When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, Never mind, all is wellI am well enough off.
__________________________________________________
Strong booze will do it to ya every time...
What was he doing when he got home that his mother objected to ???
Leaning up to the fireplace...
Was that a source of “matter” in those days ???
Or was he doing some type of drunken NONO into the fire hearth ???
We used to stand near the fireplace when we were kids but Mom never commented that there was some problem...
Maybe its time to examine the nuances of this incident...
There is either some points accidently or intentionally left out or covered up or the conversation never took place or the words were different...
Now I can see Joey Smith being angry about the excommunication however justified it was...
(he had a reputation as a violent quick tempered guy...)
and it would be natural for the Smiths to discuss the “matter”
although the Smiths would have blamed everyone else but themselves...
There does not appear to have been much soul searching or self examination amongst that family...
And Joey Smiths writings are full of his personal “virtues” and none of his failings...
(For instance cheating on your wife is a sin whatever a tomcat like Joey Smith wants to call it...polygamy, everlasting covenant, the first principal are just mormon code words for adultery..)
We know Joey Smith had a huge ego because nobody writes themselves into the Bible without some aberrant deviance of personality...
Name anyone else who ever did that ???
So did Joey Smith up chuck or worse into his mothers fireplace and she berated him ???
What did Joey Smith do when he finally dragged his drunken or dugged carcuss home from his mushroom grove ???
I dont see any apology to his Mom so qwe can rule that out...
Joey Smith was a law unto himself...
The theories of the main character in Crime and Punishment comes to mind...
Now here too was a guy who thought he was above the law, other men...
He too thought himself a superior human being with permission of the Cosmos to commit any crime and get away with it...His entitlement ran to murder and robbery..
Joey Smith also deliberately broke every one of the 10 Commandments...He was entitled..The Super Id among mere mortals..
I do not imagine however that Lucy Mack Smith sat him down and pulled his boots off and brought him his kept warm supper by the fire when he got home...Joey Smith never said she did..
Rather, Lucy smacked him a good one and said something like
“Whats the matter with you, you drunken lazy sod. Why dont you get a job and stop wasting your days hanging out with your trashy friends”
to which Joey Smith answered his Mom
“Ive learnt that that Presbyterian Church has told everone the truth about me and now I cant get a job in this town even if i wanted one. Any way I’m well off. I’ve still got you and Dad to support me”
(You will notice I supplied the answers to my queries myself. So you dont have to, even if you wanted to)
Talking about your self again!
Booze, sounds more like magic mushrooms (not that I would know that).