I saw this blog recently by a fellow I have seen around the net named Jesus boy. I actually have seen some great research done by this person and this one was so great I had to share it on my blog.
Joseph Lied….AGAIN
By Chris - Jesus’ Boy
Here is the exact wording of his draft - word for word including spelling mistakes:
marvilous even in the likeness of him who created him (them) and when I considered upon these things my heart exclaimed well hath thewise man said the (it is a) fool (that) saith in his heart there is no God my heart exclaimed all all these bear testimony and bespeak an omnipotant and omnipreasant power a being who makith Laws and decreeeth and bindeth all things in their bounds who filleth Eternity who was and is and will be from all Eternity to Eternity and when I considered all these things and that (that) being seeketh such to worship him as worship him in spirit and in truth therefore I cried unto the Lord for mercy for there was none else to whom I could go and to obtain mercy and the Lord heard my cry in the wilderness and while in (the) attitude of calling upon the Lord (in the 16th year of my age) a piller of fire light above the brightness of the sun at noon day come down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the spirit of god and the (Lord) opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord and he spake unto me saying Joseph (my son) thy sins are forgiven thee. go thy (way) walk in my statutes and keep my commandments behold I am the Lord of glory I was crucifyed for the world that all those who believe on my name may have Eternal life (behold) the world lieth in sin and at this time and none doeth good no not one they have turned asside from the gospel and keep not (my) commandments they draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me and mine anger is kindling against the inhabitants of the earth to visit them acording to th[e]ir ungodliness and to bring to pass that which (hath) been spoken by the mouth of the prophets and Ap[o]stles behold and lo I come quickly as it [is] written of me in the cloud (clothed) in the glory of my Father and my soul was filled with love and for many days I could reioice with great Joy and the Lord was with me but [I] could find none that would believe the hevnly vision nevertheless I pondered these things in my heart about that time my mother and but after many days Joseph Smith’s Handwritten First Vision (click on the link to the left and see the photographic evidence for yourself)
So if the above version is true why did Joseph change it 6 years later?
If the 1838 account is true, why did he write this draft?
conclusion - obviously both were lies.
Below we can see the major differences between the 1832 account and the 1838 account.
1832
personages = Smith claimed only a vision from Jesus
Seeking God = Bible reading stirred Smith to seek God
Churches wrong = Smith already knew this
1838
personages = Smith claimed a vision of both the Father AND the Son.
Seeking God = A revival motivated Smith to seek God Churches wrong = ‘two personages’ informed Smith that all the churches are wrong
Joseph Smith, Nov. 1835 - “…I received the first visitation of Angels when I was about 14 years old…” Personal writings of Joseph Smith, page 84 [It should be noted that this entry has been changed in the History of the Church, Vol. 2, pg. 312. It now reads "my first vision" instead of "visitation of Angels"]
So in this latest account of the first vision we see Jospeh Smith claiming that it was many angels that visted him.
Now here comes the interesting part: What saith the future leaders of mormonism? what saith his family regarding the alleged first vision?
Brigham Young - “The Lord did not come with the armies of heaven … but He did send his angel to this same obscure person, Joseph Smith jun., who afterwards became a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and informed him that he should not join any of the religious sects of the day, for they were all wrong” Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 171 (1855)
Wilford Woodruff - “The same organization and Gospel that Christ died for … is again established in this generation. How did it come? By the ministering of an holy angel from God, out of heaven, who held converse with man, and revealed unto him the darkness that enveloped the world … He told him the Gospel was not among men, and that there was not a true organization of His kingdom in the world” Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 196 (1855)
Orson Hyde - “Some one may say, ‘If this work of the last days be true, why did not the Saviour come himself to communicate this intelligence to the world?’ Because to the angels was committed the power of reaping the earth, and it was committed to none else.” Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 335 (1854)
George A. Smith - “…he [Joseph Smith] went humbly before the Lord and inquired of Him, and the Lord answered his prayer, and revealed to Joseph, by the ministration of angels , the true condition of the religious world. When the holy angel appeared , Joseph inquired which of all these denominations was right and which he should join, and was told they were all wrong” Journal of Discourses, vol. 12, p. 334 (1863)
George A. Smith - “[Joseph] was enlightened by the vision of an holy angel. When this personage appeared to him, one of the first inquiries was ‘Which of the denominations of Christians in the vicinity was right?’ “ Journal of Discourses, vol. 13, p. 78 (1869)
John Taylor - “None of them was right, just as it was when the Prophet Joseph asked the angel which of the sects was right that he might join it. The answer was that none of them are right.” Journal of Discourses, vol. 20, p. 167 (1879)
George Q. Cannon - “But suppose that the statement that Joseph Smith says the angel made to him should be true-that there was no church upon the face of the earth whom God recognized as His, and whose acts He acknowledged-suppose this were true…” Journal of Discourses, vol. 24, pg. 135 (1889)
William Smith - “He accordingly went out into the woods and falling upon his knees called for a long time upon the Lord for wisdom and knowledge. While engaged in prayer a light appeared in the heavens, and descended until it rested upon the trees where he was. It appeared like fire. But to his great astonishment, did not burn the trees. An angel then appeared to him and conversed with him upon many things. He told him that none of the sects were right…” William Smith On Mormonism , By William Smith, Joseph Smith’s brother. pg. 5 (1883)
” The angel again forbade Joseph to join any of these churches, and he promised that the true and everlasting Gospel should be revealed to him at some future time. Joseph continues: ‘Many other things did he (the angel) say unto me which I cannot write at this time’ “ Church Historical Record, Vol. 7, January, 1888
Brigham Young - ” Do we believe that the Lord sent his messengers to Joseph Smith, and commanded him to refrain from joining any Christian church, and to refrain from the wickedness he saw in the churches, and finally delivered to him a message informing him that the Lord was about to establish his kingdom on the earth…” Journal of Discourses, Vol. 18, pg. 239
I don’t know about you but i find it strange that Brigham Young who knew Joseph personally, aswell as others knew nothing of a visitation by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion: Joseph LIED
For more of Jesus Boy's great blogs check out his Mormon section
http://testallthings.wordpress.com/category/mormonism/
JOSEPH SMITH’S INVOLVEMENT WITH OCCULT
JOSEPH SMITH’S INVOLVEMENT WITH
MAGIC, MASONRY, AND THE OCCULT©
How Joseph Smith put it all together
Joseph’s Magic Hat
Joseph Smith’s claim of receiving gold plates from a holy angel, has attracted over ten million converts to the Mormon Church, a church which doubles its population every 10 to 12 years at the rate of 840 new members a day.
Where are these amazing gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated? Since they are not on exhibit to confirm their reality, one might humorously say, Joseph must have said “abracadabra” and pulled them from a hat! Laughable; but, in a way, that’s exactly what he did!
Instead of translating directly from the alleged plates, he would put his face into the darkness of a hat which contained a seer stone, and the translation of what he called “Reformed Egyptian Hieroglyphics” would appear. This was a practice known as crystal-gazing or scrying. In following this procedure, Smith claimed that “spiritual light would shine”:
A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and beneath it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear.
Although Smith didn’t say abracadabra, his mother admitted the family practiced this magic incantation:
Let not the reader suppose that . . . we stopped our labor and went at trying to win the faculty of Abrac, drawing magic circles, or soothsaying, to the neglect of all kinds of business. We never during our lives suffered one important interest to swallow up every other obligation.
“Abrac,” is a Jewish Kabbalistic word. It comes from Abracadabra and Abraxis, a word placed upon amulets to work magic. The first four letters, A-b-r-a, are acrostics taken from the first letter of four Hebrew words, Ab which means Father; Ben which means Son, and Ruach Adsch which means Holy Spirit. When written in a triangular form on parchment and hung around the neck, it acted as a charm to heal tooth aches and other ailments.
Masonry, at that time, claimed the use of this faculty and since Joseph’s brother, Hyrum, was a Mason, the family probably learned it from him or from the many books on magic, available at that time.
Joseph and the Occult
Besides seer stones, Joseph’s involvement with the occult also included divining rods, magic circles, sacrifice of animals, and witchcraft.
The family’s involvement in witchcraft was confirmed by Fayette Lapham who, after visiting the Smiths, wrote:
[Joseph’s father] was a firm believer in witchcraft and other supernatural things; and had brought up his family in the same belief.
While one may view this as shocking, one needs to understand the climate of his culture. Belief in magic was not unusual. Mormon Historian, B.H. Roberts, acknowledged that Smith’s family believed in “fortune telling . . . warlocks and witches,” and added that “to be credulous in such things was to be normal people.”
Joseph’s Use of Peep Stones and Divining Rods
Peep stones
Joseph learned to how to use “peep stones” from his father. Joseph Smith, Sr., placing them in a hat, would receive revelation on buried treasure locations. Known as a “money-digger,” he hired out to locate these caches. An affidavit by David Stafford confirmed that “the general employment of the Smith family was money digging and fortune telling.”
Joseph, therefore, naturally followed in his father’s footsteps. Even long before he claimed to find the gold plates of the Book of Mormon through his peep stone, he was finding buried treasure and deciphering ancient writings. In one instance, according to William R. Hein, he gazed into his stone, and:
He saw Captain Kidd sailing on the Susquehanna River during a freshet, and that he buried two pots of gold and silver. He claimed he saw writing cut on the rocks in an unknown language telling where Kidd buried it, and he translated it through his peep-stone.
According to Brigham Young and Martin Harris, it was through a peep stone found in the well of a Mason Chase that Smith located and translated the gold plates. This is, of course, contrary to his later story where he said that it was an angel who directed him to the gold plates.
The stone found in Mason Chase’s well, was first used during Joseph’s occupation as a money-digger. Mormon history refers to it as the “brown” stone. Joseph Smith’s father, when interviewed by Fayette Lapham, said, “Joseph spent about two years looking into this stone, telling fortunes, where to find lost things, and where to dig for money and other hidden treasure.” He also used peep stones to read palms. The Mormon practice of giving patriarchal blessings is, no doubt, the outgrowth of Smith’s fortune-telling practice.
He also had a white stone called the Urim and Thummin. It is with this stone, rather than the brown one, that he claimed to translate the Book of Abraham.
Divining rods
Joseph learned from his father how to use a divining rod in detecting metals and buried treasures. Often called a “mineral rod,” it was similar to dozing for water with a hazel branch.
Mormon leaders have suggested that Smith gave all that up after he started his church. But, this isn’t so. The use of divining rods and peep stones continued after the Mormon Church was established and was carried into his temple ceremony.
According to James Collin Brewster, the Smith family “anointed the mineral rods and seer stones with consecrated oil, and prayed over them in the house of the Lord in Kirtland.” The ritual consisted of putting on temple robes and asking yes or no questions of the mineral rod. If it moved, it meant yes. If there was no movement, it meant no.
To validate the Church’s continued use of a divining rod, Joseph produced a revelation from God: Addressing Oliver Cowdery, the revelation stated:
Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod: behold it has told you things: behold there is no other power save God, that can cause this rod of nature, to work in your hands.
Since this later proved embarrassing to the church, the revelation was altered to read: “You have another gift, which is the gift of Aaron.” Church leaders probably felt this would sound more acceptable. But, since a divining rod in those days was also known as a “Rod of Aaron,” it was still an occult term.
Joseph’s Use of Magic Circles
The magic circles Joseph’s mother mentioned, in their use of the “faculty of Abrac” to find treasures, were the same as witches use.
For example, William Stafford, a contemporary of Smith tells how Joseph said there was a buried chest of gold watches guarded by an evil spirit. To pacify the spirit, he ordered stakes set up in the form of a circle. He then sent a man to obtain a long knife, or sword, and to march around the spot with drawn weapon to guard against any satanic assaults. (Treasure spirits were usually considered evil and were thought to have the power to kill a person unless appeased by magic circles and blood sacrifices.)
In this activity, Joseph and his father worked in conjunction with each other. Often, while his father was performing this service for customers, Joseph would be in the house using his peep stone to keep track of what the evil spirit was doing. William Stafford again gives an account:
Joseph, Sr. first made a circle, twelve or fourteen feet in diameter. This circle, said he, contains the treasure. He then stuck a row of witch hazel sticks, around the said circles, for the purpose of keeping off the evil spirits. Within this circle he made another, of about eight or ten feet in diameter. He walked around three times on the periphery of this last circle, muttering to himself something which I could not understand. . . .[He then] asked leave of absence, and went to the house to inquire of young Joseph the cause of our disappointment. He soon returned and said, that Joseph had remained all this time in the house, looking in his stone and watching the motion of the evil spirit - that he saw the spirit come up to the ring and as soon as it beheld the cone which we had formed around the rod, it caused the money to sink.
Joseph’s Participation in Animal Sacrifice
Animal sacrifice was part of the treasure divining business. At that time, it was understood that there were both good and bad spirits guarding treasures. According to magic books, “white animals [were] sacrificed to the good Spirits and black to the evil.”
Therefore, Smith procured a black sheep for one occasion, claiming it was the only way to appease the evil spirit of a particular treasure. They were to cut its throat and lead it around in a circle while bleeding. Smith even sacrificed a dog on one occasion.
Mr. Stafford, the owner of the sheep, was later asked by M. Wilford Poulson, if Smith stole a black sheep from him. Stafford’s response was:
No, not exactly . . . he did miss a black sheep, but soon Joseph came and admitted he took it for sacrifice but he was willing to work for it. He made wooden sap buckets to fully pay for it.
A nephew of William Stafford testified:
Jo Smith, the prophet, told my uncle, William Stafford, he wanted a fat, black sheep. He said he wanted to cut its throat and make it walk in a circle three times around and it would prevent a pot of money from leaving.
JOSEPH’S OCCULT PRACTICES USED IN HIS CHURCH AND TEMPLE CEREMONY
In addition to Smith’s peep stones and divining rods, he also carried animal sacrifice into his new religion. For example, he refused to let Willard Richards be ordained an apostle unless a lamb was first slaughtered and sacrificed in the temple.
Joseph soon incorporated animal sacrifice into his new priesthood. He stated:
It is generally supposed that sacrifice was entirely done away when the Great Sacrifice [i.e.] the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was offered up, and that there will be no necessity for the ordinance of sacrifice in [sic] future; but those who assert this are certainly not acquainted with the duties, privileges and authority of the Priesthood, or with the Prophets. . . . These sacrifices as well as every ordinance belonging to the Priesthood, will, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, and the sons of Levi be purified, be fully restored and attended to in all their powers, ramifications, and blessings. . . . It is not to be understood that the law of Moses will be established again with all its rites and variety of ceremonies; this has never been spoken of by the prophets; but those things which existed prior to Moses’ day, namely, sacrifice, will be continued.
Joseph’s Belief in Magic Medallions and Astrology
When Smith was killed, a Jupiter Talisman was found on his body. Displaying Hebrew characters, it was shaped like a silver dollar and made of silver or tin and carried the sign of the spirit of Jupiter.
Former director of the LDS Institute of Religion at the University of Utah, Dr. Reed C. Durham, Jr. identified it from a magic book available in Smith’s time. He explained that Jupiter was known to the Egyptians as Ammon; Zeus to the Greeks. Jupiter, in the presence of his priest, supposedly performed the most ancient form of marriage, marriage for time and for eternity (sound familiar?).
Since, astrologically speaking, Jupiter stood for many of Smith’s own personal ambitions, he probably selected it for that reason. The Jupiter ambitions consisted of “high positions, [having] one’s own way,” achieving status, and acquiring the “dignity of a natural ruler.” Also of interest, is the fact that in Astrology, Thursday is Jupiter’s day--and for sixty years Mormon fast meetings were always on Thursdays. So also were the Lodge meetings of the Mormon Masons.
Dr. Durham tried to lessen the negative impact of Joseph having the Jupiter medallion, by confirming its appropriateness:
It carries the sign and image of Jupiter . . . And in some very real and quite mysterious sense, this particular Table of Jupiter was the most appropriate talisman for Joseph Smith to possess. Indeed, it seemed meant for him, because on all levels of interpretation: planetary, mythological, numerological, astrological, mystical cabalism, and talismatic magic, the Prophet was, in every case, appropriately described.
Dr. Durham further explains that the magical “purpose of the Table of Jupiter . . . was to be able to call upon the celestial intelligences, assigned to the particular talisman [and] to assist one in all endeavors.” By Invoking the names of these inscribed gods, he said, it guaranteed the possessor of “riches and favor, and power, and love and peace . . . honors, and dignities, and councils . . .”
It also gave one “the power of stimulating anyone to offer his love to the possessor of the talisman.” Certainly, Joseph would need this kind of help in his money-digging ventures, not to mention his spiritual wifery doctrine where he had to convince a woman to become his plural wife while still married to her lawful husband.
Joseph wasn’t the only one in his family involved in this. His brother, Hyrum, also practiced magic. He possessed parchments containing pentagrams and pentacles used in gaining power over spirits and had a Masonic pouch to hold these parchments. He also carried a dagger with the Seal of Mars.
Joseph’s Occult Practices Continued by the LDS Church
Did succeeding church presidents continue in occult practices after Joseph died? Some of them did. Brigham Young wore a chained bloodstone about his neck for those occasions “when [he went] into unknown or dangerous places.”
Brigham Young inherited Oliver Cowdery’s divining rod. This was the rod, or cane, he was often seen with after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley. It was with it that he pointed out where the Salt Lake Temple would be, saying “this is the place”.
Occult symbolism was important to the leaders. When Brigham Young and John Taylor supervised the making of a woodcut seal for the twelve apostles, they copied occult symbols from Jacob Boehme’s Theosophical Works--a book used for two hundred years by Christian Kabbalists and Rosicrucians.
Attitude of the Modern LDS Church
How do present day leaders respond to all this? Mostly, they try to suppress the incriminating evidence. But, when it does leak out, their rationale is to justify it as did Arturo de Hoyos. He writes:
One cannot help but wonder the reason why the Prophet Joseph Smith, and his brother, Hyrum, the Patriarch would possess articles such as they did unless they actually believed that these items did possess some sort of supernatural power, or that they were a “key” to receiving power or protection. Is it possible that just as the Masonic ritual, which Joseph termed the “apostate endowment” retained principles of truth, that these Pentacles which have come down through the ages to be asscociated [sic] with witchcraft, black magic, and the occult as a whole yet contain elements of truth which were recognized by the Prophet?
