tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32493203373233335992024-03-05T10:19:41.125-07:00Mormon MonstersMonster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-1214091081267615382009-09-15T16:52:00.004-07:002009-09-15T16:59:58.150-07:00Eliza Snow Pushed Down Stairs By Emma Smith<span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>In a jealous rage Emma Smith pushed Eliza Snow, allegedly a polygamist wife to Joseph Smith Jr., down a flight of stairs causing her to have a miscarriage.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">FALSE</span></strong></em><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It has been a long standing tradition in Mormon culture that Eliza R. Snow was a polygamist wife of Joseph Smith. Since the mid 1800s a story has circulated throughout the Mormon community that while Eliza was living with the family in the Smith mansion house she was impregnated by Joseph. After discovering the marriage and resulting pregnancy, Emma flew into a rage and attacked Eliza, knocking her down the stairs and causing her to have a miscarriage. This tradition has long been held by many Mormons as proof that Joseph was practicing polygamy, citing Emma’s obvious anger and jealous reaction to the news.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The enigma is that, despite a long standing tradition quoted in many books, the original sources are either unreliable or falsifiable. The Eliza and Emma dispute story allegedly arises from two eye witnesses, brother Foster Solon and Brother Charles C. Rich. (Ironically, both witnesses claim to be the only witness, and both describe separate stories.) These stories are described by Leroi C. Snow (nephew of Eliza and son of LDS President Lorenzo Snow) and recorded by author Fawn Brodie in the mid 1880’s.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Fawn Brodie gave credence to this rumor by including it in her book, <em>No</em> <em>Man Knows My History</em>. She wrote: </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">There is a persistent tradition that Eliza conceived a child by Joseph in Nauvoo, and that Emma one day discovered her husband embracing Eliza in the hall outside their bedrooms and in a rage flung her downstairs and drove her out into the street. The fall is said to have resulted in a miscarriage. (This tradition was stated to me as fact by Eliza's nephew, LeRoi C. Snow, in the Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City.) Solon Foster, coachman for the prophet, was present in the Mansion House when the incident occurred. Years later he met Emma's sons, who were then publicly denouncing polygamy in Utah, and reproached them for their attitude: "Joseph, the night your mother turned Eliza R. Snow into the street in her night clothes you and all the family stood crying. I led you back into the house and took you to bed with me. You said, 'I wish mother wouldn't be so cruel to Aunt Eliza.' You called her aunt, because you knew she was your father's wife. He did not deny it."</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In 1885, Dr. Wilhelm Wyl, an author and correspondent from Germany, spent six months in Salt Lake City interviewing Mormons for a book which he was writing. In an interview with C. G. Webb the story was further corroborated:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">There is scarcely a Mormon unacquainted with the fact, that Sister Emma, on the other side, soon found out the little compromise arranged between Joseph and Eliza. Feeling outraged as a wife and betrayed as a friend, Emma is currently reported as having had recourse to a vulgar broomstick as an instrument of revenge; and the harsh treatment received at Emma's hand is said to have destroyed Eliza's hopes of becoming the mother of a prophet's son.</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Clearly these accounts demonstrate that by 1885 the story of Emma throwing Eliza down the stairs at the Mansion House had become a widespread tradition among Mormons. We must note here that this story is a second hand hearsay story. Leroi claims to have been told by Br. Solon, who claimed to have been present. But Br. Solon’s story might have errors in it. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In a confrontation in 1885, Joseph Smith III, the son of Joseph Smith Jr., challenged Br. Solon regarding his account. As a child Joseph both knew and was fond of Br. Solon, but in his retelling of the confrontation says, “<em>In the earlier part of our conversation I had learned that he (Br. Solon) was not at Nauvoo for about two years before Father's death. Therefore he could not possibly have known of things happening in 1843 and early in 1844 up to the time of the tragedy.”</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">As the conversation continued Br. Solon acknowledged that he never attended a marriage ceremony with Joseph Smith Jr. and a polygamist wife, never saw Joseph alone with any woman but Emma and never saw Joseph act in a “familiar” or intimate manner with any woman but Emma.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Joseph Smith III’s statements are not unbiased and do not conclusively falsify Br. Solon’s statements. Smith III was a leader in the Reorganized Mormon Church and he fought endlessly to prove that his father never practiced polygamy. However, his statements should cause us to reconsider the source. Was Solon telling the truth of an atrocity he witnessed, or relating a story he heard and attempted to claim a degree of fame by saying he was there? To answer that question, let’s examine the case of Br. Charles C. Rich.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">As retold by LeRoi Snow, Apostle Charles C. Rich saw Emma and Eliza at the head of the stairs, heard a commotion, then saw Eliza come tumbling down the Mansion House stairs. LeRoi's notes state: </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">Charles C. Rich called at the Mansion House, Nauvoo, to go with the Prophet on some appointment they had together. As he waited in the main lobby or parlor, he saw the Prophet and Emma come out of a room upstairs and walk together toward the stairway which apparently came down center. Almost at the same time, a door opposite opened and dainty, little, dark-haired Eliza R. Snow (she was "heavy with child") came out and walked toward the center stairway. When Joseph saw her, he turned and kissed Emma goodbye, and she remained standing at the banister. Joseph then walked on to the stairway, where he tenderly kissed Eliza, and then came on down stairs toward Brother Rich. Just as he reached the bottom step, there was a commotion on the stairway, and both Joseph and Brother Rich turned quickly to see Eliza come tumbling down the stairs. Emma had pushed her, in a fit of rage and jealousy; she stood at the top of the stairs, glowering, her countenance a picture of hell. Joseph quickly picked up the little lady, and with her in his arms, he turned and looked up at Emma, who then burst into tears and ran to her room. Joseph carried the hurt and bruised Eliza up the stairs and to her room. "Her hip was injured and that is why she always afterward favored that leg," said Charles C. Rich. "She lost the unborn babe."</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Interestingly, when the stairways at both the Homestead and the Mansion House are examined, it is obvious that the event could not have happened at either place. The stairs in the Homestead are very narrow and they turn sharply near the bottom. The top of the stairs cannot be seen while standing in the room below. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Likewise, the hallway at the top of the stairs in the Mansion House can not be seen as Charles Rich described it. The stairway is narrow (only three feet wide) with only a small landing (about three feet square) and at the top, a blank wall on the right, a small door straight ahead, and small hallway on the left. When standing at the foot of the stairs, the small door is the only thing visible. It is straight ahead and it is the door to a small split-level room where the Smith children slept. The door to Joseph and Emma's room cannot be seen from the bottom of the stairs and no other door is visible. Br. Rich testified he "<em>saw</em> <em>the Prophet and Emma come out of a room upstairs</em>" and "<em>a door opposite opened and dainty, little, dark-haired Eliza</em>" came out of it. Historically there was no "door opposite." </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">A close examination of the structure and shape of the stairways in both the Homestead and Mansion House clearly show that Charles Rich's account did not happen, at least as he claimed. Essentially, we have a second hearsay story from LeRoi Snow describing Emma pushing Eliza down the stairs, except this second story is historically falsifiable. It would appear that either 1) Br. Rich invented the account; 2) Leroi Snow invented the account or 3) LeRoi grossly misunderstood the details of Br. Rich’s account. However, because there are no other recorded accounts of Br. Rich story, its validity has to be suspect.<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Additionally, there is a great difference in the accounts given by Charles C. Rich and Solon Foster. Rich asserts that he saw Joseph carrying Eliza "<em>up the stairs and to her room</em>," while Foster declares that Emma "<em>turned Eliza R. Snow into the street in her night clothes</em>." Both men claim to have witnessed this event and mention other people present, but neither man mentioned the other. Both men claimed that they saw Eliza tumble down the stairs at the Mansion House—but, according to Eliza’s own journal, history shows Joseph and Emma did not move to the Mansion House until after Eliza moved away from their home.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">According to the now published journal of Eliza Roxcy Snow, she and her family moved from Missouri in March 1839 with her family settling in Quincy, Illinois while Eliza and her sister went to live in nearby Lima, Illinois.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">At the invitation of her former Church of Christ minister, Sidney Rigdon, Eliza Snow moved from Lima to Commerce (Nauvoo) in July of 1839. She lived at the Rigdon home and taught the Rigdon family school. She remained with the Rigdons until the winter of 1839-1840 when she returned to the home of her parents. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Eliza then, with her parents, moved to La Harpe, Illinois where they remained for one year until returning to Nauvoo, this time with her whole family, in the spring of 1841. She remained with her family until June 20, 1842.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">At this time Eliza's father, Oliver Snow, became so distraught about events connected with Dr. John C. Bennett that he and his family left Nauvoo and moved seventy-five miles away to Walnut Grove, Illinois.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Eliza chose to stay at Nauvoo even though no other member of her family was living there. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Because of scarce housing in Nauvoo, on August 13, 1842, Emma Smith sent for Eliza and invited her to share her home. On the 18th of this same month Eliza moved into Emma and Joseph's home (the Homestead).</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">During this time Eliza taught school at the Red Brick Store with the Smith children being some of her pupils. Eliza's diary clearly shows that she was treated kindly by Joseph and Emma and there was no evidence of either a plural marriage or contention.<br />On February 11, 1843, after having lived with Emma and Joseph for almost six months, Eliza moved out of the Homestead.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Interestingly, the day after she moved, Eliza taught school as usual. She exhibited no evidence of having received a beating or having suffered a fall or a miscarriage. Surely if Eliza had been injured so severely that she suffered a life-threatening miscarriage, she would not have been able to teach school the next day, but the records show that she did not miss a single day of teaching.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Of further interest, on the last day of school, March 17, 1843, Eliza happily recorded in her diary that she had “<em>the pleasure of the presence of Prest (sic) J. Smith and his lady</em>”.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a> Her <span style="color:#000000;">"<em>pleasure</em>" at their presence shows a friendly regard for both the Prophet and Emma, and again indicates that there were no hard feelings between the two. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Shortly after the end of the school term, Eliza moved from Nauvoo to Lima to live with her sister, Leonora.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13">[13]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Eliza's journal shows that she never again lived with Emma and Joseph, And according to Church history, Joseph and Emma moved into the Mansion House August 31, 1843, several months after Eliza moved from their home at the Homestead.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14">[14]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Eliza's diary never alludes to any intimacy with Joseph and indicates that she most likely was not married to him. Her writings in relation to him were always formal, and though she showed respect for him as the Prophet and President, she did not use any term which a wife would naturally use in referring to her husband. Certainly if she had been his wife, there would have been some reference to the fact in her personal record, or at least terminology depicting intimate affection, all of which are suspiciously absent in her writings. Additionally, there is no hint of any ill will between Eliza and Emma. In fact, every entry in regards to Emma was that of respect. Surely, some indication of ill will would have appeared in her journal if Emma had truly beaten her and/or pushed her down the stairs.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In summary, it appears that the stories of Emma pushing Eliza Snow down the stairs are false. The source of both stories is second hand hearsay. One account was by a man who was out of the state during that alleged occurrence while the second account is demonstrably false in that the alleged “facts” of the story are inconsistent with historical reality. Furthermore, Eliza’s own diary shows that she was never living in the Smith mansion (the location of the alleged attack testified to be both “witnesses”) and her diary shows nothing but respect for Emma. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Ironically, there is no published statement from Eliza herself. Her testimony was of tremendous importance in the struggle between polygamy and anti-polygamy which raged during the last thirty years of her life. Her lack of public denial or public acceptance of the stories is suspicious. By saying nothing she appears to have passively encouraged the allegations of her alleged marriage to Joseph. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Of supreme irony is that this characteristic was not uncommon among those who were accused of being polygamist wives to Joseph, indicating that they possibly swore an oath of secrecy regarding a secret marriage, and despite the later accepted practice of polygamy, they didn’t want to break their oath; or perhaps allowing the allegations to be spread provided a way for some of these women to feel important through an alleged association, such as polygamy, with Joseph while never requiring them to actively lie about it.<br /><br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History, 470–471<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Dr. Wilhelm Wyl, Mormon Portraits, Page 58<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Saints' Herald 83 [March 24, 1936]: 368.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid., 368<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, 135<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, Ensign 9 [June 1980]: 66–67; see also Beecher, Personal Writings, 15<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid., 52<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8"><span style="font-size:78%;">[8]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Beecher, Ensign 9 [June 1980]: 67<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9"><span style="font-size:78%;">[9]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Beecher, Personal Writings, 54<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10"><span style="font-size:78%;">[10]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid., 64<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11"><span style="font-size:78%;">[11]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Newell and Avery, Mormon Enigma, 136<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12"><span style="font-size:78%;">[12]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Beecher, Personal Writings, 66<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13"><span style="font-size:78%;">[13]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, Eliza and Her Sisters, 58<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14"><span style="font-size:78%;">[14]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> History of the Church 5:556</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-17113461055952897332009-09-15T15:58:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:10:12.027-07:00Caffeine and the Word of Wisdom<span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>Latter-day Saints are prohibited from drinking Caffeine.</em><br /><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">FALSE</span></strong></em><br /><br />This subject has been hotly debated for at least a century. Some Mormons argue that caffeine is not specifically mentioned in the Word of Wisdom and while some General Authorities have recommended not consuming caffeine, in the end it is a personal choice.<br /><br />Other Mormons have argued that there has been a consistent and increasing denunciation of caffeine by LDS Church leadership since 1972. So where do these arguments come from and what, exactly, is the Church’s official position?<br /><br />This debate goes as far back as the 1920s. Representatives from the Coca-Cola Company visited President Heber J. Grant complaining that the state Health Director (a non-Mormon) was attacking the cola company and using the Church teachings to bolster its position because several Church leaders had advocated that members should not drink cola. President Grant admitted that he had counseled members to avoid cola because of its caffeine content, but after a convincing argument by Coca-Cola’s reps, he changed his opinion:<br /><br /><em>On October 15, 1924, representatives of the Coca-Cola Company called on President Grant to complain that non-Mormon Dr. T. B. Beatty, state Health Director, was using the church organization to assist in an attack on Coca-Cola. They asked President Grant to stop him, but he refused at first, saying that he himself had advised Mormons not to drink the beverage. Beatty, however, had been claiming that there was four to five times as much caffeine in Coke as in coffee, when in fact, as the representatives showed, there were approximately 1.7 grains in a cup of coffee and approximately .43 grains or about a fourth as much in a equivalent amount of Coke. After a second meeting, President Grant said that he was "sure I have not the slightest desire to recommend that the people leave Coca-Cola alone if this amount is absolutely harmless, which they claim it is." Beatty, however, insisted that he would still recommend against its use by children. The question was left unresolved, and evidence indicates that while the First Presidency has taken no official stand on the use of cola drinks, some members urge abstinence</em>.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Though it appears that President Grant no longer personally supported a ban on caffeinated drinks, the Church did not officially take a position on the issue. Then in 1972 the Church released the following Priesthood Bulletin:<br /><br /><em>With reference to cola drinks, the Mormon Church has never officially taken a position on this matter, but the leaders of the Church have advised, and we do now specifically advise, against the use of any drink containing harmful habit-forming drugs under circumstances that would result in acquiring the habit. Any beverage that contains ingredients harmful to the body should be avoided.<br />~1972 Priesthood Bulletin<br /></em><br />While the Church officially did not spell out the use of caffeine, the leaders of the Church “<em>advised</em>” against “<em>harmful habit-forming drugs</em>” and “<em>ingredients harmful to the body</em>”. This bulletin prompted more explicit interpretations by many leaders as well as members of the Church.<br /><br />In 1975, Bishop H. Burke Peterson of the presiding Bishopric stated in the New Era: </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>"We know that cola drinks contain the drug caffeine. We know caffeine is not wholesome nor prudent for the use of our bodies. It is only sound judgment to conclude that cola drinks and any others that contain caffeine or other harmful ingredients should not be used."</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In 1980 in the Ensign, Elder Sterling W. Sill stated: "<em>In the Word of Wisdom the Lord so narrowed down the width of the road leading to good health that, among other things, he placed alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine out of bounds.</em>"</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Additionally, during this time period several official Church publications also specifically denounced caffeinated soft drinks. But the President of the Church, while clearly not supporting the consumption of caffeinated drinks, did not feel that caffeine was on the same level as tea and coffee in regards to the Word of Wisdom. Former Spencer W. Kimball said:<br /><br /><em>Generally when we speak of the Word of Wisdom, we are talking about tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor, and all of the fringe things even though they might be detrimental are not included in the technical interpretation of the Word of Wisdom. I never drink any of the cola drinks and my personal hope would be that no one would. However, they are not included in the Word of Wisdom in its technical application. I quote from a letter from the secretary to the First Presidency, "But the spirit of the Word of Wisdom would be violated by the drinking or eating of anything that contained a habit-forming drug."<br /><br />With reference to the cola drinks, the Church has never officially taken any attitude on this but I personally do not put them in the class as with the tea and coffee because the Lord specifically mentioned them [the hot drinks]…. I might say also that strychnine and sleeping pills and opium and heroin are not mentioned in the Word of Wisdom and yet I would discourage them with all my power.</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In fact, it was not until 1996 that a President of the Church specifically listed caffeine and caffeinated soft drinks as part of the Word of Wisdom. In an interview with Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes, the following conversation took place:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><br /><em><strong>Wallace</strong>: Mormons adhere to a very strict health code. No alcohol, no tobacco, no coffee, no tea, not even caffeinated soft drinks...</em><br /><em><strong>Hinkley</strong>: Right.</em><br /><em><strong>Wallace</strong>: ...eat meat sparingly, exercise...</em><br /><em><strong>Hinkley</strong>: Right.</em><br /><em><strong>Wallace</strong>: ...get plenty of sleep.</em><br /><em><strong>Hinkley</strong>: Right. It's wonderful!</em><br /><br />One year later in an interview, David Ransom and President Hinckley had the following exchange in which President Hinckley asserted that coffee was to be avoid precisely because it has caffeine:<br /><br /><em><strong>Ransom</strong>: But you do condemn so many things that are commonly accepted. For example, no sex before marriage. No tobacco, no alcohol, no gambling not even coffee.</em><br /><em><strong>Hinckley</strong>: Yeah that's right.</em><br /><em><strong>Ransom</strong>: And very, very strict.</em><br /><em><strong>Hinckley</strong>: That's wonderful. And you live longer. And you're happier. And you're healthier.</em><br /><em><strong>Ransom</strong>: What's wonderful about not drinking coffee?</em><br /><em><strong>Hinckley</strong>: Oh ah coffee has all kinds of caffeine in it.</em><br /><br />On the <em>Larry King Live</em> show in 1998, the following conversation took place in answer to a caller’s question regarding the Word of Wisdom:<br /><br /><em><strong>Hinckley</strong>: Oh, I don't know. You've read a part of the word of wisdom. The word of wisdom covers many things. It covers the excessive use of meat, as I see it. It covers, in a very particular way, the use of tobacco and alcohol. </em><br /><em><strong>Larry King</strong>: By saying no? </em><br /><em><strong>Hinckley</strong>: By saying, by proscribing those things. </em><br /><em><strong>Larry King</strong>: No to caffeine? </em><br /><em><strong>Gordon B. Hinckley</strong>: No to caffeine, coffee and tea.</em><br /><br />Although President Hinckley publicly taught abstinence from caffeine as part of the Word of Wisdom, other General Authorities during that same time period were more hesitant in their interpretation. President Boyd K. Packer, senior Apostle of the Church said the following in the May 1996 General Conference:<br /><br /><em>“Members write in asking if this thing or that is against the Word of Wisdom. It's well known that tea, coffee, liquor, and tobacco are against it. It has not been spelled out in more detail. Rather, we teach the principle together with the promised blessings. There are many habit-forming, addictive things that one can drink or chew or inhale or inject which injure both body and spirit which are not mentioned in the revelation.”</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Even the current President of the Church seems hesitant to specifically prohibit caffeine as part of the Word of Wisdom:<br /><br /><em>“‘The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are’ (1 Corinthians 3:17). May we keep our bodies—our temples—fit and clean, free from harmful substances which destroy our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.”</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a><br /><a name="30"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The obvious intimation about “<em>harmful substances</em>” is that caffeine is harmful and addictive and is therefore covered under the above principle. But the obvious question that invariably arises is: What about chocolate?<br /><br />Just months after the 1972 Priesthood Bulletin was issued, Lenny and Naomi Hesterman submitted the following letter to the <em>Ensign</em>:<br /><br /></span><a name="6"></a><span style="color:#000000;"><em>In the June issue of the Ensign, members were advised against drinks containing habit-forming drugs [Policies and Programs, p. 46]. We wondered if many of the Saints were aware of the high caffeine content in chocolate. Even though no mention of it is made on the labels, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported to us that an eight-ounce candy bar has 160 milligrams of caffeine, which is 50 milligrams more than a stay-awake pill. Also, this amounts to nearly twice as much as in a cup of coffee.<br /><br /></em></span><a name="7"></a><span style="color:#000000;"><em>We learned from the World Book Encyclopedia that chocolate also contains the poisonous alkaloid theobromine in addition to caffeine. We remember an article in the newspaper several years ago that reported that chocolate had the same habit-forming effect on children as nicotine has on adults….We also recall that President Heber J. Grant advised against the use of chocolate some years back.