About "Emma's knowledge of Joseph's marriages," Richard Lloyd Anderson and Scott H. Faulring write:

"The Prophet's confidential letter to the Whitneys in August 1842 has been conveniently available since Dean Jessee published a photocopy and transcription in 1984. The Prophet had been sealed to their daughter [Sarah Ann] a month before, and he asked for a secret meeting 'to get the fulness of my blessings sealed upon our heads, etc.' . . . Here ]Todd] Compton [author of "In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wive of Joseph Smith] accurately observes: 'This is not just a meeting of husband and plural wife; it is a meeting with Sarah's family, with a religious aspect' . . . .

"In the letter, Joseph Smith asked the Whitneys to be careful to visit him in exile only if they determined Emma was not coming that night: 'But when she is not here, there is the most perfect safety' . . . . Obviously the Prophet sought the right atmosphere for the performance of sacred ceremonies."

Obviously (snicker).

Then comes the epitome of sophistry:

"But as far as keeping the visit secret, Compton jumps to a conclusion: 'Clearly, Emma does not know of the marriage to Sarah Ann, so Joseph must meet Sarah only when there is no risk of his first wife finding out' . . . Compton is not the first in drawing this conclusion that ignores other possibilities. Emma was frequently angry when Joseph had contact with wives she knew about. This August 1842 letter simply shows that Joseph sought to avoid conflict, without giving any definite insight into whether Emma knew of his recent sealing to Sarah Ann."

(Richard Lloyd Anderson and Scott H. Faulring, "The Prophet Joseph Smith and His Plural Wives," in "FARMS Review," Volume 10, Issue 2, pp. 67-104, "A review of 'In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith' by Todd M. Compton, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 1998, at: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=10&num=2&id=290)
_____


What Mormon excuse-makers Anderson and Lloyd conveniently fail to do is to quote the parts of Smith's letter indicating the great lengths to which Smith was going in order to conceal from Emma what he was really doing--namely, further cheating on her:

"Only be careful to escape observation, as much as possible. I know it is a heroic undertaking; but so much the greater friendship and the more joy,when I see you I will tell you all my plans. I cannot write them on paper. Burn this letter as soon as your read it; keep all locked up in your breasts, my life depends upon it."

Then, as almost an afterthought and perhaps in an effort to make his clandestine letter-writing appear to an effort to protect the sacredness of Mormon blessing-giving, Smith adds:

"One thing I want to see you for is [to] get the fulness of my blessings sealed upon our heads."

Smith closes his letter with this:

"I think Emma won't come tonight. If she don't, then don't fail to come tonight. I subscribe myself your most obedient and affectionate companion and friend. Joseph Smith."


Compton accurately assesses what self-absorbed Smith is narcissistically up to:

"The Mormon leader is putting the Whitneys in the difficult position of having to learn about Emma's movements, avoid her, then meet secretly with him. The clock-and-dagger atmosphere in this letter if typical of Nauvoo polygamy."

Compton puts Smith's letter in further context by noting:

" [Smith's] letter . . . to Newel, Elizabeth and Sarah [Whitney], dated about a month after the marriage, shows how secretly Smith was forced to live in plurality. He was hiding from the law and had transferred from the Edward Sayers home to Carlos Granger's. There he wrote the . . . letter . . . address[ing] father, mother and daughter [as] 'you three',' but cautiously avod[ing] writing Sarah's name."

(Todd Compton, "In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith," Chapter 14, "'Great Glory Honner & Eternal Lives': Sarah Ann Whitney (Smith [Kingsbury) Kimball" [Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1997], pp 349-50)

In short, Smith was a philandering fugitive from justice who didn't want his wife Emma to find out what he was doing because--according to Mormon apologists--he wanted to protect her tender feelings.

What a guy.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2012 04:18PM by steve benson.

Thanks for the info on this...
Does anyone know how this letter came to be preserved? In who's posession it was? Where is the original now? Have any apologists ever tried to dismiss it as fake?
Thanks!

Dean C. Jesse, editor, published a photocopy and text of the letter in his book, "Personal Writings of Joseph Smith" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1984), 539—42.
_____


"The Prophet's confidential letter to the Whitneys in August 1842 has been conveniently available since Dean Jessee published a photocopy and transcription in 1984."

(Richard Lloyd Anderson and Scott H. Faulring, "The Prophet Joseph Smith and His Plural Wives," in "FARMS Review," under "A review of 'In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith' by Todd M. Compton, Vol. 10, Issue 2, pp. 67-104, footnote 14, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 1998, at: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=10&num=2&id=290)



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2012 09:22PM by steve benson.

Mormonism was the originator of true psychoanalysis maybe?