We're not going to spend too much more time here yet, but the law of consecration takes on multiple movements and also ties into Joseph Smith's creation of the Kirtland Safety Society, which is the failed bank that causes many early members to lose everything after trusting Joseph with their savings. We will definitely touch base on these points as they happen in Saints.

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The last part of this chapter that we want to cover is a huge one - the first mention of polygamy. From Saints: "With the Lord’s law revealed and Saints from New York gathering to Ohio, Joseph and Sidney resumed the inspired translation of the Bible. They moved on from the account of Enoch to the story of the patriarch Abraham, whom the Lord promised to make a father of many nations.

The Lord did not reveal extensive changes to the text, but as Joseph read Abraham’s story, he pondered much about the patriarch’s life. Why had the Lord not condemned Abraham and other Old Testament patriarchs for marrying multiple wives, a practice Bible-reading Americans abhorred?"

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There are a number of problems with these paragraphs, and it is important to note them now because Saints is cleverly trying to conflate things in order to provide Joseph Smith with an out for his polygamous marriages and relationships before the revelation was recorded twelve years later in 1843.

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First, the church states in the heading to D&C 132 that even though the revelation was not recorded until 1843, Joseph had actually been thinking about polygamy since 1831. As stated above, this date is important because the church needs to establish that Joseph was thinking about polygamy before his relationship with Fanny Alger, which is going to occur shortly after this chapter in 1833.

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But the bigger problem is that in 1831, Joseph Smith's discussions about polygamy were not about marrying other women to raise seed as stated in D&C 132, which is in the citations here even though it wouldn't be written for 12 years, but to marry the Indians as polygamous wives so that they could be turned 'white and delightsome.' W.W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery and five other men who received instruction for their mission to the Indians to take “wives of the Lamanites and Nephites, that their posterity may become white, delightsome and just.” (Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., 1831 revelation, recorded in a letter from W.W. Phelps to Brigham Young, dated August 12, 1861)

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Second, as we discuss in our annotated LDS essay on polygamy, nowhere in the Bible does God command men to take polygamous wives. Even Abraham is never commanded to take another wife even though it is commonly referenced by the church as justification. According to the Bible it was Abraham’s wife Sara, not God, who told Abraham to take her handmaiden so that Abraham would be able to father children. (Genesis 16:1-3)

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Third, as D&C 132 states, it is Joseph that asks God why polygamy was OK which begs the question of why Joseph was so interested in polygamy in the first place. Of all the topics in the Bible to ask for revelation about, why was Joseph asking God about such an obscure topic as polygamy? And why was Joseph asking the question in terms of why it was allowed for "Old Testament patriarchs," but not for him, considering that most references to polygamy in the scriptures are of God considering it an abomination?

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Fourth (and last), Saints mentions that the "Book of Mormon provided one answer. In the days of Jacob, Nephi’s younger brother, the Lord commanded Nephite men to have only one wife. But He also declared that He could direct them otherwise, if circumstances required it, to raise up righteous children."

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To this fourth point, the critical response would be to point out that if Joseph Smith was thinking about polygamy and he was the writer of the Book of Mormon, he would likely mention somewhere that there would be a time when it would be allowed under God. Just as the Book of Mormon discusses seer stones while it was being translated with a seer stone, and just as the Book of Mormon happens to mention that a seer named Joseph would someday be a prophet, critics often mention that these issues actually lend credibility to the theory that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon.

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Polygamy is a very ugly, messy practice, and Saints is working hard here to begin the inoculation of members to the problems it causes by mentioning it here briefly. There is no evidence that polygamy was ever mentioned in 1831 in any way besides the W.W. Phelps letter, which is a completely different type of polygamy than the one Joseph embarks on just two years later with Fanny Alger (and there are legitimate questions as to whether Alger was a polygamous wife or an affair, but we will get to that later).

 

It is also disgusting to think that Joseph was teaching church members that having sex with the Indians (that Joseph Smith claimed were descendants of Lamanites, but DNA has proven this is not true) would turn them 'white and delightsome' - a phrase also used in the Book of Mormon. There is a reason the church makes a vague reference to Joseph thinking about this revelation since 1831 but never explains to members exactly what that thinking was, and it is because they know how offensive the 1831 letter would be to members given that it is nothing like the D&C 132 revelation and the incredibly racist idea of turning the Indians "white, delightsome and just."

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As with many of these larger church history topics, we have the annotated Gospel Topics essay on polygamy in Kirtland and Nauvoo up and highly recommend it to anyone with questions about polygamy. Just as with the other essays so far, it really highlights just how messy polygamy was, how Joseph Smith continually changed the church's position on it, and how the apologetic arguments simply do not fit with the history as we now know it. Please give it a read if you have not seen it before - it will be referenced often as we continue to see polygamy in chapters of Saints.

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The rest of this chapter focuses on Lucy Mack Smith traveling with other members from New York to Ohio, and how Oliver was having trouble converting the Indians to Mormonism. There is not much to say about these storylines other than to point out how Lucy Mack Smith's story nicely weaves a faith promoting ending to the chapter after briefly touching the polygamy issue.

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Again, this chapter is pure inoculation for members on the subject of polygamy and the problem DNA testing has been for the narrative of the Book of Mormon as well. I believe Saints is an easy read for members who don't want to dig into historical issues, but anyone who reads Saints and then still wants to dig deeper is going to find out quickly that the "Standard of Truth" is hiding quite a bit of context and information from faithful church members. If there are any of those members out there, please shoot us an email at ldsdiscussion@gmail.com as I would be happy to hear about your experience in reading the two different 'versions' of Saints' portrayal of church history.

