Why I Wrote The Mormon Conspiracy
By Charles L. Wood
The Mormon Conspiracy Website
My main purpose in writing this book is because I want to save and promote democracy in America. Since my research into Mormonism has convinced me that this religion is a threat to our democracy, I have put forth a great deal of effort to expose this threat to the American people. If you review church history and the “Joseph Smith Story,” you will discover that the basis for Mormon doctrine, the “Book of Mormon,” is based on false premises. Fawn Brodie’s Book, “No Man Knows My History” will convince anyone of this. This renowned and classic book shows that Joseph Smith, in early life, was a “money and treasure digger” using seer stones. Smith was also a polygamist. Brodie lists twenty-seven women who served as his celestial wives, some that were married to other men in Nauvoo, Illinois. In writing the “Book of Mormon,” Smith copied more than three-thousand phases from the Bible, and claimed that the American Indian ancestors emigrated from Israel when actually they emigrated from China and Mongolia.
Joseph Smith also used the book, “View of the Hebrews” as a guide in writing his book, the “Book of Mormon.” Yet in spite of all this, Mormon Church leaders still claim that Smith’s book is from God. Why when all evidence proves otherwise.
Since Mormonism endangers such freedoms as speech, press, thought and individualism I believe that this also endangers a democracy that promotes such freedoms. For example, it is well known in Mormondom, that one who speaks out against the Brethren (Leaders of the Church) or church doctrine faces serious consequences such as a reprimand from the church, or possible ex-communication unless one repents.
My research of the Mormon religion shows it to be highly authoritarian. For example, the church is administered from the top down with minimal input from church members concerning appointments to such offices as apostles, missionary presidents, stake presidents, the quorum of seventy, etc. All decisions concerning financial affairs are made by the Presidency and the twelve apostles, with little or no input from members concerning such major financial decisions as temple building, establishing missionary centers, purchasing satellite systems, television advertising and publishing books and materials. It is very disturbing that all financial decisions of the church hierarchy are secret and not made available to members or to the public.
I am also very much concerned that the Mormon Church spends billions of dollars every year to promote and glorify the LDS church. Temples are being built at a multimillion dollar cost for each one. And these monies are tax free and extorted from members who must pay 10 percent of their earnings in order to be able to enter the temples. Could not this large amount of money be spent to enhance the lives of church members by providing education and economic assistance to the many Mormon families in trailer communities and elsewhere who need it?
The Mormon Church owns newspapers with large circulations, radio and television stations in densely populated areas of the world. It is acquiring more in order to control as much public media as possible. This is restricting the freedom to receive unbiased information through the media, a dangerous road to the development of a Mormon-controlled society.
The 60,000 plus missionaries sent by the Mormon Church to all corners of the United States and the world is also unnerving, especially since my research shows that the message these missionaries are distributing around the world is false and deceiving. It is the goal of the Mormon Church to establish the Mormon Kingdom of God on earth supposedly to set it up for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Could it be that this is not the real goal of the Presidency and the Twelve Apostles, but it is to establish a kingdom of the Mormon Church, making the president (prophet) king and abolishing all democratic institutions in the United States and world? This is how the Mormon Church is administered today!
Is it possible that the Higher Authorities of the Church are falsely claiming that they are representatives of God and using this as a ruse to control members and to gain as many converts as possible to realize their goal to control the United States and the World? If not why do they send over 60,000 missionaries to centers throughout the world and spend billions of dollars in members’ hard-earned tithing dollars every year to propagandize Mormonism? Why are their financial affairs kept secret?
Following is a suggested list of credible and respected sources that refutes the Mormon Church Hierarchy’s version of the Joseph Smith story. These books will convince one not to join or continue to be a member of the Mormon Church.
Fawn Brodie’s No Man Knows My History
B. H. Robert’s Studies of the Book of Mormon
Brian M. Fagan’s The Archaeology of a Continent
Harry M. Beardsley’s Joseph Smith and his Mormon Empire
Janice Hutchinson’s The Mormon Missionaries
Sonia Johnson’s From Housewife to Heretic
Michael D. Quinn’s The Mormon Hierarchy, Extensions of Power
Charles L. Wood’s The Mormon Conspiracy (http://www.mormonconspiracy.com)
Tammy F. Braithwaite’s Journey to the Center of my Soul, A Mormon Odyssey
Larry and Tammy Braithwaite write:
Although the journey of leaving the Mormon Church was difficult, it was well worth every tear shed. Leaving the Church taught us lessons that are priceless. We're so grateful we have connected with our authentic self and are in control of our own thoughts and feelings. We wish you all good things as you experience your own journey through life.
Internet: Recovery From Mormonism (http://www.exmormon.org)
Following are comments from readers of “The Mormon Conspiracy.”
"Thank you for this wonderful book, some of my family is finally starting to see the light."
"I would like to thank you for writing a book revealing the truth to the untrue church (religion)."
“I do feel that the Mormon Church uses mind control to obtain and keep members. How sad it is for the church to send out young people as missionaries who are like robots repeating the same phrases over and over.
Thank you for exposing the truth about the Mormon Church.”
