Criticism of Mormonism/Books/An Insider's View of Mormon Origins/Index


A work by author: Grant Palmer

Index to claims made in An Insider's View of Mormon Origins

This is an index of claims made in this work with links to corresponding responses within the FAIRwiki.

Chapter 1: Joseph Smith as Translator/Revelator

Page Claim Response Author's sources

1
  • Joseph claimed to translate the Kinderhook plates.
  • No source provided

1
  • Illustrations show Joseph Smith translating the plates directly.
  • Ensign, Dec. 1983, inside cover, 25; Jan. 1988, 4, 9; Nov. 1988, 35, 46; July 1993, 62; Jan. 1997, 38; Aug. 1997, 11; July 1999, 41.

2
  • Joseph Smith used a seer stone that he placed in his hat.
  • Van Wagoner and Walker, "Joseph Smith: 'The Gift of Seeing,'" Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15 (Summer 1982): 50-53.

2-3
  • The plates were often not nearby while Joseph translated them.
  • Joseph Smith III, "Last Testimony of Sister Emma," Saints' Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, 290; Howe, "Affidavit of Isaac Hale", Mormonism Unvailed, 265;
  • Martin Harris, interview by John A. Clark, 1828, in The Episcopal Recorder (Philadelphia), 5 Sept. 1840, 94; quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:266;
  • Joseph Smith Sr., interview by Fayette Lapham quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:464.

6
  • It is claimed that Oliver attempted to translate using a divining rod.

6
  • Oliver would ask questions of his divining rod in faith and it would move.
  • "Barnes Frisbie account" quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:603-05, 619-20.

7
  • Alterations in a different handwriting on the 116 pages would have been readily apparent.
  • No source provided.

8
  • Joseph was brought to court three times for stone gazing.
  • Marquardt and Walters, Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record, 70-75, 174-78.

9
  • Peter Ingersoll reported that he heard Joseph acknowledge to Isaac Hale that he was never able to see anything in his seer stone.

9
  • After he lost the manuscript, Joseph is claimed to have become more vague regarding the method of translation.
  • No source provided.

9
  • Joseph is claimed to have altered the Book of Mormon to modify the description of God and Jesus to be separate beings.

10
  • It is claimed that scholars have determined that Joseph consulted an open Bible during translation.

10
  • The book claims that Joseph copied errors from the King James Bible.

11
  • None of Joseph's changes to the Bible have been supported by manuscript finds.

11
  • Some of Joseph's changes to the Bible are claimed to contradict LDS beliefs

12
  • Joseph is said to have evolved his concept of the Father and Son.

12
  • The hieroglyphics next to facsimile 1 state that Hor is the deceased man lying on the altar.

12
  • Joseph is claimed to have used this papyrus as his source for Abraham 1 through 2:18.

13
  • Near facsimile 3, Hor's name appears at the top and bottom.

17
  • Joseph is claimed to have expanded Abraham's curse to include denial of priesthood ordination to blacks.

17
  • Joseph is claimed to have gotten the story for the Book of Abraham from Josephus.

19
  • Joseph's interpretations have been shown by Egyptologists as a mis-reading of the papyri.

19
  • The book claims that a primary source for much of Abraham is Genesis.

21
  • From 1820 to 1834 Joseph is claimed to have believed in one God.

21
  • The astronomical concepts in Abraham were common in Joseph Smith's environment

22-24
  • Joseph's theology was said to have been influenced by Thomas Dick's Philosophy of a Future State.

29

 It is claimed that it is easy to identify the Book of Joseph from the papyrus fragments.

31
  • Kinderhook plates.

34-35
  • Joseph is claimed to have translated a Greek psalter.

36
  • Joseph is claimed to have mistranslated a number of documents.

