A History of Joseph Smith’s Financial Malfeasance (Pt. 1)

On April 10, 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted in a blast was so powerful that people 800 miles away heard it. The ash cloud, which included 200 million tons of toxic sulfur dioxide, reached an estimated 141,000 feet (27 miles) into the atmosphere. The top third of the mountain disappeared. Those on the island had no chance of survival. An estimated 10,000 people were killed almost instantly and upwards of 100,000 perished from famine and disease in the following months. By any measure it was a human, environmental and agricultural catastrophe.

But it was just the beginning.

During the next year, toxic smoke and ash gradually made its way to Western Europe, which was already dealing with the fallout of previous volcanic blasts between 1812-1815, typhoid fever, and the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars. The smoke drastically reduced temperatures which resulted in crop failure and famine. 1816, the coldest recorded summer in England between the years 1776-2000, became known “The Year Without Summer,” “1800 and Froze to Death,” and “The Starvation Year.” Atlantic Canada and New England were also directly affected that summer. Historian William Atkins wrote of Massachusetts,

“Severe frosts occurred every month; June 7th and 8th snow fell, and it was so cold that crops were cut down, even freezing the roots … In the early Autumn when corn was in the milk it was so thoroughly frozen that it never ripened and was scarcely worth harvesting. Breadstuffs were scarce and prices high and the poorer class of people were often in straits for want of food. It must be remembered that the granaries of the great west had not then been opened to us by railroad communication, and people were obliged to rely upon their own resources or upon others in their immediate locality.”

Nearby Vermont was no more fortunate. The freezing temperatures and crop failures resulted in a mass exodus. Some 10,000-15,000 people left the Green Mountain State for warmer weather, among them the Smith family of Norwich. After three successive years of crop failures, including 1816, Joseph Sr. and Lucy, ever nomadic, packed up their things and moved to Palmyra, NY.  Unfortunately for the Smiths, their relocation did little to improve their situation. Despite honest and vigorous attempts to turn a profit on the farm, the Smiths struggled to make payments on the land. After many years of trial and struggle, including the death of Alvin in 1823, the Smiths failed to meet their financial obligations and sold the farm in 1825. They remained on the land until 1829 before moving to Waterloo in 1830 and finally settling in Kirtland in 1831.  You know the rest of the story.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest Joseph Smith, Jr., along with rest of his family, felt the burden of poverty every day.  The 1800s were a time of hard living and early death. We have no comprehension of what it’s like to grow our own food out of necessity or use a fire for warmth in the middle of a harsh winter. These hardships undoubtedly left an indelible mark on young Joseph, as they would anyone. When he writes in his history that he was tempted to sell the plates to alleviate the family’s poverty, it’s very easy to understand why. I am sympathetic to his plight. I was on church welfare a few times when I was a teen. I can still smell the canned meat. So, I don’t blame his first impulse. I don’t blame anyone for wanting to lift his family out of poverty and I don’t think any reasonable person would. However, I do object to using the church and the Saints to do it, and even more so in using revelations purported to be from God.

Unfortunately, the temptation of material gain and prosperity is one that Joseph seems unable to shake. Throughout his 15-year public ministry we find a man who repeatedly used his power, influence and revelations to improve his personal financial situation. This is not my opinion. It’s written into his revelations and well-documented in LDS sources, which I will quote and link to.  It’s also important to note that hostile sources should not be discounted simply because they are hostile any more than sympathetic sources should be accepted because they are sympathetic. As I wrote in a previous post, perceived bad men can tell the truth and perceived good men can lie.  Some individuals had very good reasons for doing criticizing and breaking with Joseph Smith. That doesn’t make them dishonest.

If this intro stirs some negative emotions, well, good. It should. We have to break the spell Joseph Smith holds over the Latter-Day Saint people. I originally planned to do a single post on this subject, but it just got longer and longer, so I decided to break it up into two, and perhaps three, posts. We need to discuss the plates and the translation, the publication of the Book of Mormon, Joseph’s early revelations, the United Firm of Enoch, Zion’s Camp, the Kirtland Temple, the Kirtland Safety Society, the Salem treasure revelation, tithing, land deeds and speculation, bankruptcy, spurious business decisions. At the heart of all these issues is money and debt. One last note before we begin. To avoid repetition, any dollar amounts in parentheses represent the approximate 2024 equivalent.

