Marvin S. Hill on Mormons handling Pluralism

This post captures impressions and reading notes from Marvin S. Hill's study Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism, Salt Lake City (Signature Books), 1989.

• [p.xii] Hill notes that "The Latter-day Saints saw the maelstrom of competing faiths and social institutions as evidence of social upheaval and found confirmation in the rioting and violence that characterized Jacksonian America."
• [p.xiii] Hill notes the limited sense in which the BoM through its heroes, the Nephites, espoused religious freedom as a general freedom: "Thus the Nephite concept of freedom fell far short of the religious freedom being advanced in the United States in 1830. Reminiscent in some ways of the beliefs of early Massachusetts Bay Puritans, Nephites wanted freedom mainly to preserve their own true religion but were reluctant to allow others the might to oppose it."
• [p.xv] Hill works out how non-mainstream the Mormon orientation was: "Mormons with their ideal of a society in which the godly ruled over a unified, religious people stood in sharp contrast [to the Jeffersonian ideals of freedom of religion, RCK]. Ideally, the Mormon “kingdom” was an all-inclusive community with social, economic, religious, and political aspects."

(to be continued)

Parley Pratt on Mormonism unveiled and Zion´s watchman unmasked

In his pamphlet Mormonism unveiled : Zion's watchman unmasked from 1838, Parley Pratt attacks LaRoy Sunderland´s pamphlet (unfortunately incompletely available online) in no uncertain terms, calling him a liar and unfit for civilized society (pp.3-4).

The document is a good example of how the Biblical argumentation worked during that time, which was of course effective, because the other side claimed an inspired status for the OT and NT that they were trying to deny to the BoM.

In general, the pamphlet underscores how eminently reasonable Mormonism can seem to a person reading the scriptures in the way that Pratt does; as well as how well versed many of the early Mormon missionaries were in the Bible.

Pratt does trip up when claiming that the uninterested or distant are never witnesses

Who ever heard of God’s choosing a disinterested witness of his resurrection, or any other truth? (p.13)

since the centurion and his men under the cross (Mt 27:54) did not become believers, merely afraid, from witnessing the death on the Cross.

Furthermore, in his eagerness to find non-Biblical prophecies in the BoM, Pratt claims that the great destruction will validate the BoM within a decade.

This destruction includes an utter overthrow, and desolation of all our Cities, Forts, and Strong Holds—an entire annihilation of our race, except such as embrace the Covenant, and are numbered with Israel. (p.15) 

… and I will state as a prophesy, that there will not be an unbelieving Gentile upon this continent 50 years hence [~ 1888, RCK]; and if they are not greatly scourged, and in a great measure overthrown within five or ten years from this date [~ 1843-1848, RCK], then the Book of Mormon will have proved itself false. (p.15)

Well, there you have it ... (:P) ....

When discussion turns to the Book of Mormon, Pratt and Sunderland fret over Alma 7:10, which seems to talk about Jesus being born in Jerusalem, and Pratt interprets this as geographic inaccurate speak, a form of "thereabouts" (p.19).

Pratt underscores the important point that the Methodists (p.29) have to pay their preachers, while in the Mormon church, no one is paid for their religious services. Indeed, Pratt can brag:

I have preached the Gospel from Maine to Missouri, for near eight years, and all I ever received during my whole ministry, would not amount to the yearly salary of || one of the lazy, extravagant loungers, who under the name of Priests, are a nuisance to the whole country. (pp.29-30)

Then, in trying to establish that Mr La Roy Sunderland does not know his God, Pratt makes some surprising comments:

But we worship a God, who has both body and parts : who has eyes, mouth, and ears, and who speaks when he pleases — to whom he pleases, and sends them where he pleases. And he always did blaspheme other Gods, and hold them up to ridicule and contempt; and so did his followers : …. (p.31)

Now, Mr Sunderland, you … cannot believe the Bible one whit sooner than the “Book of Mormon”. And the “Book of Mormon” says, if we believe one we will believe the other. But he pleads an excuse for his unbelief, by saying, the passage referred to cannot be taken literally. (p32) 

Starting with (p.36), Pratt gives all of the arguments for the congruence of the Indians with the Lamanites that were then current, which gives an indication of the knowledge about the Indians that was coursing through popular culture at that time.