“I always found the story of Joseph Smith hard to swallow.”
“Maybe the best form of terrorism/global domination is guised in the form of kindness.” “These nice people [Mormons] have know [no] idea that they themselves have been used in this process. [Bringing in new converts]”
“I got sick and couldn’t work for a year. When we couldn’t pay offerings anymore, we stopped, and they questioned us, and when we couldn’t pay tithe anymore, we were condemned; …we asked for help from the Bishop’s Storehouse thinking surely our years of full tithe paying must count, but we were told that because we hadn’t paid the last 3 months, we were not eligible for any assistance.”
A READER FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM (ENGLAND) WRITES:
“THE MORMON CONSPIRACY” IS AN AMAZING AND FRIGHTENING BOOK ABOUT MORMONISM, THAT ANSWERS MANY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT MY MORMON TEACHERS COULD NOT, OR WOULD NOT ANSWER. A CHURCH THAT HIDES OR DISGUISES THE TRUTH OF IT'S PAST AS WELL AS DEALINGS IN THE PRESENT, CANNOT BE THE TRUE CHURCH THAT THE MORMONS CLAIM IT IS. I URGE ANYONE TO READ “THE MORMON CONSPIRACY,” WHO HAS EVER BEEN APPROACHED BY MORMON MISSIONARIES FROM THE "CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF THE LATTER DAY SAINTS." THEY WILL THEN BE ARMED WITH QUESTIONS, WHICH I AM SURE, WILL NOT GET ANSWERED BY THE TEACHERS FROM THIS CHURCH.
WE HAVE LOADS OF MORMON CHURCHES AND A COUPLE OF TEMPLES!! WE ARE A VERY ACCOMMODATING NATION, THIS IS WHY I THINK THAT “THE MORMON CONSPIRACY” IS SO IMPORTANT. THE MORMON CHURCH SEEMS TO BE RATHER SINISTER IN ITS DEALINGS. I WAS SPEAKING TO A FARMER YESTERDAY IN MY SHOP. HE HAD SEEN THIS BOOK IN MY WINDOW AND HE TOLD ME STRAIGHT OUT THAT THE MORMONS OWN A THIRD OF THE LAND AND FARMS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. THIS IS THE COUNTY NEXT TO MINE AND IT IS A VERY BIG ONE! WELL, BIG FOR ENGLAND, THAT IS! I FIND IT QUITE WORRYING. THEY SEEM TO BE TAKING OVER THE COUNTRY BIT BY BIT AND VERY VERY QUIETLY.
Others write:
************
I have been trying to leave the Mormon church for about 12 years, but every time I get so far, I go back because I don't want to cause pain to my family. What you say is very true. It is almost scary the control and pressure put on you by Bishops and other church leaders. The fact that you are not allowed to question anything or you are wicked. It's frightening. I look around me at others who have been spared this upbringing and am envious that they can go to the church of their choice or not and not be stigmatized by the people they love the most. That they don't have someone hounding them or keeping track of every move they make or every rebellious thought or action they have.
******
“The Mormon Conspiracy” provides the reader with many cogent facts about the organization and history of the Mormon Church. I was born into a Salt Lake Mormon family in 1924. Prior to volunteering for the Army in 1943, our family lived for the Church and spent many hours listening to speakers' versions of salvation. The Army assigned me to a combat tank battalion, which gave support to an infantry division. This infantry division spearheaded many of the battles in the European Theatre of War. Spiritually. I believed there was a God over us. This gave me comfort even though there were no church meetings, no singing, no praying, no voices of eternal damnation if you did not worship the LDS way, no studying of the hard-to-understand book of Mormon and no testimony recitations about the Joseph Smith story. In France and on into Germany with combat forces, I experienced a spirituality that trusted in Christ and his teachings. That spirituality is what I cherish today.
When I got back to Salt Lake, I found returning to the insipid routine of Mormonism frustrating and confusing. Whatever moral guilt or sorrow I felt for having served in WWII was never addressed in the LDS Church. When my wife died in 1969, I got a temple recommend to have her posthumously married to me and my three minor children sealed to us for eternity, as prescribed by Mormonism. The temple ceremony was one of my life's greatest shocks. Not only was it an obvious cult ritual but also was personally abhorrent. Since this ritual, I have not been active in the Church. However, I have struggled emotionally with vague feelings and thoughts and troubled by the incongruities I have experienced in mentally questioning the Church's claim of legitimacy.
In my view, “The Mormon Conspiracy” has pulled together historical and other data that reveals the true Mormon Church. Prior to reading this book, I read a few of the books and articles quoted in the endnotes. These did not give me all the information I sought. This book has helped me answer questions "Why is the official Church history told to members different from its historical truth? Why is the Church so overzealous in excommunicating members who research and publish their research about the Church's true history? Why does the hierarchy, "the brethren" continue to hide the true facts from its congregation? I believe the answers to my questions are found in the control of money and the power "the brethren" have in their appointed positions. I believe if the brethren communicated and educated "True Believing Mormons" about its true history, its organization and wealth, there would be a vast defection and flight from Mormonism. The evidence is overwhelming that the Book of Mormon and gospel is a fraud promulgated by Joseph Smith and the hierarchy who followed him. By giving a true history, the brethren, the power seekers, would lose the power and political pursuits for which they lust. They would lose control of people and money. They would fail to gain the imagined afterlife they seek in the "celestial kingdom" as taught by the Church. The control of money, the control of people and the imagined power in the afterlife are impregnable motives to hide the true history, wealth and worldwide aims of the Mormon Church.
