I asked Chat GPT to assess if one of MG’s recent posts was genuine or probably AI generated or AI generated in part. Here is the passage in question
“MG 2.0” wrote:That's always been an interesting conundrum for me. How can people get answers that they claim came from God but are often a direct contradiction to each other. In looking at Warren Jeffs vs. Joseph Smith my main focus would be 'what came of it'. I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again...the fruits matter. What has come forth from the purported revelations/prayers of Joseph Smith are something way different than whatever fruits (there were none) that came from the revelations of Warren Jeffs. William Strang, William Smith and others. The fruits, in my opinion, don't lie. For the LDS Church to be in the position that it is in today with ALL the criticism that has been thrown its way is a miracle in its own way.
Joseph Smith was not a perfect man. I don't know many people that would argue otherwise. What matters is if the church that he organized has God's stamp of approval on it. I believe it does. Messiness is just part and parcel of the human experience in and out of the church. This thing we call revelation...and I know you won't like me saying this again...has many moving parts. It's not a 'silver platter' thing as some would like to think. The example of the lost car keys doesn't do justice to the complexity of what revelation MAY entail from one situation to the next.
Warren Jeff's taking multiple wives and Joseph Smith doing the same is just that, a fact. It happened. But it didn't stop there in the case of Joseph Smith and the succeeding prophets and the rise of the CofJCofLDS. Much more came from that small nucleus of believers in 1830. To the point that there are temples throughout the world administering ordinances of salvation/exaltation.
Here is ChatGPT’s assessment…
1. **Tone and Flow**: The passage has a somewhat "generic" flow to it. It's conversational, but lacks the kind of nuanced emotional resonance or individual style that a person deeply invested in the subject might have. The transitions feel a bit abrupt, and some sentences, while grammatically correct, feel like they could benefit from more context or elaboration.
2. **Overuse of Certain Phrases**: There’s a repetitive structure in some of the reasoning ("the fruits matter," "revelation has many moving parts," "Joseph Smith was not a perfect man"). These kinds of repetitive structures are common in AI outputs, as AI often leans on certain phrasing to provide coherence.
3. **Lack of Personal Detail**: The passage touches on very specific topics (such as Joseph Smith and Warren Jeffs) but lacks personal anecdotes, emotional depth, or unique perspectives that a person deeply familiar with the subject might include. AI tends to generate content that is informative but lacks the deep personal insight or lived experience a human might bring to the table.
4. **Pacing**: There's a slightly mechanical rhythm to the pacing. Some paragraphs don’t quite "breathe" the way a human's might—sentences can feel overly structured or thought-out without a deeper sense of urgency or emotional emphasis.
5. **Balanced but Detached**: The argument feels relatively balanced, but also detached. It discusses complex topics like faith, revelation, and religious history, but doesn’t dive deeply into the emotional or personal weight these subjects might have for a believer or critic of these figures.
Premise 1. Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable.
Premise 2. The best evidence for the Book of Mormon is eyewitness testimony.
Conclusion. Therefore, the best evidence for the Book of Mormon is notoriously unreliable.
What was your input for this story? It’s actually a pretty good read so far.
- Doc
I started with this:
- Please describe the documentary hypothesis but towards an approach to the book if Mormon
- Is there a Masonic golden book myth?
- Please describe Sydney rigdons congregation in Ohio prior to becoming Mormon
- Please help me walk through the book of ether, replacing the brother of Jared with alvin
- Please describe Luman Walter’s and a man named Lawrence associated with the same time period?
- Please consider the 1835 doctrine and covenants code names as part of the thesis that the Book of Mormon contains encoded events in the lives of Joseph smith jr and his companions
- I would like to create a story that describes the entire process of recording real life events into the Book of Mormon using code names for the real world counterparts
- Please write the story beginning with ether, then Mosiah as they seek the book, nephi killing Laban, the killing of Morgan/seezoram, and entries by Sidney rigdon as Moroni
It was really a series of questions that helped formulate the story. 7-8 hours total discussion time with AI
in order to make this theory make sense, I think you should take one allegory - that the Book of Mormon story truly reflects the Smith family’s adventures and travails - at a time and walk the reader through it, identifying who is really who and how the Book of Mormon story relates to a real-world event for the Smiths, et al.
