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Difference between revisions of "Mormonism and Wikipedia/Joseph Smith, Jr./1827 to 1830"
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| − | {{ | + | |L=Mormonism and Wikipedia/Joseph Smith, Jr./1827 to 1830 |
| + | |H=An analysis of Wikipedia article "Joseph Smith" | ||
| + | |S= | ||
| + | |L1= | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | {{FAIRAnalysisWikipedia | ||
| + | |title=[[../|"Joseph Smith"]] | ||
| + | |wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith | ||
| + | |uplink=[[../|Joseph Smith]] | ||
| + | |section= | ||
| + | |previous=[[../Early years|Early years]] | ||
| + | |next=[[../1831 to 1838|Life in Ohio (1831-1838)]] | ||
| + | |notes={{WikipediaDisclaimer}} | ||
| + | }} | ||
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| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805, in [[Sharon, Vermont]] to [[Lucy Mack Smith]] and her husband [[Joseph Smith, Sr.|Joseph]], a merchant and farmer. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=9, 30}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=1}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | After a crippling bone infection at age eight, the younger Smith hobbled on crutches as a child. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=21}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}}{{Main Page}} | ||
| + | {{H2 | ||
| + | |L=Mormonism and Wikipedia/Joseph Smith, Jr./1827 to 1830 | ||
| + | |H=An analysis of Wikipedia article "Joseph Smith" | ||
| + | |S= | ||
| + | |L1= | ||
| + | }} | ||
{{FAIRAnalysisWikipedia | {{FAIRAnalysisWikipedia | ||
|title=[[../|"Joseph Smith"]] | |title=[[../|"Joseph Smith"]] | ||
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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
In October 1827, Smith and his pregnant | In October 1827, Smith and his pregnant | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=55}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
wife moved from Palmyra to Harmony (now [[Oakland Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania|Oakland), Pennsylvania]], | wife moved from Palmyra to Harmony (now [[Oakland Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania|Oakland), Pennsylvania]], | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|p=2}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
aided by money from a comparatively prosperous neighbor [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]]. | aided by money from a comparatively prosperous neighbor [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]]. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=62–63}}; {{Harvtxt|Walker|1986|p=35}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=55}} (Harris' money allowed Smith to pay his debts and thus allowed him to move without being arrested for evading his creditors); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=113}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|1834}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaNPOV}}The footnote implies that Joseph would have attempted to evade his creditors had Martin Harris not become involved. | *{{WikipediaNPOV}}The footnote implies that Joseph would have attempted to evade his creditors had Martin Harris not become involved. | ||
*From the cited source Remini, p. 55: | *From the cited source Remini, p. 55: | ||
| Line 57: | Line 109: | ||
Because of mounting pressure in Manchester to see and examine the plates, Joseph realized he could never translate them in peace and safety if he stayed in town. He would have to leave Palmyra to do it; but that created a problem. He was debt-ridden, and any sudden departure would bring his creditors chasing after him with subpoenas for his arrest. Fortunately the angel had revealed to Joseph that Martin Harris, a prosperous farmer, had been chosen to help in the translation of the plates. | Because of mounting pressure in Manchester to see and examine the plates, Joseph realized he could never translate them in peace and safety if he stayed in town. He would have to leave Palmyra to do it; but that created a problem. He was debt-ridden, and any sudden departure would bring his creditors chasing after him with subpoenas for his arrest. Fortunately the angel had revealed to Joseph that Martin Harris, a prosperous farmer, had been chosen to help in the translation of the plates. | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Living near his disapproving in-laws, | Living near his disapproving in-laws, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=56}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith transcribed some of the characters (what he called "[[reformed Egyptian]]") engraved on the plates and then dictated a translation to his wife. | Smith transcribed some of the characters (what he called "[[reformed Egyptian]]") engraved on the plates and then dictated a translation to his wife. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=63}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=56}}; {{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=19}};{{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|pp=270–71}} (Smith sat behind a curtain and passed transcriptions to his wife or her brother). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Reformed Egyptian}} | *{{Detail|Reformed Egyptian}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
For at least some of the earliest translation, Smith said he used "[[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]]", | For at least some of the earliest translation, Smith said he used "[[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]]", | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|Richards|1839–1843|p=9}} (describing early translation with the Urim and Thummim from December 1827 to February 1828); {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=57}} (noting that Emma Smith said that Smith started translating with the Urim and Thummim and then eventually used his dark seer stone exclusively); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=66}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=169–70}} (noting that, according to witnesses, Smith's early translation with the two-stone Urim and Thummim spectacles involved placing the spectacles in his hat, and that the spectacles were too large to actually wear). In one 1842 statement, Smith said that "[t]hrough the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift, the power of God." {{Harv|Smith|1842|p=707}}. There is debate as to whether or not this statement is consistent with his known use of a [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stone]] other than the Urim and Thummim. {{harv|Quinn|1998|p=175}} argues that the term ''Urim and Thummim'' was a generic term early Mormons used to refer to all of Smith's seer stones. {{Harv|Persuitte|2000|pp=81–83}} interprets Smith to say that he translated the entire [[Book of Mormon]] with the two stones found with the plates, which would be in flat contradiction with his documented use of the chocolate-colored seer stone. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaNPOV}}The summary of Persuitte is worded in such a way that it makes it appear that Joseph lied about the instrument used to translate. However, both the Nephite interpreters and the seer stone were eventually referred to as "Urim and Thummin." | *{{WikipediaNPOV}}The summary of Persuitte is worded in such a way that it makes it appear that Joseph lied about the instrument used to translate. However, both the Nephite interpreters and the seer stone were eventually referred to as "Urim and Thummin." | ||
*Note this statement from Joseph Knight, which equates the Urim and Thummin with Joseph's seer stone, | *Note this statement from Joseph Knight, which equates the Urim and Thummin with Joseph's seer stone, | ||
| Line 97: | Line 157: | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/Urim and Thummim}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/Urim and Thummim}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
a pair of [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]] he said were buried with the [[golden plates]]. | a pair of [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]] he said were buried with the [[golden plates]]. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|Richards|1839–1843|p=4}} (stating that deposited with the plates were "two stones in silver bows" and stating that "these stones fastened into a breastplate constituted what is called the Urim & Thummim...."); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1842|p=707}} (describing "a curious instrument which the ancients called 'Urim and Thummim,' which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate."). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Later, however, he used the single chocolate-colored stone he had found in 1822 and used for treasure hunting. | Later, however, he used the single chocolate-colored stone he had found in 1822 and used for treasure hunting. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harv|Quinn|1998|pp=171–73}} (witnesses said that Smith shifted from the Urim and Thummim to the single brown seer stone after the loss of the earliest [[Lost 116 pages|116 manuscript pages]]); {{Harvtxt|Persuitte|2000|pp=81–82}} (none of the existing [[Book of Mormon]] transcript was created using the Urim and Thummim); {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=57}} (noting that [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma Smith]] said that after 1828, Smith used his dark seer stone exclusively). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*As noted in the official Church magazine for children, the ''Friend'', | *As noted in the official Church magazine for children, the ''Friend'', | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| Line 124: | Line 189: | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation}} | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
As when divining the location of treasure, | As when divining the location of treasure, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=173}} ("[T]he actual translation process was strikingly similar to the way Smith used the same stone for treasure-hunting."); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005}} (In using the divining power of stones, Smith blended the magic culture of his upbringing with inspired translation.). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith said he saw the words of the translation while he gazed at the stone or stones in the bottom of his hat, excluding all light. | Smith said he saw the words of the translation while he gazed at the stone or stones in the bottom of his hat, excluding all light. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=71–72}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|Walters|1994|pp=103–04}}; {{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|pp=52–53}} (citing numerous witnesses of the translation process); {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=169–70, 173}} (describing similar methods for both the two-stone Urim and Thummim and the chocolate seer stone). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCITE}}Joseph Smith himself never said anything about how the translation was performed, other than that it was accomplished through the "gift and power of God." It was David Whitmer who claimed that Joseph saw actual words on the stone. | *{{WikipediaCITE}}Joseph Smith himself never said anything about how the translation was performed, other than that it was accomplished through the "gift and power of God." It was David Whitmer who claimed that Joseph saw actual words on the stone. | ||
*Bushman notes: | *Bushman notes: | ||
| Line 150: | Line 219: | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones|Book of Mormon/Translation/Method}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones|Book of Mormon/Translation/Method}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