I recommend this book "The Mormon Conspiracy" to everyone. It is a must reading for all Americans and an exposé for anyone lost in Mormonism. Hopefully, this book, as it becomes well known, will help stop the Mormon Church's insidious growth. I am thankful that this book has been written since it has given me the perspective I have sought for years.
*******
A MORMON READER TELLS WHY YOU SHOULD READ THE MORMON CONSPIRACY.
I am a Mormon, and have been since 1988. I have spent the
last 6 years trying to leave. For those not acquainted with Mormonism,
that seems like a foolish thing to say, I know, but anyone in an abusive
relationship knows just exactly how hard it is to get out, and most
particularly hard when you are alone.
That is why I recommend this book so strongly. I have read
other books on Mormons, by ex-Mormons and non-Mormons, and even a couple
who are yet Mormons. They either apologize for Mormonism, or appear to
attack me personally, by telling me how stupid I am for being Mormon
or by attacking the people of the church rather than the church. Now, I
will absolutely agree that it IS the people of the church who have set the church up to be what it is, but that is or appears to be a fundamental attack on me. That is no help.
Dr. Wood, on the other hand, started his research to answer
questions he had after being approached by the Mormon missionaries, and in finding what he found, realized he had an obligation to both warn the world and present the truth as he found it, within the Mormon church history I might add, to assist those of us who are stuck and have no way out. And there are many of us, we just don’t talk about it because it isn’t safe. This book not only presents the unadulterated truth of Mormon history, but also lets ex-Mormons tell their story in their words so that we who are struggling are given reason to hope AND to give us strength and means to escape.
And that makes this book a necessity for the world, for the
implications of the Mormon doctrine are so against what we as Americans
believe in, it is hard to believe this is a church based in America, and that makes it easy to overlook and disbelieve what is under our noses, because it is SO foreign to America. And Dr. Wood presents it in an easy to read fashion AND backs it up by his research, which can be verified.
For us Mormons who are desperately trying to leave, this
book gives us the impetus to do so. The world can’t help a lot because the world doesn’t know what we are trapped in. We can’t really help each other until we get out because we can’t see the end of the tunnel from where we are. And we aren’t allowed to know that there IS an end of the tunnel, when stuck in Mormonism, and it isn’t safe to try to find out. And again, for anyone not trapped, this sounds like a foolish thing, not to be able to think for yourself. But those who are in other abusive relationships understand, and know the trapped helplessness.
I would ask you to read this book for both Mormons and non-
Mormons. Dr. Wood understands the horror of both being
trapped and of what the “goals” of the Mormon church are, and understands the need to let the world know. Dr. Wood has given me the means to escape finally, and I must do what I can to help others escape. I am forever grateful to Dr. Wood, because he gave me the means to live again, after 13 years of living in hell.
******
From a California Reader
I just finished reading the book, The Mormon Conspiracy, and I felt compelled to write a review. My husband and I have been members of the church for a quarter of a century, and we raised four children in the church. We even went to the temple. None of our children are active today, and I would like to think it is because I taught them to think for themselves instead of being led along by orthodoxy. I was skeptical of the testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon from day one, but was assured that it was only because I didn’t know enough yet to understand it. I had always been interested in archaeology and I knew a lot about what Mesoamerica was like because of the archaeological data. So I knew that much of what was in the Book of Mormon was simply false. But I continued to pretend that I had a strong testimony of the truthfulness of everything the church leaders taught because I wanted so badly to believe and to be one of them. When I questioned why, in spite of paying tithing we weren’t receiving all the financial blessings we were promised, but instead, were living on unemployment and in danger of losing our home, I was told that I needed to examine my life and see why I wasn’t righteous enough to deserve the blessings. I finally realized that the church failed me by not being true and put the blame for that on me. Why didn’t I leave? I don’t know. Maybe because my husband, whom I love so very much, is still active and implicitly believes in the church. I also have a lot of friends in the church and don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. You have probably heard a lot of reasons why people find it so hard to leave. I suffered from chronic depression for many years and am probably not alone.
I became inactive 15 years ago, and in spring of 2000, I went back to school to get an Associate’s degree. Then in fall of 2001, I was working on homework in Critical Reasoning, one of my classes, when the missionaries stopped by one night and visited us. One of them asked me why I never attended church with my husband as I should. I told them that I had some problems to work out (my usual answer because it was easy to accept since I’m putting the blame for my lack of faith on myself and not the church). He then asked me if I believed that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and I almost said automatically, yes (it’s so ingrained in us to answer that way). But by this time my critical reasoning skills (which Carl Sagan had termed a “bologna detection kit”) had been sharpened in my class, and I was beginning to have the courage to challenge illogical claims. I thought for a moment and said that I never knew the man and could not say whether he was a prophet or a fraud. He asked me to kneel down right there and pray about it. I said no, I had a better idea. Since everything I knew about Joseph Smith had come to me from the people who wanted me to believe that Smith was a prophet, I would research the man and find objective documented information on him and share what I found with them. They weren’t keen on the idea, and said something in regards to the danger of relying on our own reasoning, which is unreliable, instead of the power of prayer.
