I meant Joseph Smith. Sorry, I keep mixing up the two names when typing. Normally on a Mormon thread I would refer to him as J Smith. Too used to abbrev/s like eggs and b....
Apology accepted in full. My apologies to you for not following the ensuing conversation in detail. Skimming through it, there seems to be some useful info there, some of which I was already somewhat dimly aware.
In the context you first used Joseph Smith it was all perfectly logical, and most likely quite accurate as to how the "lost tribes" + Egyptology entered into his mishmash in the first place. Smith turned back the clock, wrote a prequel, plagiarizing the original OT, inserting the "lost" theories, while also claiming to be the sole finder of this lost information, thus the [manufactured] claims of "restored Gospel", which if closely followed leave adherents going through life like white-knuckle dry drunks, needing to display perfection in this life, on their way to achieving their own "god hood" by their "works".
The more I look into it, the more insidious it appears. Yet there is still hope, for present day Mormons (many of them, I get the impression) rely more upon the words of Christ, leaving behind [hopefully] specifically Joseph Smith initiated theology. But here I speak of individuals, and their salvation which may be obtained through Christ, not Mormon theology itself, for it is a distortion beyond repair.