The Mormon Delusion. Volume 1: The Truth Behind Polygamy and Secret Polyandry

By Jim Whitefield

The first in a series of books comprising an exposé of the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). This volume concentrates on polygamy and little known polyandry which is hidden from rank and file Mormons. Historical evidence proves the Mormon Church has rewritten its own history through lies, suppression, omission and interpolation; such that the truth is so well hidden from members; unless they look outside the Church for information; they will never know of the continued conspiracy to deceive them. Contains over 120 pages of appendices, including complete lists and analysis of all the wives and families of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, highlighting polyandrous relationships and children born into those unions; plus details of over a hundred children born post 1890 to polygamous wives of General Authorities who violated their own canonised Manifesto after they had covenanted to stop the practice. Visit www.themormondelusion.com for further information.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781326785642

Book preview

The Mormon Delusion. Volume 1: The Truth Behind Polygamy and Secret Polyandry

THE MORMON DELUSION

Volume 1:

The Truth Behind Polygamy and Secret Polyandry

Jim Whitefield

EPUB Edition 2016

(of 2010 Third Edition)

First published in book form February 2009 by

Lulu Press Inc. Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

Second Edition – August 2009

Third Edition – September 2010

Copyright © Jim Whitefield 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-326-78564-2

British Library Catalogue System Number: 015497834

Lulu ID: 19365688

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]

Also by this author:

The Mormon Delusion. Volume 2.

The Secret Truth Withheld From 13 Million Mormons

Published May 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

In Memoriam

This book is dedicated to the memory

of my first wife of 37½ years,

Janice Megan Howell

mother of our eleven children,

eight of whom are still living,

six of whom are active in the Mormon Church.

Also to my mother

Lillian Marie Howlett

who joined the Mormon Church with me in 1960

remaining faithful for over 30 years until her death.

Both of whom would have been devastated

had they learned the truth before they died.

Jim Whitefield 2009

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 of 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 full time research which lasted for over three years. I deeply appreciate her understanding, support and unfailing patience as I have endeavoured to come to terms with the awful discoveries I made. Writing about it 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 was 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 manuscript, endorsing it 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.

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 draft for me. His own 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 has required some ten thousand hours, working full time for well over three years and 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 this work. 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, they list many people who they wish to thank for researching, reviewing, editing and helping correct 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.

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. Unfortunately, well over a year after Church leaders later asked for more time to research my findings before formally responding, follow up letters requesting the promised response have been completely ignored.

I can only assume that the Church has no answers…

August 2009 Second Edition Note:

I would like to thank my good friend, Jean Bodie, who read the first edition of Volume 1, made notes of some typos and grammatical errors and suggested a few corrections. This led to a friendship in which we have both enjoyed working together on Volumes 2 and 3, honing each chapter into a more easily understandable and fulfilling journey for readers. Although Jean lives in Canada and I live in England, and despite the different time zones, modern technology has allowed us to communicate almost as though we were in the same room. Jean’s kind help in proof reading the later volumes of The Mormon Delusion prior to publication has helped provide readers with more coherent explanations and better flowing words. Subsequently, Jean has kindly reviewed and helped correct and edit this second edition of Volume 1. As ever, her meticulous proof reading, corrections and editing suggestions have helped to make this work a more accurate and worthwhile book. I deeply appreciate her dedicated attention to detail and her continued friendship. In reviewing the book, I located a few minor historical errors which have now been corrected.

September 2010 Third 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. (After note: Monson was indeed sustained as President of the Mormon Church at the Annual General Conference).

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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 the ‘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 small details, 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.

In chapters and appendices that include detailed genealogical information, whilst most of the information is reliable, some may not be and will inevitably contain original as well as transposed research errors. For example, when researching, I found one five year old shown as married, a marriage where the husband was seventy years younger than his wife, and one man appearing married to his mother. These kinds of obviously incorrect details were naturally excluded. A general picture, which was the objective, can be achieved by this research but it is accepted that it is not entirely accurate or complete. I have therefore included only that which is logical and makes sense. Where possible, details have been substantiated from multiple sources. An overview is thus gained but individual details can be wrong and should not be relied upon. The objective in those instances was to obtain a general overall picture rather than detailed accuracy.

