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Difference between revisions of "Mormonism and Wikipedia/Joseph Smith, Jr./Distinctive views and teachings"
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|L=Mormonism and Wikipedia/Joseph Smith, Jr./Distinctive views and teachings | |L=Mormonism and Wikipedia/Joseph Smith, Jr./Distinctive views and teachings | ||
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Smith taught that all existence was [[materialism|material]], | Smith taught that all existence was [[materialism|material]], | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=419–20}} (arguing that Smith may have been unaware of the other religious [[materialism]] arguments circulating in his day, such as those of [[Joseph Priestly]]). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Creation/Creatio ex nihilo}} | *{{Detail|Creation/Creatio ex nihilo}} | ||
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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
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including a world of "spirit matter" so fine that it was invisible to all but the purest mortal eyes. | including a world of "spirit matter" so fine that it was invisible to all but the purest mortal eyes. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=419}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=3–5}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1830|p=544}} (story from the [[Book of Ether]] of [[Jesus]] revealing "the body of my spirit" to an especially faithful man, saying humanity was created in the image of his spirit body). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 47: | Line 49: | ||
Matter, in Smith's view, could neither be created nor destroyed; | Matter, in Smith's view, could neither be created nor destroyed; | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=420}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Creation/Creatio ex nihilo}} | *{{Detail|Creation/Creatio ex nihilo}} | ||
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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 59: | Line 62: | ||
the [[creationism|creation]] involved only the reorganization of existing matter. | the [[creationism|creation]] involved only the reorganization of existing matter. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=421}} (noting that Smith once taught the Earth was formed from broken-up pieces of prior planets). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Creation/Creatio ex nihilo}} | *{{Detail|Creation/Creatio ex nihilo}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
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Like matter, "intelligence" was co-eternal with God, and human [[spirit]]s had been drawn from a [[pre-existence|pre-existent]] pool of eternal intelligences. | Like matter, "intelligence" was co-eternal with God, and human [[spirit]]s had been drawn from a [[pre-existence|pre-existent]] pool of eternal intelligences. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=420–21}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 82: | Line 87: | ||
Embodiment, therefore, was the purpose of earth life. | Embodiment, therefore, was the purpose of earth life. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=421}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 93: | Line 99: | ||
The work and glory of God, the supreme intelligence, | The work and glory of God, the supreme intelligence, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=455–56}} (arguing that in Smith's theology, God's authority arose not from being an ''[[ex nihilo]]'' creator, but from having the greatest intelligence). |
}} | }} | ||
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was to create worlds across the cosmos where inferior intelligences could be embodied. | was to create worlds across the cosmos where inferior intelligences could be embodied. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=421}} (quoting Smith as saying, "God is Good & all his acts is for the benefit of infereir inteligences [sic]."); {{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=101}} ("Smith's God is hedged in by limitations and badly needs intelligences besides his own."). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 113: | Line 120: | ||
Though Smith at first taught that [[God the Father]] was a spirit, | Though Smith at first taught that [[God the Father]] was a spirit, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=420}} (arguing that Smith's original view of a pure spirit God was traditionally Christian); {{Citation|last=Vogel|first=Dan|title=The Earliest Mormon Conception of God}} in {{Harvtxt|Bergera|1989|pp=17–33}} (arguing that Smith's original view was [[Sabellianism|modalism]], [[Jesus]] being the embodied manifestation the spirit Father, and that by 1834 Smith shifted to a [[binitarianism|binitarian]] formulation favored by [[Sidney Rigdon]], which also viewed the Father as a spirit); {{Citation|last=Alexander|first=Thomas|title=The Reconstruction of Mormon Doctrine: From Joseph Smith to Progressive Theology}} in {{Harvtxt|Bergera|1989|p=53}} (prior to 1835, Smith viewed [[God the Father]] as "an absolute personage of spirit"). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/God is a Spirit}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/God is a Spirit}} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/God is a Spirit/Lecture of Faith 5 teaches the Father is "a personage of spirit"}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/God is a Spirit/Lecture of Faith 5 teaches the Father is "a personage of spirit"}} | ||
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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
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he eventually viewed God as an advanced and glorified man, | he eventually viewed God as an advanced and glorified man, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|p=119}}; {{Citation|last=Alexander|first=Thomas|title=The Reconstruction of Mormon Doctrine: From Joseph Smith to Progressive Theology}} in {{Harvtxt|Bergera|1989|p=539}} (describing Smith's doctrine as "material anthropomorphism"); {{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=101}} ("Smith's God, after all, began as a man, and struggled heroically in and with time and space, rather after the pattern of colonial and revolutionary Americans."). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/"God is a man"}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/"God is a man"}} | ||
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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
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embodied within space | embodied within space | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=421}} ("Piece by piece, Joseph redefined the nature of God, giving Him a form and a body and locating Him in time and space."); {{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=101}} ("Joseph Smith's God...is finite.... Exalted now into the heavens, God necessarily is still subject to the contingencies of time and space."). |
}} | }} | ||
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with a throne situated near a star or planet named ''[[Kolob]]'', and measuring time at the rate of a thousand years per Kolob day. | with a throne situated near a star or planet named ''[[Kolob]]'', and measuring time at the rate of a thousand years per Kolob day. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=455}}; {{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|pp=70–90}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Abraham/Kolob}} | *{{Detail|Book of Abraham/Kolob}} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Abraham/Astronomy/Revolution Time}} | *{{Detail|Book of Abraham/Astronomy/Revolution Time}} | ||
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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
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Both [[God the Father]] and [[Jesus]] were distinct beings with physical bodies, but the [[Holy Spirit]] was a "personage of Spirit." | Both [[God the Father]] and [[Jesus]] were distinct beings with physical bodies, but the [[Holy Spirit]] was a "personage of Spirit." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1909|p=325}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 167: | Line 177: | ||
Through the gradual acquisition of knowledge, | Through the gradual acquisition of knowledge, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Larson|1978|p=7 (online ver.)}}. |
}} | }} | ||
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those who were [[second anointing|sealed to their exaltation]] could eventually become coequal with God. | those who were [[second anointing|sealed to their exaltation]] could eventually become coequal with God. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|p=119}}. |
}} | }} | ||
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The ability of humans to progress to godhood implied a vast hierarchy of gods. | The ability of humans to progress to godhood implied a vast hierarchy of gods. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|p=119}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=535}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man}} | ||
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Each of these gods, in turn, would rule a kingdom of inferior intelligences, and so forth in an eternal hierarchy. | Each of these gods, in turn, would rule a kingdom of inferior intelligences, and so forth in an eternal hierarchy. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=455–56, 535–37}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man}} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man/Gods of their own planets}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man/Gods of their own planets}} | ||
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The opportunity to achieve godhood extended to all humanity; those who died with no opportunity to accept [[Latter Day Saint movement|Latter Day Saint]] theology could achieve godhood by accepting its benefit in the afterlife through [[baptism for the dead]]. | The opportunity to achieve godhood extended to all humanity; those who died with no opportunity to accept [[Latter Day Saint movement|Latter Day Saint]] theology could achieve godhood by accepting its benefit in the afterlife through [[baptism for the dead]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=422}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and temples/Baptism for the dead}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and temples/Baptism for the dead}} | ||