The plates themselves were not directly consulted. | The plates themselves were not directly consulted. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | {{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|p=53}} ("The plates could not have been used directly in the translation process."); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=71–72}} (Joseph did not pretend to look at the 'reformed Egyptian' words, the language on the plates, according to the book's own description. The plates lay covered on the table, while Joseph's head was in the hat looking at the seerstone...."); {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|Walters|1994|pp=103–04}} ("When it came to translating the crucial plates, they were no more present in the room than was John the Beloved's ancient 'parchment', the words of which Joseph also dictated at the time."). | + | #{{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|p=53}} ("The plates could not have been used directly in the translation process."); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=71–72}} (Joseph did not pretend to look at the 'reformed Egyptian' words, the language on the plates, according to the book's own description. The plates lay covered on the table, while Joseph's head was in the hat looking at the seerstone...."); {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|Walters|1994|pp=103–04}} ("When it came to translating the crucial plates, they were no more present in the room than was John the Beloved's ancient 'parchment', the words of which Joseph also dictated at the time."). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith did this in full view of witnesses, but sometimes concealed the process by raising a curtain or dictating from another room. | Smith did this in full view of witnesses, but sometimes concealed the process by raising a curtain or dictating from another room. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Cole|1831}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|p=14}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}From the cited source Howe, p. 14: | *{{WikipediaCorrect}}From the cited source Howe, p. 14: | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| Line 175: | Line 250: | ||
*Note that the use of the curtain appears to have occurred during the early period of translation when the Nephite interpreters were being employed. The use of the curtain many have served to screen both the plates and Nephite interpreters from view. After the loss of the 116 pages, removal of the Nephite interpreters by Moroni, and Joseph's subsequent use of the seer stone, the translation appears to have taken place in plain view and the curtain is not present. | *Note that the use of the curtain appears to have occurred during the early period of translation when the Nephite interpreters were being employed. The use of the curtain many have served to screen both the plates and Nephite interpreters from view. After the loss of the 116 pages, removal of the Nephite interpreters by Moroni, and Joseph's subsequent use of the seer stone, the translation appears to have taken place in plain view and the curtain is not present. | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation|Book of Mormon/Translation/Method}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation|Book of Mormon/Translation/Method}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith may have considered giving up the translation because of opposition from his in-laws, | Smith may have considered giving up the translation because of opposition from his in-laws, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Morgan|1986|p=280}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*Given that Joseph was commanded by God to perform the translation, this is highly unlikely. There are some additional secondary hostile sources which are used to support the assertion put forth in the wiki article: | *Given that Joseph was commanded by God to perform the translation, this is highly unlikely. There are some additional secondary hostile sources which are used to support the assertion put forth in the wiki article: | ||
**{{Harvtxt|Booth|1831}} (Smith "had given [the translation] up, on account of the opposition of his wife and others".) | **{{Harvtxt|Booth|1831}} (Smith "had given [the translation] up, on account of the opposition of his wife and others".) | ||
| Line 196: | Line 274: | ||
From my standing in the Methodist Episcopal Church, I suppose he was careful how he conducted or expressed himself before me. At one time, however, he came to my house, and asked my advice, whether he should proceed to translate the Book of Plates (referred to by Mr. Hale) or not. He said that God had commanded him to translate it, but he was afraid of the people: he remarked, that he was to exhibit the plates to the world, at a certain time, which was then about eighteen months distant. I told him I was not qualified to give advice in such cases. Smith frequently said to me that I should see the plates at the time appointed. | From my standing in the Methodist Episcopal Church, I suppose he was careful how he conducted or expressed himself before me. At one time, however, he came to my house, and asked my advice, whether he should proceed to translate the Book of Plates (referred to by Mr. Hale) or not. He said that God had commanded him to translate it, but he was afraid of the people: he remarked, that he was to exhibit the plates to the world, at a certain time, which was then about eighteen months distant. I told him I was not qualified to give advice in such cases. Smith frequently said to me that I should see the plates at the time appointed. | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
but in February 1828, Martin Harris arrived to spur him on | but in February 1828, Martin Harris arrived to spur him on | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=63}} (Harris had a vision that he was to assist with a "marvelous work"); {{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=19}} (Harris arrived in Harmony in February 1828); {{Harvtxt|Booth|1831}} (Harris had to convince Smith to continue translating, saying, "I have not come down here for nothing, and we will go on with it"). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCITE}}Ezra Booth, a hostile source, is the only one of the three sources used to claim that Harris arrived in order to convince Joseph to continue translating. The other two sources simply confirm that "Martin Harris arrived" in order assist Joseph. According to Booth: | *{{WikipediaCITE}}Ezra Booth, a hostile source, is the only one of the three sources used to claim that Harris arrived in order to convince Joseph to continue translating. The other two sources simply confirm that "Martin Harris arrived" in order assist Joseph. According to Booth: | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| − | Joseph Smith, Jun., Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris, may be considered as the principals in this work; and let Martin Harris tell the story, and he is the most conspicuous of the four. | + | Joseph Smith, Jun., Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris, may be considered as the principals in this work; and let Martin Harris tell the story, and he is the most conspicuous of the four.—He informed me, that he went to the place where Joseph resided, and Joseph had given it up, on account of the opposition of his wife and others: but he told Joseph. "I have not come down here for nothing, and we will go on with it." Martin Harris is what may be called a great talker, and an extravagant boaster; so much so, that he renders himself disagreeable to many of his own society. |
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
by taking the [[Anthon transcript|characters]] and their translations to a few prominent scholars. | by taking the [[Anthon transcript|characters]] and their translations to a few prominent scholars. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=63–64}} (the plan to use a scholar to authenticate the characters was part of a vision received by Harris; author notes that [[Lucy Mack Smith|Smith's mother]] said the plan to authenticate the characters was arranged between Smith and Harris before Harris left Palmyra); {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=57–58}} (noting that the plan arose from a vision of Martin Harris). According to {{Harv|Bushman|2005|p=64}}, these scholars probably included at least [[Luther Bradish]] in [[Albany, New York]] {{Harv|Lapham|1870}}, [[Samuel L. Mitchill]] of New York City ({{Harv|Hadley|1829}}; {{Harvnb|Jessee|1976|p=3}}), and [[Charles Anthon]] of New York City {{Harv|Howe|1834|pp=269–272}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Harris claimed that one of the scholars he visited, [[Charles Anthon]], initially authenticated the characters and their translation, then recanted upon hearing that Smith had received the plates from an angel. | Harris claimed that one of the scholars he visited, [[Charles Anthon]], initially authenticated the characters and their translation, then recanted upon hearing that Smith had received the plates from an angel. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=64–65}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=58–59}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Anthon denied this claim | Anthon denied this claim | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|pp=269–72}} (Anthon's description of his meeting with Harris, claiming he tried to convince Harris that he was a victim of a fraud). But see {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=115}} (arguing that Anthon's initial assessment was likely more positive than he would later admit). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*Anthon's two letters actually contradicted one another. According to the cited source (Bushman, p. 65), | *Anthon's two letters actually contradicted one another. According to the cited source (Bushman, p. 65), | ||
| Line 247: | Line 333: | ||
*Bushman, p. 577 note 16 states that the 1834 Anthon letter first appeared in ''MoU'', 269-72, and the 1841 letter in Clark, ''Gleanings by the Way'', 233-38. Both are reprinted in ''Early Mormon Documents'', 4:377-86. | *Bushman, p. 577 note 16 states that the 1834 Anthon letter first appeared in ''MoU'', 269-72, and the 1841 letter in Clark, ''Gleanings by the Way'', 233-38. Both are reprinted in ''Early Mormon Documents'', 4:377-86. | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
and Harris returned to Harmony in April 1828 motivated to act as Smith's scribe. | and Harris returned to Harmony in April 1828 motivated to act as Smith's scribe. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=20}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Translation continued until mid-June 1828, until Harris began having doubts about the existence of the golden plates. | Translation continued until mid-June 1828, until Harris began having doubts about the existence of the golden plates. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #These doubts were induced by [[Lucy Harris|his wife's]] deep skepticism. {{Harvtxt|Bushman|p=66}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Harris importuned Smith to let him take the existing [[Lost 116 pages|116 pages of manuscript]] to Palmyra to show a few family members. | Harris importuned Smith to let him take the existing [[Lost 116 pages|116 pages of manuscript]] to Palmyra to show a few family members. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=117–18}}; {{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=20}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Harris then lost the manuscript—of which there was no copy—at about the same time as Smith's wife Emma gave birth to a [[stillbirth|stillborn]] son. | Harris then lost the manuscript—of which there was no copy—at about the same time as Smith's wife Emma gave birth to a [[stillbirth|stillborn]] son. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #During this dark period, Smith briefly attended his in-laws' [[Methodism|Methodist]] church, but one of Emma's cousins "objected to the inclusion of a 'practicing necromancer' on the Methodist roll," and Smith voluntarily withdrew rather than face a disciplinary hearing. {{Harv|Bushman|2005|pp=69–70}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith said the [[angel Moroni|angel]] had taken away the plates and he had lost his ability to translate | Smith said the [[angel Moroni|angel]] had taken away the plates and he had lost his ability to translate | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harv|Phelps|1833|loc=sec. 2:4–5}} (revelation dictated by Smith stating that his gift to translate was temporarily revoked); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=5}} (stating that the angel had taken away the plates and the Urim and Thummim). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
