The Mormon Delusion. Volume 2: The Secret Truth Withheld From 13 Million Mormons.

By Jim Whitefield

An exposé of Joseph Smith's fraud which spawned the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). Conclusive evidence that every aspect of Smith's Church was a hoax and that the modern Mormon (LDS) Church continues in a conspiracy to deceive rank and file Mormons with lies and suppression of the real historical truth. Visit http://themormondelusion.com for further information on this and other work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781326777241

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The Mormon Delusion. Volume 2: The Secret Truth Withheld From 13 Million Mormons.

THE MORMON DELUSION

Volume 2:

The Secret Truth Withheld From 13 Million Mormons

Jim Whitefield

EPUB Edition 2016

(of 2010 Second Edition)

First published in book form May 2009 by

Lulu Press Inc. Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

Second Edition – September 2010

Copyright © Jim Whitefield 2009, 2010, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-326-77724-1

British Library Catalogue System Number: 015497834

Lulu ID: 19316724

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 prior permission of the author.

This EPUB version may be stored on computer or any reading device or system for the sole use of the purchaser. All other restrictions apply.

themormondelusion.com

Email the author: [e-mail]

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my children

who were raised in the Mormon Church.

I unwittingly perpetuated the delusion

indoctrinating and brainwashing

the next generation to believe

that Mormonism is true.

Because of my fanaticism

although two children rejected the faith

and live normal lives,

six, along with their spouses

and over twenty grandchildren

continue faithfully in their delusion.

I offer them my apologies

for not discovering and revealing

the truth before it was too late for them.

I doubt they will ever read this work.

Their faith is too strong to allow them to do so.

Jim Whitefield 2009

Also by this author:

The Mormon Delusion. Volume 1.

The Truth Behind Polygamy And Secret Polyandry

Published February 2009

The Mormon Delusion. Volume 3.

Discarded Doctrines and Nonsense Revelations

Published July 2009

The Mormon Delusion. Volume 4.

The Mormon Missionary Lessons – A Conspiracy to Deceive

Published January 2011

The Mormon Delusion. Volume 5.

Doctrine and Covenants – Deception and Concoctions

Published February 2012

The First Vision

The Joseph Smith Story (Booklet)

Published August 2011

The Bible Delusion

101 ‘Hang on a Minute’ Moments; And God’s Mysterious Ways.

Published June 2016

Also available in hardcover, paperback and PDF e-Books.

Visit themormondelusion.com and link to TMD Lulu Bookstore.

I spent 43 years believing in a false religion.

Now I want my 43 years as an atheist.

God owes me that.

Jim Whitefield

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to my wife who has put up with the many hours I have spent, almost every day, on this work since we retired in March 2006. Our intended relaxing retirement years were abruptly brought to a halt, the day after we retired, moved to a smaller home, and I rediscovered an old booklet which led to research which is ongoing. I deeply appreciate her understanding, support and unfailing patience as I have endeavoured to come to terms with the awful discoveries I have made. Writing about them has been my therapy.      

I am grateful for the encouragement and help of several posters on the Recovery from Mormonism (RfM) bulletin board at www.exmormon.org who reviewed odd chapters for me when they could. They post under pseudonyms and will know who they are.  

Despite my enthusiasm to write and expose all that I discovered concerning the truth, naturally I had self-doubts and times of despair when I just wanted all the pain to go away. In those times, when I wanted to walk away from the project, I am grateful that authors such as Fawn M. Brodie and Jerald and Sandra Tanner came to my rescue by way of their books, which gave me the courage to continue. Likewise, Richard Dawkins, whose work ‘says it as it is’ helped me to be forthright in my approach and not soft-soap the truth.

I am very grateful to Arza Evans, author of The Keystone of Mormonism, for reading my initial manuscripts, endorsing them and encouraging me to continue with my writing, when I really just wanted to curl up and die, so to speak. His book also helped me understand why the Book of Mormon is pure fiction and led me to research further into the reality concerning that.

Likewise, I am grateful to an old friend, Simon Southerton, author of the definitive work: Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA and the Mormon Church, for enthusiastically reading and endorsing the final drafts for me. His own first book conclusively exposes the Mormon lie that Native Americans are of Israelite descent. The Mormon Church now postulates alternative ‘theories’.

The research required in undertaking this work required many thousands of hours over several years and has involved the study of many books, journals, newspapers, documents, transcripts, historical and genealogical records. I am grateful to the many people who have also made so much information available on the internet, which otherwise would have been impossible to research.

Thousands of different references and sources were checked and used in the compilation of the evidence included in these volumes. Invariably, although I have meticulously checked and rechecked my work, there must be a few errors (it would be impossible for there not to be) for which I accept full responsibility. Hopefully, these will be minor and not significantly alter the claimed findings. I have certainly found a number of errors in almost every work I have read during my research and do not think myself better at avoiding them than other, more experienced authors and historians. Unlike me, some list many people who they wish to thank for researching, reviewing, editing and generally helping with their work. Unfortunately, I have had no one to turn to for such help during my journey and have to accept sole responsibility for my efforts, from beginning to end.

Finally, I would like to thank my good friend, Jean Bodie, who I met whilst writing this work. She generously offered to proof read my books after reading the first edition of Volume 1, finding and correcting a number of typographical and grammatical errors which were reflected in the second edition. I am very grateful for the many hours she has spent, meticulously proof reading and helping edit Volume 2. Without her help, despite all my own efforts, it would not be as accurate, or read as well as it now does. It may still not be perfect of course, as nothing ever is, but without Jean’s eagle eye, it certainly would not be up to the standard that it now is. I can’t even begin to thank Jean enough for her enthusiastic and dedicated approach to reviewing and correcting my work.