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Children who died in their innocence were guaranteed to rise at the [[resurrection]] and rule as gods without maturing to adulthood. | Children who died in their innocence were guaranteed to rise at the [[resurrection]] and rule as gods without maturing to adulthood. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Larson|1978|p=15 (online ver.)}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCITE|editor=COgden|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Smith&diff=349522595&oldid=349520263}}The cited source says nothing about children rising to "rule as gods without maturing to adulthood." Joseph Smith said that "children would be raised in the resurrection just as they were laid down, and that they would obtain all the intelligence necessary to occupy thrones, principalities and powers.” (''History of the Church,'' volume 4, page 556.) Children will rise from the resurrection as children, but they will be raised to maturity. There is no Mormon doctrine of "immature gods." | *{{WikipediaCITE|editor=COgden|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Smith&diff=349522595&oldid=349520263}}The cited source says nothing about children rising to "rule as gods without maturing to adulthood." Joseph Smith said that "children would be raised in the resurrection just as they were laid down, and that they would obtain all the intelligence necessary to occupy thrones, principalities and powers.” (''History of the Church,'' volume 4, page 556.) Children will rise from the resurrection as children, but they will be raised to maturity. There is no Mormon doctrine of "immature gods." | ||
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===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
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Apart from those who committed the [[eternal sin]], Smith taught that even the wicked and disbelieving would achieve a [[degrees of glory|degree of glory]] in the afterlife, | Apart from those who committed the [[eternal sin]], Smith taught that even the wicked and disbelieving would achieve a [[degrees of glory|degree of glory]] in the afterlife, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=199}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} | *{{WikipediaCorrect}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
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where they would serve those who had achieved godhood. | where they would serve those who had achieved godhood. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=443}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{WikipediaCITE}}The Bushman reference refers to those who are not married by priesthood authority, not the "wicked and disbelieving." Bushman states that "the worldly wed became single again, and a permanent cap limited their progress." Ne notes that they are appointed "angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory." | *{{WikipediaCITE}}The Bushman reference refers to those who are not married by priesthood authority, not the "wicked and disbelieving." Bushman states that "the worldly wed became single again, and a permanent cap limited their progress." Ne notes that they are appointed "angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory." | ||
*{{WikipediaSYN}}This passage coupled with the previous one constitutes Wikipedia synthesis. The second Bushman passage referring to eternal marriage is used in the Wikipedia article to make a point about those who are "wicked and disbelieving." | *{{WikipediaSYN}}This passage coupled with the previous one constitutes Wikipedia synthesis. The second Bushman passage referring to eternal marriage is used in the Wikipedia article to make a point about those who are "wicked and disbelieving." | ||
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===Religious authority and ritual=== | ===Religious authority and ritual=== | ||
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Smith's teachings were rooted in [[dispensationalism|dispensational]] [[Restorationism (Christian primitivism)|restorationism]]. | Smith's teachings were rooted in [[dispensationalism|dispensational]] [[Restorationism (Christian primitivism)|restorationism]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=33}}. |
}} | }} | ||
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He saw his teachings and the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]] as a [[Restoration (Latter Day Saints)|restoration]] of [[early Christianity|early Christian]] ideals that had been lost in a [[Great Apostasy|great apostasy]]. | He saw his teachings and the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]] as a [[Restoration (Latter Day Saints)|restoration]] of [[early Christianity|early Christian]] ideals that had been lost in a [[Great Apostasy|great apostasy]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Remini|2000|p=84}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 283: | Line 299: | ||
At first, Smith's church had little sense of hierarchy, Smith's religious authority being derived from visions and revelations. | At first, Smith's church had little sense of hierarchy, Smith's religious authority being derived from visions and revelations. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=7}} (describing Smith's earliest earliest authority as [[charismatic authority]]). |
}} | }} | ||
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Though Smith did not claim exclusive prophethood, | Though Smith did not claim exclusive prophethood, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=7–8}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 303: | Line 319: | ||
an early revelation designated him as the only prophet allowed to issue commandments "as [[Moses]]." | an early revelation designated him as the only prophet allowed to issue commandments "as [[Moses]]." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=121, 175}}; {{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=67}} ("[N]o one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church, excepting my servant Joseph, for he receiveth them even as Moses."). |
}} | }} | ||
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This religious authority encompassed economic and political as well as spiritual matters. For instance, in the early 1830s, he temporarily instituted a form of [[religious communism]], called the [[United Order]], requiring Saints to [[law of consecration|consecrate]] all their property to the church. | This religious authority encompassed economic and political as well as spiritual matters. For instance, in the early 1830s, he temporarily instituted a form of [[religious communism]], called the [[United Order]], requiring Saints to [[law of consecration|consecrate]] all their property to the church. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1972|pp=106, 112, 121–22}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 322: | Line 338: | ||
He also envisioned that [[theocracy|theocratic]] institutions he established would have a role in the world-wide political organization of the [[Millennialism|Millennium]]. | He also envisioned that [[theocracy|theocratic]] institutions he established would have a role in the world-wide political organization of the [[Millennialism|Millennium]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=111–12, 115}} (describing the expected role of the [[Council of Fifty]]). |
}} | }} | ||
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By the mid-1830s, Smith began teaching a hierarchy of three [[priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|priesthoods]] ([[Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|Melchizedek]], [[Aaronic priesthood (LDS Church)|Aaronic]], and [[Patriarchal priesthood|Patriarchal]]), | By the mid-1830s, Smith began teaching a hierarchy of three [[priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|priesthoods]] ([[Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|Melchizedek]], [[Aaronic priesthood (LDS Church)|Aaronic]], and [[Patriarchal priesthood|Patriarchal]]), | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=27–34}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=264–65}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 340: | Line 356: | ||
each of them a continuation of biblical priesthoods through [[lineal succession (Latter Day Saints)|patrilineal succession]] or ordination by biblical figures appearing in visions. | each of them a continuation of biblical priesthoods through [[lineal succession (Latter Day Saints)|patrilineal succession]] or ordination by biblical figures appearing in visions. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=7}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 349: | Line 365: | ||
Upon introducing the Melchizedek or "High" Priesthood in 1831, | Upon introducing the Melchizedek or "High" Priesthood in 1831, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=111}};{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=156–60}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=31–32}};{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|pp=175–76}} (On 3 June 1831, "the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood was manifested and conferred for the first time upon several of the Elders."). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 358: | Line 374: | ||
Smith taught that its recipients would be "endowed with power from on high," thus fulfilling a need for a greater holiness and an authority commensurate with the New Testament [[Apostle (Christian)|apostles]]. | Smith taught that its recipients would be "endowed with power from on high," thus fulfilling a need for a greater holiness and an authority commensurate with the New Testament [[Apostle (Christian)|apostles]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{harvtxt|Prince|1995|pp=19, 115–116, 119}} (noting influence of[[Sidney Rigdon]] in developing this idea); [[Gospel of Luke]] 24:49 ([[Authorized King James Version]]) ("And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endowed with power from on high."). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 367: | Line 383: | ||
