The purpose of this blog is to discuss when the word “Cumorah” was first known to the leaders and people in the Church. Many Historians think the word “Cumorah” was only known after 1831, and Heartlanders believe it was as early as 1823 when Joseph knew the word “Cumorah” and the Church members knew this term as early as 1829.
Why is that important? Many historians say that the hill in New York was not called Cumorah until later in histroy as they claim the hill in NY [not called Cumorah], where Joseph found the gold plates was not the same hill where the last battles of the Nephites was fought. These historians believe the last battles happened somewhere in Mexico in a hill that does not necessarily have the name of Cumorah.
Some critics of the Church seem to continualy point out a disparity between what the prophets have taught about hill Cumorah and the revisionist Church history as a weapon to undermine faith. My feelings are that it would be far better to report the truth in the first place.
Millions of Church members plus future generations, may have no hope of learning the complete truth about the gospel, when the LDS book titled, “Saints”, The Standard of Truth, Volume 1, seems that some historians at times deliberately suppress and change Church history into what they think is an acceptable “narrative history”. I like the true history not someones made up narrative that they seem to like better.
“Saints” presents an opportunity to inform Church members about the truth using a narrative history, not necessarily a factual history. Some Church historians claim they are neutral on the location of Hill Cumorah. That appears to be the reason they may chose to mislead readers by not citing and quoting Lucy’s corrected account about the name of the hill as Cumorah, [as I speak about below], and other narratives they include like leaving the name Cumorah out of the “Saints” text replacing it with “the hill”, and at other times leaving out the word “Lamanites” from the text as well.
More blogs can be found at the end of this article that speak about how the book Saints eliminated the words Cumorah, and Lamanites. Also there are blogs that show how the Wentworth Letter was not fully quoted in a Church manual and why some scholars seem to edit things out of important Church works.
Mesoamerican Quotes
“The archaeology of New York—and specifically the Hill Cumorah—is persuasive evidence that Book of Mormon peoples did not live in that region. By implication, the Cumorah of the golden plates is not the Cumorah of the final battles—Mormon’s hill and Moroni’s hill are not one and the same. These conclusions follow from a few basic points and assumptions that the author explores in this article.” Clark, John E. “Archaeology and Cumorah Questions.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 13 (2004): 144–51, 174.https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol13/iss1/15.
“We await answers for most questions evoked by this miracle of divinely supervised archaeological toil. What we do know is that Joseph Smith Jr. found the golden plates and other relics in a stone box in a hill near his home, a prominence now known as Cumorah.” Clark, John E. “Archaeology and Cumorah Questions page 146. As you see, Brother Clark says, “now known” not “then known” as Joseph and others have said.
Brother Clark also says, “Most proposals for the location of Mormon’s final stand fall into one of two possibilities: either the Palmyra hill or one in Middle America 2,000 miles to the south. Here I consider reasons for questioning the case for a New York location. I am unaware of any archaeological investigation of the hill itself, but sufficient information is available for the surrounding regions to make a critical assessment. Mormon’s hill and Moroni’s hill are not one and the same.” Clark, John E. “Archaeology and Cumorah Questions page 146 We believe there is only one possibility that Hill Cumorah was in New York.
Many Mesoamericans also don’t believe there was a cave in Cumorah NY, as a separate place from where the stone box was found at Cumorah in NY. They believe that Brigham Young’s quote about Joseph and Oliver going into a large cave at Hill Cumorah was a dream about some place in Mexico. Here is the quote, what do you think?
Cave in Hill Cumorah NY
“Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: “This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.” I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it just as well as we understand coming to this meeting. . . . [Don] Carlos Smith was a young man of as much veracity as any young man we had, and he was a witness to these things. Samuel Smith saw some things, Hyrum saw a good many things, but Joseph was the leader.” Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 17 June 1877
Not having a seperate place in NY Cumorah is also being purposely avoided my some Mesoamercanists as well as the final battles not fought in NY, but in some place in Mexico.
Parley P. Pratt’s Quote
Here is the quote that Mesoamerican theorists use to say no one knew the hill was called Cumorah until this quote by Parley P Pratt in 1831.
“This Book, which contained these things, was hid in the earth by Moroni, in a hill called by him, Cumorah, which hill is now in the State of New York, near the village of Palmyra, in Ontario County.” Quote from Parley P. Pratt in Feb 1831. The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt – Revised and Enhanced Edition – Chapter 8
Knowledge of Cumorah before 1831 as Heartlanders know.
Heartlanders believe that Mormon’s hill and Moroni’s hill are both in Hill Cumorah NY at different locations in that same hill,and Joseph knew the name “Cumorah” as early as 1823 according to His mothers jourrnal as you see below.
1. Lucy Mack Smith’s Journal of 1845, hs a quote from the year 1823. “The record is on a side hill on the Hill of Cumorah 3 miles from this place.” Lucy Mack Smith https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/41 2. Early 1827– Joseph Smith (Quoted by his mother Lucy Mack Smith) “Stop, father, Stop.” said Joseph, “it was the angel of the Lord— as I passed by the hill of Cumorah, where the plates are, the angel of the Lord met me and said, that I had not been engaged enough in the work of the Lord” https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1845/111 3. In 1829 David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and Joseph Smith hear a messenger from their wagon while traveling to Fayette say, “No, I am going to Cumorah.’ This name was something new to me, I did not know what Cumorah meant.”David Whitmer http://www.lettervii.com/p/trip-to-fayette-references.html
At one point, the chapter relates an account of Joseph being chastised.
Here’s the quotation:
Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844-5 the part quoted and cited in Saints is lined out
One day, Joseph went to town on an errand. Expecting him back for dinner, his parents were alarmed when he did not return. They waited for hours, unable to sleep. At last Joseph opened the door and threw himself into a chair, exhausted.
“Why are you so late?” his father asked.
“I have had the severest chastisement that I ever had in my life,” Joseph said.
“Who has been taking you to task?” demanded his father.
“It was the angel of the Lord,” Joseph replied. “He says I have been negligent.” The day of his next meeting with Moroni was coming soon. “I must be up and doing,” he said. “I must set myself about the things which God has commanded me to do.”19
This is Lucy Mack Smith’s history from 1844-5. If you go to the link, you’ll see that the quoted section is lined out.
We wonder, why would Saints misquote and cite a source that was lined out in the original?
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Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845 The revision that quotes Joseph referring to Cumorah before he even got the plates is not mentioned, quoted or cited in Saints.
Here is the later, corrected version from 1845:
Presently he smiled, and said in a very calm tone, “I have taken the severest chastisement, that I have ever had in my life”.
My husband, supposing it was from some of the neighbors, was quite angry; and observed, “I would would like to know what business any body has to find fault with you.”
“Stop, father, Stop.” said Joseph, “it was the angel of the Lord—as I passed by the hill of Cumorah, where the plates are, the angel of the Lord met me and said, that I had not been engaged enough in the work of the Lord; that the time had come for the record to <be> brought forth; and, that I must be up and doing, and set myself about the things which God had commanded me to do: but, Father,’ continued he, ‘give yourself no uneasiness concerning the reprimand that I have received; for I now know the course that I am to pursue; so all will be well.”
This statement about Cumorah completely supports the teachings of the prophets that Cumorah is in New York. Here Lucy explains that Joseph knew the name Cumorah even before he got the plates. He could only have learned this from Moroni.
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Saints should have used Lucy’s later version. In fact they cite the later version in note 22!.
Using the later one should be obvious.
So why did Saints use the old version?
I think the editors of Saints avoided the corrected version because they realize it refutes M2C.*
The editors will say that they are neutral on the question of Book of Mormon geography, including the New York Cumorah.
But is that a reason to quote and cite a passage they know Lucy later corrected, especially without telling readers what they’re doing?
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The M2C intellectuals always have a rationale for disbelieving early Church history accounts that contradict their theory. They have said we should disbelieve Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Lucy Smith, among others.
In this case, they claim we should disbelieve Lucy because she must have added this comment about Cumorah because she was confused; i.e., by the time she dictated this history in 1845, the New York Cumorah was well established by Letter VII, D&C 128, etc. Therefore, according to the M2C intellectuals, we can’t believe what Lucy wrote here.
And, apparently, the editors of Saints agreed with their M2C friends.
But consider this.
Just because the original sources are not “neutral” on Book of Mormon geography, does that give the editors of Saints the right to revise Church history?
I think not.
One of the tragedies of Saints is that it is teaching the world the revisionist Church history, not what the original documents actually say.
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Here is one of the practical consequences of this revisionist history.
Had Saints explained what Lucy said–what she directly quoted Joseph Smith as saying–readers would understand that Joseph knew the name of the hill before he even translated the plates.
Readers would realize that Joseph could have learned that only from Moroni.
And readers would realize that all the prophets and apostles who have taught that Cumorah is in New York were correct, while the M2C scholars who have taught that Cumorah cannot be in New York were not correct.
That would go a long way toward building unity in the Church.
Members everywhere would align themselves to what the prophets have taught instead of being misled by the teachings of the M2C intellectuals.
Now you see why the M2C intellectuals and their citation cartel don’t want members of the Church to even know about this.
_____
This may appear to be nit-picking, but I think this is a serious problem.
Even people fairly familiar with Church history would have passed this by unawares.
The millions of Church members around the world, in all languages, plus future generations, have no hope of learning the truth when Saints is deliberately suppressing and changing Church history this way. _____
BTW, the same M2C intellectuals who cite Lucy’s account for other details–Lucy is the sole source for many important events in early Church history–insist she was wrong about this. She had a poor memory, they say, or she conflated this account with another account.
Those of us who accept Lucy’s account point to two important indicia of credibility and reliability.
First, the earlier draft was lined out and replaced with more detail. Lucy directed the revisions, an indication that when she read the first draft, she realized it was not completely accurate. For example, the first account has the angel telling Joseph he was “negligent,” but the revised account has the angel telling Joseph he “had not been engaged enough in the work of the Lord.” Which sounds more like the words of Moroni?
Second, Lucy’s account of Joseph learning the name Cumorah from Moroni has corroboration in other historical accounts. For example, the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, a source cited in Saints (note 4 to Chapter 4), includes this quotation from Oliver Cowdery’s teachings to the Lamanites in Kansas: “This Book, which contained these things, was hid in the earth by Moroni, in a hill called by him, Cumorah, which hill is now in the State of New York, near the village of Palmyra, in Ontario county.” p. 57.
It’s possible Lucy knew what Oliver was teaching, but she didn’t get it from Pratt’s autobiography because it was not published until many years after this 1845 version of Lucy’s account was written.
_____
To summarize: Saints presented an opportunity to inform Church members about the truth.
The historians claim they are neutral on the New York Cumorah. That appears to be the reason they chose to mislead readers by not citing and quoting Lucy’s corrected account.
What they’re really saying is, the original sources are not neutral. They clearly taught that Cumorah is in New York.
The problem is not limited to Saints. The M2C ideology has been inserted throughout the commentary to the Joseph Smith Papers.
As a result, future generations will have no chance to learn the actual history and what the prophets have taught.
Critics of the Church will continue to point out the disparity between what the prophets have taught and the revisionist Church history as a weapon to undermine faith.
I think it would be far better to report the truth in the first place.
Of course, I also think it would be better to sustain the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah, but the exact opposite is going on at BYU/CES/COB.” Jonathan Neville
More Details below about Historical LDS Book Edits
BLOG “Lamanites” and “Cumorah” not in Saints Book BLOG Why Ideological Edits by Scholars & Historians? BLOG “Religious Faith has Little Influence on Mormon Scholars” WHY BLOG Wentworth Letter- Why was a Church Manual Edited?
Some Professors that teach at BYU trouble me big time. I know the Prophet and Apostles are men of God and they hire the many Professors, CES Teachers, Scientists, and Historians, but that does not mean that all of these educators that are hired, teach the full principles of the true gospel. Many of them are wolves in sheep’s clothing and we members of Christ’s true church must discern truth vs. error. It is part of our calling as Christians. We shouldn’t judge, but it is certainly righteous to call out evil when we see it. It is wrong to judge the Church based on intellectuals who don’t follow the doctrine of the Savior.
False Doctrine
“I do not know all of the providences of the Lord, but I do know that he permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church and that such teaching is part of the sifting process of mortality.” Bruce R. McConkie, McConkie’s 1981 letter to BYU
Troubled Secularism
I continue to be troubled by the amount of secular learning our children are learning at elementary, junior high, high school, and especially at college. The Critical Race Theory (CRT) is happening everywhere and it is not good. It teaches the Black race of people as always victims and the White race are always aggressors and guilty of racism. There cannot be a unity if there is always racism. This is wrong. The Savior said that we should become one just as He and His Father are one. I have no white guilt and I love all people regardless of their race or creed. Let’s come together in Christ, not become divided.
I do not have a degree in higher education, but I have been around the block a few times and have studied hard about life and politics and religion. I am a life long and in good standing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I am thankful for a strong testimony of our Savior and His scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. I have always loved BYU and especially their sports. My father graduated from BYU in 1954. I have become more and more critical of many of the secular doctrines that BYU teaches. It hasn’t affected my testimony or love of the Prophet and Apostles by any means, but my concern is, are children strong in spirit enough to withstand the many secular teachings at BYU?
I am not judging the school but I am worried there are so many Professors not just teaching theory such as evolution, but teaching it as doctrine. This is easily provable. BYU Provo and Idaho are certainly fantastic institutions, but don’t expect your children to be shielded by Church doctrine at these schools. There are many wonderful professors but I believe there are are also some professors that care more about their own intelligence than about sharing Christian values with our children.
The downfall of the Church will never be between those who tout the Mesoamerican Theory of geography, vs. the Heartlanders who witness of a North American geography, but between the truth of the gospel and the great and spacious building who think they are smarter than the Brethren. Some of the so-called smart intellectuals are leading us to the separation of the wheat and tares. Of course, I am not saying all intellectuals, but so many historians and professors are teaching the philosophies of men on purpose. For example. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say anything about Joseph using a single seer stone in a hat to translate the plates, and yet there are over 8 scriptures and the firsthand testimony of Joseph and Oliver that testify the spectacles and breastplate or Interpreters, were used to translate.
Click the link below to get my list of 16 quotes here and it will help you with that argument as you study and pray about it. https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Book-of-Mormon-Hard-Evidence-Proper-Translation.pdf See my free pdf of information about how the breastplate and spectacles were used for the complete translation. HERE:[pdf-embedder url=”https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/6-page-Proper-Translation-of-the-Book-of-Mormon-1.pdf” title=”6 page Proper Translation of the Book of Mormon”]
Academics
“I have come to believe that it is the tendency for many members of the Church who spend a great deal of time in academic research to begin to judge the Church, its doctrine, organization, and leadership, present and past, by the principles of their own profession. Ofttimes this is done unwittingly, and some of it, perhaps, is not harmful.” The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. PackerElder Packer also said, “This problem has affected some of those who have taught and have written about the history of the Church. These professors say of themselves that religious faith has little influence on Mormon scholars. They say this because, obviously, they are not simply Latter-day Saints but are also intellectuals trained, for the most part, in secular institutions. They would that some historians who are Latter-day Saints write history as they were taught in graduate school, rather than as Mormons”. The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
Advocacy
“..We have to be careful that love and empathy do not get interpreted as condoning and advocacy, or that orthodoxy and loyalty to principle not be interpreted as unkindness or disloyalty to people. As near as I can tell, Christ never once withheld His love from anyone, but He also never once said to anyone, “Because I love you, you are exempt from keeping my commandments.” We are tasked with trying to strike that same sensitive, demanding balance in our lives.” Source: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-jeffrey-r-holland-2021-byu-university-conference
Honoring our Stewardships
“As members of the Church we have some close quarters to pass through if we are to save our souls. As the Church gets larger some men have increasing responsibility and more and more duties must be delegated. We all have stewardships for which we must account to the Lord.
Unfortunately some men who do not honor their stewardships may have an adverse affect on many people. Often the greater the man’s responsibility the more good or evil he can accomplish. The Lord usually gives a man a long enough rope and sufficient time to determine whether that man wants to pull himself into the presence of God or drop off somewhere below.
There are some regrettable things being said and done by some people in the Church today. As President Clark so well warned, “The ravening wolves are amongst us, from our own membership and they, more than any others, are clothed in sheep’s clothing because they wear the habiliments of the priesthood…. We should be careful of them.”
Sometimes from behind the pulpit, in our classrooms, in our Council meetings and in our church publications we hear, read or witness things that do not square with the truth. This is especially true where freedom is involved. Now do not let this serve as an excuse for your own wrong-doing. The Lord is letting the wheat and the tares mature before he fully purges the Church. He is also testing you to see if you will be misled. The devil is trying to deceive the very elect.” https://www.latterdayconservative.com/ezra-taft-benson/our-immediate-responsibility/
How a New Instagram Page is Exposing Apostate BYU Professors
I love BYU. My parents met at BYU. My older brother went to BYU, I grew up in Orem always dreaming about the day I would go to BYU and graduate, and if it was not for a crystal clear personal revelation I had to go to UVU, I would be a senior at BYU right now. Within that context, it breaks my heart to share with you the grave apostasy that is taking place among the faculty and staff at BYU. My wife goes to BYU and over the past year, she has shared with me the apostate teachings of her professors. One professor taught her that it is 100% okay to masturbate if you have the goal of trying to find out what pleasures you so that you can share that knowledge with your spouse. It broke my heart to hear that her professors were teaching this. But tonight one of my friends shared a new movement called “Keeping Faith at BYU” with me. (https://www.instagram.com/keeping_faith_at_byu and https://twitter.com/KeepingFaithBYU on twitter).
These social media pages are an anonymous place for BYU students to expose the apostate nature of their professors. At first, I figured it would be professors who were progressive/liberal pushing political ideology. But when I looked up the posts they were sharing, it is much worse than simply pushing politics, there is full-blown apostasy going on in Provo. These apostate BYU professors are teaching against the Family Proclamation, denouncing doctrines like personal responsibility, agency, or the law of chastity, and they are using their position within the church to speak out against the Church authorities. I want to share just a few of their posts.
Reading these posts made my stomach curl, what has happened to BYU? I don’t believe all the professors are apostate, but the house needs to be cleaned. We must demand that the gospel is the center and framework for all teaching at BYU. The gospel contains all truth of every field of study, no truth exists except it is embraced by the gospel. The purpose of BYU is to allow for the study of any given topic from the foundational understanding that restored gospel truth brings. Joseph F Smith taught, “There is no truth in any other religious society or organization, which is not included in the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and after him by the leaders and elders of this Church; but it requires some effort on our part, some exertion, some devotion, to learn of and to enjoy these things.” Yet many times BYU students feel like they can’t mingle the gospel with their studies, for example:
This ought not to be at BYU! We must have teachers who embrace the gospel truths in their respective fields and teach the gospel perspective of their fields to their students. John Taylor addressed the need to have good teachers when he said: “Whatever you do, be choice in your selection of teachers. We do not want infidels to mold the minds of our children. They are a precious charge bestowed upon us by the Lord, and we cannot be too careful in rearing and training them. I would rather have my children taught the simple rudiments of a common education by men of God, and have them under their influence, than have them taught in the most abstruse [or complex] sciences by men who have not the fear of God in their hearts.” These professors are not just rogue professors at a state university, they are not even just members pushing their ideas as doctrine, these professors are practicing priestcraft, they are being paid with the tithing funds of the Church. Think about that, the widow’s mite is paying professional apostates who are actively teaching the philosophies of men, mingled with scripture! Prophetic are the words of Harold B. Lee that perfectly describe these professors: There are those in the Church who speak of themselves as liberals who, as one of our former presidents has said, “read by the lamp of their own conceit.” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine [Deseret Book Co., 1939], p. 373.)
One time I asked one of our Church educational leaders how he would define a liberal in the Church. He answered in one sentence: “A liberal in the Church is merely one who does not have a testimony.” Dr. John A. Widtsoe, former member of the Quorum of the Twelve and an eminent educator, made a statement relative to this word liberal as it applied to those in the Church. This is what he said: “The self-called liberal [in the Church] is usually one who has broken with the fundamental principles or guiding philosophy of the group to which he belongs. … He claims membership in an organization but does not believe in its basic concepts; and sets out to reform it by changing its foundations.
As members of the Church, we need to speak up and speak out against the apostate faculty and staff at BYU. We need a cleansing of the inner vessel. Am I calling for these professors to be fired? Yes, I am 100% advocating that BYU fire any and all faculty and staff that are actively teaching against the very organization that they belong to! Not only do I believe those who teach against the gospel should be fired at BYU, when warranted I believe they should be excommunicated for using their position of authority within the church to destroy the testimony of the youth and lead them into apostasy. To quote President Benson, “Watchmen—what of the night? We must respond by saying that all is not well in Zion. As Moroni counseled, we must cleanse the inner vessel (see Alma 60:23), beginning first with ourselves, then with our families, and finally with the Church.” Cleansing the inner vessel, General Conference, April 1986.
So what can we do? We can stand up and make our voices heard. If you have stories of apostate professors share them, You can follow the social media accounts for Keeping Faith at BYU: Keeping Faith at BYU on Twitter Keeping Faith at BYU on Instagram Keeping Faith at BYU on Facebook You can sign the petition to have BYU retrench (return the roots of the gospel). The petition to retrench at BYU is on change.org You can also share this blog post, and these pages with your friends and family and raise awareness about what is happening at BYU. If you are sending your children to BYU, you can encourage them to stand for truth and against professors. Teach them to think critically and value standing for truth more than a grade. There are things more important than GPA’s. Encourage them not to simply drop the class with rogue professors and let them preach their false doctrines unopposed, but to stand for truth and challenge the professor. You can pray for the brave students are standing against their professors, and also pray for the students who are not standing out of fear that they will find the courage to stand up for truth. I believe in BYU. I believe in its mission. Let us cleanse our personal vessels, family vessels, and then let us do our duty stand up and speak out to help cleanse and maintain the purity of the Church and BYU. If you liked this article, you might like these other articles about BYU and Brigham Young.
Dear Brigham Young haters: Leave my prophet alone!The three underlying issues behind the BYU honor code protests.
At a recent post over at BCC, a tenured BYU-X professor communicates some anxiety about CES’ new direction, which is certainly their right, but in doing so the author calls the people who made this decision (i.e. the brethren, if that wasn’t clear from Elder Holland’s talk) autocrats, and prominently displays the fasces at the top of the post. Now, I don’t know if this is a weird attempt at a “they who have ears to hear” thing, but the fasci is a well-established symbol of fascism. Implying that the people who actually have the power to do anything about this are autocratic fascists isn’t going to help their case. While as a matter of principle I think non-inflammatory rhetoric is generally best, for what it’s worth I’m on the other side of this. However, I’m actually skeptical that the new direction will achieve much, although I might be wrong. It doesn’t matter if all the deans are on board with the church’s “teachings on marriage, family, and gender” (which they aren’t, in at least one case I’m aware of); I suspect that the faculty who fundamentally disagree with the Church on hot button social topics and are in part at BYU to “reform” the Church through its institutions will just lay low and continue to hire the kind of people who also fundamentally disagree with the Church and are trying to reform it. I suspect that the concern over arbitrariness, while valid, is also in part simply masking a concern that the Church is putting their foot down on the expectation that faculty’s primary ideological loyalties lie with the Church when its teachings directly conflict with another ideology (usually the predominant ideology of the academic discipline). For example, a less “bishop roulette” and more “one size fits all” alternative that I suspect would cause even more gnashing of teeth is for the Church to ask more direct questions (e.g. do you support the Church’s theological position that only a man and woman married together can be exalted? Do you believe that President Nelson is God’s most authorized representative on earth? For non-members maybe replace “support” with “respect”) that don’t leave any wiggle room like the current wording does. Then, the Church is very public and open about asking these questions, so eventually word gets around the relevant academic professional organizations that every BYU professor has signed a faith statement to that effect, essentially forcing BYU professors to be more transparent about where they stand instead of being coy about where their primary loyalties lie when the Church’s position conflicts with the predominant ideology in the field. If that makes it so BYU can’t recruit enough to field a full department, then so be it.
There are a lot of other places the widow’s mite can be spent, because at the end of the day BYU is not the gospel or the Church, and the mission of the Church is less dependent on recruiting a theorist from a top ten school than some academics think. The implicit threat that the departments will be hollowed out if the Church presses these issues does not have much leverage, as I suspect the Board of Trustees would be fine if the English Department was operating at half strength. (Although I have no idea where the BYU English Department is on these issues, for all I know they’re all Molly Mormons who never skipped seminary). Of course, it’s not my place to tell the First Presidency what to do here, but I’m making the point that from some perspectives the new direction is less restrictive than it could, and possibly should be in order to get BYU faculty on-mission.
“I love being a part of the diversity committee in the College of Life Sciences. Helping students to become actively antiracist is one of the most important things I’ve done as a BYU faculty member. The affirmation Black Lives Matter has helped me see the importance of working towards a more inclusive BYU for all its students.” Steven Peck COLLEGE OF LIFE SCIENCES DIVERSITY COMMITEE BYU Impact Magazine page 27
This troublesome Newsweek article by Steven Peck still disturbs me after all these years. Read it below.
Also a very concerning article in LDS living is from an intelligent member of the church who affiliates with Bok of Mormon Central and other apologetic groups, here called 5 Answers to Difficult Questions About Noah and the Flood. Do not yield your faith in payment for an advanced degree or for the recognition and acclaim of the world. Do not turn away from the Lord nor from his Church nor from his servants. You are needed—oh, how you are needed! It may be that you will lay your scholarly reputation and the acclaim of your colleagues in the world as a sacrifice upon the altar of service. They may never understand the things of the Spirit as you have a right to do. They may not regard you as an authority or as a scholar. Just remember, when the test came to Abraham, he didn’t really have to sacrifice Isaac. He just had to be willing to. The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
I feel the quotes below in this blog speak better than I can relate to you. It is my belief that we should continually seek for truth, but we can also learn from the untruths of this world by prayer and study as we get closer to our Father in Heaven. I believe it is easy to be swayed by any easy solution, but the truths of God must be gained through effort and diligence. Be not deceived, there is far more truth found in the Scriptures than in any text book written by man. Learning truth is not easy but it is definitely worth the effort.
Secular Teachings
“This problem has affected some of those who have taught and have written about the history of the Church. These professors say of themselves that religious faith has little influence on Mormon scholars. They say this because, obviously, they are not simply Latter-day Saints but are also intellectuals trained, for the most part, in secular institutions. They would that some historians who are Latter-day Saints write history as they were taught in graduate school, rather than as Mormons.” The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer“When we seek the truth about religion, we should use spiritual methods appropriate for that search: prayer, the witness of the Holy Ghost, and study of the scriptures and the words of modern prophets. I am always sad when I hear of one who reports a loss of religious faith because of secular teachings. Those who once had spiritual vision can suffer from self-inflicted spiritual blindness. As President Henry B. Eyring said, “Their problem does not lie in what they think they see; it lies in what they cannot yet see.” Dallin H. Oaks Truth and the Plan Oct 2018“The unique commission of the Brigham Young University has always been and now is threefold. First, to help you recognize that there are two sources of learning—one divine, the other human; second, to urge and inspire you students to drink deeply from both sources; and third, to teach and train you to correctly distinguish between the learning of the world and revealed truth, that you may not be deceived in your search.” Baccalaureate Services, 30 May 1957] God’s Hand in Our Nation’s History EZRA TAFT BENSONWe Are Called to Do Good
By Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles April 2024
Stand for Religious Freedom
“Today’s priestcraft, with increasingly secular societies bearing down against people of faith, is not so different from that of Book of Mormon times. The voice of those who oppose religion’s vital role in public and political arenas is growing louder. Secularists and governments, including many schools and universities, are coercing conduct and proselytizing immorality, atheism, and moral relativism.
Attacks on religious freedom will be successful if we do not stand up for our religious rights. “As a church,” I recently taught, “we join with other religions protecting people of all faiths and persuasions and their right to speak their convictions.”
A war in heaven was fought over moral agency—our freedom to choose. To preserve our agency requires that we be diligent in protecting our religious freedom.
Vibrant religious faith strengthens and protects families, communities, and nations. It engenders obedience to law, instills respect for life and property, and teaches charity, honesty, and morality—virtues needed to perpetuate a just, free, and civil society. We need never apologize for our faith.
Our missionary efforts, our vicarious work in the temples, our efforts to build the kingdom of God, and our very happiness require that we stand up for religious faith and freedom. We cannot lose that freedom without losing other freedoms.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul—civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race.” Religious liberty will also inspire our souls as we follow counsel from Church leaders:
“Stay informed about issues of public importance, and then speak out with courage and civility.”
“Recognize that the erosion of religious freedom will significantly impact our opportunities to grow in strength and gospel knowledge, to be blessed by sacred ordinances, and to rely on the Lord to direct His Church.”
“Stand up and speak up to affirm that God exists and that there are absolute truths His commandments establish.”
“Challenge laws that would impair our freedom to practice our faiths.”
“Go into the world to do good, to build faith in Almighty God, and to help bring others to a happier place.”
I believe Critical Race Theory (CRT), the 1619 Project, Woke-ism, Equity, are all being taught at nearly all Universities including BYU. If Professors could teach ideology and show all sides in the world, and allow us our freedom to choose, that would be fine. We should know there is Religion and its values and we should know there is CRT and what it teaches as well. BUT, professors have no right to persuade or to cram down students throats their personal ideology. Teach and let the student decide. Sadly that does not exist in our Great and Spacious Universities any more. It is the Progressive ideology that is tells our students what to believe. That is wrong.
In my opinion (CRT) is a deceptive theory and so is the term “Equity.” We are fighting Satan and CRT and Equity is from Satan. CRT states that every white person is an oppressor and every black person is a victim. That is racist in and of itself. The Progressives in the world today and the “Woke” society want race to divide us like it did in our early history. “Equity to me means, we should all have the same amount of stuff or privledge, but who cares if it is fair? We all have freedom of opportunity, but because of this wonderful gift of Free Agency, we can’t have equal outcomes. The Savior will judge each of us individually and appropriately based on righteous principles. Remember Alma 40-41, “For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil. Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him.”
This article below from good friend’s, will help you understand better how the Lord works in our lives and how Satan continues to deceive.
HEART OF THE MATTER? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CTR AND CRT? by Richard & RuthEllen Wood
“What are the values, beliefs, goals and ideals parents want their children to embrace? Almost all parents want their children to be happy, successful, productive and in that desire, hope that supportive institutions like schools would have similar goals. Consider the following-what do you think about these situations for your children?
In Cupertino, CA, an elementary school forced first graders to deconstruct their racial and sexual identities to rank themselves according to their level of “power and privilege.”
In Springfield, MO, a middle school forced teachers to identify themselves on an “oppression matrix” based on the belief that straight, white, English speaking Christian males are members of the oppressor class and must atone for their sins by denouncing practices of white supremacy.
In Philadelphia, PA, an elementary school forced fifth graders to celebrate “Black Communism” and simulated a Black Power rally to free the 1960s radical Angela Davis from prison, where she was incarcerated.
In Seattle, WA, the school district told white teachers they were guilty of “spirit murder” against black children and must bankrupt their privilege status by acknowledging their thieved wealthy inheritance. There are more than 1000 stories of similar nature in America today. And the less parents know the better.
Indoctrination into schools about Critical Race Theory (CRT) conditions the thinking of our youth. Consider a high school senior, William Clark, whose mother, Gabrielle, is black and deceased father is white, filed a lawsuit against the State of Nevada Public Charter School Authority on Dec. 22, 2020, claiming “coercive, ideological indoctrination” included in the CRT curriculum.
Gabrielle Clark filed a lawsuit through Schoolhouse Rights, which supports “civil rights litigation in defense of students’ freedom of conscience in public education and the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children.”
William claimed the classroom was a hostile environment and felt discriminated against in the mandatory, year-long “Sociology of Change” course required for graduation. In another required class, “Change the World,” students were required to carry out an activist political or social work project for credit.
These courses were under the old name of civics curriculum, but parents were not aware of the Critical Race Theory shift to coercive ideological indoctrination until students complained about the content, their experience and course requirements. “The new curriculum inserted consciousness raising and conditioning exercises under the banner of intersectionality and Critical Race Theory.” Teachers greeted their students with “Hello, my wonderful social justice warriors!”
These classes required pupils to unlearn and fight back against oppressive structures allegedly implicit in their family, and religious beliefs about racial, sexual and gender identities. William was directed in class to “unlearn the basic Judeo-Christian principles taught at home. But he refused, and the school retaliated against him. “
The school principal told Mrs. Clark, “That the theoretical basis of the new curriculum was “intersectionality” or life at a crossroads, but the definition used was not to stop, look, listen and proceed, rather, reverse course, reframe history, shift family values to activism and turn from an intended course to a new direction imposed by Critical Race Theory indoctrination. This false theoretical Marxist indoctrination deceived parents and students. Teaching by demanding obedience to Marxist theory is deception, indoctrination and propaganda.
Two families were close friends, one was black the other white. Their pre-adolescent boys were best friends and played sports together, were in each other’s homes and felt like brothers. Then the black parents were called to a meeting at the school and CRT was explained that they, as black people, were victims of “white supremacy” and should not associate with white people. The black boy was not allowed to play with his white friend again. The white parents were stunned as they looked at people through a color-blind lens and loved this little boy being with their son. This is an example of the divisiveness caused by CRT.
CRT claims there is no such thing as ‘absolute truth’ but rather a social construct of Godless Marxist socialism which homogenizes humanity and says everyone is equal. But beware of the ruling oligarchs because they rule and everyone below them is equal. In other words, in a world where truth does not exist, all that is left is power and control. Critical Race Theory builds contention, distrust, hate and envy and false reasoning of Marxist oppressor-oppressed binary thinking. Welcome to the theory of life imposed on public education.
If truth does not exist, it does not matter what else we believe. We resort to tribalism or collectivism for preservation, and we lose individualism and the uniqueness of being human. Welcome to the hierarchy of controlled life in China, where 80 million Chinese Communist Party members control 1.4 billion people and there are 600 million peasants. Ever see anyone step out of order in North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, or other countries where varying degrees of authoritarianism rules and truth is what you are told in their schools and over their propaganda infused media.
The Heritage Foundation discovered 79% of school districts with 100,000 students have hired a “Chief Diversity Officer” and implemented university style “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” programming. Seattle Public Schools which have 52, 000 students and a $1Billion budget has created departments of Racial Equity Advancement, Division of Equity, Partnerships and Engagement, a Department of Ethnic Studies an Office of African American Male Achievement and an Equity and Race Advisory Committee whose role is to “actively dismantle the systems of oppression, implementing Critical Race Theory and building leadership for racial capacity in every school.
Teachers are taught that the United States is a “race based white supremist society and schools are guilty of ‘spirit murder’ against minorities and that white teachers must confront their ‘thieved inheritance’ in order to rectify these injustices School employees must embrace ‘anti-racist pedagogy’, support current social justice movements and work toward the ‘abolition of whiteness’.
The history of Diversity, Inclusion and Equality evolved from the creation of Critical Race Theory by Marxist activists, Herbert Marcuse and his followers and Derrick Bell, who as a Harvard law professor, ‘loved to harass white people’, and wanted to kill the Harvard President, formed the theory based on hate, envy, and white atonement for past slavery sins. The unproven theory has masqueraded as truth by the infusion into our government, businesses, schools and higher education. Truth be known, this is an American Marxism replay of the bourgeois vs proletariat social revolt of every communist country since 1900. Where this has evolved, you don’t see people trying to cross the borders into China, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela or other countries in various forms of dictatorships around the world! Nor is there a mass exodus to return home to Africa.
For those who believe in absolute truth, it superimposes a different perspective to the interaction of man, God and society to the conversation of Marxism’s social egalitarianism. Can the quest for righteous living, principle-based thinking, and the reality of decisions based on who we are be compromised with non-God-fearing socialism? For those of this persuasion CTR effectively says “Choose The Right.”
The question for parents is, what do you want your children to believe and live? Is there such a thing as ultimate truth, or are humans just an advanced evolution of protoplasm seeking meaning to life? Is collective good the ultimate egalitarian society, where the only god is conformity, equality, inclusion and self-indulgence for hedonic pleasure. The question cannot be left to chance because the indoctrination bandwagon will not let that happen. Always present, are the powerful lobbies to discount and supplant family values and the desire to indoctrinate every public school and university. Consider USU’s sustainability program manager, “The time is now to change the world and we’re here to help you do it.” If you understand the double meaning for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity you realize it is not the common definition but rather to advance American Marxism. Be careful what you think this means.
Can oil and water be mixed? Can the social justice revolution shake up society to see what chaos creates? Will window dressing of revolutionary fervor cover the failures and hollowness and lack real inner personal change because discussion about who we really are is avoided? Can the principles of freedom, democratic self-governance, faith, self-reliance, equality of opportunity based on merit, and the conflict between human dignity and slavery to government handouts, poverty of thinking about who am I, and can external dependence emancipate the soul from its handlers?
We cannot allow our American heritage birthright which starts with self-identity, obedience to laws upon which all growth is predicated and the quest to be one’s best be sold for a pot of rotten porridge proliferated by the government. Five states have said, enough is enough and stood up and refused the federal government infusion of Marxist philosophy into their schools. Parents, this is a war to indoctrinate your children and to captivate their thinking, values, morals, and future into social order conformity.
Marxism wants to enslave individuals so they cannot think, reason or determine their future. It is your time to be the voice for your children. Don’t leave this to society. Do you believe in principles that uplift, encourage goodness, honesty, obedience to laws and the courage to live them or do you want infiltration, indoctrination of Marxist anti-Christ, anti-God propaganda to saturate your child’s impressive mind?
D. Todd Christofferson delivered a conference address in October, 2020 entitled, Sustainable Societies from which this is quoted.
