Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

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_Kishkumen
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Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

Post by _Kishkumen »

On page 102 of the 1853 edition of Lucy Mack's History of Joseph Smith the Prophet, we encounter this key passage:

The next day after he left home, one of the neighbors asked Mr. Smith many questions concerning the plates. I will here observe, that no one ever heard anything from us respecting them, except a confidential friend, whom my husband had spoken to about them some two or three years previous. It appeared that Satan had now stirred up the hearts of those who had gotten a hint of the matter from our friend, to search into it, and make every possible move towards thwarting the purposes of the Almighty.


The interesting thing about this, in my mind, is the mix of mundane and supernatural explanation. Joe Sr. told a friend about the plates several years before they were retrieved. According to Lucy's unbelievable account, no one else should have heard of them in the intervening time, but "Satan" has suddenly stirred up people to take interest in the plates because he wants to thwart God's purposes. This account does not stand up to even the slightest scrutiny.

Next Lucy reports that Sr. heard of a dozen or so men "clubbing together," led by Willard Chase (one of the Smiths' associates in treasure digging, whom Lucy hear describes as a "Methodist class leader"). They summoned a conjuror from 60 miles away to help get the plates from Joseph. I think most people assume this conjuror is actually Luman Walter, who was also involved in prior treasure digs. Lucy does not name the conjuror, but, of course, relatives of Walter had joined the Mormon church in its early days, so there may have been good reasons not to identify him by name.

Anyway, Smith Sr. spies on the "club" and hears that they are "devising plans" to get "Joe Smith's gold Bible" (the latter quote is what Lucy claims Sr. overheard word for word). Sr. returns to his family and inquires with Emma about the location of the plates. Emma pretends she does not know where they are, or whether Joseph had retrieved them. Sr. gets Emma a horse to fetch Joseph from a "well-digging" job he is engaged in in Macedon.

Lucy then breaks in to tell us that Joseph would be warned of trouble by the Urim and Thummim (which are the spectacles first seen by Samuel Lawrence), threats to the plates, wherever they may be, or to his person. Anyhow, Emma finds Joseph, he looks in the spectacles and sees the plates are safe, and then he nevertheless breaks off the job to return with Emma. Joseph sends Carlos to get a box for the plates from Hyrum and sets off to retrieve them.

I should break in here to say that Joseph was digging the well to get money to make a box for the plates. If Hyrum had a box all along, the story of digging a well to earn the money to have one built makes no sense. I suspect that the job has nothing to do with earning money for a box, and it may be that there was no well digging in Macedon anyway.

Anyhow, Joseph retrieves the plates from a rotten log in the woods. He wraps them in a linen frock he had with him. Then, thinking he would be more safe, he "leave[s] the road to go through the woods." At that point he is attacked:

As he was jumping over a log, a man sprang up from behind it, and gave him a heavy blow with a gun. Joseph turned around and knocked him down, then ran at the top of his speed. About half a mile further he was attacked again in the same manner as before; he knocked this man down in like manner as the former, and ran on again; and before he reached home he was assaulted again a third time. In striking the last one he dislocated his thumb, which, however, he did not notice until he came within sight of the house . . . .


Notice the there are three attacks. Lots of things, such as angelophanies, happen in threes in Joseph Smith's narrative, and this is no doubt because of the symbolic significance of the number three. The fact that the men are unnamed, and the attacks come in threes, adds to air of Satanic resistance to the purposes of God here. The implication is that Joseph could only escape all of this with God's help.

One has to wonder, however, if the Urim and Thummim was available to tell him when he was in danger, why on earth did he step off of the road and go through the woods thinking he would be safe without consulting the Urim and Thummim? Did he leave it at home when he went out to retrieve the plates?

Continuing, Lucy switches the focus from Jr. to Carlos and Hyrum. Carlos taps Hyrum on the shoulder when he is taking tea with his wife's sisters. "Without waiting to hear one word from the child, [Hyrum] dropped the cup, sprang from the table, caught the chest, turned it upside down, and emptying its contents on the floor, left the house instantly with the chest on his shoulder."