This doctrine of [[Endowment (Latter Day Saints)|endowment]] evolved through the 1830s, | This doctrine of [[Endowment (Latter Day Saints)|endowment]] evolved through the 1830s, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Prince|1995|pp=31–32, 121–31}} (outlining evolution of the endowment idea in 1833 and 1836). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Temples/Endowment}} | *{{Detail|Temples/Endowment}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
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until in 1842, the [[Endowment (Mormonism)|Nauvoo endowment]] included an elaborate ceremony containing symbolism similar to that of [[Freemasonry]]. | until in 1842, the [[Endowment (Mormonism)|Nauvoo endowment]] included an elaborate ceremony containing symbolism similar to that of [[Freemasonry]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Ostling|Ostling|1999|pp=194–95}}; {{Harvtxt|Prince|1995|p=146}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Temples/Endowment/Freemasonry}} | *{{Detail|Temples/Endowment/Freemasonry}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 389: | Line 407: | ||
The endowment was extended to women in 1843, | The endowment was extended to women in 1843, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Prince|1995|p=140}}. |
}} | }} | ||
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though Smith never clarified whether women could be ordained to priesthood offices. | though Smith never clarified whether women could be ordained to priesthood offices. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Prince|1995|p=201}}. |
}} | }} | ||
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Smith taught that the High Priesthood's endowment of heavenly power included the [[sealing (Mormonism)|sealing]] powers of [[Elijah]], allowing High Priests to effect binding consequences in the afterlife. | Smith taught that the High Priesthood's endowment of heavenly power included the [[sealing (Mormonism)|sealing]] powers of [[Elijah]], allowing High Priests to effect binding consequences in the afterlife. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=30, 194–95, 203, 208}} (Smith introduced the sealing power in 1831 as part of the High Priesthood, and then attributed this power to [[Elijah]] after he appeared in an 1836 vision in the [[Kirtland Temple]]). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 416: | Line 434: | ||
For example, this power would enable [[baptism for the dead|proxy baptisms for the dead]] | For example, this power would enable [[baptism for the dead|proxy baptisms for the dead]] | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=221, 242–43}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Baptism for the dead}} | *{{Detail|Baptism for the dead}} | ||
| − | + | ||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 427: | Line 447: | ||
and [[Celestial marriage|priesthood marriages]] that would be effective into the afterlife. | and [[Celestial marriage|priesthood marriages]] that would be effective into the afterlife. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=236}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Marriage/As a requirement for exaltation}} | *{{Detail|Marriage/As a requirement for exaltation}} | ||
| − | |||
| Line 439: | Line 460: | ||
Elijah's sealing powers also enabled the [[second anointing]], or "fulness{{sic}} of the priesthood" | Elijah's sealing powers also enabled the [[second anointing]], or "fulness{{sic}} of the priesthood" | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=256}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Temples/Second anointing}} | *{{Detail|Temples/Second anointing}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 450: | Line 472: | ||
which, according to Smith, sealed married couples to their [[exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]], thus virtually guaranteeing their eternal godhood. | which, according to Smith, sealed married couples to their [[exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]], thus virtually guaranteeing their eternal godhood. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=294}} ("The ritual of the second anointing...granted a virtually unconditional promise of divinity in the celestial kingdom."); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=497–98}} (The second anointing ceremony "was Joseph's attempt to deal with the theological problem of assurance" of one's eternal life). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 461: | Line 483: | ||
During the early 1840s, Smith unfolded a theology of family relations called the "New and Everlasting Covenant" | During the early 1840s, Smith unfolded a theology of family relations called the "New and Everlasting Covenant" | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1909|pp=502–07}} (1842 revelation describing the New and Everlasting Covenant). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 470: | Line 492: | ||
that superseded all earthly bonds. | that superseded all earthly bonds. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|pp=161–62}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 479: | Line 501: | ||
He taught that outside the Covenant, marriages were simply matters of contract, | He taught that outside the Covenant, marriages were simply matters of contract, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|pp=161–62}} (quoting a source stating that in Smith's view, sex within earthly marriages was not sinful if the marriage was cemented by bonds of love and affection, but sex could be sinful even within marriage if the partners were alienated from each other). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 488: | Line 510: | ||
and Mormons outside the Covenant would be mere ministering angels to those within, who would be gods. | and Mormons outside the Covenant would be mere ministering angels to those within, who would be gods. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|p=145}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 497: | Line 519: | ||
To fully enter the Covenant, a man and woman must participate in a "[[endowment (Mormonism)|first anointing]]", a "[[sealing (Mormonism)|sealing]]" ceremony, and a "[[second anointing]]". | To fully enter the Covenant, a man and woman must participate in a "[[endowment (Mormonism)|first anointing]]", a "[[sealing (Mormonism)|sealing]]" ceremony, and a "[[second anointing]]". | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=497–98}} (those who were married eternally were then "sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise" through the second anointing); {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=256–57}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 506: | Line 528: | ||
When fully sealed into the Covenant, Smith said that no sin nor [[blasphemy]] (other than the [[eternal sin]]) could keep them from their [[exaltation (Mormonism)|"exaltation,"]] that is, their godhood in the afterlife. | When fully sealed into the Covenant, Smith said that no sin nor [[blasphemy]] (other than the [[eternal sin]]) could keep them from their [[exaltation (Mormonism)|"exaltation,"]] that is, their godhood in the afterlife. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1909|pp=502–03}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=497–98}} (the [[second anointing]] provided a guarantee that participants would be exalted even if they sinned); {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=257}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 515: | Line 537: | ||
According to Smith, only one person on earth at a time—in this case, Smith—could possess this power of sealing. | According to Smith, only one person on earth at a time—in this case, Smith—could possess this power of sealing. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1909|pp=501}} ("I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this Priesthood are conferred.") |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 524: | Line 546: | ||
Smith taught that the highest [[exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]] would be achieved through "[[Mormonism and polygamy|plural marriage]]" ([[polygamy]]), | Smith taught that the highest [[exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]] would be achieved through "[[Mormonism and polygamy|plural marriage]]" ([[polygamy]]), | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|pp=206–11}}; {{Harvtxt|Compton|1997|pp=11, 22–23}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|2008|pp=356}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=255}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=300}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=443}} (noting that a modern Mormon interpretation of Smith's 1843 polygamy revelation ties both polygamy an monogamy to degrees of exaltation). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and polygamy/Brigham Young said that the only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and polygamy/Brigham Young said that the only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 535: | Line 558: | ||
which was the ultimate manifestation of this New and Everlasting Covenant. | which was the ultimate manifestation of this New and Everlasting Covenant. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=108}} (polygamy and consequent progression towards godhood were "the true essence of becoming a Latter-day Saint, the heart of Mormon religion making."). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 544: | Line 567: | ||
Plural marriage allowed an individual to transcend the angelic state and become a god | Plural marriage allowed an individual to transcend the angelic state and become a god | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=105}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 553: | Line 576: | ||
by accelerating the expansion of one's heavenly kingdom. | by accelerating the expansion of one's heavenly kingdom. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|p=145}} ("[I]f marriage with one wife...could bring eternal progression and ultimate godhood for men, then multiple wives in this life and the next would accelerate the process, in line with God's promise to Abraham that his seed eventually would be as numerous as the sand on the sea shore."); {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=300}} ("[I]f a man went to heaven with ten wives, he would have more than ten-fold the blessings of a mere monogamist, for all the children begotten through these wives would enhance his kingdom."). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 562: | Line 585: | ||
