Joseph Smith and Jupiter talisman
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Contents |
Criticism
Critics claim that Joseph Smith had a Jupiter Talisman on his person when he was martyred and cite this as proof of his fascination with the occult. As one work put it:
- The fact that Smith owned a Jupiter talisman shows that his fascination with the occult was not just a childish fad. At the time of his death, Smith had on his person this talisman...[1]
Source(s) of the Criticism
- Richard Abanes, Becoming Gods: A Closer Look at 21st-Century Mormonism (Harvest House Publishers: 2005). 24, 36–39.
- Robert D. Anderson, Inside the Mind of Joseph Smith: Psychobiography and the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1999).
- Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945) Chapter 2. ( Index of claims )
- John L. Brooke, The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
- Ronald V. Huggins, "From Captain Kidd's Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism," Dialogue 3/4 (2003): 17–42.
- H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters, Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994), 63–115.
- Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson, Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints (Baker Books, 2000), 255.
- Dale Morgan, Dale Morgan on Early Mormonism: Correspondence and a New History, ed. John Phillip Walker (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1986).
- Grant H. Palmer, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002) 186. ( Index of claims )
- D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1987).
- D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998).
- Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), 75–77, 89. ( Index of claims )
- Dan Vogel, Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2004), 45.
Response
Did Joseph have this Talisman on him when he was murdered? What would it mean if he did?
This well circulated claim finds its origins in a 1974 talk by Dr. Reed Durham. Durham said that Joseph "evidently [had a Talisman] on his person when he was martyred. The talisman, originally purchased from the Emma Smith Bidamon family, fully notarized by that family to be authentic and to have belonged to Joseph Smith, can now be identified as a Jupiter talisman."[2]
Source of the tale
The source of the Talisman story, upon which Dr. Durham based his remarks, was Wilford C. Wood, who was told it by Charles Bidaman, the illegitimate son of Lewis Bidaman. Lewis was Emma Smith's non-Mormon second husband. Charles was born following an affair between Lewis Bidaman and Nancy Abercrombie, which occurred while Lewis was married to Emma. Charles was taken in by Emma when four years old, and raised by her until her death 11 years later.[3] (This action says much for Emma's charity.)
Richard Lloyd Anderson wrote that the Talisman, or "silver pocket piece" as described in 1937, appeared on a list of items purportedly own by Joseph Smith which were to be sold by Charles Bidamon. One item listed was "a silver pocket piece which was in the Prophet's pocket at the time of his assassination."[4] Wilford Wood, who collected Mormon memorabilia, purchased it in 1938 along with a document from Bidamon certifying that the Prophet possessed it when murdered. The affidavit sworn to by Charles Bidamon at the time of Wilford C. Wood's purchase was very specific:
- This piece came to me through the relationship of my father, Major L. C. Bidamon, who married the Prophet Joseph Smith's widow, Emma Smith. I certify that I have many times heard her say, when being interviewed, and showing the piece, that it was in the Prophet's pocket when he was martyred at Carthage, Ill.[5]
Anderson noted that Bidamon waited fifty-eight years after Emma’s death to make his certification, and notes that at the time of her death he was only fifteen years old.
Durham based his comments on Wood's description for the item which was: "This piece [the Talisman] was in Joseph Smith's pocket when he was martyred at Carthage Jail."[6] However, an list of the items in Joseph's possession at the time of his death was provided to Emma following the martyrdom. On this list there was no mention made of any Talisman-like item. If there had been such an article, it ought to have been listed.
In 1984, Anderson located and published the itemized list of the contents of Joseph Smith's pockets at his death. The list was originally published in 1885 in Iowa by James W. Woods, Smith's lawyer, who collected the prophet's personal effects after the Martyrdom. The contents from the published 1885 printing are as follows:
- Received, Nauvoo, Illinois, July 2, 1844, of James W. Woods, one hundred and thirty- five dollars and fifty cents in gold and silver and receipt for shroud, one gold finger ring, one gold pen and pencil case, one penknife, one pair of tweezers, one silk and one leather purse, one small pocket wallet containing a note of John P. Green for $50, and a receipt of Heber C. Kimball for a note of hand on Ellen M. Saunders for one thousand dollars, as the property of Joseph Smith. - Emma Smith.[7]
No Talisman or item like it is listed. It could not be mistaken for a coin or even a "Masonic Jewel" as Durham first thought. Anderson described the Talisman as being “an inch-and-a-half in diameter and covered with symbols and a prayer on one side and square of sixteen Hebrew characters on the other.”[8] Significant is the fact that no associate of Joseph Smith has ever mentioned anything like this medallion. There are no interviews that ever record Emma mentioning any such item as attested to by Charles Bidamon, though he claimed she often spoke of it.
