Exploring Mormonism

Compare[1]

Purpose: To help class members realize that the Book of Mormon could have been produced by man without divine intervention.

Ask a class member to prepare to summarize the account of Martin Harris losing the 116 pages of manuscript[2].

Attention Activity:

Look at these three scripts and tell me what they all have in common:

The answer is that all of these are fictional languages that took a long time to make up.

Now review this script[6]:

What you are looking at are the characters of a manuscript discovered in 1823, taken to one Dr. Mitchell to verify that the script was authentic. No, it’s not the Anthon Transcript of the Book of Mormon, but rather Joseph Smith’s uncle’s business partner’s “Detroit Manuscript” [7].

Compare to the Anthon Transcript[8] at your leisure.

1. Joseph Smith’s preparation to receive and translate the Book of Mormon

In the three years after the First Vision, Joseph Smith claimed to have suffered “severe persecution,” and yet there are many contemporary accounts which refute this claim. How can we trust someone who dreams up minor issues and “major persecution” or makes up a victim complex?

The official lesson now recounts the Moroni visitation again, which we’ve covered previously. Man… the manuals must think kids are dumb if they repeat, this often, the same material that is the very foundation of correlation. Either that or they wanted to say more, but were limited in the sources they could use.

What was Joseph praying for on the night Moroni appeared to him? Remember that his family paid for a magical parchment in hopes he would recover treasure by communing with spirits. Remember he was paid to do this professionally at this time. What can we say about a person who says he was praying for forgiveness after becoming a religious figure, but who was paid to commune with spirits about something entirely different on that night?

When Joseph Smith was first shown the gold plates, he was not prepared to receive and translate them. How did the Lord prepare Joseph to receive and translate the plates?

Mostly by having occult magicians train him, by giving his father visions that would be grafted into an ancient book, and by teaching him that stealing relative’s ideas was a successful strategy. God forbid our children actually learn from this type of “preparation.”

How did Joseph’s father respond when Joseph told him of Moroni’s visit?

He told him to immediately do as the spirit commanded as he had done on other occasions, like when he killed a sheep (or possibly a dog):

“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” — Dr. Purple’s (Respected physician and personal friend to Justice Neely) recollections of the trial were printed in the Chenango Union, a local paper.

“Smith translated the Book of Mormon by means of the same enchanting spirit that directed Smith to make dog sacrifices” –(H. Lewis, 1879) (reprinted in D. Michael Quinn, “Magic and the Early World View,” 1987 edition, p. 144).

Justice Joel King Noble stated that when Joseph and others were digging “for a Chest of money,” they acquired a black dog and offered it as “a sacrafise [blo]od Sprinkled prayer made at the time (no money obtained) the above Sworn to on trial…” (Letter of Justice Noble, dated March 8, 1842, photographically reproduced in Walters, “Joseph Smith’s Bainbridge, N.Y., Court Trials,” p. 134).

What does this suggest about Joseph’s integrity and trustworthiness?

Why is it important to support our family members in their efforts to follow the Lord?

cough I’ll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

2. The miracle of the Book of Mormon’s preservation

Joseph Smith related a tale of running away from people trying to steel the 60 lbs gold plates. Here is a video of kids Joseph Smith’s age, running with 60 lbs weights, while trying to escape people who want to catch them[9].

Another attempt that is often mentioned is when Sally Chase, using her green seer stone, led the treasure hunting group Joseph had signed an agreement with and smashed a wooden box that Joseph had requested Willard Chase build for him (Willard was Sally’s father).

Luckily, Joseph had not placed the golden plates in the box, but somewhere else in the house. This story, of course, presupposes that Sally and Joseph both had magical abilities, and that God told Joseph to buy a wooden box from his enemies. Very curious indeed (Source listed in this timeline[10]).

This story is related in various church manuals and has been told by prophets in conference and in the ensign[11], typically with names and other details omitted, but there is no reason to doubt the story.

