Joseph Smith, Cognitive Consonance and his Motives

[sock puppet]

I find the thread entitled "What if Joseph Smith was just an Alpha Ape in tune with Nature" to be very thought provoking.

Leon Festinger put into verbiage the notion that our mind strives to put everything we know in harmony internally. New information that is at odds with our thinking causes cognitive dissonance, for which mental adjustments must be made to accommodate the new information. It is very much like the scientific method going on inside our own heads. Dissonance is discomforting, and we take quick mental steps to accommodate the new information into our 'global view', a new consonance.

A few years back Don Bradley gave us new insight for example about Joseph Smith perhaps spotting a character on one of the Kinderhook Plates very similar to a character from the Egyptian papyrus that he 'translated' as part of the Book of Abraham. Smith gave it a similar interpretation. But then upon noticing the other characters on the Kinderhook Plates did not bear such a similarity, dissonance developed. Smith discarded the Kinderhook Plates translation project, likely to restore some cognitive consonance.

This is just background example. My inquiry here is first, what do those who have studied Smith at length think were his prime objectives, those for which he'd compromise or discard other notions, values and ideals that came into conflict with or belied such prime objectives?

[drumdude]

Joseph must have been very troubled by having sex with so many women. Imagine a man of Joseph's integrity forced to be unfaithful to his wife. Every thrust into all the different women that were not his lawful wife Emma must have been pure agony. Truly it was Joseph's "Garden of Gethsemane" moment, over and over in barns and closets and locked bedrooms.

The only explanation for it was that Joseph really saw Christ and God the Father. They told him to have sex with 14 year old girls. What other explanation could there be?

This is what makes me believe the early Mormon saints. They gave up their sexual integrity to follow the Prophet and endure the difficult work of plowing so many women.

[canpakes]

My inquiry here is first, what do those who have studied Smith at length think were his prime objectives, . . .

At the risk of offering an overly simplistic explanation for the first step, could it be that Smith saw the creation of the book as a vehicle for income (copyright sale, etc)? And as the book took on a following, he adapted accordingly?

Seems like Smith wanted things. The Book provided them, in a way that he probably never imagined it could.

[sock puppet]

My inquiry here is first, what do those who have studied Smith at length think were his prime objectives, . . .

At the risk of offering an overly simplistic explanation for the first step, could it be that Smith saw the creation of the book as a vehicle for income (copyright sale, etc)? And as the book took on a following, he adapted accordingly?

Seems like Smith wanted things. The Book provided them, in a way that he probably never imagined it could.

There is an arc in the events of his life that certainly suggests this. The Book was the thing in the 1830s, the First Vision sort of a footnote then. To propel the Utah fragment, its leaders have shifted the focus to the FV. The FV has more appeal in this era, but the Book must have had more back in the 1800s.

[malkie]

My inquiry here is first, what do those who have studied Smith at length think were his prime objectives, . . .

At the risk of offering an overly simplistic explanation for the first step, could it be that Smith saw the creation of the book as a vehicle for income (copyright sale, etc)? And as the book took on a following, he adapted accordingly?

Seems like Smith wanted things. The Book provided them, in a way that he probably never imagined it could.

Too bad that us rotten Canadians wouldn't buy the copyright to the Book of Mormon.

I can't help wondering what would have happened - how would Mormonism have turned out?

[Tacenda]

Joseph must have been very troubled by having sex with so many women. Imagine a man of Joseph's integrity forced to be unfaithful to his wife. Every thrust into all the different women that were not his lawful wife Emma must have been pure agony. Truly it was Joseph's "Garden of Gethsemane" moment, over and over in barns and closets and locked bedrooms.

The only explanation for it was that Joseph really saw Christ and God the Father. They told him to have sex with 14 year old girls. What other explanation could there be?

This is what makes me believe the early Mormon saints. They gave up their sexual integrity to follow the Prophet and endure the difficult work of plowing so many women.

Do we have proof that Joseph Smith had sex with 14 year olds?

[Tacenda]

Joseph must have been very troubled by having sex with so many women. Imagine a man of Joseph's integrity forced to be unfaithful to his wife. Every thrust into all the different women that were not his lawful wife Emma must have been pure agony. Truly it was Joseph's "Garden of Gethsemane" moment, over and over in barns and closets and locked bedrooms.

The only explanation for it was that Joseph really saw Christ and God the Father. They told him to have sex with 14 year old girls. What other explanation could there be?

This is what makes me believe the early Mormon saints. They gave up their sexual integrity to follow the Prophet and endure the difficult work of plowing so many women.

Do we have proof that Joseph Smith had sex with 14 year olds?

[drumdude]

Joseph must have been very troubled by having sex with so many women. Imagine a man of Joseph's integrity forced to be unfaithful to his wife. Every thrust into all the different women that were not his lawful wife Emma must have been pure agony. Truly it was Joseph's "Garden of Gethsemane" moment, over and over in barns and closets and locked bedrooms.

The only explanation for it was that Joseph really saw Christ and God the Father. They told him to have sex with 14 year old girls. What other explanation could there be?

This is what makes me believe the early Mormon saints. They gave up their sexual integrity to follow the Prophet and endure the difficult work of plowing so many women.

Do we have proof that Joseph Smith had sex with 14 year olds?

We don't have proof he had sex with Emma. He could have ejaculated into a cloth and Emma impregnated herself with it.

What is most likely?

[Tacenda]

Do we have proof that Joseph Smith had sex with 14 year olds?

We don't have proof he had sex with Emma. He could have ejaculated into a cloth and Emma impregnated herself with it.

What is most likely?

Don't be ridiculous.

[drumdude]

We don't have proof he had sex with Emma. He could have ejaculated into a cloth and Emma impregnated herself with it.

What is most likely?

Don't be ridiculous.

My feeling as well. The idea that Joseph didn't have sex with them is ridiculous. Even faithful LDS scholars admit it.