On (p.43) Pratt begins to enumerate the problems he has with Methodism, including the disembodiment of the Father in the face of all the scriptural passages that mention body parts and the creation of Adam in the likeness of God.

Pratt criticizes the Methodist ordinances (p.44), what German Lutherans would call Sakramente; Pratt takes them to have three kinds of water baptism, one of which is the Baptism of children(which is of course, as Alexander Campbell had already argued, not Biblical). They do not exercise the Spiritual charismata, e.g. healing through laying on of the hands; nor do they have the charismatic offices of Prophet or Apostles, and the gifts that go with them, such as revelations, miracles, etc.

Finally, Pratt repeats the point that the Mormon priests are not remunerated (p.44), chiding the Methodists for the elaborate amount of discussion that money takes up in their rules as a result of going a different route here.

Pratt thus shows that two can play at the game of finger pointing.

Tidbits about Book Mormon from Uncle Dan (Part I)

The following is an extract of bits and pieces that Dan Broadhurst has pulled together in the quest of trying to figure out whether Joseph Smith Jr would have required the writings of Solomon Spalding to author the Book of Mormon.

Ancient Books

• Broadhurst points out that the notion of the rings through the plates is mentioned in Jahn's Biblical Archaeology (2nd edition from 1827) in the discussion of books (Paragraph 89). 

M´Chesney and the Antidote to Mormonism

In the pamphlet Antidote to Mormonism, M´Chesney for 1838 gave the same sequence of arguments that we had earlier reconstructed from John Corrill´s reminiscences.

We will relate a circumstance, that will show their presumption, and the plans they introduce to throw into disrepute, and trample under foot the word of God. We attended one of their meetings, when, by appointment, they were to prove by the scriptures that the book of Mormon was of divine authority; or, if not, there must be such a book found. The speaker, after labouring with the 28th chapter Genesis, where Jacob blessed both the sons of Joseph [actually. Gen 48, RCK]; then proceeded to the 29th of Isaiah.—Here he strove to make his hearers believe that the prophet had this book in view. He next went to the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, where he made a great handle of the prophet’s “Sticks,” and, indeed he strove hard to cause the scriptures to speak to his advantage. Truly we were much disappointed with the weakness of his arguments. (p.21)

M´Chesney also mentions the pamphlet by Parley Pratt from 1838, Mormonism Unveiled, in which the anti-Mormon pamphlet of LaRoy Sunderland is refuted (which is unfortunately not available online in any significant portion).

M´Chesney claimed to have bills from the Kirtland [anti-]banking Society in his possession (p.22).

M´Chesney cites (p.50) a professor Roy of Oriental languages who claims Mormons comes from the Hebrew and means with "the rebels" (e.g. Numbers 20:10), but the Hebrew text has hamorim.

In the appendix, M´Chesney makes his dependence on Eber D. Howe and LaRoy Sunderland explicit, and closes with a riff against Martin Harris´ claim of doom regarding the US:

Martin Harris’ Prophecy.—“Within four years from September, 1832, there will not be one wicked person in the United States; the righteous will be gathered to Zion, [Missouri;] there will be no President of the United States after that time; every sectarian and religious denomination in the United States shall be broken down; every Christian shall be gathered unto the Mormonites; and the rest of the human race shall perish.” (p.59) 

See also the discussion in Max H Perkin´s master thesis at BYU from 1960 on the nature and causes of conflict, both internally and externally, in Ohio, esp. p.54.

Clues toward Joseph Smith's Socio-Economic Matrix

While reviewing my reading notes from Arrington et al, I was struck as to what Arrington pointed about about the communitarian aspect of the fight between Campbell and Rigdon (p.19). They had a debate at Austintown, after which Rigdon felt badly treated by Campbell because his economic attempts at restoring Christian primitivism were rejected (cf. Amos Sutton HAYDEN, Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve, Ohio, 1875, p.209).

Campbell and Rigdon differed on three points (Hammon, p.22-24) that basically distinguished the Baptist Church from the Mormon Church: the spiritual gifts of the apostolic age,  the authority to perform ordinances, and Christian communitarianism (Hammond has this from Van Wagoner).