This one at your link to be even more damning of this scam artist, Smith:
THE 1826 COURT TRIAL
For years Mormon scholars have criticized the account of an 1826 court trial held in Brainbridge, New York where Joseph Smith was arrested, tried, and found guilty of using a magical stone for the purpose of finding hidden treasure buried in the earth. This account was published in Frazer's Magazine in 1873. The following information is quoted from that publication under the heading "STATE OF NEW YORK v. JOSEPH SMITH":
"Prisoner [Joseph Smith] brought before Court March 20, 1826. Prisoner examined: says that he .... had a certain stone which he had occasionally looked at to determine where hidden treasures in the bowels of the earth were; that he professed to tell in this manner where gold mines were a distance under ground .... he had occasionally been in the habit of looking through this stone to find lost property for three years, but of !ate had pretty much given it up on account of its injuring his health, especially his eyes making them sore;...
"And therefore the Court find[s] the Defendant guilty. Costs: Warrant, 19c. Complaint upon oath, 25½c. Seven witnesses, 87½ c. Recognisances, 25c. Mittimus, 19c. Recognisances of witnesses, 75c. Suboena, 18c -$2.68." (Frazer's Magazine, February, 1873, pp. 229-30)
Until 1971 LDS scholars believed that there was no proof to prove the account given in Frazer's Magazine. They were so sure of the innocence of Joseph Smith that some Mormon apologists admitted if the court record could be found it would prove Joseph Smith a fraud. Dr. Francis W. Kirkham stated:
"If any evidence had been in existence that Joseph Smith had used a seer stone for fraud and deception, and especially had he made this confession in a court of law as early as 1826, or four years before the Book of Mormon was printed, and this confession was in a court record, it would have been impossible for him to have organized the restored Church." (A New Witness For Christ In America, vol. 1, pp. 385-87)
Then in 1971 in the basement of the County Jail in Norwich, New York, Wesley Walters discovered the original 1826 Court record which gives the costs involved in the trial and proves the account given in Frazer's Magazine. Not only is this one of the most devastating pieces of evidence against the divine mission of Joseph Smith, but this discovery proves Smith was heavily involved in the occult during the time he was supposed to be preparing himself for receiving the "gold plates"!
Below is a photograph of the newly discovered document which proves that Joseph Smith was arrested, tried, and found guilty as a "glass looker" in 1826. To the left is a typed transcript of the portion of the document that deals with Joseph Smith. Notice that when the letter "S" was repeated it appears as a "P" (see the word "Assault" in items 1, 4, 7, and 9).
OK, I wondered if you would actually go to the Joseph Smith link about men on the moon. I have researched this one, but never heard of the one on Brigham young, are you sure the original quote was from Brigham young?
FairWiki talks about how all these stories about Moon men came into being,
Here.
The topic of inhabitants on the moon was a common one in the Day and age of Joseph smith's and Brigham young's time, the following paragraph (Taken from the link above) is relevant.
Modern prophets and general authorities will sometimes cite newspaper articles or books to illustrate the points which they wish to make. In doing so, they are not endorsing such articles or books as being prophetically correct in all particulars. Rather, they are using the science and information of their day to enhance their preaching of the gospel.
LDS doctrine was not provincial, since it provided for "worlds without number" (Mos. 1:33) created by Christ. These worlds held those who would require the gospel, since by Christ "the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." (D&C 76:24)
Information given to the 19th century Saints by the authorities of the day were consistent with these doctrines, and so they believed them, and occasionally mentioned them in a religious context. As always, prophets and believers are products of their time. Biblical authors, for example, clearly accepted a geocentric (earth centered) cosmos, with a flat earth and heavens supported by four pillars. Like the authors of the Bible, modern prophets are generally beholden to their era's scientific concepts, except where corrections in those concepts are needed to permit the gospel to be understood and applied. This does not mean, however, that prophets of any era do not receive revelation about matters of eternal significance.
Are you also going to condemn the Catholics for supporting a "Geocentric" earth? They did, to the point it became difficult to accept any other focus. While I am sure that Both Joseph Smith, and Brigham young discussed the topics of the day, I am equally sure that they never said "Thus sayeth the lord, there are men on the moon.".
Anti's continually attempt to say the bar for a prophet is that he must be perfect. Tell that to Jonah, Moses, and Elisha all of whom made mistakes that would invalidate them as prophets if the standards you would hold Joseph to were applied to them.
I am now going to say something that will probably shock you.
Joseph smith was a brash impulsive, impatient man who was also impetuous and sometimes even proud. He was also called of God to open this dispensation and restore the church of Jesus Christ to the earth. I do not know why God chose him, only that he did so, and I will not second guess the Lord God. He has testified to me that Joseph is indeed a prophet, and that as they say Closes the books on that one.
As for the JOD page, This is the first I have heard of it, and cannot find it in any scholarly site, the only reference you have found are anti-Mormon sites which forgive me have all the credibility of CBS and Dan Ra
ther when it comes to documents, are you sure it's not one of
Mark Hoffman's forgeries (many of which are still floating around in Anti-Mormon circles.)
Have you got any links from anywhere which shows the actual origin of the page, and is not replete with such forgeries as the kinderhook plates and other blatant anti Mormon stuff?
I assert that since there are many instances of Anti-Mormons forging things to try to discredit the church, anything that can only be found on an "anti" site and has no historical background on where, when and how it came into their possession only, will be viewed by anyone in this debate with extreme pessimism.
I am not saying it's a hoax, I'm saying you have not proven it is truly a valid document yet, the same answer I would give Dan Ra
ther. My standards for things that support the church is just as high.
