A New Witness for Christ in America, ‘Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet…,’ 2:384; “This Joseph Smith, Senior, we soon learned, from his own lips, was a firm believer in witchcraft and other supernatural things; and had brought up his family in the same belief. He also believed that there was a vast amount of money buried somewhere in the country; that it would someday be found; that he himself had spent both time and money searching for it, with divining rods, but had not succeeded in finding any, though sure that he eventually would.” – Francis W. Kirkham
Galatians 5:19-21; “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Last week we saw testimony of someone in the community the Smith family lived in who spoke about the witchcraft they participated in. This interview of Joseph Smith, Sr. leaves no room for second guessing or insinuations. The Smith family had no shame whatsoever about their godless activities and sadly, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree…
Remarkably, the Church doesn’t seem to have a problem with the Smith family practicing witchcraft seeing as how this book was published by LDS.inc
If you’re LDS what are your thoughts about this?
Does it give you pause?
Would God call someone practicing witchcraft to be a prophet for Him?
“If you’re LDS what are your thoughts about this?”
If one is only cognizant of one side of the picture, it might be troubling. But recall that Kirkham is quoting other people in that section of his book. He does a lot of that so that both sides of the evidence, if any, can be seen by the reader, both true and false.
“Does it give you pause?”
At one time, it did–until I started digging through the primary sources and a fuller picture emerged.
“Would God call someone practicing witchcraft to be a prophet for Him?”
Yes, he just might well do so. But I expect God would call him to repentance for his past doings as well as call him as a prophet.
Remember, before God called Moses he was adopted into the family of Pharaoh’s daughter. Egyptians practiced magic and prayer to other gods. It is very likely that, before he started figuring things out, he also engaged in such practices.
Evidence of that is in the Bible, too. One of the very first things he asks after seeing God’s power is, “What is your name?” Why? It is because in Egyptian thought, knowing a god’s true name gave one power over the god to do one’s bidding. Thus, God’s response: “I am that I am. Tell them: ‘I am has sent me to you.'”
Daniel already was a prophet. Yet, he also allowed himself to be appointed as chief of magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers (Daniel 5:11).
In the case of Joseph Smith, he engaged in things displeasing to the Lord. And, in 1826, God called him to repentance for what he had been doing at the time. Had he not repented, he would not have been allowed to take the plates and translate them into the English text we have today of the Book of Mormon. His doings at the time prevented him from being allowed to receive the plates.
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