Sustainable societies identified and lived the fundamentals that sustain a flourishing society, one that promotes happiness, progress, peace and well-being among its members…However, sustainability is not guaranteed, and a thriving society can fail if it abandons the cardinal virtues that uphold its peace and prosperity…I think it safe to say that when people turn from a sense of accountability to God and begin to trust in the ‘arm of flesh’ disaster lurks. Trusting in the arm of flesh is to ignore the divine Aurhor of human rights and human dignity and to give highest priority to riches, power, and the praise of the world.
The institutions of family and religion have been crucial for endowing both individuals and communities with the virtues that sustain an enduring society. These virtues, rooted in scripture, include integrity, responsibility and accountability, compassion, marriage and fidelity in marriage, respect for others and the property of others, service, and the necessity and dignity of work, among others.
As secularism divides personal and civic virtue from accountability to God, it cuts the plant from its roots. Reliance on culture and tradition alone will not be sufficient to sustain virtue in society. When one has no higher god than himself and seeks no greater good than satisfying his own appetites and preferences, the effects will be manifest in due course.
A society, for example, in which individual consent is the only constraint of sexual activity is a society in decay. Adultery, promiscuity, out-of-wedlock births, and elective abortions are but some of the bitter fruits that grow out of the ongoing sexual revolution and produce consequences that work against sustainability of a healthy society…include children raised in poverty without the positive influence of fathers…and women bearing alone what should be shared responsibilities, and serious deficient education as schools…are tasked to compensate for failure in the home. Added to these social pathologies are the incalculable instances of individual heartbreak and despair—mental and emotional destruction visited upon both the guilt and innocent.
Previously life was defined primarily by duty, not by entitlement, by social responsibilities, not personal privileges. The primary animating principle throughout this century has been the sense of obligation-to family, God and country.
The contrast between a sustainable and unsustainable society. Our country was created by the sustainable foundation beliefs in God, universally applicable commandments, moral ethics, a collaborative union solidified by the principles of the Constitution and Bill of Rights and the determination to remove the prior control imposed by government aristocracy.”
This year, 2024, will chart the course for your family and our republic. Rise up to voice your opinion for freedom to learn, think, reason, for your children and the nation’s children to become all they are capable of becoming without the indoctrination of godless Marxist false beliefs. Be certain about what you want your children to know, be able to do, and to believe what is truth about life on Earth and its purposes. Richard and RuthEllen Wood- Celebrate America, the birthright of freedom, independence and individuality to become all we are capable of becoming.” Richard and RuthEllen Wood
Richard Wood- Psychologist, Administrator, Professor
RuthEllen Wood- MS Genetics, Musician, Autistic Educator
They will speak at our Firm Foundation Conference with 80 others. April 18th, 19th, and 20th of April 2024 Early-Bird Tickets here:
The Wood’s served under President Patrick Kearon in Frankfurt, Germany as directors of Family Services in Western Europe. Richard served in the Central Office of the Veterans Administration in Washington, DC. Character Counts was designed and implemented in local schools and communities. We taught doctoral students at Beijing University in China for two years, served ecclesiastically in a county jail and a member leadership training mission in Blowing Green, KY. We now serve in the Pathway Connect program with students from eight African countries.
Indoctrination
Today, your children are subjected to indoctrination from ideologies that challenge and contradict your proven family beliefs and values. Wanted is the heart, mind, and soul of your children. Social collectivism, group identity, and social egalitarianism create an homogenized society where everyone is equal, where power and control by oligarchs rule with impunity. Countries with these philosophies include China, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and others where engineered political systems act as quasi dictatorships.
Your child’s identity, an eternal noble birthright to freedom and agency, and light and truth are being undermined and transformed. Individual identity defers to collective social unity led by social justice warriors who want to rewrite history and define the American future. The quest for academic excellence is not as important as social activism. Our American heritage is under attack.
Today parents are considered old-fashioned, out of touch, unaware of contemporary issues and sidelined by the professionals who know how to teach and control your children. American Marxist is in our schools.” Bio from Richard and RuthEllen Wood
Our great friend and patriot , Pamela Romney Openshaw, who knows, loves, and supports our United States Constitution, and the founding principles of freedom, shares a wonderful blog for us today.
Why the Promised Land was in America:
“…in culmination of the grand scheme of schemes, this great nation, the Republic of the United States, might be established upon this land as an asylum for the oppressed; a resting place, it might be said, for the Ark of the covenant, where the temple of our God might be built; where the plan of salvation might be introduced and practiced in freedom, and not a dog would wag his tongue in opposition to the purposes of the Almighty. We believe that this was His object in creating the Republic of the United States; the only land where his work could be commenced or the feet of his people find rest.No other land had such liberal institutions, had adopted so broad a platform upon which all men might stand. We give glory to those patriots for the noble work they did; but we give the first glory to God, our Father and their Father, who inspired them. We take them by the hand as brothers. We believe they did nobly their work, even as we would fain do ours, faithfully and well, that we might not be recreant in the eyes of God, for failing to perform the mission to which He has appointed us.” Bishop Orson F. Whitney, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 19, 1885. Reported by John Irvine. Journal Discourses Volume 26 Page 201
“Do you have the feeling that the world is falling apart? Are you fearful for the future of those you love as America abandons its moral standards and its sanity? Your fears are justified.
Many Americans are abandoning conservative power and individuality as they sink into progressive homogenization where leaders dictate policies, behavior, and mandatory outcomes. The conservative and progressive philosophies differ markedly. We as individuals—and the culture in general—are pulled back and forth between the policies and objectives of each of these ideologies. Each of these philosophies has its own believers, as each touts its authorities, statistics, evidence, and resources. Presented with such different points of view, truth seems uncertain and people are bewildered. Only careful evaluation and prayerful thought can bring us truth.
I clearly define these fundamental differences in my insightful, eye-opening new book, “The Great Conflict: Conservative vs Progressive”. It details the origins and effects of these philosophies and those who drove them forward.
Under conservative principles, America was founded on a unique system of government unknown in the modern world. The conservative philosophy embraces all we have learned throughout history. We have independence, intelligence, creativity, and determination to carry forward with things we know to be good and right. Conservatism is based on belief in God, individual rights that come directly from God, and unchanging standards of truth. These principles were initially identified by our puritan forefather, John Winthrop and his shining “city on a hill.” An honest review of our history shows the reality of what he envisioned.
The progressive philosophy, by contrast, is embedded in uncertainty—an attempt to create an impossible utopia. It embraces new attitudes, new ‘tolerance,’ new procedures that have produced unintended, often dismaying, results that defy basic truth. God is disdained as man extols and elevates the Self. Individual rights are overruled by the will of the group, leaders’ demands are carved into law, and ‘truth’ vacillates.
New problems emerge, problems never imagined years or decades ago. ‘Solutions’ mandate government control in this cultural takeover. Progressivism infiltrates America’s welfare system, educational system, and dwindling demographics; it suffocates our rights to speak and worship. It is undermining our economy and family paychecks. As America continues to implement and entrench progressivism, we are losing the power, influence, and superiority that we as a people nourished in the past.
We find ourselves at a crossroads. What will we become? Do you want to create your own world, or do you want leaders to dictate what your lifestyle and actions will be? These questions demand immediate attention.
Reading this book will open your eyes to the subtle, interconnected web that is being spun around us in these fields and many others. Years of prayerful research into politics, the culture, and individual moral standards were poured into The Great Conflict: Conservative vs Progressive. As the author, my study was complicated by the fact that, eight years ago, I began going blind. Research assistants helped me through the process of clarifying the issues we face, making this information easily available for you. Their help is gratefully appreciated!
Our God-given liberties are worth preserving! We have the power to create change, and time is of the essence. Become wise on this issue. Pray for assistance, and use our books as sources of powerful information. Widespread issues are clearly explained in powerful, 5-minute vignettes, providing indisputable facts. Find the truth, as demonstrated in D&C 93:24: “[T]ruth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.” As God revealed this information to Joseph Smith, he surely must have known the challenges we would face today.
Visit our website,promisesoftheconstitution.com, to order your copy of The Great Conflict: Conservative vs Progressive. You can also access my additional materials. Promises of the Constitution helps us understand our constitution, its origination, and its enemies in 5-minute vignettes. Our three-volume Constitution curriculum is an exceptional tool for in-depth individual study and teaching your children about America’s divine heritage. Also for use in homeschools and classrooms that study the Constitution. This Constitution course is used throughout the nation. Included in this curriculum are the scriptures used by the Founding Fathers to bring Christian principles to our founding documents.” (Color and bold were added)
Thank you for your time and attention, Pamela Romney Openshaw
The Miracle of America, Birth of a Nation by William Norton (Book)
The Miracle of America, Birth of a Nation is a one-of-a-kind book written by Brian P. Trotter and William S. Norton with incredible fine art photography by Helen Thomas Robson that will touch the heart and inspire you to stand up and make your voice heard for freedom. Put yourself amidst miraculous moments of faith and unity, sacrifice and triumph in Americas heritage as never before. Purchase here:
“Many an academic giant is at once a spiritual pygmy and, if so, he is usually a moral weakling as well. Such a man may easily become a self-appointed member of a wrecking crew determined to destroy the works of God.
“Beware of the testimony of one who is intemperate, or irreverent, or immoral, who tears down and has nothing to put in its place.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1974, p. 138; or Ensign, May 1974, p. 95.)
Unbiased Definitions
Progressives tend to think of the world as a sort of blank slate that is meaningless in itself. On that view man becomes the creator of values, society becomes a system set up to bring about whatever goals people want it to serve, and it seems most sensible to design the system to help people attain whatever purposes they have, without playing favorites or interfering more than necessary with what they want to do…
Traditionalists view society and morality as natural rather than constructed. Since man is naturally social, society and morality are necessary to the world he inhabits and needed to make him what he truly is. That world is considered good in itself as well as productive of good, and to act socially and morally is to realize one’s own nature by participating in it. So the loyalty and authority that create a social world and make us part of it are natural to man and necessary for a good life.” Source
Is BYU getting too liberal? Here’s why some, amazingly, say it is.
By Peggy Fletcher Stack March 2021, SL Tribune
“There is “a wave of faculty” hired who “really do view the restored gospel as their secondary allegiance.” And that, he says, is a problem for a school trying to educate while building faith.
They come to BYU, where there are “quite a few faculty and students who do not believe in the principles in the proclamation on the family,” Ellsworth says. “Instead of having those views challenged and having the proclamation being articulated and explained and defended, they are having views contrary to the proclamation affirmed on campus…
Graduating senior Sam Crofts has definitely seen the school shift toward being “too liberal.”
In his major, political science, Crofts says, “I don’t know that I have had a single conservative professor, and that wasn’t my expectation coming to BYU.”
The Pleasant Grove resident wished there could be “a little more diversity of thought among the faculty. It is valuable for any educational experience to avoid the echo chamber.” Source
President Harold B. Lee,
Cautioned that some people may not follow the line of authority in the Church:
“We call upon you holders of the priesthood to stamp out any such [false doctrines] and to set to flight all such things as are creeping in, people rising up here and there who have had some ‘marvelous’ kind of a manifestation, as they claim, and who try to lead the people in a course that has not been dictated from the heads of the Church.
Joseph Smith wrote: “The great difficulty lies in the ignorance of the nature of spirits, of the laws by which they are governed, and the signs by which they may be known; if it requires the Spirit of God to know the things of God; and the spirit of the devil can only be unmasked through that medium, then it follows as a natural consequence that unless some person or persons have a communication, or revelation from God, unfolding to them the operation of the spirit, they must eternally remain ignorant of these principles. … Whatever we may think of revelation, … without it we can neither know nor understand anything of God, or the devil.” (History of the Church, 4:573–74.)
Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose wrote in 1913 about those who make false claims or declare erroneous doctrines:
“When visions, dreams, tongues, prophecy, impressions or any extraordinary gift or inspiration conveys something out of harmony with the accepted revelations of the Church or contrary to the decisions of its constituted authorities, Latter-day Saints may know that it is not of God,no matter how plausible it may appear. Also they should understand that directions for the guidance of the Church will come, by revelation, through the head. All faithful members are entitled to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for themselves, their families, and for those over whom they are appointed and ordained to preside. But anything at discord with that which comes from God through the head of the Church is not to be received as authoritative or reliable. In secular as well as spiritual affairs, Saints may receive Divine guidance and revelation affecting themselves, but this does not convey authority to direct others, and is not to be accepted when contrary to Church covenants, doctrine or discipline, or to known facts, proven truths, or good common sense. No person has the right to induce his fellow members of the Church to engage in speculations or take stock in ventures of any kind on the specious claim of Divine revelation or vision or dream, especially when it is in opposition to the voice of recognized authority, local or general. The Lord’s Church ‘is a house of order.’ It is not governed by individual gifts or manifestations, but by the order and power of the Holy Priesthood as sustained by the voice and vote of the Church in its appointed conferences.
“The history of the Church records many pretended revelations claimed by imposters or zealots who believed in the manifestations they sought to lead other persons to accept, and in every instance, disappointment, sorrow and disaster have resulted therefrom. Financial loss and sometimes utter ruin have followed. …
“Be not led by any spirit or influence that discredits established authority, contradicts true scientific principles and discoveries, or leads away from the direct revelations of God for the government of the Church. The Holy Ghost does not contradict its own revealings. Truth is always harmonious with itself. Piety is often the cloak of error. The counsels of the Lord through the channel he has appointed will be followed with safety. Therefore, O! ye Latter-day Saints, profit by these words of warning.” (In Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, 4:285–86.) Source of most quotes here
Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky
“In 1971, Saul Alinsky wrote an entertaining classic on grassroots organizing titled Rules for Radicals. Those who prefer cooperative tactics describe the book as out-of-date. Nevertheless, it provides some of the best advice on confrontational tactics. Alinsky begins this way: What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away. His “rules” derive from many successful campaigns where he helped poor people fighting power and privilege…
According to Alinsky, the organizer, especially a paid organizer from outside, must first overcome suspicion and establish credibility. Next the organizer must begin the task of agitating: rubbing resentments, fanning hostilities, and searching out controversy. This is necessary to get people to participate. An organizer has to attack apathy and disturb the prevailing patterns of complacent community life where people have simply come to accept a bad situation. Alinsky would say, “The first step in community organization is community disorganization.” Source
Does this sound like a Traditionalist or a Progressive? This book by Saul Alinsky has been the guide book for years for political, influential, and progressive people on how to turn over a village, city, or county one step at a time into a radical and progressive place. It isn’t hard for you to google this book, to find out which prominent politicians acknowledge it is a wonderful influence in their lives.
In fact do you know who this evil book was written for and dedicated to by the author? Lucifer
“Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins — or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.” — SAUL ALINSKY
As you read this manifesto above, does it sound like many countries of the world today including our own United States of America? In my opinion, yes. Unless we stick to the Traditions (Traditionalist) and values of the Lord Jesus Christ through His gospel, His scriptures, and His Prophets, we cannot achieve peace in this world and our goal to live with the Savior again will not be achieved.
Korihor is Alive
“And this Anti-Christ, whose name was Korihor, (and the law could have no hold upon him) began to preach unto the people that there should be no Christ. And after this manner did he preach, saying:
13 O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come.
14 Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of your fathers.
15 How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ.
16 Ye look forward and say that ye see a remission of your sins. But behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so.” Alma 30:12-16
“Korihor is alive and well at Mormon Stories Podcast. It seems that modern-day apostasy has found a new home at a well funded website dubbed “Mormon Stories Podcast.” As Hugh Nibley once said, if you want to write an anti-Mormon book, just get an old one, dust it off and take a bit of a different slant and republish it under a new name. Now hiding in plain site, the website pretends to be faith-affirming, but then all of the old charges that the Book of Abraham was a ruse or that Joseph Smith dabbled in the occult surface without even an effort to show both sides of an argument. Several of our guests on LATTER DAY RADIO answered all those phony charges as did our host, Martin Tanner, but the website ignores all that. Yes, Korihor is alive and well and now has a website. The ironic thing is that it is a fulfillment of prophecy that “calumny will defame…” But, we know how it ends. In the meantime, “Mormon Stories” continues its deception after the order of Korihor. And, it is well funded. Unfortunately, money talks.” Greg Jerrod
Mormon Stories is WRONG. They are selling you you a bill of goods. This gospel is true and you need to follow President Russell M. Nelson who speaks for the Lord Jesus Christ!
How do you answer the voice of critics? Are you a conservative or liberal? Are you a traditionalist or a progressive? Do you love the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or do you constantly seek to change it’s history? Is your testimony of the Lord growing or remaining neutral? Are you green and growing or ripe and rotten? Do you need to get a check up from the neck up to get rid of stinkin’ thinkin’? Remember, if you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always got! I know if you read and pray to the Lord for help, He will answer you. don’t get caught up in all this negative revisionist history. Stick to the Lord’s word in scripture and prayer!
From the Book “FAITH CRISIS, VOLUME 1: WE WERE NOT BETRAYED!” by James and Hannah Stoddard
“The essential difference separating traditionalists and progressives—and dividing traditional history from New Mormon History—is revelation from God. For traditionalists, the revelations in the scriptures, and those received by Joseph Smith, represent pure revelation from God. The Book of Mormon is one such revelation, as are the Doctrine and Covenants, the Book of Moses, and the Book of Abraham. Furthermore, many of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s teachings constitute revelation from God.
The progressive places God’s revelations on a spectrum, assigning ‘weight’ or credibility based on particular academic fields of study, and built upon a framework of their particular discipline.
Traditionalists reject the notion that revelation and history should be interpreted through a particular discipline of worldly learning; they recognize that man’s ideas are in a fluid state—a whirlwind—of change, and subject to the influence of an enemy whose goal is man’s destruction. “Theories which once invoked great authority are abandoned and given the most derisive of treatment by a later generation only to be revived by a subsequent generation.”(20) Thus we can see the wisdom offered two thousand years ago, that when we accept the worldly approach, we are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”(21)
After interpreting revelation based on the scholar’s academic training, the progressive categorizes the revelations under various interpretations: myth, allegory, folklore, and sometimes inspiration—or perhaps attributing them to the historical environment of the receiving prophet. However, the progressive worldview does not accept the revelations as literal revelation from God in a concrete sense. Leonard Arrington related his belief that faiths that take the scriptures as divine revelation are inconsistent and illogical:
A big mistake is always made when one attempts to interpret the Scriptures literally . . . The Scriptures are contradictory, and inconsistent and any theology based upon them cannot help but be inconsistent and illogical. . . . It comes back to the fact that people must use their reason as well as their faith.”(22)
The Prophet Joseph Smith, a true traditionalist—perhaps one could even say, the father of traditionalism—entertained angels and witnessed firsthand, God the Father and His Son. The Prophet described engaging in literal combat with the adversary and his dominion; he spoke of receiving the pure word and will of God—directly fromGod. For the Prophet Joseph, this was not mere inspiration—and it certainly was not mythological, allegorical, nor the subject of folklore; it constituted an actual, literal, personal experience. The Prophet warned:
. . . whatever we may think of revelation, that without it we can neither know, nor understand any thing of God, or the devil; and however unwilling the world may be to acknowledge this principle, it is evident from the multifarious creeds and notions concerning this matter, that they understand nothing of this principle, and it is equally as plain that without a divine communication they must remain in ignorance.
Traditionalists believe that progressives are destined to inherit ‘unenlightenment’ because they reject revelation. Progressives believe that traditionalists are mired in ignorance because they do not fully accept and embrace the philosophies and teachings of the ‘learned.’ Regardless of which position one takes, nearly all agree—an unbridgeable gulf separates the two.” FAITH CRISIS, VOLUME 1: WE WERE NOT BETRAYED! By James and Hannah Stoddard Page 9-10
Notes: 20- David E. Bohn, “No Higher Ground: Objective History is an Illusive Chimera,” Sunstone Magazine 8 (May-June 1983): 30. 21- 2 Timothy 3:7. 22- Gregory A. Prince, “Faith and Doubt as Partners in Mormon History,” Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture Series, no. 19, 3.:
Is Our Dominant Narrative True?
From the Book “FAITH CRISIS, VOLUME 1: WE WERE NOT BETRAYED!” by James and Hannah Stoddard
“On April 21, 2017, a Salt Lake Tribune headline announced, “’Trust gap’ hounds the Mormon church, research shows.” The article showcased a 2016 study completed by Dr. Jana Riess, a Latter-day Saint author and editor, who demonstrated that the unprecedented faith crisis among Latter-day Saint members was stemming not so much from history, politics, or unpopular doctrines—but from a trust gap:
Riess has been conducting a large-scale survey, called The Next Mormons, and has been “struck by the fact that among former Mormons, particular historical problems or doctrines don’t emerge as the primary reasons for leaving the church,” she writes. “. . . Book of Mormon historicity ranks ninth, and the other specific historical issues barely register at all.”
Instead, the “third most common reason overall (and tied for first among millennials),” Riess reports, was “I did not trust the church leadership to tell the truth surrounding controversial or historical issues.” (1)
Many have suspected seer stones, polygamy, the Book of Abraham, Mountain Meadows Massacre, and other sensitive issues as the driving force behind the growing exodus away from the Church; but surprisingly, this may not be the case. Peggy Fletcher Stack reported:
Some Latter-day Saints may leave the fold after finding out aspects of their history that don’t match the Sunday school version — like the fact founder Joseph Smith peered at a “seer stone” in a hat to help him produce the Book of Mormon — but such discoveries are not what drive away most former believers.
It’s the realization that they didn’t hear those stories first from their church.(2)
As one former Latter-day Saint lamented,
I was sold a “one true church” gospel, and it’s just not true so I can’t bring myself to support something so full of lies. . . . I was very faithful to the church for 43 years. My dad was a mission president in South America when I was 9. I have a son on a mission in Russia. I did not lose my faith lightly or because I wanted to sin. I felt completely betrayed, like I had been told lies my whole life. It hurt a lot. (Becky Berger, Richmond) (3)
Over the years, the authors have spoken with many hundreds of members who were either experiencing a crisis of faith of their own—or had a friend, relative, or family member who had abandoned the Church. The pain, the tears, the fear, and the doubt we have witnessed prompted us to address some of these issues, and to write this series, Faith Crisis.
Notes: 1- Peggy Fletcher Stack, “’Trust Gap’ Hounds the Mormon Church, Research Shows,” The Salt Lake Tribune, 2017, https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5196148&itype=CMSID. 2- Peggy Fletcher Stack, “’Trust Gap’ Hounds the Mormon Church, Research Shows,” The Salt Lake Tribune, 2017, https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5196148&itype=CMSID. 3- Peggy Fletcher Stack, “’Trust Gap’ Hounds the Mormon Church, Research Shows,” The Salt Lake Tribune, 2017, https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5196148&itype=CMSID.
FAITH CRISIS, VOLUME 2: BEHIND CLOSED DOORS—LEONARD ARRINGTON & THE PROGRESSIVE REWRITING OF MORMON HISTORY
Description By Joseph Smith Foundation During the 20th century, an organized objective to rewrite Latter-day Saint history from within, unbeknownst to the general Church membership, went head to head behind the scenes with traditional leaders of the Church. Meet the main players of this conflict: Leonard Arrington—progressive “Father of New Mormon History,” Ezra Taft Benson—traditionalist defender, and many other advocates of traditionalist and progressive Latter-day Saint history.
As traditionalists and progressives sparred during the 1970s-1980s, a covert cold war commenced in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the progressives spying on the traditionalists, and the traditionalists spying on the progressives. Secret informants, leaked documents, falsified reports, and even employed pseudonyms—all were part of this struggle to dominate Latter-day Saint history. But how did, and does, this secret conflict affect you? Progressives, working in the Church History Department and at Brigham Young University, claimed 40 years ago that it would take a generation to re-educate the Church. Where are we now in that re-education?
The USA, only Land where His Work could be Commenced
“…in culmination of the grand scheme of schemes, this great nation, the Republic of the United States, might be established upon this land as an asylum for the oppressed; a resting place, it might be said, for the Ark of the covenant, where the temple of our God might be built; where the plan of salvation might be introduced and practiced in freedom, and not a dog would wag his tongue in opposition to the purposes of the Almighty. We believe that this was His object in creating the Republic of the United States; the only land where his work could be commenced or the feet of his people find rest.No other land had such liberal institutions, had adopted so broad a platform upon which all men might stand. We give glory to those patriots for the noble work they did; but we give the first glory to God, our Father and their Father, who inspired them. We take them by the hand as brothers. We believe they did nobly their work, even as we would fain do ours, faithfully and well, that we might not be recreant in the eyes of God, for failing to perform the mission to which He has appointed us.” Bishop Orson F. Whitney, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 19, 1885. Reported by John Irvine. Journal Discourses Volume 26 Page 201
Yes, but we must live and follow the Lords commandments and allow His Atonement into our lives. We must STRIVE daily and perfection is possible, but we must not have hard heads and seek after comfortable gods.
Hard Heads
“There has been a great difficulty in getting anything into the heads of this generation. It has been like splitting hemlock knots with a corn-dodger for a wedge and a pumpkin for a beetle. Even the Saints are slow to understand. I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions” Joseph Smith, Jr. (January 21, 1844, History of the Church, 6:184-85
Comfortable gods
“Sadly enough, my young friends, it is a characteristic of our age that if people want any gods at all, they want them to be gods who do not demand much, comfortable gods, smooth gods who not only don’t rock the boat but don’t even row it, gods who pat us on the head, make us giggle, then tell us to run along and pick marigolds.
Talk about man creating God in his own image! Sometimes—and this seems the greatest irony of all—these folks invoke the name of Jesus as one who was this kind of “comfortable” God. Really? He who said not only should we not break commandments, but we should not even think about breaking them. And if we do think about breaking them, we have already broken them in our heart. Does that sound like “comfortable” doctrine, easy on the ear and popular down at the village love-in?” The Cost—and Blessings—of Discipleship By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 2014
Secondary Evidence
I think there is importance when the Prophet and Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Brethren are being neutral on geography, evolution and other difficult issues. They want us to gain our own witness to secondary information. They have given us sound doctrine and that is what we should focus on. I know through the Spirit that the Book of Mormon is true. However, I love to seek for other truth like secondary evidence, as Moroni has said “I may know the truth of all things.” Are you willing to seek diligently for difficult answers, or continue to simply listen to prophets and other leaders, and wait to be told what to believe? What about personal revelation?
I believe the Land of Promise spoken of in the Book of Mormon is the United States of America as Elder Perry said, “The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012.
The Constitution was created by the Lord, Adam and Eve were placed on this same land and the New Jerusalem will be on this same land of the United States of America. No need for me to check out Mesoamerica anymore as I did for 40 years.
What do the scriptures tell us about this Constitution [D&C 101:79] and this land of Promise? “For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof; And that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord. Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land.” Ether 13:2-4 [What Land? The United States of America near Independence Missouri according to scripture]
Just like evolution. I don’t believe we came from an ape and I know that matter cannot come from nothing. I don’t have to look into science to figure this out, but by the witness of what the scriptures tell us.
I don’t expect President Nelson to come right out and tell me where the Book of Mormon events happened, or if we came from an ape, I know through sound reasoning the answer that makes most sense to me. Now if the Brethren say otherwise, I would always listen to them first, and then seek personal revelation about it, but in my opinion the Church is neutral on secondary evidence that exists, to help each of us individually come to a knowledge of the “truth of all things” by personal revelation, as promised in the Book of Mormon. I don’t need to be commanded in all things!
Be Ye Therefore Perfect
I am perfect in my belief that Joseph Smith received the gold plates from the Hill Cumorah in upstate New York, and the final battles took place near that same hill. This is a great part of my testimony with the spirit of personal revelation assisting my beliefs.
Of course we have heard, the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. When will be become righteous enough to become a ressurrected being living with the Savior again? As recorded in “Life Everlasting by Duane Crowther it says, “I was told that the Prophet Joseph Smith has his body, as also his brother Hyrum, and that as soon as I could do more with my body than I could do without it, my body would be resurrected.” (Peter E. Johnson, The Relief Society Magazine, op. cit., Vol. VII, pp. 451-452.) page 244 .
Just when will we learn to do more with our body than we could do without? That is a long and steady progression speaking for most of us today. As it says in the Bible, “Everlearning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:7
Yet, can we become perfect in this life? “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” Ephesians 4:13, and in Matthew 5:48 it says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Is it then possible to become perfect?
With diligence, patience, and divine aid, we can obey the Lord’s command to be perfect.
“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect.” [Genesis 17:1.]
Lorenzo Snow said, “We ought to feel in our hearts that God is our Father, and that while we make mistakes and are weak yet if we live as nearly perfect as we can all will be well with us.”
“We may think that we cannot live up to the perfect law, that the work of perfecting ourselves is too difficult. This may be true in part, but the fact still remains that it is a command of the Almighty to us and we cannot ignore it. When we experience trying moments, then is the time for us to avail ourselves of that great privilege of calling upon the Lord for strength and understanding, intelligence and grace by which we can overcome the weakness of the flesh against which we have to make a continual warfare…
When the Latter-day Saints received the gospel in the nations afar, and when the voice of the Almighty to them was, to leave the lands of their fathers, to leave their kindred as Abraham did, so far as they complied with this requirement, so far they were walking in obedience to this law, and they were as perfect as men could be under the circumstances and in the sphere in which they were acting, not that they were perfect in knowledge or power, etc.; but in their feelings, in their integrity, motives and determination. And while they were crossing the great deep, providing they did not murmur nor complain, but obeyed the counsels which were given them and in every way comported themselves in a becoming manner, they were as perfect as God required them to be…
The Lord designs to bring us up into the celestial kingdom. He has made known through direct revelation that we are His offspring, begotten in the eternal worlds, that we have come to this earth for the special purpose of preparing ourselves to receive a fulness of our Father’s glory when we shall return into His presence. Therefore, we must seek the ability to keep this law to sanctify our motives, desires, feelings and affections that they may be pure and holy and our will in all things be subservient to the will of God, and have no will of our own except to do the will of our Father. Such a man in his sphere is perfect, and commands the blessing of God in all that he does and wherever he goes.
But we are subject to folly, to the weakness of the flesh and we are more or less ignorant, thereby liable to err. Yes, but that is no reason why we should not feel desirous to comply with this command of God, especially seeing that he has placed within our reach the means of accomplishing this work. This I understand is the meaning of the word perfection, as expressed by our Savior and by the Lord to Abraham.
A person may be perfect in regard to some things and not others. A person who obeys the word of wisdom faithfully is perfect as far as that law is concerned. When we repented of our sins and were baptized for the remission of them, we were perfect as far as that matter was concerned…
One of the chief difficulties that many suffer from is, that we are too apt to forget the great object of life, the motive of our Heavenly Father in sending us here to put on mortality, as well as the holy calling with which we have been called; and hence, instead of rising above the little transitory things of time, we too often allow ourselves to come down to the level of the world without availing ourselves of the divine help which God has instituted, which alone can enable us to overcome them. We are no better than the rest of the world if we do not cultivate the feeling to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect.” Lorenzo Snow Study Manual, Becoming Perfect before the Lord: “A Little Better Day by Day” Lesson 6
Can You?
…be a perfect tithe payer?
…never cheat on your spouse?
…never lie?
…pray regularly?
…obey your temple covenants?
…brush your teeth daily?
…never speak ill of your spouse?
…read the book of Mormon daily?
…always partake of the sacrament worthily?
…repent daily?
You are on your way to perfection!
Hugh Nibley said, “Who is righteous? Anyone who is repenting. No matter how bad he has been, if he is repenting, he is a righteous man. There is hope for him. And no matter how good he has been all his life, if he is not repenting, he is a wicked man. The difference is which way you are facing. The man on the top of the stair’s facing down is much worse off than the man on the bottom step who is facing up. The direction we are facing, that is repentance; and this is what determines whether we are good or bad.” Hugh Nibley Approaching Zion, pg. 301-302
Conference Sponsors and Supporters: LDS-Traditional Value Groups Firm Foundation- Rodney and Tonya Meldrum Joseph Smith Foundation- Hannah, Leah Stoddard and Family and Kimberly Smith The Universal Model- Dean and Danette Sessions Truth Seekers- Russ and Heidi Barlow
The Spear Fund- Tim Ballard and Ken Krogue
LDS Archaeology/Ancient American Magazine- Wayne May Heartland Research Group- Mike and Betty LaFontaine and John Lefgren Moroni’s America- Jonathan and Beverly Neville David W. Allan- It’s About Time Digital Legend Press- Boyd Tuttle Lighthouse Books- David Hocking Lost Civilizations of North America- Steven Smoot Promises of the Constitution- Pamela and Bob Openshaw Prophetic Appointments- Farrell & Rhonda Pickering Plus Many More…..
A special thanks to our key-note speakers, Ken Krogue, Greg Matsen, Kate Dalley, Eric Moutsos, Don Bradley, Cindy Biggs, Charles Castleberry, and Michael Bedard
LDS-Traditional Value Groups
I sincerely believe the Lord today is“pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints… there are many called, but few are chosen.” D&C 121:33.
The title of this blog, Latter-day Saint Traditional Value Groups, (LDSTVG) includes the many groups who are at the forefront of bringing this new, lost, or forgotten knowledge of the Lord’s Truth, to the world. In other words, on “the heads of the Latter-day Saints”, truth and knowledge is being poured out to the LDSVG, as they to share with other Latter-day Saints and thus to the world to many important truths. These Traditional Value Groups, (LDSTVG) are on the cutting edge of reliable, traditional, and truth based research about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“33 How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. 34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? 35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world” D&C 121:33-35
My Email to the Universal Model, and LDSTVG
I recently sent the following email to the many Universal Model collaborators.
“I am an 11 year UM-er and love Dean and Danette and Russ and Heidi Barlow who own truthseekers.com. I also sent this Heartland Research information to Hannah Stoddard proprietor of Joseph Smith Foundation. I work with Rod Meldrum at Firm Foundation as Rod was a 7-year leading scientific research specialist with Dean Sessions.
Robert Mehl 2019
My wife Stacy’s dad and my Father-in-law, Robert Mehl has been a Geologist for over 60 years, and he is 92 years old and has been to all our our past 7 Firm Foundation Conference’s. He drives himself from Colorado to Utah and is in great health.
I sent this current article from Heartland Reseach titled, “Stone Analysis” (9/19/2023) to Mr. Mehl, and I share with each of you his phone number, as he has read the Universal Model Volume I, 8 times and Universal Model II, 5 times and can’t get enough of it. He has been called on stage many times by Dean Sessions to share his abundant confirmation of the UM and clearly states that Kansas University has taught him many lies as many Universities have. He is a wonderful expert witness and I would encourage you to call him and keep him in your loop.
Robert Mehl 970-729-1987 Ridgway, Colorado rmehl70@hotmail.com
To my readers and friends, please use this information to contact me about using Bob Mehl in any correspondence you would like. He is best on the phone, not by text or email.” Thanks, Rian Nelson
FIRM Foundation
Phone: 801-931-9031
The following blog is from our friends at the Heartland Research Group, where Mike and Betty LaFontaine, and John Lefgren are the owners of this Group
Heartland Research are at the forefront of new research about the Heartland of the United States. As John Lefgren says, “The Truth will come out of the Ground” and as Mike and Betty are proving, “the truth is also on the ground of the Nephites”
[pdf-embedder url=”https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Heartland-Research-Inc.pdf” title=”Heartland Research Inc”]Stone Analysis (9/19/2023)
Conference at Lehigh University.
Dr. Himanshu Jain and Dr. Masashi Watanabe, in a conference room at Lehigh Microcopy School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Monday, September 18th, met for one and a half hours with John Lefgren, Boyd Tuttle, and Blaise Colasante to discuss the focus of research for engraved stones that come from the Mississippi River Valley. The scientists are recognized as among the foremost experts in the field of microscopy. Over the last fifty years, Lehigh University has had 7,000 graduates from its research programs. No other school has had such an impact on the ability of modern science to see all kinds of materials under ultra-high magnification. Professors and students from Lehigh have seen more materials under high magnification than any other group of people. With power as high as twenty million times, they view objects at the atomic level.
We gave a slide presentation showing our efforts to restore the world’s oldest ship replica that sailed 33,000 miles around Africa and from Tunisia to Florida.
Connection of Ancient Ship to Engraved Stones.
The first question was how a 2,600-year-old ship replica connects to the stones from the middle of America. We told the scientists that we believed that Phoenician technology made it possible for ancient seamen to come to America 2,000 years before Columbus. We also explained that the Phoenicians came to America with their language and culture. After all, they invented a system of writing that is the origin of our alphabet. We said that the evidence of their presence in America is in these stones.
Dr. Watanabe was quick and direct in his thinking. He asked why we needed the electron microscope to determine the methods and tools for engraving the stones. Dr. Watanabe reminded us that the field of view decreases as we increase the power of magnification. He suggested that our research should start with optical magnification. He said that he has little experience looking at rocks and that we should bring a geologist who knows the crystal structure of the stones into the project. Viruses, molecules, and atoms are beyond the capabilities of compound microscopes and can be viewed only with an electron microscope. But with the power of 2000x, we can see what we seek. At that level of magnification, we will know the fracture mechanics of the engraved portions of the stones. At that level of investigation, we can determine the tools and methods of cutting the stones.
Framework for Moving Forward.
Having received directions from these leading scientists, we suggested a framework for analyzing the engraved stones. We will make a comparative analysis of three objects. The first object is the original stone. The second is a similar stone cut by a jeweler with modern tools. Blaise Colasante would engrave the third stone with tools available in ancient times.
Fortunately, Blaise has twenty-five years of experience working with a large group interested in ancient tools. Blaise explained how he and his colleagues could use a burin of handheld lithic flake with a chisel-like edge to engrave the characters and drawings found in the original stone. Blaise offered to carve the stone with this ancient method of cutting.
On a large screen, we looked at a close-up picture of characters found on Stone 32 from the John White Collection. Blaise identified the fracture mechanics of the stone from the attached photo. He also noted that the cutting of the “O” shows the manufacture of the cut has straight lines from the hand working of the burin. See the photo for details.