Chapter 2: Authorship of the Book of Mormon

Page Claim Response Author's sources

39
  •  Author's quote: "...the church has encouraged a 'thorough and impartial examination' of the Book of Mormon, including questions regarding its authorship."
  • Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 273.
  • Widtsoe, In Search of Truth: Comments on the Gospel and Modern Thought, 80.
  • Quinn, J. Reuben Clark: The Church Years, 24.

40
  • Joseph Smith was intellectually capable of writing the Book of Mormon himself.
  • B. H. Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, 10, 243, 247.

6. Ibid., 262-63.

40
  • B.H. Roberts is claimed to have wondered if the Book of Mormon stories were just inspirational tales, and questioned whether it was history or the product of a "pious but immature" mind.
  • B. H. Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, 272-273.

41-42
  • The story of Zelph.
  • History of the Church, ed. B. H. Roberts, 2:79-80.

42
  • Joseph reported that the Kinderhook Plates contained a genealogy back to Ham.
  • Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, 243-50.

42
  • Joseph gave many descriptions of heroes and their treasures hidden in the New York hills.
  • Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, 243-50.

42
  • B.H. Roberts concluded that Joseph Smith was capable of writing the Book of Mormon.
  • Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, 243-50.

46
  • The Book of Mormon reflects evangelical Protestantism.
  • Alexander Campbell, Delusions: An Analysis of the Book of Mormon, 19.

48
  • The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is the source of Alma 19.

48
  • Alma 19 is claimed to have been derived from evangelical conversion experiences common in the 19th century.
  • Author's opinion.

49
  • Alma 32 is claimed to have been derived from Jesus's parable of the sower.
  • No source provided.

49
  • The Book of Mormon was an amalgamation of ideas from Joseph Smith's own environment.
  • Author's opinion.

50-53
  • It is claimed that many Book of Mormon stories are derived from the New Testament.
  • No source provided.

55
  • The decapitation of Laban parallels the story of Judith in the Apocrypha.

57
  • LDS position is that the Lamanites are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.
  • Book of Mormon, xii, "A Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon."

57, n38
  • No Hebrew or Egyptian writing or language has been discovered in the New World. The Book of Mormon provides too short a time for the disappearance of the Nephite/Lamanite language.
  • Thomas Stuart Ferguson, "Written Symposium on the Book of Mormon Geography: Response of Thomas S. Ferguson to the Norman and

Sorenson Papers," 12 Mar. 1975, printed and updated in Stan Larson, Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson's Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon, 175-268

  • Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, 91-94.

58, n40
  • B.H. Roberts thought that View of the Hebrews could be a basis for the Book of Mormon. Roberts concluded that there was a great probability that the Smith family read View of the Hebrews.
  • Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, 28-29, 151-54.

60
  • Roberts concluded that a copy of View of the Hebrews could have been supplied by Oliver Cowdery.
  • Studies, 27, 151-61.
  • "Poultney Church Records," bk. 3, Poultney Vermont, 1793-1828, Poultney Historical Society.

60-64
  • B.H. Roberts' parallels between View of the Hebrews and the Book of Mormon.
    • Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, 240-242.

65-66
  • Joseph Smith received a revelation to send people to Canada to sell the Book of Mormon copyright for $8000. After expenses, the money was to go to the Smith family.
  • Hiram Page to William E. McLellin, 2 Feb. 1848, in RLDS Library Archives.
  • Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 30-31.

66
  • The writing of the 116 pages served as an "apprenticeship" to learning to write the Book of Mormon.
  • Author's opinion

Chapter 3: The Bible in the Book of Mormon

Page Claim Response Author's sources

70-71
  • Joseph Smith Sr.'s 1811 dreams are similar to Lehi's "first" vision and his "tree of life" dream.

82
  • There are no original motifs in 3 Nephi that are not found in the Gospels.

82
  • Joseph had the words of Christ available to him, but "curiously chose not to use them" for at least half the verses in 3 Nephi 11-28.

82
  • Joseph may have used a blanket to screen his use of the Bible from his scribe.