until September 22, 1828, when they were restored. | until September 22, 1828, when they were restored. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=126}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith did not earnestly resume the translation again until April 1829, when he met [[Oliver Cowdery]], a teacher and [[dowsing|dowser]], | Smith did not earnestly resume the translation again until April 1829, when he met [[Oliver Cowdery]], a teacher and [[dowsing|dowser]], | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=86}} (Cowdery had brought with him a "rod of nature," perhaps acquired while he was among his father's religious group in Vermont, who believed that certain rods had spiritual properties and could be used in divining."); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=73}} ("Cowdery was open to belief in Joseph's powers because he had come to Harmony the possessor of a supernatural gift alluded to in a revelation..." and his family had apparently engaged in treasure seeking and other magical practices.){{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=35–36, 121}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*Oliver himself may have used a divining rod, although there is no evidence that it was used for treasure-seeking. According to the cited source, "Most likely, Cowdery used a rod to discover water and minerals." (Bushman, p. 73). | *Oliver himself may have used a divining rod, although there is no evidence that it was used for treasure-seeking. According to the cited source, "Most likely, Cowdery used a rod to discover water and minerals." (Bushman, p. 73). | ||
*It should be noted that in the original draft of the revelation mentioning the "rod of nature," that the instrument was referred to as the "sprout" and the "thing of Nature." The change in text of these items to "rod of nature" was made by Sidney Rigdon. | *It should be noted that in the original draft of the revelation mentioning the "rod of nature," that the instrument was referred to as the "sprout" and the "thing of Nature." The change in text of these items to "rod of nature" was made by Sidney Rigdon. | ||
| Line 325: | Line 429: | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
*{{Detail|Doctrine and Covenants/Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"}} | *{{Detail|Doctrine and Covenants/Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
who now became Smith's scribe. | who now became Smith's scribe. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=74}} (Smith and Cowdery began translating where the narrative left off after the [[lost 116 pages]], now representing the [[Book of Mosiah]]. A revelation would later direct them not to re-translate the lost text, to ensure that the lost pages could not later be found and compared to the re-translation.). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
They worked full time on the translation between April and early June 1829, | They worked full time on the translation between April and early June 1829, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=70–74}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
and then moved to [[Fayette, New York]] where they continued to work at the home of Cowdery's friend [[Peter Whitmer]]. When the translation spoke of an institutional church and a requirement for baptism, Smith and Cowdery baptized each other, | and then moved to [[Fayette, New York]] where they continued to work at the home of Cowdery's friend [[Peter Whitmer]]. When the translation spoke of an institutional church and a requirement for baptism, Smith and Cowdery baptized each other, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=5–6, 38}} (contrasting the 1829 view with the churchless Mormonism of 1828); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=74–75}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
with written documents five years later stating that [[John the Baptist]] had appeared and ordained them to [[Aaronic priesthood (LDS Church)|a priesthood]]. | with written documents five years later stating that [[John the Baptist]] had appeared and ordained them to [[Aaronic priesthood (LDS Church)|a priesthood]]. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=15–20}} (noting that Mormon records and publications contain no mention of any angelic conferral of authority until 1834); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=75}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Translation was completed around July 1, 1829. | Translation was completed around July 1, 1829. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=78}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Knowing that potential converts to the planned church might find Smith's story of the plates incredible, | Knowing that potential converts to the planned church might find Smith's story of the plates incredible, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=77}} (Smith "began to seek converts the question of credibility had to be addressed again. Joseph knew his story was unbelievable."). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith asked a group of [[Book of Mormon witnesses|eleven witnesses]], including Martin Harris and male members of the Whitmer and Smith families, to sign a statement testifying that they had seen the golden plates, and in the case of the latter eight witnesses, had actually hefted the plates. | Smith asked a group of [[Book of Mormon witnesses|eleven witnesses]], including Martin Harris and male members of the Whitmer and Smith families, to sign a statement testifying that they had seen the golden plates, and in the case of the latter eight witnesses, had actually hefted the plates. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harv|Bushman|2005|pp=77–79}}. There were two statements, one by a set of [[Three Witnesses]] and another by a set of [[Eight Witnesses]]. The two testimonies are undated, and the exact dates on which the Witnesses are said to have seen the plates is unknown. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Witnesses}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Witnesses}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
According to Smith, the [[angel Moroni]] took back the plates after Smith was finished using them. | According to Smith, the [[angel Moroni]] took back the plates after Smith was finished using them. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|Richards|1839–1843|p=8}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
The translation, known as the [[Book of Mormon]], was published in Palmyra on March 26, 1830, by printer [[Egbert Bratt Grandin|E. B. Grandin]]. | The translation, known as the [[Book of Mormon]], was published in Palmyra on March 26, 1830, by printer [[Egbert Bratt Grandin|E. B. Grandin]]. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=82}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Printing timeframe}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Printing timeframe}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
[[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]] financed the publication by mortgaging his farm. | [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]] financed the publication by mortgaging his farm. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harv|Bushman|2005|p=80}} (noting that Harris' marriage dissolved in part because his wife refused to be a party, and he eventually sold his farm to pay the bill. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Soon thereafter on April 6, 1830, Smith and his followers formally organized the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]], | Soon thereafter on April 6, 1830, Smith and his followers formally organized the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]], | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #Scholars and eye-witnesses disagree whether the church was organized in [[Manchester (town), New York|Manchester, New York]] at the Smith log home, or in [[Fayette, New York|Fayette]] at the home of [[Peter Whitmer]]. {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=109}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|2005|pp=223–23}} (arguing that organization in Manchester is most consistent with eye-witness statements). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaMissingRef}} Several Fayette references are missing. | *{{WikipediaMissingRef}} Several Fayette references are missing. | ||
*The recently revealed Book of Commandments and Revelations, which had been kept in the First Presidency's vault until its publication in the ''Joseph Smith Papers'' series, supports the Fayette location. According to R. Scott Lloyd,: | *The recently revealed Book of Commandments and Revelations, which had been kept in the First Presidency's vault until its publication in the ''Joseph Smith Papers'' series, supports the Fayette location. According to R. Scott Lloyd,: | ||
| Line 439: | Line 575: | ||
*''French’s New York Gazetteer'', published by R. Pearsall Smith, at Syracuse, New York, [since] 1800, also contained some data concerning Mormonism, and states that the first Mormon society was formed in the town of Fayette, Seneca County, in 1830” (Letter, Diedrich Villers, Jr. to Ellen E. Dickinson; published in Ellen E. Dickinson, ''New Light on Mormonism'') | *''French’s New York Gazetteer'', published by R. Pearsall Smith, at Syracuse, New York, [since] 1800, also contained some data concerning Mormonism, and states that the first Mormon society was formed in the town of Fayette, Seneca County, in 1830” (Letter, Diedrich Villers, Jr. to Ellen E. Dickinson; published in Ellen E. Dickinson, ''New Light on Mormonism'') | ||
*{{Detail|Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/Location of the organization}} | *{{Detail|Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/Location of the organization}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
and small branches were established in Palmyra, Fayette, and [[Colesville, New York]]. | and small branches were established in Palmyra, Fayette, and [[Colesville, New York]]. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=55}} (noting that by July 1830, the church was "in Colesville, Fayette, and Manchester"). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
The Book of Mormon brought Smith regional notoriety, | The Book of Mormon brought Smith regional notoriety, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=80–82}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
but also strong opposition by those who remembered Smith's money-digging and his 1826 trial near Colesville. | but also strong opposition by those who remembered Smith's money-digging and his 1826 trial near Colesville. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=117}}(noting that area residents connected the discovery of the Book of Mormon with Smith's past career as a money digger);{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971}} (discussing organized boycott of Book of Mormon by Palmyra residents, p. 80, and opposition by Colesville and Bainbridge residents who remembered the 1826 trial, p. 87). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial}} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Soon after Smith reportedly performed an [[exorcism]] in Colesville, | Soon after Smith reportedly performed an [[exorcism]] in Colesville, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=86}} (describing the exorcism). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*According to Brodie (p. 86): | *According to Brodie (p. 86): | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| Line 483: | Line 627: | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
*{{SeeCriticalWork|work=No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith|author=Fawn Brodie}} | *{{SeeCriticalWork|work=No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith|author=Fawn Brodie}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
he was again tried as a [[vagrancy (people)|disorderly person]] but was acquitted. | he was again tried as a [[vagrancy (people)|disorderly person]] but was acquitted. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harv|Bushman|2005|pp=116–17}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*From the cited source, | *From the cited source, | ||
| Line 497: | Line 643: | ||
When village toughs failed to stop the baptisms, the law stepped in. Before the newly baptized members could be confirmed, a constable from South Bainbridge delivered a warrant for Joseph's arrest. Doctor A. W. Benton of Chenago County, whom Joseph Knight called a "catspaw" of a group of vagabonds, brought charges against Joseph as a disorderly person. (Bushman, p. 116). | When village toughs failed to stop the baptisms, the law stepped in. Before the newly baptized members could be confirmed, a constable from South Bainbridge delivered a warrant for Joseph's arrest. Doctor A. W. Benton of Chenago County, whom Joseph Knight called a "catspaw" of a group of vagabonds, brought charges against Joseph as a disorderly person. (Bushman, p. 116). | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Even so, Smith and Cowdery had to flee Colesville to escape a gathering mob. Probably referring to this period of flight, Smith told years later of hearing the voices of [[Saint Peter|Peter]], [[James, son of Zebedee|James]], and [[John the Apostle|John]] who he said gave Smith and Cowdery an apostolic authority. | Even so, Smith and Cowdery had to flee Colesville to escape a gathering mob. Probably referring to this period of flight, Smith told years later of hearing the voices of [[Saint Peter|Peter]], [[James, son of Zebedee|James]], and [[John the Apostle|John]] who he said gave Smith and Cowdery an apostolic authority. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=24–26}}; {{Harv|Bushman|2005|p=118}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Priesthood/Restoration/Melchizedek/Date}} | *{{Detail|Priesthood/Restoration/Melchizedek/Date}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