I would have liked to have been able to thank two members (of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and the First Quorum of Seventy) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with whom I have been friends for several decades. They initially corresponded with me and one had telephone conversations with me. They promised the Church would answer the questions I raised regarding polyandry and other irreconcilable matters. Several months later, I enquired after the promised answers. They wrote asking for more time before formally responding as: …it is not easy to find or validate information such as this without conducting meticulous research. Unfortunately, follow up letters requesting the promised response, which I sent well over a year later, have been completely ignored. I can only assume that the Church has no answers…

September 2010 Second Edition Note:

A few updates have been made to this work during a recent review. I am also very grateful to my friend John Bleazard who has kindly helped with some further notes of a few remaining typos and grammatical errors which have also been attended to. Hopefully, this book is finally a reasonably ‘clean’ read. The main thing is that it remains historically accurate and the claims substantiated.

Guidance Notes:

28 January 2008. Much of this work was completed during the time that Gordon B. Hinckley was President of the Mormon (LDS) Church. He is referred to throughout the book as the current prophet. Hinckley became 15th President on 12 March 1995 and died last night, Sunday 27 January 2008, aged ninety-seven. Under the tradition of ‘The Law of Apostolic succession’, Thomas S. Monson will almost certainly be sustained as the 16th President of the Church at the April 2008 General Conference. This tradition (although not set in stone), is now the accepted method of succession and is covered more fully in Chapter 14 of Volume 1 of this work. (After note: Monson was indeed sustained as President of the Mormon Church at the Annual General Conference).

***********

This work is an exposé regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Today, the Church prefers the nickname ‘LDS’ (Latter Day Saints) rather than ‘Mormon’ which was previously the case, both inside and outside the religion. As the term ‘Mormon’ is actually still more widely recognised, particularly in the United Kingdom, that is the term I have used throughout this work. On occasion, where necessary, I have used ‘LDS’ to differentiate between the mainstream Mormon Church and the RLDS (Reorganised Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), now called ‘Community of Christ’. 

Where quotes are included, original spellings and grammar have been retained. Unless otherwise stated, any emphasis was in original quotes.

The word ‘Church’ (with a capital ‘C’) is used throughout this book. Where it occurs without further explanation, it always refers to the Mormon Church. The expression ‘the Church’ specifically refers to the controlling leaders of the organisation or to the organisation itself. The context in each case should be self-evident. In other contexts, ‘church’ in the lower case is used as normal.

For the convenience of readers who are unfamiliar and may otherwise have difficulty in recalling them, some dates, Mormon scriptures, statements and teachings are repeated several times throughout the book in connection with different subjects, perspectives or people. I trust that anyone fully familiar with these will forgive any seemingly undue repetition.

Web addresses are notorious for changing or disappearing altogether. Nevertheless, I have included a number, as so much information is now available on the internet, allowing readers access to further research with relative ease. If sources cannot be located, just use a search engine, referencing the topic or related words, to locate the required information.

Many (and some rare) historical books are now available to read or research online. Some such works that I recommend are listed in the bibliography. Before purchasing a book, it is always worth first checking to see if it is available to read or download free online.

In some instances, information is relegated to footnotes, allowing for ease of reading the basic material. Where the same footnote material is used in different chapters, on occasion, the detail may be repeated for the convenience of the reader. Some appendices are also referenced from footnotes. Whilst I have used the Harvard (author-date) System for referencing from the text, where detail is provided in a footnote, my preference has been to then also include the bibliography reference there.

Where detailed citing of other works (which may not appear in the bibliography) occurs from referenced books, these details are given in the text, as c: (for citing), or, if lengthy, in the footnotes. The same applies to some references to newspapers, periodicals, details of Dialogue, A Journal of Mormon Thought, articles and internet sites. If they are too large to reasonably include in the body of the text, details will be found in footnotes.

Original Hebrew text is included in this work in other formats. Hebrew does not transfer to EPUB format so it has either been deleted or blanked in each instance. This should not spoil the overall read.

Abbreviations & Glossary of Terms

Some abbreviations are used in the text. Not all the following terms appear in this work. Some are included as a guide to a few words and phrases used within Mormonism, as an aid to understanding the religion and to help the reader’s perspective. There are many more terms in use which are not referenced here.

AARONIC PRIESTHOOD — Consists of Deacons, Teachers and Priests. The office of Bishop is also technically an Aaronic Priesthood office, although only High Priests hold this office. Whilst in the early church only adult men held these offices, it has gradually changed and today Deacons are called at age twelve, Teachers at fourteen and Priests at sixteen. Although they have various responsibilities, the best known are that Deacons pass the sacrament to members, Teachers prepare it, and Priests bless it. Boys over fourteen are often junior companions to Home Teachers, visiting members each month in their homes.

AF —Ancestral File. See FS.

AoF —Articles of Faith. Thirteen statements of some basic beliefs held by the Mormon (LDS) Church.

Apx —Appendix. Sometimes used in abbreviated referencing for works cited within the text.