Smith taught and practiced this doctrine secretly but publicly denied it. | Smith taught and practiced this doctrine secretly but publicly denied it. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=185–86, 246, 307, 321, 344, 374, 377}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=491}} (Smith denied he was advocating polygamy). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Hiding the truth}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Hiding the truth}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
| Line 573: | Line 598: | ||
Nevertheless, Smith taught that once he revealed the doctrine to any man or woman, failure to practice it would be to risk God's wrath. | Nevertheless, Smith taught that once he revealed the doctrine to any man or woman, failure to practice it would be to risk God's wrath. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1909|pp=501, 507}} ("[A]ll those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same;...and if ye abide not that covenant, then ye are damned." If a polygamist husband "teaches unto [his wife] the law of my Priesthood as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God, for I will destroy her."); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=438}} (noting the 1843 revelation about being "damned," and Smith's statements that unless he started to marry plural wives, an angel would slay him); {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=342}} (The 1843 revelation "threatened destruction to any wife who refused to accept the new law".) |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Did women turn Joseph down}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Did women turn Joseph down}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
| Line 586: | Line 613: | ||
Smith taught that during a [[Great Apostasy]], the [[Bible]] had degenerated from its original inerrant form, and the "abominable church," led by [[Satan]], had perverted true Christianity. | Smith taught that during a [[Great Apostasy]], the [[Bible]] had degenerated from its original inerrant form, and the "abominable church," led by [[Satan]], had perverted true Christianity. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Hullinger|1992|p=154}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 595: | Line 622: | ||
He viewed himself as the latter-day prophet who [[Restoration (Latter Day Saints)|restored]] those lost truths via the [[Book of Mormon]] | He viewed himself as the latter-day prophet who [[Restoration (Latter Day Saints)|restored]] those lost truths via the [[Book of Mormon]] | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Hullinger|1992|p=154-54}} (describing how the Book of Mormon solved various 19th century biblical controversies). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 604: | Line 631: | ||
and later revelations. He described the Book of Mormon as a literal "history of the origins of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]]." | and later revelations. He described the Book of Mormon as a literal "history of the origins of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]]." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=94}}; {{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=315}} ("The Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western tribes of Indians."). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Historicity}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Historicity}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
| Line 613: | Line 642: | ||
|title={{check}} | |title={{check}} | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
| − | The book called the Indians "[[Lamanite]]s," a people descended from [[Israelite]]s who had left | + | The book called the Indians "[[Lamanite]]s," a people descended from [[Israelite]]s who had left Jerusalem in 600 BCE |
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|1830|p=51}} ([[Jesus]] "cometh according to the words of the angel, in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem."); {{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=41}} ("Lamanites are a remnant" of the Jews). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 624: | Line 653: | ||
and whose skin pigmentation was a curse for their sinfulness. | and whose skin pigmentation was a curse for their sinfulness. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=43}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1830|p=73}} (God "caused the cursing to come upon them... because of their iniquity.... [W]herefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people, therefore the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them."). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Curse}} | *{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Curse}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 635: | Line 665: | ||
Though Smith first identified Mormons as [[gentile]]s, he began teaching in the 1830s that the Mormons, too, were literal [[Israelite]]s. | Though Smith first identified Mormons as [[gentile]]s, he began teaching in the 1830s that the Mormons, too, were literal [[Israelite]]s. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=213–14}} (arguing that the shift occurred after 1832 and may have related to [[Oliver Cowdery]]'s failed mission to the Missouri "[[Lamanite]]s"); {{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|pp=82–83}} (arguing that the identification of the Saints as literal Israelites was in place prior to 1838). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 644: | Line 674: | ||
Smith also claimed to have regained lost truths of sacred history through his revelations and [[Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible|revision of the Bible]]. For example, he taught that the [[Garden of Eden]] had been located in [[Jackson County, Missouri]], that Eve's partaking of the fruit was part of God's plan, | Smith also claimed to have regained lost truths of sacred history through his revelations and [[Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible|revision of the Bible]]. For example, he taught that the [[Garden of Eden]] had been located in [[Jackson County, Missouri]], that Eve's partaking of the fruit was part of God's plan, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #2 Nephi 2:22-25 |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Garden of Eden in Missouri}} | *{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Garden of Eden in Missouri}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 655: | Line 686: | ||
that [[Adam]] had practiced [[baptism]], that the descendants of [[Cain]] were "black," | that [[Adam]] had practiced [[baptism]], that the descendants of [[Cain]] were "black," | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=385}} (citing [[Book of Moses]] 7:22). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood/The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood/The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 666: | Line 698: | ||
that [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Enoch]] had built a [[Zion (Latter Day Saints)|city of Zion]] so perfect that it was [[Translation (Mormonism)|taken to heaven]], | that [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Enoch]] had built a [[Zion (Latter Day Saints)|city of Zion]] so perfect that it was [[Translation (Mormonism)|taken to heaven]], | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=138–41}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 675: | Line 707: | ||
that [[Egypt]] was discovered by the [[Egyptus|daughter of Ham]], | that [[Egypt]] was discovered by the [[Egyptus|daughter of Ham]], | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=288}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 684: | Line 716: | ||
that the descendants of [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]] were denied the [[Patriarchal Priesthood|patriarchal right of priesthood]], | that the descendants of [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]] were denied the [[Patriarchal Priesthood|patriarchal right of priesthood]], | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=288}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=385}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*The idea that the “mark of Cain” and the "curse of Ham" was a black skin is something that was used by many Protestants as a way to morally and biblically justify slavery. This idea did not originate with Latter-day Saints, although the existence of the priesthood ban prior to 1978 tends to cause some people to assume that it was a Latter-day Saint concept. | *The idea that the “mark of Cain” and the "curse of Ham" was a black skin is something that was used by many Protestants as a way to morally and biblically justify slavery. This idea did not originate with Latter-day Saints, although the existence of the priesthood ban prior to 1978 tends to cause some people to assume that it was a Latter-day Saint concept. | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood/The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood/The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 696: | Line 729: | ||
that [[Abraham]] had discovered [[astronomy|astronomical]] truths by peering into a [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]], | that [[Abraham]] had discovered [[astronomy|astronomical]] truths by peering into a [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]], | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=453–55}}. |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Book of Abraham/Astronomy}} | *{{Detail|Book of Abraham/Astronomy}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 707: | Line 741: | ||
that [[King David]] had been denied his [[exaltation (Mormonism)|godhood]] because of his sin, and that [[John the Apostle]] would walk the earth until the [[Second Coming]] of [[Jesus]]. | that [[King David]] had been denied his [[exaltation (Mormonism)|godhood]] because of his sin, and that [[John the Apostle]] would walk the earth until the [[Second Coming]] of [[Jesus]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=74}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 716: | Line 750: | ||
Smith declared that he would be one of the instruments in fulfilling [[Nebuchadnezzar]]'s [[Daniel 2|statue vision]] in the [[Book of Daniel]]: that he was the stone that would destroy secular government without "sword or gun", | Smith declared that he would be one of the instruments in fulfilling [[Nebuchadnezzar]]'s [[Daniel 2|statue vision]] in the [[Book of Daniel]]: that he was the stone that would destroy secular government without "sword or gun", | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=521}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 725: | Line 759: | ||
