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From: dennis@beesvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: The case against the Book of Mormon
Message-ID: <149@beesvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 4-Aug-83 09:28:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: beesvax.149
Posted: Thu Aug  4 09:28:08 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 5-Aug-83 22:34:10 EDT
Organization: Beehive International, SLC, UT
Lines: 91


     I  don't  wish  to  argue,  but  simply  present  the  facts 
concerning  the Prophet Joseph Smith and his  character.  Imagine 
you  are walking thru a park and you come upon a group of  people 
gathered around a pompus looking man in a plaid suit.  As you get 
closer  you hear what the man is saying.  Says he:  "These Smiths 
while  living  in Palmyra and Manchester are said  to  have  been 
lazy,  shiftless, intemperate, and untruthful. They opened a shop 
in Palmyra where they sold cakes,  pies, root beer, and the like; 
and  that on public occasions,  such as the 4th of July,  militia 
training days,  and election days,  the elder Smith would load  a 
rude hand cart, made by himself, with these wares and SALLY FORTH 
(!) to find such patronage as might come to hand.  They have been 
dishonest  and guilty of stealing from their neighbors!" (At this 
point,  the ladies gasp and the men mumble and nod their heads at 
each other.)
     This scenario was first espoused by an author named  Pomeroy 
Tucker in his book "Origin,  Rise and Progress of Mormonism". The 
basis for his argument were the affidavits mentioned by Mr. White 
that were gathered from some eighty neihbors of the Smith family. 
Lets consider the origins if these so-called affidavits.
     In June of 1833 a "Dr." Philastus Hurlburt was expelled from 
the "Mormon" church for immoral conduct. About a year later, this 
same  Hurlburt  was arrested and jailed because he threatened  to 
kill Joseph Smith.  Before his arrest, he was asked by a group of 
anti-"Mormons" to go to Palmyra, N.Y. and Harmony, PA. and gather 
all he could about the Smith family.  These affidavits where  the 
result.
     A  number  of  authors (non-mormon) have  discredited  these 
affidavits.  Riley,  author of "Founder of Mormonism"  says:  "No 
reliance  is to be placed in the mulitiple affidavits of  jealous 
neighbors,  .  .  people  in those days had the affidavit habit." 
Another  non-mormon author said:  Some portion of this  may  have 
been  dictacted  by envy,  malice or that form  of  righteousness 
which  controls men at times when their neighbors have been  more 
successful  than  themselves." Even Hurlburt  discredits  himself 
because of his extreme hatred of the church and Joseph Smith. How 
objective  could he possibly be in gaining these affidavits?  But 
the  ulimate comes from Tucker himself in his book when  he  says 
that the Smith family "secured a scanty but honest living" and on 
the very next page accuses them of being thieves and dishonest. I 
believe this says something obvious about their credibility.
     Concerning  the  trial of N.Y.  vs Joseph Smith  there  were 
actually  two.  The  first trial came about when the Prohpet  was 
accused  by  some  local ministers  of  "disorderly  conduct  and 
preaching  the  Book  of Mormon,  and setting the country  in  an 
uproar." The charges were totally dismissed by the judge  (Joseph 
Chamberlain  J.P.)  but  other irrelevent charges  sprang  forth. 
These  included using prophetic gifts (magic  stones,  etc.)  for 
material gain. A Josiah Stoal was put on the stand concerning the 
purchase of a horse. The transcript is as follows:

"Did  not  he [Joseph Smith] go to you an tell you that an  angel 
had  appeared unto him and authorized him to  get the horse  from 
you?"
"NO, HE TOLD ME NO SUCH STORY."
"Well, how had he the horse of you?"
"HE BOUGHT HIM OF ME AS ANY OTHER MAN WOULD."
"Have you had your pay?"
"I HOLD HIS NOTE FOR THE PRICE OF THE HORSE,  WHICH I CONSIDER AS 
GOOD AS THE PAY; FOR I KNOW HIM TO BE AN HONEST MAN."

     The  judge dimissed the fabricated charges and  the  Prophet 
was  set  free.  No sooner did this happen when he  was  arrested 
again  by  an  officer from Coleville about 15  miles  away.  The 
charges  were "being possesed of an evil spirit" (witch  trials?) 
and "money digging".  He was again brought to trial (#2) where he 
was found "NOT GUILTY" (!!).  Walter R.  Martin in his book  "The 
Kingdom of the Cults" was in total error.
     Demosthenes,  in  his oration on "The Duties of the  State", 
said:  "It  can  never be that your spirit is generous and  noble 
while you are engaged in petty,  mean employments;  no more  than 
you  can  be  abject  and meanspirited  while  your  actions  are 
honorable  and glorious.  Whatever be the pursuits of men,  their 
sentiments  must  necessarily  be similar." If  you  were  "lazy, 
shifless,  and untruthful" could you endure more that 30 years of 
torment,  trials  on trumpted up charges,  tar  and  featherings, 
beatings,  and  every other inhumanity man can inflict on another 
man including death?
     Because  of time constraints (gotta go to work) I won't  get 
into  the  incredibly  ridiculous  charges  on  Book  of   Mormon 
falsehoods. Besides, Russ (dadla-a!russ) can better do that since 
he has obviously studied it in great depth. I will simply say, to 
close,  that  before  you accept  a lot of half-baked  falsehoods 
about the Prophet or his family,  get the whole story and keep an 
open mind.  Don't get into it with a lot of pre-conceived notions 
that it is going to be true or false before you begin.  You won't 
get anywhere.

>From the worked-over keyboard of Dennis McCurdy
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(..beesvax!dennis)