The Happiness Letter Origin

[huckelberry]

All ethics are situational ethics. The right decision depends upon the situation. Normally it is wrong to kill somebody. We are all aware of exceptions to that rule. Some of those exceptions can be painfully problematic. My years is college were spent under the cloud of an expected draft into participation in a war where it would be required to kill people. By fortune the requirement passed me by(but not others). I certainly had to think the matter over a thousand times. As far as I can see a story about God asking somebody to kill is just a variation on the basic political problems of war.There are times when killing becomes required. The problem is not some weird invention of god.

The happiness letter approaches making sense. Of course happiness is central to peoples purpose. An awareness of that should be a basic part of the thinking about moral decisions. Yet it is at that very point the letter betrays. I take some satisfaction in the thought that Nancy recognized the betrayal.

[Kukulkan]

All ethics are situational ethics. The right decision depends upon the situation. Normally it is wrong to kill somebody. We are all aware of exceptions to that rule. Some of those exceptions can be painfully problematic. My years is college were spent under the cloud of an expected draft into participation in a war where it would be required to kill people. By fortune the requirement passed me by(but not others). I certainly had to think the matter over a thousand times. As far as I can see a story about God asking somebody to kill is just a variation on the basic political problems of war.There are times when killing becomes required. The problem is not some weird invention of god.

The happiness letter approaches making sense. Of course happiness is central to peoples purpose. An awareness of that should be a basic part of the thinking about moral decisions. Yet it is at that very point the letter betrays. I take some satisfaction in the thought that Nancy recognized the betrayal.

I think the major issue with the Happiness letter is that it invokes the authority of God. What God says, goes. What makes this all even the more disturbing is that Joseph sugar coats the immoral proposal he is about to make to Nancy Rigdon WITH the idea of happiness. I can't imagine the horror she felt as she realized what Joseph was doing.

[Kukulkan]

I feel reasonably sure that I learned of the happiness letter and its connection to polygamy back in seminary. I thought every Mormon understood the importance of polygamy.

I am also pretty sure I was unaware of the extent of use of scurrilous accusations and character assassination to protect the deception about polygamy in Nauvoo

I am sorry to hear that some folks here find happiness not to be an important part of life. Paint it black I guess.

Polygamy was rarely ever mentioned in my Mormon upbringing. I find it ironic considering it was a well known kept secret in my family that my family line comes directly from a polygamous wife. Reading Benjamin Park's Kingdom of Nauvoo was a great look into Nauvoo and especially the events surrounding polygamy and the social politics that were involved in it. Highly recommend if you haven't already read it.

Happiness is incredibly important to life. Just not when it comes at the manipulative command of a frontier prophet.

[dastardly stem]

Christianity is a mercenary religion. And Christian god is aware of it. Although he likes the drama of building up suspense. Something like the John Williams masterpiece regarding the Jaws movie sequence. All of that fear and anxiety that is built up as the Jaws theme plays is prevalent throughout scriptures. The warnings and terror are advertised like Christmas decorations in December. We can't have instant death in the quiet darkness of the night. No, there has to be beheadings, infant's heads on rocks, disembowelments, crucifixions, blood from pores, drownings, multitudes of disembodied arms, and don't forget foreskins......bundles of them. But happiness is the reason we are here.

Yep.

Christianity as it was in the early 19th century America, was the perfect backdrop for creating a Joseph Smith. His followers...those poor souls. Once they got a taste of the excitement what else were they to do? Poor ladies and girls. Once they prayed and got inspired by God to participate in polygamy they had no other choice. If we're saying there is a god and people over the millennia have sought him out, appealed to him in every way, and what comes out is commands to utterly destroy, marry teenagers, become racists and homophobes...well, what is God doing? I suppose we can hope it's not his fault. He couldn't help that people actually thought they saw God, or had revelation and inspiration...I mean I don't know why he'd not be to blame. Praying to him and someone thinks they see God and Jesus? It was just so real to poor ol' Joseph. Its been just so real to every other religious believer. If he is opposed to polygamy, killing yet not really killing, racism etc. If he is opposed to them why'd he let people who thought they were working for him pursue such things? If Joseph really thought God was the type of guy who would command to not kill ever, then turn around and tell his people to murder everyone including women and children, as they say; If joseph thought God was the type of dude who would tell his special followers to take on many wives and concubines, what else does Joseph do? Pretend his spirit feelings aren't real? I mean, I'd say yes. But everyone still thinks their special feelings of specialness are really from God whose giving them special attention. Well, because why not? they figure.