Variations on a theme
More recent arguments contend that Wood’s list was exaggerated or was an all together different type of list. For example, some suggest that since neither Joseph's gun or hat were on the report, the list must not be complete. It should be obvious, however, that these items were not found on Joseph's person. The record clearly states that he dropped his gun and left it behind before being murdered. As for the hat, even if he had been wearing it indoors, it seems unlikely to have remained on his head after a gun-fight and fall from a second-story window.
Critics also argue that the Talisman was not accounted for was because it ought to have been worn around the neck, hidden from view and secret to all (including Emma no less). Thus, the argument runs, it was overlooked in the inventory. While it may be true that Talismans are worn around the neck, Bidamon's certification clearly states that the Talisman was "in the Prophet’s pocket when he was martyred." So which is it? In his pocket like a lucky charm or secretly worn around his neck as such an item should properly be used? In either case, the record is clear that he did not have a Talisman on his person at the time of his death. The rest is speculation.
The critics also resort to arguing that a prisoner could not possibly have had a penknife, so how accurate can the list of Joseph's possessions be? Obviously, the fact that he had a gun makes the possession of a knife a matter of no consequence.[9] Critics will dismiss contemporary evidence simply because it is inconvenient.
As a final note to the saga, when Durham was later asked how he felt about his speech regarding the Talisman, he replied:
- I now wish I had presented some of my material differently.” “For instance, at the present time, after checking my data, I find no primary evidence that Joseph Smith ever possessed a Jupiter Talisman. The source for my comment was a second-hand, late source. It came from Wilford Wood, who was told it by Charlie Bidaman, who was told it by his father, Lewis Bidamon, who was Emma’s second husband and non-Mormon not too friendly to the LDS Church. So the idea that the Prophet had such a talisman is highly questionable.[10]
Conclusion
There is only one source of evidence that claims Joseph Smith had the Jupiter Talisman on his person, and that source is Charles Bidamon. Bidamon's statement was made long after the death of Joseph and Emma, relied on memories from his youth, and was undergirded by financial motives.
By contrast, contemporary evidence demonstrates that Joseph did not have such a Talisman in his possession at his death.
Endnotes
- [back] Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson, Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints (Baker Books, 2000), 255.
- [back] Dr. Reed Durham’s Presidential Address before the Mormon History Association on 20 April 1974.
- [back] Jerald R. Johansen, After the Martyrdom: What Happened to the Family of Joseph Smith (Springville, Utah: Horizon Publishers, 2004[1997]), 79. ISBN 0882905961. off-site
- [back] See page 541 of Richard L. Anderson, "The Mature Joseph Smith and Treasure Searching," Brigham Young University Studies 24:4 (1984): 489. PDF link GL direct link
Caution: this article was published before Mark Hofmann's forgeries were discovered. It may treat fradulent documents as genuine. Click for list of known forged documents.
Discusses money-digging; Salem treasure hunting episode; fraudulent 1838 Missouri treasure hunting revelation; Wood Scrape; “gift of Aaron”; “wand or rod”; Heber C. Kimball rod and prayer; magic; occult; divining lost objects; seerstone; parchments; talisman - [back] Anderson, "Mature Joseph Smith," 558.
- [back] Anderson, "Mature Joseph Smith," 558; with the original coming from LaMar C. Berett, The Wilford Wood Collection, Vol. 1 (Provo, UT: Wilford C. Wood Foundation, 1972), 173.
- [back] Anderson, "Mature Joseph Smith," 558; Anderson points to its original source in J. W. Woods "The Mormon Prophet," Daily Democrat (Ottumwa, Iowa), 10 May 1885; and in Edward H. Stiles, Recollections and Sketches of Notable Lawyers and Public Men of Early Iowa (Des Moines: Homestead Publishing Co., 1916), 271.
