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Elder Tad R. Callister: Straw Man Slayer (January 28, 2020)

I don't want to belabor the point here, but in this same interview Emma Smith says that Joseph Smith never entered into polygamy, which we know is an outright lie. From the same interview about polygamy: ​ "Question. What about the revelation on polygamy? Did Joseph Smith have anything like it? What of spiritual wifery?



Answer. There was no revelation on either polygamy or spiritual wives. There were some rumors of something of the sort, of which I asked my husband. He assured me that all there was of it was, that, in a chat about plural wives, he had said, "Well, such a system might possibly be, if everybody was agreed to it, and would behave as they should; but they would not; and besides, it was contrary to the will of heaven." No such thing as polygamy or spiritual wifery was taught, publicly or privately, before my husband's death, that I have now, or ever had any knowledge of.



Question. Did he not have other wives than yourself?



Answer. He had no other wife but me; nor did he to my knowledge ever have.



Question. Did he not hold marital relations with women other than yourself?



Answer. He did not have improper relations with any woman that ever came to my knowledge.



Question. Was there nothing about spiritual wives that you recollect?



Answer. At one time my husband came to me and asked me if I had heard certain rumors about spiritual marriages, or anything of the kind; and assured me that if I had, that they were without foundation; that there was no such doctrine, and never should be with his knowledge or consent. I know that he had no other wife or wives than myself, in any sense, either spiritual or otherwise." ​ This was an interview that Emma gave to her son, so it is not a surprise that she would lie to make his father look better, but Callister carefully chooses that one line to make the reader think critics are crazy for thinking Joseph Smith produced the Book of Mormon. ​ And while the section on polygamy proves that Emma Smith is not a credible witness to what happened overall, this section about the Book of Mormon translation is particularly damning: ​ Question. Had he not a book or manuscript from which he read, or dictated to you?



Answer. He had neither manuscript nor book to read from.



Question. Could he not have had, and you not know it?



Answer. If he had had anything of the kind he could not have concealed it from me. ​ As we noted earlier, this is impossible to be true given how much material is taken directly from the King James Bible. Either Joseph Smith had a photographic memory and could remember long stretches of Isaiah word for word from the translation used in his time, or he was reading from the King James Bible when using those passages or other phrases and ideas from the New Testament. Again, Callister is careful not to mention this because it completely undercuts the message he wants to send to members and would expose members to just how often Joseph Smith borrows from a translation of the Bible that did not exist for about 1,200 years after Book of Mormon times. ​ Again, Callister is also making an argument here that doesn't exist. The Book of Mormon manuscipt would read nothing like the cleaned-up version of Book of Mormon we have today. It was full of run on sentences, grammatical errors, and has undergone over 4,000 changes to make it more readable over time. We do not have the original manuscript, but there is a faithful article about the study of the printer's manuscript with some photos that show how differently it read at the time. As many scholars have noted, the Book of Mormon reads like a dictated text, and as such you would not need to know how to literally write in order to produce it, but would need a good knowledge of the Bible and ideas around you. ​ In her history, Lucy Mack Smith noted that "During our evening conversations, Joseph would occasionally give us some of the most amusing recitals that could be imagined. He would describe the ancient inhabitants of this continent, their dress, mode of travelings, and the animals upon which they rode; their cities, their buildings, with every particular; their mode of warfare; and also their religious worship. This he would do with as much ease, seemingly, as if he had spent his whole life among them." (Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool, S.W. Richards, 1853), 36-173) ​ The point here is that Joseph Smith was clearly a gifted storyteller and was telling his family Book of Mormon stories before he even claimed to have the plates. While Callister focuses on Joseph Smith's literal ability to write, he is completely misrepresenting both the critical arguments and the history behind the Book of Mormon production. Joseph Smith did not write anytihng - he dictated the story while his head was completely buried in a hat with a rock inside. In other words, Callister arguing that "This is staggering when you think about it — to claim that Joseph Smith, who could not write a coherent letter, wrote the Book of Mormon," is an stance that, once again, Callister is framing in order to slay the straw man by ignoring the actual evidence. ​ We cover this in much more detail in our annotated Gospel Topics Essay on the Book of Mormon Translation, but here is a letter that Joseph Smith wrote to Oliver Cowdery in 1829, which is the time frame that Emma is discussing earlier when she claims Joseph could not "write a coherant and well worded letter:" ​ “I would inform you that I arrived at home on sunday morning the 4th after having a prosperous Journey, and found all well. The people are all friendly to us except a few who are in opposition to everything, unless it is something that is exactly like themselves, and two of our most formidable persecutors are now under censure and are cited to a trial in the church for crimes which, if true, are worse than all the Gold Book business. We do not rejoice in the affliction of our enemies, but we shall be glad to have truth prevail. There begins to be a great call for our books in this country. The minds of the people are very much excited when they find that there is a copyright obtained, and that there is really book about to be printed…" (Joseph Smith Papers, Letter-to-oliver-cowdery-October-1829)