This CD was sold at the BYU bookstore with the intent of being given by the faithful to the faithful as a sort of preparation for receiving the Second Anointing. I detailed the content on the CD to reddit in two posts:
The ISO for the CD (if you have a computer old enough to still run it) is here.
My own notes about how this limits the number of people in the Celestial Kingdom to about 144,000 individuals are here.
http://blog.nocoolnametom.com/
New Testament by someone who can read it in the original Greek (well, as original as it gets). Excellent stuff.
Sections in this post:
Ancient temples – A
Masonic Timeline – M
Garment related – G
Endowment Related – E
Sealings and polygamy related – S
Miscellaneous dates – D
Notes with no date – N
These will be mixed together with the indicators included:
Circa 1250 BC (A) – Assuming biblical account is correct: Moses receives instruction for building tabernacle.
Circa 1000 BC (M) – Hiram Abiff is born, according to masonic lore.
968 BC (A) – Solomon’s temple is constructed.
715 BC (M/A) – Numa Pompilius becomes the second King of Rome. He organizes Roman workers into various collegia and attaches one to each legion of the army so that Roman arms and arts go hand in hand into the outlying parts of the Empire. The stone workers, or masons, are the most numerous because of their use in defense works, and so become the most powerful. Each collegia has at least three members. They use their tools as symbols and look after the widows and orphans of members. Masons originally tie to this parallelism for early roots.
587 BC (A) – Nebuchadnezzar destroys Solomon’s temple.
516 BC (A) –Zerubbabel’s reconstruction of the temple is complete.
175-164 BC (A) – Antiochus Epiphanes profanes the temple, dedicates it to Zeus.
168-165 BC (A) – Maccabean Revolt and temple rededication. Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) is created.
19 BC (A) – Zerubbabel’s temple dismantled and replaced by Herod’s temple.
AD 926 (M) – Prince Edwin calls, and presides, over a meeting of Masons at York.
1104 (T/M) – Count Hugh of Champagne visits Jerusalem.
1119 (T/M) – On Christmas Day, Hugues de Payens and eight knights take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience before the Patriarch in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and become the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Jesus Christ. The Knights Templar are conceived.
1139 (T/M) – Pope Innocent II grants Templars new power. They are subject only to the Pope.
1187-1192 (D) – Richard I goes on Crusade, leaving Prince John in charge at home (Robin Hood stories predate this, but who cares, right?).
Friday 13 October, 1307 (M/T) – Templars all across France are arrested in the early hours in one decisive swoop (original order 66).
24/25 October, 1307 (M/T) – Jacques de Molay confesses to accusations under torture as part of an inquisition.
18 March, 1314 (M/T) – Jacques de Molay and Geoffroi de Charney are burned alive at the stake on a small island in the River Seine (Île des Juifs).
1353 or 1357 (M/T) – First historical record of the Shroud of Turin (now believed to be that of Jacques de Molay, but originally attributed to Christ).
1376 (M) – Freemason and Mason Company of London is in existence as a craft guild. First use of the word “Freemason” recorded on August 9th, stricken through and replaced with “mason” (however, these are probably not connected to actual Freemasonry according to historians).
1390 (M) – The Regius Poem, or Manuscript (also known as the Halliwell Manuscript), is written or copied from older manuscripts. It is written in Middle English and is said to be based on the Instructions for Parish Priests, or Urbanitas. It is a book of instruction on deportment and hygiene. This is the origination for the “Masonic Ceremony” as known. Of note, no mention of Hiram Abiff, but instead focuses on Euclid and Egypt.
1450 (M) – The Cooke Manuscript is written. It is the second oldest of the ancient Freemasonry manuscripts.
