If Joseph Smith were a fraud, trust me, he’d have changed his ways in order to avoid the fierce opposition.
“If Joseph Smith were a fraud, trust me, hed have changed his ways in order to avoid the fierce opposition.”
Even if he believed the poppycock he was preaching, that still wouldn’t make him less of a fraud. None of you have explained the mis-translation of the Egyptian hieroglyphics - that was decidedly fraud. Nor have you explained how his signature got on a three dollar bill without a bank charter - outright fraud again.
These examples really aren’t even close to a grey area, they are flat out grifter behavior.
You can be forgiven for being naive.