When [[Oliver Cowdery]] and other church members attempted to exercise independent authority | When [[Oliver Cowdery]] and other church members attempted to exercise independent authority | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=120}} ("Oliver Cowdery and the Whitmer family began to conceive of themselves as independent authorities with the right to correct Joseph and receive revelation."). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
—as when [[Eight Witnesses|Book of Mormon witness]] [[Hiram Page]] used his [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stone]] to locate the American [[New Jerusalem]] prophesied by the Book of Mormon | —as when [[Eight Witnesses|Book of Mormon witness]] [[Hiram Page]] used his [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stone]] to locate the American [[New Jerusalem]] prophesied by the Book of Mormon | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|pp=109–110}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
| Line 532: | Line 685: | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
—Smith responded by establishing himself as the sole [[prophet]]. | —Smith responded by establishing himself as the sole [[prophet]]. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=121}}; {{Harvtxt|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."). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}, although it would be more correct to state the Joseph established himself as sole prophet for the entire Church. | *{{WikipediaCorrect}}, although it would be more correct to state the Joseph established himself as sole prophet for the entire Church. | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith disputed Page's location for the New Jerusalem, | Smith disputed Page's location for the New Jerusalem, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=68}} ("[I]t is not revealed, and no man knoweth where the city shall be built."). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
but dispatched Cowdery to lead a mission to [[Missouri]] to find its ''true'' location | but dispatched Cowdery to lead a mission to [[Missouri]] to find its ''true'' location | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=68}} ("The New Jerusalem "shall be on the borders by the [[Lamanite]]s."); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=122}} (church members knew that "on the borders by the Lamanites" referred to Western Missouri, and Cowdery's mission in part was to "locate the place of the New Jerusalem along this frontier"). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
and to proselytize the Native Americans. | and to proselytize the Native Americans. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|pp=67–68}} (Cowdery "shall go unto the [[Lamanite]]s and preach my gospel unto them".). | |
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Smith also dictated a lost "[[Book of Moses|Book of Enoch]]," telling how the [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|biblical Enoch]] had established a [[Zion (Latter Day Saints)|city of Zion]] of such civic goodness that God had taken it to heaven. | Smith also dictated a lost "[[Book of Moses|Book of Enoch]]," telling how the [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|biblical Enoch]] had established a [[Zion (Latter Day Saints)|city of Zion]] of such civic goodness that God had taken it to heaven. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=96}} (noting that this was the third time Smith had revealed "lost books" since the [[Book of Mormon]], the first being the "parchment of John" produced in 1829, and the second the [[Book of Moses]] dictated in June 1830. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*Brodie states that Joseph "dictated to Cowdery a fragment said to have come from a parchment buried by St. John," that he "revealed a conversation between God and Moses," and that he "wrote one of the longest and most remarkable revelations of his career" about Enoch. | *Brodie states that Joseph "dictated to Cowdery a fragment said to have come from a parchment buried by St. John," that he "revealed a conversation between God and Moses," and that he "wrote one of the longest and most remarkable revelations of his career" about Enoch. | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
On their way to Missouri, Cowdery's party passed through the [[Kirtland, Ohio]] area and converted [[Sidney Rigdon]] and over a hundred members of his [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]] congregation, | On their way to Missouri, Cowdery's party passed through the [[Kirtland, Ohio]] area and converted [[Sidney Rigdon]] and over a hundred members of his [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]] congregation, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=124}}; {{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|pp=120–124}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
more than doubling the size of the church. | more than doubling the size of the church. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #F. Mark McKiernan, "The Conversion of Sidney Rigdon to Mormonism," ''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', 5 (Summer 1970): 77. Parley Pratt said that the Mormon mission baptized 127 within two or three weeks "and this number soon increased to one thousand." McKiernan argues that "Rigdon's conversion and the missionary effort which followed transformed Mormonism from a New York-based sect with about a hundred members into one which was a major threat to Protestantism in the Western Reserve." | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
Rigdon visited New York and quickly became second in command of the church, | Rigdon visited New York and quickly became second in command of the church, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=96}} ("When Rigdon read the Book of Enoch, the scholar in him fled and the evangelist stepped into the place of second in command of the millennial church."). | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} This is, of course, Brodie's opinion. | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} This is, of course, Brodie's opinion. | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
to the discomfort of Smith's earlier followers. | to the discomfort of Smith's earlier followers. | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=123–24}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=96–97}}. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
In the face of acute and growing opposition in New York, Smith announced that Kirtland was the "eastern boundary" of the New Jerusalem, | In the face of acute and growing opposition in New York, Smith announced that Kirtland was the "eastern boundary" of the New Jerusalem, | ||
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=97}} (citing letter by Smith to Kirtland converts, quoted in {{Harvtxt|Howe|1833|p=111}}). In 1834, Smith designated Kirtland as one of the "[[Stake (Latter Day Saints)|stakes]]" of Zion, referring to the tent–stakes metaphor of [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 54:2. | |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | and that the Saints must gather there. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|pp=79–80}} ("And again, a commandment I give unto the church, that it is expedient in me that they should assemble together in the Ohio, until the time that my servant Oliver Cowdery shall return unto them."); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=124–25}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=96}} (noting that Rigdon had urged Smith to return with him to Ohio). | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | In 1816–17, the family moved to the western [[New York]] [[Palmyra (village), New York|village of Palmyra]] | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=30}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | and eventually took a mortgage on a 100 acre [[Smith Family Farm|farm]] in nearby [[Manchester (town), New York|Manchester town]]. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=32–33}}. From about 1818 until after the July 1820 purchase, the Smiths [[squatting|squatted]] in a [[log home]] adjacent to the property. ''Id.'' | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Smith family place of residence in 1820}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | During the [[Second Great Awakening]], the region was a hotbed of religious enthusiasm. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=7}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
}} | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Religious revivals in 1820|First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't mention a revival}} | ||
| + | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
| − | and that the | + | Although the Smith family was caught up in this excitement, |
| − | |authorsources= | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| − | *{{ | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=129}} ("Long before the 1820s, the Smiths were caught up in the dialectic of spiritual mystery and secular fraud framed in the hostile symbiosis of divining and counterfeiting and in the diffusion of Masonic culture in an era of sectarian fervor and profound millenarian expectation."). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCITE|editor=COgden|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Smith&diff=341396046&oldid=341391231}}The citation used to support this assertion doesn't support the claim that the Smith family was caught up in "this excitement" of "religious enthusiasm," instead implying that the Smith family was associated with "divining and counterfeiting." The citation is mismatched to the assertion in the main body text. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | they disagreed about religion. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=xx}} (Smith family was "marked by religious conflict".); {{Harvtxt|Hill|1989|pp=10–11}} (noting "tension between [Smith's] mother and his father regarding religion"). | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Joseph Smith may not have joined a church in his youth, | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #Smith said that he decided in 1820, based on his [[Joseph Smith's First Vision|First Vision]], not to join any churches {{Harv|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|Richards|1839–1843|p=4}}. However, {{Harv|Lapham|1870}} said that Smith's father told him his son had once become a [[Baptist]]). | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *From Lapham's 1870 account (47 years after the events described) we seem some interesting oddities. Lapham is paraphrasing an interview with Joseph Smith, Sr. Note that this account is being given almost 30 years ''after'' Joseph Smith, Jr. published the story of the First Vision and visit by Moroni. | ||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | After this, Joseph spent about two years looking into this stone, telling fortunes, where to find lost things, and where to dig for money and other hidden treasure. About this time he became concerned as to his future state of existence, and was baptized, becoming thus a member of the Baptist Church. Soon after joining the Church, he had a very singular dream; but he did not tell his father of his dream, until about a year afterwards. He then told his father that, in his dream, a very large and tall man appeared to him, dressed in an ancient suit of clothes, and the clothes were bloody. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | *See the primary source online here: [http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Historical_Magazine_(second_series)/Volume_7/May_1870/Interview_with_the_Father_of_Joseph_Smith&oldid=314358 "Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, Forty Years Ago. His Account of the Finding of the Sacred Plates", Historical Magazine [second series] 7 (May 1870): 305–09.] | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't forbid joining a church}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | but he participated in church classes | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #Smith is known to have attended Sunday school at the Western Presbyterian Church in Palmyra {{Harv|Matzko|2007}}. Smith also attended and spoke at a Methodist probationary class in the early 1820s, but never officially joined ({{Harvnb|Turner|1852|p=214}}; {{harvnb|Tucker|1876|p=18}}). | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Joseph became "partial to the Methodist sect" in 1820}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | and read the Bible. With his family, he took part in [[folk religion|religious folk magic]], | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=30}}("Joseph Smith's family was typical of many early Americans who practiced various forms of Christian folk magic."); {{harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=51}} ("Magic and religion melded in the Smith family culture."); {{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|pp=7–8}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=16, 33}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic}} | ||
| + | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | a common practice at the time. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=31}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=53}} ("Even the more vivid manifestations of religious experience, such as dreams, visions and revelations, were not uncommon in Joseph's day, neither were they generally viewed with scorn."). | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *From the cited source, | ||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | At this time the revivals of western New York's so-called "Burned-over District" were bringing thousands out of private folk religion and into organized churches, whose clergy opposed folk magic. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic}} | ||
| + | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Like many people of that era, | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{harvtxt|Quinn|1988|pp=14–16, 137}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *Quinn quotes Bushman on page 137: | ||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | Standing on the margins of instituted churches, they [the Smiths] were as susceptible to the neighbors' belief in magic as they were to the teachings of orthodox ministers. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic}} | ||
| + | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | both his parents and his maternal grandfather had visions or dreams that they believed communicated messages from God. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=26, 36}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|p=1994|pp=150–51}}; {{Harv|Mack|1811|p=25}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=54–59, 70–74}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/Joseph Smith, Sr.'s dream and Lehi's vision}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Smith later said that he had his own [[Joseph Smith's First Vision|first vision]] in 1820, in which God told him his sins were forgiven | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=39}} (When Smith first described the vision twelve years after the event, "[h]e explained the vision as he must have first understood it, as a personal conversion".) | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Motivation is different}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | and that all the current churches were false. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #No source provided | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't forbid joining a church}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/No reference to First Vision in 1830s publications|First Vision/No mention in non-LDS literature before 1843}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith's First Vision/Seldom mentioned in LDS publications before 1877}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | The Smith family supplemented its meager farm income by treasure-digging, | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=136}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *From the cited source, | ||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | Some neighbors also said that in "1819 or '20, they [the Smith family] commenced digging for money for a subsistence." Other neighbors specified that during "the spring of 1820" Joseph Jr. was extremely active in the treasure-quest. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
| + | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | likewise relatively common in contemporary [[New England]] | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|pp=16}}("Money digging, or treasure hunting, was widespread among the rural areas of New York and New England as well as the area of Pennsylvania near the Hales'.") | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
| + | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | though the practice was frequently condemned by clergymen and rationalists and was often illegal. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=25–26, 30}}. "Despite the fact that folk magic had widespread manifestations in early America, the biases of the Protestant Reformation and Age of Reason dominated the society's responses to folk magic. The most obvious effect was that every American colony (and later U.S. state) had laws against various forms of divination." (30) | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
| + | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Joseph claimed an ability to use [[Seer stones (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]] for locating lost items and buried treasure. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1987|p=173}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=49–51}}; {{Harvtxt|Persuitte|2000|pp=33–53}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | ||
| + | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | To do so, Smith would put a stone in a white [[stovepipe hat]] and would then see the required information in reflections given off by the stone. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=152–53}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=43–44}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=45–52}}. ''See also'' the following primary sources: {{Harvtxt|Harris|1833|pp=253–54}}; {{Harvtxt|Hale|1834|p=265}}; {{Harvtxt|Clark|1842|p=225}}; {{Harvtxt|Turner|1851|p=216}}; {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=164}}; {{Harvtxt|Tucker|1867|pp=20–21}}; {{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|p=305}}; {{Harvtxt|Lewis|Lewis|1879|p=1}}; {{Harvtxt|Mather|1880|p=199}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Seer stones}} | ||
| + | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | In 1823, while praying for forgiveness from his "gratification of many appetites," | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|Richards|1839–1843|p=5}} (writing that he "displayed the weakness of youth and the <del>corruption</del> <ins>foibles</ins> of human nature, which I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations <del>to the gratification of many appetites</del> offensive in the sight of God," deletions and interlineations in original); {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=136–38}} (arguing that Smith was praying for forgiveness for a sexual sin to maintain his power as a seer); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1994|pp=17–18}} (arguing that his prayer related to a sexual sin). ''But see'' {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=43}} (noting that Smith did not specify which "appetites" he had gratified, and suggesting that one of them was that he "drank too much"). | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *Note that D. Michael Quinn postulates that Joseph "once made an extraordinarily candid reference to his sexual struggle from 1820 to 1823" based upon the "gratification of many appetites" quote in Joseph's 1838 account, but the account itself says nothing about a "sexual struggle." | ||
| + | *{{SeeCriticalWork|author=D. Michael Quinn|work=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Smith said he was visited at night by an angel named [[Angel Moroni|Moroni]], who revealed the location of a buried book of [[golden plates]] as well as other artifacts, including a [[breastplate]] and a set of [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|silver spectacles]] with lenses composed of [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]], which had been hidden in a hill near his home. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|Richards|1839–1843|p=4}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *It should be noted that the hill near Joseph Smith's home was not named "Cumorah" at this point in time. The name was only applied later after the publication of the Book of Mormon. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Smith said he attempted to remove the plates the next morning but was unsuccessful because the angel prevented him. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #Mormon historian Richard Bushman argues that "the visit of the angel and the discovery of the gold plates would have confirmed the belief in supernatural powers. For people in a magical frame of mind, Moroni sounded like one of the spirits who stood guard over treasure in the tales of treasure-seeking." {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=50}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | During the next four years, Smith made annual visits to the hill, only to return without the plates because he claimed that he had not brought with him the right person required by the angel. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=163–64}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=54}} (noting accounts stating that the "right person" was originally Smith's brother Alvin, then when he died, someone else, and finally his wife Emma). | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *From the cited source Bushman: | ||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | Stories circulated of a requirement to bring Alvin to the hill to get the plates; and when he died, someone else. Emma, it was said, was designated as a key. The stories have a magical flavor, but other stories have the angel warning Joseph about greed and the evildoings of the money-diggers, as if the messenger was moving him away from his treasure-hunting ways. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Meanwhile, Smith continued traveling western New York and Pennsylvania as a treasure seeker and also as a farmhand. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=47–53}}; {{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|pp=17}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=54–57}} | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Early Smith family history/Early work as a farmhand}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | In 1826, he was tried in [[Chenango County, New York|Chenango County]], New York, for "glass-looking," the crime of pretending to find lost treasure. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|pp=1–2}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=51–52}}; {{Citation|title=Revised Statutes of the State of New York|volume=1|year=1829|publication-place=Albany, NY|publisher=Packard and Van Benthuysen|page=638: part I, title 5, § 1|url=http://books.google.com/?id=RX84AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA638|author1=(state), New York|author2=Butler, Benjamin Franklin|author3=Spencer, John Canfield}} ("[A]ll persons pretending to tell fortunes, or where lost or stolen goods may be found,...shall be deemed [[vagrancy (people)|disorderly persons]].") | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCITE}}Joseph never claimed to have ''found'' lost treasure. He was tried for ''attempting'' to find lost treasure using a stone. | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | While boarding at the Hale house in Harmony, he met [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma Hale]] and, on January 18, 1827, eloped with her because her parents disapproved of his treasure hunting. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=53}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *Joseph and Emma eloped because her father would not allow them to be married due to his disapproval of Joseph's treasure seeking activities. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Claiming his stone told him that Emma was the key to obtaining the plates, | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=163–64}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=54}} (noting accounts stating that Emma was the key). | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCITE}}Joseph never claimed that his stone "told" him anything. He used to stone to obtain information. | ||
