Very interested in opinions of #Mormons and non-Mormons on what *really* happened with Joseph Smith and the revelations. Please serious responses only.
This coming as I finish reading "Rough Stone Rolling" by practicing Mormon Richard Lyman Bushman.
Would love a little signal-boost on this, Tweeps with larger followings @SamRochadotcom @ChasePadusniak @jdflynn @_CLancellotti
For a non-Mormon Christian, divine inspiration is untenable. God would not inspire a religion that denies or alters literally every orthodox Christian doctrine. (Sidebar: there’s also an interesting question about how Catholics view the reformation here)
If he were earnest in his belief about visions of angels, but they did not actually occur, where are they from? Creations of a religious imagination aquainted and disillusioned with various 2nd Great Awakening Protestant churches?
This would explain his experiences but leave the texts (and supposed golden plates) bit of a mystery.
Either the plates did exist, and Joseph either received, imagined, or invented their translation, or they did not, and he either imagined or invented the whole thing.
But Bushman (a practicing Mormon) points out that, with his lack of education, the idea that Joseph fabricated the translations is far-fetched at best. Had he done so, he would have had to trick all his scribes, including his wife, into thinking he was translating.
The fact that they were willing to give up everything, including in some cases their lives, for their belief in him, makes a giant conspiracy look next-to-impossible.
They firmly believed that he was translating texts given by the angel. Could he have duped them all?
They firmly believed that he was translating texts given by the angel. Could he have duped them all?
It’s possible, but it makes the 23 year old Joseph into a master con artist. He would have to have been reading a text, or making it up off the cuff. The latter is beyond his abilities.
Had he written the text in advance, and only pretended to translate, he would have been pulling off an amazing feat of invention in an unbelievably short amount of time. With the Book of Mormons numerous overlapping stories and varied styles, it’s hard to imagine.
Maybe someone else wrote the texts and gave them to Joseph.
This explanation lacks any physical evidence, despite a lot of effort on the part of those seeking to discredit Mormonism. It also leaves the question of how he duped his scribes unanswered.
This explanation lacks any physical evidence, despite a lot of effort on the part of those seeking to discredit Mormonism. It also leaves the question of how he duped his scribes unanswered.
It also ignores his own complete conviction in the reality of his work.
I include all these thoughts to show that the question is not easily answered by those of us who are convinced that he was not actually visited by an angel.
It also helps show why the possibility of demonic influence is worth consideration.
