I often wonder how religious Joseph Smith really was. Pure speculation on my part, however his life choices seemed to reflect zero expectation of a punishment from any supreme being. The endless seductions of women (single, extremely young, married, and pregnant), the lying, scamming, and outright fraud indicate the actions of someone perhaps very disturbed and potentially someone who does not fear for the eternities.

Maybe the expert conman, Joseph Smith, saw through the fallacies of religion. He then may have decided to exploit people's propensity to believe and sometimes engage in questionable behavior based on the requests of religious leaders. Joseph Smith may have had an epiphany of sorts and became an example of an agnostic or atheist who feigned religious belief for his own monetary and sexual gains. Prior to his stint as a prophet/sole proprietor of Mormonism, he used "the magic world view" in a manner that seemed to indicate he did not believe in the powers of divining rods, looking stones, etc. He employed this objects of superstition in his money digging escapades but they seemed to be tools of convenience in his con rather than objects of reverence and belief.

Seneca's sentiment may have been exhibited in living color during Joseph Smith's tenure; "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful." To that I would add "Religion is regarded by.....rulers[, conmen, and criminals] as useful."

One of the reasons I really enjoyed the movie "There will be blood" was the similarity between the preacher Eli Sunday and JS...at least from my persepective. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469494/plotsummary

I think JS liked the way he could manipulate people with 'magic'. For example, getting them to dig holes in the middle of the night while not saying a word. He 'got off' on the power it gave him--much like Eli Sunday did when he ways thrashing Daniel Plainview in the movie. He expanded his enterprise with golden plates, visions, and revelations. People ate it up so he kept doing it. I suspect at some time he probably started believing he could really channel divine revelations. He might even have started to believe in a deity...but I am almost positive he did not start out with that belief.

JS had a lust for power. This manifested itself in polygamy, the Nauvoo Legion, his presidential run, temples, tithing, conferences, and priesthood authority to name a few.

He had no intention of being a martyr...not for one second.

Had he not been killed in Carthage, he would have continued to bring new "things" to the religion to feed his appetite and expand or renew his power.

BY's appetite for power manifested itself in entirely different ways. Particularly unfortunate for those that died at the hands of Danites or in the the fields of Mountain Meadows.