The Checkered Past of Mormonism Reveals Humanity
Michael Friant Mr. Sorensen His 131 D04 April 19, 2019
The Checkered Past of Mormonism Reveals Humanity
While the Church believes that Joseph Smith was a divine prophet, the historical facts suggest otherwise. The Church has published accounts of the early origins of the church and the characters involved which contradicts the historical facts of the time. “Another Look at Joseph Smith's First Vision” by Stan Larson, "Joseph Smith and the Bible" by Kent Jackson, “Scrying for the Lord“ by Clay Chandler, “Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy” by George Smith, and the writings of Brigham Young in the journal of Discourses illustrates the religion is actually complex and intriguing. While the church’s accounts of the origins are to promote faith among the people, the historical accounts demonstrates a more humanistic approach to the lives of the people involved.
According to the Church’s narrative of the First Vision, Smith went out to a grove, knelt down, and prayed asking God which church he should join. During this event, they claim that Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate personages and was revealed that Smith would be the one to restore the true Church back on the earth today. Though Stan Larson in “Another Look at Joseph Smith's First Vision” says,“...Joseph never mentions seeing God the Father in his extraordinary vision” (39) when referencing the 1832 account of the First Vision. This is significant because one of the core fundamentals of Mormonism is that God the Father has a body of flesh of blood unlike Christianity which believes God is a Spirit. The church definitely would not be able to claim that distinction if the church followed the 1832 version. Later in the article, he mentions the 1832 account “...is the only account that was written by Joseph Smith himself” (44). The significance of this is the other accounts are second hand accounts which means the people, though unintentionally, might have misconstrued his words while recounting what Joseph told them. According to the Church’s belief of what a prophet is, everything he says is to be taken as God’s word, they ought to be following this version since it most accurately reflects what Joseph Smith experienced. Larson also points out “...there is no indication that Joseph can expect a prophetic calling” (39) in the 1832 account. This is significant because Joseph Smith probably would not have gotten notoriety. Also if the church followed this version, they would not have any basis to hail him as a Prophet and founder of the church.
Likewise, while modern Mormonism places a strong emphasis on the Book of Mormon as the most accurate book of revelation to be read above all other sacred texts, Smith must have thought otherwise. Kent Jackson in “Joseph Smith and the Bible" states “Joseph Smith seldom quoted or taught from the Book of Mormon nor demonstrated any particular familiarity with its content” but “his emphasis was on the Bible instead”(27). This demonstrates Joseph thought more highly of the Bible than the modern church wants to admit. This also provides an insight to Smith’s need of human acceptance and connectivity with the people of his day. He probably realized if he preached from a foreign text he would be excluded from his community. Most importantly though, it is reasonable to conclude if the Book of Mormon was the most current revelatory text the person who wrote it would remember everything about the text and would use it in his ministry among the people.
Similarly, the church claims the Book of Abraham is a prophetic revelatory work brought to pass by Smith, but in reality it is just a translation from an ancient Egyptian document. Jackson claims Smith admits the Book of Abraham was translated by “some ancient Records that have fallen into our hands, from the Catacombs of Egypt” (qtd. in Jackson 49). This is intriguing because the prophet during his day was being transparent while the current version is trying to conceal the facts to generate spiritual experiences among the people. The church, by not just stating the facts, is claiming that they know better than Smith who was the prophet. The prophet by definition is someone who has the discernment to make decisions to whether people should know the origins of the Book of Abraham. The people of his day must have been fine with it just being a translation.
Likewise, while the church puts emphasis on the importance of Smith’s translating the Book of Mormon as this divine power, the reality was completely different. Clay Chandler in “Scrying for the Lord” describes folk magic as a common practice around the place of Smith’s upbringing (43) and Smith’s actions relating to the prophetic translation of the Book of Mormon as “consistent with that of a true believer in magic” (44). Reveling this information would diminish the basis that it was a supernatural revelatory act. The church would not be able to guilt the members into reading it. The feeling associated with reading the Book of Mormon would not be linked to a spiritual experience but just a momentary psychological reaction. This knowledge of historical facts would portray Smith as an ordinary citizen of his day and thus more relatable to the average individual of modern day than someone who is so spiritual that he is highly favorable of God.
