The Momentous “Mormon Moment”
It’s time, once again, for everybody’s favorite column, Slam the Press! Honestly, this isn’t going to be so much of a slam as a series of corrections that is much, much too long for the comments, so I figured I’d post them here. The article in question is from the Humboldt County, California, Journal article The Mormon Moment , by Scottie Lee Myers. Overall, it’s a pretty good article, and it left me feeling very good about both the missionaries and the reporter himself. However, there are a few significant errors throughout the peace, along with a several more minor ones that could also stand a fix. So as usual, let’s take them one at a time. “In 1827 [future Church President Joseph] Smith was a 25-year-old New Yorker who made a living using psychic powers to find treasure.” First of all, a minor historical point: Smith was born in December 1805, so in September 1827, he would have been 21. This is actually quite significant, because when he was 25, he was serving as Presi...