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Chapter 12: After Much Tribulation

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The beginning of chapter twelve focuses on the Partridge sisters, Emily and Eliza, who are the daughters of Edward, the man just appointed Bishop by Joseph. They are seven and eleven years old in this chapter, but what Saints does not tell you here is that in just twelve years they will both be polygamous wives of Joseph Smith. We will discuss that more later, but it is important to note how messy the history is and how it is so interconnected to the families close to Joseph (and Emma) Smith.

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Saints then discusses the Ohio settlement in Kirtland, and how Leman Copley had originally given his land to the church under the Law of Consecration only to leave the church and take his land back. This left the early church members with no place to live, and Joseph with a crisis on his hands to determine where to settle next.

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Joseph asked the Lord what to do, and received a revelation promptly. "“You shall take your journey into the regions westward,” the Lord told them, “unto the land of Missouri.”" This told the church members that Zion would be established in Missouri and not Kirtland, and "Joseph spoke optimistically about the church in Independence. He told some of the elders that Oliver and the other missionaries were sure to have built up a strong branch of the church there, as they had in Kirtland. Some of the elders took it as a prophecy."

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This quote from Saints is intriguing for a few reasons. First, there is a strong implication here that it is the church members' fault for believing Joseph Smith's own words that the church was strong in Missouri. Second, this sets up a common apologetic argument that is used when prophets get something wrong: If what they say turns out to be true (or not proven false), they were speaking as a prophet, but when they get something wrong (or their teachings are later disavowed), they were speaking as 'imperfect men.'

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Of course, that last quote from Saints is pretty obvious foreshadowing that upon arriving the members were not happy with what they saw. Besides not being as built up as hoped, "the missionaries had baptized only a handful of people in the area, so the branch was not as strong as Joseph had expected. Feeling misled, Ezra and others began to question Joseph’s prophetic gifts."

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Six days after their arrival which led to many questioning Joseph's prophetic abilities, he was given revelation. "“This land,” the Lord told him, “is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints.”"

But even with this revelation some members were still unsure about the revelation. Edward Partridge, the Bishop of the church, "was frustrated with the prophet and did not see how the Saints could establish Zion there." Partridge knew he would be responsible for purchasing land and would not be able to go home to his family as he had told his wife.

A few days later Joseph again received revelation, attempting to calm the uneasiness of the members who were frustrated by the situation in Missouri. “Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation,” He declared. “For after much tribulation come the blessings.”

The revelation continued on, this time directed at Edward for questioning Joseph about his previous revelation. “If he repent not of his sins,” He said of the bishop, “let him take heed lest he fall. Behold his mission is given unto him, and it shall not be given again.”

Of course, this revelation directed at Edward "humbled" him and caused him to ask "the Lord to forgive his blindness of heart and told Joseph that he would stay in Independence and prepare the land of Zion for the Saints."

We have already pointed this out and will continue to do so, but Joseph Smith always seems to receive revelation to scold those who begin to question his authority. In Saints, we already have this three times: When Martin Harris did not want to sell his property to finance the Book of Mormon (Chapter 8), when Hiram Page used a seer stone to receive revelation just as Joseph did (Chapter 9), and now with Edward Partridge having doubts about Joseph Smith's credibility.

This is interesting both because of how timely and specific Joseph Smith's revelations tend to be when his authority is not respected, and how future prophets have never had the same ability since. We will see this again as Saints continues, and even his wife Emma will be threatened by God as she continues to stand in the way of Joseph entering into more polygamous marriages.

The last part of the chapter details the trek back to Kirtland, where Joseph, Oliver, and Sidney leave the waters mid-trip to travel by land. This is the account of this event from Saints:

"Joseph took the lead in his canoe the next afternoon, but some of the elders were upset with him and Oliver and refused to paddle. At a dangerous bend in ​the river, they hit a submerged tree and nearly capsized. Fearing for the lives of everyone in the company, Joseph and Sidney ordered the elders off the river.

After they set up camp, Joseph, Oliver, and Sidney tried to talk to the group and ease tensions. Irritated, the men called Joseph and Sidney cowards for getting off the river, mocked the way Oliver paddled his canoe, and accused Joseph of acting like a dictator. The quarrel lasted long into the night."

The reference here is D&C 61, and this story has a lot more detail than what is given in Saints. During this trip, Elder William Phelps claimed to see "the destroyer in his most horrible power, ride upon the face of the waters." (History of the Church 1:202–3) This led to Joseph Smith receiving the revelation now known as D&C 61, which states that God "cursed the waters.... Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon the waters." (D&C 61:14-15)

God then tells Joseph that he should travel by land with Sidney and Oliver, leaving the other eight men continue on in the cursed waters. "And now, concerning my servants, Sidney Rigdon, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Oliver Cowdery, let them come not again upon the waters, save it be upon the canal, while journeying unto their homes; or in other words they shall not come upon the waters to journey, save upon the canal. Behold, I, the Lord, have appointed a way for the journeying of my saints; and behold, this is the way—that after they leave the canal they shall journey by land, inasmuch as they are commanded to journey and go up unto the land of Zion." (D&C 61:23-24)

As we state in our summary page (#19, Joseph Smith and the Convenience of Revelations), Joseph Smith tended to receive revelations that were quite helpful in getting him out of tough situations or establishing his authority. In this case, the revelation allowed him to avoid traveling by the unusually rough waters, but left the eight men below Joseph, Sidney, and Oliver to continue on by water. This is the reason that the men called Joseph, Sidney, and Oliver cowards, and it is quite a difference story given the context that Saints conveniently leaves out.