Polygamy in Mormonism is understood to mean men with multiple wives. The correct term for this practice is polygyny. In its day, it was synonymous with expressions such as ‘plural marriage’, ‘spiritual wives’ and ‘celestial marriage’. In the real world, polygamy is a generic term for anyone (male or female) with more than one legal spouse. Early Mormons were classed in law as bigamists, as polygamy was completely illegal. Many were technically just adulterous relationships as many of the early Mormon ministers had no legal authority to perform marriages at all. Joseph Smith claimed he got his authority from God and that he did not need any civil authority to perform marriages.

The specific related words and meanings are:

Polygamy: Marriage to more than one wife or husband at a time.

Polygyny: The practice or condition of a man having a plurality of wives.

Polyandry: Practice or condition of a woman having more than one husband.

Bigamy: Custom or crime of having two wives or husbands at the same time.

Adultery: Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not that person’s legal partner.

In the attitude, pattern and supposed justification of their behaviour, Mormons during the 1800s and early 1900s completely and constantly ignored the laws of the land as well as established rules of sexual behaviour. After 1890 leaders also ignored their own ‘Manifesto’, a supposed revelation from God prohibiting polygamy, for a further two decades. Mormons were deemed guilty of all the above terms, in one form or another, at one time or another, but as none of the polygamy was ever legal, all the plural marriages were bigamous.

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.

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.

Impressive research. A goldmine of information. A must read for serious students of Mormonism. I can highly recommend Jim Whitefield’s THE MORMON DELUSION: The Truth Behind Polygamy and Secret Polyandry.

Arza Evans - Author of The Keystone of Mormonism.

Mormonism’s founder, Joseph Smith, secretly married over thirty women; some already married to living men, and had sexual relations with many of these women without the knowledge of his single public wife Emma. Most Mormons know nothing about this as it is left out of the one-sided histories Mormons are spoon fed by their church. After 43 years as a dedicated Mormon, Jim Whitefield was astonished to learn the true history of plural marriage as practised by Mormonism’s earliest leaders. In a thoroughly researched and tell it like it is approach Whitefield details the murky origins of plural marriage and its tragic consequences in the lives of numerous Mormon women.

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

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Preface

Converted at age 14, I was a Mormon for 43 years.

The Church history I was taught and believed in was falsified.

Mormons are taught to rely only on that which the Church publishes, as the truth. Outside sources are unreliable, biased, or influenced by Satan and can destroy a testimony. Members must trust ‘the brethren’ and ‘when the prophet speaks, the debate is over’. I reluctantly resigned my membership when I could no longer hold to a belief in God. I resigned for the sake of integrity, no more, no less. Three years later, I stumbled across polyandry and discovered the awful truth behind the Mormon Church…

I always thought that Joseph Smith was nothing more than a gentle, naïve, innocent fourteen-year-old farm boy whom the Lord chose to restore His gospel. To me, it was that simple.

I was wrong.

I resigned membership of the Mormon Church in 2003, for no theological reason, other than I could simply no longer personally hold to a belief in God. Therefore (for me), the Mormon Church could not possibly be true after all. I concluded that Joseph Smith must have been a good but deluded man, as I had no reason to suppose otherwise. For the next three years I thought no more about it and tried to get on with my life.

Then, quite by accident, I discovered that Joseph Smith, the founding prophet, not only practiced his well known polygamy (as readily admitted by the Church, along with its theological reasoning) but that Smith also practiced polyandry, a word I had never heard of at that point. Polyandry: a woman with more than one husband.

Although I was no longer formally associated with the Mormon Church, I was nevertheless stunned by this discovery. For forty-three years as a member and a further three years outside the church, I had never heard of such a thing. Theologically, it simply did not fit. I wrote to a friend in the Quorum of Twelve Apostles who asked another mutual friend, in the First Quorum of Seventy, to telephone me to discuss the position. He confirmed polyandry is contrary to doctrine. I had a dilemma. I had evidence Joseph Smith contravened doctrine.

My full-time research began, lasting over three devastating, soul destroying years, which only faithful members, who have made similar discoveries about the lies within Mormonism, can fully appreciate. The depths of despair that are encountered by such discoveries are hard to imagine or explain. Day after day the nightmare continued and the heartbreak was relentless. Not only does the Mormon Church hide the truth concerning polygamy, but as it turns out, almost everything else has been completely fabricated or falsified to suit the Mormon fairy tale. The overall picture the Church presents is entirely false.

