BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY CONSPIRACY

Brigham Young University

By Charles L. Wood, Author of “The Mormon Conspiracy"

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BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

This newsletter will discuss Brigham Young University, the largest church sponsored university in the United States, with thirty thousand students. Of these thirty thousand students, 98.6 percent are Mormon who arrive on campus with an average high school grade point average of 3.74. More than 73 percent of the male students and 26.6 percent of the women students have served their full time missions either before they arrived on campus, or will do so at some time before graduation. Only .4 percent of the enrollment at BYU is black.1

Students who attend BYU must follow a strict honor code that includes a dress code, forbidding sex outside of marriage, clean shaven for men, multiple earrings not allowed, maintaining a clean and neat appearance, prohibiting use of alcoholic beverages and no visiting of dorm rooms of the opposite sex. Occasionally the media reports of prominent athletes at BYU who have been dismissed from the university for violating the honor code. Marriage is encouraged for students who have completed their missions and as a result many students live in impoverished conditions. Laake (author of Secret Ceremonies) was very upset when she became aware of the neglected living conditions that the BYU community had for the married students.2

One also finds the same improvised conditions in Utah’s predominately Mormon cities in low income housing areas. I recall one evening, visiting with a young family in a mobile home section of the city. The mother was trying to handle a baby and her other two young children while at the same time trying to carry on a conversation. The mobile home itself was in a bad state of repair, with doors hanging open and parts of the inside coverings torn away from the walls. (The father was out doing home teaching for the church but should have been home repairing his home.) This is but one example of the church spending millions of dollars of their members hard earned money to build temples, and to pay for radio and television commercials for promoting Mormonism, but is not helping to improve the lot of these needy families. Laake must have been thinking the same as she drove through these areas of the BYU community for young married students who are encouraged by church leadership to raise large families.

First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles Control Brigham Young University

The General Authorities are in complete control of BYU of which nine of the thirteen member controlling board are members of the First Presidency, his two counselors or the Quorum of Twelve. In addition, the head of the church’s parochial education system, a member of Presidency of the Seventy, is also a member of the BYU board. The remaining three seats are filled by women presidents of the women’s and young women’s auxiliaries “both appointed by the top General Authorities.” The thirteenth seat is filled by a secretary. The current president of BYU is member of the First quorum of Seventy.3

While the undergraduate student tuition of $1,470 and the graduate fee of $ 1,730 per semester is extremely low, even when compared with a public state university, the student pays a high price in loss of individual freedom in such

areas as religion, life style and academic freedom. If a student becomes indoctrinated into the Mormon faith (as most are), the lifetime cost of spending nearly twenty hours a week in activities and service to the church in addition to paying the ten percent annual tithing is tremendous payment for receiving (for many students) a lifetime career. An LDS BYU student must attend religious classes and conform to the regulations drawn up by the university administration and approved by the controlling board. In addition, to remain in the university, Mormon students (98.6 percent of the enrollment) must receive an annual recommendation from their bishops. Non-Mormon students must either receive a letter of recommendation from their own church minister or one from a local Mormon Church bishop. No other university in the United States assumes such control over its students.

Academic Freedom at BYU?

Assuring that BYU students will receive a religious (LDS) education, are 98 percent of the faculty who are Mormon. Some faculty members have attempted to obtain a measure of academic freedom, but have not been successful. D. Michael Quinn who attempted to attain academic freedom in his historical writings and research as a BYU professor, finally gave up his tenured position as a full professor of history and in his resignation letter, wrote: “...academic freedom merely survives at BYU without fundamental support by the institution, exists against tremendous pressure, and is nurtured only through the dedication of individual administrators and faculty members.”4

Academic freedom is a cherished right of university professors, since it permits them to accomplish honest and objective research and to teach without interference and censorship from university administrators or others. Academic freedom also allows a professor or a student to express his/her beliefs (political, economic, religious, etc.) without arbitrary interference. Without academic freedom, points of view on issues within the university could be forced upon them by administrators and other controlling authorities. Academic freedom is especially important in the social science fields such as sociology, history, political science and geography which often deal with controversial areas. This is not to say that academic freedom is not important in other areas such as medicine, business administration, physics, English, foreign languages and the Arts. A one-political party control of a university, for example, that would prevent professors from being members of opposing parties or cause to be prevented certain research that might be harmful to the political party in control would be intolerable in a university within a free and open society.

BYU does not have academic freedom as is generally proclaimed by the National Organizations of Professors (such as the American Association of University Professors) and restricts its students and professors from expressing or practicing anything that does not square with the teachings and doctrine of the church. To prevent professors or students on campus from being “contaminated,” non church approved films such as the Godfather have been banned from the campus as have such speakers as Senator Edward Kennedy, Betty Ford, Senator George McGovern, Ralph Nader and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.5

A student newspaper Seventh East Press was banned by the university when it published an interview by Dr. Sterling McMurrin, former U. S. Commissioner of Education in which he stated:

“I came to the conclusion at a very early age, earlier than I can remember, that you don’t get books from angels and translate them by miracles; it is just that simple. So I simply don’t believe the Book of Mormon to be authentic. I think that all of the hassling over the authenticity of the Book of Mormon is just a waste of time. Many things have been intentionally ignored and sometimes concealed or have been taken to have religious meanings or implications which, in my opinion, have no religious connections whatsoever. I believe that the Church has intentionally distorted its own history by dealing fast and loose with historical data and imposing theological and religious interpretations on the data that are entirely unwarranted.”6

Since the General Authorities still hold that the Book of Mormon is an authentic history, any attack on the book as being false is considered to be unfaithful. And there is irony in that BYU claims to be a university that teaches honesty and truth, while at the same time attempts to cover up all of the evidence that shows many of the Church’s doctrines and teachings to be false. As a result, conflicts between honesty and cover-up are constants in the church’s administration and leadership at the university not only among students and faculty but among relationships with outsiders.

While BYU has managed to keep its accreditation by an outside agency in spite of its lack of academic freedom, it failed in 1992 to be approved for a local chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa “the nation’s most prestigious academic honors society... on the grounds that its mission as defined was incompatible with academic freedom.”7

Several BYU faculty members have run into trouble with the General Authorities and the BYU administration. There was a great deal of opposition to the university rule that faculty members must have an annual “checking-up” letter on file from their bishop saying that they were temple worthy which made all scholarly careers subject to the endorsement of non-academic, off-campus church officials.

David Knowlton and Cecilia Konchar Farr appealed the negative results of their tenure reviews, Knowlton among other things for publishing in Dialogue and Sunstone and Farr “for her feminism and support of abortion rights.” Another BYU Professor was fired in 1995 “over criticism of the violence in his award winning book of short stories, Altmanns’ Tongue. Still another faculty member’s tenure was saved (he had completed research that “suggested the church’s international activity level is considerably lower than convert baptisms suggest)” when he convinced one of the apostles of his sincere testimony.8 Another BYU professor was fired in 1996, “contrary to her department and college recommendation. The reason for terminating the English teacher was for expressing feminist views off campus. ... In support of this decision, a university spokesman notes that five percent of her student-evaluations complain that [her] courses in English literature do not offer ‘gospel insights’ and are not ‘spiritually uplifting,’ even though 95 percent of student evaluations rank her highly.”9

One official connected with the university was so upset with “what the brethren want and what we know is right” that he said: “It still bothers those of us who work here and must constantly juggle what the brethren want and what we ourselves know is right. You really have to wrestle with your conscience sometimes in cases like this, because if you don’t you’re going to be in deep trouble. There are no accolades for heroes here. You either keep you mouth shut and do what you’re told, or take a stand for honesty and find yourself immediately unemployed. Those, I’m afraid are the hard, cold facts of life when you decide to work up here.”10

“Academic Freedom” controlled by General Authorities

Academic freedom and freedom of speech are clearly not included in the goals of the General Authorities. The mission of the General Authorities is to perpetuate and enhance the Mormon Church and they have the financial resources to do this by having control of all income generated by the church. By offering several attractive career-building programs such as pre-medicine, law, education, pre-dentistry and pre-optometry, along with low tuition costs, they can attract promising students to their university. The students and faculty have the responsibility to support church leaders and to be faithful to church doctrine and teachings. For most Mormons, these are not difficult responsibilities, since they have been so immersed in church teachings all of their lives to be faithful to their church and to believe that the General Authorities are infallible. For others, who feel that freedom of individual thought, honesty and truthfulness, along with the basic American freedoms of speech and press are more important, they remain silent. The attitude often is: “I get a low cost education with a good paying career, and for this I can pretend that I believe in church doctrine even though I know it is false.” In other words, it is much easier to accept things as they are than it is to fight for freedom, truth and honesty.

Just as the United States Army has its military academy and the United States Air force has the Air force academy, the Mormon Church has BYU for training its future leaders. There are at least 100,000 leadership positions for Mormon priesthood holders to assume including bishops, stake presidents, mission, district and branch presidents, and the General Authorities. What better way could be found to provide for the thousands of leaders for the Mormon Church than to give them a low cost education which not only ensures further indoctrination into church teachings and beliefs, but also provides students with a lifetime comfortable income. And ten percent of this income will be funneled back into the church to pay for continued proselytizing and expansion of the church all controlled by a handful of men, the General Authorities. To these Church Authorities, it is a marvelous plan, but to the average American, who values basic freedoms and individual rights it can be disastrous. In reviewing literature on the Mormon Church, I have concluded that the General Authorities are bent on replacing the American free and pluralistic democratic society with a society controlled and governed not by freely elected officials, but by the male hierarchy of the Mormon Church who would control the appointment of all government officials, including the congressional members, governors, state legislators, local officials and even the President of the United States. It is believed that the ultimate plan of the Mormon Church and its authorities is to take all power to themselves, their president/prophet becoming the King of the world!

And the Mormon Church hierarchy’s indoctrination program which also prepares leaders for the American government is having outstanding success, for according to a BYU survey of its students, 98 percent believe in Joseph Smith as a prophet and 98 percent believe that the Mormon Church is divine, the [“Only True Church on the face of the whole earth.”] In addition, 88 percent would “place obedience to authority above your own personal preferences.” (These statistics have been furnished by Brigham Young University, and their authenticity has not been verified.)11 This BYU survey is troubling for non-Mormons who have read extensively concerning the doctrines and beliefs and the history of the LDS Church and are convinced that Joseph Smith was a false prophet, that the doctrines of the church are not of a divine nature, and who believe that “obedience to authority above your own personal preferences” is a most undesirable attribute for students in an American society.


1 Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, The Power and The Promise, Mormon America, 221


2 Deborah Laake, Secret Ceremonies, New York: William Morrow and Company, 1993, 43-44 (Excerpts Totaling 3-4 pages Copyright © 1993 by Deborah Laake., Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.)


3 Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, The Power and The Promise of Mormon America, 224


4 D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy, Extensions of Power, 882


5 Anson Shupe, Wealth and Power in American Zion, Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1992, 205 (With permission of the Author)


6 Ibid., 206 (Blake Ostler, “7EP interview: Sterling McMurrin,” Seventh East Press, 11 January 1983, p. 1)


7 Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, The Power and the Promise of Mormon America, 234


8 Ibid., 234-235


9 D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy, Extensions of Power, 897


10 Anson Shupe, Wealth And Power In American Zion, 208


11 Richard N.Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, The Power and the Promise of Mormon America, 224-225

E-mail = wood1@mormonconspiracy.com



The Mormon Conspiracy Homepage: HOME PAGE

The Mormon Conspiracy

The Mormon Conspiracy Homepage: HOME PAGE



Greetings!

From the author of The Mormon Conspiracy.

Mormons are very skillful in their discussions. The average person without knowledge of the truth will be sucked in like a Hoover vacuum.

If the Mormons don’t want to be known as a cult, they should stop acting like a cult.

PROLOGUE

In the short two years since the completing the first printing of “The Mormon Conspiracy,” I have corresponded by e-mail discussed my book with hundreds of Mormons and non-Mormons. From this correspondence, and discussions from both critics as well supporters it was evident that some aspects of Mormonism needed further elaboration. The internet, with its e-mail and website component, provides ordinary citizens opportunity to investigate the truth and share their opinions about a wide array of topics and events. While powerful organizations, such as the Mormon Church, may gain control of a large share of the public media, the internet is also a powerful organization in itself, since it is easily available and affordable and can counteract self-serving and untruthful public media. It is a tool that is available world-wide that has the potential to give a greater voice to individuals in controlling and promoting their own interests and welfare and limiting the power of those who attempt to control people either by religious or other means. The internet is a free thinker’s medium to explore and to discover the truth. Public media, on the other hand, may become the mind-controller’s medium, unless safeguards are made to insure that minority as well as majority viewpoints are presented.

Since the first printing of my book, I have read several investigations and reports on Mormonism. With this information, and the e-mails that I have received from almost every state in the United States and many foreign countries, I have compiled the following information to supplement the conclusions that I have discussed in the first printing.

Lack of Scientific and Logical For Mormon Beliefs and Doctrine

Many Mormons accept that there is no scientific or logical proof of the truthfulness of the teaching by church leaders concerning Mormonism. However many still cling to an emotional experience. “God tells me it is true.” Countless Mormon believers have told me to read the “Book of Mormon,” pray about it, and God will tell you it is true. The good feeling that they receive from praying and reading Smith’s Book of Mormon provides them with their testimony “I know that the book of Mormon is true.” However one of their own, Grant M. Palmer, (An Insiders View of Mormon Origins) questions this emotional response as verification that it is the truth. In his book "An Insiders View of Mormon Origins. Palmer, who has spent his lifetime working within the Mormon Church Educational System as a teacher and supervisor of teachers in CES, questions the value of the emotional experience of feeling good about the Book of Mormon, for example as determining the truth of this book.

A handful of those who are believing Mormon members, have tried to show the authenticity of Mormonism by providing “scientific and logical” proof that Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon is true by attempting to show that it is a factual history of the ancient Indians of Central and South America. They have attempted to show that Smith’s book is authentic since studies comparing the “Book of Mormon” with other ancient books show that Smith’s word usage and writings correlate favorably with these ancient books.

A few devout Mormons have disputed DNA and archaeological studies that clearly show that Smith’s Laminate (Indians) ancestors emigrated from Eastern Asia. They argue that the DNA of Joseph Smith’s Laminates has disappeared in the centuries since the time period of Smith’s book. These arguments are prominently placed in official Mormon Church internet websites. The official Mormon Church website focuses primarily on providing church sponsored “research” that contradicts research that disproves Mormon beliefs and teaching.

