The Providential Environment of Joseph Smith's Youth

The following is the new introduction for my paper which offers a good summary of my thesis. If anyone wants to read the whole thing (I desperately need a proof reader who actually is aware of Latter-day Saint history), drop me an e-mail.


"As a teenager, Joseph Smith made remarkable spiritual claims. He said that he had been visited by God, who informed him that all denominations were wrong and their creeds “an abomination in his sight.”¹ Later he claimed that an angel appeared to him at night, describing an ancient book of scripture buried in a nearby hill; according to Joseph, the same angel would make numerous appearances during the next several years.² Although difficult to believe, to Joseph Smith the visions were an authentic reality that he refused to recant, even in the face of enormous persecution; as he put it, “I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it.”³ For well over a century, these visions and what they represent have formed the foundation of belief for millions of Latter-day Saints. Therefore it is important that the cultural setting which made his visions possible be thoroughly examined.

Joseph’s childhood environment was providential. He grew up in rural America where radical sects and visionary claims were common.⁴ As it happened, the Smiths were open to new religious ideas and especially to visions; several members of Joseph’s family were ‘seekers,’ people discontent with orthodox denominations struggling to find the church described in the Bible.⁵ Frequently-occurring revivals urged Joseph to consider his salvation and join a church, but on the boundaries of religion were folk beliefs in magic, treasure-hunting, and seer-stones.⁶ This medley of factors led to Joseph Smith’s early visions; as a youth, he was in the perfect place at the perfect time surrounded by the perfect people in order to bring about the restoration of the Gospel."

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1. Joseph Smith—History 1:11-20.
2. Joseph Smith—History 1:27-54.
3. Joseph Smith—History 1:25.
4. Stephen A. Marini, Radical Sects of Revolutionary New England, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982), 2.
5. Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006), 25.
6. Bushman, Joseph Smith, 37, 48-49.

Scripture and the "Heart of Man"

Occasionally while weighed down, some people run across a scripture that sparks a flood of emotion. Conceived of as an act of providence, the scripture literally speaks, offering a divine substitute—words written by long-dead hands that act as the living voice of God. For many people, this happens one or fewer times. The event is momentous and life-changing; for some, it is the spiritual climax of their lives.

Joseph Smith had such an experience in 1820 when, barely a teenager, he was distraught over his sins and which church to unite with. While reading the Bible, he came across James 1:5, possibly forwarded there by the sermon of a Methodist minister.(1) Joseph later remembered that never had “any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart.”(2) His reading of the scripture would forever change the life of an innocent farmboy and, ultimately, the religious landscape of America.

Almost a half-century earlier in 1775, Henry Alline, an eventual lay preacher from New England would have a similar experience. At the age of twenty-seven, while mourning his sins and praying to God for mercy, he accidentally came across Psalm 38:1. Alline said that the text “took hold of me with such power, that it seemed to go through my whole soul, and read therein every thought of my heart, and raised my soul with groans and earnest cries to God, so that it seemed as if God was praying in, with, and for me!”(3) The event dramatically altered Alline’s life; he subsequently gave his life to the ministry and would spend his few remaining years trying to gain converts, affecting the lives of hundreds to thousands of others.

Consider the power that a short verse can have. Oftentimes a few moments of reading can spectacularly change someone’s life; occasionally that change is exponential, rippling into the lives of others, eventually changing the world.

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1. William Smith later remembered attending a sermon with his older brother where the preacher discoursed on James 1:5 and praying to God for knowledge. See William Smith, Interview (1893), reprinted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:512.
2. Joseph Smith—History 1:12
3. As quoted in Stephen A. Marini, Radical Sects of Revolutionary New England, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982), 41.

"The Spaulding Fable"

Over at By Common Consent, John Hamer wrote an entertaining satire of events detailing what should have happened had Sidney Rigdon actually somehow obtained Solomon Spaulding's "other manuscript", snuck into Palmyra, and gotten Joseph Smith to use it as the basis for the forthcoming Book of Mormon.

Absolutely brilliant. Here's a link.

