Two honest questions for Bible scholars...

[tooblue]

Originally Posted by Archaea

I don't come down on the situation where you do, but I can't find any evidence of substantial nature to substantiate Joseph Smith being a knowing fraud.

The only suitable hypotheses to me at least, JS believed he was a prophet but was wrong, or JS was a prophet, even though he made mistakes. I come down to the latter conclusion, but I can understand how reasonable persons could come to the first conclusion. That he was a knowing fraud just doesn't wash with all the evidence.

After being presented with all of the evidence, belief that Joseph Smith was a knowing fraud or to be 95% sure is grasping at the slightest glimmer of hope that one's own intellect is powerful enough to assuage innate human fears of inadequacy and irrelevance.