Hyrum's wife explains to her shocked sisters his strange behavior as follows, "He has just thought of something which he has neglected, and it is just like him to fly off in a tangent when he thinks of anything in that way." Lucy seems to want us to think that Hyrum knew just what to do without being told, perhaps by divine inspiration? But his wife's words suggest instead that Hyrum had been aware of a plan to lend Joseph a box all along. The plan may have been set in motion sooner than expected, and Hyrum's wife had recently had a baby. That is why her sisters were visiting.

Lucy then tells us that "my husband, Mr. Knight, and Mr. Stoal, went in pursuit of those villains who had attempted Joseph's life, but were not able to find them."

Again, spooky, spooky. Now these assailants were not after the plates but Joseph's very life. They are not named, and they seem to have vanished into thin air. Now Lucy reports what an angel said to Joseph when he first got the plates. Notice the similarity between this message and elements of her account:

Now you have got the Record into your own hands, and you are but a man, therefore you will have to be watchful and faithful to your trust (my note: Sr., earlier in Lucy's account, says to Emma that Joseph would get the record "if he is watchful and obedient"), or you will be overpowered by wicked men, for they will lay every plan and scheme that is possible to get it away from you, and if you do not take heed continually, they will succeed. While it was in my hands, I could keep it, and no man had power to take it away; but now I give it up to you. Beware, and look well to your ways, and you shall have power to retain it, until the time for it to be translated.


We really have to treat Lucy's account as a more or less coherent whole. It has its problems and inconsistencies, but she has crafted an angelic message that corresponds with eery precision to her report of what she claims happened to Joseph. Here are the elements of the angel's message that reportedly came true in Lucy's account:

1. Joseph Smith, Sr. emphasizes, as the angel did, the importance of Joseph's obedience and faithfulness

2. A group of men led by Willard Chase and "the conjuror" did devise plans to wrest the plates from Joseph

3. The attacks described by Lucy are, in a sense, a dramatic, detailed account of some of those attempts

4. But Joseph does succeed.

But the framing of the message is the most important thing. This is a divine promise to Joseph from an angel. A prophecy and a promise. Lucy crafts her whole account to emphasize the hand of God in making sure his purposes prevail over the designs of Satan to keep the plates from being retrieved and preserved so that they could be translated. Ergo, the individual aspects of the account, by Lucy's design, are made to look more miraculous. Some of them, of course, may simply be made up.
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Re: Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

Post by _Gadianton »

This really got me thinking, Reverend, that perhaps we ought to be more sympathetic to the perpetrators of the restoration. I think of how easy it is in these days to find entertainment and the relatively small amount of work required to provide all of these options. If things weren't so easy, and my options were to dig that well or starve, then I think I'd have an incredible thirst for escape. When I read your account I get the sense that we have an evolving story, and that all are locked into the story as it evolves, to varying degrees. The rules are being made as they go along. If I don't respect the fantasy element you submit, then I know you aren't obliged to the fantasy elements I'm imagining.

Imagine if we were all well diggers because that's what the economy was and our circumstances at the time.

"Reverend, quick! Cast a spell! Doctor Scratch is in danger!"

"That's odd -- has he not protection from the waters of the Henderson's ford from which we drank together?"

"oh -- oh yes. I had forgotten. It's just -- in those shallows were stones of blackness over which the water flowed...and - "

"You never told me this. About the stones. Are you certain?"

"Yes. Yes I think I am. There were very dark stones there, but I can't be sure about - "

"But you can't keep these things from us. If they were the stones of Irius then the Doctor's life may be in grave danger."

"Reverend, the hair stands up on my neck as you speak -- that word, it's so familiar yet I don't believe I've heard it before. It is fraught with dark powers."

....

And you know, this is just one conversation of a half dozen that day, and over months at a time and many more people, who knows the crazy crap we'd be up to.
Lou Midgley 08/20/2020: "...meat wad," and "cockroach" are pithy descriptions of human beings used by gemli? They were not fashioned by Professor Peterson.

LM 11/23/2018: one can explain away the soul of human beings...as...a Meat Unit, to use Professor Peterson's clever derogatory description of gemli's ideology.
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Re: Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

Post by _Physics Guy »

This kind of lively creative social entertainment is what Young People Today are missing with all their golldurned YouTubes.
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Re: Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

Post by _Kishkumen »

And you know, this is just one conversation of a half dozen that day, and over months at a time and many more people, who knows the crazy crap we'd be up to.