83
  • Oliver "neglected to mention" the use of a Bible in the translation.

83
  • The Book of Mormon contains twenty-six full chapters from a 1769 edition of the KJV.

83
  • The Sermon at the Temple includes modern errors found in the KJV.

90
  • The Aramaic word "raca" would not have been intelligible to a Nephite.

90
  • The three days of sunlight is not mentioned in the Bible even though North America and Israel are both in the Northern hemisphere.

Chapter 4: Evangelical Protestantism in the Book of Mormon

Page Claim Response Author's sources

95
  • Elements from Joseph Smith's own life form the basis for a portion of the Book of Mormon.

96
  • One would not expect to find "camp meeting" elements among ancient Americans.

97
  • King Benjamin's farewell speech parallels that of Methodist leader Bishop M'Kendree.

100
  • King Benjamin's speech includes elements of typical "revival" meetings.

106
  • Alma's conversion parallels that of Darius Williams and Abel Thornton.

107
  • Alma's missions are similar to those of traveling preachers.

114
  • The Book of Mormon includes hundreds of popular phrases from frontier preaching.

116
  • There are "recognizable evangelical phrases" contained in Amulek's and Alma's preaching.

118
  • The Book of Mormon is simply "revival literature" cast in a different setting.

120
  • The Book of Mormon teaches that all men are evil as a result of the Fall.

121-122
  • Joseph is claimed to have evolved his view of the Godhead over time.

122
  • The Book of Mormon "vividly" portrays the Father and Son as the same God.

124
  • The Book of Mormon contains no information about temple ordinances, exaltation or baptism for the dead.

129-130
  • B.H. Roberts concluded that Joseph Smith created the anti-Christs Sherem, Nehor and Korihor.

131
  • Feelings attributed to the Holy Ghost are simply edifying feelings.

131
  • Edifying feelings are not sufficient to determine truth.
  • Author's opinion.

131
  • Many people believe in the truthfulness of their own religion because of similar confirming experiences.

132
  • It is possible to feel "the sprit" even when listening to a hoax.

132
  • The LDS church claims exclusive receipt of the Holy Ghost as a gift.

133
  • The Holy Ghost is an unreliable means of proving truth.

133
  • The Spirit does not confirm the historical reality of the Book of Mormon.

Chapter 5: Moroni and "The Golden Pot"

Page Claim Response Author's sources

138

 The story involves the copying and translation of ancestral records
  • The story mentions copying records. The author has extrapolated this to also mean translated, despite the fact that the story itself does not mention "translation."
  • Book of Mormon and the Golden Pot
  • Author's speculation

139-142

 Luman Walters likely informed Joseph Smith about story of "The Golden Pot"
  • Author's speculation

157

 Joseph is told to bring Emma to the hill Cumorah on "the next fall equinox."

157

 Joseph's father said that Joseph married Emma in order to ensure success in obtaining the plates.

163

 Joseph regarded the autumnal equinox as a special day.
  • Author's opinion.

172

 Variants of the Moroni story were told and then standardized after 1830.

172

 Joseph's later narratives talk about a more biblical-type angel.

173

 Many of the magical elements of the Moroni story began disappearing around 1830.

Chapter 6: Witnesses to the Golden Plates

Page Claim Response Author's sources

175
  • The witnesses had a "magical mindset" and believed in "second sight"
  • None

175-176
  • The witnesses believed in the ability to see spirits and their dwelling places within the local hills.
  • None

178
  • Martin Harris participated in his own "treasure adventures" after meeting Joseph Smith.
  • Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, Lucy Mack Smith (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1958),92, 104.
  • Ezra Booth to Presiding Elder, 8 Nov. 1831, in E. D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH: by the Author, 1834), 186; D&C 110:1.

178
  • Martin Harris said that he could "see things" in the Hill Cumorah.
  • Martin Harris, interview by Joel Tiffany, Jan. 1859, in "Mormonism," Tiffany's Monthly (New York City) 5 (Aug. 1859): 166; quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:306.

