joseph smith history

When he was a child his family moved to Palmyra in western New York where there was a lot of revivalism and religious fervor due to the Second Great Awakening. To set the stage, he first quotes from Smith's Mormon scriptural justification for polygamous sex as a general principle required for Mormon exaltation (the same scriptures, by the way, faithfully cited and espoused by Warren Jeffs, as well): "And I will bless Joseph Smith and multiply him and give unto him an hundredfold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds. 6, p. 222 (1887 edition); and Compton, “In Sacred Loneliness,” p. 348-49; all cited in ibid)

Smith then made secret arrangments to have a sexual rendevous with Sarah, without Emma finding out. “'All these things I do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that through this order he may be glorified and that through the power of anointing David may reign King over Israel, which shall hereafter be revealed. Well known to biological anthropologists as the "secular trend," this crash in the age of sexual maturity has proceeded at the rate of four months per decade and, in most populations, continues. Whatever biology might have to say, according to the morals of his time, several of Joseph Smith\'s wives were still inappropriately young for him.

\"It is a pure myth that 19th-century American girls married at age 12-14.

\"For example, Laura Ingalls Wilder, from \'Little House on the Prairie\' fame, was born in 1867, which puts her later than Joseph Smith but still in the 1800s. I thought of the love and tenderness that he felt for his only daughter and I knew that he would not cast me off, and this was the only convincing proof that I had of its being right.”. Therein lies the true pathology of Mormonism.\"

(\"Joseph Smith, Menses, Pedophilia, Etc.,\" by \"TLC,\" on \"Recovery from Mormonism\" bulletin board, 9 August 2003, at: http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon253.htm)

Deconstructor concurs with the above assessment, declaring its findings to be \"absolutely correct.\"

(\"TLC Is Absolutely Correct; Here\'s a Repost on This Subject,\" by \"Deconstructor,\" on \"Recovery from Mormonism\" bulletin board, 9 August 2003, at: http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon253.htm)

Don Bagley
\nRe: History, not Mystery: Joseph Smith was a Pedophile
\nThat\'s a lot of light on the subject, Steve. The younger age of brides in the 19th century (which is shown false)? . Was Joseph found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826? . In general, girls enter puberty between ages 8 and 13 and reach menarche (first menstruation) several years later, while boys enter puberty between ages 9 and 14 . _____, *Smith and 16-year-old Nancy Maria Winchester. [7] In 2015, the church released photographs of a stone in its possession that was used in the production of the Book of Mormon. I was young, and they deceived me, by saying the salvation of our whole family depended on it.”

(Helen Mar Whitney journal: Helen Mar autobiography: “Woman\'s Exponent,” 1880; reprinted in “A Woman\'s View;” FamilySearch.com record for Joseph Smith, Jr.; and Van Wagoner, “Mormon Polygamy: A History,” p. 53; cited in ibid)
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RfM contributor \"Deconstructor\" on his own website asks---then answers--the question: \"Was it normal to marry 14 year-old girls in Joseph Smith\'s time?\"

To set the stage, he first quotes from Smith\'s Mormon scriptural justification for polygamous sex as a general principle required for Mormon exaltation (the same scriptures, by the way, faithfully cited and espoused by Warren Jeffs, as well):

\"And I will bless Joseph Smith and multiply him and give unto him an hundredfold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds.\"

\"And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.\"

\"But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused [to Joseph Smith], shall be with another man, she has committed adultery and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto Joseph Smith to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified.\" (\"Doctrine and Covenants Section\" 132:55, 62-63)

Now, for the evidence that Smith, like Jeffs, had sex with his own underage child victims:

\"Many LDS Church leaders and historians suggest that sexual relations and the marriage of Joseph Smith and his youngest wife, Helen Mar Kimball, 14 at the time, was \'approaching eligibility.\'

\"There is no documentation to support the idea that marriage at fourteen was \'approaching eligibility.\' Actually, marriages even two years later, at the age of 16, occurred occasionally but infrequently in Helen Mar\'s culture. Burn this letter as soon as you read it; keep [it] all locked up in your breasts, my life depends upon it. If Joseph Smith was advancing a well argued case using reason and evidence, then it would be inappropriate for critics to bring Smith's character into question. “' . Address of the Prophet–His Testimony Against the Dissenters at Nauvoo. query: UPDATE cache_filter SET data = '

steve benson Mar 2012

Like Warren Jeffs, Joseph Smith engaged in sex with underage girls (despite what robo-Mos dependent on FAIR propaganda peddling may wish to believe--and as proven by Mormon history itself).

