Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 1


Claims made in "Introduction: A Thread of Prophecy"
A FAIR Analysis of:
Criticism of Mormonism/Books
A work by author: Richard Abanes
 Claims made in "Chapter 2: Moroni, Magic, and Masonry"

Claims made in "Chapter 1: Vagabond Visionaries"

Page Claim Response Author's sources

6

 Did "most" of Joseph Smith's contemporaries consider him "a charlatan from a family of illiterate wanderers; a shiftless trouble-maker—albeit a charismatic and imaginative one—with a penchant for superstitions, storytelling, and decision-making based on the occult traditions of nineteenth century rural folk magic?"

9-11

 Did the Smith family eventually give up on any sort of "legitimate" employment to become lazy money-diggers?
  • Joseph Capron, cited in *Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH, 1834), 260. (Affidavits examined)
  • Roswell Nichols, cited in Howe, 257
  • Parley Chase, cited in Howe, 248
  • Howe, 261
  • Richard L. Anderson, ""Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Reappraised,"" BYU Studies (Spring 1970), vol. 10, 283-314."

15

 Do local newspapers show that no revival occurred in 1820 in the area of Palmyra-Manchester, New York?
  • H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters, Inventing Mormonism, 15-41.

15

 Did Joseph incorporate a documented 1824 revival into his First Vision story?
  • Marvin S. Hill, "The First Vision Controversy: A Critique and Reconciliation," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Summer 1982), vol. 15, 31-46.

15

 Why does Joseph's 1832 First Vision account state that he was 15 rather than 14 years old?
  • No source provided.

15

 Why does Joseph's 1832 account state that he only saw Jesus without mentioning God the Father?
  • No source provided.

15

 Was the main message of the 1832 account was the forgiveness of Joseph's sins?
  • No source provided.

15

 Why does the 1832 account omit information about "God condemning Christian churches as corrupt?"
  • No source provided.

16

 Did LDS leaders only begin teaching that Joseph saw both Jesus and God the Father in the 1870s-80s?
  •  The author's claim is false There are at least 39 published sources mentioning the First Vision which include the phrase "This is my Beloved Son" spanning 1843 to 1863—many of these prior to 1870.
  • Use of sources: "This is My Beloved Son"
  • No source provided.

16-17

 Why did Orson Pratt say that the two personages that appeared to Joseph were angels?
  • Orson Pratt, sermon by Orson Pratt, reprinted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, 146-147.

17

 Why did Church historian Andrew Jenson say that "The angel again forbade Joseph to join any of these churches?"
  • Andrew Jenson, Joseph Smith, The Prophet, Jan. 1888, vol. 3, nos. 1-3, p. 355.

18

 Why does John Taylor only call the Father and Son "two glorious personages" in 1850 without mentioning the phrase "this is my beloved son?"
  • John Taylor, letter to the Editor of the Interpreter Anglais et Francais, June 25, 1850 cited in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, 191.

18

 Did the 1824 revival cause Joseph's mother, sister and two brothers to join the Presbyterian church?
  • Wesley Walters, "New Light On Mormon Origins From the Palmyra N.Y. Revival," Evangelical Theological Society (Fall 1967), vol. 10, no. 4, 227-244; Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, (Spring 1969), vol. 4, no 1, 60-81.

18

 Did the 1824 revival actually cause Joseph to join a Baptist church? Wasn't this contrary to his instructions in the First Vision?
  • Fayette Lapham cited in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1 458.

18

 Why did no publications from the Palmyra or Manchester areas in the 1830s mention Joseph's vision?
  • Persuitte, p. 21.

22, 490 n.78 (HB)

 Was the vision of Moroni the only vision that was discussed for many years? After all, didn't Lucy Mack Smith say that the first vision was that of a "holy Angel?"
  • Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, 216.

Further reading

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{{To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition}} To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Benjamin Park}} To learn more about responses to: Benjamin Park edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith}} To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon}} To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Charles Larson}} To learn more about responses to: Charles Larson edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Christopher Nemelka}} To learn more about responses to: Christopher Nemelka edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Colby Townshed}} To learn more about responses to: Colby Townshed edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Dan Vogel}} To learn more about responses to: Dan Vogel edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Dick Bauer}} To learn more about responses to: Dick Bauer edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: James White}} To learn more about responses to: James White edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner}} To learn more about responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD}} To learn more about responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: John Dehlin}} To learn more about responses to: John Dehlin edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jonathan Neville}} To learn more about responses to: Jonathan Neville edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Kurt Van Gorden}} To learn more about responses to: Kurt Van Gorden edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard Abanes}} To learn more about responses to: Richard Abanes edit
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