why me wrote:William Law's son was there when his father confronted Joseph smith. What more do you need?
About the year 1842, he was present at an interview between his father and the Prophet Joseph. The topic under discussion was the doctrine of plural marriage. William Law, with his arms around the neck of the Prophet, was pleading with him to withdraw the doctrine of plural marriage, which he had at that time commenced to teach to some of the brethren, Mr. Law predicting that if Joseph would abandon the doctrine, 'Mormonism' would, in fifty or one hundred years, dominate the Christian world. Mr. Law pleaded for this with Joseph with tears streaming from his eyes. The Prophet was also in tears, but he informed the gentleman that he could not withdraw the doctrine, for God had commanded him to teach it, and condemnation would come upon him if he was not obedient to the commandment.
During the discussion, Joseph was deeply affected. Mr. Richard S. Law says the interview was a most touching one, and was riveted upon his mind in a manner that has kept it fresh and distinct in his memory, as if it had occurred but yesterday.
Mr. Law also says, that he has no doubt that Joseph believed he had received the doctrine of plural marriage from the Lord. The Prophet's manner being exceedingly earnest, so much so, that Mr. Law was convinced that the Prophet was perfectly sincere in his declarationhttp://en.fairmormon.org/City_of_Nauvoo ... _Expositor
Of course, what they don't mention is that Richard Law was 7 or 8 years old in 1842 (born in Ontario, Canada, in 1834). So, in essence, we have a secondhand account from a 7 or 8 year old recounted in 1903 (when he was 69 years old). Wow, that is one impressive citation.
Can you seriously imagine a small child being present at an interview about plural marriage? Would a small child even understand the notion of a religion "dominating the Christian world" or what the "doctrine of plural marriage" was or whether Joseph Smith really believed in plural marriage? No, we cannot question this source because, by golly, he was there!
I note that this "interview" (notice that Richard Law is never directly quoted) occurred in 1903, when the church was publishing the memories of people who "knew the prophet"; when you look into these recollections, you find that without exception, they are from people who were very young children during Joseph's lifetime. It's dismaying that FAIR continues to cite many of these alleged recollections.
If I were Wiki Wonka, I might have to rethink that citation.