Edit: Here's some background for those unaware. As least as early as 1834 (when newspaper editor Eber D. Howe published the first major anti-Mormon book, Mormonism Unvailed [sic]), there was a theory that the Book of Mormon text was actually based on a manuscript written by would-be author Solomon Spaulding (or Spalding), who died in 1816. The theory went that Sidney Rigdon (who actually joined the Mormons at the end of 1830) discovered the manuscript in Pittsburg in the 1820s, traveled secretly to Palmyra, convinced young Joseph Smith to pretend to translate it, and then over a year later, after it was translated, published, and Joseph organized a church, pretended to be converted to Mormonism. As ridiculous as it sounds, this was the prevailing theory put forth by critics until the end of the 19th century when Solomon Spaulding's manuscript was rediscovered. When published, it was proved to have shared little resemblance to the Book of Mormon text. Since then, a few critics have suggested that there was actually another Spaulding manuscript, but the theory has been dropped by most. Notably, Mormon-history enthusiast Dale Broadhurst still holds to the theory.

Sexual Nature of Deity in the Old Testament

A while back, David Bokovoy wrote an excellent post on the MAD&B that I've just now read where he discusses the sexual nature (and thus anthropomorphic nature) of God in the Old Testament and in the ancient Near East as a whole. Bokovoy is currently a doctrinal candidate at Brandeis University.

For those interested, Ron Beron has reposted Bokovoy's short essay over at his blog.

Evidence of the Book of Mormon's Ancient Authorship: Hebraisms

"It is my belief that Joseph Smith did a pretty good job in looking at the text in a literal sense and rendering, as closely as he could in English, an ancient text; and that this is what is reflected in the language of the Book of Mormon."

—John A. Tvedtnes,
Scholar of linguistics and Middle Eastern studies

A Hebraism is an English representation of something that was originally written in Hebrew. The structures of Hebrew and English are very different, and when a translator attempts to translate Hebrew, the resulting English text is often (depending on how literally he translates the text) filled with peculiar grammar that normally isn't common in English, but is done in order to accurately represent the original writing.

The Book of Mormon (especially the original 1830 edition) is a goldmine of Hebraisms. Its sometimes-strange word usage and sentence structure was the object of ridicule by 19th century (and even some contemporary) critics, but scholarship has demonstrated that many of these are actually exactly what we should expect from translation of a text written in Hebrew.

For example, Hebrew has what's called the construct case, where two nouns are placed together with the former being descriptive. For example, the Hebrew might say land honey, which would be translated as "land of honey". Or it might say house Lord, which would be translated as "house of the Lord", not "Lord's house", as is normal in English.

Anyone who has even skimmed the Book of Mormon knows the text is full of these. The phrase plates of brass appears 27 times, but the more normal English rendering brass plates never makes an appearance. And on it goes: we have brother of Jared instead of Jared's brother; rod of iron instead of iron rod; skin of blackness instead of black skin; voice of the Spirit instead of the Spirit's voice; words of plainness instead of plain words; and so on.

Another hebraism in the Book of Mormon is the use of cognates, or related words. In English, the words sit and seat are cognates because they are related. But in Hebrew, unlike in English, these words are often used together. In English, we usually wouldn't say that someone sat on the seat. They usually just sat.

The Bible is full of these repetitive cognates, but in many cases English translators have attempted to cover them up to make the text read better in English. A great example comes from Genesis 1:11, where the KJV says, "Let the earth bring forth grass." The Hebrew literally says, "Let the earth grass grass," which just sounds silly to English speakers.

But the Book of Mormon is full of these. Probably the most famous is Lehi's declaration in 1 Nephi 8:2, "I have dreamed a dream." This is extremely redundant; what else would Lehi have dreamed? But when one sees that the author's language was Hebrew, the repetitiveness suddenly makes sense. Other examples fill the text: "work all manner of fine work" (Mosiah 11:10); "He did judge righteous judgments" (Mosiah 29:43); "build buildings" (2 Nephi 5:15); "taxed with a tax" (Mosiah 7:15); "Cursed with a sore cursing" (Jacob 3:3); and so on. What might seem a little ridiculous in English was actually required in Hebrew.

A more familiar example might be the excessive use of and and it came to pass in the Book of Mormon. It seems that almost every sentence in the Book of Mormon begins with one of these and, for the casual reader, it can be exhausting. But, in view of the book's Hebrew origins, we realize that this seemingly-excessive use is actually necessary for the text to have made sense in the original language.

