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The authors state “ N]o single explanation has to date successfully accounted for the number and quality of visions in early Mormonism.“ There is at least one explanation I can think of: there really is a God, He really talks to His children, and He had a work for Joseph to do that involved divine inspiration and angelic interventions. And that explanation does not involve Sonoran toads or psychedelic mushrooms.
To misquote Walter Scott. “O what a tangled web satan weaves when he first practices to deceive”. Of course if one takes the Lord’s involvement out of Joseph’s revelations far fetched and frankly silly explanations have to be resorted to. Thanks Brian
Brian, you provide far more refutative information and reasoning than the EOMWH article deserves.
They preface the article with the statement that, “All human experience and insight emerge in the chemistry of the brain.” That is the false assumption and premise upon which modern psychology, and many other philosophies ancient and modern, are founded. The concept that man is a dual being and has a spirit as well as body made of mortal matter is rejected without consideration. This is the basis of another of their false opening statements that, “[N]o single explanation has to date successfully accounted for the number and quality of visions in early Mormonism.“
If one rejects the possibility of anything outside of our material mortal senses then there can be no explanation for the visions of Joseph Smith and succeeding prophets of God, and the existence of the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.
BTW, did they mention what hallucinogenic they thought Joseph Smith was on during the sixty-five days that he created the Book of Mormon?
Brian,
Thanks for taking the time to write this review.
I laughed out loud when I read the last summary bullet on page 313 because it reminded me of the highly problematic logic we occasionally encounter among conspiracy theorists where the lack of evidence is used as affirmative evidence.
And we can add “advanced herbalist and mycologist” to the long list of Joseph Smith’s expertise required to accomplish all that he did.
Cheers.