Joseph Smith Biography

Four (1809)

all are concluded under sin, and shut up in unbelief as I had been, that Jesus

Christ might have the pre-eminence who enlightens, and gives grace, and faith,

and power. Thus when God doth work, who shall let it?^25

Thus “wrought upon” by the “Spirit of God,” Fox “went forth upon...the waters” to
America, and began influencing people to rebel against Britain’s rule over them. He fought
for religious freedom as he began to establish what he called “Societies of Friends in Christ”
(which offshoot today is known as the Religious Society of Friends, or the Quakers).^26
Because of his unorthodox views, there is hardly any mention of his name in the history
books, but he was truly one of the first American revolutionists.
Fox disagreed with the American colonists who were more interested in wealth
than they were in living peaceably with each other. He also influenced many New
Englanders to reject the popular notion that the white race was superior to the darker
races (i.e., the American Indians and the African Slaves). His outspokenness came at a
cost: as his popularity increased and he became a threat to established authority, he was
denounced as a heretic and imprisoned.^27

A Nation of Freedom

In spite of the people’s desire to acquire wealth, the advanced beings in charge of
our planet knew that they needed to intercede to some degree into mortal affairs in order to
ensure that America won its independence and became a free nation. The Book of Mormon
goes on to explain that there would be divine intercession to secure the freedom desired by
the Americans:

And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were

delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations. And it

came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land.^28

As Joseph translated this part of the Book of Mormon,^29 he was somewhat perplexed at
the way the record portrayed the American Indians. While understanding the figurative
way in which the Book of Mormon was written, the record made it appear as if they were
cursed because of their wickedness, while the Gentiles were blessed because of their
righteousness.^30 He knew very well that the Native Indian people were a peace-loving
people, and that the whites were generally anything but that, being full of pride and
inequality. The Native Indians had been affected for many years by two of the “Three
Nephites”—Mathoni and Mathonihah—who themselves, being dark-skinned Lamanites,
were involved in helping establish peace long before the “white man” arrived.^31
Joseph’s dissonance was quickly resolved when the purpose for the establishment of
America and the part that it would play in the overall purpose of our mortal existence upon
this earth was fully explained to him. Until the establishment of the United States, the
human race had never before experienced such conditions of unfettered freedom allowing
the fullest opportunity to exercise free will. (This was made possible because of the size of
the land mass and the freedom to move about; its distance from other powerful nations; the
form of government and governmental controls it had; as well as its relatively liberal
environment in social, economic, and religious arenas.) Therefore, only under the conditions