Gaelan_Ainsworth wrote:I don't think throwing Joseph under the bus is the only answer here. If I were tasked with the defense of this, I would throw Hedlock under the bus. Create some spiel on how Hedlock was swayed by evil forces during the creation of the plate, and was encouraged to deface it with inaccurate images to try the faith of those that look upon it. So mortified was Joseph Smith on discovery he invoked the power of God, spake to Reuben that he has transgressed, etc. End result Reuben is saved, the evil influence is driven away and he fixes his defaced plate.
Something along those lines anyway. Hedlock's legacy is slightly harmed, but overall the narrative is protected.
If I understand you correctly your going to say the Hedlock originally carved a snout, which wasn't even on the original facsimile, and that Joseph Smith saw it and told him to remove it?
Yeah, not a likely explanation given that Joseph Smith directly oversaw the production of the printing. Your suggestion would also have to include the fact that the evil spirit somehow knew exactly what Anubis looked like in legitimate Egyptian iconography and conveyed that image to Hedlock, and that the snout dreamed up by Hedlock happened to fit perfectly in the space next to the head. Additionally we still have a significant amount of reconstruction errors that were left in the other two facsimiles and even some alterations. Why would this be the only one that Joseph Smith corrected?
I don't think even the most rabid apologist would buy that.