Want a great, entertaining read?....a romp through the past that Profit-in-Training Joey LOVED TO READ?

Try "The Memoirs of the Notorious Stephen Burroughs". I promise you will see a charismatic, swindling, god-using shister in the making.

Stephen Burroughs was born in 1765, died in 1840, was the son of a Presbyterian minister, went to Dartmouth like Hyrum Smith and where Lucy hung out a lot, and was known in his youth as "the worst boy in town." He played playful and not so playful pranks for his own continual amusement where his audience continually experienced a love-hate relationship with him.

Putting on many hats seemed as easy to him as skipping out of town when things got a little too warm. He put on the hat of teacher several times, minister by "borrowing" the sermons from his father and, of course, charging money for each sermon. He tried to run away at 14 to become a soldier, an author writing his 2-volume memoirs to make money (which paid off royally), a husband, a father and, probably his staring role, a master counterfeiter.

I challenge you to read just some of this book and not see the career of Joseph Smith in the making.

You can read the book free on the site archives.org.

I'm going to look for that in used book stores and sales, next week, including next weekend, and online. I'ts one I can wait for.
Seems like a good read. What trouble this guy was. Prankster! Yikes

Here’s the link. It’s free (and legal) to download and read.

https://archive.org/details/memoirsofnotorio00burr/page/n7

This looks like it was published in 1835, or perhaps as early as 1832, so it may have come too late for Smith’s earlier exploits.

A review from Smithsonian Magazine can be found at this link: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-entertaining-saga-worst-crook-colonial-america-180955643/

CZ

I beg to differ.....Stephen Burrough's first memoir was published in 1798, when he was was 33. (his second memoir came later).

And gosh, golly he wrote this book all my himself....see Mormons,it IS possible for someone else who also didn't not get a whole lot of education to write a book! - not that I think for a minute Joey wrote that book all by his little lonesome. Yet here is one that facts seem to attest was truly the case!

So, the book was available for 7 years before Joey's birth in December, 1805. Joey had plenty of time to devour it (his Mother was a schoolteacher who taught her children to read) and digest how to have fun living a wild, raucous, money-filled life pulling the wool over others' eyes.

But, his book is definitely not the (yawn) "chloroform in print" as Mark Twain lauded the BofM. Rather, it is uproariously entertaining and definitely a fun walk back in the days when America was a painfully stretchin' and a growin" by leaps and scoundrels.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2018 06:29PM by presleynfactsrock.

On Mormon Stories, Kathleen Melanokos is mentioning Stephen Burroughs as she is linking Joseph Smith and his family with counterfeiting rings.

No wonder Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and their Apostles were doing counterfeiting to finance their church operations and to enrich themselves. Briggie and friends had to flee to SLC (Mexican owned at the time) to avoid the Federal Marshals who were coming with a warrant to arrest, try, imprison and likely death penalize our beloved holy prophet. Persecution my foot!

Mormon Stories #994, #995, and #996 talk a lot about the Mormon connection with counterfeiting and horse stealing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2018 10:33PM by Josephina.