Who is Joseph Smith?

I found the Book of Mormon utterly dull growing up.  There, I said it. Mark Twain said it was like "chloroform in print", and I could not agree more.  However (and this could be advancing age speaking), now I find that it has interesting and tantalizing clues, after I have been doing some of my own genealogical research.


For starters, I am related to Joseph Smith, through his maternal grandfather, Solomon Mack. Of course, as my family was faithful, this was always spoken with the utmost in pride.  It wouldn't be until later on in my life that I realized why so many people had objections about this guy.  Anyway, more on that later.

I really wanted to see if I could find out more about Joseph Smith and who he actually was. Is there some familial connection that made him different, perhaps even 'magical' or 'charismatic' to his followers?   I don't find overly emotional language all that useful, so I think I'm going to avoid some of the harsher claims circulating on the internet - that he was a pedophile, a hebephile, a conman, a liar, or a rapist.  It's not that I think those things are blatantly inaccurate, it's that I find the emotional overkill that comes with that kind of language very damaging to the person who hurls the insults, and ultimately ineffectual at changing the course of history.  Also, blood is thicker than water, as they say -- so, I have some weird affection for the guy, despite the fact that I do find life better without the rigidity of Mormonism.    I hope to avoid the mentality of always assigning good or bad emotions to an event or person, and just try to think about what things happen and why they happen.  And, I have a lot of questions to ask....

The blog name

Already receiving flak from my spouse for choosing said blog title.  His objection is understandable.  If you are trying to distance yourself from a religion, you probably do not want to believe that religion is in anyway encoded into your DNA.  After all, that would seem to imply that you could never truly leave it.  Maybe this blog is evidence that I really haven't left it - it being Mormonism.   That would sure make that LeGrand Richards guy happy.... hmmm....

 More likely,  it is just time that I sort out some different ideas that have been swirling around in my head.  I hope the information I find is thought provoking.  I doubt it will be completely scientific or especially inspiring.  However, I do hope to pose some interesting questions.  Some of the topics are bound to be a little on the sensitive side.

I plan to use information I have found about my own genetic background through genetic testing, coupled with information I was taught growing up as a member of the Latter-day Saint organization.  Also, I will be looking for information that I was not taught, since that is part of what has prompted this research.