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The last thing we will mention about this chapter is the continual references and inferences to the Indians being Lamanites. We don't want to beat a dead horse here, but if you have not read our annotated LDS essay on DNA and the Book of Mormon, please do so. It really provides a detailed picture of how we know the Lamanites are not the ancestors of American Indians, which calls into question the revelations that declared them to be, the church leaders that proclaim them to be, and the Book of Mormon itself that claimed the Lamanites were the "principal ancestors" of the Indians. It is important to keep this in mind as you read Saints, because this is such a foundational belief in the church that impacts their beliefs and decisions for a long time to come.

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Chapter 13: The Gift Has Returned

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Saints picks up in chapter 13 with Joseph arriving back in Kirtland, and the tensions regarding the trip having calmed back down with the exception of Ezra Booth. Upon arriving, Ezra Booth wrote a letter to the Ohio Star detailing his time in Mormonism and denouncing Joseph Smith and the church. Saints references the letter but does not provide a link (likely because it is not faith promoting), but you can read the entire letter here. (Ezra Booth, For the Ohio Star, 1831)

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In the letter Booth discusses something that I think is important for members with questions to read: It is OK to recognize that the feelings you have had regarding the church felt like receiving confirmation of the spirit, but as you learn more realize the church is not true. From Booth's letter:

 

"When I embraced Mormonism, I conscientiously believed it to be of God. The impressions of my mind were deep and powerful, and my feelings were exerted to a degree to which I had been a stranger. Like a ghost, it haunted me by night and by day, until I was mysteriously hurried, as it were by a kind of necessity, into the vortex of delusion. At times I was much elated; but generally, things in prospect were the greatest stimulants to action.

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On our arrival in the western part of the State of Missouri, the place of our destination, we discovered that prophecy and visions had failed, or rather had proved false. This fact was so notorious, and the evidence so clear that no one could mistake it -- so much so, that Mr. Rigdon himself said that "Joseph's vision was a bad thing." This was glossed over, apparently, to the satisfaction of most persons present; but not fully to my own. It excited a suspicion that some things were not right, and prepared my mind for the investigation of a variety of circumstances, which occurred during my residence there, and indeed, to review the whole subject from its commencement to that time. My opportunities for a thorough examination, were far greater than they could have been, had I remained at home; and therefore I do not regret that I made that journey, though I sincerely regret the cause of it." (Ezra Booth, For the Ohio Star, 1831)

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As someone who left the church after having trouble with the history of the church, I think those two paragraphs are amazing in highlighting that there were spiritual confirmations to me regarding the church, but that once I was able to really have an open mind and research the church, I came to the conclusion that the spiritual feeling came from me and not from God. And as Booth says, "My opportunities for a thorough examination, were far greater than they could have been, had I remained at home; and therefore I do not regret that I made that journey, though I sincerely regret the cause of it," really make the point that getting the opportunity to do the research and learn more about the church can be difficult and painful, but in the end knowing the truth is more important that continuing to be hidden from it.

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Saints then discusses how Ezra Booth's preaching license was revoked by a "conference of Saints," and Joseph Smith received a revelation from the Lord "rebuking" Booth's letters to the Ohio Star. The revelation is for church members to "stop condemning Joseph’s errors and criticizing him without cause," which is a pretty convenient revelation to receive as we have outlined in previous chapters. The Lord tells Joseph (about himself), “He has sinned,” the Lord acknowledged, “but verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness.”

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Following Joseph Smith claiming the Lord has asked all members to stop criticizing Joseph, the Lord then "called a few church members to sell their property and go to Missouri." One of the things Joseph learned early on when he couldn't get Martin Harris to sell his property until he claimed a revelation from the Lord, is that when he received a revelation members are much less likely to question the authority of it than if Joseph just asks members himself.

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This is a fairly faith promoting chapter, with not a lot of historical topics but more focused on early members joining the church. A large portion of the chapter discusses William McLellin, who joins the church and becomes a passionate preacher. He makes the journey to Kirtland and "had several specific questions he wanted answered, but he kept them to himself, praying that Joseph would discern them on his own and reveal their answers." Upon meeting Joseph, William asked for a personal revelation like the ones Joseph had given for others, and when he received the revelation "William heard the Lord answer each of his questions. His anxiety gave way to joy. He knew he had found a prophet of God."

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It is difficult to really make much of this story, because McLellin never wrote down with the questions were. If you read D&C 66, you can't really find too many specifics that would apply to McLellin beyond his troubles with adultery, and we do not know if Joseph knew this already from his time in the church. Even still, it is impossible to find five specifics in the revelation that would not have been in almost any other revelation at the time. But since we do not know what the five questions are, it is also impossible to disprove which is why the story has become such a faith promoting one in LDS manuals.

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After a second letter to the Ohio Star from Ezra Booth claiming that Joseph is hiding revelations from church members, they decide to compile all of the revelations together to form the Book of Commandments. This is the precursor to the Doctrine and Covenants, and included all of the church history through God until this point. As we have noted about the priesthood, there are a lot of major discrepancies between the Book of Commandments and Doctrine and Covenants, because Joseph changes revelations in very profound ways, which of course calls into question their credibility if they can be altered in such monumental ways years later.

