User:Awilley/sandbox3

"What I think is the real failing of this piece is that it lacks scope. It just picks its way along from one little fact to another little fact, all of them ending up making Joseph Smith an ignoble character of some kind. And it never really assesses Joseph Smith's achievement. What was the significance of this person in history? After all, he was the founder of a church that is remarkable for continuing for a couple of centuries. Yet it doesn't give you any sense of how he did that. There's no explanation of how he acquired all these followers. … The article doesn't say anything about the impact of new revelation on followers or even make much of the fact that Joseph was continually receiving revelation. So it becomes a picky piece that isn't inaccurate, but it sort of lacks depth. It ends up being shallow, I think." (source)

Lead
Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism, the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. At age twenty-four Smith published the Book of Mormon, and in the next fourteen years he gathered thousands of followers, built cities and temples, and created a religious culture that survived his death.

Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont. By 1817, Smith's family had moved to western New York, an area repeatedly swept by religious revivals during the Second Great Awakening. Smith family members held divergent views about organized religion, but they believed in visions and prophecies and engaged in folk religious practices typical of the era. According to Smith, beginning in the early 1820s he had visions, in one of which an angel directed him to a buried book of golden plates, inscribed with a Christian history of ancient American civilizations. In 1830, he published what he said was an English translation of these plates as the Book of Mormon, and organized the Church of Christ as a restoration of the early Christian church. Church members were later called Latter Day Saints, Saints, or Mormons.

In 1831, Smith and his followers moved west to Kirtland, Ohio and began establishing an outpost in Independence, Missouri, where Smith planned to build a city called Zion. In 1837 a bank established by Smith and other church leaders collapsed causing widespread defections. The following year Smith joined his followers in northern Missouri, who had been expelled from Independence by Missourians alarmed at the rapid growth of Mormon communities. The next year Conflicts erupted again between Mormons and the older Missouri settlers, and the Mormons were expelled from Missouri, while Smith was imprisoned for several months. In 1839, Smith rejoined his followers to settle at Nauvoo, Illinois where he served as both spiritual and political leader. In 1844, disaffected Mormons published an exposé criticizing Smith's theocratic aspirations and practice of polygamy. Three days later the Nauvoo City Council ordered the paper's destruction, precipitating a call to arms of non-Mormons outside Nauvoo who feared Smith's growing power. During the ensuing turmoil, Smith was imprisoned and killed in Carthage, Illinois.

During his lifetime Smith produced numerous revelations that are regarded as scripture by his followers. His teachings include unique views about the nature of God, cosmology, family structures, political organization, and religious collectivism. His followers regard him as a Biblical-style prophet of at least the stature of Moses and Elijah. Smith's legacy includes a number of religious denominations, including the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which claims a growing membership of more than 14 million worldwide.

Difference between Teaching and Interpretation
The article should focus on Smith's teachings, not the various interpretations of his teachings.

Removed material to re-integrate
that Eve's partaking of the fruit was part of God's plan,

Jesus would appear during the Millennium as the ultimate ruler. Following a thousand years of peace, Judgment Day would be followed by a final resurrection, when all humanity would be assigned to one of three heavenly kingdoms.

Smith's idea that Mormons were Israelites should be mentioned prominently, because it is an important theme of his teachings. Also very significant is his belief that the Indians were Hebrews, and that he believed that a significant part of his mission was their "restoration." Also, you cannot underestimate the importance of his New Jerusalem teachings, or his teachings about Enoch, particularly Enoch's United Order. The racial elements ("Lamanites" and the descendants of Cain and Canaan) of his teachings are also very historically significant, and ought to be addressed somewhere as well, perhaps in the "political views" and "revelations" sections
 * COgden's comment:

In June 1830 Smith received a "revelation of Moses" telling of a series of visions in which Moses sees "the world and the ends thereof" and asks God questions about the purpose of the creation, the destiny of man, and his relationship to God. This revelation initiated a revision of the Bible on which Smith worked sporadically until 1833. Unlike traditional translations or revisions, Smith's "translation" added long passages and re-wrote sentences "according to his inspiration." Smith believed that the original text had been corrupted in its descent through the ages, and proposed to strengthen biblical authority by restoring the original. While many changes involved straighting out contradictions, and making small interpolations and clarifications, other changes added large "lost" portions. For instance, Smith nearly tripled the length of the first five chapters of Genesis in writing what would become the Book of Moses. Smith's bible translation was not published during his lifetime.
 * Moses and Abraham

The Book of Moses begins with Moses's "cosmic inquiry," in which Moses learns that God made the earth and heavens to bring humans to eternal life. The book then gives another account of the creation story that Moses was believed to have described in Genesis. The Book of Moses expands the story of Enoch, the ancestor of Noah, saying he spoke with God, received a prophetic calling, and eventually built a city of Zion so righteous that it was taken to heaven. The book elaborates and expands upon foreshadowing and "types" of Christ, in effect Christianizing the Old Testament.

In 1835 Smith encouraged some of the Kirtland Saints to purchase rolls of ancient Egyptian papyri from a traveling exhibitor. Over the next several years Smith worked off and on as events allowed, producing a translation of one of these rolls which he published in 1842 as the Book of Abraham. The Book of Abraham told of the founding of the Abrahamic nation, spoke of astronomy, cosmology, lineage and priesthood, and gave another account of the creation story.