1463 (M) – The Worshipful Company of Masons of the City of London erects its first Meeting Hall
1471 (M) – First mention of a Master Mason: Robert Stowell is appointed Master of Masons at Westminster Abbey
1604 – Fellow Craft Degree of Freemasonry introduced by Francis Bacon
5 November, 1605 (D) – Guy Fawkes
1610 (D) – Galileo makes public his view of the Solar System
1656 (M) – John Aubrey begins writing A Natural History of Wiltshire in which he states that “the Fraternity of Free-Masons are known to one another by certain signs and watch words, and other significant words,” and also described them as “adopted masons” and “accepted masons.” His history is not published until 1847
1717 (M) – Grand Lodge formed A Short History of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by Louis C. King (privately published, 1983)
1725 (M) – First mention of a “Master Mason in conjunction with a degree.” Third Degree masons clearly mentioned in 1726. Source: “Philo-Musicæ et Architecture Societas Apollini [A Review],” Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 16 (1903), pp. 112-28. It makes reference to a Charles Cotton and a Papillon Ball who were made Master Masons on May 12, 1725. Anderson’s Constitutions makes reference to “Master Masons” existing at the formation of the Premiere Grand Lodge in 1717. Sloane MS 3329 (ca. 1700) and Trinity College Dublin MS (1711) both make reference to elements of the Master’s degree. From this, we can conclude that the Master’s degree existed in some form before 1725
30 July, 1733 (M) – First Masonic Lodge in America (Boston) formed
1733 (M) – Benjamin Franklin reprinted Anderson’s Book of Constitutions. This was the first Masonic book published in America
30 July, 1733 (M) -First Masonic Temple in America erected in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
28 April, 1738 (M) – In Eminenti written by Pope Clement XII This is the first official edict of the Roman Catholic Church against the Craft
March 1751 (M) – Joseph Torrubia, A roman Catholic priest who spies on the masons, provides a list of 97 lodges and their members
18 May, 1751 (M) – Pope Benedict XIV issues Providas against the craft, Inquisition arrests and punishes members
2 July, 1751 (M) – King Ferdinand VI suppresses the order in Spain
17 July, 1751 (M) – Schism “Grand Lodge of England” is formed known as the “moderns”
1752 (M) – George Washington is made a freemason in Fredericksburg
1754 (M) – First use of the term “Sublime Degree of a Master Mason”
4 July, 1776 (D/M) – American Independence. Declaration was signed by 13 freemasons
13 October, 1792 (M) – Cornerstone of the White House laid on the anniversary of the death of Jacques de Molay. Six freemasons in attendence
7 May, 1818 – Joseph Smith Sr. becomes a freemason (Ontario Lodge No. 23 of Canandaigua, New York) source: Rough Stone Rolling
1822 (D) – Rosetta Stone translated in Paris allowing Egyptian to be understood
1824 (M) – King Ferdinand VII of Spain decrees on 1st August the death of all Freemasons without trial
22 September, 1826 (M) – Lucinda Morgan, William Morgan’s wife, says he had a scribe. Oliver Cowdery likely candidate. Source: Samuel D. Greene’s 1870 book, The Broken Seal…, pp. 89-90
1827 – William Morgan’s anti-Masonry Book published
1828 (M) – Formal organization of the Anti-Masonic political party in February at New York
1830 (D) – Book of Mormon Published, “Church of Christ” established
3 August, 1831 – Independence temple lot dedicated
18 May, 1834 (S) – Joseph Smith, writes “…your husband until death” in letter to Emma (no concept of eternal marriage)
July 1835 – Purchase of Book of Abraham Papyri
27 March, 1836 – Kirtland Temple Open – Joseph Smith dedicating
1835-1836 – Kirtland temple marriages open to non-members. Source: The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 1835-1836
26 April, 1838 – Far West Temple announced
October 1838 – Adam-ondi-Ahman Temple
1838 – Lucinda Pendleton Morgan, wife of William Morgan; writer of the exposé on free masonry marries Joseph Smith (evidence is scarce. Two sources, Sarah Pratt and Jenson claimed it). source: No Man Knows my History, Fawn Brodie
4 November, 1838 (S) -“If I do not meet you again in this life may God grant that we may somehow meet in heaven.” Letter to Emma from Carthage Jail
1840 – Biography of Lucy Mack Smith written, mentioning “Faculty of Abrac,” a Masonic Mystery. source: Refiner’s Fire, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 157-158
19 January, 1841 – Baptism for the Dead introduced, not conducted in temple originally
15 October,1841 – The Grand Master of Illinois issued a dispensation to a lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois
1841 -William Morgan is baptized for the dead, by request of his wife
15 March, 1842 – Nauvoo Lodge granted. Joseph installed as grand chaplain. source: Evidences and Reconciliations, 1 volume, pp. 357-358
15 March, 1842 – “In the evening I received the first degree in Free Masonry in the Nauvoo Lodge, assembled in my general business office.” The record for the next day reads, “I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the sublime degree.” History of the Church Volume 4, page 552
17 March, 1842 – Relief Society organized in the Masonic Lodge. Included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith’s counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words as: ancient orders, examinations, degrees, candidates, secrets, lodges, rules, signs, tokens, order of the priesthood, and keys; all indicating that the Society’s orientation possessed Masonic overtones.