179
  • The Whitmers all believed that they could see things with stones and dowsing sticks.
  • None

179
  • Oliver Cowdery was a treasure hunter and "rodsman" before he met Joseph Smith.
  • Vogel, "Barnes Frisbie Account," Early Mormon Documents, 1:599-621.

179
  • William Cowdery (Oliver's father) was associated with a treasure seeking group in Vermont.
  • Vogel, "Barnes Frisbie Account," Early Mormon Documents, 1:599-621.

179
  • Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris saw the plates in a vision before meeting Joseph Smith.
  • Martin Harris, interview by Joel Tiffany, Jan. 1859, in "Mormonism," Tiffany's Monthly (New York City) 5 (Aug. 1859): 166; quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:306.
  • Dean C. Jessee, ed., The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1989), 1: 10.

181
  • David and possibly John Whitmer owned seer stones.

186
  • The Smith's often told neighbors stories about treasures Joseph found in the earth.
  • Jesse Smith to Hyrum Smith, 17 June 1829, Joseph Smith Letterbook, 2:59-61, LDS archives; quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:552.

188
  • Joseph claimed to know the location of Captain Kidd's treasure.
  • Statement of W. R. Hine in Deming, Naked Truths 1 Jan. 1888): 2.

191
  • A number of witnesses saw a cave in the Hill Cumorah when the plates were returned to the angel.
 Archaeology and the Hill Cumorah—Is there a cave in the Hill Cumorah containing the Nephite records?
  • Brigham Young, [ Journal of Discourses {{{vol}}}:{{{pages}}}]..  [ATTENTION!]
  • Wilford Woodruff's journal, 1833-98, typescript, ed. Scott G. Kenny, 9 vols. (Midvale, UT: Signature Books, 1984), 11 Dec. 1869, 6:508-9.

194
  • Martin Harris said that marvelous things appeared to Hyrum, Joseph Sr. and Joseph Jr. while they were treasure hunting.
  • Martin Harris, Tiffany's Monthly 5 (Aug. 1859): 165; quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:305.

194-195
  • The gold plates that the witnesses saw disappeared when placed on the ground at the hill Cumorah.

195
  • The witnesses believed that there was a toad the turned into something else hiding in the box that held the plates.
 The Hurlbut affidavits—Willard Chase

197
  • The testimony of the Three Witnesses was a vision rather than an actual visit by an angel.
  • Jessee, Papers of Joseph Smith 1:296.

197
  • David Whitmer indicated that the visit of the angel was spiritual rather than real.

198
  • Martin Harris claimed to see the plates with "the eye of faith."

200
  • David Whitmer claimed that he handled the plates in vision, but not physically.

204
  • The testimony of the Eight Witnesses does not describe a physical incident.

204-205
  • Martin Harris claimed that none of the witnesses saw or handled the plates.

205
  • Martin Harris claimed that he never saw or handled the plates.

206
  • The Eight Witnesses hesitated to sign their testimony because their experience was not physical.

206
  • The gold plates belong to another world rather than this one.

206
  • The plates were able to sink and glide through the ground and made noise as they were "rumbling" through the hill.
  • Martin Harris, quoted in John A. Clark, "Modern Superstition-The Mormonites," 63; quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:265.
  • Affidavit of Willard Chase, 11 Dec. 1833, in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed.
  • Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 83-84.

206-207
  • Viewing the gold plates "too soon" would cause physical death.
  • Joseph Smith-History 1:42.
  • Affidavit of Sophia Lewis, 20 Mar. 1834, Susquehanna Register, 1 May 1834, 1.
  • Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH, 1834), 272. (Affidavits examined).

207
  • The declarations of the witnesses "sounded more physical than was intended."
  • Moses 6:36.
  • D&C 67:10; 131:7.
  • Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 92.

