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oseph, moreover, as he grew in years, had learned to read comprehensively, in which qualification he was far in advance of his elder brother, and even of his father; and his talent was assiduously devoted, as he quitted or modified his idle habits, to the perusal of works of fiction and records of criminality, such for instance as would be classed with the "dime novels" of the present day. The stories of Stephen Burroughs and Captain Kidd, and the like, presented the highest charms for his expanding mental perceptions. As he further advanced in reading and knowledge, he assumed a spiritual or religious turn of mind, and frequently perused the Bible, becoming quite familiar with portions thereof, both of the Old and New Testaments; selected texts from which he quoted and discussed with great assurance when in the presence of his superstitious acquaintances. The Prophecies and Revelations were his special forté. His interpretations of scriptural passages were always original and unique, and his deductions and conclusions often disgustingly blasphemous, according to the common apprehensions of Christian people.

There is a Sunstone article by Fred Buchanan Sunstone Magazine (Issue No: 70, April 1989) where he wonders about this issue:
QUOTE
Did Joseph Smith have access to accounts of Captain Kidd's exploits, which became more and more elaborate in the years following his hanging in London in 1701? Did accounts of Kidd's rendezvous at Comoro and Moroni color the folklore about Kidd's buried treasure to which young Joseph was exposed? It is widely acknowledged that Edgar Allan Poe's "The Gold Bug" and Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island are rooted in the Kidd romance. Can the possibility that Joseph Smith was influenced by the same sources be ignored? Should an effort be made to push such a theory? Or can we dismiss it all as mere coincidence?

From Pomeroy Tucker:
QUOTE
"Joseph ... had learned to read comprehensively ... [reading] works of fiction and records of criminality, such for instance as would be classed with the 'dime novels' of the present day. The stories of Stephen Buroughs and Captain Kidd, and the like, presented the highest charms for his expanding mental perceptions." [P. Tucker (Vogel vol 3, pp. 93-94)]


From Ellen E. Dickinson's 1885 New Light on Mormonism, Part 2
QUOTE
It is said that Joseph at an early age could read, but not write; and when quite young committed these lines to memory from the story of Captain Kidd, the notorious pirate, which seemed to give him great pleasure:

"My name was Robert Kidd
As I sailed, as I sailed;
And most wickedly I did
As I sailed, as I sailed."


From Thomas Gregg's 1890 The Prophet of Palmyra, Part 1
QUOTE
When I was a student at Brookville, in the fall of 1827, the Brookville Enquirer was laid upon my table, when my eye fell upon a paragraph, credited to some Eastern paper, of the finding of a book of metallic plates, called the 'Golden Bible.' It was found by a young man by the name of Joe Smith, who had spent his time for several years in telling fortunes and digging for hidden treasures, and especially for pots and iron chests of money, supposed to have been buried by Captain Kidd. This paragraph interested me more at the time from the fact that all this had happened near the village of Palmyra, N. Y.


From James H. Kennedy's 1888 "Early Days of Mormonism" Part 2
QUOTE
The boy's education, or rather the rude smattering of learning that went by that name, was but added preparation for that which lay before him; he was not given to books, and the few he was persuaded to read were of vicious tendency, and set his imagination in the wrong direction. His favorites have been described as the "Life of Stephen Burroughs," a scoundrel dressed in the garb of the church, and the autobiography of the pirate Kidd. Smith afterward made confession that the book last named made a deep impression upon him, and owned to a special fascination in these lines found therein:

"My name was Robert Kidd,
As I sailed, as I sailed;
And most wickedly I did,
God's laws I did forbid,
As I sailed, as I sailed."


From William Alexander Linn's 1901 The Story of the Mormons: From the Date of their Origin to the Year 1901:
QUOTE
Less prejudiced testimony gives an even less favorable view than this of the elder Smith's business career in Vermont. Judge Daniel Woodward, of the county court of Windsor, Vermont, near whose father's farm the Smiths lived, says that the elder Smith while living there was a hunter for Captain Kidd's treasure, and that" he also became implicated with one Jack Downing in counterfeiting money, but turned state's evidence and escaped the penalty."* Historical Magazine, 1870.


From Arthur B. Demings' 1885 solicited statement:
QUOTE
Jo Smith claimed to be a seer. He had a very clear stone about the size and shape of a duck's egg, and claimed that he could see lost or hidden things through it. He said he saw Captain Kidd sailing on the Susquehanna River during a freshet, and that he buried two pots of gold and silver. He claimed he saw writing cut on the rocks in an unknown language telling where Kidd buried it, and he translated it through his peep-stone.


Here's a quote from a newspaper from 1825. This article was first published in the Jan. 17, 1825 issue of the Windsor Journal. After appearing in the Ontario Repository on Feb. 9th, 1825, the same article was also reprinted in the Palmyra Wayne Sentinel on Feb. 16th, 1825.
QUOTE
"We are sorry to observe, even in this enlightened age, so prevalent a disposition to credit the accounts of the marvellous. Even the frightful stories of money being hid under the surface of the earth, and enchanted by the Devil or Robert Kidd, are received by many of our respectable fellow citizens as truths."

Pomeroy Tucker was born 3 years before Joseph Smith and lived in Palmyra, New York. The fact that he happened outlive Joseph and his book wasn't published until 1867, doesn't make him not a contemporary of Joseph. As I already pointed out, BH Roberts quoted from Tucker for background information on Joseph Smith. There is also a FAIR article which uses Tucker as a source and quotes from him several times, referring to Tucker as an "eye witness" three times. Is Tucker's peripheral information only reliable when it used in support of the Church?

Here's a quote from a newspaper from 1825. This article was first published in the Jan. 17, 1825 issue of the Windsor Journal. After appearing in the Ontario Repository on Feb. 9th, 1825, the same article was also reprinted in the Palmyra Wayne Sentinel on Feb. 16th, 1825.

"We are sorry to observe, even in this enlightened age, so prevalent a disposition to credit the accounts of the marvellous. Even the frightful stories of money being hid under the surface of the earth, and enchanted by the Devil or Robert Kidd, are received by many of our respectable fellow citizens as truths."

Notice that this is considered "prevalent" and "received by many". Notice also that this contemporary source was not tainted by any desire to damage Joseph Smith.

Just add "My name was Robert Kidd" on the end of that doggerel and you've got....chiasmas!

beastie wrote:

Just add "My name was Robert Kidd" on the end of that doggerel and you've got....chiasmas!

I'm not quite sure how, but I think that proves the Book of Mormon is true somehow. :O



(note to those interested in the quirky aspects of apologia, on one of the threads I linked, believers speculated that perhaps the inclusion of Moroni and Camorah, even if shown to be on maps of the time period, could verify the truth of the Book of Mormon because Joseph Smith would not be so stupid as to include such obvious fraud. That's an argument I've heard before, and it never ceases to amaze and entertain me)

As I sailed, as I sailed;