Joseph Smith was a Genius

I am apparently a giant in most Asian countries.

The world today wants everyone to have what they want. When, in 2016, I visited the jungle in Cambodia, some of the people there were eating bugs and frogs and such (but also some amazing chicken and rice and jackfruit), but the craziest thing was that nearly everybody had smart phones. I can’t say how this happened, I just remember being bewildered at the sight of so many smart phones in the hands of people who appeared like they were barely making it. Granted their homes have never seen snow, so the houses really didn’t need to have walls. Nonetheless, many of the Cambodians were all glued to their smartphones like the rest of the world. It seems that the American dream, to have whatever one wishes for, is now worldwide, but this wasn’t the case 100 years ago.


Sphinx of Hatshepsut (ca. 1479 B.C.) in the Egyptian Exhibition at the MET.

Joseph Smith was a man who was known to be a story teller. He grew up as a treasure hunter and when he did find something amazing, he was too uneducated to know what it really was, but he was educated enough to know that everyone else was in the same boat as him. When he found what he called “the book of Abraham” for instance, he claimed that he could translate it in such a way that no one else could do. This is one of the telltale signs of a self-proclaimed prophet. People had to trust solely in what Joseph Smith said in order for this all to work, so the elaborate lies followed. Recently, however, the “Book of Abraham” was found in the Archives of one of my favorite museums in New York City and they asked the Mormons if they wanted it back, because they thought it was burned in the Chicago Fire. Unfortunately for Joseph Smiths reputation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Egyptologists translated the hieroglyphics before they sent it back to the Mormons and found that this papyrus was discussing the funeral embalming process for the dead. Joseph Smith was way off. But at the time, no one knew that he was way off. Everyone else was in the same boat as him, and he took advantage of their ignorance.


The Temple of Dendur (ca. 15 B.C.) In the MET. The Egyptologists know what they are talking about.

Joseph Smith created a world that did not exist and blended it with the actual world. On top of this, there is a type of order to it, which seems to be a part of the allure of the “Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints.” He was a genius because he manipulated the truth in order to get what he wanted: power and women.

Joseph Smith was a genius because they did not have the World Wide Web at the time before he shot back at people in a gun fight (Something a true martyr would never do) and died. In other words, they didn’t have the internet back then. Today, one can go to Vegas and legally do the things that Joseph Smith desired. But even easier than this, a person could get on the internet and view more pornography than a lifetime of viewing could possibly take in. With a few clicks of a button, if Smith were alive today, he could fulfill his dreams, while living in the basement of his mom’s house. Cats and all. I honestly believe that if Smith were born in a different time period, such as say, the 1980’s, he would be as described above, and he would wear the title of new atheist/militant atheist with pride.

The reason I write these things is because Joseph Smith is a deceiver. Mormonism (which is changing its name to deceive even more of the masses) contains small bits of truth in it, and people cling to it and are attracted to it because of such. One might learn of it during a rough time in their life and cling to the false hope that it offers. If that one tactic does not work, then Mormons will prey on people’s ignorance, much like what seems to be the case with Mike and Lynn Wilder in Unveiling Grace (An absolutely excellent book! Thank you, Lynn!). When a missionary comes knocking on your door, they will seek common ground right away, in order to establish trust. By establishing trust, one will listen to what is said.

Joseph Smith was a genius because he tricked the masses into believing some crazy things in order for him to get what he wants. It is much like Islam. Mormonism and Islam are religions made by men and for men. Not by God or for God, not by God for man, not by men and women for men and women, but by men, for men. Think about it, in both religions, when men die, they have the promise of endless sex beyond their wildest dreams. Mormons will be gods of their own planets, having celestial sex for all eternity, populating the planet that they are god over with souls. There are huge issues with this not only ethically, but several others, some of which I list HERE. When a Muslim dies, he will have 72 perpetual virgins waiting for him in eternity. There are so many questions that come with this idea, and there aren’t any clear answers. Like, how can a woman be perpetually virgin? What is the ultimate significance of 72? And several others. In any event, one can clearly see the resemblances between Mormonism and Islam. This conclusion of Joseph Smith would similarly work for Mohammad as well. He was a genius because he manipulated people to get what he wanted: power and women.

John 8:42-45 says, “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!

Jesus’ integrity is mind blowing here. He was not afraid to tell it like it was, and because of such, we can only conclude that there are three options in response to His claims: The Great Trilemma: Jesus was either a liar, He was a lunatic or He is, in truth, Lord. Jesus is contrasting Himself with Satan in this passage. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6), and Satan is the deceiver. People who deceive get deception from Satan. People who seek the truth get truth from Jesus. Are you a deceiver or a truth seeker?

For more, see my book on Mormonism:

https://www.amazon.com/Mormonism-Refuting-Fundamental-Apologetics-Latter-Day/dp/1662885377/

Written by Nace Howell through the grace of the Lord Jesus

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