APOSTLE —Member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Seated at number twelve when called (for life), they move up in position when someone dies. Traditionally, the longest serving apostle becomes the next prophet. This is termed ‘The Law of Apostolic Succession’. Although theologically it is not established as automatic, most members accept that it is, as the tradition has always eventually been followed. Today, it is unlikely that a young person would be called as an apostle. Brigham Young ordained young teenage sons as apostles, even though they were never called to the Quorum of Twelve.

BCE —Before Common Era. Non-religious alternative to the use of B.C. (Before Christ).

BISHOP —Head of a Ward, which is the equivalent of a Parish.

BISHOPRIC —Consists of a Bishop and two counsellors who administer a Ward.

BOA —Book of Abraham. Supposedly written by Abraham and translated by Joseph Smith.

BOC —Book of Commandments - 1833. Original title of what became the Doctrine and Covenants (1835).

BOM —Book of Mormon. Supposed history of Native Americans, accepted by Mormons as scripture translated from gold plates by Joseph Smith.

BRANCH —Equivalent to a Parish in a smaller, not fully developed Mormon demographic area.

BRANCH PRESIDENCY —Consists of a President and two counsellors who administer a Branch.

BRANCH PRESIDENT —Head of a Branch of the Mormon Church.

BY —Brigham Young.

BYU —Brigham Young University.

c: —citing, or: c. in: —cited in. Referencing from works cited in the text.

CE —Common Era. Non-religious alternative to A.D. (Anno Domini - The Year of Our Lord).

CELESTIAL KINGDOM —Highest of three degrees of glory available to Mormons. It contains three further degrees of glory, the highest of which is ‘exaltation’ where people become Gods and create worlds.

CES —Church Educational System. Includes Seminary and Institute Courses.

DIALOGUE —Dialogue, A Journal of Mormon Thought. An ongoing series of articles concerning the Church, available: www.dialoguejournal.com

D&C —Doctrine and Covenants. One of the Mormon ‘standard works’ of scripture, containing revelations of Joseph Smith. First published 1835.

DISTRICT —Equivalent to a Diocese in smaller, not fully developed Mormon (LDS) demographic area.

ELDER —An office in the Melchizedek Priesthood, also the official title of a missionary.

E.M. —Encyclopaedia of Mormonism.

ENDOWMENT —Mormon temple ceremony during which members make covenants with God and learn rituals which they believe will enable them to enter the Mormon ‘Celestial Kingdom’.

FAIR —Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research. (Mormon Apologetics). Available at: www.fairlds.org/

FARMS —Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. (Mormon Apologetics). Available at: http://farms.byu.edu/ (Now renamed: The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship).

FS —Family Search. Online genealogical research facility provided by the Mormon Church. This incorporates Ancestral File (AF), Census records, International Genealogical Index (IGI), Pedigree files and the U.S. Social Security Death Index. See: www.familysearch.org

GA —General Authority (First Presidency, Quorum of Twelve Apostles and the Quorums of Seventy).

HC —History of the Church. Seven volume official (but falsified) History of the Church.

HELL —See Spirit World and also Sons of Perdition.

HOME TEACHING —A system of visiting members in their homes once a month on behalf of the Bishop, checking welfare, giving a spiritual message and praying with them.

IGI —International Genealogical Index. See FS.

IMPROVEMENT ERA —Church magazine, published from 1897-1970.

INSTITUTE —Institute of Religion. A four year, weekly course of religious study for nineteen to twenty-nine-year-old young single adults.

IR —Inspired Revision. Also known as JST. (Joseph Smith’s Translation). Smith’s Inspired Revision of the King James Version of the Bible.

ISL —In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith by Todd Compton.

JD — Journal of Discourses. 26 volume set containing sermons of early Mormon Church leaders.

JST —See IR.

KJV —King James Version of the Bible.

LDS or LDS CHURCH —The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. LDS stands for ‘Latter-Day Saints’, a nickname the Church now prefers, rather than ‘Mormon’ which was used by members and non-members alike until recent years. This work uses ‘Mormon’ rather than ‘LDS’ as it is the name generally known by non-members in the U.K.

MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD —Name used by the Church because the true name ‘The Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son of God’ is too holy to use. Consists of Elders, Seventies, High Priests, Patriarchs, Apostles and Prophets. Anyone over 18 can technically be called to any office. Once ordained, no matter what else someone is called to, the Priesthood office remains with them forever. Previously there were Seventies Quorums in every Ward. These days there are a just a handful of such quorums which consist of full time representatives of the Church, assigned from Salt Lake City.

MILLENNIAL STAR —Church magazine, published in England, 1840-1970.

MORMON —Name of a character from the Book of Mormon. Also used to identify a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints – more commonly called ‘The LDS Church’ in the United States today.

MORMONISM —Nickname for the theology of the Mormon (LDS) sect.

MORMONITES —Early 1800s nickname to identify members of the Mormon sect.

MORMONS —Nickname for the collective, a group or the entire membership.

n. —note. Referencing notes from works cited in the text.

OCCAM’S RAZOR —This medieval philosophy can best be restated in modern terms as: All other things being equal, the simplest and most obvious solution is usually the best.

PARADISE —See Spirit World.

PoGP —Pearl of Great Price. A Mormon book of canonised scripture, including the supposed Book of Abraham which Smith claimed to translate from papyrus, which has now been fully exposed as a fraud. However, despite the RLDS Church disclaiming it, the LDS Church ignores the evidence and says nothing. It also includes Smith’s version of Matthew, an expanded version of Genesis (Moses), and some of Smith’s own history as well as the Articles of Faith.

