LDS site on Joseph Smith

[_richardMdBorn]

Has anyone else looked at this site?

http://www.josephsmith.net/portal/site/JosephSmith

I did a search under plural marriage. No hits.

Your search for plural marriage has returned 0 results in JosephSmith.net.

With respect to Emma, they write (there's more on the site).

Born July 10, 1804, Emma was the daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, from Harmony, Pennsylvania. Emma was genuinely religious and given to prayer. She readily accepted Joseph Smith's calling from God and stood by him all his life. Just before her husband's death, Emma wrote, "I desire with all my heart to honor and respect my husband as my head, ever to live in his confidence and by acting in unison with him retain the place which God has given me by his side."2

There is no mention of their fight over plural marriage or ANYTHING negative about Joseph Smith.

[_barrelomonkeys]

I found that website almost a year ago and was really, really surprised to not see anything about polygamy. Why is that I wonder? I actually sent them an email in the "feedback" section asking about it and never received an answer. I have to say the documents on the site are really interesting. I spent quite some time reading over them! I thought that was a great portion of that website.

Isn't it rather pertinent information to understand polygamy to understand why LDS suffered and why Joseph Smith was murdered? It appears so to me.

Am I wrong? Can you understand his life and death without mentioning it? Gaz?

[_Gazelam]

Can you understand his life and death without mentioning it? Gaz?

I honestly have no idea why they don't mention it. Then again, some people are just a bit more sheepish than I am. It may be that they want the site to be an introductory course rather than "Mormonism 102" (or however that translates into college speak).

Can Joseph Smith be understood without looking at polygamy? I would say yes. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a vast and deep well to draw from, Plural marriage, or rather Plural families is only a single facet. Can you understand the contributions of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob without studying their plural marriages?

The point of the gospel is in being obedient to the promptings of the Holy Ghost while emulating Christ. If we go out of this life loving the Lord and striving to be perfect in the gospel, then we are going to be judged worthy.

[_Polygamy Porter]

Has anyone else looked at this site?

http://www.josephsmith.net/portal/site/JosephSmith

I did a search under plural marriage. No hits.

Your search for plural marriage has returned 0 results in JosephSmith.net.

With respect to Emma, they write (there's more on the site).

Born July 10, 1804, Emma was the daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, from Harmony, Pennsylvania. Emma was genuinely religious and given to prayer. She readily accepted Joseph Smith's calling from God and stood by him all his life. Just before her husband's death, Emma wrote, "I desire with all my heart to honor and respect my husband as my head, ever to live in his confidence and by acting in unison with him retain the place which God has given me by his side."2

There is no mention of their fight over plural marriage or ANYTHING negative about Joseph Smith.

The same reason "The Restoration" DVD "early spring" "First Vision" scene was shot in mid June when everything is green and beautiful.

Early spring in Palmyra NY is god awful ugly. Some signs of winter are still evident, lots of mud no tall grass(or even short grass, hell not even green grass) no leaves on the trees, no flowers, just the ugly tail end of winter.

Elder Fred and his fallacious facade strikes again in the name of keeping the baptismal font full and the Hinck turnstile clicking.

[_barrelomonkeys]

Can Joseph Smith be understood without looking at polygamy? I would say yes. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a vast and deep well to draw from, Plural marriage, or rather Plural families is only a single facet. Can you understand the contributions of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob without studying their plural marriages?

The point of the gospel is in being obedient to the promptings of the Holy Ghost while emulating Christ. If we go out of this life loving the Lord and striving to be perfect in the gospel, then we are going to be judged worthy.

Gaz, I don't understand how you can understand Joseph's death and the persecution of LDS without knowing about polygamy.

[_Loquacious Lurker]

See, this is what I find particularly amusing. Over on the MAD board, Charity and ESPECIALLY Juliann will snidely remark that "It is YOUR own fault if you didn't educate yourself in Church history. It's not the business of the First Presidency, or Seminary teachers, or Sunday school teachers, to inform you of the facts of your own religion. If you didn't know that Joseph Smith had teenaged, already married wives, it's YOUR own shoddy study habits to blame."

Well.

