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.
Joseph Smith/Legal issues
- REDIRECTTemplate:Test3
Contents
Joseph Smith: Legal issues
Topics
Joseph Smith and legal issues
Joseph Smith's involvement with legal issues
Summary: How many times was Joseph involved with legal issues?Does D&C 98 teach the Saints to disobey the secular law?
Summary: According to historian D. Michael Quinn, Joseph received a revelation which "established the primacy of religious law over secular law...and not only authorized but commanded Mormons to disobey secular law and civil leaders not conforming to the commandments of God." This interpretation, however, is Quinn's own. The revelation is not telling the Saints to "disobey secular law and civil leaders"—it is telling them to "befriend" the law of the land, and seek to support "honest men and wise men" as leaders.Claimed mismanagement of the Lawrence estate
Summary: Joseph Smith was appointed the guardian of two daughters, Maria and Sarah Lawrence, and their inheritance. He later married them in plural marriage. The evidence shows that Joseph Smith faithfully discharged his legal duties, despite the claims made by some nineteeth-century and modern critics.- REDIRECTJoseph Smith and legal issues