But I did my research anyway and it was incredibly upsetting. At times I felt physically sick. I can’t explain the turmoil going on inside me. Before long, I had read all about not only Joseph Smith, but everything else connected with him. I discovered the Tanners and ordered their encyclopedic volume, Mormonism, Shadow or Reality ? I bought The Quest for the Gold Plates, By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus, and No Man Knows My History. I read them all and I finally began to feel terrific. The Mormon church is fond of saying, “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. That’s probably the truest thing the church has ever said. My problems with depression disappeared. I felt both elated that it wasn’t me that was wrong, and angry that I had been lied to all these years—I suffered spiritual abuse at the hands of people I had put my trust in! I was free—to a point. I composed a letter of resignation and gave it to the bishop and he tore it up saying, “I can’t let you make such a serious mistake”. I haven’t tried to get out since then, but my husband knows that I want out and why. I have tried to share much of what I have learned with him, but he can’t afford to look fearlessly at the truth and has asked me not to talk about it. He is such a paradox; he is the most honest man I have ever known, yet he carefully avoids the truth because to look at it, he would have to see that he has had a part in perpetuating a lie, and his emotional and financial investment is substantial. He has said that he will always love me even if I leave the church, but I’m not sure what he would do if he was ever counseled to divorce me; he never disputes the authority of the bishop or anyone higher up. So that’s my quandary—do I leave and take the chance of losing the only man I have ever loved, or do I continue as I am and live a lie.
I am currently a student, living on campus and majoring in Anthropology. He continues in the church and is happy without my trying to open his eyes, but I am learning things that only strengthen my resolve to get out of the church and hopefully take him with me. My classes this semester include not only Human Evolution (which the church adamantly opposes) but also America Before Columbus. I am learning in depth all about the ancient people of this hemisphere from Northern Canada to South America. More importantly, I am learning to be a scholar with a scrupulous intellectual honesty. A few weeks ago, I saw a review of The Mormon Conspiracy and decided that I would like to read it, and finally bought it and found the time to read it (in a day and a half). It scared the hell out me, to be blunt. What can be done except to educate people? But how can that be accomplished on a scale large enough to make a difference? The people who need most to read it, won’t. I wouldn’t have read it if I was a good Mormon, you know that. I have been threatened with excommunication (on charges of speaking against the Lord’s anointed and immorality) if I speak against the church to anyone else, and so I won’t. I have no intention of being excommunicated, but intend to leave on my own. No problem with being accused of the first charge, but I won’t allow them to slander my name by accusing me of immorality. Besides, if I leave voluntarily, my Mormon friends will be curious as to how I could possibly leave the church and may be open to hearing my reasons.
One person that I think should read The Mormon Conspiracy is one of the students in my class, America Before Columbus. I feel so sorry for her because when the instructor was discussing the origin of the native people in this hemisphere and the hypotheses regarding how they got here (by way of the Bering land bridge and the ice- free corridor, and other possibilities) she suggested that they came over from the middle east on a boat. She stated that the Book of Mormon tells exactly where the first people came from and how they lived. He told her (politely of course) that the Book of Mormon was very wrong and as we go through the semester, she will learn of all the verifiable archaeological evidence that proves that it is wrong. She tried to argue with him and she seemed upset. She hasn't dropped the class, and I intend to befriend her and share what I've learned with her.
When I was preparing to leave to start the Fall semester, my home teacher and bishop came by to see me. We chatted amiably and then I was asked what I was majoring in. I told them that my major was Anthropology, specifically Physical or Biological Anthropology. I was asked what that entailed and I said that I would be studying Forensics, Human Races, Human Osteology, America before Columbus, Primatology, and Human Evolution, in addition to Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Linguistics, and Spanish. I was "counseled" by the bishop to change my major to something more appropriate for a good latter-day saint woman. He didn't order me or anything like that, only suggested that it would not build my testimony to study subjects that contradict what God has revealed to us pertaining to who we are and where we came from. I said that I have waited many years to go back to school because my husband wanted our children to have a mother waiting for them when they got home from school every day. I told them that I'm going to do more than succeed in my major; I intend to excel and someday be an instructor. The bishop started to try to convince me otherwise, and my husband, bless his heart, stood up for me and said that if that's what I want to do, he is behind me 100%. He's a great guy. Not many husbands would actually encourage their wives to go off to school, knowing that they will have to do without all the things their wives do for them and get along on their own.
Sorry for making this so long, but it felt good to tell someone how I have felt, and that I think the book, The Mormon Conspiracy is awesome. It needs to be read by everyone. I intend to revise my letter of resignation, have a serious talk with my husband, and send the letter in to church headquarters, and then start sharing this book with others. It has inspired me to action.
