"For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light..."

It's Easy to Be a Critic

Any effort to respond to criticism, slander or misrepresentation is weighted in favor of the critic. With a single "authoritive" quote a critic can raise doubts or give an impression which might take pages to correctly understand or correct.

As an example, Joseph Smith can be quoted in The Young Women's Journal (1892, vol 3, p. 263-4) that the moon is inhabited. Oliver B. Huntington is quoted as saying, "Nearly all the great discoveries of men in the last half century have, in one way or another, either directly or indirectly, contributed to prove Joseph Smith to be a prophet. As far back as 1837, I know that he said that the moon was inhabited by men and women the same as this earth, and that they lived to a greater age than we do, that they live generally to near the age of 1000 years."

Since man has landed on the moon and most people today don't believe in "moon' people, we must evaluate Joseph Smith's statement. A study of the statement leaves some doubt that Joseph made the statement as recorded, but the larger issue is to understand that in 1830's scientist (William Herschel felt that it was an "absolute certainty") and the general public believed that people lived on the moon. In fact a "scientific" study was reported in 1835 which used a large telescope to describe the inhabitants of the moon in great detail. Although the statement from Joseph Smith can be reported in a single paragraph, it takes several pages to adequately analyze that statement and the impact of such a statement on the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith.

The information may not be available to always give a convincing reply. In those cases, possibilities will be suggested for further study. It is not possible to respond once-and-for-all to the anti-Mormon claims. Those criticisms and attacks are always changing. This is a task that will never be complete: "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." (2 Nephi 2:11)