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On Sept 21, 1823, Moroni appears and points Joseph Smith to the tablets Whoever chose the angel Moroni for the Mormons had a good sense of humor. The Mormons (Latter Day Saints) started around 1850 in New York. The scientific field of astronomy had advanced sufficiently that it became part the Mormons theological beliefs. The early Mormons actually believed that people lived on the moon and on the Sun. Under Mormonism, you might become the God of another world. The galaxy has many billions of possibly habitable worlds and there are billions of galaxies. Is one God more equal to other Gods? Who gets to be on the Celestial Galactical Council? Who sits in the Universal Celestial Council to advise the lesser Gods. The Mormons believe that Lucifer and Jesus are brothers The Mormons believe that American Indians might be one of the lost tribes of Israel and Jesus visited North America. One of the things Mormons don't want you to know about is the Mountain Meadow massacre. Somewhere around 1973, the Mormon church received a divine revelation that allowed black people in their church. Strangely enough, the federal government was about to drag their ass into court for racial discrimination.
I'm sure that it was a cruel joke by whomever gave the Mormons
their name and assigned the angel Moroni to them.
The founder of the Mor(m)ons was Joseph Smith was illiterate like
Moses, Jesus and Mohammed despite being given revelations by an all powerful
diety.
In March 1826 a court in Bainbridge, New York, convicted a
twenty-one-year-old man of being "a disorderly person and an
impostor." That ought to have been all we ever heard of Joseph Smith,
who at trial admitted to defrauding citizens by organizing mad gold
digging expeditions and also claiming to possess dark or
"necromantic" powers. However, within four years he was back in
the local newspapers (all of which one may still read) as the
discoverer of the "Book of Mormon". He had two huge local advantages
which most mountebanks and charlatans do not possess. First, he
was operating in he same hectically pious district that gave us
the Shakers, the previously mentioned George Miller who repeatedly
predicted the end of the world, and several other self-proclaimed
American prophets. So notorious did this local tendency become
that the region became known as the "Burned Over District" in
honor of the way in which it had surrendered to one religious craze
after another. Second, he was operating in an area which, unlike
large tracts of newly opening North America, did possess signs
of ancient history.
A vanished and vanguished Indian civilization had bequeathed a
considerable number of burial mounds, which when randomly and
amateurishly desecrated were found to contain not merely bones but
also quite advanced artifacts of stone, copper, and beaten silver.
There were eight of these sites within twelve miles of the
underperforming farm which the Smith family called home. There were
two equally stupid schools or factions who took a fascinated
interest in such matters; the first were the gold-diggers and
treasure-diviners who brought their magic sticks and crystals and
stuffed toads to bear in on the search for lucre, and the second
were those who hoped to find the resting place of a lost tribe
of Israel. Smith's cleverness was to be a member of both groups,
and to unite cupidity with half-baked anthropology.
The actual story of the imposture is almost embarrassing to read
and almost embarrassingly easy to uncover. (It had been best told
by Dr. Fawn Brodie, whose 1945 book "No Man Knows My History" was
a good faith attempt by a professional historian to put the kindest
possible interpretation on the relevant "events.") In brief,
Joseph Smith announced that he had been visited (three times,
as is customary) by an angel named Moroni. The said angel informed
him of a book, "written upon gold plates" which explained the
origins of those living on the North American continent as well as
the truths of the gospel. There were, further, two magic stones,
set in the twin breast-plates Urim and Thummim of the Old Testament
that would enable Smith himself to translate the aforesaid book.
After many wrestlings, he brought the buried apparatus home with
him in September 21, 1827, about eighteen months after his conviction
for fraud. He then set about producing a translation.
The resulting "books" turned out to be a record set down by
ancient prophets, beginning with Nephi, son of Lephi, who had
fled Jerusalem in approximately 600 BC and come to America. Many
battles, curses, and afflictions accompanied their subsequent
wanderings and those of their numerous progeny. How did the books
turn out to be this way? Smith refused to show the golden plates
to anybody, claiming that for other eyes to view them would mean
death. But he encountered a problem that will be familiar to
students of Islam. He was extremely glib and fluent as a debater
and story-weaver as many accounts attest. But he was illiterate,
at least in the sense that while he could read a little, he
could not write. A scribe was therefore necessary to take
the inspired dictation.
The scribe was at first his wife Emma and then when more hands were
necessary, a luckless neighbor named Martin Harris. Hearing Smith
cite the words of Isaiah 29, verses 11-12, concerning the repeated
injunction to "Read", Harris mortgaged his farm to help in the
task and moved in with the Smiths. He sat on one side of a
blanket hung across the kitchen, and Smith sat on the other with his
translation stones, intoning through the blanket. As if to
make this an even happier scene, Harris was warned that if he
tried to glimpse the plates, or look at the prophet, he would be
struck dead.
Mrs. Harris was having none of this, and was already furious with
the feckleness of her husband. She stole the first hundred and
sixteen pages and challenged Smith to reproduce them, as
presumably - given his power of revelation - he could.
