The Work And The Glory III A House Divided

[its_Chet]

When Joseph Smith obtained the plates, he did not bring them home right away. After getting them out of the ground, he hid them in the hollow of a log, and went back to get them later. I can't remember for sure why he did this, but I suppose he either thought he might have been followed (the locals wanted the gold and were willing to suspend disbelief long enough to get it if possible). When he came back later to get the plates out of the log, he was attacked by multiple men. Joseph suffered a dislocated thumb as a result of one of the attackers. Once getting the plates back to Joseph Smith Sr.'s house it was repeatedly moved. Joseph was prompted to do so by the Spirit, in part because the locals had resorted to witchcraft to discover the hiding place of the plates. They were kept in a chest, in a hollow in the hearth, under a floor panel in the barn, and after a witch discovered that location and the mob came for them, the plates were hidden under a pile of hay in the loft right above the floor panel where they had been hidden only hours prior.

They didn't go into a lot of detail showing this part of Church History in the movie, and in general the movies have breezed quickly through things I'd love to see given much more attention, but as far as I can tell from the first two (haven't seen the third one yet), the movies are historically accurate, apart from the fictional parts created for the books by Brother Lund.

[freckleface]

Thanks, its chet. That was incredibly interesting. I wish they could have incorporated that into the story line in the movie. I think it would have been great.

Mormon history is fascinating to me. Do you have any books that you could recommend concerning JS? I'm not interested in the ones that want to bash him, I've heard enough of that to last me a lifetime. However, the info you gave on this post was great.

Thanks!

[its_Chet]

Aw, thank you freckleface!

Unfortunately, as it always is with History of any kind, the best gems are usually scattered across a wide range of books. For example, the well known story about Joseph Smith rising from the floor in chains in the Richmond jail to rebuke the guards who had been boasting about how inhumanely they'd treated some of the Saints was documented in the autobiography of Parley P. Pratt (one of my favorite Apostles from Joseph Smith's days). Some things I've gleaned from reading various works by Bruce R. McConkie, and I'm talking about several lengthy books that don't have an index or even a table of contents.

One book I can recommend, though it's been a while since I read it and I can't remember much of it anymore, is "The Fate of the Persecutors of Joseph Smith". As I remember, the book wasn't so much about Joseph Smith as it was about what happened to the people who persecuted him, especially the ones that stormed the Carthage Jail. There's a story about one of them who developed a strange skin disease that ate away half of his face right down to the bone, and yet he lived for some time in that condition. I also remember reading a story (also from this book, if I remember correctly) about a boy who was at Haun's Mill when it was attacked. He tried to run into the blacksmith's shop, but every time he got within arm's length of the doorway, his arms shot up and grabbed the doorjamb, ON THEIR OWN. He tried repeatedly to get inside, and this kept happening, and eventually he gave up and ran up the hill and into the forest, which is where most of those who survived went. And as we all know, everyone who was inside the blacksmith's shop was killed, including a couple of children both around the age of 10.

I read a book called "The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph smith", which I thought was pretty good. Here's a gem from that one: Joseph Smith once had a dream, during the Nauvoo days, in which he was on his old farm back in Kirtland. He saw that it was run down from neglect, and as he entered the barn he saw that it was falling apart. As he took inventory of all the needed repairs, some angry, threatening, and scary men came into the barn. They told him that the farm was no longer his and he had no hope of ever getting it back, and if he tried they would kill him. In fact, they were acting like they were going to kill him at any rate, just for showing up. Next, more men came into the barn, also threatening Joseph, but then they started to quarrel amongst themselves as to who would get to keep the farm, and ended up killing each other over it while Joseph calmly walked out of the barn and away from the farm.

I've heard that "The History of the Prophet Joseph Smith, by his Mother" by Lucy Mack Smith, is a great read, but I haven't gotten that one yet.

I used to have a book (until I loaned it out) that focused on the relationship between Joseph and Emma, which was written by one of their descendants (most of which are out of the Church, and embarrassed about their genealogy). The author is a convert and she dedicated a lot of time and effort to exploring Joseph and Emma's relationship. That book contained some insights into Joseph Smith I'd never seen before.

While it's a bit of a downer, I can strongly recommend "I Witnessed the Carthage Massacre" by Willard Richards. It gives the most detailed story of what happened in the Carthage Jail (beginning well before the shooting began) that I have ever seen. In some parts, it covers the events second by second. It’s almost like Willard Richards slows down time so you can fully understand everything that Joseph Smith went through. And it gives you a look at Joseph under considerable pressure - you won't be disappointed.

