NINETEEN
(1824)
Joseph pursued a “degree” in universal truth, taught by both semi-mortal and resurrected instructors.
His “intelligence” was unparalleled; although, by worldly educational standards, his reading and
writing remained elementary, but proficient enough to achieve what his “degree” required.An Undeniable Masterpiece
Joseph Smith’s critics seem to have substantial and verifiable proof that Joseph used
his imagination to come up with the storyline and content of the Book of Mormon. From their
theories and speculations, based on the body of his work, it is not difficult to understand how
they could easily opine that Joseph was not as uneducated and illiterate as the LDS/Mormon
stories and dogma portray him. A remedial search of the things that he wrote or that were
attributed to Joseph, combined with the reasonably open mind of an honest researcher, would
uncover a treasure trove of seemingly conclusive evidence to uphold this critical view.
There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind, once they know the real truth, that
Joseph would have been sufficiently educated and intellectually capable of making up the
Book of Mormon. However, his writing skills, by comparison, were quite another story.
Joseph Smith, Jr. was a very educated man by the time he began the translation of the
unsealed portion of the gold plates, which would eventually be published as the Book of
Mormon. What neither the critics nor the LDS/Mormons are able to prove, however, with
any form of reasonable evidence, was the source of his education to match his extraordinary
level of general knowledge. Given the known environment in which he was reared and the
relatively inferior level of training he received from his schooling, his poor writing skills
were an accurate reflection of his known secular education. However, for his exceptionally
developed intellect, there has never been a reasonable explanation, until now.
There is no doubt that by the time Joseph began to produce revelations and
correspondences, which amount to tens of hundreds of verifiable historical documents, he
was very adroit at expressing himself with a written vocabulary and prose that very few
people of his time possessed. Some speculate that Joseph’s writing proficiency came as a
result of reading many books. They also believe that from the books he read, Joseph
conjured up in his imagination the contents of the Book of Mormon. Regardless of what one
might suppose were sources of the young Joseph’s fully developed intellect, the chronology
of his personal history would prove that these sources were not sufficiently accessed by the
time the Book of Mormon was written. When the translation (or rather, transcription) was
completed, he was at his youngest age with respect to everything he eventually wrote. What
master author (not to mention a socially disadvantaged rural farm boy) ever produced
something that, in perfection, logic, prose, and corresponding historical and literary
agreement, could stand next to the King James Bible on their first try?
Anyone who reads the Book of Mormon with a sincere heart and real intent^1 must
undoubtedly admit that it is a literary masterpiece; in so being, it has captivated the hearts
and minds of millions of highly educated people worldwide. Because of it, millions have
converted from their birth religion and joined the LDS/Mormon Church. It is a religious