Was Joseph Smith a Money Digger?

In the process of this article, I will compare Fawn Brodie’s hypothetical version of history—if Joseph was a prospective prophet, he would not have dug for treasure—with her brother’s contextual interpretation of the same evidence. I will feature the views of some scholars (including President Dallin H. Oaks) who interpret the evidence to mean that Joseph progressed over time. For example, Mark AshurstMcGee, the most thorough and best-informed scholar of this evidence, interpreted the facts to mean that Joseph Smith was a village seer who used his spiritual gift to search for lost objects and legendary treasures, who was called and nurtured by God until he became a Judeo-Christian prophet and repurposed his gifts to bless people. I will conclude by highlighting an interpretation of the evidence chosen by those who knew Joseph best.