Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Early Mormonism and the Magic World View/Use of sources

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Source Analysis, Sorted by Page Number



A FAIR Analysis of: Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, a work by author: D. Michael Quinn

21

Source interpretation
In an effort to show that books on magic were readily available on the frontier, the author makes some estimates. After estimating that a single book peddler "was selling about 25,000 books to farmers each year," the author then concludes that "by the early 1800’s there were thousands of peddlers." The author also claims that “‘some peddlers also stocked clandestine works’” and that therefore, “if local stores would not supply occult publications to American farmers, book peddlers were there to fill the need.”

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26-27

Source interpretation
The author states that,

New York state's law provided punishment for "Disorderly Persons," whose definition included "all jugglers [conjurors], and all persons pretending to have skill in physiognomy, palmistry, or like crafty science, or pretending to tell fortunes, or to discover lost goods." (the amendation of "conjurors" is the author's)

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182

Source interpretation
The author claims "bookstores near Joseph's home" in the 1820s were selling "thousands" of books that ranged from "44 cents to a dollar each."

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298

Source interpretation
The author claims that Moshe Idel wrote that the Zohar 'is manifestly anthropomorphic', and that Gershom Scholem wrote of the Cabala's 'almost provocatively conspicuous anthropomorphism'.

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