PRIESTHOOD —See Aaronic Priesthood and Melchizedek Priesthood.

PRIMARY —A Sunday programme for children from nursery age up to age eleven. In years gone by, this was a midweek programme.

PROPHET —The President of the Mormon Church. However, the three men in the Presidency as well as the quorum of twelve are all sustained as ‘prophets, seers and revelators’.

PROXY —Someone being sealed for eternity to a deceased person has a living person stand as proxy for the deceased. In the early Church, a woman was automatically also sealed for time only, to the proxy husband, usually as a plural wife. Any future children they had would belong to the deceased husband in the eternities. The practice is still used today but a proxy is just a stand in for the ceremony and could be anyone who is available ‘for and in behalf of’ the dead, with no marriage for time being entered into by the proxy spouse.

RLDS or RLDS Church —The Reorganised Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now known as the ‘Community of Christ’. One of several schisms formed following the death of Joseph Smith when Brigham Young and the twelve apostles took over the main body of the Church.

RS —RELIEF SOCIETY. Women’s organisation first headed by Smith’s wife Emma. Women do not have the Priesthood or any authority within the Church, nor do they hold positions which have any. The Relief Society is directed and supervised by the Priesthood.

SA —Single Adult programme for singles over the age of twenty-nine.

SACRAMENT —Bread, anything will do, but white bread is preferred by some Bishops, and ordinary water, taken from small individual paper or plastic cups are used to represent the body and blood of Christ.

SACRAMENT MEETING —The main Sunday worship service, where the prime purpose is partaking of the sacrament.

SAINT or SAINTS —A member, or group of members of the Mormon Church. A generic term not meant to imply any saintly attributes, simply an acknowledgement and designation of church membership.

SEMINARY —A four year weekday course of religious study for fourteen to eighteen year olds.

SHIELDS —Scholarly & Historical Information Exchange for Latter-Day Saints. See: www.shields-research.org

[sic] —Latin, ‘thus’ signifying a spelling mistake, grammatical error, or use of a wrong word.

SLC —Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

SPIRIT WORLD —A place where spirits go, between death and the resurrection. It consists of two separate places (or conditions, or states of mind) which are commonly believed to be Paradise and the Spirit Prison. Theologically, in days gone by (including when I was young) the Spirit World was the Spirit Prison, as no one can leave there in the way we leave earth through death. The two aspects which described the condition of people there were then known as Paradise and Hell. This concept appears to have been toned down somewhat in latter years.

SONS OF PERDITION —Those very few who will go to Outer Darkness with Satan. These are people who have known the truth and had a sure witness of it and then deliberately turned their backs on the Saviour and followed Satan.

STAKE —Equivalent to a Diocese, fully organised with a large multi-purpose meeting house.

STAKE HIGH COUNCIL —Twelve men who assist in administering a Stake under the direction of the Stake Presidency. When a new High Counsellor is called, he sits in the number twelve position at High Council meetings. As someone is released and called to a different Church role, he moves up one place until eventually (unless released earlier) he will sit at number one. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Senior High Counsellor’ or ‘Number 1’, this is more of a colloquialism than an official position.

STAKE PRESIDENCY —Consists of a President and two counsellors who administer a Stake.

STAKE PRESIDENT —Head of a Stake which consists of several Wards.

STAND —Pulpit.

TBM —True Blue Mormon (A devout, faithful, unquestioning disciple of the Church).

TELESTIAL KINGDOM —Lowest of three degrees of glory. A place described as better than Earth. It is where evil people, whom other faiths and religions may consider deserving of Hell (murderers, adulterers and liars etc) will end up in the hereafter.

TERRESTRIAL KINGDOM —Second of three degrees of glory. A place in the hereafter for good people who did not accept the Mormon Church.

THE BRETHREN —Terminology (colloquialism) used to represent the top fifteen leaders of the Church (known as the ‘Big 15’ in the ex-Mormon community) comprising the First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve Apostles, all of whom are set apart as prophets, seers and revelators.

TMD —The Mormon Delusion.

UTLM—Utah Lighthouse Ministry. Anti-Mormon Christian ministry which was founded in 1959 by Jerald and Sandra Tanner.

v. —reference to a verse or verses of scripture.

V. —reference to a Volume, followed by the volume number.

WARD —Unit of the Church equivalent to a Parish, fully organised, usually with a multi purpose Chapel. In areas of dense Mormon population, two or more Wards may utilise one building.

WoW —Word of Wisdom. Mormon ‘health code’. Members are required to live this principle, among others, in order to hold positions in the Church or attend the Mormon temple.

YLT —Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible.

YM —Young Men Organisation for boys aged twelve to eighteen.

YSA —Young Single Adult Programme for eighteen to twenty-nine year old singles.

YW —Young Women Organisation for girls aged twelve to eighteen.

ZION’S CAMP —A band of some 200 men plus some women and children made an ill-fated two month trek which resulted in many of the participants getting cholera. The attempt at a negotiated return failed and Smith disbanded the group rather than try to use force. Smith claimed he had a revelation to raise a militia in Kirtland (Ohio) which would march to Jackson (Missouri) and redeem Zion from where they had been chased by the old settlers.