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There were some members who were afraid that publishing this book could stir up bad feelings towards the church, but Joseph has a revelation from God to address those fears. “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself,” He declared, “and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”

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While this eased the fears of some members, there were a few who "knew the revelations were true, but they were embarrassed that the word of the Lord had come to them filtered through Joseph’s limited vocabulary and weak grammar."

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Until the end of 1830, Joseph Smith was receiving revelations through the seer stone. (Quinn, D. Michael (1998), Early Mormonism and the Magic World View) That means that Joseph Smith would put the stone in a hat, stick his head fully in the had to seal out the light, and read the words that appeared. One must wonder if the members with this fear of "Joseph's limited vocabulary and weak grammar" were referring to all of his revelations or just the ones recorded in 1831.

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Joseph, of course, has an answer for this in his revelation where God tells him that the revelations are given to His servants “in their weakness, after the manner of their language.” He then issues the church members a challenge to write a revelation themselves to see if they can write a revelation that is believable. If not, the revelation contends, the members would know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet.

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William McLellin then attempts to write a revelation, but when they read it the other men in the room knew it was not from God and the fears were eased. There are a lot of problems with this story, most of which is that if everyone knows it is an attempt to write a revelation they are unlikely to receive that feeling of warmth that they would feel if they did not know it was effectively fan-fiction revelation. It would not be hard for anyone who studies Joseph Smith's revelations to replicate them, but in a meeting such as this everyone knows ahead of time which one is the placebo and that makes the experiment designed to succeed in Joseph's direction.

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The chapter finishes with the faith promoting story of Nancy Towle, who visits Joseph Smith with the intention to rattle him. When she is preached to about the Book of Mormon she replied that “If I had that book, sir, I would burn it." Upon seeing Joseph Smith, she asks him to swear under oath that he saw an angel to which Joseph replied “I will not swear at all." Getting unnerved, Nancy asks Joseph “Are you not ashamed of such pretensions? You who are no more than any ignorant plowboy of our land!””

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Joseph then replies that “The gift has returned back again, as in former times, to illiterate fishermen.”

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Chapter thirteen did not hit a lot of the difficult church historical issues, but it does provide a lot of faith promoting stories for their readers. There are issues with some of these stories, but at the end of the day they tell us clearly that despite a lot of tension and problems with the church, many early members felt something they could not deny. We highlighted Ezra Booth's letter earlier because Saints references it, but also because the lesson it tells is meaningful. I felt something I could not deny at the time, but have since realized that it was my own confirmation bias that led me to that point. The more I have researched church history, the more I have discovered that it does not line up.

 

We are only thirteen chapters into Saints, but I'd like to believe we have made a very strong argument that there are a lot of very damaging issues that are either glossed over or ignored altogether. Once you begin to research those issues more fully, the confirmation that this is from God disappears not because your body it taken over by Satan, but because once you learn the truth, your heart and mind can no longer confirm them to you.

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On that note, I ask that those of you reading keep researching these topics (our annotated LDS essays are a great start) and continue our review of Saints. There is nothing more important than the truth, even if it is difficult to discover and come to terms with, and there is no way to find the truth unless you open your mind to the possibility that what you have been taught is not true.

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Please email us if you have any questions or concerns - we can always help you with more information, links to podcasts about different topics, or even support groups that can help you in a faith transition. There are a lot of people going through this transition with you, so please do not feel alone and please reach out if you are looking for people to discuss these topics with. See you all tomorrow for chapter fourteen!

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Chapter 14: Visions and Nightmares

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Opening up chapter fourteen is an overview of John and Elsa Johnson, the couple that Joseph and Emma had moved in with at Kirtland. Saints states early on that "the Johnsons were around the same age as Joseph’s parents, so most of their children had married and moved out of their spacious farmhouse, leaving plenty of room for Joseph to meet with church leaders and work on his translation of the Bible." This is important for later in the chapter, so we just wanted to emphasize that now.

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Saints then discusses how "Joseph and Sidney spent much of their time translating in an upstairs room at the Johnson home" which led questions about heaven. We again note that Saints uses "translating" the Bible which is questionable since we now know that Joseph Smith borrowed heavily from Adam Clarke's Bible commentaries as per the new BYU study, which puts the idea of "translating" into a much different light.

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Following the questions about heaven, "Joseph, Sidney, and about twelve other men sat in an upstairs room in the Johnson home," and a vision opened up between the two of them regarding the concept of Heaven. The following paragraph from Saints sums up how the vision went:

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“What do I see?” Joseph asked as he and Sidney marveled at the wonders they saw. He then described what he beheld in the vision, and Sidney said, “I see the same.” Sidney then asked the same question and described the scene before him. Once he finished, Joseph said, “I see the same.”

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We then learn that the vision "described heaven in a way no one in the room had ever imagined. Rather than being a single kingdom, it was organized into various kingdoms of glory." Furthermore, Saints discussed how these kingdoms of glory are organized: "The Lord prepared telestial glory for those who had been wicked and unrepentant on earth. Terrestrial glory was for those who had lived honorably in life but had not fully obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. Celestial glory was for those who accepted Christ, made and kept gospel covenants, and inherited the fullness of God’s glory."