Concerning Mormon Church-sponsored “research,” Raymond Richards writes: “Each field of scholarship has its own pseudo-scholars. Geography has its flat earthers. Biology has its creation scientists. Archeology has it believers in ancient astronauts. Medicine has homepaths. Physics has inventors of perpetual motion machines. Astronomy has astrologers. Historians have holocaust deniers - and the Mormon church. There are other religious groups from the United States with false and dangerous ideas - 7th-day Adventists, Christian Science, and the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses - but none of them has the millions of members or billions of dollars of the Mormon church. We must take the Mormons seriously. ….When a religion claims to be the supreme fount of fact, when it contradicts research and opposes freedom of inquiry, then it should be challenged by academics. Although students are often victims of this church, we should fail students who use unsound methodology to believe in pseudo-scholarship, such as Creationism or the Book of Mormon as history. If we grant degrees to incompetent students, then universities are a joke.” (Raymond Richards, paper presented at University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand)

Control of the Public Media

In my book, I reached several conclusions that I made based upon my research into Mormonism, one being that Mormon Church authorities are buying up radio and television stations, newspapers and other media in order to gain control of public media outlets. If total control of such media could be achieved, this would be very dangerous to our American democracy as it would hinder the free flow of diversified information. . I had thought that all people, including Mormons, would be opposed to allowing one group, or one organization in control of the public media. But much to my surprise, Mormons enthusiastically and almost gleefully supported their church leaders gaining control. “We trust our church leaders to promote high morals and wouldn’t it be nice to remove the immoral literature that we are now receiving through the media.”


Mind Control

What is it that causes people to believe in magical and mystical organizations such as the Mormon Church, an organization basing its beliefs on a fairy-like story of Joseph Smith’s golden plates and his translation of these plates (with God‘s help) in writing the Book of Mormon? How is it that an organization is able to attract and keep members whose donations allow it to build a 50 billion dollar empire? I believe that Larry and Tammy Braithwaite in their book, Journey to the Center of My Soul, have put forth a credible answer to this question. This is the concept of The Pattern (a method of fear and control that the Mormon Church uses to keep members) The Binder (Church leadership binds “us heart and soul to the perpetual requirements of being a good Mormon”) and The Bound (“We gradually give up questioning the doctrine and history of the Church that seemed vague and troublesome and try to concentrate on doing all we could to be worthy of the larger, eternal blessings.”)

The Double-Bind is then employed that confuse and deny the Bound the ability to “think or feel rationally.” For example, whereas Church doctrine (D&C 93:36) teaches The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth, church leaders tell You will remain silent on those [doctrines] where differences exist between you and the Brethren. (Bruce McConkie’s Letter, Feb. 19, 1981)

“What The Pattern does, in effect, is turn the independent rational mind around so that the Bound reflects only the mind of the Binder, as a mirror. It creates a whole new orientation of the world, a conversion from the logical to the illogical-- the real to the unreal -- the truth to lies.”

This concept is explained further: “In the real world, nature provides us with an open system of trial and error, awareness and learning. Exercising our own bodies, senses, minds and self-direction allows us to reach for the stars, to see a greater range of possibilities and fulfill ourselves by being true to ourselves. In contrast, The Pattern, or upside-down world of Mormonism, took away our individuality. We became part of the mass known as the Latter-day Saints. We were instructed several times a week about what to think, what to believe, how to behave, what to read, how to dress and how to spend our money.”

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church was a master at using The Pattern in sidestepping any questions or problems that he faced in his leadership of the Church.

One example of Smith’s use of The Pattern is when he told Oliver Cowdery and Hiram Page that he had a revelation from God that they should go to Toronto, Canada to sell the copyright of his “Book of Mormon.” After returning in failure, these men asked Smith why this mission had failed, since it was a revelation from God. Smith went into another room for a few minutes and returned saying that the whole thing had merely been a test to see if they would do all things whatsoever the Lord commanded them. (It’s not God or Joseph that messed up, it was Hiram and Oliver, who needed to be tested, who failed.

Reinforcing mind control by church leaders

Following are some of the answers to questions given by Church officials in order to reinforce mind control, transferring faults of the church, God, Joseph Smith or church leaders to rank and file members:

1. Some things haven’t been revealed yet and will be revealed to you later or in eternal life.

2. Lucifer wins a great victory when he can get members of the Church to speak against their leaders and do their own thinking.

3. You are not trying hard enough. Try harder and pray about it.

4. Or if a member of the Priesthood’s blessing does not cure a health problem:

It is not the blessing that didn’t help you to overcome your sickness, it was your lack of faith. You need to have faith and pray about it.

5. Or if you don’t believe in the authenticity of the “Book of Mormon,” you don’t know enough about it to understand it. Here again, it’s not church leaders, God’s or Joseph Smith’s fault, it is your fault and you should feel guilty to question the word of God, Joseph Smith or church leaders.

6. If a person questions why they aren’t receiving the church’s promised blessings, You need to examine your life and see why you aren’t righteous enough to deserve these blessings.

7. If a member questions the church’s claim that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, or a fraud, You need to knell down and pray about it and God will tell you that Joseph Smith is a true prophet.

8. Or if you a member questions church doctrine and practices, Pray about it “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

9. If you question the authorities of the church, “You must not speak out against the Lord’s anointed.”

10. Or if a member violates a church rule. “Satan has gotten a hold of you, ask a member of the priesthood to remove Satan from your body.”

11. If you have written something critical of the church. “You are doing Satan’s work in attempting to harm the church.”

The Mormon Church teaches: Nothing is ever God’s, church leaders, or the church’s fault. It is always the fault of the member’s behavior or a misunderstanding of the correct behavior of church doctrine, or that Satan has led you in the wrong direction. This is a carryover from Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, who was very clever in always making the person feel guilty and self responsible when he fails, or questioned church policy. Bishops and other church leaders generally follow the same responses that Smith made to his followers. If you question church doctrine, or the “Book of Mormon,” the Bishop or other church officials will tell you to read it again, be humble, remember you are a child of God, pray about it and he will tell you that it is true. Doubters as to the truth of Mormonism are told they are risking apostasy and separation from their families for eternity. This line is a powerful mind control tactic.

The following from an e-mail writer also describes ways to reinforce mind control:

“I took 4 years of LDS seminary throughout high school just to realize how brainwashed these people really are. They truly believe in a blind faith that will take their 10 percent of their earnings until the time of their death. Kids, who receive the priesthood and then abandon the church are taught that they will spend an eternity in Hell, whereas if you murder millions of people, like Hitler did, the most time you can spend in hell is 1000 years.” These kids are forced to stick with the church on the belief that if they leave they are worse human beings in God’s eye than Hitler was.


Testimonies and Mind Control I know, I know, I know

The testimony is an integral part of mind control that church leaders exercise over Mormon Church members. Tammy Waithwaite, a former long time member of the Church, taught her young children a testimony, as soon as they were able to talk. She remembers her son repeating his testimony: “I know that Joseph Smith was a pwoffut and the Book of Mommun is twoo. She now knows that she was teaching her son to lie and realizes that “This kind of repetition of meaningless mantras is, of course, one the techniques in brainwashing.”

These testimonies are often repeated in church meetings with such testimonies often beginning with I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the face of the earth. I know that Gordon B. Hinckley is a Prophet of God. Include other examples of I know, I know



Temples and Mind Control

Realizing that they have the keys that control entry into temple ceremonies (such as marriage) church leaders have utilized this tool to further the binding of members to church teaching. Some Elements of mind control that are uased in temple ceremonies include members repeating vows of loyalty, submitting their body to washing and anointing in order to remove sins, wearing of special temple garments and experiencing an imaginary heaven by being pulled through the veil.

A temple ceremony is necessary to achieve the church’s promise of eternal family life in heaven, since members must be sealed to their father in a special temple ritual. This results in further mind control, by increasing the binder of the bound members. And since only those members who pay full 10% tithing are allowed in the temple, this also increases the coffers of church donations.

Garments and Mind Control

Officially designed undergarments are required to be worn at all times for those who receive temple ordinances and for women who are married in the temple. This is mind control of the highest order since garments signify a behavioral control over the individual. Garments are also a phobia (tactic used in mind control) since Mormons fear that if they don’t wear them, something awful will happen to them. The garment serves as another binder of the bound Mormon to Mormonism.

Missionaries and Mind Control

If the Church’s quoted figure of 60,000 missionaries serving in missionary centers throughout the United States and the world is correct, this represents only about one-fourth of this age level (19 and 20 year olds) of the approximately twelve million members claimed by Mormon Church officials. While the mind control exercised upon these young people is intense (with the preparation in the Missionary Training Centers of a packaged presentation to insure that the official message of the church is presented) it involves a minor part of the church population.

Following the few weeks’ training session, missionaries are assigned to a missionary center, manned usually by a man and wife supervisor who insure correct behavior and supervise the work of these young missionaries.
However, the greatest element of mind control by the church is that two missionaries are expected to always be together, either in missionary work, recreational activities, or non-work activities. In this respect, they are the watch-dog for each other. This insures that one or the other is unlikely to break any missionary rules such as dating, making unapproved telephone calls, or misrepresenting the approved text of the church. This togetherness is another example of the binder of the church controlling the bound church member.

Infallibility of Church leaders and mind control

Since the fifteen Mormon Apostles (President, his two counselors and the twelve Apostles are considered to be God’s representatives and therefore cannot make a mistake, they are considered infallible by church members. When the Prophet speaks, the thinking has been done. This is a very valuable mind control tactic used by the Mormon Church which reinforces the concept that if these men are God representatives, God will not allow them to make a mistake. Therefore, if the Apostles teach that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, then Joseph Smith was also a representative of God, and therefore, his doctrine, revelations and his book, the Book of Mormon is the truth, the same as spoken by God. Again, the Binder (Church Leaders) is controlling the Bound church member.

Boy Scouts as a recruiting tool

In one of my conclusions, I write that the Boy Scouting program of the Mormon Church is an excellent tool used to bring more converts into the Mormon Church. Many have verified the accuracy of this statement. For example, one writes: “I read a preview of the book [The Mormon Conspiracy] where it says that Boy Scouts are used to get kids to join the church. Where I live that is the complete truth. In fact I went to a friends Eagle Scout ceremony to celebrate with him on his accomplishment. It was at the Mormon church, and everybody who stood up and talked, for some reason it turned in to a religious speech. Every speaker threw in personal experiences and then proclaimed that the church is true.”


Poverty in Mormonism

In one section of my book, I describe the poor living conditions that some students at BYU and other members face in trailer courts. I suggested that instead of the church spending millions of dollars glorifying Mormonism by building temples and “historical” monuments with expensive statues of Joseph Smith and other early church leaders, that this money could be more appropriately spent in assisting those families and students that live in austere circumstances. One e-mail respondent wrote “…wow I have seen with my own eyes how poor and distressed a few of its members are. The friend, who is a member, introduced me to some elders --she pay’s tiths (sic) regularly and she is so bad off that I have even bought groceries for her so she won’t go hungry. ….even the higher up priest or elder whatever he was isn’t employed and living from hand to mouth but he calls it frugal.”


The Mormon Kingdom of God on Earth

A major theme of my book is that Church leaders are carrying forward the plans of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young to establish a theocracy of Mormonism throughout the United States and eventually the world.
This may be happening, not so much in the United States, but in other countries. This is exemplified by the following e-mail received from New Zealand.

The Mormon DO have quite a hold on things in the city of Hamilton. [New Zealand] Ever since that sister’s threat, I’ve had a tough go of it. She and her mum know a lot of high-placed people in the church. It seems that Mormons “force” people into high positions and high paying jobs….. (or else?) I do know the highest status lawyer in the Waikato region is a strong Mormon…. Very active in the Hamilton, NZ church… and he’s the head coroner and has a strong relationship with the police.

I am here in New Zealand and see that the Mormon church has literally corrupted and destroyed many of the local Maori people. The church has convinced them that they are a very whanau, (pronounced “fawnau” meaning ‘family’) friendly church. What the Mormons are doing is, once rooking a Maori father into the church, they promise him that (through God) his family will (magically) be better off. When the “better life” doesn’t materialize the church tells these (unknowing about the Mormons) folks that they need to talk the rest of the Whanau into joining the LDS church or cut themselves off from the non-members, because that (the non-Mormon family members, e. g. cousins, aunties, uncles, etc) is the cause of the failing of the coming of the “promised” good life.

The truth is, the most devastating thing one can do to a Maori family is to tell them to cut themselves off from their family (whanau). Knowing this, the Mormon church exploits this to the max.

The following concerns of an American succinctly illustrates the Mormon Church control of politics in the United States: “Our school district has a very large Mormon base, several of whom are direct descendants of previous church presidents and original apostles. These individuals tend to use their social status to influence politics within the area. I am very concerned about some of the issues that may arise from the growth of the Mormon church, and the political power that seems to be building in the organization. I have done quite a bit of research into the origins of this religion and find it quite baffling that any logical person could believe the authenticity of what Joseph Smith claimed to have happened. The fact that so many people are doing so, seemingly blindly is very unnerving.”

What God is, man may become (complete, with examples from e-mail letters)

The young missionaries came back today. After discussing quite a few other topics, I asked if they believe they can become gods in heaven. First of all he didn't come out and say no. He told me they believe in eternal progression. That didn't really answer my question. Then he mentioned that God came to earth as Jesus, right? I said, yes. And if Jesus is God, God evolved, so basically, so can we. It wasn't really a straight answer, but I think he was basically saying yes, they believe they can become gods. I have a feeling if they come back, they will bring someone more knowledgeable to answer my questions.




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1-28-09
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Mormon Church Conspiracy to Rule The World

From Charles L. Wood: Author of The Mormon Conspiracy


Greetings!

In my research of Mormonism and contacts with authors of Mormonism books, I have become acquainted with many of the deceptions promoted by church leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, or simply, the Mormon Church. First, I would like to highlight two books that I have read that I thought that you might be interested in. Click on the following picture to see "The Mormon Conspiracy" at amazon.com and to search for the two featured books in this newsletter titled "Keystone of Mormonism" and "Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck.

Author Charles L. Wood
The Mormon Conspiracy.

"The Keystone of Mormonism" by Professor Evans



The first book is "The Keystone of Mormonism" by Arza Evans. This book highlights the deceptions of Joseph Smith in his "Book of Mormon." Professor Evans provides a vivid description of the problems that he found with Mormonism and more especially key statements in Smith's book that are fraudulent and proves that the book is nothing more than fiction.



Following is an article written by the author of "The Keystone of Mormonism," Arza Evans:



POST-MORMON FEELINGS


ARZA EVANS



(AUTHOR OF THE KEYSTONE OF MORMONISM)


When I finally became convinced that Joseph Smith was a clever con-man and that his Book of Mormon was not sacred ancient history but part of an ingenious mind game that he was playing with his gullible followers, this created some strong feelings in me. These feelings are probably typical of other Post- Mormon truth seekers.


FEAR


The first of my new feelings was fear. What will become of me? Will I lose my marriage and my family? And even if my wife stays with me, will she be angry and heartbroken? I was quite sure that my parents and my brothers and my sister would be either angry or heartbroken or both. Will I lose my job and have to move my family if I still have a family to move? Will they excommunicate me? (They did.) How many friends will I lose? Can I stand not being able to see my own children get married if they choose to get married in an LDS temple?