Meh...Joseph and his crimes are God's crimes, one case in many millions in which God misused people to fulfill whatever foolish design he has. Or more reasonably there's no god, not anything like the god traditionally thought to be.

[dastardly stem]

I feel reasonably sure that I learned of the happiness letter and its connection to polygamy back in seminary. I thought every Mormon understood the importance of polygamy.

I am also pretty sure I was unaware of the extent of use of scurrilous accusations and character assassination to protect the deception about polygamy in Nauvoo

I am sorry to hear that some folks here find happiness not to be an important part of life. Paint it black I guess.

Most of us aren't from the David O'McKay era. No offense, I just know you had said that's when you left the Church. I'd wonder how much the Church changed from that time you left to, say, the 90s. It seems to have changed a bunch since the 90s.

[Equality]

You have wonder what it'd be like to be a believer in God....knowing God was all about not killing sometimes and utterly destroying at other times...and imagining all spiritual messages you felt were coming to you from outside you....

Christianity is a mercenary religion. And Christian god is aware of it. Although he likes the drama of building up suspense. Something like the John Williams masterpiece regarding the Jaws movie sequence. All of that fear and anxiety that is built up as the Jaws theme plays is prevalent throughout scriptures. The warnings and terror are advertised like Christmas decorations in December. We can't have instant death in the quiet darkness of the night. No, there has to be beheadings, infant's heads on rocks, disembowelments, crucifixions, blood from pores, drownings, multitudes of disembodied arms, and don't forget foreskins......bundles of them. But happiness is the reason we are here.

And cluster flies, alas:

18 Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them;

19 And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets;

20 And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up.

There's little we can do, but swat them.

[Rivendale]

Christianity is a mercenary religion. And Christian god is aware of it. Although he likes the drama of building up suspense. Something like the John Williams masterpiece regarding the Jaws movie sequence. All of that fear and anxiety that is built up as the Jaws theme plays is prevalent throughout scriptures. The warnings and terror are advertised like Christmas decorations in December. We can't have instant death in the quiet darkness of the night. No, there has to be beheadings, infant's heads on rocks, disembowelments, crucifixions, blood from pores, drownings, multitudes of disembodied arms, and don't forget foreskins......bundles of them. But happiness is the reason we are here.

And cluster flies, alas:

18 Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them;

19 And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets;

20 And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up.

There's little we can do, but swat them.

By swatting them you become part of Jesus of gnazareth's plan of salvation. https://v.redd.it/pu3g94u19ax81

[huckelberry]

I feel reasonably sure that I learned of the happiness letter and its connection to polygamy back in seminary. I thought every Mormon understood the importance of polygamy.

I am also pretty sure I was unaware of the extent of use of scurrilous accusations and character assassination to protect the deception about polygamy in Nauvoo

I am sorry to hear that some folks here find happiness not to be an important part of life. Paint it black I guess.

Most of us aren't from the David O'McKay era. No offense, I just know you had said that's when you left the Church. I'd wonder how much the Church changed from that time you left to, say, the 90s. It seems to have changed a bunch since the 90s.

stem, I sometimes post a comment like above specifically wondering about the very question you point out. I figure that there are variations in peoples experience. I remember there were people who were more narrow and others less narrow. I have an approximate impression that the David O'Mckay era was a bit more variable and less constricted . Correlation is foreign to my experience and I gather it has had a large influence since then.

Please note my comment about the letter did not claim I had heard the whole story. My awareness of the extent of polygamy in Nauvoo and some of the machinations to hide it was limited leaving me to be shocked when later learning more.

[Kukulkan]

Correlation is foreign to my experience and I gather it has had a large influence since then.

I find that super fascinating. As someone who was a member during what I guess you could call the "Age of Correlation," concepts outside of the correlated materials were unknown to me. It wasn't that I couldn't go read about it, but rather the Church was at the height of getting its members to only read their material. I find it ironic that the document I started this thread over would technically be considered "correlated material" considering it was authored by Joseph Smith himself. The context of the letter on the other hand is everything the church wanted to avoid during my time in.