116 pages

[_Calculus Crusader]

(This was originally posted to free-saints by Bill Barton on 5/1/2001)

It's not hard to figure out what happened to the pages.

Martin Harris intended to mortgage his farm to finance the printing of the Book of Mormon. Martin ignored pleadings from his wife Lucy not to endanger their future in this reckless manner.

So when Martin brought the pages home to convince his wife of their worth, Lucy took them and burned them. No pages, no book, no mortgage.

Joseph's problem at that point was not the pages at all, rather his problem was Martin Harris. If Joseph tried to reproduce what he had dictated, he would certainly miss some details, and Martin would certainly pick up on some of that. Joseph wasn't willing to engage in this scenario, so he had another revelation of convenience directing him not to reproduce the pages at all.

Martin did eventually mortgage 151 acres of his farm to Book of Mormon publisher Grandin. The deal was that Martin had to pay the $3000 printing charge within 18 months (for 5000 leather-bound Book of Mormon) or Grandin could sell the land.

Joseph of course had no intention of ever repaying the loan. So when Martin panicked because the books weren't selling, Joseph had another revelation that Martin shouldn't be concerned about such temporal things.

Eventually Martin was forced to sell the 151 acres himself. On April 7,
1831 he deeded them over to early Palmyra settler Thomas Lakey. As part of the deal Martin had to vacate the farmhouse within a month. On May 27 Martin Harris joined the march to the promised land of Kirtland, following the person who had ruined his marriage and bilked him out of his property.

Martin later sold the remaining portions of his farm. He had deeded 80 acres to his wife Lucy in 1825.

The average Mormon will likely give a million dollars to the LDS leaders over 30 years (allowing for 5% compounded interest). And if he ever comes to his senses and leaves, it will possibly/likely cost him his marriage.
So the experience of Martin Harris established an important early paradigm.

See Vogel, "Early Mormon Documents Vol. 3" for documentation concerning the Harris farm.

Bill Barton also suggested that Mormons buy a picture of Martin Harris and stare at it intently while saying to themselves, "I'm entrusting my salvation to this fool?" :)

[_The Nehor]

Yet funnily enough, Martin Harris died proclaiming the truth of what he'd seen and how important the book was. There's the whole thing about receiving an hundredfold in heaven too. So he now has a hundred times that size farm and 100 shrewish wives (though I hear you can cash those in at a 10 to 1 ratio for righteous, powerful, goddess nubile swimsuit models).

[_why me]

Yet funnily enough, Martin Harris died proclaiming the truth of what he'd seen and how important the book was. There's the whole thing about receiving an hundredfold in heaven too. So he now has a hundred times that size farm and 100 shrewish wives (though I hear you can cash those in at a 10 to 1 ratio for righteous, powerful, goddess nubile swimsuit models).

All that is true enough. Martin never did deny his testimony. And that is certainly a bugbear for the critics. However, they do try to give quotations from Martin to show that he said many things at different times. But he never denied his testimony.

[_Sethbag]

It's not that much of a bugbear for critics. It's hard for a lot of people to admit that they've been foolish, and have been had by someone. There are plenty of people out there who would rather keep insisting that they were right, than to admit that they've been fooled by a conman. The money really is coming from that Nigerian bank, I know it, any day now!

Martin was either in on the fraud, and thought he'd make enough by selling the copies of the Book of Mormon to be a good investment, leveraging his farm, or else he was conned by Joseph Smith, and being the gullible guy that he apparently was, either never caught on, or never could admit it.

From cripe's sake, Josiah Stowell testified at Joseph's trial that he believed Joseph Smith really could see buried treasure on his land, by staring at the magic rock in his hat! And this was at the trial of Joseph for actually defrauding Josiah Stowell himself!

Are you guys going to say that Josiah Stowell maintaining his belief in Joseph Smith's ability to find buried treasure by staring at a magic rock in the bottom of his hat, is some kind of bugbear for critics, and that it demonstrates the truth of Joseph Smith's skill, ie: that he must, in fact, really have been able to do it? Give me a friggin break.

[_Dr. Shades]

From cripe's sake, Josiah Stowell testified at Joseph's trial that he believed Joseph Smith really could see buried treasure on his land, by staring at the magic rock in his hat! And this was at the trial of Joseph for actually defrauding Josiah Stowell himself!