| + | *Bushman, p. 54: | ||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | Emma, it was said, was designated as a key. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Smith went with her to the hill on September 22, 1827. This time, he said, he retrieved the plates and placed them in a locked chest. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=60}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | He said the angel commanded him not to show the plates to anyone else but to publish their translation, reputed to be the religious record of [[indigenous Americans]]. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|Richards|1839–1843|pp=5–6}} | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Relationship to Amerindians}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Joseph later promised Emma's parents that his treasure-seeking days were behind him. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=54}} | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | Although Smith had left his treasure hunting company, his former associates believed he had double-crossed them by taking for himself what they considered joint property. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=167}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=61}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== ===== | ||
| + | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | They ransacked places where a competing treasure-seer said the plates were hidden, | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=54}} (treasure seer Sally Chase attempted to find the plates using her seer stone). | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
}} | }} | ||
| + | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}} | ||
| − | == | + | ===== ===== |
| − | {{ | + | {{IndexClaimItemShort |
| + | |title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith<ref name="at_the_time">Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.</ref> | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | and Smith soon realized that he could not accomplish the translation in Palmyra. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=60–61}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=55}}. | ||
| + | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Translation}} | ||
| − | + | {{To_learn_more_box:anti-Mormon_literature_and_Wikipedia}} | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | + | {{Endnotes sources}} | |
Latest revision as of 20:10, 11 May 2024
An analysis of Wikipedia article "Joseph Smith"
| Early years | A FairMormon Analysis of Wikipedia: "Joseph Smith" A work by a collaboration of authors (Link to Wikipedia article here)
|
Life in Ohio (1831-1838) |
| 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. |
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vermont to Lucy Mack Smith and her husband Joseph, a merchant and farmer.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
After a crippling bone infection at age eight, the younger Smith hobbled on crutches as a child.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
FAIR Answers—back to home page
An analysis of Wikipedia article "Joseph Smith"
| Early years | A FairMormon Analysis of Wikipedia: "Joseph Smith" A work by a collaboration of authors (Link to Wikipedia article here)
|
1831 to 1838 |
| 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. |
Every witness to Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon said that he looked at a stone in his hat. Arguing that Smith never said how he translated is arguing from silence. There is no evidence for anything else but the hat and just Mormon embarrassment at how silly this method must seem to most prospective converts today.....The burden of proof is on you. There are no accounts of Smith translating that indicate he used any other method but the hat. You can't argue from silence. Where are the references to any other method? Even the father of lies himself didn't spell one out.....Baloney. No other eyewitness said there was any other method. No scholarship argues for any other method. You're just pushing this POV because there's no reason to preserve golden plates for generations if Smith made no use of them. But according to all eyewitnesses that's exactly what happened. Embarrassing, isn't it?
—Editor "John Foxe," posting using his banned sockpuppet "Hi540," insisting that the stone-in-hat was the only Book of Mormon translation method ever documented, 23 October 2009 off-site
Reviews of previous revisions of this section
19 May 2009
Summary: A review of this section as it appeared in Wikipedia on 19 May 2009.Section review
Founding a church (1827–30) Updated 9/3/2011
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
In October 1827, Smith and his pregnantAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
wife moved from Palmyra to Harmony (now Oakland), Pennsylvania,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
aided by money from a comparatively prosperous neighbor Martin Harris.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Violates Wikipedia: Neutral Point-of-View off-site— All Wikipedia articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view, representing fairly, and as far as possible without bias, all significant views that have been published by reliable sources.
The footnote implies that Joseph would have attempted to evade his creditors had Martin Harris not become involved. - From the cited source Remini, p. 55:
Because of mounting pressure in Manchester to see and examine the plates, Joseph realized he could never translate them in peace and safety if he stayed in town. He would have to leave Palmyra to do it; but that created a problem. He was debt-ridden, and any sudden departure would bring his creditors chasing after him with subpoenas for his arrest. Fortunately the angel had revealed to Joseph that Martin Harris, a prosperous farmer, had been chosen to help in the translation of the plates.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Living near his disapproving in-laws,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith transcribed some of the characters (what he called "reformed Egyptian") engraved on the plates and then dictated a translation to his wife.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Reformed Egyptian
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
For at least some of the earliest translation, Smith said he used "Urim and Thummim",Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Violates Wikipedia: Neutral Point-of-View off-site— All Wikipedia articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view, representing fairly, and as far as possible without bias, all significant views that have been published by reliable sources.
The summary of Persuitte is worded in such a way that it makes it appear that Joseph lied about the instrument used to translate. However, both the Nephite interpreters and the seer stone were eventually referred to as "Urim and Thummin." - Note this statement from Joseph Knight, which equates the Urim and Thummin with Joseph's seer stone,
Now the way he translated was he put the urim and thummim into his hat and Darkned his Eyes than he would take a sentance and it would apper in Brite Roman Letters. (MANUSCRIPT OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH, 22 Sept. 1827)
- Bushman states,
For two months, form about April 12 to June 14, 1828, Joseph and Harris were hard at work. Joseph translated using the interpreters (also called the Urim and Thummim, crystals mounted on a breast plate), and Harris wrote down the text as it was dictated. A curtain divided the men to prevent Harris from seeing the plates.
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation/Urim and Thummim
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
a pair of seer stones he said were buried with the golden plates.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Seer stones
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Later, however, he used the single chocolate-colored stone he had found in 1822 and used for treasure hunting.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- As noted in the official Church magazine for children, the Friend,
"To help him with the translation, Joseph found with the gold plates “a curious instrument which the ancients called Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent stones set in a rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate.” Joseph also used an egg-shaped, brown rock for translating called a seer stone."
—“A Peaceful Heart,” Friend, Sep 1974, 7 off-site (emphasis added)
- Use of the Nephite interpreters (the "spectacles") would have occurred during the early part of the translation process, before the loss of the 116 pages, after which Joseph may have switched to using his seer stone. This is also the period of time during which it appears that a blanket was hung to shield Joseph and the plates from view.
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
As when divining the location of treasure,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Money digging
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Seer stones
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith said he saw the words of the translation while he gazed at the stone or stones in the bottom of his hat, excluding all light.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.
Joseph Smith himself never said anything about how the translation was performed, other than that it was accomplished through the "gift and power of God." It was David Whitmer who claimed that Joseph saw actual words on the stone. - Bushman notes:
[A]s work on the Book of Mormon proceeded, a seerstone took the place of the Urim and Thummim as an aid in the work, blending magic with inspired translation." (Bushman, p. 131) "There is evidence that the translation stone was given him after he lost the Urim and Thummim when the 116 pages disappeared. (Bushman, p. 590, note 24 citing Van Wagoner and Walker, "'The Gift of Seeing,'" 54)
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Seer stones and Book of Mormon/Translation/Method
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
The plates themselves were not directly consulted.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith did this in full view of witnesses, but sometimes concealed the process by raising a curtain or dictating from another room.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
From the cited source Howe, p. 14:
[Martin Harris] says he wrote a considerable part of the book, as Smith dictated, and at one time the presence of the Lord was so great, that a screen was hung up between him and the Prophet; at other times the Prophet would sit in a different room, or up stairs, while the Lord was communicating to him the contents of the plates.
- Note that the use of the curtain appears to have occurred during the early period of translation when the Nephite interpreters were being employed. The use of the curtain many have served to screen both the plates and Nephite interpreters from view. After the loss of the 116 pages, removal of the Nephite interpreters by Moroni, and Joseph's subsequent use of the seer stone, the translation appears to have taken place in plain view and the curtain is not present.
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation and Book of Mormon/Translation/Method
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith may have considered giving up the translation because of opposition from his in-laws,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Given that Joseph was commanded by God to perform the translation, this is highly unlikely. There are some additional secondary hostile sources which are used to support the assertion put forth in the wiki article:
- Booth (1831) (Smith "had given [the translation] up, on account of the opposition of his wife and others".)
- Howe (1834) , p. 266 (Smith confided to Emma's uncle, a Methodist deacon, that despite the commandment from God, "he was afraid of the people"); *Phelps (1833) , p. 7 (July 1828 revelation rebuking Smith because he had often "gone on in the persuasions of men...behold, you should not have feared man more than God").
