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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith/Chapter 2
A FAIR Analysis of: No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith A work by author: Fawn Brodie
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Claims made in "Claims made in "Chapter 3: Red Sons of Israel" |
Chapter 2: Treasure in the Earth
16
Claim
- Joseph was notorious for telling tall tales, necromantic arts and treasure digging.
Author's source(s) - "Mormonism", New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, New York, 1883, Vol. II, p. 1576.
- Obadiah Dogberry (pseudonym for Abner Cole), Palmyra Reflector, Jan. 6 - March 19, 1831.
- Abner Cole, "The Book of Pukei," Palmyra Reflector June - July 1830.
- Joseph Smith and money digging
- The magician Walters as a mentor to Joseph Smith?
- Revised or Unaltered?: Joseph Smith's Foundational Stories, Matthew Brown, 2006 FAIR Conference (Video)
16
Claim
- Joseph was charged with being "a disorderly person and an impostor" at his 1826 trial.
Author's source(s) - "Mormonism", New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, New York, 1883, Vol. II, p. 1576.
17
Claim
- The Hurlbut affidavits corroborated and supplemented the court record.
Author's source(s) - Author's opinion
- Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH, 1834). (Affidavits examined)
18
Claim
- Fifty-one of Joseph's neighbors signed affidavits accusing him of being "destitute of moral character" and "addicted to vicious habits."
Author's source(s) - Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH, 1834). (Affidavits examined)
18
Claim
- Joseph dreamed of an "illustrious and affluent" future.
Author's source(s) - Author's speculation.
- Mind reading: author has no way of knowing this.
- Psychobiographical analysis of Joseph Smith
18
Claim
- Joseph "detested the plow" and despaired about the family's debts.
Author's source(s) - Author's speculation.
- Mind reading: author has no way of knowing this.
- Psychobiographical analysis of Joseph Smith
- Lazy Joseph?
19
Claim
- A "vagabond fortune-teller" named Walters became popular in the area. When Walters left the area, "his mantle fell upon" Joseph Smith.
Author's source(s) - Author's conjecture.
- The magician Walters as a mentor to Joseph Smith?
- Revised or Unaltered?: Joseph Smith's Foundational Stories, Matthew Brown, 2006 FAIR Conference (Video)
20
Claim
- William Stafford told a story about Joseph claimed that he could find money using a bleeding black sheep.
Author's source(s) - Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH, 1834). (Affidavits examined)
20
Claim
- Joseph could see "ghosts, infernal spirits" and "mountains of gold" in his seer stone.
Author's source(s) - Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH, 1834). (Affidavits examined)
23
Claim
- Palmyra newspapers took no notice of Joseph's vision at the time it was supposed to have occurred.
Author's source(s) - Obediah Dogberry (Abner Cole), Palmyra Reflector, Feb. 1, 1831.
24
Claim
- The story of Joseph first vision evolved greatly between his 1832 and 1838 accounts.
Author's source(s) - Times and Seasons, March 15, 1842
- Dean D. Jessee's (Dean C. Jessee) "Early Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision," Brigham Young University Studies, Vol. IX, 1969, pp. 275-294.
24
Claim
- Oliver Cowdery described Joseph's first vision as having occurred in 1823
Author's source(s) - Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, Letter IV, Feb. 1835, p. 78.
24
Claim
- Some of Joseph's close relatives confused the first vision with Moroni's visit.
Author's source(s) - Lucy Smith to Solomon Mack, January 6, 1831 in Ben E. Rich: Scrapbook of Mormon Literature, Vol. I, p. 543.
25
Claim
- Joseph's own family did not know of his first vision at the time that it happened.
Author's source(s) - Source not provided.
25
Claim
- Joseph's vision may have been an invention to cancel out stories of his fortune telling and money digging
Author's source(s) - Author's speculation.
- Mind reading: author has no way of knowing this.
- Psychobiographical analysis of Joseph Smith
26
Claim
- Joseph liked preaching because it gave him an audience, and this was as "essential to Joseph as food."
Author's source(s) - Author's conjecture.
- Mind reading: author has no way of knowing this.
- Prejudicial or loaded language
- Psychobiographical analysis of Joseph Smith
27
Claim
- Joseph stared into his crystal and saw gold in every odd-shaped hill
Author's source(s) - Author's speculation.
- The author's claim is false: the author has no evidence of this whatever.
- Joseph Smith and money digging
30
Claim
- In March 1826 Joseph got into serious trouble because of his "magic arts"
Author's source(s) - "Mormonism", New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, New York, 1883, Vol. II, p. 1576.
30
Claim
- The court pronounced Joseph "guilty" at the 1826 trial
Author's source(s) - "Mormonism", New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, New York, 1883, Vol. II, p. 1576.
- History unclear or in error: the 1826 hearing was not a trial; "guilty" was not a possible verdict.
- Joseph Smith's 1826 glasslooking trial
31
Claim
- Joseph's mentor was "the conjurer Walters."
Author's source(s) - Author's conjecture.