Comments on: Advice from a Nobel Prize Winner

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:44:39 +0000

Does anyone know how to say “Coriantumr was here” in reformed Egyptian? I’m hoping to travel to New York and Guatemala so I can scratch it onto the walls of assorted caves there. That would throw both camps off!

Linda - I find it vaguely sad to observe your behavior. You must really think you’ve got something there. Unfortunately, your scattershot attempts at character assassination mean nothing to the validity and truthfulness of the church.

By: Greg Smith

Greg Smith — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:20:56 +0000

It’s nice to see the Hurlburt-Howe affidavits resurrected from one more gasping turn around the old anti-Mormon track.

You might want to review the extensive literature on these matters.

For example, here and here. You’re only about 30 years out of date.

[Edited: the links now work.]

By: Linda

Linda — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:15:34 +0000

If you are going to rely on written record, I would hope you would first read one of the original histories of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania where Joseph Smith spent some growing-up time. People there believed him to have been a total nut case (unusal for claims to know someone famous). He once talked to an indian trying to find treasure. The indian told him he needed a white dog, to cut its throat and swing it in a circle. Where the blood splattered he would find treasure. Joseph Smith could not find a white dog so used a chicken instead - of course not finding treasure. He used to find neighbors “lost” items from their barns, by using what he called a seeing stone. His 1st wife on their honeymoon trip he took to Palmyra and dumped her. People in Susquehanna County considered him such a fake that in later years when people would come to “see the home where Joseph Smith grew-up” (before there was a monumont erected there) pranksters would push the visitors cars into the Susquehanna River. To sum up, Joseph Smith was considered a theif, a morally lacking and unstable person by his neighbors and people who had contact with him. And yes, I know someone will be saying “the same was said about Christ”. The difference is we have no written record about Christ written during the time he lived. All we have is the accounts of a few of his friends written long after he died. The accounts of Joseph Smith were taken from his neighbors and recorded during our great-grandparents time - and yes, I am older and grew up in Susquehanna County.

By: Steven Danderson

Steven Danderson — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:20:25 +0000

Feynman is also credited with solving the cause of the Challenger explosion (though Feynman himself credits USAF General Donald Kutyna) [See Feynman, Richard P., What Do You Care What Other People Think?, 1988, W W Norton].

It seems that whenever people get so cocky that they think they know it all, things blow up on them.

By: Jack

Jack — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:15:29 +0000

That’s a great post, Greg. I love the bit about one’s brain falling out. It could also be said that we should have an open mind, but not so open that people can dump their trash in it.

By: Aaron L. M. Goodwin

Aaron L. M. Goodwin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:45:05 +0000

Very well put. I’ve always been skeptical of anything purporting to prove the Book of Mormon true. As you said, the Book of Mormon is about Christ. No archeological evidence is needed to reach that end.

By: Greg Smith

Greg Smith — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:53:42 +0000

Fun quote from Hyrum. Too bad it runs a bit counter to what his brother Joseph said:

Don’t be silly.

Hyrum didn’t say you’d be damned for believing false things. He just said that it would be better, all things considered, if you didn’t believe untruths. It’s always better to have just faith in true things, and no faith in false things.

I find it hard to believe anyone would quarrel with the idea that having faith in a false idea is not the optimum state of affairs.

By: Seth R.

Seth R. — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:02:43 +0000

“…it is better not to have so much faith as to have so much as to believe all the lies.”

Fun quote from Hyrum. Too bad it runs a bit counter to what his brother Joseph said:

“I never believed in a man being damned for believing too much.”