(Determined women like this appear far too seldom in the history
of religion). After a very few weeks, the ingenious Smith countered
with another revelation. He could not replicate the original,
which might be in the devil's hands by now and open to a
"satanic verses" interpretation. But the all-forseeing Lord had
meanwhile furnished some smaller plates, indeed the very plates
of Nephi, which told of a similar tale. With infinite labor,
the translation was resumed, with new scriveners behind the
blanket as occasion demanded, and when it was completed all the
Christian preachers of all kinds had justified slavery until the
American Civil War and even afterwards, on the supposed biblical
warrant that of the three sons of Noah (Shem, Ham, and Japhet), Ham
had been cursed and cast into servitude. But Joseph Smith took
this nasty fable even further, fulminating in his "Book of Abraham"
that the swarthy races of Egypt had inherited this very curse.
Also, at the made-up battle of "Cumora", a site located near
his own birthplace, the "Nephites", described as fair-skinned
and "handsome", contended against the "Lamanites", whose descendants
were punished with dark pigment for turning away from God. As
the crisis over American slavery mounted, Smith and his even
more dubious disciples preached against the abolitionists in
antebellum Missouri. They solemnly said that there had been a
third group in heaven during the ultimate battle between God and
Lucifer. This group, as it was explained, had tried to remain
neutral. But after Lucifer's defeat they had been forced into
the world, compelled to take bodies in the accursed lineage of
Canaan; and hence the Negro or African race. Thus, when Dr. Brodie
first wrote her book, no black American was allowed to hold even
the lowly position of deacon, let alone a priesthood, in the
Mormon church. Nor were descendants of Ham admitted to the sacred
rites of the temple.
If anything proves the human manufacture of religion, it is the
way that the Mormon elders resolved this difficulty. Confronted by
the plain words of one of their holy books, and the increasing
contempt and isolation that it imposed upon them, they did as
they had done when their fondness for polygamy would have
brought federal retribution upon God's own Utah. They had still
another "revelation" and, more or less in time for the passage
of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, had it divinely disclosed to
them that black people were human after all.
It must be said for the "Latter Day Saints" (these conceited words
were added to Smith's original "Church of Jesus Christ" in 1833)
that they have squarely faced one of the great difficulties of
revealed religion. This is the problem of what to do about those
who were born before the exclusive "revelation", or who died
without ever having the opportunity to share in its wonders.
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From this article, we learn that
Mike wrote in his suicide note, "The Mormon Church sent a 17 yr old boy into electro shock therapy." Marilyn said Mike was shown pornography with electrodes attached to his penis. "Perhaps they don't use that same technique anymore but they did it then and it contributed to my son's depression and consequent suicide," she said.
Best review of The Book Of Mormons. A trite, misogynistic, racist collection of demonstrably false stories written by a convicted con artist and peddled as Gospel truth by a masonic country club of ancient, white men who gleefully scam their ovine followers out of time, money, and critical thinking skills ... Unless you are moving to rural Utah under a witness protection scheme or writing an exhaustively comprehensive history of American cults, you have no valid reason to purchase, borrow, steal, or pick this book up out of the gutter with any intention other than immediately depositing it into the nearest trash receptacle. |
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CNN Want To Know What Mormons Believe?
Read what's in their scriptures, which they still, to this day, believe are the most perfect words of their (racist) God: BOOK of MORMON 1 Nephi 11:13 (Mary): "She was exceedingly fair and white." 1 Nephi 12:23 (prophecy of the Lamanites): "Became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations." 1 Nephi 13:15 (Gentiles): "They were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people [Nephites] before they were slain." 2 Nephi 5:21: "A sore cursing ... as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them." 2 Nephi 30:6 (prophecy to the Lamanites if they repented): "Scales of darkness shall begin to fall ... they shall be a white and delightsome people" ("white and delightsome" was changed to "pure and delightsome" in 1981). Jacob 3:5 (Lamanites cursed): "Whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins." Jacob 3:8-9: "Their skins will be whiter than yours ... revile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins." Alma 3:6: "And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion." Alma 3:9: "Whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed." Alma 3:14 (Lamanites cursed): "Set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed." Alma 23:18: "[Lamanites] did open a correspondence with them [Nephites] and the curse of God did no more follow them." 3 Nephi 2:14-16: "Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites; And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites and ... became exceedingly fair." 3 Nephi 19:25, 30 (Disciples): "They were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness ... nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof ... and behold they were white, even as Jesus." Mormon 5:15 (prophecy about the Lamanites): "For this people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us." Pearl of Great Price Moses 7:8: "A blackness came upon all the children of Canaan." Moses 7:12: "Enoch continued to call upon all the people, save it were [i.e., except] the people of Canaan, to repent." Moses 7:22: "For the seed of Cain were black and had not place among them." Abraham 1:21: "King of Egypt [Pharaoh] was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth." Abraham 1:27: "Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood." (emphasis added to above citations). Mormons still, to this day, believe that the Book of Mormon is the most perfect book ever written in the history of mankind. Those blatantly racist 19th Century myths, used to justify slavery and genocide, are still published in the Book of Mormon and distributed around the world by the worlds biggest army of missionaries. Every word of the Book of Mormon is still believed to be perfect' by Mormons. Long after the 21st Century DNA physical evidence debunked every one of those bogus racist myths Mormon doctrine is STILL founded upon. Contrary to their carefully crafted official legal statement on denouncing racism, published by CNN in todays puff piece.