<br /><br /></em></span><a name="9"></a><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Certainly there are many things beyond those mentioned in the Word of Wisdom that wise and prudent Saints will learn are not for the best interests of their health and bodies.</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><a name="10"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It is logical to conclude that if caffeine in beverages constitutes a "harmful substance," clearly caffeine in chocolate or in other foods is equally harmful and should also be avoided. But surprisingly, several General Authorities have explicitly rejected that logical notion. Elder Mark E. Peterson declared:<br /><br /><em>"At no time has cocoa or chocolate been included in the prohibitions of the Word of Wisdom, and at no time has the Church said that cocoa is as harmful as coffee. Those who make these claims do so on their own responsibility, and obviously without knowing the facts of the matter."</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Elder Bruce R. McConkie also specifically identified chocolate, among other foods, as prohibited specifically by the Word of Wisdom and thus fit to consume:<br /><br /><em>“There is no prohibition in Section 89, for instance, as to the eating of white bread, using white flour, white sugar, cocoa, chocolate, eggs, milk, meat, or anything else, except items classified under the headings, tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor."</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In the end, members and leaders of the Church have gone back and forth on this issue. But, despite personal statements made by various leaders, the official policy of the Church does not take a stand on caffeine, leaving it to the individual to make healthy choices about what they put in their bodies.</span><br /><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Thomas G. Alexander, "The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 14:3 (Autumn 1981): 84–85.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.202<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> President Boyd K. Packer. “The Word of Wisdom: The Principle and The Promises” May 1996 General Conference.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> President Thomas S. Monson, “True to the Faith,” Ensign, May 2006, 19.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> “Our Readers Write,” Lenny and Naomi Hesterman, on the topic: Chocolate. Ensign, Dec 1972, 88<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Elder Mark E. Peterson, Patterns for Living, 1962, pp. 235-37<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p.846</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-60035244172752052932009-09-15T11:57:00.006-07:002009-09-15T16:21:24.745-07:00Ancient Steel Knife Found in Tree<span style="color:#000000;"><strong><br />MYTH</strong>: <em>An ancient steel knife found in a tree in California supports the Book of Mormon.</em><br /><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">FALSE</span></strong></em><br /><br />The <em>Book of Mormon</em> is central to Mormonism and so attempting to provide evidence to support it is important to many Mormons. Sadly, it can also lead to hoaxes like this one.<br /><br />This hoax was spread via email alleging to be a "Newswire" from researchers at California State University, Fresno. It claimed that an ancient steel knife was discovered imbedded in a tree in California. The blade supposedly dated back to the <em>Book of Mormon</em> period and therefore provided evidence for the <em>Book of Mormon</em>.<br /><br />While the “Newswire” never explicitly mentions the <em>Book of Mormon</em>, it goes to great lengths to mention that Native American were not known to have steel but that the knife is similar in appearance to those found in the Middle East from around 500 BC. It even claims that the knife had Egyptian style symbols engraved on the blade.<br /><br />And if that wasn’t enough to tip you off that this was a hoax, the email goes on to say that the portion of the engravings that could be deciphered produced the phonetic sounds MO-RO! Come on now, did anybody really take this serious?<br /><br />Well apparently enough people did to warrant a response from California State University. Shirley Melikian Armbruster, Director of News Services at CSU, Fresno confirmed that the alleged “Newswire” was a hoax. Despite the claims of the “Newswire”, the university has neither Archeology nor Forestry Departments. Additionally, Professor of Archeology, Curtis Johnson, does not exist, at least not at the university.<br /><br />This story is a complete fabrication and should not be spread by the public.<br /><br /><br /></span><strong><a href="http://www.shields-research.org/Hoaxes/Steel_Knife_in_Tree.htm"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Here is the original email story:</span><br /></span></a></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong>Subject</strong>: Book of Mormon Evidence Discovered in CaliforniaThis is really cool. The "learned" people who made this discovery don't know what they really found, but we do.UNIVERSITY</em> </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;">RESEARCHERS PUZZLED OVER ANCIENT KNIFE<br /></span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">FRESNO, Calif., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at California State University, Fresno are puzzled over an ancient, man-made artifact discovered by forestry students on a recent field trip in the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains. The artifact in question is a steel knife that was apparently buried deep inside a Giant Sequoia tree and was found between growth rings in the tree indicating that it had been left there around 350-450 AD.</span></em><br /><em><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The tree in question is located in the Atwell Grove inside Sequoia National Park. The tree fell in February of this year after several years of erosion had weakened its root structure. National Park Service and CSU Fresno Department of Forestry officials estimate that the tree had lived over 2,000 years at the time it fell. The Park Service gave the university permission to dissect and study the tree, and students stumbled upon the knife while using a metal detector to measure mineral content. The CSU Forestry Department speculates that the knife was left between two trees that later grew together and buried it under centuries of further growth.</span></em><br /><em><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The knife was removed and taken to the CSU Fresno campus, where several experts from the Archeology and Anthropology Departments have examined it. All of the experts agree that the knife doesn’t match any other artifacts from indigenous peoples in that area. To date, there had been no evidence of Native Americans using steel tools and weapons at that time. The strangest aspect of the story, however, is that the knife does seem to match artifacts from about a thousand years earlier from the other side of the world. The knife looks like weapons that were common in the Middle East around 500 BC, and has faded engravings on the blade that appear to be Egyptian symbols.<br /><br />Researchers can’t find any meaning in the engravings, but say that the still visible symbols roughly correspond to the phonetic sounds of MO-RO. Ironically, one of Sequoia National Park’s most famous landmarks is a granite dome called Morro Rock. Since Morro Rock wasn’t named until the last 1800’s, however, the similarity is pure coincidence.</span></em><br /><em><br /><span style="color:#000000;">"It’s the damndest thing I’ve seen in my career," said CSU Fresno Associate Professor of Archeology Curtis Johnson, Ph.D. "I’m sure we’ll find an explanation that makes sense sometime. I really don’t think anyone is going to believe that someone from the Old World wandered all the way to California a thousand years before Columbus."<br /></span></em><span style="color:#000000;"><br />For additional information please see: http://www.shields-research.org/Hoaxes/Steel_Knife_in_Tree.htm</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-39891537510552154272009-09-15T11:17:00.006-07:002009-09-15T16:10:23.264-07:00American Combat Unit - Modern Strippling Warriors<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong><br />MYTH</strong>: </span><span style="color:#000000;"><em>The 1457th Engineer Combat Battalion are modern day Strippling Warriors.<br /></em><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">FALSE</span></strong></em><br /><br />This email story has been passed around the internet since the beginning of 2004. It tells the extraordinary tale of the 1457 Engineer Combat Battalion. According to the email, the 1457th, out of Draper Utah, were the first National Guard Combat Engineer Battalion to be called up to fight in Iraq.<br /><br />According to the email’s author, one of the members of the battalion, these combat engineers captured Saddam Hussein, commandeered Hussein’s palace for church meetings where they taught the soldiers how to pray, were involved in most of the special ops missions – often only lightly armed, and more or less were single handedly responsible for winning the war. And let’s not forget, not a single soldier from this battalion died.<br /><br />That would be a pretty impressive list of military accomplishments – if it were true. But alas, while some parts are true, the bulk of the story is fantasy.<br /><br />There have been several official refutations of this story. Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson S. Burton served as Battalion Commander of the 1457th. In response to the faith promoting email he said the following:<br /></span><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000000;">It has recently come to my attention that an email describing the service of the 1457th Engineer Combat Battalion as “Modern Day Stripling Warriors” in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom has been mass mailed to many people of faith via the internet.<br /><br />Let me introduce myself. My name is Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson S. Burton. I am the Battalion Commander of the 1457th, and spent a 15 month deployment leading the great soldiers of this unit. The “article” listed below is a fabrication. To date, my efforts to find the author have produced negative results.<br /><br />I will refute the lies told in this fabrication point by point:<br />- We were NOT “sacrifice troops”<br />- The President DID NOT send us letters of apology as asserted<br />- SGT Jack DOES NOT EXIST anywhere, but in the mind of the author<br />- The 1457th DID NOT “engage the enemy from Kuwait to Baghdad”<br />- We DID fight as a unit, and were NOT “divided up among other units”<br />- We DID NOT serve with the “3rd Marines, 7th Marines, Rangers, Special Forces, or 101st </span></em><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000000;">Airborne”<br />- We DID NOT engage in “hand to hand combat with the enemy”<br />- We DID NOT “find Saddam Hussein” (That was the 4th Infantry Division)<br />- We DID NOT “rescue the first prisoners”<br />- We DID NOT “fight ahead of the main force”<br />- We were NOT considered “Chaplains” by other soldiers<br />- We held church services in a TENT, NOT in “Saddam’s Palace”<br />- We had few, if any “visitors” at our Sunday church services<br />- NO “General Officers” attended our church services<br />- We held NO “prayer Circles”<br />- “Pete”, the so called technical services vendor for the Utah Guard, EXISTS ONLY in the </span></em><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000000;">mind of the author<br />- Senator Hatch DID NOT complain to the Joint Chiefs asking them “if they were trying to kill his Utah Guardsmen”<br />- We are NOT responsible for the combat operations performed by any other units!<br />- We were NOT the “spearheads for the 3rd Marines, or the 101st Airborne”<br />- We DID NOT “teach the Army how to pray”, because they already knew!<br /><br />I am proud of the actual performance of the soldiers of the 1457th in the field.<br /><br />The 1457th Engineer Combat Battalion DID receive the Meritorious Unit Commendation for their outstanding performance in a combat zone<br />For their performance in Baghdad, C Company of the 1457th DID receive the Itchner Award in recognition as the finest Engineer Company in the entire National Guard for 2003<br /><br />These are the facts. The 1457th did a remarkable job in Iraq, just like thousands of other units fighting in the war on terror. Our service was not particularly unique, but it was honest and dedicated. Our reputation with those that know of us is a positive one. We gave our best to every mission. The fiction expressed in the article below simply serves to cheapen the dedicated service of honest Soldiers, and Marines everywhere.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Jeff<br />JEFFERSON S. BURTONLieutenant Colonel, Engineer1457th Engineer Combat BattalionCommanding<br />Office phone: (801) 523-4517email: jefferson.burton@ut.ngb.army.mil<br /></span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The officially website of the Utah National Guard also attempted to set the record straight. A news article entitled “<em>Fictional E-mail Does Disservice to meritorious deployment</em>” set the record straight:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ut.ngb.army.mil/html/pao/news/10nov04.htm"><strong>Fictional E-mail Does Disservice to meritorious deployment<br /></strong></a><em><span style="color:#000000;">Written by Maj. Lorraine Januzelli - Published - Nov. 10, 2004<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">An e-mail fictionalizing the1457th Engineer Battalion's deployment to Iraq has been circulating across the nation in recent months. While embellishments are endemic to war stories, the e-mail-in-question far exceeds the limits of acceptable exaggeration. Its content is primarily fantasy. It tells an astonishing story about combat engineers who single-handedly won the war in Iraq, captured Saddam Hussein, and taught the Army how to pray. Although seemingly harmless, the widely disseminated story undermines the genuine accomplishments of the Soldiers who honorably but humbly fought to preserve our freedom and liberty.<br /><br />The e-mail originated in Utah, but traveled fast across the country popping up as far east as New York, and perhaps beyond. Since its first appearance in the spring of this year, thousands of unsuspecting internet-users may have read its erroneous content.<br /><br />The leadership of the 1457th has diligently worked to diffuse distribution of the e-mail and set the record straight, but it continues to flourish via the internet. This article officially refutes a tale spun out of control and clarifies the experiences of a unit that needs no overstatement.<br /><br />The e-mail contains a few scant facts. The 1457th is part of the Utah National Guard. The Soldiers are indeed "combat" engineers with a distinguished heritage. They verifiably deployed to Iraq for a year and returned home in May 2004. And every single 1457th Soldier came home in one piece. Beyond this, truth and the e-mail part company.<br />The narrative below juxtaposes erroneous excerpts from the e-mail with the real story of the 1457th Engineer Battalion and their experiences in Iraq.<br /><br /><strong>Myth 1: "Engineers are sometimes called 'sacrifice troops' since they must engage the Army with only small arms, ahead of the main battle force."</strong><br /><br />Truth: Combat engineers are called "Sappers," a nickname they earned in medieval Europe for destroying rival fortifications. In modern-day battle, they fight alongside the infantry and armor, going forward to clear any obstacles blocking the way. When they go, they are well-armed and well-protected by their fellow combat arms Soldiers. They can reasonably be called the first cousins of the infantry.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Myth 2: The 1457th engaged the enemy every step of the way from Kuwait to the Liberation of Baghdad.”<br /></strong><br />Truth: The battalion traveled to Baghdad in late May; three weeks after Pres. Bush declared that major combat operations were over.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Myth 3: "Nobody ever heard of the 1457th because they didn't fight as a unit. Once deployed, they were divided up among other units. They became 3rd Marines, 7th Marines, Rangers, Special Forces, 101st Airborne, Big Red One, and others."<br /></strong><br />Truth: The 1457th deployed to Iraq together as a complete battalion. They were assigned to the 1st Armor Division, the infamous Old Ironsides, and operated nearly exclusively in the Baghdad region. The Baghdad International Airport served as their base camp. The unit slept and ate together as a battalion but typically performed missions as platoons.<br /><br />A few times, individuals with specialized skills, such as electricians, engineers, or construction planners, were selected for missions away from the unit. Capt. Mike Turley flew with a team of such specialists to Baghdad ahead of the battalion to set-up the 1st Armor Division headquarters. Capt. Mel Anderson and Sgt. Scott Neil worked separately from the unit to manage the construction of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps facilities. No matter what the assignment, though, the 1457th worked for the 1st Armor Division for all their time in Iraq. The only place they joined the Marines was in the chow hall.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Myth 4: It was not a coincidence that a Utah boy found Saddam.<br /></strong><br />Truth: The Utahns involved in Saddam's take-down were not from the 1457th. However, the battalions' missions were of equal importance. Some were high-profile such as rescue operations at U.N. building bomb site. Others were routine, like constructing building security barriers, but no less essential to the lives those barriers saved.<br /><br />Their missions varied tremendously. The 1457th traveled into the heart of Baghdad and built security barriers for Iraq’s newly minted and oft-targeted police force. They cleared and mapped a series of interconnected tunnels and bunker complexes beneath the Baghdad Airport. They constructed a rifle range so coalition forces could continue to train while deployed. Typically, the battalion worked numerous missions concurrently, responding to each with meticulous planning and execution. It was not long before the 1457th was dubbed the “911 battalion.”<br /><br />The 1st Armor Division’s Engineer Brigade Commander, Lt. Col. Don Young supervised the battalion while in Iraq and had first-hand knowledge of their accomplishments. He formally recognized the battalions’ meritorious performance in a memorandum to Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet, the Utah National Guard Adjutant General.<br />In the memo, he states, “They quickly became my “Go To” unit. I assigned my toughest high-visibility missions to this battalion knowing that they would always succeed in a timely and efficient manner.” (A copy of the memo can be obtained from the Utah National Guard Public Affairs Office.)<br /><br /><strong>Myth 5: "A big smile comes from the fact that on the first Sunday that meetings were held in Saddam's palace, standing-room-only meetings were held every hour on the hour, from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM.”</strong><br /><br />Truth: Many faiths are represented in the 1457th. In the immediate battalion area, LDS group leaders held at two services a day on Sundays. Protestant and Catholic services were held nearby with neighboring units. Most services were well-attended and lasted an hour or so. 1457th Soldiers only went inside Saddam's Palaces as tourists.<br /><br />1457th Commander, Lt. Col. Jeff Burton, is especially frustrated by the content and tenaciousness of the referenced e-mail, but he believes he understands the motivation behind its enduring popularity.<br /><br />"People want to believe in heroes," said Burton. "They pine for good news. And they are anesthetized by Hollywood about the true, more humble nature of heroism. The e-mail tells a story they want to hear. So they forward it along without reflecting on how it takes away from the actual performance of 1457th during their year in Iraq."<br /><br />“The Soldiers of the 1457th did a remarkable job in Iraq, just like thousands of other units fighting in the war on terror,” Burton continued. “Our service was not particularly unique, but it was honest and dedicated. Our reputation with those that know us is a positive one. We gave our best to every mission. Sadly, the lies and sanctimony expressed in the fictional e-mail cheapens the dedicated service of honest service members everywhere.”<br /><br />Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Soldiers – from the 1457th or elsewhere – don’t need a fictional exaggeration to validate their service. They raised their right-hand to serve our country and protect our ideals. At the end of day, that is enough. They are all our heroes.</span></span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /></p><p><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;">The original email is below:</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000000;"><em>~<br /><br />Text of a High Priests Group lesson given June 13th, 2004, in the Ensign 1st Ward, Salt Lake Ensign Stake. I take no credit for this lesson. I am thankful that it was delivered to me.--- Phil Summerhays<br /><br />Caution: If you share this with others, please be careful. Not everyone will understand or appreciate. Our Modern Day Stripling Warriors — Recently I sent several friends an email on the history of our military bugle remembrance, "Taps," and one of them, a friend I will call Pete, emailed me back. His report is so extraordinarily special that Bro. Thomson, our group leader, agreed that I should share it with you as today's lesson on the Melchizedek Priesthood. ----Pete's words can speak for themselves.<br />------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />My oldest son, Jack, just returned from Iraq. He is a sergeant with the1457th Engineer Battalion. They have a most interesting recent history. They were the first National Guard Combat Engineer Battalion to be called up to fight in Iraq. They are one of only two combat engineer battalions in the nation that are national guard units. The reason they had to go was because the eleven regular army combat engineer units were too badly depleted during the Clinton Administration to be combat ready. Just in case you did not know, there are only five types of fighters who really go and get into a fight with the enemy. Assault Marines, Army Rangers, Navy Seals, Delta Force, and Combat Engineers. Engineers are sometimes called 'sacrifice troops,' since they must engage the enemy with only small arms, ahead of the main battle force. On D-Day, June 6,1944, most of the casualties were combat engineers. Jack and his family were shocked with a message they received when he was first called up. They were told to prepare messages and letters to their family and to plan their funerals, since the majority of them would not be coming back.<br /><br />The President wrote a letter of apology to them. Combat engineers always go first. Never before in American military history has any assault engineer unit gone into war and not suffered heavy casualties-until now. The 1457th engaged the enemy every step of the way from Kuwait to the liberation of Baghdad. Every one of them came home alive. Prior to every attack, assault engineers were dropped into enemy territory at night by helicopter, or sent in by day on foot, blowing up berms and strategic facilities, taking out sentries or in other ways going hand to hand with an enemy, then radioing that the way was clear for the main force. Nobody ever heard of the 1457th because they didn't fight as a unit.<br /><br />Once deployed, they were divided up among other units. They became 3rd Marines, 7th Marines, Rangers, Special Forces, 101st Airborne, Big Red One and others. When a unit went into action, they took with them as many combat engineers as they needed to get the job done. Jack served with the 101st Airborne as they fought through central Iraq and for the liberation of Baghdad itself. It was not a coincidence that a Utah boy found Saddam.<br /><br />It was also Utah Guardsmen who threw a rope around Saddam's statue and pulled it down with the world watching. The Special Forces in the North who worked and fought with the Kurds were more Utah Guardsmen. The Utah "Rangers" who rescued the first prisoners were there early to do it because they were ahead of the main force. Jack was able to send an email every week or so. Every time, he wrote that he and the other Utah troops seemed to be on TV every night. Their job led them to take on the enemy first, and then to hold while the heavy force came in to clean up. With the cleanup came the media, shooting tape to send home of the soldiers they found there. Nearly every time, the soldiers greeting them were Utah Guardsmen assigned to whatever unit had had that assignment. More than once Jack came out alive, unscathed, from a destroyed Humvee.<br /><br />He did not tell me this, and was shocked that I knew, but confirmed it. When a squad took casualties, the ones walking away from it always included the combat engineers they had with them. As that oddity continued during the past year, many times soldiers insisted that they wanted a "chaplain" with them when they went on missions. A chaplain? Does that sound confusing? As time went on, everyone noticed that the guys with the castle patch (Engineer patch) were always holding prayer circles or knew how to pray or something else that took religious training. In time many in their units thought the patch represented a church and not a battlement, the engineer symbol. When asked if they were Priests, they said. . "well, . . . I was years ago, I am an Elder now." Uh--explain that one. Our engineers always held Sunday worship for everybody wherever they were.<br /><br />Our guardsmen cleaned out Saddam's huge residence, because it was the only building available big enough to hold meeting in on Sunday. Week in and week out they held "volunteer type" Sunday meetings. Thousands of U.S. Soldiers wrote home that they liked the way the army held Sunday worship, everybody taking turns giving a talk, praying and leading the singing. Just that only "those fighting chaplains" were ordained to bless and pass the sacrament for everyone. Returning engineers said they never told others that it was a 'Mormon' meeting. Everyone was welcome, and in war, there are no atheists. Sometimes after being prompted to just "say what you're grateful for," a soldier new to praying would repeat in his prayer, "Say What You're Grateful For!"<br /><br />One soldier praying did not move as his prayer ended. All waited in silence as he remained with his arms folded and head down, eyes still closed. After a while, the man told his comrades, "Sorry, I had to tell God I was sorry I never talked to Him before, and promised I would again." Everyone understood. A big smile comes from the fact that on the first Sunday that meetings were held in Saddam's palace, standing room only meetings were held every hour on the hour from 7AM to 9PM. At one afternoon service, as they were about to say the closing prayer, a voice called out from the side. It was one of the commanding officers. He wanted to thank the chaplain for holding such a wonderful worship service. A regular army chaplain's voice from the middle of the room spoke up, "sorry general, I had nothing to do with this, the guys from Utah do it. I just come and do my part, .like the rest." For music the most popular songs were "Onward Christian Soldiers," "Give Said The Little Stream," and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam."<br /><br />A strange favorite that most managed to learn by the winter of 2003 was "I am a child of God." Interesting how that one got to be so well known in Iraq. Jack's most important message to our family was that he knew more than anything that all men are his brothers. As they fought across Iraq, prior to going in to fight, one could see the desert covered with men in prayer circles, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. And many times the prayer was not just about protecting them from harm, but to allow them to find a way to let enemy soldiers be able to go home to their loved ones. Only the true spirit would lead men to say such great things.<br /><br />I sent Pete an email back to tell him how special this was to me, because in the '60's, when I served in the Utah National Guard, my unit was the Group Headquarters of the 115th Engineers, and the 1457th was one of our battalions. Pete emailed me back. It seems that in his work he is a technical services vendor to the Utah National Guard headquarters in Draper, Utah.<br /><br />He has contact with many of the senior people there. He told me something I didn't know-that much of the intelligence for the war comes out of Draper. The translation and analysis comes out of the linguistics group there. They know what is going on-that's how he found out about the humvee incidents.<br /><br />Pete wrote that his relationship with the guard leaders in Draper changed when he was asked if he was related to one of the noncoms of the1457th, and he told them that sergeant is his eldest son. After that they followed what Jack was doing, and kept Pete up to date. He told me, "It was as if they needed someone outside the military to talk to about their strange boys. I don't remember how many times I have been alone with a senior officer who would break down in tears and ask, 'what kind of people are we commanding anyway?' They knew all these faith-promoting stories... Oddly enough, they knew so much because it was being reported to them by the Inspector General. The Pentagon had ordered the IG to investigate every small thing about particular groups of soldiers, trying to figure out what was different about them-why they were so special.<br /><br />The more they reported, the stranger it got." Mid way through the war, Senator Hatch had complained to the Joint Chiefs, asking if they were trying to kill off his Utah guardsmen, and reminded them that we are a small state, too small to have so many people in harm's way and to have so many of the dangerous missions staffed from one small state. The Senator was reacting to parents writing him to complain about only Guardsmen going out to do all the dangerous stuff. Not only that, many of the dangerous patrols were being manned not just by the 1457th, but some of their numbers were Utah linguistic soldiers who were not supposed to fight at all-whose job was supposed to be intelligence.<br /><br />Well, the shock was that it was all true, but for what are rather strange reasons. As the fighting progressed, the commanders in Qatar were keeping track of who was doing what and with what success. They had no idea that the superior soldiers they kept hearing about were Utah Guardsmen. All they knew was that certain squads were hot.<br /><br />The Airborne, Marines, and Rangers asked for the best men they could get to carry out important missions. Nobody knew that those squads, spread all over the military, were from the same place. Stranger still, some of the engineers would get orders cut to take 'specialists' with them--nobody questioned who these specialists were. But they turned out to be friends of theirs who were in the other Utah Guard unit-the linguistics boys-translated," returned missionaries.<br /><br />"One story Pete told me was that when the first attacks were made on Iraqi logistics people back behind the lines, a group of Attack Military Police was sent to take out the Iraqis attacking the highway. For hardened support, they asked for the most experienced fighters from the 101st to assist them. Jack's platoon was chosen, and he hand-picked his men. (Want to guess who he put together? Uh, people he knew and trusted?)<br /><br />The 101st Airborne received a citation for that one. The 101st sent the same group in to rescue captives later on. The whole world did not know they were all just Utah Guardsmen. Even his 101st Airborne Company Commander did not realize they were not the Special Ops people he thought they were. He assumed that a group like that had to have special training to pull off the things they kept doing--succeed under really tough odds and all come back unhurt. When the Joint Chiefs verified, to their shock, that what Senator Hatch was complaining about was true, but for very strange reasons, the questions became why these guys were so good?<br /><br />It prompted a full-scale investigation into them, without even their knowledge. Jack told me they had no idea. Now regular army spooks were following them around everywhere they went and reporting every small thing they did, and asking other soldiers about them. The general story coming back was that they were essentially extremely religious guys who had close friends everywhere and all of them were afraid of nothing. They must have some kind of unexplained charmed life. There was no logic at all in the way they came back unharmed over and over again. In time, a whole story unfolded. It began with private prayer circles at camp in which other soldiers wanted to join. In time the prayer circles began to include more and more soldiers, and it spread to prayer circles even in battle. As time went on, the prayer circles were held after lights out in tents all over Iraq.<br /><br />As you can imagine, these reports coming back were odd indeed. Here were tiger fighters who organized prayer circles every day and worship services every Sunday, then would go out on Monday and fight hard again. It was when they were in Kuwait waiting to go home, reassembled from all their temporary units, that the army saw them in one place for who they are, the 1457th Engineer Battalion from Utah. No longer Special Ops, Marines, Rangers, Attack MPs or Airborne. One Battalion, with no casualties, and made up of a majority of the most individually decorated fighters in the whole campaign. The word was shock. The whole army was in shock. Not one killed? They had been the spearheads of the Third Marines and 101st and Rangers? All those Sunday volunteer chaplains? The prayer circle guys? All those men are the same people? How can that be?????? They wore different uniforms with many different unit patches on their arms when they got together to go home. One patch they all wore--the engineer battlement patch. The patch many thought must be a church. The rest of the army will now have to find chaplains with across or Star of David on his lapel. The church patch boys are going home. Combat engineers are not used to mop up, just to take the fightin[g]. Another interesting story, my last. You may recall from our local news the controversy about them being extended just before they were about to come home? Remember that? And how within two weeks they came home anyway? It all began with Fallujah, a major city in Iraq, becoming belligerent and needing experienced troops to go in and retake it.<br /><br />Orders went out for an assembly of the best fighting units to go in and clean the insurgents out. On paper, the commanders in Qatar assembled successful units to go do it. One at a time, these orders filtered down--to the men in Kuwait, waiting to go home!!! They were not Marine or Ranger squads anymore, but a bunch of Utah Guardsmen who had served with those units. When the realization hit the commanders in Qatar, the orders were changed. The miracle men would go home after all. Field commanders had interceded en mass, reporting back to headquarters that the men Qatar HQ was calling back to fight again had seen more dangerous action already than anyone else in the theater. But the messages coming back were as odd as the whole situation. Commanders who didn't even know each other made similar comments. "Send them home. Tell them we can fight and pray on our own now!" Jack was humbly surprised when I recounted what the people in Draper were telling me. "We all agreed we would keep all that to ourselves," he told me. Then he continued. "You see, Dad, it wasn't just that the president sent us there, at least not the national kind. The Lord sent us to Iraq to start something for Him. Not since the days of Abraham has there been any significant Melchizedek Priesthood presence in Babylon. We talked about it a lot among ourselves. We all knew that the Lord was doing something special, and decided we would keep our mouths shut and get on with it." Jack shook his head in amazement when I told him about the military having all of them studied. There were unexplainable things happening-at least unexplainable in ordinary terms.<br /><br />No wonder the administrative regular army officers in Draper wanted to know, "What kind of people are these?" But how does one answer without putting it in spiritual terms? Any attempt to respond in any other way only meets with oddity and confusion, and now confusion is the state of the army in trying to understand what they observed. A few, who were in tune, got the message. But along with the 1457th itself, even they cannot tell the world what they saw..... Who would believe them!? Yesterday my friend Dave, who sent me the pictures, called me. He had just returned home from the priesthood session of a regional conference in Utah Valley. The general authorities at the conference were President Faust and Elder Maxwell. President Faust told them that five senior generals had recently met with the Brethren, thanking them for the fine young men from Utah who had served in Iraq, and wanting to know more about them.<br /><br />I wonder if the Brethren read them the Book of Mormon account of the stripling warriors??? Now, what do we take from away from this?<br /><br />For me, 1. First, I think, greater appreciation for our blessings. 2. Greater understanding of the words, "The Lord works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform." 3. A hope that the "Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God" has begun to work in the Land of Islam. It is my hope that we will all be greatly impressed by and committed to the marvelous things that the Lord is working to do in the world today; that we, each of us, will take to our hearts and minds this realization, and put our faith, prayers, actions, and the Holy Priesthood that we bear, more fully behind Him in His work. (June 13, 2004)<br /><br /></em></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> “Fictional E-mail Does Disservice to meritorious deployment”. Maj. Lorraine Januzelli, Published November 10, 2004. http://www.ut.ngb.army.mil/html/pao/news/10nov04.htm. Retrieved September 15, 2009.</span></p>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-58633214263110580392009-09-15T09:32:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:10:35.281-07:00Elder Gene R. Cook Meets Mick Jagger<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>In a conversation with Gene R. Cook, Mick Jagger confessed that his music was geared toward corrupting the world’s youth.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">TRUE</span></strong></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In this myth, Elder Gene R. Cook, member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, meets rock star legend Mick Jagger on an airplane. During their conversation, Mick Jagger allegedly reveals that his music is designed to encourage teens to have sex and that the Book of Mormon is a lie.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">There are multiple variations of this myth. Some of the variations include allegations that Mick Jagger was doing drugs on the plane in front of Elder Cook, bragged about the number of woman he had slept with/impregnated, bloated over his efforts to destroy the family and promote rebellion among the youth and even confess that he was working with the devil and singing the devil’s music in exchange for wealth. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This story has two possible points of origin, though the accounts differ slightly. It originally came from a talk by Elder Gene R. Cook at Ricks College on November 29, 1988, in which he recounts an alleged conversation with Mick Jagger. The actual transcript excerpt is provided below. However, another account found under the titles </span><a name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a name="OLE_LINK1"><span style="color:#000000;">“<em>A Conversation with Mick Jagger</em>” or “<em>Elder</em> <em>Gene R. Cook Meets Mick Jagger</em>,” </span></a><span style="color:#000000;">claiming to be an “excerpt” of the November 1988 talk was circulated on the internet, and is the most common version found on the today (A copy of this version is provided below as well.) </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Although the talk at Ricks College can be confirmed and verified (I have an audio recording of it), it is not clear where the “excerpt” originated. The “excerpt” claims, “<em>This is an excerpt of a talk given by Elder Gene R. Cook at Ricks College several years ago.</em>”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Interestingly, the supposed “excerpt” differs in both order and format from the actual recording. And while the stories are the same, the “excerpt” provides much more detail concerning the conversation and Elder Cook’s thoughts. According the Elder Cook, the details in the “excerpt” are accurate and he believed it was taken from another talk in which he had shared the story.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Over the years Elder Cook has publicly shared this story numerous times.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In evaluating this myth, we have to examine several factors. One, did Elder Cook actually sit next to, and have a conversation with, Mick Jagger? Two, what did they actually discuss?</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Elder Cook clearly alleges that the conversation did, in fact, take place. In a personal phone conversation with me in the spring of 2009, Elder Cook maintained that the “story was absolutely true.” </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">However, In 2003 an online discussion board posted a letter from Lucy Hopkins of LD Communications, former publicity manager for the Rolling Stones, allegedly making the following claim regarding to the conversation between Gene R. Cook and Mick Jagger, “<em>I can assure you that this a complete fabrication and nothing more than someone having fun with their imagination!</em>”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">There are numerous problems with this post and its claim. First, the person who posted the claim did not identify himself, therefore it is harder to verify if this is legitimate. Second, the posting was found on the Utah Lighthouse Ministry website, a group that is notoriously known as anti-Mormon, and therefore any undocumented claim must be suspect.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">But more importantly, we must ask whether Mick Jagger’s current PR rep would be aware of a non-official conversation her client had on a plane more than twenty years ago? Even assuming that Lucy Hopkins handled Jagger’s PR during the 1980’s, which is a big assumption, would she be aware of every private conversation her client had? The answer – not likely, although there is the barest sliver of a chance that she did, in fact, monitor every private conversation Jagger ever had during that time period. We simply cannot definitively rule it out.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Additionally, in the mid-1990’s Jagger came to Salt Lake City for a concert. Concerned that Jagger would twist Elder Cook’s now famous story to make the Church look bad, Elder Cook provided the details of the story to the legal department at LDS Church headquarters. In the end, Jagger made no mention of the story and nothing came of it.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">So ultimately, the only two people who can confirm if the conversation actually took place are Elder Cook and Mick Jagger. Elder Cook maintains that it did occur; Mick Jagger has failed to respond to us.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In regards to the content of the alleged conversation, according the Elder Cook’s actual speech, Jagger boasted, "<em>Our music is calculated to drive the kids to sex</em>."</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Jagger allegedly went on to say, “<em>Of course, it’s up to them what they do. It’s not my fault, I'm just earning a lot of money</em>."</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Elder Cook also stated that Jagger gloated over the fact that “<em>the</em> <em>family was being destroyed around the world</em>” and talked about impregnating three separate women (one in New York, one in Virginia and one in England.) Jagger also claimed to have had several LDS missionary discussions while in England but that he thought the Book of Mormon was a lie.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Elder Cook makes no mention of drug use, though he does state that Jagger looked physically sick, possibly because he had several alcoholic drinks. Neither does Elder Cook mention any pact between Jagger and the Devil. However, in prefacing his story about Mick Jagger, Elder Cook stated:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">And I might quickly add, there is music of the devil himself. And do not misunderstand that, and try to count it or call it something else. It is music of the devil himself.</span></em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In context, Elder Cook was referring to the evil intentions of certain music, such as Mick Jagger’s, which promote behaviors contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ, but did not say anything about Jagger making a deal with the Devil or selling his soul for record sales.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000000;">In regards to the two variations of Elder Cook’s story, in a personal phone with me, Elder Cook said that he had read the internet version, and although it is not from the November 29, 1988 talk at Ricks College, Elder Cook believed it was taken from another talk in which he had shared the story.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">He has publicly shared this story on numerous occasions. He confirmed that the details in the version floating around the internet are correct.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Transcript excerpt of a talk given by Elder Gene R. Cook at Ricks College on 11/29/1988. (Transcript of actual talk, transcribed by me personally from an audio recording.)</strong><br /><br /></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>And I might quickly add, there is music of the devil himself. And do not misunderstand that, and try to count it or call it something else. It is music of the devil himself.<br />I have come to mind an experience that happened to me a few years ago with a man whom I would name only to speak evil of what he was doing, not of the man. I would not want to be out of order and speak evil of the man. I suspect there may almost not be anyone here that doesn’t know the man. He’s one of the most famous rock stars in all the world that I spent two and a half hours on a plane proselyting.<br />His name is Mick Jagger, in the rolling stones.<br />How many know who Mick Jagger is? Well some of these older fellows over here don’t, but most did. Well when I got on the plane with this fellow I didn’t recognize him right off, and you know I’ll just have to tell you this story in great brevity, because I had two and a half hours with him and it was an interesting experience. I didn’t recognize him right off.<br />I told him I was an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are you?<br />And he told me “Mick Jagger.”<br />And I said “well I’m glad to meet you to.”<br />And he was kind of a prideful fellow and again I am not speaking again of the man, but what he was doing. And he told me his name again, and I said, “I’m glad to meet you Mick.”<br />And it still didn’t totally dawn on me, I just wasn’t expecting to see him there. And then he opened up this big magazine he was reading with all these wild eyed faced and very scantily dressed women to say the least, and said “that’s me.” And of course I recognized immediately who he was.<br />We began talking. I told him I have opportunity over the years to be with many young people all over the world. I’m interested in a question you can answer for me.<br />He said “well what is it?”<br />I said, “Some of the young people I’m with tell me that rock music, the kind you and others are involved in, has no real impact on them, for good or for evil. It has no real impact and others claim that it really does have a bad impact them. You've been in this thing for twenty years, I’d like to know, what’s your opinion?”<br />These were his exact words, brothers and sisters, an exact quote. He said, "Our music is calculated to drive the kids to sex."<br />I was pretty much floored, I’m sure I must have shown it on my face, and then he kind of rebounded a little bit and said, "of course, it’s up to them what they do. It’s not my fault, I'm just earning a lot of money."<br />And as the conversation proceeded, and again, there’s not time to o tell you all, even a small part of it. He was delighted at the fact that in his mind the family was being destroyed around the world.<br />I told him I had eight children. He told me he some too, but no wives. He told me he had a woman pregnant in Virginia, another one in New York, and one in England. He told me he had the missionary lessons, some of them. I didn’t believe that in the beginning. In England is where he said. So I pushed him further, I think he was telling the truth.<br />After he had three or four drinks he said quite loudly in the cabin, “Anybody who believes the Book of Mormon to be the word of God is a liar. And the Book of Mormon is a lie.”<br />I remember you would have done prayerfully thinking in my heart “what should I say, how can I respond to that? And I remember saying something like this back to him, "Mick, you are mighty fortunate today."<br />And he said, "What do you mean?"<br />And I said, "Because you're sitting next to a servant of the Lord who’s going to correct what you just said, because it isn’t true."<br />And he said, "What are you talking about?"<br />And I said, "I happen to have a Book of Mormon in my briefcase," and I pulled one out and laid it on his lap. I think because of maybe the drinking and he also looked sick physically, the book was going about like that on his lap. And I said to him, “I must have missed that chapter, because I’ve read this book many times and I believe it to be the word of God. And if there is such a chapter, I want to see it.”<br />And of course there was dead silence, he couldn’t say a word and I said, “Well then how about one page? How about one chapter [garbled]? How bout one line? How bout one word?<br />“Mick I bare testimony you’re the liar. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. And I told him the best I could the Lord would hold him responsible for his acts to degree he understood what he was doing if he didn’t turn his life around.<br />Now it’s evidence from the following years that followed that he didn’t listen. But that doesn’t change any thing, because that day on the plane he lied about this book.<br />And I vowed to myself, and I’m thankful my family have abided by it, that we would never have that music in our home or anything like unto it. And we’ve been blessed that way as a family. If you’ve maybe have misjudged music or thought perhaps it wasn’t that bad, believe the brethren.<br />I bare witness unto you again, there is good music in the world. </em><br /><br /></span><br /><strong>“A Conversation with Mick Jagger” or “Elder Gene R. Cook Meets Mick Jagger”</strong><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000000;"><em>This is an excerpt of a talk given by Elder Gene R. Cook at Ricks College several years ago. He told of an experience back in the 1970's, where he sat next to Mick Jagger on a plane for 2 1/2 hours, discussing the effect of rock music on today's Youth. If you do not yet believe that music can influence them for good or evil, then consider again after you read the following. I get a kick out of this story every time I read it.<br />####<br />Sometimes young people have a feeling that the music they listen to doesn't have anything to do with chastity. And yet, as I've had the opportunity to interview many youth in varying countries throughout the world, I've found that it is just not so. I believe, without any doubt, that there is music of the Lord. I also believe there is good music that men have created--some romantic music, maybe some good cowboy music, and just plain fun songs, etc.<br /><br />Those can be okay. They can cheer you up and they're fun to be involved with. It ought not to surprise us that the devil has his own music as well. That kind of music is found throughout the world and has a great impact on young people especially. Let me try to bring this principle alive by relating a true story that happened with an individual of whom you have probably heard. How many of you have heard of Mick Jagger? I think almost everyone has as he is one of the most famous rock stars in the world. Well, you might be surprised to know that I had about 2 \'bd hours with him on an airplane and it was quite an experience. I'm going to relate part of that to you to try to illustrate this important point about selecting wholesome music.<br /><br />Mr. Jagger and I were on a flight that originated in Mexico and were headed, I believe, to either Houston or Dallas. As I sat down in the plane, the seat next to me was empty. Later a man came and sat down by me. I noticed immediately that he was reading a rock magazine. I offered a silent prayer as I often do when I try to talk to people about the Church. I prayed that the Lord would inspire me in what to say as I talked to this man.<br />After the prayer, I said something like, "My name is Gene Cook. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What's your name?"<br /><br />And he said, "My name is Mick Jagger."<br /><br />Not realizing who he was I said, "Well, I'm glad to meet you, Mick."<br /><br />And then he said, "I said my name is Mick Jagger."<br /><br />I said, "I heard you, Mick."<br /><br />And then he opened up the magazine and pointed to his picture and said, "This is me." Of course, then I finally realized who he was. I just hadn't ever thought about sitting next to him, but it was so. What I'm going to say is in no way speaking evil of Mick Jagger himself. Please understand that. I'm not speaking evil of the man, but I am of what he represents because it is wrong. It is of the devil himself, in my opinion.<br /><br />Even before I knew who Mick was, I noticed that his pant leg was pulled up a little on his calf. As I looked at his leg I thought for some reason, "This fellow looks a little sick." I'm not sure why, but that caught my attention before I even knew who he was.<br /><br />After we visited back and forth a minute or two about what we were doing and all, I finally said something like, "You know, Mick, I have a question for you that I'd like you to answer for me."<br /><br />He said, "Well, I'll be glad to try."<br /><br />Then I said to him, "I have opportunity to be with young people in many different places around the world, and some of them have told me that the kind of music you and others like you sing has no effect on them, that it's okay, and that it doesn't affect them adversely in any way. Then other young people have told me very honestly that your kind of music has a real effect on them for evil and that it affects them in a very bad way. You've been in this business a long time, Mick. I'd like to know your opinion. What do you think is the impact of your music on the young people?"<br /><br />This is a direct quote, brothers and sisters. He said, "Our music is calculated to drive the kids to sex."