Joseph’s Necromancing and Contact with the Dead
In addition to Joseph’s occult interests, he was also a necromancer (contact with the dead). Long before he decided to say it was an angel who guarded the gold plates, he said it was the “bloody ghost” of a Spanish spirit. The following was his first story:
Smith said he had a dream in which he was shown the location of an iron box containing gold plates. He went there, found the spot, but claimed he was knocked down three times attempting to remove the stone covering the treasure. He described his experience to two individuals who later published it in the Amboy Journal. Quoting what Smith told them, they described Smith’s frustration:
“Why can’t I get it?” . . . and then he saw a man standing over the spot, which to him appeared like a Spaniard, having a long beard coming down over his breast to about here. [sic](Smith putting his hand to the pit of his stomach) with his (the ghost’s) throat cut from ear to ear, and the blood streaming down, who told him that he could not get it alone; that another person whom he, Smith, would know at first sight, must come with him, and then he could get it.
Smith related the same story to his father, how the ghost told him the valuable treasure contained information soon to be revealed to the world.
As the story developed over the years, the bloody ghost soon became a nameless angel, then an angel named Nephi. Then, finally, Moroni.
Joseph Plagiarizes from the Masonic Legend of Enoch to use in the Book of Mormon
Masonry also played a significant role in the Book of Mormon story. As Smith learned more about Masonic beliefs, he began to weave them into his buried treasure tale. (Although Joseph Smith was not inducted into the Masonic Lodge until March 15, 1842, after his Book of Mormon story, his knowledge of Masonic lore was probably acquired earlier from his brother Hyrum who was a Mason. Books were also in print containing Masonic stories.)
He particularly borrowed heavily from a Masonic myth called the Legend of Enoch. To those familiar with Mormon history, the parallels are self-evident:
Enoch’s legend describes God giving a secret doctrine to Adam in a dream. Adam is shown, in this dream, a gold plate engraved with unknown characters. Among these characters is the Tetragrammaton, the holy name of God.
Based upon what he saw in his dream, Adam makes a similar plate of gold and copies the sacred characters on to it. He hands it down to his son, Seth, who guards it carefully and also passes it on. Finally, it reaches Enoch.
Enoch, then receives a vision of the future. He foresees a world-destroying flood and is shown that the holy treasure will eventually be kept in a secret cavern inside Mount Moriah.
He then proceeds to build an underground cavern to preserve the treasure from the eventual flood. Placing a stone door over the cavern, he erects two pillars, one of marble the other, brass. Upon the marble pillar he engraves the story of the treasure and the history of the Tower of Babel in Egyptian hieroglyphics.
On the second pillar of brass, he engraves the history of creation and the principles of Masonry. Upon the top of the brass pillar he places a metal ball which miraculously solves problems and gives direction. The legend concludes by stating that the treasure will be found by one of Enoch’s Israelitish descendants.
Now, jumping from Enoch to the future King Solomon--after the flood--Solomon’s masons, while building the King’s temple on the hill Moriah, come across pieces of the treasure, although not yet the gold plate. They turn their findings over to the King. Solomon then places the treasure in a secret underground vault beneath the temple, just as Enoch saw in his vision. Solomon instructs the three men to go back to the ruins and see if they can find more of the treasure.
Upon doing so, they come across the stone covering Enoch’s cave. After three attempts to descend into the cave, they finally obtain the gold plate, noticing that “the brilliancy of the plate and jewels are of themselves sufficient to give light to the cavern.”
Delivering the gold plate to King Solomon, he places it in his underground vault along with the breastplate of the High Priest of Israel and the Urim and Thummin. Solomon then changes the status of the vault from “secret” to “sacred” and allows only a few to see the plate.
The following summarizes the comparisons:
Joseph’s Motive in Producing the Book of Mormon
Was Smith’s only objective in producing the Book of Mormon, to promote the Masonic Legend of Enoch? No. There were three other contributing motives.
The first . . . Smith simply loved to con people and took advantage of his imaginative powers. His mother tells how Smith would often entertain the family for hours relating stories of how the ancient Americans dressed and acted, about their cities, warfare and religion long before he came up with the idea of writing the Book of Mormon.
His enjoyment at fooling people was well known, and reported in affidavits by Smith’s contemporaries. For example, after a rain shower, Smith discovered some white sand. He “tied up several quarts of it [in his ‘frock’] and then went home.” His family was eager to know what he had. Smith later told Peter Ingersol:
At that moment I happened to think about a history found in Canada, called the Golden Bible; so I very gravely told them it was the Golden Bible. To my surprise they were credulous enough to believe what I said.
The second motive? He wanted to answer the big question of the day--are the Indians transplanted Israelites?
This was a hot topic. As early as 1634, Joseph Mede was questioning the origin of the Indians. By 1650 writer Thomas Thorowgood decided they were the Lost Tribes of Israel. In 1775 and 1816 Elias Boudinot and James Adair brought the idea to the forefront again. Newspapers in Smith’s locale also speculated on the origin of the Indians.
Then, in 1823, Ethan Smith wrote, View of the Hebrews, in an attempt to explain the absence of a recorded history for the American Indians. Although Smith borrowed much from Ethan Smith’s book, his idea for the Book of Mormon in the first place, was probably triggered by a magician named Walters:
[Walters] had an old copy of Cicero’s Orations, in the Latin language, out of which he read [in] an unintelligible jargon, which he would afterwards pretend to interpret, and explain, as a record of the former inhabitants of America, and a particular account of the numerous situations where they deposited their treasures previous to their final [destruction].
Joseph, spurred on by public interest in the subject and influenced by both Walters and Ethan Smith’s book, hit on the idea that he would be the one to provide the recorded history.
But, this required some ingenuity. If his story was going to cover Lamanite settlements in South America and Nephites in Central America, how was he going to get their sacred records to the state of New York, three thousand miles away, for him to find fifteen hundred years later? Obviously, he had to invent a character who would carry them there.
But, common sense asks why the character Mormon, or his son Moroni, would travel three thousand miles on foot when they could have buried the plates closer to home? In addition, how could they have transported as many heavy gold plates as Smith describes?
The third motive? The Book of Mormon provided Smith with an outlet for his fascination with Masonic mysteries.
However, it gradually grew to be more than just fascination. Smith admits, in a letter to John Hull, that what he really wanted was to produce a truer and higher level of Masonry. Not just for the United States, but world-wide. Intrigued with this concept, he began using Masonic vocabulary in his sermons, such as the “nail in a sure place,” later to become part of the temple ceremony. He also interjected the motifs of the sun, moon, planets and stars. (These motifs, however, didn’t originate with Masonry. They were a blend of Rosicrucian, Alchemic, Kabbalistic and Hermetic symbols of which the sun and moon were part.)
Joseph’s Use of Masonic Emblems
In the temple in Salt Lake City, and large conference rooms were fashioned like Masonic Lodges and temples, and Masonic emblems were used extensively. This was because Smith believed “the whole earth was compared symbolically to a Grand Masonic Lodge, the counterpart of which was the Grand Lodge in the eternal regions of Glory.”
The temple displays the Masonic All-seeing Eye, used by many ancient religions. Occult literature reveals it as the Diva, or the Cyclopean Eye, the ancient third eye of spiritual insight used by the Chaldeans, Egyptians, Greeks and other pagan religions. Later, it was adopted by Hermetic philosophers as “the sacred emblem of a perpetual divine and uncreated intelligence.” In the Christian context, it was changed to mean the eye of Jehovah. Mormons, today, claim the latter.
On the temple walls one can also see the Masonic phrase, “Holiness to the Lord,” as well as the compass and clasped hands. Even the weathervane of the Nauvoo temple, with its small angel, exhibited the square and compass.
The Beehive emblem was also utilized later as a symbol for the Mormon State by Brigham Young. This emblem, used in earlier centuries by Christian Hermetics, later entered Freemasonry.
Contrary to what many assume, the beehive did not represent physical industry. Metaphorically, it represented one’s inner soul, with the industry of the bee illustrative of the spiritual labor required for the alchemic transmutation of the individual, or dark matter, into gold. This is the basis for the Mormon belief that one may be transformed into a god. Herman R. Bangerter explains that if one is worthy of wearing the symboll of the square and compass on his or her garments, and continues faithfully in the service of the Master, he will receive the spiritual light, which will enable him or her to unite the physical and the spiritual, and through the process of Divine Alchemy, change the mortal corruptible body into a Celestial Body and thereby have eternal life. In the St. George, Utah Tabernacle (not the temple), there still remains, on a mock fireplace, a round circle resting on the horizontal arm of a cross. Occult writer Madame Blavatsky explains in her Secret Doctrine, that this is the “Venus’ looking-glass,” a symbol of human procreation and also the “sacred cross of Egypt” as carried in the hands of the gods, the Pharaohs and the mummified dead.
In the temple ceremony itself, there is the apron, special handshakes, oaths and penalties, the five points of fellowship, special garments with markings of the square and compass, and giving of a new name--all taken from Masonry.
Probably the most astounding admission by a Mormon scholar on Joseph’s plagiarism of Masonry, was Dr. Reed Durham, Jr.:
The Mormon ceremony which came to be known as the Endowment, introduced by Joseph Smith to Mormon Masons, had an immediate inspiration from Masonry. This is not to suggest that no other source of inspiration could have been involved, but the similarities between the two ceremonies are so apparent and overwhelming that some dependent relationship cannot be denied. They are so similar, in fact, that one writer was led to refer to the Endowment as Celestial Masonry.
While members of the Mormon Church believe every jot and tittle of Mormonism, especially the temple ceremony, was received by revelation, one is reminded of Dr. Durham’s admission about the similarities to Masonry, “To explain them only as coincidence,” he says, “would be ridiculous.”
Joseph’s Use of “Clangs”
To purposely disguise any Masonic connection to his new religion, Smith used clangs--word-inventions intended to mask words.
For example, according to the Tanners, it is believed he incorporated “the first three letters of Moriah (M-O-Riah) . . . and the last three letters of Solomon (SoloM-O-N)”, to come up with Mor-mon, which is both the name of his sacred book and the name of its main character.
Another clang is Mahonri Moriancumer, the name of a character in the Book of Ether. According to Dr. Durham, the last name, Moriancumer, could easily be “a compound of ‘Moriah,’ the sacred hill where Solomon stored Enoch’s treasure--and ‘Cumorah,’ the sacred hill where the new Enoch [Smith] found his treasure plates.”
Moriancumer’s first name, Mahonri, according to Walter F. Prince, is “clang” for Masonry. This is achieved by replacing the s in Masonry with an h and changing the y to i. Therefore, Mahonri Moriancumer, “divested of ‘clang’ is Masonry Moriah Cumorah.”
Joseph’s Desire for Occult Revelation and Secret Ceremonies
The reason Joseph was so attracted to Masonry, was because he believed the Masonic ceremony contained rituals and doctrines practiced by the ancient Eleusinians and the Greek mystery religions. He was convinced they contained secrets handed down from Adam. Dr. Durham acknowledged this by saying that Joseph Smith accepted Masonry because ”he recognized true Ancient Mysteries contained therein.”
Smith, however, chose not to stick with the Masonic Lodge, but start his own. Why?
He became convinced that Masonic teachings, handed down from the Hermetic Magi, Babylon, Chaldea, Egypt and the Kabbalah, had been distorted over time. He felt that further back, there was an original truth, a purer Masonry. Joseph’s objective was to get to the very root of things and have a religion he could claim contained the most primordial doctrines--ones that originated as close to the beginning of time as possible.
Dr. Durham further confirmed this by saying that Smith “believed he was restoring Masonry’s original pristine brilliancy, and re-creating the original Mysteries of the ancient Priesthood.” Smith also incorporated ideas from the ancient Eleusinian mysteries gleaned from the Encyclopaedia Britannia and other available sources in 1837.
What other aspect of the shrouded teachings and doctrines of these cultic mysteries, fascinated Joseph? They could only be passed on to those made worthy through ritualistic ceremonies.
These ancient rituals included washings and anointings, oaths and penalties, a new name, special garments, covenants of chastity, achieving godhood and special passwords to enable one to pass by the sentries who guard the gates of heaven.
Most of these ancient ceremonies were taken up with initiates watching live actors in a drama--not much different from today’s temple ceremony. (Temple participants today, view most of the drama by watching actors in a movie.)
The idea of the temple drama was originally used in the Rosicrucian order, then incorporated into French Masonry in 1750. Known as allegorical “mystery plays”, they taught rituals which were “fundamentally Hermetic-Kabbalistic”. Of further interest is the 28th Degree of the Scottish rite, also known as “the Rite de Perfection,” which was “administered in a room painted like a vast garden, with open fields, forests, and mountains.” Similar murals adorn Mormon temple walls.
In a way, Smith’s desire to find God’s original revelation, was a noble endeavor. However, the deceit of the whole matter was that the ideas gleaned from the ancient mystery cults, including the Kaballah, he passed off as revelation from the Holy Ghost:
Now, I ask all who hear me, why the learned men who are preaching salvation, say that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing? The reason is, that they are unlearned in the things of God, and have not the gift of the Holy Ghost . . . But I am learned, and know more than all the world put together. The Holy Ghost does, anyhow, and he is within me, and comprehends more than all the world; and I will associate myself with him.
Joseph was very taken up with the Jewish Kaballah (the mystical, esoteric tradition of Judaism, claiming the original knowledge Adam received from God). His diary admits that he studied with a Jewish convert, Alexander Neibauer who had an extensive library on the Kabbalah. (”Freemasonry adopted portions of the Kabbalah into its third degree, the Royal Arch, and into some of the higher grades.”)
Faithful members believed his new insights were revealed from God. A year after his study with Neibauer, at the funeral of a man named King Follett, he began teaching some of these complex insights, gleaned from the Kaballah and other sources, his more famous one being the following:
[In the beginning] the head God called together the Gods and sat in grand council to bring forth the world . . . The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is [co-eternal] with God himself . . . God . . . is an exalted man . . . we have got to learn how to be gods . . . the same as all gods have done before.
Also influenced by the Kabbalistic concept that sacred revelation was progressive and open-ended, he felt he could receive a higher and more advanced revelation of God, and he thus began to receive his own revelations.
Many argue that Joseph Smith was uneducated, a statement promoted by Mormon leaders.
But, he was no dummy. He may have been illiterate in the beginning, but he became an avid learner while Neibaur tutored him. Smith had Latin, Hebrew, German and Greek New Testaments. Whether he could read them all is debatable; however, LDS history says he could read the German New Testament.
A look at the Modern LDS Church
Today’s Mormons argue that while all this may be true about Joseph Smith, the Church today no longer believes all that “superstitious stuff” “They have high morals, excellent ethics and standards, etc.”
But, there is something missing in this presumption. Mormonism’s foundation rests upon a man which God, in Deuteronomy 18:9-14, warns about:
Let no one be found among you . . . who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.
Further, two Presidents of the Mormon Church said, ”Joseph Smith is the foundation of this church,” and “Mormonism . . . must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith,” If so, it is, therefore, important to examine the life and claims of Joseph Smith closely. If he, as the foundation of their church, is proved false, then all the doctrines of Mormonism must also be false.
Some may continue to argue, “At least Mormons believe in Christ!”
But, even the most radical cults preach Christ. Mormonism, typical of other cults, teaches that faith in Jesus and what he did on the cross is not “enough” for salvation. Brigham Young taught that full salvation (exaltation in the highest heaven) can only come through acceptance of and final say-so of Joseph Smith, not through the grace of Christ:
No man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. Every man and woman must have the certification of Joseph Smith, Junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are.
[There is] no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith. If we get our salvation, we shall have to pass by him [Joseph Smith] . . . we cannot get around him.
Even non-Mormons might be tempted to say, “Well, let’s not hold Joseph Smith against the Mormon Church--look how far they’ve come! They no longer believe in divining rods or peep stones, and present day leaders certainly don’t engage in occult practices like animal sacrifice and magic circles.”
But the issue is not that they don’t practice them anymore. The issue is--that is what their church was built upon!
A true church must line up with all of God’s Word. Can we imagine God allowing his Old Testament prophets to indulge in magic and occult activities? In this respect, Smith’s reputation was so bad that he was refused membership in the Methodist Church.
When Joseph Smith asked to join the Methodist church the preacher, unaware of his occult activities, put his name on the rolls. Eventually, however, a board member, Joseph Lewis, heard about it and objected. He said, “Joseph’s manner of life rendered him unfit to be a member.” Smith was asked to withdraw unless he wanted to recant, confess, and reform himself. Smith refused. Later, in the Amboy paper, Lewis, along with a local preacher, Joshua McKune, explained:
We thought it was a disgrace to the church to have a practicing necromancer, a dealer in enchantments and bleeding ghosts . . . his occupation, habits and moral character were at variance with the discipline [and] his name would be a disgrace to the church.
Therefore, it makes no difference whether Mormons have high ethics or profess a belief in Christ. If the foundation is not built upon Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, it’s false.
Often it is asked: “Why don’t Mormon leaders wipe the slate clean and tell the truth to their members about Joseph Smith? Why don’t they gradually get rid of unbiblical beliefs and build their church around their high ethics and a Biblical belief in Jesus?”
But, Mormon leaders find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Knowing, as they do, the facts about Joseph Smith, they realize that if they admit to them, they chance destroying the faith of their members. Therefore, out of necessity they have to continue white-washing the image of Joseph Smith and extolling the divine foundation of the church.
As a result, Mormons continue to be deceived, along with many unsuspecting converts, who are not told certain Mormon doctrines up front, but led to believe they are joining another Christian church.
One must not be gullible but discerning, like the Bereans in Acts 17 who were praised by Paul because they tested everything he said by the Scriptures.
First Thessalonians 5:21says one must prove all things and hold fast to that which is good. Is the following good?
SUMMARY
· Joseph was involved in the use of peep stones, divining rods, witchcraft, astrology, blood sacrifices, necromancy, and magic circles.