Are you guys going to say that Josiah Stowell maintaining his belief in Joseph Smith's ability to find buried treasure by staring at a magic rock in the bottom of his hat, is some kind of bugbear for critics, and that it demonstrates the truth of Joseph Smith's skill, ie: that he must, in fact, really have been able to do it? Give me a friggin break.

Incidentally, Bill Barton, the author of the piece that Calculus Crusader just quoted, is none other than the one who originally coined the phrase "magic rock."

Whatever happened to him, anyway?

[_Sethbag]

Actually, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the possibility that "magic rock" has been independently re-invented many times over; it's not as if it's not pretty obvious. :-)

[_Dr. Shades]

Actually, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the possibility that "magic rock" has been independently re-invented many times over; it's not as if it's not pretty obvious. :-)

That's entirely possible, too. :-)

[_why me]

It's not that much of a bugbear for critics. It's hard for a lot of people to admit that they've been foolish, and have been had by someone. There are plenty of people out there who would rather keep insisting that they were right, than to admit that they've been fooled by a conman. The money really is coming from that Nigerian bank, I know it, any day now!

Martin was either in on the fraud, and thought he'd make enough by selling the copies of the Book of Mormon to be a good investment, leveraging his farm, or else he was conned by Joseph Smith, and being the gullible guy that he apparently was, either never caught on, or never could admit it.

From cripe's sake, Josiah Stowell testified at Joseph's trial that he believed Joseph Smith really could see buried treasure on his land, by staring at the magic rock in his hat! And this was at the trial of Joseph for actually defrauding Josiah Stowell himself!

Are you guys going to say that Josiah Stowell maintaining his belief in Joseph Smith's ability to find buried treasure by staring at a magic rock in the bottom of his hat, is some kind of bugbear for critics, and that it demonstrates the truth of Joseph Smith's skill, ie: that he must, in fact, really have been able to do it? Give me a friggin break.

I believe that we, the people, tend to forget that these individuals were once walking and breathing on this earth. Trust me, Martin was no dupe. He was highly respected in the community. I do believe that he would have no problem admitting that he was duped. And if he did think himself duped, he would have no problem walking away, instead of wasting his life away in a falsehood. Remember, that Martin was also privy to some visitations. We humans do not have that much stamina to live a fraud. Just look at yourself and your own process...has it been easy?

As far as the other individual, well, he was human too. We all can believe what we want to believe.

Sorry, Seth, but in regards to Martin, he is a bugbear for critics as are other witnesses.

[_why me]

Actually, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the possibility that "magic rock" has been independently re-invented many times over; it's not as if it's not pretty obvious. :-)

Actually, Joseph Smith starring into a hat is actually very faith promoting. Just think of the Uncle Daleites on this board. Here we have Joseph Smith and Sidney in a 'fraud'. Sidney supposively writes the book and has Joseph Smith as front man. Both get together with Sidney's major work, the Book of Mormon, and decide to use the hat technique as a translation process. Sounds crazy doesn't it?

I would try to come up with a better solution to ensure the success of my written work. No, the hat technique sounds geniune to me. No one would invent such a crazy thing without it coming from god. Too much of a risk of having the book laughed at from the very start.

[_beastie]

Why Me -

"reading" a rock that was tucked in a dark place like a hat was part of the common folk-religion of Joseph Smith' time period -

Mineral rods and balls, (as they were called by the imposter who made use of them,) were supposed to be infallible guides to these sources of wealth—"peep stones" or pebbles, taken promiscuously from the brook or field, were placed in a hat or other situation excluded from the light, when some wizard or witch (for these performances were not confined to either sex) applied their eyes, and nearly starting their balls from their sockets, declared they saw all the wonders of nature, including of course, ample stores of silver and gold.

It is more than probable [said the Reflector in the skeptical tradition to which it was dedicated] that some of these deluded people, by having their imaginations heated to the highest pitch of excitment, and by straining their eyes until they were suffused with tears, might have, through the medium of some trifling emmision of the ray of light, receive[d] imperfect images on the retina, when their fancies could create the rest. Be this however as it may, people busied themselves in consulting these blind oracles, while the ground nightly opened in various places by men who were too lazy or idle to labor for bread in the day time, displayed a zeal and perserverance in this business worthy of a better cause.

http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/da ... apter2.htm

Martin Harris also had a strong testimony of shakerism and James Strang.