This work is intended to satisfy the interests of people who have very little knowledge of Mormonism as well as those who are fully familiar with it all. There are chapters containing some examples of Smith’s evolving polygamous behaviour as well as a full coverage of the polyandry practiced by Smith and others, something which is still virtually unknown within Church membership, especially in the United Kingdom, where I live. We travel through Brigham Young’s time and beyond, to the eventual traumatic journey out of polygamy forever. That is, at least, for the time being, as doctrinally it will return as an essential part of life hereafter. Men who become ‘Gods’ will have many wives.

I have tried to write in a manner that is honest and accurate, that will satisfy and entertain readers who have never before studied Mormon polygamy and who are interested in the real story which most Church members never hear. At the same time I have tried to make it detailed enough for questioning Mormons, ex-Mormons and so-called apostates, as well as investigators who may wish to verify the things they have been taught by the Church and feel they need the appropriate references and on occasion some further relevant detail.

To maintain this structure, a few aspects have been relegated to footnotes or appendices. Everything that is covered is fully evidenced and source references are provided. Unlike Mormon apologists who have a predetermined conclusion before they start, there was no preconceived destination to reach in my writing. I simply evidence the truth that I found, compared to the things I was taught were the truth when I was a faithful member of the Mormon Church.

This work is not intended to be read by faithful members who would rather not know the truth and wish to remain in their delusional state. Therefore, if the reader is in that category, I suggest you reconsider your decision. Should you 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 that if you decide to proceed, you do so entirely of your own choice.

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 real answers to questions, based on evidenced facts rather than Mormon fiction. Hopefully, these volumes will be appealing and adequate for the intended audiences mentioned. I do not state unsubstantiated opinions, but conclusions are drawn and stated where I found indisputable evidence, facts, fraud or lies. You are welcome to draw your own.

If faithful members do decide to continue to read through this introduction, they will undoubtedly feel ‘the spirit leave the room’ just as they were taught would happen if they were to read so-called anti-Mormon literature. In reality, there is no spirit that could do so, as the very basis of Mormonism was a hoax and a deception, fabricated entirely from lies. What is really happening is that the reader is experiencing cognitive dissonance.

It is literally a contradictory mental state, a kind of mental explosion (an irresistible force meeting an immovable object) in the mind. That is, a state of psychological conflict. It is just anxiety which results from the emotion and confusion that ensues when truth conflicts with belief and you have difficulty assimilating it with previously perceived reality. The Mormon Church teaches that this is evidence of Satan trying to deceive you. It is no such thing. A testimony is based on belief. If evidence conflicts with that, the belief is wrong.

You may at times feel numb and even physically sick (just as I did) as you discover undeniable facts and evidence of the truth concerning the Church. The reality dramatically conflicts with everything that we were all taught regarding polygamy. That reality, however painful, is essential to know, for anyone with enough integrity to demand all the truth.

I know the pain. I know the suffering. I know the trauma of having to face unwanted, and at first, unbelievable, but then undeniable, truth and knowledge. I have been there, over and over again, day after day, since I first discovered little known polyandry, which will be covered in detail later in the book, and started my research. What was still left of my world, fell apart.

I learned a very valuable lesson from Richard Dawkins in his refreshing and recommended book, The God Delusion. Under the heading Undeserved Respect (page 20), Dawkins quotes the late Douglas Adams who reviewed the notion that although it is generally accepted that we can argue about politicians or government, taxes or most other things as much as we like, we are not ‘allowed’ to say anything bad about what someone considers sacred or holy. We show respect for religion and religious beliefs. We are extremely careful about what we say. Adams questions why:

We are used to not challenging religious ideas but it’s very interesting how much of a furore Richard creates when he does it! Everybody gets absolutely frantic about it because you’re not allowed to say these things. Yet when you look at it rationally there is no reason why those ideas shouldn’t be as open to debate as any other, except that we have agreed somehow between us that they shouldn’t be.

Dawkins sets out his own stall very clearly, stating that he intends to tell it as it is. He then starts to do so at the beginning of Chapter 2, in what many would consider an extremely inflammatory statement about their God:

The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. (Dawkins 2006:31).

Already an Atheist in my heart, like Dawkins, I registered on the internet as a ‘Bright’. That is, someone with a naturalistic worldview, free of supernatural and mystical elements. Once I had got over the initial shock, as I read his above words, knowing the Old Testament quite well, I recognised that Dawkins’s description of God’s character was very accurately depicted. Inexplicably, I also felt Dawkins was personally giving me the courage that I needed, to write with strength and conviction about the way that I feel, concerning what I have learned. I am one of the victims and have yet to completely overcome the trauma of having subsequently become one of the unwitting perpetrators, in my Church leadership positions of influence, for so many years.