· Joseph continued to rely upon these methods when he started his church, incorporating them into his temple ceremony along with rituals from ancient mystery religions.
· Everything Smith introduced into his new church, he passed off as divine revelation and requirements for salvation.
· To translate the Book of Mormon and Book of Abraham, he used the same peep stones used as a money-digger and palm reader.
· Many of the events pertaining to the Book of Mormon, were taken from the Masonic Legend of Enoch.
· Joseph Smith told conflicting stories on how he found the plates:
1. He found them through a brown seer stone (according to Brigham Young and Martin Harris).
2. Joseph claimed he received them from a Spanish ghost.
3. Joseph claimed he received them through a dream
4. Joseph claimed they were received from a nameless angel.
5. Then, through an angel named Nephi.
6. Lastly, through an angel named Moroni.
No individual, knowing the truth about the Mormon Church’s occult background, could possibly follow Joseph Smith as a prophet or embrace his teachings.
*Copyright 2003. This article cannot be copied and used in a professional publication without express permission of the author.
MAGIC, MASONRY, AND THE OCCULT©
How Joseph Smith put it all together
Joseph’s Magic Hat
Joseph Smith’s claim of receiving gold plates from a holy angel, has attracted over ten million converts to the Mormon Church, a church which doubles its population every 10 to 12 years at the rate of 840 new members a day.
Where are these amazing gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated? Since they are not on exhibit to confirm their reality, one might humorously say, Joseph must have said “abracadabra” and pulled them from a hat! Laughable; but, in a way, that’s exactly what he did!
Instead of translating directly from the alleged plates, he would put his face into the darkness of a hat which contained a seer stone, and the translation of what he called “Reformed Egyptian Hieroglyphics” would appear. This was a practice known as crystal-gazing or scrying. In following this procedure, Smith claimed that “spiritual light would shine”:
A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and beneath it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear.
Although Smith didn’t say abracadabra, his mother admitted the family practiced this magic incantation:
Let not the reader suppose that . . . we stopped our labor and went at trying to win the faculty of Abrac, drawing magic circles, or soothsaying, to the neglect of all kinds of business. We never during our lives suffered one important interest to swallow up every other obligation.
“Abrac,” is a Jewish Kabbalistic word. It comes from Abracadabra and Abraxis, a word placed upon amulets to work magic. The first four letters, A-b-r-a, are acrostics taken from the first letter of four Hebrew words, Ab which means Father; Ben which means Son, and Ruach Adsch which means Holy Spirit. When written in a triangular form on parchment and hung around the neck, it acted as a charm to heal tooth aches and other ailments.
Masonry, at that time, claimed the use of this faculty and since Joseph’s brother, Hyrum, was a Mason, the family probably learned it from him or from the many books on magic, available at that time.
Joseph and the Occult
Besides seer stones, Joseph’s involvement with the occult also included divining rods, magic circles, sacrifice of animals, and witchcraft.
The family’s involvement in witchcraft was confirmed by Fayette Lapham who, after visiting the Smiths, wrote:
[Joseph’s father] was a firm believer in witchcraft and other supernatural things; and had brought up his family in the same belief.
While one may view this as shocking, one needs to understand the climate of his culture. Belief in magic was not unusual. Mormon Historian, B.H. Roberts, acknowledged that Smith’s family believed in “fortune telling . . . warlocks and witches,” and added that “to be credulous in such things was to be normal people.”
Joseph’s Use of Peep Stones and Divining Rods
Peep stones
Joseph learned to how to use “peep stones” from his father. Joseph Smith, Sr., placing them in a hat, would receive revelation on buried treasure locations. Known as a “money-digger,” he hired out to locate these caches. An affidavit by David Stafford confirmed that “the general employment of the Smith family was money digging and fortune telling.”
Joseph, therefore, naturally followed in his father’s footsteps. Even long before he claimed to find the gold plates of the Book of Mormon through his peep stone, he was finding buried treasure and deciphering ancient writings. In one instance, according to William R. Hein, he gazed into his stone, and:
He saw Captain Kidd sailing on the Susquehanna River during a freshet, and that he buried two pots of gold and silver. He claimed he saw writing cut on the rocks in an unknown language telling where Kidd buried it, and he translated it through his peep-stone.
According to Brigham Young and Martin Harris, it was through a peep stone found in the well of a Mason Chase that Smith located and translated the gold plates. This is, of course, contrary to his later story where he said that it was an angel who directed him to the gold plates.
The stone found in Mason Chase’s well, was first used during Joseph’s occupation as a money-digger. Mormon history refers to it as the “brown” stone. Joseph Smith’s father, when interviewed by Fayette Lapham, said, “Joseph spent about two years looking into this stone, telling fortunes, where to find lost things, and where to dig for money and other hidden treasure.” He also used peep stones to read palms. The Mormon practice of giving patriarchal blessings is, no doubt, the outgrowth of Smith’s fortune-telling practice.
He also had a white stone called the Urim and Thummin. It is with this stone, rather than the brown one, that he claimed to translate the Book of Abraham.
Divining rods
Joseph learned from his father how to use a divining rod in detecting metals and buried treasures. Often called a “mineral rod,” it was similar to dozing for water with a hazel branch.
Mormon leaders have suggested that Smith gave all that up after he started his church. But, this isn’t so. The use of divining rods and peep stones continued after the Mormon Church was established and was carried into his temple ceremony.
According to James Collin Brewster, the Smith family “anointed the mineral rods and seer stones with consecrated oil, and prayed over them in the house of the Lord in Kirtland.” The ritual consisted of putting on temple robes and asking yes or no questions of the mineral rod. If it moved, it meant yes. If there was no movement, it meant no.
To validate the Church’s continued use of a divining rod, Joseph produced a revelation from God: Addressing Oliver Cowdery, the revelation stated:
Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod: behold it has told you things: behold there is no other power save God, that can cause this rod of nature, to work in your hands.
Since this later proved embarrassing to the church, the revelation was altered to read: “You have another gift, which is the gift of Aaron.” Church leaders probably felt this would sound more acceptable. But, since a divining rod in those days was also known as a “Rod of Aaron,” it was still an occult term.
Joseph’s Use of Magic Circles
The magic circles Joseph’s mother mentioned, in their use of the “faculty of Abrac” to find treasures, were the same as witches use.
For example, William Stafford, a contemporary of Smith tells how Joseph said there was a buried chest of gold watches guarded by an evil spirit. To pacify the spirit, he ordered stakes set up in the form of a circle. He then sent a man to obtain a long knife, or sword, and to march around the spot with drawn weapon to guard against any satanic assaults. (Treasure spirits were usually considered evil and were thought to have the power to kill a person unless appeased by magic circles and blood sacrifices.)
In this activity, Joseph and his father worked in conjunction with each other. Often, while his father was performing this service for customers, Joseph would be in the house using his peep stone to keep track of what the evil spirit was doing. William Stafford again gives an account:
Joseph, Sr. first made a circle, twelve or fourteen feet in diameter. This circle, said he, contains the treasure. He then stuck a row of witch hazel sticks, around the said circles, for the purpose of keeping off the evil spirits. Within this circle he made another, of about eight or ten feet in diameter. He walked around three times on the periphery of this last circle, muttering to himself something which I could not understand. . . .[He then] asked leave of absence, and went to the house to inquire of young Joseph the cause of our disappointment. He soon returned and said, that Joseph had remained all this time in the house, looking in his stone and watching the motion of the evil spirit - that he saw the spirit come up to the ring and as soon as it beheld the cone which we had formed around the rod, it caused the money to sink.
Joseph’s Participation in Animal Sacrifice
Animal sacrifice was part of the treasure divining business. At that time, it was understood that there were both good and bad spirits guarding treasures. According to magic books, “white animals [were] sacrificed to the good Spirits and black to the evil.”
Therefore, Smith procured a black sheep for one occasion, claiming it was the only way to appease the evil spirit of a particular treasure. They were to cut its throat and lead it around in a circle while bleeding. Smith even sacrificed a dog on one occasion.
Mr. Stafford, the owner of the sheep, was later asked by M. Wilford Poulson, if Smith stole a black sheep from him. Stafford’s response was:
No, not exactly . . . he did miss a black sheep, but soon Joseph came and admitted he took it for sacrifice but he was willing to work for it. He made wooden sap buckets to fully pay for it.
A nephew of William Stafford testified:
Jo Smith, the prophet, told my uncle, William Stafford, he wanted a fat, black sheep. He said he wanted to cut its throat and make it walk in a circle three times around and it would prevent a pot of money from leaving.
JOSEPH’S OCCULT PRACTICES USED IN HIS CHURCH AND TEMPLE CEREMONY
In addition to Smith’s peep stones and divining rods, he also carried animal sacrifice into his new religion. For example, he refused to let Willard Richards be ordained an apostle unless a lamb was first slaughtered and sacrificed in the temple.
Joseph soon incorporated animal sacrifice into his new priesthood. He stated:
It is generally supposed that sacrifice was entirely done away when the Great Sacrifice [i.e.] the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was offered up, and that there will be no necessity for the ordinance of sacrifice in [sic] future; but those who assert this are certainly not acquainted with the duties, privileges and authority of the Priesthood, or with the Prophets. . . . These sacrifices as well as every ordinance belonging to the Priesthood, will, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, and the sons of Levi be purified, be fully restored and attended to in all their powers, ramifications, and blessings. . . . It is not to be understood that the law of Moses will be established again with all its rites and variety of ceremonies; this has never been spoken of by the prophets; but those things which existed prior to Moses’ day, namely, sacrifice, will be continued.
Joseph’s Belief in Magic Medallions and Astrology
When Smith was killed, a Jupiter Talisman was found on his body. Displaying Hebrew characters, it was shaped like a silver dollar and made of silver or tin and carried the sign of the spirit of Jupiter.
Former director of the LDS Institute of Religion at the University of Utah, Dr. Reed C. Durham, Jr. identified it from a magic book available in Smith’s time. He explained that Jupiter was known to the Egyptians as Ammon; Zeus to the Greeks. Jupiter, in the presence of his priest, supposedly performed the most ancient form of marriage, marriage for time and for eternity (sound familiar?).
Since, astrologically speaking, Jupiter stood for many of Smith’s own personal ambitions, he probably selected it for that reason. The Jupiter ambitions consisted of “high positions, [having] one’s own way,” achieving status, and acquiring the “dignity of a natural ruler.” Also of interest, is the fact that in Astrology, Thursday is Jupiter’s day--and for sixty years Mormon fast meetings were always on Thursdays. So also were the Lodge meetings of the Mormon Masons.
Dr. Durham tried to lessen the negative impact of Joseph having the Jupiter medallion, by confirming its appropriateness:
It carries the sign and image of Jupiter . . . And in some very real and quite mysterious sense, this particular Table of Jupiter was the most appropriate talisman for Joseph Smith to possess. Indeed, it seemed meant for him, because on all levels of interpretation: planetary, mythological, numerological, astrological, mystical cabalism, and talismatic magic, the Prophet was, in every case, appropriately described.
Dr. Durham further explains that the magical “purpose of the Table of Jupiter . . . was to be able to call upon the celestial intelligences, assigned to the particular talisman [and] to assist one in all endeavors.” By Invoking the names of these inscribed gods, he said, it guaranteed the possessor of “riches and favor, and power, and love and peace . . . honors, and dignities, and councils . . .”
It also gave one “the power of stimulating anyone to offer his love to the possessor of the talisman.” Certainly, Joseph would need this kind of help in his money-digging ventures, not to mention his spiritual wifery doctrine where he had to convince a woman to become his plural wife while still married to her lawful husband.
Joseph wasn’t the only one in his family involved in this. His brother, Hyrum, also practiced magic. He possessed parchments containing pentagrams and pentacles used in gaining power over spirits and had a Masonic pouch to hold these parchments. He also carried a dagger with the Seal of Mars.
Joseph’s Occult Practices Continued by the LDS Church
Did succeeding church presidents continue in occult practices after Joseph died? Some of them did. Brigham Young wore a chained bloodstone about his neck for those occasions “when [he went] into unknown or dangerous places.”
Brigham Young inherited Oliver Cowdery’s divining rod. This was the rod, or cane, he was often seen with after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley. It was with it that he pointed out where the Salt Lake Temple would be, saying “this is the place”.
Occult symbolism was important to the leaders. When Brigham Young and John Taylor supervised the making of a woodcut seal for the twelve apostles, they copied occult symbols from Jacob Boehme’s Theosophical Works--a book used for two hundred years by Christian Kabbalists and Rosicrucians.
Attitude of the Modern LDS Church
How do present day leaders respond to all this? Mostly, they try to suppress the incriminating evidence. But, when it does leak out, their rationale is to justify it as did Arturo de Hoyos. He writes:
One cannot help but wonder the reason why the Prophet Joseph Smith, and his brother, Hyrum, the Patriarch would possess articles such as they did unless they actually believed that these items did possess some sort of supernatural power, or that they were a “key” to receiving power or protection. Is it possible that just as the Masonic ritual, which Joseph termed the “apostate endowment” retained principles of truth, that these Pentacles which have come down through the ages to be asscociated [sic] with witchcraft, black magic, and the occult as a whole yet contain elements of truth which were recognized by the Prophet?
Joseph’s Necromancing and Contact with the Dead
In addition to Joseph’s occult interests, he was also a necromancer (contact with the dead). Long before he decided to say it was an angel who guarded the gold plates, he said it was the “bloody ghost” of a Spanish spirit. The following was his first story:
Smith said he had a dream in which he was shown the location of an iron box containing gold plates. He went there, found the spot, but claimed he was knocked down three times attempting to remove the stone covering the treasure. He described his experience to two individuals who later published it in the Amboy Journal. Quoting what Smith told them, they described Smith’s frustration:
“Why can’t I get it?” . . . and then he saw a man standing over the spot, which to him appeared like a Spaniard, having a long beard coming down over his breast to about here. [sic](Smith putting his hand to the pit of his stomach) with his (the ghost’s) throat cut from ear to ear, and the blood streaming down, who told him that he could not get it alone; that another person whom he, Smith, would know at first sight, must come with him, and then he could get it.
Smith related the same story to his father, how the ghost told him the valuable treasure contained information soon to be revealed to the world.
As the story developed over the years, the bloody ghost soon became a nameless angel, then an angel named Nephi. Then, finally, Moroni.
Joseph Plagiarizes from the Masonic Legend of Enoch to use in the Book of Mormon
Masonry also played a significant role in the Book of Mormon story. As Smith learned more about Masonic beliefs, he began to weave them into his buried treasure tale. (Although Joseph Smith was not inducted into the Masonic Lodge until March 15, 1842, after his Book of Mormon story, his knowledge of Masonic lore was probably acquired earlier from his brother Hyrum who was a Mason. Books were also in print containing Masonic stories.)
He particularly borrowed heavily from a Masonic myth called the Legend of Enoch. To those familiar with Mormon history, the parallels are self-evident:
Enoch’s legend describes God giving a secret doctrine to Adam in a dream. Adam is shown, in this dream, a gold plate engraved with unknown characters. Among these characters is the Tetragrammaton, the holy name of God.
Based upon what he saw in his dream, Adam makes a similar plate of gold and copies the sacred characters on to it. He hands it down to his son, Seth, who guards it carefully and also passes it on. Finally, it reaches Enoch.
Enoch, then receives a vision of the future. He foresees a world-destroying flood and is shown that the holy treasure will eventually be kept in a secret cavern inside Mount Moriah.
He then proceeds to build an underground cavern to preserve the treasure from the eventual flood. Placing a stone door over the cavern, he erects two pillars, one of marble the other, brass. Upon the marble pillar he engraves the story of the treasure and the history of the Tower of Babel in Egyptian hieroglyphics.
On the second pillar of brass, he engraves the history of creation and the principles of Masonry. Upon the top of the brass pillar he places a metal ball which miraculously solves problems and gives direction. The legend concludes by stating that the treasure will be found by one of Enoch’s Israelitish descendants.
Now, jumping from Enoch to the future King Solomon--after the flood--Solomon’s masons, while building the King’s temple on the hill Moriah, come across pieces of the treasure, although not yet the gold plate. They turn their findings over to the King. Solomon then places the treasure in a secret underground vault beneath the temple, just as Enoch saw in his vision. Solomon instructs the three men to go back to the ruins and see if they can find more of the treasure.
Upon doing so, they come across the stone covering Enoch’s cave. After three attempts to descend into the cave, they finally obtain the gold plate, noticing that “the brilliancy of the plate and jewels are of themselves sufficient to give light to the cavern.”
Delivering the gold plate to King Solomon, he places it in his underground vault along with the breastplate of the High Priest of Israel and the Urim and Thummin. Solomon then changes the status of the vault from “secret” to “sacred” and allows only a few to see the plate.
The following summarizes the comparisons:
Joseph’s Motive in Producing the Book of Mormon
Was Smith’s only objective in producing the Book of Mormon, to promote the Masonic Legend of Enoch? No. There were three other contributing motives.
The first . . . Smith simply loved to con people and took advantage of his imaginative powers. His mother tells how Smith would often entertain the family for hours relating stories of how the ancient Americans dressed and acted, about their cities, warfare and religion long before he came up with the idea of writing the Book of Mormon.
His enjoyment at fooling people was well known, and reported in affidavits by Smith’s contemporaries. For example, after a rain shower, Smith discovered some white sand. He “tied up several quarts of it [in his ‘frock’] and then went home.” His family was eager to know what he had. Smith later told Peter Ingersol:
At that moment I happened to think about a history found in Canada, called the Golden Bible; so I very gravely told them it was the Golden Bible. To my surprise they were credulous enough to believe what I said.
The second motive? He wanted to answer the big question of the day--are the Indians transplanted Israelites?
This was a hot topic. As early as 1634, Joseph Mede was questioning the origin of the Indians. By 1650 writer Thomas Thorowgood decided they were the Lost Tribes of Israel. In 1775 and 1816 Elias Boudinot and James Adair brought the idea to the forefront again. Newspapers in Smith’s locale also speculated on the origin of the Indians.