Endorsements

Jim Whitefield is a skilled researcher and a courageous, tell it like it is writer. His 'The Mormon Delusion. Volume 2' is a comprehensive analysis of serious problems inherent within Mormonism. Some of these include Smith’s supernatural world of magic and mystery, contradictory versions of his first vision, his gold plates deception, serious scientific flaws in his Book of Mormon and his Book of Abraham, his extensive racism, and his migration from monotheism to polytheism. Whitefield exposes a system of deception that is almost beyond human comprehension. His analysis goes much deeper than most other books.

I highly recommend The Mormon Delusion. Volume 2.

Arza Evans: Author of The Keystone of Mormonism.

In Volume 2 of The Mormon Delusion, Jim Whitefield turns his sharp eye to a plethora of problems associated with Mormonism; from the brazen fabrication of the Book of Abraham and other Smith revelations to the events surrounding the emergence of the church. In this candid and thoroughly-researched volume we see the results of the Mormon practice of telling only faith-promoting history.

Simon G. Southerton Ph.D: Author of Losing a Lost Tribe; Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church.

Preface

Truth Transcends Faith in Fiction.

Jim Whitefield

One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. (Carl Sagan).

There is a significant difference between a Mormon who loses their faith in the Church, or who cannot obey some of the commandments and just drifts away, and a devout member who reluctantly discovers the truth behind the Church, obtaining for themselves a deep ‘testimony’ of that truth through evidenced facts. The first is just ‘inactive’ and may, or may not, be persuaded to return to the faith; the second is considered apostate, someone who knows the real truth and feels a moral obligation to accept and declare it by resigning from the faith.

Such a person becomes a witness to the lies and the conspiracy to deceive Church members and they feel that integrity demands they stand up and be counted, resigning membership and declaring the hoax to the world in some way or another. They are then considered anti-Mormon. It is not possible for the Church to retrieve such an individual, as they know too much and have not left the fold through a lack of faith, but rather through knowledge of the truth.

Some, perhaps newer to Mormonism, discover the truth and manage to just walk away; others, after many years of membership, may have the need to join support groups or perhaps debate issues on internet threads to get frustration out of their systems. Others write, as a means of therapy. Writing has been my way of coping with the truth, initially to report the facts to Church leaders who promised to answer my questions. So much evidence began to emerge, I then decided to write a series of books that would cohesively and analytically expose the truth regarding aspects that are falsified, suppressed or lied about within the Mormon Church. Once I advised Church leaders that I felt obliged to publish my findings, all communication immediately ceased.

When you first join the Mormon Church, believing you have learned the truth, you want to tell everyone what you have discovered and simply can’t understand why no one can ‘see’ the truth and accept the gospel, as you have.

Similarly, if you are unfortunate enough to discover the awful underlying real facts behind Mormonism, which make it impossible for it to be true, whether you want it to be or not, you can’t understand why other members can’t ‘see’ the truth or why they will not even look at the evidence, as it is not just compelling, it is absolutely conclusive.

In the first case, most people are too sensible to be taken in by the idea of Mormonism and they can immediately see that it is not just implausible, it is completely ridiculous. Yet we who joined, somehow missed that and accepted it as true, relying on an ethereal experience as our witness, despite the fact that what we took to the Lord in prayer can be evidenced as unreliable and flawed once we have access to real history which has been rewritten or suppressed.

In the second case, they are caught in the delusion and taught never to look outside of the Church for the truth, as Satan will deceive them. They already have and know the truth, so there is no need to even consider anything else. For members to even look, is considered a lack of faith, so to show faith in their testimony they will refuse to study any such evidence. They will instead, berate you for your own lack of faith to believe, considering that you must have sinned in some way and lost the spirit, thus losing your precious testimony which was based on a faith which superseded common sense and reason.

Whenever active Mormons come across books, articles or web sites that provide evidence against their Church, the reaction is invariably the same. First they question Why are you telling such lies about our Church with absolutely no understanding of the facts whatsoever. Then – always Why can’t you leave us alone? What right do you have to question our beliefs? They forget that they were the ones who accessed the information; it was not sent unsolicited. They also ignore the fact that the Mormon Church sends out tens of thousands of missionaries who knock on millions of doors to question the beliefs of other people. Those visits are unsolicited and generally unwanted. Such is the power of delusion.

Interestingly, after many years of not hearing from Mormon missionaries, two pairs of missionaries have knocked on our door in the last few months. The first time, we had a lengthy conversation at the end of which they declared that all they could do was go home and pray about what I had said. I did indicate that that was the last thing they should do, but rather, they should study the available evidence in order to establish the truth about everything.

The second time, I just had a short conversation, explaining my past and present position and a little about my atheistic standpoint. They seemed to understand; that is, until we shook hands and they were about to leave, when one asked if I knew any neighbours who would be willing to accept a Christian message. I didn’t like to tell them that the last thing I would wish on my neighbours was a visit from Mormon missionaries. I just said we hadn’t lived here long and didn’t really know them well. The delusion certainly prevails. They returned at Christmas with a plate of brownies and said they had heard a Christmas carol I had written, performed at a carol concert. I don’t think they could really believe that someone who once wrote touching religious music could subsequently become an atheist. You become what the truth demands.

If you are new to Mormonism, this book will explain the truth behind the hoax and expose falsehoods, lies and the systematic cover-up of the underlying reality from the beginning, in such a manner that it is completely indisputable. Most of the hidden truth comes from within the Church and from the falsified history it presents as truth. It will enable you to remain on guard against the fraud and lies perpetuated by the Church today. It may also serve to suggest checking the validity of other religious beliefs and systems which, especially if based on the Bible, may be highly questionable. But that is for you to decide. 