And what if I am wrong? Should I trust my own mind or just follow Church leaders? My parents and my brothers and my sister are intelligent people. Why don't they see the same deception that I see? Also, I am a fairly intelligent person. Why did it take me so many years to discover the truth? This is really scary. My eternal salvation may be at stake here! Should I bet everything I have on this or should I fold?

My fears were so strong that for a number of years I kept my true thoughts and feelings to myself. I became a "closet doubter." This was not good for my physical or mental health. But after all, how much should a person be willing to sacrifice on the alter of truth?

Fear is what keeps many people, even Church leaders, active in Mormonism. A woman friend of mine went to her stake president to get her temple recommend signed. He said, "Where is your husband?" She said, "He doesn't believe in the Church anymore." The stake president said, "Why not?" The woman said, "My husband started doing research into Church history and it made him see things in an entirely different way." The stake president said, "I know what you mean. I started to read THE JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES and other Church history books. It nearly destroyed my testimony. I had to quit reading those things."

A good question for every LDS man and for every LDS woman to ask is, "What would I do differently in my life if I were not afraid?"


SADNESS, BEREAVEMENT


Disillusionment with Mormonism has resulted in great sadness for me and for almost all of the other men and women I have talked with who have left the LDS Church. I think this bereavement has been even greater for me than the death of my parents. I don't know of one Post-Mormon person who started out to prove that Mormonism is not true or who has been gleeful with the results of their findings. The truth not only hurts, it is devastating! How can any active Church member really believe that one of their friends or relatives enjoys finding out that some of their most sacred and cherished beliefs are not true! And yet, there is no sympathy or condolence for the person suffering from this bereavement. Instead, Post-Mormons can usually expect anger and ostracism.


CONFUSION, AN UPSIDE DOWN WORLD


Moving away from Mormonism can turn a person's world upside down. At least that is how it has been for me. Things that used to bring me pride, now bring me shame and embarrassment. Instead of being proud that I sold my car and spent entire my life savings going on an LDS mission to the Chicago area (a very dangerous and tough mission), I deeply regret wasting two years of my life andall of my college money bearing my testimony about things that I now know are not true.

Also, I helped to break up a number of families when one person, usually the wife, became converted and then left her unbelieving husband. Naturally she wanted to find an LDS priesthood holder who would take her to a temple for an eternal marriage. I probably should have been horse-whipped by some of those angry husbands. I sincerely wish I could go back and change all of this, but I can't. All I can say is that I am very very sorry.

I am no longer proud of being a faithful tithe payer. Almost all tithing goes for Church indoctrination programs, temple building, and missionary work. I no longer believe in these things. Very little tithing goes to help the poor.

I am not proud of being married in an LDS temple. I regret getting married in a place where Masonic rituals were presented as Christianity. I was told that learning these secret signs and passwords was necessary in order to pass by the angels and enter into God's clubhouse in the next world. Young family members, "unworthy" family members and "unworthy" friends were excluded from my wedding. An LDS temple marriage is not a celebration for the whole family. It is an occasion for ostracism of many family members. The Church is not family oriented but power oriented. It breaks up many families to enhance its power.

I am not proud of gaining my masters degree at Brigham Young University where the academic freedom of professors is very limited. LDS Faculty members need to pay tithing, have temple recommends, and carefully guard their comments in order to stay out of trouble. BYU is not widely respected in the academic world. I noticed a big difference when transferring to the University of Utah for further post-graduate studies.

My attitude toward my parents has also changed. Why were they so willing to indoctrinate me, a trusting little child, with Mormonism. Why didn't they ask a few open-minded questions and do some serious research? And why didn't they seem to have any questions about the temple rituals? In many ways my world has been turned upside down.


ANGER, BETRAYAL, ENTRAPMENT


How is a person supposed to feel when she or he finally comes to believe that they and their entire family for generations have been duped by a very clever con-man? And what about all of those who have suffered and died on the plains and also those who have made great sacrifices in other ways for Joseph Smith's deceptions and myths? Are we to just look the other way and pretend that all of this pain and suffering never happened? This kind of spiritual deception is much worse than any stock fraud or pyramid scheme. It is passed on from generation to generation. The truth is that there never were any gold plates, Lamanites, Nephites, Jaredites, or Gadianton Robbers except in Smith's imagination. Once a person comes to realize this, he or she begins to feel like a gullible fool.

Powerful feelings of betrayal and entrapment emerge as a person begins to see the enormity of Joseph Smith's spiritual deception and the control of LDS entrapment. How can a person ever become free from this web of Mormon entanglement if a wife (or husband), parents, children, and grandchildren still belong to Joseph Smith and his Church?

The amazing thing to me is how much anger management and self control Post-Mormons seem to have. Perhaps this is because we have learned that prolonged anger can be self destructive and that forgiveness seems to be better for one's own physical and mental health.

It has always helped me with my anger management to realize that if there is an afterlife and a judgment day, then Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other false prophets and adulterers are now being severely punished by the Lord. But if there is no afterlife or judgment day, then these men have ceased to exist. They would have no way of taking any satisfaction in how wildly successful their deception has become.

It also helps me to realize that it took many years for me to finally see through the cunning dishonesty of early Church leaders. Then how can I expect better than this from others? Dreams die hard!


HAPPINESS, FREEDOM, EXHILARATION


After leaving Mormonism, many of us have felt a strong sense of freedom and happiness. A heavy burden has been lifted from our shoulders. We can now read anything we want to read and do our own thinking. We no longer need to ask, "Does this information that I am reading go along with Mormonism? Is it faith promoting?" It doesn't matter any more. And, we can even choose our own underwear!

We are now free to respect the beliefs of other churches and religions and reject Joseph Smith's claim that the Lord told him that other churches were "all wrong" and that their ministers and pastors were "all corrupt." What deceptive nonsense this "revelation" was and is! How could I have believed this baloney for so many years? And Post- Mormons no longer need to rationalize away or explain why over ninety percent of Joseph Smith's many prophesies never happened. The answer is obvious to an objective observer. Joseph Smith was a false prophet.

We no longer need to explain away or defend the immoral and illegal activities of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and other Church leaders. These activities included money digging, an illegal bank, secret police (Danites) a private army (Zion's Camp), polygamy, and blood atonement. Involvement of Church leaders in the Mountain Meadows Massacre and other atrocities no longer reflect upon us Post-Mormons. We reject all of these things and the Church leaders involved.

We no longer need to explain away the many contradictions between BOOK OF MORMON Mormonism and Nauvoo Mormonism. The overwhelming scientific evidence against the authenticity of THE BOOK OF MORMON including the Asian DNA of Native Americans is no longer our problem. But it is still a very big problem for LDS Church defenders.

We are also free from guilt for not attending endless meetings, and for not fasting, doing genealogy, temple work, home teaching, accepting all "callings," and confessing our personal lives to the bishop. We are free from the financial stress of paying tithing, and sending our children on missions. We are also free to spend more time with our families.

In the immortal words of Dr. Martin Luther King: "Free at last! Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Note: There is no copyright on this paper. (Feel free to make copies.)

THE KEYSTONE OF MORMONISM is a powerful book. Please contact me at: E-mail arza@charter.net



The second book is "Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck and can be purchased at amazon.com. Beck's book describes the trauma that she has faced throughout her life after being raped by her father, Hugh Nibley at the age of five. She also provides a summary of her journey from Mormonism. Her father was an apologist (defender of the Mormon church) who was also a gifted writer. Because he was an avid believer in the religion of Mormonism, he was often contacted by church leaders to defend the church from critics that posed a threat to Mormonism's survival. For example, when Fawn Brodie's classic book was published in 1945, "No Man Knows My History," it raised a furor within and outside of Mormondom. Hugh Nibley was commissioned by Mormon Church leaders to answer the allegations made by Brodie on the life of Joseph Smith. As a result, the church published Hugh Nibley's "No Ma'am, This Ain't History" that was an attempt to discredit Brodie's book. Later Nibley was commissioned by Mormon Church leaders to discredit the discovery that Joseph Smith falsely claimed that he translated the "Book of Abraham" from ancient Egyptian writings.

These two books provide excellent supplements to my book, "The Mormon Conspiracy." If you wish to comment on these books, or would like to discuss "The Mormon Conspiracy," please contact me by e-mail at:
E-mail wood1@mormonconspiracy.com

Mormon Conspiracy to Rule America

Mormon Church CONSPIRACY NEWSLETTER

For: Readers of our Newsletter for our website, The Mormon Conspiracy.

The Mormon Conspiracy Homepage: HOME PAGE

Also containing previously dated NEWSLETTER posts as you scroll down.



Greetings!

From Charles L. Wood, Author of the book, "The Mormon Conspiracy."

Reading the "Book of Mormon," praying about and asking God if it is true is a common plea of church leaders to encourage members to accept that the Mormon Church is true and that the "Book of Mormon" is true. If you have a good feeling after you have completed these suggestions, then according to church leaders, one knows that Joseph Smith’s book is true. However, receiving a good feeling about something does not tell one the truth.

Members are taught to develop a testimony such as: “I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, that I know that the Mormon Church is the only true church on the face of the earth and that Gordon B Hinckley is a prophet of God.” Their testimony is recited often in church meetings and is eventually ingrained in members’ brains.

The key to their testimony is I know, I know, I know. The testimony is an integral part of mind control that church leaders exercise over Mormon Church members. Tammy Braithwaite, a former long-time member of the Church taught her young children a testimony, as soon as they were able to talk. She remembers her son repeating his testimony: “I know that Joseph Smith was a pwoffut and the Book of Mommun is twoo.” She now knows that she was teaching her son to lie and realizes that this kind of repetition of meaningless mantras is, of course one of the techniques in brainwashing.

Despite overwhelming evidence against the authenticity of the “Book of Mormon,” Mormons claim to have a spiritual witness or “testimony” that transcends science. Many religious groups have fought and killed each other while fervently praying to God for help. One example of the fanaticism of Mormonism is the Mountain Meadows massacre that occurred near Cedar City, Utah on September 11, 1857. On this date Mormons killed more than 120 members of a wagon train driving about 1000 cattle from Arkansas to California to sell to the gold miners. This was all done in the name of God since the Mormons were trying to get revenge for the Death of Joseph Smith in 1844 and Orson Pratt, a Mormon apostle killed in Missouri. Church Leaders from Cedar City planned and committed this massacre. As you can see, A personal testimony in action can be a very frightening thing.

To illustrate how a strong testimony of a Mormon can result in disaster is the following true story of a seven young women missionaries who were secretly called, one at a time, by the mission president (All missionaries of the Mormon Church are assigned to a missionary center with a mission president in charge.), a very spiritual man. Swearing them to secrecy, he told each of them that the president of the Church was going to change Church policy and restore plural marriage (polygamy). The mission president also told each of these young ladies that he had personally received a revelation from the Lord that she was to marry him.

Following the example of Joseph Smith (founder of the Mormon Church) he told these young ladies that they were entitled to know the truth for themselves. He counseled each of them to fast and pray with a sincere heart and a desire to know the will of the Lord.

Then an amazing thing happened. Six out of the seven lady missionaries returned to the mission president’s office within a few days and told him with tears in their eyes, that their prayers had been answered. They had received a testimony that he had spoken the truth. Each of these young ladies expressed their love and agreed to marry him, a man three times their age!

However, one of the lady missionaries broke her oath of secrecy and called her parents to ask for advice, that resulted in the mission president being sent home as well as the 6 lady missionaries that volunteered to marry the mission president.

How can such a thing happen? The mission president was lying and yet these young ladies somehow received a testimony that he was telling them the truth. This happened because the young ladies trust an authority figure more than the trust their own thinking. (Taken from “The Keystone of Mormonism” by Arza Evans 2003 page 120)

Evans further writes:

“….to emphasize the importance of reason and the danger of reason and the danger of reliance upon emotions and feelings, I would like to use a quotation from a master of manipulation and opportunism, Adolf Hitler:

“Reason can treacherously deceive a man, but emotion is always sure and never leaves him.”

Hitler’s first deputy, Rudolf Hess, echoed the words of his Fuhrer when he told a large audience of Nazis:

Do not seek Adolf Hitler with your brains, you will find him with your hearts.

This irrational, anti-intellectual, and emotional climate resulted in a moral vacuum and a holocaust where as many as twelve million people were killed in concentration camps while over forty five million others were killed on the battlefields of World War II. This is what can happen when large numbers of people rely on emotions, and allow an authoritarian leader to do their thinking.

The Mormon missionaries are asking one to use your emotions in deciding whether or not the Mormon Church is true and that their key gospel, the “Book of Mormon” is true.”

“The Keystone of Mormonism” by Arza Evans is a powerful book that explains the great influence that emotions rather than the truth have upon humans.

This book can be obtained through the website: amazon.com Log on to: "The Keystone of Mormonism. "

While Mormonism is a hoax and fraud invented by Joseph Smith, his scribes and associates and continued with Mormon Church leaders since his time, it continues to influence people through brain control by emotions and indoctrination through a testimony.

Many Mormons have left the church when they wanted to increase a weak testimony that they had by studying church history. In their research, they simply discovered that Mormonism was a fraud.


Contact me by e-mail at: wood1@mormonconspiracy.com

The Mormon Conspiracy Newsletter HOME PAGE

June 20th 2005 NEWSLETTER

From Charles L. Wood: Author of The Mormon Conspiracy

""The Keystone of Mormonism by Professor Evans

Keystone of Mormonism Home Page



"Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck


Greetings!

In my research of Mormonism and contacts with authors of Mormonism books, I have become acquainted with many of the deceptions promoted by church leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, or simply, the Mormon Church. First, I would like to highlight two books that I have read that I thought that you might be interested in. Click on the following picture to see "The Mormon Conspiracy" at amazon.com and to search for the two featured books in this newsletter titled "Keystone of Mormonism" and "Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck.

Author Charles L. Wood
The Mormon Conspiracy. Click on the book to see it at amazon.com




"The Keystone of Mormonism" by Professor Evans



The first book is "The Keystone of Mormonism" by Arza Evans. This book highlights the deceptions of Joseph Smith in his "Book of Mormon." Professor Evans provides a vivid description of the problems that he found with Mormonism and more especially key statements in Smith's book that are fraudulent and proves that the book is nothing more than fiction.



Following is an article written by the author of "The Keystone of Mormonism," Arza Evans:



POST-MORMON FEELINGS


ARZA EVANS



(AUTHOR OF THE KEYSTONE OF MORMONISM)


When I finally became convinced that Joseph Smith was a clever con-man and that his Book of Mormon was not sacred ancient history but part of an ingenious mind game that he was playing with his gullible followers, this created some strong feelings in me. These feelings are probably typical of other Post- Mormon truth seekers.