Then, in 1823, Ethan Smith wrote, View of the Hebrews, in an attempt to explain the absence of a recorded history for the American Indians. Although Smith borrowed much from Ethan Smith’s book, his idea for the Book of Mormon in the first place, was probably triggered by a magician named Walters:
[Walters] had an old copy of Cicero’s Orations, in the Latin language, out of which he read [in] an unintelligible jargon, which he would afterwards pretend to interpret, and explain, as a record of the former inhabitants of America, and a particular account of the numerous situations where they deposited their treasures previous to their final [destruction].
Joseph, spurred on by public interest in the subject and influenced by both Walters and Ethan Smith’s book, hit on the idea that he would be the one to provide the recorded history.
But, this required some ingenuity. If his story was going to cover Lamanite settlements in South America and Nephites in Central America, how was he going to get their sacred records to the state of New York, three thousand miles away, for him to find fifteen hundred years later? Obviously, he had to invent a character who would carry them there.
But, common sense asks why the character Mormon, or his son Moroni, would travel three thousand miles on foot when they could have buried the plates closer to home? In addition, how could they have transported as many heavy gold plates as Smith describes?
The third motive? The Book of Mormon provided Smith with an outlet for his fascination with Masonic mysteries.
However, it gradually grew to be more than just fascination. Smith admits, in a letter to John Hull, that what he really wanted was to produce a truer and higher level of Masonry. Not just for the United States, but world-wide. Intrigued with this concept, he began using Masonic vocabulary in his sermons, such as the “nail in a sure place,” later to become part of the temple ceremony. He also interjected the motifs of the sun, moon, planets and stars. (These motifs, however, didn’t originate with Masonry. They were a blend of Rosicrucian, Alchemic, Kabbalistic and Hermetic symbols of which the sun and moon were part.)
Joseph’s Use of Masonic Emblems
In the temple in Salt Lake City, and large conference rooms were fashioned like Masonic Lodges and temples, and Masonic emblems were used extensively. This was because Smith believed “the whole earth was compared symbolically to a Grand Masonic Lodge, the counterpart of which was the Grand Lodge in the eternal regions of Glory.”
The temple displays the Masonic All-seeing Eye, used by many ancient religions. Occult literature reveals it as the Diva, or the Cyclopean Eye, the ancient third eye of spiritual insight used by the Chaldeans, Egyptians, Greeks and other pagan religions. Later, it was adopted by Hermetic philosophers as “the sacred emblem of a perpetual divine and uncreated intelligence.” In the Christian context, it was changed to mean the eye of Jehovah. Mormons, today, claim the latter.
On the temple walls one can also see the Masonic phrase, “Holiness to the Lord,” as well as the compass and clasped hands. Even the weathervane of the Nauvoo temple, with its small angel, exhibited the square and compass.
The Beehive emblem was also utilized later as a symbol for the Mormon State by Brigham Young. This emblem, used in earlier centuries by Christian Hermetics, later entered Freemasonry.
Contrary to what many assume, the beehive did not represent physical industry. Metaphorically, it represented one’s inner soul, with the industry of the bee illustrative of the spiritual labor required for the alchemic transmutation of the individual, or dark matter, into gold. This is the basis for the Mormon belief that one may be transformed into a god. Herman R. Bangerter explains that if one is worthy of wearing the symboll of the square and compass on his or her garments, and continues faithfully in the service of the Master, he will receive the spiritual light, which will enable him or her to unite the physical and the spiritual, and through the process of Divine Alchemy, change the mortal corruptible body into a Celestial Body and thereby have eternal life. In the St. George, Utah Tabernacle (not the temple), there still remains, on a mock fireplace, a round circle resting on the horizontal arm of a cross. Occult writer Madame Blavatsky explains in her Secret Doctrine, that this is the “Venus’ looking-glass,” a symbol of human procreation and also the “sacred cross of Egypt” as carried in the hands of the gods, the Pharaohs and the mummified dead.
In the temple ceremony itself, there is the apron, special handshakes, oaths and penalties, the five points of fellowship, special garments with markings of the square and compass, and giving of a new name--all taken from Masonry.
Probably the most astounding admission by a Mormon scholar on Joseph’s plagiarism of Masonry, was Dr. Reed Durham, Jr.:
The Mormon ceremony which came to be known as the Endowment, introduced by Joseph Smith to Mormon Masons, had an immediate inspiration from Masonry. This is not to suggest that no other source of inspiration could have been involved, but the similarities between the two ceremonies are so apparent and overwhelming that some dependent relationship cannot be denied. They are so similar, in fact, that one writer was led to refer to the Endowment as Celestial Masonry.
While members of the Mormon Church believe every jot and tittle of Mormonism, especially the temple ceremony, was received by revelation, one is reminded of Dr. Durham’s admission about the similarities to Masonry, “To explain them only as coincidence,” he says, “would be ridiculous.”
Joseph’s Use of “Clangs”
To purposely disguise any Masonic connection to his new religion, Smith used clangs--word-inventions intended to mask words.
For example, according to the Tanners, it is believed he incorporated “the first three letters of Moriah (M-O-Riah) . . . and the last three letters of Solomon (SoloM-O-N)”, to come up with Mor-mon, which is both the name of his sacred book and the name of its main character.
Another clang is Mahonri Moriancumer, the name of a character in the Book of Ether. According to Dr. Durham, the last name, Moriancumer, could easily be “a compound of ‘Moriah,’ the sacred hill where Solomon stored Enoch’s treasure--and ‘Cumorah,’ the sacred hill where the new Enoch [Smith] found his treasure plates.”
Moriancumer’s first name, Mahonri, according to Walter F. Prince, is “clang” for Masonry. This is achieved by replacing the s in Masonry with an h and changing the y to i. Therefore, Mahonri Moriancumer, “divested of ‘clang’ is Masonry Moriah Cumorah.”
Joseph’s Desire for Occult Revelation and Secret Ceremonies
The reason Joseph was so attracted to Masonry, was because he believed the Masonic ceremony contained rituals and doctrines practiced by the ancient Eleusinians and the Greek mystery religions. He was convinced they contained secrets handed down from Adam. Dr. Durham acknowledged this by saying that Joseph Smith accepted Masonry because ”he recognized true Ancient Mysteries contained therein.”
Smith, however, chose not to stick with the Masonic Lodge, but start his own. Why?
He became convinced that Masonic teachings, handed down from the Hermetic Magi, Babylon, Chaldea, Egypt and the Kabbalah, had been distorted over time. He felt that further back, there was an original truth, a purer Masonry. Joseph’s objective was to get to the very root of things and have a religion he could claim contained the most primordial doctrines--ones that originated as close to the beginning of time as possible.
Dr. Durham further confirmed this by saying that Smith “believed he was restoring Masonry’s original pristine brilliancy, and re-creating the original Mysteries of the ancient Priesthood.” Smith also incorporated ideas from the ancient Eleusinian mysteries gleaned from the Encyclopaedia Britannia and other available sources in 1837.
What other aspect of the shrouded teachings and doctrines of these cultic mysteries, fascinated Joseph? They could only be passed on to those made worthy through ritualistic ceremonies.
These ancient rituals included washings and anointings, oaths and penalties, a new name, special garments, covenants of chastity, achieving godhood and special passwords to enable one to pass by the sentries who guard the gates of heaven.
Most of these ancient ceremonies were taken up with initiates watching live actors in a drama--not much different from today’s temple ceremony. (Temple participants today, view most of the drama by watching actors in a movie.)
The idea of the temple drama was originally used in the Rosicrucian order, then incorporated into French Masonry in 1750. Known as allegorical “mystery plays”, they taught rituals which were “fundamentally Hermetic-Kabbalistic”. Of further interest is the 28th Degree of the Scottish rite, also known as “the Rite de Perfection,” which was “administered in a room painted like a vast garden, with open fields, forests, and mountains.” Similar murals adorn Mormon temple walls.
In a way, Smith’s desire to find God’s original revelation, was a noble endeavor. However, the deceit of the whole matter was that the ideas gleaned from the ancient mystery cults, including the Kaballah, he passed off as revelation from the Holy Ghost:
Now, I ask all who hear me, why the learned men who are preaching salvation, say that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing? The reason is, that they are unlearned in the things of God, and have not the gift of the Holy Ghost . . . But I am learned, and know more than all the world put together. The Holy Ghost does, anyhow, and he is within me, and comprehends more than all the world; and I will associate myself with him.
Joseph was very taken up with the Jewish Kaballah (the mystical, esoteric tradition of Judaism, claiming the original knowledge Adam received from God). His diary admits that he studied with a Jewish convert, Alexander Neibauer who had an extensive library on the Kabbalah. (”Freemasonry adopted portions of the Kabbalah into its third degree, the Royal Arch, and into some of the higher grades.”)
Faithful members believed his new insights were revealed from God. A year after his study with Neibauer, at the funeral of a man named King Follett, he began teaching some of these complex insights, gleaned from the Kaballah and other sources, his more famous one being the following:
[In the beginning] the head God called together the Gods and sat in grand council to bring forth the world . . . The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is [co-eternal] with God himself . . . God . . . is an exalted man . . . we have got to learn how to be gods . . . the same as all gods have done before.
Also influenced by the Kabbalistic concept that sacred revelation was progressive and open-ended, he felt he could receive a higher and more advanced revelation of God, and he thus began to receive his own revelations.
Many argue that Joseph Smith was uneducated, a statement promoted by Mormon leaders.
But, he was no dummy. He may have been illiterate in the beginning, but he became an avid learner while Neibaur tutored him. Smith had Latin, Hebrew, German and Greek New Testaments. Whether he could read them all is debatable; however, LDS history says he could read the German New Testament.
A look at the Modern LDS Church
Today’s Mormons argue that while all this may be true about Joseph Smith, the Church today no longer believes all that “superstitious stuff” “They have high morals, excellent ethics and standards, etc.”
But, there is something missing in this presumption. Mormonism’s foundation rests upon a man which God, in Deuteronomy 18:9-14, warns about:
Let no one be found among you . . . who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.
Further, two Presidents of the Mormon Church said, ”Joseph Smith is the foundation of this church,” and “Mormonism . . . must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith,” If so, it is, therefore, important to examine the life and claims of Joseph Smith closely. If he, as the foundation of their church, is proved false, then all the doctrines of Mormonism must also be false.
Some may continue to argue, “At least Mormons believe in Christ!”
But, even the most radical cults preach Christ. Mormonism, typical of other cults, teaches that faith in Jesus and what he did on the cross is not “enough” for salvation. Brigham Young taught that full salvation (exaltation in the highest heaven) can only come through acceptance of and final say-so of Joseph Smith, not through the grace of Christ:
No man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. Every man and woman must have the certification of Joseph Smith, Junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are.
[There is] no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith. If we get our salvation, we shall have to pass by him [Joseph Smith] . . . we cannot get around him.
Even non-Mormons might be tempted to say, “Well, let’s not hold Joseph Smith against the Mormon Church--look how far they’ve come! They no longer believe in divining rods or peep stones, and present day leaders certainly don’t engage in occult practices like animal sacrifice and magic circles.”
But the issue is not that they don’t practice them anymore. The issue is--that is what their church was built upon!
A true church must line up with all of God’s Word. Can we imagine God allowing his Old Testament prophets to indulge in magic and occult activities? In this respect, Smith’s reputation was so bad that he was refused membership in the Methodist Church.
When Joseph Smith asked to join the Methodist church the preacher, unaware of his occult activities, put his name on the rolls. Eventually, however, a board member, Joseph Lewis, heard about it and objected. He said, “Joseph’s manner of life rendered him unfit to be a member.” Smith was asked to withdraw unless he wanted to recant, confess, and reform himself. Smith refused. Later, in the Amboy paper, Lewis, along with a local preacher, Joshua McKune, explained:
We thought it was a disgrace to the church to have a practicing necromancer, a dealer in enchantments and bleeding ghosts . . . his occupation, habits and moral character were at variance with the discipline [and] his name would be a disgrace to the church.
Therefore, it makes no difference whether Mormons have high ethics or profess a belief in Christ. If the foundation is not built upon Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, it’s false.
Often it is asked: “Why don’t Mormon leaders wipe the slate clean and tell the truth to their members about Joseph Smith? Why don’t they gradually get rid of unbiblical beliefs and build their church around their high ethics and a Biblical belief in Jesus?”
But, Mormon leaders find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Knowing, as they do, the facts about Joseph Smith, they realize that if they admit to them, they chance destroying the faith of their members. Therefore, out of necessity they have to continue white-washing the image of Joseph Smith and extolling the divine foundation of the church.
As a result, Mormons continue to be deceived, along with many unsuspecting converts, who are not told certain Mormon doctrines up front, but led to believe they are joining another Christian church.
One must not be gullible but discerning, like the Bereans in Acts 17 who were praised by Paul because they tested everything he said by the Scriptures.
First Thessalonians 5:21says one must prove all things and hold fast to that which is good. Is the following good?
SUMMARY
· Joseph was involved in the use of peep stones, divining rods, witchcraft, astrology, blood sacrifices, necromancy, and magic circles.
· Joseph continued to rely upon these methods when he started his church, incorporating them into his temple ceremony along with rituals from ancient mystery religions.
· Everything Smith introduced into his new church, he passed off as divine revelation and requirements for salvation.
· To translate the Book of Mormon and Book of Abraham, he used the same peep stones used as a money-digger and palm reader.
· Many of the events pertaining to the Book of Mormon, were taken from the Masonic Legend of Enoch.
· Joseph Smith told conflicting stories on how he found the plates:
1. He found them through a brown seer stone (according to Brigham Young and Martin Harris).
2. Joseph claimed he received them from a Spanish ghost.
3. Joseph claimed he received them through a dream
4. Joseph claimed they were received from a nameless angel.
5. Then, through an angel named Nephi.
6. Lastly, through an angel named Moroni.
No individual, knowing the truth about the Mormon Church’s occult background, could possibly follow Joseph Smith as a prophet or embrace his teachings.
*Copyright 2003. This article cannot be copied and used in a professional publication without express permission of the author.
Joseph Smith Just plain Crazy!
Joseph Smith boasted that he did more than Jesus to keep a church together.
"God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil--all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet . . . " (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 408-409).
Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon was more correct than the Bible.
"I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." (History of the Church, Vol. 4, page 461)
Joseph Smith made a false prophecy (one of several).
". . .I prophesy in the name of the Lord God of Israel, unless the United States redress the wrongs committed upon the Saints in the state of Missouri and punish the crimes committed by her officers that in a few years the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted, and there will not be so much as a potsherd left . . . " (History of the Church, Vol. 5, p. 394.)
Joseph Smith said mothers have babies in eternity and some are on thrones.
"A question may be asked, ‘Will mothers have their children in eternity?' Yes! Yes! Mothers, you shall have your children." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, page 10). "Eternity is full of thrones, upon which dwell thousands of children reigning on thrones of glory, with not one cubit added to their stature." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 10).
Joseph Smith said there are many Gods.
"Hence, the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible . . . Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many . . . but to us there is but one God--that is pertaining to us; and he is in all and through all" (History of the Church, Vol. 6, page 474). "In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 5).
Joseph Smith said the Trinity is three gods.
"I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods." (Teachings of Prophet Joseph Smith p. 370).
Joseph Smith said God was once a man.
"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens...I say, if you were to see him to-day, you would see him like a man in form -- like yourselves, in all the person, image, and very form as a man....it is necessary that we should understand the character and being of God, and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away the veil, so that you may see....and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 3).
Joseph Smith said our greatest responsibility is to seek after our dead.
"The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead" (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, page 7).
Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven? (The Young Woman's Journal, Vol. 3, pages 263-264. See reprint in Mormonism -- Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, page 4.)
"God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil--all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet . . . " (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 408-409).
Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon was more correct than the Bible.
"I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." (History of the Church, Vol. 4, page 461)
Joseph Smith made a false prophecy (one of several).
". . .I prophesy in the name of the Lord God of Israel, unless the United States redress the wrongs committed upon the Saints in the state of Missouri and punish the crimes committed by her officers that in a few years the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted, and there will not be so much as a potsherd left . . . " (History of the Church, Vol. 5, p. 394.)
Joseph Smith said mothers have babies in eternity and some are on thrones.
"A question may be asked, ‘Will mothers have their children in eternity?' Yes! Yes! Mothers, you shall have your children." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, page 10). "Eternity is full of thrones, upon which dwell thousands of children reigning on thrones of glory, with not one cubit added to their stature." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 10).
Joseph Smith said there are many Gods.
"Hence, the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible . . . Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many . . . but to us there is but one God--that is pertaining to us; and he is in all and through all" (History of the Church, Vol. 6, page 474). "In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 5).
Joseph Smith said the Trinity is three gods.
"I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods." (Teachings of Prophet Joseph Smith p. 370).
Joseph Smith said God was once a man.
"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens...I say, if you were to see him to-day, you would see him like a man in form -- like yourselves, in all the person, image, and very form as a man....it is necessary that we should understand the character and being of God, and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away the veil, so that you may see....and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 3).
Joseph Smith said our greatest responsibility is to seek after our dead.
"The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead" (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, page 7).
Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven? (The Young Woman's Journal, Vol. 3, pages 263-264. See reprint in Mormonism -- Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, page 4.)
Soul Robbing AKA Baptizing the Poor Dead
The Mormons really have a thing for dead people. I mean they really like dead people…..so much in fact that they have been have been known to marry dead women and to baptize dead people. The latter practice has gotten them in tons of trouble with Jews, Catholics and Christians alike to stop this soul robbing.
Quick Mormon soul robbing Facts:
They do not limit their soul robbing to known Mormon loved ones.
They've soul robbed most known Native American tribal chiefs.
They've soul robbed every entry they could find in every encyclopedia.
They've soul robbed names they have gleaned from tombstones, from obituaries, from old city hall records, from English Church Christening logs, from immigration entry records, and from my parents' genealogy records.
The Mormon church has paid cash for names to Russian museums. This, much to the consternation of officials in the Russian Orthodox Church.
They soul robbed Holocaust victims and Nazis in the same rites and dead dunked Hitler three different times.
George Washington was one of the first people they soul robbed.
Baptism is the first ceremony performed in behalf of the dead in the temple. This is performed in the beautiful very expensive font is mounted on the full sized statues of 12 golden oxen, located in the temple basement. (A little odd don’t you think to stash 12 golden Ox and millions of names of non Mormons?)
