Twenty-Six (1831)them not. And they shall perish. ...And whoso knocketh, to him will he open;
and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up
because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are
they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and
consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of
humility, he will not open unto them.^63Joseph’s aversion to secular education in general resulted from what he had learned
from advanced human beings and the Brothers. Because the modern LDS Church has no clue
about what Joseph really believed about education, its leaders have changed the original
“everlasting endowment” and taken out Lucifer’s Preacher character and any reference to a
religion being supported and influenced by Lucifer. Of course, the LDS Church is a religion that
touts one of the most prestigious secular/religious Universities in the world, named
appropriately after its prophet (not a true messenger)—Brigham Young University. (The college
could have never been named “Joseph Smith University” and been true to his legacy.)
Joseph spurned not only man-made religion and man-made education, but the
“Lord” would “reveal,” for example, that doctors were useless, and that if people were
supposed to die, they would; but if not, they should not go to a doctor but “be nourished
with all tenderness, with herbs and mild food, and that not by the hand of an enemy.”^64
Because of his personal distaste for the medical profession that failed his brother,
Alvin, Joseph would not seek for a doctor who might have been some help to Emma to save
her twins during childbirth. The stress of constantly moving had proven to be too much for
Emma and as a result, Thaddeus and Louisa Smith, who were born April 30, 1831, died the
same day while the Smith’s lived near Kirtland, Ohio. Upon hearing about the death of the
wife of one of his follower’s, John Murdock, during the birth of her own set of twins, Joseph
and Emma requested and were able to adopt the twins shortly afterwards.^65
Church Headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio
The persecution was mounting in and around both Harmony, Pennsylvania and
Fayette, New York, where the members of the church were generally located at the time.
Kirtland, Ohio seemed to be as good a place as any to establish a headquarters for the newly
formed church. It was in Kirtland where Sidney Rigdon had his own established
congregation. Parley P. Pratt, Isaac Morley, and Edward Partridge were loyal to Sidney and
followed him into Mormonism. And there were many other popular LDS “saints” who each
added their unique individual characteristics to the organization of the burgeoning church
during 1831. But this is Joseph’s biography, not theirs. Each person who joined the church had
his or her own conversion story. Each one was influenced by different ideologies of that time
period and their own desire to “receive further light and knowledge”^66 from the Lord, seeking
out a religion that fit within their personal philosophies mingled with scripture. But without
fail, each one was “wrought upon by the Spirit of the Lord” as they read the Book of Mormon
with a sincere heart and with real intent.^67
Rejecting the Keystone of Their Faith and Digging Their Own Pit
The Book of Mormon was indeed the keystone of the LDS/Mormon faith.^68 And had
the people made it their ONLY keystone in establishing their doctrine, the true “church of