Some might say that we are doing exactly that here at the MDB. And it is partly, if not wholly, true. But yes, there is a strong social component to the human construction of reality. This is one reason why the treasure digging groups are an under-appreciated factor in the genesis of Mormonism, as you illustrate above. Joseph Smith was the key spinner of the narrative, but others, including his parents, played important roles.

This is why it is absolutely necessary to learn this material in depth if you want to acquire some understanding of how the sausage was made. It makes grindael’s contributions here invaluable.
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Re: Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

Post by _grindael »

What? Did someone say my name? I may just have a few observations on the above... to perhaps clarify a few things that I was struck by. Especially in relation to the peep-stone/urim&thummim thingy.

When exactly did Jo get the "spectacles"? Bring them home, I mean? That little tidbit doesn't seem to be included in the above entry. It is rather enlightening:

On the night of the 21st I sat up very late as my buisness pressed upon my hands. & I did not retire untill past 12 about 12 Joseph came to me and asked me if I had a chest with a lock and key I knew in a moment what it was wanted for and <not> was frigtened for the isue as I had broken every lock in the house in moving <having a lock but what was broken I was alarmed fearing that this might be a matter of great importance to him at that time> I told him this but he replied <But Joseph replied> never mind I can do very well just now without it and bid me be Calm all was <is> right but I found it very difficult to do so for I had not forgotten the first failure he left soon after with his wife taking Mr. Knights horse and wagon I spent the night in prayer and at reasonable time for rising I went to preparing breakfast [p.377]my heart fluttering at every footfall for I now expected Joseph & Emma every moment and was in dread of a second disapointment in his obtaining the plates


Ok, so Smith asks Lucy for a chest when he is on the way out the door to get the plates! She is obviously taken by surpise (so she says) and laments that she hasn't got a chest that doesn't have a workable lock. So obviously they had not gone to Hyrum before this time, right, or why wouldn't Joseph just go to Hyrum's house (the cabin) and ask him? Ok, it was late, but he could have gone in the morning. No need then, to ask Lucy for a chest. And of course if he had planned ahead, none of this would be transpiring, he would have had the chest ready when he came home. So we are left with the fact that it was not important enough for Joseph to worry about before hand.

The date of Sept. 22 is creeping up and Jo obviously isn't ready to get the plates. Why? He had four years to prepare and had been married to Emma since the end of January (the right person, right?) He was even supposedly commanded (years earlier) to have something to lock them up in when he got them, per Lucy:

...it will be recollected by the reader that all that I mentioned and much more took place within the campass of one short yearThe angel informed him at one time that he might make an effort to obtain the plates <on> the <22nd of the> ensueing september [1824! -grinnin' grindael]<he visted the place where the plates were laid and> and <thinking> <supposed [written under the line]> if he could keep every commandment given him [p.346]that it would be possible for him to take them from their place and carry them home) but said the divine messenger you must take them into your hands and go straight to the house without delay not and not stopping <and put them in immediately and lock them up> Accordingly when the time arrived he went to the place appointed and removed the moss and grass from the surface of the rock and then pryed up the flat stone according to the directions which he had received he then discovered the plates laying on on 4 pillars in the inside of the box * [* After some further conversation Joseph] he put forth his hand <and> took them up <but> when he lifted them from their place the thought flashed across his mind that there might be something more in the box that might would be a benefit to him in a pecuniary point of view in the excitement of the moment he laid the record down in order in cover up the box least some one should come along and take away whatever else might be deposited there When he turned again to take up the record it was gone but [p.347]where he knew not nor did he know by what means it was taken away


He was to never let them out of his hands and take them straight home and LOCK THEM UP. This was told to him (so says Lucy) in 18freaking24! So what does Jo do when he gets them in 1827? Why was there this crazy incident with the "urim and thummim" and the well in Macedon? Well, here is what Lucy tells us,

[Joseph leaves after midnight and in the morning] Mr. Knight came in quite disturbed Why Mr Smith said he my horse is gone I can't find him on any part of the premises and I want to start home in half an hour why [p.378]never mind the horse said I Mr Knight does not know all the nooks and corners in the pasture I will call william (this <was> my 5th son) he will soon bring him this satisfied him for a little while but he soon made an other discovery his waggon was gone. & now he concluded that the Horse and waggon had gone together and some rogue had gone with them both Well now said I do be quiet I would be ashemed to have you go about gearing your own horse and waiting upon yourself just go out and talk with Mr. Smith till William comes & if you really must go home you shall be attended upon like a gentleman— he went and while he was absent Joseph returned