Some of the most fascinating things I've ever heard about Joseph Smith have come from my institute teacher, when I was in college in Salt Lake City. I saw incredibly moving videos that don't appear to be available for mass consumption (I've never seen them at Deseret Book or in a ward library). But the stories my teacher told were amazing. He told one story, which I believe occurred during Zion's Camp, where Joseph Smith took Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball away from the camp and in private, showed them a vision. The three of them lay down on their backs and looked up into the sky, and Joseph raised his hands up before him and spread them apart, like the way you would part a curtain to look through it. When he did this, he parted the veil and Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball were able to see Heavenly Father, the Savior, and numerous angels looking down at them. Then Joseph closed the veil again and told them that he had been instructed to show them that. My institute teacher had LOTS of stories like that, not just about Joseph Smith, but plenty of stories that amazed and dazzled me. There was a companion book for my institute class on the Doctrine and Covenants, a moderately detailed book on Church History, called "Church History in the Fullness of Times". You can pick that up any distribution center or Deseret Book, I believe. It's not the most detailed book you'll find, but it's a good book if you're looking for a single book that contains the most information on Church History.

I wish I could remember every other book I've read about Joseph Smith, but I'm terrible about remembering where I've heard something. All I can say is that everything I've ever read about Joseph Smith has led me to believe that he is one of the greatest men to have ever lived, that he was an extraordinarily benevolent man, despite the controversy that surrounds him, and that the things he taught are true, and that most of what we know about the Gospel of Jesus Christ we owe to him for revealing it to us. In short, he is indeed a Prophet of God and an Apostle of Jesus Christ. But you knew that.

Books that I intend to read but haven't yet include "The Joseph Smith Papers" and "The History of the Church (all volumes). Basically, I just always try to keep my eyes open for anything about Joseph Smith that looks trustworthy. I try to stay with books you can get from Deseret Book, but I suppose other good books can be found on him as well.

I occasionally go to a website that I believe is administered by the Community of Christ. Far West History, or something like that. I have found a surprising wealth of historical information there, and though it doesn’t appear to be officially endorsed by the Church, I have a good feeling about what I’ve read there. I have never seen anything there that sounded like it was intended to lead us over to the Reorganized church. If nothing else, Community of Christ sure does take our mutual Church History pretty seriously.

From one fan of Joseph Smith to another, God bless you!

[freckleface]

Merci Beaucoup, its_chet!

I was planning a little trip to Deseret, so I'll be looking for the book that Joseph Smith's mother wrote. You know, any one with the name Lucy Mack Smith sounds like a treasure to me. I like her without even knowing her. Hearing about his life from her perspective will be interesting. The book "I Witnessed the Cartage Massacre" sounds like a very intense, but good read, too. As sad as it sounds, I'd still like t read it. I'd also like to read about Emma Hale Smith, too, now that's a lady with some spirit!

You have been very kind with your sharing, its_chet. Thank you!!

I'll be looking for the others you mentioned, too.

Freckles

[MichaelPAGuy]

I love all of these movies. I feel the spirit every time I watch them.

[Elphaba]

Originally Posted by its_Chet

. . . the locals wanted the gold and were willing to suspend disbelief long enough to get it if possible).

The locals did not suspend disbelief at all--their actions were perfectly in keeping with the religious beliefs in the Palmyra area, including those that Joseph shared.

According to D. Michael Quinn, a scholar in Mormon history,

“Joseph Smith’s family was typical of many early Americans who practiced various forms of Christian folk magic.”

(Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, pg. 30.)

Briefly, folk magic was a combination of Christianity and the occult; however, the occult had a very different meaning in Joseph’s time, and was the fairly benign practice of spells, incantations, divining rods, etc. It did not have the evil connotation we give it today and I am not suggesting Joseph‘s, and the other folk magic practitioners’ belief in the occult was an evil thing.

One of the folk magic beliefs, and one that Joseph practiced, was that of using “peepstones,” to look for buried treasure, commonly called “money digging,“ at the time. The person would put a rock up to his eye and it would show the person where the treasure was buried. Some of Joseph’s neighbors considered him adept at using the peepstones.

In fact, Joseph met Emma because of Joseph Stowell's belief that Joseph could “see things invisible to the natural eye” via a peepstone. (Lucy Mack, quotes in Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, pg. 48.) Stowell had hired Joseph to come to his property to find the treasure, and since Palmyra was a good distance away from Stowell's property, Joseph boarded with the local family of Isaac Hale, who was Emma’s father. (Joseph eventually convinced Stowell to stop looking for the treasure.)