THE TEMPTATION TO SELL THE PLATES FOR GAIN

According to Joseph Smith, the angel Moroni appeared on September 21, 1823, about three and a half years after the First Vision. According to his 1838 history, the angel informed him of “a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.” That book, of course, would be translated into the Book of Mormon. As I’ve previously written, I don’t doubt that Joseph entertained an angel. I have plenty of room in my worldview to accommodate such an event. That angel was Moroni, not Nephi as some have suggested in recent years. (See Ether 5.)  Joseph writes that on the third visit the angel repeated the same things as before and,

“added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them.

There are some very serious difficulties with Joseph Smith’s 1838 history. At some point I’m going to go line by line and highlight the problems. I believe it’s highly embellished and influenced by later events, but I do believe this part is more less accurate because similar language appears in Joseph’s unpublished 1832 history. On the occasion of retiring to the hill to retrieve the plates, Joseph writes,

“…behold the angel appeared unto me again and said unto me you have not kept the commandments of the Lord which I gave unto you therefore you cannot now obtain them for the time is not yet fulfilled therefore thou wast left unto temptation that thou mightest be made accquainted of with the power of the advisary therefore repent and call on the Lord thou shalt be forgiven and in his own due time thou shalt obtain them for now I had been tempted of the advisary and saught the Plates to obtain riches and kept not the commandme[n]t that I should have an eye single to the Glory of God therefore I was chastened and saught diligently to obtain the plates and obtained them not untill I was twenty one years of age.”

It may be inconsequential or insignificant, but in the 1832 history, Joseph writes that he was tempted while in the 1838 history he writes that he would be tempted. Despite the prohibition to sell the plates for gain, there appears to expectation among the Smith family that the Book of Mormon would yet lift them out of poverty. As former BYU professor Marvin S. Hill writes,

“Joseph Capron wrote that Smith hoped his volume would ‘relieve the family from all pecuniary embarrassment.’ There is evidence from Mormon sources to confirm Capron’s recollections. Smith himself admitted in his unpublished history (1832) that he sought the plates to obtain riches.'” (Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism, pp. 20-21)

The same Joseph Capron wrote,

“[Joseph’s] father told me, that when the book was published, they would be enabled, from the profits of the work, to carry into successful operation the money digging business. He gave me no intimation, at that time, that the book was to be of a religious character, or that it had any thing to do with revelation. He declared it to be a speculation, and said he, ‘when it is completed, my family will be placed on a level above the generality of mankind’!!”

Capron’s statement is found in E.B Howe’s hostile 1834 book Mormonism Unveiled, but I believe it’s probably accurate. He wasn’t the only Smith to express such a hope,

“Hyrum Smith wrote to his grandfather, Asael, that he believed that service to the Lord would bring the family their long-awaited prosperity. In October 1829, Joseph wrote excitedly to Oliver Cowdery that Josiah Stowell had a chance to obtain five or six hundred dollars ($17,200 – $20,600) and that he was going to buy copies of the Book of Mormon. Lucy Mack Smith said that when it was finally published in March 1830 the family had to sell copies of the book to buy food.” (Hill, ibid. Emphasis added.)

I imagine the anticipation the Smiths felt when Joseph Smith finally retrieved the plates in 1827 and began work on the Book of Mormon. Given that Joseph’s focus was to be on the glory of God and nothing else, perhaps it comes as little surprise that the Book of Mormon was a commercial failure.

MARTIN HARRIS, FINANCING THE BOOK OF MORMON, AND KINGSTON REVELATION

Without Martin Harris there’s no Book of Mormon. His reputation has unfairly suffered over the years, but he deserves our appreciation. He is one of the figures of early Mormon history for whom my admiration has grown immeasurably. By the time Joseph Smith enters his orbit, Harris was 45 years old (younger than I am now), successful, well-established and owned 350 acres of land. Harris employed Joseph Smith on his farm and learned of the angelic visitors and plates. Along with David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery, Harris served as one of the three Book of Mormon witnesses and defended Joseph from critics. Harris gave Joseph $50 ($1,700) to help him move from Palmyra to Harmony (essentially financing the translation) and then hired a farm hand to run operations while he served as scribe.