<br /><br />I'm sure I had a real look of shock on my face in receiving such a bold response. He quickly added, "Well, it's not my fault what they do. That's up to them. I'm just making a lot of money." Then he told me he'd been in Mexico making a video because he could make it for about one third of what it would cost in the United States. He told me this was a great day for them because now instead of just having audio where they could portray some of what they wanted to about sex and all, they now had videos and could have the people both hear it and see it portrayed. He said this would have much more impact on the youth, that his music was selling much more, and thus he was making much more money.<br /><br />As I said, we talked for a couple of hours. Let me just share a few things that happened because it teaches the importance of what we are discussing with respect to music.<br /><br />As we chatted, I told him I was married and had eight children. He told me that he was not married but that he had three children and was proud of it. He told me that he had one woman pregnant in Virginia, one in New York, and one in England, as I recall. He told me that it didn't matter what you did in life, that you could take whatever you wanted, and you could do whatever you wanted. He said there were no commandments, there was no God, and nothing really mattered. He indicated there was no judgment day and you could just do whatever you felt like doing. Whatever I told him in our discussion was white he said was black. And whatever he said was white I told him was black.<br /><br />He indicated that he had had the missionary lessons. In the beginning I didn't believe that, but as we talked further I think he probably had. He told me he had two or three lessons, and I think that was probably true because of some of his responses to me. According to him, he had been taught by missionaries in England.<br /><br />He said, "As I listen to you Mormons, your problem is that you think you have things all figured out. Life isn't that simple." Then he would go on and explain some complex things, some theory of man. I would answer him in a very simple way from the scriptures, and he would say, "See what I mean?" He was always trying to make things much more complicated than they really were.<br /><br />Our conversation continued. He told me that he believed in evolution and that he also believed he had descended from a monkey.<br /><br />I told him, with a smile, "That might be the only thing you are right about."<br /><br />We pursued the idea of evolution and the fact that if one is going to subscribe to the philosophy that he did, then he'd have to believe there was no God and that he just evolved. And if there is no God, then there are no commandments. There are no rules, and thus you can do whatever you want. He told me the importance, in his view, of freeing up the youth. He felt that they ought to be able to do whatever they wanted in spite of their parents. He said that parents were inhibiting them too much and controlling things and they ought not to be doing that. It was truly astounding to me. He told me that he was thankful the family, as an entity, was being destroyed. And I gathered from what he was saying that he was doing his best to help that along.<br /><br />I've only been mad at two investigators in my life where I kind of got upset, and he was one of them. As we proceeded in the discussion, he probably had four or five alcoholic drinks. As you know, when one does that one tends to be a little looser in the way he talks and thinks. Finally, in a rather loud voice towards the end of our discussion, he said something like, "Furthermore, about your Book of Mormon-- your Book of Mormon is a lie, and any man that believes it is a liar." He said it in such a way that most people nearby could hear it. That really did upset me.<br /><br />I thought to myself, here's a man who is representing evil and trying to announce it now to the whole cabin to try to make them feel that the Book of Mormon is not true.<br /><br />I then felt impressed to say something like, "Well, Mick, you're mighty fortunate today, mighty fortunate."<br /><br />He said, "What are you talking about?"<br /><br />And I said, "Because you're sitting next to a servant of the Lord who plans on correcting what you just said."<br /><br />He then said, "What do you mean?"<br /><br />I said, "Well, you're really lucky. I just happen to have a Book of Mormon right here in my briefcase," and I pulled out a Book of Mormon and put it in his lap. I told him something to this effect, "Mick, this book has changed my life. I love the Book of Mormon. And I have read it many, many times. It is the greatest book, in my mind, on the face of the earth. In my view it has changed me, it has made me a better man. You say it's a lie. I must have missed that part. Show me."<br /><br />My young friends, there was just total, dead silence. He didn't say a word. I finally said, "Well, maybe you were offended by the part where Lehi told his sons to be honest men or where he taught them to rely upon the Lord and have faith in God. Maybe you were offended when Alma told his boy, Coriantumr, that he had broken the law of chastity and then he told him what he had to do to correct it. Maybe that offended you. Or maybe it was the part when Christ came to America. Or maybe it really bothered you when he said that one is to love his wife with all his heart and not commit adultery. Maybe that offended you." I carried on a little bit with him that way, and of course again he said nothing. I finally said, "Well, if you can't show me a chapter, then at least show me a page, or maybe a paragraph will do. That would be all right. Just show me one paragraph." And again, brothers and sisters, dead silence. I finally said, "Well, then how about a line, or one word." I finally bore my testimony to him and said something like, "My friend, the lie is not in the Book of Mormon. The lie is in you. And I bear witness to you in the name of the Lord that if you don't turn your life around, you'll be going to hell. The devil himself will come and get hold of you." I bore my testimony to him as strongly as I could about what he was doing, that it was not right, and that it was not according to the Lord's plan. I felt very emotionally involved when I bore my testimony because I thought to myself, "Here I am going about the earth trying to strengthen young people, trying to make them better and turn them to the Lord. And men like this are coming around right behind me trying to tear it all down, destroying the family, and destroying their reliance on God. I bore a very fervent testimony to him and told him that I would be a witness that I had at least given him "the word."<br /><br />Well, he calmed down quite a bit in that encounter and didn't say any more. That at least quieted him down so he didn't continue in the vein he was in.<br /><br />Just before our couple of hours together concluded he said, "Oh, now I remember something about your Book of Mormon" (referring to my challenge to him to show me something that was out of order.) He said, "Well, here it is. It's the part about Brigham Young."<br /><br />Then I informed him that Brigham Young was not mentioned in the Book of Mormon one time. My response kind of took him aback. We talked the last five or ten minutes in a more general way, and then finally bid each other farewell and split up.<br /><br />As I arrived home from that trip and shared the experience with my family, I was very moved, as you would have been. I was mostly moved by the spirit of the Lord that bore witness to me of the evil nature of that kind of music and the impact it has on people. In our Family Home Evening that night, we made a commitment, as a family, that we would never, ever allow any of that kind of music in our home. Not ever! We had a great spiritual experience together where we felt the Spirit and committed to that decision. Now, as those years have gone by since I visited with him on the plane, I'm pleased to say that that kind of music has never been in our home and I think never will be as a result of that experience. I share it with you to impress upon your minds that there is music of the Lord and there is music of the devil. I would be mighty, mighty, careful with the music you listen to. The Church isn't ever going to publish a list of approved songs and say, "Here are 146 that you can listen to and 246 that you can't." You'll have to choose, won't you? Use your conscience. Use the Spirit of the Lord and have enough sense to make those judgments correctly and don't listen to that kind of music. Just one other comment. A few days after I arrived home, my wife and I were up late on a Friday evening. I turned the television on, or maybe we looked in the paper, and saw that there was going to be a Mick Jagger special on that night. Well, I'd never even watched anything like that before and I thought, well, let's see what it's like. So we sat up for an hour or so and watched this show. I was really taken aback. Not so much by what I saw, as I expected that, but by all the innuendoes sown in the lyrics of which a young person might not be very aware. Lyrics like, "Do what you want. No one can tell you what to do. You're your own man. Take what you want. Pick what you want." It was the same stuff I'd heard on the airplane for two hours-- there were no rules in it, no God in it, no "what's right" in it. It was, do whatever you want to do. You're free, you can take what you want, do what you want. I was very much taken aback by how those thoughts had been sown very subtly in all that music. Many young people would not realize how those thoughts are sown in. However after listening to that music time after time, one can begin to parrot that kind of philosophy and those inward feelings to their parents and not be as obedient as they ought to be.<br /><br />I bear testimony to you again, that good music can have a great impact on you and evil music surely is of the devil. Think of the great contrast in the lyrics, "I am a child of God, and He has sent me here, has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do, to live with Him some day." What a dramatic difference. That hymn would lead you to think of the Lord, wouldn't it? It would humble you in your heart. It would lead you to be obedient to your parents. Look at the different impact that would have. What if you sang a song like, "Oh my Father, thou that dwellest in the high and glorious place, when shall I regain thy presence, and again behold thy face?" What if you had that in your repertoire, as it were, of what you sang, of what you thought, of what you listened to. What a difference! Little Primary songs like, "Jesus said love everyone, treat them kindly too, when your heart is filled with love, others will love you." Very simple, isn't it? One of my favorite ones is an easy one, a simple one. "Oh Father, look on us today and bless us with thy love. In Jesus name we humbly pray, O Father up above." So simple, isn't it? I have sung that song to myself many times as I have wandered around alone in airports or other places to keep my mind focused on good, worthy things. Think of the impact on you or your children singing over and over, "I love to see the temple; I'm going there someday, to feel the Holy Spirit, to listen and to pray. For the temple is a house of God, a place of love and beauty. I'll prepare myself while I am young. This is my sacred duty." Wouldn't that have a great impact? It would, and one day your children would end up in the temple. If the music is of this other kind, they may end up somewhere else.--</em><br /><br /></span><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://www.moroni10.com/Cook_meets_Jagger.html, “Elder Gene R. Cook Meets Mick Jagger” retrieved 3/20/2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gene R. Cook, in a phone interview with me, Jedediah McClure, on April 13, 2009.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Alleged email from Lucy Hopkins, at LD Communications, as posted on http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/letters_to_the_editor/2003/2003october.htm. Retrieved March 20, 2009.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gene R. Cook, transcript of talk given at Ricks College, 11/29/1988. Attached below<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid. See below<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid. See below<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid. See below<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8"><span style="font-size:78%;">[8]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gene R. Cook, in a phone interview with me, Jedediah McClure, on April 13, 2009.</span></div>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-12553145145068839532009-09-15T09:13:00.007-07:002009-09-15T16:10:44.340-07:00Scriptures Saved Mormon Soldier from Bullets<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>A Book of Mormon stopped deadly bullets.</em><br /><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;">UNKNOWN</span></em></strong><br /><br />I first heard about this story about five years ago when it was forwarded to me in an email along with pictures (included below). The story goes like this:<br /><br />A Sgt. Schaub was on patrol in the Middle East when he was shot at close range. The bullets penetrated his bullet-proof vest but were stopped by the small military sized Book of Mormon he had in his pocket.<br /><br />I have heard several similar stories of the Book of Mormon stopping bullets. One was about a soldier shot during the civil war while another was during World Wars I and II. But they were all the same in that the Book of Mormon, concealed in a breast pocket, stopped the would-be lethal bullet[s].<br /><br />One of the stories jokingly added that the Isaiah chapters of second Nephi were so dense that not even a bullet could get through them!<br /><br />The great debunker of Mormon myths, SHIELDS-Research.org, has claimed to have verified that “much of this story is true” but has stopped short of endorsing it. They have also stated: “The family is unhappy that this story is passing around on the Internet and we encourage everyone to stop sending it around.”<br /><br />I personally have been unable to verify this story or locate Sgt. Schaub. If anyone has further details regarding this story, please contact me or post a comment below. Thanks.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDsEBS9AK-EY4CBvUqUOU1oTdAhc43vQ0uyoQ_Av12CKG6RdRR0ZvEB1taABCZZ5QSXipyE0cIqY1u259Hr4Pv0eTpRGoxb2EPCpM3bEWF9PnWcRw8Bdllnv2n_v57HQwgf5lsXI9jpON/s1600-h/BOM+bullet+holes+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381732413835543186" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 228px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDsEBS9AK-EY4CBvUqUOU1oTdAhc43vQ0uyoQ_Av12CKG6RdRR0ZvEB1taABCZZ5QSXipyE0cIqY1u259Hr4Pv0eTpRGoxb2EPCpM3bEWF9PnWcRw8Bdllnv2n_v57HQwgf5lsXI9jpON/s320/BOM+bullet+holes+2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381732687786692130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 208px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudCgMUZGIjTFKIiYtIkxk-aPM7esBJ-QxC6MMkh7hyOjeg-4_b5vLs802yCvMZBXPFDMf8YvEoL5St399467MLazEyuldU7u-XXDSP9Jcpc78q3YI0mNtS0dYjbQ-9wSqHJihJvbFpWEv/s320/BOM+bullet+holes1.jpg" border="0" />Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-23124615594020311552009-09-15T08:53:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:10:55.209-07:0025-Year-Old Men Menace to Society<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>Brigham Young said that all unmarried men over 25 were a “Menace to Society.”</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">FALSE</span></strong></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Professional football star Steve Young, in a 1996 interview with Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes, gave the non-LDS community a rare glimpse at a common Mormon myth. In discussing the pressure of being 34, single and Mormon, Steve said:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">"You want to talk about the pressure I feel? Brigham Young once said…that anyone over 27 years of age that’s not married is a menace to society. So here’s my grandfather telling me to get with it. You don’t think I feel the pressure? I guarantee it."</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">A simple google search of the phrase “Brigham Young ‘Menace to Society” yields dozens of hits pertaining to this alleged quote. But although the age varies depending on who is telling this myth, they all have one thing in common, no original source or documentation of the quote.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Wikiquote.org attributes the quote to Brigham Young, saying that “<em>Any young man who is unmarried at the age of twenty one is a menace to the community</em>,” but the quote has no source.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Quotes-museum.com references the exact same quote as Wikiquote.org, and also fails to provide a citation</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In a letter sent to <em>Meridian Magazine</em>, a man by the name of Doug laments the difficulties of being single in the LDS community. He says: </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">"Yes, I often feel judged for being single ... like it's somehow a sign of spiritual weakness. I'm sure it's tough for single women for all the obvious reasons, but for single men in the Church we have the added burden of being frequently reminded that we are not fulfilling our priesthood duty. People love to quote Brigham Young, who apparently said that any single man over the age of 27 is a menace to society. Did he really ever say that?"</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Doug is not the only one to question the authenticity of this alleged quote. On May 31, 1963, speaking at the Commencement Exercises as President of Brigham Young University, Ernest Wilkinson stated:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">"Of the men graduating tonight, 62 per cent are married; 38 per cent unmarried. Of the 472 women graduating, 23 per cent are married; 77 per cent single. As to the single men, I need merely to repeat the admonition attributed to Brigham Young, “Every man not married and over twenty-five is a menace to the community.” I asked Dr. Lyman Tyler yesterday if he would document this for me, but he said he had been trying to document it for years; he had given up, so you will have to accept it either on faith, or as apocryphal."</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Although it is possible that Brigham Young made this comment, the current renditions have become somewhat apocryphal. To date, no authoritative source has been identified and the ages varies from twenty-one to twenty-seven.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Reporter Huan Hsu alleges that the quote did not originate with Brigham Young, but rather with George Q. Cannon. Referring to the “Menace” quote, Hsu stated: </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Actually, Brigham Young never said that. The closest thing is something George Q. Cannon, a church apostle, said in 1878: “I am firmly of the opinion that a large number of unmarried men, over the age of 24 years, is a dangerous element in any community.…</em>”</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">George Q. Cannon actually did make the above quote in a talk about keeping members of society employed and not idle. Cannon full statement, in context is:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">"Our boys, when they arrive at years of maturity and can take earn of a wife, should get married, and there should not be a lot of young men growing up in our midst who ought to be, but are not married. While I do not make the remark to apply to individual cases, I am firmly of the opinion that a large number of unmarried men, over the age of twenty-four years, is a dangerous element in any community, and an element upon which society should look with a jealous eye. For every man knowing himself, knows how his fellow-man is constituted; and if men do not marry, they are too apt to do something worse. Then, brethren, encourage our young men to marry, and see that they are furnished employment, so that they can marry."</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It is very likely that the original “Menace” quote came from Elder Cannon’s statement, but how did it get attributed to Brigham Young? Well, the explanation could be as simple as the telephone game: As the myth gets passed from person to person it was gradually changed. It may have gradually been attributed to Young because he was the President of the LDS Church at the time and carried the most authority.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">One thing is for sure, what was originally a phrase of condemnation, today is commonly invoked as a jest. It was referenced in the movie “Singles Ward” and was the subject of a short comedic operetta entitled “The Menace of Society” about a young man laments his single “menace” status, is dumped by his girlfriend for a recently returned missionary, but eventually is given hope by a former “menace.”</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In the end, we can’t really know why the quote was attributed to Brigham Young, but I’m sure this myth will persist. there will also be some members who will continue, with or without proof, to believe it came from Young, and choose, in the words of Ernest Wilkinson, to take it “on faith.”<br /><br /></span><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Mike Wallace interviewing Steve Young on 60 Minutes, 1996. quoted by Huan Hsu, “The Church of Latter-day Singles,” July 29-Aug. 4, 2005. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/cover/2005/cover0729.html. Retrieved March 25, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brigham_Young#Unsourced. Retrieved March 25, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://www.quotes-museum.com/quote/96075. Retrieved March 25, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> McBride, Erin Ann and Caldwell, Juli Hiatt, “Where’s Waldo?” http://www.meridianmagazine.com/singlethought/050825waldo.html. Retrieved March 25, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ernest L. Wilkinson, BYU Commencement Exercises, May 31, 1963, quoted by J. Stapley on September 28th, 2006 on http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2006/09/did-brigham-hate-your-501s/. Retrieved March 25, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Huan Hsu, “The Church of Latter-day Singles,” July 29-Aug. 4, 2005. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/cover/2005/cover0729.html. Retrieved March 25, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> George Q. Cannon, Annual Conference at Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, April 7, 1878. Reported by George F. Gibbs. Journal of Discourses, vol. 20, p.7</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-2231302457753488192009-09-15T08:50:00.003-07:002009-09-15T16:11:04.116-07:00Missionaries Called to China<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>Missionaries are Being Called to China</em><br /><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;">FALSE</span></em></strong><br /><br />This rumor has been around for over a decade. I can still remember hearing this one spread while I was at the MTC: Like Lamoni in the Book of Mormon, the hearts of the brutal Chinese military regime had been softened and the gospel was finally going to be taught in that country.<br /><br />I remember feeling bad for the missionaries who were being called to China, because it was suppose to be a three year mission (evidently the language was so hard to learn). But at the same time I felt a sense of awe and wonder – the gospel was spreading throughout the world like Daniel prophesied and we all know what that means: JESUS IS COMING!<br /><br />In fact, it is precisely millennialist expectations that result in these kinds of myths. This myth is less about missionary work than about fulfilling prophecy. When we hear that missionaries are finally being called to China, the glaringly loud, but implicit, announcement is “Hold on tight, the Second Coming is almost here.”<br /><br />Millenialist expectations are a foundation of the LDS culture, (hence “Latter-day Saints”) as well as many, many other Christian groups. It’s an explicit teaching found in the Bible:<br /><br /><em>"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14).</em><br /><br />This gospel shall be preached in all the world…then shall the end come…it doesn’t get any more explicit than that, except maybe in this verse:<br /><br /><em>"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come…." (Revelation 14:6-7).<br /></em><br />A non-LDS online Bible resource site, BibleUniverse.com, made the following comment:<br /><br /><em>“The great, solemn, last warning message of Christ's second coming is now being presented in more than 900 languages and dialects. More than 95% percent of the world's population has access to this message. Before Jesus' second coming, every person in the world will be warned of His soon return. People will be lost if they reject the warning message.”</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Clearly millenialist thinking is not unique to us Latter-day Saints. But as much as we would like to do our part to usher in all the final destruction and mayhem, missionary work in China, at least LDS missionary work, is not yet part of it.<br /><br />The LDS Church has specifically debunked this myth. A news article published December 2006, stated:<br /><br /><em>A rumor has been circulating that select members are being called on missions to China. The rumor claims that someone in a relative's ward, or in a friend's ward, received a letter extending a mission call but the field of service was left blank.<br />According to the rumor, the individual was instructed to call a phone number and then was "patched through to President Gordon B. Hinckley," who then asked if the prospective missionary would be willing to serve a three-year mission to mainland China, the first year consisting only of humanitarian service.<br />The Church News had been advised that this rumor has no foundation. No such mission calls have been extended</em>.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">There you have it, the “rumor has no foundation.” But this may not be entirely true. Speaking at the Peoria Stake Conference on March 8, 2009, I personally heard Elder Russell M. Nelson declare that the LDS Church has buildings in Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China, though he did not elaborate.<br /><br />Additionally, my personal friend Bryan S. (I am not using his last name out of respect for his privacy) served a Chinese speaking mission – which, by the way, was not three years – and recalled missionaries performing humanitarian work on China’s mainland though they were not allowed to proselytize.<br /><br />But though missionaries might be performing humanitarian service, a proselytizing mission is a very different thing. As of right now, the LDS Church has not called missionaries to China’s main land, and might not for a long time.<br /><br />Looks like the Second Coming is gonna have to wait a little longer. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> BibleUniverse.com. “Gospel to the World.” http://bibleuniverse.com/articles/second-coming-prophecies-fulfilled/gospel-to-the-world.aspx. Retrieved September 15, 20009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Church News: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “No foundation to China rumor” published Saturday, Dec. 23, 2006. http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/49938/No-foundation-to-China-rumor.html# Retrieved September 15, 2009.</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-20494753018642610662009-09-15T00:18:00.004-07:002009-09-15T16:11:13.538-07:00Joseph Smith Died as a Lamb to the Slaughter<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong> : <em>Joseph Smith died as a "lamb led to the slaughter." </em></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"></span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">FALSE</span></strong></em><br /></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The notion that Joseph Smith willingly sacrificed his life at Carthage has been accepted Mormon tradition since the time of Smith’s death, exemplified perfectly by the recently popular song about the prophet, “Lamb to the Slaughter.”