Joseph Smith and money digging - Revision history

GregSmith at 05:06, 20 May 2024

2024-05-20T05:06:31Z

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	Richard Lloyd Anderson notes that in D&C 111, "the definition of riches came		Richard Lloyd Anderson notes that in D&C 111, "the definition of riches came
	in doublets, a scriptural pattern of restating one idea in two aspects."<ref>{{MatureJS}}</ref>The following parallels are noted:		in doublets, a scriptural pattern of restating one idea in two aspects."<ref>{{MatureJS}}</ref> The following parallels are noted:

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GregSmith: /* Salem's "treasure" */

2024-05-20T05:06:20Z

Salem's "treasure"

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	Richard Lloyd Anderson notes that in D&C 111, "the definition of riches came		Richard Lloyd Anderson notes that in D&C 111, "the definition of riches came
	in doublets, a scriptural pattern of restating one idea in two aspects."{{MatureJS}} The following parallels are noted:		in doublets, a scriptural pattern of restating one idea in two aspects."<ref>{{MatureJS}}</ref>The following parallels are noted:

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GregSmith at 05:05, 20 May 2024

2024-05-20T05:05:09Z

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GregSmith at 02:40, 28 April 2024

2024-04-28T02:40:59Z

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GregSmith at 02:31, 28 April 2024

2024-04-28T02:31:20Z

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GregSmith at 02:31, 28 April 2024

2024-04-28T02:31:12Z

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GregSmith at 16:16, 27 April 2024

2024-04-27T16:16:33Z

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	It is further clear that those who used divinization by rods, for example, believed that the rod's natural ability also required the grace of God to operate. Hence, practitioners would consecrate their rods, and pray to God to bless their efforts.<ref>See discussion in {{Ashurst-McGee-Thesis\|start=140, 182\|end=192}}</ref> Of such matters, Oliver Cowdery was told in an early revelation, "without faith you can do nothing."<ref>{{BoC\|7\|4}}</ref> Like any natural ability, Joseph believed that the gift and tools of seership (in the broader sense) could be misused. As he told Brigham Young, "most...who do find [a seer stone] make an evil use of it."<ref>{{MS\|start=118\|end=119\|date=20 February 1864\|article=History of Brigham Young\|author=Joseph Smith, cited by Brigham Young}}; cited in {{Ashurst-McGee-Thesis1\|start=184}}</ref> And, Emma Smith's hostile brother Alvah would later remember that Joseph told him "that his gift in seeing with a [seer] stone and hat, was a gift from God."<ref>"Mormonism," ''The Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian'' (Montrose, Pennsylvania) (1 May 1834): 1, column 4; cited in {{Ashurst-McGee-Thesis1\|start=184}}</ref>		It is further clear that those who used divinization by rods, for example, believed that the rod's natural ability also required the grace of God to operate. Hence, practitioners would consecrate their rods, and pray to God to bless their efforts.<ref>See discussion in {{Ashurst-McGee-Thesis\|start=140, 182\|end=192}}</ref> Of such matters, Oliver Cowdery was told in an early revelation, "without faith you can do nothing."<ref>{{BoC\|7\|4}}</ref> Like any natural ability, Joseph believed that the gift and tools of seership (in the broader sense) could be misused. As he told Brigham Young, "most...who do find [a seer stone] make an evil use of it."<ref>{{MS\|start=118\|end=119\|date=20 February 1864\|article=History of Brigham Young\|author=Joseph Smith, cited by Brigham Young}}; cited in {{Ashurst-McGee-Thesis1\|start=184}}</ref> And, Emma Smith's hostile brother Alvah would later remember that Joseph told him "that his gift in seeing with a [seer] stone and hat, was a gift from God."<ref>"Mormonism," ''The Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian'' (Montrose, Pennsylvania) (1 May 1834): 1, column 4; cited in {{Ashurst-McGee-Thesis1\|start=184}}</ref>
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	==Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts, to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?==		==Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts, to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?==
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	These conversions were sufficiently noticed to have been commented on by two of Salem's newspapers, the ''Salem Gazette'' on Dec. 7, 1841, and ''The Salem Register'' on June 2, 1842.		These conversions were sufficiently noticed to have been commented on by two of Salem's newspapers, the ''Salem Gazette'' on Dec. 7, 1841, and ''The Salem Register'' on June 2, 1842.
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	==Did Joseph Smith sacrifice a dog while treasure seeking?==		==Did Joseph Smith sacrifice a dog while treasure seeking?==