4 May, 1842 (E) – Endowment administered for first time on upper floor of the Nauvoo Store (washing, anointing, clothing in garment, instruction in signs, tokens, keywords of holy priesthood)
A short time later, Joseph called seven of his leading men together and instructed them "in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys " which Joseph said instituted the ancient order of things for the first time in these last days." History of the Church, 5:1–2;
August 1842 (M) – Nauvoo Masonic Lodge’s charter suspended
9 February, 1843 – Parley P. Pratt returns home from a mission, angry he has missed the endowment. D&C 129 given. History of the Church, 5:267
1843 – Eternal Marriage (Sealings) first performed
October 1843 (M) – Charters of the Nauvoo lodges arrested for irregularities in October
20 January, 1844 – Heber C. Kimball and wife, Vilate, recorded by Brigham Young to receive second anointing. Manuscript History of Brigham Young, p. 158, Wilford Woodruff diary for same date
27 June, 1844 – Joseph Smith Jr. dies. His last cry is “Will no man help the widow’s son” with his hands raised in a masonic sign. Star of Jupiter around his neck. The “mob” is the Warsaw militia containing freemasons
1844-1845 – Local Masonic lodges reject “Joseph’s Lodge” primarily for teaching masonry to women
1845 – Brigham Young gives the endowment as a ritual drama, with a creation room, garden room, Telestial room, Terrestrial room and Celestial room. This is the first time it is recorded as being a drama
22 January, 1846 – Lucinda Morgan (Harris) is sealed, by her own request, to Joseph Smith Jr. for eternity. Her Husband, George W. Harris, stood as proxy. The next day she is sealed to her husband for time.
1-3 May, 1846 – Nauvoo Temple Dedicated by Orson Hyde
11 January, 1846 – Heber and Vilate Kimball receive second anointing
11 January, 1846 – Brigham Young receives second anointing from Heber C. Kimball
9 April,1850 – Lucinda Morgan (Harris) is living separately from her husband, George
1852 – Polygamy formally announced
1853 – Orson Pratt publishes “27 Rules of Celestial Marriage,” clearly outlining that a celestial marriage must be polygamous
5 May, 1855 – Endowment House dedicated by Heber C. Kimball
1858 (D) – Rosetta stone translated into english
1860 – Lucinda Morgan dies, a member of the Catholic Sisters of Charity
1872 (M) – the Grand Lodge of Utah was formed as an openly anti-Mormon organization. Masons are not permitted to have leadership positions in church
6-8 April, 1877 – St. George Utah dedicated by Daniel H. Wells
1877 – First recorded introduction at the veil available here
1881 – William Bryant, an old neighbor of Oliver Cowdery in western NY, recalled, “He (Cowdery), was strong against the Masons; he helped to write Morgan’s [Anti-mason] book, [Lyman?] Cowdery was a strong Mason, so they all said; that is all the religion he had.” Interview published in the Saints’ Herald of June 1, 1881
1882 (S) – Edmunds Act outlaws polygamy
17-19 May, 1884 – Logan Utah Temple dedicated by John Taylor
21-23 May, 1888 – Manti Temple dedicated by Lorenzo Snow
8 December, 1890 (G) -“Sister Zina D. H. Young submitted a knitted garment something like our garments which is made in the East and asked if such may be marked & have a collar put on it and used as out Temple garment. It was decided by the First Presidency that such garments should not be used in lieu of the pattern given.” – L. John Nuttall Journal, Vol 3, p. 227; 8 December 1890
1890 (S) – Term “Celestial Marriage” now refers to more than Polygamy. Prior to this, one could be sealed in the temple and not have a celestial marriage
April, 1890 (G) -The Nauvoo Garment was decribed by Ebenezer Robinson in “The Return Vol II,” his periodical after being editor for The Times and Seasons.