As we all know, Harris had his doubts about the plates and translation and asked to take the 116 pages he transcribed to his wife. Unfortunately, the pages were lost. Given there was no backup, it was a considerable loss. Upon returning and informing Joseph what happened, Joseph reportedly received D&C 3 (July 1828), which refers to Harris as “a wicked man.” In fairness, it also severely chastises Joseph Smith, with God reminding Joseph “how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men…Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt fall.” This last warning might be important to remember as we move forward.

Harris was eventually replaced as scribe by Oliver Cowdery, but it was Harris who entered into a contract with Palmyra printer, E.B. Grandin. On June 6, 1829, Grandin announced in the Wayne Sentinel that he had agreed to print the Book of Mormon “as soon as the translation was complete” at a cost of $3,000 ($103,000) for 5,000 copies. D&C 19 (summer 1829), presented as a revelation “of God and not of man” to Martin Harris. After several verses about eternal damnation, which I can only assume were used to strike fear into Harris’ heart, God says to Martin,

“I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon, which contains the truth and the word of God…Wherefore, I command you to repent, and keep the commandments which you have received by the hand of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., in my name; And it is by my almighty power that you have received them…And misery thou shalt receive if thou wilt slight these counsels, yea, even the destruction of thyself and property. Impart a portion of thy property, yea, even part of thy lands, and all save the support of thy family. Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release thyself from bondage. Leave thy house and home, except when thou shalt desire to see thy family.” (Emphasis added.)

Is this how God works? I have a few reservations about the revelation. Harris obeyed and mortgaged his farm to foot the bill. According to the editors of the Joseph Smith Papers (JSP), this revelation required Harris to “impart essentially all of the property to which he had legal right.” With the finances settled, E.B. Grandin and typesetter John Gilbert began work on printing the Book of Mormon in September 1829.

How was Martin Harris to be repaid for financing the printing? According to the JSP editors,

“The potential profits from the sale of the books had also recently become the subject of an agreement between JS and Martin Harris, the primary financier for the printing, who had mortgaged his property in August 1829 as payment to E. B. Grandin.”

And here’s where things begin to take a very strange turn. The Smith family was still in dire financial straits. Hiram Page wrote in a letter to William McLellin,

“Joseph heard that there was a chance to sell a copy right in Canada for any useful book that was used in the States. Joseph thought this would be a good opportunity to get a hand on a sum of money which was to be (after the expenses were taken out) for the exclusive benefit of the Smith family and was to be at the disposal of Joseph.”

Former BYU professor Marvin S. Hill writes,

“The economic situation of the Smith families was so desperate at this time that Joseph tried to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon…Page indicated that they hoped to get $8,000 ($272,500) for the copyright and that they traveled to Canada covertly to prevent Martin Harris from sharing in the dividend. Smith evidently believed that Harris was well enough off while his own family was destitute.”

This brings us to the infamous Kingston/Copyright revelation. I was aware of it thanks to David Whitmer’s An Address to All Believers in Christ, but I had never read it. It’s one of the most fascinating and complicated documents of the early church. I think it might be the first time Joseph penned a revelation based on something he heard, but it certainly wasn’t the last. (We’ll get to the Salem, MA treasure revelation later.)  Below is the text of the revelation, with later redactions and edits, to be published in “The Book of Commandments and Revelations” (BCR). One of the redactions specifically excludes Martin Harris from any temporal blessings associated with the sale of the copyright,

“A Revelation given to Joseph Oliver Hyram Josiah & Joseph Knight given at Manchester Ontario C New York

