Neither man met Jesus while he was alive.

Neither offered any proof of their "divine inspiration".

Both claim "miraculous events" that set them "on the path".

Both claim to "speak for Jesus" and offer insights that the Disciples didn't.

Both are accepted on face value by their believers.

Seems to depend on if you're mormon or not:

One comparison

<link>

vs. say

<link>

or then adding Koresh into the mix as well

<link>

Kind of fun to see people arguing that their invisible friend says your revelation from your invisible friend is clearly crap.

Paul would be a LOT older!

Didn't Joseph Smith claim to have met both Jesus and G_D?

Paul didn't seem to like women and Smith created a cult to get lots of women.

tsedek:

Paul didn't seem to like women and Smith created a cult to get lots of women.

That's definitely 1 point for Smith

Joseph Smith's earlier work (choosing to focus on product rather than personality to avoid disputes over authorship/revelation) was more Pauline than his latter work. Case in point: sharp words in Jacob 2 in the Book of Mormon for men not sufficiently dedicated to their wives, vs. Section 132 of the Doctrine & Covenants that introduced the higher law of plural marriage. 2 Nephi 4 has a poignant stretch that sounds a lot like Paul's thorn in the flesh. The narrative structure of much of the Book of Mormon (multiple groups of men and women of faith called to leave their homes in a journey to a better place) looks like a substantial exposition of Hebrews 13. Joseph Smith's work also directly attacks/riffs on core Pauline ideas, including justification/salvation/grace, settling on what seems like a Hegelian synthesis of the dispute over works vs. grace: "by grace we are saved after all that we can do." Perhaps that helps explain the overacheiving perfectionists and/or guilt-ridden slackers you might have met among yer Mormon friends.... (JK!)

I agree. I will also point out that the third link does not portray things quite accurately, but does do so in a very unbiased mannor. I appriciate the information.

Could we get Paul and Joe in a Texas Cage Grudge Match to determine which post-Christ "apostle" had it right???

Just to join in.

Joseph never introduced the doctrine of Plural marriage to get women. According to all records he had received the doctrine of Plural marriage early in the 1830's, but delayed teaching it as he found it to be an abhorrance. He had to settle himself to the doctrine before he would teach others, and only did so, by many accounts, after he an angel told him that if he didn't he would be removed from his calling and replaced by another. (Yes he did seem to have one plural marriage in the 1830's, but there was no sexual relation between him and the girl. It was a diplomatic marriage to bind the families, and the girl would later record that it was among the happiest years of her life to be married to Joseph.)

Also, Jacob does not condemn the doctrine of Plural Marriage, only the abusing of it. I believe it is in verse 30 of said chapter that the Lord states, if he commands it we are to live it, but not without the command.

And on a final note, I have seen no place where the doctine taught by Paul and the other apostles is contradicted by Joseph Smith (Of course I use the King James Bible. The NIV does and other versions I have looked through do not agree with the King James, so they do not agree with Joseph or the Book of Mormon.)

shematwater:

Joseph never introduced the doctrine of Plural marriage to get women. According to all records he had received the doctrine of Plural marriage early in the 1830's, but delayed teaching it as he found it to be an abhorrance. He had to settle himself to the doctrine before he would teach others, and only did so, by many accounts, after he an angel told him that if he didn't he would be removed from his calling and replaced by another. (Yes he did seem to have one plural marriage in the 1830's, but there was no sexual relation between him and the girl. It was a diplomatic marriage to bind the families, and the girl would later record that it was among the happiest years of her life to be married to Joseph.)

shematwater, have you ever seen the Fiddler on the Roof scene in which Tevye explains his dream? Just wondering.

Paul is from God and Joe is from Anti-God.

Dd

Who's Paul Smith?

;-)

Played "Bluto" in "Popeye" and "Beast Rabban" in David Lynch's "Dune".....

duh!

predicto:

Paul is from God and Joe is from Anti-God.

Dd

According to physics, matter and anti-matter are opposites but EQUALS....so is "Anti-God" an equal to "God"?

And would they annihiliate each other if they came in contact?

And could it be used to power a warp core?

haha