Over this past week the Salt Lake Tribune ran several articles related to the LDS Church, blacks, and the now-defunct priesthood ban. One special report covered the story of Vanna Cox and her sisters. They grew up in the LDS Church very aware of their minority status. The Tribune reports,
“When [Vanna] and her sisters discovered the history of blacks in the LDS Church, they felt pride in black pioneers such as Jane Manning James and Elijah Abel and horror that Green Flake, a slave, was given as tithing to Brigham Young. They didn’t understand the ban on blacks in the priesthood or the racist beliefs of LDS leaders they admired.
“‘We had to learn that the church is not all butterflies and cupcakes,’ she says.”
Coming face to face with lesser-known aspects of Mormon history and doctrine can be a real shock to Latter-day Saints who have lived in a protected LDS bubble all their lives. The Church is definitely not all butterflies and cupcakes; there are skeletons in the closet and sometimes those bones set to rattling.
Beyond the issue of racism in the Church, a short list of additional things Latter-day Saints might find troubling could include:
- The extent of Joseph Smith’s practice of plural marriage, including his marriages for time and eternity to women who were–and remained–married to other men.
- That Joseph Smith did not go “as a lamb to the slaughter” when he died, but, according to an LDS source, he shot three and killed two men during the violent struggle at Carthage Jail.
- That Brigham Young clearly taught Adam is our Father and our God, and intended it to be understood as true doctrine.
- The Mountain Meadows Massacre and the unquestioning obedience to Mormon leaders coupled with spiritual confirmation that precipitated the slaughter.
- That the Lorenzo Snow couplet is Church doctrine and means what it says (God the Father was once a human being who progressed to Godhood; man is the same: a human being that can and may progress to Godhood)
- The teaching by LDS leaders that “there is nothing figurative” about Christ’s paternity; God the Father impregnated Mary via “normal and natural” physical contact to provide a human body for Jesus Christ.
An ex-LDS friend of mine felt the ground give way as a Mormon when she came across a statement made by Joseph Smith. She read,
“If they want a beardless boy to whip all the world, I will get on the top of the mountain and crow like a rooster. I shall always beat them…. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet” (History of the Church 6:408-9).
When my friend read that quote she thought enemies of the Church had made it up. “Surely Joseph Smith never said such a thing,” she thought. “A true prophet of God would never say something like that.” When she found Joseph’s bold claim in History of the Church, and found other equally troubling statements he had made, she realized Joseph Smith indeed was not a true prophet of God. She and her family left the Prophet and the church he founded; now they live for Christ.
Friends, the LDS Church is not all butterflies and cupcakes. Be encouraged to take a careful tour of the kitchen before indulging in the proffered sweets.
It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”
and to reflect only after making vows.
-Proverbs 20:25-
The hat fact is mentioned a few times in conference talks but unless you are really focusing, and know a bit before hand you wouldn’t have caught it. Here is an example:
Ensign 1993 July
A Treasured Testament
Elder Russell M. Nelson
Sweetieabbot, I know you think that this stuff is crazy, but now that the internet is available you will if you, “search, ponder, and pray” find that what is discussed here are facts. I too went online a year ago to PROVE that once again the members were being attacked. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on how you handle the information)you can find the truth from original church sources. The face in the hat is just the beginning, and the people here aren’t trying to hurt you.
If those from other faiths honestly knew that members of the lds church had all the facts and still decided to be members, there would be less emotion, I think. The truth is that there are many of us who spent our entire lives, served missions, hours of callings, teaching stories that have been re-written so many times there is very little truth left in them.
We had the right to know. And being a woman in the church you know that the answer to anyone who is unfulfilled spiritually is to serve more, accept another calling, or have more children. In fact they mentioned the importance of all three just last conference. All are just distracting you from doing what the primary song told us to do….”search, ponder, and pray”.
If people are happy, I say let them live. I’ve lost trust in religion and will find a balance eventually, but the people I ache for are the mormons, who are unhappy and just take medicine or add more stress in their lives thinking it will make them happy. Very sad.
I did in fact realize that he put the stone into the hat but you portral of such is misleading. And has left out the fact that the urim and thummim were key in the translation. And as for not being able to reach salvation without my husband. You have greatly misunderstood. Women and men are able to reach salvation alone but to reach it to the highest level of the celestal kingdom we do need to be sealed to one another meaning that a man cannot make it without his wife also. We need to do it together to reach the highest level of salvation, not salvation. And those of us who were not fortunate enough to find a spouse in this life will be able to in the next. As for a solution for being spirituall unfulfilled, I am and it is not by recieveng more callings, serving more and having more children. In fact I cannot have anymore children than the two I have. I am very fulfilled and recieve that fulfillment by searching, pondering, and praying just as you said it should be. This will be my last comment because you are all too confused and blinded to even want to understand what is staring you in the face. Thank you for the comments though. Have a wonderful day.
sweetieabbott, I knew my wife’s secret temple name (lydia) but she didn’t know mine (heber), because I had to call her through the veil. Men can have multiple wives in eternity but women cannt have multiple husbands. Where is this a partnership?
