Brother Jake is here to explain away any misconceptions or apprehensions you have with regards to Mormons and polygamy.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Confirmation bias is powerful
If I were approached with an investment opportunity that would require a significant sacrifice on my part, I would have an interest in fully vetting and investigating the organization.
Lets say I go to the Internet and am quickly deluged with thousands of sites exposing this company as a complete fraud. And there are tens of thousands of former investors telling their personal stories of being harmed and swindled by the company. They all tell basically the same story of being hurt and damaged when they learned the company was not honest about itself and had kept critical information from the investors.
Further investigation provides hard factual evidence of dishonesty and immoral behavior by the founders of the company. So you look closer at the slick and attractive website of the company. It doesn't discuss any of the negative aspects of the company. In fact, the company doesn't acknowledge any of the evidence against it. All of the information from the company paints a beautiful picture of happy people who are living fulfilled lives of joy and contentment.
You question the representatives of the company about the negative aspects of the company. They quickly become defensive and suggest that former investors are a terrible resource for understanding the truth about the company. They advocate only speaking to current investors. Also, anything negative about the company is to be avoided.
After all this, would you feel comfortable investing in this company?
This is essentially what happens when potential converts to Mormonism begin looking into the religion. For the objective investigator, a large population of former members speaking out about their negative experiences with the church, along with a mountain of verifiable evidence refuting the fundamental claims of the church are both huge red flags.
So how do current believing members explain away all of these detractors and the mountain of information disproving their religion? The answer is quite simple really. Satan is working overtime to tear down the church. The church is being attacked not because it is built on a foundation of lies and deception, but rather because the devil just wants to make people miserable.
It's simple, really.
Lets say I go to the Internet and am quickly deluged with thousands of sites exposing this company as a complete fraud. And there are tens of thousands of former investors telling their personal stories of being harmed and swindled by the company. They all tell basically the same story of being hurt and damaged when they learned the company was not honest about itself and had kept critical information from the investors.
Further investigation provides hard factual evidence of dishonesty and immoral behavior by the founders of the company. So you look closer at the slick and attractive website of the company. It doesn't discuss any of the negative aspects of the company. In fact, the company doesn't acknowledge any of the evidence against it. All of the information from the company paints a beautiful picture of happy people who are living fulfilled lives of joy and contentment.
You question the representatives of the company about the negative aspects of the company. They quickly become defensive and suggest that former investors are a terrible resource for understanding the truth about the company. They advocate only speaking to current investors. Also, anything negative about the company is to be avoided.
After all this, would you feel comfortable investing in this company?
This is essentially what happens when potential converts to Mormonism begin looking into the religion. For the objective investigator, a large population of former members speaking out about their negative experiences with the church, along with a mountain of verifiable evidence refuting the fundamental claims of the church are both huge red flags.
So how do current believing members explain away all of these detractors and the mountain of information disproving their religion? The answer is quite simple really. Satan is working overtime to tear down the church. The church is being attacked not because it is built on a foundation of lies and deception, but rather because the devil just wants to make people miserable.
It's simple, really.
Friday, March 22, 2013
An increasing number of members are falling prey to the devil
I recently had a conversation with a family member who has recently been going through a difficult time. A couple months ago she learned one of her close siblings no longer believes in the church.
Then last week she found out a sibling had resigned from the church. To top it all off she recently asked me where I'm at with my testimony, so I told her.
I can't help but sympathize with my sister. She has been absolutely hammered in the last few months. 3 of her siblings have left or are on their way out of the church. As a true believing member of the church, this has to be devastating.
I can't help but think of a parallel for this scenario. If all my family had our money in a financial institution, and had done so for our entire lives, I would feel confident in the security of our investment. But if suddenly, within 3 months, 3 of my siblings quickly withdrew every penny from their accounts, I would probably be very curious as to their reasoning. I would be very anxious to contact them and determine if they had some information I should know about. If they knew something that indicated our money was at risk, I would want to know. 3 people, who I trust, simultaneously reversing a lifetime of devotion and allegiance would raise a huge red flag to me. What do they know that I don't know?
This is not the response I have received from my believing siblings. Instead of honestly seeking to understand what I know, they have responded with emotionally charged responses.
"Have you considered the Devil has deceived you?"
"Did you ever have a belief in the church?"
"It sounds like you have been reading anti-Mormon material."
Members of the church are so emotionally tied to the church, they can't help but respond in this way. They cannot fathom even the slimmest possibility the church may not be exactly what it claims to be. They are so conditioned to recoil at any information that does not paint the church in the best possible light, they then refuse to look at any truthful historical information about the church.
It makes for a very difficult conversation. The true believer is heartbroken at losing their family member for eternity and the non believer wants to help them understand they haven't really lost anything at all. But any factual information about the church is met with an emotional firewall conditioned to repel "anti-Mormon" material.
The conversation participants are speaking completely separate languages. There is no common ground to meet on.
So rather than honestly seek to understand why 3 siblings in a row have left the church, and what valuable information they may posses, the believer must explain away this phenomenon. All too often, the believer must resort to saying such things as, "Well, it's the last days. And we know in the end, even the very elect will be deceived."
This is a classic example of confirmation bias. Rather than accept the 3 siblings may have a valid position, the believer twists it around to fit within the paradigm of the church being true. It really doesn't matter what facts or evidence is supplied, the believer will somehow manage to twist it to fit, so as to not disrupt their closely held beliefs. And for those things they cannot make fit, no matter how much they twist, they then set them aside and say things like, "There are just some things we can't know in this life." Or "Thats not pertinent to my eternal salvation." These thought stopping techniques are very effective in allowing the believer to set aside or ignore the uncomfortable facts and evidence that challenges their emotionally held beliefs.
Then last week she found out a sibling had resigned from the church. To top it all off she recently asked me where I'm at with my testimony, so I told her.
I can't help but sympathize with my sister. She has been absolutely hammered in the last few months. 3 of her siblings have left or are on their way out of the church. As a true believing member of the church, this has to be devastating.
I can't help but think of a parallel for this scenario. If all my family had our money in a financial institution, and had done so for our entire lives, I would feel confident in the security of our investment. But if suddenly, within 3 months, 3 of my siblings quickly withdrew every penny from their accounts, I would probably be very curious as to their reasoning. I would be very anxious to contact them and determine if they had some information I should know about. If they knew something that indicated our money was at risk, I would want to know. 3 people, who I trust, simultaneously reversing a lifetime of devotion and allegiance would raise a huge red flag to me. What do they know that I don't know?
This is not the response I have received from my believing siblings. Instead of honestly seeking to understand what I know, they have responded with emotionally charged responses.
