of Wisdom," was framed not as a commandment, but as a recommendation. Coming at a time of temperance agitation,

Author's sources:

1. • Brodie (1971) , p. 166; Bushman (2005) , p. 212 (revelation "came at a time when temperance and food reforms were flourishing in the United States").

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

the guideline recommended that Saints avoid "strong" alcoholic drinks, wine (except sacramental wine), tobacco, meat (except in times of famine or cold weather), and "hot drinks."

Author's sources:

1. • Smith (1835)

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith and other contemporary church leaders did not always follow this counsel.

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

• For a detailed response, see: Word of Wisdom/Joseph Smith used tea
• For a detailed response, see: Word of Wisdom/Joseph Smith sold liquor in Nauvoo

}}

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

In 1831, Smith taught that those who kept the laws of God had "no need to break the laws of the land."

Author's sources:

1. • Phelps (1833) , p. 135.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Nevertheless, beginning in the mid-1830s and into the 1840s, as the Mormon people became involved in conflicts with the Missouri and Illinois state governments, Smith taught that "congress has no power to make a law that would abridge the rights of my religion," and that they were not under the obligation to follow laws they deemed as being contrary to their "religious privilege."

Author's sources:

1. • Quinn (1994) , p. 88.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

He also taught that:

that which is wrong under one circumstance, may be and often is, right under another. God said thou shalt not kill—at another time he said thou shalt utterly destroy. This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted—by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the elders of the kingdom are placed. Whatever God requires is right...even things which may be considered abominable to all those who do not understand the order of heaven.

Author's sources:

1. • Quinn (1994) , p. 112 (quoting a letter Smith wrote to the 19 year old daughter of Sidney Rigdon to justify Smith's polygamous proposal to her).

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

Smith may thus have felt justified in promoting polygamy despite its violation of both traditional ethical standards and the criminal law.

Author's sources:

1. • Quinn (1994) , pp. 88–89.

The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:

In 1842 Smith published the "Articles of Faith," a short document later canonized, which declared that members of the church believed in "honoring, obeying, and sustaining the law."

Author's sources:

1. • 12th Article of Faith. Pearl of Great Price.

References

Wikipedia references for "Joseph Smith, Jr."

