Cold Steel - I have read all this material many times. I used to teach random bits in Priesthood lessons when I was Elders Quorum president. I also published a daily email newsletter called the Elder's Quorum Message which I used to include snippets of these proofs. When I fully believed apologist sites like Jeff Lindsey's were staples on my spiritual diet. While I absolutely accept that one or two quotes from primary sources in the day do not a case make the number of correlating quotes ( some nothing to do with JS) do give a clearer picture of what treasure digging was ( the two main legendary drivers were Indian buried grave treasure and pirate treasure in particular Captain Kidd's.)
One of the Smith family's primary income sources during Joseph's early years, way before any supposed angelic visions, was pretending to know where these buried boxes of treasure were, they were steeped in treasure digging lore ( and traditional magic, they had several occult books and magical protections, seer stones etc.). Joseph used a seerstone as a child to take part in this treasure digging con and became adept at it such that he was hired more than once to act as the seer.
Does it not strike you as both too coincidental and odd that a conman pretending to find buried treasure that is - guarded by spirits , always must be in a box, must be approached ritualistically or it will be taken away by a spirit - actually gets directed to some real treasure, in a box, buried by the ancestors of the Indians, that must be retrieved ritualistically ( he had to go back on set dates) and when done improperly gets him shocked by the guardian spirit? This same conman exists in a place where multiple people are concurrently experiencing 'visitations' from god and or angels ( and publish those accounts prior to Joseph's).
Does it not ring alarm bells that he produces a book that contains place names that coincidentally match several local ones and two direct lifts ( including a spelling from that era) from Captain Kidd legends (Camorah and Moroni), a geography that matches his local geography, a plot that contains the same storyline as a fictional book recently printed and available to the main scribe, an inaccurate description of real American flora and fauna, farcical anachronisms, direct biblical quotes ( including , unique to that 1700s print bible, translation interpolations) , absolutely incorrect old English usage ( no real translation by scholars attempts to translate from one language into a former version of a current language), contains Greek names and words ( like Christ) that are absolutely out of place in a supposed Israelite production and then tries to sell the copyright to that book to make some cash?
Does it strike you as likely that this 'revelator' would tell no one, including family and co founders of the church, of his most import vision ( a direct visit to him as a 14 or 15 or 16 year old child depending upon which of the different 10 versions we use) and then suddenly tell everyone ( claiming that he was quite free in telling a random minister at the time) and then follows this pattern retroactively filling in details such as his miraculous baptism, the supposed restoration of the priesthoods ( try looking up the date for the restoration of the Melchizedek priesthood)?
Finally , do no alarm bells ring, when this Book of Mormon, the 'most correct' book , containing the 'fullness of the gospel' turns out to not contain the fullness of the gospel so requiring the Doctrine and Covenants to restore the principles regarding the temple, after the atonement, the most important parts of the gospel ? This temple ceremony uses direct phrases and secret grasps from masonry ( a relatively modern secret society - 16 century if memory serves- fraternity set up by occult alchemist nobles) and then over time changes them to fit modern sensibilities?
If none of this screams fraud, con, scam or obvious fake then Cold Steel, I can only conclude you are standing right where I was several years ago;brainwashed so thoroughly by an admittedly beguiling and at times beautiful worldview. I hope one day your shelf breaks ( though it hurts severely - I spent several nights in shock and tears) and you awake from the siren song. When that happens I and others will be here , not to jeer and mock in triumphalism , but to offer a world weary hand of brotherly understanding.
Ask yourself when was the last time you ever saw a real priesthood miracle and from your list really justify how impressive it really is or whether this could have happened without any blessing occuring. Look around your home ward and honestly ask yourself if you personally believe you have the power to heal all the sick, ill, maimed and disabled ( mentally and physically) you see, and then ask yourself truly why you do not go and do it right now.