207
  • Joseph may have fabricated a "plate-like" object to sustain belief in the plates.
  • None

208
  • James Strang also produced witnesses to metal plates.

211
  • Joseph appointed James Strang as his successor.
  • James J. Strang, "Letter from Joseph Smith to James J. Strang," 18 June 1844, in Voree [WI] Herald 1 (Jan. 1846).

213
  • All the living witnesses except Oliver Cowdery accepted James Strang's leadership.

Chapter 7: Priesthood Restoration

Page Claim Response Author's sources

216, n2
  • The author claims that the "original" view was that the revelation received through the Urim and Thummin gave Joseph and Oliver the authority to baptize. The author quotes Lucy Mack Smith's 1845 preliminary manuscript:

[T]hey immediately went down to the susquehana river and obeyed the mandate given them through the urim and Thummim[. A]s they were on their return to the house they overheard samuel [Smith] in a secluded spot engaged in secret prayer[.] They had now received authority to baptize ... and they [then] spoke to Samual who went withe them straightway to the water and was baptized.

  • From Lucy's perspective, this is exactly what she would have seen.
  • From Joseph Smith's 1838 history (written 7 years prior to Lucy's 1845 manuscript), this is what was written:

71 Accordingly we went and were baptized. I baptized him first, and afterwards he baptized me—after which I laid my hands upon his head and ordained him to the Aaronic Priesthood, and afterwards he laid his hands on me and ordained me to the same Priesthood—for so we were commanded.
72 The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized. (Joseph Smith—History 1:71-72.

  • How is it that the author believes that an account written seven years after Joseph stated that he had received the priesthood now represents the "original view" of the event?
  • Lucy Smith's Preliminary Manuscript, dictated to Martha Jane Coray, 1844-45, quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:381.

217
  • David Whitmer never believed that an angel had given Joseph and Oliver the authority to baptize:

Oliver stated to me in Josephs presence that they had baptized each other seeking by that to fulfill the command ... I never heard that an Angel had ordained Joseph and Oliver to the Aaronic priesthood until the year 1834[, 183]5[,] or [183]6-in Ohio.

  • David Whitmer, interview by Zenas H. Gurley Jr., 14 Jan. 1885, typescript, LDS archives. See Edward Stevenson Journal, 9 Feb. 1886, cited in Joseph Grant Stevenson, Stevenson Family History (Provo, UT: by the Author, 1955), 1: 177-78.

218 (footnote)
  •  Author's quote: In light of the David Whitmer and Lucy Smith statements, Joseph intended to keep his and Oliver's baptisms and receipt of authority to baptize from their enemies, not from devoted believers.
  • Joseph Smith-History 1:74-75.

219
  • An angelic ordination to the higher priesthood is not mentioned by Joseph at the time the church was organized.
  • Book of Commandments 24:3-4, 32-35; D&C 20:2-3, 38-45.

219-220, n7-10
  • The book claims that term "elder" and "apostle" meant the same thing originally. Anyone who was ordained an elder was considered an apostle.
  • Book of Commandments 24:32; D&C 20:38; 21:1,10-11.
  • Joseph Smith and John Whitmer to Colesville Saints, 2 Dec. 1830, quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:19.
  • Ezra Booth to Edward Partridge, 20 Sept. 1831; Sidney Rigdon to Ohio Brethren, ca. 4 Jan. 1831, in Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH, 1834), 110, 208. (Affidavits examined)
  • Jared Carter Journal, Sept. 1831, 35

221
  • The book claims that Alma received authority to baptize through the "Spirit" - not by laying on of hands.
  • Moses 5:4-9; 6:51-7:1.

222, n12
  • Authority is claimed to be received only through the "Spirit of the Lord" rather than by laying on of hands.
  • Ex. 3:1-12; 40:13-16; 1 Sam. 3:1-18; 9:15-17; 10:1; 16:1-13; Isa. 6:1-10; Jer. 1:1-10; Ezek. 1:1,26-2:3; Zech. 1:1-16; 1 Ne. 1:4-8, 18-2:3; 2 Ne. 5:26; Jac. 1:18.

