Maksutov wrote:I believe Smith was heavily influenced by Swedenborg, far beyond the 'degrees of glory' business.
I only read a little Swedenborg. I know the "people on the moon" was Swedenborg, but not sure how much else. Here in PA, I was actually invited to a Swedenborg society meeting once, having no clue of the relationship. Never in all of my Mormon teachings was Swedenborg mentioned.
However, I found most interesting the story of how Joseph Smith tried to get the information from Moroni. He was after the Book of Mormon, but it took four years to get it from Moroni. The LDS history made it sound very "righteous" but other accounts said that Joseph Smith struggled to get the book each year, that it was a "fight" with Moroni who actually found Joseph Smith unworthy of the book. Not in a righteous, "go and repent," sort of way, but in an "oh helllll no, you are not getting this book."
I forget how he finally got the book from Moroni, but the conditions were no one got to look at it. . . . . from what I gather, not even him. He was to get the information through inspiration. It was that type of book.
But, I know that many here don't respect Joseph Smith and I'll get over it. But I wonder what his connection was to Moroni. I wonder because one day I was setting in on a psychic reading of a friend. After a little bit, the medium turns to me says, "there is someone strange here, he is rather dark and I don't really like him, his name is Moroni and he wants to talk to you. But, I need you to ask him to leave because I am not comfortable channeling this type of being." So I did, and then well . . ., my dead dad showed up, I asked him to leave, and then my friend got her reading.
But it was weird because for the first time I considered that maybe Moroni wasn't everything Mormons thought him to be, but still, someone real in the spirit world. I get the impression he was an old American guardian. His purpose was selfish, but sincere.
But the Book of Mormon talked of how the ancients thrived and failed. And it also suggests that they would invaded and the people nearly wiped out, but that God would bless the people and they would return to glory and live in the cities of the invaders.
So, my interest in Joseph Smith comments about Adam and such are interesting me, even though I don't believe Eden was here in the States. To me, religious characters are like symbols on a page, and if their read write, they make a story. Not a factual story, but a spiritual or conceptual story that can give people inspiration or guidance about deeper intentions.
For example, the story of Christ. It is a common story, but it had deeper meaning to me. The story of Christ is OUR story. We are children of God, half human, half god. There a mortal part of us that will die, but also an immortal part of us that is eternal.
But here in now, I'm curious about America. I'm curious about how spirits of the past might actually have a vested interest in the goings on the American people.