- With regard to a statement made by Nathaniel Lewis, t should be noted that the there are many inconsistencies that do not correlate with things that Joseph is known to have said regarding the plates, the witnesses and the translation.
- Joseph never stated to anyone that he asked advice from a Methodist preacher as to whether or not he should translate the plates.
- Joseph never stated that he considered not translating the plates because he was "afraid of the people."
- Joseph never said that he was told to "exhibit the plates to the world."
- Joseph never said that Nathaniel Lewis would be one of the witnesses.
- From Howe, p. 266:
From my standing in the Methodist Episcopal Church, I suppose he was careful how he conducted or expressed himself before me. At one time, however, he came to my house, and asked my advice, whether he should proceed to translate the Book of Plates (referred to by Mr. Hale) or not. He said that God had commanded him to translate it, but he was afraid of the people: he remarked, that he was to exhibit the plates to the world, at a certain time, which was then about eighteen months distant. I told him I was not qualified to give advice in such cases. Smith frequently said to me that I should see the plates at the time appointed.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
but in February 1828, Martin Harris arrived to spur him onAuthor'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.
Ezra Booth, a hostile source, is the only one of the three sources used to claim that Harris arrived in order to convince Joseph to continue translating. The other two sources simply confirm that "Martin Harris arrived" in order assist Joseph. According to Booth:
Joseph Smith, Jun., Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris, may be considered as the principals in this work; and let Martin Harris tell the story, and he is the most conspicuous of the four.—He informed me, that he went to the place where Joseph resided, and Joseph had given it up, on account of the opposition of his wife and others: but he told Joseph. "I have not come down here for nothing, and we will go on with it." Martin Harris is what may be called a great talker, and an extravagant boaster; so much so, that he renders himself disagreeable to many of his own society.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
by taking the characters and their translations to a few prominent scholars.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Harris claimed that one of the scholars he visited, Charles Anthon, initially authenticated the characters and their translation, then recanted upon hearing that Smith had received the plates from an angel.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Anthon denied this claimAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- Anthon's two letters actually contradicted one another. According to the cited source (Bushman, p. 65),
In the first letter Anthon said he refused to give Harris a written opinion; according to the second, the opinion was written "without any hesitation," in an attempt to expose the fraud.
- Bushman, p. 577 note 16 states that the 1834 Anthon letter first appeared in MoU, 269-72, and the 1841 letter in Clark, Gleanings by the Way, 233-38. Both are reprinted in Early Mormon Documents, 4:377-86.
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation/Anthon transcript
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
and Harris returned to Harmony in April 1828 motivated to act as Smith's scribe.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Translation continued until mid-June 1828, until Harris began having doubts about the existence of the golden plates.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Harris importuned Smith to let him take the existing 116 pages of manuscript to Palmyra to show a few family members.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Harris then lost the manuscript—of which there was no copy—at about the same time as Smith's wife Emma gave birth to a stillborn son.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith said the angel had taken away the plates and he had lost his ability to translateAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
until September 22, 1828, when they were restored.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith did not earnestly resume the translation again until April 1829, when he met Oliver Cowdery, a teacher and dowser,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Oliver himself may have used a divining rod, although there is no evidence that it was used for treasure-seeking. According to the cited source, "Most likely, Cowdery used a rod to discover water and minerals." (Bushman, p. 73).
- It should be noted that in the original draft of the revelation mentioning the "rod of nature," that the instrument was referred to as the "sprout" and the "thing of Nature." The change in text of these items to "rod of nature" was made by Sidney Rigdon.
...remember this is thy gift now this is not all for thou hast another gift which is the gift of working with the sprout Behold it hath told you things Behold there is no other power save God that can cause this thing of Nature to work in your hands. (Revelation, April 1829–B [D&C 8], in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Stephen C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, vol. 1 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, ed. Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009), 17. )
- For a detailed response, see: Doctrine and Covenants/Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
who now became Smith's scribe.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation/The lost 116 pages
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
They worked full time on the translation between April and early June 1829,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
and then moved to Fayette, New York where they continued to work at the home of Cowdery's friend Peter Whitmer. When the translation spoke of an institutional church and a requirement for baptism, Smith and Cowdery baptized each other,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
with written documents five years later stating that John the Baptist had appeared and ordained them to a priesthood.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Translation was completed around July 1, 1829.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Knowing that potential converts to the planned church might find Smith's story of the plates incredible,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith asked a group of eleven witnesses, including Martin Harris and male members of the Whitmer and Smith families, to sign a statement testifying that they had seen the golden plates, and in the case of the latter eight witnesses, had actually hefted the plates.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Witnesses
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
According to Smith, the angel Moroni took back the plates after Smith was finished using them.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
The translation, known as the Book of Mormon, was published in Palmyra on March 26, 1830, by printer E. B. Grandin.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Printing timeframe
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Martin Harris financed the publication by mortgaging his farm.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Soon thereafter on April 6, 1830, Smith and his followers formally organized the Church of Christ,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- References not included in the Wikipedia article
Several Fayette references are missing. - The recently revealed Book of Commandments and Revelations, which had been kept in the First Presidency's vault until its publication in the Joseph Smith Papers series, supports the Fayette location. According to R. Scott Lloyd,:
"The manuscript may have the effect, [Steven C. Harper] said, of resolving a controversy that has arisen over whether the Church was organized at Fayette, N.Y., as has traditionally been understood, or at Manchester, N.Y. It does so by affirming that a revelation given on April 6, 1830, was given at Fayette, not at Manchester. 'The 1833 Book of Commandments, heretofore the earliest source available, located this revelation in Manchester,' he explained. Some authors thus argued that the traditional story of the Church's founding in Fayette lacked foundation in the historical record, 'but we can now see that in this case, tradition and the historical record match up,' he said."
(R. Scott Lloyd, "'Major Discovery' Discussed at Mormon History Association Conference," Church News, 22 May 2009.)
- Orson Pratt: "I well recollect when I was but a boy of nineteen visiting the place where this Church was organized, and visiting the Prophet Joseph, who resided at that time in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, at the house where the Church was organized." (Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses 13:356.)
- French’s New York Gazetteer, published by R. Pearsall Smith, at Syracuse, New York, [since] 1800, also contained some data concerning Mormonism, and states that the first Mormon society was formed in the town of Fayette, Seneca County, in 1830” (Letter, Diedrich Villers, Jr. to Ellen E. Dickinson; published in Ellen E. Dickinson, New Light on Mormonism)
- For a detailed response, see: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/Location of the organization
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
and small branches were established in Palmyra, Fayette, and Colesville, New York.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
The Book of Mormon brought Smith regional notoriety,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
but also strong opposition by those who remembered Smith's money-digging and his 1826 trial near Colesville.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Money digging
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Soon after Smith reportedly performed an exorcism in Colesville,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- According to Brodie (p. 86):
"Almost immediately [Newel Knight] spoke to me," Joseph wrote in his autobiography, "and with great earnestness requested me to cast the devil out of him, saying the he knew he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast him out." "If you know that I can, it shall be done," Joseph replied, and in the conventional exorcist's fashion commanded the devil in the name of Christ to release the man's soul. Immediately Knight cried out that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from sight. His convulsions ceased and he fell upon the bed unconscious, awakening later to testify that he had glimpsed eternity.
- For an analysis of Fawn Brodie's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
he was again tried as a disorderly person but was acquitted.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- From the cited source,
When village toughs failed to stop the baptisms, the law stepped in. Before the newly baptized members could be confirmed, a constable from South Bainbridge delivered a warrant for Joseph's arrest. Doctor A. W. Benton of Chenago County, whom Joseph Knight called a "catspaw" of a group of vagabonds, brought charges against Joseph as a disorderly person. (Bushman, p. 116).
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Even so, Smith and Cowdery had to flee Colesville to escape a gathering mob. Probably referring to this period of flight, Smith told years later of hearing the voices of Peter, James, and John who he said gave Smith and Cowdery an apostolic authority.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Priesthood/Restoration/Melchizedek/Date
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
When Oliver Cowdery and other church members attempted to exercise independent authorityAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
—as when Book of Mormon witness Hiram Page used his seer stone to locate the American New Jerusalem prophesied by the Book of MormonAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion
}}
Question: Why did Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer accept Hiram Page's seer stone revelations as authoritative?