Ethics and Behavior

 * Change name to "Character"
 * Add interpretations from Bushman (character of a prophet section), Vogel (pious deceiver), Brodie
 * Merge with material from first 2 paragraphs of "Legacy"

New material
Smith attracted thousands of devoted followers before his death in 1844 and millions within a century. During his lifetime, Smith's role in the Latter Day Saint religion was comparable to that of Muhammad in early Islam, and his followers regarded him as a prophet and apostle of at least the stature of Moses, Elijah, Peter and Paul.

It is unlikely, though, that there will ever be consensus on Smith's character and achievements. Mormons and Ex-Mormons have produced a large amount of scholarly work about Smith, and while Mormons tend to shield their prophet's reputation, those who have broken away from the faith have to justify their decision to leave. Interpretations range from viewing Smith as a prophet who restored the true faith, to a "pious fraud" who believed he was called of God to preach repentance, and felt justified inventing visions in order to convert people, to a "mythmaker" who was the product of his Yankee environment. Most agree though that Smith was one of the most influential, charismatic, and innovative figures in American religious history.

Smith's teachings and practices aroused considerable antagonism, with newspapers as early as 1829 dismissing him as a fraud (a view still held by many evangelical Christians). He was twice imprisoned for alleged treason, the second time falling victim to an angry mob that stormed the jail. After his death at age thirty eight, the Saints believed he had died as a martyr to seal the testimony of his faith. Smith himself made no claims to perfection, comparing himself to a "rough stone", speaking of his impetuosity and lack of polish.

Of all Smith's visions, Saints gradually came to regard his First Vision as the most important because it inaugurated his prophetic calling and character. Memorials to Smith include the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Joseph Smith Building on the campus of Brigham Young University.

Trim Succession crisis section
Current section is wordy, unclear, messy, and spends an inordinate amount of time on something that biographers practically ignore.

Trials section
Much of what we know about Smith comes from court records. Give a quick overview of the many trials he had, the charges, and outcomes.

RFC: First Vision paragraph
How should the subject of the First Vision be treated in the Early Life section? Below are four different versions that have been discussed.


 * 1. Original statement (as of mid-December)
 * Smith later said that he had his own first vision in 1820, in which God told him his sins were forgiven and that all the current churches were false.


 * 2. Current paragraph
 * Smith became concerned with religion at about the age of twelve. Probably around 1820 he decided to pray for a forgiveness of his sins and to ask which church was right. Smith later said that in response to his prayer he had a theophany or first vision, in which God appeared, told him his sins were forgiven, and that all contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel." Smith may have told a few people about his vision, but the event passed unnoticed in his home town. 


 * 3. Recommendation by Adjwilley
 * Smith became concerned with religion at about the age of twelve, saying later that he was concerned for the welfare of his soul and confused by competing religious denominations. Probably around 1820 Smith went to a wooded area to pray and later said that in response to his prayer he had a vision (or theophany) in which God appeared, told him his sins were forgiven, and that all contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel." Smith may have told a few people about his vision, but the event passed unnoticed in his home town. Though this "First Vision" would be seen by later generations as Mormonism's founding event, Smith probably understood it as a personal conversion. 


 * 4. Recommendation by John Foxe
 * During the 1830s, Smith said he too had experienced a theophany as an adolescent. 


 * Arguments
 * Adjwilley argues that a longer paragraph gives due weight to the First Vision in the context in which it's presented in reliable sources (i.e. Smith's early life), and that it reflects the story as it is described in the sources.


 * John Foxe argues that a paragraph pushes a Mormon POV, and doesn't belong in the Early life section because there's no historical evidence that the First Vision occurred in 1820, and it didn't become important to Momronism until much later.


 * Additional arguments can be found above in the sections labeled First Vision (once again) and Foxe's rewrite of First Vision paragraph.

Comments

 * I think 2 is ok, but that 3 corrects some potential issues that were brought up by John Foxe and COgden, notably an accusation of synth in the reasons for Smith's prayer, and the fact that the First Vision did not receive its high status in Mormonism until much later.

First Vision paragraph
During the 1830s Smith wrote that as a youth he had become concerned for the welfare of his soul and was confused by competing religious denominations. Probably around 1820 Smith went to a wooded area to pray and later said that in response to his prayer he had a vision in which God appeared, told him his sins were forgiven, and that all contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel." Smith said he told a preacher about the experience, who he said dismissed the vision with contempt, further distancing Smith from organized religion. Though his "First Vision" would be seen by later generations as Mormonism's founding event, Smith probably understood it as a personal conversion, and the story was unknown to most early believers. During the 1830s Smith wrote that as a youth he had become concerned with religion and that around 1820 he had a vision in which God told him his sins were forgiven, and that contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel." Smith said he told a preacher about the experience, who he said dismissed the vision with contempt, distancing Smith from organized religion. Though his "First Vision" would be seen by later generations as Mormonism's founding event, Smith probably understood it as a personal conversion, and the story was unknown to most early believers.
 * Current version
 * Possible replacement

Golden plates draft
According to witnesses, Smith began using a single seer stone (not part of a set of spectacles) during a second phase of translation, the same brown stone he had earlier used in treasure seeking. Smith placed the stone in a hat, buried his face in it to eliminate all outside light, and peered into the stone to see the words of the translation.

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