Likewise, though Mormonism places a strong emphasis on Smith’s abilities as a divine revelatory, there are other instances where people have “seen” things that make Smith’s revelatory powers less divine. Chandler writes about one such instance when he says, “Ironically, this same Sally Chase years later looked into her green stone to discover where Joseph Smith had hidden his "golden bible"(46). This is very curious since according to the church only a select few saw the gold plates and certainly there is no mention of Sally Chase. It also raises questions about the validity of the story since the Mormonism claim is that Smith had revelatory powers but in reality a number of people were claiming to have seen things that only Smith possessed the ability to see.
While Mormonism acknowledges Smith’s polygamy practices, they are reluctant to fully disclose how the revelation came into existence. George Smith in “Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy“ writes about a meeting between Smith and his clerk William Clayton during which Smith had Clayton transcribed a revelation concerning the reinstating of the practice of polygamy. However, Clayton recalled that Joseph had told him he had several additional wives including Emma several months before the transcribing of the revelation (129-130). This fact is vital to the narrative because essentially Smith concocted a revelation to cover up his transgression. While secret polygamy is shady at best, this demonstrates Smith was still of a carnal nature even as a prophet. This information, though not faith promoting, could help members who are despondent about their own transgressions know they are loved by God since he still loved Smith. This also raises the reasonable suspicion to the fact if he was willing to basically develop a “revelation” to serve him first and foremost, what other practices are to benefit him as the leader.
While the current view of God is void of any strange doctrine, Brigham Young actually taught a doctrine called the Adam-God Theory. Young was the person who was called to be the prophet of the church after Smith was killed. Young, in the journal of Discourses, said, “Adam came into the garden of Eden with a celestial body and one of his many wives, he is our Father and God. The Father, not the Holy Spirit, conceived Jesus with the Virgin Mary” (50). This raises serious questions to the validity of both Young as a prophet and the church today. Mormonism believes that their leaders speak on God’s behalf and whatever they say is to be taken as official doctrine of the church. This is not the case though because they are not following everything that Young taught. A little bit later in the same volume of Journal of Discourses Young also said, "Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven“ (51). However, this too is not mentioned when talking about the current view of God. On one hand, theses two examples of Young teaching foreign doctrine could actually be used by modern Mormonism as a teaching tool to illustrate that even the prophet can commit transgressions but God still loved him. On the other hand though, it is reasonable to wonder if the church would have become a vibrant world wide religion if they were to follow not only all the teachings of Young but also all the teachings of all the prophets.
While Larson, Jackson, Chandler, Smith, and the writing of Young contradict the modern version of Mormonism, they teach us we all are human and nothing is as rosy as it might seem on the surface. While encountering religions and individuals, remember that they probably have checkered pasts. However, let that realization be a reminder of the humanity we share and draw encouragement from each other’s experiences rather than just diminishing them due to their flaws.
Works Cited
Chandler, Clay L. "Scrying for the Lord: Magic, Mysticism, and the Origins of the Book of Mormon." Dialogue : A Journal of Mormon Thought, vol. 36, no. 4, 2003, pp. 43-78, 242. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.cfcc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/919412138?accountid=9875.
Jackson, Kent P. "Joseph Smith and the Bible." Scottish Journal of Theology, vol. 63, no. 1, 2010, pp. 24-40. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.cfcc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.cfcc.edu/docview/222355493?accountid=9875, doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.cfcc.edu/10.1017/S0036930609990202.
Larson, Stan. "Another Look at Joseph Smith's First Vision." Dialogue : A Journal of Mormon Thought, vol. 47, no. 2, 2014, pp. 37-62, 174. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.cfcc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1586120562?accountid=9875.
Smith, George D. "Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy, 1841-46: A Preliminary Demographic Report*." Dialogue : A Journal of Mormon Thought, vol. 34, no. 1, 2001, pp. 123-158,324. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.cfcc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/904525252?accountid=9875.
Young, Brigham. Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1. Institute for Religious Research. 9 Apr. 1852. http://mit.irr.org/adam-god-doctrine. Accessed on 16 Apr. 2019.