A good example is 2 Nephi 5:15: "And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance." That's nine and's in one verse! In English, we'd normally put comma's between the prepositional phrases and cut out the conjunction. But, in Hebrew, the conjunctions are absolutely necessary.

There are numerous other examples of Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon that reflect its ancient authorship that are too time-consuming to go into at the moment. But, all-in-all, it's pretty impressive that Joseph Smith was able to produce this book, since he could barely read English, much less Hebrew.

Again, however, this evidence alone isn't conclusive; critics of Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints will rationalize it away as they have always done. But the evidence for the Book of Mormon continues to mount. For us personally, however, the evidence doesn't have to be compelling. The most important proof of the Book of Mormon comes, as it always has, through the Holy Spirit, for by "the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things" (Moroni 10:5).

(This post was adapted from a portion of John A. Tvedtnes's lecture, "Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon".)

According to this new study, shacking up before you're married leads to higher divorce rates.

What a shocker.

Excerpts from My Paper on Joseph's Early Visions

The following are short excerpts from the current draft of my paper-in-progress, "Joseph Smith's Spiritual Heritage as a Catalyst for His Early Visions" (if you have a shorter, catchier title to suggest, I'm all ears.) Endnotes aren't included; the formatting from Word is too much of a hassle to carry over.

Lucy Smith described her son Joseph as “a remarkably quiet, well disposed child,” “much less inclined to the perusal of books than any of the rest of the children, but far more given to meditation and deep study”. She remembered that he “always seemed to reflect more deeply than common persons of his age upon everything of a religious nature.” Joseph Sr. said in a blessing he gave his son in 1834, “Thou hast sought to know his [God’s] ways, and from thy childhood thou hast meditated much upon the great things of his law.” Pomeroy Tucker, a newspaper apprentice in Palmyra, later remembered Joseph’s father describing him as the “gen[i]us of the family”. Orsamus Turner, another Palmyra newspaper apprentice and an acquaintance of Joseph’s, described the young Smith as “inquisitive” and remembered that he attended meetings of a “juvenile debating club” where he participated in discussions to “solve some portentous questions of moral or political ethics.” Joseph’s curious, thoughtful personality aroused him to begin seeking answers to his questions early in life. Perhaps visionary experiences were even the inevitable byproduct of Joseph’s personality and his religious influence, offering answers to the young man’s questions and his family’s wants.

...

Treasure-hunting was not an uncommon recreation for rural people of the time. During his teenage years, Joseph Smith and members of his family were involved in multiple treasure-hunts where Joseph attempted to use one of his seer-stones to see buried treasure. In the minds of several people, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon was directly connected with this treasure-digging culture that pervaded the region. In one sermon, Brigham Young referred to the golden plates as “that treasure” or “the treasure” five times, using the familiar folk vernacular. In January 1831, one antagonistic Palmyra newspaper directly associated the Moroni visits with “legends, or traditions respecting hidden treasures, with the SPIRIT, to whom ignorance has formerly given them in charge”. Joseph Smith’s personal involvement in treasure-hunting was reflected in the angel’s command during his initial visits that Joseph should never consider obtaining “the plates for the purpose of getting rich”, as he had in previous treasure-hunting quests. According to Oliver Cowdery, when Joseph first saw the “sacred treasure”, he forgot Moroni’s command and began to calculate how to “add to his store of wealth…without once thinking of the solemn instruction of the heavenly messenger, that all must be done with an express view of glorifying God”. When Moroni initially kept Joseph from taking the plates, Joseph began to think of the treasure-hunting rituals: “He had heard of the power of enchantment, and a thousand like stories, which held the hidden treasures of the earth”. During these early years, orthodox beliefs in angels melded with stories of folk treasure-spirits in the minds of Joseph Smith and others.

Evidence of the Book of Mormon's Ancient Authorship: The "Isles of the Sea"

"...according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of [Jesus'] death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel."—Nephi, 1 Nephi 19:10; cf. 3 Nephi 8:23

"...we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea."—Jacob, 2 Nephi 10:15

Throughout the early parts of the Book of Mormon, the prophets Nephi and Jacob are concerned with the "isles of the sea", not only mentioning it themselves but quoting Zenos' and Isaiah's prophecies. They believed that the lost Israelite tribes had been "scattered to and fro upon the isles of the sea" (1 Nephi 22:4) and that they were next in succession. Remote islands were, they thought, where the Lord dispersed Israel until, as Zenos prophesied, he mercifully gathered them back "from the four quarters of the earth" (1 Nephi 19:16).

