"Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen."

Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1954, vol. 1, p. 188

I agree 100%. The emperor is either fully clothed, or he's an advertisement for Johnsonville sausages.

Yup.

I totally disagree.

j/k

my mind always sees the word "story" and we all now what happens when a story is repeated over and over. I agree. no one who was there is alive so believe at your own risk.

That statement is the very reason I quit a little more than a week ago.



Can we also agree on this:



Garments SUCK!!! Hot wife in Victoria's Secret "garments" does not!!!

Hubby agrees, sweet baby!!!

Absolutely!!!!

I disagree.

I've always felt that you have to look at what the current prophet says, and HE says that JSJr was a prophet, saw God, etc.

If you hang the question (i.e., whether or not Mormonism (the SLC version) is true) on JSJr, then you leave yourself open to the possible misinterpretation of history.

If God tells you that Thomas Monson is truely his prophet, mouthpiece, etc., then you necessarily accept what Monson says about JSJr, and everyone and everything else.

I vote he was a fraud - all the evidence points to that. Common sense rational & logical thinking says it is not even close.

Hard to say if he was one of the biggest frauds the world has seen, or just a "big" fraud. But basically, I agree with the general sentiment Joseph Fielding Smith expressed. Joseph Smith was either a prophet (he claimed to be) or a fraud (because he claimed to be a prophet and was not). Pretty simple. I just don't see how it's possible for something in between the two possibilities to be true...even granted any "historical misinterpretation."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2014 11:52PM by stillburned.

Yeah, he was a two-bit fraud, but he had people willing to back up his lies, so his fraud was probably one of the biggest, but HE was not.

I have to admit conning several million is definitely pretty big.

I agree! When I read the various versions of the first vision, I realized that JS was not just a fallen prophet, but had never been a prophet. Without a prophet TSCC is just another church with a bunch of man made doctrine and rules.

I agree. I always think it is arrogant to call js one of the biggest frauds the world has ever seen? Mormons are so arrogant. Mormonism doesn't effect the world. Most people don't even know what a Mormon is.

Read your history books.

In our high school U.S. history book, Joseph Smith and mormonism get about half a page in an 850 page book. One can see how insignificant mormonism is for OUR time and place, and even less significant in the world scene or other times.

JFS was full of it.

The emperor is either fully clothed, or he's an advertisement for Johnsonville sausages. - in JSs case, Vienna sausages.

Of course JFS's statement could only be true if there was actually such a thing as a "prophet". We know that frauds exist, but prophets are a matter of faith.

Kind of like saying "my neighbor is either a leprechaun, or he's just a guy from Ireland."

He was a prophet in the same category as all the other prophets. It's amusing to think that god would only talk to one man or group of men to be his mouth piece. Following a prophet is putting your faith in man not in god.

If there is a god of this world that god sure likes to stay clear of humans.