6-24 April, 1893 –Salt Lake Temple dedicated by Wilford Woodruff
1893 – Church leaders order minor alterations to the language and procedures of the endowment, trying to ensure greater consistency in how the endowment is administered in different temples. Source: David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
1898 (G) – “Each individual should be provided with the endowment clothing they need. The garments must be clean and white, and of the approved pattern; they must not be altered or mutilated, and are to be worn as intended, down to the wrist and ankles, and around the neck. These requirements are imperative; admission to the Temple will be refused to those who do not comply therewith.” – President Joseph F. Smith, “Instructions Concerning Temple Ordinance Work,” President of the Salt Lake Temple 1898-1911
1904-1906 – The endowment is scrutinized during congressional hearings in the Reed Smoot trials. Focus on the “Oath of Vengeance.” David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
9 August, 1906 (G) – “The Lord has given unto us garments of the holy priesthood, and you know what that means. And yet there are those of us who mutilate them, in order that we may follow the foolish, vain and indecent practices of the world.” “In order that such people may imitate the fashions, they will not hesitate to mutilate that which should be held by them the most sacred of all things in the world, next to their own virtue, next to their own purity of life. They should hold these things that God has given unto them sacred, unchanged and unaltered from the very pattern in which God gave them. Let us have the moral courage to stand against the opinions of fashion, and especially where fashion compels us to break a covenant and so commit a grievous sin.” President Joseph F. Smith, “Fashion and the Violation of Covenants and Duty,” Improvement Era 9, August 1906, 812-815
1906 (G) – “The following is to be regarded as an established and imperative rule. The garments worn by those who receive endowments must be white and of the approved pattern; they must not be altered or mutilated, and are to be worn as intended, down to the wrist and ankles and around the neck. Admission to the temple will be refused to those who do not comply to these requirements.” “The Saints should know that the pattern of endowment garments was revealed from Heaven and that the blessings promised in connection with wearing them will not be realized if any unauthorized change is made in their form or in the manner of wearing them.” Messages of the First Presidency 5:110; President Joseph F. Smith; 28 June 1906
1916 (G) -“The garments worn by those who receive endowments must be white and of the approved pattern. They must not be altered and mutilated and are to be worn as intended, down to the wrist and ankle, and around the neck. Admission to the temple will be refused those who do not comply with these requirements. The Saints should know that the pattern of endowment garments was revealed from heaven, and the blessings promised in connection with wearing them will not be realized if any unauthorized change is made in their form or in the manner of wearing them.” President of the Church, Joseph F. Smith, Improvement Era 9:812, 28 June 1916
1919-1927 – A committee appointed by Heber J. Grant produces a revised endowment to be used in all temples. Changes include:
Eliminating the oath of vengeance.
Omitting graphic descriptions from the penalties.
Reducing the number of times the robes of the priesthood are changed from one shoulder to the other.
Discontinuing temple choirs (who had formerly performed the hymn chosen by Lucifer’s preacher), in favor of congregational singing.
1 October, 1922 (G) – George B. Richards’s questions raised after a conversation with Sister Maria Dougall in October 1922. At that time he learned that Joseph Smith had not designed the garments and temple clothing
1923 (G) – Committee formed to research origins of garment under First Presidency direction
5 April, 1923 (G) – In fact, a group of sisters led by Emma Smith and including Bathsheba Smith had fashioned both the garments and the temple clothing, and presented them to Joseph Smith for his approval. The collar on the garments had been put on because the sisters could think of no other way to finish it at the top, and they added ties because they had no buttons. The original cap in the temple clothing had looked something like a crown, but Joseph Smith had them redesign it to look more like a baker’s cap
17 May, 1923 (G) – The Church approves a shorter garment for optional use outside the temple (extending to the elbows and knees rather than the wrists and ankles). However, the longer garment remains mandatory for use in the temple.
Letter from Heber J. Grant (First Presidency letter) “After careful and prayerful consideration it was unanimously decided that the following modifications may be permitted, and a garment of the following style be worn by those Church members who wish to adopt it, namely: (1) Sleeve to elbow. (2) Leg just below knee. (3) Buttons instead of strings. (4) Collar eliminated. (5) Crotch closed.
It may be observed that no fixed pattern of Temple garment has ever been given, and that the present style of garment differs very materially from that in use in the early history of the Church, at which time a garment without collar and with buttons was frequently used.”
1907 (G) When Willard Richards was solicited [by Smith] to do the same [Remove the garment], he declined, and it seems little less than marvelous that he was preserved without so much as a bullet piercing his garments.” – Heber J. Grant journal sheets, 7 June 1907, LDS Archives
1936 (E) – A codified explanation of the symbolism of the marks on the veil is added to the endowment. source: David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
1945 (E) – The endowment is administered in Spanish in the Mesa, Arizona temple, the first time the ceremony is administered in a language other than English. David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
1950 (E) -The first filmed versions of the endowment are made for use in the Swiss and New Zealand temples (with different casts for different languages). David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
11–15 September, 1955 – Bern Switzerland Temple Dedicated by David O McKay
1960s – Film becomes the standard medium for presenting the endowment. Filmed endowments take on a theatrical quality (with costumes, scenery, music, etc.) and are dubbed from English into other languages. As the filmed endowment makes congregational singing awkward, the preacher’s hymn is discontinued. David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
“Letter: To PRESIDENTS of TEMPLES Dear Brethren: This will advise you that approval has been granted for limited modification in the design of the garment used in the temple to allow for better fit and greater wearing comfort.
The approved modified design for women has a button front rather than string ties, a brassiere top patterned after the brassiere top of garments used for day-time wear, a helanca stretch insert in the back at the waist, and widened overlapping back panels with a helanca stretch piece at the top of each panel and a button to assure panels remaining closed. All other features of the garment, including the collar, long legs, and long sleeves, remain the same as heretofore.