"Have you considered the Devil has deceived you?"
"Did you ever have a belief in the church?"
"It sounds like you have been reading anti-Mormon material."
Members of the church are so emotionally tied to the church, they can't help but respond in this way. They cannot fathom even the slimmest possibility the church may not be exactly what it claims to be. They are so conditioned to recoil at any information that does not paint the church in the best possible light, they then refuse to look at any truthful historical information about the church.
It makes for a very difficult conversation. The true believer is heartbroken at losing their family member for eternity and the non believer wants to help them understand they haven't really lost anything at all. But any factual information about the church is met with an emotional firewall conditioned to repel "anti-Mormon" material.
The conversation participants are speaking completely separate languages. There is no common ground to meet on.
So rather than honestly seek to understand why 3 siblings in a row have left the church, and what valuable information they may posses, the believer must explain away this phenomenon. All too often, the believer must resort to saying such things as, "Well, it's the last days. And we know in the end, even the very elect will be deceived."
This is a classic example of confirmation bias. Rather than accept the 3 siblings may have a valid position, the believer twists it around to fit within the paradigm of the church being true. It really doesn't matter what facts or evidence is supplied, the believer will somehow manage to twist it to fit, so as to not disrupt their closely held beliefs. And for those things they cannot make fit, no matter how much they twist, they then set them aside and say things like, "There are just some things we can't know in this life." Or "Thats not pertinent to my eternal salvation." These thought stopping techniques are very effective in allowing the believer to set aside or ignore the uncomfortable facts and evidence that challenges their emotionally held beliefs.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Is there a better alternative to truth?
My wife and I were discussing the differences between us. Specifically, we talked about where I'm at with respect to the church vs where she's at.
I pointed out that yes, we may be in different places, but we shared a common goal. We are both seeking the truth.
She hesitated for just a moment and then said, "Maybe."
I was struck by the implications of this statement. Was she really saying that maybe, just maybe, living the illusion of Mormonism is preferable to living the truth?
I can't really get my brain around the idea of avoiding truth because you prefer the comfort of a fantasy. If the Mormon church is demonstrably false, what does it offer that has more value than the truth?
I pointed out that yes, we may be in different places, but we shared a common goal. We are both seeking the truth.
She hesitated for just a moment and then said, "Maybe."
I was struck by the implications of this statement. Was she really saying that maybe, just maybe, living the illusion of Mormonism is preferable to living the truth?
I can't really get my brain around the idea of avoiding truth because you prefer the comfort of a fantasy. If the Mormon church is demonstrably false, what does it offer that has more value than the truth?
I believe families can be together forever
I don't believe God will damn me for not believing in a book that has been proven to be a fraud, time and time again.
I don't believe I will be denied an eternal life with my family for not accepting an adulterer, liar, pedophile, and fraud to be a prophet of God.
God gave me 5 senses along with a brain capable of reason and logic. Why would God give me all this and expect me to ignore everything I am able to learn about Mormonism by using them? My 5 senses and my skills for reason and logic all emphatically and irrefutably indicate Mormonism is not what it claims to be. Why would God punish me for drawing conclusions that are consistent with the evidence I have before me?
The church teaches we should ignore all the evidence against the church and just listen to our hearts. Our hearts will feel warm and we are to interpret that to mean the church is true. This method is fraught with problems and is not in any way a reliable method for determining truth. If it were reliable, then there would not be millions of people arriving at contradicting conclusions based on the exact same feeling.
In short, I believe I will face God and he will say something like this.
"I'm proud of you, my son. You were born into a family that told you to believe in a lot of false things. You were told Joseph Smith spoke for me. You were conditioned to believe the Book of Mormon was a literal historical record, etc.
It's very difficult for the human brain to let go of beliefs that are developed from a young age and repeated over many decades. Even when presented with facts and evidence, the human brain clings to the beliefs that got there first. And with family pressure to conform being added to the mix, it makes it even more difficult to admit your beliefs just may be wrong.
But in the face of family and societal pressure, and a lifetime of constant teachings, you were able to find the truth. You explored the facts surrounding your cherished beliefs and you were able to recognize truth and set aside the beliefs that did not line up with reality.
You used my gifts to you, 5 senses and reason and logic, to overcome a lifetime of false teachings. It was not easy to overcome your brain's tendency to retain your false beliefs. And you certainly paid a high relational cost with respect to your family and friends. But you were willing to pay the highest price for the truth. You valued truth above all else and made any and all sacrifices necessary to seek it.
Well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done"
I look forward to meeting God and having that conversation.
I don't believe I will be denied an eternal life with my family for not accepting an adulterer, liar, pedophile, and fraud to be a prophet of God.
God gave me 5 senses along with a brain capable of reason and logic. Why would God give me all this and expect me to ignore everything I am able to learn about Mormonism by using them? My 5 senses and my skills for reason and logic all emphatically and irrefutably indicate Mormonism is not what it claims to be. Why would God punish me for drawing conclusions that are consistent with the evidence I have before me?
The church teaches we should ignore all the evidence against the church and just listen to our hearts. Our hearts will feel warm and we are to interpret that to mean the church is true. This method is fraught with problems and is not in any way a reliable method for determining truth. If it were reliable, then there would not be millions of people arriving at contradicting conclusions based on the exact same feeling.
In short, I believe I will face God and he will say something like this.
"I'm proud of you, my son. You were born into a family that told you to believe in a lot of false things. You were told Joseph Smith spoke for me. You were conditioned to believe the Book of Mormon was a literal historical record, etc.
It's very difficult for the human brain to let go of beliefs that are developed from a young age and repeated over many decades. Even when presented with facts and evidence, the human brain clings to the beliefs that got there first. And with family pressure to conform being added to the mix, it makes it even more difficult to admit your beliefs just may be wrong.
But in the face of family and societal pressure, and a lifetime of constant teachings, you were able to find the truth. You explored the facts surrounding your cherished beliefs and you were able to recognize truth and set aside the beliefs that did not line up with reality.
You used my gifts to you, 5 senses and reason and logic, to overcome a lifetime of false teachings. It was not easy to overcome your brain's tendency to retain your false beliefs. And you certainly paid a high relational cost with respect to your family and friends. But you were willing to pay the highest price for the truth. You valued truth above all else and made any and all sacrifices necessary to seek it.
Well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done"
I look forward to meeting God and having that conversation.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Life after death
Just in case you are wondering, Brother Jake will set your mind at ease about the after-life. It's pretty straightforward stuff.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Sustain the Prophet
I remember the time well. I was a 13 year old kid in the summer of 1994. President Ezra Taft Benson had just died after many years of being out of commission due to health reasons.
