Richard Bushman’s biography of Mormon founder Joseph Smith has been called the best book written about this extraordinary man. Bushman himself is a believer, and while he doesn’t pretend he isn’t invested in the crucial question of whether Smith was a visionary or a fraud, as an historian he’s more interested in trying to understand the mind of Joseph Smith and how he came to believe he spoke for God. Bushman has said that Smith isn’t interesting as a fraud, he’s interesting as a prophet. Richard Bushman joined us to talk his cultural biography of Mormonism’s founder. (Rebroadcast)
Archive for the ‘Joseph Smith’ Category
#016: Richard Bushman on Radiowest
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007Christopher Hitchens Excoriates Joseph Smith and Mormonism in Slate Article and Book — “god is not Great”
Friday, April 27th, 2007
Ouch! From Christopher Hitchens’ latest Slate article, and new book. This guy supports the Iraq war and George Bush, and hates Mormonism. I don’t quite get it.
A question/challenge to my readers (which reminds me of this post from last year): in spite of the venom, what percentage of this essay is actually historically/factually accurate, vs. incorrect? After reading the article, I’m guessing around 60%.
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Subject: Mormonism: A Racket Becomes a Religion
Posted Friday, April 27, 2007, at 7:23 AM ET
If the followers of the prophet Muhammad hoped to put an end to any future “revelations” after the immaculate conception of the Koran, they reckoned without the founder of what is now one of the world’s fastest-growing faiths. And they did not foresee (how could they, mammals as they were?) that the prophet of this ridiculous cult would model himself on theirs. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—hereafter known as the Mormons—was founded by a gifted opportunist who, despite couching his text in openly plagiarized Christian terms, announced that “I shall be to this generation a new Muhammad” and adopted as his fighting slogan the words, which he thought he had learned from Islam, “Either the Al-Koran or the sword.” He was too ignorant to know that if you use the word al you do not need another definite article, but then he did resemble Muhammad in being able only to make a borrowing out of other people’s bibles.
Joseph Smith as Administrator
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007A friend emailed me a story about Joseph Smith that I thought was interesting. It comes from a 1969 BYU Master’s Thesis by a BYU student named Gary Dean Guthrie enttiled “Joseph Smith as Administrator.” The quote within the passage comes from An Apostle’s Record. The Journals of Abraham H. Cannon, Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 1889-1896 (Hardcover).
Joseph Smith tried the faith of the Saints many times by his peculiarities. At one time, he had preached a powerful sermon on the Word of Wisdom, and immediately thereafter, he rode throught he streets of Nauvoo smoking a cigar. Some of the brethren were tired as was Abraham of old.
Jedediah M. Grant, in speaking of this, said:
What would a man of God say, who felt alright, when Joseph asked him for his money? He would say, ‘Yes, and I wish I had more to help to build up the kingdom of God.’ Or if he came and said, ‘I want your wife?’ ‘O yes,’ he would say, ‘here she is, there are plenty more …
Did the Prophet Joseph want every man’s wife he asked for? He did not, but in that thing was the grand thread of the Priesthood developed. The grand object in view was to try the people of God, to see what was in them … If ever you are brought into the presence of God, and exalted to a seat in His Celestial Kingdom, it will be by virtue of the Holy Priesthood, therefore you have go to be proved, not only by being tempted by the devil, but the Priesthood will try you – it will try you to the core.
Man…these people had some SERIOUS faith, no?
Bill Maher on Mormons , Mormonism and Religion
Tuesday, February 20th, 2007Ouch. Looks like Maher has really done some homework. For a good discussion on this, check out By Common Consent.
My Interview with Richard Bushman
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007For those of you who stopped following Mormon Stories, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve fired it up again, and have posted part 1 of a muti-part series interview of Richard Bushman, author of Rough Stone Rolling.