Joseph Mormon Harris?
Did Emer Harris, the older brother of Martin Harris, have a positive attitude about the Book of Mormon? Well, he named his son "Joseph Mormon Harris".
I spent about 5.5 hours today — minus a ten-minute break! — recording an interview with Stephen Murphy for his Mormonism with the Murph podcast. Brother Murphy is based in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. He tells me that the recorded material, which will be divided into (at least) two parts, will likely go up in about three weeks. As the sheer length of it might perhaps suggest to you, it was a wide-ranging conversation.
“The Teachings of Silvanus: A Little-Known Gem from Nag Hammadi,” written by Dennis Newton
Abstract: Scholars have recently suggested that The Teachings of Silvanus, a text from Nag Hammadi Codex VII, is the product of several authors with the earliest portion dating to the late first or early second century and the latest portion to the third or early fourth century. Silvanus’ provenance, therefore, allows this single document to serve as a potential microcosm evidencing the change and alteration of early Christian thought and doctrine. Latter-day Saints have long contended that the Restored Gospel is more closely aligned with the earliest strains of Christianity vis-à-vis the creedal form. Through the lens of Silvanus, Latter-day Saint and Calvinist positions are evaluated relative to the early and late Silvanus authors and are found to be most compatible with the early and late portions of the text, respectively.
“Interpreting Interpreter: A Microcosm of Doctrinal Change,” written by Kyler Rasmussen
This post is a summary of the article “The Teachings of Silvanus: A Little-Known Gem from Nag Hammadi” by Dennis Newton in Volume 56 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.
The Takeaway: Newton argues that The Teachings of Silvanus may represent a “microcosm” showing changes in early Christian thought in the centuries after Christ, with portions authored earlier aligning more closely with restored Latter-day Saint doctrine.
Some of you might find this article of interest. It even has a slight Latter-day Saint connection: “The new LGBTQ+ leaders of the Boy Scouts bring hope for a brighter future: A new generation of leaders is encouraging youth members to take ownership of their futures.”
Here’s a story that you might like:
And here’s a bit of background:
I’ll now share just a little bit more from Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Emer Harris & Dennison Lott Harris: Owner of the First Copy of the Book of Mormon, Witness of the “Last Charge” of Joseph Smith:. Emer was the oldest brother of Martin Harris, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
Did he himself have a testimony of the Book of Mormon?
Well I made all inquiry respecting it I saw from the Countinance of Joseph an his Brothers that the thing was true Yes the[y] told me with all the Sincerity and simplicity of honest men. (Emer Harris, quoted at page 46)
And is it likely that he ever discussed with Martin the experience that Martin had had of the plates, the angel, and the voice of God? My guess is that, yes, he had.
It is possible that Emer’s younger brother, Martin Harris, told him of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as early as 1828. Emer claimed to have received the first bound copy of the Book of Mormon from Martin after it was finished by the Grandin Press. It has been said that they were together at the shop when it was presented to him. . . .
The only known early written source directly tied to Emer Harris for the family tradition that Emer received the first bound copy of the Book of Mormon from his brother Martin is in the journal of Wilford Woodruff. Woodruff reported a talk Emer gave at the General Conference of 6-9 April 1848 in the Kanesville Iowa Tabernacle.
Emer read the book and must have been impressed. When a son was born to him and Parna on 19 July 1830, they named him Joseph Mormon Harris, though neither of them were yet baptized members of the Church. According to one source, Joseph Mormon may have been the first male child born to believing parents after the organization of the Church on 6 April 1830. (pages 9-10, compare 34, 43, 75)
Naming his son “Joseph Mormon” does, indeed, suggest that Emer had a positive attitude toward the Book of Mormon. Later, he named a son “Alma” (27). And then there’s this, which seems to show how much he valued the book:
Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued his infamous Extermination Order on 20 October [1838]. When the family was forced to leave, Emer hid copies of the Book of Mormon in the wagon so they could be preserved from hostile mobs. . . .
About October 27, Emer and his family started for Quincy, Illinois, a hundred miles east. Among their meager possessions was a chest containing copies of the Book of Mormon. Emer had fitted the books under a false bottom, lined with Fuller’s cloth, in case they were searched by the mobs, who had threatened to destroy every Book of Mormon they found. (page 27)
And they were, in fact, accosted by mob of armed men, estimated at about four hundred. But the false bottom fooled them, and the failed to find the hidden books.
Measured by any conventional standard, Emer was in a position to bear an exceptionally strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. It is claimed that his brother Martin, one of Joseph Smith’s scribes in the earliest days of the translation, had presented Emer with the first bound copy. Emer had made his own concordance of the Book of Mormon and compared it to the Bible. He quickly recognized the book’s authenticity, naming a new son after its eponymous author Mormon even before he joined the Church. Emer preached the Book of Mormon powerfully to family, former neighbors, and other hardened hearers in the face of ridicule and legal persecution. He defied a hostile mob as a smuggled copies of the Book of Mormon out of Missouri.
Emer endured forced moves and was reduced to poverty because he believed the book to be the word of God. He and his sons protected the book’s translator, Joseph Smith, from those who threatened to kill him. (43)