In the field of lithic reduction, a burin /ˈbjuːrɪn/ (from the French burin, meaning “cold chisel” or modern engraving burin) is a type of handheld lithic flake with a chisel-like edge which prehistoric humans used for engraving or for carving wood or bone.
In archaeology, burin use is often associated with “burin spalls”, which are a form of debitage created when toolmakers strike a small flake obliquely from the edge of the burin flake in order to form the graving edge.
On a large screen, we looked at a close-up picture of characters found on Stone 32 from the John White Collection. Blaise Colasate identified the fracture mechanics of the stone from the attached photo. He also noted that the cutting of the “O” shows the manufacture of the cut has straight lines from the hand working of the burin.
Date Line: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, September 20, 2023
In honor of the 200th year since the appearance of Moroni to Joseph Smith, we thought it would be appropriate for us to try to replicate the ancient inscriptions cut in stones from the Mississippi River Valley.
Cutting these inscriptions would not have been possible without the twenty-five years of stone tool manufacturing that Blaise Colasante brought to the project.
Burins exhibit a feature called a burin spall—a sharp, angled point formed when a small flake is struck obliquely from the edge of a larger stone flake. These tools could have been used with or without a wooden handle.
Primarily an engraving tool, this was the tool that could have been used to produce the beautiful works of art carved on Mammoth tusk ivory, antler and some of the softer carveable stone types.
Limestone is a relatively soft stone, rated between a 3 and 4 on the Mohs scale of harness. Flint (hardness 7 on the Mohs scale) typically has a glassy lustre and can be flaked with limited effort.
First srcatches made with flint burin into limestone. We are only at the first grade level and we are still leaning.
First character cut in limestone with flint burin tool.
Ancient tools for making flint burin. Note that we used a hard round stone, copper tipped stick, and the base of a moose antler.
Why does Scripture Central and many other LDS information websites mostly agree with the “Stone in the Hat” or (SITH) theory? Why don’t they rarely mention the use of the breastplate and what its significance was?
The location of the breastplate during Joseph’s translation is a very unique view that I have researched now for over 3 years. It is the only way that the utilization of the sacred breastplate, with the spectacles, now seems obvious to me.
Two of the best journals in our Church are the Wilford Woodruff History, and the journal by Lucy Mack Smith, which we have had for a long time to review. I believe if you read the Journal of Lucy, your eyes will be open to many things that our current historians have become bored of, or have overlooked. Her journal is called, History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, Lucy Mack Smith- Available copy to purchase here
“Joseph kept the Urim and Thummim Constantly about his Person” by Lucy Mack Smith
Today I am sharing for the first time, a brand new piece of art I asked to be painted by Anne Marie Oborn. It is called, “Joseph kept the Urim and Thummim Constantly about his Person.” She is the one who also painted two other wonderful pieces for me titled, “Mother, I have Got the Key” and “These Stones Fastened to a Breastplate.” You can see them in this post.
Anne amongst amazing research pictures and drawings.
Ann is an amazing artist and I feel has captured the vision of each of there pieces of art in a truly spiritual manner. I love her talent, and the ability of her to showcase three important methods of translation below, as the center piece of each piece of art.
1- “Mother, I have Got the Key”
In this painting, Anne showcased the amazing spectacles where Lucy said, “See here, said he [Joseph], I have got the key. and Lucy also said, “but he [Joseph] seemed to think more of the glasses or the Urim and Thummim than he did of the plates, for, says he, “I can see anything; they are marvelous.” Joseph termed the Urim and Thummim as, “The Key.” To me that indicates that the (key) may have unlocked the “Gift and Power of God” as we understand it.
There is not even one scriptural account that says anything about a stone in a hat as the method of translation. Only the words of Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Emma Smith in 1879, and William McLellin. They may have misstated, embellished, or heard from someone else, as there is no firsthand evidence they ever saw the seer stone in a hat during the translation process as the Lord had commanded. I trust Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith who are the only firsthand witnesses that saw the actual translation. Oliver wouldn’t need his view to be blocked with the hat, as he saw the plates, the spectacles, and the breastplate. Perhaps the painting below explains why many like David and Martin may have seen this view above with the hat blocking the scribes view, and a little piece of cloth hiding the very top part of the gold plates. I feel it is likely that is why the theorists claim some witnesses saw a stone in a hat. Joseph’s hat may have seemed to contain something and most people knew Joseph had a seer stone or two, so they may have assumed that his personal peep stone was in the hat. No scripture confirms that. It is hearsay.
“Mother I have got the Key” by Anne Marie Oborn
2- “These Stones Fastened to a Breastplate.” In this painting below, Ann showcases the manner in which the Breastplate and the Spectacles were used in conjunction for translation. We know through scripture how these items were a “set” when it came to translation. “There were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.” JSH 1:35
These Stones Fastened to a Breastplate, JSH 1:35 by Ann Marie Oborn
William Smith is quoted as saying, “Among other things we inquired minutely about the Urim and Thummim and the breastplate. We asked him what was meant by the expression “two rims of a bow,” which held the former. He said a double silver bow was twisted into the shape of the figure eight, and the two stones were placed literally between the two rims of a bow. At one end was attached a rod which was connected with the outer edge of the right shoulder of the breast-plate. By pressing the head a little forward, the rod held the Urim and Thummim before the eyes much like a pair of spectacles. A pocket was prepared in the breastplate on the left side, immediately over the heart. When not in use the Urim and Thummim was placed in this pocket, the rod being of just the right length to allow it to be so deposited. This instrument could, however, be detached from the breastplate and his brother said Joseph often wore it detached when away from home, but always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications, and usually so when translating as it permitted him to have both hands free to hold the plates.” (J. W. Peterson in The Rod of Iron I:3 (February 1924), 6—7.)
Lastly as we see the painting below, Oliver said, “I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the ‘holy interpreters’“ (as cited in Smith, Restoration of All Things, 113).
In a Revelation through Joseph to Oliver stated, “Ask that you may know the mysteries of God, and that you may translateand receive knowledge from all those ancient records which have been hid up, that are sacred; and according to your faith shall it be done unto you.”
It is most likely that Oliver himself saw the translation process without a blanket or covering. Joseph was probably given permission from the Lord to show Oliver all three articles. Two honorable and reputable people are quoted below:
“Elizabeth Anne Whitmer Cowdery, Oliver’s wife, said, “Joseph never had a curtain drawn between him and his scribe” (quoted in John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone, “The Translation of the Book of Mormon: Basic Historical Information,” F.A.R.M.S. report WRR–86, p. 25). Emma likewise said of her days as scribe, early on, that Joseph dictated “hour after hour with nothing between us” (Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” 289)
3- “Joseph kept the Urim and Thummim Constantly about his Person”
Melanie Evans and Joseph Burns were Anne’s models for her painting. We thank them for their great contribution.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and many others have received a spiritual witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and it is a second witness with the Bible as a Testament of Jesus Christ. There may be a difference of opinion with some members of the Church about the method of translation. No one except Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery ever saw the breastplate and the spectacles during translation. Lucy Mack Smith is the only additional witness of the three items found in the stone box on Cumorah; the gold plates, breastplate, and the spectacles, as she saw the last two items under a thin linen and held them and described them before the translation as you see in this beautiful painting by Anne Marie Oborn.
See picture of the painting below. The printed art is available as a pdf by emailing Rian at riannelson@aol.com
Joseph kept the Urim and Thummim “Constantly” about his Person by Anne Marie Oborn
Lucy Mack Smith
My favorite woman in Church History is, Lucy Mack Smith who said, “I have myself seen and handled the golden plates; they are about eight inches long, and six wide; some of them are sealed together and are not to be opened, and some of them are loose. They are all connected by a ring which passes through a hole at the end of each plate and are covered with letters beautifully engraved. I have seen and felt also the Urim and Thummim. They resemble two large bright diamonds set in a bow like a pair of spectacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads unknown languages, and they enable him to interpret them in English. I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.” Lucy Mack Smith (in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, 2nd ed. revised and enlarged, (London: JGF & J. Rivington, 1843, 26) Lucy is an honest and wonderful witness of Joseph’s history.
Lucy also said, “See here, said he [Joseph], I have got the key. I knew not what he meant, but took the article in my hands and, examining it with no covering but a silk handkerchief, found that it consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows connected with each other in much the same way that old-fashioned spectacles are made. He took them again and left me but did not tell me anything of the record…. That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, was indeed nothing more nor less than a Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in vision; by which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger, either to himself or the record, and for this cause, he kept these things constantly about his person.”
“After bringing home the plates, Joseph now commenced work with his father on the farm in order to be as near as possible the treasure that was committed to his care. Soon after this, he came in from work one afternoon, and after remaining a short time, he put on his great coat and left the house. I was engaged at the time in an upper room in preparing some oil cloths for painting. When he returned, he requested me to come downstairs. I told him that I could not leave my work just then, yet upon his urgent request, I finally concluded to go down and see what he wanted, upon which he handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history. It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could see the glistening metal and ascertain its proportions without any difficulty. It was concave on one side and convex on the other and extended from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers (for I measured them), and they had holes in the end of them to be convenient in fastening. The whole plate was worth at least five hundred dollars. After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim.” josephsmithpapers.org Lucy Mack Smith History 1844-1845
Historians and researchers can only guess the exact method, but the scriptures are clear. The Church has no doctrine on how the translation happened, so it really shouldn’t matter. The spiritual confirmation that Joseph used the “gift and power of God” is the best understanding of translation. However, I enjoy searching for additional answers as Moroni said, “ye may know the truth of all things.” The stone in the hat is not a scriptural fact, but many historians and Church videos show it as the “New Narrative.” Nowhere in the scriptures does it even speak about a stone in a hat. Church Historians have developed consensus in their thoughts. It’s just like the opinion that there is consensus that man causes global warming, so the intellectuals agree on their non-provable THEORY.
Lucy Mack Smith confirming that Joseph had these articles on his person, even while digging a well said, “Joseph kept the Urim and Thummim constantly about his person and he could by this means ascertain at any moment whether if the plates were in danger or having just looked into them before Emma got there, he perceived her coming and came up out of the well and met her.” [ JSP-Lucy Mack Smith History 1844-1845, paper fragment inserted 10] The above statement suggests the breastplate and glasses were on Joseph’s person as he used them even while working.
Scriptures tell us many times that Joseph used the Interpreters to translate, saying, “these two stones fastened to a breastplate”, or Oliver saying, “Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, Interpreters, the history or record called The Book of Mormon.” Scriptures never mention Joseph using a stone in a hat, but only those items found in the stone box at Cumorah. Plates, Breastplate, & Interpreters. (See JSH 1:35,52,62,75; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25)
“After breakfast [on the day he received the plates and the Urim and Thummim], Joseph called me into the other room, and he set his foot on the bed and leaned his head on his hand and says… “it is ten times better than I expected.” Then he went on to tell the length and width and thickness of the plates, and said he, “they appear to be gold.” But he seemed to think more of the glasses or the Urim and Thummim than he did of the plates, for, says he, “I can see anything; they are marvelous.” Lucy Mack Smith inJoseph Knight’s Recollection of Early Mormon History, BYU Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1; spelling modernized.
‘While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation. The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3: 22-24. These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again, the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose. It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior under these circumstances. It may have been so, but it is so easy for a story of this kind to be circulated due to the fact that the Prophet did possess a seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes’ (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation)
Art by Anne Marie Oborn titled,
“Joseph kept the Urim and Thummim Constantly about his Person”
by Lucy Mack Smith.
Visit: BookofMormonEvidence.org or email riannelson@aol.com
Why not More about Translation?
Enlarge
I feel the main reason we may not know more, is the process was just too sacred. Saying Joseph used a stone in a hat makes the grand statement of “by the gift and power of God” seem so lacking and so occultic in my opinion. Joseph used the 3 articles in the stone box. The gold plates, breastplate and spectacles. That’s it. If the Lord wanted Joseph to use a stone in a hat he would have provided those non-sacred items in the stone box.
Elder Maxwell says, “Why do we not have more disclosure concerning the process of translation of the Book of Mormon? Perhaps the full process was not disclosed because we would not be ready to understand it, even if given. Perhaps, too, the Lord wanted to leave the Book of Mormon in the realm of faith, though it is drenched with intrinsic evidence. After all, Christ instructed Mormon, who was reviewing the Savior’s own teachings among the Nephites, not to record all of them on the plates because “I will try the faith of my people” (3 Ne. 26:11). Perhaps the details of translation are withheld also because we are intended to immerse ourselves in the substance of the book rather than becoming unduly concerned with the process by which we received it…” (“Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” 289, 290) “By the Gift and Power of God” By Elder Neal A. Maxwell Ensign, Jan 1997, 36
“[Ezra Taft] Benson was an outspoken opponent of communism and socialism, and a strong supporter, but not an official member, of the JBS [John Birch Society], which he praised as “the most effective non-church organization in our fight against creeping socialism and Godless Communism.” Sean Wilentz. “Confounding Fathers: The Tea Party’s Cold War Roots”
Ezra Taft Benson Quotes
-“I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society. It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguised, and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations ***** for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world.” Ezra Taft Benson
(Original Caption) Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson is shown as he stated yesterday his reluctance to set an official price support level for 1955 wheat. Benson’s remarks were in reply to a letter from Sen. Milton R. Young (R-ND) urging the Secretary to postpone this week’s National Wheat Referendum and to defer setting the price support level.
-“Our families may be corrupted by worldly trends and teachings unless we know how to use the [Book of Mormon] to expose and combat the falsehoods in socialism, organic evolution, rationalism, humanism, and so forth. And our nation will continue to degenerate unless we read and heed the words of the God of this land, Jesus Christ, and quit building up and upholding the secret combinations which the Book of Mormon tells us proved the downfall of both previous American civilizations.” Ezra Taft Benson
-“Could many of our ills today have resulted from our failure to train a strong citizenry from the only source we have – the boys and girls of each community? Have they grown up to believe in politics without principle, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without effort, wealth without work, business without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice?” Ezra Taft Benson
-“The so-called civil rights movement as it exists today is used as a Communist program for revolution in America.” Ezra Taft Benson
-“God loves us; the devil hates us. God wants us to have a fulness of joy as He has. The devil wants us to be miserable as he is. God gives us commandments to bless us. The devil would have us break these commandments to curse us.” Ezra Taft Benson
-“If America is destroyed, it may be by Americans who salute the flag, sing the national anthem, march in patriotic parades, cheer Fourth of July speakers – normally good Americans, but Americans who fail to comprehend what is required to keep our country strong and free, Americans who have been lulled away into a false security.” Ezra Taft Benson
-“Rights are either God-given as part of the divine plan, or they are granted by government as part of the political plan. If we accept the premise that human rights are granted by government, then we must be willing to accept the corollary that they can be denied by government.” Ezra Taft Benson
“On this inaugural National American History and Founders Month, I encourage all citizens to reflect upon the defining tenets that have always united us as Americans, while also taking time to honor those who have contributed to the great story of our country. As Americans, may we forever strive to preserve their legacy for generations to come.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2019 as National American History and Founders Month. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.” Presidential Proclamation on National American History and Founders Month, 2019
John Birch Society
Eldon Stahl and friends at the John Birch Society, sent the following email that the Firm Foundation feels is very appropriate about the State of Utah designating September as American Founders and Constitution Month. This new Utah law is supportive of the White House proclamation above, on National American History and Founders Month in 2019. We thank Eldon for sending this information and we ask you to consider the John Birch Society, as they will share their appropriate conservative principles at the Firm Foundation Seminar, Sept 15-16 at the Hilton Hotel in SLC, UT.
The Utah Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent out a Memo (Attached Below) saying,
“The Utah State Legislature has designated the month of September each year as American Founders and Constitution Month (Constitution Day is celebrated on September 17th). The State Legislature has requested that civic, fraternal, and religious organizations “recognize and observe this occasion through appropriate programs, teaching, meetings, services, or celebrations.” In the spirit of that request, we encourage your stake to sponsor one patriotic event during the month of September.”
Eldon Stahl wrote the following to his constituents, which I think has a lot of great information we may all benefit from.
Dear JBS Members in Utah:
In the Utah Legislature’s 2023 session, a bill was passed(HB 179)which designates:
“Constitution Day, on September 17, to invite all Utah adults and Utah school children to read directly from the United States Constitution and other primary sources, and for students to be taught principles from the United States Constitution that include federalism, checks and balances, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, limited government, and the necessary and proper, commerce, and supremacy clauses;”
and goes on to specify that:
“The month of September shall be commemorated annually as American Founders and Constitution Month to:
(a) encourage all civic, fraternal, and religious organizations, and public and private
educational institutions, to recognize and observe this occasion through appropriate programs, teaching, meetings, services, or celebrations in which state, county, and local governmental officials are invited to participate; and
(b) invite all Utah school children to read directly from the United States Constitution
and other primary sources, and to be taught principles from the United States Constitution that include federalism, checks and balances, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, limited government, and the necessary and proper, commerce, and supremacy clauses.
Also,
In the spirit of this language, the Utah Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent out a memo to all Stake Presidents, Bishops, and Branch Presidents in the Area to encourage each LDS stake, ward, and branch to support the observance of “American Founders and Constitution Month” in Utah. (See attached memo).
They “encourage your stake to sponsor one patriotic event during the month of September that would (1) rekindle a spirit of patriotism by educating our Saints on the inspired principles of the Constitution (D&C 98:5-6; D&C 109:54) and/or (2) build a spirit of appreciation for our Founding Fathers who were raised up by the Lord (DC 101:78-80). In addition, it would be a timely opportunity to encourage individual families and members to study and gain a greater appreciation for the Founding Fathers and our inspired Constitution.”
For those of you who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those who are not, here are some ideas:
Read, view, and become familiar with JBS and FreedomProject resources that can help educate people on the American Founders and the Constitution.
Here are some I would suggest:
a.) The 56 Signers Video Series (Produced by FreedomProject)–these are all 1-minute biographies of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence and can be used for many different occasions and ages
b.) “The Constitution is the Solution” video series—probably something to invite people to at a separate location, but could be completed in 6 weeks if done weekly and advertised as a way to celebrate “American Founders and Constitution Month,” as well as a good opportunity to recruit new members
c.) JBS “Bill of Rights” video series (3-part series, can easily be done during Sept.)
d.) “Overview of America” video (Also available in Spanish)–good to show in a meeting (30 mins) and have copies to hand out later. I would recommend playing it in parts so you can use it for more occasions.
i.) “A More Perfect Union” video showing (Note: this video was produced by BYU and could be a very simple thing to show at a special devotional and is just under 2 hrs long)
j.) “A Humbling Lesson” booklet (a good story to read to a group meeting, which doesn’t take very long)
m.) “Principles of the Constitution” video series (9 videos, about 72 minutes total run time—produced by FreedomProject Media)–at about the 7th grade level; great for many groups, starting at very basics, which is where many people are.
(If LDS) Approach your Stake President, Bishop, or Branch President with ideas of how you might, with JBS resources, help them follow this recent guidance from the Utah Area Presidency. Making a list available for members and who to contact to get the resources can be helpful for members who want to use something for Family Home Evening, individual study, etc.
Approach leaders of other churches, civic groups, fraternities, and educational institutions and discuss how you might help them celebrate both “Constitution Day” (Sept 17) and “American Founders and Constitution Month”
Let’s help make September in Utah a great one for learning about and appreciating the Founders and the Constitution!
Yours in Liberty,
Eldon Stahl
Regional Field Director
The John Birch Society
605-999-1319
[pdf-embedder url=”https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/LDS-Memo-American-Founders-and-Constitution-Month.pdf” title=”LDS Memo–American Founders and Constitution Month”]
The Firm Foundation’s good friend, Tim Ballard as I’m sure you know, will be a key note speaker at our Conference again. He will speak on Saturday April 8th from 10 to 1130 am, on the subject titled, “Lincoln and the Covenant.”
Not wanting to take any thunder from his talk on Lincoln, I would like to share some amazing information about Washington on this blog. Our Founding Fathers have taken so much ridicule in the world today, it is my privledge to share all the good behind this great man, George Washington.
In a very similar vein running through the world, is a continual put-down of our wonderful Church History and the amazing Prophets of the Restoration. Satan is working overtime to destroy our past history and invalidate Prophets and Founding Fathers. Also as opposition to core beliefs and principles, many within our own Church try and destroy faith and take away from our solid traditions.
Who is Greatly Disturbed in Their Faith?
If you haven’t found physical evidence of the Book of Mormon in North America, you haven’t looked hard enough in my opinion. The Book of Mormon is true by the Spirit and I also believe the Lord has left physical evidences of that fact. Moroni said we may know the truth of all things, didn’t he?
I know for a fact and believe the Lord is in control of our nation and as long as we stay close to Him we will be blessed. I also trust His words as many in our Church today are deceived in many ways. Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Because of this theory, some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.” Doctrines of Salvation Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 12 [Which Theory is being referred to?]
Is There Complacency in our Church?
I also love the quote, “For it came to pass that they did deceive many with their flattering words, who were in the church, and did cause them to commit many sins” Mosiah 26:6
This is a great warning to us all. “O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?” Mormon 8:38
I feel strongly the above quote I have highlighted in red is speaking to we members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I also believe we are still under condemnation at Scripture says, “And they [We Members] shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written.” D&C 84:57
Joseph Smith and the Angel Moroni by Tom Holdman (Stained glass) Hill Cumorah Visitors Center, Palmyra, New York (Photo courtesy of J. Stephen Conn, June 28, 2009 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jstephenconn/3699664012) On the late evening of September 22, 1827 (1 Tishrei, 5588), Joseph Smith Jr. obtained the golden plates as Moroni gives him a charge to protect them.
These warnings are written to myself as to each of us, and I strive daily to repent and forgive all. I love all people whatever they feel about the geography of the Book of Mormon. I am sure they are great people and love the Lord as much as I do, but we can’t both be right. We all however, can live with the Lord again regardless.
My belief in the Heartland Theory of the Book of Mormon has greatly strengthened my overall testimony, and it may do the same for yours. If it is not important to you, I certainly understand. I report, your decide!
Why is the world and the progressives of this world working so hard to destroy our faith? Because they hate truth and want to dispel any goodness in this world. They want us to put down our Savior Jesus Christ and believe lies. Their subtleties begin often by putting little seeds of doubt into our minds. They may try and take down Joseph Smith just a bit, by distorting one little thing he spoke about. Putting just a little doubt in the proper method of translation, or advocating a climate crisis, or forcing our minds to believe a man came from an ape, it is all a tool of evil.
I want this blog to focus on a sold man of faith, even George Washington. For whatever bad you have ever heard about Washington, it is mostly lies. He is a solid man that the Lord used to begin this quest of fulfilling covenants on this the Promised Land. He and Abraham Lincoln stand out to me, as two faithful Presidents who were sent from the Lord to assist this great Nation.
George Washington: Was he ARROW and BULLET Proof?
You Decide!
George Washington and Belief in Divine Providence
This following story of the young George Washington was standard in textbooks before the modern, liberal atheists and secularists took it out, seeking to accomplish their agenda to rid our kids of patriotism, and belief in God and our Founding Fathers’ belief in God.
Bullet Proof: A Story of George Washington
The French and Indian War: Account of a British Officer July 9, 1755
The American Indian chief looked scornfully at the soldiers on the field before him. How foolish it was to fight as they did, forming their perfect battle lines out in the open, standing shoulder to shoulder in their bright red uniforms. The British soldiers—trained for European war—did not break rank, even when braves fired at them from under the safe cover of the forest. The slaughter continued for two hours. By then 1,000 of 1,459 British soldiers were killed or wounded, while only 30 of the French and Indian warriors firing at them were injured. Not only were the soldiers foolish, but their officers were just as bad. Riding on horseback, fully exposed above the men on the ground, they made perfect targets. One by one, the chief’s marksmen shot the mounted British officers until only one remained.
“Quick, let your aim be certain and he dies,” the chief commanded. The warriors leveled their rifles at the last officer on horseback. Round after round was aimed at this one man. Twice the officer’s horse was shot out from under him. Twice he grabbed a horse left idle when a fellow officer had been shot down. Ten, twelve, thirteen rounds were fired by the sharpshooters. Still, the officer remained unhurt.
The native warriors stared at him in disbelief. Their rifles seldom missed their mark. The chief suddenly realized that a mighty power must be shielding this man. “Stop firing!” he commanded. “This one is under the special protection of the Great Spirit.” A brave standing nearby added, “I had seventeen clear shots at him…and after all could not bring him to the ground. This man was not born to be killed by a bullet.”
As the firing slowed, the lieutenant colonel gathered the remaining troops and led the retreat to safety. That evening, as the last of the wounded were being cared for, the officer noticed an odd tear in his coat. It was a bullet hole! He rolled up his sleeve and looked at his arm directly under the hole. There was no mark on his skin. Amazed, he took off his coat and found three more holes where bullets had passed through his coat but stopped before they reached his body.
Nine days after the battle, having heard a rumor of his own death, the young lieutenant colonel wrote his brother to confirm that he was still very much alive.
As I have heard since my arrival at this place, a circumstantial account of my death and dying speech, I take this early opportunity of contradicting the first and of assuring you that I have not as yet composed the latter. But by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me! This battle, part of the French and Indian War, was fought on July 9, 1755, near Fort Duquesne, now the city of Pittsburgh. The twenty-three-year-old officer went on to become the commander in chief of the Continental Army and the first president of the United States. In all the years that followed in his long career, this man, George Washington, was never once wounded in battle.
Fifteen years later, in 1770, George Washington returned to the same Pennsylvania woods. A respected Indian chief, having heard that Washington was in the area, traveled a long way to meet with him.
He sat down with Washington, and face-to-face over a council fire, the chief told Washington the following:
I am a chief and ruler over my tribes. My influence extends to the waters of the great lakes and to the far blue mountains. I have traveled a long and weary path that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. It was on the day when the white man’s blood mixed with the streams of our forests that I first beheld this chief [Washington].I called to my young men and said, “Mark yon tall and daring warrior? He is not of the red-coat tribe—he hath an Indian’s wisdom and his warriors fight as we do—himself alone exposed. Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies.”
Our rifles were leveled, rifles which, but for you, knew not how to miss—’twas all in vain, a power mightier far than we shielded you.
Seeing you were under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit, we immediately ceased to fire at you. I am old and shall soon be gathered to the great council fire of my fathers in the land of the shades, but ere I go, there is something bids me speak in the voice of prophecy:
Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man [pointing at Washington], and guides his destinies—he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire. I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle.” Source
This story of God’s divine protection and of Washington’s open gratitude could be found in virtually all school textbooks until 1934. Now few Americans have read it. Washington often recalled this dramatic event that helped shape his character and confirm God’s call on his life. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. See Psalms 91
The American Covenant Vol. I – Discovery Through Revolution by Timothy Ballard
REVIEWS: “An absorbing read into the nature of the American Covenant, how the world’s history, with its many philosophical and religious movements, serves to inform and sometimes define the Restoration that crowns the Covenant. This book compels honest scholars to open their minds and hearts to the cumulative effect of history on the Restoration…. Rather than being some new religion revealed by an angel and taught by a prophet, Mormonism is actually the crowning achievement of a long historical record. By rereading American history in light of the Restoration, Ballard has given readers a clear path to follow in understanding just how God has guided history, resulting in the ushering in of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times.” –Jeffrey Needle, Book Review Editor, The Association for Mormon Letters
The American Covenant Vol. II – The Constitution by Timothy Ballard
These two softcover books are organized into two parts. Volume I tells the covenant story from the time of Abraham to America’s discovery through the Revolutionary War. Volume II picks up at the end of the Revolution and takes us through the creation of the Constitution, the tragedy of the Civil War and on through to the present day.
REVIEWS: “By rereading American history in light of the Restoration, Ballard has given readers a clear path to follow in understanding just how God has guided history, resulting in the ushering in of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times.” -Jeffrey Needle, Book Review Editor, The Association for Mormon Letters
“Tim Ballard’s The American Covenant is an inspiring and thought-provoking work that will cause Latter-day Saints to think more profoundly about their role in America’s destiny, and better understand America’s place in God’s plan. The American Covenant will stir any God-fearing patriot to reflect anew on the divine origin and destiny of this remarkable nation.” -Mayor Mike Winder, author of Presidents and Prophets: The Story of America’s Presidents and the LDS Church.
George Washington Lived in an Indian World, But His Biographies Have Erased Native People
Colin G. Calloway | an excerpt adapted from The Indian World of George Washington | Oxford University Press COPYRIGHT (c) 1977 Cambridge Theological Seminary
Telling Washington’s story without erasing the people and lands that preoccupied him leads to important new questions; like, just how consequential for American history was the first president’s addiction to land speculation?
Nevertheless, Indian people and Indian country loomed large in Washington’s world. His life intersected constantly with them, and events in Native America shaped the direction his life took, even if they occurred “offstage.” Indian land dominated his thinking and his vision for the future. Indian nations challenged the growth of his nation. A thick Indian strand runs through the life of George Washington as surely as it runs through the history of early America.
Washington’s first trips westward were as a surveyor, and he looked on Indian lands with a surveyor’s eye for the rest of his life. Surveyors transformed “wilderness” that disoriented and threatened settler colonists into an ordered landscape they could understand and utilize. In colonial Virginia surveyors enjoyed status; in Indian country they met with suspicion if not outright hostility. Armed with compass, chains, and logbooks, surveyors were the outriders of an advancing settler society intent on turning Indian homelands and hunting territories into a commodity that could be measured and bounded, bought and sold, and Indians knew it. When the frontier trader Christopher Gist did some surveying near the Delaware town of Shannopin, on the southeast side of the Allegheny River, in the fall of 1750, he did so on the quiet: “I… set my Compass privately, & took the Distance across the River, for I understood it was dangerous to let a Compass be seen among these Indians.”
In reality, young Washington found himself out of his depth in a complex world of rumors, wampum belts, and tribal agendas. As events spiraled out of his control, he received a crash course in Indian diplomacy, intertribal politics, and frontier conflict under the tutelage of a formidable Seneca named Tanaghrisson.
Washington never moved west himself, but the West beckoned him and the nation he led. His long association with the region as surveyor, speculator, soldier, landowner, and politician shaped his career and his vision of America’s future tied to western development. As a young man, he pursued wealth in land and a military reputation in the West; in his later years, the West became a key to building national unity. By the end of his life, according to one of the editors of the monumental Papers of George Washington, he probably knew more than any other man in America about the frontier and its significance to the future of his country. He had also accumulated more than 45,000 acres of prime real estate in present-day Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, the Shenandoah Valley, and West Virginia. It was the West, says another of his editors, that “made the Virginia farmer lift his eyes to prospects beyond his own fields and his native Virginia”; the West that “stretched his mind” to embrace an expansive vision of a republican empire; the West that, more than anything else except the Revolutionary War, prepared him for his role as nation builder.
Washington himself was given or assumed an Indian name, Conotocarious, meaning ‘Town Destroyer’ or ‘Devourer of Villages.’
The Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and rod Meldrum Page 298 Order Today.
Washington knew that the frontier was Indian country and that the future he envisioned would be realized at the expense of the people who lived there. He presided over and participated in their dispossession. He dispatched armies into Indian country; he lost an army in Indian country. The bulk of the federal budget during his presidency was spent in wars against Indians, and their affairs figured regularly and prominently in the president’s conferences with his heads of departments. He promoted policies that divested Indians of millions of acres; he sent treaty commissioners into Indian country and signed the treaties they made, even as he sometimes studiously avoided conversations about purchasing land with Indian delegates who came to the capital. His conduct of Indian affairs shaped the authority of the president in war and diplomacy. He participated in, indeed insisted on, the transformation of Indian life and culture. In the course of his life, he met many of the most prominent Native Americans of his day: Shingas, Tanaghrisson, Scarouady, Guyasuta, Attakullakulla, Bloody Fellow, Joseph Brant, Cornplanter, Red Jacket, Jean Baptiste DuCoigne, Alexander McGillivray, Little Turtle, Blue Jacket, Piominko. He also met many lesser-known individuals, who cropped up time and again in dealings between Indians and colonists, men like the Seneca messenger Aroas or Silver Heels, the Oneida-French intermediary Andrew Montour, and the Seneca Kanuksusy, who appeared in colonial negotiations under his English name, Newcastle. Having more than one name was not uncommon. Washington himself was given or assumed an Indian name, Conotocarious, meaning “Town Destroyer” or “Devourer of Villages,” and an Indian messenger who arrived at Fort Harmar in July 1788 was identified as “George Washington, a Delaware.” He was not the only Indian to bear Washington’s name.
In Washington’s administration, the process of creating the “United States” occurred “in dialogue with other nations,” including Native nations. Establishing the sovereignty of the United States required wrestling with the sovereignty of Indian nations and their place in American society. By the time Washington died, Indian power remained formidable in many areas of the continent, and American sovereignty remained contested in many spaces, but the United States had become a central presence in the world of all Indian peoples east of the Mississippi, and American expansion into Indian country was well under way. Washington, in association with men like Henry Knox, developed and articulated policies designed to divest Indians of their cultures as well as their lands and that would shape US-Indian relations for more than a century.
Washington’s paths through Indian country connected his story to indigenous peoples who told their own stories, organized and lived their lives in distinct ways, and had different visions of America and its possibilities. But theirs was not the Indian world Washington saw and knew; the Indian world he saw was the world most Americans saw. He found little to admire in Indian life. Few of its ways of living or thinking rubbed off on him. No gallery of Native American artifacts graced Mount Vernon as it did Monticello.When Washington looked at Indian country, he saw colonial space temporarily inhabited by Indian people. What he regarded as new lands were in fact quite ancient, but he showed little awareness that the ancestors of Shawnees and Cherokees had walked those lands for thousands of years before he set foot or his surveyor’s gaze on them. Jefferson was interested in the ancient petroglyphs on the banks of the Kanawha River; Washington was more interested in the extent and fertility of his lands on those riverbanks. When he looked at Indian people, he saw either actual or potential enemies or allies. They and their lands feature recurrently and prominently in Washington’s correspondence, and on occasion he expressed sympathy for Indian people. But his writings tell us little or nothing about Indians’ family life, clan affiliations, kinship networks, gender relations, languages, subsistence strategies, changing economic patterns, consensus politics, traditional religious beliefs and ceremonial cycles, distinctive Christianity, or social ethics. There was much he did not see or understand. He did not — could not — comprehend how mythic stories, clan histories, and spiritual forces shaped how Indian people perceived their world. He did not understand many of the words and sounds he heard in Indian country. Rarely if ever did he show any appreciation that the societies there functioned according to their own rules, rhythms, beliefs, and values. He demonstrated no understanding of the roles of women in Native society, beyond being farmers, and he wished to see Indian men take over that role. In all of that, he was not much different from most of his contemporaries.
A British officer traveling in the Wabash country in the 1760s was called a ‘D—d son of a b—ch’ by one Indian and given a copy of Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ by another.
By the time Washington encountered Cherokees, Iroquois, or Delawares, he met men who wore deerskin leggings and moccasins and displayed body and facial tattoos but who also often wore linen shirts and wool coats, and even the occasional three-cornered hat. He spoke with chiefs who wore armbands of trade silver and displayed European symbols of distinction like the officer’s crescent-shaped silver gorget he himself wore around his neck when he posed for his portrait by Charles Willson Peale in 1772. He would have seen women who wore calico blouses and kept their children warm with blankets of red-and-blue stroud, a durable woolen cloth produced in England’s Cotswolds. Some of the Catholic Indians Washington encountered from the St. Lawrence or the Great Lakes wore crucifixes, spoke French, and had French names. Like anyone else who spent much time on the eighteenth-century frontier, he would also have met white men who wore breechcloths, moccasins, and hunting shirts and bore facial tattoos. Constantly pressing the edges of Indian country were Scots-Irish, Anglo-American, and German settlers, the kind of people that Washington and his kind of people — Tidewater planters and gentlemen — characterized as more savage than savages. He might have seen black faces; at a time when buying and selling people was as common as buying and selling land, traders, Indian agents, army officers, and settler colonists took African slaves with them when they crossed the Appalachians. Indians also sometimes owned and trafficked in African slaves and harbored runaways. Some of the chiefs who ate dinner with Washington in New York or Philadelphia would not have been surprised to be waited on by black slaves; like Washington, they were slaveholders.
Washington sometimes spent days at a time in Indian villages. He would have seen cows, pigs, and chickens: Indians got pigs from Swedish settlers in the Delaware Valley in the seventeenth century, and Delaware people called chickens tipas, mimicking the sound Swedish settlers used to call poultry. If he entered Indian lodges he would have seen many familiar objects: brass kettles, copper pots, candles, looking glasses, awls, needles, and threads. If he shared a meal, he would have eaten indigenous food — corn, beans, squash, pumpkin, venison, elk, bear’s meat, fish, hominy cakes, berries, nuts, acorns, wild onions, maple sugar — perhaps supplemented by beef, chicken, pork, milk, apples, peaches, watermelon, turnips, peas, potatoes, honey, and many European imports that Indians had added to their diets. He might have met Indian people who had developed a taste for tea and sugar; he certainly met people with a taste for rum. He would have spoken with Native people who could speak English and who, their own languages lacking profanity, had learned to swear in it. (A British officer traveling in the Wabash country in the 1760s was called a “D—d son of a b—ch” by one Indian and given a copy of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra by another.)
Washington is the “father of the nation,” and he assumed the role of “great father” to Indian people as well. Yet the Iroquois called him “Town Destroyer,” and with justification. Washington’s dealings with Indian people and their land do him little credit, but on the other hand his achievement in creating a nation from a fragile union of states is more impressive when we appreciate the power and challenges his Indian world presented. Washington’s life, like the lives of so many of his contemporaries, was inextricably linked to Native America, a reality we have forgotten as our historical hindsight has separated Indians and early Americans so sharply, and prematurely, into winners and losers.