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Here is what Saints does not talk about: The idea of multiple levels of Heaven was originally popularized by Emanuel Swedenborg in the late 1700s. Swedenborg believed that "There are three heavens," described as "entirely distinct from each other." He called the highest heaven "the Celestial Kingdom," and stated that the inhabitants of the three heavens corresponded to the "sun, moon and stars." He even taught that eternal marriage was necessary to achieve the highest kingdom of Heaven. (Swedenborg, Conjugial Love, pg. 155)

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A BYU Studies article concedes that Swedenborg had a lot of concepts that mirror what Joseph Smith later "introduced" to Mormonism, but concludes with: "Believing Latter-day Saints might answer that question with an explanation that parallels Joseph Smith’s reported statement to Edward Hunter: it is possible that Swedenborg saw the heavens. Latter-day Saints readily accept that individuals outside their tradition have been given special, revealed insight into heavenly truths, and thus the points of convergence in Swedenborgianism and Mormonism could reflect accurate, though independent, descriptions of true Christian eschatology. Latter-day Saints could accept that, to a remarkable degree, Emanuel Swedenborg and Joseph Smith both experienced actual visions of the afterlife reality."

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This is a line of apologetics that has become quite popular as we learn more and more about how Joseph Smith utilized the sources around him to shape Mormonism. We detail the different areas that Joseph Smith pulled from in our summary page under the 'Joseph Smith Mixtape Theory' (#22).

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From there the chapter turns to a much more serious event, which is when Joseph Smith is tarred and feathered by a mob. Saints blames the incitement of the mob on Ezra Booth's letters along with the news of the vision about the kingdoms of Heaven, and describes the mob's brutal assault on Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in pretty specific detail.

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This is a story that many current members tell when critics describe what they believe to be Joseph Smith's fraudulent teachings, because they argue that no one would get tarred and feathered just to con a bunch of people. It also helps to cement the idea that Joseph Smith was persecuted for his beliefs but carried on against all odds. It is a truly horrific incident that should have never happened, and it has been a faith promoting story for what Joseph Smith suffered to bring forth the church.

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Here is the problem with this story though: There is good reason to believe the mob was not out to get Joseph Smith because of his teachings, but for other reasons including his Law of Consecration and because of suspicions of sexual improprieties with Marinda Johnson. The following paragraph from Saints is very important to this story: "After they had gone some distance from the house, they tore away his clothes and held him down while a man approached with a sharp knife, ready to mutilate him. But the man took a look at Joseph and refused to cut him."

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Some sources have documented since that the man with a sharp knife was actually a doctor, brought by Eli Johnson (Nancy's uncle) with the mob to castrate Joseph for his sexual advances on Marinda. At the last moment the doctor declined the procedure and left the scene. We have two different accounts of this event:

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“Fortified by a barrel of whiskey, [the mob] smashed their way into the Johnson home on the night of March 24, 1832 and dragged Joseph from the trundle bed where he had fallen asleep while watching one of the twins. They stripped him, scratched and beat him with savage pleasure, and smeared his bleeding body with tar from head to foot. Ripping a pillow into shreds, they plastered him with feathers. It is said that Eli Johnson demanded that the prophet be castrated, for he suspected Joseph of being too intimate with his sister (niece), Nancy Marinda. But the doctor who had been persuaded to join the mob declined the responsibility at the last moment…” (Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History, page119).

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“The motivation for this mobbing has been debated. Clark Braden…alleged…that Marinda’s brother (uncle) Eli led a mob against Smith because the prophet had been too intimate with Marinda. This tradition suggests that Smith may have married Marinda at this early time, and some circumstantial factors support such a possibility. The castration attempt might be taken as evidence that the mob felt that Joseph had committed a sexual impropriety; since the attempt is reported by [Marinda's brother who became LDS apostle] Luke Johnson, there is no good reason to doubt it. Also, they had planned the operation in advance, as they brought along a doctor to perform it. The first revelations had been received in 1831, by historian Danel Bachman’s dating. Also, Joseph did tend to marry women who had stayed at his house or in whose house he had stayed” (Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, page 231).

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These two accounts provide us with reason to think the mob was there to castrate Joseph for what they believed to be sexual advances on Marinda, and the fact that the attempt was reported by a future LDS apostle (Luke Johnson) only adds some weight to this account. In addition, Luke Johnson confirms the doctor was there for castration (Deseret News 8 (May 26, 1858)), which is a punishment that was used for sexual offenses. Last, we should note that while Compton states there are "some circumstantial factors" to support them being married at this early time, we do know for sure that Smith marries Marinda as a polyandrous wife while her future husband was sent away on a mission by Joseph.

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On the other hand, there are some accounts that the mob attacked Joseph and Sidney not because of sexual advances, but because of fear that the church was going to take people's land and put it under the control of Smith. Symonds Ryder, the leader of the mob, claimed the attack was because of "the horrid fact that a plot was laid to take their property from them and place it under the control of Smith." (Symonds Ryder, "Letter to A. S. Hayden," 1 February 1868)

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There is also the question as to why the mob would attack Sidney Rigdon if the sole reason was Joseph's sexual advances, while it would make more sense if there was fear of land being taken by the church under the Law of Consecration (or United Order), which was difficult for many members and created fear that the church was creating a society that would threaten non-members. Furthermore, Ryder's reasoning above needs to be give heavy consideration since he was believed to have led the attack.

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The truth is that we don't know for sure why the attack happened, and there is a lot of circumstantial evidence for multiple factors. This is not to say that Joseph Smith deserved to be tarred and feathered whatsoever, but to make it known that the LDS narrative as to why it happened is at best a lot less clear than Saints would like you to think it is.