The Mormon Conspiracy Website
My main purpose in writing this book is because I want to save and promote democracy in America. Since my research into Mormonism has convinced me that this religion is a threat to our democracy, I have put forth a great deal of effort to expose this threat to the American people. If you review church history and the “Joseph Smith Story,” you will discover that the basis for Mormon doctrine, the “Book of Mormon,” is based on false premises. Fawn Brodie’s Book, “No Man Knows My History” will convince anyone of this. This renowned and classic book shows that Joseph Smith, in early life, was a “money and treasure digger” using seer stones. Smith was also a polygamist. Brodie lists twenty-seven women who served as his celestial wives, some that were married to other men in Nauvoo, Illinois. In writing the “Book of Mormon,” Smith copied more than three-thousand phases from the Bible, and claimed that the American Indian ancestors emigrated from Israel when actually they emigrated from China and Mongolia.
Joseph Smith also used the book, “View of the Hebrews” as a guide in writing his book, the “Book of Mormon.” Yet in spite of all this, Mormon Church leaders still claim that Smith’s book is from God. Why when all evidence proves otherwise.
Since Mormonism endangers such freedoms as speech, press, thought and individualism I believe that this also endangers a democracy that promotes such freedoms. For example, it is well known in Mormondom, that one who speaks out against the Brethren (Leaders of the Church) or church doctrine faces serious consequences such as a reprimand from the church, or possible ex-communication unless one repents.
My research of the Mormon religion shows it to be highly authoritarian. For example, the church is administered from the top down with minimal input from church members concerning appointments to such offices as apostles, missionary presidents, stake presidents, the quorum of seventy, etc. All decisions concerning financial affairs are made by the Presidency and the twelve apostles, with little or no input from members concerning such major financial decisions as temple building, establishing missionary centers, purchasing satellite systems, television advertising and publishing books and materials. It is very disturbing that all financial decisions of the church hierarchy are secret and not made available to members or to the public.
I am also very much concerned that the Mormon Church spends billions of dollars every year to promote and glorify the LDS church. Temples are being built at a multimillion dollar cost for each one. And these monies are tax free and extorted from members who must pay 10 percent of their earnings in order to be able to enter the temples. Could not this large amount of money be spent to enhance the lives of church members by providing education and economic assistance to the many Mormon families in trailer communities and elsewhere who need it?
The Mormon Church owns newspapers with large circulations, radio and television stations in densely populated areas of the world. It is acquiring more in order to control as much public media as possible. This is restricting the freedom to receive unbiased information through the media, a dangerous road to the development of a Mormon-controlled society.
The 60,000 plus missionaries sent by the Mormon Church to all corners of the United States and the world is also unnerving, especially since my research shows that the message these missionaries are distributing around the world is false and deceiving. It is the goal of the Mormon Church to establish the Mormon Kingdom of God on earth supposedly to set it up for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Could it be that this is not the real goal of the Presidency and the Twelve Apostles, but it is to establish a kingdom of the Mormon Church, making the president (prophet) king and abolishing all democratic institutions in the United States and world? This is how the Mormon Church is administered today!
Is it possible that the Higher Authorities of the Church are falsely claiming that they are representatives of God and using this as a ruse to control members and to gain as many converts as possible to realize their goal to control the United States and the World? If not why do they send over 60,000 missionaries to centers throughout the world and spend billions of dollars in members’ hard-earned tithing dollars every year to propagandize Mormonism? Why are their financial affairs kept secret?
Following is a suggested list of credible and respected sources that refutes the Mormon Church Hierarchy’s version of the Joseph Smith story. These books will convince one not to join or continue to be a member of the Mormon Church.
Fawn Brodie’s No Man Knows My History
B. H. Robert’s Studies of the Book of Mormon
Brian M. Fagan’s The Archaeology of a Continent
Harry M. Beardsley’s Joseph Smith and his Mormon Empire
Janice Hutchinson’s The Mormon Missionaries
Sonia Johnson’s From Housewife to Heretic
Michael D. Quinn’s The Mormon Hierarchy, Extensions of Power
Charles L. Wood’s The Mormon Conspiracy (http://www.mormonconspiracy.com)
Tammy F. Braithwaite’s Journey to the Center of my Soul, A Mormon Odyssey
Larry and Tammy Braithwaite write:
Although the journey of leaving the Mormon Church was difficult, it was well worth every tear shed. Leaving the Church taught us lessons that are priceless. We're so grateful we have connected with our authentic self and are in control of our own thoughts and feelings. We wish you all good things as you experience your own journey through life.
Internet: Recovery From Mormonism (http://www.exmormon.org)
Following are comments from readers of “The Mormon Conspiracy.”
"Thank you for this wonderful book, some of my family is finally starting to see the light."
"I would like to thank you for writing a book revealing the truth to the untrue church (religion)."
“I do feel that the Mormon Church uses mind control to obtain and keep members. How sad it is for the church to send out young people as missionaries who are like robots repeating the same phrases over and over.
Thank you for exposing the truth about the Mormon Church.”
“I always found the story of Joseph Smith hard to swallow.”