*Smith\'s Well-Earned Reputation for Being a Sex-Obsessed, Self-Possessed Philanderer

As a baseline (and as known in Mormon circles of his day), Smith was legendary for his sexual attraction to women.

In fact, the official LDS publication, “History of the Church” (vol. . . Helen\'s father, Heber C. Kimball, officiated the wedding of his underage daughter to Smith.

Helen was the youngest of Smith\'s brides--and according to Helen, he had sex with her.

Helen wrote about how her marriage to Smith was orchestrated by her father:

\"Having a great desire to be connected with the Prophet, Joseph, he (my father) offered me to him; this I afterwards learned from the Prophet\'s own mouth. Webb, Smith\'s grammar teacher . But in aiming for accuracy in trying to describe Joseph Smith, there are a lot of words other than 'pedophile' that do the job more saliently and succinctly. Webb, Smith's grammar teacher . [involving] an unlawful intercourse between himself and a young orphan girl residing in his family and under his protection. The Massachusetts family reconstitutions revealed somewhat higher mean ages. "Joseph Smith was not the first--nor will he be the last--to prey upon young girls for sexual gratification. "But regardless of whether they were sexually mature or not, something in us is sickened by the thoughts of them being coerced into any kind of relationship with this lecher who was pretending to use God as his motivator. While it\'s easy to throw that word around in light of today\'s problems with child abusing priests in the Catholic clergy, the fact remains that \'pedophilia\' is defined as \'[t]he act or fantasy on the part of an adult of engaging in sexual activity with a child or children.\'

\"Furthermore, the pathology of pedophilia is understood to be an attraction or activity that is limited to pre-pubescent children. . W hen Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church, received a revelation in about 1831 in which he was commanded by God to break the law and take multiple wives, he … After swearing her to secrecy, wrote George W. Robinson, Smith announced his \'affection for her for several years, and wished that she should be his . :
\nhttp://www.i4m.com/think/history/joseph_smith_sex.htm

\"Whatever the average age of menarche might have been in the mid-19th-century, the average age of marriage was around 20 for women and 22 for men. The next day, Smith came by to explain to Helen the “Law of Celestial Marriage,” and, having done that, to take her as his latest bride. . Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805 in Sharon, Vermont. Smith married Flora in April 1843 (exact date unknown). For Sturbridge, the age for a comparable group was 22.46 years (Osterud and Fulton 1976: Table 2, p. 484), and in Franklin County it was 23.3 years (Temkin-Greener, H., and A.C. Swedlund). Sure, a very few did but it was far from the norm. indicates that the average age of menarche in the mid-1800s was 17.

\"What that might tell us about a girl who was 14 or 15 back then is hard to determine because of the nature of averages. Take a look at and pay attention to the age at marriage. For Hingham, Smith reports an age at first marriage of 23.7 at the end of the 18th century (1972: Table 3, p. 177). “Chauncey Webb recounts Emma’s later discovery of the relationship: 'Emma was furious, and drove the girl, who was unable to conceal the consequences of her celestial relation with the prophet, out of her house' . In North America age at menarche decreased by three to four months each decade after 1850; in 1988 the median age at menarche was 12.5 years among U.S. girls. I was skeptical--one minute [I] believed, then doubted. ", ("Joseph Smith, Menses, Pedophilia, Etc.," by "TLC," on "Recovery from Mormonism" bulletin board, 9 August 2003, at: http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon253.htm), Deconstructor concurs with the above assessment, declaring its findings to be "absolutely correct. . They were secretly married within days “, (Todd Compton, “In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith,” pp. Described as 'a very nice and comly young woman,' according to Benjamin Johnson, Fanny lived with the Smith family from 1833 to 1836.”. . Joseph Smith’s thirty-eight and one-half years were marked by the highest of spiritual peaks and the depths of tribulation, sorrow, and betrayal such as few mortals have experienced. ", (“Joseph Smith, Jr., to Newell K. Whitney, Elizabeth Ann Whitney, etc.,” 18 August 1842, George Albert Smith Family Papers, Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, text and signature of this document in the handwriting of Joseph Smith, Jr.; this document has been reproduced in Dean C. Jessee's “The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith” [Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co., 1984], pp. 5, p. 134-36; and Van Wagoner, “Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait in Religious Excess,” p. 295; cited in ibid) [8] If they want to provide evidence of their validity, they would demonstrate they still work (under scientifically controlled conditions). Extreme susceptibility; passionately fond of the company of the other sex.\' The official \'History of the Church\' still publishes this chart, along with the caution that such a high score indicates \'extreme liability to perversion\' in the trait.”