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Smith allegedly referred to himself in this manner, and when he surrendered himself to Governor Ford, was quoted as saying, “<span style="color:#000000;">I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I SHALL DIE INNOCENT, AND IT SHALL YET BE SAID OF ME – HE WAS MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD</span>” (Doctrine & Covenants 135:4)</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">However, that tradition may not tell the whole story. After the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor, a fiery article was published in the Warsaw Signal urging men to take up arms against the Mormons.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Nauvoo Mormons feared reprisals from the non-Mormons in the surrounding areas so Smith declared martial law on June 18, 1844. Fearing the Mormon Legion, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford mobilized the state militia</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In an attempt to prevent civil war, the governor promised Smith that he would provide protection if Smith would stand trial at Carthage for the destruction of the newspaper. Smith ordered the Legion to disarm but fled to Iowa, across the Mississippi. Emma warned Joseph that Nauvoo residents believed he had left due to cowardice and were afraid of possible mob reprisals. Smith returned to Illinois on June 23, 1844 where he surrendered and was taken to Carthage jail</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">On June 27, just four days later, a mob of men with blackened faces stormed the jail where Joseph was held along with his brother Hyrum Smith, John Taylor and Willard Richards. However, the Smith brothers were not defenseless: both brothers were armed with pistols that had been smuggled in by friends the previous day. Hyrum was shot in the face by the attacking mob and killed immediately, preventing him from using his weapon. But, according to John Taylor, Joseph Smith pulled his six-shooter from his pocket "<em>and snapped the pistol six successive times; only three of the barrels, however, were discharged. I afterwards understood that two or three were wounded by these discharges, two of whom, I am informed, died.</em>"</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Englishdaily626.com defines the phrase “<em>lamb to the slaughter</em>” as meaning that someone does something “<em>without knowing that something bad is going to happen and therefore act calmly and without fighting against the situation.</em>” This definition is consistent with the phrase as used in Jeremiah 11:19: “<em>But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me…</em>”</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">However, this definition is not consistent with the phrase’s use in Acts 8:32 (Quoting Isaiah 53:7), “…<em>He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.</em>” LDS doctrine teaches us that Jesus Christ willingly went to his death to atone for the sins of the world. He knew He would die but did not fight against it or open his mouth in protest.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">One who knowingly chooses to sacrifice, suffer and/or die in order to advance a cause or principle is known as a martyr</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In light of the definition, it would appear that Smith, believing he would die, went as a martyr to Carthage Jail, not as a lamb to the slaughter. However, the myth that Joseph Smith died as a lamb to the slaughter, meaning that he died without a fight is clearly not true. Although he willingly turned himself in, he died fighting, killing two of his attackers.</span><br /><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Joseph: A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet. Jason Deere<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Warsaw Signal, Thomas C. Sharp. June 14, 1844.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ostling, Richard and Joan. “Mormon America: The Power and the Promise” HarperOne, 1999. p.16<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Bushman, Richard Lyman. “Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf, New York 2005, p.546<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> John Taylor, The Documentary History of the Church, Volume 7, 1850, pp. 102-103<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Encarta Online Dictionary: Martyr</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-6457725908820871532009-09-15T00:12:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:11:23.402-07:00African Americans Could Not Hold the Priesthood Until 1978<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>African-Americans were not allowed to hold the priesthood until 1978.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">FALSE</span></strong></em><br /><br />In 1832 Elijah Abel, a free African-American man, was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He received a patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith, Sr. and was then ordained to the office of elder on March 3rd, 1836 by Zebedee Coltrin</span>,<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">who also ordained Abel to the Nauvoo Seventies Quorum in December of that same year</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Abel served three missions for the LDS Church (his first to New York/Canada; his second mission to the “coloured [sic] population” of Cincinnati and his third mission to Ohio/Canada)</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">After returning from his first mission, Abel participated in the temple ordinance of baptism for the dead at the Nauvoo temple</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">However, in 1848 Brigham Young refused to allow additional blacks to hold the priesthood and in 1853, nine years after Joseph Smith’s death, Brigham Young refused to allow Abel and his wife to receive their temple endowment and sealing, although he did not revoke Abel’s priesthood authority</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">As a result of President Young’s decision, the majority (but not all) of black men from that time forward were not allowed to hold the priesthood until 1978, when church policy was changed. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It should be noted that there has been historical confusion and contradiction regarding the reason for this policy. Brigham Young taught what became known as the “Curse of Cain Doctrine,” the belief that blacks were the descendants of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, who was cursed with a black skin for murdering his brother. Those spirits who were less valiant in the war in heaven were then born under the curse of Cain and as a result were forbidden from holding the priesthood.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This teaching, although accepted by many of the early LDS Church leaders, was at odds with the teachings and actions of Joseph Smith Jr. Modernly, the Curse of Cain doctrine has been rejected by the LDS Church.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Although no official revelation was recorded preventing blacks from holding the priesthood, in 1949 the first presidency of the LDS Church declared that the official Church policy preventing blacks from holding the priesthood was a matter of “<em>commandment from the Lord</em>.” The first presidency declared:<br /></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">"The attitude of the Church with reference to Negroes remains as it has always stood. It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandment from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the Church from the days of its organization, to the effect that Negroes may become members of the Church but that they are not entitled to the priesthood at the present time."</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In 2003 Donald Jessee, the official spokesman for the LDS Church, issued a letter which declared that any speculation in the early Church regarding the issue of why blacks were not allowed to hold the priesthood was merely personal opinion. He then states that God has never provided a reason for the ban.<br /><br /></span><span style="color:#000000;"><em>In regards to your question of “why were black members of the LDS Church denied the Priesthood prior to 1878.” [sic] The position of the Church is that we don’t know what the reason was, for the lord has never revealed it.</em></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">Paul said, “The Lord hath before appointed the bounds of the inhabitants of all men for to dwell upon the face of the earth.” Only the Lord knows that He has not revealed to us the answer.<br /></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">Statements made by Church members or leaders prior to President Kimball’s revelation regarding this question, were an expression of their own opinions and are not then nor now the position of the Church.<br /></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">Regardless of the “why” for the ban, with few exceptions, blacks were denied the priesthood from 1848 to 1978. The exceptions included Elijah Abel, his son, Enoch, and grandson, Elijah, who were ordained as elders to the priesthood on November 27, 1900 and September 29, 1935 respectively.</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Minutes of the Seventies Journal, Hazen Aldrich, entry for 20 December 1836. LDS Church Archives as cited by Alma Allred in, "The Traditions of Their Fathers, Myth versus Reality in LDS Scriptural Writings" in Newell G. Bringhurst and Darron T. Smith (eds.) (2006). Black and Mormon (Urbana: University of Illinois Press)<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Lester E. Bush and Armand L. Mauss, eds, Neither White nor Black, Midvale, Utah: Signature books, 1984, pp. 33, 38, 76<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Lester E. Bush, Jr. and Armand L. Mauss, “Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview”, published in “Neither White nor Black: Mormon Scholars Confront the Race Issue in a Universal Church,” Signature Books, Midvale, Utah 1984, p.130<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid p.130<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Hawkins, Chester L. “Report on Elijah Abel and his Priesthood”, Unpublished Manuscript, Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1985<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> The First Presidency on the Negro Question, 17 Aug. 1949<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Newell G. Bringhurst, Black and Mormon. p.30</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-85636338774638272732009-09-15T00:09:00.002-07:002009-09-15T16:11:36.285-07:00Elder Nelson's Neighbor Translated Book of Mormon and Converts<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>Elder Nelson’s neighbor was converted by Book of Mormon</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><em>PARTIALLY TRUE</em></strong></span><br /><br />This myth was circulated through an email message, entitled "Reflections of Sami Hanna”, and was passed around by many LDS members.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It claims to be a first-hand account written by Elder Nelson of his native-Egyptian neighbor who was asked to translate the <em>Book of Mormon</em> into Arabic. During the process of translation Hanna was converted to the Church because he believed that no American could have written the profound internal evidences he discovered within the book.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This account is only partially true. While Elder Nelson did have a neighbor named Sami Hanna who did translate the <em>Book of Mormon</em> and was converted to the Church as a result, according to Elder Nelson’s office in Salt Lake, he did not write this account. Furthermore, additional details within the story itself have been found to be false, such as the account’s claim that the “original language of the book” was Arabic. (The <em>Book of Mormon</em> claims to have been written in a reformed Egyptian.)</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-39579318489059615172009-09-15T00:06:00.002-07:002009-09-15T16:11:44.567-07:00Japanese Missionary Converts Japanese Family in South America<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>A Japanese speaking missionary is called to serve a Spanish speaking mission but ends up converting a Japanese family.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><em><strong>UNCONFIRMED</strong></em><br /></span><br />This is a common missionary myth that can be found in numerous forms. As this particular story goes, a missionary of Japanese ancestry was called to serve in Colombia, speaking Spanish, though he desperately wanted to go to Japan. At some point in his mission he meets a Japanese family whom he is able to teach in his native language. In this particular variation he discovers the family has a Japanese Book of Mormon given to them by his father many years earlier.<br />This is another one of those inspiration/motivational stories that lacks sufficient evidence or verification (although according to http://www.shields-research.org, this story bears vague resemblance to the experiences of Masakazu Watabe, a missionary of Japanese heritage who served a mission in Brazil.) </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">I have personally experienced a variant of this story in a ward growing up. The story was of a sister missionary who spoke fluent French (having studied it for four years in school and who had lived for a short while in France.) But she was called to serve a mission in Spain, Spanish speaking. She struggled with the language her whole mission, never really getting the hang of it. However, before the end of her mission she tracted into a French speaking family and was able to teach them. Although I grew up hearing this story, I was never able to confirm specifically who this missionary was.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It is absolutely possible that such stories really happened, but without definitive evidence I have to say that this genre of missionary story is nothing more than motivational myth.</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-28270838022692107672009-09-15T00:04:00.002-07:002009-09-15T16:11:52.385-07:00Temple Protected from Japanese Bomber<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>Japanese pilot tries to </em></span><a name="bomb_Hawaii_temple"><em><span style="color:#000000;">bomb </span></em></a><em><span style="color:#000000;">Hawaii temple</span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">UNCONFIRMED</span></strong></em><br /><br />According to this legend, during WWII a Japanese fighter pilot flew over the Hawaii temple and decided to bomb it. But when he flew back around he was unable find the temple. He later joined the Church after seeing a picture of the temple.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This is a wonderful story teaching that even during times of war, we can be led to the gospel. However, despite the many people who claim that they know for sure that this story is true, there is absolutely no convincing verification or documentation.</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-22381691610129337682009-09-15T00:01:00.004-07:002009-09-15T16:12:04.213-07:00LDS Church Owns Coca-Cola<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>The Mormon Church owns the Coca-Cola Company</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">FALSE</span></em></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The LDS Church does not own the Coca-Cola Company. The company itself is much too large to be own by any single individual or organization (its value exceeding $140 billion.)</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">A variation of this rumor is that the LDS Church owns stock in Coca-Cola. While this is possible, we have been unable to verify whether or not it is true. The official position of the LDS Church is that all investment holdings are confidential. However, any ownership that the LDS Church could have would in no way constitute a position of influence and/or control within the company (a 1% ownership in Coca-Cola would be worth roughly $1.375 billion.)</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Our favorite internet cops, snopes.com, allege that this myth originated with “<em>the</em> <em>notion that Mormons are forbidden caffeinated beverages, thus how deliciously ironic it would be if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints quietly owned a company it raged against from the pulpit</em>.”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It should be noted that although Mormons have been advised by Church leaders to avoid caffeinated beverages, this suggestion is not official Church doctrine. Thus, Mormons are able to indulge in caffeinated products while remaining members in good standing.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">For additional information, refer to www.snopes.com</span><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Snopes.com/cokelore/mormon.asp</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-73418525001002534712009-09-14T23:51:00.007-07:002009-09-15T16:12:13.058-07:00LDS Church Fasting Growing<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>The LDS Church is the fastest growing church.</em> </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">FALSE</span></em></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fastest growing, or at least among the fastest growing churches has been repeated for at least the last fifteen years.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In 1993, President Gordon B. Hinckley, then First Counselor in the First Presidency, told of a conversation he had with a young convert. Specifically discussing the growth of the LDS Church, President Hinckley stated:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">He then went on to say: “The fastest growing church [of] over a million members in this country is the Mormon Church, the Latter-day Saints, with headquarters in Salt Lake City, which is growing at five percent a year, [and] that’s a very rapid increase.”</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In 2001 a <em>Church in the News</em> article titled “Church Among Fastest Growing Faiths” made the following statement:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">A group of researchers headed by the Hartford (Conn.) Institute for Religion Research has been busy over the past five years conducting the most sweeping survey of U.S. congregational life ever completed. The study found that more than half of congregations are growing, those in the West more rapidly even than those in the South. The study also found that world religions (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Islam and Baha'i) are the fastest growing of all faiths</span></em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Most recently, a 2009 LDS.org newsroom talking points stated:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">According to the National Council of Churches, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the second-fastest-growing church in the United States</span></em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">These claims are based, at least in part, on truth, depending of course, on how you define growth. The 1990-2000 Glenmary Research Center Survey of Religious Congregations in America, a survey commissioned by the Glenmary Home Missioners Society, a Catholic order dedicated to establishing the Catholic Church in rural America, reported that the LDS Church ranked twenty-third among the 149 participating denominations in overall U.S. growth rate, but first among denominations reporting over one million adherents.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The 2002 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, provided by the National Council of Churches (NCC), declared the LDS Church to be the fifth largest church in the United States, replacing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Rev. Dr. Eileen Lindner, NCC Deputy General Secretary for Research and Planning and “Yearbook” editor stated in regards to the growth of the LDS Church. “<em>This ranking represents a very brisk increase in membership for a church with a relatively brief history</em>.”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Grow within the LDS Church has continued. The 2006 edition of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches declared the LDS Church as the second fastest growing church with over one million members in the United Stated and Canada</span>,<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">and the 2007 edition ranked the LDS Church as the fourth largest church in the United States</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">But these rankings might not be telling the whole story. While it is true that the LDS Church has been steadily growing, that growth is actually declining, along with the growth of most of the other major religions in the United States. In 2003, membership in the LDS Church increased by only 1.71 percent</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Just two years later that growth decreased to just 1.63 percent in 2005</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">The growth rate steadily increased in 2006 and 2007 but began to decline again in 2008.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In a ward missionary training meeting held in Glendale, Arizona on January 29, 2009, Apostle L. Tom Perry shared statistics on new convert baptisms. New convert baptisms in the United States and Canada in 2008 represented a -1 percent change in growth from 2002 to 2008. Internationally there was a -5 percent change in growth during the same time period.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Additionally, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) by the City University of New York found that the LDS Church had one of the highest turnover rates of any faith in the United States</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">At a BYU Idaho devotional, Dale E. LaBaron claimed that in 2000 the Church in West Africa averaged the second highest sacrament attendance for the entire LDS Church worldwide, “second only to the Utah South Area.”</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">And what their impressively high percentage of </span><span style="color:#000000;">attendance? 54 percent!</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">If the LDS participation and attendance around the world is under 54 percent, then there is clearly a retention problem.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Further compounding the problem is the fact that there are less missionaries today than just ten years ago, and today’s missionaries are less effective than they were just a decade ago. In 1989, at the height of LDS missionary success, there were 8.03 converts per missionary. In 1999 that figure dropped to 5.23 converts, and then dropped further to 4.72 converts per missionary in 2004.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Adding to the decline was a possibly unintended result of the Raising the Bar initiative. In 2003 there were 5,401 fewer missionaries than in the previous year. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In October 2000, Apostle Boyd K. Packer acknowledged the problem in an address to Stake Presidents at the North American West Area Training Conference. He stated:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">"Currently, convert baptisms worldwide are at a free fall. The number of young men going on missions is going down. One of the worst statistics is the number of less active young women."</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13">[13]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">So not only are there less missionaries teaching, but each missionary today is less effective in converting new members and the LDS Church as a whole is finding it increasingly difficult to retain those new converts. Some estimate that of the 4.7 people that each missionary is able to bring to the gospel, only 1.3 will remain active.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14">[14]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Some of the statistics on church growth presented above, such as the National Council of Churches and the Glenmary Survey, rely on an array of church-reported statistics but presents no standard by which various denominations can be accurately compared. As a result, these statistics tend to favor groups like the LDS Church who report nominal members without regard to actual participation verses denominations such as the Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses who calculate membership dependant on participation.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Contrary to this popular myth, the LDS Church is not the fastest growing church, nor even close to being the fastest growing church, in the United States or in the world.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">As stated above, the NCC reports that the LDS Church is the second fastest growing church with more than one million members, but not the fastest growing in the country. And the Glenmary Survey ranked the LDS Church twenty-third in terms of growth domestically.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">As of 2007 the LDS Church, which began in 1830, boasted a membership of 13,193,999. The LDS Church added 325,393 members over 2006, representing a 2.52% increase</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15">[15]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">On average, the LDS Church is adding roughly 27,000 new members a month. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In comparison, Pentecostal Christianity, which originated in Topeka, Kansas, in 1901, has membership of around 480 million adherents worldwide as of 1998</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16">[16]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The Assemblies of God denomination, which was organized in 1914, has membership of about 50 million members worldwide, adding approximately 3.6 million new members a year</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17">[17]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">That's 11 times the growth of the LDS Church. In some instances the Assemblies of God congregations are experiencing exponential growth, such as in Brazil where the Assembly of God church went from zero to 10 million members in only four years, a feat that took the LDS Church 160 years to accomplish.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The Seventh-day Adventist Church was organized in 1849, only 19 years after the LDS Church was organized. As of 2004 its membership exceeds 16.8 million</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18">[18]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Seventh-day Adventists were adding an average of 95,280 new members each month in 2000, and have experienced increased growth since that time</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19">[19]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">That is a daily increase of over 3,000 members, more than 3 times the growth rate of the LDS Church. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">When viewing the statistics, it becomes clear that The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the fastest growing religion in either the United States or worldwide.<br />Addressing the news stories highlighting the LDS Church’s growth, the LDS Church appropriately made the following statement:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">However, despite its increasing numbers, the Church cautions against overemphasis on growth statistics. The Church makes no statistical comparisons with other churches and makes no claim to be the fastest-growing Christian denomination despite frequent news media comments to that effect. Such comparisons rarely take account of a multiplicity of complex factors, including activity rates and death rates, the methodology used in registering or counting members and what factors constitute membership. Growth rates also vary significantly across the world. Additionally, many other factors contribute to the strength of the Church, most especially the devotion and commitment of its members.