The official lesson then asks to recount the “Martin Harris lost the 116 pages” story again. Let’s consider it for a bit.

What was the reason God said that people had taken the manuscript?

“And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts to alter the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated, which have gone out of your hands.

And behold, I say unto you, that because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that which you translated and caused to be written” (D&C 10:10-11).

Let’s think about this. This is in the 1820s. There are no word processors, no white-out. There is no way to change the manuscript without seriously crossing through words, or re-writing it entirely in a new penmanship. Who in their right mind would think that one could “alter” a pen and ink book and be credible without some sort of proof/trickery? Well, I mean beyond God.

And God has no idea where the parchment is. He doesn’t say to Joseph, “They are on the mantle in Lucy Harris’ sister’s house.” Nope, just leaves Joseph to not re-translate, but instead reveals that 2400 years prior He, God, foresaw this day and had a prophet write his work twice, all because of Lucy Harris’s future evil. And the manual calls this “miraculous” and “wonderful.”

It poses the question: What does the account of the lost manuscript pages teach about the Lord’s power?

Let’s talk about time travel. What this means is that either God is capable of time travel and there was an alternate universe in which the devil successfully outwitted God, but then God goes back (Marty McFly style) and tells Nephi to write a second book causing the other future to be erased…

Or God is really in favor of convoluted plans based on either determined outcomes (i.e. God knew that not only would Lucy Harris be born, but who she would marry and who she would meet, meaning every action is predetermined down to what you borrow from your neighbor) or some probability of occurring (i.e. Lucy Harris was very likely because of her spirit in the pre-existance to A) meet and marry Martin Harris and B) request the document and C) be persistent).

Predetermined outcomes fly in the face of agency, and if God works on probability, then we should see constant plans set up for “just in case” Ezra Taft Benson’s nephew were to talk about the autopen, or Mark Hoffman were to sell forged documents.

Instead, this stands alone in mormon history, a singular time that God rerouted all of history around the choices of a single non-member (I guess unhallowed hands can at least annoy the work for a while). Maybe God could only borrow the DeLorean once?

3. Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

Martin Harris – A wicked man so wicked that God says it twice in the first two revelations to Joseph Smith, Jr. He is famously unreliable (according to apologists) in his later interviews.

A biographer wrote that his “imagination was excitable and fecund.” One letter says that Harris thought that a candle sputtering was the work of the devil, and that he had met Jesus in the shape of a deer and walked and talked with him for two or three miles (John A. Clark letter, August 31, 1840).

One must question God’s judgement of picking this man as a “Star Witness.”

Oliver Cowdery – “Oliver Cowdery… united with a gang of counterfeiters, thieves, liars & blacklegs of the deepest dye, to deceive, cheat and defraud the Saints” (Sidney Rigdon, 1838).

During the court discussion of Fanny Alger, “Joseph Smith… charged Cowdery with being a liar.”

Oliver Cowdery was publicly charged by Joseph Smith and leading Mormons with stealing, lying, perjury, counterfeiting, adultery, and being the leader of a gang of “scoundrels of the deepest degree.”

Hmmm… well anyone can fall, I suppose. Maybe he was a pure, innocent, honest man when called to be a witness.

Except that Oliver was, in fact, telling the truth about Fanny Alger. And that gang of scoundrels and thieves… yeah they were trying to pay off the debts Joseph left them during the Kirtland Safety Society (we’ll cover that later). So maybe Oliver isn’t so dishonest after all.

David Whitmer – Formed his own church. You can read his letter to believing Latter-day Saints as to how the church was corrupted here.

God must either be an idiot to choose men who were such lying, deceiving imbeciles, or perhaps, these were men of integrity who truly told when Joseph deceived people. Hard to say, but this is far from the very faithful message that the manual would make it all out to be.

Problems with the Book itself

We have not even begun to touch on the problems, plagiarisms, and mistakes in the Book of Mormon. Ezra Taft Benson’s quotes make is seem that the members are to blame if the book doesn’t sell well. In all honesty, the book and its coming forth are the true stumbling blocks.

