charity wrote:I understand the frustration. I would like to have some answer, just plain our of curiosity. But that is the point. It is only out of curiosity. It has nothing to do with my salvation, which is the work of the Church and all the leaders. So you (speaking generally, not just skippy personally) want the Prophet to answer the question of how many of the women sealed to Joseph Smith had consummated relationships with him? What does that do for your salvation? NOTHING. Was part of the presentation of the endowment taken from a Masonic ritual? What does that have to do with your salvation? NOTHING. Where exactly was the city of Zarahemla? What does that have to do with your salvation? NOTHING.
That's the point.
Here is where we differ (and which would explain, at least in part, our relative positions with respect to the LDS church). Although I understand that your post is not directed to me personally, those issues are important (although some are not as important as others) in determining the underlying veracity of the church's claims.
So yes, while it may not matter how many of his wives Joesph Smith may have slept with, it does matter to me that he instituted a practice that does not appear to me to originate from God, but was rather an archaic way to exploit and enhance his power (there is definitely power in taking other's wives and handing wives out to his loyal followers). That goes to the root of whether he was a man of God, or just a man interpreting the religious ideologies of the day. What does that have to do with my salvation (assuming I were to believe in such a thing)? Well, it would affect whether the path to salvation defined by Joseph Smith was from God or of his own making. Was he a prophet, or an astute leader of men?
If the endowment rites were simply repurposed Masonic rituals, uninspired of God, then they have little to do with being the "signs and tokens" needed to gain entrance to the kingdom. And my reliance on them, rather than on what may be the true path of God, would have everything to do with my salvation.
And finally, if there was no city of Zarahemla, as evidenced by the leadership's inability to discern its location, then the basis of the Book of Mormon is false, and again we are back to the problem of basing one's salvation on the representations of a man-made religion.
So while these issues mean nothing to you, since you believe whole-heartedly in the veracity of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, you should still be able to at least intellectually understand how others may think that they do impact their salvation. If those three things (amongst a host of others) cannot be properly addressed, it follows that those who do seek God may need to look elsewhere for their salvation. Or they may determine that there is no God from whom to seek salvation. Either way, the issues can be quite important.