“Maybe the best form of terrorism/global domination is guised in the form of kindness.” “These nice people [Mormons] have know [no] idea that they themselves have been used in this process. [Bringing in new converts]”
“I got sick and couldn’t work for a year. When we couldn’t pay offerings anymore, we stopped, and they questioned us, and when we couldn’t pay tithe anymore, we were condemned; …we asked for help from the Bishop’s Storehouse thinking surely our years of full tithe paying must count, but we were told that because we hadn’t paid the last 3 months, we were not eligible for any assistance.”
A READER FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM (ENGLAND) WRITES:
“THE MORMON CONSPIRACY” IS AN AMAZING AND FRIGHTENING BOOK ABOUT MORMONISM, THAT ANSWERS MANY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT MY MORMON TEACHERS COULD NOT, OR WOULD NOT ANSWER. A CHURCH THAT HIDES OR DISGUISES THE TRUTH OF IT'S PAST AS WELL AS DEALINGS IN THE PRESENT, CANNOT BE THE TRUE CHURCH THAT THE MORMONS CLAIM IT IS. I URGE ANYONE TO READ “THE MORMON CONSPIRACY,” WHO HAS EVER BEEN APPROACHED BY MORMON MISSIONARIES FROM THE "CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF THE LATTER DAY SAINTS." THEY WILL THEN BE ARMED WITH QUESTIONS, WHICH I AM SURE, WILL NOT GET ANSWERED BY THE TEACHERS FROM THIS CHURCH.
WE HAVE LOADS OF MORMON CHURCHES AND A COUPLE OF TEMPLES!! WE ARE A VERY ACCOMMODATING NATION, THIS IS WHY I THINK THAT “THE MORMON CONSPIRACY” IS SO IMPORTANT. THE MORMON CHURCH SEEMS TO BE RATHER SINISTER IN ITS DEALINGS. I WAS SPEAKING TO A FARMER YESTERDAY IN MY SHOP. HE HAD SEEN THIS BOOK IN MY WINDOW AND HE TOLD ME STRAIGHT OUT THAT THE MORMONS OWN A THIRD OF THE LAND AND FARMS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. THIS IS THE COUNTY NEXT TO MINE AND IT IS A VERY BIG ONE! WELL, BIG FOR ENGLAND, THAT IS! I FIND IT QUITE WORRYING. THEY SEEM TO BE TAKING OVER THE COUNTRY BIT BY BIT AND VERY VERY QUIETLY.
Others write:
************
I have been trying to leave the Mormon church for about 12 years, but every time I get so far, I go back because I don't want to cause pain to my family. What you say is very true. It is almost scary the control and pressure put on you by Bishops and other church leaders. The fact that you are not allowed to question anything or you are wicked. It's frightening. I look around me at others who have been spared this upbringing and am envious that they can go to the church of their choice or not and not be stigmatized by the people they love the most. That they don't have someone hounding them or keeping track of every move they make or every rebellious thought or action they have.
******
“The Mormon Conspiracy” provides the reader with many cogent facts about the organization and history of the Mormon Church. I was born into a Salt Lake Mormon family in 1924. Prior to volunteering for the Army in 1943, our family lived for the Church and spent many hours listening to speakers' versions of salvation. The Army assigned me to a combat tank battalion, which gave support to an infantry division. This infantry division spearheaded many of the battles in the European Theatre of War. Spiritually. I believed there was a God over us. This gave me comfort even though there were no church meetings, no singing, no praying, no voices of eternal damnation if you did not worship the LDS way, no studying of the hard-to-understand book of Mormon and no testimony recitations about the Joseph Smith story. In France and on into Germany with combat forces, I experienced a spirituality that trusted in Christ and his teachings. That spirituality is what I cherish today.
When I got back to Salt Lake, I found returning to the insipid routine of Mormonism frustrating and confusing. Whatever moral guilt or sorrow I felt for having served in WWII was never addressed in the LDS Church. When my wife died in 1969, I got a temple recommend to have her posthumously married to me and my three minor children sealed to us for eternity, as prescribed by Mormonism. The temple ceremony was one of my life's greatest shocks. Not only was it an obvious cult ritual but also was personally abhorrent. Since this ritual, I have not been active in the Church. However, I have struggled emotionally with vague feelings and thoughts and troubled by the incongruities I have experienced in mentally questioning the Church's claim of legitimacy.
In my view, “The Mormon Conspiracy” has pulled together historical and other data that reveals the true Mormon Church. Prior to reading this book, I read a few of the books and articles quoted in the endnotes. These did not give me all the information I sought. This book has helped me answer questions "Why is the official Church history told to members different from its historical truth? Why is the Church so overzealous in excommunicating members who research and publish their research about the Church's true history? Why does the hierarchy, "the brethren" continue to hide the true facts from its congregation? I believe the answers to my questions are found in the control of money and the power "the brethren" have in their appointed positions. I believe if the brethren communicated and educated "True Believing Mormons" about its true history, its organization and wealth, there would be a vast defection and flight from Mormonism. The evidence is overwhelming that the Book of Mormon and gospel is a fraud promulgated by Joseph Smith and the hierarchy who followed him. By giving a true history, the brethren, the power seekers, would lose the power and political pursuits for which they lust. They would lose control of people and money. They would fail to gain the imagined afterlife they seek in the "celestial kingdom" as taught by the Church. The control of money, the control of people and the imagined power in the afterlife are impregnable motives to hide the true history, wealth and worldwide aims of the Mormon Church.
