Was Joseph Smith a cynical fraud?

Last updated on: October 23, 2017 at 12:49 pm by Dan Peterson

Was Joseph Smith a cynical fraud? 2017-10-23T12:49:19-06:00 Dan Peterson

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On the Joseph Smith family farm in Palmyra, New York (LDS.org)

One of the proposed explanations for Joseph Smith is that he was, simply, a conscious (and conscienceless) liar. This wouldn’t, in my view, even begin to account for the facts of the early Restoration. Beyond that, though, it seems to me unsustainable in and of itself. Here’s a brief (and only partial) passage on the topic from one of my note files:

Joseph Smith’s honesty and sincerity shines in his personal writings. (We’ll talk about his associates later.) Judgments on such a matter must necessarily remain subjective, but a few passages taken almost randomly from documents in Joseph Smith’s own handwriting, documents never intended for publication, should give a glimpse of his personality and character. For instance, the very first entry in his diary reads, in its entirety, as follows:

Joseph Smith Jrs Book for Record Baught on the 27th of November 1832 for the purpose to keep a minute acount of all things that come under my obsevation &c—

Oh may God grant that I may be directed in all my thaughts Oh bless thy Servent Amen[1]

On 4 December 1832, he concludes his entry with the prayer “Oh Lord deliver thy servent out of temtations and fill his heart with wisdom and understanding.”[2] Similar entries abound in the diary. “Lord bless my family and preserve them,” he writes on 13 October 1833. The following day, planning to depart on a journey into Canada, he implores the Lord to “be with us on our Journy.” [3] On 13 November of that same year, having been awakened before dawn to witness a meteor shower, his mind was on the biblical signs predicted for the last days. “Oh how marvelous are thy works Oh Lord,” he wrote in his diary, “and I thank thee for thy me[r]cy unto me thy servent Oh Lord save me in thy kingdom for Christ sake Amen.” [4] On 16 January 1834, away from home and concerned about members of the Church in Missouri, Joseph includes yet another prayer in his diary: “Oh Lord keep us and my Family safe untill I can return to them again Oh my God have mercy on my Bretheren in Zion for Christ Sake Amen.” [5] After Sabbath services with a small branch of the Church in Pennsylvania, on the first of March, Joseph records this prayer: Oh may God keep them in the faith and save them and lead them to Zion.” [6] Two days later, evidently homesick, he hopes for a quick return to his family in Kirtland, Ohio, and that he will find them “all well.” “O Lord bless my little children with health and long life to do good in this generation for Christs sake.” [7]

[1] In Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 16.

[2] In Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 17.

[3] In Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 18.

[4] In Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 21.

[5] In Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 25.

[6] In Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 27.

[7] In Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 28.

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