Mormonism is the Product of Joseph Smith's Imagination

drstevej said:

In this thread I will develop the title of the thread.

Joseph Smith's Mother, Lucy Mack Smith, acknowledge that her son had a penchant for telling tall tales....



Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool, S.W. Richards, 1853), 36-173.

An active imagination is common among kids but it is not revelation.

Click to expand...

Revelation always sounds like "tall tales" to those without eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to understand. Has it not always been so?

drstevej said:

So the recitations at momma's knees were revelation?

Click to expand...

No, they weren't. The means whereby he learned the information he was reciting at momma's knees was.

drstevej said:

So God gave him these stories when he was a kid? What do you mean by "the means"?? Did he have a seer stone as a kid?

Click to expand...

"The means" refers to how Joseph Smith got the information which he was reciting. Your question seems to indicate some unfamiliarity with the topic of the thread.

TerranceL said:

As this is a, "Silly things mormons believe" thread I would remind the OP that those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Click to expand...

Yes, I find it ironic that christians of various denominations make fun of mormons for believing stuff that their denomination made up, when pretty much all christian denominations have made up plenty of their own stuff.

Some dr's are never satisfied untill they can find a problem, then they are worried if they can find a cure. or maybe some topics really speak to their heart-longings.

drstevej said:

In this thread I will develop the title of the thread.

Joseph Smith's Mother, Lucy Mack Smith, acknowledge that her son had a penchant for telling tall tales....



Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool, S.W. Richards, 1853), 36-173.

An active imagination is common among kids but it is not revelation.

Click to expand...

In this response I will say that neither the title nor your development or quoted evidence does anything to sway my opinion for or against the assertion made in said thread title.

ivanc0 said:

Mormonism is a great and beautiful imagination, there is a pity there is no more support for their ideas in the bible.

Click to expand...

What's more the pity, if you ask me, is that it was ever concluded by man that the 4th-century compilation of the Bible marked the end of God's own voice being "the word" man was to live by.

All I know for certain is that smith borrowed, or stole, numerous aspects of freemasonry and passed them off as biblical. That in itself is dishonest.

As a mason I find it offensive. As a Christian mason I find it blasphemous.

Simpleman25 said:

All I know for certain is that smith borrowed, or stole, numerous aspects of freemasonry and passed them off as biblical. That in itself is dishonest.

As a mason I find it offensive. As a Christian mason I find it blasphemous.

Click to expand...

Contrary to popular belief, the jury's still out on that one.

Ironhold said:

Contrary to popular belief, the jury's still out on that one.

Click to expand...

Considering the source of the article, I'd say not.

It's well known that smith, his father, and brother had knowledge of freemasonry. Not only did they have knowledge, they had this knowledge BEFORE smith had his revelation, or whatever you call it.

No mormon has given an honest answer to that question. Including the writer of the article you mentioned.

I've noticed that no Mormon has addressed the Egyptian Papyri, either.
Dr. Steve has presented cold hard proof that Joseph Smith very clearly made up his "translations", even couching them in King James type language making it sound all "Bible-y".
Joseph Smith was no prophet. He should have been a writer.

I still find it odd that other protestants are so highly critical of mormons. The protestant denominations all have their own various collections of beliefs. The difference with mormons is that joseph smith claimed separate revelation in support of his set of beliefs. Other than that mormons might as well be another denomination. Mormonism is only slightly more a product of joseph smith's imagination as calvinism is of calvin's, lutheranism of luther's, etc.

The one thing that mormons should be criticized for more than other christians is their hyper-aggressive evangelism methods.

drstevej said:

Not even close to true.

Click to expand...

Then what's the difference, besides the fact that joseph smith claimed additional revelation?

HammerOfThor said:

I still find it odd that other protestants are so highly critical of mormons. The protestant denominations all have their own various collections of beliefs. The difference with mormons is that joseph smith claimed separate revelation in support of his set of beliefs. Other than that mormons might as well be another denomination. Mormonism is only slightly more a product of joseph smith's imagination as calvinism is of calvin's, lutheranism of luther's, etc.

Click to expand...

That's quite incorrect. Joseph Smith claimed to be a prophet who had received information that completely refuted many beliefs of tradition Christianity. Luther, Calvin, and other men associated with the various Protestant denominations were not prophets, did not teach ideas unheard of in Christian history, did not introduce an entire set of "scriptures" previously unknown to Christians, etc. The difference is critically important.

The one thing that mormons should be criticized for more than other christians is their hyper-aggressive evangelism methods.

Click to expand...

Oh, I don't think that's such a big deal. It's the doctrines that are the issue.

Albion said:

That's quite incorrect. Joseph Smith claimed to be a prophet who had received information that completely refuted many beliefs of tradition Christianity. Luther, Calvin, and other men associated with the various Protestant denominations were not prophets, did not teach ideas unheard of in Christian history, did not introduce an entire set of "scriptures" previously unknown to Christians, etc. The difference is critically important.

Click to expand...

The nontrinitarian beliefs are definitely new inventions, but as a whole mormonism is pretty much just restorationism with the claim of additional revelation justifying that restorationism.

Albion said:

Oh, I don't think that's such a big deal. It's the doctrines that are the issue.

Click to expand...

I think it makes sense that we are concerned about different aspects given that we have different religious views