FEAR


The first of my new feelings was fear. What will become of me? Will I lose my marriage and my family? And even if my wife stays with me, will she be angry and heartbroken? I was quite sure that my parents and my brothers and my sister would be either angry or heartbroken or both. Will I lose my job and have to move my family if I still have a family to move? Will they excommunicate me? (They did.) How many friends will I lose? Can I stand not being able to see my own children get married if they choose to get married in an LDS temple?

And what if I am wrong? Should I trust my own mind or just follow Church leaders? My parents and my brothers and my sister are intelligent people. Why don't they see the same deception that I see? Also, I am a fairly intelligent person. Why did it take me so many years to discover the truth? This is really scary. My eternal salvation may be at stake here! Should I bet everything I have on this or should I fold?

My fears were so strong that for a number of years I kept my true thoughts and feelings to myself. I became a "closet doubter." This was not good for my physical or mental health. But after all, how much should a person be willing to sacrifice on the alter of truth?

Fear is what keeps many people, even Church leaders, active in Mormonism. A woman friend of mine went to her stake president to get her temple recommend signed. He said, "Where is your husband?" She said, "He doesn't believe in the Church anymore." The stake president said, "Why not?" The woman said, "My husband started doing research into Church history and it made him see things in an entirely different way." The stake president said, "I know what you mean. I started to read THE JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES and other Church history books. It nearly destroyed my testimony. I had to quit reading those things."

A good question for every LDS man and for every LDS woman to ask is, "What would I do differently in my life if I were not afraid?"


SADNESS, BEREAVEMENT


Disillusionment with Mormonism has resulted in great sadness for me and for almost all of the other men and women I have talked with who have left the LDS Church. I think this bereavement has been even greater for me than the death of my parents. I don't know of one Post-Mormon person who started out to prove that Mormonism is not true or who has been gleeful with the results of their findings. The truth not only hurts, it is devastating! How can any active Church member really believe that one of their friends or relatives enjoys finding out that some of their most sacred and cherished beliefs are not true! And yet, there is no sympathy or condolence for the person suffering from this bereavement. Instead, Post-Mormons can usually expect anger and ostracism.


CONFUSION, AN UPSIDE DOWN WORLD


Moving away from Mormonism can turn a person's world upside down. At least that is how it has been for me. Things that used to bring me pride, now bring me shame and embarrassment. Instead of being proud that I sold my car and spent entire my life savings going on an LDS mission to the Chicago area (a very dangerous and tough mission), I deeply regret wasting two years of my life andall of my college money bearing my testimony about things that I now know are not true.

Also, I helped to break up a number of families when one person, usually the wife, became converted and then left her unbelieving husband. Naturally she wanted to find an LDS priesthood holder who would take her to a temple for an eternal marriage. I probably should have been horse-whipped by some of those angry husbands. I sincerely wish I could go back and change all of this, but I can't. All I can say is that I am very very sorry.

I am no longer proud of being a faithful tithe payer. Almost all tithing goes for Church indoctrination programs, temple building, and missionary work. I no longer believe in these things. Very little tithing goes to help the poor.

I am not proud of being married in an LDS temple. I regret getting married in a place where Masonic rituals were presented as Christianity. I was told that learning these secret signs and passwords was necessary in order to pass by the angels and enter into God's clubhouse in the next world. Young family members, "unworthy" family members and "unworthy" friends were excluded from my wedding. An LDS temple marriage is not a celebration for the whole family. It is an occasion for ostracism of many family members. The Church is not family oriented but power oriented. It breaks up many families to enhance its power.

I am not proud of gaining my masters degree at Brigham Young University where the academic freedom of professors is very limited. LDS Faculty members need to pay tithing, have temple recommends, and carefully guard their comments in order to stay out of trouble. BYU is not widely respected in the academic world. I noticed a big difference when transferring to the University of Utah for further post-graduate studies.

My attitude toward my parents has also changed. Why were they so willing to indoctrinate me, a trusting little child, with Mormonism. Why didn't they ask a few open-minded questions and do some serious research? And why didn't they seem to have any questions about the temple rituals? In many ways my world has been turned upside down.


ANGER, BETRAYAL, ENTRAPMENT


How is a person supposed to feel when she or he finally comes to believe that they and their entire family for generations have been duped by a very clever con-man? And what about all of those who have suffered and died on the plains and also those who have made great sacrifices in other ways for Joseph Smith's deceptions and myths? Are we to just look the other way and pretend that all of this pain and suffering never happened? This kind of spiritual deception is much worse than any stock fraud or pyramid scheme. It is passed on from generation to generation. The truth is that there never were any gold plates, Lamanites, Nephites, Jaredites, or Gadianton Robbers except in Smith's imagination. Once a person comes to realize this, he or she begins to feel like a gullible fool.

Powerful feelings of betrayal and entrapment emerge as a person begins to see the enormity of Joseph Smith's spiritual deception and the control of LDS entrapment. How can a person ever become free from this web of Mormon entanglement if a wife (or husband), parents, children, and grandchildren still belong to Joseph Smith and his Church?

The amazing thing to me is how much anger management and self control Post-Mormons seem to have. Perhaps this is because we have learned that prolonged anger can be self destructive and that forgiveness seems to be better for one's own physical and mental health.

It has always helped me with my anger management to realize that if there is an afterlife and a judgment day, then Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other false prophets and adulterers are now being severely punished by the Lord. But if there is no afterlife or judgment day, then these men have ceased to exist. They would have no way of taking any satisfaction in how wildly successful their deception has become.

It also helps me to realize that it took many years for me to finally see through the cunning dishonesty of early Church leaders. Then how can I expect better than this from others? Dreams die hard!


HAPPINESS, FREEDOM, EXHILARATION


After leaving Mormonism, many of us have felt a strong sense of freedom and happiness. A heavy burden has been lifted from our shoulders. We can now read anything we want to read and do our own thinking. We no longer need to ask, "Does this information that I am reading go along with Mormonism? Is it faith promoting?" It doesn't matter any more. And, we can even choose our own underwear!

We are now free to respect the beliefs of other churches and religions and reject Joseph Smith's claim that the Lord told him that other churches were "all wrong" and that their ministers and pastors were "all corrupt." What deceptive nonsense this "revelation" was and is! How could I have believed this baloney for so many years? And Post- Mormons no longer need to rationalize away or explain why over ninety percent of Joseph Smith's many prophesies never happened. The answer is obvious to an objective observer. Joseph Smith was a false prophet.

We no longer need to explain away or defend the immoral and illegal activities of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and other Church leaders. These activities included money digging, an illegal bank, secret police (Danites) a private army (Zion's Camp), polygamy, and blood atonement. Involvement of Church leaders in the Mountain Meadows Massacre and other atrocities no longer reflect upon us Post-Mormons. We reject all of these things and the Church leaders involved.

We no longer need to explain away the many contradictions between BOOK OF MORMON Mormonism and Nauvoo Mormonism. The overwhelming scientific evidence against the authenticity of THE BOOK OF MORMON including the Asian DNA of Native Americans is no longer our problem. But it is still a very big problem for LDS Church defenders.

We are also free from guilt for not attending endless meetings, and for not fasting, doing genealogy, temple work, home teaching, accepting all "callings," and confessing our personal lives to the bishop. We are free from the financial stress of paying tithing, and sending our children on missions. We are also free to spend more time with our families.

In the immortal words of Dr. Martin Luther King: "Free at last! Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Note: There is no copyright on this paper. (Feel free to make copies.)

THE KEYSTONE OF MORMONISM is a powerful book. Please contact me at: E-mail arza@charter.net



The Keystone of Mormonism HOME PAGE by Professor Evans

Keystone of Mormonism Home Page

MORMON CONSPIRACY HOME PAGE

Great Websites:

Post Mormon Home Page

Latter-Day Lampoon Home Page

Joseph Lied Home Page


"Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck


The second book is "Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck and can be purchased at amazon.com. Beck's book describes the trauma that she has faced throughout her life after being raped by her father, Hugh Nibley at the age of five. She also provides a summary of her journey from Mormonism. Her father was an apologist (defender of the Mormon church) who was also a gifted writer. Because he was an avid believer in the religion of Mormonism, he was often contacted by church leaders to defend the church from critics that posed a threat to Mormonism's survival. For example, when Fawn Brodie's classic book was published in 1945, "No Man Knows My History," it raised a furor within and outside of Mormondom. Hugh Nibley was commissioned by Mormon Church leaders to answer the allegations made by Brodie on the life of Joseph Smith. As a result, the church published Hugh Nibley's "No Ma'am, This Ain't History" that was an attempt to discredit Brodie's book. Later Nibley was commissioned by Mormon Church leaders to discredit the discovery that Joseph Smith falsely claimed that he translated the "Book of Abraham" from ancient Egyptian writings.

These two books provide excellent supplements to my book, "The Mormon Conspiracy." If you wish to comment on these books, or would like to discuss "The Mormon Conspiracy," please contact me by e-mail at:
E-mail wood1@mormonconspiracy.com



The Mormon Conspiracy Homepage: HOME PAGE

WHY MITT ROMNEY SHOULD NOT BE PRESIDENT

WHY MITT ROMNEY SHOULD NOT BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

By Charles L. Wood, Author of

"The Mormon Conspiracy"

The Mormon Conspiracy Website


The Mormon contingent working for Mitt Romney is in full force spreading its propaganda to convince voters from Iowa, New Hampshire and other early primary voting states that a person’s faith should not be a factor in determining a person’s fitness to become President of the United States. Several books have been written recently glorifying Mitt Romney as an outstanding candidate for President. These books attempt to minimize Romney’s "devout belief" in "the bizarre, Mormon cult of Mormonism." Three such books are:

"A Mormon in the White House? 10 things every American Should Know about Mitt Romney" by Hugh Hewitt

"Will Americans Elect a Mormon President? Why Religion will not keep Mitt Romney out of the White House" by Niles A Fuller

"Mitt Romney: An Accomplished Leader For America" by Lisa Ray

As will be enumerated below, "Mormonism is an authoritarian clearly false religion whereby its leaders demand members to believe it is true without question." It is based on a book called "The Book of Mormon" written by Joseph Smith in the early 1800’s. Smith claimed that this book was translated from gold plates buried in a hill near Palmyra, New York. He also claimed that an angel of God, Morini, showed him where these plates had been buried centuries before Smith dug them up. According to Smith’s story, Moroni was the lone survivor of the God-favored tribe, the Nephites, after a bitter battle against the Lamanites, an Indian Tribe that Smith claimed to be the ancestors of present-day American Indians.

Smith claimed that God provided him with seer stones that enabled him to translate the ancient foreign language on these plates into his book. I have written "The Mormon Conspiracy" that presents evidence that clearly shows that this claim by Smith is a hoax and that the claim of Mormon Church Leaders today that this book is the divine work of God is completely false.

Many people believe that one’s religious beliefs should not be considered for any qualifications for public office. However when these beliefs are likely to harm our American democracy then voters have a responsibility to ensure that such a person is not elected President of the United States. I believe that Romney’s upbringing, devotion and indoctrination in Mormonism would be disastrous for America if he were elected .

Why is Mitt Romney a Dangerous Candidate for President of the United States?

1. As a devout member of the Mormon Church, Romney would continue the historical practice of Mormonism in promoting a religious theocracy in the United States. This is true since Romney is a product of the administration of the Mormon church where all decisions are made by the top fifteen leaders, the Presidency (President and his two counselors) and the twelve apostles. He has served in several leadership positions in the Mormon Church including Bishop, Stake President, Missionary and High priest. It is the practice of church leaders to keep financial affairs of the church secret as well as deliberations in church affairs. There is little or no involvement of the general membership in church decisions. Appointment of officials in the church are made by its top authorities. Democratic actions, such as selecting leaders by the general membership, do not exist.

The founder of the church, Joseph Smith, created the model for his Mormon Church theocracy at Nauvoo, Illinois in 1839, where he appointed himself as Mayor, President of Nauvoo University, Lt. General of the Nauvoo Militia and President of the Mormon Church. Brigham Young continued Smith’s model of Theocracy in Utah following Smith’s death in 1844, a Theocracy that lasted until Young’s death in 1877.

2. As a devout member of the Mormon Church Romney must accept any appointments by church leaders such as that of Bishop, Mission President, Missionary and other church offices without question.

3. As a devout member of the Mormon Church, Romney has a temple recommend that requires him to pay 10% of his gross earnings to the Church. This is no problem for multi-millionaire Mitt Romney, but a real hardship for many members since the church encourages large families.

4. In receiving this temple recommend, Romney is required to be loyal to and support church leaders, wear sacred garments (with Masonic emblems), refrain from drinking coffee or alcohol, regularly attend church priesthood and other meetings, follow church rules and doctrines and agree not to be involved with or have sympathy for any apostate groups.

5. As a member of the church Romney believes in Baptism for the Dead, polygamy in after life, and that he will become God of his own planet when he reaches the Celestial kingdom of heaven, the highest level that he has already earned.

6. Since he pays his 10% tithing and follows the rules and doctrine of the church, Romney may attend the secret ceremonies of the temple. In these temple ceremonies Romney wears special white garments with Masonic emblems and participates in body oil-ointment sessions. He has received the secret handshake and other secrets of the church and swears not to reveal these secrets to anyone.

7. Romney is a member of the Priesthood and has unlimited authority to act for God with supernatural powers of healing and to represent God in his relationships with his wife and family.

8. Romney comes from a family of Romneys who have for 150 years been dominate in the Mormon church leadership.

9. As a member of the Mormon Church, Romney believes that his wife should obey him in all things as long as he obeys God.

10. Romney has endorsed the Iraq war and the manner in which it has been handled by George W. Bush. It is expected that he would continue the policies of Bush toward a Theocracy that destroys separation of Church and State.

11. Romney has had excellent success in raising money for his campaign. In addition, he has donated over six million dollars of his own money for his campaign. He has promised that he will visit all 99 counties in Iowa during his campaign. It is not surprising that campaign money is rolling in, since Mormons are thoroughly indoctrinated in the beliefs of Mormonism and believe that their religion is the chosen one that will usher in the second coming of Jesus Christ.

12. Romney is a member of a cult since mind control and fear are common both in cults and in the Mormon indoctrination program. He wears his garments since church leaders have indoctrinated him into believing that if he doesn’t wear them, something awful will happen to him. (This is a phobia, a tactic used in mind control.) The garment also is a binder of the Mormon to Mormonism. Mormon Church leaders have taught Romney to believe that the fifteen Mormon Apostles are infallible --that they are God’s representatives and therefore cannot make a mistake.

13. In attending the temple, Romney repeats vows of loyalty, submits his body for washing and anointing to remove sins and experiences heaven by being pulled through a veil.

14. Romney’s millions of dollars that he has contributed to the Mormon Church have helped in the drive to control as much of the public media as possible. This concept of the control of the media is likely to be continued by Romney if he is elected President of the United States. The Church under the Presidency of Romney would be allowed to gain more and more control of the media with his appointment of FCC members who are sympathetic to the Church’s purchase of television and radio stations, newspapers, books stores and other media outlets.