• Abanes, Richard, (2003), One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church Thunder's Mouth Press
• Allen, James B., The Significance of Joseph Smith's "First Vision" in Mormon Thought off-site .
• (1992), The Mormon Experience University of Illinois Press .
• (1980), The Lion and the Lady: Brigham Young and Emma Smith off-site .
• Bergera, Gary James (editor) (1989), Line Upon Line: Essays on Mormon Doctrine Signature Books .
• Bloom, Harold, (1992), The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation Simon & Schuster .
• Booth, Ezra, Mormonism—Nos. VIII–IX (Letters to the editor) off-site .
• Brodie, Fawn M., (1971), No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith Knopf .
• Brooke, , (1994), The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844 Cambridge University Press .
• Bushman, Richard Lyman, (2005), Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling , New York: Knopf .
• Clark, John A., (1842), Gleanings by the Way , Philadelphia: W.J. & J.K Simmon off-site .
• Compton, Todd, (1997), In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith Signature Books .
• Foster, Lawrence, (1981), Religion and Sexuality: The Shakers, the Mormons, and the Oneida Community , New York: Oxford University Press .
• Harris, Martin, (1859), Mormonism—No. II off-site .
• Hill, Donna, (1977), Joseph Smith: The first Mormon , Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co. .
• Hill, Marvin S., (1976), Joseph Smith and the 1826 Trial: New Evidence and New Difficulties off-site .
• Hill, Marvin S., (1989), Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism Signature Books off-site .
• Howe, Eber Dudley, (1834), Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of that Singular Imposition and Delusion, from its Rise to the Present Time , Painesville, Ohio: Telegraph Press off-site .
• Hullinger, Robert N., (1992), Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism Signature Books off-site .
• Jessee, Dean, (1976), Joseph Knight's Recollection of Early Mormon History off-site .
• Lapham, [La]Fayette, (1870), Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, Forty Years Ago. His Account of the Finding of the Sacred Plates off-site .
• Larson, Stan, (1978), The King Follett Discourse: A Newly Amalgamated Text off-site .
• Mormon History off-site .
• Mack, Solomon, (1811), A Narraitve [sic] of the Life of Solomon Mack Windsor: Solomon Mack off-site .
• (1994), Inventing Mormonism Signature Books .
• Marquardt, H. Michael, (1999), The Joseph Smith Revelations: Text and Commentary Signature Books .
• Marquardt, H. Michael, (2005), The Rise of Mormonism: 1816–1844 Xulon Press .
• Matzko, John, (2007), The Encounter of the Young Joseph Smith with Presbyterianism off-site .
• Morgan, Dale, Walker, John Phillip (editor) (1986), Dale Morgan on Early Mormonism: Correspondence and a New History Signature Books off-site .
• (2008), Joseph Smith Jr.: reappraisals after two centuries Oxford University Press .
• Newell, Linda King, (1994), Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith University of Illinois Press .
• (1999), Mormon America: The Power and the Promise HarperSanFrancisco .
• Persuitte, David, (2000), Joseph Smith and the origins of the Book of Mormon McFarland & Co. .
• Phelps, W.W. (editor) (1833), A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ , Zion: William Wines Phelps & Co. off-site .
• Prince, Gregory A, (1995), Power From On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood Signature Books .
• Quinn, D. Michael, (1994), The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power Signature Books .
• Quinn, D. Michael, (1998), Early Mormonism and the Magic World View Signature Books .
• Remini, , (2002), Joseph Smith: A Penguin Life Penguin Group .
• Roberts, B. H. (editor) (1902), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Salt Lake City: Deseret News off-site .
• Roberts, B. H. (editor) (1904), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Salt Lake City: Deseret News off-site .
• Roberts, B. H. (editor) (1905), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Salt Lake City: Deseret News off-site .
• Roberts, B. H. (editor) (1909), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Salt Lake City: Deseret News off-site .
• Shipps, Jan, (1985), Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition University of Illinois Press .
• Smith, George D., (1994), Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy, 1841–46: A Preliminary Demographic Report off-site .
• Smith, George D, (2008), Nauvoo Polygamy: "...but we called it celestial marriage" Signature Books .
• Smith, Joseph, Jr., (1830), The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, Upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi , Palmyra, New York: E. B. Grandin off-site . See Book of Mormon.
• Smith, Joseph, Jr., Jessee, Dean C (editor) (1832), Personal Writings of Joseph Smith , Salt Lake City: Deseret Book .
• Jessee, Dean C (editor) (1839–1843), Personal Writings of Joseph Smith Deseret Book .
• (1835), Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God , Kirtland, Ohio: F. G. Williams & Co off-site . See Doctrine and Covenants.
• Smith, Joseph, Jr., Church History [Wentworth Letter] off-site . See Wentworth letter.
• Smith, Lucy Mack, (1853), Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations , Liverpool: S.W. Richards off-site . See The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother
• Tucker, Pomeroy, (1867), Origin, Rise and Progress of Mormonism , New York: D. Appleton off-site .
• Turner, Orsamus, (1852), History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and Morris' Reserve , Rochester, New York: William Alling off-site .
• Joseph Smith: The Gift of Seeing off-site .
• Van Wagoner, Richard S., (1992), Mormon Polygamy: A History Signature Books .
• Vogel, Dan, (1994), The Locations of Joseph Smith's Early Treasure Quests off-site .
• Vogel, Dan, (2004), Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet Signature Books .
• Widmer, Kurt, (2000), Mormonism and the Nature of God: A Theological Evolution, 1830–1915 McFarland .

Further reading

FAIR Answers—back to home page

Mormonism and Wikipedia

<onlyinclude>

FairMormon's approach to Wikipedia articles

FairMormon regularly receives queries about specific LDS-themed Wikipedia articles with requests that we somehow "fix" them. Although some individual members of FAIR may choose to edit Wikipedia articles, FairMormon as an organization does not. Controversial Wikipedia articles require constant maintenance and a significant amount of time. We prefer instead to respond to claims in the FAIR Wiki rather than fight the ongoing battle that LDS Wikipedia articles sometimes invite. From FAIR’s perspective, assertions made in LDS-themed Wikipedia articles are therefore treated just like any other critical (or, if one prefers, "anti-Mormon") work. As those articles are revised and updated, we will periodically update our reviews to match.

Who can edit Wikipedia articles?

Editors who wish to participate in editing LDS-themed Wikipedia articles can access the project page here: Wikipedia:WikiProject Latter Day Saint movement. You are not required to be LDS in order to participate—there are a number of good non-LDS editors who have made valuable contributions to these articles.

Recommendations when editing Wikipedia articles

FAIR does not advocate removing any references from Wikipedia articles. The best approach to editing Wikipedia is to locate solid references to back up your position and add them rather than attempting to remove information. Individuals who intend to edit should be aware that posting information related to the real-world identities of Wikipedia editors will result in their being banned from editing Wikipedia. Attacking editors and attempting to "out" them on Wikipedia is considered very bad form. The best approach is to treat all Wikipedia editors, whether or not you agree or disagree with their approach, with respect and civility. An argumentative approach is not constructive to achieving a positive result, and will simply result in what is called an "edit war." Unfortunately, not all Wikipedia editors exhibit good faith toward other editors (see, for example, the comment above from "Duke53" or comments within these reviews made by John Foxe's sockpuppet "Hi540," both of whom repeatedly mocked LDS beliefs and LDS editors prior to their being banned.)

Do LDS editors control Wikipedia?

