SIXTEEN
(1821)
In his sixteenth year, Joseph had more knowledge and wisdom than anyone else in the world.
The religious views of Joseph’s day (as well as those today) were all an “abomination in [God’s] sight.”
Only those who become as a little child will learn the truth. Being a messenger who could not
disclose his true identity, Joseph learned the importance and application of guile.The Developing Teenage Brain
As touched upon in the previous chapter, the structure of the brain during the teenage
years is at its most important stage in human (mortal) development. Science has correctly
determined that during the first two decades of life, the brain produces an overabundance of
cells and neural connections. This is observed by the thickening of what is called the brain’s grey
matter—the nerve-filled tissue in charge of processing information.^1 During adolescence, the
brain has significant growth in the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex responsible for emotions,
personality, urges, and reasoning. Thus, as adolescence comes to an end, cells and connections
that are not used during this time are dissolved away; or better, the grey matter begins to thin,
eliminating cells and synapses that have not been developed in some kind of learning process.
Once a person is in their early 20’s, the frontal lobes of the brain become fully developed and the
personality and characteristics of the individual are established.^2
When this scientific data is analyzed, the conclusion can be made that teenagers,
because of their less-developed frontal lobes, do not think through their actions like a normal
adult does. The pre-adults pay much less attention to the consequence of the behavior and more
to the behavior itself. The teenage brain interprets the world in ways noticeably different than
the adult brain. At no other time during mortal life will the brain’s grey matter be more
abundant and able to change and develop (in other words, learn) than at this time.
The scientific world has produced some great minds (at least “great” in its own
eyes). Few have been more celebrated for their scientific knowledge than Albert Einstein.
Einstein knew the impact that the first two decades of a person’s life has on the individual’s
ability to reason. He has been quoted as saying, “Common sense is the collection of
prejudices acquired by age eighteen.”^3
Developing the “Prejudices” of Joseph Jr.’s Brain
Joseph made his first contact with an extraterrestrial being—a real person who came
from another planet—at the time that his physical brain was at its fullest potential to receive and
analyze information. In a sense, what he learned during his meeting with Christ was the
beginning of “prejudices” that were incorporated into his cognitive paradigms—prejudices that
advanced beings wanted him to have (such as, the vanity of religion), rather than what the world
would have otherwise imposed (such as, the Bible is the infallible word of God). These
preconceptions were solidified in Joseph because of what he learned during the First Visitation.
Prejudices are best defined as preconceived judgments or opinions that lean a
person towards a certain perception that is unfounded in reason or any basis for justly