why did joseph smith lie?

Question

what did he gain by all those lies? i mean, personally?

hey rosy, thanks for the rose, i dont need to send it on, cos i know im beautiful, Jesus made me that way.

i have no doubt whatsoever that he did lie, but i just wondered why?

Answer 1

He gained a few wives... check that- a few DOZEN wives. He gained international fame. He actually did gain quite a bit of money. He almost gained candidacy for the United States Presidency, except that he was killed before making it official. He became a Master Mason and a high-ranking leader in the Illinois lodges.

He also made something of his family name, which was very poorly regarded in the areas where his family had lived, since they were very poor and were notorious for stealing livestock and abandoning their houses so that they wouldn't have to pay off the mortgage, which they couldn't afford.

Most importantly, as a middle child in a poor unliked family, he gained the opportunity to be accepted of and cared for by people, and to lead them in a cause that motivated him. For him, I don't think it was "lying" per se, but rather expounding on fantasies and dreams that he had had since he was a young boy, as is evidenced by his Book of Mormon story, which talks of several subjects that were fascinating to him as a boy:

American Indian History
War
Treasure hunting
Divination (seerstones)
Religion

In other words, JRR Tolkien wouldn't see the Hobbit as a lie, but merely an element of beauty that was produced by a vivid human mind. In the same way, I see the Joseph Smith experience as a similar product of his mind, and would not so much call it a lie as to say that he just "lived" this product more than Tolkien might have lived his own.

EDIT: He wasn't really "killed for his belief"... he was killed by a mob comprised mostly of masons and partially of other Nauvoo-area residents (both members and non-members) that feared he was gaining too much political control (his angry fit about the Expositor and his order to destroy the press, for example). Most Masons at the time were very friendly to the LDS Church but disliked Joseph's antics. He wasn't killed for his "Religion" but his "Politics."

2nd Edit: "He kept his wealth very well-hidden"
Emma and her 2nd husband lived for YEARS on what Joseph had left to her. Keep in mind that his inheritance was also split (albeit to a lesser extent) amongst his plural wives. Emma took a little more than half of what he had, and they survived for almost two decades on it. Most of that time, her second husband had no job, or else worked as a "jack of all trades" handyman doing oddjobs for the Nauvoo townsfolk.

Also, although his name was "filth" in his day according to many people, it was "gold" in Nauvoo and surrounding areas. He lived in Nauvoo. Day in and day out, he was able to walk around the town and tell people what to do, what to say, and how to behave, all the while being regarded as the closest mortal being to the Divine. This was his everyday experience, and even if visitors mocked him, they would leave within days, and even if they didn't, he had his Nauvoo population (as Mormons so stereotypically quote as rivaling that of Chicago at the time) to back him up and vouch for him.

Answer 2

One thing Joseph Smith did teach is tolerance of all religion. I think that's a wonderful thing to teach. Especially since I have friends of many faiths. Amos 3:7 says that God will do nothing without first calling a prophet. So I think it's important to know that 1) There is a living prophet or 2) God's truth is not here The book of Revelation states that 2 prophets will be murdered in the holy land shortly before the second coming of The Lord Jesus Christ. So there would have to be living prophets sometime between now and then. I believe in what Joseph Smith taught because The Holy Ghost has told me to. But I respect anyone's views. Do Mormons burn in hell? I don't think there is really fire in hell to burn anyone.

Answer 3

I was raised Mormon, and have been to the temple many times. My own theory of why Joseph did what he did, is that his family had a long line of Freemason members. Joseph himself was a Master Mason, as was his brother, and a lot of his followers. A lot of LDS people ask "How did a 14-year-old boy make a religion by himself?" The correct question would be, "How did a 14-year-old make a religion, when coincidentally his family were in a secret society for generations before him?" This sort of explains many things in my mind, and takes the mystery out of the Joseph Smith story in general. I firmly believe that Joseph was acting on a pre-arranged scenario and belief system set that was created by the Masons, if not in general, than at least the local chapter. Literally ALL of the temple rites of Mormons are copied and pasted from Masonic temple rites, down to the pledge of self-mutilation apon revelation of the temple secrets, (which the Mormons stopped including in their temple rituals about 20 years ago). It makes sense to me. The Mormon church itself is one of the wealthiest religions to ever exist. You can't tell me that a secret organization would not think of that. Most Mormons do not even know the Mason temple rites, or they would say exactly what I am saying now.

Answer 4

I have to agree with Coool, he had nothing to gain from his story. There are times when the righteous have been persecuted for their beliefs, and I'm not talking only about the LDS, but all Christians for that matter.
I also have to agree with Coool and David F in that if it was false, he wouldn't have died declaring it to be true. And is it really something worth arguing about? I can talk and talk til I'm blue in the face and I'll not convince anyone else of the truth of the matter. Conversion to something is a personal thing between the person and God.
Again, all men are free to worship how where and what they may, leave those of us that are LDS alone. For only God is the ultimate and last judge.
May wisdom guide all of our days.

Answer 5

If Joseph Smith lied then he went to his very horrible death defending that lie.If he lied then all those years of vicious persecution were for nothing and he lived for some considerable time with a price on his head.
Would he put himself in the firing line for something he knew to be a load of old pants ?,you could ask the same question of the apostles...if Jesus wasn't risen from the dead then why face torture and execution to defend it.
I am sorry but it is very hard for me to take seriously any claim that Joseph Smith "wrote" the Book of Mormon,taking into account his education -or lack of- this is quite impossible.If he had personal wealth at the time of his death then he certainly kept it very well hidden.
His name was filth in his day,and still is to many people,so i struggle to see what he had to gain personally from making it all up.
I guess this is why we need faith,proof is all very well but once we have it there's no need for faith anymore.

Answer 6

That's just it, he had nothing to gain. so why lie? he didn't.

What does he have to gain from being killing for his firm belief? nothing, but he was anyway.

Sure I would admit that Joseph Smith wasn't exactly the most modest person in the world. But, there's no proof that he outright lied. In fact he gave his life for what said.

P.S. He didn't have that much money, so it wasn't that.
He was forced from city to city to city and members were allowed in or out at any time, wasn't Power. Laws were made against him, Wasn't fame.

Frankly, if there was a True church in the world, don't you think Satan would do what he could to destroy it. Thanks for helping to prove this theory.

If he lied over the years, then why die for it? In his mind and others nothing could have been more true. there is no proof on way or the other on whether he died, except for he gave his own life. unlike other modern church leaders. A con Artist that is killed in a middle of a con gains nothing, so why continue if he was about to be killed?

Answer 7

Why do you think he lied? if your pastor is teaching you all the reasons every other denomination is wrong. Than I would seriously qeustion his motives. Not Joseph Smiths
In the LDS church we only teach our doctrine and never run down any others.
If your church has any truth to it. It will teach its doctrines and never run down anothers faith.

Answer 8

Joseph s lies were according to prophecies fulfilled.Being the principal instrument through whom GOD established the new church, it was permitted the devil to do its last exploits; hence scriptural prophecies fulfilled through him- both positive and negative,

Answer 9

The bible says that Satan is the father of lies, that when he speaks a lie he speaks of his own.

Jesus said, speaking to those who shut their ears to him, that they would not receive him but if another came in his own name, him they would receive.

Those who come in the name of Jesus Christ do God's will, and those who come in their own name do Satan's will.

Answer 10

Like all religious leaders it is about power. What was it a golden book from which he copied the book or mormon and then the book disappeared. If you believe that then you will believe anything