The Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
http://www.humanreligions.info/mormonism.html
By Vexen Crabtree 2017
#atheism #christianity #judaism #monotheism #mormonism #polytheism #USA
| Mormonism | |||
| Links: Pages on Mormonism, Other Religions | |||
 | |||
| God(s) | |||
| Adherent | Mormon | ||
| Adherents | Mormons | ||
| Texts | Book of Mormon and Christian Bible1 | ||
| Afterlife | Yes | ||
| Founding | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage | Christianity and American occultism | ||
| Area of Origin | USA | ||
| When | 18302 | ||
| Founder | By Joseph Smith | ||
| Mormons Worldwide (Pew & WM) | |||
| World: 0.209%. Tonga (53.4%), Kiribati (13.5%), Niue (13%), Cook Islands (10.1%), Marshall Islands (8.54%), Chile (3.48%), Micronesia (3.36%), Uruguay (2.61%), New Zealand (2.57%), Palau (2.5%) 3 | |||
Joseph Smith (1805-44) created Mormonism by phrasing the symbols, magical ideas and other elements from the occult scene of his own upbringing in terms of Christian history. In his Book of Mormon, he claims that tribes of Israelites migrated to the USA in the 6th century BCE and founded a successful civilisation, which lasted one thousand years and was visited by Jesus during his life.1,4. This historical myth-making is widely ridiculed on account of the genetic, archaeological and historical evidence against it1.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are the largest Mormon denomination.
- Numbers of Mormons Around the World, by Country
- The Book of Mormon and the 1000-Year Lost Tribe of Israel in the USA
- Joseph Smith (1805-1844): Occultist, Treasure-Hunter and Magical Seer
- All of Christianity is Corrupt and Mistaken, Apart from Mormonism
- Polygamy
- Good Things
- Warrent Steed Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ('FLDS')
- Some Issues (Sexual Irregularities, Racism)
- Violence to Cover Up List
- Links
1. Numbers of Mormons Around the World, by Country
| Worldmapper (2005)3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pos. | 3 | |
| 1 | Tonga | 53.4% |
| 2 | Kiribati | 13.5% |
| 3 | Niue | 13.0% |
| 4 | Cook Islands | 10.1% |
| 5 | Marshall Islands | 8.5% |
| 6 | Chile | 3.5% |
| 7 | Micronesia | 3.4% |
| 8 | Uruguay | 2.6% |
| 9 | New Zealand | 2.6% |
| 10 | Palau | 2.5% |
| 11 | USA | 2.1% |
| 12 | Fiji | 1.9% |
| 13 | Bolivia | 1.8% |
| 14 | Honduras | 1.8% |
| 15 | Guatemala | 1.7% |
| 16 | Peru | 1.6% |
| 17 | El Salvador | 1.5% |
| 18 | Ecuador | 1.4% |
| 19 | Panama | 1.3% |
| 20 | Cape Verde | 1.3% |
| 21 | Dominican Rep. | 1.2% |
| 22 | Paraguay | 1.2% |
| 23 | Belize | 1.1% |
| 24 | Mexico | 1.1% |
| 25 | Nicaragua | 1.0% |
| 26 | Vanuatu | 1.0% |
| 27 | Argentina | 0.9% |
| 28 | Costa Rica | 0.8% |
| 29 | Philippines | 0.7% |
| 30 | Australia | 0.6% |
| 31 | Canada | 0.6% |
| 32 | Brazil | 0.6% |
| 33 | Venezuela | 0.6% |
| 34 | Puerto Rico | 0.5% |
| 35 | St Kitts & Nevis | 0.4% |
| 36 | St Vincent & Grenadines | 0.4% |
| 37 | Portugal | 0.4% |
| 38 | Colombia | 0.4% |
| 39 | Hong Kong | 0.3% |
| 40 | UK | 0.3% |
| q=128. | ||
Spreading from Utah in the USA, by 2000 CE Mormonism had 11 million members, mostly outside of the USA2. But the numbers of Mormons are often inflated: the Church counts as "members" anyone who has ever been baptised. In the USA that figure was 6.1 million adults in 2011 (2% of the population), but an independent studies show that those who identify as Mormon actually number only 4.4 million5.