Behold I the Lord am God I Created the Heavens & the Earth & all things that in them is wherefore they are mine & I sway my scepter over all the Earth & ye are in my hands to will & to do that I can deliver you o{◊\ut} of evry difficulty & affliction according to your faith & dilligence & uprightness Before me & I have cov{◊\enanted} with my Servent that earth nor Hell combined againsts him shall not take the Blessing out of his hands which I have prepared for him if he walketh uprightly before me neither the spiritual nor the temporal Blessing & Behold I also covenanted with those who have assisted him in my work that I will do unto them even the same Because they have done that which is pleasing in my sight (yea even all save M◊◊tin only it be one o{l\nly}) Wherefore be dilligent in Securing the Copy right of my Servent work upon all the face of the Earth of which is known by you unto unto my Servent Joseph & unto him whom he willeth accordinng as I shall command him that the faithful & the righteous may retain the temperal Blessing as well as the Spirit[u]al & also that my work be not destroyed by the workers of iniquity to the{r\ir} own distruction & damn ation when they are fully ripe & now Behold I say unto you that I have covenanted & it Pleaseth me that Oliver Cowderey Joseph Knight Hyram Pagee & Josiah Stowel shall do my work in this thing yea even in securing the right & they shall do it with an eye single to my Glory that it may be the means of bringing souls unto me Salvation through mine only Be{t\gotten} Behold I am God I have spoken it & it is expedient in me Wherefor I say unto you that ye shall go to Kingston seeking me continually through mine only Be{t\gotten} & if ye do this ye shall have my spirit to go with you & ye shall have an addition of all things which is expedient in me. Amen (This “amen” was added to the revised version and the rest of the revelation removed). & I grant unto my servent a privelige that he may sell through you speaking after the manner of men for the four Provinces if the People harden not their hearts against the enticeings of my spirit & my word for Behold it lieth in themselves to their condemnation &{◊\or} to th{er\eir} salvation Behold my way is before you & the means I will prepare & the Blessing I hold in mine own hand & if ye are faithful I will pour out upon you even as much as ye are able to Bear & thus it shall be Behold I am the father & it is through mine o{◊\nly} begotten which is Jesus Christ your Redeemer amen.”

There are several items of interest in this revelation. Firstly, the voice is that not of Jesus Christ, but of God the Father. Twice “God” refers to Jesus Christ as his “only begotten,” meaning a different personage. In the Book of Mormon Jesus created the heavens and the earth. (See 2 Nephi 2:14, for example.) This is not an uncommon feature in Joseph’s revelations and it’s something you should always look for when reading the D&C, Book of Moses and Book of Abraham. The identities of God, the Lord God, and Jehovah aren’t consistent. Identities and voices shift. (See D&C 27, 47. Brigham Young’s D&C 136 is also problematic in this regard.)

Secondly, as the JSP editors observe,

“Although the agreement permitted Harris to collect $3,000 from the sale of the books, this revelation, possibly dictated about the same time, explicitly excluded Harris from sharing in the temporal blessings associated with the wider sale and distribution of the Book of Mormon…the revelation promised blessings to ‘those who have assisted’ JS, ‘yea even all save M◊◊tin [Martin] only.’  Three layers of deletion obscured Harris’s name. Hiram Page later wrote that the necessary preparations for the trip to Upper Canada were made ‘in a sly manor so as to keep Martin Haris from drawing a share of the money.’”

Why would God—or Joseph—want to exclude Harris from drawing a share when without him there would be no Book of Mormon in the first place?  Why would those who didn’t contribute financially reap a financial reward? It’s very strange to me.  Whatever the case, the trip to Kingston was a bust. Hill continues,

“When Page, Cowdery, and Knight arrived at Kingston, Ontario, they found no buyer. Martin Harris apparently learned of what was done, and Joseph guaranteed him in writing (January 16, 1830) that he would share in any profits made from the subsequent sales of the book. In the spring of 1830 Harris walked the streets of Palmyra, trying to sell as many copies of the new scripture as he could. Shortly after Joseph Smith and Jesse Knight saw him in the road with books in his hand, he told them ‘the books will not sell for nobody wants them.’”

There’s kind of a poetic and divine justice in the failure to secure the copyright. Every attempt to profit off the Book of Mormon was frustrated. (Harris should have been reimbursed first.) If Joseph was warned against selling the plates for gain, why would it be permissible to sell the copyright, or later, the printed copies of the plates, for gain? The Word of God is not for sale. No one can, or should, profit from it.  As mentioned, David Whitmer addressed this revelation in his later years.  He writes,

“Joseph looked into the hat in which he placed the stone, and received a revelation that some of the brethren should go to Toronto, Canada, and that they would sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon. Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery went to Toronto on this mission, but they failed entirely to sell the copyright, returning without any money. Joseph was at my father’s house when they returned. I was there also, and am an eye witness to these facts. Jacob Whitmer and John Whitmer were also present when Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery returned from Canada.”

“Well, we were all in great trouble; and we asked Joseph how it was that he had received a revelation from the Lord for some brethren to go to Toronto and sell the copyright, and the brethren had utterly failed in their undertaking. Joseph did not know how it was, so he enquired of the Lord about it, and behold the following revelation came through the stone: ‘Some revelations are of God: some revelations are of men: and some revelations are of the devil.’ So, we see that the revelation to go to Toronto and sell the copyright was not of God, but was of the devil or of the heart of man.”