Typically 200-300 baptisms are performed per hour, with LDS teenagers serving as proxies to introduce them into the temple rituals and vicarious Ordinance work at an impressionable age.
The Mormons have no respect for the dead and this practice should be outlawed. Please think about writing to congress and doing everything you can to stop this soul robbing of innocent people. The dead should not have to pay because Mormons cannot get enough living people to join their church.
Despite the out cry from a spiritual public for Mormons to stop soul raping the dead, Mormons refuse to comply. So let's continue to take what is "sacred" to Mormons and expose them so people can continue to seek the truth and save the dead from the evil clutches of the Mormons.
Quick Mormon soul robbing Facts:
They do not limit their soul robbing to known Mormon loved ones.
They've soul robbed most known Native American tribal chiefs.
They've soul robbed every entry they could find in every encyclopedia.
They've soul robbed names they have gleaned from tombstones, from obituaries, from old city hall records, from English Church Christening logs, from immigration entry records, and from my parents' genealogy records.
The Mormon church has paid cash for names to Russian museums. This, much to the consternation of officials in the Russian Orthodox Church.
They soul robbed Holocaust victims and Nazis in the same rites and dead dunked Hitler three different times.
George Washington was one of the first people they soul robbed.
Baptism is the first ceremony performed in behalf of the dead in the temple. This is performed in the beautiful very expensive font is mounted on the full sized statues of 12 golden oxen, located in the temple basement. (A little odd don’t you think to stash 12 golden Ox and millions of names of non Mormons?)
Typically 200-300 baptisms are performed per hour, with LDS teenagers serving as proxies to introduce them into the temple rituals and vicarious Ordinance work at an impressionable age.
The Mormons have no respect for the dead and this practice should be outlawed. Please think about writing to congress and doing everything you can to stop this soul robbing of innocent people. The dead should not have to pay because Mormons cannot get enough living people to join their church.
Despite the out cry from a spiritual public for Mormons to stop soul raping the dead, Mormons refuse to comply. So let's continue to take what is "sacred" to Mormons and expose them so people can continue to seek the truth and save the dead from the evil clutches of the Mormons.
Mormons Pleasing the Family not The Lord
Recently my brother baptized his 8 year old daughter as a Mormon. He had my parents come to town so that my father could participate in this Mormon ritual. Indoctrination in Mormonism begins in early childhood. Mormon children are taught that they must obey all the commandments. They are taught that they obey priesthood authority,(aka men) attend church, study the scriptures, pay a full ten percent tithing of all their allowance and gift money, avoid people and places where you might find temptation, (such as all non-Mormons) then you will be able to keep all the commandments. If you are not able to keep all the commandments, then it is because you have failed and have done something wrong.
I find it odd my brother would allow his child to be baptized. After all, just a few weeks prior to her baptism, my brother had told me he did not buy into what the church believed in. He stated he did not understand all of the teachings, even though he is an Ex-missionary. He too has a hard time buying into the baptism for the dead, aka soul robbing. He finds it difficult to believe that God is from a planet Kolob, and that his prophet Joseph Smith believed in the marriage of many women, or that he believed in men in the moon. He was unaware of many of the Mormon beliefs.
He did not know about Mormons and spirits which in a nut shell says everyone on earth now was a spirit in the pre-existence. When we die, our spirits are separated from our bodies and if we were good they go to "spirit paradise." If we were bad they go to "spirit prison." The spirit world exists as a place for spirits to go while awaiting the second coming.
I really get that he struggles with the belief that Mormons believe in multiple Gods and multiple worlds. Yep. Mormons believe that God created multiple worlds and each world has people living on it. They also believe that multiple Gods exist but each has their own universe. We are only subject to our God and if we obtain the highest level of heaven MEN can become gods.
I did not even bother to tell him that Brigham Young said that gold and silver grow the same way the hair grew on his head grows. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourse, 1852, p 219) Or that Brigham Young taught that the sun and moon were inhabited! In fact he said there was no doubt about it, either! ( Journal of Discourses, 1880, p 271)
Poor thing I am not sure if he could take the truth. In fact I am not sure he cares.
Anyhow so my brother, who is Mormon because it is what makes his mother, father and wife happy, jumped into the water to baptize his daughter in the name of………errrr ahhhhhh I am not sure he even knows. What he does know is he made his parents very proud, and his daughter got lots of presents and even a party because she did as she was told.
I guess what is sad, is that Mormons who do not fully believe in the crap that is shoved down their throats, will still go to their bishop, tell the bishop the lies they need to hear to get a temple recommend or whatever they need to dunk their children into the well of deception..... aka baptism. My brother does NOT like going to church, he on several occasions has shared he doesn't buy into the whole Mormon thing, however, it is people like him who baptize children and go to temples.
Well I guess I say good for him. He is showing himself and the world that Mormons will lie in the name of their Mormon God. Perhaps because my brother will never be honest to our parents how he feels about the church, he is seeking his own type of revenge on the church, or perhaps it just goes right past him, and as always, he just does as he is told, even though he is 38.
No matter. I think it is important to get information out about these good Mormon people and how they will lie and soul rob to please their God or in my brothers case to keep family peace. Yes the one thing my poor brother believes in is pleasing family.
I find it odd my brother would allow his child to be baptized. After all, just a few weeks prior to her baptism, my brother had told me he did not buy into what the church believed in. He stated he did not understand all of the teachings, even though he is an Ex-missionary. He too has a hard time buying into the baptism for the dead, aka soul robbing. He finds it difficult to believe that God is from a planet Kolob, and that his prophet Joseph Smith believed in the marriage of many women, or that he believed in men in the moon. He was unaware of many of the Mormon beliefs.
He did not know about Mormons and spirits which in a nut shell says everyone on earth now was a spirit in the pre-existence. When we die, our spirits are separated from our bodies and if we were good they go to "spirit paradise." If we were bad they go to "spirit prison." The spirit world exists as a place for spirits to go while awaiting the second coming.
I really get that he struggles with the belief that Mormons believe in multiple Gods and multiple worlds. Yep. Mormons believe that God created multiple worlds and each world has people living on it. They also believe that multiple Gods exist but each has their own universe. We are only subject to our God and if we obtain the highest level of heaven MEN can become gods.
I did not even bother to tell him that Brigham Young said that gold and silver grow the same way the hair grew on his head grows. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourse, 1852, p 219) Or that Brigham Young taught that the sun and moon were inhabited! In fact he said there was no doubt about it, either! ( Journal of Discourses, 1880, p 271)
Poor thing I am not sure if he could take the truth. In fact I am not sure he cares.
Anyhow so my brother, who is Mormon because it is what makes his mother, father and wife happy, jumped into the water to baptize his daughter in the name of………errrr ahhhhhh I am not sure he even knows. What he does know is he made his parents very proud, and his daughter got lots of presents and even a party because she did as she was told.
I guess what is sad, is that Mormons who do not fully believe in the crap that is shoved down their throats, will still go to their bishop, tell the bishop the lies they need to hear to get a temple recommend or whatever they need to dunk their children into the well of deception..... aka baptism. My brother does NOT like going to church, he on several occasions has shared he doesn't buy into the whole Mormon thing, however, it is people like him who baptize children and go to temples.
Well I guess I say good for him. He is showing himself and the world that Mormons will lie in the name of their Mormon God. Perhaps because my brother will never be honest to our parents how he feels about the church, he is seeking his own type of revenge on the church, or perhaps it just goes right past him, and as always, he just does as he is told, even though he is 38.
No matter. I think it is important to get information out about these good Mormon people and how they will lie and soul rob to please their God or in my brothers case to keep family peace. Yes the one thing my poor brother believes in is pleasing family.
Vatican letter directs bishops to keep parish records from Mormons
By Chaz Muth
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In an effort to block posthumous rebaptisms by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Catholic dioceses throughout the world have been directed by the Vatican not to give information in parish registers to the Mormons' Genealogical Society of Utah.
An April 5 letter from the Vatican Congregation for Clergy, obtained by Catholic News Service in late April, asks episcopal conferences to direct all bishops to keep the Latter-day Saints from microfilming and digitizing information contained in those registers.
The order came in light of "grave reservations" expressed in a Jan. 29 letter from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the clergy congregation's letter said.
Father James Massa, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, said the step was taken to prevent the Latter-day Saints from using records -- such as baptismal documentation -- to posthumously baptize by proxy the ancestors of church members.
Posthumous baptisms by proxy have been a common practice for the Latter-day Saints -- commonly known as Mormons -- for more than a century, allowing the church's faithful to have their ancestors baptized into their faith so they may be united in the afterlife, said Mike Otterson, a spokesman in the church's Salt Lake City headquarters.
In a telephone interview with CNS May 1, Otterson said he wanted a chance to review the contents of the letter before commenting on how it will affect the Mormons' relationship with the Catholic Church.
"This dicastery is bringing this matter to the attention of the various conferences of bishops," the letter reads. "The congregation requests that the conference notifies each diocesan bishop in order to ensure that such a detrimental practice is not permitted in his territory, due to the confidentiality of the faithful and so as not to cooperate with the erroneous practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
The letter is dated 10 days before Pope Benedict XVI's April 15-20 U.S. visit, during which he presided over an ecumenical prayer service attended by two Mormon leaders. It marked the first time Mormons had participated in a papal prayer service.
Father Massa said he could see how the policy stated in the letter could strain relations between the Catholic Church and the Latter-day Saints.
"It certainly has that potential," he said. "But I would also say that the purpose of interreligious dialogue is not to only identify agreements, but also to understand our differences. As Catholics, we have to make very clear to them their practice of so-called rebaptism is unacceptable from the standpoint of Catholic truth."
The Catholic Church will eventually open a dialogue with the Mormons about the rebaptism issue, Father Massa said, "but we are at the beginning of the beginning of a new relationship with the LDS. The first step in any dialogue is to establish trust and to seek friendship."
The two faiths share intrinsic viewpoints on key issues the United States is facing, particularly the pro-life position on abortion and an opposition to same-sex marriage.
However, theological differences have cropped up between Mormons and Catholics in the past.
In 2001 the Vatican's doctrinal congregation issued a ruling that baptism conferred by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot be considered a valid Christian baptism, thus requiring converts from that religion to Catholicism to receive a Catholic baptism.
"We don't have an issue with the fact that the Catholic Church doesn't recognize our baptisms, because we don't recognize theirs," Otterson said. "It's a difference of belief."
When issuing its 2001 ruling, the Vatican said that even though the Mormon baptismal rite refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the church's beliefs about the identity of the three persons are so different from Catholic and mainline Christian belief that the rite cannot be regarded as a Christian baptism.
Latter-day Saints regard Jesus and the Holy Spirit as children of the Father and the Heavenly Mother. They believe that baptism was instituted by the Father, not Christ, and that it goes back to Adam and Eve.
Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald -- vicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City -- said he didn't understand why the Latter-day Saints church was singled out in this latest Vatican policy regarding parish records.
"We have a policy not to give out baptismal records to anyone unless they are entitled to have them," Msgr. Fitzgerald said of his diocese. "That isn't just for the Church of the Latter-day Saints. That is for all groups."
Though he said the Salt Lake City Diocese has enjoyed a long-standing dialogue with the Latter-day Saints, Msgr. Fitzgerald said the diocese does not support giving the Mormons names for the sake of rebaptism.
Mormons have been criticized by several other faiths -- perhaps most passionately by the Jews -- for the church's practice of posthumous baptism.
Members of the Latter-day Saints believe baptizing their ancestors by proxy gives the dead an opportunity to embrace the faith in the afterlife. The actual baptism-by-proxy ceremony occurs in a Mormon temple, and is intended to wash sins away for the commencement of church membership.
Jewish leaders have called the practice arrogant and said it is disrespectful to the dead, especially Holocaust victims.
"Baptism by proxy is a fundamentally important doctrine of the Latter-day Saints," Otterson said. "We have cooperative relationships with churches, governments -- both state and national -- going back to the last century. Our practice of negotiating for records and making them available for genealogical research is very well known."
Father Massa said he is not aware of aggressive attempts to obtain baptismal records at Catholic parishes in any of the U.S. dioceses.
He also said the Catholic Church will continue to reach out to the Mormons and carry on the efforts of understanding that have already begun, especially in Salt Lake City.
"Profound theological differences are not an excuse for avoiding dialogue, but a reason for pursuing dialogue," Father Massa said.
DESPITE THE FACT THE JEWS AND CATHOLICS HAVE ASKED KINDLY FOR MORMONS TO NOT BAPTIZE THEIR DEAD, THEY CONTINUE THE PRACTICE OF SOUL ROBBING.
By Chaz Muth
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In an effort to block posthumous rebaptisms by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Catholic dioceses throughout the world have been directed by the Vatican not to give information in parish registers to the Mormons' Genealogical Society of Utah.
An April 5 letter from the Vatican Congregation for Clergy, obtained by Catholic News Service in late April, asks episcopal conferences to direct all bishops to keep the Latter-day Saints from microfilming and digitizing information contained in those registers.
The order came in light of "grave reservations" expressed in a Jan. 29 letter from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the clergy congregation's letter said.
Father James Massa, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, said the step was taken to prevent the Latter-day Saints from using records -- such as baptismal documentation -- to posthumously baptize by proxy the ancestors of church members.
Posthumous baptisms by proxy have been a common practice for the Latter-day Saints -- commonly known as Mormons -- for more than a century, allowing the church's faithful to have their ancestors baptized into their faith so they may be united in the afterlife, said Mike Otterson, a spokesman in the church's Salt Lake City headquarters.
In a telephone interview with CNS May 1, Otterson said he wanted a chance to review the contents of the letter before commenting on how it will affect the Mormons' relationship with the Catholic Church.
"This dicastery is bringing this matter to the attention of the various conferences of bishops," the letter reads. "The congregation requests that the conference notifies each diocesan bishop in order to ensure that such a detrimental practice is not permitted in his territory, due to the confidentiality of the faithful and so as not to cooperate with the erroneous practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
The letter is dated 10 days before Pope Benedict XVI's April 15-20 U.S. visit, during which he presided over an ecumenical prayer service attended by two Mormon leaders. It marked the first time Mormons had participated in a papal prayer service.
Father Massa said he could see how the policy stated in the letter could strain relations between the Catholic Church and the Latter-day Saints.
"It certainly has that potential," he said. "But I would also say that the purpose of interreligious dialogue is not to only identify agreements, but also to understand our differences. As Catholics, we have to make very clear to them their practice of so-called rebaptism is unacceptable from the standpoint of Catholic truth."
The Catholic Church will eventually open a dialogue with the Mormons about the rebaptism issue, Father Massa said, "but we are at the beginning of the beginning of a new relationship with the LDS. The first step in any dialogue is to establish trust and to seek friendship."
The two faiths share intrinsic viewpoints on key issues the United States is facing, particularly the pro-life position on abortion and an opposition to same-sex marriage.
However, theological differences have cropped up between Mormons and Catholics in the past.
In 2001 the Vatican's doctrinal congregation issued a ruling that baptism conferred by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot be considered a valid Christian baptism, thus requiring converts from that religion to Catholicism to receive a Catholic baptism.
"We don't have an issue with the fact that the Catholic Church doesn't recognize our baptisms, because we don't recognize theirs," Otterson said. "It's a difference of belief."
When issuing its 2001 ruling, the Vatican said that even though the Mormon baptismal rite refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the church's beliefs about the identity of the three persons are so different from Catholic and mainline Christian belief that the rite cannot be regarded as a Christian baptism.
Latter-day Saints regard Jesus and the Holy Spirit as children of the Father and the Heavenly Mother. They believe that baptism was instituted by the Father, not Christ, and that it goes back to Adam and Eve.
Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald -- vicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City -- said he didn't understand why the Latter-day Saints church was singled out in this latest Vatican policy regarding parish records.
"We have a policy not to give out baptismal records to anyone unless they are entitled to have them," Msgr. Fitzgerald said of his diocese. "That isn't just for the Church of the Latter-day Saints. That is for all groups."
Though he said the Salt Lake City Diocese has enjoyed a long-standing dialogue with the Latter-day Saints, Msgr. Fitzgerald said the diocese does not support giving the Mormons names for the sake of rebaptism.
Mormons have been criticized by several other faiths -- perhaps most passionately by the Jews -- for the church's practice of posthumous baptism.
Members of the Latter-day Saints believe baptizing their ancestors by proxy gives the dead an opportunity to embrace the faith in the afterlife. The actual baptism-by-proxy ceremony occurs in a Mormon temple, and is intended to wash sins away for the commencement of church membership.
Jewish leaders have called the practice arrogant and said it is disrespectful to the dead, especially Holocaust victims.
"Baptism by proxy is a fundamentally important doctrine of the Latter-day Saints," Otterson said. "We have cooperative relationships with churches, governments -- both state and national -- going back to the last century. Our practice of negotiating for records and making them available for genealogical research is very well known."
Father Massa said he is not aware of aggressive attempts to obtain baptismal records at Catholic parishes in any of the U.S. dioceses.
He also said the Catholic Church will continue to reach out to the Mormons and carry on the efforts of understanding that have already begun, especially in Salt Lake City.
"Profound theological differences are not an excuse for avoiding dialogue, but a reason for pursuing dialogue," Father Massa said.
DESPITE THE FACT THE JEWS AND CATHOLICS HAVE ASKED KINDLY FOR MORMONS TO NOT BAPTIZE THEIR DEAD, THEY CONTINUE THE PRACTICE OF SOUL ROBBING.
Mormons and Tithing: Robbery in the name of God
Mormons and Tithing
I found this article and some comments about Mormons and their tithing ritual. I remember even as a small child having to "give" 10% of my allowance. I was not offered a choice it was demanded from the Mormons.
Members of The Mormon church are required to hold annual tithing settlements to declare their tithing faithfulness. Why is tithing more important than chastity? Why not hold annual "chastity settlements" or "honesty settlements" or "doing good to our fellow man settlements." Why is a 10% admission charge required for entry into the temple and eventually into the CK?