2. The Book of Mormon and the 1000-Year Lost Tribe of Israel in the USA
In 420CE the prophet Mormon was told by Jesus Christ to write down the 1,000 year history of his civilisation - that of a lost tribe of Israel in the USA, which had flourished from 600 BCE to 400 CE and then collapsed after a battle between the Nephites and Lamanites. They spoke a form of Egyptian. The chronicle was completed by Mormon's son, Moroni, and it was engraved on two gold plates. Moroni buried the 'Golden Bible' in a stone box in a hill near New York, where it remained for 1,400 years. At that point, God thought that it wanted to revive proper worship of itself again, and Moroni gave Joseph Smith a vision and told him where to find this ancient and unexpected treasure. He says he finished translating the tablets in 1829, whereupon the angel took away the original and amazing gold plates before anyone else saw them.
“This book is supposed to be a lost sacred text written down by the prophet Mormon around CE 420. It tells that the Native Americans were one of the lost tribes of Israel who became degenerate and fell from grace. The Book was reputedly rediscovered by Joseph Smith... in 1823, engraved on plates of gold in a form of Egyptian language and bured on a hillside near New York. [... His followers] founded Salt Lake City and the State of Utah.”
"Religions of the World" by Breuilly, O'Brien & Palmer (1997)1
“In 1823, the teenage Joseph Smith Jr found previously hidden metallic records, often called 'the golden plates', telling the history of peoples who migrated to North America from the Holy Land at the time of the Old Testament prophets. Their divisions and disobedience led to divine displeasure, disputes and to self-destruction documented by Mormon (survived only by his son Moroni, who hid Mormon's account). Smith translated the text [and] The Book of Mormon was published in 1830.”
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism)" by Douglas J. Davies (2004)6
“From 1823 onwards he was subject to a series of visitations from an angel named Moroni, son of the prophet Mormon, who, according to Smith, had been a soldier and historian during the reign of an ancient American civilization that collapsed around 400 AD. Moroni told Smith that he was the guardian of two golden plates containing a chronicle of its thousand-year existence. The Lord God Jesus Christ had ordered Mormon to compile it and Moroni completed it. Moroni told Smith he had buried this 'Golden Bible' in a stone box in a hill not far from Palmyra after a great defining battle between the Nephites and Lamanites. These were two Israelite tribes who arrived in the promised land of America around 600 BC. In September 1827 Moroni let it be known that Smith was to be permitted to dig up the golden plates in order to translate the hidden history they contained. The Book of Mormon was born.”
"Grimoires: A History of Magic Books" by Owen Davies (2009)4
“There is no credible archaeological or genetic evidence to suggest that any Old World peoples migrated to the Americas after the initial incursion from Siberia prior to the tentative forays of the Norse beginning at around 1000 CE other than limited contacts between Siberia and the American arctic.'”
Lepper, Bolnick, Feder & Barnhart
In Skeptical Inquirer (2012)7
3. Joseph Smith (1805-1844): Occultist, Treasure-Hunter and Magical Seer
“Joseph Smith Jr found previously hidden metallic records [... hidden by Moroni]. Smith translated the text using special objects found with the plates and... The Book of Mormon was published in 1830.”
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism)" by Douglas J. Davies (2004)6
Joseph Smith's charms, chants and symbols were derived from various occult and magic books, and from grimoires that were circulating in his area during his early adulthood. He had a history of using seer-stones and other magical objects to translate obscure, invented texts. The influence on his theology and writings (including the Book of Mormon) are clear; but still the Church he founded has reacted very poorly to the conclusions of historians who have pointed this out.
