In the specific case of "polygamy denial" -- the position, contrary to that of both the CJCLDS and 99% of its critics, that Joseph Smith never taught or practiced plural marriage -- it's a relatively hard sell for me. I'm pretty well read in the mainstream narrative and find it convincing. I'm open to other possibilities, though, and Jeremy Hoop has piqued my interest with his new video series setting out to disprove Joseph Smith's polygamy once and for all.
His first video lays out his position and summarizes the game plan for this extremely ambitious undertaking:
The second reads the Abinadi story in the light of Jacob's polygamy sermon in a way that is very clever and plausible, and which has implications that go beyond the polygamy question, and about which I may post later:
I'd say the series is off to a good start, and I look forward to seeing how he develops it, and how he deals with all the evidence on the other side -- which he is clearly both very familiar with and very confident in his ability to debunk.
4 comments:
Based Faramir and based polygamy deniers in the same week. I really enjoyed that second video. Pretty thoughtful approach. He does a good job making the case to at least hear him out without alienating really anyone. I'm excited to see what he puts out.
I read a pamplet by something Whitmer one of the 3 witnesses to the BOM and he said he broke with JS over polygammy, so definately a hard sell.
I don't have the interest or energy to go into this material I'm afraid; but I had a pretty strong feeling (I the time when I was engaged with this material) that much had been obscured in trying to conflate and make compatible the aims and practices of Joseph and Brigham.
Polygamy (i.e. men and women, both with potentially multiple "spouses") seems to have been regarded as is polygyny - whereas JS's polygamy is primarily spiritual, and about creating extended families (when Mormonism extended from the original actual families and neighbours to including new converts). Whereas polygyny is biological and social in its aims and practices.
Joseph's polygamy was something new under the sun; but Brigham's polygyny looks back to the model of the ancient Hebrew Patriarchs.
Jason, there's no question that JS was accused of practicing polygamy and that many people close to him believed the accusations and broke with him over the issue.
Bruce, I agree that even within the mainstream narrative, JS's practice of polyandry, and the lack of any children except with his legal wife, means that he was doing something very different from BY.
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