Question: What did the Hurlbut affidavits say about Martin Harris?

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Question: What did the Hurlbut affidavits say about Martin Harris?

Lucy and Abigail Harris claimed that Martin Harris said that Mormonism was false and that he could "make money out of it"

Claimant	Claims	Comments
Abigail Harris	Claimed that Martin Harris said regarding Mormonism: "What if it is a lie; if you will let me alone I will make money out of it!"	Abigail embellishes her version of what she heard by implying that Martin Harris "admitted" that Mormonism was a lie.
Lucy Harris (Wife of Martin Harris)	Claimed that Martin Harris said the Mormonism was false, and that "if you would let me alone, I could make money by it." Claimed that Martin Harris "has whipped, kicked, and turned me out of the house." Claimed that Martin Harris was having an affair with a neighbor's wife.	Despite the fact that Lucy Harris makes no mention of the lost 116 pages of manuscript from the Book of Mormon, Fawn Brodie in her book No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith actually concludes that Harris beat his wife in order to get her to divulge what she had done with the lost 116 pages of manuscript.

Lucy and Abigail Harris are the only two individuals who claimed that Martin Harris was hoping to make money from Mormonism

It is interesting to note the similarity between the testimony for both women. It is more interesting however, to note how Abigail Harris has added the phrase "What if it is a lie," while Martin's wife, Lucy, did not. If Martin actually believed that Mormonism was a lie, why would his wife Lucy not have mentioned this?

Notes (click to expand)

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