Joseph Smith was not a text book pedophile: Consider the the medical definition of pedophilia.

"Pedophilia or paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children, generally age 11 years or younger."

Yes. Some of J.S. sexual conquest may have been pre-pubescent, but certainly not the majority.

I think he would be best described as a sociopath/psychopath. Consider this definition.

"A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience"...is traditionally defined as a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior.

So please do not refer to our beloved prophet as a pedophile, when in actuality he was a sociopath/psychopath.

Just my opinion I could be wrong.

I've always thought he displayed the classic traits of narcissistic personality disorder.

Really the only thing that matters for this discussion is whether or not Joe Smith was deceptive.

Technically he was an ephebophile or hebephile. Although it did seem he would take it at whatever age he could get it, there is that cluster of teens as young as 14.
With sexual maturity happening at a later age for those in his day, one or more of them were probably not menstruating yet.

And he was also a sociopath.

No need to get technical when the term "pervert" is perfectly sufficient.

+1

I wouldn't have bothered with castration. Considering the time and the place, I would have shot him in the head.

And ultimately, he came pretty close to the former and certainly got the latter.

Not all narcissists are socio/psychpaths, but all socio/psychopaths ARE narcissists. So it's quite possible that JS was a sociopathic hebephile.

Just some extra info for the hell of it- Hebe was the young, beautiful cup-bearer for Zeus until Ganymede knocked her off that position. Hebe was one of Hera's favourites, so to placate her, Zeus married Hebe off to the newly deified Heracles.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/2014 12:06PM by Itzpapalotl.

He was a sexual predator no matter what else one calls him.

He groomed young girls in his own home before later 'marrying' them. Looks as if he did the same with the young daughters of his fellow members at times.

The only evidence we have would indicate that he was probably an ephebophile. A lot of discussion went on about whether a 14 year old during that time has gone through menses. If they didn't, then it is likely he was a hebephile as well.

Most likely he wasn't a pedophile.

As other have pointed out though, the most important thing is that he was deceptive, used power to manipulate others into inappropriate sexual relationships, and was a sociopath.

Yes, to echo the 2 other previous comments; a pervert sexual predator of all ages, from teens up, is sufficient.

He was a child molester...it's a different diagnosis than pedophile, look it up. In addition to that he was a sexual
predator.... in other words , no matter how you look at it
he was a sick fuck.

OK, fair enough. But to me, he was not a "beloved Prophet". A sexual predator is an adequate description....

In my opinion, from his youth, he was just a dirty old man.

When people complain that Joseph Smith was a pedophile, what they are actually complaining about is that he committed statutory rape. The two things are slightly different, but for all intents and purposes, they are the same and we are just splitting hairs or creating a distinction without a difference.

Perhaps Joseph Smith was not technically a pedophile, but he was still a sex offender, statutory rapist, adulterer, and bigamist.

And he was not a prophet in any definition of the word.

Whatever he was, he sure as hell was more pedophile than prophet. Others can weigh in on the clinical stuff, which in his case, is the psychological equivalent of debating how many angels can fit in the head of a pin.

I like to think I am more honest than church leaders have shown themselves to be, so I will agree with you. I will even point out that in her autobiography Helen Mar Kimball says she was tall and often accompanied her dad to adult events, so people often thought of her as older than she was.

But I find it unconscionable that Smith "groomed" at least 7 young women to accept his advances by taking them into his home as young teens. These girls were motherless, or orphans, or had other reasons for needing to leave home. They were vulnerable, and he pressured them to give up real love and marriage for occasional secret trysts with a guy they had to share, behind his wife's back. He persuaded them that this was "of god" even though they knew they would be condemned as whores if word got out.

Add in the 15- to 17-year-olds whose families he persuaded to hand them over (Helen, Sarah, Flora, Nancy....) and the marriages he destroyed, and you have a very evil man.

It is hard to find words strong enough to cover it.

Why does it matter if he was a "pure pedophile" or a variation-type pedophile? Having sex with children was as wrong in his day as it is now. It's too late to prosecute him, but we don't have to make excuses or overlook his perversions.

He used his power within his religion to force himself on dozens of women. Several were under 18. Two were just 14. Many were already married.

Call that what you will. I think sexual predator is accurate.

nasty old PERV.

Paraphile. Predator. Narcissist. Sociopath.

All of the above. Not a pedophile.

You forgot pervert and megalomaniac

Absolutely! You're right..The keys to understanding his later life.

It amazes me that someones husband, boyfriend, brother, or father didn't take joe off the planet years earlier.

Like many a cult leader, he just wanted to boink anyone he saw fit. See David Koresh, L. Ron Hubbard, etc.

Joseph Smith was a 19th century textbook Jim Jones, Sans the Suicide (although based on Smith's behavior it was probably going there.) Read bit's of this article; the similarities are shocking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/2014 11:59PM by steve benson.

I know they're describing another country, but they're trying to set up laws for protection of women. Check out Polygamy and how harmful it is in the Muslim states that allow it. Or the child brides: Then remember, many of these children were wed to older men who would be sent off to missions and had to care for their own and probably their sister wives children, gardens, livestock, etc... due to illnesses, pregnancies, etc...

http://www.hrw.org/node/130123/section/3