Joseph Smith Thought He was an Expert on Anything and Everything

And this was just the kind of person his followers were looking for.

To understand Mormonism, you have to understand the social context that it was part of - the early 19th Century in America and England. A time so different from ours, it seems like another world.

The important factors here, were the Industrial Revolution - and in the US, Slavery. And the Presidency of Andrew Jackson. And the Second Great Awakening, that shaped Religious History in America.

My religious family, is not interested in historical explanations - but insists on religious, miraculous explanations. For them, Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and his writings are scripture.

I will continue to believe. that he was a person of his times, a charismatic religious leader - and just plain crazy. A combination that is common in religious leaders.

His story ended violently - he was killed by an angry mob, in Illinois. Most of his followers forgot about him, but some of them, followed Brigham Young (who was a better leader) to Utah. Where they still believe in Joseph Smith, as much as ever.