Perversion is right.

Smith\'s moves to seduce other men\'s wives were so brazen and notorious that they led one distraught husband--Orson Pratt--to attempt suicide in Nauvoo on 15 July 1842:

“Thousands of Nauvoo Mormons search[ed] for Orson Pratt after discovering a suicide note. Most of the change is attributed to better health and nutrition. In this revelation, the Lord reveals a plural marriage ceremony, which would later be altered and become the sealing ceremony in the temple . As part of Smith's brimming quiver of teenager brides, in May 1843, in Smith's Nauvoo store, he married an underage 14-year-old female named Helen Mar Kimball. [A] quick Googling of the word 'pedophilia' will take you to the professional community's definitions. Joseph Smith Jr. was born 23 December 1805 in Sharon, Vermont, to Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith. . “Fanny left Kirtland in September 1836 with her family. The rest of them, and their sisters-in-law, were in their early 20s when they married. Smith married Sarah the same day he married Sarah Lawrence's sister Maria, 11 May 1843. The same pattern was true for . In the year 1820 (eighteen twenty) there was a fourteen year-old boy named Joseph Smith. On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became its first president. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in New York State in the USA in 1830. . . We don\'t know if he had sex with pre-pubescent children, therefore we don\'t know if he was truly a pedophile. Smith further cemented his reputation for fooling around by making moves on a then-married teenager, Zina D. Hunington, who he asked on 25 October 1841 to become another of his multiple wives. "Jack Larkin, 'The Reshaping of Everyday Life,' 1790-1840 (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 63; Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, 'Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750' [NY: Oxford University Press, 1980], 6; Nancy F. Cott, 'Young Women in the Second Great Awakening in New England,' 'Feminist Studies' 3 [1975] 16; Dr. Dorothy V. Whipple, 'Dynamics of Development: Euthenic Pediatrics' [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966]", ("Was It Normal to Marry 14 year-old Girls in Joseph Smith's Time?," by "Deconstructor," at: http://www.i4m.com/think/polygamy/teen_polygamy.htm Actually, marriages even two years later, at the age of 16, occurred occasionally but infrequently in Helen Mar's culture. . My father had but one Ewe Lamb, but willingly laid her upon the altar: how cruel this seemed to my mother whose heartstrings were already stretched unil they were ready to snap asunder, for she had already taken Sarah Noon to wife and she thought she had made sufficient sacrifice but the Lord required more.". by Lance S. Owens IF THERE IS A RELIGION uniquely and intrinsically American – a religion worked from its soil, and cast in the ardent furnace of its primal dreams – that religion must be Mormonism. On 19 August 1842, he wrote the following love letter to Sarah, laying out his plans to meet up with her: “To arrange [a] night liason with [his] plural wife--Newell K. Whitney's daughter Sarah Ann--Smith writes: ' . Joseph Smith: Nineteenth Century Con Man? (16.5 years-12.8 years = 3.7 years) (12.8 years-3.7 years = 9.1 years)

\"The fact is Helen Mar Kimball\'s sexual development was still far from complete. Joseph Smith, originally Joseph Smith, Jr., (born December 23, 1805, Sharon, Vermont, U.S.—died June 27, 1844, Carthage, Illinois), American prophet and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The diviner claimed he could locate water and buried treasure using magic stones for a fee of three dollars a day. Smith was prosecuted many times on related charges which bring his honesty into question, including: An interesting objection to this argument is that critics of Joseph Smith are using ad hominem attacks. This week, Taylor Halverson and Tyler Griffin discuss the pivotal event of Joseph Smith's First Vision and the impact that it has on the Church today. . In fact, Smith had secretly married both Maria, age 19, and her sister Sarah, age 17, on 11 May 1843 and was serving as executor of their $8,000 estate.