which would then be replaced with a theocratic [[Council of Fifty|Kingdom of God]]. | which would then be replaced with a theocratic [[Council of Fifty|Kingdom of God]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=356–57}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=521}}; {{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=90}} (Smith identified himself as the stone). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Mormonism and government/The Council of Fifty}} | *{{Detail|Mormonism and government/The Council of Fifty}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 736: | Line 771: | ||
Smith taught that this political kingdom would be multidenominational and [[theodemocracy|"democratic"]] so long as the people chose wisely; but there would be no elections. | Smith taught that this political kingdom would be multidenominational and [[theodemocracy|"democratic"]] so long as the people chose wisely; but there would be no elections. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=522–23}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 745: | Line 780: | ||
[[Jesus]] would appear during the [[Millennium]] as the ultimate ruler. Following a thousand years of peace, [[Judgment Day]] would be followed by a final [[resurrection]], when all humanity would be assigned to one of three [[Degrees of Glory|heavenly kingdoms]]. | [[Jesus]] would appear during the [[Millennium]] as the ultimate ruler. Following a thousand years of peace, [[Judgment Day]] would be followed by a final [[resurrection]], when all humanity would be assigned to one of three [[Degrees of Glory|heavenly kingdoms]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=521, 536–37}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 755: | Line 790: | ||
Smith ran for [[President of the United States]] in 1844, campaigning as "General Joseph Smith" because he had earlier been appointed [[Lieutenant General]] of the [[Nauvoo Legion]]. Smith considered the [[United States Constitution]], and especially the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]], to be inspired by God and "the Saints' best and perhaps only defense." | Smith ran for [[President of the United States]] in 1844, campaigning as "General Joseph Smith" because he had earlier been appointed [[Lieutenant General]] of the [[Nauvoo Legion]]. Smith considered the [[United States Constitution]], and especially the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]], to be inspired by God and "the Saints' best and perhaps only defense." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=377}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 764: | Line 799: | ||
He believed a strong central government crucial to the nation's well-being but thought [[democracy]] better than [[tyranny]]—although he also taught that a [[theocracy|theocratic]] [[monarchy]] was the ideal form of government. | He believed a strong central government crucial to the nation's well-being but thought [[democracy]] better than [[tyranny]]—although he also taught that a [[theocracy|theocratic]] [[monarchy]] was the ideal form of government. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=522}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 773: | Line 808: | ||
In foreign affairs, Smith was an [[expansionism|expansionist]], though he viewed "expansionism as brotherhood." | In foreign affairs, Smith was an [[expansionism|expansionist]], though he viewed "expansionism as brotherhood." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=516}}: "If Texas petitions Congress to be adopted among the sons of liberty, give her the right hand of fellowship; and refuse not the same friendly grip to Canada and Mexico." |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 782: | Line 817: | ||
Smith favored a strong [[central bank]] and high [[tariff]]s to protect American business and agriculture. He disfavored imprisonment of convicts except for murder, preferring efforts to reform criminals through labor; he also opposed [[court-martial|courts-martial]] for [[desertion|military deserters]]. He supported [[capital punishment]] but opposed [[hanging]], | Smith favored a strong [[central bank]] and high [[tariff]]s to protect American business and agriculture. He disfavored imprisonment of convicts except for murder, preferring efforts to reform criminals through labor; he also opposed [[court-martial|courts-martial]] for [[desertion|military deserters]]. He supported [[capital punishment]] but opposed [[hanging]], | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=435}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 791: | Line 826: | ||
preferring [[execution by firing squad]] or [[decapitation|beheading]] in order to "spill [the criminal's] blood on the ground, and let the smoke thereof ascend up to God." | preferring [[execution by firing squad]] or [[decapitation|beheading]] in order to "spill [the criminal's] blood on the ground, and let the smoke thereof ascend up to God." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1909|p=296}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 800: | Line 835: | ||
Despite having published a pro-[[slavery]] essay in 1836, | Despite having published a pro-[[slavery]] essay in 1836, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=289, 327–28}} (the essay "exhibited the conventional prejudiced of his day in asserting that blacks were cursed with servitude by a 'decree of Jehovah.'"); {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=381}} (noting that Smith did not want to be identified as an abolitionist, even when he disfavored [[slavery]]). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 809: | Line 844: | ||
Smith later strongly opposed slavery. | Smith later strongly opposed slavery. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=289}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|pp=380, 383}} (citing 1833 revelation stating that "it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another"). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 818: | Line 853: | ||
During his presidential campaign, he proposed abolishing slavery by 1850 and compensating slaveholders | During his presidential campaign, he proposed abolishing slavery by 1850 and compensating slaveholders | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=384}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 827: | Line 862: | ||
through sale of public lands. | through sale of public lands. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=516, 327–28}}. Smith also proposed cutting congressional pay from eight to two dollars per day and requiring only two representatives per million people, thus reducing the number of representatives in the [[United States House of Representatives|House]] to forty. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 836: | Line 871: | ||
Smith did not believe blacks to be genetically inferior to whites; | Smith did not believe blacks to be genetically inferior to whites; | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=289}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|pp=384–85}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 845: | Line 880: | ||
he welcomed both freemen and slaves into the church and even ordained free black members into the [[Priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|priesthood]] | he welcomed both freemen and slaves into the church and even ordained free black members into the [[Priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|priesthood]] | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=289}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|pp=381–82, 85}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 854: | Line 889: | ||
But he opposed baptizing slaves without permission of their masters, and he opposed [[miscegenation]]. | But he opposed baptizing slaves without permission of their masters, and he opposed [[miscegenation]]. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=289}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=379}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 864: | Line 899: | ||
Smith said his ethical rule was, "When the Lord commands, do it"; | Smith said his ethical rule was, "When the Lord commands, do it"; | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1904|p=170}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 873: | Line 908: | ||
and by issuing revelations, Smith supplemented biblical imperatives with new directives. One of these revelations, called the "[[Word of Wisdom]]," was framed not as a commandment, but as a recommendation. Coming at a time of [[temperance]] agitation, | and by issuing revelations, Smith supplemented biblical imperatives with new directives. One of these revelations, called the "[[Word of Wisdom]]," was framed not as a commandment, but as a recommendation. Coming at a time of [[temperance]] agitation, | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=166}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=212}} (revelation "came at a time when temperance and food reforms were flourishing in the United States"). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 882: | Line 917: | ||
the guideline recommended that Saints avoid "strong" alcoholic drinks, wine (except [[Sacrament (Latter Day Saints)|sacramental]] wine), tobacco, meat (except in times of famine or cold weather), and "hot drinks." | the guideline recommended that Saints avoid "strong" alcoholic drinks, wine (except [[Sacrament (Latter Day Saints)|sacramental]] wine), tobacco, meat (except in times of famine or cold weather), and "hot drinks." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Smith|1835|loc=sec. LXXX, 207-08}} |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 891: | Line 926: | ||
Smith and other contemporary church leaders did not always follow this counsel. | Smith and other contemporary church leaders did not always follow this counsel. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=289}} (Smith drank wine "with relish" and noted his drinking in his journal "without apology."); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=213}} ("Joseph drank tea and a glass of wine from time to time."); {{Harvtxt|Ostling|1999|pp=177–78}} (Smith "himself liked a nip every now and then, especially at weddings." His own [[Joseph Smith Mansion House|Mansion House]], which operated a hotel, maintained a fully stocked barroom, and Nauvoo also had a brewery that advertised in the church newspaper." According to Smith's fellow prisoner John Taylor, "the prophet requested and drank wine at Carthage Jail the night before his was murdered in 1844."). |
