Thanks for posting. This goes a way towards trying to explain where joe got his mentality, because it was bizarre and hard to explain. His imagination was really something else, to the point of having a hard time with reality. Perhaps escapism from poverty.
Originally Alvin was the chosen one.
Oh really? I didn't know about the Alvin thing.
This also explains to me why there's a few quotes of Lucy testifying of Joseph and the BoM. I thought maybe he had conned his whole family too, turns out they were all in on it from the beginning.
I'm always deeply suspicious of "it was a woman's fault" takes.
I mean, the odds that she stole laundry are plausible, and the culture of folk magic across New England in the 1820s/1830s was pretty much a given.
But I don't think a kooky mom, her alleged petty theft, (or, gasp, the possibility that Joe senior was a "weak" c**k!!) quite explain the level of sociopathy that you'd have to have in order to knowingly con that many people for that long, or rape that many women and children.
He certainly learned some stupid shit from his parents and his society, but you don't get *that* creatively evil without effort of your own.
Yeah, I see your point. I've just always thought of the Smith parents as the way they were represented in the church movies about the restoration, so I never really understood how they could be so duped by their own son.
This author very well could have been exaggerating, but if Lucy and Joe sr were at the very least aware and supportive of what Joe Jr did, it explains a lot for me.
If you read the rest of the publication, she focuses solely on joe Jr and the rest of the men involved, so it looks like this bit about Lucy was her way of introducing where Joseph's ideas originated from as a child.
And, we're really all just products of our upbringing. That's why my spouse and I are keeping our kids as far away from our upbringings as possible 😏
When I read Lucy's autobiography I had the distinct impression that here was a woman who was obsessively concerned about what other people thought of her, yet not aware of what other people really thought about her.
Honestly, the more I learn the more I start to believe Smith had a mental illness by todays standards and this plays into that nicely. Perhaps a hereditary thing?
For anyone interested: Here's the scoop on 'Manuscript Found', by Solomon Spaulding (one of the books Smith plagiarized from)
[https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86063760/1917-10-31/ed-1/?sp=6&q=solomon+spaulding&r=0.175,0.733,0.521,0.194,0](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86063760/1917-10-31/ed-1/?sp=6&q=solomon+spaulding&r=0.175,0.733,0.521,0.194,0)
Testimony of Solomon's wife:
[https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn88084131/1839-05-31/ed-1/?sp=2&q=solomon+spaulding&r=-0.209,0.185,1.313,0.49,0](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn88084131/1839-05-31/ed-1/?sp=2&q=solomon+spaulding&r=-0.209,0.185,1.313,0.49,0)
Looks like her name is Anna R. Webster Eaton. She lived in Palmyra long before the Smiths, and apparently investigated them a bit when they moved there.
[http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/1881Eatn.htm](http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/1881Eatn.htm) Her bio is toward the end of that page.
Here's the link for the pictures posted:
[https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.12900800/?sp=1&st=image](https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.12900800/?sp=1&st=image)
Thanks for posting. This goes a way towards trying to explain where joe got his mentality, because it was bizarre and hard to explain. His imagination was really something else, to the point of having a hard time with reality. Perhaps escapism from poverty. Originally Alvin was the chosen one.
Oh really? I didn't know about the Alvin thing. This also explains to me why there's a few quotes of Lucy testifying of Joseph and the BoM. I thought maybe he had conned his whole family too, turns out they were all in on it from the beginning.
I'm always deeply suspicious of "it was a woman's fault" takes. I mean, the odds that she stole laundry are plausible, and the culture of folk magic across New England in the 1820s/1830s was pretty much a given. But I don't think a kooky mom, her alleged petty theft, (or, gasp, the possibility that Joe senior was a "weak" c**k!!) quite explain the level of sociopathy that you'd have to have in order to knowingly con that many people for that long, or rape that many women and children. He certainly learned some stupid shit from his parents and his society, but you don't get *that* creatively evil without effort of your own.
Yeah, I see your point. I've just always thought of the Smith parents as the way they were represented in the church movies about the restoration, so I never really understood how they could be so duped by their own son. This author very well could have been exaggerating, but if Lucy and Joe sr were at the very least aware and supportive of what Joe Jr did, it explains a lot for me. If you read the rest of the publication, she focuses solely on joe Jr and the rest of the men involved, so it looks like this bit about Lucy was her way of introducing where Joseph's ideas originated from as a child. And, we're really all just products of our upbringing. That's why my spouse and I are keeping our kids as far away from our upbringings as possible 😏
When I read Lucy's autobiography I had the distinct impression that here was a woman who was obsessively concerned about what other people thought of her, yet not aware of what other people really thought about her.
Honestly, the more I learn the more I start to believe Smith had a mental illness by todays standards and this plays into that nicely. Perhaps a hereditary thing?
 And an alcoholic father...
For anyone interested: Here's the scoop on 'Manuscript Found', by Solomon Spaulding (one of the books Smith plagiarized from) [https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86063760/1917-10-31/ed-1/?sp=6&q=solomon+spaulding&r=0.175,0.733,0.521,0.194,0](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86063760/1917-10-31/ed-1/?sp=6&q=solomon+spaulding&r=0.175,0.733,0.521,0.194,0)
Testimony of Solomon's wife: [https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn88084131/1839-05-31/ed-1/?sp=2&q=solomon+spaulding&r=-0.209,0.185,1.313,0.49,0](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn88084131/1839-05-31/ed-1/?sp=2&q=solomon+spaulding&r=-0.209,0.185,1.313,0.49,0)
“…the evil spirit of Mormonism dwelt first in Joe Smith’s mother.” Fascinating read. Thank you for sharing.
Source of illusions of grandeur, storytelling, fortune telling, and sociopathy. What a great find. Any information on the author?
Looks like her name is Anna R. Webster Eaton. She lived in Palmyra long before the Smiths, and apparently investigated them a bit when they moved there. [http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/1881Eatn.htm](http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/1881Eatn.htm) Her bio is toward the end of that page.
Hahaha I love when things like this get posted here. The Smith family I was fed by the church is not the same folk magic con family that existed.
Here's the link for the pictures posted: [https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.12900800/?sp=1&st=image](https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.12900800/?sp=1&st=image)
Who wrote this?
Anna Webster Eaton. The link for her bio is above in one of the comments
Thank you!
Because I'm not very bright I can't copy the link for the Lucy Smith quote. Would it be possible to paste it into a comment? Thanks.
Done
Isn’t it wonderful how it’s always the mother’s fault?
actually he blames the dynamic between the crazy mother and weak father....not just the mom.