\"William Law apparently hoped that disclosing Smith\'s relationship with the young girls might lead him to abandon polygamy but Smith immediately excommunicated Law, had himself appointed the girls\' legal guardian and rejected the charge in front of a church congregation on 26 May 1844, denying that he had more than one wife.”(Joseph Smith, “History of the Church,” vol. . In some developing countries age at menarche appears to be decreasing even faster. . Fanny eventually became the target of Smith's sexual advances, with Smith's predatory behavior soon becoming the talk of the town: “Martin Harris, one of the 'Three Witnesses' to the Book of Mormon, recalled that the prophet's 'servant girl' claimed he had made 'improper proposals to her, which created quite a talk amongst the people.' 6:, p. 225; cited in ibid)
\n_____

*Smith and 17-year-old Lucy Walker

Smith married Lucy on 1 May 1843, in the Smith\'s store, Nauvoo, officiated by William Clayton

(FamilySearch.com record for Joseph Smith, Jr.; cited in ibid)
\n_____

*Smith and 19-year-old Maria Lawrence

Smith married Maria on 11 May 1843.

(“Historical Record,” vol. Smith informed her (using a line he also employed with Emma and others) that he was ordered to do so by a sword-wielding angel who was threatening to kill him if he disobeyed: “Already married, 19 year-old Zina remained conflicted with Smith's polygamy proposal 'until a day in October, apparently, when Joseph sent [her older brother] Dimick to her with a message: an angel with a drawn sword had stood over Smith and told him that if he did not establish polygamy, he would lose “his position and his life.” Zina, faced with the responsibility for his position as prophet, and even perhaps his life, finally acquiesced.' According to McLellin, Emma was searching for her husband and Alger one evening, when through a crack in the barn door she saw 'him and Fanny in the barn together alone' on the hay mow. . . 6, p. 223; Lucy Walker Smith Kimball, in “Temple Lot“ case, full transcript, p. 461, LDS archives; Helen Kimball Whitney, “Woman\'s Exponent,\" 15 February 1886, p. 138, cited in ibid)
\n_____

*Smith and 16-year-old Nancy Maria Winchester

Smith married Nancy in Nauvoo on 28 July 1843:

“According to Mormon Church Historian Andrew Jenson, Nancy married Joseph sometime before his death in June of 1844. . In any event, it does make it clear that Joseph Smith was treading a very fine fine when it came to the sexual maturity of the girls he courted and/or married. Her psychological sexual maturity was not competent for procreation. Church History Museum Hours and Directions. Fanny Brewer, a Mormon visitor to Kirtland in 1837, observed 'much excitement against the Prophet . Smith became interested in the visitor, and spent as much time with him as he could, trying to learn his skills. It\'s been well-established that true pedophiles lose interest almost immediately when a boy or girl exhibits the first signs of sexual maturity.

\" . She tells of hearing of the marriage of a 13-year-old girl, and being shocked. . . They shall take each other by the hand and you shall say, “You both mutually agree," calling them by name, “to be each other's companion so long as you both shall live, preserving yourselves for each other and from all others and also throughout all eternity, reserving only those rights which have been given to my servant Joseph by revelation and commandment and by legal Authority in times passed.”. . More recent figures indicate that it now occurs on average at 12.8 years of age. "Makes you wonder what kind of men Smith had around him that they would so willingly hand over their young daughters to him. The Smith boys' first wives were in their 20s. In 1840, the average young woman in Europe and the United States menstruated for the first time at the age of 17; her modern counterpart reaches the age of menstruation at about 12. . . Also around this time, a traveling magician and diviner stopped in Palmyra. K. Whitney, the thing that my servant Joseph Smith has made known unto you and your family [his plural marriage to Sarah Ann Whitney], and which you have agreed upon is right in mine eyes and shall be rewarded upon your heads with honor and immortality and eternal life to all your house both old and young because of the lineage of my priesthood, saith the Lord. 1978. Smith carried on the practice of … . . . 80-81, cited in ibid).
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*Smith and 19-year-old Nancy Rigdon

Smith also secretly hit on another teenager, 19-year-old Nancy Rigdon, daughter of his close confidant Sidney Rigdon, in Nauvoo on 10 April 1842.

Nancy was not amused:

“ . 6:, p. 225; cited in ibid) . A sensitive and religious-minded man since his youth, Joseph Smith claimed the angel Moroni visited him in 1823, when he was 18 years old, and told … Fanny stayed with relatives in nearby Mayfield until about the time Joseph fled Kirtland for Missouri.

“Fanny left Kirtland in September 1836 with her family. Joseph Smith.\"

(“Joseph Smith, Jr., to Newell K. Whitney, Elizabeth Ann Whitney, etc.,” 18 August 1842, George Albert Smith Family Papers, Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, text and signature of this document in the handwriting of Joseph Smith, Jr.; this document has been reproduced in Dean C. Jessee\'s “The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith” [Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co., 1984], pp.