Howard W Hunter had just been put in place as Prophet Seer and Revelator for the church, as well as for the world. I didn't know much about Hunter, as my only experiences with him were from seeing him speak in General Conference.
Our Home Teachers came over to visit. In our house, kids were expected to sit down, be quiet and listen. So we had to put our evening on hold until the home teachers wrapped it up.
One of the home teachers began talking about the new prophet. He emphasized how we are to not only support and sustain President Hunter, but we are to also have a personal testimony of the divinity of his calling. Then Brother Home Teacher explained that we were going to go around the room and each person in the room was to stand and bear their testimony that they knew President Hunter was the true and living Prophet.
When my turn came, I refused. My reasoning was that I could not stand and claim to know something that I in fact did not know. I figured I was just acting in an honest fashion by not lying. This was not acceptable to neither the home teacher nor my family. My father and home teacher explained to me that we would all wait, in silence, until I was willing to claim to know the prophet was called of God. So I sat there. I was not going to lie.
And so we all sat there. With everyone staring at me. The home teacher's eyes were boring into me. A couple siblings implored me to just say it so we could send these guys home and we could get back to our lives. I finally realized my father and the H.T. were not kidding. They were absolutely going to wait me out. I was trapped. The only way out of this was to just say I knew President Hunter was a real Prophet. So I caved, but only because I knew my hands were tied. I mumbled something about him being a true prophet and sat down. The Home Teacher gave me a self satisfied look and went on with his lesson.
Sometimes I wonder why I didn't see through this organization sooner. What was it about me or my situation that kept me from the truth for over 30 years? What compelled that young 13 year-old boy, intent on living with integrity, to wholeheartedly buy into the lies and deception, and ignore the manipulation, within only a couple years?
By the time I was 15 I fully believed the church to be true. I no longer questioned at all. Even when some things in the church rubbed me the wrong way and irritated me, I never wavered from my absolute belief in the truthfulness of the church. There had never been anything in my life I had more firmly believed than "The church is true!!" No one or anything could possibly sway me from that belief. Even when the time came to serve a mission, 2 years that would ultimately be the most miserable of my life, I never doubted the legitimacy of the claims of the church. I knew the church was true. The personal price I had to pay to endure a mission was fine. I knew that no price was too high when it came to living according to the demands of the church, because the church is true!! And no price is too high for the truth.
Hindsight is 20/20. The signs of the real truth were all there in front of me. But I pushed them aside, so as to not distract me from the "truth" of the church. It only took me 30 years to figure it out. It would have been better to figure it out at age 20, or even better at 10. But I just have to remember my situation is better than finally finding the truth at age 40 or 50. Or even worse, after I die. What a shame it would be to not learn the truth until after I had wasted my entire life living under a false set of assumptions. The key is to make the most of the time I have left. And that is exactly what I intend to do.
Howard W Hunter had just been put in place as Prophet Seer and Revelator for the church, as well as for the world. I didn't know much about Hunter, as my only experiences with him were from seeing him speak in General Conference.
Our Home Teachers came over to visit. In our house, kids were expected to sit down, be quiet and listen. So we had to put our evening on hold until the home teachers wrapped it up.
One of the home teachers began talking about the new prophet. He emphasized how we are to not only support and sustain President Hunter, but we are to also have a personal testimony of the divinity of his calling. Then Brother Home Teacher explained that we were going to go around the room and each person in the room was to stand and bear their testimony that they knew President Hunter was the true and living Prophet.
When my turn came, I refused. My reasoning was that I could not stand and claim to know something that I in fact did not know. I figured I was just acting in an honest fashion by not lying. This was not acceptable to neither the home teacher nor my family. My father and home teacher explained to me that we would all wait, in silence, until I was willing to claim to know the prophet was called of God. So I sat there. I was not going to lie.
And so we all sat there. With everyone staring at me. The home teacher's eyes were boring into me. A couple siblings implored me to just say it so we could send these guys home and we could get back to our lives. I finally realized my father and the H.T. were not kidding. They were absolutely going to wait me out. I was trapped. The only way out of this was to just say I knew President Hunter was a real Prophet. So I caved, but only because I knew my hands were tied. I mumbled something about him being a true prophet and sat down. The Home Teacher gave me a self satisfied look and went on with his lesson.
Sometimes I wonder why I didn't see through this organization sooner. What was it about me or my situation that kept me from the truth for over 30 years? What compelled that young 13 year-old boy, intent on living with integrity, to wholeheartedly buy into the lies and deception, and ignore the manipulation, within only a couple years?
By the time I was 15 I fully believed the church to be true. I no longer questioned at all. Even when some things in the church rubbed me the wrong way and irritated me, I never wavered from my absolute belief in the truthfulness of the church. There had never been anything in my life I had more firmly believed than "The church is true!!" No one or anything could possibly sway me from that belief. Even when the time came to serve a mission, 2 years that would ultimately be the most miserable of my life, I never doubted the legitimacy of the claims of the church. I knew the church was true. The personal price I had to pay to endure a mission was fine. I knew that no price was too high when it came to living according to the demands of the church, because the church is true!! And no price is too high for the truth.
Hindsight is 20/20. The signs of the real truth were all there in front of me. But I pushed them aside, so as to not distract me from the "truth" of the church. It only took me 30 years to figure it out. It would have been better to figure it out at age 20, or even better at 10. But I just have to remember my situation is better than finally finding the truth at age 40 or 50. Or even worse, after I die. What a shame it would be to not learn the truth until after I had wasted my entire life living under a false set of assumptions. The key is to make the most of the time I have left. And that is exactly what I intend to do.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Why "Anti-Mormons" just don't get it
For the first 30 years of my life, I was exposed to "anti-Mormons" on many different occasions. As a true believing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was incredibly easy to laugh off these pathetic attempts at swaying me from the One True Church.
My reasoning went something like this, "If these people are the best and brightest that the anti-Mormon movement has to offer, and these are their best arguments to be made, I must absolutely be on the right path!"
A classic, and all to common, example of this is here. Yes, it goes on for 4 minutes. And yes, I kept waiting for it to improve. And no, *sigh*, it doesn't get any better.
There are also people with signs like these.
Notice these pictures and video came from the fairlds.org website. Why would a Pro Mormon organization willingly post Anti Mormon messages on their website?! The answer is obvious. These messages only strengthen the resolve and testimony of members of the Mormon church. When you believe you have the truth, and these are the images and messages telling you the Church is false, it only reinforces how right you are. Let's be honest, these people with their signs are nutcases.
As I look at things with a clearer understanding of how the Church does business, I can't help but wonder if the Church itself isn't actually involved in organizing these people, and possibly even paying them. I'm not the conspiracy theory type, but seriously, these guys are helping the Church!
