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All said and done, I believe that there is still a lot to be said in favor of JS. His latter-day scriptures continue to inspire millions, so there must be something good in them. I think that either way you look at it, he is one of the great Americans of the 19th century. Either he is a man touched by God, and a prophet, or someone with incredible faculties of writing, inspiring and even liberating people. These bely the idea that he was just a kind of monster – and show a more complex character. Here are some of the doctrines that came through him – I see them all as positive –
* religion is not just limited to this world.
* No original sin. Small children who die are sinless.
* Native Americans are as much God’s children as ethnic Europeans. (This was a subject of debate at the time)
* Slavery is wrong (later in life)
* People outside the church will still be saved. people who have never heard of Christianity too.
* Adam fell that men might be – life is joyful and even sin can be confounded.
* We are God’s children and he loves us.
* We can be reunited with our loved ones.
* The Biblical canon is not closed.
* The atonement is infinite.
* The Holy Land is where you stand.
* Revelation can be had for our times and can be personal.
* Temples (in many ways) and the celestial room.
* Miracles still happen.
* Even young working class lads can receive great truths
* Sexuality can be good, is not inherently evil, and can even be spiritual.
@sambee: Excellent list — I have a number of other items as well and will address when I have more time in a new thread. This is an essential topic. wayfarer wrote:@sambee: Excellent list — I have a number of other items as well and will address when I have more time in a new thread. This is an essential topic.
Thanks. I’ve got a list of not so great doctrines etc, but I think it’s important we present Joseph as a fully rounded character. All too often, when people react against the white washed Joseph Smith, they present him as the complete opposite. That’s not true either.
And despite Joseph having a “zipper problem”, as we say, there does appear to be evidence that he wanted to turn the Relief Society into a kind of priesthood… in other words, all worthy adults would have been able to get the priesthood from him. Not just whites, or men, or a few people trained in a theological college somewhere wearing special clothes.
Sambee – thanks, I also find this list helpful and a reminder of the good things JS did. I’m going to save this in my file. SamBee wrote:All said and done, I believe that there is still a lot to be said in favor of JS. His latter-day scriptures continue to inspire millions, so there must be something good in them. I think that either way you look at it, he is one of the great Americans of the 19th century. Either he is a man touched by God, and a prophet, or someone with incredible faculties of writing, inspiring and even liberating people. These bely the idea that he was just a kind of monster – and show a more complex character.
Here are some of the doctrines that came through him – I see them all as positive –
* religion is not just limited to this world.
* No original sin. Small children who die are sinless.
* Native Americans are as much God’s children as ethnic Europeans. (This was a subject of debate at the time)
* Slavery is wrong (later in life)
* People outside the church will still be saved. people who have never heard of Christianity too.
* Adam fell that men might be – life is joyful and even sin can be confounded.
* We are God’s children and he loves us.
* We can be reunited with our loved ones.
* The Biblical canon is not closed.
* The atonement is infinite.
* The Holy Land is where you stand.
* Revelation can be had for our times and can be personal.
* Temples (in many ways) and the celestial room.
* Miracles still happen.
* Even young working class lads can receive great truths
* Sexuality can be good, is not inherently evil, and can even be spiritual.
All excellent points, Sam, and I concur in all. I think a full examination of JS, rather than just the sanitized version, presents a much fuller and ultimately more inspiring portrait of the man.
SamBee wrote:All said and done, I believe that there is still a lot to be said in favor of JS. His latter-day scriptures continue to inspire millions, so there must be something good in them. I think that either way you look at it, he is one of the great Americans of the 19th century. Either he is a man touched by God, and a prophet, or someone with incredible faculties of writing, inspiring and even liberating people. These bely the idea that he was just a kind of monster – and show a more complex character.
Here are some of the doctrines that came through him – I see them all as positive –
* religion is not just limited to this world.
* No original sin. Small children who die are sinless.
* Native Americans are as much God’s children as ethnic Europeans. (This was a subject of debate at the time)
* Slavery is wrong (later in life)
* People outside the church will still be saved. people who have never heard of Christianity too.
* Adam fell that men might be – life is joyful and even sin can be confounded.
* We are God’s children and he loves us.
* We can be reunited with our loved ones.
* The Biblical canon is not closed.
* The atonement is infinite.
* The Holy Land is where you stand.
* Revelation can be had for our times and can be personal.
* Temples (in many ways) and the celestial room.
* Miracles still happen.
* Even young working class lads can receive great truths
* Sexuality can be good, is not inherently evil, and can even be spiritual.
Agreed. He was either a prophet delivering direct doctrine or a brilliant theologian who had the ability to understand and communicate principles of belief in an excellent way.
Either way, he’s worth paying attention to. He’s impressive even with all his faults. I just wish the church could be a bit more confident about being open about all aspects of his character.
I have just read the new Lorenzo Snow book, cover to cover. There’s a chapter devoted to Joseph Smith. In addition to all the usual details about JS, Snow includes several points which I found very interesting, and make him more rounded – * Joseph Smith liked to play sport, and used to play “ball” (traditional football?!) with the young men, as well as running, wrestling etc. Hyrum tried to rebuke him for this once.
* He had a sense of humor, and even opened some sermons with jokes.
* He enjoyed playing with his own children.
Quote:I think a full examination of JS, rather than just the sanitized version, presents a much fuller and ultimately more inspiring portrait of the man.
Exactly… I never knew he was a sportsman, and cracked jokes!!! Thank you Pres. Snow for recording this.
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