I recommend this book "The Mormon Conspiracy" to everyone. It is a must reading for all Americans and an exposé for anyone lost in Mormonism. Hopefully, this book, as it becomes well known, will help stop the Mormon Church's insidious growth. I am thankful that this book has been written since it has given me the perspective I have sought for years.
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A MORMON READER TELLS WHY YOU SHOULD READ THE MORMON CONSPIRACY.
I am a Mormon, and have been since 1988. I have spent the
last 6 years trying to leave. For those not acquainted with Mormonism,
that seems like a foolish thing to say, I know, but anyone in an abusive
relationship knows just exactly how hard it is to get out, and most
particularly hard when you are alone.
That is why I recommend this book so strongly. I have read
other books on Mormons, by ex-Mormons and non-Mormons, and even a couple
who are yet Mormons. They either apologize for Mormonism, or appear to
attack me personally, by telling me how stupid I am for being Mormon
or by attacking the people of the church rather than the church. Now, I
will absolutely agree that it IS the people of the church who have set the church up to be what it is, but that is or appears to be a fundamental attack on me. That is no help.
Dr. Wood, on the other hand, started his research to answer
questions he had after being approached by the Mormon missionaries, and in finding what he found, realized he had an obligation to both warn the world and present the truth as he found it, within the Mormon church history I might add, to assist those of us who are stuck and have no way out. And there are many of us, we just don’t talk about it because it isn’t safe. This book not only presents the unadulterated truth of Mormon history, but also lets ex-Mormons tell their story in their words so that we who are struggling are given reason to hope AND to give us strength and means to escape.
And that makes this book a necessity for the world, for the
implications of the Mormon doctrine are so against what we as Americans
believe in, it is hard to believe this is a church based in America, and that makes it easy to overlook and disbelieve what is under our noses, because it is SO foreign to America. And Dr. Wood presents it in an easy to read fashion AND backs it up by his research, which can be verified.
For us Mormons who are desperately trying to leave, this
book gives us the impetus to do so. The world can’t help a lot because the world doesn’t know what we are trapped in. We can’t really help each other until we get out because we can’t see the end of the tunnel from where we are. And we aren’t allowed to know that there IS an end of the tunnel, when stuck in Mormonism, and it isn’t safe to try to find out. And again, for anyone not trapped, this sounds like a foolish thing, not to be able to think for yourself. But those who are in other abusive relationships understand, and know the trapped helplessness.
I would ask you to read this book for both Mormons and non-
Mormons. Dr. Wood understands the horror of both being
trapped and of what the “goals” of the Mormon church are, and understands the need to let the world know. Dr. Wood has given me the means to escape finally, and I must do what I can to help others escape. I am forever grateful to Dr. Wood, because he gave me the means to live again, after 13 years of living in hell.
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From a California Reader
I just finished reading the book, The Mormon Conspiracy, and I felt compelled to write a review. My husband and I have been members of the church for a quarter of a century, and we raised four children in the church. We even went to the temple. None of our children are active today, and I would like to think it is because I taught them to think for themselves instead of being led along by orthodoxy. I was skeptical of the testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon from day one, but was assured that it was only because I didn’t know enough yet to understand it. I had always been interested in archaeology and I knew a lot about what Mesoamerica was like because of the archaeological data. So I knew that much of what was in the Book of Mormon was simply false. But I continued to pretend that I had a strong testimony of the truthfulness of everything the church leaders taught because I wanted so badly to believe and to be one of them. When I questioned why, in spite of paying tithing we weren’t receiving all the financial blessings we were promised, but instead, were living on unemployment and in danger of losing our home, I was told that I needed to examine my life and see why I wasn’t righteous enough to deserve the blessings. I finally realized that the church failed me by not being true and put the blame for that on me. Why didn’t I leave? I don’t know. Maybe because my husband, whom I love so very much, is still active and implicitly believes in the church. I also have a lot of friends in the church and don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. You have probably heard a lot of reasons why people find it so hard to leave. I suffered from chronic depression for many years and am probably not alone.
I became inactive 15 years ago, and in spring of 2000, I went back to school to get an Associate’s degree. Then in fall of 2001, I was working on homework in Critical Reasoning, one of my classes, when the missionaries stopped by one night and visited us. One of them asked me why I never attended church with my husband as I should. I told them that I had some problems to work out (my usual answer because it was easy to accept since I’m putting the blame for my lack of faith on myself and not the church). He then asked me if I believed that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and I almost said automatically, yes (it’s so ingrained in us to answer that way). But by this time my critical reasoning skills (which Carl Sagan had termed a “bologna detection kit”) had been sharpened in my class, and I was beginning to have the courage to challenge illogical claims. I thought for a moment and said that I never knew the man and could not say whether he was a prophet or a fraud. He asked me to kneel down right there and pray about it. I said no, I had a better idea. Since everything I knew about Joseph Smith had come to me from the people who wanted me to believe that Smith was a prophet, I would research the man and find objective documented information on him and share what I found with them. They weren’t keen on the idea, and said something in regards to the danger of relying on our own reasoning, which is unreliable, instead of the power of prayer.