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Following the attack, one of Joseph's twins, Joseph, died later in the week. "The prophet blamed his son’s death on the cold air that poured into the house when the mob dragged him away."

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Joseph then went back to Missouri to continue organizing the church, and brought Newel Whitney with as Joseph brought a revelation to Newel to "consecrate surplus money from his profitable businesses to help support the store, printing office, and land purchases in Independence."

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Upon arriving, Joseph called a group of members together to give them the revelation on the finances of the church. “I give unto you this commandment, that ye bind yourselves by this covenant,” the Lord declared, “every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.” Bound thus together, they called themselves the United Firm."

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We then hear more about William McLellin, who is now struggling in his role with the church. "After months of setbacks, he started to question whether it was the Lord or Joseph Smith who had called him on a mission."

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Can we just point out really quickly that it was just one chapter ago that William received a revelation that he claimed personally answered all five of his questions, proving to him that Joseph was a true prophet? If that was truly the case, how could he possible be questioning if Joseph was the mouthpiece for God this quickly afterwards?

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McLellin then decides to bring a group of early members to Jackson County against the wishes of Joseph Smith and Bishop Partridge. He bought two lots of property from the government, and his group settled in, presenting a challenge for Bishop Partridge to get everyone on their feet.

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Because of the increase of members arriving in Missouri, local prices were being driven up which caused more tension among the non-members in the area. The chapter ends with a very ominous quote from a local: “They are crowding in,” one woman observed as more Saints settled around her. “I do think they ought to be punished.”

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This is a rough chapter with the difficult section on Joseph and Sidney being attacked and tarred and feathered, but there are a lot of important historical issues to consider. The multiple kingdoms of Heaven was a topic I was taught as a member that was "unheard of at the time," yet we now know it was not only discussed by Emanuel Swedenborg, but that Joseph Smith was aware of Swedenborg from this conversation between William Hunter and Joseph Smith: "I asked him if he was acquainted with the Sweadenburgers. His answer I verially believe. ‘Emanuel Sweadenburg had a view of the world to come but for daily food he perished.’" (William E. Hunter, Edward Hunter: Faithful Steward, pg. 316, original spelling).

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As we have stated in earlier chapters, these are difficult topics to read about because most members do not know about these issues. I certainly did not when I was an attending member, but even having been inactive for a long time now I still feel hurt when reading about historical topics that were not taught honestly to me. I hope those who can approach these topics with an open mind will continue to research church history here and elsewhere, and if you need any further advice, sources, or support email us at ldsdiscussion@gmail.com anytime.

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Chapter 15: Holy Places

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We begin again with stories of more people being baptized into the church, before turning to Joseph Smith returning to Ohio from a trip to New York. Here we are introduced to Brigham Young, future president of the church. It gives a very faith promoting account of Brigham and Joseph's first encounters, and discusses how Brigham "Brigham knew at once he was a prophet of God."

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They then have dinner where it is claimed that Brigham spoke in tongues. Joseph declares the the "tongue is from God" and continues to speak in the same language. "Joseph then spoke in the same language, declaring that it was the language Adam had spoken in the Garden of Eden and encouraging the Saints to seek the gift of tongues, as Paul had done in the New Testament, for the benefit of the children of God."

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One quite interesting point to note here is what Joseph Smith claimed with the language Adam spoke. Joseph Smith was recorded speaking in the "perfect English" of God by B.R. Johnson. This is the following exchange:

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Question: What is the name of God in pure language?

Joseph: Awmen

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Question: What is the name of the son of God?

Joseph: The Son Awmen

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Question: What are Angels called in pure language?

Joseph: Awmen Angls-men

(Joseph Smith Jr, as recorded by BR Johnson, March 1832, the Joseph Smith Papers)

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Of course it is up to the reader to decide if that sounds like real translation of pure English or something that Joseph made up on the spot as he did with Egyptian later in life, but I just want to point out what "speaking in tongues" meant for Joseph.

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Saints then discusses Joseph's Civil War revelation, which came after reading a local newspaper that discussed how South Carolina was fighting taxes on imported good and was beginning to rebel. Joseph's revelation declares that "war and natural disaster would then pour out upon all nations, spreading misery and death across the earth." Of course, the Civil War did not have war upon all nations, though apologists do claim that other nations were sought to help their cause. This is considered by critics to be a failed prophesy because war did not pour out beyond the United States.

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Joseph continues to worry about the members in Missouri having doubts about his leadership, and receives a revelation to build a temple. He sends his revelation to Missouri as an "olive leaf" to the people in Missouri, asking them to turn back to his leadership or else Zion will fall.

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The School of Prophets also is introduced in this chapter, which leads to the revelation on the Word of Wisdom. As we state on our summary page, the Word of Wisdom is heavily lifted from the Temperance movement that is gaining steam around the country now. The original Word of Wisdom was not like the one currently discussed today, but also included hot soups as as well. In addition, the Word of Wisdom was not originally a commandment, but a guideline. This leads Saints to use a a few choice words to make Joseph Smith look as good as possible such as "Joseph did not normally use tobacco" and "he continued to drink alcohol occasionally."

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The chapter finishes with Joseph receiving word back from Missouri that the members had begun to reconcile with Joseph's leadership, and they were ready for a temple. They then drew up plans for the temple along with the city of Zion, allowing themselves plans to add on to the city as more members came until it filled the entire country. “Lay off another in the same way,” Joseph directed, “and so fill up the world in these last days.”