One of the reason the “locals,“ many of whom believed in Joseph’s magical abilities, insisted that Joseph share the Golden Plates with them is because he had previously insisted he could see buried treasure, but when they tried to dig for it, Joseph claimed the treasure had receded into the earth. (Believers in folk magic commonly believed buried treasure was protected by magic, and that no earthly person could touch it; thus it moved when someone tried to uncover it.)

According to Wiki (which is accurate in this case):

Shortly thereafter the empty box was discovered and the place ransacked by Smith's former treasure-seeking associates. . . .

None (edit: All) of the people who tried to steal the plates were Joseph's former associates, and they did not suspend belief in anything. They all believed Joseph had uncovered buried treasure via folk magic.

Elphaba

[Elphaba]

Originally Posted by its_Chet

One book I can recommend, though it's been a while since I read it and I can't remember much of it anymore, is "The Fate of the Persecutors of Joseph Smith". As I remember, the book wasn't so much about Joseph Smith as it was about what happened to the people who persecuted him, especially the ones that stormed the Carthage Jail.

I would not recommend this book at all unless you’re interested in Mormon folklore. In point of fact, there is no evidence that any person of the mob suffered any maladies after murdering Joseph. The only men who suffered in later life were the principals involved in the Carthage trial, not the massacre itself. They were the prosecutors, the sheriff, the judge and the governor.

According to Richard C. Poulson, in his 1978 essay titled: Fate and the Persecutor s of Joseph Smith: Transmutations of an American Myth:

About some of those involved in the martyrdom, Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill note:

I also remember reading a story (also from this book, if I remember correctly) about a boy who was at Haun's Mill when it was attacked. He tried to run into the blacksmith's shop, but every time he got within arm's length of the doorway, his arms shot up and grabbed the doorjamb, ON THEIR OWN.

I have done a lot of research about the Church’s history, and have never heard this before. I suspect it is Mormon folklore as well, yet I can’t say for sure. Do you have a reference other than the book?

And as we all know, everyone who was inside the blacksmith's shop was killed, including a couple of children both around the age of 10.

This is true, though the other child was seven. Nevertheless, IMO, this is one of the most horrifying incidents of persecution in the Church’s history.

Militia member William Reynolds entered the shop and found ten-year-old Sardius Smith hiding under the blacksmith’s bellows. Reynolds put his musket against the boy's skull and blew off the top of his head. Reynolds later explained, "Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon.” Unspeakable.

Again, TFOTPOJS does not contain accurate portrayals of the mob’s lives after they massacred Joseph and Hyrum. It is full of Mormon folklore, and should be read only as such.

Elphaba

[Elphaba]

Originally Posted by freckleface

Do you have any books that you could recommend concerning JS?

I'm not Chet, but I suggest the best book to read about Joseph is Richard Bushman's Rough Stone Rolling. It gives the most accurate picture, to date, of Joseph's life, including those historical issues that are difficult, as well as faith-promoting rumors.

Bushman is professor emeritus from Columbia University where he was a history professor. He is also a believing Mormon. He has actually written a few scholarly books about the Church's history, and I would recommend them as well.

Elphaba

[Elphaba]

I've read a number of innacuracies about the Church's history in this thread and have addressed some of them. But rather than continue to do so, I'm going to recommend some books that are scholarly historical treatments that portray the actual Church's history as it really happened.

1. Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman.
2. Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith by Tippets and Avery.
3. History of Joseph Smith by his mother, Lucy Mack Smith. Note: Be sure to get the unabridged original version. Unfortunately, when Brigham Young read the original book he either disagreed, or was not happy with parts of it, and edited it a great deal. The unabridged original version restores it to its original text.
4. Journal of Discourses, not considered by the Church to be an official history, but is an excellent reference anyway.
5. History of the Church, not considered by the Church to be an official history, but is chock full of it anyway.
6. In Sacred Lonliness, Todd Compton.
7. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
8. Anything from the Mormon History Association.
9. Saints without Halos, my favorite Mormon history site on the internet.
10. The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, by D. Michael Quinn
11. Early Mormonism and the Magic World Vew, by D. Michael Quinn

Elphaba

[Elphaba]

One last post (for the moment). The Work and the Glory is, as Ruthie pointed out, historical fiction. That means it is a fictional book based on historic events, emphasis on "fictional."

If you are looking to be entertained, and even moved by the books, you will be pleasantly surprised.

But if you are looking for an accurate portrayal of the Church's history, this series is absolutely the last reference you should rely on.

Lund often portrays the historical events in a faith-promoting manner, leaving out the more difficult aspects of it, or changing them to dull the impact. There is nothing at all wrong with this given it is fiction and Lund is free to do so. But far too many members read the series and assume everything in them is the way it really happened. Often, it's not.

Historical fiction. Keep that in mind as you enjoy them.

Elphaba