223
  • The Bible and Book of Commandments do not mention the laying on of hands by "otherworldly beings."
  • No source provided.

223, n15
  • Early missionaries said that they had been called of God, but did not claim that their "authority originated with heavenly messengers."
  • BofC 5:2; 10:2, 11; 11:2; 12:2; 15:30; d. D&C 6:4; 11:4,27; 12:3-4; 14:4; 18:28.

225, n22
  • The Whitmer family and Oliver Cowdery accepted Hiram Page's revelations as authoritative. Since Oliver was said to have received authority directly from heavenly messengers, he ought to have recognized that Hiram Page didn't have the keys.
  • Jessee, Papers of Joseph Smith, 1:322-23; D&C 28
  • Donald Q. Cannon and Lyndon W. Cook, eds., Far West Record: Minutes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1844

225-226
  • D&C 84 is claimed to not refer to the physical laying on of hands by an angel.
  •  Author's quote: John the Baptist was "ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old ... to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews," while Moses, Jethro, Caleb, Elihu ,Jeremy, Gad, and Esaias all rcceived priesthood authority "under the hand" of men, "and Esaias received it under the hand of God." These examples do not refer to the actual physical laying on of hands by an angel...
  •  Internal contradiction: The author takes passages from scripture that state "ordained by the angel of God" and "under the hand of God," which directly contradict his previous assertions that authority was not transferred by heavenly beings, and then states that these examples "do not refer to the actual physical layout on of hands by and angel!"
  • It appears that the author will be satisfied with nothing less than an explicit description of hands being used.
  • Furthermore, in the footnote related to Moses 8:19, which states "And the Lord ordained Noah after his own order," the author actually states that this "probably refers to an ordination by a mortal being."
  • D&C 84:28, 6-12; Moses 8:19

226, n25
  • Joseph's statement the his priesthood office had "been conferred upon me by the ministring of the Angel of God, by his own will and by the voice of this Church," is claimed by the author not to be an "unequivocal assertion of authority by angelic ordination."
  • It is difficult to understand how much more explicit Joseph would have had to be in order to satisfy the author.
  • From the cited source:

"Bro. Joseph then rose and said: I shall now endeavor to set forth before this council, the dignity of the office which has been conferred upon me by the ministring of the Angel of God, by his own will and by the voice of this Church."

  • Kirtland Council Minutes, (12 Feb. 1834),27, LDS archives; quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:32.

227, n27-28
  • The restoration of priesthood from an angel was a spiritual vision rather than a physical event, based upon a statement by Oliver Cowdery that this even occurred "[w]hile we were in the heavenly vision."
  • The Book of Patriarchal Blessings 1:8-9, quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:453.
  • Joseph Smith, sermon of 10 Mar. 1844, in Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, eds., The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph, 334.

228
  • The author claims that Joseph invented the story of the angel restoring the priesthood to counter Hurlbut's accusations.

232
  • The events surrounding the priesthood ordination are claimed to have been reinterpreted to bolster Joseph's status.

Chapter 8: The First Vision

Page Claim Response Author's sources

235, n2
  • Joseph Smith's First Vision account was "simplified" and "retrofitted" to make it more authoritative.
  • James B. Allen, "The Significance of Joseph Smith's 'First Vision' in Mormon Thought," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 1 (Autumn 1966): 29-45; rpt. in The New Mormon Hisotry: Revisionist Essays on the Past, ed. D. Michael Quinn, 37-52.

239
  •  Author's quote: The Book of Commandments...contains nothing on such important events as Joseph's first vision...The earliest allusion, oral or written, to the first vision is the brief mention that was transcribe in June 1830 and originally printed in the Book of Commandments...
  •  Internal contradiction: The author claims that the Book of Commandments "contains nothing" on the First Vision, yet in the subsequent paragraph the author points out that it contains the "earliest allusion" to it.

