View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith/Chapter 5

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|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith/Chapter 5
|H=Response to claims made in "Chapter 5: Witnesses for God"
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|T=[[../../|No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith]]
|A=Fawn Brodie
|<=[[../Chapter 4|Claims made in "Chapter 4: A Marvelous Work and a Wonder"]]
|>=[[../Chapter 6|Claims made in "Chapter 6: The Prophet of Palmyra"]]
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{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith/Chapter 5
|H=Response to claims made in No Man Knows My History, "Chapter 5: Witnesses for God"
|S=
|L1=Response to claim: 69 - The Church has "exaggerated the ignorance" of Joseph Smith in order to bolster the divinity of the Book of Mormon
|L2=Response to claim: 70 - The Book of Mormon claims that Jesus was born in Jerusalem
|L3=Response to claim: 70-71 - Joseph added the story of the Jaredites in order to explain how animals had come to America
|L4=Response to claim: 72 - Joseph had the Jaredites bring horses, swine, sheep, cattle, and asses, yet these animals were not found in the Americas
|L5=Response to claim: 74 - Joseph had a talent for making men see visions
|L6=Response to claim: 77 - The Three Witnesses all told different versions of their experience
|L7=Response to claim: 77 - The author claims that the Three Witnesses were hypnotized by Joseph Smith
|L8=Response to claim: 78 - Martin Harris stated that he viewed the plates through "the eye of faith"
|L9=Response to claim: 78 - The author claims that years after the event, David Whitmer embellished his story of seeing the gold plates
|L10=Response to claim: 78 - The Three Witnesses never denied their vision even after they all left the Church because Joseph had "conjured up a vision they would never forget"
|L11=Response to claim: 79 - The first edition of the Book of Mormon said that Joseph was "Author and proprietor," which in later editions was changed to "Translator"
|L12=Response to claim: 79-80 - Joseph convinced the Eight Witnesses by showing them an empty box and claiming that they did not have sufficient faith to see them
|L13=Response to claim: 80 - Joseph may have built some kind of "makeshift deception" to account for those witnesses who described the size, weight and metallic texture of the plates
|L14=Response to claim: 81 - Hyrum suggested to Joseph that they attempt to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon
|L15=Response to claim: 82 - Martin Harris sold his farm to pay for the publication of the Book of Mormon only after Joseph frightened him with the revelation
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: 69 - The Church has "exaggerated the ignorance" of Joseph Smith in order to bolster the divinity of the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
The Church has "exaggerated the ignorance" of Joseph Smith in order to bolster the divinity of the Book of Mormon.
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion. No source provided.	
}}
{{propaganda|The author provides no evidence of this allegation.
}}
{{:Question: Does the Church teach or believe that Joseph Smith was "illiterate"?}}
{{:Source:Joseph Smith:1832 History:Education}}

==Response to claim: 70 - The Book of Mormon claims that Jesus was born in Jerusalem==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
The Book of Mormon claims that Jesus was born in Jerusalem (quoting Alexander Campbell)
|authorsources=<br>
#''Millennial Harbinger'', Vol. II, Feb. 1831, p. 85.
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon claims that Jesus was born in the ''land'' of Jerusalem.
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: 70-71 - Joseph added the story of the Jaredites in order to explain how animals had come to America==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
Joseph added the story of the Jaredites in order to explain how animals had come to America.
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}
{{disinformation|There is absolutely no evidence for this assumption on the part of the author.	
}}
{{:Question: Is it possible that Joseph Smith simply added the Book of Ether to the Book of Mormon as an "afterthought" in order to explain the variety of animals in the New World?}}

