Canada is a place where human agency is more free nowadays.

https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index-new

Smith in all his inspired and revelatory future sight saw that Canada would eventually be the promised land for freedom.

Not that Smith had much use for anything but his religious freedom to create the Mormon con.

But Mormons will make their apologies for losing their freedom.

http://www.ldsliving.com/One-Phrase-Church-Leaders-Never-Say-Anymore-Why/s/78358

They are being charged for it now.
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/free-agency?lang=eng

Mormons will GIVE UP their freedom.
Forget losing it.

They aren't allowed to exercise it.
Therefore it can't grow.

It isn't given water or light or allowed to prosper, so it withers.

For JS,, Jr., it was his own freedom. He didn't care about anyone else's. He wanted them for their money, vulnerability, connections.

He wanted QUICK money.

Working for it would have taken time. Time where he couldn't have visions and revelations and schemes.

It actually turned out to be the pivotal event which revealed to Joe and Sid that book sales were chump change compared to the lucrative life of holy prophets.

Right? The Book wasn't where it was at. It was the authority having a book gave one to pressure money out of people and not their buying it.

Even his own flock wasn't buying it

I don't think many could afford it.

My understanding of the copyright laws at the time is this.

The copyright if sold in Canada would only be for 14 years at which time the copyright could be resold or returned to the author.

The copyright would only cover the British Empire and not the United States where Joseph would continue to have copyrights.

Many early US authors published in both the British Empire and the US. So it was not uncommon.

Heartless Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So it was not uncommon.

For God's truest book on the planet? Akin to a Golden Bible?

Follow the $

When the want for basic economic needs escalades to Greed, Watch Out, check the your wallet is secure.

I think the Kirtland Anti-Banking & Safety Society supports this view.