These beliefs and practices of Mitt Romney, as a member of the Mormon Church, would without a doubt influence Romney in his decision-making as President of the United States. The current President, George W. Bush has demonstrated that the office of president is a powerful position. He has shown that a person without wisdom, without appreciation for individual freedoms, without appreciation for the respect for differences in foreign nations and their rights to determine their own destinies, can defy public and congressional opinions and ignore their constructive advice. Bush has shown a willingness to support religious groups even though these groups destroy our nation’s tradition of separation of church and state.

The Mormon Church, of which Mitt Romney is a member, is authoritarian, has a history of promoting theocracy and has a vast bureaucracy organized to expand its false religion through its 60,000 member missionary system. With his strong belief in this system, Romney would use this powerful position as President of the United States to continue the policies of George W. Bush to limit our freedoms, and promote the fear of terrorism, causing congress to pass laws like the Patriot Act that gives the Presidency even greater powers to restrict individual rights.

The election of Mitt Romney as President must not succeed.

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"

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.

Separation of Church and State

The Theocracy that Young established lasted for 30 years, although there were feeble attempts by the United States government to establish the concept of the Separation of Church and State in the Utah Territory. The following is included in "The Mormon Conspiracy", written by Charles L. Wood, that describes Young’s Theocracy:

THE MORMON CONSPIRACY WEBSITE

The aim of the Mormon leaders was to establish an independent state in the Salt Lake Basin for their Kingdom of God with neither affiliation with the United States or Mexico. (Mexico ceded the Pacific Southwest which included the states of Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico to the United States shortly after the first group of Mormons reached the Salt Lake Basin in 1847). The Deseret state, established in 1849 included not only Utah, but most of Nevada and Arizona and parts of Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, California and Oregon. As Young had learned from Joseph Smith when he organized the Government in the Theocracy of Nauvoo, democracy was not a part of God’s plan for his Kingdom in the state Deseret. Brigham Young was approved as Governor of Deseret without opposition, and other officers of the state were unanimously elected. 1

All of the candidates who won election in the territory of Utah were selected by church Authorities. (Utah was a considerable reduction from Young’s original state of Deseret, that at one time included all or parts of Nevada, California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, California and New Mexico.) Of the 96,107 votes cast from 1852 to 1870, 96 per cent went to the Mormon Church ticket. “... And from 1847 to 1875, not one candidate chosen in advance by Mormon leaders failed to win elections.” 2 As stated earlier, Brigham Young was in total control of the territorial government during his reign as President and Prophet of the Mormon Church.

To illustrate further that Brigham Young was not only in control of the territorial government, but was also in complete control of the people consider the following:

1. From the beginning of Young’s “Kingdom of God” in his state of Deseret, he insured that his followers would elect government officials who had his approval. “Fundamental to the operation of Young’s theocratic government that existed in Utah was the election law, which remained in force in the territory for more than a quarter of a century.” 3 This election law contained the following: “Each elector shall provide himself with a vote containing the names of the persons he wishes elected and the offices he would have them fill, and present it neatly folded to the judge of election, who shall number and deposit it in the ballot box; the clerk shall then write the name of the elector, and opposite it the number of his vote.”4 One can see that with the elector writing the names on the ballot with the positions to be filled beside the voter’s name and the ballot numbered by the clerk next to the voter’s name, it was easy for the “judge of the election” to know how everyone voted. This insured that the slate of officers pre-announced by Young won the election.

During Young’s reign, the election law was essential to the continuance of his theocracy. Although there was great opposition to one-sided elections by non-Mormons, a theocracy was guaranteed due to the loyalty and obedience of Deseret’s overwhelming Mormon population, and the isolation from the United States.

2. Young’s theocracy forced male settlers between the ages of 18 and 45 to train in the Nauvoo Legion or the Militia of Utah Territory which eventually totaled some 7,500 men and was more that half the size of the United States army at the time.5

3. “June 2, 1857, Brigham Young says, ‘I feel to sustain him,’ when informed that Local Bishop Warren S. Snow has castrated twenty-four-old Welchman for undisclosed sex crimes. ‘Just let the matter drop and say no more about it.’ Young writes to Snow.”6

4. Land to new settlers was assigned as long as they remained faithful to the church and were good stewards. In other words, the Church owned all the land and when anyone who left the church, was excommunicated, or left Utah, the land was automatically returned to the church. This was in contrast to the liberal laws of the Federal Government such as the Homestead Act, which allowed settlers to have up to 160 acres of land free, if they would live on and work the land. 7

5. When the United States planned to send in a territorial governor, Brigham Young said: “Though I may not be Governor here, my power will not be diminished. No man they can send here will have much influence with this community, unless he be the man of their choice. Let them send whom they will, and it does not diminish my influence one particle.” 8


1 David L. Bigler, The Forgotten Kingdom, The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896, Spokane, Washington: Arthur H. Clark Company, 1998, 44-47


2 Ibid., 51


3 Ibid., 50


4 Ibid., 50


5 Ibid., 53


6 D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy, Extensions of Power, 754


7 David L. Bigler, The Forgotten Kingdom, The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896, 53


8 Ibid., 87

LDS Temple and Bishop Recommend

HOME PAGE

The Mormon Temple

By Charles L. Wood, Author of The Mormon Conspiracy

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As outlined in the following paragraphs, members who receive a Mormon temple recommend must agree to pay ten percent of their income to the Mormon Church, and agree to follow certain requirements such as being loyal to church leaders. Having a temple recommend also serves as a status symbol in the LDS, as those without it cannot marry or attend marriage ceremonies in the temple, nor can they be sealed for eternity with their father so that they may eternally be together with their family in Mormon Heaven. While the exact percentage of Mormons who receive Temple recommends are not published by Church authorities, a large number do not have them are involved only in local Mormon Ward Church activities.

Temple recommends, which worthy Mormons may receive from their bishops, and are also signed by their stake presidents are mandatory for admittance into the Mormon temple. Endowment ceremonies, marriages, baptism for the dead, and other sealing ceremonies are performed. “The ‘temple recommend’ is a cherished slip of paper that gives its holder the right to enter the LDS temple and participate in its ceremonies. Mormons ‘pass stringent demands of dietary laws, tithing, sexual orthodoxy and others requirements for a ‘temple recommend’. These recommends are printed forms which, when filled out by the bishop, provides a copy for the church headquarters files, one copy for the ward’s records, and a third for the holder to present at entrance of a temple for admission.”

“Since the LDS church believes that one must be ‘temple worthy’ in order to attain the Celestial Kingdom, having the power to grant or withhold recommends gives the local bishops immense power. Furthermore, in predominantly Mormon areas the lack of a recommend can often mean the loss of a job or being shunned by one’s neighbors. These slips of paper are most valuable.” 1

It is possible to “borrow” someone else’s temple recommend and gain entry into the LDS temple, as well as to forge one. However, only a very daring individual would attempt to enter the temple without his own official temple recommend. Laake, for example indicates that she knew of only one person who entered the temple without his own temple recommend.

In applying for the temple recommend a Mormon must be interviewed by his/her bishop (or the bishop’s first or second counselor) and is asked such questions as:

(1) Do you attend meetings?

(2) Are you a full tithe payer?

(3) Do you support your church leaders?

(4) Do you avoid tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and tea?

(5) Are you morally clean?

(6) Do you wear the sacred garments?

(7) Do you keep the Word of Wisdom?

(8) Have you ever been divorced?

(9) Will you regularly attend church including sacrament, Priesthood and other meetings? 2

(10) Will you follow the church rules and doctrines? 3

(11) Are you involved with, or have sympathy for any apostate groups? 4



Temple Ceremonies

The temple ceremonies were largely copied from the Masonic Lodge by Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. Scott writes that “Any Mason who reads even such an abbreviated account of the temple ceremony as I have outlined will be amazed at the similarities between LDS temple ordinances and Masonic Lodge ordinances. Joseph Smith claimed that he got much of the substance of the temple ceremony from the Book of Abraham papyri. The truth is that Joseph Smith was himself a Mason of the sublimest degree.” 5 The Masonic lodge resents the use of Masonic symbols in Mormon temple ceremonies, so much so that the Grand Lodge of Utah (1979) has refused initiation to known Mormons and denied admission to any Mormon Mason who was initiated in any other state. 6

The pilfering of the Mormon temple ceremonies from the Masonic Lodge discredits the claim of the church hierarchy that the Mormon Church is divine. The Masonic Lodge whose rites include memorizing long statements, are recited in the induction ceremonies, and if one ever reveals any of the secrets of the ceremonies he has received within the lodge, he is to have his throat slit and bowels cut out of his body. The oath that Masons take “ to have my throat slit and bowels cut out of my body if I ever revealed any secrets of the Masonic Lodge” was, until recent times, (1990) a part of the oath of the Mormon temple ceremonies. If the Mormon Church is the true church established by Joseph Smith from instructions given by God, why was it necessary to copy Masonic rites for Mormon Church ceremonies? If the temple ceremonies were required by God, wouldn’t He have provided Smith with revelations of his own to guide him in devising the ceremonies?

The Mormon temple rites are secret, but as Laake writes: “Although the most significant rituals of Mormonism go on within its temples, and although the Book of Mormon itself warns against secrecies in religion, the temple ceremonies are nonetheless top secret outside temple walls, lest their sacred strangeness be ridiculed and defiled by non believers.” 7

It is understandable that a primary purpose of the secrecy of the temple ceremonies is to prevent embarrassment to the Mormon authorities and members from outsiders who would contend that they were strange. Perhaps in the 1840’s, the time of Joseph Smith, such ceremonies were necessary to attract members and to hold them together, as this gave them some cohesion. Also in Smith’s time, there was no television, no movies and as a result the church was the entertainment center. But today, with the varied choices of entertainment, education, the automobile, travel and other human fulfillment activities, secret ceremonies such as those held in the Masonic Lodge and the Mormon temple seem to be completely outdated. Why is it necessary to have secret ceremonies in the Mormon Church when most other religions are open? Could it be that if the Mormon Church had a policy of openness, too much would be exposed and the religion would die?

Endowment ceremonies with oaths are administrated to Mormons in the temple. According to Laake: “These are sacred ordinances and promises that make a person eligible for the highest heaven, and the Mormons partake of them on their own behalf during their first visit to the temple. In the years to come, I would be expected to run through the same ceremony again and again as a proxy for dead ancestors whose names had been discovered through the Mormon pastime of genealogy. (The idea behind the temple is that certain ceremonies, such as baptism and marriage and the ‘endowments,’ are vital to a person’s placement in the hereafter and yet can be performed only on earth. Unless conscientious mortals turn their attention to the graceless states of those who’ve gone on, scads of wishful spirits will flap around in limbo for eternity.)” 8

The temple depends on numerous workers, generally volunteers, usually elderly men and women who have time to devote to the temple. In the temple are workers who rent the white costumes for the ceremony, and workers who anoint those who are to receive their endowments with washings and anointing. Most of the presentations in the temple are on video, excepting the Salt Lake temple that still has live actors (Mormons of course) playing the various parts in the ceremony.

The LDS temple ceremony may last as long as five hours in live sessions. Initiates are first greeted by temple workers and separated into a men’s and women’s locker rooms. They are given temple clothing and all parts of the body are washed and anointed with oil by the temple worker. Initiates are told that it will clean them from the blood and sins of this generation.

Members are told that they must not reveal what they are told or what takes place in the temple and they must take oaths to that effect. Many feel after completing the ceremony: “Why should they not keep it a secret. If they ever complete the ceremony, they would be too ashamed to tell anyone what they had participated in.” Many often feel defiled, ashamed and bewildered while going through the ceremony. Some women who complete the ceremony are embarrassed by the “five points of fellowship” embrace by the male temple worker. One complained that the temple worker held her too close which was embarrassing and much too intimate for a stranger. 9

Laake describes the washing and anointing ritual that happened on her wedding day as follows: “Her gentle hands darted beneath my sheet to bless the parts of my body. ...She intoned, ‘I wash you that you may be clean from the blood and sins of your generation.’ She touched my head (‘that your brain may work clearly’) , my ears (‘that they may hear the word of the Lord’), my mouth and lips, my arms, my breast and ‘vitals,’ my loins (‘that you may be fruitful in propagating of a goodly seed’), my legs and feet. Her chanting and her cool fingers were both song and dance, and I was caught up calmed. When she had finished the first round she began again, replacing the water with oil from a dropper that anointed me head to toe....Finally the temple worker leaned to my ear to whisper my ‘new name’ : Sarah.

“...I didn’t know what this new name was for and the conditions attached to it disturbed me. I must reveal it to no one, not ever, except at the one proper moment during today’s ceremony, the temple worker told me.

“...I was coming up now on the only part of this morning that I’d been truly dreading. It was time to climb into my first pair of regulation Mormon underwear, an unlovely wardrobe item that, during their first temple visit, Mormons agree to wear for the rest of their lives and that they refer to ever after as their ‘garments,’...One of the purposes of the ‘garments’ is to make sure that Mormons eschew daring clothing. ...Women’s garments were slit in the crotch, very generously, so that they flapped open and left a girl’s greatest fascinations exposed....I was wearing long johns.” 10

Mormons are admonished to wear their garments next to their skin (girls under their bras) as protection from Satan while they complete their work on earth. Both Laake and her mother hated the garments, as they often prevented them from wearing fashion clothes, since the garments would keep such clothes from fitting properly. Laake writes: “... I figured that from this moment on I was a freak.” 11

Some of the other ordinances and secrets of the temple include:

(1) Women learning to obey their husbands in all things so long as their husbands obeyed God.

(2) Men receiving a special secret handshake (the first token of the Aaronic Priesthood)

(3) Men receiving the second token of the Aaronic Priesthood and the first and second tokens of the Melchizedek Priesthood with their signs and penalties.

Laake, in her 1972 ceremony (as all Mormons are required to do, when going through the ceremony), was asked to make a sign, “as though we were slitting our throats ‘ from ear to ear,’ to signify the penalty for revealing this handshake to anyone on the outside.” 12

Joseph Smith invented the Mormon Temple ceremony of Passing through the Veil. It was to show what he imagined would take place when one dies and enters heaven. Smith created a veil which was like secret huge white bed-sheets, with slits in them large enough to put hands through for testing the knowledge of signs by veil workers on the other side, representing the Lord. After testing, initiates pass through the “sheets” to the “celestial room,” representing the celestial kingdom. Part of the ceremony is taking someone through the veil, which signifies entering heaven from earth. During the marriage ceremony when the new bride is “sealed”, not only for time (life on earth) but for eternity (life everlasting) to her husband she is taken through the veil by her future husband. It is ironic that should this sealing of the wife to the husband later result in divorce, the woman often cannot get her temple marriage annulled and remains a wife “for eternity” to her ex-husband even if their marriage for “time” on earth has ended, but the husband can remarry in the temple and have another wife (and another..…) for eternity. And when he enters the celestial heaven after his death he will have two or more women sealed to him (depending upon how many divorces he had) thus having polygamous marriages in his celestial heaven. Women, on the other hand cannot be sealed to more than one man in the Mormon “eternal life”.