“Joseph Smith (1805-44) was brought up on a poor farm near the town of Palmyra in New York State. During the 1920s he and his family were involved in a series of expeditions looking for ancient treasure and Spanish silver mines in and around the area, and further afield in Pennsylvania. Smith Snr and Jnr were useful people to have along as they were reputed for their divinatory skills, particularly the use of seer- or peep-stones in which they could see visions of hidden treasures and much else besides. It is clear that the Smiths, like other treasure seekers at the time, also employed magic circles and talismans in order to deal with guardian spirits. Smith Jnr also claimed to have received divine communications. From 1823 onwards he was subject to a series of visitations from an angel named Moroni [who] told Smith he had buried this 'Golden Bible' in a stone box in a hill. [...]. In September 1827 Moroni let it be known that Smith was to be permitted to dig up the golden plates in order to translate the hidden history they contained. The Book of Mormon was born.[...]
As the movement eventually grew in numbers and influence [many became interested in its history]. Of all the books and articles that appeared in the 1970s and 1980s it was a study by the historian Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, that caused the most controversy. [...] Quinn argued that the content of the Book of Mormon, whether written by Smith or divinely translated by him, was influenced by the literary tradition of early modern and eighteenth-century hermeticism, Kabbalah, and mysticism. Others had already made these connections but Quinn went further than anyone in trying to trace the exact sources of Smith's magical possessions. [...]
Quinn's reconstruction [...] is convincing, and is supported by the work of other historians of eighteenth-century American religious cultures. [...] Yet Quinn's conviction, that the Smiths were practitioners of traditional magic was outrageous, even heretical, to the hierarchy of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. [...]
It is not surprising that the Mormon faith was, in part, born out of the magical milieu of the period. Whether Protestant or Catholic, German or British, magic was a central aspect of most people's conception of Christianity in colonial America. Colonization itself was inspired not only by commerce but also by supernatural inspiration. Confronted by the challenges of their new world, European emigrants, insecure as to their future, understandably placed reliance on the magic of their homeland cultures. The search for treasure was part of a wider quest for security. Cunning-folk, and diviners like the Smiths, were therefore, valued members of their communities, and more so if they were perceived to have physical and linguistic access to literary as well as oral sources of occult power.”
"Grimoires: A History of Magic Books" by Owen Davies (2009)4
4. All of Christianity is Corrupt and Mistaken, Apart from Mormonism
Latter-Day Saints are yet-another Christian denomination that claim to be restoring proper Christianity. When Jospeh Smith desired to know which church he should join, "God cautioned him against joining any existing church"8. The angel Mormon told Smith that all existing Christian denominations were corrupt due to disobedience and that he was to found a new, replacement church1,6.
“All this followed Smith's desire to know which church to join. God cautioned him against joining any existing church and told him to wait for future guidance which, in a series of angelic visits, led to the founding of the new church.”
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism)"
Douglas J. Davies (2004)6
“Joseph Smith (1805-44)... claimed to have discovered an entirely new scripture. The Book of Mormon was one of the most eloquent of all nineteenth-century social protests, and mounted a fierce denunciation of the rich, the powerful, and the learned. Smith and his family had lived for years on the brink of destitution, and felt that there was no place for them in this brave new republic. The first Mormon converts were equally poor, marginalized, and desperate.”
"The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam"
Karen Armstrong (2000)9
“Smith's teachings brought great persecution and he was murdered by a mob. [The rest of his followers] founded Salt Lake City and the State of Utah.”
"Religions of the World" by Breuilly, O'Brien & Palmer (1997)1
5. Polygamy
As Mormonism settled in Utah, the focus of the outside world was drawn to the "controversial practice of polygamy" amongst Mormons4.
6. Good Things
#agnosticism #atheism #judaism #USA
Knowledgeable About World Religion: In the USA when it comes to knowing basic facts about Christianity and world religions, a Pew Forum poll in 2010 found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons, knew most. Mainline Protestants and Catholics were less knowledgeable. The biggest factor contributing to this was the level of general education.Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life research results "U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey" (2010 Sep 28). From a poll conducted in May and June 2010 involving 3412 American adults..
