Tag Archives: Joseph Smith

Spencer Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Spencer grew up immersed in the Mormon faith, surrounded by the teachings and traditions that defined his childhood. Born into an intensely religious family in Michigan, he was the quintessential believer—faithful, devoted, and utterly convinced of the church’s truth. For him, the church was perfect, unchangeable, and divinely guided. He couldn’t imagine leaving. But life …

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The Drawn Flaming Sword of Polygamy – Spiritual Abuse and Manipulation

Joseph Smith secretly practiced polyandry and polygamy, or what the church later called plural marriage. The church freely admits this today (when forced) whereas previously it was all denied as anti-mormon lies. A strange hill to die on since the church is well known for practicing polygamy for decades in Utah. The church was hesitant …

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From ‘the Seer Stone a Fiction to Undermine the Validity of Church’ To ‘Such Aids Are Consistent With Accounts in Scripture’

In the year 2000, Deseret Book, the church-owned publishing company, published a joint-written book from two BYU professors, Joseph Fielding McConkie, a BYU Professor of Ancient Scripture, and Craig J. Ostler, a BYU Professor of Church History and Doctrine. The book is titled Revelations of the Restoration, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants and …

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Mormonites Footnote on Book of Mormon Translation Gospel Topic Essay

The Book of Mormon Translation Gospel Topic Essay references an article in Footnote 31 from an Evangelical Magazine titled Mormonites. The essay cherry-picks comments from Oliver Cowdery about the translation process: The principal scribe, Oliver Cowdery, testified under oath in 1831 that Joseph Smith “found with the plates, from which he translated his book, two …

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Joseph Smith’s Rock in Hat Translation of the Book of Mormon

Traditionally, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS Church) depicts Joseph Smith translating the Book of Mormon in a manner that implies a reverent, direct reading of ancient golden plates. Today, church leaders are shifting this narrative to reflect the more historically accurate manner of translation. In reality, Joseph Smith barely …

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“I wish to correct an error among men that profess to be learned, liberal and wise; and I do it the more cheerfully, because I hope sober thinking and sound-reasoning people will sooner listen to the voice of truth, than be led astray by the vain pretentions of the self-wise. The error I speak of, is the definition of the word "MORMON." ... I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation... we have the word MOR-MON; which means, literally, more good.” - Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons Volume 4 Number 13. May 15, 1843 | wasmormon.org
“I wish to correct an error among men that profess to be learned, liberal and wise; and I do it the more cheerfully, because I hope sober thinking and sound-reasoning people will sooner listen to the voice of truth, than be led astray by the vain pretentions of the self-wise. The error I speak of, is the definition of the word "MORMON." ... I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation... we have the word MOR-MON; which means, literally, more good.” - Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons Volume 4 Number 13. May 15, 1843

Email to Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake: Pilot Program – Informed Consent

The members of the Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake received an email informing them the area had been selected for a Pilot Program named Informed Consent. The program announced two objectives: 1) to ensure that converts are fully informed before they commit to baptism, and 2) for all members to have a “short” lesson to make …

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New Scripture Translated From Sealed Portion – Jesus visits Macaroni and Condemns Viper Church Leaders of Last Days

A few years ago, Russell M. Nelson revealed how Joseph Smith would translate by using a rock in a hat a few years ago. Suppose, for a moment, that he could know this technique from experience. What if President Russell M. Nelson knew more about the translation process? What if he used the same technique …