What growing up Mormon was like I see something’s around that are just crazy to me, and I wanted to clear something’s up. Less to drag my neighbors and family, more for a more honest insight into what growing up in an extremely religious community is like. I’m born and raised in Utah, went to BYU, served a 2 year mission, and still live in salt lake today, despite no longer being religious at all. Mormons are varied, more than people think. You don’t get singular types of Mormons. My parents are very active (never miss church, or activities, all friends are Mormon, both went to BYU). Some of my parents friends are red pill republicans. Some others are more traditional democrats. My dad is republican, but both my parents supported gay rights, abortion, and while they don’t think children should be allowed to make physical alterations to their bodies, will use any name anyone wants, and insist on showing people basic respect. They think Trump is entirely insane. But they think the democrats are also insane. My point is that Mormons don’t come in one shape or size. It’s easy to see it as homogenous, but when you get to know people at a deeper level, it’s much less one size fits all. Coffee and tea are not viewed as as bad as murder, as I recently saw. In fact drinking it will likely yield little to no punishment at all. Punishment being asked not to take the sacrament. I know many very active coffee drinkers. Alcohol is more severe, but nowhere near murder. I don’t know why people think that. Coffee and tea aren’t well explained either. Lots of excuses. Basically this “revelation” was added as an addendum to the word of wisdom by a spur-of-the-moment ratification by Brigham young. Who, in my opinion, was a more insane member of the church. Mormons aren’t polygamists. You get kicked out if you do. Long history here, go read about it, but it’s mostly excused. Oh they did it for this reason. Or this reason excuses it. Lots of dead husbands from the journey. The truth is more complicated. There may have been instances of that. There were also a huge number of truly disturbing, pedophilic instances, by leaders in the church and others. It was unpopular in its day, and when (by some very politically convenient revelation) it was removed it was not missed by most. There was a break due to this. Being gay in the church is hard. There’s a lot of acceptance preached in the modern church, but practice is different. Abuse, condemnation, etc. is very common, although decreasing as a younger generation comes of age, but still more common than it should be. Salt lake has a very active gay community, but it’s virtually nonexistent in smaller towns, which is where the worst stories come from. The gay kids in high school were all known to us, and horrible gay jokes were told. It’s not uncommon to know someone kicked out of their family, or who was abused because of their sexuality. There’s a lot of pressure to be active. My friends all were in the church. My family. We saw each other every single Sunday. Going astray was a big deal and could break friendships, and often did. You hit church every Sunday. Always. They did indeed ask young boys and girls about masturbation in bishops interviews. It was gross then and gross now. I “confessed” to masturbating and couldn’t take the sacrament. I told my parents first who sat my down and told me it was natural, and that they didn’t view it as an issue the bishop needed to know about, but I insisted, and I saw the bishop, who was visibly uncomfortable during my interview. There’s temple ceremonies are very boring. No goats. No blood. Loooooong prayers, stories, and wrote commitments. So boring. Probably on youtube. The water in the baptismal font in the temple is warm though, and baptismal for the dead are pretty uneventful. “I baptize you… yada yada… for so and so, who is dead” and you are immersed in the water. That’s it. You do it often as a kid if you’re near a temple. Often members don’t care as much about your choices as you think. I’m openly atheist. My whole block (all Mormon) know. They bring me sour dough bread all the time, never preach, and sometimes ask me interesting questions, and more than one is open to my ideas. I think we tell ourselves people care, and project our own insecurities, and that they judge us, and maybe a few do, but many don’t. I got divorced while a BYU student living at BYU. I felt so judged. Until my best friend actually told me, with love, that no one gave a shit, and I was being sensitive. We’re friends to this day. Great guy. I never knew anyone who docked at BYU, but I’m sure it happened. Did it happen a lot? Don’t know. Dry humping was ravenous. Bagpiping? No idea, but god I like to think so. Mormons are so creative. Trump is not loved everywhere here in Utah. But the democrats are almost culturally hated. It’s a plug your nose thing. Most think he’s an idiot. But not all. Rural Utah loves him. Most Mormons at BYU are at least bi-lingual. Last number I saw was like 60%-70%. I myself am from my mission (Asia) so Mormons actually are very pro immigration largely. Especially refugees. Utah as a state, both legally and culturally, loves refugees. They preach a lot to them. Make what you will of that. But Utah as a state provides a lot of resources other states don’t, and our food banks are always full to bursting. Trans people don’t get much love here, and that’s putting it mildly. Gays may be getting more and more love, but trans people not so. It’s a shame. Regardless on your position on transitioning at what age, it never costs you to be polite. Mormons tend to go waaaaaay too hard when they leave the church. Drugs. Alcohol. Weirdly into coffee. I think it’s a weird rebellion. Caffeine is never mentioned in the WoW, but coffees exclusion is often attributed to this (they don’t sell it at BYU). But Mormons love Diet Coke. So much. Too much.
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