George Washington dominates the formative events of American nation-building like no one else. He commanded the Continental Army that secured American independence, he presided over the convention that framed the Constitution of the United States, and he was the nation’s first president, serving two terms and setting the bar by which all subsequent presidents have been measured in terms of moral character and political wisdom. Ignoring or excluding Native America from Washington’s life, like excluding it from the early history of the nation, contributes to the erasure of Indians from America’s past and America’s memory. It also diminishes our understanding of Washington and his world. Restoring Indian people and Indian lands to the story of Washington goes a long way toward restoring them to their proper place in America’s story.
With the exception of his expeditions in the Ohio Valley during the French and Indian War, the key events of Washington’s life occur in the East — Mount Vernon, Philadelphia, Yorktown. But Washington’s involvement with the West was lifelong, and he consistently looked to western land for his own personal fortune and for the nation’s future. Securing Indian country as a national resource was essential to national consolidation and expansion, and few people knew more about securing Indian land than he did.
In one of the most iconic images in American history, Washington stands resolutely in the prow of a boat facing east. Emanuel Leutze’s epic 1851 painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, captures a pivotal moment during the War of Independence. After a string of demoralizing defeats and with the rebel army on the verge of disintegration, the Revolution faced its darkest hour. Then, on Christmas night 1776, Washington led what was left of his army in a daring and desperate attack. In the teeth of a storm, they crossed the ice-clogged Delaware River from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and roundly defeated a garrison of Hessian soldiers at Trenton. A week later, they defeated a British force at Princeton. The Revolution, for the moment, was saved, and the twin victories breathed life into a cause that had seemed lost. After he died, Washington achieved almost godlike status as the savior of the Revolution and the father of the Republic,
But the Revolution was not only a war for independence and a new political order; it was also a war for the North American continent. Washington and the emerging nation faced west as well as east. If Washington did resemble a god, he perhaps most resembled the Roman Janus. Depicted with two faces, looking in opposite directions, Janus was not “two-faced” in the modern, negative sense of the term as duplicitous. As the god of passages and transitions, beginnings and endings, he looked simultaneously to the past and to the future. As America’s god of the passage from colony to nation, Washington looked east to the past and west to the future. And when he faced west, he faced Indian country.
*Note from the Author: There is no general agreement about the appropriate collective term to apply to the indigenous peoples of North America. Although I occasionally, throughout my book, use Native, Native American, indigenous, or, as in the title, First Americans, I most often use Indians or Indian people, which was the term most commonly used at the time. In writing a book aimed at a broad readership, I have used the names for Indian nations that seem to be the most readily recognizable to the most people: Iroquois rather than Haudenosaunee; Mohawks rather than Kanienkehaka; Delawares rather than Lenni Lenapee; and Cherokee, which derives from other people’s name for them, rather than how Cherokees referred to themselves, Ani-Yunwiya, “the principal people.” Applying the same criteria to individuals necessarily involves some inconsistencies, such as Joseph Brant rather than Thayendanegea and White Eyes instead of Quequedegatha or Koquethagechton, but Attakullakulla rather than Little Carpenter and Piominko rather than Mountain Leader.
Colin G. Calloway is John Kimball Jr. 1943 Professor of History and Native American Studies at Dartmouth College. His previous books include A Scratch of the Pen and The Victory with No Name. Longreads Editor: Dana Snitzky
The French and Indian War took place from 1754 to 1763. During this time, a significant amount of land was disputed, and fighting took place primarily in these regions and in borderlands. The Native American tribes were key players, often because they already lived in these regions, understood the lay of the land, and had been recruited through promises of their lands being returned if the French won.
We often don’t think of George Washington as a player in the French and Indian War, more often in conjunction with the Revolutionary War, but he was clearly involved. In the letter below, he wrote to the Tuscarora Indians of North Carolina asking for their support. An underscored word means I couldn’t read it clearly, or at all in some cases.
George Washington Papers, 1741-1799
To King Blount, Capt Jack and the rest of the Tuscarora Chiefs.
Brothers and Friends. This will be delivered you by our brother Tom, a warrior of the Nottoways who with others of that nation have distinguished themselves in our service this summer against our great and perfidious enemies.
The intent of this is to assure you of our real friendship and love and to confirm and strengthen that chain of friendship which has subsisted between us for so many years past….a chain like ours founded on sincere love and friendship must be strong and lasting and will I hope endure while the sun and stars give light.
Brothers you can be no strangers to the many murders and cruelties committed on our countrymen and friends by that false and faithless people the French who are constantly endeavoring to corrupt the minds of our friendly Indians and Lord have stirred up the Shawnee and Delaware with several other nations to take up the hatchet against us and at the head of many of their Indians have invaded our country, laid waste our lands, plundered our plantations, murdered defenseless women and children, burnt and destroyed wherever they came….which has enraged friends the Six Nations, Cherokees, Nottoways, Cattawbas, and all our Indian allies and prompted them to take up the hatchet in our defense against these disturbances of the common peace.
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I hope Brothers you will likewise take up the hatchet against the French and their Indians as our other friends have done and send us some of your young men to protect our frontiers and go to war with us against our notiss and ambitious Frenchmen and to encourage your warriors, I promise to furnish them with arms, ammunition, clothes, provision and ever necessary for war…and the sooner you send them to our assistance the greater ___ will give us of your friendship and the better shall we be enabled to take just revenge on the cruelties.
May you live a happy prosperous people and may we act with sincere love and friendship and while rivers run and trees grow is the sincere wish of your friend and Brother.
Signed with George Washington’s signature
In confirmation of the above and in hopes of your compliance with my request…I give you this string of wampum.
During the year of 1754. United States first president was colonel of the Virginia colonial militia, while he was colonel he headed a project to build fort London in Winchestor Virginia.
During the French and Indian War, Colonel George Washington designed and supervised the construction of a fort in Winchester, Virginia. Named Fort Loudoun, after John Campbell, the fourth Earl of Loudoun and Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America, the fort was constructed to protect citizens from attack and served as a headquarters for Washington and his militia.
During excavation for the fort’s foundation, Washington’s men dug up skeletons—skeletons which measured seven feet in length.
The first written report of such large Indians dates back to 1707, when Swiss explorer Louis Michelle visited the Shenandoah Valley. Local Indians who lived or hunted in the Winchester area, showed Michelle huge stones, thought to be sacrificial altars. He was also shown burial mounds of ancient warriors known to have been over seven feet tall. Michelle’s diaries and maps relating to his adventures in the Shenandoah Valley are currently stored in the Royal Archives in London.
A monument that mentions the Indian grave site is located in Virginia but the artifacts and skeletons have not been seen since.
George Washington was an American politician and soldier who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and later presided over the 1787 convention that drafted the United States Constitution. He is popularly considered the driving force behind the nation’s establishment and came to be known as the “father of the country,” both during his lifetime and to this day.
During the year of 1754. United States first president was colonel of the Virginia colonial militia, while he was colonel he headed a project to build fort London in Winchestor Virginia.
During the French and Indian War, Colonel George Washington designed and supervised the construction of a fort in Winchester, Virginia. Named Fort Loudoun, after John Campbell, the fourth Earl of Loudoun and Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America, the fort was constructed to protect citizens from attack and served as a headquarters for Washington and his militia.
During excavation for the fort’s foundation, Washington’s men dug up skeletons—skeletons which measured seven feet in length.
The first written report of such large Indians dates back to 1707, when Swiss explorer Louis Michelle visited the Shenandoah Valley. Local Indians who lived or hunted in the Winchester area, showed Michelle huge stones, thought to be sacrificial altars. He was also shown burial mounds of ancient warriors known to have been over seven feet tall. Michelle’s diaries and maps relating to his adventures in the Shenandoah Valley are currently stored in the Royal Archives in London.
A monument that mentions the Indian grave site is located in Virginia but the artifacts and skeletons have not been seen since.
George Washington and the Cherry Tree
George Washington is known for telling the truth. What was once taught as an eyewitness account of young Washington’s “honesty” has been pushed into the fable section by deconstructionists. Here is one account of Washington’s honesty: “One day, in the garden, where he often amused himself hacking his mother’s pea-sticks, he unluckily tried the edge of his hatchet on the body of a beautiful young English cherry-tree, which he barked so terribly, that I don’t believe the tree ever got the better of it. The next morning the old gentleman finding out what had befallen his tree, which, by the by, was a great favourite, came into the house, and with much warmth asked for the mischievous author, declaring at the same time, that he would not have taken five guineas for his tree. Nobody could tell him any thing about it. Presently George and his hatchet made their appearance. George, said his father, do you know who killed that beautiful little cherry-tree yonder in the garden? This was a tough question; and George staggered under it for a moment; but quickly recovered himself: and looking at his father, with the sweet face of youth brightened with the inexpressible charm of all-conquering truth, he bravely cried out, “I can’t tell a lie, Pa; you know I can’t tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.”–Run to my arms, you dearest boy, cried his father in transports, run to my arms; glad am I, George, that you killed my tree; for you have paid me for it a thousand fold. Such an act of heroism in my son, is more worth than a thousand trees, though blossomed with silver, and their fruits of purest gold.” Story by Mason Locke Weems, 1809
George Washington “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen”
Jonathan Neville has two new books published, one with his friend James W. Lucas. They will share information about it at our Expo on April 6-8. Also, Jonathan was recently interviewed by one of our other speakers at the Expo, Podcaster, Greg Matsen.
Greg Matsen has become one of my favorite LDS Podcasters. He has had over 8 Million views of his podcasts This year at our 31st Book of Mormon Evidence Conference he spoke on a subject he titled, Nephite Dissenters & Social Justice.
Greg Matsen- Cwic Show
Greg and Harlene Matsen
Greg Matsen is the founder of Cwic Media and the host of its primary show, Cwic Show. Cwic Show has almost 5,000,000 views and downloads and is one of the top podcasts for Latter-day Saint culture, social issues, and politics. His website, cwicmedia.com, includes the Critical Social Justice Hub which contrasts LDS principles with Social Justice and woke ideology, what Greg calls the, “Religion of Academia.”
He has studied the scriptures and history almost daily since his mission, seeks and develops interfaith relationships, and diligently seeks to help others learn what he has learned through lenses he developed called Cwic Interpreters. He also does a weekly Come Follow Me podcast. Greg sold his Wealth Management Firm in Scottsdale, AZ in 2020 and now runs Cwic Media full time. He and his wife have four kids and one son-in-law.
Our great Heartland friend Jonathan Neville, just sat down with Greg Matsen to discuss two of the most important “Linchpins” within the Heartland Model, the correct Geography and the Proper method of Translation of the Book of Mormon. You will enjoy Greg’s wonderful interview style and Jonathan’s easy to understand description of events it these two podcasts.
Jonathan Neville’s New Books
Jonathan Neville
Please share these videos with others. Both Greg an Jonathan speak at our Firm Foundation Conferences often.
Jonathan has a new book with co-author, James Lucas called, “The Rational Restoration”
by Jonathan Neville
“Joseph Smith claimed the Book of Mormon was his translation of writings on ancient plates made using an even more ancient translation device called the Urim and Thummim. By Means of the Urim and Thummim explores the many controversies surrounding this claim. Did Joseph actually use a magic rock he put in a hat rather than the ancient interpreter device? Did he write the Book himself rather than translating an ancient record? Was Joseph really a near illiterate country bumpkin, or was he plausible as an actively engaged translator? And if he was a real translator as he claimed, how would such a translation process have worked to produce the Book of Mormon as we have it, with its strange mélange of 1820s American English and the Bible underlain by ancient concepts and linguistic forms in an incredibly complex narrative? By Means of the Urim and Thummim will be a must read for anyone interested in the unique and unusual work that is the Book of Mormon.” Amazon Remarks
Reviews of Jonathan and Mr. Lucas’ book, “By Means of the Urim and Thummim: Restoring Translation to the Restoration”
“Lucas and Neville’s By Means of the Urim and Thummim is a substantial contribution to the translation debates that have roiled Book of Mormon scholarship for the past twenty years. It is conservative in that it restores the preeminent role of the Urim and Thummim in the translation process and virtually erases the seerstone from the story. It also proposes a translation theory of its own that preserves the importance of the Urim and Thummim and yet accounts for the presence of language from Joseph Smith’s world. All readers who take the translation debates seriously must reckon with this book.” Richard Lyman Bushman, author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History, Columbia University
“By Means of the Urim and Thummim: Restoring Translation to the Restoration by lawyers James W. Lucas and Jonathan E. Neville is in part an advancement of arguments in Neville’s previous work where he found over 1,700 separate correlations between the non-biblical Book of Mormon and language sources readily available to Joseph. In addition, Lucas and Neville find considerable evidence that Joseph Smith did not use a seer stone in a hat to translate the Book of Mormon—or, as some argue, simply to read what was on the stone. They convincingly offer new approaches to the evidence, explore previously overlooked evidence, and propose a new model for the translation process which corroborates and supports what Joseph affirmed that he, “by the gift and power of God, … translated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics.” Richard Dilworth Rust, Professor Emeritus of English, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill”
“The celebrated authors attempt to solve the question of the Book of Mormon translation process– Urim and Thummim and seer stone. Enjoy reading their scholarly work and academic approach to the question.” Susan Easton Black, Emeritus Professor Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University Kindle Edition
“Demonstration” or “Hat as a Prop”?
Jonathan Neville in his podcast with Greg Matsen spoke about how he believes it is possible that Joseph Smith showed many of the Whitmer’s a “demonstration” of the stone in the hat. It is a very interesting possibility but I don’t think it is correct. In my opinion I have a question about Joseph showing a demonstration to appease others curiosity and I don’t think that was necessary.
Why is it that so much of our history is distorted or downright incorrect? There is a constant battle between who is right and who is wrong. That is why this world is truly Satan’s until the Lord comes and establishes His perfect government. Like the Bible says, men today are, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Tim. 3:7
“I have come to believe that it is the tendency for many members of the Church who spend a great deal of time in academic research to begin to judge the Church, its doctrine, organization, and leadership, present and past, by the principles of their own profession. Ofttimes this is done unwittingly, and some of it, perhaps, is not harmful.” The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
Elder Boyd K. Packer
“This problem has affected some of those who have taught and have written about the history of the Church. These professors say of themselves that religious faith has little influence on Mormon scholars. They say this because, obviously, they are not simply Latter-day Saints but are also intellectuals trained, for the most part, in secular institutions. They would that some historians who are Latter-day Saints write history as they were taught in graduate school, rather than as Mormons.” The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
President Harold B. Lee,
Cautioned that some people may not follow the line of authority in the Church:
“We call upon you holders of the priesthood to stamp out any such [false doctrines] and to set to flight all such things as are creeping in, people rising up here and there who have had some ‘marvelous’ kind of a manifestation, as they claim, and who try to lead the people in a course that has not been dictated from the heads of the Church.
“The great difficulty lies in the ignorance of the nature of spirits, of the laws by which they are governed, and the signs by which they may be known; if it requires the Spirit of God to know the things of God; and the spirit of the devil can only be unmasked through that medium, then it follows as a natural consequence that unless some person or persons have a communication, or revelation from God, unfolding to them the operation of the spirit, they must eternally remain ignorant of these principles. … Whatever we may think of revelation, … without it we can neither know nor understand anything of God, or the devil.” (History of the Church, 4:573–74.)
False Doctrine
“I do not know all of the providences of the Lord, but I do know that he permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church and that such teaching is part of the sifting process of mortality.” Bruce R. McConkie, McConkie’s 1981 letter to BYU
BYU’s 2017 Department of Geological Sciences Hates New Science *(See Below)
When I was a college student there were many discussions on the question of organic evolution. I took classes in geology and biology and heard the whole story of Darwinism as it was then taught. I wondered about it. I thought much about it. But I did not let it sway me, for I read what the scriptures said about our origins and our relationship to God.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, Faith: The Essence of True Religion, p. 18.)
Our Church is Neutral on Evolution
“The Church has no official position on the theory of evolution. Organic evolution, or changes to species’ inherited traits over time, is a matter for scientific study. Nothing has been revealed concerning evolution. Though the details of what happened on earth before Adam and Eve, including how their bodies were created, have not been revealed, our teachings regarding man’s origin are clear and come from revelation.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2016/10/to-the-point/what-does-the-church-believe-about-evolution.html?lang=eng
Why? Editors Opinion
Many intellectuals and scientists love sharing the quote above which says, “The Church has no official position on the theory of evolution.” The Church has also said they are neutral on the Geography of the Book of Mormon. These statements by the Church however don’t say that we have to be neutral about these things. I believe the Church is telling us to search and pray for ourselves. The Church can’t teach us everything as we are accountable for our own spiritual growth as we learn in this life. We should read, study and search for evidences about all things, and by the Spirit we may know ALL THINGS!Moroni 10:5
When the Prophet and others received the “shot”, I didn’t immediately say, “oh wow that means I need to do the same.” Taking the shot was not a commandment, but highly encouraged. The Prophet and others said to be a good global citizen and they had listened to competent Doctors. The problem was, I personally had heard from competent Doctors as well that said the shot could be deadly and not to take it. I felt I was being a good global citizen by warning others to not take the shot, and look, in March 2023, I was correct. I received personal revelation and I was blessed. It doesn’t mean the Prophet was wrong, he was just stressing the fact that we all need to consider things that may benefit us.
Personal Revelation
The Prophet also said, “Learn for yourself—right now at your age—how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!” Hope of Israel Russell M. Nelson
“You don’t have to wonder about what is true. You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust. Through personal revelation, you can receive your own witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is the Lord’s Church. Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true.
I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives by President Russell M. Nelson
Evolution
Supposedly those writers at FAIR Mormon use Elder Holland’s statement below as he says, “I do not know the details of what happened on this planet before that”, to feel they can tell us all about evolution as they are smarter than the Prophets. This secular society needs to have the faith of the Brethren and end this tremendous amount of time spent in promoting evolution of ape to man and from nothing comes something.
Why is it no surprise that a vast number of those who believe in the Mesoamerican Theory of the Book of Mormon also believe man came from nothing, Noah’s flood is a myth, the Earth is billions of years in creation, and believe in Pre-Adamites?
WE DID NOT COME FROM AN APE OF THIS I AM MOST CERTAIN! MAN DID NOT EVOLVE FROM NOTHING! ADAM WAS PLACED ON THE EARTH IN ABOUT 4,000 BC! THE MATERIALS OF THE EARTH ARE BILLIONS (innumerable) OF YEARS OLD, BUT THE CREATION IS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD, NOAH’S FLOOD IS REAL, and if there is ever a difference between Scripture and Science, always choose Scripture!
“One need not look far into science to discover it consists too generally of a maze of facts and theory so closely interwoven that even the most learned and honorable scientist (to say nothing of the intellectually dishonest one or the novice) may have difficulty in distinguishing readily between truth and theory.” — Joseph Fielding Smith Man, His Origin and Destiny
Could a Single Experiment Change Much of Science? Could Modern Science Have Some Things Wrong? Are All the Creation Accounts Actual or Myths? Is Evolution Being Taught as Fact at BYU? Can We Trust the Scriptures & Prophets? Are Our Youth Being Taught the Truth? Was There a Real World-Wide Flood? Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?
Join scientific researcher, author and international lecturer Rod Meldrum as he introduces a paradigm-altering experiment that may forever change the very foundations of science as we know it. Learn about a new millennial science, called the Universal Model, that provides the hard scientific evidences of the processes by which:
1- This magnificent Earth may have actually formed out of water. 2. How, and how long it took, for dinosaurs and trees to fossilize. 3. How a world-wide catastrophic flood at the time of Biblical Noah happened. 4. How mankind’s place in the Universe came through Adam and Eve.
Yes, We Really Can Trust the Scriptures and Prophets!
For 7 years Rod Meldrum was the head scientific researcher for Dean Sessions, author of The Universal Model. Rod gives many presentations about how science and the scriptures go hand in hand including the one above called, DNA and Dating Dinosaurs.
What Is The Universal Model? “The purpose of science is to describe and explain Nature so that we can understand and comprehend it, but where do we learn these things simply, in a way that makes sense? For many decades, a number of incorrect theories and misleading philosophies have formed the foundation of ‘modern’ science. Now, newly discovered scientific truths in the Universal Model have revealed long-hidden natural laws that explain Nature’s workings in an easily comprehensible format. We invite all to explore and experience the adventure of learning by investigating new discoveries about the Earth and our Universe found in the UM. These scientific truths establish a New Millennial Science destined to take us through the current millennium to heights of knowledge and discovery never before imagined.” The Universal Model Home Page
“We must keep in mind that He [Christ] is allowing the wheat and tares to grow up together for a season, and by and by the tares will be gathered together and be burned up. Before the burning though, there will be a judgement, and the Lord is allowing us each right now to work out our salvation or damnation. Those that have the facts before them and reject them (see below) will pay the ultimate price, but there also must be a Great Divide that is taking place right now (talked about in the BoM and in the last chapter of Vol II of UM [Universal Model] – the Human Model) to clearly mark each of us to which side we are on. Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “One need not look far into science to discover it consists too generally of a maze of facts and theory so closely interwoven that even the most learned and honorable scientist (to say nothing of the intellectually dishonest one or the novice) may have difficulty in distinguishing readily between truth and theory.” — Man, His Origin and Destiny
This is the purpose of the UM, to take this maze (the modern science puzzle that makes no sense – everything from nothing) and replace it with Nature’s Puzzle – they way things really are.
Melvin A. Cook in the Intro of: Man, His Origin and Destiny also said: “Unfortunately, owing to the strong desire of scientists to display their brilliance and ingenuity, there is a tendency for theory to become the objective instead of a means to the end. Theory then not only loses its real value, but actually becomes a stumbling block to progress. Its inventor and disciples become so engrossed in the theory that they lose sight of its fundamental purpose, the quest for truth. This condition was shockingly illustrated in my presence at a meeting of scientists when one of great renown met a factual objection with the statement, “I am more concerned with the elegance of the theory than the truth of it.” — Man, His Origin and Destiny
Therefore, the Lord will judge these so-called intellectuals to whether they want to follow and learn of the Truth (which is literally Christ) or not. The sad thing is that most do not realize following Christ means following and seeking out for the Truth.
The UM has already produced experiments for the first time that are “more than words” (for example it has created sandstone and petrified wood which are identical to how Nature produced it in only a few days). The UM does not just have “alternative explanations” to how things are done in Nature, it has the ONLY explanation in hundreds of instances where modern science admits their theories cannot explain such and such natural phenomena. So ‘producing’ more ‘things’ is not the solution. Science is about demonstrating the true nature of Nature, it is not technology, which is only a tool that helps us understand it better.
Therefore, we cannot expect the leaders of science today to ever change their religion of atheism and accept the truth. It’s just not going to happen. For the UM to gain a much wider acceptance, it will have to be promoted full time to a much greater degree and I will personally have to be involved with this with others. This means I will be involved in debates and interviews and making many more recordings for the Web with influencers.
Although each Volume of the UM stands alone and has more new natural law than produced by modern science over the last century, Vol III does have double the amount of natural law as the other two volumes and many more experiments seen for the first time. Being able to demonstrate the true models of both matter and energy is more than any physicist or chemist or cosmologist has ever dreamed of, as this alone changes all their fields of study – and the UM does this. It also shows the errors in the physics of the Big Bang and proves the Universe is not expanding, but rotating in a Revolutionary Universe. It really is beyond what any scientist could dream about – yet it is all real and empirically demonstrated.” Dean Sessions-Founder and Author of the “Universal Model, A New Millennial Science“
None of us . . . knows enough. The learning process is an endless process. We must read, we must observe, we must assimilate, and we must ponder that to which we expose our minds. I believe in evolution, not organic evolution, as it is called, but in the evolution of the mind, the heart, and the soul of man. I believe in improvement. I believe in growth.‖ (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 298.)
The UM Is For All Lovers Of Truthby Chauncey Riddle
I have just completed reading the first two of the three systems of the new UM project of Dean Sessions. I am greatly impressed and delighted by what I found. It was like seeing an exciting, powerful new movie that deals with some of my favorite topics and concerns. To specifics:
Sessions is right on in pointing out that much of present day science is theory oriented rather than being fact oriented as it should be. For many scientists, theory is more important than law. Scientific laws are demonstrated by facts, but theories cannot be demonstrated by facts. There are always an infinite number of possible theoretical explanations for any finite set of facts. Theories can be eliminated by facts, but only if the persons involved in evaluating them will make the correct application: face the facts. When a theory is an article of faith, many people refuse to apply the pertinent facts which should cause them to abandon a particular theory. Sessions has called attention to specific facts and laws which should cause any honest person to reject the theories of organic evolution, the great age of fossils, the magma theory of the history of the earth, etc. How refreshing to see such candor in scientific thinking!
Sessions is also correct in showing that technology is as important as scientific theorizing. Technology enabled the work of Galileo to establish the helio-centric theory of the solar system, much to the consternation of the self-appointed scientists of his day. Sessions has shown by technology how granite rock is actually formed, as well as other minerals. He has shown how fossils are formed, such as petrified wood. Diamonds are now produced by technology. All of these technical achievements create facts and laws which every honest scientist must recognize and apply to theories affected by them. Technology trumps scientific theory because technology demonstrates what is (facts), whereas scientific theory only muses on what might be. Theory in science is actually metaphysics, not physics. Only when substantiated by facts and laws do theories become acceptable, and are always subject to elimination if new facts and laws come forth to negate them. Sessions has done an admirable job of showing how some present theoretical darlings of some scientists must be rejected.
Session’s discussions of hydrofountains, hypretherms, the Universal Flood, organic evolution, fossils, climate, history, anthropology, etc., are all refreshing and challenging. Reading this book is having one’s imagination stretched at every turn. Every serious reader who has an interest in knowing the truth will be delighted with the challenging ideas found here.
Will there be criticisms of this work? Most certainly. What form will they take?
One will be ignoring this work and discouraging others from reading it. Just as the politicians in charge try to marginalize everyone who is not “politically correct,” so will influential members of the science community try to ignore and belittle this work. But every honest seeker after truth will relish the opportunity to think freshly about important scientific matters, in a refined paradigm of science, and with new facts and laws to ponder.
Some critics will say that this work should be ignored or discounted because the author, Dean Sessions, is not a professional scientist and does not have the “necessary” academic background to propound such a work. This attitude is rubbish, of course. That is like saying someone cannot run fast because they are not part of an official Olympic Team. The proof of science is not in who says it but in the physical evidence brought to bear in evaluating our ideas about this physical world we live in. Sessions is right in pointing out that theory (which cannot be proved, but can be falsified) has become more important to many current scientists than are facts. The great example of this is the theory of organic evolution which is the darling of much of academia right now and which is completely unsupported by the facts, specifically the fact that there is no observable speciation in nature. That plus the inability to prove the immense time frame necessary for the theory spell the death-knell for the theory of organic evolution for every honest person. But evolution is a religion, a matter of faith for many persons, and they would rather give up their honesty than give up their favorite irrational article of faith.
Some will say that Sessions has picked and chosen very carefully the quotations of other writers which he cites to support his case. But that is not a fault. Every person picks and chooses among potential citations, a necessity in the flood of writings about every topic. What is most remarkable and commendable is the breadth and depth of the scholarship which Sessions exhibits in his writing. He has searched the literature of many fields of endeavor with exciting and telling results. Most people know the literature only in their own field. Sessions has no primary field and delves into what others have said from all the fields he deals with to help his readers realize what is being said and not said in the areas of his interest. Be grateful he has been selective and brings to you a summary of what others are saying.
Sessions will possibly be proved wrong about some assertions he has made in his work. This is almost inevitable for anyone doing serious thinking and writing. But the finding of such errors will not be an embarrassment for Sessions. He will laud such finding, because that will mean that the cause of truth will be advanced. His purpose is to bring truth and light to important matters, and if his work stimulates others to produce more truth and light, even unto showing his work needs to be amended, he will be grateful. He will be grateful because he writes not to give the final word but to further the ongoing human inquiry into the powerful ideas about the true nature of the universe that give us all more understanding and power.
I commend this work for all serious thinkers and lovers of truth. You will be challenged in reading the material. It is not “light” reading. But any effort will be well worth it.
Chauncey C. Riddle, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Brigham Young University, USA 10/22/2016
BYU’s student newspaper, The Universe, printed a full-page advertisement on behalf of the “Firm Foundation Expo,” a 3-day expo that bills itself as “faithfully exploring LDS topics of our time.” In the advertisement, all of the 70+ speakers are portrayed as distinguished and as experts in some area or another.
One of those speakers is Dean W. Sessions, the author of the “Universal Model.” Mr. Sessions claims to have disproved several straightforward tenets of modern science, including the basic interior structure of the Earth (which he argues has a core of ice and liquid water) and the mass of the Earth (which he recalculates at about a third of what is known in order to fit this model). He will be speaking about his model on each day of the event.
We, members of BYU’s Department of Geological Sciences, cannot accept Mr. Sessions “Universal Model” as it runs contrary to multiple lines of empirical evidence and generations of scientific query. It would not pass expert peer review.
Students and the BYU community are reminded that organic evolution, anthropogenic climate change, radiometric dating and a 4.56 billion-year-old age of the Earth are all seriously taught on campus by professors, who are in good standing with the church, in fields directly relating to these subjects. Students may learn more about these subjects through a variety of courses offered by the Department of Geological Sciences as well as from other departments.
We, the undersigned, support the honest development of knowledge by way of the scientific method and as vetted through expert peer review. We are concerned that the presence of the aforementioned advertisement in The Universe may legitimize Dean Sessions’ “Universal Model” in the eyes of some within the community.
—Bart Kowallis, PhD, Associate Dean of CPMS; Ron Harris, PhD; Jeffrey Keith, PhD;Jani Radebaugh, PhD; Eric Christiansen, PhD; Carl Hoiland, PhD; Thomas Morris, PhD; Sam Hudson, PhD; Stephen Nelson, PhD; Geology master’s degree students:Kimberly Sowards, Colin Hale, Michael Jensen, William Meservy, TJ Slezak, Collin Jensen, Matthew Randall, Aaron Holmes, Braxton Spilker, Danielle Spencer, Rebecca Esplin, Hannah Checketts, Brian Packer, David Tomlinson, Kevin Stuart, Hanif Sulaeman, Han Deng, Joel Barker; Geology bachelor’s degree students: Torri Duncan, Jason Klimek, Brett Young, Austin Eells, Hanna Howell, Chelsea Samuelson”
It’s sad how many scholars feel they know more than most of us who are uneducated people. I feel the great and spacious building is having fun right now at our expense. May the Lord help them become humble and at least consider some of this incredible research.
The Ezra Taft Benson talk from 25 Oct 1966 at a BYU Devotional is a sobering reminder of evil people in the church with an agenda (revising church history by quoting the intellectuals and apostates and ignoring the prophets). Ezra Taft Benson said to avoid being deceived, look to the Prophet. Listen to his entire talk at https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/ezra-taft-benson/immediate-responsibility/
At the 32:07-33:02 mark, just before the above quote, President Ezra Taft Benson states the following.
“We all have stewardships for which we must account to the Lord. Unfortunately, some men who do not honor their stewardships may have an adverse effect on many people. Often the greater the man’s responsibility, the more good or evil he can accomplish. The Lord usually gives a man a long enough rope and sufficient time to determine whether that man wants to pull himself into the presence of God or drop off somewhere below. There are some regrettable things being said and done by some people in the church today. As President Clark so well warned, the ravening wolves are amongst us. From our own membership and they more than any others are clothed in sheep’s clothing because they wear the habiliments of the priesthood. We should be careful of them.”
In the entire translated Book of Mormon the words, “Urim and Thummim” are never used.
Other Apologists Opinion of the Translation Method
NOTE:Before my blog I would like briefly to describe Book of Mormon Central and the Interpreter Foundation’s definition of the translation. They believe Joseph either used only the stone in a hat, or a combination with the Interpreters and stone in a hat, at various times. They also say Joseph did not use the gold plates to look at while he translated, as they were usually covered.
What Did the Interpreters (Urim and Thummim) Look Like?
“Joseph Smith used the term the Urim and Thummim to refer to the [sic] both the “interpreters,” a pair of seer stones he obtained for translating the Book of Mormon, and his own seer stones, which he used for the same purposes and in the same manner.1 There is no mystery regarding the description of the single seer stone that Joseph Smith used to translate most of the Book of Mormon — we have pictures.” [Wow, they have pictures. It is proof. I’m joking of course].Spencer continues, “It is brown, banded, opaque, oblong, and about two inches in length. The other seer stone [Page 224] Joseph Smith sometimes used in his revelatory work has also been described quite well. It is about the same size as the brown one, but white, translucent, and egg-shaped.2
1. For the interpreters as seer stones, see Mosiah 8:13; Mosiah 28:13, 16; and Richard E. Turley, Jr., Robin S. Jensen, and Mark Ashurst- McGee, “Joseph the Seer,” Ensign (October 2015): 49–55. For the interpreters and Joseph Smith’s individual seer stones as “the Urim and Thummim,” see Stan Spencer, “Seers and Stones: The Translation of the Book of Mormon as Divine Visions of an Old-Time Seer,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 17 (2017):27–29.
2. For an overview of Joseph Smith’s use of seer stones, including a photograph of the brown stone, see Turley, Jensen, and Ashurst- McGee, “Joseph the Seer,” 49–55; also Michael Hubbard MacKay and Nicholas J. Frederick, Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 2016). For descriptions and uses of Joseph Smith’s seer stones and the interpreters, see Mark Ashurst-McGee, “Pathway to Prophethood: Joseph Smith Jr. as Rodsman, Village Seer, and Judeo-Christian Prophet” (master’s thesis, Utah State University, 2000), 230–319. The brown seer stone measures 5.5 cm x 4 cm x 3.5 cm. “Note on Seer Stone Images,” The Joseph Smith Papers, http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/site/note-on-seer-stone-images.
Ensign Oct 2015 Picture titled, What Happened to the Seer Stone?
“The stone pictured here has long been associated with Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon translation. The stone Joseph Smith used in the Book of Mormon translation effort was often referred to as a chocolate-colored stone with an oval shape. This stone passed from Joseph Smith to Oliver Cowdery and then to the Church through Brigham Young and others. Photograph by Welden C. Andersen and Richard E. Turley Jr.” 2015 Oct Ensign
As you see above, in the quote by a Book of Mormon Central advocate Stan Spencer, he attempts to mingle the “Interpreters”, with Joseph’s two individual single seer stones, which I also believe he possessed. One White and one Brown. In fact, BOMC says, “we have pictures”, as that picture proves they are correct? Here is that picture of the brown stone from the Oct. 2015 Ensign. (Left)
The article in the Ensign continues under the brown stone picture to say, “According to Joseph Smith’s history, he returned the Urim and Thummim, or Nephite “interpreters,” to the angel. But what became of the other seer stone or stones that Joseph used in translating the Book of Mormon?” [ In my opinion, Spencer co-mingles the Urim and Thummim and the other seer stone or stones as both being used to translate without explanation.] Spencer continues, “David Whitmer wrote that “after the translation of the Book of Mormon was finished, early in the spring of 1830, before April 6th, Joseph gave the stone to Oliver Cowdery and told me as well as the rest that he was through with it, and he did not use the stone any more.” Stan Spencer, Ensign Oct 2015
There is far too much for me to explain about this Ensign article and I will do a complete analysis of the entire article soon. Below begins my blog about “Provenance of the Interpreters.”
Provenance of the Interpreters, (Breastplate and Spectacles)
My basic question is, do you know who saw or touched or utilized each article [plates, spectacles, and breastplate] and when? What would be the provenance [meaning, the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of these historical objects?] That is one of the purposes of this blog, along with assisting readers in understanding additional details about the articles and their importance in translation. All three of these articles was taken back by Moroni, so we know today they are safely kept by the Lord, somewhere! [The brown and white individual seer stones spoken of, are very different than the Interpreters, also described as the spectacles and breastplate]. The brown stone pictured in the Ensign, as I understand, is in possession of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today. The church is neutral on the exact process of Joseph’s translation method, and instruments. See Gospel Topics Essays article here.
The Approximate Dates and/or Possession/View of the Interpreters:
Brother of Jared 2200 BC
Lehi or Nephi?
Mosiah 154 BC
Alma 92 BC Heleman 74 BC
Ammaron 321 AD
Mormon 345 AD
Moroni 384 AD
Joseph Smith 1823 AD (First time viewing them in the Stone Box)
Luck Mack Smith 1827 AD (Saw and Touched through a Linen) Oliver Cowdery 1829 AD (Possibly saw during his Translation attempt)
Joseph Smith 1827-30 AD
Moroni or the Lord
Brother of Jared and Joseph Smith had the Same Urim and Thummim
“The Prophet Joseph Smith used the same Urim and Thummim that was “given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face” (D&C 17:1). President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote a brief history regarding the Urim and Thummim: “King Mosiah possessed ‘two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow,’ called by the Nephites Interpreters, with which he translated the Jaredite record [Mosiah 28:11–14], and these were handed down from generation to generation for the purposes of interpreting languages. How Mosiah came into possession of these two stones or Urim and Thummim the record does not tell us, more than to say that it was a ‘gift from God’ [Mosiah 21:28]. Mosiah had this gift or Urim and Thummim before the people of Limhi discovered the record of Ether. They may have been received when the ‘large stone’ was brought to Mosiah with engravings upon it, which he interpreted by the ‘gift and power of God’ [Omni 1:20–21]. They may have been given to him, or to some other prophet before his day, just as the Brother of Jared received them—from the Lord. “That the Urim and Thummim, or two stones, given to the Brother of Jared were those in the possession of Mosiah appears evident from Book of Mormon teachings. The Brother of Jared was commanded to seal up his writings of the vision he had when Christ appeared to him, so that they could not be read by his people. … The Urim and Thummim were also sealed up so that they could not be used for the purpose of interpreting those sacred writings of this vision, until such time as the Lord should grant to man to interpret them. When they were to be revealed, they were to be interpreted by the aid of the same Urim and Thummim [Ether 3:21–28]. …“Joseph Smith received with the breastplate and the plates of the Book of Mormon, the Urim and Thummim, which were hid up by Moroni to come forth in the last days as a means by which the ancient record might be translated, which Urim and Thummim were given to the Brother of Jared [D&C 17:1]” (Joseph Fielding Smith Doctrines of Salvation, 3:223–25).https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/book-of-mormon-student-manual/chapter-50-ether-1-5?lang=eng
-1- “In the Wentworth Letter, the Prophet wrote: “With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called “Urim and Thummim,” which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast plate.Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God” (History of the Church, 4:537).