| − | | | + | |authorsources=<br> |
| + | # | ||
| + | }} | ||
*{{Detail|Word of Wisdom/Joseph Smith used tea}} | *{{Detail|Word of Wisdom/Joseph Smith used tea}} | ||
*{{Detail|Word of Wisdom/Joseph Smith sold liquor in Nauvoo}} | *{{Detail|Word of Wisdom/Joseph Smith sold liquor in Nauvoo}} | ||
| − | |||
===== ===== | ===== ===== | ||
| Line 903: | Line 939: | ||
In 1831, Smith taught that those who kept the laws of God had "no need to break the laws of the land." | In 1831, Smith taught that those who kept the laws of God had "no need to break the laws of the land." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=135}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 912: | Line 948: | ||
Nevertheless, beginning in the mid-1830s and into the 1840s, as the Mormon people became involved in conflicts with the Missouri and Illinois state governments, Smith taught that "congress has no power to make a law that would abridge the rights of my religion," and that they were not under the obligation to follow laws they deemed as being contrary to their "religious privilege." | Nevertheless, beginning in the mid-1830s and into the 1840s, as the Mormon people became involved in conflicts with the Missouri and Illinois state governments, Smith taught that "congress has no power to make a law that would abridge the rights of my religion," and that they were not under the obligation to follow laws they deemed as being contrary to their "religious privilege." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=88}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 923: | Line 959: | ||
<blockquote>that which is wrong under one circumstance, may be and often is, right under another. God said thou shalt not kill—at another time he said thou shalt utterly destroy. This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted—by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the elders of the kingdom are placed. Whatever God requires is right...even things which may be considered abominable to all those who do not understand the order of heaven.</blockquote> | <blockquote>that which is wrong under one circumstance, may be and often is, right under another. God said thou shalt not kill—at another time he said thou shalt utterly destroy. This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted—by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the elders of the kingdom are placed. Whatever God requires is right...even things which may be considered abominable to all those who do not understand the order of heaven.</blockquote> | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=112}} (quoting a letter Smith wrote to the 19 year old daughter of [[Sidney Rigdon]] to justify Smith's polygamous proposal to her). |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 932: | Line 968: | ||
Smith may thus have felt justified in promoting polygamy despite its violation of both traditional ethical standards and the criminal law. | Smith may thus have felt justified in promoting polygamy despite its violation of both traditional ethical standards and the criminal law. | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=88–89}}. |
}} | }} | ||
| Line 941: | Line 977: | ||
In 1842 Smith published the "Articles of Faith," a short document later canonized, which declared that members of the church believed in "honoring, obeying, and sustaining the law." | In 1842 Smith published the "Articles of Faith," a short document later canonized, which declared that members of the church believed in "honoring, obeying, and sustaining the law." | ||
|authorsources=<br> | |authorsources=<br> | ||
| − | # | + | #12th Article of Faith. Pearl of Great Price. |
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{To_learn_more_box:anti-Mormon_literature_and_Wikipedia}} | |
| − | {{ | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | {{ | + | {{Endnotes sources}} |
Latest revision as of 20:12, 11 May 2024
FAIR Answers—back to home page
An analysis of Wikipedia article "Joseph Smith"
| Death | A FairMormon Analysis of Wikipedia: "Joseph Smith" A work by a collaboration of authors (Link to Wikipedia article here)
|
Legacy |
| The name Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. Wikipedia content is copied and made available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
Distinctive views and teachings
Cosmology and theology Updated 9/3/2011
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith taught that all existence was material,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Creation/Creatio ex nihilo
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
including a world of "spirit matter" so fine that it was invisible to all but the purest mortal eyes.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Matter, in Smith's view, could neither be created nor destroyed;Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Creation/Creatio ex nihilo
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
the creation involved only the reorganization of existing matter.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Creation/Creatio ex nihilo
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Like matter, "intelligence" was co-eternal with God, and human spirits had been drawn from a pre-existent pool of eternal intelligences.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Embodiment, therefore, was the purpose of earth life.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
The work and glory of God, the supreme intelligence,Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , pp. 455–56 (arguing that in Smith's theology, God's authority arose not from being an ex nihilo creator, but from having the greatest intelligence).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
was to create worlds across the cosmos where inferior intelligences could be embodied.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Though Smith at first taught that God the Father was a spirit,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/God is a Spirit
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/God is a Spirit/Lecture of Faith 5 teaches the Father is "a personage of spirit"
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
he eventually viewed God as an advanced and glorified man,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/"God is a man"
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
embodied within spaceAuthor's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 421 ("Piece by piece, Joseph redefined the nature of God, giving Him a form and a body and locating Him in time and space."); Bloom (1992) , p. 101 ("Joseph Smith's God...is finite.... Exalted now into the heavens, God necessarily is still subject to the contingencies of time and space.").
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
with a throne situated near a star or planet named Kolob, and measuring time at the rate of a thousand years per Kolob day.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Abraham/Kolob
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Abraham/Astronomy/Revolution Time
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Both God the Father and Jesus were distinct beings with physical bodies, but the Holy Spirit was a "personage of Spirit."Author's sources:
- Roberts (1909) , p. 325.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Through the gradual acquisition of knowledge,Author's sources:
- Larson (1978) , p. 7 (online ver.).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
those who were sealed to their exaltation could eventually become coequal with God.Author's sources:
- Widmer (2000) , p. 119.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
The ability of humans to progress to godhood implied a vast hierarchy of gods.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Each of these gods, in turn, would rule a kingdom of inferior intelligences, and so forth in an eternal hierarchy.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man/Gods of their own planets
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
The opportunity to achieve godhood extended to all humanity; those who died with no opportunity to accept Latter Day Saint theology could achieve godhood by accepting its benefit in the afterlife through baptism for the dead.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and temples/Baptism for the dead
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Children who died in their innocence were guaranteed to rise at the resurrection and rule as gods without maturing to adulthood.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Violates Wikipedia: Citing sources off-site— There is either no citation to support the statement or the citation given is incorrect.
Violated by COgden —Diff: off-site
The cited source says nothing about children rising to "rule as gods without maturing to adulthood." Joseph Smith said that "children would be raised in the resurrection just as they were laid down, and that they would obtain all the intelligence necessary to occupy thrones, principalities and powers.” (History of the Church, volume 4, page 556.) Children will rise from the resurrection as children, but they will be raised to maturity. There is no Mormon doctrine of "immature gods."
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Apart from those who committed the eternal sin, Smith taught that even the wicked and disbelieving would achieve a degree of glory in the afterlife,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
where they would serve those who had achieved godhood.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Violates Wikipedia: Citing sources off-site— There is either no citation to support the statement or the citation given is incorrect.
The Bushman reference refers to those who are not married by priesthood authority, not the "wicked and disbelieving." Bushman states that "the worldly wed became single again, and a permanent cap limited their progress." Ne notes that they are appointed "angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory." - Violates Wikipedia: Synthesis off-site: Do not put together information from multiple sources to reach a conclusion that is not stated explicitly by any of the sources.
