Were Hiram Page, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer sincere?

This essay went up today for the first time online, on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Joseph Smith and Our Preparation for the Lord’s Final Judgment: Essays by George L. Mitton: Joseph Smith at the Veil: Significant Ritual, Symbolism, and Temple Influence at Latter-day Saint Beginnings,” written by George L. Mitton:

Abstract: The prophet Joseph Smith was paced through a life steeped in ritual and symbolism. Notable things Joseph did or experienced under angelic guidance may be seen as ritual procedures that may require careful consideration to discern their meaning, what they symbolize, their purpose, and their importance to the Restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Failure to recognize the function of ritual has resulted in much misunderstanding and criticism of Joseph. Many of his early actions and procedures were closely related to the ancient temple. They amount to an anticipation and witness of the temple and its coming restoration through him. This will be illustrated in several ways, including the way Joseph received and translated the plates of the Book of Mormon, a witness of Jesus Christ.

Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Joseph Smith and Our Preparation for the Lord’s Final Judgment: Essays by George L. Mitton. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/joseph-smith-and-our-preparation-for-the-lords-final-judgment/.

I feel pretty strongly about what I had to say in this interview:  Episode 30: No Matter the Consequence

Witnesses of the Book of Mormon—Insights Episode 30: If the Book of Mormon was a fraud, why would supposed insiders to such a fraud allow themselves to suffer incredible hardship and pain, why would they face down mobs and actually risk their lives to continue insisting it was true? This is Episode 30 of a series compiled from the many interviews conducted during the course of the Witnesses film project. . . . These additional resources are hosted by Camrey Bagley Fox, who played Emma Smith in Witnesses, as she introduces and visits with a variety of experts. These individuals answer questions or address accusations against the witnesses, also helping viewers understand the context of the times in which the witnesses lived. This week we feature Daniel C. Peterson, President of the Interpreter Foundation and Executive Producer of Witnesses. For more information, go to https://witnessesofthebookofmormon.org/. Learn about the documentary movie Undaunted—Witnesses of the Book of Mormon at https://witnessesundaunted.com/.

And, by the way, you’re just about out of time to watch Witnesses at no charge.  Free streaming of Undaunted will be available for the foreseeable future but, alas, the same can’t be said about Witnesses.  Go to The Witnesses Initiative for the links.  Soon.  Or don’t.  Your choice.

Meanwhile, this eighteen-minute video is exceedingly weird.  Really.  Very, very weird.  It’s not hostile, or anything of that sort, but it’s oddly repetitive, not exactly dense with information, and curiously organized.  Is that the result of having, perhaps, been generated by artificial intelligence?  Did no human editor go over it?  Strangest of all, however, are the illustrations, which often have nothing at all to do with what they’re supposedly illustrating.  Seriously.  Please take a look and tell me what you think:  “How the Mormons Took Over Utah | The Untold Story”

There is seething hostility in some circles, though.  On 18 February 2025, an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal announced “Court complaint challenging LDS temple near Lone Mountain dismissed.”

This was, of course, very good news for Church members, and — I’ve been out twice to take a careful look at the site of the future temple — I seriously doubt that the area around the temple will suffer very much from its presence there.  (Quite the contrary, in fact.  But then, I’m a believer.)  Earlier today, a reader of this blog posted a comment that includes the following:

There are people in Vegas STEAMING that the Lone Mountain temple will now be built. They are already online planning protests during the open house and even during the dedication such as blaring loud music with large speakers toward the temple or projecting risqué images onto lone mountain itself. Most amusing of all were many posters claiming the Mormons should “go back to Utah” which only shows their ignorance of the history of Vegas.

One seething commentator claimed the Church bussed in people from Salt Lake to fill the town hall despite the fact Vegas is home to 30 stakes.

I try to watch such phenomena as this, and I would love to know where I can go to see this, umm, discussion.  Of course, I don’t for a moment doubt that such things have been said.  I’ve seen such things online far too often to be surprised anymore.

With the Lone Mountain Nevada Temple in mind, by the way, it’s worthwhile to read this article by C. D. Cunningham, which first appeared back on 19 July 2024:  “How Anti-Mormons Help Build Temples Around the Country: How do anti-Mormon activists impact temple projects? Their opposition often inadvertently aids government approval.”

And, given the onslaught over the past several years of shows from Netflix and Hulu and others that portray Latter-day Saints in a very negative light, I found the following article quite interesting. “Why a Christian college is suing Netflix: Pepperdine University filed a federal lawsuit against Netflix and Warner Bros. Entertainment on Thursday alleging trademark infringement”