As Nephi's brother Jacob noted, he (and considering Nephi's emphasis on "isles of the sea", he too as well) believed that the Lord had led them to "an isle of the sea". However, it's undeniable in the text that this "isle of the sea" was actually the American continents (specifically, they likely landed in southern Central America). By no definition of the word were the American continents where the Nephites settled "isles" or "islands".

So what explains this? Joseph Smith as author doesn't explain it. Although he was uneducated, it would be ridiciulous to claim that he thought of North and South America as islands. Likewise we can't expect the same from Oliver Cowdery, Solomon Spalding, Sidney Rigdon, or any other person that critics have fantasized were involved with the production of the Book of Mormon.

It is, however, easily explained if the author was actually an Israelite in 590 B.C. People in antiquity weren't aware that there were other vast continents across the ocean; the only other land out at sea were scattered islands. When the Lehite group arrived on the America coast, they had no way of knowing how large the land was; understandably, in their minds, the Lord had led them to another one of the "isles of the sea" where he had a pattern for leading remnants of Israel. In fact, considering this, it would have been anachronistic for Jacob to have stated that they were on a continent instead of of an "isle of the sea". If the Book of Mormon really were an ancient record written by ancient Israelites, then this peculiar wording is exactly what we should expect from them, and it is the exact opposite that we should expect from a nineteenth-century American.

As the Nephite and Lamanite civilizations expanded over the centuries, and as they came to understand the vastness of the land they had been led to, references to the "isles of the sea", as we should expect, disappear from the Book of Mormon.

Is this conclusive evidence for the Book of Mormon? Obviously not. Is it even compelling evidence? I don't even feel comfortable going that far. It's just a singular internal consistency in the Book of Mormon text that supports ancient authorship but certainly does not go so far as to prove it. By itself, the peculiar reference to the Americas as an "isle of the sea" could just be a anomaly. But, combined with the scores of other internal consistencies in the book, from the use of ancient symbols and icons to the occasional obvious Semitic poetic structure to the Hebraic formation of sentences, these internal evidences together do provide compelling evidence for the Book of Mormon's ancient authorship. This is only compounded in light of the fact that the book was dictated to a scribe (without looking back at what had already been dictated!) in just a few short months. And toss in that the "author" was a farmboy who had the equivalent of a third-grade education, the strength of internal textual evidence for the Book of Mormon's ancient authorship only grows.

Oh Give Me Back My Prophet Dear

Happy Fourth of July

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country."

Benjamin Franklin

Was the Bible God's Going-Out-of-Business Sign?

Modern Jews believed that God called prophets, through whom sacred scripture came, for slightly less than 4,000 years, ending with the death of Malachi around the fourth-century B.C. Christians revived God's revelatory power with Jesus and the Apostles, continuing until the final martyrdom of the Apostles before the beginning of the second-century A.D. For the modern Christian, God's word flowed for slightly over 4,000 years, ending with letters sent by the original Apostles and the Revelation of John. After the writings contained in the Bible, God stopped revealings things to prophets.

A few centuries after the disappearance of the Apostles, well-meaning Christians compiled the writings they believed were inspired into the first "Bibles". Before that, there was no universal agreement among Christians about what writings were "inspired". The earliest Christians accepted the mystical Jewish Book of Enoch (quoted by Jude and alluded to by Jesus and Peter), and later writings like the Epistle of Barnabas, The Shepherd of Hermas, and the Apocalypse of Peter were read in many early churches before later being purged and forgotten.

But what happened to living prophets? Why were Peter, James, John, and Paul the last? Why did God, after over 4,000 years, suddenly stop speaking?

He didn't. The Apostles were martyred, and no new ones were called to take their place. God no longer had any authorized servants on the earth. This was a fulfillment of prophecy:

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. (Amos 8:11:12)

The fact is, the Bible wasn't God's going-out-of-business sign. He is the "same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8), and whenever mankind is willing to listen, he sends a prophet among them (Amos 3:7). In 1820, the end of the long famine began, and the heavens were opened again (as Paul prophesied they would be; Acts 3:21).