-2- In the October 1834 Messenger and Advocate [the Church newspaper in Kirtland, Ohio], Oliver Cowdery wrote: “These were days never to be forgotten to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated, with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,‘ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon’” (Messenger and Advocate, 1:14; Also known as Letter I Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, 7 September 1834).Here is more Scriptural Evidence that Joseph used the Interpreters or Urim and Thummim or Spectacles. Not a Stone in a Hat! See JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25
What names or descriptions are there for the breastplate and the spectacles as one unit?
Interpreters
Urim and Thummim
Directors
Instruments
Summary of the Actual Translation
My Summary of the actual Translation process will be submitted here. It is likely only one or two scenarios that are possible considering these key factors.
1- Plates and Interpreters not allowed to be seen by others unless the Lord authorizes. (Those known to see both articles are Joseph, Oliver, and Lucy Mack Smith, but only through the linen they were wrapped in. DC 5:3
2- Most reports say Joseph sat on one end of a table and the scribe on the other facing one another.
3- It is never mentioned in scripture that anything other than “The Interpreters” were used for translation. (Never mentions a stone in a hat)
4- Joseph could not translate unless he was in tune with the Lord and had all the proper equipment about him.
5-The Translation was accomplished only “By the Gift and Power of God” which none of us can fully understand.
6- The three witnesses saw the plates as Moroni turned the pages in front of them
7- The eight witnesses saw Joseph hand the plates to each of them and each of the 8 handled and hefted the plates
Importance of Breastplate & Spectacles Fastened
The breastplate and the spectacles were fastened to each other during translation, and created together what is called, the Urim and Thummim.
As i reflect on the spiritual nature of the translation, I believe the breastplate represents the heart, protection, and sincerity. The spectacles represent the mind, intellect, and understanding. Together with the spectacles and the breastplate fastened together, they in a very spiritual sense define, what I think would be called, “The Gift and Power of God.”
It’s a statement that is hard to explain, for most of us, but easy for the power of the Lord who can do all things.
Defining “Gift and Power of God”
By President Spencer W. Kimball. “We are awed by the perspicacity and discernment of the scientists, whose accumulated knowledge is great, but there is still greater knowledge; there are more perfect instruments; there is much more to learn. Most of us can but imagine how the great truths have been transmitted through the ages. Exactly how this precious instrument, the Urim and Thummim, operates we can only surmise, but it seems to be infinitely superior to any mechanism ever dreamed of yet by researchers. It would seem to be a receiving set, or instrument. For a set to receive pictures and programs, [Spectacles] there must be a broadcasting set[Breastplate]. The scripture above quoted indicates that theabode of God is a master Urim and Thummim, and the synchronization of transmitting and receiving apparatus of this kind can have no limitation.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, Pg.52 – Pg.53)
The Prophet Joseph Smith with these “constantly upon his person” [As Lucy said twice],and the breastplate fitting “exactly over his breast” [as Lucy said], Joseph can at any time refer to these objects to receive an answer to prayer, see danger, receive revelation, call on protection or any other gift the Lord needs to help him with.
A Rod on the Spectacles with a Pouch on the Breastplate
With these quotes below, it is very possible William Smith saw the Urim and Thummim or breastplate and spectacles. He gives an amazing description of the entire process. Of course we don’t know about the authenticity, but I am intrigued by William being quoted as saying, “[Joseph] always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications, and usually so when translating as it permitted him to have both hands free to hold the plates. A silver bow ran over one stone, under the other, around [sic] over that one and under the first in the shape of a horizontal figure 8…[T]hey were much too large for Joseph and he could only see through one at a time using sometimes one and sometimes the other.” These stones, he continued, “were attached to the breastplate by a rod which was fastened at the outer shoulde[r] edge of the breastplate and to the edge of the silver bow.” (Tyrell Givens, By the Hand of Mormon, p.22)
Another account from William Smith: “Among other things we inquired minutely about the Urim and Thummim and the breastplate. We asked him what was meant by the expression “two rims of a bow,” which held the former. He said a double silver bow was twisted into the shape of the figure eight, and the two stones were placed literally between the two rims of a bow. At one end was attached a rod which was connected with the outer edge of the right shoulder of the breast-plate. By pressing the head a little forward, the rod held the Urim and Thummim before the eyes much like a pair of spectacles. {Artist Rendering Below]. A pocket was prepared in the breastplate on the left side, immediately over the heart. When not in use the Urim and Thummim was placed in this pocket, the rod being of just the right length to allow it to be so deposited. This instrument could, however, be detached from the breastplate and his brother said Joseph often wore it detached when away from home, but always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications, and usually so when translating as it permitted him to have both hands free to hold the plates.” (J. W. Peterson in The Rod of Iron I:3 (February 1924), 6—7.)
“These Stones, Fastened to a Breastplate” by Anne Marie Oborn
Used Instruments “At any Moment”
Since the glasses fit nicely in a pouch in the back of the breastplate, Joseph could wear the breastplate constantly under his shirt and vest, not to be seen by others, which kept his promise to not show the instruments to anyone, unless commanded. At any time, the glasses could be fastened quickly to the breastplate and available to receive revelation or translate the Book of Mormon “at any moment” as Lucy Mack said.
“Joseph kept the urim and thumim constantly about his person, and he could by this means ascertain at any moment whether the plates were in danger, or having just looked into them before Emma got there, he perceived her coming and came up out of the well and met her. When she informed him of the situation what had occurred, he told her that the record was perfectly safe for the present, but he however concluded to go home with her and told Wells that his business at home made it necessary for him to return.” Punctuation and spelling made modern, color and bold added. Page [10] of book 5] https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/61#full-transcript
Of course, while digging a well and in order to have the breastplate and spectacles available “at any moment”, the breastplate was most likely under Joseph’s shirt and the spectacles in the pocket on back and over his heart, he could quickly connect the two, in order to view what the Interpreters (Breastplate and Spectacles) told him about Emma, and the plates, being “perfectly safe.”
Head & Heart Represented
Fastened for the Head and Heart to utilize the gift and Power of God
I feel the connection of the breastplate and the spectacles represents an ultimate connection between earth and heaven and between the physical heart and the intellectual mind and eyes. My opinion on why it was so critical to have both instruments attached, was not only a matter of faith, but of obedience to what the Lord asked of Joseph. I cannot conclude that the Lord would make anything easier, but proper, as he the glasses attached was a matter of process and obedience.
There is a representation in our Temple that is very symbolic, showing a physical connection from our head to our sacred clothing. I believe this is important as our head, and heart are fastened together spiritually by something that is physical. Remeber as the scripture says, “For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.” Moses 3:5
Elder Holland also very appropriately said, “But it should be noted that truly rock-ribbed faith and uncompromised conviction comes with its most complete power when it engages our head as well as our heart… Truth borne by the Holy Spirit comes with, in effect, two manifestations, two witnesses if you will—the force of fact as well as the force of feeling… I believe God intends us to find and use the evidence He has given—reasons, if you will—which affirm the truthfulness of His work…
Our testimonies aren’t dependent on evidence—we still need that spiritual confirmation in the heart of which we have spoken—but not to seek for and not to acknowledge intellectual, documentable support for our belief when it is available is to needlessly limit an otherwise incomparably strong theological position and deny us a unique, persuasive vocabulary in the latter-day arena of religious investigation and sectarian debate…” Jeffrey R. Holland Greatness of the Evidences Brigham Young University August 16, 2017
As Joseph said to his mother, “I can see anything.” Lucy Mack Smith said also, “Joseph seemed to like the spectacles more than the plates.” That would be understood as Joseph Smith like Prophets of old, could see the entire world as it was, as it is, and as it is to come. What a blessing and what a wonderful Prophet of the dispensation of the Fullness of Times. Joseph leads the eternities in this special mission for each of us.
Important Breastplate Questions, You should Answer
1- Why isn’t the Breastplate spoken of, as much as the Two Stones are? 2- Where did Joseph hide the breastplate and spectacles each day? Especially the large breastplate?
3- If Joseph used a seer stone to translate, did he have to use the breastplate with the spectacles?
Joseph was commanded to not show the plates or the breastplate or spectacles to anyone, unless otherwise commanded, did he obey that command?
4- Why was the breastplate and spectacles in the same stone box with the gold plates?
5- Who put the breastplate and spectacles in the stone box?
6- Who was the first one who possessed the breastplate and spectacles?
7- Why does it seem that the breastplate and spectacles were nearly always mentioned together?
8- Wouldn’t it be very inconvenient to have to wear the breastplate?
9-Can you name those people who ever saw the breastplate, for sure?
Is there any scripture that says Joseph translated with a single seer stone? NO! Why would Joseph need a hat to block out light to see words if the Interpreters were made by God?
Did Joseph read words off of a stone? If so, who’s words were they? God’s, Nephi’s Mormon’s or whom? Also, we know there was no punctuation, did God or Mormon leave it out, or did Joseph just not tell the scribes?
Did Joseph even look at the plates during translation, or were they always covered?
There is no spot on this wide world of ours, which is calculated to excite more vivid reflections, than the wonderful hill of Cumorah. There the history of one-half of our globe, reposed, for fourteen centuries, in profound unbroken silence: there, “the everlasting Gospel,” engraved, not on tablets of stone, but on plates of gold, awaited the voice of the heavenly angel to reveal the priceless treasure: there, buried in the holy archives of Cumorah’s sacred hill, are plates of brass, plates of gold, undimmed by time ; sacredly guarded as the temple of heaven : there shines the Urim and Thummim, the stones of light, the gems of immortality: there, reposes in words of light, the hidden knowledge of ages past, the prophetic history of ages to come: there wisdom has selected her palace, and understanding here dwelling place, until ” the spirit is poured out from on high,” and “the skies pour down righteousness;” then, “the earth opens and brings forth salvation.”The Latter-day Saints Millennial Star Vol. 28; publisher Liverpool: July 7, 1866 Orson Pratt
“While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation.The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3: 22–24. These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose.It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior under these circumstances. It may have been so, but it is so easy for a story of this kind to be circulated due to the fact that the Prophet did possess a seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes” (Joseph Fielding Smith, “Doctrines of Salvation,” Vol. 3, 225-26).
“Undoubtedly the Urim & Thummim were in use before the Flood, but the first scriptural reference to them is in connection with the revelations given to the Brother of Jared. (Ether 3:21-28) Abraham had them in his day (Abraham 3:1-4), and Aaron and the priests in Israel had them from generation to generation (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:65). There is no record that Lehi brought a Urim and Thummim to this continent, but king Mosiah had one prior to the discovery of the Book of Ether, and it was handed down from prophet to prophet.” (Omni 1:20-21; Mosiah 8:13-19; 21:26-28; 28:11-20; Alma 63:12; Ether 4:1-7). (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 818)https://archive.org/details/mortalmessiahfro01mcco/page/246/mode/2up?q=urim
Scriptural Accounts of Possession of the Interpreters and/or Plates
The Lord said to the Brother of Jared, “And behold, these two stones (two additional stones, not the previous sixteen) will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write. For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.” Ether 3:23-24
Mormon said, “The Lord commanded him (Brother of Jared) that he should seal up the two stones which he had received, and show them not, until the Lord should show them unto the children of men.” Ether 3:28
Mormon said, And now he (Mosiah) translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow. Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages; Mosiah 28:13-14 See JSH 1:35 Below
Did Lehi have the Two Stones and the Breastplate?
Mormon said, “And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem. Mosiah 28:20(This means there is a good probability that Lehi had the two stones and breastplate).
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Mormon said, “And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe; Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old (Apx 345 AD) I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that age go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.” Mormon 1:2-3
Mormon said, “And it came to pass that when we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them) therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni.” Mormon 6:6
Moroni said, “Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not. Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not. Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our Lord and Savior.” Mormon 8:4-6 Joseph Smith said, “There were two stones in silver bows—and These Stones, Fastened to a Breastplate constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book. JSH 1:35 (See Mosiah 28:13-14 above)
“Joseph also said, With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients “called “Urim and Thummim,” which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rims of a bow fastened to a breastplate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.” Wentworth Letter
Oliver Cowdery’s Quotes
When Cowdery returned to Church membership in 1848 he spoke to an Iowa conference. His words there were recorded by Reuben Miller: “I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet as he translated it by the gift and power of God by means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by that book, holy interpreters. I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also beheld the Interpreters. That book is true. … I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet.”
“The Miller journal can be tested by comparing it with official records of the Cowdery speeches, and it is clearly accurate. Thus the above words are likely to be Cowdery verbatim. This judgment is essential because in the report Oliver Cowdery says, “I … handled with my hands the gold plates.” Yet another Witness, David Whitmer, insisted that he had never handled the plates; he only watched as the angel in the vision displayed the plates and other sacred objects. Since Whitmer and Cowdery were together at this impressive vision, one must infer that Cowdery did not handle the plates at that time. Thus a distinction emerges between the key secretary and his witness brother-in-law: at some time during the translation process Oliver Cowdery evidently handled the plates. “By the Gift and Power of God” By Richard Lloyd Anderson
“I wrote, with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages,) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by that book, ‘holy Interpreters.’ I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the ‘holy interpreters.’ That book is true. . . . It contains . . . the everlasting gospel and came in fulfillment of the revelations of John where he says [that] he saw an angel come with the everlasting Gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people” (“Testimonies of Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris,” Millennial Star, Aug. 20, 1859, 544) https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/content/joseph-smith-translates-the-gold-plates?lang=eng
Manner in which the Plates were Deposited
“The manner in which the plates were deposited: First, a hole of sufficient depth, (how deep I know not) was dug. At the bottom of this was laid a stone of suitable size, the upper surface being smooth. At each edge was placed a large quantity of cement, and into this cement, at the four edges of this stone, were placed, erect, four others, their bottom edges resting in the cement at the outer edges of the first stone. The four last named, when placed erect, formed a box, the corners, or where the edges of the four came in contact, were also cemented so firmly that the moisture from without was prevented from entering. It is to be observed, also, that the inner surface of the four erect, or side stones was smoothe. This box was sufficiently large to admit a breast-plate, such as was used by the ancients to defend the chest, &c. from the arrows and weapons of their enemy. From the bottom of the box, or from the breast-plate, arose three small pillars composed of the same description of cement used on the edges; and upon these three pillars was placed the record of the children of Joseph, and of a people who left the tower far, far before the days of Joseph… I must not forget to say that this box, containing the record was covered with another stone, the bottom surface being flat and the upper, crowning. But those three pillars were not so lengthy as to cause the plates and the crowning stone to come in contact. I have now given you, according to my promise, the manner in which this record was deposited;” Oliver Cowdery, “Letter VIII,” October 1835
Lucy Mack Smith said
When he returned, he requested me to come downstairs. I told him that I could not leave my work just then, yet upon his urgent request, I finally concluded to go down and see what he wanted, upon which he handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history.
It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could see the glistening metal and ascertain its proportions without any difficulty. It was concave on one side and convex on the other and extended from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers (for I measured them), and they had holes in the end of them to be convenient in fastening. The whole plate was worth at least five hundred dollars. After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim.” (History of Joseph Smith, Revised and Enhanced)
“I have myself seen and handled the golden plates; they are about eight inches long, and six wide; some of them are sealed together and are not to be opened, and some of them are loose. They are all connected by a ring which passes through a hole at the end of each plate and are covered with letters beautifully engraved. I have seen and felt also the Urim and Thummim. They resemble two large bright diamonds set in a bow like a pair of spectacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads unknown languages, and they enable him to interpret them in English. I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.” Lucy Mack Smith (in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, 2nd ed. revised and enlarged, (London: J. G. F. & J. Rivington, 1843), 26)
First person other than Joseph Smith to feel and heft the plates.
“..Josiah Stowell (or “Stoal”), was the first person other than Joseph Smith to feel and heft the plates. Later, though, Stowell actually “testified under oath that he saw the plates the day Joseph first brought them home. As Joseph passed them through the window, Stowell saw a corner of the plates as a portion of the linen was pulled back. Stowell gave the court the dimensions of the plates and explained that they consisted of gold leaves with characters written on each sheet.
…It was unknown to Smith, that witness, (Josiah Stowell), saw a corner of the Bible, (Book of Mormon plates), so called by Smith; told the witness the leaves were of gold; there were written characters on the leaves; prisoner was commanded to translate the same by the Lord; and from the Bible got from the hill, as aforesaid, the prisoner said he translated the book of Mormon….” Two 1830 Court Cases, Archaeological and Historical Evidence Josiah Stowellhttp://www.supportingevidences.net/josiah-stowell/
Curtain only for Martin Harris
Proposed Farmers Hat used only to block Emma’s view. Emma said there was no curtain between them.
I believe Martin Harris was very superstitious, nervous and scared of consequences. The way he acted would seem to me that he made Joseph put a curtain between them as Martin wanted no chance of himself accidently seeing the plates, breastplate or spectacles. Martin seemed he was afraid that he may meet his utter destruction as the Lord warned Joseph. “Harris declares, that when he acted as amanuensis, and wrote the translation, as Smith dictated, such was his fear of the Divine displeasure that a screen (sheet) was suspended between the prophet and himself. “Gold Bible, No. 6.” The Reflector (Palmyra, New York) 2, no. 16 (19 March 1831): 126–27.
By Anne Marie Oborn
“With regard to the physical circumstances of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his scribe, Martin Harris was quoted as saying there was a blanket or curtain hung between himself and Joseph during the translation process. If Martin is accurately quoted, perhaps this occurred when the Prophet was copying characters directly from the plates in the sample to be taken to Professor Charles Anthon, since the dates mentioned are several months before Martin Harris’s brief scribal duties began. I say this because although David Whitmer mentions a blanket being used—it was only to partition off the living area in order to keep both the translator and scribe from the eyes of visitors (see David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness, ed. Lyndon W. Cook, [1991], 173).
In fact, Elizabeth Anne Whitmer Cowdery, Oliver’s wife, said, “Joseph never had a curtain drawn between him and his scribe” (quoted in John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone, “The Translation of the Book of Mormon: Basic Historical Information,” F.A.R.M.S. report WRR–86, p. 25). Emma likewise said of her days as scribe, early on, that Joseph dictated “hour after hour with nothing between us” (“Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” 289). Of course, the real revelatory process involved Joseph’s mind and faith, which could not be seen by others in any case…” By Elder Neal A. Maxwell
Religion of Academia, Gender Dysfunction, Drag Queens, Intellectuals, Furry Litter Boxes in Schools for children who think they are a Cat, and now a “Genderless Jesus?” It’s sick and wrong. It’s hard to even imagine this type of filth in our world being taught to our children. What is more shocking to me, it is being taught at BYU along with the radical and in my opinion evil doctrine of Critical Race Theory.( CRT)
Surprise! Utah is a hotbed of CRT activism and mandates in higher education.
Posted by Jeff Reynolds Tuesday, March 22, 2022
A professor at Brigham Young University (BYU), in Provo, Utah, recently assigned a Revealing Whiteness assignment to a 100-level Sociology course. The resulting controversy has pitted conservative students against activist academic staff. One professor has threatened the students that posted the lesson to social media with severe punishment under BYU’s student conduct rules.
While this type of controversy over wokeness in reliably red Utah may come as a surprise to some, the state’s higher education system has begun to mandate lessons based in Critical Race Theory (CRT) for all colleges and universities operating in the state.
Campus Reform first reported on the controversial lesson:
A professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) allegedly assigned a classroom exercise titled “Revealing Whiteness Activity.”
Professor Jane Lopez assigned the activity as homework and instructed students to photograph three representations of “Whiteness” on campus.” Source
“I do not know all of the providences of the Lord, but I do know that he permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church and that such teaching is part of the sifting process of mortality.” Bruce R. McConkie, McConkie’s 1981 letter to BYU
President J. Reuben Clark famously said, “If we have the truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed.”
The cornerstone of “sound scholarship” in our day is the comfortable doctrine that the answer no can never be quite as wrong as the answer yes, a proposition which to my knowledge has never been demonstrated. Excuse me if I seem recalcitrant, but I find it odd that the one skill most appreciated and rewarded in those circles where one hears everlastingly of “the inquiring mind” and the importance of “finding out for one’s self” is the gift and power of taking things for granted. Even our Latter-day Saint intellectuals are convinced that the way to impress the Gentiles is not to acquire a mastery of their critical tools, (how few even know Latin!), but simply to defer in all things to their opinions.” The WORLD Of The JAREDITES Improvement Era 1951-52 PART II The Tower By Hugh Nibley
“It’s narrative is a chronicle of nations long since gone. But in its descriptions of the problems of today’s society, it is as current as the morning newspaper and much more definitive, inspired, and inspiring concerning the solutions to those problems… If the Book of Mormon is true, then America is a choice land, but if it is to remain such the inhabitants of the land must worship the God of the land, the Lord Jesus Christ. The histories of two great nations, told with warning in this sacred volume, indicate that while we must have science, while we must have education, while we must have arms, we also must have righteousness if we are to merit the protection of God.” Gordon B. Hinckley The Power of the Book of Mormon Ensign June 1988
Professors Bias and Historians Opinions
Just as there is bias in all of us, we must also be aware that Professors at our Universities, and some Church Historians and Intellectuals can also share their bias as well. Here is an example from the Church book series titles, “Saints.”
First I want to say the Saints Book is very good to read and I like it. The Church has worked hard to put together a great volume to help others understand the history of the church in a narrative way. There are in the church historians and intellectuals who like to retell history or revise things you may want to be aware of. The Prophet and the 12 have trusted these people to say the correct things and most of the time they do what is right. However, some of these intellects who think they are more important that the Brethren they serve, make mistakes. Some items are mistakes, but I feel much of it is their pride to look good or unique or more informed than others. For example:
“SAINTS”
“When the book Saints was published, I noted that the term Cumorah had been censored from the text. I attributed this censorship to an effort by Church historians to revise Church history to accommodate their M2C* colleagues.
Recently the editors publicly acknowledged the censorship of Cumorah. In this post we’ll examine their statement.
Many readers prefer short posts, so here are three twitter-length summaries:
1. Saints creates a false narrative present; i.e., characters in the book do not have 1827-1844 ideas about the New York Cumorah that is well established in original sources. 2. Instead, the characters in Saints know nothing about Cumorah, a reflection of the late 20th century “two Cumorahs” theory created by M2C intellectuals. 3. In responses to criticism, the editors of Saints published an essay that seeks to explain their censorship of Cumorah with a series of inconsistent and counterfactual justifications. 4. The editors of Saints ultimately admit they censored the term Cumorah to “uphold” so-called “neutrality,” a euphemism for accommodating the M2C theory of Book of Mormon geography.
Over a year ago I anticipated this outcome in Saints, which is part of a well-established a pattern by LDS intellectuals to erase the New York Cumorah from the historical record and from the knowledge of members of the Church.**
There is additional related revisionist editing in Saints, such as replacing terms from original sources (“this continent” and “this country”) with the M2C-approved term “the Americas.” Another problem is the phony 20th century story about Mary Whitmer being shown the plates by Moroni.
For thousands of members of the Church, the censorship of Cumorah has become a serious enough issue that the editors of Saints responded publicly (although they haven’t yet responded to the other revisionist problems in Saints). Jonathan Neville. More Here!
*M2C means Mesoamerica 2 Hill Cumorah’s Theory
BYU Student Speaks Out On “Genderless Jesus” Class!
A brave young lady speaks out about a BYU class titled “The Genderless Jesus” on the video below. I am appalled and angry at so much evil and wrong doctrine is being taught, not only at BYU but all over the world.
Androgyny
noun
The state of being androgynous; union of sexes in one individual; hermaphroditism.
Union of both sexes in one individual; hermaphroditism.
This ′Old Devil’s Letter to the Young’? by CS Lewis
C. S. Lewis wrote this nearly 70 years ago but could have been written today:
“One young devil asked the old man: “How did you manage to bring so many souls to hell?” The old devil answered: “I instilled fear in them!”
Answers the youngster: “Great job! And what were they afraid of? Wars? Hunger?”
Answers the man: “No, they were afraid of the disease!”
For this youngster: “Does this mean they didn’t get sick? Are they not dead? There was no rescue for them?”
The old man answered: “But no … they got sick, died, and the rescue was there.”
The young devil, surprised, answered: “Then I don’t understand?”
The old man answered: “You know they believed the only thing they have to keep at any cost is their lives. They stopped hugging, greeting each other. They’ve moved away from each other. They gave up all social contacts and everything that was human! Later they ran out of money, lost their jobs, but that was their choice because they were afraid for their lives, that’s why they quit their jobs without even having bread.
“They believed blindly everything they heard and read in the papers.They gave up their freedoms, they didn’t leave their own homes literally anywhere. They stopped visiting family and friends. The world turned into such a concentration camp, without forcing them into captivity.They accepted everything!Just to live at least one more miserable day … And so living, they died every day! And that’s how it was very easy for me to take their miserable souls to hell …” CS Lewis
This is the World Today, without Question. Let’s Wake-Up Friends!
Save our Children
If we as a world and a Country, and as members of the true Church don’t wake up, our miserable souls will also be in hell. I don’t believe the Lord creates anyone except wonderful Children of God. If so, how do we become so complacent and lulled to sleep? How does Satan lead us? Carefully, and with carnal security.
Our current government of the United States and most countries of the world have been infiltrated with Satan and his Cabal or Deep State for many years. Can’t you see that? This is the last days remeber. Satan is more evil than ever. Just because all looks fine in your neighborhood, it isn’t. Satan hides and over and overwhelms us with propaganda, and telling us to eat drink and be merry. Can’t we see his ploy? Wake up. Do you realize over 5-8 million children and youth go missing in the world every year? Ask Tim Ballard. Where are they? What happened to them? Most are in deep dark literal dungeons under the earth called DUMBS. (Look it up. ) I will let you imagine what Baal and Moloch and Satan do. The same thing they did in the scriptures below.
“9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.” Deut. 18:9-12
My good friend, Sam Dunaway shared an appropriate scripture with me from Malachi 12:17 “Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evilis good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?”
GenderBread Person
REPORT: BYU ‘Human Development’ Course Features the ‘Genderbread Person,’ Says Jesus Was ‘Not Masculine’
College, one might say, has changed. Whereas secondary schools once served as sophisticated training grounds, they appear to have transformed into more elementary institutions.
Case in point: Young adults in Utah are learning about themselves by way of a mythical cookie.
Allegedly, that is.
On Facebook recently, Natalie Cline — a Utah State Board of Education member and congregant of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) — posted a photo from a course at Church-affiliated Brigham Young University.
Her caption:
(A) student texted [this] picture to her mom during her Human Development class at BYU Provo just THIS MORNING…
The photo accompanying her post revealed a projected image in a large university classroom. Its focus: a drawing of “The Gingerbread Person,” alternately known as The Genderbread Person.
As seen in the image, terms are tied by arrows to the confected creature. The word “Sex” points to Mr./Ms. Cookie’s crotch; “Expression” outlines his/her body; “Identity” fills the progressive pastry’s rainbow-colored brain; and “Orientation is in the baked being’s heart.
To the right of the woke wafer are in-depth descriptions:
Gender Identity — ranges from Woman to Genderqueer to Man.
Gender identity is how you, in your head, think about yourself. It’s the chemistry that composes you (e.g., hormonal levels) and how you interpret what that means.
Gender Expression — ranges from Feminine to Androgynous to Masculine.
Gender expression is how you demonstrate your gender (based on traditional gender roles) through the ways you act, dress, behave, and interact.
Biological Sex — ranges from Female to Intersex to Male.
Biological sex refers to the objectively measurable organs, hormones, and chromosomes. Female = vagina, ovaries, XX chromosomes; male = penis, testes, XY chromosomes; intersex = a combination of the two.
Sexual Orientation — ranges from Heterosexual to Bisexual to Homosexual.
Sexual orientation is who you are physically, spiritually, and emotionally attracted to, based on their sex/gender in relation to your own.
It seems to me the above is a bit half-baked. If gender identity is defined by both “the chemistry that composes you” and “how you interpret what that means,” then your chemical composition plays no part; how you interpret things is the sole defining component. And the area directly linking “woman” to “man” leaves out lots of interpretive possibilities. Furthermore, if sexual orientation is based on one’s identity relative to the identity of others — which can be anything any person interprets it to be — then sexual orientation cannot simply exist linearly between heterosexual and homosexual.
After all:
Not to mention:
BYU seems a smidge behind the times. Maybe they should bake a better cookie.
Meanwhile, the professor evidently believes he or she has had a religious revelation. Back to Natalie’s post:
(The) student texted…this key takeaway from the teacher: “Not masculine, not feminine, Christlike. Androgyny is the key.”
This is blasphemous and goes completely against gospel doctrine. These teachings are not endorsed by the Church or BYU, but by wolves in sheep’s clothing that wish to devour the flock.
It may go against LDS doctrine, but it’s right in sync with modern cultural theology. And given that, the course name is correct: It’s all part and parcel of humanity’s new phase of development.” -ALEX
Furry Litter Box
A SCHOOL in Michigan has bizarrely been accused by outraged parents of installing litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify as cats and dogs.
Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow took to Facebook on Thursday to deny the claims, insisting no litter box accommodations had been made for any students who identify as a “furry.”
The bizarre rumor pertains to a school in Michigan’s Midland Public Schools District Credit: Google Maps
Parents have claimed that at least one litter box was installed in a unisex bathroom for children who identify themselves as ‘furries’ Credit: Getty
A “furry” is someone who role-plays or identifies as an animal, or an animal character with human-like characteristics. Some furries even wear animal costumes or tails in public.
In his statement, Sharrow said it was “unconscionable that this afternoon I am sending this communication.
“However, our Midland PS stakeholders may be confused about a false message/accusation that has resurfaced this week and is gaining traction in the social media realm.”
Sharrow said the rumor was recently brought up by a parent during a school board meeting on December 20 and has since been shared widely online.
“Let me be clear in this communication. There is no truth whatsoever to this false statement/accusation! There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools.
“It is a source of disappointment that I felt the necessity to communicate this message to you.”
I was also told at least 8 schools in Salt lake County, currently have litter boxes in both the boys and girls bathrooms. It’s sick and wrong!
Brainwashed School Kids Now Identifying as Animal “Furries”
As if identifying as newly invented “genders” was not outlandish enough, indoctrinated and confused victims of government schools are now coming to class wearing tails, fake animal ears and even leashes. They call themselves “furries.” And estimates suggest there are already hundreds of thousands across America.
The Newman Report has received communications about this disturbing trend from parents across multiple states including Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and more. Video of children barking like dogs or meowing like cats while scooting around on all fours have become increasingly popular on social media, too.
Even the “mainstream” media has started picking up on the phenomena in government schools — even in conservative states. NBC affiliate WLWT, for instance, recently reported on concerns among parents in the Meade County, Kentucky, School District about children “attending school acting like and dressing as cats.”
One grandmother of two in the local high-school was too scared to give her name but wanted to speak out nonetheless. “Apparently, from what I understand, they’re called ‘furries,’” the grandmother told WLKY. “They identify with animals. These people will hiss at you or scratch at you if they don’t like something you’re doing.”
According to the grandmother quoted by the NBC affiliate, she first became aware of the bizarre fetish spreading among school children in 2020. “But it really got bad when they went back to school this year,” she explained. “I have two grandkids in school and my grandkids didn’t want to go to school anymore.”
Students have even started a petition seeking to stop the practice, warning that some of these confused children were even biting fellow students as if they were wild animals with the knowledge of school officials.
Meanwhile, one woman who did not identify herself took to social media to explain that she was fired as a substitute teacher for refusing to “meow” back to a self-proclaimed “furry” child in the class she was subbing for. Apparently refusing to play along with the kitty delusion is tantamount to “misgendering” a student confused about their gender.
Biden signs bill to codify gay ‘marriage’ with an activist drag queen in attendance
The president claimed the controversial legislation will ‘strike a blow against hate in all its forms.’
Posted BY: Teresa | NwoReport
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — President Joe Biden signed the so-called Respect for Marriage Act into law Tuesday at a White House ceremony filled with guests that included a “queer youth” activist drag queen.
The RMA repeals the longstanding (but unenforced) Defense of Marriage Act (which recognized marriage as a man-woman union in federal law and protected states’ rights to do the same), federally recognizes any “marriage” lawfully performed by any state and forces every state to recognize any “marriage” of any other state “between two individuals,” without regard for “the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals.”
Rep. Burgess Owens, left, Rep. Blake Moore and Rep. Chris Stewart, all Utah Republicans, pose for photos at the Awaken Event Center in South Jordan after each won their primary race on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
Utah’s four Republican congressmen joined all House Democrats in passing a bill Tuesday that would write same-sex marriage into law.
Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, said the majority opinion of the Supreme Court clearly stated that the court has no intention of reversing any decisions respecting the right to marriage in the Constitution.
“That said, I also understand how important codifying these protections are to many Utahans. I do not believe the federal government should infringe upon an individual’s decision about who they wish to marry,” he said in a statement.” Source
In a stunning move, LDS Church comes out for bill that recognizes same-sex marriage
Church doctrine still supports only man-woman marriage, but scholar says the news reflects a “dramatic reversal of previous teachings.”
(Rick Bowmer | AP) A couple look at the Salt Lake Temple, April 6, 2019. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints voiced its support for the federal Respect for Marriage Act, which recognizes legally sanctioned same-sex marriage, as long as it safeguards religious freedoms.
By Tamarra Kemsley and Peggy Fletcher Stack
Nov. 15, 2022,
In an unexpected move, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave its support Tuesday to a proposed federal law that would codify marriages between same-sex couples.
The Utah-based faith’s doctrine “related to marriage between a man and a woman is well known and will remain unchanged,” the church stated in a news release. “We are grateful for the continuing efforts of those who work to ensure the Respect for Marriage Act includes appropriate religious freedom protections while respecting the law and preserving the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.”
The church’s remarks come after the act’s sponsors added an amendment to the House-passed bill exempting religious organizations, including faith-based universities, from providing “services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods or privileges for the solemnization or celebration of a marriage.” Neither could the act be used to alter the tax-exempt status of any organization.
Don’t Doubt The Prophet and Apostles
I am a life long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in good standing. This bill that our congress and our Church just agreed with in passing, is difficult to understand, but I agree with their stand of supporting this bill.
On the initial reading of this bill, it may seem the wrong thing for our true Church to do. But, as it says in Article of Faith 12, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”
We must remeber this world is Satan’s world and we must be “in it but not of it.” We must be here to learn and grow. We will never progress if we don’t have opposition and learn how to stay true to the Savior while still obeying and sustaining the law of man.
Why was the Promised Land chosen by God to be here in the United States? First, before addressing that question let me share something with you.
Let’s consider another country such as Iran which has a Theocracy which means “A form of government in which God is recognized as the supreme civil ruler of the state, and his laws are taken as the statute-book of the kingdom.” Source
In other words, what ever their so-called god or Ayatollah says, is the way you are FORCED to live according to the law of one person who they call a god. Did you know that in Iran if you are gay or lesbian they will kill you? If they find out through others or by their own research, you will be killed. That sounds like Satan’s plan doesn’t it? Doesn’t freedom mean making a wrong choice or a right choice as it is up to us.
Blessings and Curses
If our church said two gay people cannot be married, or they will be put in prison or fined or killed, would that be a righteous Prophet or Savior? No! The Church can and does say, only a man and a woman can be sealed in the Temple, and that is our right as a church or as an organization. Shouldn’t we teach correct principles and then allow others to choose for themselves? Yes! For every choice there is a blessing and a curse.
“Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds.
If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be done unto him, according to the restoration of God.” Alma 42:27-28
Why the Lord Chose the United States
Back to my question of, why did God make the choice to have the United States be the Promised Land for the restoration of the gospel? The Bill of Rights says, God gives us Life, Liberty, and the right to pursue Happiness. Here is the answer to the question by Orson F; Whitney, “In culmination of the grand scheme of schemes, this great nation, the Republic of the United States, might be established upon this land as an asylum for the oppressed; a resting place, it might be said, for the Ark of the covenant, where the temple of our God might be built; where the plan of salvation might be introduced and practiced in freedom, and not a dog would wag his tongue in opposition to the purposes of the Almighty. We believe that this was His object in creating the Republic of the United States; the only land where his work could be commenced or the feet of his people find rest. No other land had such liberal institutions, had adopted so broad a platform upon which all men might stand. We give glory to those patriots for the noble work they did; but we give the first glory to God, our Father and their Father, who inspired them. We take them by the hand as brothers. We believe they did nobly their work, even as we would fain do ours, faithfully and well, that we might not be recreant in the eyes of God, for failing to perform the mission to which He has appointed us.” Bishop Orson F. Whitney, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 19, 1885. Reported by John Irvine. Journal Discourses Volume 26 Page 201
You see, Iran and most other countries, don’t have Liberal Institutions. They try and force all people to live only what their god or government or king or dictator tells them to. Our land of America with the Constitution that Christ wrote, (D&C 101:80), we allow others their freedom of choice and then hopefully elect good men and women to pass righteous laws to govern all people, regardless of their belief in God or not. We can’t and shouldn’t force others to follow our Church doctrine any more than the Catholics should force us to live their religion. Freedom and Liberty is why the Lord choose this land of the United States. Mesoamerica doesn’t have that, China doesn’t have that and no other land had such “liberal” or open institutions as the USA has.
To me, this explains why our Church agreed with this new bill. They must protect our religious liberties, or our church could be forced to allow gay’s to marry in the temple or other issues we don’t agree with. Sometimes you need to pass or follow a law of the government that is flawed, in order to follow a higher principle. Remeber, God will rule and reign on this cleansed earth, but that time is not here, yet! It’s close, as I feel our good government is mostly infiltrated with evil right now, but good will conquer bad. This is a fight of God vs Satan and has nothing to do with a Republican vs a Democrat.