It wasn't until many years into my life that I actually learned the real "anti Mormon" material. And by "anti-Mormon", I'm referring to the truth about the Church. I'm talking about the true history of the Church. Why was I never taught Joseph Smith had 34 wives? Why was I never taught he convinced 14 year-old girls to marry him? Why didn't a Gospel Doctrine teacher ever share with the class the story of Joseph marrying 11 women who already had living husbands of their own? Why doesn't the Church teach Joseph Smith "translated" the Book of Mormon by putting his face in his hat and looking at a stone he had previously used to search for buried treasure?
Why didn't anyone ever tell me about all the archaeological and historical evidence that clearly refutes the claim of the Book of Mormon to be a literal record of millions of Jews living on the American continent before Columbus arrived?
Why oh why did I never hear about The Book of Abraham and how it clearly proves Joseph Smith was a liar and had no translating abilities or gifts whatsoever?!?
These are things that would have been helpful 15 years ago, before I dedicated my life to a fraud and made almost all major life decisions while under a set of false assumptions. Sheesh, thanks for nothin' anti-Mormons!!
You see, there are many things, so very many things, the anti-Mormon crowd could be using for sign material. And maybe those things would not be so easily dismissed and ridiculed by faithful members of the church. I would like to see some anti-Mormons out there who actually say something that would cause a believing member of the Church to actually think.
I think this video here illustrates a pretty good attempt. I hope to see more of this.
With so much truth and facts and evidence to clearly debunk and contradict what members of the Church are taught, it's about time the anti-Mormon crowd get their act together and start actually educating the LDS church members. But it's not going to be effective as long as it's a guy with a bullhorn, screaming about the bible.
My reasoning went something like this, "If these people are the best and brightest that the anti-Mormon movement has to offer, and these are their best arguments to be made, I must absolutely be on the right path!"
A classic, and all to common, example of this is here. Yes, it goes on for 4 minutes. And yes, I kept waiting for it to improve. And no, *sigh*, it doesn't get any better.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The search for truth
There is a corny 'old man' joke that goes something like this.
"Why is it always the last place you look that you finally find what you're looking for?
Because when you find it, you stop looking."
As simple as this joke is, it actually speaks to a very basic human tendency. When we find what we are looking for, we stop looking for it. Why expend further time and energy searching for something we already possess?
The most striking example of this I have witnessed in my own life is the truth found in Mormonism. As members of the church we are taught we have the whole and complete truth of God, who we are and why we are here, and where we will ultimately find ourselves after we die.
With the assurance and comfort of having the absolute true answers for life's toughest questions, we can sit back and bask in the knowledge of our superior position. We alone, separate from the billions of other residents of this earth, have all the answers for life. We know where we came from, why we are here, and what we need to do to make it to where we want to go. Why on earth would we possibly waste any time or energy searching for other "truth" when we have it all, sitting right in front of our face?
You probably see the problem here. The assumption of possessing the absolute truth of your existence here on earth is hardly a defensible position to take. If only only one hole or contradiction or logical fallacy can be found in your reasoning or beliefs, then your entire position is compromised.
Logic and evidence aside, Mormons are hardly the first, and will certainly not be the last, organization to claim ultimate truth and authority. Therefore their claims must be examined with the same objective and skeptical eye as you would investigate any other religion or organization.
But getting back to the original idea, one of the predictable results of finding or possessing something is that you cease looking for it.
I find it incredibly ironic that I spent 2 years of my life, going door-to-door, asking people to open their minds and hearts and honestly seek the truth, while at the same time I myself was completely closed off to any further ideas or thoughts or truths that anyone attempted to present to me. "No thanks, I already have the truth. And I highly recommend you humble yourself enough to sincerely investigate what I have to share with you."
I absolutely do know for a fact that for me, in my own personal life, the assurance of possessing the truth pretty much squashed any curiosity or interest in seeking out further truth or learning what billions of other people have had to say on life and what this experience is all about. Why waste time and energy studying all of these other thoughts and ideas that are clearly false. I have the truth!
Not only did I not have any interest in learning about other religions or philosophies or ideas, but I also avoided and actively discarded any evidence or information that I could not twist to fit within my paradigm of truth.
A prime example of this is evolution. I scoffed and laughed at my 10th grade Biology teacher. "You actually believe that nonsense?! Everyone knows humans came from Adam and Eve!! Silly ignorant biology teacher."
It got a little more difficult to evade these things when I would see science shows on tv where they showed actual skulls of human-like beings who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. But I still clung to my truth of Adam and Eve who lived 6,000 years ago.
I would reason, "Well, I don't know how God did it, but there must be an explanation for how my truth is still true. And since I know I have the truth, there is no need to investigate the validity of these claims of human evolution."
I could give many more examples of turning away from and disregarding anything that didn't fit within my paradigm of truth or that appeared to offer no value as it provided an explanation or theory for the truth of our existence, contradictory to the truth I knew I already possessed.
This all changed a few years ago when I began to notice I was having to discard and overlook more and more things. My pile of discarded items that could not be plugged into my paradigm of truth, no matter how much I twisted them, was growing to an unimaginable size.
And I discovered the simple truths and explanations for this life I had held my entire life had grown a bit stale and provided little to no stimulation or opportunity for growth. Weekly church meetings became nothing more than a predictable rehashing of these same ideas, over and over and over. And most disturbing of all, I found most church lessons and sermons were merely entreaties and admonitions to hold ever stronger to the truths we know we have. "Don't listen to doubts. Don't pay attention to anything that contradicts or goes against what we believe. We have the truth! Don't ever look away!!!"
But I can't turn away from a fossil that is 200,000 years old. To do so would be intellectually dishonest. And with my increased curiosity and interest in new ideas and philosophies, I feel like I have outgrown the simple and constantly repeated truths of Mormonism. I find them to be contradictory with the world around us and entirely lacking in mental stimulation. I intend to continually seek for truth wherever I may find it, for the remainder of my life, even if that means abandoning previously held beliefs that I absolutely "knew" to be true.
"Why is it always the last place you look that you finally find what you're looking for?
Because when you find it, you stop looking."
As simple as this joke is, it actually speaks to a very basic human tendency. When we find what we are looking for, we stop looking for it. Why expend further time and energy searching for something we already possess?
The most striking example of this I have witnessed in my own life is the truth found in Mormonism. As members of the church we are taught we have the whole and complete truth of God, who we are and why we are here, and where we will ultimately find ourselves after we die.
With the assurance and comfort of having the absolute true answers for life's toughest questions, we can sit back and bask in the knowledge of our superior position. We alone, separate from the billions of other residents of this earth, have all the answers for life. We know where we came from, why we are here, and what we need to do to make it to where we want to go. Why on earth would we possibly waste any time or energy searching for other "truth" when we have it all, sitting right in front of our face?
You probably see the problem here. The assumption of possessing the absolute truth of your existence here on earth is hardly a defensible position to take. If only only one hole or contradiction or logical fallacy can be found in your reasoning or beliefs, then your entire position is compromised.
Logic and evidence aside, Mormons are hardly the first, and will certainly not be the last, organization to claim ultimate truth and authority. Therefore their claims must be examined with the same objective and skeptical eye as you would investigate any other religion or organization.
But getting back to the original idea, one of the predictable results of finding or possessing something is that you cease looking for it.
I find it incredibly ironic that I spent 2 years of my life, going door-to-door, asking people to open their minds and hearts and honestly seek the truth, while at the same time I myself was completely closed off to any further ideas or thoughts or truths that anyone attempted to present to me. "No thanks, I already have the truth. And I highly recommend you humble yourself enough to sincerely investigate what I have to share with you."
I absolutely do know for a fact that for me, in my own personal life, the assurance of possessing the truth pretty much squashed any curiosity or interest in seeking out further truth or learning what billions of other people have had to say on life and what this experience is all about. Why waste time and energy studying all of these other thoughts and ideas that are clearly false. I have the truth!
Not only did I not have any interest in learning about other religions or philosophies or ideas, but I also avoided and actively discarded any evidence or information that I could not twist to fit within my paradigm of truth.
A prime example of this is evolution. I scoffed and laughed at my 10th grade Biology teacher. "You actually believe that nonsense?! Everyone knows humans came from Adam and Eve!! Silly ignorant biology teacher."
It got a little more difficult to evade these things when I would see science shows on tv where they showed actual skulls of human-like beings who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. But I still clung to my truth of Adam and Eve who lived 6,000 years ago.
I would reason, "Well, I don't know how God did it, but there must be an explanation for how my truth is still true. And since I know I have the truth, there is no need to investigate the validity of these claims of human evolution."
I could give many more examples of turning away from and disregarding anything that didn't fit within my paradigm of truth or that appeared to offer no value as it provided an explanation or theory for the truth of our existence, contradictory to the truth I knew I already possessed.
This all changed a few years ago when I began to notice I was having to discard and overlook more and more things. My pile of discarded items that could not be plugged into my paradigm of truth, no matter how much I twisted them, was growing to an unimaginable size.
And I discovered the simple truths and explanations for this life I had held my entire life had grown a bit stale and provided little to no stimulation or opportunity for growth. Weekly church meetings became nothing more than a predictable rehashing of these same ideas, over and over and over. And most disturbing of all, I found most church lessons and sermons were merely entreaties and admonitions to hold ever stronger to the truths we know we have. "Don't listen to doubts. Don't pay attention to anything that contradicts or goes against what we believe. We have the truth! Don't ever look away!!!"
But I can't turn away from a fossil that is 200,000 years old. To do so would be intellectually dishonest. And with my increased curiosity and interest in new ideas and philosophies, I feel like I have outgrown the simple and constantly repeated truths of Mormonism. I find them to be contradictory with the world around us and entirely lacking in mental stimulation. I intend to continually seek for truth wherever I may find it, for the remainder of my life, even if that means abandoning previously held beliefs that I absolutely "knew" to be true.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
The Gospel of Mormonism is simple
Brother Jake breaks it down for us in this video explaining the Gospel. In less than 6 minutes you will get the full rundown of what this life is all about and what we need to do to make it back to the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom.
Mormonism has never been explained so clearly or concisely. If this starts to get around, the missionaries will be out of a job!
Mormonism has never been explained so clearly or concisely. If this starts to get around, the missionaries will be out of a job!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
God of the gaps
Many years ago, before science existed in its current form, humans were perplexed and amazed by lightning. They saw and heard these shocking bolts of light and sound tracing across the sky. Because their understanding of electricity and weather was limited, they resorted to reasoning that lightning must be the result of a god causing such an event.
They could see and hear the lightning, but they could not understand the root cause. There was a gap in their understanding. So they plugged God into the gap to explain what they couldn't understand themselves. Thus the term 'God of the gaps.' When you don't understand something, you can merely insert God into the equation to make it all balance out.
Lest you think of these people as being simple minded, and feel vastly superior to their inferior ways, the concept of 'God of the gaps' persists even today. When something good happens to someone, they are often quick to attribute it to the workings of God. And conversely, when bad things happen, God is often the reason we are 'being tested' or 'strengthened.' We cannot possibly comprehend all of the random events required to finally produce a singular event, whether that event be good or bad, and so we just plug in our particular concept of God into the equation and viola'!, we have an explanation.
This post was inspired by a recent conversation I had with my wife. Her position, while we discussed troubling and damning historical/archaeological/logical facts about the Church, was that we as humans cannot possibly comprehend the workings of God. We think we know what we know, but we can't understand how everything in the universe works together to ensure the Church is still true, regardless of all of the facts that seem to indicate otherwise.
This got me thinking. I began to wonder to what length a person would have to go to read and study all of the issues discrediting the legitimacy of the Church, and still maintain a belief the Church is exactly what it claims to be and is still the true church on the earth.
I will say at this point that everything I write further is NOT anything my wife has asserted to be her beliefs or conclusions. I don't know how she feels about many of these things because she has not told them to me. I am only speculating how a person could use the concept of 'God of the gaps' to plug the holes and inconsistencies in the Church narrative, so as to maintain a belief in the Church as being true.
The following are the Top 10 problems associated with the fundamental claims of truth, put forth by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
#1 The Book of Abraham
Joseph Smith purchased an Egyptian scroll from an antiquities dealer. Joseph Smith claimed the scroll was written "by the hand of Abraham" himself. He translated the scroll, along with the facsimiles, and the result is now contained in the Mormon scripture The Pearl of Great Price and is called The Book of Abraham.
At the time Joseph Smith translated this scroll, there was no one who could verify his translation as no one could translate Egyptian. Today that problem no longer exists. Egyptologists have looked at the scroll and facsimiles and then compared them to The Book of Abraham contained in Mormon scripture. The translation has been unequivocally been shown to be completely false. There is no way around the fact that Joseph Smith claimed he could translate Egyptian, and even wrote scripture under the guise of being a translation, and yet we have absolute proof that Joseph Smith lied about his translating abilities.
Now let's look at this situation through the lens of belief in Joseph Smith as a Prophet of God. On one hand we have a belief that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and spoke God's will. On the other hand we have unequivocal proof he lied about being able to translate Egyptian and even created scriptures that persist today that claim to be a translation of a scroll that bears no resemblance to the resulting Book of Abraham.
How do we reconcile these two positions? They appear to contradict each other. But we must maintain our belief in Joseph Smith, while at the same time we as rational beings cannot refute irrefutable proof available to us. The answer is that we do so by incorporating "God of the gaps."
We know we can't know everything about everything. We can't understand how God works. We weren't there when Joseph Smith translated the scroll. We don't know what God was trying to accomplish when he had Joseph Smith use a common funeral text to create the Book of Abraham. So we must conclude that while we don't know these things, we do believe God is omniscient, therefore God knows all those details and has taken care of it.
We have our solution. Joseph Smith is still a Prophet and Egytologists can still know the translation is completely wrong. God has filled in the gaps so we can maintain our belief in the divine calling of Joseph Smith.
At this point, you may be incredulously saying, "But that doesn't explain anything!!! Just saying that God understands everything hardly explains how Joseph Smith can still be a Prophet after irrefutable proof demonstrates he lied to produce incorrect scripture!" And I guess you're free to have your opinion. But just remember that you have limited understanding, therefore your doubts about this explanation and resulting conclusions are based on your limited mind and capabilities. You need to realize that with God, who knows everything, all things are possible. And when all things are possible, Joseph Smith can still be a Prophet even though he lied about his translating abilities.
See how easy that is? You just plug God into the equation and suddenly everything balances out. And best of all, you get to keep your preconceived beliefs that you hold dear. There's no need to allow new facts to alter your cherished beliefs.
And so we continue on down the list
#2 The First Vision
In 1832 Joseph Smith wrote of an experience he had in 1820 where he had an experience involving Jesus and the forgiveness of his sins. This was the first time this experience had ever been related to anyone else. Over the next few years, Joseph Smith shared this experience with others. With each telling, the story grew in scope and became more dramatic. Finally, in 1838 his secretary penned the version cannonized by the Mormon Church. This version related a dramatic experience involving the power of Satan, the visitation of not only Jesus but also God himself. And they explained to him that all churches are an abomination to them and he was to join none of them.
The issues with this First Vision are immediately apparent. And I have not even gone into any of the more damning facts surrounding its legitimacy. But again we are faced with reconciling our belief that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus in 1820 with the fact that his many different versions contradict each other and it took 12 years for him to even mention this to anyone else.
"God of the gaps" will be our method for making these two beliefs coexist. God was there and we were not. At least, he was there for the 1838 version. But we can be assured he oversaw the whole thing. And only He can understand the mechanics of how a mortal human being could view with human eyes two immortal beings. Our limited understanding cannot possibly be expected to comprehend such a thing.
As for the the 12 year gap between the experience and the first telling of the story, well, we weren't there. Maybe Joseph Smith told lots of people and for 12 years no one bothered to write down an account of such a miraculous event. We can't expect people to write down everything. Maybe they just didn't think it noteworthy to document something like that.
As for the contradicting elements to the story, how could Joseph Smith be expected to remember such a miraculous event? But God knows how it was all done and what transpired. And he is certainly capable of relaying to the current Prophet today which of the many contradicting versions best matches the actual events. So if President Monson says the 1838 version is the right one, then that's the one I'm going to assume is the most accurate.
Problem solved. The answer is "God did it." And we get to keep our belief that Joseph Smith was a Prophet rather than switch to a belief that Joseph Smith made up the story and it just evolved over time.
#3 The Book of Mormon translation
In the Church we are taught, and shown through hundreds of church paintings etc, that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by looking at the gold plates through the Urim and Thummim.
The facts are much different. He actually took a rock he had found while digging a well, and placed it in a hat. He then placed his face in the hat and dictated the Book of Mormon. The plates were never used.
What to do about the gap? God will fill it. If Joseph Smith could translate the plates through the power of God, then God can certainly give him the Book of Mormon through a rock in a hat.
Done. Explained.
#4 Book of Mormon problems
There is zero evidence for the Book of Mormon being an actual historical record of actual people of Jewish origins living on the American continent from 600 BC to 400 AD. In fact, the Book of Mormon mentions many things that are known to have NOT existed in the America's prior to the arrival of Columbus.
But we must believe that the Book of Mormon is exactly what it claims to be. So we will just use our fallback God to plug up the holes.
We can't know everything. Our understanding is limited. Maybe millions of Jews did live in the Americas during that time. And maybe they used steel and wheels and chariots and horses to fight battles involving millions of soldiers and they just happened to not leave any evidence behind. That is much more likely than the idea of Joseph Smith fabricating the Book of Mormon.
God knows everything so he of course knows how all these people must have lived and how we have no evidence for them and how the Book of Mormon is still true.
This is getting too easy!! You can just use God to explain anything away!
#5 Authorship of the Book of Mormon
Approximately 80% of The Book of Mormon has been documented to contain material already published and available to Joseph Smith at the time the Book of Mormon was published. It's not conceivable Joseph Smith just made up the Book of Mormon so therefore God must have made it possible. Maybe God used all those other sources as a means of inspiring Joseph Smith to write what he did. God moves in mysterious ways. It could have happened that way.
God can use any means at his disposal to accomplish his work. Issue reconciled.
#6 Blacks and the Priesthood
Up until 1978 Blacks were not allowed to have the Priesthood or participate in Temple Ceremonies. Church leaders are documented to have made many vile racist comments and teachings from the pulpit. Starting with Brigham Young and all the way up to Bruce R. McConkie, church leaders said many things very unflattering to Blacks. But we can't assume these men were just racist products of their time, we must believe they were called of God and inspired by him.
So we'll just assume God taught those things because it applied to those people at that time. And now it's a different time so God is teaching us something very different. Easy peezy.
#7 Kinderhook Plates
Joseph Smith claimed to be able to translate plates that have since been proven to be a hoax. Joseph Smith even went so far as to claim the plates were a record of a man from Egypt. He was obviously fooled by the hoax.
But hey, God can do anything. Who is to say God couldn't use those false plates to inspire Joseph Smith with real teachings from God. I bet he could have done that.
#8 Polygamy
Joseph Smith lied about his practice of Polygamy. He had 34 wives, that we know of, and for several years managed to keep it from his first wife, Emma. Many of the women were actually underage teenagers and some were as young as 14.
11 of the wives were already married to living husbands at the time Joseph married them. Orson Hyde was sent on a mission to Jerusalem by Joseph and while he was away, Joseph married Orson's wife without Orson's knowledge.
Joseph absolutely must have been a prophet. So of course if God commanded Joseph to marry 34 women, some as young as 14, (thus fitting in every way the definition of a pedophile, and a rather insidious one at that given his position of authority), then that makes it alright. If God says to do something, then it is the right thing to do. Even that means taking 34 women for your own gratification. God fixes everything!!!
#9 Witnesses to the Book of Mormon
11 men were supposedly shown the Gold Plates. They were forced to sign a prepared statement saying as much, rather than writing their own versions of their experience. Many of them later admitted to seeing the plates with their "spiritual eyes" and not as an actual physical event.
Of course the plates existed so however God chose to show them the plates, that's good enough to explain the issues. God knows everything and all things are possible with him.
#10 Temple
Joseph Smith revealed the temple ceremony to the church members a few weeks after undergoing the Masonic rituals himself. The temple ceremony is an obvious copy of the Masonic rituals that originated in the 1700's. We are taught the temple endowment ceremony was practiced by Adam and Eve and is identical to their practice of it.
But since Joseph Smith was certainly a Prophet of God and not merely cobbling together already existing ceremonies and theology that already existed around him, there must be some explanation. Well of course the answer is that God is responsible. God can use whatever means necessary to accomplish his work. And if he had to reveal the temple ceremony to the Masons in the 1700's so that Joseph Smith could then learn them from the Masons in the 1800's then that's how it was.
We can't be expected to understand everything about how this universe works. Just remember that God is in charge. And any time you come across any facts or evidence that appears to contradict or discredit your closely held and cherished beliefs, by all means do NOT abandon those beliefs. Just remember that God is in charge and he knows how all these pieces fit together. We are mere mortals. We can't understand everything. Just remember to keep your eyes firmly on the current Prophet (be sure and pay much less attention to past prophets). Even though he is human like the rest of us, he understands these things so much better than we can because he has a direct conduit to the mind and will of God. The Prophet will relay to us what we need to hear.
I hope this exercise has strengthened your faith and given you the only tool necessary for responding to any and all challenges to the beliefs that must be retained at all costs, even in the face of a mountain of facts and evidence that says otherwise.
They could see and hear the lightning, but they could not understand the root cause. There was a gap in their understanding. So they plugged God into the gap to explain what they couldn't understand themselves. Thus the term 'God of the gaps.' When you don't understand something, you can merely insert God into the equation to make it all balance out.
Lest you think of these people as being simple minded, and feel vastly superior to their inferior ways, the concept of 'God of the gaps' persists even today. When something good happens to someone, they are often quick to attribute it to the workings of God. And conversely, when bad things happen, God is often the reason we are 'being tested' or 'strengthened.' We cannot possibly comprehend all of the random events required to finally produce a singular event, whether that event be good or bad, and so we just plug in our particular concept of God into the equation and viola'!, we have an explanation.
This post was inspired by a recent conversation I had with my wife. Her position, while we discussed troubling and damning historical/archaeological/logical facts about the Church, was that we as humans cannot possibly comprehend the workings of God. We think we know what we know, but we can't understand how everything in the universe works together to ensure the Church is still true, regardless of all of the facts that seem to indicate otherwise.
This got me thinking. I began to wonder to what length a person would have to go to read and study all of the issues discrediting the legitimacy of the Church, and still maintain a belief the Church is exactly what it claims to be and is still the true church on the earth.
I will say at this point that everything I write further is NOT anything my wife has asserted to be her beliefs or conclusions. I don't know how she feels about many of these things because she has not told them to me. I am only speculating how a person could use the concept of 'God of the gaps' to plug the holes and inconsistencies in the Church narrative, so as to maintain a belief in the Church as being true.
The following are the Top 10 problems associated with the fundamental claims of truth, put forth by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
#1 The Book of Abraham
Joseph Smith purchased an Egyptian scroll from an antiquities dealer. Joseph Smith claimed the scroll was written "by the hand of Abraham" himself. He translated the scroll, along with the facsimiles, and the result is now contained in the Mormon scripture The Pearl of Great Price and is called The Book of Abraham.
At the time Joseph Smith translated this scroll, there was no one who could verify his translation as no one could translate Egyptian. Today that problem no longer exists. Egyptologists have looked at the scroll and facsimiles and then compared them to The Book of Abraham contained in Mormon scripture. The translation has been unequivocally been shown to be completely false. There is no way around the fact that Joseph Smith claimed he could translate Egyptian, and even wrote scripture under the guise of being a translation, and yet we have absolute proof that Joseph Smith lied about his translating abilities.
Now let's look at this situation through the lens of belief in Joseph Smith as a Prophet of God. On one hand we have a belief that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and spoke God's will. On the other hand we have unequivocal proof he lied about being able to translate Egyptian and even created scriptures that persist today that claim to be a translation of a scroll that bears no resemblance to the resulting Book of Abraham.
How do we reconcile these two positions? They appear to contradict each other. But we must maintain our belief in Joseph Smith, while at the same time we as rational beings cannot refute irrefutable proof available to us. The answer is that we do so by incorporating "God of the gaps."
We know we can't know everything about everything. We can't understand how God works. We weren't there when Joseph Smith translated the scroll. We don't know what God was trying to accomplish when he had Joseph Smith use a common funeral text to create the Book of Abraham. So we must conclude that while we don't know these things, we do believe God is omniscient, therefore God knows all those details and has taken care of it.
We have our solution. Joseph Smith is still a Prophet and Egytologists can still know the translation is completely wrong. God has filled in the gaps so we can maintain our belief in the divine calling of Joseph Smith.
At this point, you may be incredulously saying, "But that doesn't explain anything!!! Just saying that God understands everything hardly explains how Joseph Smith can still be a Prophet after irrefutable proof demonstrates he lied to produce incorrect scripture!" And I guess you're free to have your opinion. But just remember that you have limited understanding, therefore your doubts about this explanation and resulting conclusions are based on your limited mind and capabilities. You need to realize that with God, who knows everything, all things are possible. And when all things are possible, Joseph Smith can still be a Prophet even though he lied about his translating abilities.
See how easy that is? You just plug God into the equation and suddenly everything balances out. And best of all, you get to keep your preconceived beliefs that you hold dear. There's no need to allow new facts to alter your cherished beliefs.
And so we continue on down the list
#2 The First Vision
In 1832 Joseph Smith wrote of an experience he had in 1820 where he had an experience involving Jesus and the forgiveness of his sins. This was the first time this experience had ever been related to anyone else. Over the next few years, Joseph Smith shared this experience with others. With each telling, the story grew in scope and became more dramatic. Finally, in 1838 his secretary penned the version cannonized by the Mormon Church. This version related a dramatic experience involving the power of Satan, the visitation of not only Jesus but also God himself. And they explained to him that all churches are an abomination to them and he was to join none of them.
The issues with this First Vision are immediately apparent. And I have not even gone into any of the more damning facts surrounding its legitimacy. But again we are faced with reconciling our belief that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus in 1820 with the fact that his many different versions contradict each other and it took 12 years for him to even mention this to anyone else.
"God of the gaps" will be our method for making these two beliefs coexist. God was there and we were not. At least, he was there for the 1838 version. But we can be assured he oversaw the whole thing. And only He can understand the mechanics of how a mortal human being could view with human eyes two immortal beings. Our limited understanding cannot possibly be expected to comprehend such a thing.
As for the the 12 year gap between the experience and the first telling of the story, well, we weren't there. Maybe Joseph Smith told lots of people and for 12 years no one bothered to write down an account of such a miraculous event. We can't expect people to write down everything. Maybe they just didn't think it noteworthy to document something like that.
As for the contradicting elements to the story, how could Joseph Smith be expected to remember such a miraculous event? But God knows how it was all done and what transpired. And he is certainly capable of relaying to the current Prophet today which of the many contradicting versions best matches the actual events. So if President Monson says the 1838 version is the right one, then that's the one I'm going to assume is the most accurate.
Problem solved. The answer is "God did it." And we get to keep our belief that Joseph Smith was a Prophet rather than switch to a belief that Joseph Smith made up the story and it just evolved over time.
#3 The Book of Mormon translation
In the Church we are taught, and shown through hundreds of church paintings etc, that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by looking at the gold plates through the Urim and Thummim.
The facts are much different. He actually took a rock he had found while digging a well, and placed it in a hat. He then placed his face in the hat and dictated the Book of Mormon. The plates were never used.
What to do about the gap? God will fill it. If Joseph Smith could translate the plates through the power of God, then God can certainly give him the Book of Mormon through a rock in a hat.
Done. Explained.
#4 Book of Mormon problems
There is zero evidence for the Book of Mormon being an actual historical record of actual people of Jewish origins living on the American continent from 600 BC to 400 AD. In fact, the Book of Mormon mentions many things that are known to have NOT existed in the America's prior to the arrival of Columbus.
But we must believe that the Book of Mormon is exactly what it claims to be. So we will just use our fallback God to plug up the holes.
We can't know everything. Our understanding is limited. Maybe millions of Jews did live in the Americas during that time. And maybe they used steel and wheels and chariots and horses to fight battles involving millions of soldiers and they just happened to not leave any evidence behind. That is much more likely than the idea of Joseph Smith fabricating the Book of Mormon.
God knows everything so he of course knows how all these people must have lived and how we have no evidence for them and how the Book of Mormon is still true.
This is getting too easy!! You can just use God to explain anything away!
#5 Authorship of the Book of Mormon
Approximately 80% of The Book of Mormon has been documented to contain material already published and available to Joseph Smith at the time the Book of Mormon was published. It's not conceivable Joseph Smith just made up the Book of Mormon so therefore God must have made it possible. Maybe God used all those other sources as a means of inspiring Joseph Smith to write what he did. God moves in mysterious ways. It could have happened that way.
God can use any means at his disposal to accomplish his work. Issue reconciled.
#6 Blacks and the Priesthood
Up until 1978 Blacks were not allowed to have the Priesthood or participate in Temple Ceremonies. Church leaders are documented to have made many vile racist comments and teachings from the pulpit. Starting with Brigham Young and all the way up to Bruce R. McConkie, church leaders said many things very unflattering to Blacks. But we can't assume these men were just racist products of their time, we must believe they were called of God and inspired by him.
So we'll just assume God taught those things because it applied to those people at that time. And now it's a different time so God is teaching us something very different. Easy peezy.
#7 Kinderhook Plates
Joseph Smith claimed to be able to translate plates that have since been proven to be a hoax. Joseph Smith even went so far as to claim the plates were a record of a man from Egypt. He was obviously fooled by the hoax.
But hey, God can do anything. Who is to say God couldn't use those false plates to inspire Joseph Smith with real teachings from God. I bet he could have done that.
#8 Polygamy
Joseph Smith lied about his practice of Polygamy. He had 34 wives, that we know of, and for several years managed to keep it from his first wife, Emma. Many of the women were actually underage teenagers and some were as young as 14.
11 of the wives were already married to living husbands at the time Joseph married them. Orson Hyde was sent on a mission to Jerusalem by Joseph and while he was away, Joseph married Orson's wife without Orson's knowledge.
Joseph absolutely must have been a prophet. So of course if God commanded Joseph to marry 34 women, some as young as 14, (thus fitting in every way the definition of a pedophile, and a rather insidious one at that given his position of authority), then that makes it alright. If God says to do something, then it is the right thing to do. Even that means taking 34 women for your own gratification. God fixes everything!!!
#9 Witnesses to the Book of Mormon
11 men were supposedly shown the Gold Plates. They were forced to sign a prepared statement saying as much, rather than writing their own versions of their experience. Many of them later admitted to seeing the plates with their "spiritual eyes" and not as an actual physical event.
Of course the plates existed so however God chose to show them the plates, that's good enough to explain the issues. God knows everything and all things are possible with him.
#10 Temple
Joseph Smith revealed the temple ceremony to the church members a few weeks after undergoing the Masonic rituals himself. The temple ceremony is an obvious copy of the Masonic rituals that originated in the 1700's. We are taught the temple endowment ceremony was practiced by Adam and Eve and is identical to their practice of it.
But since Joseph Smith was certainly a Prophet of God and not merely cobbling together already existing ceremonies and theology that already existed around him, there must be some explanation. Well of course the answer is that God is responsible. God can use whatever means necessary to accomplish his work. And if he had to reveal the temple ceremony to the Masons in the 1700's so that Joseph Smith could then learn them from the Masons in the 1800's then that's how it was.
We can't be expected to understand everything about how this universe works. Just remember that God is in charge. And any time you come across any facts or evidence that appears to contradict or discredit your closely held and cherished beliefs, by all means do NOT abandon those beliefs. Just remember that God is in charge and he knows how all these pieces fit together. We are mere mortals. We can't understand everything. Just remember to keep your eyes firmly on the current Prophet (be sure and pay much less attention to past prophets). Even though he is human like the rest of us, he understands these things so much better than we can because he has a direct conduit to the mind and will of God. The Prophet will relay to us what we need to hear.
I hope this exercise has strengthened your faith and given you the only tool necessary for responding to any and all challenges to the beliefs that must be retained at all costs, even in the face of a mountain of facts and evidence that says otherwise.
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