Over the last several years, one of the points I’ve been trying to drive home is that while I believe a few of the early revelations could be authentic, most of Joseph’s revelations aren’t revelations. They reflect Joseph’s own thoughts or a means of securing a desired outcome. This, again, is the peril of accepting Joseph’s revelations on reputation rather than the content of those revelations.  Don Bradley writes,

“That the revelation’s promise of a sale–even conditionally–and its direction to go specifically “to Kingston” were later seen as problematic is evident from the fact that editing marks on the revelation indicate that these elements (along with the negative judgment on Martin) were to be omitted from the (anticipated) published version. Stricken from the revelation were Martin’s name, the statement that the copyright sale was “expedient,” the phrase “to  Kingston,” and all of the last five lines, with an “Amen” being added to terminate the text before the revelation’s original ending…

If, as David Whitmer wrote, that some revelations are from the devil, Bradly makes the point that,

“…it would be clear that Joseph Smith and other early saints were able to accept the idea that a true prophet could have apparent revelations that were not truly (or fully) from God. With this precedent, their present-day heirs should be able to accept it as well…In the end, of all the revelations prepared for publication in the Book of Commandments and Revelations, only the Copyright/Kingston revelation failed to make the final cut.”

This a perplexing and inherently flawed statement. Can a “true prophet” receive false revelations? Wouldn’t a false revelation necessarily make one a false prophet? Can we even call them “revelations” if they are unfulfilled or demonstrably proven false?  This is kind of opening Pandora’s Revelatory Box. If this revelation is false, as it appears to be, what about the rest? Many of Joseph’s revelations have since proven false, but this was the first chink in his prophetic armor.

JOSEPH BEGINS TO USE THE CHURCH FOR GAIN

In July 1830, Joseph produced a revelation which reiterated his calling to translate the Book of Mormon and promised various blessings to Joseph and curses to his enemies. It reads in part,

“And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall lay their hands upon you by violence, ye shall command to be smitten in my name; and, behold, I will smite them according to your words, in mine own due time. And whosoever shall go to law with thee shall be cursed by the law…For thou shalt devote all thy service in Zion; and in this thou shalt have strength…And in temporal labors thou shalt not have strength, for this is not thy calling. Attend to thy calling and thou shalt have wherewith to magnify thine office, and to expound all scriptures, and continue in laying on of the hands and confirming the churches…For thou art called to prune my vineyard with a mighty pruning, yea, even for the last time.” (D&C 24)

We’ll address the dozens and dozens of charges, arrests and lawsuits against Joseph in subsequent posts, but I will say I’m not aware of anyone Joseph cursed who was actually cursed (the Missourians, for example), nor anyone who “went to law” with him who was later “cursed by the law.” Quite the contrary, in fact. But to the topic at hand, I think there are two ways to read this revelation. Firstly, Joseph wanted to excuse himself from manual labor and wrote a revelation granting himself such a privilege. Or secondly, his business acumen was sorely lacking, and was warned against getting involved in temporal and material matters. Ebenezer Robinson, reflecting on his time with church later in life, was of the latter opinion, writing, “how persistently [Joseph and Sidney] pursued temporal things…It does seem that all these experiences should have taught them the truthfulness of the above declaration (a reference to D&C 24), but they seemed to be ready to try a new turn of the wheel of fate.” It is true that Joseph Smith got involved in many spurious temporal pursuits, all of which ended badly. Perhaps Joseph simply forgot this early warning. But with respect to Robinson, I believe the former is true: Joseph didn’t want to work for a living. He probably felt entitled as “prophet” to rely on the Church for temporal support. As we’ll see, this is something the Book of Mormon very plainly teaches against. With regards to “expounding the scriptures,” Joseph was very poor scriptural exegete. It’s not entirely his fault as he came from a tradition of Biblical literalism. Richard Bushman, in fact, once referred to Joseph’s “hyperliteralist” view of the Bible. His interpretations were wrong far more frequently than they were correct. So, it’s a bit odd that God would command him to do something he was manifestly poor at. And here we see one of the early manifestations of Joseph’s apocalypticism. We read at the end of the revelation, “For thou art called to prune my vineyard with a mighty pruning, yea, even for the last time.” How long is the “last time”?  Joseph’s been dead almost 180 years. A “a mighty pruning” is very much a Smithism. It’s the kind of phrase an inexperienced revelation writer would deploy.