The approved modified design of the garment for men has a button front, closed crotch, helanca stretch insert piece in the back at the waist, widened overlapping back panels with a helanca stretch piece at the top of each panel and a button to assure panels remaining closed. All other features of the men’s garment also, including the collar, long legs and long sleeves, remain the same as heretofore.
OFFICE OF THE FIRST PRESIDENCY Salt Lake City 11, Utah June 10, 1965”
1966 – Visitor Center built in Salt Lake City
1967 -Book of Abraham papyri found at Metropolitan Museum of Art
1970s (E) – Revisions are made to the portion of the ceremony involving Lucifer’s preacher: Lucifer no longer specifies the amount of the preacher’s salary, and a reference to Satan’s having black skin is omitted. David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
1975 (G) – The long, pre-1923 garment becomes optional in the temple and is eventually discontinued. David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
1978 – The lifting of the priesthood ban on blacks by President Spencer W. Kimball makes the endowment available to all Latter-day Saints, regardless of race. David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
15 December, 1979 (G) – Two piece garment introduced. The most dramatic recent change was the two-piece garment in 1979. In a letter to Church leaders dated December 15, 1979, the First Presidency announced the introduction in February 1979 of two-piece temple garments. The new style garments were offered in addition to, and priced about the same as, the regular one-piece variety. No explanation for or description of the new garments was given.
1986 (M) – It appears that some lodges still use penalties and others do not by this point. For a list of lodges using penalties today: http://bessel.org/penalty.htm
1990 – Following surveys of Church members’ feelings about the endowment, major revisions are made: – Dialogue, Vol. 20, No. 4, p.56
All penalties, the five points of fellowship, and syllables purported to having meaning in the Adamic language are omitted.
The part of the preacher is eliminated, as well as a reference to Lucifer’s “popes and priests.”
Women no longer covenant to obey the law of their husbands.
Language which faults Eve for initiating the Fall is dropped.
Many references to Adam are replaced with references to Adam and Eve.
The lecture at the veil is discontinued.
Orders from Elohim are repeated fewer times for brevity’s sake.
Prior to 1993 (M/E) – Five Points of Fellowship Removed from the Endowment
1999 (G) – Military Garment issued (Green camo)
2005 – Procedures for the initiatory are revised such that initiates clothe themselves in the garment before entering the washing room, thus eliminating the final vestiges of ritual nudity (which had been curtailed by introduction of the shield, probably during the 1920s). Water and oil are applied to the head only, not to multiple parts of the body.
2005 (G) – Silkscreened garments introduced, including silkscreening markings on inside of other clothing for military and police
2007 – Desert tan cycling style of lycra undershort worn during unit physical training exercises. Now avaialble in “white” for females
2008 – Possibly out of consideration for the elderly and disabled, initiates are no longer instructed to stand while making covenants. David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994)
Everybody ready? First, I’ll set out my temple doily:
and then, I’ll put out a stick:
Everybody see the twig on my doily? Great. Now notice it is not attached to a tree. No, really. The tree is gone. Without the roots, it will wither and die.
This is supposed to illustrate Boyd K. Packer’s quote:
[The Atonement of Jesus Christ] is the very root of Christian doctrine. You may know much about the gospel as it branches out from there, but if you only know the branches and those branches do not touch that root, if they have been cut free from that truth, there will be no life nor substance nor redemption in them” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1977, 80; or Ensign, May 1977, 56).
So, all we have to show is that the D&C and the Church are not attached to the root, and you’ll all know the stick has withered and died.
What are the roots referred to in the scriptures?
Jacob 5:48 –
have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?
In this verse, The great prophet Zenos states, via allegory, that churches corrupt when they grow so fast their ordinances alter to match the branches (see the seminary lesson on Jacob 5 if you doubt this interpretation is official).
Okay, back to the D&C:
1. The Doctrine and Covenants testifies of Jesus Christ Joseph Smith’s manipulation of gullible individuals in the 1800s.
Think about the scriptures in the D&C. Do they ever put forward false logic? Do they ever say anything that makes no sense? Do they ever prophesy of things that never happened?
If so, can we write those scriptures off as “of men” because God would not make such petty mistakes? If these mistakes are of men, but portray themselves as “of God,” is that not con-artistry?
2. Jesus Christ is never shown right.
Have you ever noticed that the Church never shows Christ as he would be on the cross, a bloody mess?
That’s an amazingly clean Jesus. This guy bled from every pore, and it never mentions he had a bath afterwards. I mean, the one from Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” is a bloody mess, and he didn’t even bleed from every pore.
I’m thinking that they know that no one would enjoy it, and many people would hide their kids from looking at something like that. Which brings me to the bit in D&C 19:16-19, “But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I.”
Let’s think about this. Either we repent, or we suffer like Christ on the cross, “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore.”