GregSmith at 16:15, 27 April 2024

2024-04-27T16:15:59Z

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	* Beginning in 1823, after the claimed appearance of the angel Moroni, Joseph oriented himself away from treasure seeking.		* Beginning in 1823, after the claimed appearance of the angel Moroni, Joseph oriented himself away from treasure seeking.
	*His scriptural and revelatory productions were largely based in Biblical Christianity. Folk magic was a peripheral ingredient to his work (and there is even explicit condemnation of magic in those scriptural productions [Alma 1:32; 3 Nephi 21:16; Mormon 1:19; 2:10; Doctrine and Covenants 63:17; Doctrine and Covenants 76:103)		*His scriptural and revelatory productions were largely based in Biblical Christianity. Folk magic was a peripheral ingredient to his work (and there is even explicit condemnation of magic in those scriptural productions [Alma 1:32; 3 Nephi 21:16; Mormon 1:19; 2:10; Doctrine and Covenants 63:17; Doctrine and Covenants 76:103)
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	==Did Joseph Smith "retrofit" his "treasure seeking" to have a religious explanation?==		==Did Joseph Smith "retrofit" his "treasure seeking" to have a religious explanation?==
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	===The Hofmann forgeries exaggerated "magic" and "occult" elements of treasure digging even further===		===The Hofmann forgeries exaggerated "magic" and "occult" elements of treasure digging even further===
	The [[Forgeries related to Mormonism/Mark Hofmann\|Hofmann forgeries]] gave great emphasis to the "money-digging" and "occult" aspects of Joseph's experience, and they unfortunately shaded a good deal of the initial scholarly discussion surrounding these issues. Hofmann's documents made the case "air-tight," so to speak, and so other clues along the way were given more weight. When the Hofmann documents collapsed, some authors were not willing to abandon the shaky interpretive edifice they had constructed.<ref>{{BYUS1\|author=Stephen E. Robinson\|article=Review of D. Michael Quinn ''Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (1987)''\|vol=27\|num=4\|start=88\|date=Date?}}{{pdflink\|url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/Products/MoreInfoPage/MoreInfo.aspx?Type=7&ProdID=2053}}; see also {{FR-12-2-15}}; {{FR-12-2-16}}; {{FR-12-2-17}}</ref>		The [[Forgeries related to Mormonism/Mark Hofmann\|Hofmann forgeries]] gave great emphasis to the "money-digging" and "occult" aspects of Joseph's experience, and they unfortunately shaded a good deal of the initial scholarly discussion surrounding these issues. Hofmann's documents made the case "air-tight," so to speak, and so other clues along the way were given more weight. When the Hofmann documents collapsed, some authors were not willing to abandon the shaky interpretive edifice they had constructed.<ref>{{BYUS1\|author=Stephen E. Robinson\|article=Review of D. Michael Quinn ''Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (1987)''\|vol=27\|num=4\|start=88\|date=Date?}}{{pdflink\|url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/Products/MoreInfoPage/MoreInfo.aspx?Type=7&ProdID=2053}}; see also {{FR-12-2-15}}; {{FR-12-2-16}}; {{FR-12-2-17}}</ref>
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	==Was "money digging" Joseph Smith's primary source of income during his early years?==		==Was "money digging" Joseph Smith's primary source of income during his early years?==
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	Sugaring was another labor-intensive work. William recalls, "To gather the sap and make sugar and molasses from [1,200-1,500 sugar] trees was no lazy job" (Peterson 11). Lucy said they produced an average of "one thousand pounds" (50) of sugar a year. One neighbor reportedly said that the Smiths made 7,000 pounds of sugar one season and won a premium for their effort at the county fair (Brodie 10-11). Many people could make maple syrup, but it required considerable skill to make sugar and particularly good skill, dexterity, and commitment to make high quality sugar.<ref>Enders, "Joseph Smith, Sr., Family," 222–223.</ref>		Sugaring was another labor-intensive work. William recalls, "To gather the sap and make sugar and molasses from [1,200-1,500 sugar] trees was no lazy job" (Peterson 11). Lucy said they produced an average of "one thousand pounds" (50) of sugar a year. One neighbor reportedly said that the Smiths made 7,000 pounds of sugar one season and won a premium for their effort at the county fair (Brodie 10-11). Many people could make maple syrup, but it required considerable skill to make sugar and particularly good skill, dexterity, and commitment to make high quality sugar.<ref>Enders, "Joseph Smith, Sr., Family," 222–223.</ref>
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	==Did Joseph Smith and his contemporaries believe in supernatural entities with real power?==		==Did Joseph Smith and his contemporaries believe in supernatural entities with real power?==

GregSmith at 16:15, 27 April 2024

2024-04-27T16:15:06Z

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GregSmith at 16:13, 27 April 2024

2024-04-27T16:13:56Z

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	==Was Joseph Smith's participation in "money digging" as a youth a blot on his character?==		==Was Joseph Smith's participation in "money digging" as a youth a blot on his character?==
	===Money digging was a popular, common and accepted practice in their frontier culture===		===Money digging was a popular, common and accepted practice in their frontier culture===
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	On a scorching day in July I visited Susquehanna to obtain an authentic narrative from several parties who were eye-witnesses of the events which they related. At the residence of Mrs. Elizabeth Squires I found both herself and Mrs. Sally McKune, the widow of Joseph McKune. Mrs. Squires is considerably over seventy, and Mrs. McKune is about eighty, years of age. Both these ladies lived in the neighborhood at the time of the Smith manifestations. The statement given above with regard to the digging for treasure is that of Mrs. McKune, supplemented by Mrs. Squires. Jacob J. Skinner, the present owner of the farm, was about sixteen years old at the time of the search. For a number of years he has been engaged in filling the holes with stone to protect his cattle, but the boys still use the north-east hole as a swimming-pond in the summer.<ref>Frederic G. Mather, [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24851/24851-h/24851-h.htm "The Early Days of Mormonism,"] ''Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science'' August 1880, 211.</ref>		On a scorching day in July I visited Susquehanna to obtain an authentic narrative from several parties who were eye-witnesses of the events which they related. At the residence of Mrs. Elizabeth Squires I found both herself and Mrs. Sally McKune, the widow of Joseph McKune. Mrs. Squires is considerably over seventy, and Mrs. McKune is about eighty, years of age. Both these ladies lived in the neighborhood at the time of the Smith manifestations. The statement given above with regard to the digging for treasure is that of Mrs. McKune, supplemented by Mrs. Squires. Jacob J. Skinner, the present owner of the farm, was about sixteen years old at the time of the search. For a number of years he has been engaged in filling the holes with stone to protect his cattle, but the boys still use the north-east hole as a swimming-pond in the summer.<ref>Frederic G. Mather, [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24851/24851-h/24851-h.htm "The Early Days of Mormonism,"] ''Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science'' August 1880, 211.</ref>
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