- [back] Anderson, "Mature Joseph Smith," 541.
- [back] These are examples of later arguments by Quinn in an attempt to refute Anderson.
- [back] Gilbert W. Scharffs, The Truth about ‘The God Makers’ (Salt Lake City, Utah: Publishers Press, 1989; republished by Bookcraft, 1994), 180. Full text FAIR link ISBN 088494963X.
FAIR wiki articles
| "Magic" wiki links |
- Joseph Smith and legal trials
- Joseph Smith and Jupiter talisman
- Joseph Smith and money digging
- Joseph Smith and the "occult" or "magick"
- Seer stones, use of
FAIR web site
| "Magic" FAIR web links |
- FAIR Topical Guide: Joseph Smith FAIR link
- FAIR Topical Guide: 1826 Trial FAIR link
- FAIR Topical Guide: Character FAIR link
- FAIR Topical Guide: Family and Background FAIR link
- FAIR Topical Guide: Jupiter Talisman FAIR link
- FAIR Topical Guide: Treasure digging FAIR link
- FAIR Topical Guide: Magic and occult FAIR link
- FAIR Topical Guide: Seer stones FAIR link
- Matthew B. Brown, “Revised or Unaltered?: Joseph Smith’s Foundational Stories,” 2006 FAIR Conference lecture
Debunks the “Walters the Magician” rumor floating around Palmyra, New York. FAIR link
| 1826 trial FAIR web links |
- Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.) FAIR link (Key source)
- Danel W. Bachman, "Mormonism -- Shadow or Reality? History or Propaganda? Joseph Smith as a Case Study," (2000 FAIR Conference presentation.) FAIR link
- Richard L. Bushman, "Joseph Smith Miscellany," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, 2005 FAIR Conference). FAIR link
External links
| "Magic" web links |
- Richard L. Anderson, "Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Reappraised," Brigham Young University Studies 10:3 (1970): 283–314. PDF link
Discusses content of Hurlbut ‘affidavits’ / Stafford, Chase, Ingersoll, Deming ‘affidavits’ – money digging / other Smith family with seerstone. - Richard L. Anderson, "The Mature Joseph Smith and Treasure Searching," Brigham Young University Studies 24:4 (1984): 489. PDF link GL direct link
Caution: this article was published before Mark Hofmann's forgeries were discovered. It may treat fradulent documents as genuine. Click for list of known forged documents.
Discusses money-digging; Salem treasure hunting episode; fraudulent 1838 Missouri treasure hunting revelation; Wood Scrape; “gift of Aaron”; “wand or rod”; Heber C. Kimball rod and prayer; magic; occult; divining lost objects; seerstone; parchments; talisman - Richard L. Anderson, "The Alvin Smith Story: Fact and Fiction," Ensign (August 1987): 58. off-site
Discusses Salamander Letter / Magic; Chase affidavit; Saunders memories; rumored Oliver Cowdery history - Richard Lloyd Anderson, "Review of Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Reexamined by Rodger I. Anderson," FARMS Review of Books 3/1 (1991): 52–80. off-site
Discusses seerstones; magic; money-digging; animal sacrifice; ‘faculty of Abrac’. - Mark Ashurst-McGee, "Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 34–100. off-site PDF link wiki
- Davis Bitton, "Review of John L. Brooke, The Refiner’s Fire: the Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644-1844," Brigham Young University Studies 34:4 (1994–95): 182–192. PDF link
- John Gee, "Abracadabra, Isaac and Jacob (Review of The Use of Egyptian Magical Papyri to Authenticate the Book of Abraham: A Critical Review by Edward H. Ashment)," FARMS Review of Books 7/1 (1995): 19–84. off-site PDF link
- John Gee, "'Bird Island' Revisited, or the Book of Mormon through Pyramidal Kabbalistic Glasses: Review of Written by the Finger of God: A Testimony of Joseph Smith's Translations by Joe Sampson," FARMS Review of Books 7/1 (1995): 219–228. off-site PDF link
- John Gee, "Review of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, by D. Michael Quinn," FARMS Review of Books 12/2 (2000): 185–224. off-site PDF link (Key source)
- William J. Hamblin, "'Everything Is Everything': Was Joseph Smith Influenced by Kabbalah? Review of Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection by Lance S. Owens," FARMS Review of Books 8/2 (1996): 251–325. off-site PDF link
- William J. Hamblin, "That Old Black Magic (Review of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, by D. Michael Quinn)," FARMS Review of Books 12/2 (2000): 225–394. off-site PDF link
- William J. Hamblin, Daniel C. Peterson, and George L. Mitton, "Review of John L. Brooke, The Refiner’s Fire: the Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644-1844," Brigham Young University Studies 34:4 (1994–95): 167–181. PDF link
- William J. Hamblin, Daniel C. Peterson, and George L. Mitton, "Mormon in the Fiery Furnace Or, Loftes Tryk Goes to Cambridge (Review of The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644-1844 by John L. Brooke)," FARMS Review of Books 6/2 (1994): 3–58. off-site PDF link
Shorter version of BYU Studies paper above; discusses Hermeticism; Masonry - Marvin S. Hill, "Money-Digging Folklore and the Beginnings of Mormonism: An Interpretive Suggestion," Brigham Young University Studies 24:4 (Fall 1984): 473–488.
