Here is the thing, Link. I don't think that Joseph Smith ever thought his fraud would go so far. That's why, until the very last minute, he was fighting back and fleeing. I think he honestly believed that the government would protect him, and that he would make the gesture, but not actually DIE. It's interesting watching people who are prepared to die, and those who aren't. I've known cops who willingly went into the line of fire, and they never hesitated, and never looked back. Until the last second, Joseph Smith was RUNNING, not choosing to die.

Compare that with the biblical testimony of how Jesus Christ went to the cross. He went mutely, willingly, and without resistance.

Very different. VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.

There is a difference between willingly laying one's life down for one's beliefs or core principles, and resisting dying until the last minute.

Joseph Smith was killed, yes, but he was no martyr. I think he'd managed to talk his way out of every single issue up until that last moment. And, in the last moment of his life, he realized he really would DIE, and that changed everything for him. He was a charismatic man, clearly, or he'd never have persuaded so many to follow him. But was he a person who lived his life in the mold of Christ? NO. Absolutely not.

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