If you are a member of the Mormon (LDS) Church who fervently believes everything the Church portrays as the truth, you should decide before reading this work, whether you want to know the real truth or would rather remain in your delusional state. Volume 1 dealt with the truth behind polygamy and the little known polyandry. I stated in the Preface to Volume 1 that these works are not intended to be read by faithful members who would rather not know the truth and who wish to remain in a delusional state. Therefore, if the reader is in that category, I suggest not proceeding further.

Should such a reader decide to continue, please remember that you proceed on your own volition. Please do not blame me for the consequences of your journey or the possible resulting destruction of a presently perceived testimony. Please understand if you decide to proceed, you do so entirely at your own risk. I am not about trying to convince the faithful that their Church is not true; I am a facilitator of facts and evidenced truth, for those who are seeking it or who are already questioning and looking for the real answers to questions, based on truth supported by evidence rather than Mormon fiction.

If you do decide to read on, do not stop until you have learned all the truth; do further research, and then decide whether your testimony was based on fact or fiction. It is not that there is just one thing which suggests there may be a problem with Joseph Smith’s creation. The fact is that everything concerning the Church is provably either false or fictional; the real truth, which the Church would rather conceal, has been hidden under a blanket of fabricated lies which have been perpetuated to this very day. Many aspects are covered in my work that will be quite familiar to members, but the facts presented concerning them will completely contradict what they were taught to believe.

Looking to confirm the truth one way or another is a brave and bold step but the price is high. You lose everything and gain only the satisfaction of knowing that you can live the rest of your life not following a path that is very demanding and yet leads nowhere. Many people who discover some truths, stay in the Church rather than look for further evidence. They do not firmly believe, but they say nothing and stay for the sake of their families and also the benefit of friends and a social structure they would invariably lose if they resigned from the Church. It is a difficult life either way if you have been a member for a long time, once you discover and accept the unwanted and uncomfortable truth that the Mormon Church was, and is, a complete hoax. By continuing to perpetuate known lies, it also continues to perpetrate a modern conspiracy to deceive members and investigators alike by hiding (and lying about) its history.

D. Michael Quinn is the author of several books concerning Mormonism. In Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, Quinn is quick to establish his own personal biases in his introduction; an honest position probably influencing, at least in part, his personal interpretation of the facts he presents. He outlines his findings without reservation or omission, allowing the reader to decide from their own personal perspective what they make of them, without any written bias by the author. Quinn states his personal position thus:

Because I hope to explore sympathetically a world view different in some respects from my own and in many ways alien to twentieth-century assumptions about the nature of reality, I feel it necessary to state my biases at the outset. I believe in Gods, angels, spirits, and devils and that they have communicated with humankind. In Mormon terms, I have a personal testimony" of Jesus as my Saviour, of Joseph Smith, Jr., as a prophet, of the Book of Mormon as the word of God, and of the LDS Church as a divinely established organisation through which men and women can obtain essential priesthood ordinances of eternal consequence. I also believe that no historical documents presently available, or locked away, or still unknown will alter these truths. I believe that persons of faith have no reason to avoid historical enquiry into their religion or to discourage others from such investigations." (Quinn 1998: xxxviii).

Notwithstanding Quinn’s stated biases and faithful belief in the Mormon Church and its teachings, he had to resign from Church owned Brigham Young University after publishing an article about Church support of turn-of-the-century polygamous marriages and he was later excommunicated (in 1993) for his writing on Mormon women and the Priesthood. Quinn appears to retain his testimony of the Church despite no longer being a member. In light of his statement, it would be prudent to clearly state my own biases at this point, confirming my position, as stated in the preface to Volume 1 of this work.

Following Quinn’s statement, I have a personal testimony, my position is the opposite in some respects. In concert with his style, it would read as follows.

I once felt I had a personal testimony of Jesus as my Saviour, Joseph Smith Jr. as a prophet, the Book of Mormon as the word of God, and the Mormon Church as a divinely established organisation through which men and women can obtain essential priesthood ordinances of eternal consequence. That testimony was based on the truths as I supposed them to be, which were taught to me as a fourteen year old boy by Mormon missionaries.

The testimony that I felt I obtained after praying for the first time in my life, to a God I had to assume was there, with a sincere heart and desire to know it was true, was based on the following concepts. Joseph Smith had his First Vision as described in Church literature. The Book of Mormon, as published, was true and still read word for word as originally translated. The Godhead consisted of three distinct personages: God and Jesus with physical bodies – as that is what Smith claimed he saw in 1820, and the Holy Ghost as a spirit. All subsequent Church teachings were accepted because the above felt true.

I was impressed that like me at the time of my conversion, Smith too was fourteen years old when the Lord chose him, an innocent young farm boy with no hidden agenda, simply a tool to be used by God Himself to restore the original truths of the gospel which had been long lost due to early apostasy after the time of Christ and the Apostles. Once I felt warm and comfortable about those things, the subsequent mind control and constant self-induced brainwashing by regularly ‘bearing testimony’ of them, contained those ‘truths’ in my head and in my new ‘reality’ sufficient that I devoted my entire life to the cause of it, marrying in a Mormon temple and indoctrinating our eight children in the same manner. Two children rejected the Church in their teens and six, along with their families are still active and faithful Church members.