15 November 2022 – Salt Lake City Official Statement
Statement on the United States Congress Respect for Marriage Act.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the following statement on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.
“The doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints related to marriage between a man and a woman is well known and will remain unchanged.We are grateful for the continuing efforts of those who work to ensure the Respect for Marriage Act includes appropriate religious freedom protectionswhile respecting the law and preserving the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.We believe this approach is the way forward. As we work together to preserve the principles and practices of religious freedom together with the rights of LGBTQ individuals, much can be accomplished to heal relationships and foster greater understanding.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the true gospel of Christ which is my testimony. I am thankful for this testimony and strive each day to serve the Lord in a righteous manner. I feel it is imperative that I and all others understand that Satan has a strong desire to infiltrate and do evil to our Church and to Christians world wide, and his goal is to infiltrate, not attack us from the outside.
No General Apostasy
“We now live in a time when the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. But unlike the Church in times past, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will not be overcome by general apostasy. The scriptures teach that the Church will never again be destroyed (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:44; see also Daniel 2:44).
Although there will not be another general apostasy from the truth, we must each guard against personal apostasy by keeping covenants, obeying the commandments, following Church leaders, partaking of the sacrament, and constantly strengthening our testimonies through daily scripture study, prayer, and service. Gospel Topics Apostacy
Apostasy from Within
“It can be daunting to observe the proliferation of societal trends and worldly ideologies that conflict with the doctrines and beliefs that we embrace. Let us not lose faith. Rather, let us remember the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith penned in a letter to newspaper editor John Wentworth: “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 444). As in the days of the Nephites, the Church of Jesus Christ will never be overthrown by outside forces.Thus assured, we can confidently be about the business of strengthening the Church from within by means of personal righteousness and faithfulness, even as we reach out to share the gospel with others.” Viewpoint Church News 3/18/18
A Manifesto from Progressives?
I ask the question. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do we need a new manifesto? Especially a “Radical Orthodox Manifesto“? Who is writing it and why do we need one? What does it say and how important is it to us? Why are we hearing more and more Liberal and Progressive thought with many church members and in the world today? What happened to Conservative principles and Traditional ideals and good old fashioned values?
“Traditionalists believe that progressives are destined to inherit ignorance because they reject revelation. Progressives believe that traditionalists are mired in ignorance because they do not fully accept and embrace the philosophies and teachings of the learned. Regardless of which position one takes, nearly all agree—an unbridgeable gulf separates the two.” FAITH CRISIS: Did the LDS Church Lie? (Part 1) We Were NOT Betrayed! By James and Hannah Stoddard
Understanding Apologetics
Apologetics cannot prove that the Church is true, but it can show you answers that may help you in knowing the Church is true, especially through personal revelation. Our group called FIRM [Foundation for Indigenous Research and Mormonism], along with FAIR, Book of Mormon Central, The Interpreter, Meridian Magazine, More Good Foundation etc., are similar organizations made up of great spiritual people who love the Lord and the Book of Mormon. All claim to have answers to many challenging or even difficult gospel questions that may encourage or assist people to better understand the truthfulness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.No Apologetic organization speaks in behalf of, or for the Church however. Doctrine in the Church only comes from the Prophet and Apostles who all organizations support. The purpose of LDS Apologetics is to provide solid or well-reasoned information that makes sense in answering supposed church related difficult questions, so that a conclusive decision of the truth of the Gospel and Church can be determined by study and prayer through the Spirit.
President Russell M. Nelson in a talk titled, Hope of Israel said, “Learn for yourself—right now at your age—how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!” “
There’s a new ‘Manifesto’ Circulating among Latter-day Saints, and it’s ‘Radical’
This article in the Salt Take tribune can be found here: The manifesto titled Radical Orthodoxy a Manifesto is here and you can see an interesting dialogue about it on an online chat called “StayLDS.com” here: I quote below from the SL Tribune on who some of the signers of the manifesto are. In my opinion many of these people are very Liberal and Progressive. I believe in their freedom of choice, but not their stance with much of their politics, but I am confidant they love the Book of Mormon as much as I do. I just want you to become informed on the opinion of some of the Intellects and/or Professors in our church and at BYU
Progressive Ideals?
“Terryl and Fiona Givens, are listed among the manifesto signers and share their son [Nathaniel’s] vision. The two are known for their popular books on Mormon beliefs and for creative thinking about Latter-day Saint theology. “The American church is bipolar,” says Fiona Givens, “with histrionics on both sides and nobody in the middle. ”Terryl Givens, a senior research fellow at BYU’s Maxwell Institute and author of more than a dozen books, recently wrote an essay on abortion for Public Square Magazine. It chided “pro-choice” Latter-day Saints and generated lots of heated debate among the church’s intelligentsia. Others signers include Daniel Peterson, who was ousted from the Maxwell Institute (formerly the Foundation for Ancient Research in Mormon Studies) in 2012 after 23 years as editor of the Mormon Studies Review; Ralph Hancock, who has argued that professors at church-owned BYU have become too secular in their approach; Jacob Hess, a leading contributor to Public Square Magazine who has written on LGBTQ issues; Jennifer Roach, a therapist who has defended the church’s one-on-one bishop interviews; and Hanna Seariac, a BYU student who led a petition drive urging the Provo school to “emphasize Christ-centered education. ”Valerie Hudson, another signee, was delighted to embrace the document. “That is exactly the space we’ve tried to carve out with SquareTwo [an online journal] all these years,” exults Hudson, who teaches at The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. “The statement sums up our mission, which is to build constructively and soundly off square one, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.” SL Tribune. Other signatories are: Spencer Kraus, Neal Rappleye, Jeff Round, Gregory L. Smith, Stephen O. Smoot [Not Steven E. Smoot of our Heartland group], and Ben Spackman
The “manifesto” titled, Radical Orthodoxy a Manifesto says, “This polarization is driving members of the Church to spiritually dangerous extremes, tempting some Latter-day Saints to reduce fidelity to knee-jerk traditionalism and others to abandon fidelity for worldly philosophies.” I think good old traditionalism should be adhered to far more (90-10) than worldly philosophies. I am afraid that a 50/50 split with both has a better chance of making you a worldly philosophizer than keeping you as a wonderful traditionalist. It reminds me of what Elder Packer said, “To you who may have lost your way, come back! We know how that can happen; we have walked that path of research and study. Come help us!—you with your scholarship and your training, you with your bright, intelligent minds, you with your experience and with your academic degrees.”The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
“This problem has affected some of those who have taught and have written about the history of the Church. These professors say of themselves that religious faith has little influence on Mormon scholars. They say this because, obviously, they are not simply Latter-day Saints but are also intellectuals trained, for the most part, in secular institutions. They would that some historians who are Latter-day Saints write history as they were taught in graduate school, rather than as Mormons.” The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
Editor’s Testimony
I testify Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet of the living God. Do we need others to say he was simply a good man who made mistakes, maybe dealt in the occult, was not perfect and some of his ideas are old fashioned and don’t necessarily apply to life today? As I wrote about a few months ago on Bias Confirmation and Richard Bushman, how do you feel when Brother Bushman says the Book of Mormon is “right” vs. someone who tells you they know the Book of Mormon is “true” and the most correct book on earth?. I go with the later. How do you feel when some scholar tries to bring Joseph Smith down a notch, so the scholar can uplift himself? I follow what Wilford Woodruff says below.
“I look upon Joseph Smith as the greatest prophet that ever breathed the breath of life, excepting Jesus Christ. Father Adam, as I have said, stands at the head; but Joseph Smith was reserved to lay the foundation of this great kingdom and dispensation of salvation to the whole human family in these last days, to build up Zion, to establish God’s Kingdom, and to prepare it for the coming of the Son of Man.” Wilford Woodruff, The Deseret Weekly, vol. 38, (Deseret News Company, 1889), 389.
Have you heard friends and family members say the Book of Mormon is a good book that teaches some good parables. I cringe when I hear that! I think, “Is that all you think this wonderful book is“? I witness the Book of Mormon is absolutely the word of God, and as Mormon said “And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.” Title Page
I believe many Intellectuals and Scholars are seeking to ‘stay in the middle’ on controversial issues. They don’t want to be like a small minded Conservative nor like an aggressive Liberal. They try to cut out a new path or new pet theory so they have something different to share with their inner group. They ask questions in a liberal or scholarly way that confuses those of us of that are not “learned” men and women. They seemingly side with intellect or theory on controversial issues, but most of them also try to stay true to core church teachings, which I know is crucial. I believe their straddling the fence allows people to believe less in spiritual matters and more in theory or unknown details.
This “Radical Orthodoxy a Manifesto” was written by many that are far more intelligent than I am, who have all the learning of higher education. That’s not wrong or bad it just is! As I read through the many signers of this manifesto, I see a large percentage of those I know or who have read about, who believe very differently about the Book of Mormon Geography, Evolution, Creationism, Politics and Nationalism. I am not judging them as I am sure they are all people of faith and they love the Gospel as I do. I just think in their eyes, I am probably as Leonard Arrington says, a “Holy Ghoster”, which means a far right conservative, or a religious zealot or something like that. They also claim David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, and other spiritual men are “Holy Ghoster’s”. (See the Stoddard’s Books on Faith Crisis 1 and Faith Crisis 2)
Below I have broken down their new, Radical Orthodoxy a Manifesto into the three key words and define them below. This will help give you a better understanding of how I feel about their Manifesto.
Radical
a: very different from the usual or traditional: EXTREME b: favoring extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions c: associated with political views, practices, and policies of extreme change d: advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs the radical right
Orthodoxy
a: the traditional beliefs of a religious group or political party: b: authorized or generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice.
Manifesto
a: a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate. b: a written statement of a person or group’s beliefs, aims, and policies, especially their political beliefs: (All definitions come from Merriam Webster and Dictionaries online.)
Peggy Stack says, “These “radical orthodox” believers want to be defined “by what we are for, not what we are against,” [Nathaniel] Givens says. “We see ourselves as kind of ‘third way centrists’ — faithful to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while interested in theological exploration.”
In my opinion this interest in theological exploration has a great chance to lead us away from faith and into the teachings of the world. Before young people get involved in deep theological discussions they should have a firm witness of the Savior and the Gospel.
Givens also says, “Many young believers feel the only options they have are to be rigidly dogmatic to the point of being fundamentalist or to reject the Church’s teachings in favor of progressive political doctrines and intellectualism. This statement encourages intellectual engagement with the Church of Jesus Christ in ways that are faithful and flexible instead of either rigidly dogmatic or heretical and doubting.” Public Square Magazine
If you showed on a line a Traditionalist on the Right vs a Progressivists on the Left, I would say life on the “Center Right” would be just perfect. You can’t stay in the middle. The further Center and Left you go, the more you go against solid values and closer to intellectual theory. That is my opinion and I know all don’t agree. I am just saying I find no need for the Manifesto here given. The church already teaches values and doctrines to live by. I think reading our scriptures and more deep study and prayer bring us the best answers.
There’s a new ‘manifesto’ circulating among Latter-day Saints, and it’s ‘radical’ By Salt Lake Tribune
Scholars are seeking ‘middle ground’ on orthodoxy that allows questions but remains true to core church teachings.
(Rick Bowmer | AP file photo) Angel Moroni statue sits atop the Salt Lake Temple in 2014. By Peggy Fletcher Stack | Dec. 5, 2020
For many, the word “manifesto” calls to mind “The Communist Manifesto,” a political pamphlet penned by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in 1848.Closer to home, Latter-day Saints have their own history with a momentous manifesto, the 1890 edict that marked the beginning of the end of polygamy in the faith. Now, three Latter-day Saint bloggers have declared a new manifesto, and it has nothing to do with Marxism or multiple wives. Indeed, “Radical Orthodoxy: A Manifesto” is about theology and is staking a claim to the middle ground in Mormon intellectualism — neither extreme right nor left.
Radical orthodoxy “is radical because it promotes bold exploration beyond what is familiar, and therefore rejects the obstinateness of fundamentalism,” the declaration says. “It is willing to revisit many facets of our received paradigm in order to apply the revealed doctrines and principles of the gospel to the unique challenges of today. That includes — under the tutelage of modern prophets — a revolutionary reconsideration of traditions, paradigms, and applications of the gospel inherited from prior generations.” There was no single catalyst for this effort, just the observation that the online discussion of Mormonism is “slanted heavily toward progressivism,” says Nathaniel Givens, one of the three writers, while the “growing right-wing response to that has seemed too reactionary and too negative.” Givens, a data scientist and entrepreneur in Virginia, worked for more than a year on the manifesto’s wording with co-authors Jeffrey Thayne, who teaches at Brigham Young University-Idaho, and J. Max Wilson, who runs the LDS-oriented blog, Sixteen Small Stones.
These “radical orthodox” believers want to be defined “by what we are for, not what we are against,” Givens says. “We see ourselves as kind of ‘third way centrists’ — faithful to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while interested in theological exploration.”
They reached out to others who shared their perspective and assembled a veritable who’s who among conservative Latter-day Saint intellectuals.
Theirs is not a movement per se, Givens says, but the organizers hope their manifesto might serve “as a rallying point to spur conversations, new friendships and maybe new projects.”
The key is not to “pick a fight with anybody, but to find new things to talk about, and to emphasize positivity,” he says. “We are not interested in labeling apostates,” but rather standing “for truth.”
When they feel compelled to speak up for church principles, practices and prophets, Givens says, they hope their style will be “kind,” not “contentious.”
‘Three tentpoles’
(Photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The Christus and the biblical apostles in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center. Supplemental materials are linked on the Radical Orthodoxy website, including an article by Thayne, spelling out what he sees as the “tentpoles” of belief in the Utah-based faith — namely, its three theological proclamations titled “The Family,” “The Living Christ” and “The Restoration.”
“Our argument is that once you dismiss, critique, or undermine the core teachings found in [these documents], you’ve left the tent of radical orthodoxy (as we understand it),” Thayne writes. “For example, if someone argues that the Book of Mormon is a modern midrash, argues that no unique divine authority was given to Joseph Smith, questions the historical Jesus as the sole anchor of our salvation, celebrates gender transitions as compatible with the gospel, or promotes the expectation that same-sex couples will someday be sealed in the temple, they are no longer operating within the paradigm laid out by radical orthodoxy.”
Being silent in the face of such statements, Thayne says, “can be as damaging as the critiques themselves. Radical orthodoxy, we argue, requires a willingness to speak out in defense of the divine truths in these documents, when the occasion calls for it.” Because the family proclamation addresses gender roles and the eternal importance of marriage between a man and a woman — and fails to mention never-married, divorced, childless or LGBTQ members — it often has been embroiled in controversy and overlapped with political debate. To J. Daniel Crawford, a blogger on the By Common Consent website, the manifesto amounts to little more than “question whatever you want, so long as you agree with the Brethren in the end.”
Thayne has an answer for that — a “steel man” approach to pronouncements from top church leaders.
“A straw man treatment finds and attacks the weakest interpretations of an argument. A steel man strives to find the strongest interpretations of an argument,” he writes. “It requires that we be generous with the prophets, not immediately dismissing them because we don’t agree or don’t understand. It means striving to step into a worldview (even if only provisionally) where we both understand and can embrace their warnings.”
That does not mean that those who embrace radical orthodoxy agree with everything church President Russell M. Nelson or his colleagues and predecessors have said, Thayne explains. “We have a duty to ‘steel man’ their teachings before rushing to conclusion — to strive to see the world through their eyes before dismissing what they have to say.” Kathleen Flake, who teaches Mormon studies at the University of Virginia, has no issue with what the manifesto says. She just questions why it even exists.
“No one needs more ‘-ites,’ or divisiveness,” she says. “You don’t need the Book of Mormon to tell you that anymore. The wisdom of it is manifest everywhere today.”
Besides, Flake says, it is always “a little spiritually dangerous to set oneself up as a public defender of the faith, any faith, and even for the best of reasons.”
Gathering the like-minded
(Chris Detrick | Tribune file photo Authors Fiona Givens and Terryl Givens in 2012.Givens’ parents, Terryl and Fiona Givens, are listed among the manifesto signers and share their son’s vision. The two are known for their popular books on Mormon beliefs and for creative thinking about Latter-day Saint theology. “The American church is bipolar,” says Fiona Givens, “with histrionics on both sides and nobody in the middle. ”Terryl Givens, a senior research fellow at BYU’s Maxwell Institute and author of more than a dozen books, recently wrote an essay on abortion for Public Square Magazine. It chided “pro-choice” Latter-day Saints and generated lots of heated debate among the church’s intelligentsia. Others signers include Daniel Peterson, who was ousted from the Maxwell Institute (formerly the Foundation for Ancient Research in Mormon Studies) in 2012 after 23 years as editor of the Mormon Studies Review; Ralph Hancock, who has argued that professors at church-owned BYU have become too secular in their approach; Jacob Hess, a leading contributor to Public Square Magazine who has written on LGBTQ issues; Jennifer Roach, a therapist who has defended the church’s one-on-one bishop interviews; and Hanna Seariac, a BYU student who led a petition drive urging the Provo school to “emphasize Christ-centered education.” Valerie Hudson, another signee, was delighted to embrace the document.“ That is exactly the space we’ve tried to carve out with SquareTwo [an online journal] all these years,” exults Hudson, who teaches at The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. “The statement sums up our mission, which is to build constructively and soundly off square one, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Hudson agrees that “those in the church who have intellectual or political or influence aspirations in our faith community too often feel that either 1) they must oppose certain core doctrines of the church, or 2) they must never, ever question anything about the church, including current teachings,” Hudson says. “Both of these standpoints are injurious.”
There is a path “between the Charybdis of nonorthodoxy and the Scylla of super-rigid, or Mosaic, orthodoxy,” she says, “and that others are successfully treading that path even now is helpful and hopeful for many members to know. ”Hudson eschews labels, noting only that she fully supports the the church’s positions on gender issues, including the Equal Rights Amendment, abortion and same-sex marriage, she says, “but I am coming from an explicitly, even ardently, feminist perspective when I do.”
A ‘pretty banal’ document
(Jeremy Harmon | Tribune file photo) Patrick Mason speaks while recording the 100th episode of the “Mormon Land” podcast on Oct. 4, 2019.In his 1981 satirical dictionary, “Saintspeak,” novelist Orson Scott Card used the term “radically orthodox Mormon” to describe a member who, among other values and behaviors, “believes without question only those doctrines that are clearly set forth in the standard works or that have been accepted as revelation by the uplifted hands of the Saints in General Conference.”
Givens and his manifesto co-authors found this usage after they had already adopted it. They say that Card’s take, though it was meant to be humorous, isn’t far off from what they are doing.
The term “radical orthodoxy” has been identified for more than a decade by a school of Protestant theology coined by John Milbank, an Anglican theologian in England.“ It doesn’t very neatly line up with the way [the Latter-day Saint authors] are using the words,” says Adam Miller, author of “Letters to a Young Mormon” and a philosophy professor at Collin College in McKinney, Texas.
In their manifesto, the drafters praise “fidelity to the leadership of the church,” he says, “rather than a set of philosophically worked-out ideas and creeds.”
There is nothing to disagree with in this manifesto, unless “you want to read specific ideas into it,” Miller says. “Overall, it’s pretty banal.” Patrick Mason, head of Mormon studies at Utah State University in Logan, agrees that “radical orthodoxy” is hardly unique to Latter-day Saint theology. It has been used by Catholic and Protestant writers.
Many religions feel “besieged on all sides,” Mason says. “And they all are open to new arguments and conversations, trying to balance tradition while retaining a sense of relevance for the 21st century.”
Like Miller, Mason says “radical orthodoxy looks different in these other traditions.”
Still, the USU scholar applauds the attempt to thread “a middle path between what they see as the errors of unbridled progressivism and recalcitrant fundamentalism.” It is a “goodwill effort to put a stake in the ground,” he says, and, could be especially beneficial “if they provide a hedge against the far right, including some websites and groups like #DezNat.” That’s short for Deseret Nation, a “very conservative subgroup of church members,” according to an article in The Daily Beast, who sometimes harass those they see as apostates.
The backers of the Radical Orthodoxy manifesto — who seem to have the ear of some church leaders — “care deeply about the Latter-day Saint community and fear any fracture,” Mason says. “They want to hold the center.”
The historian understands why others might be wary, given that some of the document’s devotees are well-known conservatives, he says. They worry that the manifesto might be “a Trojan horse for doubling down on traditionalist views on gender and sexuality.”
In the end, Mason is unsure what will come of the manifesto and the radical orthodoxy rhetoric.
“It might be a nothing-burger,” he says, “or the beginning of something big.” “There’s a new ‘manifesto’ circulating among Latter-day Saints, and it’s ‘radical’ By Salt Lake Tribune
Progressive Thought
“Some historians write and speak as though the only ones to read or listen are mature, experienced historians. They write and speak to a very narrow audience. Unfortunately, many of the things they tell one another are not uplifting, go far beyond the audience they may have intended, and destroy faith. What that historian did with the reputation of the President of the Church was not worth doing. He seemed determined to convince everyone that the prophet was a man. We knew that already. All of the prophets and all of the Apostles have been men. It would have been much more worthwhile for him to have convinced us that the man was a prophet, a fact quite as true as the fact that he was a man.” The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
I say to any member or intellect who tries to belittle the Church or Joseph Smith or who tries to intellectualize and promote Progressive thought, to remember the words of George Albert Smith. “There have been some who have belittled [Joseph Smith], but I would like to say that those who have done so will be forgotten and their remains will go back to mother earth, . . . and, the odor of their infamy will never die, while the glory and honor and majesty and courage and fidelity manifested by the Prophet Joseph Smith will attach to his name forever.” George Albert Smith, Conference Report, April 1946, p. 182
“As disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to hold fast to the revealed truths of the Restored Gospel in a polarized and contentious world. This polarization is driving members of the Church to spiritually dangerous extremes, tempting some Latter-day Saints to reduce fidelity to knee-jerk traditionalism and others to abandon fidelity for worldly philosophies.
On the one hand, those who replace divine instruction with secular measures of progress risk relinquishing eternal truths for misguided worldly ideas. This can lead them to declare that the Church is behind the times on moral and social issues. On the other hand, those who focus solely on conserving what we have already received are prone to conflate human tradition with eternal truth. This can lead them to condemn any form of question-asking, faithful exploration, or subsequent revelation.
Like Odysseus sailing between Scylla and Charybdis, the path of discipleship takes us through a narrow course between two spiritual monsters: unbridled progressivism and obstinate fundamentalism. Navigating these perilous waters requires radical orthodoxy. Radical orthodoxy is an approach to the Restored Gospel that seeks to harmonize fidelity with exploration and cultural improvement.
Radical orthodoxy is orthodox because it promotes fierce fidelity to revealed truth, the institutional Church, and the Lord’s authorized representatives, and therefore rejects the excesses of progressivism. This includes meticulously heeding and unabashedly embracing the counsel and teachings of prophets and apostles regarding chastity and morality, the divinity of Christ, and the foundational claims of the Restoration—even when doing so runs contrary to popular, worldly views. Those who embrace radical orthodoxy strive to be valiant in their witness of restored truth.
Radical orthodoxy is radical because it promotes bold exploration beyond what is familiar, and therefore rejects the obstinateness of fundamentalism. It is willing to revisit many facets of our received paradigm in order to apply the revealed doctrines and principles of the Gospel to the unique challenges of today. That includes—under the tutelage of modern prophets—a revolutionary reconsideration of traditions, paradigms, and applications of the Gospel inherited from prior generations.
Radical orthodoxy cultivates humility and a recognition that far less is certain about many doctrinal matters than we often presume. Those who embrace radical orthodoxy are not afraid to ask questions, and they eschew dogmatism with regards to lesser controversies—even while they boldly defend faith, diligence, and conviction on matters of covenant living, revelation, doctrine, and authority. As we revisit the lines between tradition and revelation, we are careful not to dishonor the prophets of the past, undermine the projects and programs of the church, or ignore the moral witness and counsel of living prophets and apostles.
Radical Orthodoxy embraces the following virtues:
Truth. We love and defend the Truth. We reject philosophies that suggest that there is no truth. We recognize, however, that without divine assistance, truth is very difficult to discern.
Humility. We recognize our own limitations and we are willing to question our cultural and religious presumptions in light of both sound scholarship and ongoing revelation from God.
Integrity. We do not believe in compartmentalizing the Gospel from our professional pursuits, politics, scholarship, social interactions, or hobbies.
Fidelity. We are loyal to Jesus Christ and His Restored Church and submit to His divine authority by sustaining and following the local and general leaders of the Church.
Seeking. We consider curiosity a virtue and desire to plumb the depths of the Gospel as well as of God’s Creation. Like Abraham, we seek to become “greater follower[s] of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge” than we currently possess (Abraham 1:2).
Revelation. We affirm that the Church is guided by continuing revelation. We strive to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in all aspects of our lives, including our professional or scholarly endeavours. We recognize, however, that only those with the proper authority and stewardship can declare revelation for the Church and the world.
Faith. We know that Christ has already won the essential victories. We trust the Lord and His power to save us from sin and death. We also trust His ability to guide His Church and communicate His will to His appointed spokesmen, even when they are fallible.
Hope. We are deliberately optimistic about the Church and its role in the world. We reject negative, cynical attitudes towards the Church, its leaders, and its teachings. We avoid nitpicking and murmuring.
Charity. We love all of God’s children and we cultivate a soft-hearted temperament that rejects the spirit of contention towards those with different views, even while we vigorously defend the truth.
Radical orthodoxy is not a faction, nor a label intended to set forth boundaries for any particular group or organization. It is rather a rallying point, and invitation to embrace conviction and fidelity. It is also an invitation to reject fundamentalism and embrace the possibility of change, innovation, and progress in how we understand the Gospel. It is an occasion to reinforce our loyalties to the Resurrected Christ and the Church that bears His name, and to strive to be “lower lights” burning as an example to others who are also navigating the treacherous waters of modern intellectual discourse”. View Signatories
The Lord’s Way of Running the Church
Elder Henry B Eyring of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints discusses the remarkable candor and disagreement that accompany the eventual arriving at unanimity in Church councils.
A testimony of the Book of Mormon must of necessity embrace the understanding that it came as a “gift” of God, by the “power of God.” It is both the foundation upon which the modern Church is to rest and a miracle. To suppose that in its origin the Book of Mormon is less than a miracle is to attempt to build the house of one’s understanding upon something other than the foundation upon which the Lord placed it. It is not expected that miracles be explained.” The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon by Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) and Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU) 2010.
Elder Ulisses Soares Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles April 2020
“My dear fellow companions in the gospel, many of today’s discoveries from ancient times occur during an archaeological excavation or even by accident during a construction project. Joseph Smith, however, was directed to the plates by an angel. That outcome by itself was a miracle.
The translation process of the Book of Mormon was also a miracle. This sacred ancient record was not “translated” in the traditional way that scholars would translate ancient texts by learning an ancient language. We ought to look at the process more like a “revelation” with the aid of physical instruments provided by the Lord, as opposed to a “translation” by one with knowledge of languages. Joseph Smith declared that through God’s power he “translated the Book of Mormon from [hieroglyphs], the knowledge of which was lost to the world, in which wonderful event [he] stood alone, an unlearned youth, to combat the worldly wisdom and multiplied ignorance of eighteen centuries, with a new revelation.” The Lord’s help in the translation of the plates—or revelation, so to speak—is also evident when considering the miraculously short time Joseph Smith took to translate them.
Joseph’s scribes testified of the power of God that was manifested while working on the translation of the Book of Mormon. Oliver Cowdery once said: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated … ‘The Book of Mormon.’”Elder Ulisses Soares https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/23soares?lang=eng
Between the words that Elder Soares quoted above of, “translated…’The Book of Mormon’, the dot dot dot represents the missing words of, “with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called the Book of Mormon.“ I think these are important words to include with the complete testimony of Oliver Cowdery as I discuss how the Book of Mormon was translated…”
Maybe an editor left out the bold words above in orange from the original scripture found in JSH 1:75, or maybe Elder Soares just didn’t use the words for a reason of his own, but I think the rest of the scripture is critical to understand the full meaning of how Joseph translated the book. The Lord said, with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called the Book of Mormon and that critical part was left out for what ever purpose.
Elder Soares words about the authenticity of the Book of Mormon are wonderful. I know also this book is the word of God. I also have a witness that Joseph Smith translated the plates by the “Gift and Power of God” We may all interpret differently what that means. Did Joseph use a seer stone, did he use the Urim and Thummim, did he dictate words from a shinning stone, did the Lord tell him what to say, etc. etc.
This same quote by Leaders has been left out before as you can see below.
Oliver’s Actual Words-Canonized
“These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters, the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’” (JS—H 1:75)
Oliver’s Ellipsis-ized Scripture Quote
“These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated … the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’” (JS—H 1:75)
An ellipsis is a set of three periods ( . . . ) indicating an omission
Edited Quotes?
My commentary on a quote in the scriptures that I think has more value when the part omitted by the ellipsis is included is in no way an accusation of wrongdoing by President Nelson or the Apostles. I love these men. I am making the point that certain trusted historians, intellectuals, and editors may, at times, undermine the work of the Lord—intentionally or unintentionally—by their omission of certain facts.
Here are some conference talks delivered by general authorities that included the edited version of the original account as I show above. Have we lost important meaning by continually repeating the altered message without the words, “with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,”?
1- 1992 A Treasured Testament By Elder Russell M. Nelson Twelve Apostles 2- 1993 A Treasured Testament By Elder Russell M. Nelson Twelve Apostles 3- 1995 The Translation Miracle of the Book of Mormon By Robert K. Dellenbach First Quorum Seventy 4- 1997 A Treasured Testament By Elder Russell M. Nelson Twelve Apostles 5- 2016 Seminar for New Mission Presidents By Elder Russell M. Nelson Twelve Apostles 6- 2020 The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon By Elder Ulisses Soares of the Twelve Apostles
Why Don’t More Speak of the Breastplate?
Has anyone asked about the Breastplate?
Where did Joseph hide the breastplate and spectacles each day? If Joseph used a seer stone to translate, where did he keep the breastplate and spectacles Joseph was commanded to not show the plates or the breastplate or spectacles to anyone, did he obey that command? Why was the breastplate and spectacles in the same stone box with the gold plates? Who put the breastplate and spectacles in the stone box? Who was the first one who possessed the breastplate and spectacles? Why does it seem that the breastplate and spectacles were always mentioned together?
Read my complete story about how the Hat and Breastplate were used to conceal the items from those who should not see them.
I Believe First Hand Witnesses
I believe the overwhelming evidence quoted from the only two first hand witnesses, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, is the truth. I don’t believe the second and third hand accounts of David Whitmer, Martin Harris, William McLellin, or Emma Smith. I don’t believe Joseph used a stone in a hat as the words miraculously read as a great tele- prompter in front of his eyes. I don’t believe the Lord just told him what to say. I don’t believe as many intellectuals do, that Joseph never looked at the plates. I don’t believe Joseph dictated or transliterated, but Joseph truly did “Translate” using the Urim and Thummim or Nephite Interpreters. Joseph learned translation from Moroni (who visited Joseph over 20 times), most likely and other heavenly beings along with his own hard work. Translation means Joseph looked at the plates with the assistance of the Urim and Thummim or Nephite Interpreters, and Joseph used his own memory bankof words he knew or had learned to put what he saw into words written down by Oliver as his scribe. If Joseph would have merely repeated to Oliver the words he saw in a stone, there wouldn’t have been any mistakes in the dictation, but there were mistakes, as Joseph changed some words.
I assume the intellectuals who think Joseph read the words off of a stone, that they think those words came from God or an angel and thus Joseph would not have had to translate, nor even look at the records of Nephi, but merely repeat the words off of a stone? Why would God do for us, those things we can do for ourselves? He wouldn’t. Why would Nephi and all the Prophets take time writing the words on plates, and protecting them, just to have Joseph ignore their writings latter? They wouldn’t. Those who believe in a rock in a hat for translation are on shaky ground in my opinion. That to me is silly.
Nephite Interpreters Only
By the way, the words Urim and Thummim are never used in the Book of Mormon. These are words from the Old Testament. The Bible dictionary defines Urim and Thummim as, “Instruments prepared by God to assist man in obtaining revelation and in translating languages. In the Hebrew language the words mean “lights and perfections.” The Urim and Thummim consist of two stones set in silver bows and sometimes used with a breastplate (D&C 17:1; JS—H 1:35, 42, 52).”
Joseph with the Spectacles and Breastplate
“The” Urim and Thummim is different from “a” Urim and Thummim. Things may function as a so called Urim and Thummim but the only item buried with the gold plates was “the” “Nephite Interpreters” sometimes called “a” Urim and Thummim. Why would the Lord have the Brother of Jared bury the breastplate and two stones in a silver bow with the Jaredite records, if the records were not to be translated with the items buried with them? (Ether 3:23-24).
Joseph found a few seer stones of his own as many in his day did, but they weren’t used to translate the plates. Maybe they were used for other promptings or helps to Joseph but. “the” Urim and Thummim” or “Nephite Interpreters” or the “two spectacles in the rim of a bow attached to a breastplate” that were buried with the plates is the only instrument used to translate said plates. No where is scripture can you find anything different. Doesn’t that make sense? Read below as the Lord touched 16 stones for the Jaredite barges, yet He touched two special additional stones to be buried with the Jaredite plates to be used to help Joseph Smith translate.
Mahonri Moriancumer 16 for Barges 2 for Joseph
The Lord Touched 18 Stones not 16
“And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read.
And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.
For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.” Ether 3:22-24
Complete Words of Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ Joseph Smith History
No Liahona nor Sword of Laban were buried with the Plates. They were in the Cave at Cumorah with the other wagon loads of plates of the Jaredites and Nephites.
Joseph Fielding Smith
As Joseph Fielding Smith said, “While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation.The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:22–24. These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose. It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior under these circumstances. It may have been so, but it is so easy for a story of this kind to be circulated due to the fact that the Prophet did possess a seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes” (Joseph Fielding Smith, “Doctrines of Salvation,” Vol. 3, 225-26).
President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote a brief history regarding the Urim and Thummim: “King Mosiah possessed ‘two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow,’ called by the Nephites Interpreters, with which he translated the Jaredite record [Mosiah 28:11–14], and these were handed down from generation to generation for the purposes of interpreting languages. How Mosiah came into possession of these two stones or Urim and Thummim the record does not tell us, more than to say that it was a ‘gift from God’ [Mosiah 21:28]. Mosiah had this gift or Urim and Thummim before the people of Limhi discovered the record of Ether. They may have been received when the ‘large stone’ was brought to Mosiah with engravings upon it, which he interpreted by the ‘gift and power of God’ [Omni 1:20–21]. They may have been given to him, or to some other prophet before his day, just as the Brother of Jared received them—from the Lord. “That the Urim and Thummim, or two stones, given to the Brother of Jared were those in the possession of Mosiah appears evident from Book of Mormon teachings.
The Brother of Jared was commanded to seal up his writings of the vision he had when Christ appeared to him, so that they could not be read by his people. … The Urim and Thummim were also sealed up so that they could not be used for the purpose of interpreting those sacred writings of this vision, until such time as the Lord should grant to man to interpret them. When they were to be revealed, they were to be interpreted by the aid of the same Urim and Thummim [Ether 3:21–28]. …“Joseph Smith received with the breastplate and the plates of the Book of Mormon, the Urim and Thummim, which were hid up by Moroni to come forth in the last days as a means by which the ancient record might be translated, which Urim and Thummim were given to the Brother of Jared [D&C 17:1]” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:223–25). https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/book-of-mormon-student-manual/chapter-50-ether-1-5?lang=eng
What is a Liberal? From Oxford Dictionary, “open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.” Open to new opinions is good isn’t it? Of course it is. But what if the new opinion is to change a proven or traditional law that God has given us? What if we get a majority of opinion that agree with us and disagree with what a so called God says? Does everyone have a right to their own opinion? Of course. This is the tricky part. Not all people have faith in God and don’t even believe in God. Shouldn’t we respect their opinion? Of course, but we don’t have to agree with their opinion do we? No! There is a God! This is 100% for me, by FAITH and study and prayer.
What is a conservative? Oxford says, “holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.” It seems to me that a Conservative is one who treats values coming from God as traditional. I think a conservative has a strong faith in God and chooses to follow Him, and I believe a liberal can have faith in God but tends to believe in man more than God. Both a liberal and a conservative, sin and make mistakes, but conservatives seem to be more forgiving than a liberal. Conservatives seen to judge others more harshly especially if the other one doesn’t seem to love God. I believe Liberals are more inclusive to anyone regardless of race or religion. These things are very simplified but I find them basically true in the world today.
The point? As you listen to President Lee below, you will see that he believes basically what I do. I’m sure he loves all people as I do, but there is a profound difference between a conservative and a liberal. They both have good qualities, but I believe that having faith in the Son of God is far more important than believing in the arm of flesh. I am not saying a Conservative is better than a Liberal as I will not judge, but I know I am a Conservative and I believe it is the best way for anyone to live. I also believe in a Conservative Government of Freedom in a Capitalist society with high morals. I believe our Creator gave us all Life, Liberty and Happiness and no man can take those things from us. I believe in the 10 Commandments and I believe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and the Book of Mormon is the Word of God and Joseph Smith is and was a prophet of God. We have a living Prophet today even President Russell M Nelson.
“The self-called liberal [in the Church] is usually one who has broken with the fundamental principles or guiding philosophy of the group to which he belongs.” John A. Widstoe
There are those in the Church who speak of themselves as liberals who, as one of our former presidents has said, “read by the lamp of their own conceit.” Joseph F. Smith
Tradition says, “hold the Rod”
Thank you Kevin Price again for sharing a profound article with me.