Most other faiths and other non-profit organizations publish their financial statements. The LDS church never reveals to members what their money is being spent on. There is no reason this shouldn't be done in the form of public financial statements as it is done in other religions and as it was done in the church's past. Members are expected to be responsible to the church in their tithing; shouldn't the church be just as forthcoming with where their money is spent?
In 1997, Time magazine estimated that the net worth of the LDS church was at the minimum $30 billion. (Some estimates put the net worth at $50 billion today.) The church is already rich, so why does it need money from poor members? Couldn't an organization this wealthy allow its poorest members to forgo the 10% tithing requirement? Why doesn't the church give more money to charity rather than spend all that cash on more multi-million dollar temples, shopping malls, TV/radio stations and cattle ranches in ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Florida and Nebraska?
In order to receive any assistance from the Bishop's Storehouse, a member in financial difficulty must first be declared a "full tithe payer". Why does someone who is hungry have to prove their "worthiness" to eat? When Jesus fed the multitude with the loaves and fishes, did he conduct "worthiness" interviews first?
Comment1:
Most other faiths and other non-profit organizations publish their financial statements. The LDS church never reveals to members what their money is being spent on. In an address at BYU, Gordon B. Hinckley gave a talk with a sub title of Trust and Accountability. See http://unicomm.byu.edu/about/foundation/documents/hinckley.htm
Now just how is the church suppose to be accountable when they do not publish their financial statements? Now what is wrong with this picture.
Comment2:
I can't think of any other religion that shakes down members for contributions the way the Mormons do. Yes, other churches pass around baskets and pressure you into giving money. But the Mormons require (yes, it is required) that members attending a meeting with the bishop at the end of the year to state, on the record, if they have paid a full tithe. If you have not, for any reason, you will be lectured on the need to repent and come back into compliance with the law of tithing.
Comment 3:
I think tithing settlement is a complete invasion. I bristled every time I had to do it. It just reinforces the fact that you have to pay your way into the temple and into the "celestial kingdom". Back when I was a member, my bishop once withheld my recommend because I was a month behind on paying my tithing. I was working my ass of in ward and stake callings, taking my kids to church every week by myself, doing my visiting teaching, etc., but he felt I wasn't worthy to go to the temple, that I was "stealing from the lord." I missed my cousin's wedding because I didn't have the recommend. I was devastated and completely embarrassed to miss the wedding. I was so ashamed because of the things the bishop said to me. I am so relieved to be out of that mental, emotional, financial trap
Comment 4:
..."Tithing is an important test of our personal righteousness. President Joseph F. Smith (1838-1918) said: "By this principle it shall be known who is for the kingdom of God and who is against it. … By it it shall be known whether we are faithful or unfaithful" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 276)." To think, according to the Mormon church, your faith and righteousness/worthiness depends upon how many sheckles you divvy over to God. How utterly absurd!
Comment 5:
In 1997, Time magazine estimated that the net worth of the LDS church was at the minimum $30 billion. (Some estimates put the net worth at $50 billion today.) The church is already rich, so why does it need money from poor members? Couldn't an organization this wealthy allow its poorest members to forgo the 10% tithing requirement? Why doesn't the church give more money to charity rather than spend all that cash on more multi-million dollar temples, shopping malls, TV/radio stations and cattle ranches in Florida and Nebraska? In order to receive any assistance from the Bishop's Storehouse, a member in financial difficulty must first be declared a "full tithe payer". Why does someone who is hungry have to prove their "worthiness" to eat? When Jesus fed the multitude with the loaves and fishes, did he conduct "worthiness" interviews first?
I found this article and some comments about Mormons and their tithing ritual. I remember even as a small child having to "give" 10% of my allowance. I was not offered a choice it was demanded from the Mormons.
Members of The Mormon church are required to hold annual tithing settlements to declare their tithing faithfulness. Why is tithing more important than chastity? Why not hold annual "chastity settlements" or "honesty settlements" or "doing good to our fellow man settlements." Why is a 10% admission charge required for entry into the temple and eventually into the CK?
Most other faiths and other non-profit organizations publish their financial statements. The LDS church never reveals to members what their money is being spent on. There is no reason this shouldn't be done in the form of public financial statements as it is done in other religions and as it was done in the church's past. Members are expected to be responsible to the church in their tithing; shouldn't the church be just as forthcoming with where their money is spent?
In 1997, Time magazine estimated that the net worth of the LDS church was at the minimum $30 billion. (Some estimates put the net worth at $50 billion today.) The church is already rich, so why does it need money from poor members? Couldn't an organization this wealthy allow its poorest members to forgo the 10% tithing requirement? Why doesn't the church give more money to charity rather than spend all that cash on more multi-million dollar temples, shopping malls, TV/radio stations and cattle ranches in ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Florida and Nebraska?
In order to receive any assistance from the Bishop's Storehouse, a member in financial difficulty must first be declared a "full tithe payer". Why does someone who is hungry have to prove their "worthiness" to eat? When Jesus fed the multitude with the loaves and fishes, did he conduct "worthiness" interviews first?
Comment1:
Most other faiths and other non-profit organizations publish their financial statements. The LDS church never reveals to members what their money is being spent on. In an address at BYU, Gordon B. Hinckley gave a talk with a sub title of Trust and Accountability. See http://unicomm.byu.edu/about/foundation/documents/hinckley.htm
Now just how is the church suppose to be accountable when they do not publish their financial statements? Now what is wrong with this picture.
Comment2:
I can't think of any other religion that shakes down members for contributions the way the Mormons do. Yes, other churches pass around baskets and pressure you into giving money. But the Mormons require (yes, it is required) that members attending a meeting with the bishop at the end of the year to state, on the record, if they have paid a full tithe. If you have not, for any reason, you will be lectured on the need to repent and come back into compliance with the law of tithing.
Comment 3:
I think tithing settlement is a complete invasion. I bristled every time I had to do it. It just reinforces the fact that you have to pay your way into the temple and into the "celestial kingdom". Back when I was a member, my bishop once withheld my recommend because I was a month behind on paying my tithing. I was working my ass of in ward and stake callings, taking my kids to church every week by myself, doing my visiting teaching, etc., but he felt I wasn't worthy to go to the temple, that I was "stealing from the lord." I missed my cousin's wedding because I didn't have the recommend. I was devastated and completely embarrassed to miss the wedding. I was so ashamed because of the things the bishop said to me. I am so relieved to be out of that mental, emotional, financial trap
Comment 4:
..."Tithing is an important test of our personal righteousness. President Joseph F. Smith (1838-1918) said: "By this principle it shall be known who is for the kingdom of God and who is against it. … By it it shall be known whether we are faithful or unfaithful" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 276)." To think, according to the Mormon church, your faith and righteousness/worthiness depends upon how many sheckles you divvy over to God. How utterly absurd!
Comment 5:
In 1997, Time magazine estimated that the net worth of the LDS church was at the minimum $30 billion. (Some estimates put the net worth at $50 billion today.) The church is already rich, so why does it need money from poor members? Couldn't an organization this wealthy allow its poorest members to forgo the 10% tithing requirement? Why doesn't the church give more money to charity rather than spend all that cash on more multi-million dollar temples, shopping malls, TV/radio stations and cattle ranches in Florida and Nebraska? In order to receive any assistance from the Bishop's Storehouse, a member in financial difficulty must first be declared a "full tithe payer". Why does someone who is hungry have to prove their "worthiness" to eat? When Jesus fed the multitude with the loaves and fishes, did he conduct "worthiness" interviews first?
Are Mormons Selfish?
Okay so listen we know that Mormons worship a false prophet, and we know Mormons believe all men will become Gods of their own planet thus they believe in more than one God. We also know that this planet has 7 billion people and we can hardly feed ourselves yet the Mormons are big breeders and do not believe in birth control or saving this planet.
In addition, most of us understand that Mormons are so insecure with their religion they need to go around saying the are the ONLY true church and that they are the "chosen" and "elite". In addition to all this, we get that Mormons believe in tithing, no they just cannot pass the basket, they need to keep a record, and then call you in once a year and let you know whether you have been naughty or nice handing over your hard earned money to the Mormon corporation.
So this brings up a question. Are Mormons selfish?
Many will say, heck no, why they take care of their own. Believe me, this is true. Mormons will take care of their own, but that sadness comes with Mormons will not take care of non-Mormons. Because they are the chosen and the elite, they have no regarded for non Mormons. In fact they disregard non Mormons so much, that they wait for non-Mormons to die, and then hunt them like prey so they can baptize them Mormons. Actually there should be a law, but Mormons can use their selfishness to baptize whom ever, including the likes of Hitler, Elvis, Ann Frank and believe it or not it showed up on their records Mickey Mouse.
With that said, it is the holiday season and so I went down memory lane. As a Mormon youth, Christmas was about getting. Mormons shopped and shopped and shopped, even if they could not afford food on their table, they shopped.
It was all about giving, so that they could get. Ahhh and the Mormon guilt. Who could forget that. Even as a youth, if I had a cold and was sick, I was forced out of the house to go sing Christmas Carols at fellow Mormon homes. Of course if I mentioned we sing songs for an old people’s homes or an agency, they became upset with me. How dare I want to use these precious youthful Mormon voices for anything other than for other Mormons. The same went with donations. Mormons just do not like to donate to non-Mormon agencies. I used to tell my mother as a teenager, that I would like to donate to the food bank, my parents would not hear it! A good Mormon would NEVER give their money to a non-Mormon organization.
Of course you could imagine my joy when I finally quit the church and lovingly give to a variety of organizations as often as I can without shame or guilt.
Now, if I can only un-baptize all the dead relatives they baptized, I would be inb 7th heaven (or in the case of Mormons, one of the three Kingdoms of heaven!)
In addition, most of us understand that Mormons are so insecure with their religion they need to go around saying the are the ONLY true church and that they are the "chosen" and "elite". In addition to all this, we get that Mormons believe in tithing, no they just cannot pass the basket, they need to keep a record, and then call you in once a year and let you know whether you have been naughty or nice handing over your hard earned money to the Mormon corporation.
So this brings up a question. Are Mormons selfish?
Many will say, heck no, why they take care of their own. Believe me, this is true. Mormons will take care of their own, but that sadness comes with Mormons will not take care of non-Mormons. Because they are the chosen and the elite, they have no regarded for non Mormons. In fact they disregard non Mormons so much, that they wait for non-Mormons to die, and then hunt them like prey so they can baptize them Mormons. Actually there should be a law, but Mormons can use their selfishness to baptize whom ever, including the likes of Hitler, Elvis, Ann Frank and believe it or not it showed up on their records Mickey Mouse.
With that said, it is the holiday season and so I went down memory lane. As a Mormon youth, Christmas was about getting. Mormons shopped and shopped and shopped, even if they could not afford food on their table, they shopped.
It was all about giving, so that they could get. Ahhh and the Mormon guilt. Who could forget that. Even as a youth, if I had a cold and was sick, I was forced out of the house to go sing Christmas Carols at fellow Mormon homes. Of course if I mentioned we sing songs for an old people’s homes or an agency, they became upset with me. How dare I want to use these precious youthful Mormon voices for anything other than for other Mormons. The same went with donations. Mormons just do not like to donate to non-Mormon agencies. I used to tell my mother as a teenager, that I would like to donate to the food bank, my parents would not hear it! A good Mormon would NEVER give their money to a non-Mormon organization.
Of course you could imagine my joy when I finally quit the church and lovingly give to a variety of organizations as often as I can without shame or guilt.
Now, if I can only un-baptize all the dead relatives they baptized, I would be inb 7th heaven (or in the case of Mormons, one of the three Kingdoms of heaven!)
Could You Write that Book?Could you write a book that satisfies these requirements? It certainly proves something about the Book of Mormon…
Could you write a book that satisfies these requirements? It certainly proves something about the Book of Mormon…
1. Write a history of ancient America covering a period of from 2200 B.C.E. to
400 A.D.? Why ancient America? Because that’s what the Book of Mormon claims to
be about silly.
2. You must start telling tales that resemble this book to your family at least ten years before you write it.
3. You must be primarily self-educated. If you are formally educated, it may or may not make it more difficult to write, that will obviously depend on your
individual “education,” but don’t worry about learning how to spell, since . . .
4. You must include at least 3000 grammatical and spelling errors, even if you use a secretary to transcribe your dictation. Now this is going to be really
hard, because where are you going to find such an ignorant secretary. Good luck on that one.
5. Your “history” must be 531 pages long, and must use the phrase “and it came to pass” 3,856 times.
6. You must come up with a good explanation as to why filler such as “and it came to pass” would be so frequently repeated if your history is supposed to have come from gold plates where space was at a premium.
7. Once your book is published you are only allowed to change it 3500 times for grammatical and spelling errors and 500 times for doctrinal, historical or other
substantive inconsistencies.
8. Your “history” must replace the actual millions of inhabitants of the ancient Americas during this time period with fictitious nations, including one nation
founded by refugees from the mythical tower of Babylon who came to the Americas on a giant barrel-like barge with holes in the top and the bottom (don’t ask) of
the barge and two other nations founded by “jews” who know next to nothing about Jewish dietary or religious practices.
9. You must describe the inhabitants of America and their religious, economic, political and social and cultural institutions in such way that they don’t in any way represent the religious, political, social and cultural institutions of the actual inhabitants of ancient America. Even make up some names of coins that were never used by the actual inhabitants of America. Throw in some animals and crops that are only in the Americas post-Columbus and make up some funny names
of non-existent animals too, like cureloms.
10. Make sure you plagiarize from more than one section of the bible, and from various other sources, so that your claim that many ancient authors contributed
to the book can be trumpeted by apologists.
11. Make up a story about a dead guy coming to America and killing millions of inhabitants and burying cities in the ocean and under the earth. Call him Nosferatu or Lestat. No just kidding — you must actually call him Jesus.
12. Claim that your inconsistent and grammatically awkward prose (except for the plagiarized parts which are somewhat better written) is not fiction, but a true
and sacred history.
13. Include in your book 54 chapters dealing with wars that bear no resemblance to the actual wars that took place in the ancient Americas. Make sure that at least some of these wars include the nonsensical accounts of million man armies. Ignore the problems associated with the logistical support for such a large army. Also include million men armies fighting to the last man and their bones and steel weapons disappearing from the face of the earth. Include 21 historical chapters which bear no resemblance to actual history, try and include some
inconsistencies here too, like people reappearing in the narrative after they have already died.
14. You must include 55 chapters on visions and prophesies. At least one of the “visions” must be an almost verbatim recital of a dream that some member of your family, preferably your father, told to you as a boy. Some of the prophesies must be plagiarized directly from the bible, but others must “prophesy” about things that have already happened between the time of the supposed prophesy and the present, so that you can show how accurate the “prophecies” of your book are. Except for the “prophecies” about events that have already taken place,
which must be laden with details, all prophecies should be very vague. Never do anything stupid like prophesy that Christ will come in 1891, the civil war would
start in the 1830’s or that people live on the moon and dress like Quakers, that would be quite a problem for you.
15. Included in your narrative will be bogus modes of travel that were never used in ancient America, bogus descriptions of clothing and clothing materials
that were never used in ancient America, bogus descriptions of crops that never existed in ancient America and bogus types of government as well.
16. You must invent 280 names. Well, not really invent, you can take some from the bible, some from the apocrypha, some from maps, etc. Some should be inside
jokes (Moron, Ether), some should be silly (anti-nephi-lehite, curelom), some should so forgettable that you refer to them obliquely (brother of jared) and some should come from the occult practices you were taught by your parents (Laman).
17. Every objective scholar who looks at your work and examines its claims to be a history of the ancient Americas must denounce it as a fraud. (OK, this one was
easy, but you deserve a break after so many hard ones in a row.)
18. Claim that your book is the word of God. Then start a religion with doctrines contrary to the book. (Don’t worry, this is actually much easier than it sounds.)
19. Throw in all kinds of absurd, impossible and contradictory statements. (If you need help with this see Ether 15:31, Mosiah 21:28 and 2 Nephi 19:1 for some
examples to get you started.)
20. No one but you or the members of the religion you founded must believe your claims that the book is of divine origin. To cover for the fact that you cannot
produce the gold plates, make up a story about the gold plates upon which the record came being “taken up into heaven” and get 11 people who are related to
you and/or with a financial interest in your book to say that they saw the plates before they disapperared. Make sure that you refer to the dead guy that
takes the plates back “to heaven” by at least two different names.
21. Get four dishonest and shifty characters to claim that they too had an magical dead guy come down from “heaven” to “testify” to them about your book.
Each of these witnesses must have a financial stake in the book.
22. Make sure that something in your book fulfills some vague biblical prophesy. (And yes, I know vague and biblical prophesy are redundant and repetitive.)
23. Thousands of men with a vested financial interest in the religion you founded, including many who are criminals and who lie under oath to congress,
must accept your book (and your teachings that contradict the book) for over 100 years. In fact, you must make sure that every man who leads your church for the
first 100 years must be a criminal. Make sure that you commit every one of the following crimes: treason, sedition, murder, perjury, conspiracy to commit
murder, bigamy, statutory rape, fraud, conterfeiting, illegal banking, assault, and bribery. Send some of your followers on missions and have sex with their
wives while they are away too. Make sure that every man that leads your church for the next 100 years commits at least 3 of the above crimes.
24. Since your book is filled with inconsistencies which easily demonstrate it as fraudulent, you must include an appeal to magical thinking at the end of the
book, or no one will follow you.
25. You’ve got to then get a bunch of believers in your fraudulent history to, a few of them glady, but most of them under some form of coercion, give up two
years of their life to con others into beleiving your bogus history. Have sex with some of their wives while they are away. Call this sex “celestial marriage.”
26. Some of these salesmen must even pay their own way. Now some of them will, over the course of these two years, come to the realization that your book is a
fraud, but over half of them must stay in your church.
27. You must derive your financial riches from the book and the religion which you found upon its teachings (and no we must not forget about the doctrines that
contradict the teachings of the book). Despite making several fortunes over the course of your life by conning the believers of your book out of their hard
earned money, you will waste it all and flee at least two states due to your financial improprieties and declare bankruptcy at least once. And along the same
financial vein, you must also steal money from your foster daughters. And while you’re at it, have sex with some of them too.
