Salon.com "But I'm a good Mormon wife"

[_RayAgostini]

Here is where I deal with your attempted derail Ray.

I ask you again, was Helen Mar "forced" to marry Joseph Smith? That's what the blogger said her husband told her, and apparently part of the reason he lost his faith. So you're okay with lies?

[_DrW]

"Dynastic" (and sexless) marriage to a 14 year old?

Sounds kind of ridiculous on the face of it, don't you think? (If the intent was pure here, then the judgement involved could not have been worse.)

Upon further consideration the whole idea is even more ridiculous. It was well known by several of his associates, including Parley P. Pratt, that Joseph Smith was engaging in sexual relations secretly with females to whom he was not married.

Joseph Smith was a sexual predator, pure and simple, telling young women that their salvation and the salvation of their families depended on their marrying him.

Were he alive and engaging in similar behavior today, Joseph Smith would not be the prophet and seer of a make-it-up-as-you-go-along religion. He would be a convicted felon looking forward to a long, long time behind bars.

[_Stormy Waters]

Here is where I deal with your attempted derail Ray.

I ask you again, was Helen Mar "forced" to marry Joseph Smith? That's what the blogger said her husband told her, and apparently part of the reason he lost his faith. So you're okay with lies?

Why do you keep using the word "forced" in quotations when it's not used in the article? Are you okay with lies Ray?

[_RayAgostini]

Why do you keep using the word "forced" in quotations when it's not used in the article? Are you okay with lies Ray?

From the blog post:

“Did you know that Joseph Smith married a 14-year-old girl against her will?

What does "against her will" mean? Africans were enslaved "against their will". In other words, They didn't consent in any way.

Was that the case with Helen Mar?

[_DrW]

Back onto the subject of the OP, here is a article by Reuters News Service that was referenced in the comments of the Salon.com article.

The Jensen remarks have been discussed before on this board, but this Reuters article is very well done and is worth a look for those who have not seen it.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/31/us-mormonchurch-idUSTRE80T1CM20120131

[_RayAgostini]

Joseph Smith was a sexual predator, pure and simple, telling young women that their salvation and the salvation of their families depended on their marrying him.

Were he alive and engaging in similar behavior today, Joseph Smith would not be the prophet and seer of a make-it-up-as-you-go-along religion. He would be a convicted felon looking forward to a long, long time behind bars.

Don't forget to arrest and imprison Muhammad, and Joseph who married a pregnant Mary when in her early teens.

Keep on with your oh-so-right moral lectures and judgements. If nothing else, it makes you look so self-righteous and holy.

[_RayAgostini]

Go on Dr. W. Insult Muslims. Tell them that their prophet was a pedophile.
Post it on your blog if you have one.

[Guest]

Go on Dr. W. Insult Muslims. Tell them that their prophet was a pedophile.
Post it on your blog if you have one.

Although I live in a Muslim country and have studied some regarding the Arabs, Islam and their histories, I am unaware of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) ever having been accused of being a pedophile, or indeed that there is any evidence that he could be considered as one.

That small issue aside, your suggestion that I insult Islam is not a reasonable or effective response to the truth about Joseph Smith.

Why would you think that it would be?
____________________________________

And if you read many of my posts here you will know that I am can be described as a scientistic secularist and really do not seek to be holier than anyone. In fact, I really try to avoid holy. It is just another term for superstitious.

[_RayAgostini]

Although I live in a Muslim country and have studied some regarding the Arabs, Islam and their histories, I am unaware of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) ever having been accused of being a pedophile, or indeed that there is any evidence that he could be considered as one.

Do some reading up on Muhammad's critics. I can't believe you're that ignorant.

[_Chap]

...
That small issue aside, your suggestion that I insult Islam is not a reasonable or effective response to the truth about Joseph Smith.

Why would you think that it would be?

Because he wants to derail the thread.

Because he wants to stop discussion of the fact that an intelligent Mormon couple looked at the church's history and found that the church and its founder were very different from what they had been led to believe. Then they left.