Laake tells about her temple experience in being taken through the veil by her husband. She writes: “As I moved with the others toward the bed-sheet, we were told that it symbolized the veil that separates this life from the next. ... The person who took his place on the other side of the veil was Monty [her future husband]. It was he who would usher me into heaven. It always happened this way for brides, who unlike the men had made their temple covenants not to God but to their own husbands.” 13

The Temple rituals of celestial marriage and sealings for young brides often shatter their expectations of an enjoyable experience. Many young Mormons joke about the ceremonies, wondering what a secret handshake or wearing the “garment” has to do with eternal marriage. Laake writes: --- “The mysteries of the world were fraternity rituals (Temple celestial marriage ceremonies). A wild bewildered giggle was forming in my throat.

“What in the world was everyone doing? Did all the white-suited glorifiers in the room unquestioningly accept a ritual of nutty gestures from the pseudo-occult as a sacrament?

“These were the first moments when I viewed Mormonism with suspicion...... 14


1 Laytayne Colvett Scott, Mormon Mirage, 193


2 Ibid., 193


3 Ibid., 193


4 James Coates, In Mormon Circles Gentiles, Jack Mormons, and Latter-Day Saints, (New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1991), 85 (From IN MORMON CIRCLES: GENTILES, JACK MORMONS AND LATTER-DAY SAINTS by JAMES COATES. Copyright © 1991 by James Coates, Reprinted by permission of Perseus Books, L.L.C.)


5 Laytayne Colvett Scott, Mormon Mirage,203 (Also Joseph Smith Jr., Documentary History of the Church, IV, p 552)


6 Ibid., 203 (Also Walen, The Latter day Saints in the Modern Day World, p 204


7 Deborah Laake, Secret Ceremonies, 73,74


8 Ibid., 74,75


9 Judy Robertson, No Regrets, How I found My way out of Mormonism, 61


10 Deborah Laake, Secret Ceremonies, 78,79


11 Ibid., 81


12 Ibid., 84


13 Ibid., 88-89


14 Ibid., 90


The Mormon Conspiracy HOME PAGE

Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon

Joseph Smith’s "Book of Mormon"

By Charles L. Wood, Author of "The Mormon Conspiracy."

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Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, was the author of the "Book of Mormon" that he claimed he translated from gold plates that were given to him by the angel Moroni. This translation, according to Smith was accomplished by his use of seer stones with the help of God. Mormon church leaders claim that Smith’s book is true, divine and authentic, the word of God. But is their any evidence to prove this claim?

Moroni was the lone survivor (according to Smith’s alleged translation) of the Nephites Indian tribe that was destroyed by the Lamanites at Hill Cumorah, near Palmyra, New York, in a tremendous battle, during which hundreds of thousands were slain with the sword. (B.O.M. Mormon 6:11,12,13) No artifacts, or any evidence that such a battle took place at this location have ever been found. This is one of the fantasies written in the "Book of Mormon," which the Church Authorities teach as true and authentic history. Smith also portrays the victors to be the ancestors of the American Indians even though there is no archeological or historical evidence that this is true. All scientific information shows the migration of the original American Indians as following a path by way of Siberia, crossing a land bridge which at that time connected to Alaska. The migration occurred not by sea, or from Israel, as claimed by Smith, but from Siberia by way of Alaska down the Pacific coast, filtering toward the East and South on the North American continent and finally through the Isthmus of Panama to South America.

Actually, archaeological studies of the Indians in the Americas have been numerous and fruitful since Smith’s time. Diggings and studies reveal the steady migration of the ancestors of the American Indians coming from China through Siberia over the land bridge into Alaska, and eventual settling throughout North and South America. Fagen estimates that Homo sapiens moved into Siberia [setting the stage for entry into the North American continent] about 35,000-40,000 years ago and were supported by a diversity of game animals, including rhinoceros, musk ox, steppe bison, reindeer and the wild horse. Studies of sites in Siberia, confirms Fagen’s findings. 1 These archaeological studies have also been reinforced by DNA studies of the origin of the American Indian.

That the American Indian is a descendant of the Chinese (as opposed to Joseph Smith’s claim in his "Book of Mormon," that the Indian Lamanites were descendants of the Lost Israel Tribes) is based upon extensive studies of dental morphology of Chinese and Indian burial sites, which show a clear ancestral relationship between the two groups. Further, Fagen shows that geological studies reveal the existence of a “land bridge” between Siberia and Alaska which lasted until about 14,000 years ago. This area and lower coastal areas were obviously settled for many centuries before 14,000 BC, but are impossible to study today as the area is now covered with sea water. 2

The flooding of the Siberian-Alaska land bridge which occurred between 13,000 and 15,000 years ago, forced the migration movement to higher ground. This is evidenced by the studies of sites in Alaska and the Yukon. After this time, humans spread gradually through the Arctic into Greenland, through Alaska, the Yukon and along the Pacific coast to California and eventually throughout North and South America. Indians hunted
bison on the plains of North America for nearly 12,000 years, during which time their customs and hunting techniques changed very little. And they would be doing the same today, if the Europeans had not arrived in the 15th and 16th centuries AD. An article in Discovery Magazine (June 1998) reported that the earliest evidence of human presence in the New World was found in a 12,500-year-old site in Chile called Monte Verde. Due to the length of time it would take for the migration of Siberian hunters to move across the Siberian-Alaskan land bridge to Chile, it was estimated that the Chilean ancestors may have begun their migration into North America at least 22,000 years ago. This is far earlier than Smith’s story shows.

Unfortunately for Joseph Smith and his “assistant” writers, they did not have these data available. Had they had these data they could have prevented the error in the Book of Mormon. Smith’s “Lost tribes of Israel” didn’t arrive as he had written. Any attempt by the Mormon Church to hold that Smith’s book is the truth, is clearly exposed by the archaeological evidence gathered concerning the North and South American Indians.

The Mormon Church has spent large sums of money and expended tremendous efforts to prove the archeological truth of the Book of Mormon. But not one shred of evidence has been found to verify this claim. Thomas Stuart Ferguson, a former defender of the faith, who used large monetary grants in an attempt to prove the truth of Joseph Smith’s hoax, became disillusioned in his efforts. Tanner and Tanner write: ... “that he (Ferguson) had come to the conclusion that Joseph Smith was not a prophet and that Mormonism was not true. He told us that he had spent 25 years trying to prove Mormonism, [through archeological research] but had finally come to the conclusion that his work in this regard had been in vain. He said that his training in law had taught him how to weigh evidence and that the case against Joseph Smith was absolutely devastating and could not be explained away.” 3

Even the current Mormon Church president Gordon B. Hinckley may have misgivings about some of Joseph Smith’s teachings. In a recent newspaper interview concerning Joseph Smith’s revelations and visions, Hinckley said “Revelation no longer comes by vision, but in the ‘still, small voice,’ like that heard by Elijah. Let me say first that we have a great body of revelation, the vast majority of which came from the prophet Joseph Smith We don’t need much revelation. ...Now, if a problem should arise on which we don’t have an answer, we pray about it, we may fast about it, and it comes. Quietly. Usually no voice of any kind, but just a perception in the mind.” (Interview with President Gordon B. Hinckley, as published on the Web site of the San Francisco Chronicle, April 13, 1997.) Are Mormon leaders beginning to doubt the authenticity of Joseph Smith’s writings? Smith had written many revelations and visions that he said he received from God. These revelations and visions include Smith being led to the gold plates as well as boldly announcing many revelations which he received from God including approval for himself and others to practice polygamy, organizational procedures for the LDS church, tithing, and the ordering of Martin Harris to pay for the publication of the "Book of Mormon." Were Joseph Smith’s writings not really divine in nature as President Hinckley said in his descriptions of visions and revelations: “Usually no voice of any kind, but just a perception in the mind?”

The Mormons are taught by the church authorities to believe that the "Book of Mormon" is incontrovertible, not to be proven by review of scientific or historical facts, but by asking God if the book is true. He will tell you
by “divine” means that it is the truth. However any measurement of its truth by historical and scientific means, provides no evidence of its truthfulness. The heart provides a person with the means to inform one of the truth of the book. In other words, if one wants to believe it is true this provides you with the means to do so. ( I remember my first encounter in an attempt to convert me to the Mormon Church. The Mormon missionaries and others present were trying to convince me that the "Book of Mormon" was true. My thought at the time that the continual saying-- “yes it is true, yes it is true,” was showing me that there was doubt in their minds that it really was true.)

How was Joseph to know that his main theme, the migration of the Hebrew Tribes from Israel to the Americas would later prove to be false as scientific archaeological inquiry has done as modern civilization poured across the Americas? After all, this theory of the Hebrew Tribes’ migration was accepted throughout the western world in Smith’s time. And how easy it was for Smith to use his newly discovered weapon of his revelation to get people to do as he wished. All he had to do was tell Martin Harris that he had received a revelation from God telling him that he must sell his farm to pay for the publication of the "Book of Mormon" or he would die. It was easy for him to tell his family and friends about his visions of God’s leading him to the gold plates and to tell them that by the use of magical stones furnished with the plates, he was able to translate the reformed Egyptian letters into the "Book of Mormon." (Smith should have said he translated from Hebrew since he claimed the characters in his book emigrated from Israel.) They believed him!! Joseph Smith must have thought: “Look at the power and influence that I have over people. They believe that I communicate with God and that he communicates with me. I can use this great new power to influence people to follow me!! I will be the prophet!!”

No doubt Smith had misgivings about how to use this new-found power. And history of the Mormon Church shows the dangerous, sometimes disastrous and always uncomfortable path that Joseph was leading his members into. But by using his knowledge of Masonic Lodge ritual and his own imagination, he was always able to keep the interest and enthusiasm of his followers. As long as he claimed that he was working as a servant of God, he was able to maintain and increase his membership. And for most of the followers, what Joseph said or told them to do was the word of God and should be accepted and followed and never questioned.

It is important to consider the condition of life for the New England people during the time of Joseph Smith as this provided the mechanism for the invention of a new religion. The economic existence for the vast majority of inhabitants was obtained by tilling the land that was rocky, infertile and hilly. It was, to say the least, a very rigorous life with little opportunity for improvement of one’s place in life. Life expectancy was very short, with a high mortality rate of infants and children. In short, the people were ripe for accepting a religion that promised them eternal life in a blissful and harmonious “after-earth-life” that would include family members who had died at a young age. In many cases, parents were fearful to become too attached to their children since death might take them away. Because of this constant threat of death, the development of a religion that promised eternal life would thrive. The religion would flourish especially if its inventor was a leader with charisma, intensity, great imagination, intelligence and hypnotic skill in controlling his followers as was Joseph Smith. He was the one who could build and develop his religion by convincing the Saints that with faith in God and by following his commandments, death on earth would be followed by eternal life in Heaven. Not only was this written in the "Book of Mormon," but Smith’s remarkable imagination used in his sermons, writings, and the construction of his beautifully designed temples, gave his Saints a glimpse of what life might be like in Heaven. The white veil, elaborate fixtures and the luxurious decor of the numerous Mormon temples certainly emerged from the fanciful and dreamy mind of Joseph Smith. The temple indeed represented Smith’s Heaven on earth.

Even though it is often agreed (even by many Mormons) that the "Book of Mormon" is not authentic, most of the faithful have been taught to want to believe it anyway. A large number accept it because the authorities say it is so, and a Mormon in good standing never questions the authority of the priesthood or what their Authorities say. A pious Mormon never questions his faith, at least not publicly, unless he or she wants to be excommunicated from the church. That the Book of Mormon is not authentic, one has only to know that there is no archaeological evidence whatsoever that it is true. For example, in Smith’s account of the lost tribes of Israel in America, it is written that horses, oxen and cows were present, but all archaeological evidence shows that they were not present during this period of history in the Americas.

Not only does Smith’s "Book of Mormon" describe oxen and cows that were not in America at the time, but he claims that the ancestors of Indian tribes, the Lamanites came from Israel. (Note: Nephites are not considered to have been “Indians,” because they were white. The dark skin of Lamanities came as a result of God’s curse.) Smith thought that he was “safe” in this fraud, since the common thinking at the time he wrote his book was that the Indians were descendants of the “Lost Tribes of Israel.” Archaeological studies of the Indians at that time were nearly non-existent.

And where are the cities that were developed in America by these “Lost Tribes, and the remains of the hundreds of thousands killed on Hill Cumorah ? (SeeBoM, Mormon 6, p 469) And sailing of the “Lost Tribes” thousands of miles from Israel by wooden submarines is illogical.

Fawn Brodie and B. H. Roberts have provided evidence that Joseph Smith had access to many books and other writings. These, and the beliefs of the people of his time, gave Smith the ideas and material for his book.
One such book, as related to before, was Ethan Smith’s "View of The Hebrews," which was written five to seven years before the Book of Mormon. A summary of Ethan Smith’s book appeared in the local newspaper Subscribed to by the Smith family. This book was written within fifty miles of the Smith home and was known
to be readily available in the area. Ethan Smith’s novel theorized (as did the "Book of Mormon") that the Indians were descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, an idea that was popular at this time in American History. 4 As
more archeological and DNA evidence and scientific study was completed on the origins of the American Indians, this idea was proven to be false.

B. H. Roberts in his studies of the Book of Mormon “presents an intense and probing evaluation of the possibility that Ethan Smith’s "View of the Hebrews" furnished a partial framework for Joseph Smith’s written composition, that the Mormon prophet had the intellectual capacity and imagination necessary to conceive and write the Book of Mormon and that internal contradictions and other defects added further evidence that it might not be of divine origin. 5

“...during the winter of 1922, B. H. Roberts continued his search for possible explanations as to the origin of the Mormon scripture and seized the opportunities presented by his mission presidency in New England to examine early literature that could have been available to Joseph Smith during the time the Book of Mormon was being produced. His surprising conclusion was that the View of the Hebrews.....predated the writing of the Book of Mormon and could have furnished the ‘ground plan’ for Joseph Smith’s authorship.” 6

Roberts made an intensive study of passages from the "View of the Hebrews" and compared it with similar material found in the "Book of Mormon" and concluded that Ethan Smith’s book may “well have furnished structural outlines” for Joseph Smith’s book, and he further concluded that Joseph Smith had creative and imaginative abilities sufficient to accomplish the writing of his book, using Ethan Smith’s book as an outline. 7
Furthermore, since the prevailing feeling among the people at this time was that the Indians were descendants of the Israelites, Joseph Smith felt secure that time would not dispute the authenticity of his book, and that he could indeed “get by” with his hoax that he had translated them from the golden plates given to him by the angel Moroni. The feeling that he was “safe” in his portrayal of the golden plates idea was also reinforced by his own family and close associates who believed young Joseph. Family members enjoyed Joseph’s fantastic stories of Indians in America, their glittering cities, and his account of their immigration from Israel. This and the unfailing support of his mother Lucy, his father Joseph Sr., and his brother Hyrum gave him great confidence that his hoax would succeed.

