Exactly how illiterate was Josph Smith?

[pancreasman]

Would it be fair to summarize it this way:

Could the BOM be a legitimate revelation from God? Possibly.

Could the BOM be a fraud perpetrated by Smith? Possibly.

What evidence presented would indicate that Smith might be capable of such a fraud?

1. He was not completely illiterate.

2. He was adept from a young age at producing entertaining fantasies.

3. He apparently was quite familiar with the KJV style.

4. He may have had assistance in producing a written version of the BOM.

To go beyond this, we would need to examine issues outside the scope of this particular thread.

However, I find the argument for the BOM's authenticity based on Smith's supposed lack of literary capability a strange one since it applies even more strongly to Mohammed.

[Sparko]

So in 4 pages we have concluded that Joseph Smith could indeed read and write long before he wrote the Book of Mormon.

So he could have written notes and hidden them in his hat, and then dictated to Oliver to make it look like he was getting it from God/Golden Plates.

[nrajeff]

Not according to the eyewitnesses such as his wife.

[Cow Poke]

Would it be fair to summarize it this way:

Could the BOM be a legitimate revelation from God? Possibly.

And if it IS, I need to know that, because I'd be in a lot of trouble!
(But so was Saul, before the Damascus Road )

Could the BOM be a fraud perpetrated by Smith? Possibly.

What evidence presented would indicate that Smith might be capable of such a fraud?

1. He was not completely illiterate.

2. He was adept from a young age at producing entertaining fantasies.

3. He apparently was quite familiar with the KJV style.

4. He may have had assistance in producing a written version of the BOM.

To go beyond this, we would need to examine issues outside the scope of this particular thread.

However, I find the argument for the BOM's authenticity based on Smith's supposed lack of literary capability a strange one since it applies even more strongly to Mohammed.

Agreed.

[RBerman]

So he could have written notes and hidden them in his hat, and then dictated to Oliver to make it look like he was getting it from God/Golden Plates.

Or he had just practiced, whether those particular stories or the art of storytelling in general. Homer was apparently illiterate, and yet produced an elaborate and lengthy work of literature.

[Cow Poke]

Or he had just practiced, whether those particular stories or the art of storytelling in general. Homer was apparently illiterate, and yet produced an elaborate and lengthy work of literature.

Apparently, his storytelling in his home was pretty impromptu - not notes or scripts - and he kept his family quite entertained. Since he "dictated" the content to scribes, his literacy would not have needed to be a great factor.

[master_mormon]

What evidence presented would indicate that Smith might be capable of such a fraud?

1. He was not completely illiterate.

2. He was adept from a young age at producing entertaining fantasies.

3. He apparently was quite familiar with the KJV style.

4. He may have had assistance in producing a written version of the BOM.

To go beyond this, we would need to examine issues outside the scope of this particular thread.

However, I find the argument for the BOM's authenticity based on Smith's supposed lack of literary capability a strange one since it applies even more strongly to Mohammed.

It probably is not a the strongest argument. Though I like the number 2 for evidence of a fraud. What kids at a young age do not engage in fantasies to one degree or another. I sure did when I was young.

[Cow Poke]

It probably is not a the strongest argument. Though I like the number 2 for evidence of a fraud. What kids at a young age do not engage in fantasies to one degree or another. I sure did when I was young.

Did you invent whole civilizations and geography to keep your family entertained for evenings at a time?

[pancreasman]

It probably is not a the strongest argument. Though I like the number 2 for evidence of a fraud. What kids at a young age do not engage in fantasies to one degree or another. I sure did when I was young.

I think IIRC that his fantasies were very detailed and amused and entertained adults as well. They seem to have been quite sophisticated.

Compare the BOM with the Book of Uranta. I find some interesting similarities (and differences). The conclusion I would draw is that we have to be careful not to dismiss too easily what the fertile human mind is capable of.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Urantia_Book

[pancreasman]

Did you invent whole civilizations and geography to keep your family entertained for evenings at a time?

We must stop posting at the same time.