sethpayne wrote:
Read the article, Bob. I think you might be surprised. I think Joseph Smith was a true idealist and this led him to make, as demonstrated by his demise, deadly errors of judgement.
I actually think I'd like to have a beer with Joseph some day. Even with all his many shortcomings you have to be impressed with what he did by the age of 38.
Were you able to meet Joseph Smith, he would almost certainly take you up on the offer of a beer. In spite of his Word of Wisdom, Joseph Smith used alcohol and was known to appear drunk in public on occasion.
There is very strong evidence that alcohol is not the only drug with which Joseph Smith was familiar. Richard Bushman writes that the entire Smith family was well acquainted with folk medicine and the extraction and use of herds such as Ginseng (which Bushman reports that Joseph Smith Sr. extracted commercially). This knowledge and skill with herbs no doubt extended to the Jimson weed (Datura) used by Native Americans of the area as an entheogen for their Visions Quests and other local entheogens.
Numerous early accounts of group experiences with manifestations of the "spirit", visions, and goings on in the School of the Prophets, etc., the fact that these were commonly associated with the consumption of sacramental wine, and ceased abruptly when Joseph Smith was killed, leaves little doubt that Joseph Smith as a magician (again according to Richard Bushman), used extracts from datura, and/or manita muscaria mushroom and/or peyote to "enhance" the spiritual experiences of his followers.
Contemporary descriptions of events at the School of the Prophets can be mapped point for point onto the well known course of signs and symptoms of Datura ingestion, the effects of which can last for up to two days.
If I were to invite Joseph Smith for a beer (or especially a glass of wine) I would be sure that it came from my stock, not his.