The spirit of Joseph Smith lives on in the Waukesha Courtroom

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drumdude
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The spirit of Joseph Smith lives on in the Waukesha Courtroom

Post by drumdude »

I’ve been following this trial, about the massacre committed by Mr. Brooks during a Christmas parade. He drove through the parade killing 3 and injuring many others.

Of note is the defendant defending himself. Without lawyers. And actually doing what is, to me, a surprisingly -not as bad as you would expect- job. This is a man who has no legal training. He spent his life beating women and making rap videos about it. He has a laundry list of felonies going back to 1999. And yet, he is able to mimic a lawyer just from intelligently observing the process and soaking it up like a sponge.

It strikes me as so incredibly similar to Joseph Smith in many ways. Mr. Brooks is able to speak as if he is completely separated from his “client.” He does this effortlessly, seemingly convincing even himself he is not the defendant. One can imagine Joseph just as easily slipping in and out of voices while dictating revelation.

Is Mr. Brooks the world’s greatest lawyer? Of course not. And Smith isn’t the world’s best novelist. All apologists like Dan Peterson argue is that Joseph is a better novelist than he had any right to be, given his background. And so far, Mr. Brooks is a better lawyer than he has any right to be, given his background.

Mr. Brooks has several times been praised by the judge for the moments when he has proper legal arguments and objections. But just like Joseph Smith, these bullseyes are almost a given because of the sheer volume of words and numbers of attempts. For every 50 anachronisms, Joseph Smith hits a bullseye. And for every 50 ridiculous objections, Mr. Brooks hits a valid one and is sustained.

Even though the massacre is an awful horrific backdrop, the mechanics of this trial have been fascinating. And to me, make it so much more plausible that highly motivated people with no formal training can, and do, manage impressive feats like this. No God required to explain it. Just the squishy, material, “mere particles in motion” human brain.

Unfortunately for the world, in this case, and in Joseph Smith’s case, both men sadly decided to use their impressive gifts for evil rather than for good. For selfish ends rather than for others. And the effects have destroyed countless lives.
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