He used a Stone and his hat.
2007-08-11 20:46:37 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Because he was a fraud...
It was probably not the most clever of methods, surely he could have thought of something more interesting. No doubt that is why the church changed the story later on to include a table and a sheet that separated him from his translator...
It's a sad reality that Joseph Smith was no more than a con-man, who not only duped several people back in his lifetime, his legacy of delusion has continued for generations...
2007-08-11 20:53:15 · answer #1 · answered by All I Hear Is Blah Blah Blah... 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
He needed a device of sorts to get his story he had been telling for years onto paper. Either he didn't write well, or didn't like it, so he 'dictated' this story to Oliver Cowdery (and other scribes). Since he had given a story about finding gold plates, he claimed he could translate them. However, since he already had this story memorized, placing his head in a hat probably gave him a method of concentration, plus accounts for the 'stream of consciousness' narrative. The gold plates never existed, but was a good enough ruse to get other people to write for him.
2007-08-12 06:42:10 · answer #2 · answered by Dances with Poultry 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
So he could pull out the Mormon rabbit.
2007-08-11 20:54:03 · answer #3 · answered by cheir 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
To perpetrate a fraud
the answer is clear in your question, duh!
2007-08-11 21:02:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