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“the Lord heard my cry in the wilderness and while in the attitude of calling upon the Lord in the 16th year of my age a piller of fire light above the brightness of the sun at noon day come down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the spirit of god and the Lord opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord and he spake unto me saying 'Joseph my son thy sins are forgiven thee'” - First Recorded Account of the First Vision Joseph Smith Jr Journal, 1832 | wasmormon.org
“the Lord heard my cry in the wilderness and while in the attitude of calling upon the Lord in the 16th year of my age a piller of fire light above the brightness of the sun at noon day come down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the spirit of god and the Lord opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord and he spake unto me saying 'Joseph my son thy sins are forgiven thee'” - First Recorded Account of the First Vision Joseph Smith Jr Journal, 1832
“by searching the scriptures I found that mankind did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatised from the true and living faith and there was no society or denomination that built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament” - First Recorded Account of the First Vision Joseph Smith Jr Journal, 1832 | wasmormon.org
“by searching the scriptures I found that mankind did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatised from the true and living faith and there was no society or denomination that built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament” - First Recorded Account of the First Vision Joseph Smith Jr Journal, 1832
“To me the gospel is not a great mass of theological jargon. It is a simple and beautiful and logical thing, with one quiet truth following another in orderly sequence. I do not fret over the mysteries... I am not worried that the Prophet Joseph Smith gave a number of versions of the first vision” - President Gordon B. Hinckley, as Second Counselor in the First Presidency, November 1983 | First Presidency Message, October 1984 Ensign | wasmormon.org
“To me the gospel is not a great mass of theological jargon. It is a simple and beautiful and logical thing, with one quiet truth following another in orderly sequence. I do not fret over the mysteries... I am not worried that the Prophet Joseph Smith gave a number of versions of the first vision” - President Gordon B. Hinckley, as Second Counselor in the First Presidency, November 1983 | First Presidency Message, October 1984 Ensign
“Scholars still argue whether Joseph Smith was convicted of glass looking in 1826, but the point is moot. Church scholars now acknowledge that he had a seer stone and did look for lost objects as a young man... No one denies that magic was there, especially in the mid-1820s. Smith never repudiated folk traditions; he continued to use the seer stone until late in life and used it in the translation process.” - Richard Bushman, LDS Historian | wasmormon.org
“Scholars still argue whether Joseph Smith was convicted of glass looking in 1826, but the point is moot. Church scholars now acknowledge that he had a seer stone and did look for lost objects as a young man... No one denies that magic was there, especially in the mid-1820s. Smith never repudiated folk traditions; he continued to use the seer stone until late in life and used it in the translation process.” - Richard Bushman, LDS Historian
“The treasure-seeking stories of Joseph Smith’s youth have done more than cast a shadow on his character. They supply a secular explanation for his extraordinary religious claims... The response of Mormon historians in the 1970s was to deny almost everything... Not only the Smiths but also many of their neighbors were looking for treasure in Palmyra in the 1820s. It may not have been the most uplifting activity, and some scoffed, but it was something like reading astrological charts today—a little goofy but harmless. The only harm came when someone tried to deceive others to get gain. That was why Joseph Smith was put on trial.” - Richard Bushman, LDS Historian | wasmormon.org
“The treasure-seeking stories of Joseph Smith’s youth have done more than cast a shadow on his character. They supply a secular explanation for his extraordinary religious claims... The response of Mormon historians in the 1970s was to deny almost everything... Not only the Smiths but also many of their neighbors were looking for treasure in Palmyra in the 1820s. It may not have been the most uplifting activity, and some scoffed, but it was something like reading astrological charts today—a little goofy but harmless. The only harm came when someone tried to deceive others to get gain. That was why Joseph Smith was put on trial.” - Richard Bushman, LDS Historian
“If a court record could be identified, and if it contained a confession by Joseph Smith which revealed him to be a poor, ignorant, deluded, and superstitious person, then it follows that his believers must deny his claimed divine guidance which led them to follow him... How could he be a prophet of God, the leader of the Restored Church, if he had been the superstitious fraud which 'the pages from a book' declared he confessed to be?” - Francis W. Kirkham, LDS Historian A New Witness For Christ in America (1942), Pages 486-487 | wasmormon.org
“If a court record could be identified, and if it contained a confession by Joseph Smith which revealed him to be a poor, ignorant, deluded, and superstitious person, then it follows that his believers must deny his claimed divine guidance which led them to follow him... How could he be a prophet of God, the leader of the Restored Church, if he had been the superstitious fraud which 'the pages from a book' declared he confessed to be?” - Francis W. Kirkham, LDS Historian A New Witness For Christ in America (1942), Pages 486-487
“A careful study of all facts regarding this alleged confession of Joseph Smith in a court of law that he had used a seer stone to find hidden treasure for purposes of fraud, must come to the conclusion that no such record was ever made, and therefore, is not in existence... If any evidence had been in existence that Joseph Smith had used a seer stone for fraud and deception, and especially had he made this confession in a court of law as early as 1826, or four years before the Book of Mormon was printed, and this confession was in a court record, it would have been impossible for him to have organized the restored Church.” - Francis W. Kirkham, LDS Historian A New Witness For Christ in America (1942), Pages 385-387 | wasmormon.org
“A careful study of all facts regarding this alleged confession of Joseph Smith in a court of law that he had used a seer stone to find hidden treasure for purposes of fraud, must come to the conclusion that no such record was ever made, and therefore, is not in existence... If any evidence had been in existence that Joseph Smith had used a seer stone for fraud and deception, and especially had he made this confession in a court of law as early as 1826, or four years before the Book of Mormon was printed, and this confession was in a court record, it would have been impossible for him to have organized the restored Church.” - Francis W. Kirkham, LDS Historian A New Witness For Christ in America (1942), Pages 385-387