Posted on 04/09/2008 8:05:24 PM PDT by metmom
The registry isn’t much use for your contention, because all the Josephine Lyons are listed as daughters of men besides Joseph Smith. I did find this website, http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/DNA.htm, which seems to be where you got the quote (or it repeats the quote). None of the purported children have been conclusively proven to be the children of Joseph Smith.
Not that it would surprise me to find out he had children by women other than Emma. It certainly wouldn’t shake the foundation of Mormonism. But I’ve just seen no conclusive proof.
And as far as the old woman who made the death bed pronouncement to the daughter—if she was sealed to Joseph Smith her children would be considered the spiritual progeny of Smith regardless of who the biological father was, so her statement in and of itself is not conclusive.
What a despicable thing to say. Truly disgusting.
At this time, female descendants cannot be tested for paternal DNA, and so this is an unknowable (for now).
We also have the statement of Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner. She stated that she knew of children born to Smith’s plural wives: “I know he had six wives and I have known some of them from childhood up. I know he had three children. They told me. I think two are living today but they are not known as his children as they go by other names.”
Joseph Smith might have practiced a form of birth control such as withdrawal. He had a close associate named “Dr.” John C. Bennett, a professional scoundrel who arrived in Nauvoo in about 1840 and became an intimate associate of Smith — even, at one point, becoming “Co-President” of the Mormon Church (a position later filled by Hyrum Smith).
....
Before polygamy was practiced openly by the Mormon priesthood leadership, Hyrum testified that Dr. Bennett was propositioning women: “[Dr. Bennett] endeavored to seduce them, and accomplished his designs by saying it was right; that it was one of the mysteries of God, which was to be revealed when the people was strong enough in faith to bear such mysteries—that it was perfectly right to have illicit intercourse with females, providing no one knew it but themselves, vehemently trying them from day to day, to yield to his passions, bringing witnesses of his own clan to testify that there were such revelations and such commandments, and that they were of God; also stating that he would be responsible for their sins, if there were any, and that he would give them medicine to produce abortions, provided they should become pregnant.” (Emphasis added)
- Affidavit of Hyrum Smith. Official History of the Church, Vol. 5, p.71
Smith also reportedly married some women who were already pregant by their first husbands and so would have been incapable of becoming pregnant during sexual encounters with Smith.
Then to further complicate the issue, I will return to the idea that Emma never gave birth to a son of Joseph Smith. It is entirely possible that Smith was sterile, and that the children born to Emma were conceived with another man.
So in summary regarding Smith and his lack of identified progeny:
1. Female descendants cannot be verified at this time.
2. Some children born to Smith were publicly known to be children of other men, and were therefore never identified.
3. Smith was a close associate to a known abortionist.
4. Smith might have been sterile
5. Sexual relations with women who were already impregnated by another man, thus limiting to possiblity.
Any of those conjectures are possible, but can’t be proven. I daresay we’d be shocked to find out how many people are descended from ancestors who were not fathered by their mother’s husbands. I’ve read a statistic somewhere in the area of ten to twenty percent. Morals have always been farily loose, men and women have always slept around,even in the Victorian era and other times that we think of as prim.
bttt
Conan Doyle’s Mormon story
_________________________________________
What story was that ????
Arthur Conan Doyle’s anti-Mormon story is “A Study in Scarlet”.
For a humorous approach see Mark Twain’s “Roughing It”.
Thanks
I have a copy of all Doyle’s stories...
Interesting dips that follow the wars.
What is the link?
Source data here:
http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hh-fam/tabMS-2.pdf
Graph here:
http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/Age.htm
She was married to Oliver Vanetta Lynn, commonly known as "Doolittle," "Doo," or "Mooney" (for running moonshine), on January 10, 1948, a few months before she turned 14. In an effort to break free of the coal mining industry, Lynn moved to the logging community Custer, Washington, with her husband, at the age of 14. The Lynns had four children by the time Loretta was 17; having twin girls named after patsy cline later, she became the grandmother of 21 grandchildren.
The irony, is that I got banned last week for defending fundamental Christians, who practice something that I do not agree with in any way.
This Conservative learned his lesson...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.