Without Disclosing My True Identity
Taking Responsibility for One’s Own Actions
Although Joseph had previously been taught by the Brothers about human nature
and was instructed in the psychology of what is modernly called “self-hypnosis,” he was
greatly surprised at what the human mind could cause a person to feel and experience.
Newel’s reaction surprised him a bit. At this time, there was no such concept as hypnosis.
People called it “being influenced and acted upon by either God or the devil.” However,
Joseph knew that his ability to influence or “hypnotize” a person was useless unless one
wanted to be hypnotized.^50
Throughout his life, Joseph experienced the self-hypnotic states of the people he had
to deal with. He witnessed how they were influenced by both the “Spirit of God” and “the
power of the devil”; but no matter what the label, he knew that the people were creating
the experiences in their own minds.^51 On one occasion, a few of his intimates prayed
earnestly that the Lord would protect them from their enemies who were “under the power
of Satan.” Afterwards, they noticed that Joseph was smiling. They looked at their prophet
incredulously as he said to them:
Will there ever be a day when man takes credit for his own actions, good or
evil? Or will God and the devil continue to pull his strings throughout
eternity and get all the credit and blame.Joseph knew that every human is responsible for his or her own actions, and that
neither God nor Lucifer has anything to do with them.^52 He reiterated this symbolically in the
presentation of the temple endowment that he prepared for them.^53 The LDS/Mormon people
at that time never understood Joseph and what he knew. If he had told them everything that
he really knew about the “power of the devil,” or the “power of the Holy Ghost,” either one as
the case may be, it would have given them cause to rise up and kill him.
Newel Knight believed that he had been possessed by the devil. So, when his family
and friends attested to what Joseph had done, the incident became the first “miracle”
witnessed in the newly formed Church of Christ. As time went on, other “miracles” were
performed: people spoke in tongues, others were healed, and some even claimed that
the Holy Ghost was poured out upon [them] in a miraculous manner—many
of [their] number prophesied, whilst others had the heavens opened to their
view, and were so overcome that [they] had to lay them on beds or other
convenient places.^54Again, in reality, all of these “miracles” were simply natural events mixed with the
vain and foolish imaginations of the people.
In June of 1830, the first conference as an organized Church was held;^55 and who was
it that attended and had another glorious manifestation of his own importance and of his
being “admitted into [the Lord’s] presence”?^56 None other than Newel Knight. He became
something of a religious heroic icon to the members of the Church because of being the
recipient of the first “miracle” performed by Joseph Smith. Joseph, however, made a
conscious effort to dissuade people from giving him (Joseph) any personal credit or glory,
telling them that,