In December 1830, six months later, Sidney Rigdon joined the church and fundamentally altered the trajectory of Mormonism. Shortly after Rigdon’s arrival from Kirtland, Joseph received a revelation instructing him to suspend the translation of the Bible and relocate the Church to Kirtland. (D&C 37.) The revelation ends, “Behold, here is wisdom, and let every man choose for himself until I come.” Again, more apocalypticism.

On February 4, 1831, Joseph and Emma Smith, who was then six months pregnant with twins, arrived in Kirtland after a 250-mile journey. John Whitmer wrote,

“They were homeless. Joseph and Emma had left their home in Pennsylvania. Sidney and Phebe Rigdon had, because of their conversions, lost the home their Reformed Baptist congregation built for them.”

I’m going to speculate on a few things here. Parsonages, or homes built by a church to house ecclesiastical leaders, were not uncommon among Protestant churches during this time, nor in the general Christian tradition. They date back centuries and are variously called rectories, vicarages, manses, etc. If I were betting man, I would wager a hefty sum that Rigdon put a bug in Joseph’s ear about having such a home built. Rigdon was very likely aware of Joseph’s poverty and told him how to remedy it. He may have even suggested that perhaps that Joseph was entitled to a home as church president or prophet. Again, it’s speculation, but the very same day Joseph arrived in Kirtland he produced a revelation which instructed the Saints,

“And again, it is meet that my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., should have a house built, in which to live and translate. And again, it is meet that my servant Sidney Rigdon should live as seemeth him good, inasmuch as he keepeth my commandments. (D&C 41)

How providential, indeed, to be able to write revelations to meet one’s needs. The kicker that there were likely any number of families who would have graciously accepted the Smiths into their home. Many of the Saints were truly gracious people. He didn’t need to mandate it via revelation. What makes this revelation even more suspicious is the reference to translating. I’m sure most people who read this post will be familiar with the revisions made to D&C 5 when it was published in the Doctrine and Covenants in 1835. If not, let’s take a quick look. The original revelation, given to Martin Harris in March 1829 and published in the 1833 Book of Commandments reads,

“I have caused him that [Joseph] should enter into a covenant with me, that he should not show them except I command him, and he has no power over them except I grant it unto him; and he has a gift to translate the book, and I have commanded him that he shall pretend (claim) to no other gift, for I will grant him no other gift.”

After the publication of the Book of Mormon, Joseph decided he wanted to take a stab at the Bible. That’s the “translate” referenced in D&C 42. This, however, is problematic because according to the original D&C 5, Joseph had no calling to translate or revise the Bible. How did he get around it? He changed the revelation. I don’t know if he changed it himself or had W.W. Phelps or Sidney Rigdon, both of whom worked on the D&C, do it. In the end it doesn’t matter. As president of the church, he alone is responsible for the content of the D&C. Some might argue that Joseph was in Michigan when Oliver Cowdery convened a conference to ratify the D&C.  Fair enough. But Joseph, to my knowledge, never raised an objection about the finished volume. Our current version of D&C 5, reads quite differently. First thing to notice is the change from third person to first person. I’ve highlighted the additional revisions,

“And you have a gift to translate the plates; and this is the first gift that I bestowed upon you; and I have commanded that you should pretend to no other gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this; for I will grant unto you no other gift until it is finished.”

In essence, he gives himself permission to “translate” the Bible and wide latitude to embark on future adventures. This sort of executive power, the power to grant oneself certain privileges by virtue of “divine revelation,” will become a common feature of his revelations. I’m going to beat that dead horse again, but which revelation is correct? A? B? None of the above?

At any rate, Joseph’s time in Kirtland was again somewhat transient. Upon arriving in 1831, Leman Copely, a recent convert who lived in nearby Thompson, “requested Brother Joseph and Sidney [Rigdon] … live with him and he would furnish them houses and provisions.” It was undoubtedly a generous offer that Smith declined in favor of staying with the Whitney family, who welcomed him and Emma with open arms. Bishop Whitney will play a prominent role in the next post.