The Iron Rod
by Harold B. Lee Address delivered at general conference Sunday afternoon, April 4, 1971
I sincerely pray for the spirit of this great conference during the few moments that I shall stand here.
Sometime ago there appeared in the Wall Street Journal a thought-provoking article, written by an eminent theologian at the Columbia University, under the subject heading “An Antidote for Aimlessness,” which you recognize as a condition that is prevalent in the world today. I quote from this article by Rabbi Arthur Herlzterg:
“What people come to religion for, is an ultimate metaphysical hunger, and when that hunger is not satisfied, religion declines … the moment that clerics become more worldly, the world goes to hades the faster.
“… Religion represents the accumulation of man’s insight over thousands of years into such questions as the nature of man, the meaning of life, the individual’s place in the universe. That is, precisely, the question at the root of man’s restlessness.
“Man seeks something to end his state of confusion and emptiness … in the latest parlance, an antidote for aimlessness. We do not know if the truths of religious tradition can be interpreted to satisfy this need, but we are sure that here, not in political activism, is religion’s path to relevance.”
As an answer to those who may be wandering aimlessly, searching for something to satisfy their need and to end their state of confusion and emptiness, I would like to introduce a few thoughts by relating a remarkable vision which came to an ancient prophet by the name of Lehi—600 years before Christ. To the faithful members of the Church this will be an oft-related incident recorded in the Book of Mormon. To those not of our faith this may, if they will ponder seriously, be very significant in the light of many trends in our modern society.
Think of the Rod as God directing you to him.
In this dream, or better called a vision, the prophet Lehi was led by a heavenly messenger through a dark and dreary waste to a tree laden with delicious fruit which proved to be very satisfying to his soul. He beheld a river of water nearby along which was a straight and narrow path leading to the tree laden with delicious fruit. Between the river bank and the path was a rod of iron, presumably to safeguard the travelers from falling off the narrow path into the river.
As he looked, he saw large groups of people crowding forward to gain access to the spacious field where the tree with fruit was located. As they pressed forward along the path, a great mist of darkness arose, so dense that many who started lost their way and wandered off and were drowned in the murky water or were lost from view as they wandered into strange paths. There were others, however, likewise in danger of being lost because of the blinding mist, who caught hold of the iron rod and, by so doing, held their course so that they too could partake of the delicacies which had beckoned them to come, despite the hazardous journey. Across, on the opposite side of the river, were multitudes of people pointing fingers of scorn at those who made the journey safely.
As with many other ancient prophets in biblical history, dreams or visions of this nature were effective means by which the Lord communicated with his people through prophet-leaders. Just so, this dream had great significance, as the Lord revealed to the prophet Lehi. The tree laden with fruit was a representation of the love of God which he sheds forth among all the children of men. The Master himself, later in his earthly ministry, explained to Nicodemus how that great love was manifested. Said he: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”; and then the Master added: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:16–17.)
The rod of iron as seen in the vision interpreted was the word of God, or the gospel of Jesus Christ, which led to the tree of life that the Master explained to the woman at the well in Samaria was as “a well of [living] water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14.)
Those, as seen in the vision, who were across the river pointing fingers of scorn represented the multitudes of the earth which are gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb of God. The scorners, so the Lord revealed, represented the so-called wisdom of the world, and the building itself in which they were gathered was the “pride of the world.” (See 1 Ne. 11–12.)
If there is any one thing most needed in this time of tumult and frustration, when men and women and youth and young adults are desperately seeking for answers to the problems which afflict mankind, it is an “iron rod” as a safe guide along the straight path on the way to eternal life, amidst the strange and devious roadways that would eventually lead to destruction and to the ruin of all that is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report.”
These conditions as they would be found in the earth when these scriptures, now called the Book of Mormon, were to be brought forth were foreseen by the prophets. As I read some of these predictions, I would have you think of conditions with which we are surrounded today:
“And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts; unto … envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities … because of the pride of your hearts.
“… behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.” (Morm. 8:36–37.)
The apostle Paul also spoke of a time of peril when “men [would] be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
“Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those things that are good,
“Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. …” (2 Tim. 3:2–5.)
There are many who profess to be religious and speak of themselves as Christians, and, according to one such, “as accepting the scriptures only as sources of inspiration and moral truth,” and then ask in their smugness: “Do the revelations of God give us a handrail to the kingdom of God, as the Lord’s messenger told Lehi, or merely a compass?”
Unfortunately, some are among us who claim to be Church members but are somewhat like the scoffers in Lehi’s vision—standing aloof and seemingly inclined to hold in derision the faithful who choose to accept Church authorities as God’s special witnesses of the gospel and his agents in directing the affairs of the Church.
There are those in the Church who speak of themselves as liberals who, as one of our former presidents has said, “read by the lamp of their own conceit.”(Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine [Deseret Book Co., 1939], p. 373.) One time I asked one of our Church educational leaders how he would define a liberal in the Church. He answered in one sentence: “A liberal in the Church is merely one who does not have a testimony.”
Dr. John A. Widtsoe, former member of the Quorum of the Twelve and an eminent educator, made a statement relative to this word liberal as it applied to those in the Church. This is what he said:
“The self-called liberal [in the Church] is usually one who has broken with the fundamental principles or guiding philosophy of the group to which he belongs. … He claims membership in an organization but does not believe in its basic concepts; and sets out to reform it by changing its foundations. … “It is folly to speak of a liberal religion, if that religion claims that it rests upon unchanging truth.”
And then Dr. Widtsoe concludes his statement with this: “It is well to beware of people who go about proclaiming that they are or their churches are liberal. The probabilities are that the structure of their faith is built on sand and will not withstand the storms of truth.” (“Evidences and Reconciliations,” Improvement Era, vol. 44 [1941], p. 609.)
Here again, to use the figure of speech in Lehi’s vision, they are those who are blinded by the mists of darkness and as yet have not a firm grasp on the “iron rod.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, when there are questions which are unanswered because the Lord hasn’t seen fit to reveal the answers as yet, all such could say, as Abraham Lincoln is alleged to have said, “I accept all I read in the Bible that I can understand, and accept the rest on faith.”
How comforting it would be to those who are the restless in the intellectual world, when such questions arise as to how the earth was formed and how man came to be, if they could answer as did an eminent scientist and devoted Church member. A sister had asked: “Why didn’t the Lord tell us plainly about these things?” The scientist answered: “It is likely we would not understand if he did. It might be like trying to explain the theory of atomic energy to an eight-year-old child.”
Wouldn’t it be a great thing if all who are well schooled in secular learning could hold fast to the “iron rod,” or the word of God, which could lead them, through faith, to an understanding, rather than to have them stray away into strange paths of man-made theories and be plunged into the murky waters of disbelief and apostasy?
I heard one of our own eminent scientists say something to the effect that he believed more professors have taken themselves out of the Church by their trying to philosophize or intellectualize the fall of Adam and the subsequent atonement of the Savior. This was because they would rather accept the philosophies of men than what the Lord has revealed until they, and we, are able to understand the “mysteries of godliness” as explained to the prophets of the Lord and more fully revealed in sacred places.
There were evidently similar questions and controversies in the Master’s time. In one terse answer, he gave the essential ingredients to safety amidst the maze of uncertainty:
To settle an apparent controversy among his disciples as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God, he said: “… except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of [God].” (Matt. 18:3.)
To become converted, according to the scriptures, meant having a change of heart and the moral character of a person turned from the controlled power of sin into a righteous life. It meant to “wait patiently on the Lord” until one’s prayers can be answered and until his heart, as Cyprian, a defender of the faith in the Apostolic Period, testified, and I quote, “Into my heart, purified of all sin, there entered a light which came from on high, and then suddenly and in a marvelous manner, I saw certainty succeed doubt.”
Conversion must mean more than just being a “card carrying” member of the Church with a tithing receipt, a membership card, a temple recommend, etc. It means to overcome the tendencies to criticize and to strive continually to improve inward weaknesses and not merely the outward appearances.
The Lord issued a warning to those who would seek to destroy the faith of an individual or lead him away from the word of God or cause him to lose his grasp on the “iron rod,” wherein was safety by faith in a Divine Redeemer and his purposes concerning this earth and its peoples.
The Master warned: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better … that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matt. 18:6.)
The Master was impressing the fact that rather than ruin the soul of a true believer, it were better for a person to suffer an earthly death than to incur the penalty of jeopardizing his own eternal destiny.
The apostle Paul impressed also the danger of false teachings by bad example. Said he: “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. …
“And through thy knowledge shall the weak … perish, for whom Christ died?
“But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.” (1 Cor. 8:9, 11–12.)
Speaking to the learned and highly sophisticated generation in his time, the prophet Jacob said something which seems to be so often needed to be repeated today: “… When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. …
“But to be learned is good if they hearken to the counsels of God.” (2 Ne. 9:28–29.)
We fervently thank the Lord for the faithfulness and devotion of many in and out of the Church who are in high places in business, in governmental circles, in the legal profession, doctors, trained social workers, nurses, and those in the fields of the sciences and the arts. Particularly are we grateful for those who accept positions of leadership in the Church, who serve as home teachers or class leaders in the priesthood or in the auxiliaries, who make themselves available for volunteer service in helping to care for the unfortunate in all lands and among minorities within and without the Church, and in giving particular attention to the needs of the widows and the orphans.
I say to all such, as did Jesus to Zacchaeus: “This day is salvation come to [their] house.” (Luke 19:9.) These are they who are holding fast to the “iron rod” which can lead us all, in safety, to the tree of life.
I read recently from a column in the Washington Post, by George Moore, who styled himself as the “hermit of Mount Vernon.” (Mount Vernon, of course, was the ancestral home of George Washington.) In this article he said, “I have spent the last twenty years of my life at Mount Vernon reducing my ignorance.” He claimed that a person never learns anything until he realizes how little he knows. In this article he makes this most illuminating observation about George Washington:
“Washington never went to school. That’s why he was an educated man, he never quit learning.”
What George Moore said of himself I suppose could be said of many of you and of myself: “I have spent more than three score years of my life reducing my ignorance.”
Therein, it is my conviction, is the challenge to all who achieve distinction in any field. Some quit learning when they graduate from a school; some quit learning about the gospel when they have completed a mission for the Church; some quit learning when they become an executive or have a prominent position in or out of the Church.
Remember, as George Moore said of Washington, “We can become educated persons, regardless of our stations in life, if we never quit learning.”
The late President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote this: “Any man who does his work well, who is justifiably self-confident and not unduly disturbed by the jeers of the cynics and the shirkers, any man who stays true to decent motives and is considerate of others is, in essence, a leader. Whether or not he is ever singled out for prominence, he is bound to achieve great inner satisfaction in turning out superior work.
“And that, by the way, is what the good Lord put us on this earth for.” (“What Is Leadership?” Reader’s Digest, June 1965, p. 54.)
With the restoration of the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Church in the dispensation of the fulness of times, we were given instructions by revelation, the magnitude of which, as the late President Brigham H. Roberts explained, was “not merely as to whether baptism should be by immersion or for the forgiveness of sins, but the rubbish of accumulated ages was swept aside, the rocks made bare, and the foundations of the Kingdom of God were relaid.”
It may seem preposterous to many to declare that within the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be found a bulwark to safeguard against the pitfalls, the frustrations, and the wickedness in the world. The plan of salvation formed in the heavens points clearly to the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life, even though there are many who refuse to follow that way.
In a great revelation, the Lord gave instruction by commandment to the leaders of the Church of that early day that they should be seekers after truth in many fields.
First, of course, he commanded that they should “teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom … in all things that pertain [to] the kingdom of God. …” (D&C 88:77–78.)
The Conservative desires to hold the rod, Liberals don’t think they need a rod.
Then he counsels as to the wide sweep of learning about which we should seek. His church was not to be an ignorant ministry in various fields of secular learning.
And then the Lord addressed his revelation to all others who may not have faith: “… seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:118.)
One might well ask: How does one get “learning by faith”? One prophet explains the process: First, one must arouse his faculties and experiment on the words of the Lord and desire to believe. Let this desire work in you until ye believe in a manner that you can give place even to a portion of the word of the Lord; then, like a planted seed, it must be cultivated and not resist the Spirit of the Lord, which is that which lighteneth everyone born into the world; you can then begin to feel within yourselves that it must be good, for it enlarges your soul and enlightens your understanding and, like the fruit of the tree in Lehi’s vision, it becomes delicious to the taste. (See Alma 32.)
It was an English novelist who was quoted as saying: “He who seeks God has already found him.”
Let no one think that “learning by faith” contemplates an easy or lazy way to gain knowledge and ripen it into wisdom.
From heavenly instructions and added to which are the experiences of almost anyone who has sought diligently for heavenly guidance, one may readily understand that learning by faith requires the bending of the whole soul through worthy living to become attuned to the Holy Spirit of the Lord, the calling up from the depths of one’s own mental searching, and the linking of our own efforts to receive the true witness of the Spirit.
The mission of this church is to bear witness of the truths of the gospel and put to flight the false teachings on every side that are causing the restlessness and the aimlessness that threaten all who have not found the straight path and that which could be an anchor to their souls.
My fervent prayer is that I may hold up that true Light of Christ to all the world. I would that all may know with assurance, as I, from study, prayer, and faith, know for a certainty, as the Master declared to Martha, who was mourning the death of Lazarus, that the Lord and Master is indeed “the resurrection, and the life; [and] he that believeth in [him], though he were dead, yet shall he live:
“And whosoever liveth and believeth in [him] shall never die. …” (John 11:25–26.)
I thank the Lord that I can answer, as did Martha and as did Peter of old: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16.)
“Yea, Lord: I believe … thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” (John 11:27.)
To this I do bear my solemn witness, in the sacred name of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, even so. Amen.
Truth comes from Personal and Doctrinal Revelation from Christ, and Scriptures translated correctly from Christ, not opinion. Information that comes from You or Myself, or from Church Historians, or BYU Intellects, is all the same. We read, we study, we pray, and we stick to our biases. If we don’t have revelation, the second best choice is Canonized Scripture.
A quote by Book of Mormon Central, from the article titled “The Spectacles, the Stone, the Hat, and the Book: A Twenty-first Century Believer’s View of the Book of Mormon Translation”, by Roger Nicolson says, “These accounts come from both believing and nonbelieving sources, and some skepticism ought to be employed in choosing to accept some of the interpretations offered by some of these sources as fact.”
This quote above, is why we should learn from the scriptures about the true instruments used to translate the Book of Mormon.
Actual Instruments Used in Translation
Because there is no official Church Doctrine on the translation method, Scriptures can prove Joseph’s Translation Tools and Method. No one can accurately define exactly what the “gift and power of God” means, but we know Joseph used what was found in the stone box. Plates, breastplate, spectacles. That’s it! How they worked or what the Spirit did to assist Joseph we know not, but those three instruments WERE used.
Because Joseph was commanded to not show anyone these 3 items unless commanded, I show two paintings by Ann Marie Oborn that will show you what the scriptures suggest in my opinion.
Oliver Testifies He sees all Three Instruments
When Cowdery returned to Church membership in 1848 he spoke to an Iowa conference. His words there were recorded by Reuben Miller: “I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet as he translated it by the gift and power of God by means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by that book, holy interpreters. I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also beheld the Interpreters. That book is true. … I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet.”
The Miller journal can be tested by comparing it with official records of the Cowdery speeches, and it is clearly accurate. Thus the above words are likely to be Cowdery verbatim. This judgment is essential because in the report Oliver Cowdery says, “I … handled with my hands the gold plates.” Yet another Witness, David Whitmer, insisted that he had never handled the plates; he only watched as the angel in the vision displayed the plates and other sacred objects. Since Whitmer and Cowdery were together at this impressive vision, one must infer that Cowdery did not handle the plates at that time. Thus a distinction emerges between the key secretary and his witness brother-in-law: at some time during the translation process Oliver Cowdery evidently handled the plates. “By the Gift and Power of God” By Richard Lloyd Anderson
Debate Should End with Scriptures Message
Many of today’s Church Historians get it wrong about several important issues. I am not smarter than they, nor do I have a higher degree of learning than they do, and I also know some of these Historians and I know many have the same strong testimony about the Book of Mormon that I do. I just have done some research by reading and pondering the following scriptures, that answer a big question for me. What instrument(s) did Joseph Smith use to translate the gold plates?Answer: “These Stones, Fastened to a Breastplate…” JSH 1:35. No where in the scriptures does it say a stone in a hat was used to translate. It should end there, to those who believe in the scriptures.
Proper method of translation on the left. Art by Anne Marie Oborn
“In Joseph Smith’s day, some individuals claimed that they had a gift to “see,” or receive divine or supernatural messages, through seer stones. These beliefs came from the Bible and from European cultural traditions brought to early America by immigrants.” Church History Topics-Seer Stones.
Many so-called seer stones or peep-stones were found all over New York. Joseph Smith is known to have a brown and a white stone that were not used for translation.
Are we Entitled to our own Seer Stone?
This map below shows the approximate location of the retrieval sites and the dig sites of many so-called seer stones in New York. David Whitmer and family, and Hiram Page found stones near Ithaca, NY. Joseph’s brown stone was found near the south shore of Lake Erie near Chautauqua Lake and Joseph’s white stone was found just west of Palmyra on the Chase farm. There was also a Nauvoo stone found. Each stone represented is similar to its actual looks. The Jack Belcher stone here is a picture of the actual stone found near Harmony that was sold recently for $75,000. I have also added the location of Book of Mormon cities and sites as the Heartland theory believes. Notice the Oswego River where the Native American Traditions say Mormon was buried by them after a large battle?
“Joseph Smith, Jr. said, every man who lived on the earth was entitled to a seer stone, and should have one, but they are kept from them in consequence of their wickedness.” – Prophet Brigham Young, “History of Brigham Young,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, v. 26, February 20, 1864
“The power of seership is one of the greatest gifts ever given to man; and the time is not far distant when every man who bears the Priesthood will be a seer. But it can only be when men have proved themselves able to withstand all of the false deceptions of the devil. Today the powers of crystal ball gazers, astrologers, ouija boards, etc., are abounding because men have forsaken or rejected the true seers of God. Thousands of people seek unto ‘wizards who peep and mutter’ etc., but they will not seek unto the living God. I can say to all the inhabitants of the earth that before what is called spiritualism was ever known in America, I told the people that if they would not believe the revelations that God had given, He would suffer the devil to give revelations that they–priests and people would follow after. . . I told the people that as true as God lived, if they would not have the truth they would have error sent to them, and they would believe it.” (Brigham Young, Des. News, June 18, 1871, p. 308) (See Revelation 2:17 and D&C 130:11)
What is Doctrine and what is simply Opinion? We can know through our Prophets and Personal Revelation.
The Church information about, “Book of Mormon Translation” is an essay that says many things that I believe are opinion and suggestion based to help us in our research and study. Just like with Geography, I don’t believe it’s necessary that the Brethren will tell us things that don’t relate to our Salvation. I also believe that many intellects and historians suggest to the Brethren ideas and suggestions and when our Prophets and Apostles feel it is doctrine they will tell us.
Historians after much study will give the Brethren their best information they have researched, about geography, history, and translation, and that becomes the information the Church uses to help us. I just believe as Moroni said, “we may know the truth of all things.” Neither I nor these Historians know what doctrine for the Church is, that is up to our Prophet and apostles, so it is up to each of us individually to research and pray on our own for personal revelation that may benefit us in a personal way.
That is why I feel strongly that the translation was done using the “Interpreters” [two stones fastened to a breastplate] and the geography of the Book of Mormon began in North America. It’s a personal feeling or revelation to me. If the Brethren ever said otherwise, I will listen to and pray about what they say and receive, and follow doctrine based on faith and our Prophets leadership.
Pres. Nelson said, “You don’t have to wonder about what is true. You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust. Through personal revelation, you can receive your own witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is the Lord’s Church. Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true.
I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives by President Russell M. Nelson
In the Translation Essay mentioned above, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “The other instrument, which Joseph Smith discovered in the ground years before he retrieved the gold plates, was a small oval stone, or “seer stone.” As a young man during the 1820s, Joseph Smith, like others in his day, used a seer stone to look for lost objectsand buried treasure. As Joseph grew to understand his prophetic calling, he learned that he could use this stone for the higher purpose of translating scripture.” In red above is possible information from Church Historians who explain history and other things to the Brethren who ask, or ask to be informed. It could also be true, but I don’t believe it is doctrine. No where in scripture will you find the information in red above.
I believe Joseph Smith used the Urim and Thummim and by the power of the Lord translated the Book of Mormon. Even though I believe Joseph had a seer stone or two, I don’t believe he necessarily used that stone to translate the plates.
I love Elder Uchtdorf’s comparison with seer stones and cell phones, as that makes sense we can understand in today’s world. I know the Lord can use any object He desires to share revelation with Prophets. I believe what Elder Uchtdorf’s words are very important to study about the translation, that will have a great deal to do with my learning as I pray to know more. This comparison is good, as the righteous have been promised a seer stone eventually.
See D&C 130:10-11 here: “Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known; And a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word.”
Like I have said many times, if the Prophets and Apostles tell me it is doctrine that the main Book of Mormon events happened in Mesoamerica, or if they tell me that at one time Adam was an ape, or that only a seer stone was used to translate the Book of Mormon, or that Joseph Smith never looked at the plates but he just read the words off of a rock, or that Noah’s flood was not real, I would have a hard time believing it as it doesn’t make sense, but with much prayer and study I would follow the living Prophet Russell M. Nelson and the apostles who speak the truth to us. They also expect us to make good decisions and not have to be told all things.
Interpreters or Urim & Thummim = Spectacles fastened to a Breastplate
Spectacles fastened to a Breastplate
From the scriptures we learn that Joseph used the spectacles attached to the breastplate called Interpreters for the proper translation. “Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.” JSH1:75*
“Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.” JSH 1:35
About SITH. (Stone in the Hat Theory) by Jonathan Neville
“Have you ever thought about how silly the seer stone in a hat really is? The idea that whole sentences appeared on the 3x4x5cm oval shaped opaque stone is totally wrong for many reasons.
The Book of Mormon didn’t have punctuation. It was added by the typesetter. Some say the average sentence length is about 25 words. That many words wouldn’t fit on a small object unless it was a size 1 font and that would be unreadable. It would also be very hard to read at the ends of the oval where it curves from the flatter part of the stone with the best chance for some kind of focal distance.
No special lighting was required to use the Urim and Thummim or Liahona (words would appear on spindle from time to time) or a modern-day teleprompter? Why would God provide an underpowered seer stone that couldn’t be read in normal lighting conditions?
The seer stone in a hat story is simply an attempt to discredit the truth and destroy Joseph Smith. Sadly, Intellectuals and scholars are trying to hijack church history.
Art Left by Anne Marie Oborn
Joseph’s history in the PGP uses the term Urim and Thummim 6 times–never the seer stone. With your head buried in a hat, the focal distance would be too close, out of focus, and unreadable! It would also be hard for the scribe to hear your muffled voice buried in a hat.
I’m sick of Sunday School teachers saying the seer stone in a hat is like your cell phone screen. You can’t read it very well in broad daylight. That is because your phone is designed for long battery life. If your phone had enough power you could read the screen on a sunny day. Also, Joseph was inside a house with small windows and low lighting conditions. Why would he bury his face in a hat with even less light?
Can you imagine how uncomfortable that would be to be bent over a hat with your voice muffled? It would be hard for the scribe to hear and for Joseph to breath.
Art by Anthony Sweat
Do you remember how Joseph described Moroni’s visit in the log home in 1823? He said the light around Moroni seemed brighter than farther away. Why would God give Joseph an underpowered teleprompter? Why put limits on God?
Why didn’t the Lord give the Brother of Jared a hat along with the 2 seer stones? Don’t be swayed by the foolish revisionist history and their bogus artwork depicting the FALSE seer stone in a hat translation method! Eber D. Howe tried to sell that false notion in Mormonism Unvailed [sic] in 1834. David Whitmer tried to perpetuate the lie it in his 1887 tirade, AN ADDRESS TO ALL BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. David was a faithful witness for the Book of Mormon. However, he opposed Joseph on the Restoration of the Priesthood, Doctrine and Covenants, etc. and he started his own church. He is definitely not a creditable source for the translation method.
D&C 17:1 says the 3 Witness would be able to view the plates, breastplate, Urim and Thummim, Sword of Laban and the Liahona. No seer stone is mentioned.
Hiram Page Seer Stone
Also remember that Hiram Page tried to lead the church astray with a seer stone in 1830 (D&C 28). Satan loves a counterfeit!
How many revelations were given in the Doctrine and Covenants via a seer stone? Zero. How many revelations were given via the Urim and Thummim? At least 8 sections (Sections 3, 6, 7, 11, 14, 15, 16, and 17).Why would God preserve the Urim and Thummim and records for about 4,000 years if a seer stone was used? Mormon and Moroni spent many years abridging all the records. That would be a huge waste if the plates were not even used as many scholars now claim. The seer stone in a hat doesn’t pass the common sense test! Follow the prophets, not the intellectuals and scholars.” Bruce Lloyd as told by “About Central America Jonathan Neville | 6/5/20 URL: https://wp.me/p741A5-Tm
I share a few comments about two books, “From Darkness Unto Light by Michael Hubbard McKay, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat and “Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones” by Michael Hubbard MacKay and Nicholas J. Frederick. My comments will be in RED and the Historian Richard Bushman’s comments will remain in BLACK
Foreword by Richard Bushman about “From Darkness Unto Light” by Michael Hubbard McKay, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat
My comments in Red and Richard Bushman’s in Black
“This volume is the first of what could be many potential histories coming out of the Joseph Smith Papers Project. Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit Dirkmaat have been editors of the Documents series, which is just beginning to appear. The results of this research can be partially found in the introductions, headnotes, and footnotes of The Joseph Smith Papers volumes, but the findings will be properly valued only when integrated into the narrative of early Church history. [I personally don’t think the idea of a stone in a hat adds value into Church history. It only moves the Church backwards in an old sectarian notion that began in the book “Mormonism Unvailed” in 1834, that said the stone in the hat was ever used for translation.] Only then will readers grasp what the new discoveries mean. [The old discoveries, not new discoveries, are the same old dogma that my mother used to tell me about saying, that Joseph never used an occultic seer stone to translate]. The two authors have done just that for Joseph Smith’s early years from the recovery of the plates in September 1827 through the publication of the Book of Mormon in March 1830.
Books like this one will bring Latter-day Saint readers up to date on the results of the latest historical research. [These historians say the latest historical research are quotes from Martin Harris, David Whitmer, William McClelland, and Emma Smith, that say very late in the Church history, that a stone in a hat was used. I believe the first hand witnesses, Joseph Smith and Oliver, and the 8 passages of scripture that say the “Interpreters” (spectacles and breastplate attached) were the only instruments used]. While, like all histories, From Darkness unto Light is necessarily an interpretation, the authors base their story firmly on the original sources. [Yes, original sources from Martin and David and Emma who all never saw the spectacles and breastplate]. They get down to what historians consider to be the bedrock of historical construction. [Wow!] Working from original materials, the authors introduce readers to aspects of early Church history that are well known to historians but that are not necessarily common knowledge in the Church. [That’s precisely the point. Historians dig up things from the past and revisit them to bring up new ideas for which they can become peer reviewed and develop a pet theory that makes them look smart]. MacKay and Dirkmaat also reveal brand new findings in this work. They speak at length, for example, about Joseph Smith’s use of two seer stones in translation. In translating, Joseph probably first used the stones set in spectacles that came with the plates, and then, for most of the translation period, substituted one of the stones he had found. [Bushman says probably first used the spectacles and then substituted one of the stones he found. Based on what? I say the spectacles and breatplate together were used for the entire translation]. Joseph put the seer stone in a hat to exclude the light [Why did the Lord not make powerful enough seer stone light for Joseph?], and read off the translated text by looking in the stone. All the while, the plates lay wrapped in a cloth on the table. Apparently Joseph did not look at the plates through most of the translation. [Then explain to me why Nephi, Mormon and others were so diligent it writing on and securing the plates, if Joseph would later just ignore them totally? Silly]!
This description will startle Latter-day Saints who are familiar with artistic depictions showing Joseph Smith translating with a finger on the plates while he writes down the words as they come to him. [Picture left: I am familiar with pictures of Joseph’s finger on the plates following the words, but that is also incorrect. I ask a question here, where was the breastplate this entire time, and why would the Lord put a breastplate with the spectacles in the stone box with the plates, if they were never intended to be used later? I’ll show you how the breastplate was used in my article at the bottom, titled, Joseph’s Three Sacred Artifacts for Translation]. The image of Joseph with his face in the hat as he translates is not so well known and is much less decorous, [decorous meaning: Suitable to a character, or to the time, place, and occasion; marked with decorum; becoming; proper; seemly; befitting], which may shock some readers. [Yes the picture on the right shocks me, doesn’t it you?]But it is essential that the Church at large become aware of what historians have discovered in the sources. Failure to acknowledge these factual accounts, almost all of them in friendly sources, can devastate Latter-day Saints who run across them. Feeling that the Church has covered up the truth, they become disillusioned and even angry. This book is an attempt to repair the misconceptions so that the next generation of Latter-day Saints will be better informed. [As a non-historian and slightly educated man, I don’t believe the Church has ever covered up truth. I believe many revisionist historians in the Church have covered the truth to spread their theory of importance so their buddies will think the are smart as they are peer reviewed. Sad!I am not disillusioned as believe I have come up with the Lord’s help a possible scenario that explains your Historic covering up, titled, Joseph’s Three Sacred Artifacts for Translation]
For years Mormon scholars simply disregarded critical sources, such as the affidavits concerning the Smith family in E. D. Howe’s Mormonism Unvailed. [So E.D. Howe an anti-Mormon’s affidavits are now credible]? They felt the critical writings were too biased to be of any use. But in recent years, automatic exclusion of negative reports is no longer the practice. Everything has to be examined and evaluated. MacKay and Dirkmaat work on the principle that bias must be taken into account in analyzing any historical source. The art of the historian is to extract useful information from original sources whether negative or positive. [Who determines if it is negative or positive sources? Oh, the Historians, I see!] The notes of From Darkness unto Light show the authors ranging through sources all across the spectrum. The result is a much enriched and compelling narrative, [I call it non-compelling and made up history trying to tear down traditional sources of Joseph and Oliver] one that will hold up under critical scrutiny.” Richard Bushman Forward to From Darkness Unto Light by Michael Hubbard McKay, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat
Introduction From Darkness Unto Light by Michael Hubbard McKay, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat
Again my comments in RED and McKay & Dirkmaat in black
The actual process by which the Book of Mormon was translated, according to the witnesses of the event and the earliest sources, is generally unknown to members of the Church. [No it isn’t. Read JSH 1:34-35, 42, 62, and 75, Mosiah 28:13, 20 (History of the Church, 4:537). Ether 3:22-23, 4:5, Lucy Mack Smith and more]. Because Joseph Smith only explained[?Only?] that “through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift, and power of God,” little emphasis has been placed upon the actual process of translation. Although the well-known “History of Joseph Smith” recounts Joseph Smith’s explanation of the device found with the plates as being composed of two stones, [Yes that is what Lucy Mack Smith says]most artists’ renderings depicting these events generally excluded images of the stones entirely, and no attempts were made to show the stones being used in the way witnesses described. [Why did they do this since the spectacles were found in the stone box and not a single peep stone]. These artists’ paintings powerfully conveyed an image to modern Latter-day Saints of Joseph Smith sitting at a table with the plates in front of him, his finger running over the top of the characters, with Oliver Cowdery dutifully seated across from him taking the dictation down. Thus generations of Mormons have come to imagine the translation process in much the same way reflected in these portrayals, a process by which the miracle of translation occurred by Joseph Smith looking at the plates and speaking a translation to Cowdery without the use of any external tools or the seer stones themselves, despite the testimonies of witnesses that the process occurred very differently. Those witnesses make the use of the stones the central aspect of the translation. They give an account of Joseph Smith placing various seer stones into a hat in order to block out the external light. Then God caused words to appear on the shining stones that translated the reformed Egyptian text into English. [Witnesses you speak of are David, Martin and Emma who never saw the spectacles nor the breastplate, but they all saw Joseph’s brown stone as he had it with him a lot. Don’t you think these so called witnesses just assumed that Joseph used that rock they so often saw him with? I do].
By Anthony Sweat
Those who are antagonistic toward the Church and Joseph Smith have used this discrepancy between witnesses of the translation and average members of the Church as a cudgel to beat upon the faith of believers. The very use of these witness statements by antagonistic or disrespectful authors or television programs to create a deprecating image of Joseph Smith has further alienated members from a proper understanding of the translation process. These detractors highlight the apparent ridiculousness of a scene that involves Joseph translating with his head buried in a “magic” hat, knowing that such imagery would offend the sensibilities of twenty-first-century Mormons. [Then why do you use that magic hat imagery if it is silly, and hard to believe? Why not believe what Oliver said, “Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ Also the Interpreters are: “the spectacles and the breastplate attached” as Joseph said, “With the records was found a curious instrument which the ancients called ‘Urim and Thummim,’ which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift, and power of God.” Times and Seasons, 1 March 1842,” p. 707, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 13, 2021,https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/times-and-seasons-1-march-1842/5
Although the witnesses’ explanations of the translation process differ from what is generally understood by Church members, the testimonies of these witnesses affirm that the use of the seer stones—placed as they were in a hat to block out the light so the words of God could be read—was the greatest evidence to them of the miraculous nature of the translation. Detractors make light of the translation process. However, they do so without informing their readers that their very sources for such apparently disdainful evidence stated that because of the use of a seer stone in the translation process, they had a greater testimony of the seership of Joseph Smith.[Detractors make light of the translation, because of the use of a single seer stone. Readers think the Church is crazy because they know the spectacles and breastplate were in the stone box and so why not use them? You cannot find anywhere in the Scriptures where it says Joseph used a “seer stone”, “seers stone”, “stone”, or “peep stone”, NOT ONE!]
Minerva Teichert
One way we attempt to deal with the problem of the inaccurate portrayal of the translation process is by adding depictions of the translation to this book. These images [the ones below marked with the name Anthony Sweat] were created by Anthony Sweat, assistant professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. In addition to skillfully crafted artwork of the events surrounding the translation that more closely align with the testimonies of scribes and witnesses, Sweat has performed detailed and informative research on how images of the translation have been used over time. The appendix of this book contains his exclusive essay, “By the Gift and Power of Art,” which will help readers understand where the more well-known images of the translation originated and how their less accurate depictions have come to dominate the LDS imagination when considering the translation of the gold plates. [There are currently only two pictures (shown above right and left) in all the work of art found in the Church that even comes close to the proper translation and in both pictures they show a breastplate. Why did Anthony Sweat leave out pictures of the breastplate being used?]
Our book attempts to capture the first-person [You mean the first-person Joseph Smith or Oliver Cowdery, or the first person you think is accurate?] point of view of Joseph Smith and those who witnessed the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. Though we have taken into account the perspectives of detractors and nonbelievers in our analysis, [But have you taken the perspective of Rod Meldrum, Hannah Stoddard, and Rian Nelson, who are not detractors?] the purpose of our book is to understand the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as a miracle, which can best be understood through the accounts of those closest to the process and by those who believed. To Joseph Smith and his friends and family, the miraculous translation process was a reality. In other words, our approach asks the question “How would Joseph and his family explain to others the translation process?” [Joseph would explain the translation process by saying how he used the spectacles and breastplate that cam in the stone box and how he was also able to keep them hidden as he promised. See my article below titled, Joseph’s Three Sacred Artifacts for Translation]
Each of the chapters presented in our book offers new material, [What is new? The old idea of Joseph using a peep stone in a hat? That is revisionist, not new material]. both in sources and in interpretation. In a mostly narrative format, we examine the primary events in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon from September 1827 to September 1830—only occasionally pausing to note significant changes in the story. This book is intended to bring the reader closer to the most important events in this chronology of events through the eyes of those who experienced them. [So you quote the scripture by Oliver and Joseph, or do you use the second hand information from Emma, David and Martin?] Its scope does not include larger topics such as the influence of broader religious cultures, nor does it generally attempt to place the coming forth of the Book of Mormon within the context of national trends, politics, or Protestantism, except in those times when it is clear that those broader influences were cognizant to Joseph Smith and his colleagues. This does not mean that we do not contextualize and historicize each account to understand it better, but we do attempt to let those closest to Joseph Smith be heard in their own words, while acknowledging that they had their own biases reflected in their accounts and interpretations. [Yes Emma’s testimony was given very near her death and she did not have time to edit the comments that were used. David Whitmer’s comments were all after he had left the church and called Joseph a fallen Prophet. Not great references. What about when Oliver said, “I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet as he translated it by the gift and power of God by means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by that book, holy interpreters. I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also beheld the Interpreters. That book is true. … I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet.” When Cowdery returned to Church membership in 1848 he spoke to an Iowa conference. His words above were recorded by Reuben Miller]
In many ways, our book is an attempt to recapture the religious value of the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon in the minds of believing members. We are not making claims or an argument about the reality of the plates, nor are we making arguments about the historicity of the plates, which can be found in other publications. Instead, this book tries to get at the heart of what Joseph Smith and those closest to him believed about the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. [We are very happy to know you are not trying to say the plates never existed, only that Joseph never looked at them to translate. What exactly is the difference]?
