You Guys are so much fun! So now that were having fun w/the BoM. Since we all know Jo is nephi and Lehi's his dad. I have a suspition that Laban is his older bro. Alvin! Alvin died rather mysteriosly at 25 from a form of mercury poisoning. While it was a compound used for medicinal purposes(for diarehea & syphis; dont know which one ;). ) He overdosed & died. At 25 he could have inherited the family farm. Did Alvin approve of the BoM? Or was it better for one man to parish? Which BTW is from the bible,.

Mercury was used to treat V.D.

Usually, a copper wire was heated up and dipped into the mercury and then the hot wire was inserted into the euritha in a male. Of course that would burn and cauterize the tissue so it was necessary, several times a day for the patient to reopen the euritha to keep the mucous membrane from growing together. A very painful disease, very painful and long treatment for it. Since general anesthetics was unheard of in that time, it was bite the bullet, get drunk, take opium or just a clop on the head. Opium was sometimes called, in the literature of the day, Poppy juice. If memory serves me, alcohol mixed with opium was called laudanum. The mixing of alcohol or liqueurs softened the taste of the opium.

I have a middle 19th century (1845) bottle of laudanum in my collection of 'things that are out of style.'

That treatment seemed to work as it was used until 'modern' antibiotics were created/invented. I guess that is what Alvin got for putting his wick in a dirty hole.