Some people think there is a close connection between Dartmouth and Joseph Smith, enabled through his brother Hyrum, who briefly attended Moor's , which is located on the same campus as Dartmouth College.
I uploaded a paper that reviews this connection from a factual perspective. It includes a table of the students who attended Moor's Indian Charity School, including the one semester in 1814 when Hyrum Smith was enrolled.
To all who contributed thoughts and comments, thank you again.
Abstract:
Abstract. In 2006, the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal published a seminal article by Richard K. Behrens about the influence of the Dartmouth College community and curriculum on Hyrum Smith, and by extension on the Smith family, including Joseph Smith, Jr. This important article presents “a plausible intellectual development view of Joseph Smith from the perspective of his brother Hyrum Smith.” It is an intriguing hypothesis that may appeal to those interested in a naturalistic explanation for Joseph Smith’s teachings.
However, it lacks supporting evidence to substantiate its fundamental claim that Hyrum Smith conveyed theological ideas from Dartmouth to Joseph Smith. Instead of facts, the article relies on parallelism, assumption, inference and theory. Other naturalistic explanations are better supported by facts.
The article’s hypothesis would be improved by correcting factual errors and providing specific facts to support its assumptions, inferences and theories.
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