Outsiders are often aware of this information and, hence, refuse the missionaries. The blinding tactics of the manuals only fool members still on the inside and are carefully crafted to do so.

Conclusion

We can apply the lessons of Joseph Smith to our own lives by looking at the manual and thinking about if anyone is trying to deceive us, the same way deceptions were given out in the 1800s.

Compare[1]

Purpose

To help individuals understand that the First Vision account they learned about their whole life is a complete fabrication.

Activity

Read this wikipage[2]. This volcano in Iceland is what caused not only the Smith’s farm to fail, but those of farmers all over the world. Starvation was recorded for many, many individuals.

Given that the Smiths were prone to visions and following spirits, did God need to kill so many people to get the Smiths to move to upstate New York?

What does it say about God’s character that he would kill so many rather than send an angel to Joseph Smith, Sr.? What does this imply about Joseph Smith, Sr.’s worthiness?

1. After the Apostasy, God prepared the way for the Restoration.

Let’s talk apostasy. The church manuals take as given that “persecution, divisions, and apostasy increased. Within a few decades, there was a falling away from the Church, as the Apostles had prophesied.” And yet no evidence is ever presented for this thesis, other than scriptures that are non-specific. Indeed, the apostasy talked about by Amos could refer to the Kirtland Apostasy, or the formation of the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, could it not? They don’t give any details.

In fact, when everyone else talks about the “Great Apostasy,” they are talking about this[3], especially under the “Historicity” section. This basically places the apostasy at A.D. 300 under Constantine[4].

This is fascinating since writers in the church gave quotes like this one long before that point:

“See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Christ Jesus does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles. Do ye also reverence the deacons, as those that carry out the appointment of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, 8:2 (c. A.D. 110).”

By A.D. 100, practically all the sacred scriptures were approved, the episcopacy confirmed as the means of ecclesia administration, the liturgy was in place and had uniformity of belief and practice throughout the entire ancient Christian world, and the Apostles Creed was professed by all believers in Christ.

That’s 20 years after John the Beloved wrote the Gospel of John, meaning that the entire apostasy would have to have happened in about two decades time (unless we want to discuss if the Gospel of John was also part of the apostasy).

Ah well, back to the official lesson:

“Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve taught that preparation for restoring the gospel began centuries before the First Vision.”

This is grafting in all the good works of other religions as part of Mormonism. Imagine, if you will, a religion in A.D. 2060 that claims that Joseph Smith laid the foundation for their prophet. How would most mormons feel about that claim? Especially if they said “his death was important to ensure our truths”?

Well, let’s just see how most LDS feel about the FLDS… yeah, not very flattering, right? Bruce R. McConkie stealing the martyrs of the 14th century forward is pretty crass.

Further, he doesn’t include false positives. Did the Gnostics and the Greek Pagans also set up the work? How about the Atheists throughout history? No, only those great successes are claimed, and everyone else is ignored. Not hard to be successful if you only steal stories of success.

a) The Renaissance was a rebirth of learning, particularly in literature, art, and science. Inventions such as the printing press emerged.

Let’s forget how gross the misrepresentation of history is here; as the Dark Ages really had a lot of learning. The printing press[5] was introduced around 1440.

The Dark Ages[6] lasted into the 15th century by most accounts, with the 1300s and 1400s being the Italy/Spain Renaissance.

But you can read all about boat-rigging and sail formation technology improvements throughout this time period.

Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum of the Twelve said the Renaissance was not a chance occurrence but rather “a development predetermined in the Mind of God to illumine the enlighted minds of men in preparation for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which was appointed to be accomplished some centuries later.”

Let’s think about this a bit… So God needs hundreds of years to prepare the minds of men for the Gospel, during which he doesn’t focus on religious leaders, but inventors such as Volta, Galileo, and Da Vinci.

And the main preparation they mention is the printing press.