I am supposed to arbitrarily wonder if Joseph Smith was a Mason, and then go and study up on the subject? I am supposed to arbitrarily assume or construct or accuse Joseph Smith of taking multiple, already married women as his wives? Why don't I just arbitrarily wonder if Joseph Smith was a cross-dressing transvestite? That he believed the earth was flat? That he proposed polygamous marriage to Queen Victoria?

The Church's own website makes no mention of the fact that Joseph Smith had multiple wives, so how is anyone supposed to arbitrarily wonder if did? EXACTLY.

They're NOT supposed to.

And if they don't, and then are outraged to find out in fact it's true, it's their own fault. "It was right there all the time! I don't know what you're crying about!"

If, say, the FDA acted in a similar fashion, they'd be guilty of criminal malfeasance.

[_Dr. Shades]

Exactly, Loquacious Lurker.

Another thing: Mormons of all stripes typically demonize "anti-Mormon literature." But if I want to study up and become informed on Joseph Smith taking young teenage brides--like the apologists say I can/should--where can I find sources on that topic that AREN'T anti-Mormon?

[_Yoda]

Can you understand his life and death without mentioning it? Gaz?

I honestly have no idea why they don't mention it. Then again, some people are just a bit more sheepish than I am. It may be that they want the site to be an introductory course rather than "Mormonism 102" (or however that translates into college speak).

Can Joseph Smith be understood without looking at polygamy? I would say yes. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a vast and deep well to draw from, Plural marriage, or rather Plural families is only a single facet. Can you understand the contributions of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob without studying their plural marriages?

The point of the gospel is in being obedient to the promptings of the Holy Ghost while emulating Christ. If we go out of this life loving the Lord and striving to be perfect in the gospel, then we are going to be judged worthy.

Gaz, I agree that the gospel of Christ can be understood without mentioning plural marriage. But I think that the Church missed a golden opportunity here to "set the record straight" regarding Joseph Smith. If they are going to produce a historical website regarding the prophet's life, then why leave this critical piece of his life out? Why shove it under the rug as if it didn't happen....unless there is something that the Church is ashamed of and wants to hide.

Why not present a balanced view of Church history that can enlighten members and/or investigators rather than omit facts? When facts are omitted, what choice do people have but to turn to the very resources the Church frowns upon(anti-Mormon literature)?

[_harmony]

Gaz, I agree that the gospel of Christ can be understood without mentioning plural marriage.

Actually, if our canon is correct, it's impossible to understand the gospel without mentioning plural marriage. And according to our canon, Joseph was behaving in a highly inappropriate manner and God removed him from the earth because of it. He signed his own death warrent when he walked outside the law as laid down in Sec 132.

But I think that the Church missed a golden opportunity here to "set the record straight" regarding Joseph Smith.

No doubt that was the idea. Our leaders know what Joseph really was, and they go to great lengths to keep that hidden. In this case, things that are secret are not sacred. These things that are secret are shameful, and they know it.

If they are going to produce a historical website regarding the prophet's life, then why leave this critical piece of his life out? Why shove it under the rug as if it didn't happen....unless there is something that the Church is ashamed of and wants to hide.

Well, that alone should tell you something. Why is it that people expect our leaders to behave with a higher purpose? We've been disappointed so many times, you'd think we'd catch on, don't you?

Why not present a balanced view of Church history that can enlighten members and/or investigators rather than omit facts? When facts are omitted, what choice do people have but to turn to the very resources the Church frowns upon(anti-Mormon literature)?

Good Mormons do not ever read anti-Mormon literature, no matter what. So the church is able to have its cake and eat it too. And they structure everything to reflect this.

[_richardMdBorn]

Exactly, Loquacious Lurker.

Another thing: Mormons of all stripes typically demonize "anti-Mormon literature." But if I want to study up and become informed on Joseph Smith taking young teenage brides--like the apologists say I can/should--where can I find sources on that topic that AREN'T anti-Mormon?

I mentioned on ZLMB that I had two missionaries come to my door in Connecticut in 1986-7 who did not know that Joseph Smith had plural wives. Some ZLMBites expressed skepticism. But LDS web sites still dodge the issue twenty years later.