- Doc
Anything is possible through the power of being fictional.
in order to make this theory make sense, I think you should take one allegory - that the Book of Mormon story truly reflects the Smith family’s adventures and travails - at a time and walk the reader through it, identifying who is really who and how the Book of Mormon story relates to a real-world event for the Smiths, et al.
- Doc
Agreed. I’ve been working on it for some time but time to do so is part of the problem. AI is very helpful - I’ve asked it for logical candidates and had interesting feedback. The AI compares the character background to real- world people. Harris is revealed, as is Parley P Pratt.
And it came to pass that Joseph, restless in his heart, sought after his brother Alvin who had departed with the record of beginnings. For the veil had parted enough to show that the inheritance was not secure, and the voice that once stirred him whispered no more.
In those days there were murmurs, like unto the words of Omni, of a people who had left to preserve the first inheritance. Their footsteps trailed toward a land of promise forgotten, and their names were swallowed by time. Yet their absence spoke louder than their presence, for the story they carried could undo the tale that Joseph sought to shape.
Alvin, desiring no quarrel but bound by conscience, withdrew himself into hiding. Like the record-keepers of old, he went with the book of the fathers, to dwell in secrecy and to wait for a day when truth might again be spoken. He would be as Zeniff, departing from the multitude to reclaim the old ground, though knowing it was filled with peril.
Joseph pursued after him in shadow, following fragments and rumors. Some said Alvin’s people were swallowed up, even as the small bands in the book of Omni; others believed they had joined themselves to strangers in the land, like unto those discovered by Mosiah in his wandering. Each whisper Joseph heard stirred both hope and dread—for if Alvin was found, then the veil would tear open fully, and the voice of the first inheritance would rise against his own.
So the search was ever unresolved: a wandering between silence and rumor, between brotherhood and betrayal. Alvin’s hiding became a living parable—that the true record might remain concealed, even as men clamor to possess it. And Joseph, in the darkness of his pursuit, grew restless, the seed of violence taking root.
And it came to pass that Joseph, following rumor and shadow, came upon a mingled people in the lowlands—those who had been cut off from the voice of their fathers, even as Zarahemla and his band. Their tongue was broken, their memory fractured, yet they carried fragments of the first inheritance.
When Sidney, whom they called Mosiah, entered among them, they rejoiced. For he spoke as one sent to heal division, declaring:
“The God of our fathers yet speaks. The records of old, though hidden, shall again give us a name and a nation. By these writings the people shall be one.”
Yet in his heart Sidney/Mosiah desired more than to gather the people—he longed to stand as the true interpreter, the great translator of the age. His intent was to be the one to mediate between the sealed inheritance and the people, even as Mosiah of old “teamed” with the record, joining word and authority. In him ambition was mingled with vision, for he saw himself as the restorer of Zion.
But behind him, like a shadow, rose Noah, who promised not only unity but power, riches, and ease. His words pleased the multitude more than Mosiah’s sober vision, and Joseph’s restless ambition leaned nearer to Noah than to Sidney. For Joseph perceived that if the record came forth, he need not stand beneath another’s mantle—he could seize it for himself.
Hidden still among the people was Alvin, who by another name was Abinadi. When the record was demanded, he arose, warning:
“Ye know not what ye ask. To bring forth the book in haste is to betray its trust. The inheritance was given of God, not to establish thrones of men. If ye compel it before its time, the fruit shall be bitter, and your house shall not stand.”
The multitude wavered, but Noah inflamed them, crying:
“This man weakens the people! He would hide from us the glory that is ours by right. Let him be silenced, lest his words strip us of power.”
Thus the contest sharpened: Alvin/Abinadi stood as the reluctant witness; Sidney/Mosiah sought to be the ordained unifier and interpreter; Noah flattered the people into rejecting restraint; and Joseph, caught between them, hardened his heart. For he saw that to share the mantle with Sidney was to remain in shadow, but to usurp it was to rise as the sole bearer of the record.
So the stage was set: that Mosiah’s vision would be eclipsed, Abinadi’s voice extinguished, and Joseph would emerge in possession of the book, bearing a role never meant for him.
Last edited by Limnor on Sat Sep 27, 2025 3:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