So Joseph has a wagon and company to help him, and so he must have the plates and the breastplate and the sword and the spectacles with him.... right? But this is all we get from Lucy:

I was trembled so much with fear lest all might be lost aging [sic] by some small failure in keeping the commandments that I was under the necessity of laving the room to conceal my feelings Joseph saw this and followed me Mother said he do not be uneasy all is right see here said he I have got the key [p.379]I knew not what he meant but took the article in my hands and upon after examining it <found> * [* with no covering but a silk handkerchief] that it consisted of 2 smott<ooth> 3 cornered diamonds set in glass and the glass was set in silver bows stones conected with each other in the same way that old fashioned spectacles are made He took them again and left me but did not tell me anything of the record soon after he came again and asked my advice what it was best to do about getting a chest made I told him to go to a cabbinet maker who had been making some furniture for my oldest daughter and tell the man we would pay him for making a chest as we did for the other things viz half money and half produce he said he would but did not know where the money would come from for there was not a shilling in the house.


So where is the freaking record? All Joseph shows Lucy are some "spectacles" which she isn't even allowed to see, only feel under a handkerchief. WTF? I can picture it now... "Thems are diamonds, Ma! Can't you feel em! They's diamonds in glass wrapped up in silver like Pa's specs!"

We never do find out why Joseph didn't have the record then from Joseph. Why then, bring the horse and carriage and why bring Emma? What did she do when Joseph was supposedly getting it? Lucy then writes,
[p.380]The next day one man <Mr Warner> came to him from macedon and requested <Joseph> to go with him to a widows house <in macedon by the name of Wells> in that place as she had sent for him to do some work that she wanted done and she <a wall of a well taken up and as she wanted some labor done in a well> she would pay him the money for it he put on his linen frock and started went with the <he accompanied> Mr Warner to Macedon and went to work for <according to> Mrs Wells <request> a <this> woman whom not <had never seen> one of the family had ever seen or heard of before although she sent purposely for Joseph we considered it a provision of Providence to enable us to pay the money we were owing the cabinet maker


Oh... what cabinet maker? Oh that's right... Lucy also said this the previous paragraph :lol:

soon after he came again [Joseph -grin] and asked my advice what it was best to do about getting a chest made I told him to go to a cabbinet maker who had been making some furniture for my oldest daughter and tell the man we would pay him for making a chest as we did for the other things viz half money and half produce he said he would but did not know where the money would come from for there was not a shilling in the house.


So let me get this right. The "angel" told Smith in 1824 that he could not have the plates because he let them out of his hands. He is told also by the "angel" that they could not tell anyone outside of the family that they had found or were going to get these plates because they would kill them. So no one outside the family should have known about them, but the moneydiggers knew all about them (as we find out) from the SMITH'S!!!!

To make matters even more confusing, Joseph get the plates from the "angel" in Sept 1827 and he is allowed to do what... oh yeah, I forgot that part... Here is Lucy... again...

[p.380]The next day one man <Mr Warner> came to him from macedon and requested <Joseph> to go with him to a widows house <in macedon by the name of Wells> in that place as she had sent for him to do some work that she wanted done and she <a wall of a well taken up and as she wanted some labor done in a well> she would pay him the money for it he put on his linen frock and started went with the <he accompanied> Mr Warner to Macedon and went to work for <according to> Mrs Wells <request> a <this> woman whom not <had never seen> one of the family had ever seen or heard of before although she sent purposely for Joseph we considered it a provision of Providence to enable us to pay the money we were owing the cabinet maker Joseph had been absent but a little while when one of the neighbor began to ask Mr Smith many questions about the plates. here let me mention that no one knew anything of the this business <from us> except one confidential friend of My Husband’s to whom he named it some 2 or 3 years before. [That would be Martin Harris - :wink: -grin] It now seemed that satan had stirred up the hearts of those who had in any way [p.381]got a hint of the matter to search into it and make every possible move towards preventing the work Mr. Smith was soon informed that 10 or 12 men were clubed together with one willard chase a Methodist class leader at their head and what was most rediculous they had sent for a conjuror to come 60 miles to divine the place where the record was deposited by magic art we were apprehensive that the pates [sic] were taken out and secreted some where and <we> were somwhat uneasy least they might like Moses who was hid in the bulrushes be discovered by our enemies—accordingly the morning after we heard of their plans Mr Smith went over a hill that <lay> east of <us> to see what he could discover among the neighbors there there at the first house he came to he found the conjuror Willard chase and the company all together this was the house of one Mr Laurence he made an errand and went in and sat down near the door leaving the door ajar for the men were so near that he [p.382]could hear their conversation they were devising many plans and schemes to find Joe Smiths gold Bible as they termed it the conjurer was really animated although <he> had travelled 60 miles during the latter part of the day and the night before.


