Joseph: Con-artist, Insane, or Prophet?

Con-Artist:

If a con-artist, then we need to understand the extent of his skill. Here are just a few of his accomplishments.

He began to be a con-artist at age 14 when he claimed to see God.

He was such a skilled con-artist (at 14), that he was able to deceive even his parents and siblings, who had observed his character and behavior since birth.... 

Unless they were ALL con-artists?  Like a con-artist family that never dropped their the ball on their con-artistry... sort of like a family of spies that lived their entire life undercover till death.

Okay, so maybe it is too much of a stretch for you to believe that he was a master con-artist from age 14 and was able to trick his family for their entire lives.

Insane:

Well, if not a con-artist, then perhaps insane? When he told his Dad that he had seen God in a vision, maybe his father and the rest of the family believed him because they could truly sense that Joseph himself believed every word derived from his hallucinating brain. Perhaps he had a severe mental disorder. Maybe he was certifiably "insane", and always seeing things that weren't there. He was so convinced of his experiences, that maybe that is why so many people believed him.

But if he was hallucinating, he must have suffered from a rare kind of hallucinogenic disorder that was also contagious, so that other people would see and experience the same things that he saw...

These men never denied that they saw what they did, even after leaving the church.

Okay, multiple episodes of group hallucinations is a bit much, so now the hallucination thing seems pretty unlikely since other people are witnesses to what he saw and remained solid in their witness on their death beds. So then HE MUST have been a con-artist after all... at age 14... who fooled his parents and siblings for their entire lives... hmm, that explanation is still very improbable. Other possibilities must be explored.

Perhaps he did believe what he taught and other people saw what he saw because it was the work of... something else... maybe it was aliens, time-travelers, or the devil!

Pick your theory. Religious people probably like the devil explanation, and techy-nerds may like the time traveling or alien explanation... but to be honest, that just seems more crazy than thinking he was a con-artist or crazy.

If you think Joseph Smith was a con-artist, or devil seduced, then please read/watch all of the following links:

Joseph and the Book of Mormon

Short Witnesses of Christ by church leaders
Witnesses of Jesus Christ

History of Joseph Smith

A few Book of Mormon Quotes

Testimony of the wtinesses to the book of mormon

Read the book of Mormon