In short, the evidence is clear that the "Book of Mormon" was not translated from golden plates using a seer stone, as described by Smith, but was the product of his boyhood and family experiences, his awareness of common thinking in the area, his extensive knowledge of the Bible, and his knowledge of the Spaulding manuscript, which provided a nonreligious story as a basis for his novel. And as stated previously, Smith was aware of Ethan Smith’s "View of the Hebrews," which gave him many of the ideas for his book. Joseph Smith was surprised that he was able to influence people so easily and could use this ability to get people to accept his “revelations as from God. He invented a religion, developed an organization for it and had a great persuasive ability which enticed people to follow his doctrine. He was no doubt the best missionary that the Mormon Church ever had and singularly did more than any other person to provide the church with a sizable membership foundation as well as to insure that the church would grow and thrive by his development of the missionary organization and the priesthood. His later organization of the family visitation system insured a low dropout rate of members.

Scott further emphasizes that the "Book of Mormon" is a hoax. “Why can’t the Mormons own up that the "Book of Mormon" is a fraud? If any reader be still in doubt, let him send a letter to the Smithsonian Institute with the question, ‘Is the Book of Mormon confirmed by archaeological evidence?’ You will receive a mimeographed letter that states, in essence, that the historical picture painted by the Mormon epic is totally unlike the world of ancient Americas as they have found it in extensive excavations. Mormons have in the past claimed that many other records or inscriptions “proved” the "Book of Mormon." Among these records were the Bat Creek Stone, the Kinderhook plates, the Newark Stones and the ‘Phoenician Ten Commandments’ (found in Los Lunas, New Mexico). All were highly touted, but all were forgeries. Why not place the Book of Mormon with them?” 8

That the writings of Joseph Smith are generally frauds and not based upon any divinity as claimed by Mormon leaders is further emphasized by Scott, who writes: “I examined the life of Joseph Smith and found him to be the antithesis of all that Mormons claim he was. Not only was his account of the First Vision unlikely and out of harmony with God’s word, he himself couldn’t relate the stories the same way from one telling to another. Because of reckless merchandising of men’s souls, the legacy he left his people has been of persecution, broken promises, and a rash of unfulfilled prophecies. "The Book of Mormon" too, has done more harm to the Mormon people than good. ...the "Book of Mormon" stands unaccompanied by even a single non-Mormon archaeological advocate.” 9

1 Brian M. Fagan, The Archaeology of a Continent , (London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, 1995), 67




2 Ibid., 70-71




3 Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Ferguson’s Manuscript Unveiled, (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, (Introduction), 3




4 Ethan Smith, View of the Hebrews




5 B. H. Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1992), 30




6 Ibid., 149




7 Ibid., 154-155




8 Laytayne Colvett Scott, The Mormon Mirage, 85




9 Ibid., 231-232

Brigham Young University and The Mormon Conspiracy

Brigham Young University and The Mormon Conspiracy

Brigham Young University

By Charles L. Wood, Author of “The Mormon Conspiracy"

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BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

This newsletter will discuss Brigham Young University, the largest church sponsored university in the United States, with thirty thousand students. Of these thirty thousand students, 98.6 percent are Mormon who arrive on campus with an average high school grade point average of 3.74. More than 73 percent of the male students and 26.6 percent of the women students have served their full time missions either before they arrived on campus, or will do so at some time before graduation. Only .4 percent of the enrollment at BYU is black.1

Students who attend BYU must follow a strict honor code that includes a dress code, forbidding sex outside of marriage, clean shaven for men, multiple earrings not allowed, maintaining a clean and neat appearance, prohibiting use of alcoholic beverages and no visiting of dorm rooms of the opposite sex. Occasionally the media reports of prominent athletes at BYU who have been dismissed from the university for violating the honor code. Marriage is encouraged for students who have completed their missions and as a result many students live in impoverished conditions. Laake (author of Secret Ceremonies) was very upset when she became aware of the neglected living conditions that the BYU community had for the married students.2

One also finds the same improvised conditions in Utah’s predominately Mormon cities in low income housing areas. I recall one evening, visiting with a young family in a mobile home section of the city. The mother was trying to handle a baby and her other two young children while at the same time trying to carry on a conversation. The mobile home itself was in a bad state of repair, with doors hanging open and parts of the inside coverings torn away from the walls. (The father was out doing home teaching for the church but should have been home repairing his home.) This is but one example of the church spending millions of dollars of their members hard earned money to build temples, and to pay for radio and television commercials for promoting Mormonism, but is not helping to improve the lot of these needy families. Laake must have been thinking the same as she drove through these areas of the BYU community for young married students who are encouraged by church leadership to raise large families.

First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles Control Brigham Young University

The General Authorities are in complete control of BYU of which nine of the thirteen member controlling board are members of the First Presidency, his two counselors or the Quorum of Twelve. In addition, the head of the church’s parochial education system, a member of Presidency of the Seventy, is also a member of the BYU board. The remaining three seats are filled by women presidents of the women’s and young women’s auxiliaries “both appointed by the top General Authorities.” The thirteenth seat is filled by a secretary. The current president of BYU is member of the First quorum of Seventy.3

While the undergraduate student tuition of $1,470 and the graduate fee of $ 1,730 per semester is extremely low, even when compared with a public state university, the student pays a high price in loss of individual freedom in such

areas as religion, life style and academic freedom. If a student becomes indoctrinated into the Mormon faith (as most are), the lifetime cost of spending nearly twenty hours a week in activities and service to the church in addition to paying the ten percent annual tithing is tremendous payment for receiving (for many students) a lifetime career. An LDS BYU student must attend religious classes and conform to the regulations drawn up by the university administration and approved by the controlling board. In addition, to remain in the university, Mormon students (98.6 percent of the enrollment) must receive an annual recommendation from their bishops. Non-Mormon students must either receive a letter of recommendation from their own church minister or one from a local Mormon Church bishop. No other university in the United States assumes such control over its students.

Academic Freedom at BYU?

Assuring that BYU students will receive a religious (LDS) education, are 98 percent of the faculty who are Mormon. Some faculty members have attempted to obtain a measure of academic freedom, but have not been successful. D. Michael Quinn who attempted to attain academic freedom in his historical writings and research as a BYU professor, finally gave up his tenured position as a full professor of history and in his resignation letter, wrote: “...academic freedom merely survives at BYU without fundamental support by the institution, exists against tremendous pressure, and is nurtured only through the dedication of individual administrators and faculty members.”4

Academic freedom is a cherished right of university professors, since it permits them to accomplish honest and objective research and to teach without interference and censorship from university administrators or others. Academic freedom also allows a professor or a student to express his/her beliefs (political, economic, religious, etc.) without arbitrary interference. Without academic freedom, points of view on issues within the university could be forced upon them by administrators and other controlling authorities. Academic freedom is especially important in the social science fields such as sociology, history, political science and geography which often deal with controversial areas. This is not to say that academic freedom is not important in other areas such as medicine, business administration, physics, English, foreign languages and the Arts. A one-political party control of a university, for example, that would prevent professors from being members of opposing parties or cause to be prevented certain research that might be harmful to the political party in control would be intolerable in a university within a free and open society.

BYU does not have academic freedom as is generally proclaimed by the National Organizations of Professors (such as the American Association of University Professors) and restricts its students and professors from expressing or practicing anything that does not square with the teachings and doctrine of the church. To prevent professors or students on campus from being “contaminated,” non church approved films such as the Godfather have been banned from the campus as have such speakers as Senator Edward Kennedy, Betty Ford, Senator George McGovern, Ralph Nader and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.5

A student newspaper Seventh East Press was banned by the university when it published an interview by Dr. Sterling McMurrin, former U. S. Commissioner of Education in which he stated:

“I came to the conclusion at a very early age, earlier than I can remember, that you don’t get books from angels and translate them by miracles; it is just that simple. So I simply don’t believe the Book of Mormon to be authentic. I think that all of the hassling over the authenticity of the Book of Mormon is just a waste of time. Many things have been intentionally ignored and sometimes concealed or have been taken to have religious meanings or implications which, in my opinion, have no religious connections whatsoever. I believe that the Church has intentionally distorted its own history by dealing fast and loose with historical data and imposing theological and religious interpretations on the data that are entirely unwarranted.”6

Since the General Authorities still hold that the Book of Mormon is an authentic history, any attack on the book as being false is considered to be unfaithful. And there is irony in that BYU claims to be a university that teaches honesty and truth, while at the same time attempts to cover up all of the evidence that shows many of the Church’s doctrines and teachings to be false. As a result, conflicts between honesty and cover-up are constants in the church’s administration and leadership at the university not only among students and faculty but among relationships with outsiders.

While BYU has managed to keep its accreditation by an outside agency in spite of its lack of academic freedom, it failed in 1992 to be approved for a local chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa “the nation’s most prestigious academic honors society... on the grounds that its mission as defined was incompatible with academic freedom.”7

Several BYU faculty members have run into trouble with the General Authorities and the BYU administration. There was a great deal of opposition to the university rule that faculty members must have an annual “checking-up” letter on file from their bishop saying that they were temple worthy which made all scholarly careers subject to the endorsement of non-academic, off-campus church officials.

David Knowlton and Cecilia Konchar Farr appealed the negative results of their tenure reviews, Knowlton among other things for publishing in Dialogue and Sunstone and Farr “for her feminism and support of abortion rights.” Another BYU Professor was fired in 1995 “over criticism of the violence in his award winning book of short stories, Altmanns’ Tongue. Still another faculty member’s tenure was saved (he had completed research that “suggested the church’s international activity level is considerably lower than convert baptisms suggest)” when he convinced one of the apostles of his sincere testimony.8 Another BYU professor was fired in 1996, “contrary to her department and college recommendation. The reason for terminating the English teacher was for expressing feminist views off campus. ... In support of this decision, a university spokesman notes that five percent of her student-evaluations complain that [her] courses in English literature do not offer ‘gospel insights’ and are not ‘spiritually uplifting,’ even though 95 percent of student evaluations rank her highly.”9

One official connected with the university was so upset with “what the brethren want and what we know is right” that he said: “It still bothers those of us who work here and must constantly juggle what the brethren want and what we ourselves know is right. You really have to wrestle with your conscience sometimes in cases like this, because if you don’t you’re going to be in deep trouble. There are no accolades for heroes here. You either keep you mouth shut and do what you’re told, or take a stand for honesty and find yourself immediately unemployed. Those, I’m afraid are the hard, cold facts of life when you decide to work up here.”10

“Academic Freedom” controlled by General Authorities

Academic freedom and freedom of speech are clearly not included in the goals of the General Authorities. The mission of the General Authorities is to perpetuate and enhance the Mormon Church and they have the financial resources to do this by having control of all income generated by the church. By offering several attractive career-building programs such as pre-medicine, law, education, pre-dentistry and pre-optometry, along with low tuition costs, they can attract promising students to their university. The students and faculty have the responsibility to support church leaders and to be faithful to church doctrine and teachings. For most Mormons, these are not difficult responsibilities, since they have been so immersed in church teachings all of their lives to be faithful to their church and to believe that the General Authorities are infallible. For others, who feel that freedom of individual thought, honesty and truthfulness, along with the basic American freedoms of speech and press are more important, they remain silent. The attitude often is: “I get a low cost education with a good paying career, and for this I can pretend that I believe in church doctrine even though I know it is false.” In other words, it is much easier to accept things as they are than it is to fight for freedom, truth and honesty.

Just as the United States Army has its military academy and the United States Air force has the Air force academy, the Mormon Church has BYU for training its future leaders. There are at least 100,000 leadership positions for Mormon priesthood holders to assume including bishops, stake presidents, mission, district and branch presidents, and the General Authorities. What better way could be found to provide for the thousands of leaders for the Mormon Church than to give them a low cost education which not only ensures further indoctrination into church teachings and beliefs, but also provides students with a lifetime comfortable income. And ten percent of this income will be funneled back into the church to pay for continued proselytizing and expansion of the church all controlled by a handful of men, the General Authorities. To these Church Authorities, it is a marvelous plan, but to the average American, who values basic freedoms and individual rights it can be disastrous. In reviewing literature on the Mormon Church, I have concluded that the General Authorities are bent on replacing the American free and pluralistic democratic society with a society controlled and governed not by freely elected officials, but by the male hierarchy of the Mormon Church who would control the appointment of all government officials, including the congressional members, governors, state legislators, local officials and even the President of the United States. It is believed that the ultimate plan of the Mormon Church and its authorities is to take all power to themselves, their president/prophet becoming the King of the world!

And the Mormon Church hierarchy’s indoctrination program which also prepares leaders for the American government is having outstanding success, for according to a BYU survey of its students, 98 percent believe in Joseph Smith as a prophet and 98 percent believe that the Mormon Church is divine, the [“Only True Church on the face of the whole earth.”] In addition, 88 percent would “place obedience to authority above your own personal preferences.” (These statistics have been furnished by Brigham Young University, and their authenticity has not been verified.)11 This BYU survey is troubling for non-Mormons who have read extensively concerning the doctrines and beliefs and the history of the LDS Church and are convinced that Joseph Smith was a false prophet, that the doctrines of the church are not of a divine nature, and who believe that “obedience to authority above your own personal preferences” is a most undesirable attribute for students in an American society.


1 Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, The Power and The Promise, Mormon America, 221


2 Deborah Laake, Secret Ceremonies, New York: William Morrow and Company, 1993, 43-44 (Excerpts Totaling 3-4 pages Copyright © 1993 by Deborah Laake., Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.)


3 Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, The Power and The Promise of Mormon America, 224


4 D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy, Extensions of Power, 882


5 Anson Shupe, Wealth and Power in American Zion, Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1992, 205 (With permission of the Author)


6 Ibid., 206 (Blake Ostler, “7EP interview: Sterling McMurrin,” Seventh East Press, 11 January 1983, p. 1)


7 Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, The Power and the Promise of Mormon America, 234


8 Ibid., 234-235


9 D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy, Extensions of Power, 897


10 Anson Shupe, Wealth And Power In American Zion, 208


11 Richard N.Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, The Power and the Promise of Mormon America, 224-225

E-mail = wood1@mormonconspiracy.com



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Greetings!

From Charles L. Wood, Author of the book, "The Mormon Conspiracy."

Reading the "Book of Mormon," praying about and asking God if it is true is a common plea of church leaders to encourage members to accept that the Mormon Church is true and that the "Book of Mormon" is true. If you have a good feeling after you have completed these suggestions, then according to church leaders, one knows that Joseph Smith’s book is true. However, receiving a good feeling about something does not tell one the truth.