But I did my research anyway and it was incredibly upsetting. At times I felt physically sick. I can’t explain the turmoil going on inside me. Before long, I had read all about not only Joseph Smith, but everything else connected with him. I discovered the Tanners and ordered their encyclopedic volume, Mormonism, Shadow or Reality ? I bought The Quest for the Gold Plates, By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus, and No Man Knows My History. I read them all and I finally began to feel terrific. The Mormon church is fond of saying, “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. That’s probably the truest thing the church has ever said. My problems with depression disappeared. I felt both elated that it wasn’t me that was wrong, and angry that I had been lied to all these years—I suffered spiritual abuse at the hands of people I had put my trust in! I was free—to a point. I composed a letter of resignation and gave it to the bishop and he tore it up saying, “I can’t let you make such a serious mistake”. I haven’t tried to get out since then, but my husband knows that I want out and why. I have tried to share much of what I have learned with him, but he can’t afford to look fearlessly at the truth and has asked me not to talk about it. He is such a paradox; he is the most honest man I have ever known, yet he carefully avoids the truth because to look at it, he would have to see that he has had a part in perpetuating a lie, and his emotional and financial investment is substantial. He has said that he will always love me even if I leave the church, but I’m not sure what he would do if he was ever counseled to divorce me; he never disputes the authority of the bishop or anyone higher up. So that’s my quandary—do I leave and take the chance of losing the only man I have ever loved, or do I continue as I am and live a lie.
I am currently a student, living on campus and majoring in Anthropology. He continues in the church and is happy without my trying to open his eyes, but I am learning things that only strengthen my resolve to get out of the church and hopefully take him with me. My classes this semester include not only Human Evolution (which the church adamantly opposes) but also America Before Columbus. I am learning in depth all about the ancient people of this hemisphere from Northern Canada to South America. More importantly, I am learning to be a scholar with a scrupulous intellectual honesty. A few weeks ago, I saw a review of The Mormon Conspiracy and decided that I would like to read it, and finally bought it and found the time to read it (in a day and a half). It scared the hell out me, to be blunt. What can be done except to educate people? But how can that be accomplished on a scale large enough to make a difference? The people who need most to read it, won’t. I wouldn’t have read it if I was a good Mormon, you know that. I have been threatened with excommunication (on charges of speaking against the Lord’s anointed and immorality) if I speak against the church to anyone else, and so I won’t. I have no intention of being excommunicated, but intend to leave on my own. No problem with being accused of the first charge, but I won’t allow them to slander my name by accusing me of immorality. Besides, if I leave voluntarily, my Mormon friends will be curious as to how I could possibly leave the church and may be open to hearing my reasons.
One person that I think should read The Mormon Conspiracy is one of the students in my class, America Before Columbus. I feel so sorry for her because when the instructor was discussing the origin of the native people in this hemisphere and the hypotheses regarding how they got here (by way of the Bering land bridge and the ice- free corridor, and other possibilities) she suggested that they came over from the middle east on a boat. She stated that the Book of Mormon tells exactly where the first people came from and how they lived. He told her (politely of course) that the Book of Mormon was very wrong and as we go through the semester, she will learn of all the verifiable archaeological evidence that proves that it is wrong. She tried to argue with him and she seemed upset. She hasn't dropped the class, and I intend to befriend her and share what I've learned with her.
When I was preparing to leave to start the Fall semester, my home teacher and bishop came by to see me. We chatted amiably and then I was asked what I was majoring in. I told them that my major was Anthropology, specifically Physical or Biological Anthropology. I was asked what that entailed and I said that I would be studying Forensics, Human Races, Human Osteology, America before Columbus, Primatology, and Human Evolution, in addition to Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Linguistics, and Spanish. I was "counseled" by the bishop to change my major to something more appropriate for a good latter-day saint woman. He didn't order me or anything like that, only suggested that it would not build my testimony to study subjects that contradict what God has revealed to us pertaining to who we are and where we came from. I said that I have waited many years to go back to school because my husband wanted our children to have a mother waiting for them when they got home from school every day. I told them that I'm going to do more than succeed in my major; I intend to excel and someday be an instructor. The bishop started to try to convince me otherwise, and my husband, bless his heart, stood up for me and said that if that's what I want to do, he is behind me 100%. He's a great guy. Not many husbands would actually encourage their wives to go off to school, knowing that they will have to do without all the things their wives do for them and get along on their own.
Sorry for making this so long, but it felt good to tell someone how I have felt, and that I think the book, The Mormon Conspiracy is awesome. It needs to be read by everyone. I intend to revise my letter of resignation, have a serious talk with my husband, and send the letter in to church headquarters, and then start sharing this book with others. It has inspired me to action.
posted by freedomman | 3:47 PM