Nevertheless, no work of history nor any examination of sources that speak of heavenly manifestations and the visitations of angels can demonstrate the reality of these miraculous events. Miracles are by definition events that cannot be replicated by mortal beings absent of the intervention of God. [I agree we all know the Book of Mormon is true by the Spirit and not by the translation method]. In this sense, logic and historical method cannot fully prove or disprove the miraculous claims made by Joseph Smith or the scribes who worked with him on the translation. Just as one cannot prove with historical sources or scientific inquiry alone the reality of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection or of the efficacy of his Atonement to save men and women from sin and death, faith and belief are the necessary ingredients for one to come to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he performed the work of a seer in bringing forth the words of the Book of Mormon from darkness unto light. [We do however have the word on an Apostle, Jeffrey R. Holland who said, “Truly rock-ribbed faith and uncompromised conviction comes with its most complete power when it engages our head as well as our heart… Two manifestations, two witnesses if you will—the force of fact as well as the force of feeling.” Jeffery R. Holland 2017. This shows me that Moroni’s promise that, I “may know the truth of all things”, is true. My head and heart, my spiritual witness and the physical witness of things both work together, just as the attached spectacles with the breastplate represent Joseph’s head and heart together to have the amazing ability to translate “by the gift and power of God”] What historians can demonstrate, however, is how the witnesses to these events explained them, how they understood them, and how they came to believe, as Wilford Woodruff did, that Joseph Smith had been called by God to translate gold plates and publish that translation as the Book of Mormon.” From Darkness Unto Light by Michael Hubbard McKay, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat(Items in red above are from Rian Nelson)
Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones / Michael Hubbard MacKay and Nicholas J. Frederick.
Below are some note worthy quotes from Hubbard and Frederick. If you didn’t already know, most of these historians lean towards a a Mesoamerican theory of geography. The four paragraphs below however, let you see some of their thoughts about the Native Americans in North America and how influential these North American Indians were to the restoration and to Joseph Smith.
“Coupled with Christian interests, scholars like Samuel L. Mitchill of Columbia College examined Indian ruins in New York, claiming that Native American races had once met there in battle, resulting in the extermination of one race by another. Mitchill was well known enough to have reached public conscientiousness in Palmyra, having been mentioned in the Palmyra Freeman, and Martin Harris eventually visited him in February of 1828 to see if he could translate some of the characters on the gold plates.” Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones / Michael Hubbard MacKay and Nicholas J. Frederick. BYU Religious Studies Center, 2016.
Despite Joseph’s own later reticence to ascribe supernatural forces to his treasure seeking, he did maintain a connection with the sacred nature of the land. The very land where Joseph found his seer stones held divine providence in the minds of Americans, and Joseph’s claim that the stones came from Native Americans harmonized with a greater public perception of an underlying sacred Native American mythos surrounding the lands in which they now lived.
Joseph bound together the ideas of sacred land, ancient Native American artifacts, and digging for money with seer stones. He believed that he plucked his seer stones from a blessed landscape where they had been buried by ancient inhabitants and under the direction of God. The idea of America as a sacred place was not foreign to Americans, who believed “manifest destiny” was exhibited through the ancient inhabitants, who were considered by many to be Israelites. To Joseph, these ideas were inseparable.
Even as the idea of peoples from ancient Israel currently living in America was challenged, ancient artifacts were being regularly uncovered, and scholars at the American Philosophical Society eagerly compared Native American writing to European, Egyptian, and even Hebrew.” Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones/ Michael Hubbard MacKay and Nicholas J. Frederick. BYU Religious Studies Center, 2016.
SEER STONES: ANCIENT ROOTS AND RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE
MacKay and Frederick in BLACK, my words in RED
This connection between Native Americans and Joseph Smith’s religious endeavors extended to his brown and white seer stones. William Stafford claimed that someone might find a stone in brass kettles or certain kinds of pots buried in the mounds, insisting that seer stones were being recovered that had a Native American origin. These artifacts were very clearly man-made items, and if a seer stone was found within a kettle, then it must have had some value or purpose as evidenced by the belief that the hands of those who made the kettle must have placed the stone inside. Brigham Young likely had these Native American kettles in mind when he stated that “[Joseph] got [the seer stone] in an Iron kettle 15 feet under ground. “Apparently, the idea of Joseph Smith’s seer stones being anciently deposited by Native Americans became a natural assumption for some and suggested a similar origin for the Nephite interpreters.According to Joseph’s narrative, the Nephite interpreters originated with the ancient American inhabitants, [Brother of Jared See Ether chapters 3 and 4 below] as the ancient prophet Moroni supposedly placed them in the ground for Joseph to find. At least one of the other two seer stones also shows signs of being prepared anciently.
[It should have been obvious to these authors to add to this dialogue the FACT that Ether 3:24 speaks about this very thing. Why did the authors say, “as the ancient prophet Moroni supposedly placed them in the ground for Joseph to find. At least one of the other two seer stones also shows signs of being prepared anciently?”MacKay & Frederick]
[These authors MacKay and Frederick should have said for sure the place these two stones originated, if they would have accurately quoted Ether 3:23 below in orange.Then they would not have to say supposedly.]
“And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read.
And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.
For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.
And when the Lord had said these words, he showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth.” Ether 3:22-25
“Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.” Ether 4:5
Tying these strings together, Joseph Smith was highly influenced by the Second Great Awakening, marked by revivals and itinerant preachers, but he was also naturally affected by the Christian conceptualization of America. The patriotic sense of success was bound with the divine providence of the United States, an idea given weight by the belief that Native Americans were heirs of the biblical Israelites. Pulling ancient artifacts from the soil seemed only to support his religious longings and sense of calling, even if they were driven by local searches for buried treasure. Before the Book of Mormon provided the narrative, Joseph Smith’s brown and white stones were artifacts of an ancient past and an expression of his religious devotion in the nineteenth century. Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones/ Michael Hubbard MacKay and Nicholas J. Frederick. BYU Religious Studies Center, 2016.[Probably true, but these brown and white stones had nothing to do with the translation.]
Witnesses Movie by The Interpreter uses Martin’s supposed story
Some of the earliest witnesses remembered his seer stones as Native American artifacts. Martin Harris, an associate of the Smiths prior to Joseph’s recovery of the gold plates in 1827, apparently experienced Joseph using a single seer stone to help him find a toothpick he had lost.[This story was used in the Witnesses movie just released by Daniel Peterson and The Interpreter Foundation. We are not sure if this second have information is correct]. He remembered, “Joseph had had this stone for some time [before 1827]. There was a company there in that neighborhood, who were digging for money supposed to have been hidden by the ancients.” Having known about his earlier seer stone retrieval, he was initially skeptical of Joseph when he first heard about his retrieval of the gold plates. Harris immediately thought “the money-diggers had probably dug up an old brass kettle, or something of the kind.” William Stafford also claimed that Smith searched for brass kettles filled with treasure, and Harris may have been referencing Smith’s retrieval of a kettle that could have had Joseph Smith’s seer stone inside. Even the retrieval of the gold plates suggested that items were being prepared for the restoration of the gospel by Native Americans. See MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, chs. 2–3; “Mormonism—No. II,” Tiffany’s Monthly 5 (August 1859): 167.
“Seer Stone v Urim & Thummim Book of Mormon Translation on Trial” Magic & Treasure Digging by James and Hannah Stoddard
“Richard L. Bushman, progressive historian and author of Rough Stone Rolling, would later echo this argument, adding that Joseph was “involved in magic,” had “treasure-seeking greed,” and that magic was a “preparatory gospel” in training the young man as a prophet of God. However, Bushman argued that “all sorts of treasure seekers were also serious Christians,” so to him, it just wasn’t a big deal:
It was no more scandalous than say gambling, playing poker today. A little bit discredited and slightly morally disreputable but not really evil. And when it was found that all sorts of treasure seekers were also serious Christians, why not the Smiths too? So, instead of being a puzzle or a contradiction, it was just one aspect of Smith family culture and not really anything to be worried about.
Contrary to Bushman’s claims, when Mormonism Unvailed was published in 1834, accusing the Smith family of involvement in magic, treasure digging, etc. the public was incensed! The First Presidency reported that Hurlbut’s claims “fired the minds of the people with much indignation” against Joseph Smith and the Church. No good Christian in Joseph Smith’s day heard Hurlbut and thought, “Those Smiths are kind of weird but no big deal.”
The accusations of magic and treasure digging Hurlbut & Howe conjured up carried grave implications for early 19th century Americans, and they published them with the specific intent of destroying Joseph Smith’s character. Just as his enemies had hoped, the publication resulted in increased and intense persecution. When “serious Christians” in Joseph Smith’s day—and this is true as well for serious Christians in our day—heard that Joseph Smith was “expert in the arts of necromancy” and that he had spent his boyhood “digging into the hills and mountains” searching for gold, the slanders destroyed his credibility and impeded interest in the ongoing work of the Restoration of the Gospel. Viewed as “blots” on the character of the young Prophet, most of the persecution leveled against the Church in 1834 was rooted firmly in these scandalous tales.”
Joseph’s Three Sacred Artifacts for Translation [A short version of “Mother I have got the Key” a 26-page PDF in 2-pages], by Rian Nelson
The Prophet Joseph Smith stated, “On the west side of this hill not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box.” “Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate…” Joseph Smith-History 1:51-52
1- The Key
Plain lens spectacles
On the night of Sept 22, 1837, after Joseph returned from the Hill Cumorah (End of 4th year of Moroni’s instructions), Lucy Mack Smith said, “I trembled so much with fear lest all might be lost again by some small failure in keeping the commandments, that I was under the necessity of leaving the room to conceal my feelings. Joseph saw this and followed me. “Mother,” said he. “Do not be uneasy. All is right. See here,” said he, “I have got the key.”
I knew not what he meant, but took the article in my hands and, examining it with no covering but a silk handkerchief, found thatit consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows connected with each other in much the same way that old-fashioned spectacles are made. (See picture upper right). He took them again and left me but did not tell me anything of the record….
Diamond’s set in glass as Lucy describes the spectacles
That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, was indeed nothing more nor less than a Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in vision; by which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger, either to himself or the record, and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person.” History of Joseph Smith, by Lucy Mack Smith
Joseph loved this “Key”, as through it he could see all things as prophets of old have as well. “After breakfast [on the day he received the plates and the Urim and Thummim] Joseph [Smith] called me into the other room and he set his foot on the bed and leaned his head on his hand and says… “it is ten times better than I expected.” Then he went on to tell the length and width and thickness of the plates, and said he, “they appear to be gold.” But he seemed to think more of the glasses or the Urim and Thummim than he did of the plates, for, says he, “I can see anything; they are marvelous.”Joseph Knight’s Recollection of Early Mormon History, BYU Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1; spelling modernized
2- Breastplate “After bringing home the plates, Joseph now commenced work with his father on the farm in order to be as near as possible the treasure that was committed to his care.
Front of Breastplate
Back of Breastplate with Pocket
Soon after this, he came in from work one afternoon, and after remaining a short time, he put on his greatcoat and left the house. I was engaged at the time in an upper room in preparing some oilcloths for painting. When he returned, he requested me to come downstairs. I told him that I could not leave my work just then, yet upon his urgent request, I finally concluded to go down and see what he wanted, upon which he handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history. It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could see the glistening metal and ascertain its proportions without any difficulty.“
William Smith’s Description
With these quotes below, I am assuming William Smith saw the Urim and Thummim and maybe even the translation process. He gives an amazing description of the entire process. Of course we don’t know about the authenticity, but I am intrigued by William being quoted as saying, “[Joseph] always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications, and usually so when translating as it permitted him to have both hands free to hold the plates.”
The spectacles fit in a pocket on the back side of the breastplate next to the chest of Joseph Smith.
William Smith’s description: “A silver bow ran over one stone, under the other, around [sic] over that one and under the first in the shape of a horizontal figure 8…[T]hey were much too large for Joseph and he could only see through one at a time using sometimes one and sometimes the other.” These stones, he continued, “were attached to the breastplate by a rod which was fastened at the outer shoulde[r] edge of the breastplate and to the edge of the silver bow.” (Tyrell Givens, By the Hand of Mormon, p.22)
Another account from William Smith: “Among other things we inquired minutely about the Urim and Thummim and the breastplate. We asked him what was meant by the expression “two rims of a bow,” which held the former. He said a double silver bow was twisted into the shape of the figure eight, and the two stones were placed literally between the two rims of a bow. At one end was attached a rod which was connected with the outer edge of the right shoulder of the breast-plate. By pressing the head a little forward, the rod held the Urim and Thummim before the eyes much like a pair of spectacles. A pocket was prepared in the breastplate on the left side, immediately over the heart. When not in use the Urim and Thummim was placed in this pocket, the rod being of just the right length to allow it to be so deposited. This instrument could, however, be detached from the breastplate and his brother said Joseph often wore it detached when away from home, but always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications, and usually so when translating as it permitted him to have both hands free to hold the plates.” (J. W. Peterson in The Rod of Iron I:3 (February 1924)
Article titled “Joseph’s Three Sacred Artifacts for Translation” continues, “It was concave on one side and convex on the other and extended from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers (for I measured them), and they had holes in the end of them to be convenient in fastening. The whole plate was worth at least five hundred dollars. After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim (Picture left).” History of Joseph Smith, by Lucy Mack Smith
Alvin’s Box
3- Gold Plates “I have myself seen and handled the golden plates; they are about eight inches long, and six wide; some of them are sealed together and are not to be opened, and some of them are loose. They are all connected by a ring which passes through a hole at the end of each plate and are covered with letters beautifully engraved. I have seen and felt also the Urim and Thummim. They resemble two large bright diamonds set in a bow like a pair of spectacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads unknown languages, and they enable him to interpret them in English. I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.” Lucy Mack Smith (in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, 2nd ed. revised and enlarged, London: J. G. F. & J. Rivington, 1843
Interpreters (Breastplate + Spectacles) Joseph’s “Key” is certainly not a seer stone. It is the spectacles acting as a key to unlock the breastplate for a connected view of revealing “by the Gift and Power of God.”
“And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write” Ether 3:23. We will call the Key with the Breastplate, “Interpreters” as Moroni first said, “I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord”Ether 4:5.
As you read the Book of Mormon there is only one word that describes what to call the breastplate with the two stones in the rims of a bow.” INTERPRETERS. Nowhere in the entire Book of Mormon will you hear the term Urim and Thummim or seer stone or single stone. It also mentions Interpreters once in the PGP in JSH 1:75* That means whenever we say the word “Interpreters” we mean the breastplate with the spectacles as one unit.
There are thousands of Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that believe the Interpreters are the instrument that Joseph Smith found with the gold plates buried in the hill of Cumorah. These Interpreters began their journey near hill Ramah in upstate New York as the Lord touched these two stones and asked the Brother of Jared to seal these stones up with the interpreters to come forth at a later date to be translated and as we know Joseph Smith was that person.
“Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had spoken—for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled—I should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be destroyed.”(Joseph Smith History 1:35,42)
The breastplate would have been worn under Joseph’s shirt and Joseph’s eyes would be looking through the glasses and seeing the gold plates on the table. The Large farmers hat would be placed as a shield or prop between Joseph and Emma with the hat blocking the eyes of Emma so she could not see the plates or the glasses. Joseph would hold the hat brim with one hand and have his other hand on top of the plates with his finger pointing at the text on the plates or to use his hand in turning the pages.
The spectacles or “key” would have been attached to the breastplate on the right side of Joseph with a downward slant so when Joseph bends over the spectacles, they would be directly over the gold plates. On the back of the breastplate is a pocket to store the glasses on Josephs left and over his heart. So, whenever we say the word “Interpreters” we mean the breastplate with the spectacles as one unit.
Prepared from the Beginning “And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow. Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages; And they have been kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he should discover to every creature who should possess the land the iniquities and abominations of his people; And whosoever has these things is called seer, after the manner of old times.” Mosiah 28: 13-16
Conclusion
If an individual seer stone was used it would contradict all the scriptures, which we find that are the “true word of the Lord”, and that is what I rely upon when understanding the proper method of translation. This is the scripture that sums up the “Proper Translation” in my opinion. “He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants; Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.”JSH 1:34-35.” Joseph’s Three Sacred Artifacts for Translation by Rian Nelson
As the quote from JSH 1:34-35 says, “and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim.” No stone in a hat is mentioned, and how could a single seer stone be called a Urim & Thummim? After reading this scripture it says the two stones in silver bows were fastened to a breastplate and called Urim & Thummim. I believe Joseph’s scriptural words.
Contents of the Box (No Liahona nor Sword of Laban. They were in another part of the hill called the Cave at Cumorah 1-Gold Plates 2- Spectacles 3- Breastplate
Many intellectuals seem determined to convince everyone that the prophet was simply a man. Elder Packer said, “We knew that already.” He was and is now, simply an incredible Prophet of God.
“Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.” D&C 135:3
Joseph Knew the Book of Mormon Geography
I feel it is significant to show some of the deeply held biases of some of our intellectual members of the church. When it comes to geography of the Book of Mormon I believe Joseph Smith knew all along that events began in North America.
Joseph said in the Wentworth letter, “I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country [America] and shown who they were, and from whence they came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws, governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people, was [also] made known unto me; I was also told where were deposited some plates on which were engraven an abridgment of the records of the ancient prophets that had existed on this continent…”
Joseph continued in the Wentworth letter to say, “With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called “Urim and Thummim,” which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rims of a bow fastened to a breastplate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.
First Lamanite Mission in the United States of America D&C 28, 30, 32
In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the Tower of Babel at the confusion of languages to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites and came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book also tells us that our Savior made His appearance upon this continent after His Resurrection;” Wentworth Letter (Red Text added which shows to me that Joseph was speaking from the area of New York in the USA and his references were about America, not Mesoamerica. It’s logical and makes sense).
We should all be open minded to listen to differences in our opinions about the geography of the Book of Mormon. I believe there is only one Hill Cumorah and others are welcomed to share why they feel there are two Cumorah’s. I believe events of the Book of Mormon happened in the USA and others who contribute to some of our Church publications such s “Saints”, believe events happened in Central America. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is officially neutral about where the events took place. Since the Church is neutral, why do many intellectuals who correlate and edit Church History, promote a specific geography in Central America? It’s a subject worth learning more about. I believe Joseph Smith taught a North American setting for the Book of Mormon and never hinted at a Central American setting. You can decide what you believe.
Intellectuals Concerned about an Occultic Joseph?
Pres Benson said, “For those concerned how this occultic “Joseph Smith” could make its way into Church publications, President Ezra Taft Benson offered this advice, “Sometimes from behind the pulpit, in our classrooms, in our Council meetings and in our church publications we hear, read or witness things that do not square with the truth. . . . Now do not let this serve as an excuse for your own wrong-doing. The Lord is letting the wheat and the tares mature before he fully purges the Church. He is also testing you to see if you will be misled. The devil is trying to deceive the very elect.”Ezra Taft Benson, “Our Immediate Responsibility” (BYU Devotional, Provo, October 25, 1996), https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/ezra-taft-benson_immediateresponsibility.
I have noticed some peculiar beliefs behind some very intellectual men and women that are good active members. They believe in Christ and the Gospel. They believe in the Doctrine of the Church. They generally believe the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. They believe in past Prophets and Apostles mostly. (Most likely disagreeing slightly with Joseph Smith, Joseph Fielding Smith, Ezra Taft Benson, and David O. McKay. They believe members of the Quorum of the Seventy mostly but have a few different opinions on many issues. They believe their peers, and scholars in a group think setting. They believe the Prophet Joseph Smith, but often try and put him down, or make him more human.
I realize I am generalizing, but I am trying to make a point. In my opinion it seems many historians, professors and intellectuals try and bring Joseph Smith down just a notch more often than anyone else.
Elder Packer said, “Some historians write and speak as though the only ones to read or listen are mature, experienced historians. They write and speak to a very narrow audience. Unfortunately, many of the things they tell one another are not uplifting, go far beyond the audience they may have intended, and destroy faith. What that historian did with the reputation of the President of the Church was not worth doing. He seemed determined to convince everyone that the prophet was a man. We knew that already. All of the prophets and all of the Apostles have been men.It would have been much more worthwhile for him to have convinced us that the man was a prophet, a fact quite as true as the fact that he was a man.” The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
Quotes about Intellectual Opinions
“Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a Prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground. If Joseph was a deceiver, who willfully attempted to mislead people, then he should be exposed, his claims should be refuted, and his doctrines shown to be false” .Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1 (Bookcraft, 1960), 188
I have come to believe that it is the tendency for many members of the Church who spend a great deal of time in academic research to begin to judge the Church, its doctrine, organization, and leadership, present and past, by the principles of their own profession. Ofttimes this is done unwittingly, and some of it, perhaps, is not harmful. The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
This problem has affected some of those who have taught and have written about the history of the Church. These professors say of themselves that religious faith has little influence on Mormon scholars. They say this because, obviously, they are not simply Latter-day Saints but are also intellectuals trained, for the most part, in secular institutions. They would that some historians who are Latter-day Saints write history as they were taught in graduate school, rather than as Mormons. The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
President Brigham Young admonished Karl G. Maeser not to teach even the times table without the Spirit of the Lord. How much more essential is that Spirit in the research, the writing, and the teaching of Church history. The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect Elder Boyd K. Packer
I don’t believe these quotes above were said too long ago for us to believe them today. Why do we at times become complacent with older quotes of Prophets and look for new and out of the box thinking? I love the quotes above and know many intellectuals at BYU and in may Stakes, try too much to come up with new and seemingly progressive ideas. Say no the revisionists and stick with traditional values which are still important today. It’s been a few years since the amazing “Faith Crisis” books of the Stoddard’s have come to light, but they are more relevant today than ever. I challenge you to read them and have your children who may have a faith crisis read them. All will learn that it’s ok to be traditional.
FAITH CRISIS: Did the LDS Church Lie? (Part 1 ) We Were NOT Betrayed! By James and Hannah Stoddard
“Many remain unaware of the growing movement among disaffected members and disgruntled academic scholars within the Church to change our history. While the effort to progressively alter the traditional history is not a new phenomenon, the last few years have produced a sharp increase in the number of prominent Latter-day Saint historians and intellectual scholars who are calling for a ‘reconstructed narrative.’
The Bushman Challenge
One of those leading that charge [reconstructed narrative] is Richard L. Bushman, a prominent, progressive, New Mormon Historian whom some consider the “world’s foremost scholar on Joseph Smith and early Mormonism.” During a July 12, 2016 fireside, Bushman responded to a participant’s question regarding whether the traditional understanding of Church history is accurate:
Question: In your view do you see room in Mormonism for several narratives of a religious experience or do you think that in order for the Church to remain strong they would have to hold to that dominant narrative?
Richard Bushman: I think that for the Church to remain strong it has to reconstruct its narrative. The dominant narrative is not true; it can’t be sustained. The Church has to absorb all this new information or it will be on very shaky grounds and that’s what it is trying to do and it will be a strain for a lot of people, older people especially. But I think it has to change. The following month, Bushman elaborated on his meaning in connection with a new reconstructed narrative by making the following statement: “I consider Rough Stone Rolling a reconstructed narrative. It was shocking to some people. They could not bear to have the old story disrupted in any way. What I was getting at in the quoted passage is that we must be willing to modify the account according to newly authenticated facts. If we don’t we will weaken our position. Unfortunately, not everyone can adjust to this new material.
Many think they were deceived and the church was lying. That is not a fair judgment in my opinion. The whole church, from top to bottom, has had to adjust to the findings of our historians. We are all having to reconstruct.” Richard BushmanBushman is not alone in calling for a new Joseph Smith, and a new Church history with an accompanying newly-crafted Mormon culture. Throughout this and later chapters we will hear from historians who are encouraging a “new era,” and who hope to shift the general consciousness of the Church toward one of ‘intellectual enlightenment.’ One professor even went so far as to call for the “foundation” to be torn down and completely rebuilt.
According to Bushman, from the most-recently baptized member, to multi-generational Latter-day Saints born and raised in the Church—all the way to the hierarchy—large numbers many are turning to the historians who are eagerly altering the foundational fundamental restoration story, based on their new ‘enlightened’ own interpretation. In the progressive mind their minds, Latter-day Saints have been fed a fictitious fallacious account of their Mormon origins, but all now need to adapt their antiquate down understanding ideas to match the positions of these broad-minded progressive historians. For Bushman and his eager proselytes, the old story was inaccurate, and—at best—a feel-good myth; or—at worst it was a deliberate deceit, at its worst. Apparently, everyone was fooled except a few the New Mormon Historians, who have now solved the puzzle.
Who is this new ‘Joseph Smith,’ and what constitutes a “reconstructed narrative”? For those who are unaware, Bushman’s book, Rough Stone Rolling, presents a Joseph Smith who differs dramatically from the Joseph Smith advocated spoken of by past leaders, teachers and scholars in Presidents of the Church.
In contrast According to Rough Stone Rolling:
Joseph Smith was “involved in magic” (p 53).
Joseph Smith’s involvement in “magic . . . was a preparatory gospel” (p 53) and “[r]emnants of the magical culture stayed with him to the end” (p 51).
Joseph Smith gave “angry responses,” and “lashed back.” (pp 295-296).
Joseph Smith had “easily bruised pride.“ He was “unable to bear criticism” and “rebuked anyone who challenged him” (p 296).
Joseph Smith suffered from “treasure-seeking greed” (p 51).
The Smith family has been “diagnosed as a dysfunctional family that produced a psychologically crippled son” (p 55).
The Smith family was drawn to “treasure-seeking folklore,” and saw astrology and magical “formulas and rituals” as connected to their spiritual well-being (pp 50-51).
“Magic and religion melded in Smith family culture” (p 51).
Consecration “never worked properly. . . . The system’s two-year existence was about average for the various communal experiments being undertaken in the period” (p 183).
Joseph Smith Sr. was an “oft-defeated, unmoored father” (pp 26-27) who “partially abdicated family leadership” (p 42).
Joseph Smith Sr.’s “life [was] blighted by shame” (p 42).
“Was Joseph Smith an adulterer? . . . Had Joseph been involved in an illicit affair?” (p 323)
Joseph Smith’s “boasting” made his personal secretary “a little uncomfortable” (p 484). Joseph would “cut loose with extravagant comments about his mastery” (p 484).
Joseph Smith had “outrageous confidence” for attempting the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) of the Bible (p 132).
“Treasure seeking taught Joseph to look for the unseen in a stone” (p 131).
Joseph “from time to time drank too much” (p 43).
Joseph “probably exaggerated” the persecution after relating his First Vision. (p 43)
Joseph Smith had “[n]o flashes of intelligence, ambition, or faith distinguish him” (p 143).
Joseph Smith “was not the luminous figure he is sometimes made out to be. . . . His own person was effaced” (p 112).
Bushman admitted that the proposed ‘reconstructed narrative’ of Latter-day Saint Church History, as well as the life and character of the Prophet Joseph Smith clearly departed from the traditional or “dominant narrative” given to us by previous past Church historians, including Willard Richards, who was present at the Carthage martyrdom, George A. Smith, first cousin to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and Presidents Wilford Woodruff and Joseph Fielding Smith.
Is The Dominant Narrative True?
Is the dominant narrative true? To answer this question, we must first define what it is that represents the dominant narrative. For nearly two centuries, the Church maintained a consistent message about its foundational events; that God directed Joseph Smith as His Prophet to restore His truth, and to organize the Church according to the pattern of His primitive Church. Furthermore, that account characterizes the Prophet Joseph Smith as a righteous man who built the Church based on literal revelations received directly from God; that actual angels appeared, and the members witnessed the manifestation of authentic miracles.
Additionally, God restored His priesthood through Joseph Smith, the restorer and Head of this dispensation, who stands next to the Son of God in righteousness and holiness as a pure and holy vessel.Subsequent to the sealing of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s testimony with his blood—at the Martyrdom where he fell with his noble brother, Hyrum—Brigham Young, who called himself “Joseph’s apostle,” continued to promote the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and to orchestrate his vision. Succeeding leaders and faithful members earnestly strive to carry on the Prophet Joseph’s work, testifying of and echoing his teachings in their lives, and to the world.Traditionalists believe the points of the foregoing represent the essence—the dominant narrative—of the Restoration event, and that true history and credible sources corroborate the particulars of this account. The evidence, and the historical witnesses, stand in full support of the Church’s and Joseph Smith’s accounts.
Progressives disagree adamantly, arguing that the dominant narrative of the Church is “not true,” and believing that an immense cover-up has occurred—that when acknowledged, will allow a full-scale reconstruction of the story. The Angel Moroni told Joseph Smith that his name would be “had for good and evil,” so it is perhaps fitting that the struggle continues, both on the world’s stage and in the homes of the members of the Church. Time will vindicate the truthfulness of the record; that there was no cover-up, and that the true greatness of Joseph Smith is not less—but rather far greater—than what we might have imagined. Nevertheless, the Church is a temporal organization of imperfect human beings who strive, with varying degrees of success, to follow God’s will. Along the way, there have been some issues and historical complexities in which Presidents of the Church and other General Authorities acted in less-than-straight-forward ways. There have been times when the Lord required Presidents to act on His direction, and there may have been other times when Presidents acted according to the best light and knowledge they had, and were doing their best.
Examples of where the Church leaders were perhaps less than one hundred percent straight-forward might include Joseph Smith’s carefully-worded denials of plural marriage in Nauvoo. This can be understood in considering that the Lord had commanded the practice of plural marriage in opposition to the laws of the land, necessitating that its practice be out of the public eye. Another example might be the continuance of post-1890 Manifesto polygamy. The Church publicly discontinued the practice of plural marriage with the issuance of the Manifesto (Official Declaration 1), but plural marriages were afterwards performed with the sanction of the President of the Church for some years. We do hold that the Presidents of the Church did not commit any dishonourable actions or decisions contrary to the will of God.
This becomes clear once one understands the true history. However, the history and further exploration into these subjects exceeds the purpose of this work; they must fall under the pen of a future volume. In addition to these highly-poised issues, Presidents of the Church—especially during the administrations of David O. McKay and Spencer W. Kimball—and even more so during recent times, have paid careful attention to the message available to the media; and so far as is possible, have portrayed the Church in its best-possible light according to public opinion and perception. All businesses and organizations are acutely aware of this necessity today. Is every decision made by leaders altogether inspired? Such answers are far too difficult for us to know individually, but the responsibility stands rightfully between the Lord and the leaders of the Church. We believe, at least generally, that these decisions have been made in righteousness.
However, historical nuances and the analogue of human imperfection are not the focus of this book; nor, we would suggest, are they the source of the ‘trust gap,’ the sense of lost moorings, felt by so many of today’s Latter-day Saints. At the end of the day, one question nagging thousands of Latter-day Saints can be summarized thus: “Is the dominant, traditional narrative true?” One might further ask, “Did the founding of the Church originate as presented by Joseph Smith and his companions who affirmed his narrative, or are there skeletons in the closet?” Progressives claim the Church covered up its history for nearly 200 years, but the student of truth must ask, is the current faith crisis the result of unmasked history . . . or of newinterpretations?
The authors believe that the dominant narrative is not only true, but in many respects has been understated. The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the work of Joseph Smith and those loyal to his mission, is greater than we as a people might understand. It is the sincere belief of the authors that the nobility and greatness of Joseph Smith surpasses the glory that even his most ardent supporters concede.
Unbeknownst to the general Church membership, the 20th century would witness an organized effort to rewrite Latter-day Saint history from within its own ranks. In a head-to-head, behind-the-scenes-battle, traditional leaders resisted intellectual progressives working in the Church History Department and at BYU, who claimed some forty years ago that it would take a generation to re-educate the Church membership. Where are we in this attempted re-education? What is the New Mormon History, and how does it personally affect you and your family?
Join us as we explore newly-available diaries, review old books, and bring untold history into the light!
Leonard Arrington told the Church History Division staff in 1976 that it would “take a generation to educate the Church to historical trends.’”
Leonard J. Arrington Diaries, September 23, 1976; Leonard J. Arrington and Gary James Bergera, Confessions of a Mormon Historian: The Diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, vol. 2 (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2018), 243, footnote 46.Biblical Criticism has led many scholars to determine that the Creation, the story of Adam and Eve, Noah’s worldwide Flood, the account of Jonah and the whale, Moses’ Exodus, and other miraculous events, are merely fictional stories with an allegorical purpose. Where did they come from? Some advocates of Biblical Criticism maintain that many were borrowed from Babylonian and Canaanite pagan myths.” Faith Crisis Part 1, James and Hannah Stoddard
Millions of Church members plus future generations, may have no hope of learning the complete truth about the gospel, when the LDS book titled, “Saints”, The Standard of Truth, Volume 1, seems that some historians at times deliberately suppress and change Church history into what they think is an acceptable “narrative history”. I like the true history not someones made up narrative that they seem to like better.
“We await answers for most questions evoked by this miracle of divinely supervised archaeological toil. What we do know is that Joseph Smith Jr. found the golden plates and other relics in a stone box in a hill near his home, a prominence now known as Cumorah.” Clark, John E. “Archaeology and Cumorah Questions page 146. As you see, Brother Clark says, “now known” not “then known” as Joseph and others have said.
Here is one of the practical consequences of this revisionist history.
To summarize: Saints presented an opportunity to inform Church members about the truth. 
and acclaim of the world
“Today’s priestcraft, with increasingly secular societies bearing down against people of faith, is not so different from that of Book of Mormon times.
Two families were close friends, one was black the other white. Their pre-adolescent boys were best friends and played sports together, were in each other’s homes and felt like brothers. Then the black parents were called to a meeting at the school and CRT was explained that they, as black people, were victims of “white supremacy” and should not associate with white people. The black boy was not allowed to play with his white friend again. The white parents were stunned as they looked at people through a color-blind lens and loved this little boy being with their son. This is an example of the divisiveness caused by CRT.
The Wood’s served under President Patrick Kearon in Frankfurt, Germany as directors of Family Services in Western Europe. Richard served in the Central Office of the Veterans Administration in Washington, DC. Character Counts was designed and implemented in local schools and communities. We taught doctoral students at Beijing University in China for two years, served ecclesiastically in a county jail and a member leadership training mission in Blowing Green, KY. We now serve in the Pathway Connect program with students from eight African countries.
Visit our website, 
Faith Crisis, Volume 1: We Were Not Betrayed!
“There has been a great difficulty in getting anything into the heads of this generation. It has been like splitting hemlock knots with a corn-dodger for a wedge and a pumpkin for a beetle. Even the Saints are slow to understand. 
“Sadly enough, my young friends, it is a characteristic of our age that 
I believe the Land of Promise spoken of in the Book of Mormon is the United States of America as Elder Perry said, “The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012.
Just when will we learn to do more with our body than we could do without? That is a long and steady progression speaking for most of us today. As it says in the Bible, “
Lorenzo Snow said, “We ought to feel in our hearts that God is our Father, and that while we make mistakes and are weak yet if we live 
[pdf-embedder url=”https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Heartland-Research-Inc.pdf” title=”Heartland Research Inc”]Stone Analysis (9/19/2023)
Two of the best journals in our Church are the Wilford Woodruff History, and the journal by Lucy Mack Smith, which we have had for a long time to review. I believe if you read the Journal of Lucy, your eyes will be open to many things that our current historians have become bored of, or have overlooked. Her journal is called, History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, Lucy Mack Smith- 
Perhaps the painting below explains why many like David and Martin may have seen this view above with the hat blocking the scribes view, and a little piece of cloth hiding the very top part of the gold plates. I feel it is likely that is why the theorists claim some witnesses saw a stone in a hat. Joseph’s hat may have seemed to contain something and most people knew Joseph had a seer stone or two, so they may have assumed that his personal peep stone was in the hat. No scripture confirms that. It is hearsay.
In this painting below, Ann showcases the manner in which the Breastplate and the Spectacles were used in conjunction for translation. We know through scripture how these items were a “set” when it came to translation. “There were two stones in silver bows—and 
‘While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation. The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3: 22-24. These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again, the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose. It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior under these circumstances. It may have been so, but it is so easy for a story of this kind to be circulated due to the fact that the Prophet did possess a seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes’ (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation)
“The Utah State Legislature has designated the month of September each year as 
The American Indian chief looked scornfully at the soldiers on the field before him. How foolish it was to fight as they did, forming their perfect battle lines out in the open, standing shoulder to shoulder in their bright red uniforms. The British soldiers—trained for European war—did not break rank, even when braves fired at them from under the safe cover of the forest. The slaughter continued for two hours. By then 1,000 of 1,459 British soldiers were killed or wounded, while only 30 of the French and Indian warriors firing at them were injured. Not only were the soldiers foolish, but their officers were just as bad. Riding on horseback, fully exposed above the men on the ground, they made perfect targets. One by one, the chief’s marksmen shot the mounted British officers until only one remained.
Telling Washington’s story without erasing the people and lands that preoccupied him leads to important new questions; like, just how consequential for American history was the first president’s addiction to land speculation?
Washington never moved west himself, but the West beckoned him and the nation he led. His long association with the region as surveyor, speculator, soldier, landowner, and politician shaped his career and his vision of America’s future tied to western development. As a young man, he pursued wealth in land and a military reputation in the West; in his later years, the West became a key to building national unity. By the end of his life, according to one of the editors of the monumental Papers of George Washington, he probably knew more than any other man in America about the frontier and its significance to the future of his country. He had also accumulated more than 45,000 acres of prime real estate in present-day Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, the Shenandoah Valley, and West Virginia. It was the West, says another of his editors, that “made the Virginia farmer lift his eyes to prospects beyond his own fields and his native Virginia”; the West that “stretched his mind” to embrace an expansive vision of a republican empire; the West that, more than anything else except the Revolutionary War, prepared him for his role as nation builder.
During the French and Indian War, Colonel George Washington designed and supervised the construction of a fort in Winchester, Virginia. Named Fort Loudoun, after John Campbell, the fourth Earl of Loudoun and Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America, the fort was constructed to protect citizens from attack and served as a headquarters for Washington and his militia.
A monument that mentions the Indian grave site is located in Virginia but the artifacts and skeletons have not been seen since.
“The Prophet Joseph Smith used the same Urim and Thummim that was “given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face” (
Pres Benson said, “For 
I realize I am generalizing, but I am trying to make a point. In my opinion it seems many historians, professors and intellectuals try and bring Joseph Smith down just a notch more often than anyone else. 
“Mormonism, as it is called, 
This problem has affected some of those who have taught and have written about the history of the Church. 
Additionally, God restored His priesthood through Joseph Smith, the restorer and Head of this dispensation, who stands next to the Son of God in righteousness and holiness as a pure and holy vessel.