Editing Openai/691a45a6-8ed0-8010-a7d9-24657a41a9aa (section)

=== Assistant: Good question. ===
Good question. Here’s a summary of Hyrum W. Smith’s talk “Why 1820”, plus its main arguments and some critiques.

==== 1. Purpose of the Talk - Hyrum Smith gives a devotional talk (delivered at Ricks College, Sept 27, 1988) explaining why he believes the Church of Jesus Christ was restored in 1820. colterreed.net<ref>{{cite web|title=colterreed.net|url=https://www.colterreed.net/spokenwrit/media/Why%201820.pdf|publisher=colterreed.net|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> - He focuses on two questions: (a) why a Restoration was needed, and (b) why it happened when it did — specifically in 1820. colterreed.net<ref>{{cite web|title=colterreed.net|url=https://www.colterreed.net/spokenwrit/media/Why%201820.pdf|publisher=colterreed.net|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> ====
# The Apostasy - Smith argues that after the death of the apostles, the true Church gradually fell into apostasy — corruption, doctrinal error, and loss of revelation. colterreed.net<ref>{{cite web|title=colterreed.net|url=https://www.colterreed.net/spokenwrit/media/Why%201820.pdf|publisher=colterreed.net|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> - He traces a timeline of Church history, suggesting that early Christian leadership (in Rome, for example) deviated from original authority. colterreed.net<ref>{{cite web|title=colterreed.net|url=https://www.colterreed.net/spokenwrit/media/Why%201820.pdf|publisher=colterreed.net|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> - He specifically discusses a figure named “Linus”: in his narrative, one Linus was bishop, but then a deacon Linus took over, and was eventually killed under persecution. Smith uses this to argue that authorized, true leadership quietly disappeared. colterreed.net<ref>{{cite web|title=colterreed.net|url=https://www.colterreed.net/spokenwrit/media/Why%201820.pdf|publisher=colterreed.net|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref>
# Why 1820 Was the Right Time - According to Smith, 1820 was “the only time that [the Restoration] could possibly have survived on the planet.” newartdirection.com<ref>{{cite web|title=newartdirection.com|url=https://newartdirection.com/succubus-name/hyrum-w-smith-why-1820|publisher=newartdirection.com|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> - He reasons that by 1820 the world was spiritually and socially “prepared” — there was enough instability, enough doctrinal confusion, and a need for a fresh restoration. colterreed.net<ref>{{cite web|title=colterreed.net|url=https://www.colterreed.net/spokenwrit/media/Why%201820.pdf|publisher=colterreed.net|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> - He draws a contrast with earlier times (e.g., the Reformation). He suggests that if Joseph Smith or someone similar had claimed a vision in, say, 1512, the institutional church (e.g., the Catholic Church) would have crushed him. Scribd<ref>{{cite web|title=Scribd|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/231874009/Why-1820|publisher=scribd.com|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> - Smith also points to later key dates: 1830 (when the Church was formally organized) is one he asks listeners to note. colterreed.net<ref>{{cite web|title=colterreed.net|url=https://www.colterreed.net/spokenwrit/media/Why%201820.pdf|publisher=colterreed.net|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref>
# Testimony and Faith - Throughout, Smith weaves his personal testimony: he believes in the First Vision (Joseph Smith’s vision of the Father and the Son) and in the necessity of revelation. colterreed.net<ref>{{cite web|title=colterreed.net|url=https://www.colterreed.net/spokenwrit/media/Why%201820.pdf|publisher=colterreed.net|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> - He emphasizes that revelation (not human authority) is the true “rock” upon which Christ’s Church should be built — a foundation that had been lost but needed to be restored. colterreed.net<ref>{{cite web|title=colterreed.net|url=https://www.colterreed.net/spokenwrit/media/Why%201820.pdf|publisher=colterreed.net|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref>
# Implications - The talk is meant to bolster faith in the Restoration: not just that Joseph Smith saw God, but why that event matters historically. - Smith encourages humility, faith, and seeking personal revelation, arguing that anyone who earnestly seeks can receive divine knowledge. Church of Jesus Christ<ref>{{cite web|title=Church of Jesus Christ|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-joseph-fielding-smith/chapter-7-joseph-and-hyrum-smith-witnesses-for-christ?lang=eng|publisher=Church of Jesus Christ|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref>

==== - Some historians and listeners note that Smith’s historical narrative is controversial. For example, the idea of “two Linuses” (bishop Linus and deacon Linus) is not clearly supported by mainstream historical scholarship. Reddit<ref>{{cite web|title=Reddit|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/latterdaysaints/comments/1kkl28o|publisher=reddit.com|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> ====
* There are questions about chronology: critics argue that Smith’s talk compresses or distorts early Church history in ways that aren’t fully supported by academic sources. Reddit<ref>{{cite web|title=Reddit|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/zo6v4m|publisher=reddit.com|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref>
* On the First Vision itself, some point out that there’s limited contemporary documentation for the 1820 date. Wikipedia<ref>{{cite web|title=Wikipedia|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Vision|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref>
* Because this is a devotional talk, it’s more faith-based than strictly academic: Smith’s goal is to testify and persuade spiritually, not to produce a peer-reviewed historical paper.

==== - It provides a coherent spiritual framework for understanding why the Restoration happened when it did. ====
* It appeals to the idea that God works in “cycles” or “dispensations”, not continuously through one unbroken institution.
* It encourages individuals to seek their own testimony and to value personal revelation.

If you like, I can compare Hyrum Smith’s “Why 1820” narrative with what mainstream historical scholarship (both secular and LDS) says about the First Vision and the early apostasy — do you want me to do that?