Although there exist editors on Wikipedia who openly declare their affiliation with the Church, they do not control Wikipedia. Ironically, some critics of the Church periodically falsely accuse Wikipedia editors of being LDS simply because they do not accept the critics' desired spin on a particular article.

Do "anti-Mormons" control Wikipedia?

Again, the answer is no. The truth is that Wikipedia is generally self-policing. Highly contentious articles do tend to draw the most passionate supporters and critics.

Why do certain LDS articles seem to be so negative?

Although some LDS-related Wikipedia articles may appear to have a negative tone, they are in reality quite a bit more balanced than certain critical works such as One Nation Under Gods. Although many critical editors often accuse LDS-related Wikipedia articles of being "faith promoting" or claim that they are just an extension of the Sunday School manual, this is rarely the case. Few, if any, Latter-day Saints would find Wikipedia articles to be "faith promoting." Generally, the believers think that the articles are too negative and the critics believe that the articles are too positive. LDS Wikipedia articles should be informative without being overtly faith promoting. However, most of the primary sources, including the words of Joseph Smith himself, are "faith promoting." This presents a dilemma for Wikipedia editors who want to remain neutral. The unfortunate consequence is that Joseph's words are rewritten and intermixed with contradictory sources, resulting in boring and confusing prose.

FairMormon's analysis of LDS-related Wikipedia articles

We examine selected Wikipedia articles and examine them on a "claim-by-claim" basis, with links to responses in the FairMormon Answers Wiki. Wikipedia articles are constantly evolving. As a result, the analysis of each article will be updated periodically in order to bring it more into line with the current version of the article. The latest revision date may be viewed at the top of each individual section. The process by which Wikipedia articles are reviewed is the following:

1. Update each Wikipedia passage and its associated footnotes.
2. Examine the use of sources and determine whether or not the passage accurately represents the source used.
3. Provide links to response articles within the FairMormon Answers Wiki.
4. If violation of Wikipedia rules is discovered, identify which Wikipedia editor (by pseudonym) made the edit, provide a description of the rule violated and a link to the Wikipedia "diff" showing the actual edit.
5. If a violated rule is later corrected in a subsequent revision, the violation is removed and a notation is added that the passage is correct per cited sources. This doesn't mean that FAIR necessarily agrees with the passage—only that it is correct based upon the source used.

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, "Mormonism and Wikipedia: The Church History That “Anyone Can Edit”"

Roger Nicholson,  Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, (2012)

The ability to quickly and easily access literature critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been made significantly easier through the advent of the Internet. One of the primary sites that dominates search engine results is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that “anyone can edit.” Wikipedia contains a large number of articles related to Mormonism that are edited by believers, critics, and neutral parties. The reliability of information regarding the Church and its history is subject to the biases of the editors who choose to modify those articles. Even if a wiki article is thoroughly sourced, editors sometimes employ source material in a manner that supports their bias. This essay explores the dynamics behind the creation of Wikipedia articles about the Church, the role that believers and critics play in that process, and the reliability of the information produced in the resulting wiki articles.

Click here to view the complete article

⍗

Wikipedia and anti-Mormon literature

Key sources	Roger Nicholson, "Mormonism and Wikipedia: The Church History That 'Anyone Can Edit'," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 1/8 (14 September 2012). [151–190] link
Wiki links	Mormonism and Wikipedia Martin Harris—analysis of wikipedia treatment Oliver Cowdery—analysis of wikipedia treatment First Vision—analysis of wikipedia treatment Joseph Smith—analysis of wikipedia treatment Golden plates—analysis of wikipedia treatment Three Witnesses—analysis of wikipedia treatment
Online	"Wiki Wars: In battle to define beliefs, Mormons and foes wage battle on Wikipedia", Michael De Groote, Deseret News, January 30, 2011. "Wiki Wars: In battle to define beliefs, Mormons and foes wage battle on Wikipedia", Michael De Groote, Mormon Times, January 31, 2011. "Something Wiki This Way Comes: How collaborative editing is changing the face of online LDS apologetics", R. Scott Lloyd, Church News, August 8, 2011. Something Wiki This Way Comes: How Collaborative Editing is Changing the Face of Online LDS Apologetics. A close look at the challenges and history of editing LDS topics in a Wikipedia. This is a 2011 FAIR conference presentation by Roger Nicholson, in PDF format.
Navigators	Table of contents Abuse Bible Book of Abraham Book of Mormon CES Letter Church history Church finances Doctrine and Covenants First Vision Joseph Smith Latter-day Saint temples Mountain Meadows Massacre Plural marriage Prophets and leaders Scripture Brigham Young Anti-Mormon literature

</noinclude>

Copyright © 2005–2024 FAIR. This is not an official Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The content of this page may not be copied, published, or redistributed without the prior written consent of FAIR.

We welcome your suggestions for improving the content of this FAIR Wiki article.

Sites we recommend: Mormon Scholars Testify: Messages of faith from scholars who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints