Agnosticity Volume 2: An Agnostic View of Bothersome Mormon Doctrine

By Raymond A. Hult

Agnosticity is a new word created by the author with the hope that it will cause the reader to take a fresh look at how Agnostics think. Volume 1 reflected Agnostic concerns surrounding Christian doctrine in general and was the first of a series intended to analyze the belief systems of major organized religions around the world. Volume 2 concentrates on the Agnostic concerns of Mormon doctrine as an example of a religion established by a charismatic leader claiming a present day visit by God.

Utilizing the experience gained from his twenty-seven years as a Special Agent for the FBI, the author employs deductive reasoning and dogged research to justify the Agnostic point of view. This book is written so that the average person can easily understand the doubts that Agnostics struggle with in trying to decide the existence of God from the Mormon perspective.

An active adult member of the Mormon faith for over twenty-seven years, the author has attempted to separate the wheat from the chaff in identifying those specific doctrines that are most bothersome for honest Mormons to confront. The author's primary goal remains to portray the Agnostic in a more favorable light and that there is nothing inherently evil with admitting that a sure knowledge of God may not be so sure after all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Feb 20, 2007
• ISBN: 9781425193942

Raymond A. Hult

The author is 78, having been married for 57 years with five daughters, 13 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Having been for most of his life a comiited Christian, he eventually determined he was actually an Agnostice. Having served 27 years as an FBI Special Agent, he finally replaced his blind faith, invloving multiple layers of hearsay, with the importance of relying on evidence and common snense. He's now retired in Bountful, Utah engaging mostly in writing and golf. He's authored seven published books, six of which deal with his Agnoxtic views and the seventh a novel dealing with his experience in the FBI. All have been published by Trafford and can be purchased at both Barns and Nobel and Amazon.

Book preview

AGNOSTICITY

VOLUME 2

An Agnostic View

of

Bothersome

Mormon

Doctrine

Raymond A. Hult

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©

Copyright 2006 Raymond A. Hult

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Note for Librarians: A cataloguing record for this book is available from Library and Archives Canada at www.collectionscanada.ca/amicus/index-e.html

ISBN 1-4120-9700-2

ISBN 978-1-4251-9394-2(eBook)

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Contents

Preface:

1    THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH

2    POLYGAMY

3    THE TEMPLE

4    WORK FOR THE DEAD

5    RACE AND MORMONISM

6    THE LAMANITE CURSE

7    THE RECOMMEND

8    PRIESTHOOD POWER

9    PROPHECY

10  HEAVEN

11  FIRST VISION

12  SEER STONE

13  MIRACULOUS TRANSLATIONS

14  MIRACULOUS TRANSLATIONS CON’T

15  THE KINDERHOOK PLATES

16  EXPLAINING THE BOOK OF MORMON

17  EXCOMMUNICATION

BOOK TITLES AND ABBREVIATIONS

Used in Footnotes

Biblical references including the books of 1Corinthians, Malachi, and Isaiah are all taken from the King James version of the Bible.

Jacob, 2Nephi, and 3Nephi are books within the Book: of Mormon written by Joseph Smith and originally published in Palmyra, New York in 1830. The 1981 edition, which differs somewhat from the 1830 edition, is cited herein. References in this work refer to chapters and verses: thus, Jacob 1:2-3 refers the first chapter of Jacob, verses 2 and 3.

Abraham, Moses, and Joseph Smith-History refer to books written by Joseph Smith and included in The Pearl. of Great Price originally published in Liverpool, England in 1851. The 1981 edition, which differs somewhat from the 1851 edition, is cited herein. References are also cited by chapter and verse.

D&C is the abbreviation for Doctrine.and.Covenants. of. the. Church. of. Jesus. Christ. of. Latter-day. Saints. written by Joseph Smith and originally published in Kirtland, Ohio in 1835. The 1981 edition, which differs somewhat from the 1835 edition, is cited herein. Official Declaration #s 1 and 2 were added to the D&C in 1890 and 1978 respectively. References are also cited by chapter and verse.

All other references are given in full as footnotes and are self explanatory.

Preface:

Some readers may be puzzled why I have chosen volume 2 of my series to concentrate on what I consider to be bothersome aspects of the Mormon religion. After all, volume 1 dealt with all of Christianity and Mormonism is just a small segment of that total group who worship Jesus Christ. Although other Christians may disagree, there can be little doubt as to the validity of the Mormon assertion that they too deserve the title of Christian. Mormons simply point to the true name of their denomination which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Nevertheless, I’ve chosen to spend an entire volume on Mormonism for a couple of reasons. First, as I already outlined in volume 1, I grew up in that religion and know more about it than any other denomination on earth. Since I have studied and participated in it so fully, I feel I have developed a unique perspective to address its doctrine from the perspective of my current Agnostic point of view.

Secondly, although Christian in nature, there is no doubt that the Mormon faith is unparalleled in the Christian world in much of its dogma. While other Christians rely primarily on the Bible for divine direction, Mormons claim to have a prophet who regularly communicates with Jesus Christ for guidance in his one and only fully sanctioned denomination currently in existence. Mormons claim the addition of modern-day revelation recorded in numerous new Mormon scriptures.