Members are taught to develop a testimony such as: “I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, that I know that the Mormon Church is the only true church on the face of the earth and that Gordon B Hinckley is a prophet of God.” Their testimony is recited often in church meetings and is eventually ingrained in members’ brains.

The key to their testimony is I know, I know, I know. The testimony is an integral part of mind control that church leaders exercise over Mormon Church members. Tammy Braithwaite, a former long-time member of the Church taught her young children a testimony, as soon as they were able to talk. She remembers her son repeating his testimony: “I know that Joseph Smith was a pwoffut and the Book of Mommun is twoo.” She now knows that she was teaching her son to lie and realizes that this kind of repetition of meaningless mantras is, of course one of the techniques in brainwashing.

Despite overwhelming evidence against the authenticity of the “Book of Mormon,” Mormons claim to have a spiritual witness or “testimony” that transcends science. Many religious groups have fought and killed each other while fervently praying to God for help. One example of the fanaticism of Mormonism is the Mountain Meadows massacre that occurred near Cedar City, Utah on September 11, 1857. On this date Mormons killed more than 120 members of a wagon train driving about 1000 cattle from Arkansas to California to sell to the gold miners. This was all done in the name of God since the Mormons were trying to get revenge for the Death of Joseph Smith in 1844 and Orson Pratt, a Mormon apostle killed in Missouri. Church Leaders from Cedar City planned and committed this massacre. As you can see, A personal testimony in action can be a very frightening thing.

To illustrate how a strong testimony of a Mormon can result in disaster is the following true story of a seven young women missionaries who were secretly called, one at a time, by the mission president (All missionaries of the Mormon Church are assigned to a missionary center with a mission president in charge.), a very spiritual man. Swearing them to secrecy, he told each of them that the president of the Church was going to change Church policy and restore plural marriage (polygamy). The mission president also told each of these young ladies that he had personally received a revelation from the Lord that she was to marry him.

Following the example of Joseph Smith (founder of the Mormon Church) he told these young ladies that they were entitled to know the truth for themselves. He counseled each of them to fast and pray with a sincere heart and a desire to know the will of the Lord.

Then an amazing thing happened. Six out of the seven lady missionaries returned to the mission president’s office within a few days and told him with tears in their eyes, that their prayers had been answered. They had received a testimony that he had spoken the truth. Each of these young ladies expressed their love and agreed to marry him, a man three times their age!

However, one of the lady missionaries broke her oath of secrecy and called her parents to ask for advice, that resulted in the mission president being sent home as well as the 6 lady missionaries that volunteered to marry the mission president.

How can such a thing happen? The mission president was lying and yet these young ladies somehow received a testimony that he was telling them the truth. This happened because the young ladies trust an authority figure more than the trust their own thinking. (Taken from “The Keystone of Mormonism” by Arza Evans 2003 page 120)

Evans further writes:

“….to emphasize the importance of reason and the danger of reason and the danger of reliance upon emotions and feelings, I would like to use a quotation from a master of manipulation and opportunism, Adolf Hitler:

“Reason can treacherously deceive a man, but emotion is always sure and never leaves him.”

Hitler’s first deputy, Rudolf Hess, echoed the words of his Fuhrer when he told a large audience of Nazis:

Do not seek Adolf Hitler with your brains, you will find him with your hearts.

This irrational, anti-intellectual, and emotional climate resulted in a moral vacuum and a holocaust where as many as twelve million people were killed in concentration camps while over forty five million others were killed on the battlefields of World War II. This is what can happen when large numbers of people rely on emotions, and allow an authoritarian leader to do their thinking.

The Mormon missionaries are asking one to use your emotions in deciding whether or not the Mormon Church is true and that their key gospel, the “Book of Mormon” is true.”

“The Keystone of Mormonism” by Arza Evans is a powerful book that explains the great influence that emotions rather than the truth have upon humans.

This book can be obtained through the website: amazon.com Log on to: "The Keystone of Mormonism. "

While Mormonism is a hoax and fraud invented by Joseph Smith, his scribes and associates and continued with Mormon Church leaders since his time, it continues to influence people through brain control by emotions and indoctrination through a testimony.

Many Mormons have left the church when they wanted to increase a weak testimony that they had by studying church history. In their research, they simply discovered that Mormonism was a fraud.


Contact me by e-mail at: wood1@mormonconspiracy.com

The Mormon Conspiracy Newsletter HOME PAGE

June 20th 2005 NEWSLETTER

From Charles L. Wood: Author of The Mormon Conspiracy

""The Keystone of Mormonism by Professor Evans

Keystone of Mormonism Home Page



"Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck


Greetings!

In my research of Mormonism and contacts with authors of Mormonism books, I have become acquainted with many of the deceptions promoted by church leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, or simply, the Mormon Church. First, I would like to highlight two books that I have read that I thought that you might be interested in. Click on the following picture to see "The Mormon Conspiracy" at amazon.com and to search for the two featured books in this newsletter titled "Keystone of Mormonism" and "Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck.

Author Charles L. Wood
The Mormon Conspiracy. Click on the book to see it at amazon.com




"The Keystone of Mormonism" by Professor Evans



The first book is "The Keystone of Mormonism" by Arza Evans. This book highlights the deceptions of Joseph Smith in his "Book of Mormon." Professor Evans provides a vivid description of the problems that he found with Mormonism and more especially key statements in Smith's book that are fraudulent and proves that the book is nothing more than fiction.



Following is an article written by the author of "The Keystone of Mormonism," Arza Evans:



POST-MORMON FEELINGS


ARZA EVANS



(AUTHOR OF THE KEYSTONE OF MORMONISM)


When I finally became convinced that Joseph Smith was a clever con-man and that his Book of Mormon was not sacred ancient history but part of an ingenious mind game that he was playing with his gullible followers, this created some strong feelings in me. These feelings are probably typical of other Post- Mormon truth seekers.


FEAR


The first of my new feelings was fear. What will become of me? Will I lose my marriage and my family? And even if my wife stays with me, will she be angry and heartbroken? I was quite sure that my parents and my brothers and my sister would be either angry or heartbroken or both. Will I lose my job and have to move my family if I still have a family to move? Will they excommunicate me? (They did.) How many friends will I lose? Can I stand not being able to see my own children get married if they choose to get married in an LDS temple?

And what if I am wrong? Should I trust my own mind or just follow Church leaders? My parents and my brothers and my sister are intelligent people. Why don't they see the same deception that I see? Also, I am a fairly intelligent person. Why did it take me so many years to discover the truth? This is really scary. My eternal salvation may be at stake here! Should I bet everything I have on this or should I fold?

My fears were so strong that for a number of years I kept my true thoughts and feelings to myself. I became a "closet doubter." This was not good for my physical or mental health. But after all, how much should a person be willing to sacrifice on the alter of truth?

Fear is what keeps many people, even Church leaders, active in Mormonism. A woman friend of mine went to her stake president to get her temple recommend signed. He said, "Where is your husband?" She said, "He doesn't believe in the Church anymore." The stake president said, "Why not?" The woman said, "My husband started doing research into Church history and it made him see things in an entirely different way." The stake president said, "I know what you mean. I started to read THE JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES and other Church history books. It nearly destroyed my testimony. I had to quit reading those things."

A good question for every LDS man and for every LDS woman to ask is, "What would I do differently in my life if I were not afraid?"


SADNESS, BEREAVEMENT


Disillusionment with Mormonism has resulted in great sadness for me and for almost all of the other men and women I have talked with who have left the LDS Church. I think this bereavement has been even greater for me than the death of my parents. I don't know of one Post-Mormon person who started out to prove that Mormonism is not true or who has been gleeful with the results of their findings. The truth not only hurts, it is devastating! How can any active Church member really believe that one of their friends or relatives enjoys finding out that some of their most sacred and cherished beliefs are not true! And yet, there is no sympathy or condolence for the person suffering from this bereavement. Instead, Post-Mormons can usually expect anger and ostracism.


CONFUSION, AN UPSIDE DOWN WORLD


Moving away from Mormonism can turn a person's world upside down. At least that is how it has been for me. Things that used to bring me pride, now bring me shame and embarrassment. Instead of being proud that I sold my car and spent entire my life savings going on an LDS mission to the Chicago area (a very dangerous and tough mission), I deeply regret wasting two years of my life andall of my college money bearing my testimony about things that I now know are not true.

Also, I helped to break up a number of families when one person, usually the wife, became converted and then left her unbelieving husband. Naturally she wanted to find an LDS priesthood holder who would take her to a temple for an eternal marriage. I probably should have been horse-whipped by some of those angry husbands. I sincerely wish I could go back and change all of this, but I can't. All I can say is that I am very very sorry.

I am no longer proud of being a faithful tithe payer. Almost all tithing goes for Church indoctrination programs, temple building, and missionary work. I no longer believe in these things. Very little tithing goes to help the poor.

I am not proud of being married in an LDS temple. I regret getting married in a place where Masonic rituals were presented as Christianity. I was told that learning these secret signs and passwords was necessary in order to pass by the angels and enter into God's clubhouse in the next world. Young family members, "unworthy" family members and "unworthy" friends were excluded from my wedding. An LDS temple marriage is not a celebration for the whole family. It is an occasion for ostracism of many family members. The Church is not family oriented but power oriented. It breaks up many families to enhance its power.

I am not proud of gaining my masters degree at Brigham Young University where the academic freedom of professors is very limited. LDS Faculty members need to pay tithing, have temple recommends, and carefully guard their comments in order to stay out of trouble. BYU is not widely respected in the academic world. I noticed a big difference when transferring to the University of Utah for further post-graduate studies.

My attitude toward my parents has also changed. Why were they so willing to indoctrinate me, a trusting little child, with Mormonism. Why didn't they ask a few open-minded questions and do some serious research? And why didn't they seem to have any questions about the temple rituals? In many ways my world has been turned upside down.


ANGER, BETRAYAL, ENTRAPMENT


How is a person supposed to feel when she or he finally comes to believe that they and their entire family for generations have been duped by a very clever con-man? And what about all of those who have suffered and died on the plains and also those who have made great sacrifices in other ways for Joseph Smith's deceptions and myths? Are we to just look the other way and pretend that all of this pain and suffering never happened? This kind of spiritual deception is much worse than any stock fraud or pyramid scheme. It is passed on from generation to generation. The truth is that there never were any gold plates, Lamanites, Nephites, Jaredites, or Gadianton Robbers except in Smith's imagination. Once a person comes to realize this, he or she begins to feel like a gullible fool.

Powerful feelings of betrayal and entrapment emerge as a person begins to see the enormity of Joseph Smith's spiritual deception and the control of LDS entrapment. How can a person ever become free from this web of Mormon entanglement if a wife (or husband), parents, children, and grandchildren still belong to Joseph Smith and his Church?

The amazing thing to me is how much anger management and self control Post-Mormons seem to have. Perhaps this is because we have learned that prolonged anger can be self destructive and that forgiveness seems to be better for one's own physical and mental health.

It has always helped me with my anger management to realize that if there is an afterlife and a judgment day, then Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other false prophets and adulterers are now being severely punished by the Lord. But if there is no afterlife or judgment day, then these men have ceased to exist. They would have no way of taking any satisfaction in how wildly successful their deception has become.

It also helps me to realize that it took many years for me to finally see through the cunning dishonesty of early Church leaders. Then how can I expect better than this from others? Dreams die hard!


HAPPINESS, FREEDOM, EXHILARATION


After leaving Mormonism, many of us have felt a strong sense of freedom and happiness. A heavy burden has been lifted from our shoulders. We can now read anything we want to read and do our own thinking. We no longer need to ask, "Does this information that I am reading go along with Mormonism? Is it faith promoting?" It doesn't matter any more. And, we can even choose our own underwear!

We are now free to respect the beliefs of other churches and religions and reject Joseph Smith's claim that the Lord told him that other churches were "all wrong" and that their ministers and pastors were "all corrupt." What deceptive nonsense this "revelation" was and is! How could I have believed this baloney for so many years? And Post- Mormons no longer need to rationalize away or explain why over ninety percent of Joseph Smith's many prophesies never happened. The answer is obvious to an objective observer. Joseph Smith was a false prophet.

We no longer need to explain away or defend the immoral and illegal activities of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and other Church leaders. These activities included money digging, an illegal bank, secret police (Danites) a private army (Zion's Camp), polygamy, and blood atonement. Involvement of Church leaders in the Mountain Meadows Massacre and other atrocities no longer reflect upon us Post-Mormons. We reject all of these things and the Church leaders involved.

We no longer need to explain away the many contradictions between BOOK OF MORMON Mormonism and Nauvoo Mormonism. The overwhelming scientific evidence against the authenticity of THE BOOK OF MORMON including the Asian DNA of Native Americans is no longer our problem. But it is still a very big problem for LDS Church defenders.

We are also free from guilt for not attending endless meetings, and for not fasting, doing genealogy, temple work, home teaching, accepting all "callings," and confessing our personal lives to the bishop. We are free from the financial stress of paying tithing, and sending our children on missions. We are also free to spend more time with our families.

In the immortal words of Dr. Martin Luther King: "Free at last! Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Note: There is no copyright on this paper. (Feel free to make copies.)

THE KEYSTONE OF MORMONISM is a powerful book. Please contact me at: E-mail arza@charter.net



The Keystone of Mormonism HOME PAGE by Professor Evans

Keystone of Mormonism Home Page

MORMON CONSPIRACY HOME PAGE

Great Websites:

Post Mormon Home Page

Latter-Day Lampoon Home Page

Joseph Lied Home Page


"Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck


The second book is "Leaving The Saints" by Martha Beck and can be purchased at amazon.com. Beck's book describes the trauma that she has faced throughout her life after being raped by her father, Hugh Nibley at the age of five. She also provides a summary of her journey from Mormonism. Her father was an apologist (defender of the Mormon church) who was also a gifted writer. Because he was an avid believer in the religion of Mormonism, he was often contacted by church leaders to defend the church from critics that posed a threat to Mormonism's survival. For example, when Fawn Brodie's classic book was published in 1945, "No Man Knows My History," it raised a furor within and outside of Mormondom. Hugh Nibley was commissioned by Mormon Church leaders to answer the allegations made by Brodie on the life of Joseph Smith. As a result, the church published Hugh Nibley's "No Ma'am, This Ain't History" that was an attempt to discredit Brodie's book. Later Nibley was commissioned by Mormon Church leaders to discredit the discovery that Joseph Smith falsely claimed that he translated the "Book of Abraham" from ancient Egyptian writings.

These two books provide excellent supplements to my book, "The Mormon Conspiracy." If you wish to comment on these books, or would like to discuss "The Mormon Conspiracy," please contact me by e-mail at:
E-mail wood1@mormonconspiracy.com



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