Wow. So all the people who don’t repent are going to suffer to the point of bleeding at every pore? Like… their own atonement? Then it would be enough they wouldn’t need Jesus, right?
Oh no, I guess not. They STILL need Jesus, he just suffered for their suffering. I guess that this is some of that “Eternal Justice” that exists in the universe because of… well… intelligences or something.
Who decrees that one must suffer like Christ? Who decrees that Christ’s suffering will pay for it? Whoever they are, they are a royal dick.
In fact, even God disagrees. You see, in D&C 19, God clearly says:
For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore Eternal punishment is God’s punishment. Endless punishment is God’s punishment.
Got that? Eternal punishment is not punishment that lasts for eternity, nor is endless punishment “punishment without end.” No, all punishments are temporary. They are simply called “endless” and “eternal” because God’s name is “Eternal” and “Endless,” and He gives the punishment.
If His name were Bob, it would be “Bob’s punishment.” You see, the threat of hellfire, damnation, and neverending torment was just a little pun that God thought was funny.
Ha ha.
So, why do we have these two very scary verses about suffering like even Christ suffered?
What they did not mention in the manual was that Joseph received these revelations in conjunction with losing the D&C. D&C 19 is all about losing the 116 pages. This is Joseph (or God) chewing Martin Harris out for losing the pages.
And now, a class video: http://www.hulu.com/watch/250048
So you see, when God totally screws up by letting Lucy Harris test him (naughty Lucy), an all wise and knowing God does the most logical, merciful, and just thing possible. He resorts to threats and being scary.
D&C 19:15- “Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore.”
Yup, repent for testing me. Testing is a no-no. Testing God is bad. Hell, if I send an angel and you try to tell if it is an angel from God, He might just get medieval on your… wait whut? No, I guess that kind of test is okay… just not the Lucy Harris kind. That’s the bad kind.
3. Sins and Repentance.
This part always confused me as a kid, that God forgets sins if we repent.
How on Earth can He be all knowing if He forgets things every 5-10 minutes? I picture the conversation going like this:
Dead Jew – Man I suffered so much, it was hard in Earth life.
God – What do you mean you suffered?
Dead Jew – The Holocaust. The concentration camps? The pain, the lack of food… all of it for you?
God – Nope, don’t remember it. Wait, I do remember some guy named Hitler repented and had his temple work done. Maybe you should talk to him about that. He’s over there on that cloud shaped kinda like a curly cross.
Dead Jew – !!!!
You see, God is really more like Schrodinger’s God. If you don’t repent, He remembers everything. However, as soon as you repent, He may or may not remember your sin depending on whether He is talking to you or not. This just results in the angels gossiping for eternity behind your back about how many times you wanked off to a Carly Rae song.
Because it never says that everyone else forgets, too. Think if they did… only the people in terrestrial glory and below remember how much they suffered; everyone else forgets? Some justice.
4. To exercise faith in God, we must have “a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes.” — Joseph Smith, comp., Lectures on Faith [1985], 38
If the Doctrine and Covenants teaches incorrect attributes, character, or perfections of Christ, it is misleading and false. And it is con-artistry, as it portends not to be a “good mythological tale” (which some people claim about the Book of Mormon now), but God’s own voice.
Conclusion
We have every right to expect God to be greater than man’s pettiness and emotionally laden needs.
When Joseph is upset, God is upset. When Joseph is troubled, God is comforting; but has limited foresight. When Joseph is sharp, God is sharp.
This illustrates very much a god of man, and not a god for men based on a really existent being.
[Update: on 12/15/2015 I was shown to be wrong on one of my assumptions. Changes inline]
Many times, people will ask me why I bother to read and research LDS history. Let me tell you the story of a map to illustrate why.
A map of Moroni’s travels.
This map right here.
You see this map? It’s a fascinating piece of mormon folklore. Written on the back of it were the words, “A chart, and description of Moroni’s travels through this country. Got it from Br. Robert Dickson. He got it from Patriarch Wm. McBride at Richfield in the Sevier and also from Andrew M. Hamilton of same place. And they got it from Joseph Smith the Prophet.”
It was locked away in the church historical archive. What’s more, there was a second map also locked away.
Second map
One would think that two maps sketched by Joseph Smith would be proof positive that the things listed on the map were believed by Joseph. Certainly, BYU professors gave it credibility.
In fact, this is the most supportive piece of evidence that the lands of the Book of Mormon were in Central America that exists.
But, if we look closer, we see that the Kinderhook plates are listed on it as being dropped off by Moroni. Now we have to think about this. This directly ties Joseph Smith to saying that Moroni put the known forgeries into a hill.
