thews wrote:...
I make points about Joseph Smith based on fact, and you reply with supposed parallel analogies.
Since some people call these men prophets, I thought it might be
useful for us to determine whether King David was accepted of God
or not. If he wrote the Psalms, then millions of worshipers depend
upon David's words as Holy Scripture -- as conveying the very
Word of God. So, if an adulterer and a murderer can be a holy prophet,
then that fact would be important for us to know.
Joseph Smith reportedly committed adultery and reportedly sought
to take the lives of Liliburn Boggs and Grandison Newell. Since millions
of people honor Smith as a prophet, I thought it might be important
to compare his reported sin with that of David.
However, there may be a difference -- According to the Bible David
repented. Perhaps he was forgiven. Later in history a man named
Saul evidently persecuted Jesus' followers unto death, but he
repented, changed his name to Paul, and became a prophet.
Did Joseph Smith ever repent of his sin? If so, it must have been in
Carthage Jail, in 1844, in the seconds after he was shot and before
he died. I do not know if Smith repented. And you do not seem to
know whether or not his transgressions were as bad as David's.
Joseph Smith was a man... a man who used his magic rocks for hire before the Book of Mormon was written.
So I am told. But I was not there to witness any such thing. I accept
such reports as very likely being true -- but not with the same
perfect assurance, as when I accept that 2+2=4.
A man who uses his magic rocks for $14 to contact evil treasure guardians for personal gain has no biblical parallels.
Again, these are the reports. So far as I know he was never taken
before an authority and there closely cross-examined about such
accusations. Perhaps that happened in South Bainbridge in 1826,
but I do not have a reliable report of such a cross-examination. I
accept such reports as very likely being true -- but not like 2+2=4.
You didn't acknowledge the use of Joseph Smith's seer stone to contact evil treasure guardians... why?
What does it matter? If that is truly what he did, it was sinful
magic and there is no way to correct that behavior today. I accept
such reports as very likely being true, but not as proven fact.
Do you acknowledge this historical fact?
You'll have to cite the exact instance, and the exact sources you
are relying upon. As I said, such reports likely contain some truth,
but history is a discipline which grows and changes as we learn
more facts. Tell me undisputed facts about Smith, and I can respond
by agreeing with you. Tell me disputed claims, and I'll have to see
what evidence you may have to offer in support of them.
Do you have a biblical parallel where a prophet uses magic to contact evil for personal gain?
Look at the biblical record for the use of the urim and thummim prior
to the Davidic monarchy -- that is, in the days of the Judges and in
the time of Saul. Tell me what questions were answered by that
paraphernalia, and how -- and then I will answer the first part of
your question.
As for "contacting evil," I would need to see some proof that Smith
succeeded in his attempts along those lines. Did he actually make
contact with Satan, and did Satan grant Smith supernatural powers?
If so, then Smith may have been an oracle of the Devil -- a sort of
prophet in a way opposite to how Isaiah and Jeremiah were prophets.
And, about the "personal gain" part -- again we can look back to
David, who apparently contributed to Holy Scripture, while raising
himself from a poor shepherd to the richest, most powerful man in
the realm. Could David have accomplished that feat without resorting
to supernatural powers?
UD
