Jerusalem Syndrome and Joseph Smith

After our class discussions and my recent SSRP, it should come as no surprise that my feelings toward Joseph Smith are not exactly the most scholastically friendly. However, after thinking about the particulars of his early life, I wonder if perhaps there might be something explainable about his visions. Let me just be clear: I do not think Joseph Smith was a charlatan or a knowing manipulator, but I do think there is some semblance of Joseph Smith knowing that he may have been embellishing or purposefully rewriting histories or sections in order to fit better into a "divine" narrative. Like John Milton writing Paradise Lost as a fan fiction of great Greek epic poetry that strives to hit every single cliche in order to be desperately counted among them, much of the story of Joseph Smith, from an outsider's perspective, reads like a laundry list of revelatory requirements in order to "legitimize" a prophet and, therefore, his related religious interpretations.

But there is something called Jerusalem Syndrome, and I wonder if perhaps a similar effect happened to a young Joseph Smith.

Jerusalem Syndrome, besides being an awesome name for a heavy metal album, is a hotly contested experience that is labeled psychotic episode. From wikipedia, it pretty much states that a person, who had no prior major religious adherence, during a visit to Jerusalem, is struck with a sudden religious zealotry, even going so far as to believe himself or herself to be Jesus or some other major prophet. It is similar to the Stendhal Syndrome for Florence, Italy, which is a series of dizzy, rapturous thoughts after viewing major works of art.

Having never been to Jerusalem but having been to Florence a few times, I can understand what these syndromes might be like. I remember going to Dante's house in Florence and feeling a strange feeling of awe as I walked up the stairways Dante did. Having read the Divine Comedy, and appreciating the history of the work, there is a weird sense knowing that another human was able to accomplish such a great feat and still had to do human things like go to the bathroom and walk up stairs. Perhaps it's just the fact that something you've built up your whole life into something huge is finally in front of you and is tangible that causes this feeling... But I think, since Joseph Smith lived in "The Burned Over District" and in a time that our documentary in class stated "Many people were prophets telling their truths about God," is it such a surprise that a young teenager from a sensitive family would have such a strong vision in the woods?

The main difference between Joseph Smith's experience and Jerusalem Syndrome, if such a thing exists, is that the latter subsides after a few weeks. The former lasted for the rest of his life. But could such a strong vision and feeling persist even after those euphoric or psychotic episodes leave? Is "psychotic" even a good term for it? That term implies that something isn't real, but could those visions truly be real? Are those places holy because they are divine, or are those places holy because we've just said divine things happened there over the course of our histories?

Anyway, one thing I do know is that "Upstate New York Syndrome" doesn't sound nearly as cool as Jerusalem Syndrome.