why me wrote:
Actually, if one takes the position that Joseph Smith was a fraud and that Emma would have to be in on it, then I can honestly say that emma was a shameful and terrible human being. If she knew that her hubby was a fraudster and yet, kept her mouth shut, thereby allowing her children undo suffering, well...she was also a child abuser.
Now of course, if Joseph Smith was a fraudster and he duped his wife, I can honestly say that she was a little stupid. Her reputation only survives if her husband is what he claimed to be: a prophet.
If Joseph Smith was a fraud and Emma knew of it, and if as you say this makes Emma a shameful and terrible human being, then if Joseph Smith was a fraudster do you also say that he was a shameful, terrible human being too?
I've met a few women in psychologically sick relationships who defend their partner through anything. I've heard of Mormons (some on this very site) who defend Smith through anything, so it's not unreasonable to suspect that she did the same. Although it's strange that she had trouble accepting polygamy when he was alive, but after he died she suddenly had amnesia and denounced that he was engaged in polygamy at all.
She was in tremendous psychological turmoil, that is clear, but it doesn't mean she's stupid. It means that she joins the ranks of people in sick relationships who develop sick minds and as a result their choices and actions reflect that sickness.
If Joseph Smith was a fraudster, what kind of mind did he have?
If he was, did he know he was a fraudster? If so, is he guilty of allowing their children undo suffering, and by using the standards you level toward Emma would that also make Joseph Smith a child abuser?