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This chapter is an interesting one because it contains many prophecies, which are interesting to look back on and determine which ones did not happen as stated such as the Civil War prophecy and a temple being built in Independence. The Word of Wisdom is also interesting mostly because of its evolution from being more of a guidance to being a very strict commandment in the church many decades later. And the introduction of Brigham Young is only the beginning of his part in LDS history.

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Chapter 16: Only a Prelude

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This is a difficult chapter of Saints, and we're going to keep this one short. It deals with the initial mob attacks on the early church members, and while there are records of the fears that those in the mob held, their actions were awful and I am not going to attempt to defend them out of respect to the people who were victimized in these early attacks.

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The chapter starts out by talking about Emily Partridge, who we mentioned earlier will be a wife of Joseph Smith about ten years later. It talked about why she did not understand why those in Jackson County did not want the church members to leave the area, and how some in the area had begun setting small fires to intimidate members to leave.

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It does mention how many did not like how the church was preaching to the Indians, which again forces us to mention that the reason they were preaching to the Indians is because the Book of Mormon states that they were the the descendants of the Lamanites. However, the breakthroughs in DNA studies have proven this to not be the case. You can read about this is much more detail at our annotated LDS Gospel Topics essay on DNA studies and the Book of Mormon.

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A big part of the early tensions between members and the locals was about slavery. Almost all early members in Missouri had traveled from states like Ohio and New York, where slavery was illegal. This led the church to allow blacks to become members early on, which put fear into the locals that they would assist in the uprisings that had been occurring between slaves and their white slaveholders in the area.

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William Phelps had written in the Evening and Morning Star to try and ease the tensions, and declared that the church would obey Missouri's laws that restricted the rights of free blacks. “So long as we have no special rule in the church as to people of color,” he wrote vaguely, “let prudence guide.”

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This led people in the county such as Samuel Lucas to believe this writing was an invitation to black people to come to Missouri. Because of the uprisings in local states such as a deaths of 50 white men and women from dozens of enslaved people, this put fear into those in Jackson County towards the church.

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Upon seeing the response, William Phelps quickly released a one page leaflet recanting his earlier writings and declaring that “we are opposed to having free people of color admitted into the state, and we say that none will be admitted into the church.” Phelps had hoped that this would ease the fears, but at this point the locals had already decided that the church members needed to leave.

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Saints cites the LDS Gospel Topics essay on Race and the Priesthood, and while a lot of the events in that essay are still in the future from this chapter, we invite anyone interested to read our annotated version of this essay. This is a time in the church when there was a lot of confusion as to the church's stance on blacks and their standing in the church, and it will take decades to fully change to what most critics think of with blacks and the church.

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Following the article from Phelps, the mob destroyed the printing press to stop the Evening and Morning Star from continuing, and also to stop the printing of the Book of Commandments. This leads to the faith promoting story often told in church of Mary Elizabeth Rollins gathering the pages of the Book of Commandments to save the history of the church, even as the mob was trying to destroy everything around them. Much like the Partridge sisters, Mary Elizabeth Rollins will be a future polyandrous wife of Joseph Smith even after she was married to her initial husband Adam Lightner. This again is still yet to happen in the future, but a note that is not mentioned when discussing the life of Mary Elizabeth Rollins in church articles or educational materials.

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The rest of the chapter describes the mob's destruction of homes and church property, including the mob taking Edward Partridge and Charles Allen, two members that the mob tarred and feathered. As I said at the beginning, I am not going to go into details here as to why it happened. The truth is that even if the church had threatened the way of life of the locals, it does not excuse or rationalize what the mob did. It is a very difficult read, and I think we should all agree that what the mob did here was inexcusable and horrific.

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One of the reasons we're fact-checking Saints is to look at the historical issues with the church and where they are not being honest, but it is not meant to be disrespectful or demeaning towards the early church members or the beliefs they held. We hope to continue to do that as we move forward, but I hope everyone reading can appreciate what a horrible night this was for early church members. And for those of us that currently are members or used to members, I hope we can all respect what the early church members went through even if we ultimately come to the conclusion that they suffered for what was ultimately a false church brought forth by Joseph Smith.

 

Sometimes it feels like when we come to the conclusion that the church is not true that we are dishonoring the pioneers in the church before us, but that is not the case at all. I truly feel that we can all respect and honor what they went through while acknowledging they did not have access to the historical documents, scientific advancements, and Biblical scholarship during their lifetimes to know about the problematic issues with Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. And I hope we can all keep that in mind as we touch on troubling topics going forward in Saints, and thank you all again for reading along with us!

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Chapter Seventeen: Though the Mob Kill Us

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This chapter continues with a lot of the difficult events of the continued mob attacks against the early members in Missouri, so again we will keep in short in those areas as there is no reason to try and disrespect what they went through by trying to either justify the mob or blame the victims. I just want to make that clear upfront as much of this chapter focuses on those events.

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Chapter seventeen begins with William McLellin continuing to have doubts about the church, but meeting up with Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer in Missouri. As he talks to them about his doubts, they confirm their witness of the Book of Mormon, and McLellin says he believes them.

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One thing about this chapter that is frustrating from a critical viewpoint is the idea being presented here is that Joseph Smith received a revelation before the mob attacks to tell those in Missouri to be strong. The problem is that the heading of D&C 98 concedes that Joseph Smith knew of the mob tensions and violence even as Saints implies that he could not have known all of it to make the revelation appear to be more prophetic.