</span></em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20">[20]</a><br /><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gordon B. Hinckley, “‘It’s True, Isn’t It?’,” Ensign, Jul 1993, 2<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Church in the News, “Church Among Fastest Growing Faiths” March 22, 2001. http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=7cecc8fe9c88d010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=dc55cd15cb7cd010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> LDS.Org Newsroom, http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/background-information/growth-of-the-church, retrieved March 5, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> "Religious Congregations & Membership: 2000," Glenmary Research Center, September 20, 2002, www. Glenmary.org.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> News from the National Council of Churches; “2002 'Yearbook' - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Makes 'Top Five' U.S. Churches for the First Time,” http://www.ncccusa.org/news/02news14.html<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Newsroom.lds.org, July 22, 2006<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> MormonWiki: “Fastest Growing Church,” http://www.mormonwiki.com/Fastest_Growing_Church<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8"><span style="font-size:78%;">[8]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Herlinger, Chris, "U.S. Catholic, Episcopal, Mormon, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Churches Grow," Episcopal News Service, April 5, 2005.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9"><span style="font-size:78%;">[9]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Lindner, Eileen W., ed., Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches 2007, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2007.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10"><span style="font-size:78%;">[10]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Elder L. Tom Perry, Ward Missionary Training Meeting; Glendale, Arizona, January 29, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11"><span style="font-size:78%;">[11]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Mayer, Egon, Barry A. Kosmin, and Ariela Keysar, American Religious Identification Survey, City University of New York, www.gc.cuny.edu.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12"><span style="font-size:78%;">[12]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Dale E. LeBaron, "Devotional", Ricks College News Release [April 5, 2001] cited in David Stewart, LDS Member Activity and Convert Retention Statistics<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13"><span style="font-size:78%;">[13]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Boyd K. Packer. Addressing the Stake Presidents at the North American West Area Training Conference in Walnut Creek, CA in October 2000.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14"><span style="font-size:78%;">[14]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> David Stewart, “Trends in LDS Church Growth,” www.cumorah.com/trends.doc<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15"><span style="font-size:78%;">[15]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> The Deseret Morning News LDS Church Almanac<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16"><span style="font-size:78%;">[16]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> www.adherents.com<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17"><span style="font-size:78%;">[17]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> www.ag.org<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18"><span style="font-size:78%;">[18]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://www.religioustolerance.org/sda.htm<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19"><span style="font-size:78%;">[19]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://news.adventist.org//data/2000/08/0970097206/index.html.en<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20"><span style="font-size:78%;">[20]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> LDS.Org Newsroom, http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/background-information/growth-of-the-church, retrieved March 5, 2009</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-53788435015083469462009-09-14T23:35:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:12:27.474-07:00LDS Church Has No Paid Ministry<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>The LDS Church does not have a paid ministry.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">PARTIALLY TRUE</span></em></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The policy of not having a paid ministry has long been a much emphasized tenet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as a point of distinction. It has also been referenced as evidence of the truthfulness of the restored gospel emphasizing volunteer leadership with no laity (a congregation of worshippers distinguished as separate from the clergy).</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Elder Boyd K. Packer stated:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is no paid ministry, no professional clergy, as is common in other churches. More significant even than this is that there is no laity, no lay membership as such; men are eligible to hold the priesthood and to carry on the ministry of the Church, and both men and women serve in many auxiliary capacities. This responsibility comes to men whether they are rich or poor, and with this responsibility also comes the authority. There are many who would deny, and others who would disregard it; nevertheless, the measure of that authority does not depend on whether men sustain that authority, but rather depends on whether God will recognize and honor that authority</span></em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In 2006, President Thomas S. Monson recounted a story wherein he was asked why the Church was so wealthy. He explained that the Church was not necessarily wealthy, but it was able to build church buildings and temples because of two reasons: Tithing and no paid ministry. He explained:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>I answered that the Church is not wealthy but that we follow the ancient biblical principle of tithing, which principle is reemphasized in our modern scripture. I explained also that our Church has no paid ministry and indicated that these were two reasons why we were able to build the buildings then under way, including the beautiful temple at Freiberg</em></span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">But although it has often been repeated that the LDS Church has no paid ministry, the question is whether that claim is actually true. Many critics argue that it is not true, based on the fact that General Authorities as well as some mission presidents receive a living allowance</span>,<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">claiming that the top 85 or 90 leaders (General Authorities) do quite well: they allegedly receive a salary, allowances, and are also paid as board members for a vast number of church-owned corporations.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The answer to this question might very well lie in our definition of a “paid ministry.”</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Generally speaking, a paid ministry includes any form of financial gain or incentive that would result from ministerial work and would be subject to federal tax law. These monetary incentives include, but are not limited to, a salary, a living stipend and/or gifts received by the official church organization or its members as a result of a specific position or service related to the church organization.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Some ministers in the Christian world, such as Catholic priests, receive monetary compensation through a living stipend and housing. Other ministers sit on a board of directors and receive compensation for that position while others receive a straight-forward salary and/or percentage based on growth or revenues. Any form of payment, compensation or reward for ministerial work would be subject to federal and state taxes and therefore must be considered as income.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The LDS Church has consistently set itself apart from these organizations and practices, and sees ministerial work for gain as a form of corruption. The <em>Book of Mormon</em> defines "priestcraft" as teaching “<em>that they may get gain and praise of the world” while not seeking "the welfare of Zion.</em>"</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Just as the ancient apostles and teachers had their own professions to support themselves and did not rely solely on payments or gifts from the people, the same </span><span style="color:#000000;">should be true of the restored church.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">But there are allegations that this claim is not true, at least in regards to the General Authorities (specifically the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">And those allegations are correct.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It is common knowledge in the LDS community that the General Authorities receive a living stipend to meet their expenses while they serve the Church, but the amount of that stipend is unknown.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">President Gordon B. Hinckley addressed the question of the living stipend, stating that it is a modest compensation for their work and that it does not come from the tithing of the people, but rather business interests held by the LDS Church:</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Merchandising interests are an outgrowth of the cooperative movement which existed among our people in pioneer times. The Church has maintained certain real estate holdings, particularly those contiguous to Temple Square, to help preserve the beauty and the integrity of the core of the city. All of these commercial properties are tax-paying entities.<br />I repeat, the combined income from all of these business interests is relatively small and would not keep the work going for longer than a very brief period.<br /><strong>I should like to add, parenthetically for your information, that the living allowances given the General Authorities, which are very modest in comparison with executive compensation in industry and the professions, come from this business income and not from the tithing of the people</strong></em></span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In addition to a living stipend or allowance, it is rumored that these General Authorities also serve on various boards or committees – in addition to, or perhaps as a function of, their apostolic calling – overseeing the activities of all business as well as ecclesiastical endeavors of the LDS Church, for which they receive financial compensation.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">There have also been numerous stories on various message boards and blogs on the internet claiming that various General Authorities were given gifts by members including travel expenses, food and even property as a result of the office or position they held within the Church.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">One online blogger claimed the following:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">My wife's uncle is a GA [General Authority] …He came up thru the CES system, and has always been an employee of the church, making a very meager salary in my opinion over the years, considering trying to live in a decent house for a family of 7 in SLC. He's been a mission president and is now First Quorum of the Seventy. He's always lived off the "stipend" which like I said is very conservative, before he was made a GA, it was somewhere around 50-60K per year as CES administrator. His kids (my wife's cousins) went to BYU for free, one of the other perks of GA-hood. I never heard exact numbers of his stipend when he became 2nd Quorum GA, but my wife heard "ballpark" figures of 60-70. That was over 15 years ago. She remembers her dad discussing with his brother his finances because they (GA family) wanted to buy a bigger house (a very average sized semi-custom house in SLC suburb, not fancy at all), but were afraid to commit because as 2nd quorum, there was no guarantee that position would be for life. So his brother (my father in law, who has financial means), basically told him "don't worry, go for it, I'll cover you". She remembers her dad using the phrase: "take the step of faith"... When he became 1st quorum, it solved the concerns, I assume because of a "raise" and the life-time assignment. We've always guessed with adjusted inflation, most GA's stipend's [sic] are getting close to six figs. That really isn't rich anymore, just comfortable without making the wife work. Stipends are "modified" to each individual, with many not taking any at all because they are financially independent. And yes he pays tithing on his stipend</span></em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Certainly a six-figure income would no longer be considered a living allowance, but constitutes a rather nice salary. Most people in America would love to have a six-figure income. Additionally, free tuition at BYU for family members would constitute as a form of pay as those same benefits are not offered to other members, but are the results of the specific Church calling.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">To find answers to these allegations, I decided to go directly to the source and contacted the headquarters of the LDS Church. Although it was acknowledged that the General Authorities received a living allowance, I was informed that the financial information of its leaders was strictly confidential.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">However, I did learn that in addition to General Authorities, some mission presidents also receive a living allowance during their three year period of service, if required. However, “<em>Many mission presidents are financially able to take time out of work to support themselves during their service (and return to their vocations when their service is complete), and do not require a living allowance.</em>”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Additionally, in the past General Authorities sat on the boards of Church-owned businesses for which they were financially compensated. However, in 1996 this practice was discontinued</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Although the top leadership of the LDS Church does receive compensation for their service, to which they dedicate their lives, when the LDS Church refers to “no paid ministry” they are usually referring to leadership on the local level. Elder M. Russell Ballard stated, “…<em>local congregations are led by volunteer, unpaid members. Both men and women serve in assigned leadership positions</em>.”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Being led by volunteer, unpaid members on the local level is an important distinction for the LDS Church. The LDS Church has no professional ministry in the traditional sense. There is no schooling or education that sets one apart for a leadership position.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">A man cannot enter the LDS Church and expect to become a Bishop or Stake President, both of which are volunteer positions. And that person certainly would have very little hope of becoming a General Authority and making a career of his leadership aspirations. A call to serve as a General Authority usually comes later in life and the General Authority position did not serve as a life career for any of the men that currently hold that position.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Former President Gordon B. Hinckley emphasized the fact that there is no professional ministry, but rather a lay leadership. He stated:<br /><br /><em>I need not tell you that we have become a very large and complex Church. Our program is so vast and our reach is so extensive that it is difficult to comprehend. We are a Church of lay leadership. What a remarkable and wonderful thing that is. It must ever remain so. It must never move in the direction of an extensive paid ministry.</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The LDS Church heavily emphasizes the importance of the involvement of every single member, upon whose heads the local teaching and ministering falls. President Hinckley claimed,</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>The Church will ask you to do many things. It will ask you to serve in various capacities. We do not have a professional ministry. You become the ministry of this Church, and whenever you are called upon to serve may I urge you to respond, and as you do so your faith will strengthen and increase….</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Elder Franklin D. Richards made a similar statement two decades earlier. “<em>Inasmuch as there is no paid ministry in the Church, service opportunities are available to men, women, and children of all ages.</em>”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In reality, all local leadership – Bishops, Stake Presidents, Elders Quorum presidents, Relief Society presidents and all other auxiliary leaders or workers – receive no form of financial compensation and each person financially supports himself/herself during their period of service through their own full-time occupations. The only exception would be seminary or institute teachers who are considered employees of CES (Church Education System) and are not positions of leadership.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The <em>Book of Mormon</em> supports this practice claiming that "all <em>their priests and teachers should labor with their own hands for their support, in all cases save it were in sickness, or in much want;</em>"</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13">[13]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">But interestingly, the <em>Doctrine and Covenants</em> actually states the exact opposite. Section 42 states:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">And the elders or high priests who are appointed to assist the bishop as counselors in all things, are <strong>to have their families supported out of the property which is consecrated to the bishop</strong>, for the good of the poor, and for other purposes, as before mentioned;<br /></span></em><a name="72"></a><em><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Or they are to receive a just remuneration for all their services</strong>, either a stewardship or otherwise, as may be thought best or decided by the counselors and bishop.<br /></span></em><a name="73"></a><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong>And the bishop, also, shall receive his support, or a just remuneration for all his services in the church</strong>.</em> </span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14">[14]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In the end, the modern LDS Church is made up of a lay leadership that is not paid for their service. There are no colleges where one can go to train to be an LDS Bishop or General Authority, and no one in the LDS Church can decide that they are going to be a Bishop, Stake President, or General Authority, or any other position in a ward or stake in general. Certainly there are no opportunities to make such leadership positions a career choice.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">So, in terms of general, local leadership, the LDS Church has neither a professional nor paid ministry.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">However, the top General Authorities (the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve apostles and the First Quorum of the Seventy) do in fact receive financial compensation for their service. As a result, the LDS Church should stop making the claim that they have no paid ministry. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Just like most priests or ministers, the General Authorities of the LDS Church give up other employable options and dedicate themselves to the gospel, for which they are financially compensated. Aside from popular opinion, most Christian ministers receive a modest income for their work and should not be disparaged or condemned for it.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15">[15]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Instead, they should be respected for their dedication and desire to serve, whether they receive financial compensation or not.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">And like the LDS Church, there are many members of other faiths who devote time and energy to their churches without any monetary compensation. They too should be respected for their dedication to their beliefs.</span><br /><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Boyd K. Packer, “Follow the Brethren,” Tambuli, Sep 1979, 53<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Thomas S. Monson, “Our Sacred Priesthood Trust,” Ensign, May 2006, 54–57<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://en.fairmormon.org/No_Paid_Ministry<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 26:29<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gordon B. Hinckley, "Questions and Answers," Ensign (November 1985): 49.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://www.mormonapologetics.org/lofiversion/index.php/t38358.html. Online message board, message left on Oct. 15, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://en.fairmormon.org/No_Paid_Ministry<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8"><span style="font-size:78%;">[8]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Lynn Arave, "LDS programs evolve over the years," Deseret Morning News (30 September 2006).<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9"><span style="font-size:78%;">[9]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> M. Russell Ballard, “Faith, Family, Facts, and Fruits,” Liahona, Nov 2007, 25–27<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10"><span style="font-size:78%;">[10]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gordon B. Hinckley, “To Men of the Priesthood,” Liahona, Nov 2002, 56–59<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11"><span style="font-size:78%;">[11]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gordon B. Hinckley, “Inspirational Thoughts,” Ensign, Jun 1999, 2<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12"><span style="font-size:78%;">[12]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Franklin D. Richards, “Q&A: Questions and Answers,” New Era, Mar. 1977, 11–12<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13"><span style="font-size:78%;">[13]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Book of Mormon, Mosiah 27:5<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14"><span style="font-size:78%;">[14]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Doctrine and Covenants 42:71-73<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15"><span style="font-size:78%;">[15]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://en.fairmormon.org/No_Paid_Ministry</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-69821130662894470692009-09-14T23:22:00.007-07:002009-09-15T16:12:36.601-07:00Did the Prophet Deny That God Was Once a Man?<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>President Gordon B. Hinckley made a public statement denying that the LDS Church taught the doctrine that God was once a man.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">TRUE</span></strong></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">On several occasions former President of the LDS Church, Gordon B. Hinckley has been attacked by his detractors for equivocating and/or misleading the public about Mormon doctrine in order to make it appear more acceptable to the world at large. One of the issues he is accused of downplaying is the controversial LDS belief that God was once a man who attained godhood.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In this one instance, the detractors may be right.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">On August 4, 1997, Time Magazine printed an interview with Gordon B. Hinckley, then president of the LDS Church. The article reported the following:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, [Hinckley] sounded uncertain, `I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it.'</span></em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">After publication, F. Michael Watson, Secretary to the First Presidency of the LDS Church, in a letter to the <em>Institute for Religious Research and Gospel Truths Ministries</em> asserted that President Hinckley’s words were taken out of context. The Time reporter made the transcript of his interview with President Hinckley available. Here is the relevant excerpt from President Hinckley's interview with <em>Time</em>:<br /><br /><em><strong>Q</strong>: Just another related question that comes up is the statements in the King Follett discourse by the Prophet.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><br />Hinckley</strong>: Yeah</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><br />Q</strong>: ... about that, God the Father was once a man as we were. This is something that Christian writers are always addressing. Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are?</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><br />Hinckley</strong>: I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it. I haven't heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don't know. I don't know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don't know a lot about it and I don't know that others know a lot about it</em></span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">One week after the <em>Time Magazine</em> article was published, President Hinckley was interviewed by Don Lattin, religion editor at the <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em>. When asked about whether Mormon’s believe that God was once a man, again President Hinckley appears to dodge the question and change the subject:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong>Q</strong>: There are some significant differences in your beliefs [and other Christian churches]. For instance, don't Mormons believe that God was once a man? </em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><br />Hinckley</strong>: I wouldn't say that. There was a little couplet coined, "As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become." Now that's more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><br />Q</strong>: So you're saying the church is still struggling to understand this? </em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><br />Hinckley</strong>: Well, as God is, man may become. We believe in eternal progression. Very strongly. We believe that the glory of God is intelligence and whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the Resurrection. ...that's one thing that's different. Modern revelation. We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, we believe he has yet to reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.</em> </span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">President Hinckley clearly appears to be dodging the question, redirecting the conversation to the issues of eternal progression and modern revelation.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Despite President Hinckley’s statement “<em>I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it</em>,” The idea that God the Father was once a man is a firmly established doctrine of the LDS Church. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The LDS teaching manual <em>Gospel Principles</em> makes the following statement in the lesson titled “Exaltation”:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">Joseph Smith taught: “It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God…. He was once a man like us;…God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did.”</span></em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Joseph Smith first taught this doctrine at King Follet’s funeral, April 7, 1844. As recorded in the <em>History of the Church</em>, and reprinted in the official LDS teaching manual <em>Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith:</em></span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">I will prove that the world is wrong, by showing what God is. I am going to enquire after God; for I want you all to know him, and to be familiar with him; and if I am bringing you to a knowledge of him, all persecutions against me ought to cease. You will then know that I am his servant; for I speak as one having authority.<br /><br />I will go back to the beginning before the world was, to show what kind of being God is. What sort of being was God in the beginning? Open your ears and hear, all ye ends of the earth, for I am going to prove it to you by the Bible, and to tell you the designs of God in relation to the human race, and why he interferes with the affairs of men.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"><br />God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible, — I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form — like yourselves in all the person, image and very form as a man . . .</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"><br />... I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see.... he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"><br />Here, then, is eternal life — to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you"</span></em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In another official teaching manual, <em>Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young</em>, it reads:<br /><br /><em>President Brigham Young taught ... that God the Father was once a man on another planet who 'passed the ordeals we are now passing through...'</em></span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Brigham Young himself stated:<br /><br /></span><em><span style="color:#000000;">He [God] is our Father - the Father of our spirits, and was once a man in mortal flesh as we are, and is now an exalted being.</span> </em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Joseph Fielding Smith declared <em>"...God...is a personal Being, a holy and exalted man..."</em></span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Bruce R. McConkie confirmed the history of this long established LDS doctrine:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">Mormon prophets have continuously taught the sublime truth that God the Eternal Father was once a mortal man who passed through a school of earth life similar that through which we are now passing. He became God - an exalted being - through obedience to the same eternal Gospel truths that we are given opportunity today to obey.</span></em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Clearly the doctrine that God the Father was once a man is firmly engrained in LDS teachings, and used in several official teachings manuals. We will not speculate as to why President Hinckley made the statements that he did, but he does appear to publicly downplay this controversial issue.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">President Hinckley addressed this issue in General Conference by clarifying:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">I personally have been much quoted, and in a few instances misquoted and misunderstood. I think that's to be expected. None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly, and it is unfortunate that the reporting may not make this clear. I hope you will never look to the public press as the authority on the doctrines of the Church.</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a><br /><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gordon B. Hinckley, as quoted in Time Magazine, interview conducted by Richard N. Ostling. Aug 4, 1997, p.56<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Transcript of Gordon B. Hinckley interview by Richard N. Ostling, sent to Luke P. Wilson Executive Director of the for Religious Research and Gospel Truths Ministries, September 1997<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Don Lattin (religion editor, interviewing Gordon B. Hinckley, San Francisco Chronicle, April 13, 1997, p 3/Z1<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gospel Principles teaching manual, Lesson #47 “Exaltation” Published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, approved 6/96, p.305<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> History of the Church, vol. 6, pp. 304-306, See also Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, Chapter 2: “God the Eternal Father”, official lesson manual published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2007 edition, text approved 8/00, p.40<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, Chapter 4: “Knowing and Honoring the Godhead”, official lesson manual published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1997 edition, text approved 10/95, p. 29<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid., 3:93<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8"><span style="font-size:78%;">[8]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 1:10, 1954, cited from 21st printing 1975<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9"><span style="font-size:78%;">[9]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966 edition, p.250<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10"><span style="font-size:78%;">[10]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference October 1997</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-11922790459346987742009-09-14T23:17:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:12:45.412-07:00Youth - Generals in the War in Heaven<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>LDS youth were generals in the War in Heaven and will be honored for serving in the latter days.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">FALSE</span></strong></em><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">A quotation has been widely circulated around the Church that the latter day youth were generals in the war in heaven. According to <em>LDS Church News</em>, the statement asserts that the modern youth of the Church </span><a name="general"><span style="color:#000000;">"<em>were generals in the war in heaven ... and (someone will) ask you, 'Which of the prophet's time did you live in?' and when you say, 'Gordon B. Hinckley' a hush will fall,... and all in attendance will bow at your presence.</em>”</span></a><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This quote has been attributed to not one, but several general However, it did not come from a general authority at all. In fact, the First Presidency has spoken out against this quote as promoting false doctrine. A notice from the Office of the First Presidency addressing this myth declared:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">"This is a false statement. It is not Church doctrine. At various times, this statement has been attributed erroneously to President Thomas S. Monson, President Henry B. Eyring, President Boyd K. Packer, and others. None of these Brethren made this statement.”</span></em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">According to Shields-Research.org, this erroneous statement “<em>originated with an instructor in an 'Especially For Youth' class; but the statement has gradually been changed from its original form.</em>”</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The first Presidency’s notice correcting this myth was sent to all leaders within the Church including General Authorities, Area Seventies, stake, mission, district and temple presidents, as well as bishops and branch presidents, instructing that priesthood leaders should see that this myth "<em>is not used in Church talks, classes, bulletins or newsletters.</em>”</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">It further instructed priesthood leaders to "<em>correct anyone who attempts to perpetuate its use</em>.”</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> LDS Church News, “First Presidency Releases Statement” Saturday March 8, 2008<br />http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/51715/First-Presidency-releases-statement.html<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://www.shields-research.org/<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> LDS Church News, “First Presidency Releases Statement” Saturday March 8, 2008<br />http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/51715/First-Presidency-releases-statement.html<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid.</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-58291301642716081892009-09-14T23:10:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:12:54.805-07:00Rocky Mountain Prophecy<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH:</strong> <em>Joseph Smith prophesied that the LDS Church would be established in the Rocky Mountains were the Saints would become a mighty people.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">FALSE</span></strong></em><br /></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">There was a prophecy recorded in the <em>Documentary History of the Church</em> [DHC], dated August 1842, in which the prophet Joseph Smith is said to prophesy that the Saints would settle in the Rocky Mountains and become a mighty people. The prophecy, as found in the DHC, states:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains, many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease, and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains.</span> </em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In a Sunday, October 5, 2008 General Conference session, LDS Apostle M. Russell Ballard referenced this prophecy, affirming that the Saints had fulfilled Smith’s prophecy that they would “<em>build cities</em>” and “<em>become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains</em>.”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This prophecy was allegedly recorded five years before the Mormons began their migration west, and indeed, would be an impressive prophecy – if Joseph Smith had truly made the statement. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">But, is there undeniable evidence that Smith did indeed utter this prophecy and that it was recorded prior to the Saints settling in Utah?</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">LDS historian Davis Bitton states: </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">There is no such prophecy in the handwriting of Joseph Smith, or published during the prophet's lifetime, but it was referred to in general terms during the trek west. After the arrival in the Salt Lake Valley the prophecy became more specific as time went on</span></em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In 1971, LDS historian Dean C. Jessee alleged that the page containing this prophecy had not been originally written until July of 1845</span>,<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">three years after the prophecy was said to have been given, and a year after Smith’s death. This indicates that the entry itself cannot be accepted as definitive proof that Smith made the prediction.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">If the prophecy was not recorded during Joseph Smith’s lifetime, then the real question is whether the prophecy was added to Church historical manuscripts before or after the Saints moved to Utah.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In 1920, Author Nephi Morris wrote a book defending Joseph Smith’s prophecies. In reference to the “<em>Rocky Mountain Prophecy</em>” Morris writes, "<em>The earliest printed publication of this prophecy, known to the writer, is to be found in the Deseret News, in 1852</em>."</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Interestingly, the photograph of the prophecy from that paper which Morris includes in his book was from the 7 November 1855 issue.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">If the date on the paper was correct, then the first publication of the prophecy was not publicly printed until eight years after the Mormons settled in the Salt Lake Valley.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">According to Dean C. Jessee, the LDS history books had been packed up in Nauvoo, Illinois, on 4 February 1846 and were not unpacked in Salt Lake City until 7 June 1853. The work on compiling and finalizing the History did not begin in earnest until 10 April 1854 under the direction of the new church historian George A. Smith</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">The prophecy was printed for the first time in the 7 November 1855 issue of the Deseret News</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It appears that many of the leaders of the Church, including Brigham Young, were not aware of Joseph’s alleged prophecy. In a circular published by the LDS Church in October 1845, Brigham Young stated that the Church would move to a "<em>far distant region of the west</em>." However, he did not include the Rocky Mountains as one of the proposed destinations. He continued, "There <em>are said to be many good locations for settlements on the Pacific, especially at Vancouver's Island, near the mouth of the Columbia</em>."</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">LDS historians James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard asserted that when the saints left Nauvoo for the west, Brigham Young’s intended destination was to be “<em>Upper California</em>.”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Elder W.W. Riter, a Mormon pioneer who traveled to the Salt Lake Valley with Brigham Young, confirmed that the Saints did not intend the Rocky Mountains as their final destination, and thus were not aware of Joseph’s alleged prophecy. As published in the Improvement Era, Riter states:<br /><br /><em>You will remember that when our people started from Nauvoo they only followed the setting sun. They did not know where they were going. There was an indefinite idea that they were going to California; for you may remember that in some of the old editions of our hymn book there is a hymn: 'In Upper California—Oh, that's the land for me!'</em></span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The hymn in question, written by John Taylor and sang by the Mormon pioneers as they traveled west, included the following verse:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">The Upper California, Oh that's the land for me!<br />It lies between the mountains and the great Pacific Sea;<br />The Saints can be supported there,<br />And taste the sweets of liberty.<br />In the Upper California, that's the land for me! </span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Additionally, in 1846 LDS Church leaders considered petitioning the government of England to cede to them part or all of the Island of Vancouver, on the west coast of America. Missionary Oliver B. Huntington recorded in his journal on October 16, 1846:<br /><br /></span><em><span style="color:#000000;">…it was the intention of the Twelve, here, or the authorities of the Church in England to petition the [English] government, to cede to us as her subjects a part or the whole of the Island of Vancouver, on the western coast of America; and also ship us there. This was given as the intended course to be taken by the Church</span>.</em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">President Young later confirmed that he had no intentions of settling in the Rocky Mountains. In a 1857 sermon Young acknowledged:<br /><br /><em>When I was written to in Nauvoo by the President of the United States, through another person, enquiring, 'Where are you going, Mr. Young?' I replied that I did not know where we should land. We had men in England trying to negotiate for Vancouver's Island, and we sent a shipload of Saints round Cape Horn to California</em></span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">From Young’s own statements, and the actions of the members of the church at the time, it does not appear that they were aware of Joseph’s alleged prophecy. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It is possible that Joseph Smith did in fact prophesy of the Mormon settlement in the Rocky Mountains, but the evidence indicates that the “prophecy” was written and expanded after the Mormon settlement of Utah. One thing is certain, there is no concrete evidence whatsoever to support the myth that Joseph Smith predicted that the Saints would settle in the Salt Lake Valley.<br /></span><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Documentary History of the Church (DHC) 5:85, August 1842<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> M. Russell Ballard, LDS General Conference, Sunday October 5, 2008<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Davis Bitton, Changing World of Mormonism, p.406,<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> "The Writings of Joseph Smith's History," BYU Studies, Summer 1971, pp. 456-458, 468-70<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Nephi Morris, Prophecies of Joseph Smith, p.139<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> "The Writings of Joseph Smith's History," BYU Studies, Summer 1971, pp. 456-458, 469-470<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid., p.273<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8"><span style="font-size:78%;">[8]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://library.byu.edu/, “Mormon Publications: 19th and 20th Centuries,” Circular, To The Whole Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, October 1845<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9"><span style="font-size:78%;">[9]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> James B. Allen, Glen M. Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, p.226<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10"><span style="font-size:78%;">[10]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Improvement Era, "Correct Placing of the Monument, Pioneer View", 1921<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11"><span style="font-size:78%;">[11]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Journal of Oliver B. Huntington 1:34<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12"><span style="font-size:78%;">[12]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Journal of Discourses 5:230-231</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-69004033446928483032009-09-14T22:43:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:13:04.797-07:00Satan Controls the Water<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>Satan Controls the Water</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">UNCERTAIN BUT NOT LIKELY</span></em></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Almost every person who has served a mission will be familiar with this myth as it is often related to the universal rule that missionaries are not allowed to go swimming. Other variations of this myth include Satan controlling the oceans, lakes and rivers or Satan controlling water on Sundays.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It appears that this myth evolved as a way to discourage particular behavior. Obviously, if Satan controlled the water, then it would be dangerous for missionaries to go swimming. After all, who would Satan want to destroy more than those spreading the word of God? Likewise, Satan’s control of the waters on Sunday would certainly discourage the desire to break the Sabbath.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Interestingly, members of the LDS Church have never officially been cautioned to avoid water, and it appears that showers, baths and drinking water are okay without the need for special anti-devil filters on their faucets and plumbing. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">So where does this myth come from? Well, it may actually have an interesting source. On August 12, 1831, Joseph Smith and a group of elders were traveling along the Missouri River when Elder William W. Phelps claimed to see a vision of “the destroyer” on the river. The preface for Doctrine and Covenants, section 61 reads:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, on the bank of the Missouri River, McIlwaine’s Bend, August 12, 1831. HC 1: 202–205. On their return trip to Kirtland the Prophet and ten elders had traveled down the Missouri River in canoes. On the third day of the journey many dangers were experienced. Elder William W. Phelps, in daylight vision, saw the destroyer riding in power upon the face of the waters.</span></em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Following Elder Phelps vision, Joseph Smith received the following revelation.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">Behold, I, the Lord, in the beginning blessed the waters; but in the last days, by the mouth of my servant John, I cursed the waters.<br />Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon the waters.<br />And it shall be said in days to come that none is able to go up to the land of Zion upon the waters, but he that is upright in heart.<br />And now I give unto you a commandment that what I say unto one I say unto all, that you shall forewarn your brethren concerning these waters, that they come not in journeying upon them, lest their faith fail and they are caught in snares; </span></em><a name="19"></a><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">I, the Lord, have decreed, and the destroyer rideth upon the face thereof, and I revoke not the decree.</span></em> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">These verses indicate that the waters, by John’s command, were cursed and unsafe for travel, and “the destroyer” has power over them. The revelation then goes on to advise the saints to travel via land or the canals</span>,<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">but not the river. It is never clear if “the destroyer” is referring to Satan or if he is a destroying angel.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Additionally, the verses make it clear that the Missouri river was unsafe for travel, as opposed to the canals, but it appears that the revelation was broadened to later include all bodies of water in general.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This idea that the waters are unsafe ties into several prophecies that John recorded in the book of Revelations which indicate that in the latter days the waters would be cursed by an angel of God (the destroyer?) John prophesies:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood</em></span>.<span style="color:#000000;">[4]</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will</span>.</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; </span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter</span></em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In addition to the waters being cursed, John makes at least one reference to water being used as a weapon, specifically by the Devil.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It can certainly be argued that John’s writing were symbolic and may not have anything to do with water at all. However, we do find references in the Bible to the dangers of traveling on water. Paul describes the hardships he faced during his journeys, specifically “in perils of waters…in perils in the sea…”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The apostles also faced danger on the waters when a great storm threatened their ship until the Savior commanded the waters to be still.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full…<br /></em></span><a name="38"></a><a name="39"></a><span style="color:#000000;"><em>And he [the Savior] arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm</em></span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">So clearly, as members of the Church understood, both during the time of Paul and of Joseph Smith, traveling upon the waters was a dangerous business. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Even today, bodies of water can pose risks if not properly respected. And the real reason missionaries are not allowed to go swimming most likely has more to do with minimizing accidents and liabilities (let’s face it, 19 and 20 year old males and the phrase “reckless” often go hand in hand), than with any control Satan might exert over the waters. The missionary prohibition on swimming would also be a way to help them avoid temptation. After all, where there are people swimming, there are girls in swimming suits, and THAT might be more trouble than a missionary can handle.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">So in conclusion, we are left to believe that elder Phelps saw “the destroyer” and that the Missouri river was deemed too dangerous for travel. John did prophesy that in the latter days the waters would be cursed. But, cursed by God, through an angel, and not Satan. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Is “the destroyer” Satan? Probably not, but it can’t be ruled out. Does Satan have control of the waters? Again, it is highly unlikely and there are no prophesies or scriptures that explicitly make that claim. So, although we cannot declare this legend as entirely false, it is highly unlikely. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Interestingly, in Greek mythology the waters were controlled by the God Poseidon. Poseidon, depicted with his powerful trident (a three tipped spear) was often an antagonist in many of the ancient stories, sabotaging or attempting to kill such heroes as Odysseus and Hercules. During the growth of the Orthodox Church during the middle ages, it attempted to assimilate Christian beliefs into the pagan belief systems of the people. This often resulted in the demonizing of various pagan icons and belief structures, through art and other methods. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It wasn’t long until the popularized depiction of Satan pictured him with a trident, or pitchfork, of his own. Could the myth that Satan also controls the water be an extension of Poseidon’s imagery? You be the judge.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Doctrine and Covenants, Section 61 Preface<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid, Section 61:14-16, 18-19<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Doctrine and Covenants, Section 61:23<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> KJV Bible, Revelations 16: 4<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid, Revelation 11: 6<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid, Revelations 8: 10-11<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid, Revelations 12: 15<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8"><span style="font-size:78%;">[8]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid, 2 Corinthians 11: 26<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9"><span style="font-size:78%;">[9]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid, Mark 4: 37, 39</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-28502910292183413332009-09-14T22:38:00.004-07:002009-09-15T16:13:14.218-07:00Rainbows and the Second Coming<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span> </p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>When rainbows cease to be seen on the earth the second coming of the Savior will be near.</em></span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;">POSSIBLELY TRUE BUT UNPROVEN</span></em></strong> </span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">It’s a long held belief in Mormon culture that a lack of rainbows is a sign that the Second Coming will be imminent. This belief is actually less myth than prophecy, and as such it cannot be tested, but it’s worth examining the origins of this prophecy.