Criticism of Mormonism/Books/No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith/Index/Chapter 24
From FAIRMormon
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| Claims made in "Chapter 23: Into Hiding" | A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books/No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith A work by author: Fawn BrodieIndex of claims: Claims made in "Chapter 24: The Wives of the Prophet"
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Claims made in "Chapter 25: Candidate for President" |
| Note: This is a review of claims and/or responses to misrepresentations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints found in this work. The inclusion of an author's work here does not imply that he or she is "anti-Mormon," or that none of his or her works have value. Those who do not wish to examine the claims contained in what some would consider an "anti-Mormon" work are advised to proceed no further. |
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Claims made in "Chapter 24: The Wives of the Prophet"
334
Claim
- The number of women sealed to Joseph Smith may have exceeded fifty.
Author's source(s) - William Hepworth Dixon: New America (1867), p. 225.
- History unclear or in error: Brodie's evidentiary standards are far too low.
- Joseph Smith/Polygamy
336
Claim
- At least twelve of the women sealed to Joseph were already married with living husbands.
Author's source(s) - No source provided.
- History unclear or in error: the number was lower; Brodie's evidentiary standards are weak. She notes that the evidence for one of these women (Mrs. Levi Hancock) is "only word-of-mouth tradition in the Hancock family."
- Polyandry
338
Claim
- "Most" of Joseph wives were married to him for "time [that is, life] and eternity."
Author's source(s) - No source provided.
- This is true.
- Joseph Smith/Polygamy
339
Claim
- Emma selected the Partridge sisters and the Lawrence sisters as plural wives for Joseph.
Author's source(s) - No source provided.
- This is true.
- Emma and plural marriage
342
Claim
- Emma burned the revelation on plural marriage.
Author's source(s) - No source provided.
- This is likely true.
343
Claim
- Joseph said that he would have Emma as his wife in the hereafter even if he had to "go to hell" for her.
Author's source(s) - Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 17:159.
- This is likely true.
345
Claim
- There is "some evidence that Fannie Alger bore Joseph a child in Kirtland."
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- History unclear or in error: the evidence is not persuasive.
- Joseph Smith and polygamy—Children of polygamous marriages—Alger
345
Claim
- Prescindia Huntington Buell's son Oliver may have been Joseph's son.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- The claim is false: DNA has definitively ruled this out.
- Buell children ruled out
- Joseph Smith and polygamy—Children of polygamous marriages—Buell
345
Claim
- "Legend" says that John Reed Hancock may have been Joseph's son.
Response- History unclear or in error: no other author has followed Brodie on this; there is very little evidence that this is true.
- Joseph Smith and polygamy—Children of polygamous marriages—Hancock
345
Claim
- The son of Mary Rollins Lightner "may as easily have been the prophet's son as that of Adam Lightner."
Response- History unclear or in error: this is unlikely
- Joseph Smith and polygamy—Children of polygamous marriages—Lightner
345
Claim
- Mrs. Orson Hyde's sons Orson and Frank "could have been Joseph's sons."
Response- History unclear or in error: Brodie mistakes the date on Frank's birth certificate—it is impossible for him to have been Joseph's son.
- Orson died in infancy, but the birth dates match times when Orson Sr. was available to sire him. Most historians have disagreed with Brodie here.
- Joseph Smith and polygamy—Children of polygamous marriages—Hyde
345
Claim
- Mrs. Parley P. Pratt's son Moroni "might also be added to this list."
Response- The claim is false: Moroni Pratt has been ruled out by DNA testing.
- Joseph Smith and polygamy—Children of polygamous marriages—Pratt
345-346
Claim
- "According to tradition," Emma beat Eliza Snow with a broomstick and caused her to fall down the stairs, resulting in a miscarriage.
Author's source(s) - None specified.
- History unclear or in error: the stairs story has not stood up to investigation. See Emma, Eliza and the stairs
- Joseph Smith and polygamy—Children of polygamous marriages—Snow
346
Claim
- "It is astonishing that evidence of other children than these has never come to light."
Response- It is astonishing that the author guessed wrong so often, and missed the one viable candidate: Josephine Fisher.
- Joseph Smith and polygamy—Children of polygamous marriages
346
Claim
- Jedediah Grant "excused" Joseph's marriages to married women by stating that it was a way to "try the people of God to see what was in them."
Author's source(s) - Jedediah M. Grant, Journal of Discourses 2:14.
- Misrepresentation of source: Grant says nothing about Joseph's polyandrous marriages; he is speaking of cases (e.g., such as Heber and Vilate Kimball) in which Joseph proposed plural marriage but then relented.
- See Quote mining—Journal of Discourses 2:14 to see how this quote was mined.
- Polyandry
346
Claim
- Perhaps Joseph "learned some primitive method of birth control" or took advantage of items such as "Portuguese Female Pills" to produce miscarriage.
Author's source(s) - No source provided.
- Prejudicial or loaded language
- Author's conjecture—Brodie can't adequately explain why a large number of children were not produced from Joseph's other "marriages."
- Joseph Smith and polygamy—Children of polygamous marriages
