Joseph Smith and Phrenology

The subdivision of the brain into different functional areas is a basic concept that probably most people are familiar with. This understanding has roots that run through the discarded notion of phrenology, which was conceived in the late 1700's and made its way to America in the 1830's. The idea behind phrenology was that different functions of the brain were divided within certain areas of the brain, that the size of those areas translated into abilities, and that the shape of the skull was a reflection of the shape of the brain.

Phrenologists claimed that feeling or measuring the contours of the skull provided insight into a person's character. For example, a person might have a bump or depression in the skull indicating the presence or absence of honesty. Although there were skeptics all along, phrenology was generally discredited by the early part of the the twentieth century.(For more information, see The History of Phrenology on the Web, and The Skeptic's Dictionary.)

Davis Bitton and Gary Bunker have written about the intersection of phrenology with Mormons in their article, Phrenology Among the Mormons, in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Vol. 9 No. 1). It was a topic that even Joseph Smith weighed in on during the Nauvoo period. (Note: Apparently Michael Quinn's book, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, contains discussion of phrenology. I do not have the book; I would be happy to have someone summarize his discussion in the comments.)

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5 January 1841 -

Minutes: One night Joseph Smith said to D Ells [Dr. Josiah Ells] and to the congregation that he for a length of time thought on phrenology, and that he had a revelation, the Lord rebuking him sharply in crediting such a thing; and further said there was no reality in such a science, but [it] was the works of the devil. (Words of Joseph Smith, p.61)

2 July 1842 - With Joseph's permission, a phrenologist published his evaluation of Joseph in the Nauvoo Wasp. History of the Church contains the findings followed by this comment:

I give the foregoing in my history for the gratification of the curious, and not for [any] respect [I entertain for] phrenology. (HC 5:55)

6 May 1843 -

In the morning, had an interview with a lecturer on Mesmerism and Phrenology. Objected to his performing in the city. (HC 5:383)

13 and 14 October 1843 -

Dr. Turner, a phrenologist, came in. I gratified his curiosity for about an hour by allowing him to examine my head....In the morning, at home, having a long conversation with a physiologist and mesmeriser. I asked them to prove that the mind of man was seated in one part of the brain more than another. (HC 6:56)

(Note: the above quotations are collected in Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith's Teachings by Larry Dahl and Donald Cannon.)

Joseph's skepticism of phrenology was apparently prophetic, but perhaps he went too far in his dismissal. Although the practice of phrenology was discredited, some of the underlying ideas have been shown to be correct. The functions of the brain are divided into specific areas, and in at least some cases function correlates with size.

In spite of Joseph's disapproval of phrenology, some Mormons continued to take an interest in the topic. Church leaders had differing views on it, but generally refrained from either endorsing or condemning. Bitton and Bunker note that, in some respects, phrenology had little to offer Mormons. Phrenology had a component of self-improvement to it--something already contained in Mormon theology. And whereas phrenology claimed to give insight into a person's character, providing strengths and weaknesses, Mormons had patriarchal blessings that, to some extent, did the same thing. By the middle of the twentieth century, the phrenology fad was dead.