Isn’t this like saying “The internet and scientific atheists of our day are preparing some great future work”?

They not only steal the religious individuals like John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, and John Calvin, but men who were martyred for Science… all to prepare for Joseph Smith. And they call exmormons “Proud”!

One great reformer they don’t mention, and never mention, is Alexander Campbell[7]. If one reads his religion and tracts, you’ll totally see that the Book of Mormon is an anti-Campbellite tract. It covers all the issues that Sidney Rigdon argued with Campbell on.

Funny they never mention him.

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve said that Martin Luther and other reformers “were inspired to create a religious climate in which God could restore lost truths and priesthood authority” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 85; or Ensign, Nov. 1994, 66).

Yes, doubtful that the Book of Mormon would have ever existed without great religious men like Alexander Campbell. cough

The Americas were discovered. The United States was colonized by religious people and eventually became an independent nation.

And here they take Christopher Columbus and the other explorers like Cortez, who slaughtered thousands, and destroyed innumerable antiquities of culture for the glory of Spain, and graft them in as “part of God’s Plan.” But then a God who kills people via starvation just to make a farmer fail so he’ll move to a spot that he isn’t even aware of… that kind of God can’t be expected to be merciful in His plans, can he?

2. God prepared Joseph Smith to be the prophet of the Restoration.

Joseph Smith came from a rich spiritual heritage. Including a family dagger with masonic symbols on it, magical lamen, and a belief in the occult. Yes, exactly the sort of people the church teaches are “spiritually prepared” today.

His parents and grandparents were religious, patriotic, educationally minded, and of strong moral convictions. For more on this, read the first 75 pages of “Rough Stone Rolling” [8].

His paternal grandfather, Asael Smith, stated years before Joseph was born, “It has been borne in upon my soul that one of my descendants will promulgate a work to revolutionize the world of religious faith” (in Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History, 27th ed. [1974], 25).

Yes he said that. But he also said other things. Confirmation bias.

Joseph Smith’s parents, Joseph, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith, greatly influenced his life. For example Joseph Smith, Sr.’s vision showed up in the middle of the Book of Mormon. Lucy and Joseph, Sr. paid to have Joseph trained as a seer, and Joseph, Sr. took Joseph on treasure hunting expeditions at an early age.

Both were deeply devoted to God. And to the Occult. They saw white magic as being part of the spiritual realm. They were also devoted parents, teaching their children the principles of faith and righteousness, including, if accounts are to be believed, that animal sacrifice would help to find buried Indian treasure.

Joseph Sr. had several dreams that gave him assurances that he would enjoy the blessings of the true gospel of Jesus Christ (see Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ed. Preston Nibley [1958], 47–50, 64–66)

Very interesting they don’t quote the dream, isn’t it?

Once, while Lucy was critically ill as a young mother, she made a covenant with God that she would serve Him completely if He would let her live to care for her family. Soon afterward she heard a voice comfort her, and she made a remarkable recovery. (See History of Joseph Smith, 33–35.)

This is true, and might explain her full devotion to her son who claimed to speak for God.

Both of them felt that none of the existing churches was consistent with the Church that Jesus Christ had established. This is a bit of a twist. Lucy certainly was comfortable in the Presbyterian faith by 1824. Joseph Smith, Sr. didn’t like any of the churches of the area.

Adversity helped prepare him.

And here we are with the leg story again. I mean, don’t get me wrong. A 7 year old with typhoid fever is not small thing, but is this the only example of adversity they could find?

Actually, pretty much. There is no evidence that the Smiths were persecuted in any way earlier than 1826, when Joseph is taken to court.

The religious atmosphere in western New York helped prepare him.

What they don’t mention is that, by all accounts, the religious revival in New York happened in 1824. That’s 4 years after the First Vision, by the 1839 account.

Which account mentions the following that would also place the First Vision in 1824:

Lucy Smith joined the Presbyterian church in 1824, Joseph mentions her as having joined. The Presbyterian church was not built in Palmyra until 1824.

