Historian’s Claim:
“These beliefs came from the Bible and from European cultural traditions brought to early America by immigrants. Joseph Smith and his family accepted these beliefs, and Joseph occasionally used stones he located in the ground to help neighbors find missing objects or search for buried treasure.”
Citation in Support of that Claim:
2. Richard E. Turley, Robin E. Jensen, and Mark Ashurst-McGee, “Joseph the Seer,” Ensign, Oct. 2015, 51.
Which in turn cites for support: ( “Mormonism—No. II,” Tiffany’s Monthly, July 1859, 164).
Note: This same source is also used to support other similar conclusions by LDS historians
Unreliable:
While it is true that a small portion of Mr. Harris' alleged statement supports the historians’ conclusion. The following facts are also true with regard to the source cited;
1. The statement was presented in print by third parties, allegedly quoting Martin Harris.
2. The statement was made while Mr. Harris was disaffected from the Church, and who expressed in the same source document that he; "does not sympathize with Brigham Young and the Salt Lake Church. He considers them apostates from the true faith; and as being under the influence of the devil. Mr. Harris says, that the pretended church of the 'Latter Day Saints,' are in reality 'latter day devils,' and that himself and a very few others are the only genuine Mormons left."
3. At the time of the statement Mr. Harris had roamed from faith group to faith group and had accepted the existence of the supernatural records allegedly possessed by both the Stangeites, and the Shakers.
4. Within the same source Mr. Harris also alleges that Joseph Smith was not of legal age to marry Emma, that the treasure Joseph and his fellow money diggers sought was constantly escaping their grasp sinking deeper in the earth of its own accord, and that Joseph claimed he was directed to the Golden Plates by a seer stone.
5. Finally, during the interview, the interviewers noted that Mr. Harris “seemed to wander from the subject, when we requested him to continue…”
These other quotes from the same document indicate that it lacks credibility, is clearly biased, and filled with erroneous claims.
Reliable:
Joseph Smith was surrounded by rumor and falsehoods to an amazing degree, as he stated;
“The excitement, however, still continued, and rumor with her thousand tongues was all the time employed in circulating falsehoods about my father’s family, and about myself. If I were to relate a thousandth part of them, it would fill up volumes.” JSH 1:61
Clearly the above source arose out of those thousand tongues. See also the previous quote of Joseph Smith with regard to his money digging in post #1.
To Martin Harris' credit 11 years after the interview he returned to the faith and was re-baptized and bore power testimony of the divinity of the Book or Mormon.