Did JS really have his foot amputated? Do they still teach that (I was) or is it just considered a faith promoting rumor now?

I was taught bone cancer was carved out of his shin.

And he drank wine in jail before dying. But I wasn't taught about the wine by mormons!

"Evidence of the Prophet’s extraordinary character emerged early in his life. The Smiths were living in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, when a deadly epidemic of typhoid fever attacked many in the community, including all the Smith children. While the other children recovered without complication, Joseph, who was about seven years old, developed a serious infection in his left leg. Dr. Nathan Smith of Dartmouth Medical School at nearby Hanover, New Hampshire, agreed to perform a new surgical procedure to try to save the boy’s leg. As Dr. Smith and his colleagues prepared to operate, Joseph asked his mother to leave the room so she would not have to witness his suffering. Refusing liquor to dull the pain and relying only on his father’s reassuring embrace, Joseph bravely endured as the surgeon bored into and chipped away part of his leg bone. The surgery was successful, although Joseph walked the next several years with crutches and showed signs of a slight limp the rest of his life."

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=724720596a845110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=198bf4b13819d110VgnVCM1000003a94610aRCRD


Funny thing to me is: why would it have been a "sin" to take some alcohol in this case? For one thing, the Word of Wisdom wasn't even known until much later in Smith's life--and not considered a "commandment" until later still. AND, taking alcohol as an analgesic during surgery in the early 1800's would be little different than using another drug nowadays (like morphine) under the same circumstances.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2012 02:08AM by Fetal Deity.

Thanks for posting that, Fetal Deity. That is the version i remember reading when i was in high school seminary. There was also a bit more including something about him biting down on a stick/piece of wood.

But, i remember very specifically being taught in primary that he had his lower leg & foot completely amputated. The teacher even went into detail explaining how they would have sliced through the skin and muscles with a knife and then used a dull handsaw to slowly and painfully saw all the way through his leg bone. The teacher continued on about how painful the healing process & learning to use a wooden leg would have been. hmm, perhaps i just happened to have an over-zealous teacher. I even remember thinking that my mom would not like it if she knew they had told me that kind of gross stuff. It was also probably one of my first memories of something that didn't seem right. In my little mind i thought why wouldn't he just listen to the doctor, since doctors know what to do. He could take the alcohol for medicine.. some of my medicine has alcohol, does that mean I'm bad??

I'm pretty sure this story isn't true. It was made up to teach people that the letter of the law is more important than the spirt of the law and to conform at all costs.
If there is a god and she really does consider alcohol to be a sin then I still think she would forgive you for using it for medical purposes.