The Lord used this incident as a way to teach Oliver the proper order of revelation in the Church
This event is discussed in the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Seminary Teacher Manual (2013):
In 1830, the Prophet Joseph Smith encountered a challenge because Church members did not understand the order of revelation in the Church. Hiram Page claimed to receive revelations for the Church through the medium of a special stone, and some Church members, including Oliver Cowdery, believed him. Shortly before a Church conference that was held on September 26, 1830, the Lord revealed truths that helped Oliver Cowdery and others understand the order of revelation in the Church.[2]
Oliver was actually directed by the Lord to correct Hiram Page in this matter. It was a "teaching moment" for Oliver:
11 And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that stone are not of me and that Satan deceiveth him;
12 For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants.
13 For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith.
14 And thou shalt assist to settle all these things, according to the covenants of the church, before thou shalt take thy journey among the Lamanites. (D&C 28꞉11-14).
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
—Smith responded by establishing himself as the sole prophet.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
, although it would be more correct to state the Joseph established himself as sole prophet for the entire Church.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith disputed Page's location for the New Jerusalem,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
but dispatched Cowdery to lead a mission to Missouri to find its true locationAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1]
|claim=
and to proselytize the Native Americans.
|authorsources=
- Phelps (1833) , pp. 67–68 (Cowdery "shall go unto the Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them".).
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith also dictated a lost "Book of Enoch," telling how the biblical Enoch had established a city of Zion of such civic goodness that God had taken it to heaven.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Brodie states that Joseph "dictated to Cowdery a fragment said to have come from a parchment buried by St. John," that he "revealed a conversation between God and Moses," and that he "wrote one of the longest and most remarkable revelations of his career" about Enoch.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
On their way to Missouri, Cowdery's party passed through the Kirtland, Ohio area and converted Sidney Rigdon and over a hundred members of his Disciples of Christ congregation,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
more than doubling the size of the church.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Rigdon visited New York and quickly became second in command of the church,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
This is, of course, Brodie's opinion.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
to the discomfort of Smith's earlier followers.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
In the face of acute and growing opposition in New York, Smith announced that Kirtland was the "eastern boundary" of the New Jerusalem,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Great Lakes geography/Location of Zion
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
and that the Saints must gather there.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
In 1816–17, the family moved to the western New York village of PalmyraAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
and eventually took a mortgage on a 100 acre farm in nearby Manchester town.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith's First Vision/Smith family place of residence in 1820
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
During the Second Great Awakening, the region was a hotbed of religious enthusiasm.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith's First Vision/Religious revivals in 1820 and First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't mention a revival
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Although the Smith family was caught up in this excitement,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 citation used to support this assertion doesn't support the claim that the Smith family was caught up in "this excitement" of "religious enthusiasm," instead implying that the Smith family was associated with "divining and counterfeiting." The citation is mismatched to the assertion in the main body text.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
they disagreed about religion.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Joseph Smith may not have joined a church in his youth,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- From Lapham's 1870 account (47 years after the events described) we seem some interesting oddities. Lapham is paraphrasing an interview with Joseph Smith, Sr. Note that this account is being given almost 30 years after Joseph Smith, Jr. published the story of the First Vision and visit by Moroni.
After this, Joseph spent about two years looking into this stone, telling fortunes, where to find lost things, and where to dig for money and other hidden treasure. About this time he became concerned as to his future state of existence, and was baptized, becoming thus a member of the Baptist Church. Soon after joining the Church, he had a very singular dream; but he did not tell his father of his dream, until about a year afterwards. He then told his father that, in his dream, a very large and tall man appeared to him, dressed in an ancient suit of clothes, and the clothes were bloody.
- See the primary source online here: "Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, Forty Years Ago. His Account of the Finding of the Sacred Plates", Historical Magazine [second series 7 (May 1870): 305–09.]
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't forbid joining a church
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
but he participated in church classesAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith's First Vision/Joseph became "partial to the Methodist sect" in 1820
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
and read the Bible. With his family, he took part in religious folk magic,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
a common practice at the time.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- From the cited source,
At this time the revivals of western New York's so-called "Burned-over District" were bringing thousands out of private folk religion and into organized churches, whose clergy opposed folk magic.
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Like many people of that era,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- Quinn quotes Bushman on page 137:
Standing on the margins of instituted churches, they [the Smiths] were as susceptible to the neighbors' belief in magic as they were to the teachings of orthodox ministers.
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
both his parents and his maternal grandfather had visions or dreams that they believed communicated messages from God.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/Joseph Smith, Sr.'s dream and Lehi's vision
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith later said that he had his own first vision in 1820, in which God told him his sins were forgivenAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Motivation is different
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
and that all the current churches were false.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't forbid joining a church
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith's First Vision/No reference to First Vision in 1830s publications and First Vision/No mention in non-LDS literature before 1843
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith's First Vision/Seldom mentioned in LDS publications before 1877
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
The Smith family supplemented its meager farm income by treasure-digging,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- From the cited source,
Some neighbors also said that in "1819 or '20, they [the Smith family] commenced digging for money for a subsistence." Other neighbors specified that during "the spring of 1820" Joseph Jr. was extremely active in the treasure-quest.
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Money digging
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
likewise relatively common in contemporary New EnglandAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Money digging
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
though the practice was frequently condemned by clergymen and rationalists and was often illegal.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Money digging
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Joseph claimed an ability to use seer stones for locating lost items and buried treasure.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Seer stones
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
To do so, Smith would put a stone in a white stovepipe hat and would then see the required information in reflections given off by the stone.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Seer stones
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
In 1823, while praying for forgiveness from his "gratification of many appetites,"Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- Note that D. Michael Quinn postulates that Joseph "once made an extraordinarily candid reference to his sexual struggle from 1820 to 1823" based upon the "gratification of many appetites" quote in Joseph's 1838 account, but the account itself says nothing about a "sexual struggle."
- For an analysis of D. Michael Quinn's critical work, see A FAIR Analysis of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith said he was visited at night by an angel named Moroni, who revealed the location of a buried book of golden plates as well as other artifacts, including a breastplate and a set of silver spectacles with lenses composed of seer stones, which had been hidden in a hill near his home.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- It should be noted that the hill near Joseph Smith's home was not named "Cumorah" at this point in time. The name was only applied later after the publication of the Book of Mormon.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith said he attempted to remove the plates the next morning but was unsuccessful because the angel prevented him.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
During the next four years, Smith made annual visits to the hill, only to return without the plates because he claimed that he had not brought with him the right person required by the angel.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- From the cited source Bushman:
Stories circulated of a requirement to bring Alvin to the hill to get the plates; and when he died, someone else. Emma, it was said, was designated as a key. The stories have a magical flavor, but other stories have the angel warning Joseph about greed and the evildoings of the money-diggers, as if the messenger was moving him away from his treasure-hunting ways.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Meanwhile, Smith continued traveling western New York and Pennsylvania as a treasure seeker and also as a farmhand.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Money digging
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Early Smith family history/Early work as a farmhand
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
In 1826, he was tried in Chenango County, New York, for "glass-looking," the crime of pretending to find lost treasure.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.
Joseph never claimed to have found lost treasure. He was tried for attempting to find lost treasure using a stone. - For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Legal trials/1826 glasslooking trial
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
While boarding at the Hale house in Harmony, he met Emma Hale and, on January 18, 1827, eloped with her because her parents disapproved of his treasure hunting.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- Joseph and Emma eloped because her father would not allow them to be married due to his disapproval of Joseph's treasure seeking activities.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Claiming his stone told him that Emma was the key to obtaining the plates,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.
Joseph never claimed that his stone "told" him anything. He used to stone to obtain information. - Bushman, p. 54:
Emma, it was said, was designated as a key.
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Smith went with her to the hill on September 22, 1827. This time, he said, he retrieved the plates and placed them in a locked chest.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
He said the angel commanded him not to show the plates to anyone else but to publish their translation, reputed to be the religious record of indigenous Americans.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Relationship to Amerindians
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Joseph later promised Emma's parents that his treasure-seeking days were behind him.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
Although Smith had left his treasure hunting company, his former associates believed he had double-crossed them by taking for himself what they considered joint property.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Money digging
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
They ransacked places where a competing treasure-seer said the plates were hidden,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Money digging
The author(s) of the Wikipedia article on Joseph Smith[1] make(s) the following claim:
and Smith soon realized that he could not accomplish the translation in Palmyra.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Translation
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.50 1.51 1.52 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.59 1.60 1.61 1.62 1.63 1.64 1.65 1.66 1.67 1.68 1.69 1.70 1.71 1.72 1.73 1.74 1.75 1.76 1.77 1.78 1.79 1.80 1.81 1.82 1.83 1.84 1.85 1.86 1.87 Due to the nature of wikipedia, articles can change. This analysis applies to the article as it stood circa September 2011.
- ↑ "Lesson 34: Doctrine and Covenants 28," Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Seminary Teacher Manual, 2013.