But according to neighbor Peter Ingersol:

...he [Joseph] told me that he actually went to Willard Chase, to get him to make a chest, in which he might deposit his golden Bible. But, as Chase would not do it,


So it was Joseph Jr. who was blabbing! And what did Chase say?

In the fore part of September, (I believe,) 1827, the Prophet requested me to make him a chest, informing me that he designed to move back to Pennsylvania, and expecting soon to get his gold book, he wanted a chest to lock it up, giving me to understand at the same time, that if I would make the chest he would give me a share in the book. I told him my business was such that I could not make it: but if he would bring the book to me, I would lock it up for him. He said that would not do, as he was commanded to keep it two years, without letting it come to the eye of any one but himself. This commandment, however, he did not keep, for in less than two years, twelve men said they had seen it. I told him to get it and convince me of its existence, and I would make him a chest; but he said, that would not do, as he must have a chest to lock the book in, as soon as he took it out of the ground. I saw him a few days after, when he told me that I must make the chest. I told him plainly that I could not, upon which he told me that I could have no share in the book.

A few weeks after this conversation, he came to my house, and related the following story: That on the 22d of September, he arose early in the morning, and took a one horse wagon, of some one that had stayed over night at their house, without leave or license; and, together with his wife, repaired to the hill which contained the book. He left his [246] wife in the wagon, by the road, and went alone to the hill, a distance of thirty or forty rods from the road; he said he then took the book out of the ground and hid it in a tree top, and returned home. He then went to the town of Macedon to work. After about ten days, it having been suggested that some one had got his book, his wife went after him; he hired a horse, and went home in the afternoon, staid long enough to drink one cup of tea, and then went for his book, found it safe, took off his frock, wrapt it round it, put it under his arm and run all the way home, a distance of about two miles. He said he should think it would weigh sixty pounds, and was sure it would weigh forty. On his return home, he said he was attacked by two men in the woods, and knocked them both down and made his escape, arrived safe and secured his treasure. -- He then observed that if it had not been for that stone, (which he acknowledged belonged to me,) he would not have obtained the book. (Mormonism Unvailed)


Oh my. The "angel" actually gave Smith the plates, and he then put them in a tree top? He didn't take them right home and lock them up? WTF? What kind of a weird angel tells him one thing in 1824, then allows him to do something totally different in 1827? Isn't putting them in a tree top letting them out of his hands? Smith then, this is rich my friends... goes to the moneydiggers to get a chest? Really? The guys that he told his family would KILL THEM? Again, here is what Lucy claimed that Joseph told them in 1823:

and were ready by Sunset to give our whole attention to the discourseing of my son pertaining the obtaining of the plates the goodness of God his knowledge and power our a own liabillity to error and transgression and the great salvation that lay before the faithful Now said he Father and Mother the angel of the Lord says that we must be careful not to proclaim these things or to mention them abroad For we do not any of us know the wickedness of the world which is so w sinful

and by sunset were ready to be seated and give our att undivided attention to Josephs recitals and this pre before he began to explain to us the instructions which he had received he told charged us to not to mention what he told us out of the family as the world was so wicked that if they when they did come to a knoweledge of these things they would try to take our lives and we must be careful not to proclaim these things or as soon as we obtained the plates our names would be cast out as evil by all people. [end of interlinear material] that when we get the plates they will want to kill us for the sake of the gold if they know we had <have> them and as soon as they do find that we pretend to have any such thing our names will be cast out as evil and we shall be scoffed at and and all maner of evil spoken concerning us This astonished us very much and we wondered in our hearts how these things could be so why any one could have a disposition to take our lives merely for a thing like this. The He then said But <he continued> if we are wise and prudent in all things <that> which is revealed to <us> God is able to make all things known to us do you believe it Said he to his Father why yes certainly answered Mr. Smith he has all power and wisdom Knowledge and understanding and of course can teach us all things if we are worthy and we will try to live in such a as to deserve thefa the favor of God that he may be pleased to instruct from day to day


God has "all power and wisdom Knowledge and understanding and or course can teach us all things...."

