[6] He wanted to be a medical doctor and in preparation became a nursing aide at his local hospital during his senior year in high school, with a full load of patients.
Quinn had been summoned to a disciplinary council to answer charges of "conduct unbecoming a member of the Church and apostasy," including "'very sensitive and highly confidential' matters that were not related to Michael's historical writings.
Despite his excommunication and critical writings, Quinn still considered himself a Latter-day Saint[4] and believed in Mormonism, though he disagreed with certain policies and doctrines.
[5][14] The Salt Lake Tribune said he had "the most literal faith" of any member of the September Six and believed in "angelic visits, miracles, divine intervention, gold plates, [and] Christ in America.
[1][7] Quinn's research topics, both before and after his excommunication, were in-depth revisions of traditional accounts of Mormon history that were grounded in primary source material.
Quinn argues that Smith's early religious experiences were inextricably intermingled with ritual, supernaturalism, and white magic.
All four sources agree that Smith used a collection of different seer stones in searching for buried treasure supposedly left by pirates, Spaniards, and Native Americans.
Likewise, evidence from all four categories of sources supports the idea that Smith approved of the use of rods for dowsing activities.
[19] John L. Brooke made Quinn's argument the starting point of his study, The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844.
[20] An additional criticism suggests that the concept of magic is flawed and inherently subjective; it implies that Smith's use of seer stones and dowsing rods was superstitious or fraudulent rather than divine.
However, some of Quinn's critics acknowledge that the book is "richly documented" and an obligatory starting point for any discussion of Smith's involvement in 19th-century folkloric practices.
The work emphasizes conflict, coercion, and violence, especially during the 19th century (see Danites, Mountain Meadows massacre, Blood Atonement and the Mormon wars).
[25][26] In an interview about this book with the Salt Lake Tribune's podcast Mormon Land, Michael Quinn spoke of the financial structure of the LDS Church as "faith promoting" and "stunning."
In two biographical volumes on the Mormon apostle, Quinn emphasized Clark's professional preeminence, his committed and sometimes inflexible leadership, his persistent pacifism and personal struggles.