
FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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|sublink4=Question: Did Joseph Smith and his contemporaries believe in supernatural entities with real power? | |sublink4=Question: Did Joseph Smith and his contemporaries believe in supernatural entities with real power? | ||
|sublink5=Question: What effect did the Hofmann forgeries have upon the study of early Latter-day Saint history? | |sublink5=Question: What effect did the Hofmann forgeries have upon the study of early Latter-day Saint history? | ||
− | |sublink6=Question: How did Joseph use his seer stones as a youth? | + | |sublink6=Question: How did Joseph use his seer stones as a youth? |
|sublink7=Question: Was a "vagabond fortune-teller" named Walters Joseph Smith's "mentor"? | |sublink7=Question: Was a "vagabond fortune-teller" named Walters Joseph Smith's "mentor"? | ||
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Summary: Citing Joseph Smith's experiences with folk magic, treasure seeking and seer stones, it is claimed that Joseph Smith's spiritual experiences were originally products of magic and the occult. Some charge that only much later did Joseph retrofit his experiences in Christian, religious terms: speaking of God, angels, and prophethood rather than in terms of magic, treasure guardians and scrying. It is also claimed that a "vagabond fortune-teller" named Walters became popular in the Palmyra area, and that when Walters left the area, "his mantle fell upon" Joseph Smith.
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