Caution: this article was published before Mark Hofmann's forgeries were discovered. It may treat fradulent documents as genuine. Click for list of known forged documents. off-site - Rhett S. James, "Writing History Must Not Be an Act of Magic (Review of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, by D. Michael Quinn)," FARMS Review of Books 12/2 (2000): 395–414. off-site PDF link
- Larry E. Morris, "'I Should Have an Eye Single to the Glory of God’: Joseph Smith’s Account of the Angel and the Plates (Review of: "From Captain Kidd’s Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism")," FARMS Review 17/1 (2005): 11–82. off-site PDF link
- Larry E. Morris, "Joseph Smith and "Interpretive Biography", Review of Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet by Dan Vogel," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 321–374. off-site PDF link wiki
- Stephen E. Robinson, "Review of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, by D. Michael Quinn," Brigham Young University Studies 27:4 (1987): ?–??. PDF link
- Matthew Roper, "Unanswered Mormon Scholars (Review of Answering Mormon Scholars: A Response to Criticism Raised by Mormon Defenders)," FARMS Review of Books 9/1 (1997): 87–145. off-site PDF link (page 87–145; see especially section "Joseph Smith and 'Magic'")
- Janet Thomas, "Magic," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 2:849. ISBN 002904040X. off-site off-site
- Ronald W. Walker, "Joseph Smith: The Palmyra Seer,," Brigham Young University Studies 24:4 (Fall 1984): 461–472. off-site
Caution: this article was published before Mark Hofmann's forgeries were discovered. It may treat fradulent documents as genuine. Click for list of known forged documents. - Ronald W. Walker, "The Persisting Idea of American Treasure Hunting," Brigham Young University Studies 24:4 (Fall 1984): 427–459. off-site
Caution: this article was published before Mark Hofmann's forgeries were discovered. It may treat fradulent documents as genuine. Click for list of known forged documents. - Benson Whittle, "review of Michael Quinn, Mormonism and the Magic World View, 1st ed.," Brigham Young University Studies 27:4 (Fall 1984): 105–121. off-site
- William A. Wilson, "review of Michael Quinn, Mormonism and the Magic World View, 1st ed.," Brigham Young University Studies 27:4 (Fall 1984): 96–104. off-site
Printed material
| "Magic" printed materials |
- Mark Ashurst-McGee, "A Pathway to Prophethood: Joseph Smith Junior as Rodsman, Village Seer, and Judeo-Christian Prophet," (Master's Thesis, University of Utah, Logan, Utah, 2000). Buy online
- Richard L. Bushman, "Joseph Smith's Family Background," in The Prophet Joseph: Essays on the Life and Mission of Joseph Smith, ed. Larry C. Porter and Susan Easton Black (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988), 1–18. ISBN 0875791778. GospeLink
- Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Knopf, 2005), 41–52. ISBN 1400042704
- Stephen D. Ricks and Daniel C. Peterson, “Joseph Smith and ‘Magic’: Methodological Reflections on the Use of a Term,” in Robert L. Millet, ed., To Be Learned Is Good If . . . (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1987), 129–147.