Sweetieabbott said “For example Joseph Smith DID NOT translate the Book of Mormon by LOOKING INTO HIS HAT. That was actually STARTED by the creators of South Park who were members of this church and were excommuncated.”
Sweetieabbott said “I did in fact realize that he put the stone into the hat but you portral of such is misleading.”
Are these two the same person?
Sweetieabbott, you completely contradicted yourself there. You even said Trey Parker and Matt Stone (creators of southpark) STARTED that idea. My timeline here might be a bit off, but I’m pretty sure Joseph Smith did the hat trick and have many written LDS witnesses corroborate on that about a century and a half before the Southpark guys were even born.
And who on here said women can’t earn salvation without a male priesthood holder and being sealed in the temple? If one said women can’t be exalted into the highest level of heaven, then that is true, but anyone who knows Mormonism does know that they have a “General Salvation” doctrine out there.
Sweetieabbott, from your words I can tell trying to discuss with you things of your faith will be futile. You are past reasoning. I can’t disprove your testimony because its completely subjective, and that’s what you use as your basis of undeniable truth. So before going through all this work of showing you you’re own history that you seem to be unaware of, I will just end with.. Praying for you..
Jeff
Sweetieabbot, I for one am going to be sorry to see you go away.
I know what it is like to find out something you have been taught your whole life and now it is not the way you learned it, after all. You were so quick to point out that the letter was not true and the hat translating method was also false. It is hard when you need to believe so badly that you will sacrifice truth in the process.
T.K. Kennet said, “Those of us who refuse to read material that we think we might NOT agree with, are no better off than those that cannot read at all.”
I do think on some level you are afraid to find out the truth. (Been there done that.) But I think you will agree that making excuses for the things in church history that are not palpable, is not faith. Don’t make me say what it is? Some things to ponder: There was no reason whatsoever that Joseph Smith needed to marry the 14 year old Kimball girl and promise her family salvation if they agreed. And how do we justify the flaming sword excuse if Smith did not practice polygamy? What’s all that stuff about Free Agency then? I would love you to stay and point out what you feel are the lies and see if they can be addressed. Don’t just leave and say that the Mormons are being defamed. You are giving up and it seems like you are running scared
AARON: reading Sweetieabbots posts gave me the idea for a possible future thread topic: “genealogy of an explanation” Take an issue, or several issues, and trace how it went from “NO, the prophet NEVER did that” to….well, you know how it goes. There are so many instances of this, it seems to me, that the hard part would be deciding which ones make the cut. The peep stone trial in NY comes to mind that was laughed at as ANTI propaganda until the court records were found. That’s just one example among many. Two or three examples is a poor witness, but well over one hundred years of orchestrated cover-ups: what are we to make of that?? just a thought. May God lead us to safe places to potty, GERMIT
Sweetieabbot, I would LOVE to understand what is staring me in the face. When I went to a bishop he told me that not everything on the web is true. I went to another bishop wanting him to tell me that what I was reading wasn’t what it looked like. His “inspired” message to me was, “Aren’t you tired of jumping through mental hoops? It’s a good message.” That was it! I went to my stake pres. thinking that the bishops didn’t have an answer and when I asked him about Joseph Smith and his teen wives he answered with this question, “Do you trust God?” I told him that I was trying. Then he said, “Like Nephi or Abraham God might ask you to do something you don’t want to do, but that he is asking you to do.” My response was, “So you are asking me if God wanted me to cut some drunk guys head off, or sacrifice one of my children would I?” I told him I wouldn’t because people have done evil things thinking God told them to, so he took my temple recommend away. My point, after going to the Relief Society counselors, “Satan has a hold of you”, and “Members don’t believe EVERYTHING, just pick what you like and try not to focus on what you don’t”, and then to family, “Let me bare my testimony……” I would love for someone like you to tell me what is staring me in the face. I don’t want to be told to ignore, I don’t want to be told not to ask, I don’t want to be put in my place, Sweetieabbots….what exactly am I staring at? And once you see the truth, how can you ever be the same person again, or want to be? Once trust is gone everything changes. Testimony meetings become indoctrination, songs you loved in primary become creepy, having Home Teachers in your home regularly now seems like they just want to make sure we aren’t wondering off their straight and narrow…
Would love to hear from you again, but please don’t just bare your testimony, and don’t tell me Satan has a hold of me because I’m sick and tired of hearing that! God gave me eyes to see, well, now I see.
Marley,
It is very frustrating when LDS bear their testimonies when they have no real logical leg to stand on. Unfortunately, people forget that we are involved in spiritual warfare, and that false spirits bear witness to lies in a way that “feels” like it’s from God. That’s why God gave us His word in what we know as the biblical text. I just want you to know that I feel your frustration from those who want to tell you that Satan has a hold on you. Remember, they know now what they do; in fact, they think they are doing the LORD’s work. I just praise the LORD that you have responded to His grace in your life, and that you now you see!!!