Sometime later in February 1831, Joseph produced another revelation,

“And if ye desire the glories of the kingdom, appoint ye my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and uphold him before me by the prayer of faith. And again, I say unto you, that if ye desire the mysteries of the kingdom, provide for him food and raiment, and whatsoever thing he needeth to accomplish the work wherewith I have commanded him; And if ye do it not he shall remain unto them that have received him, that I may reserve unto myself a pure people before me.” (D&C 43)

This, to me, is one of Joseph’s most infuriating revelations. He had just announced a revelation requiring the Saints build him a home and then produces a second requiring “food and raiment and whatever thing he needs” in exchange for the “mysteries of the kingdom.” Let’s call this what it is: spiritual extortion. I find it very unlikely God would keep the mysteries of His kingdom behind a paywall, yet Joseph—again—uses “revelation” for personal gain. I recommend reading all of D&C 43.  It’s one of Joseph’s earliest attempts to consolidate power, declaring himself the sole source of revelation and commandments in the church. We also get another view of his apocalypticism,

“Hearken ye, for, behold, the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand. For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble, and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud…Wherefore, labor ye, labor ye in my vineyard for the last time—for the last time call upon the inhabitants of the earth.’

“Nigh at hand” means imminent. All the elders present in this meeting, those to whom the revelation was directed, are dead and have been between 125-150 years. Is D&C 43 a revelation from God? You’ll have to decide. But recall that there are a few examples from the Book of Mormon that illustrate how church leaders should behave. King Benjamin’s famous speech, for example, presents a significant contrast to Joseph’s revelations,

“And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne…Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?” (Mosiah 2) 

Earlier, after establishing a fledgling church, Alma,

“commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained should labor with their own hands for their support…And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support; but for their labor they were to receive the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority.” (Mosiah 18)

Alma, as part to King Noah’s court, realized the inherent dangers of consolidated power and a priestly class. Joseph did the exactly opposite, and judging by his failed revelations and contradictory doctrines, the grace of God may have been wanting with him. At any rate, Joseph and Emma lived with the Whitney for the first several weeks in Kirtland. Isaac and Lucy Morely then built a home for the Smiths on their farm. Joseph and Emma lived there from March-September. Isaac Morely then sold his property and moved to Independence. Joseph and Emma then moved to the Johnson home in Hiram, where they stayed until March 1832. It was Hiram that Joseph and Sidney were tarred and feathered. This was an unwarranted and horrific act that should not have happened. Compounding the tragedy, one of Joseph’s children died five days later due to exposure resulting from the attack. Joseph spent March 1832 to September 1832 in Missouri where he crystallized his vision of Zion. Upon returning to Kirtland, Joseph and Emma moved into the Whitney store where they remained until Zion’s Camp in March 1834. After the failure of Zion’s Camp, Joseph returned to Kirtland and lived in another home built for them until he and Sidney Rigdon left for Missouri under the cover of night in January 1838 to avoid arrest at the height of the Kirtland Dissension. (I’m going to stop calling it the “Kirtland Apostasy” because I don’t believe it was an apostasy.)  I haven’t been able to find much information the last Smith house, only that it was built for them adjacent to the Kirtland Temple. According to the Church, the Smiths took on boarders who paid to stay in the home. It’s a good gig if you can get it. This last home, recently renovated, was dedicated by David Bednar last August.

We’ll wrap up this first installment here. When I began organizing my notes and research for this post, I knew Joseph Smith’s history with money and debt was bad. By the end, I realized it was much worse than I ever imagined. We’ve barely scratched the surface. It gets exponentially worse from here: The United Firm, the Kirtland Temple, Zion’s Camp, the Kirtland Safety Society, the Salem treasure, tithing, the Nauvoo House, the Maid of Iowa, land speculation, bankruptcy, and the Chandler mummies. It’s nightmare fuel. To make matters worse, his death foisted the mess on Emma. God bless that woman. I can’t even imagine what she went through. An elect lady, indeed. Raise a Diet Coke to her name.

I hope to have part two out in the next week or so. I already have all my research and notes, so it’s just matter of organizing them. To end, let me just reiterate my intent is not to defame or tear down Joseph Smith. We need to know real man, warts and all. Many of us have governed our lives based on Joseph’s revelations, doctrines and teachings. We need to honestly interrogate the man rather than blindly accept his word as law.

(And please excuse any typos. Thank you.)