For some reason, I have been curious about the Mormon religion, reading Jon Krakauer's UNDER THE BANNER OF GOD, about a fundamentalist sect of Mormons, responsible for a number of murders, but not much about Mormonism. Thus, I picked up Fawn Brodie's biography, written in 1954. Alert: I got only half way through and got bored.
The early part of Joseph Smith's life is a bit sketchy, but you do get a sense of time, where people were often irreverent, though easily duped, searching for belief. He grew up in Palmyra, NY, born in Sharon, and his family lived in Vermont before moving to New York. My early impression is that he was mischievous, often getting in minor trouble, well liked, a leader among his friends. And he seemed to have a rich imagination, telling amazing stories to the delight of his friends, none true of course. In his late teens, early 20's, he was said to have found a seer's stone and used it to find things for friends and neighbors, developing a reputation, which eventually led him to saying he could find buried gold. Various dupes paid for his services until he was sued, lost, and admitted finally that it was a charade.
He then gets married, moves in with his in laws, finds a secret book, which no one else can view or they will instantly die, and then begins to translate these golden plates, which is a history of the lost Hebrew tribes of Israel, one that was divided into hard working whites who eventually were wiped out by a group of the corrupt sons of evil, the red man or Indian. Brodie shows that most of Smith's larger themes he found in Ethan Smith's equally false View of the Hebrews. Smith's book was just bad scholarship whereas Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon was highly original and imaginative fiction. I assume most Mormon's would disagree with this statement by Brodie.
After he wrote 116 pages of history, his scribes wife took and burned the manuscript. For fear that it might reappear, Smith spoke with God, who told him there were smaller plates, which he could use instead, to thwart Satan of course, and then, once he got to the point where he stopped, he could go back to the original text. Wow. Thus, Joseph speaks directly to God and most importantly, the new translation is much more religious in nature, whereas the first was more political, a response to Joseph's rethinking of his role.
His method: to put the seer stone in a hat, put his face in the hat, and in the darkness a spiritual light would shine. A piece of something like parchment would appear. with writing and under it was the translation. Joseph would read off the translation, a scribe would write down his words. Thus, the book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man. The Book of Mormon was a mutation in the evolution of American literature, a curious sport, at once sterile and potent. Ignored by literary scholars, it brought several hundred thousand immigrants to American in the 19th century.
Once Josepth gets the Book of Mormon published, he is hassled, sued, and eventually decides to up and leave, moving to Kirtland, Ohio, where he is promised land and the beginning of a new home. Along the way, he gains new converts, angers others, and through the power of his words, he consolidates his new religion, setting up a hierarchy, with him at the top, adopting a communistic structure where all one's profits go to the church, to be divided as needed. It's a bit sketchy and obviously it's changed now but back then, it was attractive, with many communities springing up like New Harmony in Indiana. Eventually, he wore out his welcome, the land where he and his believers were living, was taken back, so he decides to have a new revelation from God (these come when ever he needs them to lead his flock) telling them to move to Independence, MO, the gateway to the West, where they will found a New Jerusalem.
One does not realize the discrimination and violence this new religion faced, mainly for fear of their beliefs, one, that they were against slavery, the other, the fear they might convert the Indian. Thus, a state like Missouri feared they brought change. Men are beaten, their families harassed, their homes were burnt down, some were tarred and feather all through th 1830's, as Joseph vacillates as to what he should do. His modus operandi for getting things done is to issue a revelation which has been sent to him by God. The most important revelation from God was to move aware from a totally communistic approach, where one gave their wealth to the church, to one where families could keep their profits, tithe what they could afford, much more amenable to all. Joseph was no fool.
He also stopped having a convenient revelation everytime he wanted something done, instead he began preaching that this is what should be done. Intellectually, he was celebrated for having no education, as if his words were not sullied by having been educated. But in his early 30's, he became infatuated with learning, stressed it in all Mormon schools, studied Greek and Hebrew. Unfortunately, when a group brought some Egyptian hieroglyphics to town, he said he could read it and said it was from Abraham.. He then translated it, a mistake, as it was clear that he was just making stuff up and it could be proved, though it was largely ignored by the faithful.
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