This is very damning evidence indeed, until we scan down and see the name “Arizona.”
Now, Arizona didn’t achieve statehood until 1912, and the first use of the name “Arizona” in any official capacity was “… by presidential proclamation of Jefferson Davis on February 14, 1862.”
[Update: Ahh, but unofficially “Arizona” was in use and commonplace, and perhaps most interesting, was related to a discovery of a large silver deposit.
While the list of twentieth century scholars and writers who have called the place Arizonac is impressive, their numbers and significance pale in comparison to those who lived and worked there two hundred years earlier and did not call it that.
The majority of documents that mention Arizona were written in 1736 and 1751-52.
This is because the famous silver discovery and the Pima uprising both centered very near it. Otherwise, it was and is so insignificant that hardly anyone would have heard of it.
Locals who wrote about it during the disturbances of 1736 (Father Campos’ removal from the Pimería Alta in the spring and the rush to the site of the silver discovery in the fall) and universally called it Arizona…
Arizona; as we know it, would have been called “Sand Hills”. Which means that if Joseph did know about it; he was referencing Moroni stopping by a 17th century silver find. If Joseph did know, he may have thought Moroni was leaving silver and gold for people to find [End update, thanks to /u/WillyPete for pointing this out]
That’s 20 years after Joseph Smith died.
[Unless the updated portion impacts Joseph’s knowledge ] The anachronism of “Arizona” pretty much proves that this map is a forgery. But it is a historical forgery, clearly created by mormons to support the official line (that the Saints were to go to the Salt Lake Valley, and that the Nephites were in Central America) sometime after 1862.
So here you have a map, used by the church 100+ years later to support their beliefs, that proves that Joseph was a fraud if the map is genuine. But that map may actually be a forgery by faithful Saints trying to support the beliefs of the day (i.e. Brigham led the Saints to where Joseph said he would, and Nephite lands were broader than just around the Great Lakes).
Someone thought that faking data to support the church’s current beliefs was beneficial and worthwhile, but while doing so included the kinderhook forgeries and it has led to a continuation of bad research and conclusions ever since. [Or the map is real and shows Joseph’s disposition towards silver and Gold] and really does include the Kinderhook forgeries as believed by Joseph; calling into question everything he ever claimed about the Nephites]
That little twisted knot of history fascinates me… and that is why I continue to do the research that I do.
Full scan available here.
Temple rituals modified in 1990 matching the least oral herpes transmission popular responses on the survey.
Jesus with no beard.
I’ve always wondered what would happen if a person were to remove Jesus’s beard. Basically, I see images of Charles Manson fitting right in with the church’s curriculum without even being altered.
I mean, leaders in the LDS faith are not allowed to grow beards, so if Jesus were to appear shaved, would we recognize him? or is he more of an ideal, a wise bearded man whom we only know by his beard?
For more thoughts about that, tell me if this man, who also appears in churches all over the world, is the same man as the one above:
Modern Jesus
Since he is also Jesus, right?
Original Jesus
We wouldn’t fall for just any guy in a beard, would we?
This is not Jesus, he led a cult and murdered people
As I pondered on a good place to begin discussions of mormonism, it struck me that comparing actual history to the LDS Institute Manual for the D&C was a good place to begin.
You may detect some notes of sarcasm in my approach. Please be aware that these are mostly jabs at the Correlation Department and that I feel that their attempt to hide history from members is, I think, worth mocking a bit.
Without further ado; Institute for Exploring Mormons, Day 1:
For notes compare to the official manual.
Everyone know what this is?
No, it’s not a castle, Jimmy. It’s the Salt Lake Temple.
Now, I’ll start the lesson with a confusing description of the Hosanna Shout– a rite that, for some reason, God wants to start temples with.
On top of the SLC temple, the upper half of that ball under Moroni is the temple’s capstone. On 6 April, 1892, the church held a general conference in the tabernacle. Shortly before noon, President Wilford Woodruff dismissed the meeting. Forty thousand people gathered on Temple Square, with thousands more surrounding it. President Woodruff then pressed an electric button, and the capstone was lowered into place. Down below, the Tabernacle Choir, accompanied by a band, began singing the hymn “The Spirit of God,” and the Saints joined in. Then they gave the Hosanna Shout and waved white handkerchiefs, showing their joy that the Salt Lake temple was near completion.
President Ezra Taft Benson, the 13th president of the church, explained that the Doctrine and Covenants can be described as the capstone of our religion:
The Doctrine and Covenants brings men to Christ’s kingdom, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ‘the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.’
The Book of Mormon is the ‘keystone’ of our religion, and the Doctrine and Covenants is the capstone, with continuing latter-day revelation. The Lord has placed His stamp of approval on both the keystone and the capstone.