==Response to claim: 72 - Joseph had the Jaredites bring horses, swine, sheep, cattle, and asses, yet these animals were not found in the Americas==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
Joseph had the Jaredites bring horses, swine, sheep, cattle, and asses, yet these animals were not found in the Americas at the time of Columbus.
|authorsources=<br>
#The author adds in a footnote that Mormons "point to discoveries of small prehistoric horses in the New World as evidence of the truth of the Book of Mormon, and ignore the fact that these animals became extinct long before the supposed Jaredite migration."
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not state that the Jaredites brought all of these animals with them.	
}}
{{:Question: Why are horses considered an anachronism in the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: What is the origin of the modern horse in the New World?}}
{{:Source:BoM verses:Horses}}
{{:Question:What role do horses ''not'' play in the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question:Have any ancient horse remains from the Nephite period been found in the New World?}}
{{:Question:Why don't potential pre-Columbian horse remains in the New World receive greater attention from scientists?}}
{{:Question:Could ancient Americans have expanded the definition of "horse" to include new meanings?}}
{{:Source:JBMS:10:1:Out of the Dust:Horse bones in Yucatan}}
{{:Source:Martin:The Discovery of America:Science 179:974:No theoretical reason mastodons, horses and slots could not have survived}}
{{:Source:Grayson:Deciphering North American Pleistocene Extinctions:5:losses...ended in Florida perhaps as recently as 2000 years ago}}
{{:Source:Bernardino de Sahagun:The War of Conquest: How It Was Waged Here in Mexico:Aztecs viewed Spanish horses as deer}}
{{:Source:Reexploring the Book of Mormon:Ch:26:1:Excavations at the Post-Classic site of Mayapan in Yucatan in 1957}}
{{:Source:Sorenson:Ancient American Setting:290:Swine}}
{{:Source:Miller and Roper:Animals in the Book of Mormon:Interpreter:Swine}}
{{:Source:Miller and Roper:Animals in the Book of Mormon:Interpreter:Sheep}}
{{:Source:Wikipedia:Bighorn sheep:Native to North America}}
{{:Source:Sorensen:Ancient American Setting:294:Cattle}}
{{:Source:Miller and Roper:Animals in the Book of Mormon:Interpreter:Cattle and horses}}
{{:Source:Pietro Martire d'Anghiera:Herds of deer}}

==Response to claim: 74 - Joseph had a talent for making men see visions==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
Joseph had a talent for making men see visions.
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}
{{propaganda|This is the author's guess at what happened. According to the author, even Joseph didn't know that he had this ability until after the Book of Mormon was completed.
}}

==Response to claim: 77 - The Three Witnesses all told different versions of their experience==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
The Three Witnesses all told different versions of their experience.
|authorsources=<br>
*Palmyra ''Reflector'', March 19, 1831.
*''History of the Church'', Vol. I, pp. 54-5.	
}}
{{misinformation|The witnesses own statements, when all of them are considered instead of a select few, tell a much more consistent story.
}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:116:1:Do you see that hand}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:Echoes:Ch2:8:David Whitmer:I saw with these eyes and I heard with these ears}}

==Response to claim: 77 - The author claims that the Three Witnesses were hypnotized by Joseph Smith==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
The Three Witnesses were hypnotized by Joseph Smith.
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}
{{disinformation|The author is trying to find any explanation for what the witnesses experienced. According to the author, Joseph didn't realize that he had this ability either (it was supposedly a "unconscious but positive talent.")
}} 
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have hypnotized the witnesses to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: 78 - Martin Harris stated that he viewed the plates through "the eye of faith"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|claim=
Martin Harris stated that he viewed the plates through "the eye of faith."
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Clark:Gleanings by the Way|pages=256-7}}
}}
{{information|Martin Harris stated this, but he also stated many times that he actually saw the physical plates.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}

==Response to claim: 78 - The author claims that years after the event, David Whitmer embellished his story of seeing the gold plates==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
Years after the event, David Whitmer embellished his story of seeing the gold plates.
|authorsources=<br>
*Palmyra ''Reflector'', March 19, 1831.
*David Whitmer's interview with Orson Pratt, ''Millennial Star'', Vol. XL, pp. 771-2.	
}}
{{misinformation|David Whitmer did not embellish his story about seeing the plates. He told the same story many times.
}}
{{:Question: What did David Whitmer's associates say about his character?}}

==Response to claim: 78 - The Three Witnesses never denied their vision even after they all left the Church because Joseph had "conjured up a vision they would never forget"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
The Three Witnesses never denied their vision even after they all left the Church because Joseph had "conjured up a vision they would never forget."
|authorsources=<br>
#No source provided.
}}
{{propaganda|The author's rather creative explanation for why the witnesses never denied their testimony, despite the fact that they all had disagreements with Joseph Smith.
}}
{{:Question: Did the three witnesses's experience of seeing the plates and the angel take place only in their minds?}}

