tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577433100233207637.post4695034913202693392..comments2023-01-27T12:49:52.871-08:00Comments on Confessions of an Elder: Part 2 - A Case for Joseph Smith; A Case Against PolygamyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527302146988002738noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577433100233207637.post-1798867455077970932014-08-10T14:01:00.501-07:002014-08-10T14:01:00.501-07:00Hello Second to One. Thank you for reading. At on...Hello Second to One. Thank you for reading. At one time, I certainly shared your concerns regarding Joseph supposedly marrying a fourteen and sixteen year old. See Part 1. I also never questioned the veracity of it since it was supported by pro-Mormon historians. They were wrong and I was certainly wrong! Joseph was innocent of polygamy.<br /><br />I would recommend that you read through each part of the entire 10-part series "A Case for Joseph Smith; A Case Against Polygamy." I go into much more detail in answering your questions. The short answer to your question, which I believe is proven in the 10-part series, is that all of those historians have operated under the wrong assumption. The affidavits and journals (all written dozens of years after Joseph's death) are fraudulent. Joseph was monogamous until his murder. Brigham Young used his authority to influence many women and men in Utah to falsify their testimonies in support of the abhorrent doctrine. Once you weigh the evidence (e.g., not one child has been discovered through DNA to be the offspring of one of Joseph's supposed plural wives, the falsification of Church records by Young and his followers, Joseph's denunciations of polygamy, Joseph's family's contrary claims, etc.), I believe that you will also conclude that those historians have simply neglected the issue.<br /><br />First, we have an interesting agreement between pro-Mormon historians and anti-Mormon historians - they never question whether Joseph Smith practiced polygamy (e.g., both pro- and anti- Mormon historians believe Joseph married a 14-year old girl when he was 37 and engaged in adultery by marrying women that were already married). However, at least several historians have expressed their confusion regarding Joseph and polygamy (e.g., see the quotes of Van Wagoner in the 10-part series). Van Wagoner did not understand why Joseph so vehemently and repeatedly denounced polygamy while Joseph supposedly practiced it in secret.<br /><br />Thus, mainstream or pro-Mormon historians never question the affidavits of Joseph's supposed plural wives and the anti-Mormon historians only support the same claims since it casts Mormonism in an immoral light. They read the same affidavits and journal entries without ever questioning the possibility that they were falsified even though they were written dozens of years after Joseph's death. Because the pro- and anti- sides of Mormonism have always assumed the polygamous stories were true, very few historians have ever attempted to question the underlying issue of whether Joseph truly practiced or revealed polygamy. That is why the work of Richard and Pamela Price is so amazing. I don't suspect that you ever will have a pro- or anti- Mormon historian who will examine the issue due to their inherent beliefs, at least not until we can raise a big enough furor over the topic.<br /><br />Second, as proven in my series and more professionally established in the Price's book, Brigham Young and his followers were liars and deliberately falsified affidavits and records. Without question, D&C Section 132 was a complete fabrication. See my latest post on William Clayton. If Brigham was so willing to fabricate a false revelation under the name of Joseph Smith, he certainly would not have been opposed to having others falsify their testimonies. What is also interesting, is that all of the people who recorded the affidavits and polygamous journal entries were practicing polygamists in Utah. Most, if not all, of the women affiants were polygamous wives to the Utah LDS Church leaders. It is clear, that they could have been influenced to falsify their testimonies just as Brigham Young.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08527302146988002738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577433100233207637.post-19167448407407728322014-06-17T13:37:45.564-07:002014-06-17T13:37:45.564-07:00Hi Benjamin, I'm an investigator, and maybe yo...Hi Benjamin, I'm an investigator, and maybe you can help me on this issue. As much as I can appreciate your sincerity in your desire to defend Joseph Smith, how do you get around the fact so many LDS historians list somewhere between 27 and 55 plural wives of Joseph Smith. Most troubling to me, personally, are the 11 who were married to living men and the 14 and 16 year-old's who recorded their prophet's proposals in their journals. Your thoughts are appreciated.Second to Onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16510637804406579610noreply@blogger.com