Joseph smith biography book

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The immaterial became real” (59–60). Then he retrieved the golden plates, recruited Martin Harris as a benefactor, and returned to Harmony with Emma.

Immediate Circumstances

Now to the immediate circumstances. 22

Book of Mormon Witnesses

Many Americans claimed to have visions.

I had hoped my book would displace hers, but at best it will only be a contender in the ring, whereas before she reigned unchallenged.” Turner’s entry will stand as a third viable contender in the ring, but I doubt that it will completely displace these earlier biographies of Joseph Smith, particularly Bushman’s. Joseph experienced visions of divine beings.

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Legacy

No church, archive, or book has been able to constrain Joseph Smith. & 1 in 3. Instead, members of the mob propped him up against a well and fired a few more balls into his chest. . More broadly, though, he found it impossible to maintain his people’s unity in Kirtland, in Missouri, or Nauvoo.

195

Polygamy

Baptism for the dead solved long-standing Christian anxieties. These aren’t subjects that come up frequently in his sermons or journals. Quite possibly.

And if Joseph believed that he was a prophet and seer, why couldn’t he jot down a revelation on the spur of the moment?

I take some clear stands in the book.

Turner has authored multiple books on Mormonism, including “Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet“ and “The Mormon Jesus,” in addition to his new Joseph Smith biography. In order to do that well, one has to set aside some of those contemporary “contraries”—at least for a time.

Why do we have so many documents about Joseph Smith, but still know so little?

I like a quote from the late, great novelist Hilary Mantel:

Evidence is always partial … History is not the past.

There are all sorts of contrary opinions about Joseph.

For instance, he welcomed Orson Hyde and William Phelps back into the fold after their respective apostasies. He points to evidence, such as Brigham Young’s letter sent to southern Utah instructing to “leave the immigrants alone,” as “exculpatory, exonerating”.

They had begun poor, were often afflicted, and nevertheless they had sacrificed to preach the gospel and “build a house for the Lord.” If the Saints brought their money to Kirtland, the church’s debts could be settled and the town would flourish.

Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet, p. it is a curious thing any how… all are to be crammed into 1 God— it wod.

The underlying disconnect is one of worldview between those who believe in Joseph Smith’s claims and those who do not.