28. When your financial cons and sexual scandals cause problems for your family and followers, you must blame everything on religious persecution and leave
town. You must ingraine this into your followers so that they carry this false persecution complex with them unto the third and the fourth generations. You must teach all the leaders of your movement to have sex with the wives and the daughters of those with lower callings in your church. You must have sex with 14 year old girls and cause that any follower of yours that does not want to have sex with 14 year old girls to be removed from any leadership position in your church. (Yes David Koresh did this too, but he never wrote a book and he’s not
about to write one now is he?)
29. Your book must result in a people whose unlawful practices will be referred to as barbaric by both the Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States
of America.. (If you live somewhere other than the US, similar organizations of the country where you live will suffice) You must include in your religion
covenants that require your people to blindly obey orders to murder non-members of your cult. Your book must result in a people that will kill and steal from
any who dare visit territory controlled by your followers. Your people must murder at least 20 children in cold blood.
30. Start right now, and spend a year writing the first draft of this book. Then complete the second draft in three months, BUT YOUR SECOND DRAFT MUST BE WRITTEN WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE FIRST DRAFT. Before starting on the second draft, you
must let the only copy of the first draft go to someone who does not believe you saw god, or that you saw any dead guys, or that dead guys gave you any gold
plates. Then come up with a good explanation as to why, since the plates were supposedly translated by the power of god, god didn’t just help you write the
same words over again.
31. Then get someone in the pay of the religion you founded to write a dishonest
“challenge” to “prove” your book isn’t fiction (even though it is). THEN, get someone else to spend a couple of hours coming up with a silly parody showing
what a dishonest hack the author of the first challenge was.
COULD YOU WRITE THAT BOOK?
1. Write a history of ancient America covering a period of from 2200 B.C.E. to
400 A.D.? Why ancient America? Because that’s what the Book of Mormon claims to
be about silly.
2. You must start telling tales that resemble this book to your family at least ten years before you write it.
3. You must be primarily self-educated. If you are formally educated, it may or may not make it more difficult to write, that will obviously depend on your
individual “education,” but don’t worry about learning how to spell, since . . .
4. You must include at least 3000 grammatical and spelling errors, even if you use a secretary to transcribe your dictation. Now this is going to be really
hard, because where are you going to find such an ignorant secretary. Good luck on that one.
5. Your “history” must be 531 pages long, and must use the phrase “and it came to pass” 3,856 times.
6. You must come up with a good explanation as to why filler such as “and it came to pass” would be so frequently repeated if your history is supposed to have come from gold plates where space was at a premium.
7. Once your book is published you are only allowed to change it 3500 times for grammatical and spelling errors and 500 times for doctrinal, historical or other
substantive inconsistencies.
8. Your “history” must replace the actual millions of inhabitants of the ancient Americas during this time period with fictitious nations, including one nation
founded by refugees from the mythical tower of Babylon who came to the Americas on a giant barrel-like barge with holes in the top and the bottom (don’t ask) of
the barge and two other nations founded by “jews” who know next to nothing about Jewish dietary or religious practices.
9. You must describe the inhabitants of America and their religious, economic, political and social and cultural institutions in such way that they don’t in any way represent the religious, political, social and cultural institutions of the actual inhabitants of ancient America. Even make up some names of coins that were never used by the actual inhabitants of America. Throw in some animals and crops that are only in the Americas post-Columbus and make up some funny names
of non-existent animals too, like cureloms.
10. Make sure you plagiarize from more than one section of the bible, and from various other sources, so that your claim that many ancient authors contributed
to the book can be trumpeted by apologists.
11. Make up a story about a dead guy coming to America and killing millions of inhabitants and burying cities in the ocean and under the earth. Call him Nosferatu or Lestat. No just kidding — you must actually call him Jesus.
12. Claim that your inconsistent and grammatically awkward prose (except for the plagiarized parts which are somewhat better written) is not fiction, but a true
and sacred history.
13. Include in your book 54 chapters dealing with wars that bear no resemblance to the actual wars that took place in the ancient Americas. Make sure that at least some of these wars include the nonsensical accounts of million man armies. Ignore the problems associated with the logistical support for such a large army. Also include million men armies fighting to the last man and their bones and steel weapons disappearing from the face of the earth. Include 21 historical chapters which bear no resemblance to actual history, try and include some
inconsistencies here too, like people reappearing in the narrative after they have already died.
14. You must include 55 chapters on visions and prophesies. At least one of the “visions” must be an almost verbatim recital of a dream that some member of your family, preferably your father, told to you as a boy. Some of the prophesies must be plagiarized directly from the bible, but others must “prophesy” about things that have already happened between the time of the supposed prophesy and the present, so that you can show how accurate the “prophecies” of your book are. Except for the “prophecies” about events that have already taken place,
which must be laden with details, all prophecies should be very vague. Never do anything stupid like prophesy that Christ will come in 1891, the civil war would
start in the 1830’s or that people live on the moon and dress like Quakers, that would be quite a problem for you.
15. Included in your narrative will be bogus modes of travel that were never used in ancient America, bogus descriptions of clothing and clothing materials
that were never used in ancient America, bogus descriptions of crops that never existed in ancient America and bogus types of government as well.
16. You must invent 280 names. Well, not really invent, you can take some from the bible, some from the apocrypha, some from maps, etc. Some should be inside
jokes (Moron, Ether), some should be silly (anti-nephi-lehite, curelom), some should so forgettable that you refer to them obliquely (brother of jared) and some should come from the occult practices you were taught by your parents (Laman).
17. Every objective scholar who looks at your work and examines its claims to be a history of the ancient Americas must denounce it as a fraud. (OK, this one was
easy, but you deserve a break after so many hard ones in a row.)
18. Claim that your book is the word of God. Then start a religion with doctrines contrary to the book. (Don’t worry, this is actually much easier than it sounds.)
19. Throw in all kinds of absurd, impossible and contradictory statements. (If you need help with this see Ether 15:31, Mosiah 21:28 and 2 Nephi 19:1 for some
examples to get you started.)
20. No one but you or the members of the religion you founded must believe your claims that the book is of divine origin. To cover for the fact that you cannot
produce the gold plates, make up a story about the gold plates upon which the record came being “taken up into heaven” and get 11 people who are related to
you and/or with a financial interest in your book to say that they saw the plates before they disapperared. Make sure that you refer to the dead guy that
takes the plates back “to heaven” by at least two different names.
21. Get four dishonest and shifty characters to claim that they too had an magical dead guy come down from “heaven” to “testify” to them about your book.
Each of these witnesses must have a financial stake in the book.
22. Make sure that something in your book fulfills some vague biblical prophesy. (And yes, I know vague and biblical prophesy are redundant and repetitive.)
23. Thousands of men with a vested financial interest in the religion you founded, including many who are criminals and who lie under oath to congress,
must accept your book (and your teachings that contradict the book) for over 100 years. In fact, you must make sure that every man who leads your church for the
first 100 years must be a criminal. Make sure that you commit every one of the following crimes: treason, sedition, murder, perjury, conspiracy to commit
murder, bigamy, statutory rape, fraud, conterfeiting, illegal banking, assault, and bribery. Send some of your followers on missions and have sex with their
wives while they are away too. Make sure that every man that leads your church for the next 100 years commits at least 3 of the above crimes.
24. Since your book is filled with inconsistencies which easily demonstrate it as fraudulent, you must include an appeal to magical thinking at the end of the
book, or no one will follow you.
25. You’ve got to then get a bunch of believers in your fraudulent history to, a few of them glady, but most of them under some form of coercion, give up two
years of their life to con others into beleiving your bogus history. Have sex with some of their wives while they are away. Call this sex “celestial marriage.”
26. Some of these salesmen must even pay their own way. Now some of them will, over the course of these two years, come to the realization that your book is a
fraud, but over half of them must stay in your church.
27. You must derive your financial riches from the book and the religion which you found upon its teachings (and no we must not forget about the doctrines that
contradict the teachings of the book). Despite making several fortunes over the course of your life by conning the believers of your book out of their hard
earned money, you will waste it all and flee at least two states due to your financial improprieties and declare bankruptcy at least once. And along the same
financial vein, you must also steal money from your foster daughters. And while you’re at it, have sex with some of them too.
28. When your financial cons and sexual scandals cause problems for your family and followers, you must blame everything on religious persecution and leave
town. You must ingraine this into your followers so that they carry this false persecution complex with them unto the third and the fourth generations. You must teach all the leaders of your movement to have sex with the wives and the daughters of those with lower callings in your church. You must have sex with 14 year old girls and cause that any follower of yours that does not want to have sex with 14 year old girls to be removed from any leadership position in your church. (Yes David Koresh did this too, but he never wrote a book and he’s not
about to write one now is he?)
29. Your book must result in a people whose unlawful practices will be referred to as barbaric by both the Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States
of America.. (If you live somewhere other than the US, similar organizations of the country where you live will suffice) You must include in your religion
covenants that require your people to blindly obey orders to murder non-members of your cult. Your book must result in a people that will kill and steal from
any who dare visit territory controlled by your followers. Your people must murder at least 20 children in cold blood.
30. Start right now, and spend a year writing the first draft of this book. Then complete the second draft in three months, BUT YOUR SECOND DRAFT MUST BE WRITTEN WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE FIRST DRAFT. Before starting on the second draft, you
must let the only copy of the first draft go to someone who does not believe you saw god, or that you saw any dead guys, or that dead guys gave you any gold
plates. Then come up with a good explanation as to why, since the plates were supposedly translated by the power of god, god didn’t just help you write the
same words over again.
31. Then get someone in the pay of the religion you founded to write a dishonest
“challenge” to “prove” your book isn’t fiction (even though it is). THEN, get someone else to spend a couple of hours coming up with a silly parody showing
what a dishonest hack the author of the first challenge was.
COULD YOU WRITE THAT BOOK?
Questions all Mormons Should Ask Themselves
Really, honestly...I am not a bible thumper....Matter fact, I am not all that Christian. Really I just believe in a loving God. Though I have read the bible many times mainly I was forced to read the bible, however, as an adult I read it just to read it. Recently though on a "born again" type of page, I saw these questions, and I was clearly impressed with the research this person must have gone through to ask these questions. In fact so impressed that I thought I would share their questions with my raeders. So enjoy and pass the questions along..........
Questions all Mormons Should Ask Themselves
1. If Gods are individuals who have passed through mortality and have progressed to Godhood, how has one person of the Trinity (the Holy Spirit) attained Godhood without getting a body? (See Acts 5:3,4)
2. If Gods are individuals who have passed through an earth life to attain Godhood, how is it that one person of the Trinity (Jesus Christ) was God before He received a body or passed through earth life? (Matt. 1:23 and Hebrews 10:5)
3. If the Book of Mormon really contains the fullness of the Gospel, why does it not teach the doctrine of “eternal progression”? (See D&C 20:8,9)
4. God said, “Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any”. How can there be Gods who are Elohim’s ancestors? Surely an all-knowing God would know this and wouldn’t speak falsehoods. (See Isa. 44:8 and Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, pg. 123)
5. How can any men ever become Gods when the Bible says, “Before me there was no god formed, neither shall there be after me”? (Isaiah 43:10)
6. If Adam is the “only God with whom we have to do”, did Adam create himself? (Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, pg. 50, 51)
7. Joseph Smith stated that without the ordinances and authority of the priesthood no man can see the face of God and live (D & C 84:21, 22). He also said that he saw God in 1820 (Joseph Smith 2:17). Joseph Smith, however, never received any priesthood until 1829 (D&C 13). How did he see God and survive? In which was he in error: his revelation in D & C 84:21, 22 or his experience in the grove?
8. If a spirit is a being without a body (See Luke 24:39), why do Mormons teach that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones? (See John 4:24)
9. If the Father is Elohim and Jesus is Jehovah (as the Mormons teach), how does a Mormon explain Deuteronomy 6:4, which in the Hebrew says, “Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah”?
10. If the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel, why doesn’t it teach that God was once a man?
11. If Mormonism is the restored church, which is based upon the Bible, why are Mormon leaders so quick to state that the Bible is “translated wrong” when faced with some conflict between the Bible and Mormonism?
12. If Jesus was conceived as a result of a physical union between God and Mary, how was Jesus born of a virgin? (Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, page 50)
13. Why did Christ not return in 1891 as Joseph Smith predicted? (History of the Church, Vol. 2 page 182).
14. Journal of Discourses Vol. 2, page 210 says Jesus was being married to Mary and Martha in Cana. Why then was he INVITED to his own wedding? (John 2:1,2)
15. Why does the Mormon church teach that there is no eternal hell when the Book of Mormon teaches that there is? (I Nephi 14:3, II Ne. 9:16;28: 21-23, Mosiah 3:25, Alma 34:35, Heleman 6:28 and 3:25,26).
16. How can Mormons teach that the repentant thief was not saved when the Book of Mormon states that Paradise is where the righteous go? (Luke 23:43, Alma 40:12, 16)
17. How did Nephi with a few men on a new continent build a temple like Solomon’s while Solomon needed 163,300 workmen and seven years to build his temple? (See I Kings 5:13-18 and II Nephi 5:15-17)
18. If the book of Mormon is true, why hasn’t a valid geography been established for the book?
19. Why was Joseph Smith still preaching against polygamy in October 1843 after he got his revelation in July 1843 commanding the practice of polygamy? (D & C 132; and History of the Church Vol. 6, page 46, or Teachings of the Prophet, page 324)
20. If Lehi left Jerusalem before 600 B.C., how did he learn about synagogues? (See II Nephi 26:26)
21. If the Book of Mormon is true, why do Indians fail to become white when they become Mormons? (II Nephi 30:6 – prior to 1981 revision)
22. What kind of chariots did the Nephites have in 90 B.C. some 1500 years before the introduction of the wheel on the Western Hemisphere? (Alma 18:9)
23. How do Mormons account for the word “church” in the Book of Mormon, about 600 B.C., which was centuries before the beginning of the Church on the day of Pentecost? (I Nephi 4:26)
24. How do Mormons account for the italicized words in the King James Version (indicating their absence in the Hebrew and Greek) being found in the Book of Mormon? (A comparison of Mosiah 14 and Isaiah 53 will provide at least 13 examples)
25. How did the French word “adieu” get into the Book of Mormon? (Jacob 7:27)
26. Was it right or wrong for Solomon to have many wives? (See Jacob 2:24; D & C 132:38,39) Which is it?
27. If polygamy was a provision for increasing population rapidly, why did God give Adam only one wife?
28. D&C 129:4, 5 says, “When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you. If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.” How can this test distinguish between an angel of God and a Jehovah’s Witness missionary…or a Mormon Elder.
29. If Joseph Smith was a true prophet, why did he fail to realize that “Elias” is the N.T. form of the name “Elijah”? (D & C 110:12,13 and 1 Kings 17:1 and James 5:17) How could Elijah (Elias) have appeared to Joseph Smith in the Kirkland Temple as two different people?
30. If children have no sins until they are eight years old, why are they baptized at age eight to wash away non-existent sins? (See Moroni 8:8)
31. How could the Garden of Eden have been in Missouri when the Pearl of Great Price declares that it was in the vicinity of Assyria and had the Euphrates and Hiddekel Rivers in it? (See P of GP Moses 3:14 and D&C 116 and 117; Genesis 2:8-15)
32. Brigham Young said, “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy”. (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 11, page 269) Why did the Mormons yield to the pressure of the government and stop practicing polygamy?
33. Heber C. Kimball stated, “We are th people of Deseret, she shall be no more Utah: we will have our own name”. Why did this prophecy fail? (J of D. Vol. 5, page 161)
34. How did Joseph Smith carry home the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, and how did the witnesses lift them so easily? (They weighted about 230 lbs. Gold, with a density of 19.3 weighs 1204.7 lbs. Per cubic foot. The plates were 7” x 8” by about 6”. See Articles of Faith, by Talmage, page 262, 34th Ed.)
35. When Christ died, did darkness cover the land for three days of for three hours? (See Luke 23:44 and III Nephi 8:19, 23)
36. If the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, why have the Mormons changed it? (There have been over 3,000 changes in the Book of Mormon, exclusive of punctuation changes)
37. If God speaks through a prophet, why do Mormons vote on whether or not to receive and authorize it?
38. It has been established that the “Sensen” manuscript was simply a common Egyptian burial papyrus. Why do the Mormons still accept the Book of Abraham which was translated from that manuscript?
39. Why is it that no other writings have been found in the language of “Reformed Egyptian”, the supposed language of the Book of Mormon plates? Is there evidence that such a language really existed?
40. Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to heaven? (See The Young Woman’s Journal, Vol 3, pages 263, 264.)
41. Why do Mormons not study Hebrew and Greek so that they can intelligently discuss the accuracy of the translation of the Bible?
42. Joseph Smith prepared fourteen Articles of Faith. Why has the original No. 11 been omitted?
43. According to Hebrews 7:24, the Melchizedek Priesthood is not transferable. Why do Mormons pass it from one to another?
44. If Mormonism came as a revelation from God, why are the Mormon Temple Oaths almost identical to the oaths of the Masonic Lodge?
45. Why did the Nauvoo House not stand forever and ever? (D&C 124:56-60)
46. If genealogies are important, why does the New Testament tell Christians to avoid them? (I Timothy 1:4; Titus 3:9)
47. The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin”. Why did Brigham Young say that there are some sins which can be atoned for only by the shedding of ones own blood.