Over the years, having never even considered a God prior to being taught about and accepting the Mormon Church as true, I often questioned the very existence of God. I had some trouble clinging to the original testimony I had obtained, due to my conscious mind arguing with my sub-conscious mind that theology itself made no sense in respect to the creation of our world and the evolvement of life upon it. It all seemed quite natural, without need of a God.

After forty-three years of membership, faithfully holding to the supposed ‘truth’ by totally committing myself to the callings and positions I was given, I found I could no longer do so and I finally accepted that for me there was no God and therefore the Mormon Church could not possibly be true. I tried to ‘make it be true’ for a full year, immersing myself fully in all I could, to once and for all get rid of the gremlins, but to no avail. I finally and very reluctantly acknowledged and then accepted that it was not true and I resigned my membership. I lost most of my friends and some family because of my decision but I did it for the sake of integrity, following the dictates of my conscience.

For the next three years, I never even considered why the Church wasn’t true, it didn’t even occur to me to look. I simply did not believe in God. I assumed Joseph Smith to have been an honest man with a good heart, but somehow deluded. Then, quite accidentally, when I retired, I came across an obscure old booklet that I had owned for decades, which led me to research something out of idle interest. Thus began a journey which uncovered the devastating truth that everything I had been taught was based on a hoax, lies that were covered up, and Church history that had been significantly altered or suppressed in order to hide the real truth about everything. Mormon Church leaders today, continue a conspiracy to deceive with misleading statements and falsified history still being published as if it is the truth.

The list of lies is endless and my world (within which I still vainly hoped that I would one day somehow come to believe in God once again), came tumbling down around me. I now have a testimony based on proven fact that indeed Joseph Smith was a fraud who deceived and deluded people, wrote a fictitious work (The Book of Mormon) to obtain money, and then developed religion for power and later to obtain women as well as fortune. Smith had many women but didn’t do so well with wealth as he wasn’t very good with money, even when he illegally opened a bank, with investors losing all their money and property. 

Finally, like Quinn, I also believe that no historical documents presently available, or locked away, or still unknown, will alter these truths. In my case, that is – that it was all a hoax. However, I believe that persons of faith do have reason to avoid historical enquiry into their religion (in the case of Mormonism at least), as in earnestly doing so, they would discover all the hidden lies.

Mormon Church leaders know this and discourage members from any such investigations outside Church published history, which they claim is accurate. Anything else may contain lies designed by enemies of the Church to destroy a testimony. Once someone actually investigates the real truth in an open and honest way and then evaluates the evidence, everything that is taught as truth is completely uncovered as entirely false in every respect and there is little of anything left to actually believe in. In the resulting analysis of fact and fiction, the Church is actually its own worst enemy, as all the lies stem from within.

So, my bias is now clear. I most certainly do not believe in Gods, angels, spirits, and devils or that they have ever communicated with humankind. In Mormon terms, I have a personal ‘testimony’ based on documented evidence, truth, reason and rational common sense, obtained through extensive historical research and scientific evidence, as well as recorded proof of falsified Church records. I know Joseph Smith Jr., was a fraud, his Book of Mormon a hoax, and that the Mormon Church continues the tradition of conspiring to deceive rank and file members. Thus, men and women can never obtain anything other than a vain and entirely false hope in things nonexistent, and certainly no essential priesthood ordinances of any eternal consequence whatsoever. That however, is my conclusion. Read the book, plus Volumes 1 and 3, and decide for yourself.

The Journey Begins

You think you know a story,

But you only know how it ends.

To get to the heart of a story,

You have to go back to the beginning.

(The Tudors - U.K. Television Series).

This book contains truths that are withheld from members,

supposedly for some ‘greater good’.

The Mormon Church always has and still does believe it correct

when necessary to ‘lie for the Lord’.

Apostle Dallin H. Oaks (formerly a Utah Supreme Court Justice) said, when instructing educators and administrators of the Mormon Church Educational System,

on 16 August 1985:

"Balance is telling both sides.

This is not the mission of official Church literature

or avowedly anti-Mormon literature.

Neither has any responsibility to present both sides."

Why would a god choose a character like Joseph Smith to perform any work on his behalf? Apologists always work from the stance that they already know Smith saw God and Jesus. Therefore their version of history is manipulated to accommodate that. On the other hand, having established that Smith was anything but a prophet, this work simply and honestly exposes the evidence concerning what really happened, which the Church and apologists would rather (and consistently do) hide or falsify.

I therefore claim the right that Dallin H. Oaks affords above. I already know, not through blind faith that transcends reason and common sense but through evidenced facts, that Joseph Smith was an utter fraud and I write entirely from that stance.

However, unlike the falsified history produced by the Church, nothing needs to be manipulated to accommodate that conclusion. The facts speak for themselves once they are exposed, and it is those evidenced facts alone which led me to that inevitable conclusion. Volume 1 of this work dealt with Smith’s and Young’s behavior regarding polygamy and almost unknown polyandry, the lies and falsifications introduced to delude members into thinking that God was involved. Volume 2 provides the truth regarding Smith and his hoax, and more, as every aspect of the Mormon Church is full of lies and deception.

How can present day leaders continue in such a conspiracy to deceive members and ignore or even deny the facts rather than face them?

Chapter 1. The Magic and the Mystery

All religions are founded on the fear of the many

and the cleverness of the few.

Stendhal.