— Conference Report, Apr. 1987, 105; or Ensign, May 1987, 83
But before there was a Doctrine and Covenants, there was a “Book of Commandments,” which was very different.
Just as the Book of Mormon is the keystone and is filled with anachronisms and mind-twisting logic (along with some very damaging doctrine), so, too, does the Doctrine and Covenants require a very large “Faith Shelf.”
This year we’ll discuss and share facts, context, interesting information and generally mock a CES manual’s very skewed perspective about a book that can really be very harmful, if taken literally and without context.
This course uses a thematic approach in studying the Doctrine and Covenants and church history. Although the official course lessons are intended to help class members learn and apply what the Doctrine and Covenants and church history teach about specific gospel themes, this course is to actually teach history, and help people understand what really happened, regardless of “gospel themes.”
As a result of this year’s study, class members should have a greater desire to seek the blessings of the gospel. an actual fucking clue as to what was happening and the circumstances around the events in the Doctrine and Covenants.
Some sections of the Doctrine and Covenants are not included in the reading assignments. Nevertheless, class members should plan to read the entire Doctrine and Covenants during the year; because you really need to read the same blessing repeated 4 times with small variations. No really, you do!
The lesson manual says to distribute a copy of Our Heritage, so we’ll pick that apart as well.
This book presents an inspiring a heavily modified and edited account of the history of the church, from the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith to the present day, which is totally not brainwashing.
In order for this class to be successful, you’re going to need to participate. Actually, I’m going to keep posting whether you pitch in or not. Whatever.
1. The revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants address the needs of our day.
Actually, I’m not sure this applies. I mean, we don’t drink drinks made of barley in the church. Heaven only knows that D&C 132 isn’t used at all the same way any more (if it should have been there in the first place), and dousing rods were removed. I think it was made for the 1800s and doesn’t really apply very well to an age of reason and physics, especially D&C 88’s views on how “light” works.
2. The Lord authored the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants.
On 1 November, 1831, the Prophet Joseph Smith presided at a special conference of elders held in Hiram, Ohio. Those in attendance decided to compile some of the revelations the prophet had received and published them in a book called the Book of Commandments. Following the first session of this conference, the Lord signified His approval for the publication by giving Joseph Smith a revelation that He called, “my preface unto the book of my commandments.”
President Ezra Taft Benson said:
The Doctrine and Covenants is the only book in the world that has a preface written by the Lord Himself. In that preface He declares to the world that His voice is unto all men. –Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 101; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 79
This means that we can build tests around this book that cannot be tested on any other book in the world to verify if this really came from God, or if men were just making things up. Any serious flaws or failed prophesies are prophesies with the stamp and approval of Joseph’s God.
In D&C 1, God threatens a lot of people. Members of the church should really consider what kind of God would open a book with this kind of “join my church or else!” language.
3. This course will discuss major events of the dispensation of the fullness of times.
Oh hell yes it will.
This dispensation can be divided into six historical periods. We are totally going to rename these periods:
New York Period – Treasure Seeking Period
1820–1830 – Joseph and the Plates
Ohio-Missouri Period – Sidney Rigdon Days
1831–1838 – The Kirtland Scandal
Nauvoo Period – Plural Marriage and Brick Houses
1839–1846 – Book of Abraham and Joseph’s Death
— Intermission, the Succession Crisis —
Pioneering the West – Brigham Takes Over
1846–1898 — The Utah War
Expansion of the Church — Missionaries Everywhere
1899–1950 — Correlation after Polygamy
The Worldwide Church
1951–present — The Correlated Church
4. We can each help to move forward this great latter-day work. We can actually do things to help people understand what was going on and put a stop to drivel in manuals like the official one.
Ask class members to look around the room at the people in the class. Look at how we got here. We got here via reason and some emotion. We got here because someone shared something that we didn’t know before.
We can all do that as we learn more about church history and the D&C.
Conclusion
We should all be excited to live in a day of the internet, when reason and science are being taught by so many and are so accessible. We just need to point people in the correct direction, and there are many currently doubting who just need someone to trust.
We can all contribute to helping end bullshit. Hopefully this course helps some of you, and you can help someone else.
Welcome to a blog that is, perhaps, a bit different from so many others.
The goal here is neither to be “Anti-Mormon” nor “Pro-Mormon,” but rather to lay facts out in an organized manner that people can relate to. We’ll handle topics from investigators meeting with missionaries, to the 1996 shooting at the Church of Christ (Templelot), to Mark Hofmann.
Roll up your sleeves and don a mining helmet; or, if you prefer the image, take a long walk with me down a country road as we toss ideas around about what it means to be “Mormon.”