This passage coupled with the previous one constitutes Wikipedia synthesis. The second Bushman passage referring to eternal marriage is used in the Wikipedia article to make a point about those who are "wicked and disbelieving."
Religious authority and ritual
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith's teachings were rooted in dispensational restorationism.Author's sources:
- Brooke (1994) , p. 33.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
He saw his teachings and the Church of Christ as a restoration of early Christian ideals that had been lost in a great apostasy.Author's sources:
- Remini (2000) , p. 84.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
At first, Smith's church had little sense of hierarchy, Smith's religious authority being derived from visions and revelations.Author's sources:
- Quinn (1994) , p. 7 (describing Smith's earliest earliest authority as charismatic authority).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Though Smith did not claim exclusive prophethood,Author's sources:
- Quinn (1994) , pp. 7–8.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
an early revelation designated him as the only prophet allowed to issue commandments "as Moses."Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , pp. 121, 175; Phelps (1833) , p. 67 ("[N]o one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church, excepting my servant Joseph, for he receiveth them even as Moses.").
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
This religious authority encompassed economic and political as well as spiritual matters. For instance, in the early 1830s, he temporarily instituted a form of religious communism, called the United Order, requiring Saints to consecrate all their property to the church.Author's sources:
- Brodie (1972) , pp. 106, 112, 121–22.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
He also envisioned that theocratic institutions he established would have a role in the world-wide political organization of the Millennium.Author's sources:
- Quinn (1994) , pp. 111–12, 115 (describing the expected role of the Council of Fifty).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
By the mid-1830s, Smith began teaching a hierarchy of three priesthoods (Melchizedek, Aaronic, and Patriarchal),Author's sources:
- Quinn (1994) , pp. 27–34; Bushman (2005) , pp. 264–65.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
each of them a continuation of biblical priesthoods through patrilineal succession or ordination by biblical figures appearing in visions.Author's sources:
- Quinn (1994) , p. 7.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Upon introducing the Melchizedek or "High" Priesthood in 1831,Author's sources:
- Brodie (1971) , p. 111;Bushman (2005) , pp. 156–60; Quinn (1994) , pp. 31–32;Roberts (1902) , pp. 175–76 (On 3 June 1831, "the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood was manifested and conferred for the first time upon several of the Elders.").
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith taught that its recipients would be "endowed with power from on high," thus fulfilling a need for a greater holiness and an authority commensurate with the New Testament apostles.Author's sources:
- Prince (1995) , pp. 19, 115–116, 119 (noting influence ofSidney Rigdon in developing this idea); Gospel of Luke 24:49 (Authorized King James Version) ("And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endowed with power from on high.").
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
This doctrine of endowment evolved through the 1830s,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Temples/Endowment
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
until in 1842, the Nauvoo endowment included an elaborate ceremony containing symbolism similar to that of Freemasonry.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Temples/Endowment/Freemasonry
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
The endowment was extended to women in 1843,Author's sources:
- Prince (1995) , p. 140.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
though Smith never clarified whether women could be ordained to priesthood offices.Author's sources:
- Prince (1995) , p. 201.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith taught that the High Priesthood's endowment of heavenly power included the sealing powers of Elijah, allowing High Priests to effect binding consequences in the afterlife.Author's sources:
- Brooke (1994) , pp. 30, 194–95, 203, 208 (Smith introduced the sealing power in 1831 as part of the High Priesthood, and then attributed this power to Elijah after he appeared in an 1836 vision in the Kirtland Temple).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
For example, this power would enable proxy baptisms for the deadAuthor's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Baptism for the dead
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
and priesthood marriages that would be effective into the afterlife.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Marriage/As a requirement for exaltation
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Elijah's sealing powers also enabled the second anointing, or "fulness(sic) of the priesthood"Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Temples/Second anointing
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
which, according to Smith, sealed married couples to their exaltation, thus virtually guaranteeing their eternal godhood.Author's sources:
- Brooke (1994) , p. 294 ("The ritual of the second anointing...granted a virtually unconditional promise of divinity in the celestial kingdom."); Bushman (2005) , pp. 497–98 (The second anointing ceremony "was Joseph's attempt to deal with the theological problem of assurance" of one's eternal life).
FAIR's Response
Theology of family
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
During the early 1840s, Smith unfolded a theology of family relations called the "New and Everlasting Covenant"Author's sources:
- Roberts (1909) , pp. 502–07 (1842 revelation describing the New and Everlasting Covenant).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
that superseded all earthly bonds.Author's sources:
- Foster (1981) , pp. 161–62.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
He taught that outside the Covenant, marriages were simply matters of contract,Author's sources:
- Foster (1981) , pp. 161–62 (quoting a source stating that in Smith's view, sex within earthly marriages was not sinful if the marriage was cemented by bonds of love and affection, but sex could be sinful even within marriage if the partners were alienated from each other).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
and Mormons outside the Covenant would be mere ministering angels to those within, who would be gods.Author's sources:
- Foster (1981) , p. 145.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
To fully enter the Covenant, a man and woman must participate in a "first anointing", a "sealing" ceremony, and a "second anointing".Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , pp. 497–98 (those who were married eternally were then "sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise" through the second anointing); Brooke (1994) , pp. 256–57.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
When fully sealed into the Covenant, Smith said that no sin nor blasphemy (other than the eternal sin) could keep them from their "exaltation," that is, their godhood in the afterlife.Author's sources:
- Roberts (1909) , pp. 502–03; Bushman (2005) , pp. 497–98 (the second anointing provided a guarantee that participants would be exalted even if they sinned); Brooke (1994) , p. 257.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
According to Smith, only one person on earth at a time—in this case, Smith—could possess this power of sealing.Author's sources:
- Roberts (1909) , pp. 501 ("I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this Priesthood are conferred.")
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith taught that the highest exaltation would be achieved through "plural marriage" (polygamy),Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and polygamy/Brigham Young said that the only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
which was the ultimate manifestation of this New and Everlasting Covenant.Author's sources:
- Bloom (1992) , p. 108 (polygamy and consequent progression towards godhood were "the true essence of becoming a Latter-day Saint, the heart of Mormon religion making.").
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Plural marriage allowed an individual to transcend the angelic state and become a godAuthor's sources:
- Bloom (1992) , p. 105.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
by accelerating the expansion of one's heavenly kingdom.Author's sources:
- Foster (1981) , p. 145 ("[I]f marriage with one wife...could bring eternal progression and ultimate godhood for men, then multiple wives in this life and the next would accelerate the process, in line with God's promise to Abraham that his seed eventually would be as numerous as the sand on the sea shore."); Brodie (1971) , p. 300 ("[I]f a man went to heaven with ten wives, he would have more than ten-fold the blessings of a mere monogamist, for all the children begotten through these wives would enhance his kingdom.").
