In his 1954 book, Doctrines of Salvation, volume 1, former LDS Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith noted, “Mormonism … must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith.” Thus, the subject of Mormon history, especially as it relates to the character of Joseph Smith and the fraud he perpetrated on his followers, can be very difficult for Mormons to consider because these facts strike at the heart of their Mormon testimonies. The idea that God will judge you, not only on the basis of what you know, but on what you choose not to know, can be very uncomfortable for your Mormon friends to consider. But Scripture is clear that we must “test” the fruits of a prophet to determine if he is true or false (see Matt. 7:14-16).
1 Thessalonians 5:21 also teaches us to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” You can’t do that if you simply rely on your feelings to lead you, for “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). So we must consider these uncomfortable facts of Joseph Smith’s history that prove he is not a true prophet of God:
- Joseph Smith translated gold plates by looking at illuminous letters appearing through a “seer stone” in a hat. He didn’t need to consult the plates directly to get his translation.
- He was charged with a misdemeanor because “glass looking” was an occultic method of translation, forbidden as sorcery condemned by God (Galatians 5:20).
Other frauds of Joseph Smith to consider when evaluating his prophetic claims were his fines for running a “fraudulent bank,” the Kirtland Safety Society (KSS), which closed and left numerous LDS followers bankrupt who invested in it. He also claimed the fraudulent Kinderhook plates were valid when later it was revealed those plates were made up to “test” Joseph Smith. It is obvious that he failed, as he didn’t detect the hoax. Another fraud Joseph Smith perpetrated on his followers was his claim to translate the Book of Abraham from an Egyptian papyrus, because the translation he produced bears no resemblance to the original text. He didn’t even get one character right in his “translation.”
He then also created a so-called “grammar” book of the Egyptian language to prove to his followers that he really did understand the Egyptian language, but that was a complete joke as it, also, has nothing to do with the actual Egyptian language. So, he made everything up and called those books a “translation.” Whatever excuse a Mormon might bring up for Joseph Smith’s translated inspiration of the text, it doesn’t excuse his obvious dishonesty to call something a “translation” that has no connection to the original manuscripts.
His dishonesty didn’t end with his fake translations and fraudulent bank. He married 34 wives, most of whom he married behind the back of Emma, his first wife, as even the LDS Church admits in their “Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo,” essay that Joseph Smith’s wife “Emma likely did not know about all of Joseph’s sealings.” Even if Mormons try to excuse away his polygamy by pointing to polygamy in the Bible, there is no comparison, since Smith’s wives included a mother and daughter pair, four pairs of sisters, ten teenagers, and 11 wives taken from living husbands. This is NOT at all like polygamy in the Bible. In fact, Joseph Smith’s version of polygamy is condemned in the Bible (See Leviticus 18:17-18; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6).