Anti-substance Abuse: Mormon organisations have pressed, whenever in their power, to legislate against drugs and alcohol and other harmful substances. Their efforts have often been successful.
7. Warrent Steed Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ('FLDS')
Warrent Steed Jeffs was the President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ('FLDS') from 2002 until his arrest in 2007. FLDS is an early 20th-century spinoff from the Mormon Church. He taught traditional bible-based misogyny - women are property. And then got himself on to the FBI's 'Ten Most Wanted List' on account of the scale of his sex crimes within his congregation; this included sex with minors and incest, and, conspiracy to arrange illegal marriages between males in the FLDS and underage girls.
“[FLDS kept] the modern world... at bay. Children are schooled at home, so that in a community of about 7,000 residents only some 100 attend the single public school. Laughter causes the spirit of God to leak from the body, so is frowned upon; dating and courtship are not allowed. Women are wholly subservient, wear demure ankle length dresses, buttoned-up, high-necked blouses and affect hair-styles from a past era. Swimming is taboo since it would require girls to appear in swimsuits. [...] Women are treated as second-class citizens to the extent that, in his pulpit rhetoric, Warren Jeffs has asserted that they may only enter heaven at the behest of their husbands.”
"Cults: Secret Sects and Radical Religions" by Robert Schroëder (2007)10
Steeds was beyond criticism because he is the prophet. If only these people who followed him had more sensible beliefs all-round, the degradation of the situation of women in the FLDS during Jeffs' rule could not have happened, but, membership is often drawn from the more traditional and under-educated Christian demographic, where modern concepts of gender equality and human rights are poorly accepted, allowing him to create and run FLDS as a cult where few questioned him.
8. Some Issues (Sexual Irregularities, Racism)
Incest was permitted due to a membership shortage, until 1892 - brothers and sisters married and procreate11. The problem is if their doctrine against marrying outsiders is so strong that it results in incest then there is something worrying to be found within their doctrine and perhaps within the community mentality as a whole. There is nothing wrong with mingling, and even marrying, people who have different beliefs to your own. (Unless you are worried that your believers will realize that Mormonism is daft if they have long-term relationships with non-Mormons.)
Racism: The Mormon church only allowed blacks to enter its priesthood in 1978. That's just a generation ago. God, apparently "revealed" to them that this was now ok. The reason they gave for their institutional racism before then was that the Mormon church believed that black skin was the "Mark of Cain", a curse that resulted from Cain murdering his brother, according to one of the classic myths of the Hebrew Book of Genesis in the Old Testament / Hebrew Scriptures.
Racism is morally wrong as are all forms of prejudice. You cannot and should not justify immoral actions by pointing out that it is justified in a 2000-year-old book, no matter how holy you think it is.
The Nurembourg defence ("I was just doing what I was told...") has been universally condemned; the racist Nazis could not use it is a defence against their actions. Yet the Mormon Church used the same defence up until 1978 to justify their exlusion of blacks.
To shun black-skinned people because they are descendents of someone who committed a crime is hardly moral: it is a basic requirement of justice that the perpetrators of crimes are punished, not their entire family tree for hundreds of generations!
The story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, is all mythological. It is an attempt by a pre-scientific people to write down and record a version of an ancient story that attempts to account for humankind, before they had any true knowledge of ancient history. This is not an ideal ground on which to draw moral teachings.
How many other elements of Mormon belief may one day be "revealed" by God to be wrong, despite how earnestly they are believed today?
9. Violence to Cover Up List
“Mark Hofmann, a well-known dealer in early Mormon archives, claimed he had discovered the written testimony of an early Mormon regarding Smith's experience of digging for Moroni's golden plates. [...] When suspicion was aroused about the authenticity of the letter and other Mormon artefacts Hofmann had sold to the Church, he tried to cover his tracks by setting two bombs for people he had dealt with, killing two. He is now serving life sentence.”
"Grimoires: A History of Magic Books" by Owen Davies (2009)4