Mormonism is considered an American religion in origin and one of the fastest growing world-wide denominations in existence today. That growth alone justifies spending some extra time and effort in analyzing what the Mormon faith is all about. I think Mormonism may be one of the best examples ever of what can happen when a single charismatic man can capture the imagination of his contemporaries by claiming to have been personally visited and chosen by Christ to represent him.

All my concerns about Christianity as set forth in volume 1 likewise apply to my doubts about Mormonism. In spite of my present leanings toward Agnosticism, I sometimes approach my concerns in this book by allowing for the possibility of a perfect god whom I contend would not act the same way as the Devine beings portrayed in Mormonism. The truth is that I don’t know if such a perfect god exists or not. I would hope he does but I don’t know for sure.

Volume 2 has of necessity required a more detailed and historical approach than was needed for volume 1. My problems with the general doctrines of Christianity required little research and relied more on simple common sense and some deductive reasoning. Mormonism is much more complicated. My goal has been to keep things as simple as possible, but I’ve been forced to reconstruct much of the specific circumstances and evidence surrounding the origin of Mormon beliefs.

Still, I’ve intentionally decided against providing an exhaustive analysis of both sides of the arguments presented in the following chapters. It has been my goal in this series to provide a concise critique of the thinking of an Agnostic that can be easily consumed by the average person. Hopefully, my work can be used as a springboard for those who want to delve into any greater detail and complexity.

One word of warning. It has been my experience that some of the fairest and most objective looks at these issues have come from life long members of the Mormon Church who have been subsequently penalized for openly expressing their findings. Care needs to be taken to separate the value of what they have had to say from any negative inferences raised by the specter of church discipline. Unfortunately, it appears that the threat of excommunication has all too often been the Church’s first line of defense in an effort to stifle the honest pursuit of truth.

1

      THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church, represents itself to be the only true church on the face of the earth today. Its leadership readily acknowledges that other churches have value and some truth, but only Mormonism offers a complete restoration of the original and un-defiled gospel as established by Jesus Christ in the meridian of time.

This representation is justified by the claim that in the Spring of 1820, Joseph Smith was personally visited in a vision by God, the Eternal Father, and his son, Jesus Christ. Smith claimed it was during this meeting that he inquired about what church he should join from which the following response ensued:

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."¹

Mormons contend that Jesus Christ personally directed every aspect of the restoration of his true gospel following the 1820 vision and has been in direct personal control ever since. They teach that the re-establishment of truth was necessitated because the Catholic Church had apostatized from the pure gospel established by Christ during his earthly ministry, and, although subsequent Protestant denominations reestablished some of the original tenants, they too acted without authority and only helped prepare the way for the return of the Lord to Joseph Smith to complete the job.

Any Mormon with a strong testimony will proudly proclaim that Joseph Smith was preordained and personally chosen by Jesus Christ to act as his prophet and sole representative on earth to head his Church. It was through this Moses-like relationship that he revealed his will about how the restoration should take place. Joseph Smith recorded these revelations in a book entitled the Doctrine & Covenants.

Joseph Smith also claimed to further the restoration effort by translating ancient records with the help of heavenly powers. The results were compiled in what came to be known as the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price. The Book of Mormon is represented as a religious and secular history of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas who migrated from the Middle East during the period up to and including about 600 B.C.. A majority of the inhabitants are identified as Nephites and Lamanites from whom the American Indians are claimed to have descended from the Lamanite branch.

The nickname Mormon comes from one of the

Book of Mormon prophets who inscribed an abridgement of the Book of Mormon’s secular and religious history onto gold plates. Joseph Smith claimed an angel directed him to where the plates were buried in a hillside near his home in the state of New York. He asserted he then translated the ancient language on the plates through the power of special translating tools buried with the plates.

Unlike the Bible, which is alleged by Mormons to have lost some truth through repeated human translations, the Book of Mormon is promoted as containing an unassailable fullness of the gospel because of its perfect one time translation by Joseph Smith of the original revelations by the Lord to his Book of Mormon prophets. Mormonism validates the Bible as the word of God only so far as its numerous translations have been correctly transcribed.

Mormons contend that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon contain the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is just that the respective authors record histories of different people in separated parts of the world. For example, both books record the appearance of Jesus Christ, but at different times and under different circumstances. While the New Testament records the mortal birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ in the Middle East, the Book of Mormon records his appearance and ministry to his followers in the Americas following his resurrection.

Part of the Pearl of Great Price is alleged to have been translated by Joseph Smith from Egyptian hieroglyphics on papyrus rolled up with mummies excavated from a site where the ancient city of Thebes once stood. The translation is represented as revealing some additional lost writings of the ancient biblical prophet, Abraham.

The Pearl of Great Price also contains the Book of Moses which is the result of Joseph Smith’s claim of a revelation from the Lord providing an expanded version of the Book of Exodus in the Bible. This account includes considerably more information about revelations allegedly provided to Moses by the Lord. Also included is Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of other parts of the Bible which he claimed had been mistranslated over time. Finally, this book contains extracts from Smith’s personal history and his inspired statement of thirteen core beliefs of the Mormon Church known as the Articles of Faith.

Mormons claim that Christ has continued to personally lead his restored Church to the