239
  • The Book of Commandments states that it was the Book of Mormon that constituted Joseph's call to the work.

239, n5
  • Oliver Cowdery claimed that it was Moroni that called Joseph to the work rather than Jesus in the First Vision.
  • Oliver Cowdery, "Letter IV," Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate 1 (Feb. 1835): 78-79; quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:427-429.

239
  • Joseph viewed his First Vision in "evangelical Protestant fashion" until 1838 and "viewed his epiphany" in this fashion until 1838.
  •  The author's claim is false
  • It is odd that the 1835 account is not mentioned here. Here is what the 1835 account says about Joseph's motivation to pray in the grove:

...respecting the subject of religion and looking at the different systems taught the children of men, I knew not who was right or who was wrong and I considered it of the first importance that I should be right, in matters that involve eternal consequ[e]nces; being thus perplexed in mind I retired to the silent grove and bow[e]d down before the Lord, under a realising sense that he had said (if the bible be true) ask and you shall receive knock and it shall be opened seek and you shall find and again, if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men libarally and upbradeth not; information was what I most desired at this time, and with a fixed determination to obtain it, I called upon the Lord for the first time... (emphasis added)

  • The motivation in the 1835 account matches that in the 1838 account, yet the author claims that Joseph "viewed his epiphany" in "evangelical Protestant fashion" as a forgiveness for his sins until the 1838 account was written. This is apparently done to support the author's desired conclusion that the 1838 account was written to deal with a leadership crisis in Kirtland.
  • Motivation in 1832 account is different
  • Author's opinion.

240, n7
  • Joseph is claimed to "not yet mention the appearance of God the Father" in his 1835 First Vision account.

...a personage appeard in the midst of this pillar of flame which was spread all around, and yet nothing consumed, another personage soon appeard like unto the first, he said unto me thy sins are forgiven thee, he testified unto me that Jesus Christ is the Son of God;

  • Joseph didn't explicitly identify the first personage as God the Father, but it is clear from the context (the second personage identified as Jesus Christ as being "like unto the first") that this is who is being referred to. To claim that Joseph "does not yet mention the appearance of God the Father" is a distortion of this narrative.
  • In footnote 7, the author uses Joseph's 1835 account to claim that his concept of the Godhead had evolved from one personage to two personages.
  • Boyd Kirkland, "The Development of the Mormon Doctrine of God," Line upon Line: Essays on Mormon Doctrine, ed. Gary James Bergera, 35-52.
  • Dan Vogel, "The Earliest Mormon Concept fo God," Line upon Line, 17-33.
  • Melodie Moench Charles, "Book of Mormon Christology," New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology, ed. Brent Lee Metcalfe, 81-114.

240
  • The author claims that Joseph rewrote his personal conversion experience in 1838 to satisfy institutional needs.
  • Author's opinion.

240, n8
  • The 1820 revival described by Joseph better fits the 1824-25 revival.
  • Marvin S. Hill, "The First Vision Controversy: A Critique and Reconciliation," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 15 (Summer 1982), 37-39.
  • Wesley P. Walters, "New Light on Mormon Origins from the Palmyra Revival," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 4 (Sprint 1969), 60-67.

=242, n14
  • William Smith said that the revival occurred in 1823.
  • William Smith, interview by James Murdock, 18 April 1841, quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:478.
  • William Smith, William Smith on Mormonism, 6.
  • Saints' Herald, 16 June 1883, 338; quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:494.

242, n15
  • Oliver Cowdery said that the revival that affected Joseph came in 1823.
  • Oliver Cowdery, "Letter III," Messenger and Advocate 1 (Dec. 1834), 42.
  • Oliver Cowdery, "Letter IV," Messenger and Advocate 1 (Feb. 1835), 78.