==Response to claim: 79 - The first edition of the Book of Mormon said that Joseph was "Author and proprietor," which in later editions was changed to "Translator"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
The first edition of the Book of Mormon said that Joseph was "Author and proprietor," which in later editions was changed to "Translator."
|authorsources=<br>
#}}
{{misinformation|Actually, the 1830 edition also states that Joseph was the translator of the record.  Copyright requirements necessitated that he be labeled the author.
}} 
{{:Question: Why is Joseph Smith listed as "author and proprietor" of the 1830 Book of Mormon instead of as "translator"?}}

==Response to claim: 79-80 - Joseph convinced the Eight Witnesses by showing them an empty box and claiming that they did not have sufficient faith to see them==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
Joseph convinced the Eight Witnesses by showing them an empty box and claiming that they did not have sufficient faith to see them.
|authorsources=<br>
#Thomas Ford, ''History of Illinois'', Chicago, 1854, p. 257.
}}
{{disinformation|There is no evidence that this happened, and plenty of evidence to the contrary.
}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church attempt to dismiss the literal experience of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Source:John Whitmer handled the plates - "Theodore Turley's Memorandums"}}
{{:Source:Myron H. Bond:Saint's Herald:25:John Whitmer...the plates, which he saw and handled}}
{{:Source:P. Wilhelm Poulson:Deseret Evening News:6 August 1878:John Whitmer said "He handed them uncovered into our hands, and we turned the leaves sufficient to satisfy us"}}

==Response to claim: 80 - Joseph may have built some kind of "makeshift deception" to account for those witnesses who described the size, weight and metallic texture of the plates==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
Joseph may have built some kind of "makeshift deception" to account for those witnesses who described the size, weight and metallic texture of the plates.
|authorsources=<br>
*William Smith, ''Saints' Herald'', Vol. XXXI, p. 644.
}}
{{propaganda|This is complete speculation	
}}
{{:Question: What was the size of each of the gold plates?}}
{{:Question: What was the thickness of each gold plate}}
{{:Question: What was the thickness of entire volume of gold plates?}}

==Response to claim: 81 - Hyrum suggested to Joseph that they attempt to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
Hyrum suggested to Joseph that they attempt to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon in order to obtain enough money to get it published. Joseph "looked into the Urim and Thummim and received a revelation" directing them to go to Toronto.
|authorsources=<br>
*Oliver Cowdery, ''Defense in a Rehearsal of My Grounds for Separating Myself from the Latter-Day Saints.''
*David Whitmer, ''An Address to All Believers in Christ'', p. 31.
}}
{{information|Joseph receive a revelation directing him to attempt to sell the copyright to the Book of Mormon in Canada.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith receive a revelation instructing him to to sell the copyright to the Book of Mormon in Canada and later claim that the revelation was false?}}
{{:Question: Are there any eyewitness accounts of the events that resulted in the trip to Canada to sell the Book of Mormon copyright?}}
{{:Question: How did the erroneous story of the attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright develop over time?}}
{{:Question: How does David Whitmer's account of the attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright compare to those of the eyewitnesses?}}

==Response to claim: 82 - Martin Harris sold his farm to pay for the publication of the Book of Mormon only after Joseph frightened him with the revelation==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=No Man Knows My History
|claim=
Martin Harris sold his farm to pay for the publication of the Book of Mormon only after Joseph frightened him with the revelation found in the Book of Commandments Chapter xvi, pp. 40-41.
|authorsources=<br>
#
}}
*[[Book of Mormon/Witnesses/Character#Martin Harris|Book of Mormon witnesses&mdash;Character&mdash;Martin Harris]]
|authorsources=<br>
#''Book of Commandments'' Chapter xvi, pp. 40-41	
}}
{{misinformation|Martin Harris didn't sell his farm: he actually ''mortgaged'' his farm to finance the Book of Mormon, but the idea that he was "frightened" into doing it is simply creative speculation on the part of the author.
}}


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