Oliver Cowdery’s account in the 1834 “Messenger and Advocate” stated that the “first vision” occurred in 1823, and that “religious excitement in Palmyra and vicinity” was in Smith’s “17th year,” which would have been 1823.

Early recountings of the First Vision place Joseph at age 17.

His sister, Lucy, is mentioned as part of the story, but was not born in 1820 (She was born July 18, 1821)[1].

His brother William’s account:

“In 1822 and 1823, the people in our neighborhood were very much stirred up with regard to religious matters by the preaching of a Mr. [George] Lane, an elder of the Methodist Church…..The consequences [of this growing religious revival] was that my mother, my brothers Hyrum and Samuel, older than I, joined the Presbyterian Church. Joseph, then being about seventeen years of age [1823], had become seriously inclined, although not ‘brought out’, as the phrase was, began to reflect and inquire, which of all these sects was right… He continued in secret to call upon the Lord for a full manifestation of his will, the assurance that he was accepted of him, and that he might have an understanding of the path of obedience.”

For further reading of 1823 references and modifications to the First Vision: http://www.mormonthink.com/firstvisionweb.htm [2]

3. The First Vision ushered in the restoration of the gospel.

TL;DR – There is no reason to believe that Joseph went to the grove in 1820.

Many truths were revealed in the First Vision.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “I submit that in the few minutes that Joseph Smith was with the Father and the Son, he learned more of the nature of God the Eternal Father and the risen Lord than all the learned minds in all their discussions through all centuries of time” (Church News, 24 Oct. 1998, 6).

Let’s consider this statement for a bit. Do you see that God could have been revealing this sort of thing for generations? Why leave the world in darkness? Honest men were seeking Him for generations previous.

But let’s take this as it stands. Why would God reveal the most information about the universe to a single boy in the woods? Why not have say 2-3 witnesses to establish truth (2 Corinthians 13:1 [3]), or have a prophet state that this was the where the restoration would occur (Amos 3:7 [4])?

Now, let’s look at Joseph’s 1832 First Vision [5] and realize how many of the key points of the lesson are invalidated:

a. God the Father and Jesus Christ live – Given that only one person visited, and that it sounds more “dream” than “vision” this is debatable.

b. The Father and the Son are real, separate beings with glorified bodies of flesh and bones. – Clearly not.

c. We are created in the image of God. – Not necessarily. By a modal Christianity this could just be God “appearing to be man-shaped,” or by traditional Christiantiy, it could have been an angel appearing. No certainty that it was Jehovah himself appearing.

d. Satan and his power are real, but God’s power is infinitely greater. – Satan does not visit in the 1832 version.

e. God hears and answers prayers and cares for us. – This one stands.

f. None of the churches on earth had the fulness of Christ’s gospel. – This one stands.

g. Revelation has not ceased. – Given the sheer number of people in the neighborhood and surrounding areas publishing revelations in newspapers, it’s hard to see why this is relevant.

So out of 7 points, only 3 stand, and of those, only 2 are key. This is the EARLIEST version of the First Vision.

Don’t you just hate it when Joseph invalidates himself?

President David O. McKay, the ninth President of the Church, testified that the First Vision “answers all the [questions] regarding God and his divine personality. … His relation to his children is clear. His interest in humanity through authority delegated to man is apparent. The future of the work is assured. These and other glorious truths are clarified by that glorious first vision” (Gospel Ideals [1954], 85).

sigh… What can you say when the prophets of the church are clearly only willing to use a standardized truth regardless of it “being true”?

Conclusion and TL;DR

Joseph Smith’s account that was canonized is most likely a fabrication. The Great Apostasy is not what the church claims. In all truth, this whole section is misleading and misdirecting and it is the foundation of the church’s claims.

Why trust the rest, when it is clear they are willing to lie, deceive and twist history, facts, science and anything else to convince you that you should be part of this organization?