Joseph Smith’s behaviour and constant lies are carefully hidden from Mormons through falsified or suppressed history. The truth regarding Smith’s life, his teachings, bizarre doctrines and fraudulent claims to be able to translate ancient documents, all came to light during my research. That research mainly referenced back to sources inside the Church, its own records and history, as well as the writings of Mormon leaders and faithful members. The concept that so-called anti-Mormon literature contains lies is generally false. The reality is that much of it actually exposes lies that are found within Church literature.

My initial objective was to discover the truth regarding polygamy and polyandry, the results of which fill this volume. Illegal polygamy and more particularly the almost unknown polyandry that Smith, Young, Kimball and others practiced for no theological reason, is fully evidenced for what it really was, rather than it being required by a God as part of the ‘restoration of all things’, as claimed – but not theologically justified, by the Mormon Church.

The equally unwanted discovery of so many other lies has led me to write a further two volumes in an exposé of the overall hoax perpetrated by Joseph Smith. It was continued by Brigham Young, John Taylor and all the later prophets. The conspiracy to deceive continues today and evidence of modern day methods of keeping members in their delusional state is also covered in the later volumes of this work. I have found no truth at all to any of the main published claims of the Mormon Church. They notably disagree with originally recorded history. I cannot even begin to count the falsifications, interpolations, omissions, suppressions and constructed lies. The only question is: how could I not have known before? We were taught never to look outside the Church for information concerning the Church as it could be falsified, so I never did.

Taking heart from Dawkins’s courage to say it as it is and feeling complete empathy in his declared thanks for the help of his wife when he, like me, had hesitations and self-doubts, I now feel the courage to say this, boldly and without any hesitation, excuse or apology:

Joseph Smith perpetrated what was arguably

the biggest hoax of the nineteenth century.

Smith is a proven fraud. He was convicted for being a con artist. He lied about visions, revelations, scriptures, gold plates and his ability to translate them. His Book of Mormon was a work of fiction, full of plagiarism and impossibilities. He included extinct animals and left out the ones that did exist. He included crops not available in the era, leaving out ones that were the staple diet of Native Americans, not to mention the impossible use of the wheel and of chariots which needed horses to pull them. Smith had no idea that horses went extinct long before the time of his story, so he included them in his book. He spoke of, yet to be invented, glass windows, steel, money and technology.

His Book of Abraham was a work of pure fiction; the papyri he claimed to translate, now conclusively proven to be Egyptian funerary text written about 50 BCE - 50 CE. Smith claimed it was actually penned by Abraham in his own handwriting, some two thousand years earlier – a physically impossible feat.

Smith wrote an associated Egyptian alphabet and grammar which was suppressed for one-hundred-and-thirty years. Since it became available, that too has proved to be complete and utter nonsense. The Church accepts that but attempts to excuse it.

Smith’s revelations were entirely his own ideas, many verifiable aspects remaining unfulfilled. They were often altered, deleted or added to at will, long after the supposed revelations were given. He was a womaniser, a cheat and a liar. He founded and then almost immediately abandoned an illegal bank, defrauding people of their money and property. He put everything in his wife’s name, securing wealth and property and later he deliberately tried to renege on his financial responsibilities by filing a fraudulent bankruptcy. He organised paramilitary groups and incited people to riot and murder. For much of his short adult life, he was in effect, an outlaw – with a price on his head.

He secretly and illegally practiced polygamy and also polyandry, mostly kept hidden from his first wife Emma. He encouraged selected others to do likewise, and excommunicated anyone who copied him without his explicit permission or who correctly accused him of practicing it. He constantly lied about having plural wives to the general public and members alike, to the very end, in public speaking and in newsprint. Even worse, he lied in false scripture, first published as Section 101 in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants. It claimed monogamy the standard rather than polygamy and remained in place until 1876.

Finally killed in a shootout whilst in prison awaiting trial for treason, when Smith himself shot and wounded three men, Smith’s overall character was the modern equivalent of Dawkins’ description of the God of the Old Testament. The two go very well together.

If Smith’s God turns out to be real and if Smith was called, all he did being sanctioned of or commanded by this God, then the Mormon Church can keep them both. They are more akin to the Christian idea of Satan than of a supreme being who loves his creations and his supposed faithful prophet. I want nothing to do with either of them. It is absolutely certain no such God as Smith’s exists. Smith was nothing more than an opportunist, a con artist and an impostor.

