December 1 — “Now, most historians, Mormon or not, who work with the sources, accept as fact Joseph Smith’s career as village magician. Too many of his closest friends and family admitted as much, and some of Joseph’s own revelations support the contention. B. H. Roberts, Mormon historian, Treasure‑seeking Then and Now, Sunstone, v. 11, September 1987, p. 5.” — Richard L. Bushman
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Leviticus 20:6 “And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.”
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Today we’re wondering why Smith got a free pass on behaving the way he did when it came to witchcraft and digging for buried treasures. I highly encourage our visitors to read Mr. Bushman’s entire article referenced above.
The bad habits of Smith were passed on down from one generation to the next. As I’ve mentioned before I clearly remember things like this when I was in junior high. One night around Halloween time the young women’s leader had us go to the store and purchase dry ice for special effects as we sat around in a circle to tell ghost stories.
There obviously wasn’t a lot of spiritual discernment going on there…
After reading Bushman’s article, please share your concerns with a Mormon about Smith’s behavior and as Dr. Walter Martin always said – use demonstrative evidence as to why this is a problem!
Another good biblical example of witchcraft is found in Acts 8:9-24. Peter admonished Simon the magician for offering money to give the HS to people. The stories of Smith and Simon the magician were strikingly similar.
With Love in Christ —
Michelle ✟
[…] Joseph Smith the Magician — Richard L. Bushman […]
What a character. Not a man of God.
That he was and it’s putting it mildly!
Interesting, both Joseph Smith and Charles Taze Russell were Masons
They both created cults.
Two peas in a pod as the saying goes. 😉 It has always amazed me how people like that put their own spin on things and people just go along not questioning anything.
Some people believe anything. So sad.
If they’d only open a Bible.