Except that there would be men waiting to get the plates ... or that Joseph was going to disregard his instructions and not lock them up. This story is a mess.

And that urim and thummim? The spectacles? Smith is carrying that around with him according to Lucy?

Joseph kept the urim and thumim constantly about his person as he could by this means ascertain at any moment whether <if> the plates were in danger & having just looked into them before Emma got there he perceived her coming and came up out of the well and met her—When she informed him of the situ what had occurred he told her that the record was perfectly safe for the present. but he <however> concluded to go home with her and told Wells that his buisness at home made it necessary for him to return [end of short page]


Joseph kept the extra large diamond spectacles constantly about his person... and had just looked into them when Emma rode up? Why didn't anyone ever report Jo using the specs like that? Oh that's right... it was Willard Chase's stolen peep-stone.

More later.
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Re: Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

Post by _Manetho »

Gadianton wrote:This really got me thinking, Reverend, that perhaps we ought to be more sympathetic to the perpetrators of the restoration. I think of how easy it is in these days to find entertainment and the relatively small amount of work required to provide all of these options. If things weren't so easy, and my options were to dig that well or starve, then I think I'd have an incredible thirst for escape.


Back when I only had a dim understanding of the origins of Mormonism, I actually looked at Smith's fantasies with some sympathy. What bored farmboy wouldn't want to imagine the remains of a lost civilization practically in his back yard? I did similar things myself when I was a kid, though I never tried to pass them off as real. I never sympathized with the Christian bent of Smith's fantasies because I've never cared for Christianity, but considering the culture Smith was living in, that was pretty much inevitable. I faulted Smith for his con artistry, but you have a point that even ripping people off is a bit more understandable when the alternative is the backbreaking work of subsistence farming.

The thing is, after showing up on this board I've learned how horrifically he behaved as leader of the church. I have no sympathy for him now.
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Re: Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

Post by _fetchface »

I think this is kind of like reading the gospels. Lucy has goals in telling the story and crafts the story to achieve the effect she desires, just like the gospel writers. I don't think I've paid much attention to the nuances of Lucy's story.

I think what lies at the heart of this story is a real event, if nothing but a telling of a story by Joseph. It was probably a typical yarn that narcissists tell about themselves (seemingly compulsively) to make themselves sound important or amazing. I'm probably not the only one here who has had a close relationship with a narcissist and witnessed this kind of behavior, but if you haven't you can just look at the bizarre display of the man whose inauguration crowd was bigger than Obama's, facts be damned. They just can't help but tell stories about how amazing they are that fly in the face of reality.

But then Lucy took this ludicrous tale and wove it into her worldview, which she tried to make cohesive and write into a book. It's fairly interesting in its own right.
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Re: Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

Post by _Kishkumen »

fetchface wrote:I think this is kind of like reading the gospels. Lucy has goals in telling the story and crafts the story to achieve the effect she desires, just like the gospel writers. I don't think I've paid much attention to the nuances of Lucy's story.

I think what lies at the heart of this story is a real event, if nothing but a telling of a story by Joseph. It was probably a typical yarn that narcissists tell about themselves (seemingly compulsively) to make themselves sound important or amazing. I'm probably not the only one here who has had a close relationship with a narcissist and witnessed this kind of behavior, but if you haven't you can just look at the bizarre display of the man whose inauguration crowd was bigger than Obama's, facts be damned. They just can't help but tell stories about how amazing they are that fly in the face of reality.

But then Lucy took this ludicrous tale and wove it into her worldview, which she tried to make cohesive and write into a book. It's fairly interesting in its own right.


I agree, fetchface. It is interesting in its own right. I find myself deeply taken in by this book. I don’t trust it, but for me that’s not the source of interest.
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Re: Lucy on the Struggle for the Plates

Post by _Holy Ghost »

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly...."
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." Isaac Asimov
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