Barry Allen

Reviewing my Mormonism debate on @CapturingChrist with @TradVat2 tonight at 8PM EST. youtube.com/watch?v=eI8hl7… Just a reminder that these are *undeniable historical facts* about the foundational prophet of Mormonism: --He was a prominent diviner and necromancer whose main source of income was hunting for treasure with the seer stones that he later used to 'translate' the Book of Mormon throughout the entire period when he later claimed that he experienced the series of apparitions upon which Mormonism was based. --The consensus among Joseph's neighbors was that Joseph and his relatives were unscrupulous, disreputable, and dishonest - and that they had told lots of contradictory stories about the discovery of the golden plates. There is early, directly and indirectly corroborated, sworn testimony that he communicated with evil spirits using the stones, that he offered animal sacrifices to appease evil spirits in failed attempts to gain access to hidden treasure using the stones, etc... --Joseph Smith was arrested for his money-digging activity. The defense that he - along with friendly witnesses that testified in his defense - offered during a preliminary hearing was that Joseph *really did have magical abilities.* And he described experiences that *could not possibly be explained by a sincere mistake or genuine confusion* but are either lies, borderline psychosis, or genuinely paranormal events. --On the evening when he later claimed that he encountered the angel Moroni, Mormon friendly witnesses confirm that he had just gotten back from an unsuccessful treasure quest. Numerous, converging lines of historical evidence indicate that the *original account* he gave of the discovery of the plates involved *an evil treasure guardian* rather than a prophetic calling and an interaction with an angel and that his later accounts *gradually developed over time to include more and more religious content and to strip away the occult context.* These golden plates were supposedly the source text for the Book of Mormon. --According to Mormon friendly sources, when Mormon missionaries brought the 'Gospel' to Kirtland, a demon rampage broke out among the early Mormons and they began to engage in bizarre and erratic behavior due to demonic influence. Then, when Joseph came and tried to institute authorities to manage the demon rampage, he laid hands on a guy to ordain him as a high priest, the guy he was trying to ordain was instantly demon possessed and began convulsing. Then the demon took turns possessing everybody in the room all day and for the greater part of the night. --Throughout each phase of Joseph's prophetic ministry, basically every high-ranking member of his Church was possessed by a demon and/or deceived by a demon into promulgating false revelations in the name of God, including Joseph himself. This despite the fact that these high-ranking members claimed powers of discernment and spiritual authority over demons that were totally inconsistent with these episodes - and even several episodes contradicting authoritative revelations promulgated by Smith in canonized LDS 'Scripture.' --In the final weeks of his life, Joseph was indicted for the sex crimes of adultery and fornication. Joseph vigorously maintained his innocence until his dying breath. Even conservative LDS historians now concede that he was objectively guilty of these sex crimes since they were defined by reference to legal marriage. Two weeks after his indictment, he would incite the destruction of a printing press that told the truth about his sexual misconduct. Two weeks after that, he died in a shootout in Carthage Jail while awaiting trial.

@tom_barmadillo Thank you for providing New Testament confirmation of Book of Mormon teachings that little children are alive in Christ. “For of such is the kingdom of heaven.”