Joseph Smith's ability to memorize lengthy sections of text

[_Uncle Dale]

I recall some arguments from somebody (Vogel & Metcalfe?) that Joseph Smith
could not possibly have memorized lengthy sections of text from "external sources,"
and then dictated that memorized material while his face was in the hat.

Can anybody repeat/substantiate those "impossible to memorize" claims?

I heard about the peep-stone-in-a-hat stories at an early day, as they had been
circulated in the Reorganized LDS Church since Emma Smith disclosed that fact in 1879:
http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/IL ... htm#100179

So -- it did not surprise me much to know such things back when I was a kid.
What did interest me was whether or not Joseph possessed the rare ability, to
memorize very lengthy sections of text, and to dictate them from his hat.


Martin Harris was said to have possessed the ability to quote almost any part of
the Bible, by chapter and verse -- so memorization of extensive "scriptural" texts
was seemingly not especially uncommon in Joseph Smith's day.

Closer to home, Joseph's own father was credited by one of his early associates
of having something like a photographic memory:

One evening in the early part of 1828 Smith senior visited me.... There wasn't a subject he couldn't discuss intelligently,
and my opinion of him was high. His memory was something extraordinary. He could repeat several chapters of a book
verbatim after it had been read rapidly.
[url="http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/IL/mischig.htm#101488"]http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/IL/mischig.htm#101488[/url]

According to William Clayton, the memorization abilities of Joseph Smith were so good,
that he knew all of the contents of the lengthy LDS D&C sec. 132 "perfectly" --

12 July 1843, Wednesday
... Joseph... requested me to get paper and prepare to write. Hyrum very urgently requested Joseph to write the
revelation by means of the Urim and Thummim, but Joseph, in reply, said he did not need to, for he knew the
revelation perfectly from beginning to end...

At his 1826 legal examination before Justice Neeley, in S. Bainbridge, NY, one of
Joseph's acquaintances reported how Joseph claimed to be able to use a peep-stone
to read the contents of a book, which was at the time concealed from his view:

Arad Stowel sworn: says that he went to see whether prisoner could convince him that he possessed the skill he
professed to have, upon which prisoner laid a book upon a white cloth, and proposed looking through another stone
which was white and transparent, hold the stone to the candle, turn his head to book, and read. The deception
appeared so palpable that witness went on disgusted.
http://www.olivercowdery.com/smithhome/ ... m#1873-229

Martin Harris, in 1870, told an audience in Salt Lake City, how in the early days Joseph had been
suspected of memorizing the pages of material he dictated from his peep-stone in the hat:

Joseph exclaimed, "Martin! What is the matter? All is as dark as Egypt." Martin's countenance betrayed him,
and the Prophet asked Martin why he had done so. Martin said, "to stop the mouths of fools," who had told him
that the Prophet had learned those sentences and was merely repeating them...
http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/UT ... htm#122881

Obviously Joseph could not have carried around the entire Book of Mormon in his head -- pre-written,
and ready to dictate from any particular page, whenever his scribe was ready to write.

Either he concocted the very complex narrative "on the fly," with the amazing powers of an
uneducated, great fiction author -- or he "received" the text by paranormal means -- or he
memorized sections of the Book of Mormon, and repeated them back to his scribe, a few
pages at a time. If he made any major mistakes during that process, he might easily have
discarded pages containing errors and re-dictated them (or never included them in the final
draft made for the printer in 1829).

David Whitmer appears to have identified such instances -- where Smith was compelled to
temporarily halt the "translation" process, to gain some additional translating ability:

David... states that the work of translation occupied fully eight months, and that at times this
peculiar instrument [u&t or peepstone] would refuse to perform its functions. On such occasions
the prophet would resort to prayer, and after a short season he would return to his work to find
that the urim and thummim reflected the words of the translation with its wonted power.
http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/UT ... htm#101786

Were those "refuse to perform" episodes examples of Smith having "run out" of memorized material,
and having to do a bit of supplemental reading (from an external source) before continuing "translation?"

Uncle Dale

[_Mary]

I can't answer the question Dale, but that sounds very interesting. Having a son, whose memory is awe inspiring I think it is certainly plausible. My son can memorise and retain information for years. I don't know how he does it.

Just as a side note, I wonder if Joseph's memory was good, almost photographic, whether his childhood illness and long recovery period is linked in with this?

I say this because my son has a physical disability which I think has led him to develop his brain in other areas, in his case academic areas, science in particular.

[_DaniteDan]

from this site:

http://www.themasonictrowel.com/educati ... asonry.htm




"The essential features of the traditional art of memory are that a building is pictured in the mind, the parts of the building are visualized in a certain order, and various images are associated with the parts of the building. The images would remind the practitioner of what he was trying to recall. When he was trying to remember something, the practitioner would mentally walk through the building. When he came, for example, to a certain statue, he would remember the image he had associated with it, for example a sword and shield, and that would remind him of what he wished to remember, that the next point in his speech involved warfare. Ideally, the images would be striking and memorable. Roman orators and politicians used the art of memory so that they could deliver long speeches accurately. One can imagine an ancient orator wandering about the city, looking for a suitable building with many distinctive locations where he could anchor his mnemonic associations, then slowly walking through it as he rehearsed his speech. The key elements of this system B the use of mental images in ordered, often architectural settings, became the basis for later developments."