48. God rejected the fig leaf aprons which Adam and Eve made. Why do Mormons memorialize the fall by using fig leaf aprons? (Gen. 3:21)
49. If baptism for the dead was a Christian ceremony, why did Paul use the pronoun “they” rather than “we” or “ye”? Why did he exclude himself and other Christians when referring to it? (I Cor. 15:29)
50. Why does the Mormon church teach that the broad way leads to the Terrestrial Heaven when Jesus taught that it leads to destruction? (Matthew 7:13, 14)
Questions all Mormons Should Ask Themselves
1. If Gods are individuals who have passed through mortality and have progressed to Godhood, how has one person of the Trinity (the Holy Spirit) attained Godhood without getting a body? (See Acts 5:3,4)
2. If Gods are individuals who have passed through an earth life to attain Godhood, how is it that one person of the Trinity (Jesus Christ) was God before He received a body or passed through earth life? (Matt. 1:23 and Hebrews 10:5)
3. If the Book of Mormon really contains the fullness of the Gospel, why does it not teach the doctrine of “eternal progression”? (See D&C 20:8,9)
4. God said, “Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any”. How can there be Gods who are Elohim’s ancestors? Surely an all-knowing God would know this and wouldn’t speak falsehoods. (See Isa. 44:8 and Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, pg. 123)
5. How can any men ever become Gods when the Bible says, “Before me there was no god formed, neither shall there be after me”? (Isaiah 43:10)
6. If Adam is the “only God with whom we have to do”, did Adam create himself? (Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, pg. 50, 51)
7. Joseph Smith stated that without the ordinances and authority of the priesthood no man can see the face of God and live (D & C 84:21, 22). He also said that he saw God in 1820 (Joseph Smith 2:17). Joseph Smith, however, never received any priesthood until 1829 (D&C 13). How did he see God and survive? In which was he in error: his revelation in D & C 84:21, 22 or his experience in the grove?
8. If a spirit is a being without a body (See Luke 24:39), why do Mormons teach that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones? (See John 4:24)
9. If the Father is Elohim and Jesus is Jehovah (as the Mormons teach), how does a Mormon explain Deuteronomy 6:4, which in the Hebrew says, “Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah”?
10. If the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel, why doesn’t it teach that God was once a man?
11. If Mormonism is the restored church, which is based upon the Bible, why are Mormon leaders so quick to state that the Bible is “translated wrong” when faced with some conflict between the Bible and Mormonism?
12. If Jesus was conceived as a result of a physical union between God and Mary, how was Jesus born of a virgin? (Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, page 50)
13. Why did Christ not return in 1891 as Joseph Smith predicted? (History of the Church, Vol. 2 page 182).
14. Journal of Discourses Vol. 2, page 210 says Jesus was being married to Mary and Martha in Cana. Why then was he INVITED to his own wedding? (John 2:1,2)
15. Why does the Mormon church teach that there is no eternal hell when the Book of Mormon teaches that there is? (I Nephi 14:3, II Ne. 9:16;28: 21-23, Mosiah 3:25, Alma 34:35, Heleman 6:28 and 3:25,26).
16. How can Mormons teach that the repentant thief was not saved when the Book of Mormon states that Paradise is where the righteous go? (Luke 23:43, Alma 40:12, 16)
17. How did Nephi with a few men on a new continent build a temple like Solomon’s while Solomon needed 163,300 workmen and seven years to build his temple? (See I Kings 5:13-18 and II Nephi 5:15-17)
18. If the book of Mormon is true, why hasn’t a valid geography been established for the book?
19. Why was Joseph Smith still preaching against polygamy in October 1843 after he got his revelation in July 1843 commanding the practice of polygamy? (D & C 132; and History of the Church Vol. 6, page 46, or Teachings of the Prophet, page 324)
20. If Lehi left Jerusalem before 600 B.C., how did he learn about synagogues? (See II Nephi 26:26)
21. If the Book of Mormon is true, why do Indians fail to become white when they become Mormons? (II Nephi 30:6 – prior to 1981 revision)
22. What kind of chariots did the Nephites have in 90 B.C. some 1500 years before the introduction of the wheel on the Western Hemisphere? (Alma 18:9)
23. How do Mormons account for the word “church” in the Book of Mormon, about 600 B.C., which was centuries before the beginning of the Church on the day of Pentecost? (I Nephi 4:26)
24. How do Mormons account for the italicized words in the King James Version (indicating their absence in the Hebrew and Greek) being found in the Book of Mormon? (A comparison of Mosiah 14 and Isaiah 53 will provide at least 13 examples)
25. How did the French word “adieu” get into the Book of Mormon? (Jacob 7:27)
26. Was it right or wrong for Solomon to have many wives? (See Jacob 2:24; D & C 132:38,39) Which is it?
27. If polygamy was a provision for increasing population rapidly, why did God give Adam only one wife?
28. D&C 129:4, 5 says, “When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you. If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.” How can this test distinguish between an angel of God and a Jehovah’s Witness missionary…or a Mormon Elder.
29. If Joseph Smith was a true prophet, why did he fail to realize that “Elias” is the N.T. form of the name “Elijah”? (D & C 110:12,13 and 1 Kings 17:1 and James 5:17) How could Elijah (Elias) have appeared to Joseph Smith in the Kirkland Temple as two different people?
30. If children have no sins until they are eight years old, why are they baptized at age eight to wash away non-existent sins? (See Moroni 8:8)
31. How could the Garden of Eden have been in Missouri when the Pearl of Great Price declares that it was in the vicinity of Assyria and had the Euphrates and Hiddekel Rivers in it? (See P of GP Moses 3:14 and D&C 116 and 117; Genesis 2:8-15)
32. Brigham Young said, “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy”. (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 11, page 269) Why did the Mormons yield to the pressure of the government and stop practicing polygamy?
33. Heber C. Kimball stated, “We are th people of Deseret, she shall be no more Utah: we will have our own name”. Why did this prophecy fail? (J of D. Vol. 5, page 161)
34. How did Joseph Smith carry home the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, and how did the witnesses lift them so easily? (They weighted about 230 lbs. Gold, with a density of 19.3 weighs 1204.7 lbs. Per cubic foot. The plates were 7” x 8” by about 6”. See Articles of Faith, by Talmage, page 262, 34th Ed.)
35. When Christ died, did darkness cover the land for three days of for three hours? (See Luke 23:44 and III Nephi 8:19, 23)
36. If the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, why have the Mormons changed it? (There have been over 3,000 changes in the Book of Mormon, exclusive of punctuation changes)
37. If God speaks through a prophet, why do Mormons vote on whether or not to receive and authorize it?
38. It has been established that the “Sensen” manuscript was simply a common Egyptian burial papyrus. Why do the Mormons still accept the Book of Abraham which was translated from that manuscript?
39. Why is it that no other writings have been found in the language of “Reformed Egyptian”, the supposed language of the Book of Mormon plates? Is there evidence that such a language really existed?
40. Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to heaven? (See The Young Woman’s Journal, Vol 3, pages 263, 264.)
41. Why do Mormons not study Hebrew and Greek so that they can intelligently discuss the accuracy of the translation of the Bible?
42. Joseph Smith prepared fourteen Articles of Faith. Why has the original No. 11 been omitted?
43. According to Hebrews 7:24, the Melchizedek Priesthood is not transferable. Why do Mormons pass it from one to another?
44. If Mormonism came as a revelation from God, why are the Mormon Temple Oaths almost identical to the oaths of the Masonic Lodge?
45. Why did the Nauvoo House not stand forever and ever? (D&C 124:56-60)
46. If genealogies are important, why does the New Testament tell Christians to avoid them? (I Timothy 1:4; Titus 3:9)
47. The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin”. Why did Brigham Young say that there are some sins which can be atoned for only by the shedding of ones own blood.
48. God rejected the fig leaf aprons which Adam and Eve made. Why do Mormons memorialize the fall by using fig leaf aprons? (Gen. 3:21)
49. If baptism for the dead was a Christian ceremony, why did Paul use the pronoun “they” rather than “we” or “ye”? Why did he exclude himself and other Christians when referring to it? (I Cor. 15:29)
50. Why does the Mormon church teach that the broad way leads to the Terrestrial Heaven when Jesus taught that it leads to destruction? (Matthew 7:13, 14)
What Mormon Missionaries WON'T Tell You
Most of us have had a Mormon Missionary knock at our door. If you have ever invited them in and listened to a presentation of their beliefs, you probably found most but not all of what they said very similar to those beliefs held by Christians. However, while trying to convince you that your Church is wrong and the Mormon Church is right, there are several points they intentionally leave out. Below is a list of Mormon beliefs the missionaries will be reluctant to tell you about:
They will be reluctant to tell you that the God they worship was not always God.
"We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 345)
They will be reluctant to tell you that they believe Jesus Christ is the spirit brother of Satan:
"The appointment of Jesus to be the Savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning. Haughty, ambitious, and covetous of power and glory, this spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of mankind." (Milton R. Hunter, Gospel Through the Ages, pg.15)
They will be reluctant to tell you that, according to Mormonism, Jesus Christ was a polygamist.
"I discover that some of the Eastern papers represent me as a great blasphemer, because I said, in my lecture on Marriage, at our last Conference, that Jesus Christ was married at Cana of Galilee, that Mary, Martha, and others were his wives, and that he begat children." (Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses 2:210)
The grand reason of the burst of public sentiment in anathemas upon Christ and his disciples, causing his crucifixion, was evidently based upon polygamy, according to the testimony of the philosophers who rose in that age. A belief in the doctrine of a plurality of wives caused the persecution of Jesus and his followers. We might almost think they were 'Mormons'" (Jedediah M. Grant, Journal of Discourses, 1:346)
They will be reluctant to tell you that for at least half a century church leaders were teaching that Adam was really God and the only God with whom we have to do.
"Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken--He is our Father, and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 1:50)
"I have learned by experience that there is but one God that pertains to this people and he is the god that pertains to this earth--The first man. That first man sent his own son to redeem the world..."(Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 4:1)
They will be reluctant to tell you that Brigham Young, who held the office of President of the Mormon church longer than any other man, taught that men must practice polygamy in order to become Gods.
"The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy." (Journal of Discourses 11:269)
They will be reluctant to tell you that the book of Mormon fails to contain any Mormon doctrine
Many portions of this Mormon Scripture even contradicts Mormon theology.
They will be reluctant to tell you about their secret temple ceremonies which, until April 1990, portrayed Christian ministers as hirelings of Satan. Nor will they tell you about the sacred underwear they are wearing which, they believe, actually protects them.
They will be reluctant to tell you that Mormon leaders have taught that Jesus was conceived by way of a sexual relationship between God and Mary.
"..how are children begotten? I answer just as Jesus Christ was begotten of his father. The difference between Jesus Christ and other men is this: Our fathers in the flesh are mortal men, who are subject unto death: but the Father of Jesus Christ in the flesh is the god of Heaven" (Joseph F. Smith, Family Home Evening Manual, 1972, pg. 125)
They will be reluctant to tell you that they believe the bible has been corrupted throughout the centuries and cannot be trusted fully by itself.
"I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph smith, pg.327)
"But the Bible has been robbed of its plainness; many sacred books having been lost, others rejected by the Romish Church, and what few we have left, were copied and recopied so many times, that it is admitted that almost every verse has been corrupted and mutilated to that degree that any two of them read alike." (Orson Pratt, The Seer, pg.213)
They will be reluctant to tell you that the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, which they claim to be both sacred and without error, contradict each other many times.
For example, in the Book of Mormon, God called David and Solomon's act of polygamy an abomination, whereas in the Doctrine and Covenants He claims to justify it. Jacob 2:24 in the Book of Mormon says, "Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord." Section 132:1 in the Doctrine and Covenants, however, states: "Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines."
They will be reluctant to tell you that they use Christian terms with Mormon meanings.
For example, a Mormon would probably agree with you that a person must be born again. To the Mormon, however, "born again" is a process which begins with water baptism. Another example are the words "salvation" and exaltation," which are synonymous in the Christian's mind. However, general salvation to the Mormon merely means the resurrection which everyone in the world will receive at death. Exaltation, or individual salvation, is the reward earned by the Mormon by following the laws of the Moron church. "Eternal Life" to the Mormon means Godhood. Regarding the word "scriptures," the Christian thinks of the Holy Bible while the Mormon could be thinking of not only the Bible but the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price as well.
They won't want to tell you that in order to gain entrance into the highest form of Mormon heaven, the Celestial kingdom, you must accept Joseph Smith, Jr. as a prophet of god. Faith in Jesus alone, Mormonism teaches, will force you to spend eternity in a lower form of heaven.
Tenth LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith stated in his book, doctrines of Salvation, that there is "No salvation without accepting Joseph Smith. The word "salvation," used in this context, must really mean "exaltation" because former Mormon apostle Bruce R. McConkie stated in his book Mormon Doctrine that general salvation is given to everyone regardless of belief. Personal salvation or exaltation to the highest form of Mormon heaven comes only by accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of god and by following the laws of the LDS church.
They will be reluctant to tell you that their founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., made many false prophecies which, according to the Bible, would classify him as a false prophet rather than a true prophet of God.
For instance, in 1835 Smith claimed that the Lord would again come in just 56 years. We would gather from this "prophecy" that Jesus Christ would again come to earth on or before 1891; no doubt Joseph Smith was incorrect (History of the church 2:182). In 1832 Joseph Smith claimed he had a revelation concerning the building of a temple in Independence, Missouri. According to section 84, verses 4 and 5, of the Doctrine and Covenants, he stated this "temple shall be reared in this generation. For verily this generation shall not pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it..." to this day the spot consecrated by Smith fails to be the sight of a great temple, but instead is covered with a well-kept lawn. In fact, the Mormon church does not even own the land.
They will be reluctant to tell you that the God they worship was not always God.
"We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 345)
They will be reluctant to tell you that they believe Jesus Christ is the spirit brother of Satan:
"The appointment of Jesus to be the Savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning. Haughty, ambitious, and covetous of power and glory, this spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of mankind." (Milton R. Hunter, Gospel Through the Ages, pg.15)
They will be reluctant to tell you that, according to Mormonism, Jesus Christ was a polygamist.
"I discover that some of the Eastern papers represent me as a great blasphemer, because I said, in my lecture on Marriage, at our last Conference, that Jesus Christ was married at Cana of Galilee, that Mary, Martha, and others were his wives, and that he begat children." (Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses 2:210)
The grand reason of the burst of public sentiment in anathemas upon Christ and his disciples, causing his crucifixion, was evidently based upon polygamy, according to the testimony of the philosophers who rose in that age. A belief in the doctrine of a plurality of wives caused the persecution of Jesus and his followers. We might almost think they were 'Mormons'" (Jedediah M. Grant, Journal of Discourses, 1:346)
They will be reluctant to tell you that for at least half a century church leaders were teaching that Adam was really God and the only God with whom we have to do.
"Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken--He is our Father, and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 1:50)
"I have learned by experience that there is but one God that pertains to this people and he is the god that pertains to this earth--The first man. That first man sent his own son to redeem the world..."(Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 4:1)
They will be reluctant to tell you that Brigham Young, who held the office of President of the Mormon church longer than any other man, taught that men must practice polygamy in order to become Gods.
"The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy." (Journal of Discourses 11:269)
They will be reluctant to tell you that the book of Mormon fails to contain any Mormon doctrine
Many portions of this Mormon Scripture even contradicts Mormon theology.
They will be reluctant to tell you about their secret temple ceremonies which, until April 1990, portrayed Christian ministers as hirelings of Satan. Nor will they tell you about the sacred underwear they are wearing which, they believe, actually protects them.
They will be reluctant to tell you that Mormon leaders have taught that Jesus was conceived by way of a sexual relationship between God and Mary.
"..how are children begotten? I answer just as Jesus Christ was begotten of his father. The difference between Jesus Christ and other men is this: Our fathers in the flesh are mortal men, who are subject unto death: but the Father of Jesus Christ in the flesh is the god of Heaven" (Joseph F. Smith, Family Home Evening Manual, 1972, pg. 125)
They will be reluctant to tell you that they believe the bible has been corrupted throughout the centuries and cannot be trusted fully by itself.
"I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph smith, pg.327)
"But the Bible has been robbed of its plainness; many sacred books having been lost, others rejected by the Romish Church, and what few we have left, were copied and recopied so many times, that it is admitted that almost every verse has been corrupted and mutilated to that degree that any two of them read alike." (Orson Pratt, The Seer, pg.213)
They will be reluctant to tell you that the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, which they claim to be both sacred and without error, contradict each other many times.
For example, in the Book of Mormon, God called David and Solomon's act of polygamy an abomination, whereas in the Doctrine and Covenants He claims to justify it. Jacob 2:24 in the Book of Mormon says, "Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord." Section 132:1 in the Doctrine and Covenants, however, states: "Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines."
They will be reluctant to tell you that they use Christian terms with Mormon meanings.
For example, a Mormon would probably agree with you that a person must be born again. To the Mormon, however, "born again" is a process which begins with water baptism. Another example are the words "salvation" and exaltation," which are synonymous in the Christian's mind. However, general salvation to the Mormon merely means the resurrection which everyone in the world will receive at death. Exaltation, or individual salvation, is the reward earned by the Mormon by following the laws of the Moron church. "Eternal Life" to the Mormon means Godhood. Regarding the word "scriptures," the Christian thinks of the Holy Bible while the Mormon could be thinking of not only the Bible but the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price as well.
They won't want to tell you that in order to gain entrance into the highest form of Mormon heaven, the Celestial kingdom, you must accept Joseph Smith, Jr. as a prophet of god. Faith in Jesus alone, Mormonism teaches, will force you to spend eternity in a lower form of heaven.
Tenth LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith stated in his book, doctrines of Salvation, that there is "No salvation without accepting Joseph Smith. The word "salvation," used in this context, must really mean "exaltation" because former Mormon apostle Bruce R. McConkie stated in his book Mormon Doctrine that general salvation is given to everyone regardless of belief. Personal salvation or exaltation to the highest form of Mormon heaven comes only by accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of god and by following the laws of the LDS church.
They will be reluctant to tell you that their founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., made many false prophecies which, according to the Bible, would classify him as a false prophet rather than a true prophet of God.
For instance, in 1835 Smith claimed that the Lord would again come in just 56 years. We would gather from this "prophecy" that Jesus Christ would again come to earth on or before 1891; no doubt Joseph Smith was incorrect (History of the church 2:182). In 1832 Joseph Smith claimed he had a revelation concerning the building of a temple in Independence, Missouri. According to section 84, verses 4 and 5, of the Doctrine and Covenants, he stated this "temple shall be reared in this generation. For verily this generation shall not pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it..." to this day the spot consecrated by Smith fails to be the sight of a great temple, but instead is covered with a well-kept lawn. In fact, the Mormon church does not even own the land.
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