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith taught and practiced this doctrine secretly but publicly denied it.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Hiding the truth
}}
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Nevertheless, Smith taught that once he revealed the doctrine to any man or woman, failure to practice it would be to risk God's wrath.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Did women turn Joseph down
}}
History and eschatology
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith taught that during a Great Apostasy, the Bible had degenerated from its original inerrant form, and the "abominable church," led by Satan, had perverted true Christianity.Author's sources:
- Hullinger (1992) , p. 154.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
He viewed himself as the latter-day prophet who restored those lost truths via the Book of MormonAuthor's sources:
- Hullinger (1992) , p. 154-54 (describing how the Book of Mormon solved various 19th century biblical controversies).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
and later revelations. He described the Book of Mormon as a literal "history of the origins of the Indians."Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Historicity
}}
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
The book called the Indians "Lamanites," a people descended from Israelites who had left Jerusalem in 600 BCEAuthor's sources:
- Smith (1830) , p. 51 (Jesus "cometh according to the words of the angel, in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem."); Phelps (1833) , p. 41 ("Lamanites are a remnant" of the Jews).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
and whose skin pigmentation was a curse for their sinfulness.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Curse
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Though Smith first identified Mormons as gentiles, he began teaching in the 1830s that the Mormons, too, were literal Israelites.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith also claimed to have regained lost truths of sacred history through his revelations and revision of the Bible. For example, he taught that the Garden of Eden had been located in Jackson County, Missouri, that Eve's partaking of the fruit was part of God's plan,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Joseph Smith/Garden of Eden in Missouri
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
that Adam had practiced baptism, that the descendants of Cain were "black,"Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood/The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
that Enoch had built a city of Zion so perfect that it was taken to heaven,Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , pp. 138–41.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
that Egypt was discovered by the daughter of Ham,Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 288.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
that the descendants of Ham were denied the patriarchal right of priesthood,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- The idea that the “mark of Cain” and the "curse of Ham" was a black skin is something that was used by many Protestants as a way to morally and biblically justify slavery. This idea did not originate with Latter-day Saints, although the existence of the priesthood ban prior to 1978 tends to cause some people to assume that it was a Latter-day Saint concept.
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood/The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
that Abraham had discovered astronomical truths by peering into a Urim and Thummim,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Book of Abraham/Astronomy
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
that King David had been denied his godhood because of his sin, and that John the Apostle would walk the earth until the Second Coming of Jesus.Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 74.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith declared that he would be one of the instruments in fulfilling Nebuchadnezzar's statue vision in the Book of Daniel: that he was the stone that would destroy secular government without "sword or gun",Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , pp. 521.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
which would then be replaced with a theocratic Kingdom of God.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Mormonism and government/The Council of Fifty
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith taught that this political kingdom would be multidenominational and "democratic" so long as the people chose wisely; but there would be no elections.Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , pp. 522–23.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Jesus would appear during the Millennium as the ultimate ruler. Following a thousand years of peace, Judgment Day would be followed by a final resurrection, when all humanity would be assigned to one of three heavenly kingdoms.Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , pp. 521, 536–37.
FAIR's Response
Political views
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith ran for President of the United States in 1844, campaigning as "General Joseph Smith" because he had earlier been appointed Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion. Smith considered the United States Constitution, and especially the Bill of Rights, to be inspired by God and "the Saints' best and perhaps only defense."Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 377.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
He believed a strong central government crucial to the nation's well-being but thought democracy better than tyranny—although he also taught that a theocratic monarchy was the ideal form of government.Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 522.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
In foreign affairs, Smith was an expansionist, though he viewed "expansionism as brotherhood."Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 516: "If Texas petitions Congress to be adopted among the sons of liberty, give her the right hand of fellowship; and refuse not the same friendly grip to Canada and Mexico."
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith favored a strong central bank and high tariffs to protect American business and agriculture. He disfavored imprisonment of convicts except for murder, preferring efforts to reform criminals through labor; he also opposed courts-martial for military deserters. He supported capital punishment but opposed hanging,Author's sources:
- Roberts (1902) , p. 435.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
preferring execution by firing squad or beheading in order to "spill [the criminal's] blood on the ground, and let the smoke thereof ascend up to God."Author's sources:
- Roberts (1909) , p. 296.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Despite having published a pro-slavery essay in 1836,Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , pp. 289, 327–28 (the essay "exhibited the conventional prejudiced of his day in asserting that blacks were cursed with servitude by a 'decree of Jehovah.'"); Hill (1977) , p. 381 (noting that Smith did not want to be identified as an abolitionist, even when he disfavored slavery).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith later strongly opposed slavery.Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 289; Hill (1977) , pp. 380, 383 (citing 1833 revelation stating that "it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another").
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
During his presidential campaign, he proposed abolishing slavery by 1850 and compensating slaveholdersAuthor's sources:
- Hill (1977) , p. 384.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
through sale of public lands.Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , pp. 516, 327–28. Smith also proposed cutting congressional pay from eight to two dollars per day and requiring only two representatives per million people, thus reducing the number of representatives in the House to forty.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith did not believe blacks to be genetically inferior to whites;Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 289; Hill (1977) , pp. 384–85.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
he welcomed both freemen and slaves into the church and even ordained free black members into the priesthoodAuthor's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 289; Hill (1977) , pp. 381–82, 85.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
But he opposed baptizing slaves without permission of their masters, and he opposed miscegenation.Author's sources:
- Bushman (2005) , p. 289; Hill (1977) , p. 379.
FAIR's Response
Ethics and behavior
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith said his ethical rule was, "When the Lord commands, do it";Author's sources:
- Roberts (1904) , p. 170.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
and by issuing revelations, Smith supplemented biblical imperatives with new directives. One of these revelations, called the "Word of Wisdom," was framed not as a commandment, but as a recommendation. Coming at a time of temperance agitation,Author's sources:
- Brodie (1971) , p. 166; Bushman (2005) , p. 212 (revelation "came at a time when temperance and food reforms were flourishing in the United States").
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
the guideline recommended that Saints avoid "strong" alcoholic drinks, wine (except sacramental wine), tobacco, meat (except in times of famine or cold weather), and "hot drinks."Author's sources:
- Smith (1835)
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith and other contemporary church leaders did not always follow this counsel.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- For a detailed response, see: Word of Wisdom/Joseph Smith used tea
- For a detailed response, see: Word of Wisdom/Joseph Smith sold liquor in Nauvoo
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
In 1831, Smith taught that those who kept the laws of God had "no need to break the laws of the land."Author's sources:
- Phelps (1833) , p. 135.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Nevertheless, beginning in the mid-1830s and into the 1840s, as the Mormon people became involved in conflicts with the Missouri and Illinois state governments, Smith taught that "congress has no power to make a law that would abridge the rights of my religion," and that they were not under the obligation to follow laws they deemed as being contrary to their "religious privilege."Author's sources:
- Quinn (1994) , p. 88.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
He also taught that:that which is wrong under one circumstance, may be and often is, right under another. God said thou shalt not kill—at another time he said thou shalt utterly destroy. This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted—by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the elders of the kingdom are placed. Whatever God requires is right...even things which may be considered abominable to all those who do not understand the order of heaven.Author's sources:
- Quinn (1994) , p. 112 (quoting a letter Smith wrote to the 19 year old daughter of Sidney Rigdon to justify Smith's polygamous proposal to her).
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
Smith may thus have felt justified in promoting polygamy despite its violation of both traditional ethical standards and the criminal law.Author's sources:
- Quinn (1994) , pp. 88–89.
FAIR's Response
The author(s) of Check link or content make(s) the following claim:
In 1842 Smith published the "Articles of Faith," a short document later canonized, which declared that members of the church believed in "honoring, obeying, and sustaining the law."Author's sources:
- 12th Article of Faith. Pearl of Great Price.
FAIR's Response
Notes