whoknowswhat

Source?

So Joseph's prophetic inspiration works for some of the inspired documents of the Church and not for others? That doesn't make any sense to me.

First off, let me say that I appreciated those of you who actually read my post before responding. It does no good to answer the question that's not being asked. I have no problem with the sermons being different from one another. What I'm trying to understand is this: If the mistranslated version of the sermon on the mount in the Bible needs to be corrected by the JST, why would Christ teach the incorrect version of that sermon to the Nephites? Constructive posts only please, I'm not interested in being told I'm being faithless (or that I don't have time to wonder about things like this "with my marriage being the way it is" (honestly, how rude and judgmental can you get?)). I'm wondering if everyone has done what I've done my whole life, and said "that makes no sense. Oh well." or if anyone has figured out how this might be explained.

MsMagnolia, I never said that the church discourages study of our history. I grew up in the church, attended seminary, went on a mission, got married in the temple, and have always strived to be faithful in keeping the commandments, attending church, reading my scriptures and saying my prayers. What I'm saying is that this is not included in the history we are taught. It's not a biased outside opinion, it's the historical facts. I didn't know that Joseph had multiple wives until I was on my mission, when someone threw it at me. I tried to correct him, but my companion told me I was wrong. How, in 19 years or faithful gospel study did I not come across the fact that he had dozens of wives? I'm sure the information would be available in a book at the library if I was looking for it... but if there's another side to the story, how come we don't hear it? We just don't hear anything on the topic at all. I'm not saying the church is hosting a big conspiracy, covering facts... but they are conveniently omitting any parts of the story that make us uncomfortable. Maybe there's a reason why they make us uncomfortable? Maybe there's a reason why the church chooses not to say much - because there's not much that can be said. I wasn't trying to pick a fight, though everyone here has responded with what feels like hostility and antagonism. I have come across something that has seriously jeopardized my faith, and everyone is upset at me for asking if there are legitimate answers. I am questioning the existence of God, and the validity of the experiences I have had. My wife and I both feel like we've been deluding ourselves, believing because we wanted to believe, and now we're facing all of the incongruities and problems we've noticed over the years, but chose to disregard. If the moderators want to lock this thread, go ahead. I don't think the answers I'm looking for are here.

There's a far cry from "mortal man and not perfect" and "coercive adulterer". I'm not trying to be a troll here, I'm trying to find if there ARE any counter arguments, or if everyone has unanimously decided to get offended and defensive instead of discuss it. My point is that I feel like the facts have been skewed or omitted for my entire life, and that nobody seems to have an answer. If there is one, I'd like to find it. If there isn't one, that's important to know too.

I cite every ward/youth leader I've ever dealt with. The church in general, perhaps not necessarily by decree from the General Authorities, discourages any contact with Anti-Mormon material. I ask, if nobody's looked into it, how can I find a counter argument from the church? Right now all I have is Joseph Smith's public statement in front of the temple (record in the History of the Church, not an outside source) where Joseph flat-out denies having plural marriages, which are documented and attested to by other faithful saints. It doesn't add up.

Most of the wiki is taken from Bushman's book. My point is, that people just say "oh, there must be a misunderstanding" without finding out what the actual issues are, because we are discouraged from even finding out what they are. How can we ever know what really happened if we're not even supposed to ask? The only answers I've ever received on the subject were form people that hadn't looked into it, and don't really know what the allegations are.

You didn't even read what I said. If things were lost from the original biblical account and Joseph Smith restored them, then that means that Jesus taught something different in the Americas than he taught in Jerusalem, and it just happens to be the exact way that the erroneous copies would end up coming to us. Or, when Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, he just copied the passages from the Bible, rather than actually reading what was on the plates. Either way, there's no good reason why the JST and the BoM differ. They should be the same.

Joseph Smith married dozens of women & girls, some as young as 14. Most of these marriages were in secret, and many of them were to married women. Some would argue that the marriages were not conjugal, but personal statements of those involved seem to support that they were. Joseph publicly denied having more than one wife, declaring it to be lies of William Law. I don't have a problem with polygamy in general, but secret deceptive (and often coercive) practices do not seem in keeping with a prophet of God. Joseph Smith, Jr. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_wives_of_Joseph_Smith,_Jr. This is not something that we are ever taught in the church. Sure, we know Brigham Young had 27 wives, and most of us are okay with that. But why are these facts covered up? If there are answers to the accusations, why not openly give them instead of discouraging members to even find out?

The other day I was reading in 3rd Nephi, where Jesus is teaching his sermon on the mount to the Nephites. The chapter heading said to compare it to Matthew, so I did. Except when I did that, I found JST footnotes that add to /change the Matthew account. So either Jesus delivered two different accounts, and one just HAPPENED to be the same as what would eventually get passed down to our generation through mistranslations or Joseph Smith got lazy that day and just copied the verses out of the bible instead of actually translating them or The JST is bogus, as it doesn't line up with what Christ actually taught. I can't see an easy reconciliation.

Timing is critical: RIGHT AWAY. Let me speak from personal experience as a husband who has hidden things from his wife. Your marriage will not progress. You have created a wound, and covering it up is like letting it heal with shrapnel inside. Your marriage cannot progress, your wound will not heal until you open it and clean it. If a bishop asks you "have you repented?" the answer is clearly no. Repentance requires confession. In this case I would say it is up to you whether or not to take it to your bishop, but your wife is a definite must. In the words of my wife, upon finding out that I had had problems years before and hidden it: "It's not what you did that hurts as much as the fact that you hid it from me. How can I trust you now?" The answer came as I was completely open and honest with her from that moment forward, immediately confessing even when it was the exact same thing over and over. Will it hurt? Yes definitely. Is it the only way to move forward? Yes, definitely.