Dawkins does a great job of defining The God Delusion. I can and will prove that Joseph Smith deluded his followers in what could equally be termed The Smith Delusion, in the three volumes [now five] that currently comprise this work.

What Joseph Smith did to women who were deluded into thinking they were obeying God, was illegal, immoral and completely reprehensible.

This book exposes the truth behind polygamy. It also conclusively proves that Smith and others participated in polyandry which is contrary to Mormon doctrine, and therefore, theologically, Joseph Smith is doomed in the eternities, along with Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and any others who practiced it.

The evidence is all there and God was certainly not.

If anyone was in any doubt as to the tone of what follows, hopefully, that should more than adequately set out my stall for you.     

At the beginning of his exceptional work, The Keystone of Mormonism (an exposé on the Book of Mormon), Arza Evans quotes Socrates. Arza simply relates the unwanted truths that he discovered and reluctantly had to face, because truth transcends any faith in fiction.

Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth.

Socrates

Or, if you have already read Arza’s book:

Do not be angry with me if I tell you some more truth.

Before commencing your journey through this book, I felt it important to explain why the work has been undertaken, and also the manner in which it has been written, so the reader is neither shocked nor disappointed in the style or content. This should now be clear. This work has been my therapy. If anyone else reads it and it helps them to better understand the truth, that is a bonus.

I love to study science and nature. I enjoy new discovery and all evidenced truth and I admire the integrity of honest people. For forty-three years I had thought that I was being taught truth by honest people with integrity. I never questioned the validity of Church teachings. As directed, I lived by faith that it was all true. I have no idea if I will ever get over the fact that what I was taught was completely false in almost every respect. It transpires that many of the people, who taught me, like me, were themselves victims before becoming the unwitting perpetrators of the false teachings. This is how the lies continue from generation to generation. No one knows that they are teaching falsified history.

This work is not a balanced history, nor does it contain any of the sugar coated fiction the Church produces. However, it is not a biased, one sided view, twisted to fit a preconceived position, as is the case with Mormon Church apologists. No doubt apologists will disagree, but the absolute truth is within these pages. Whilst validity (for example) of the Book of Mormon must simply be accepted on faith alone, as there is no evidence to support any of it being fact, and there is every evidence of it being pure fiction, this book is properly referenced and every aspect is fully evidenced. It is the truth.

Everything in this book actually did happen to real people. There is no faith required in order to believe what you will read, just common sense and reason. Everything is stated fairly and factually. There is no undue conjecture and no strung out argument based on weak ‘possible’ or even ‘plausible’ supposition. If something is recorded as having happened, it is in there. If I am not sure, it either does not appear at all, or, if on the odd occasion, out of interest it does, then I say so, leaving the reader to decide whether there is any substance to a particular claim. The stories and details about the people involved are but a few of the many available. I have incorporated a selection of some recommended books into the bibliography for anyone interested in further stories of polygamy or various other aspects of Mormonism.

It is very easy to prove the Mormon Church is a complete hoax. All you have to do is take a clean sheet of paper and a pencil, and most importantly, an open unclouded mind and look at the evidence in each area. You just have to know where to find it.

The reason members do not look is that as soon as they learn the simple basic principles taught to them, pray and feel they gain a ‘testimony’ of the appealing and plausible lies and are thus caught in the web of deceit, they are immediately taught to never look at anything regarding the Church, outside of Church approved literature, lest Satan should deceive them.

That’s all it takes to entrap people, later teaching them aspects that are more difficult to accept (milk before meat, to coin a Mormon phrase), once they become more indoctrinated and gullible full tithe-paying members. Just one such conversion can bring a generation of faithful devotees into the system, who in turn teach the lies to their children and anyone else who will listen. Out of my eight children and twenty-five grandchildren, there are six and twenty-two respectively who are currently doing just that. Only two of our children rejected the Church (as teenagers) and live what people term ‘normal’ lives.

For those who are questioning and want the truth about Mormonism, the second and third volumes of The Mormon Delusion will reveal the basis of all the other Mormon lies I located. For those who are or have been involved with it, in order to know the truth beyond any shadow of doubt, in a way that is thousands of times more powerful than any original ‘testimony’ ever was, we must have the courage to take a step back and say ‘what if’, for just one awful and devastating moment, ‘what if’ it