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Again, if this revelation was designed to be for the members in Missouri before the attacks, they would never hear the message until after. As Saints puts it: "On August 6, 1833, before Joseph learned the extent of the violence in Missouri, he received a revelation ​about the persecution in Zion."

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The clear implication here is that the revelation addresses the violence in Missouri before it happened, but the revelation is a very vague response to what has been escalating tensions and incidents that Joseph Smith no doubt knew about, as conceded in the heading of D&C 98. 

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Saints again references how many early members are losing faith in Joseph's claim to being a prophet of God. Currently he is dealing with defections in Kirtland, while all of the problems were occurring in Missouri. Joseph also knows that they can not abandon their property in Missouri, and wrote a letter to leaders in Missouri.

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“It is the will of the Lord,” he wrote, “that not one foot of land purchased should be given to the enemies of God or sold to them.”

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This leads to Edward Partridge seeking legal help through the courts, but the local judges had no interest in helping the church protect themselves against the locals. Because the church had sought to rebuild, the locals became furious and immediately called for the church to leave.

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A large section of this chapter details the mob attacks and the church trying to defend itself. We're not going to critique that in any way, because some early members went through hell and regardless of whether or not the church is true, that should be respected.

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Saints then details how some of the church members were arrested and released after the church had declared they would leave. This leads to a faith promoting story about how the mob tried to kill Sidney Gilbert but "one of the guns had broken, and the other had misfired." It needs to be pointed out that the source for this story is a Parley Pratt book written in 1839, years after this event happened and one he did not witness himself.

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It does not mean it didn't happen, but as we have pointed out with many LDS faith promoting legends, they do not hold up to history. We detail some of the biggest faith promoting stories such as the transfiguration of Brigham Young, the Miracle of the Gulls, and Woodruff's vision of the Founding Fathers. Please check that page out if you're interested in more details on these events.

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The church began heading north following these attacks, and there is another faith promoting story about Philo Dibble's recovery from a gunshot. I can not tell from the source when it was written, but it is a firsthand account from Philo. The section from the source itself describes the event:

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"David Whitmer, however, sent me word that I should live and not die, but I could see no possible chance to recover. After the surgeon had left me, Brother Newell Knight came to see me, and sat down on the side of my bed. He laid his right hand on my head, but never spoke. I felt the Spirit resting upon me at the crown of my head before his hand touched me, and I knew immediately that I was going to be healed. It seemed to form like a ring under the skin, and followed down my body. When the ring came to the wound, another ring formed around the first bullet hole, also the second and third. Then a ring formed on each shoulder and on each hip, and followed down to the ends of my fingers and toes and left me. I immediately arose and discharged three quarts of blood or more, with some pieces of my clothes that had been driven into my body by the bullets. I then dressed myself and went out doors and saw the falling of the stars, which so encouraged the Saints and frightened their enemies. It was one of the grandest sights I ever beheld. From that time not a drop of blood came from me and I never afterwards felt the slightest pain or inconvenience from my wounds, except that I was somewhat weak from the loss of blood." (Philo Dibble's account)

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Again, we will never know what happened here. The point is that these types of miraculous events simply have not happened since we've had the ability to document events in real time, and Saints does not account for what the surgeon might have done before leaving. The source does not either, so we just do not know if he had a procedure done, if he was heavily medicated as the surgeon left the room, or what.

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The chapter ends with Joseph Smith seeing a meteor shower and believing it to be a fulfillment of prophecy of "stars falling from the heavens before the Second Coming, when the Savior would return and reign a thousand years in peace."

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One of the things that we often mention about Joseph Smith in our annotated essays is that his doctrine on science, astronomy, and the world tend to match what was thought in his lifetime, but not before it and certainly not after it. In this case, Joseph Smith does not know what a meteor shower is, but assumes it to be a sign from God of the last days. Just as Joseph Smith does not know that a rainbow is merely a "reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky," he did not know that meteor showers are a naturally occurring thing.

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The rainbow legend comes from the following teaching of Joseph Smith: "I have asked of the Lord concerning His coming; and while asking the Lord, He gave a sign and said, 'In the days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as a sign and token that in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come; but there should be seed time and harvest during that year: but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token that there shall be famine, pestilence, and great distress among the nations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant'" (Joseph Fielding Smith, "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith," Section Six 1843-44, p.341).

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We know that rainbows only come with rain/precipitation, so the lack of rainbows means the lack of rain which means you would have family, pestilence, and distress. Again, Joseph Smith at the time would not know that rainbows are a naturally occurring event from reflection of water, so a critical viewpoint here is that he tries to make doctrine of it in order to explain the universe around him to his followers.

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The reality is that Joseph Smith was teaching that the end of the world was just years away. Not 100 years, not 200 years, but it would happen in less than 60 years. This was the reason for the urgency in their preaching, and Joseph Smith himself prophesied that if he lived until the year 1890 that Christ would return. Because he died, many would argue it was not a failed prophesy, but his teachings otherwise of a return being near certainly gave the impression that he believed the end was imminent.

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This was another tough chapter with the mob attacks, but there are some interesting doctrinal areas too as well as the faith promoting stories near the end. It didn't end up being as short of a recap as I thought it would at the beginning, so hopefully we were able to add some value to Saints for those who are following along. Thanks for reading!