The Mormon Church portrays their founder and first prophet, Joseph Smith, as a poor farm boy to whom the Lord entrusted the task of ‘restoring’ the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Following a total apostasy after the death of the Saviour, the true Gospel was lost for centuries. Once Smith established his Church, married dozens of women and learned how to control people, he gained confidence, until, at his peak, any humility he may once have had was long gone:

…I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet… (Joseph Smith. History of the Church, V.6:408-9).

Local neighbours of his time had their own perspective concerning the Smith family:

All who became intimate with them during this period [1820-1830] unite in representing the general character of old Joseph and his wife, the parents of the pretended prophet, as lazy, indolent, ignorant and superstitious, having a firm belief in ghosts and witches; the telling of fortunes; pretending to believe that the earth was filled with hidden treasures, buried there by Kid or the Spaniards. Being miserably poor and not much disposed to obtain an honest livelihood by labor, the energies of their minds seemed to be mostly directed toward finding where these treasures were concealed, and the best mode of acquiring their possession. (Howe 1834:11).

Smith Magic and Occult Practices.

Rather than try to disclaim the idea that Joseph Smith was a ‘glass looker’ (a person with a seer stone) pretending to be able to see hidden buried treasure, someone who practiced the occult using divining rods and seer stones, D. Michael Quinn, in his book Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, chooses to embrace, explain and excuse the idea fully and documents extensive evidence from many sources to support the facts. The reason for this is clearly that it was true and Quinn obviously felt it would be foolish to try to hide or alter the fact in the way some other Mormon historians and apologists have attempted to do. Defending Joseph Smith from any association with magic is the primary motivation for their definitional nihilism. (Quinn 1998: xxviii).

To be able to devote an entire book (of over six-hundred pages) to evidence on the subject, shows just how much it was then accepted as normal and part of the way society was in the area at the time of Joseph Smith. Superstitions abounded. People dreamed dreams, and some, such as Benjamin Abbott, Norris Stearns and eleven year old Billy Hibbard, had ecstatic visions and saw God and Jesus. (Quinn 1998:15). Many, after such experiences, became converted to, or even started their own, religious orders.

Many people had their own seer stones, talismans, divining rods, lamens and other mystical paraphernalia, performing various folk magic and occult rituals. These would be seemingly supernatural and include removing ailments, improving health, incantations regarding luck, or spells against enemies, charms regarding weapons, trying to discover treasure, mines, or salt. Joseph Smith and other family members involved were not alone in these activities. In their case, treasure seeking or ‘money digging’, paid for by gullible neighbours was more particularly the game. They belonged to a syndicated group of con-artists who all agreed to share the value of any finds they actually made.

Prior to Smith even thinking about writing a book or finding gold plates or developing a new religion, he was an opportunist who had developed the skill of conning people into believing he could divine places to dig where treasure was buried. He was well known as a glass-looker (seer) and used a pebble in his hat to pretend to look into the earth. He was paid to do this and others would dig for the treasure while the seer would use incantations and devices to ward off spirit guardians of the treasure. Nothing was ever located and the usual excuse was that the spirits had moved the treasure further ‘into the bowels of the earth’ just as they got near to it. It was Smith’s first step towards greater things, as gold plates and angels became a natural extension in his craft of deceiving the gullible.

Smith was charged (evidence suggests convicted but allowed to go) on 20 March 1826 with the misdemeanour of being ‘a disorderly person and an impostor’, being a confidence trickster, using his pebble-in-the-hat trick to extract wages from unsuspecting people who firmly believed that he could locate hidden treasure on their land. This was six years after his supposed ‘First Vision’ of God and Jesus in 1820 and three years after the supposed vision of the angel ‘Moroni’ (1823) and the year before he pretended to actually locate the golden plates which he then mainly ‘translated’ by the very same pebble-in-the-hat method used for his money digging scam. Smith firmly believed in the occult and owned a ‘Jupiter Talisman’ which he carried with him until the day he was killed. Some of Joseph Smith’s later apostles used divining rods and a revelation was given concerning one of them. More about these aspects will be reviewed later as we consider other details. As a prelude to what follows, the reader may want to keep in mind, one so-called ‘scripture’ from Smith’s own Book of Mormon…

Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell. (BOM. 2 Nephi 9:34).

Many further details of Joseph Smith’s occult connections, both before and after his claimed visionary experiences, are contained in Early Mormonism and the Magic World View. I will content myself with recommending Quinn 1998 and move on to Smith’s ultimate con tricks - the visions - the gold plates - and the evolution of his Mormon Church. Smith may well have been lazy, indolent, ignorant and superstitious as suggested by his neighbours, but he was clever enough to jump on the bandwagon of the day. Religion was already a very saleable commodity which attracted many of the local people who were superstitious, excitable and gullible. However, it was first the idea of writing and selling a book about the ancients which attracted his attention and the concept of a new religion just seemed to develop along the way.

The real sequence of events will become apparent. As will be demonstrated in Chapter 2, Smith did not dream up his ‘First Vision’ idea until many years after the claimed event, although it is the first thing that the Church teaches to ‘investigators’ today. Everything else (according to the Church) hinges on the integrity of Smith’s First Vision. If it did not happen exactly as Joseph Smith stated, then the Church is exposed as being false. Everything hangs on the validity of that singular event. Did it really happen, just as the Church today claims, or are there deep dark historical secrets that the Church suppresses?

Chapter 2. The First Vision