245
  • Joseph is claimed to have been persecuted not for his vision, but because of his treasure digging.
  •  Author's quote: If his report that "all the sects...united to persecute me" were accurate, one would expect to find some hint of this in the local newspapers...
  • Author's opinion.

245, n26
  • According to the author, "not even [Joseph's] family remembers [the First Vision]."
  • James B. Allen, "Emergence of a Fundamental: The Expanding Role of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Thought," Journal of Mormon History 7 (1980), 43-45.
  • Hill, "First Vision Controversy," 31-32.
  • Joseph Smith—History 1:22.

245
  • Joseph's vision was similar to other's experiences and no one took notice of it.
  • Author's opinion.

245, n27
  • In 1838, Joseph is claimed to have shifted his calling from 1823 to 1820 because of apostasy in the Church.
  • William I. Appleby, Biography and Journal, 30-31, LDS archives, quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:145-47.

246, n31
  • Martin Harris is claimed to have publicly stated that "none of the witnesses had physically seen or handled the plates" and that they had not seen them with their "natural eyes."
  • Stephen Burnett to Lyman E. Johnson, 15 April 1838, Joseph Smith Letterbook, 2:64-66, quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:291.
  • Warren Parrish to E. Holmes, 11 Aug. 1838, The Evangelist, 1 Oct. 1838, 226.

248, n44-45
  • Joseph wrote his 1838 narrative to secure his position and authority within the church.
  • Jessee, Papers of Joseph Smith, 2:226-27; 232-33.
  • DC 115꞉3-4

251
  • Joseph moved his calling from 1823 to 1820 in order to disassociate himself from "troubling questions" regarding the Book of Mormon witnesses, who had left the Church.
  • What "troubling questions?" The author doesn't say.
  • If this is the case, then why was the Testimony of the Three and the Testimony of the Eight Witnesses retained in the Book of Mormon? Why did the witnesses hold fast to their testimonies of the Book of Mormon?
  • No sources provided. Author's conjecture.

251-252
  • Joseph's motive for praying was different in the 1832 account than in the 1838 account.
  • Once again, the author fails to deal with the 1835 account, even though he is clearly aware of it and mentions it several times earlier. Why only compare the 1832 and 1838 accounts? Because he is continuing to make the point that the account was modified in 1838 due to a leadership crisis.
  • Motivation in 1832 account is different
  • Author's opinion.

252
  • In the 1832 account of the First Vision, the author claims that Joseph "knows that the pure gospel is not on the earth and therefore does not ask which church is right."
  • Author's conjecture.

252
  •  Author's quote: During the leadership crisis of April 1838, Joseph remembered a different purpose in going to pray...he now says, 'My object in going to enquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right'.
  • Yet again, the 1835 account (recorded in Joseph's journal) mentioned earlier by the author is not mentioned here. And again, we note in the 1835 account the following:

...respecting the subject of religion and looking at the different systems taught the children of men, I knew not who was right or who was wrong and I considered it of the first importance that I should be right, in matters that involve eternal consequ[e]nces; (emphasis added)

  • How is it that the author, who mentions the 1835 account earlier in the chapter, does not mention Joseph's stated motivation for praying? It is simply because it does not fit with his theory that this "change" in motivation recorded in the 1838 account was in response to a leadership crisis.
  • No source provided.

253, n51
  • Joseph is claimed to have "sought membership with the Methodists in Harmony, Pennsylvania" in 1828, well after he was instructed to join no churches in 1820. The footnote claims that Joseph Lewis reported the Joseph "joined the Methodist Episcopal class in Harmony, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1828."
  • Jospeh and Hiel Lewis, "Mormon History, A New Chapter about to be Published," Amboy Journal, 30 April 1879, 1.
  • "A Word from Utah," Amboy Journal, 2 July 1879, 1.

Further reading

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