[_Uncle Dale]

from this site:

http://www.themasonictrowel.com/educati ... asonry.htm




"The essential features of the traditional art of memory are that a building is pictured in the mind, the parts of the building are visualized in a certain order, and various images are associated with the parts of the building. The images would remind the practitioner of what he was trying to recall. When he was trying to remember something, the practitioner would mentally walk through the building. When he came, for example, to a certain statue, he would remember the image he had associated with it, for example a sword and shield, and that would remind him of what he wished to remember, that the next point in his speech involved warfare. Ideally, the images would be striking and memorable. Roman orators and politicians used the art of memory so that they could deliver long speeches accurately. One can imagine an ancient orator wandering about the city, looking for a suitable building with many distinctive locations where he could anchor his mnemonic associations, then slowly walking through it as he rehearsed his speech. The key elements of this system B the use of mental images in ordered, often architectural settings, became the basis for later developments."

One wonders just how far up the Masonic ladder of initiations Joseph Smith
(and/or his close family members) had progressed during the 1820s. At that
time New York "blue lodge" freemasonry was split between the "city lodge"
and the schismatic "country lodge," with each side calling the other "apostate."
The commotion of the William Morgan affair did much to help heal the rift, but
in the meanwhile, some lodges were going off in their own direction, seeking
means and methods whereby they could be the "pure, original Masonry" of
Father Adam's times.

Did Joseph Smith, Sr. and his son engage in practicing masonic memorization
techniques? Did they learn them from some dissident Mason like William Morgan
(who is said to have been an early follower of Smith and whose widow later
married Smith at Nauvoo)???

And --- what about young Joseph's famous leg operation? Did the pain and trauma
of that episode in his life cause Smith to develop "disassociative" mental abilities?

As Mary says, when one part of the brain suffers trauma, other parts can compensate
by developing in unusual ways. Sidney Rigdon's temporal lobe epilepsy may have
been brought on by his early childhood brain damage, in a fall from a horse.

I do not picture Smith as being so "far gone" with hallucinations as was Rigdon. But
the two early Mormons shared some undisclosed bonds, and perhaps childhood
traumas and unusual brain development were a part of those shared personal bonds.

But, beyond the probable ability of mass-memorization, I believe that Smith developed
another unusual mental power ---- the gift of a "cold read," by which he could size up
a complete stranger in a matter of moments. That is associated with the gift of extreme
perceptional sensitivity -- the ability to quickly discern, organize, and make use of
subtle bits of information, in order to manipulate people.

If Smith possessed some of these unusual abilities, he also exercised the stage magician's
skill of "keeping his tricks to himself."

He did not go about demonstrating feats of incredible memorization -- like his father did.

UD

[_CaliforniaKid]

Very interesting post, Uncle Dale! I do believe Joseph Smith had a good memory. I don't know if he was reciting memorized material during the Book of Mormon's dictation or simply composing on the fly, but the careful use and alteration of biblical texts does seem to imply premeditation.

[_why me]

Too bad that he wasted his talent on the Book of Mormon and organizing a religion that would eventually kill him and bring pain to his wife and family. He should have taken that gift on the road and made a fortune doing circus work. Think about it: Hereye, hereye, come see the man who can write a book by sticking his head in a hat...he can write a personal book for you...ladies!...come see the gifted author Joe Smith spin a tale of love and betrayal from inside a hat..!!

That would have been a sure money maker for Joe and he would get some hot and spicy action on the side. No need for polyamy for his oversexed libido.

But then again, maybe the ol' money digger didn't have such a talent.

[_why me]

I say this because my son has a physical disability which I think has led him to develop his brain in other areas, in his case academic areas, science in particular.

Hello Mary! Has your son tried sticking his head in a hat to write a book from memory? Have him give it a try. I am sure that he could recite something. You can act the scribe. It should make a good laugh at home.

I don't think that Joseph had this talent. His letters were usually poorly constructed and he didn't seem to have a good writing style at the time of Book of Mormon publication.

[_harmony]

Too bad that he wasted his talent on the Book of Mormon and organizing a religion that would eventually kill him and bring pain to his wife and family.

You might want to get your facts straight, why me. It wasn't his organizing a religion that got him killed; it was a combination of things, including his lies, his women, and his ego. And if he'd been following his own rules, he'd have lived a long life under the protection of heaven.

[_Uncle Dale]

...his lies, his women, and his ego
...

His establishing "gatherings" of poor Mormons, to crowd into areas
mostly already owned by non-Mormons -- as the LDS "promised land..."

UD

[_dblagent007]

William Law also said that Joseph had a "wonderful memory." I believe he said this in an interview that is on Uncle Dale's website.