</span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">After the great flood as recorded in Genesis, God created a rainbow in the sky as a promise to Noah, and all the creatures of the earth, that he would never destroy the whole earth again by flooding it. The book of Genesis records:<br /><br /></span><em><span style="color:#000000;">And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.<br /></span></em><a name="12"></a><em><span style="color:#000000;">And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:<br />I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.<br /></span></em><a name="14"></a><em><span style="color:#000000;">And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:<br />And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.<br />And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.<br /></span></em><a name="17"></a><em><span style="color:#000000;">And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the ea</span>rth</em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">Former president of the LDS Church, Howard W. Hunter stated:</span></p><p><em><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color:#000000;">The Lord made a covenant with Noah, and the rainbow became the token of that eternal covenant with all mankind (see Genesis 9:13</span>).</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> </p><p><span style="color:#000000;">Joseph Smith taught that there was a greater significance to the appearance, or lack, of a rainbow. While seeing rainbows was a perpetual reminder of God’s covenant to never again destroy the earth, the disappearance of rainbows hailed the coming of the end. Smith prophesied:</span></p><p><em><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color:#000000;">The Lord hath set the bow in the cloud for a sign that while it shall be seen, seed time and harvest, summer and winter shall not fail; but when it shall disappear, woe to that generation, for behold the end cometh quickly</span>.</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> </p><p><span style="color:#000000;">Joseph Smith later confirmed this prophecy and expounded on what the “end” meant.</span></p><p><em><span style="color:#000000;">I have asked of the Lord concerning His coming; and while asking the Lord, He gave a sign and said, “In the days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as a sign and token that in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come; but there should be seed time and harvest during that year: but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be token that there shall be famine, pestilence, and great distress among the nations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant</span></em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">This prophecy has been embraced and repeated among members of the LDS Church who make it a point to monitor and study the signs of the times. LDS author Roger K. Young stated, “</span><em><span style="color:#000000;">For example, one of the signs warning us that the time of His Coming will be within a year is the absence of rainbows</span>.</em>”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">So this myth proves to have historical relevance and only time will tell if Joseph Smith’s prophecy proves true.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> KJV Bible, Genesis 9: 11-17<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Howard W. Hunter, “Commitment to God,” Ensign, Sep 2006, 44–47<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> History of the Church, Joseph Smith. Volume 5, p.402<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid, Volume 6, p.254<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Roger K. Young, “..As a Thief in the Night..” Celestial Publications and Distribution, American Fork, UT 1999, p.4</span></p>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-4555939064727393112009-09-14T19:23:00.006-07:002009-09-15T16:13:24.042-07:00Ten Tribes Live on Another Planet<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>The lost Ten Tribes of Israel were taken off of this planet currently reside on another planet waiting for their time to return.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;"><em><strong>UNKNOWN</strong></em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Although this myth may initially sound absurd, after all, how are we to accomplish the gathering of Israel if they no longer live on this earth? However, there is strong historical support for this myth, which originated with the prophet Joseph Smith.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In order to understand this myth, we need a brief historical background on the lost tribes. In 925 B.C., the kingdom of Israel split into two kingdoms: The southern kingdom was made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin with the other ten tribes making up the northern kingdom. About 200 years later the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians and carried away into Assyria (modern southern Turkey.)</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">As recorded in the apocryphal book 2 Esdras, the ten tribes escaped from the Assyrians roughly ninety years later and journeyed into an unknown land in the north.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Bruce R. McConkie asserted that the ten lost tribes were completely dispersed among the nations and their gathering would be the result of typical missionary work.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">However, leaders of the early Church understood things differently. The prophet Joseph Smith allegedly told fellow member Benjamin Brown that the ten tribes were taken from off the earth and currently resided on a “twinkler” that can be seen in the proximity of the Polar Star. According to Homer M. Brown, the grandson of Benjamin Brown:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">The prophet turned to Section 133 and read, commencing at the 26th verse, and throughout the 34th verse. He said, after reading the 31st verse, “Now let me ask you what would cause the Everlasting Hills to tremble with more violence than the coming together of the two planets.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">And the place whereon they reside will return to this Earth.” “Now” he said, “scientists will tell you that it is not scientific: that two planets coming together would be disastrous to both, but, when two planets or other objects are traveling in the same direction and one of them with a little greater velocity than the other, it would not be disastrous, because the one traveling faster would overtake the other, and now, what would cause the mountains of ice to melt quicker than the heat caused by the traction of the two planets coming together?” And then he asked the question: “Did you ever see a meteor falling that was not red hot? So that would cause the mountains of ice to melt.”</span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">“<em>And relative to the Great Highway which should be cast up when the planet returns to its place in the great Northern Waters, it will form a highway and waters will recede and roll back. He continued, “Now as to their coming back from the Northern waters; they will return from the north because their planet will return to the place from when it was taken.</em>”</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Elder Orson Pratt confirmed this belief. He stated:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>The Prophet Joseph once in my hearing advanced his opinion that the Ten Tribes were separated from the Earth: or a portion of the Earth was by a miracle broken off, and that the Ten Tribes were taken away with it, and that in the latter days it would be restored to the Earth or be let down in the Polar regions. Whether the Prophet founded his opinion upon revelation or whether it was a matter of mere speculation with him, I am not able to say</em>.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Elder Parley P. Pratt also taught that the lost ten tribes were living on another star and would be returned to the earth. He wrote in the Millennial Star, “<em>The</em> <em>stars which will fall to the earth, are fragments, which have been broken off from time to time…some with the ten tribes…These all must be restored again at the “times of restitution of all things.” This will restore the ten tribes of Israel…</em>”</span> <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Wilford Woodruff recorded in his journal a statement he attributed to Brigham Young:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">The leaders upon their return from Provo made a visit to Logan. Here, President Young is quoted as saying that the ten tribes of Israel are on a portion of the earth--a portion separated from the main land.</span></em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6"><span style="color:#000099;">[6]</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Additionally, a hymn written by Eliza R. Snow and included in the LDS hymnbooks from 1856 to 1912, reiterated this commonly believed idea. The words of the hymn were as follows:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>1. Thou, Earth, wast once a glorious sphere<br />Of noble magnitude,<br />And didst with majesty appear<br />Among the worlds of God<br />2. But thy dimensions have been torn<br />Asunder, piece by piece,<br />And each dismember’d fragment borne<br />Abroad to distant space<br />3. When Enoch could no longer stay<br />Amid corruption here,<br />Part of thyself was borne away<br />To form another sphere.<br />4. That portion where his city stood<br />He gain’d by right approv’d<br />And nearer to the throne of God<br />His planet upward mov’d<br />5. And when the Lord saw fit to hide<br />The “ten lost tribes” away,<br />Thou, Earth, wast sever’d to provide<br />The orb on which they stay.<br />6. and thus, from time to time, thy size<br />Has been diminish’d, till,<br />Thou seemst the law of sacrifice<br />Created to fulfil.</em></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Clearly the idea that the lost ten tribes of Israel resided on a fragment of the earth out in space was a commonly held belief among the early members of the Church, though it is no longer taught. Is it correct doctrine or myth? Who can know?<br />The LDS Church’s official position is that the Lord has not revealed the location of the lost ten tribes and no one knows for sure where they are.</span><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> 2 Esdras 13:40-47<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Bruce R. McConkie, “The Millennial Messiah” BookCraft, Salt Lake City, 1982<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Robert W. Smith, “Scriptural and Secular Prophecies Pertaining to the Last days,” Pyramid Press, Salt Lake City, Utah 1948, p.211-216, as recorded in “..As a Thief in the Night..” Roger K. Young, 1999, Celestial Publications<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Orson Pratt, “Letter box of Orson Pratt,” Church Historian’s Office, Letter to John C. Hall, December 13, 1875<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Parley P. Pratt, Millennial Star, Vol.1:258, February 1841<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Matthias F. Cowley, “Wilford Woodruff,” BookCraft, Salt Lake City, Utah. 1964, p.448<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Franklin D. Richards, “LDS Hymns: Sacred Hymns & Spiritual Songs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Deseret News Company of Salt Lake City, UT.</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-39342188216770163412009-09-14T19:17:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:13:32.115-07:00Steven Young Permission to Play on Sunday<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>Steve Young, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, received permission from the General Authorities to play football on Sundays.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000000;">FALSE</span></em></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Everyone loves football. And if one of our own has the opportunity to go pro and eventually win the Super Bowl, well certainly he should be granted an exception from the traditional method of keeping the Sabbath day holy. Right?</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Well, that is what this myth seems to suggest.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Football superstar Steve Young was awarded the Most Valuable Player in 1992 and 1994, was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX in 1995 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005. During his career he won six NFL passing titles and continues to hold the NFL record for highest career passer rating. Steve Young is also an active member of the LDS Church.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Controversy began in the mid-1990s when members of the LDS Church tried to reconcile keeping the Sabbath day holy (which includes instructions from General Authorities not to play or watch sports on Sunday)</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><span style="color:#000000;"> and seeing one of their own become famous while disregarding this counsel. As a result, a rumor began that Young received special permission from the Prophet/General Authorities to play on Sunday, thus allowing him to play on Sundays without breaking one of the Ten Commandments, while still being idolized by LDS youth.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">One website outlines the story as follows:<br /><br /></span><em><span style="color:#000000;">My wife and I were in Sunday School one Sabbath day and we were discussing keeping the Sabbath holy. Inevitably the conversation turned to famous athletes who play football, basketball, etc. on Sunday and what a bad example it was to our children. Then someone just has to mention Steve Young and what a "wonderful example he has been to our youth". The[n] someone else says "He would be a better example if he were to turn down the money in favor of doing the right thing." Then comes the shocker. At this point of the conversation (or dare I say debate?) someone raises his hand and authoritatively states that "Steve Young received permission from the Prophet to play on Sunday because it would be a great missionary tool for the church." This immediately causes two distinct reactions. 1- Nodding heads of approval (usually from the more sports inclined portion of the class). or 2- Looks of shock and amazement at the thought of the Prophet over-riding a long standing law of the Gospel for one man. The person who makes the revelation of the "waiver" made by the Prophet never gives any kind of authenticating proof other than "I heard that....". This happened in my Ward one Sunday and I was left feeling so sick that none of the people in the class seemed to be interested in knowing the TRUTH of the matter. They only wanted to validate their individual points</span>.</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This myth may have been perpetuated when John Halpin, friend of Steve Young, wrote an article trying to explain Young’s decision. In his article he stated, “<em>Elder Maxwell told him [Steve Young] that he could be an example and have a missionary effect on thousands.</em>”</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4"><span style="color:#000000;">[4]</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">There are three points of controversy to this myth. First, is the appearance that the Prophet/General Authorities would bend the commandments of God for anyone, effectively altering God’s laws for the benefit of one person. Second, is the idea that one can be an example of the Gospel while simultaneously not living some of its fundamental beliefs, as outlined by the leaders of the LDS Church. And third, is the claim that such ecclesiastical endorsement would encourage the youth of the Church today to justify non-observance of the Sabbath, and potentially lead to justifying other sins. One blogger stated, </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">It is a small step from "The Prophet ok'd Steve playing on the Sabbath" to "Therefore I can watch Steve play on the Sabbath!"… In short, the propagation of this type of story is dangerous to the spiritual health of the Church and should be avoided</span></em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In a personal letter to me, dated March 16, 2009, Steve Young said the following:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">Thank you for your letter inquiring about the myth that I “received permission from the Prophet to play on Sunday because it would be a great missionary tool for the church.” Concerning this myth, I can assure you that I was never given such permission but certainly spoke to many general authorities regarding it. Just as the Savior’s eternal plan gave us the freedom of choice, the church leaders never told me what to do. With my NFL career, playing on Sundays was never an easy decision. I felt comfortable that I was able to serve the Lord as an ambassador and missionary to millions of people all over the world. This was a very unique opportunity for me and does not always apply to everyone. Even though I worked on Sundays, I still kept my regard of the Sabbath the best I could – just as I did in my youth. Actually, when I was with the 49ers, we had enough LDS members on the team to have our own “49er branch.” With church approval, we conducted sacrament together each week during the season.<br />I can’t say what is right or wrong for anyone else, but I know I grew up with an appreciation of the Sabbath day and also the responsibility involved with being on a team.</span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Clearly the decision to play on Sundays was Young’s decision, alone, and he received no special exemptions or endorsements from the Prophet or General Authorities.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Some have argued that a famous athlete who broke the Sabbath should not be looked upon as a good example or missionary. However, evidence indicates something different. During his career, Young spoke at numerous firesides, drawing attendance in the thousands and allegedly resulting in referrals and baptisms in the hundreds</span>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a> <span style="color:#000000;">Certainly his missionary efforts cannot go unrecognized.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It should also be recognized that although he played on Sundays, he was always an active member of the Church. He was involved in the creation of a branch with the LDS members of his team, observed the Sacrament whenever he was able, kept the word of wisdom and law of chastity and was an endowed temple worker. Young was married in the Kona Hawaii temple on March 15, 2000. He also founded the Forever Young Foundation, which serves children facing significant physical, emotional and financial challenges and serves as a National Advisor to ASCEND, a humanitarian alliance that provides life skills mentoring to people in Africa and South America.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It would not be appropriate to judge Steve Young or his decision to play on Sunday, or anyone else for that matter, and certainly not without all the facts. I believe we each have enough on our plates in our daily efforts to teach our families correct principles and live by them without worrying about what other people are doing, or did a decade ago.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">In the end, members can rest assured that the myth is false and no special permission was granted to play on the Sabbath. Below is a letter from Young’s lifetime friend trying to explain Young’s decision to play professional football. Although it is obviously biased, it may give you additional insight into Young’s decision.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span><em><span style="color:#000000;">Essay by John Halpin<br />I would like to respond to the many comments about the Sabbath Day and Steve Young. I know there were many comments with good intentions and purposes but I could not just sit here without sharing the truth. I must explain to you all that Steve is a very close and personal friend of me and my family. He lived with us in our home for 8 years and there is still much contact with him and I want you all to know that this is how it really is and how he really is. Steve is very aware that he is held up as an example both good and bad. It troubles him of course. The truth is that during his freshman year he went home during Christmas Break to start processing his mission papers. </span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">His Bishop felt strongly that he should wait. Just before he went back to the BYU for his second semester after Christmas his Bishop gave him a blessing and told him to postpone his mission at this time. At that stage in his life he was very shy and very obedient and certainly not one to not obey his Bishop. He had no idea what would be ahead for him. This was the ongoing counsel over the next few years.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">He was very active as a missionary even then. He taught and baptized his freshman roommate and took very seriously teaching the non members around him. During the years at BYU he was made to feel that he was the one responsible for their national success and they depended on him for all of the national recognition. He continued thinking he would eventually still serve. So many things happened so fast after all of the success that BYU was having that when he was offered the contract with the USFL he was staggered and unbelievably effected. He got off the private jet with the largest contract ever offered an athlete, sick inside he wanted nothing to do with it. He went to Neal Maxwell's house, who surely must have been surprised when he opened the door to find this shy bewildered person standing on the doorstep begging him to tell him what to do. He hated the publicity, he didn't want the money and he wanted to run and hide. Elder Maxwell told him that he could be an example and have a missionary effect on thousands.</span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">He still wanted to run and hide. He did just that, even the news media picked up his strange behavior. His Dad went with him to report for the first day of camp or he would never have gone. His Dad convinced him, since he was a lawyer, that he had put his name on a contract and he was to honor it. So the rest is history. He has always hated playing on Sunday. He tells young people in his talks that the Sabbath is sacred and he tried to create another Sabbath by first holding a Sacrament Meeting in the hotel Saturday before the game with the other LDS players and then all day Tuesdays he attends the temple. He is a set apart temple veil worker in the Oakland Temple. He felt that possibly the Lord would accept his Sabbath as He does in Israel for the BYU students and members. He tells the kids and he really means it, that though he has accepted his visible position as a form of a mission he would give anything and longs for the day that maybe he can be in a remote village somewhere in the world, spreading the gospel one on one. His choice has been very painful many times and he wanted to quit and be like everyone else. </span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">When the Sports Illustrated magazine did a feature on BYU missionaries they had a black and white picture of all the players and then they put all the missionaries in color. He hated that black and white picture of himself. He now speaks in the mission field for Mission Presidents. The only way the young people can attend the massive firesides is if they bring a non-member. He is bold in testimony and tells them not to worship sports idols or rock stars but worship the God in Heaven and Jesus Christ. He bears his testimony and teaches the gospel couched in his experiences and has the ears of young people and families of thousands of non members. These groups are 5 to 7 thousand people and the referrals are in the hundreds and the baptisms are greater in number than all the missionaries tracting for months. </span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">So it is easy to judge someone without all the facts. He too has sacrificed a lot. He probably would have been married by now, something he has wanted desperately if the NFL didn't own his life. The part that most people do not understand is that he has always felt that his money was a stewardship and he is charitable beyond anyone's imagination. He keeps very little for himself. Also he was offered $700,000 to make a commercial for Coke. They wanted him to pass a can of Caffeine Free Coke to a beautiful model. He agreed until they told him that she would be catching a can of Coke Classic. That was earlier in his sponsoring years and was and is a lot of money but he refused. His life has been one of sacrifice. </span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">He knows the BYU athlete that turned down his pro career because of Sabbath Day commandment and he admires him immensely, so he and he alone will be accountable for his choice. However, I have never seen a lonelier or more dedicated kid and man in my life that wanted to make a positive difference in the world on behalf of good values and his strong belief in the Church. Very few young people will be faced with his choices and very few really know the story of how hard his choices have been for someone that is shy and extremely lonely. </span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;">I have used Steve in my classes many times as a person of GOOD example. A person who loves the Lord, who stands up for righteousness and goodness and as someone who truly has dedicated his life's purpose for the furthering of the kingdom. He has committed more than just two years - he has committed his all! Yes, he is an example for our youth. He is proud to be Mormon and he has always stood tall with his testimony. Truly someone our youth can look up to!<br /></span></em><em><span style="color:#000000;">-John Halpin</span><br /></em><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Young_(American_football)#Personal_life. Retrieved March 29, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Gospel Principles Manual, Chapter 24 “The Sabbath Day.” Official teaching manual for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1997, p.161<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> http://www.angelfire.com/ut/mormonlegends/Steveyoung.html, Unknown author, retrieved March 23, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid., Story by John Halpin. Retrieved March 23, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Ibid., Story by John Halpin. Retrieved March 23, 2009</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-21699533217422861482009-09-14T19:08:00.005-07:002009-09-15T16:13:41.175-07:00Yoda Modeled After Mormon Prophet<span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>MYTH</strong>: <em>Star Wars Jedi Master Yoda was modeled after LDS President Spencer W. Kimball.</em></span><br /><em><span style="color:#000000;"></span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>FALSE</strong><br /></span></em><br />For quite some time a story has been circulating through LDS communities that Yoda, the wise but backward speaking Jedi master from the mega popular <em>Star Wars</em> movie series was intentionally modeled after President Spencer W. Kimball. Some variations even assert that George Lucas was in contact with leaders of the LDS Church as he wrote the <em>Star Wars</em> prequels and even received direction from them to include Mormon doctrine in each film.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">It is possible that this myth actually started out as a joke. A comparison of both Yoda and Kimball reveal several, loose similarities (both are balding on the top of their heads, big ears, clean shaven faces.) My wife, for one, was very amused by the similarities when I showed her pictures of each. But those similarities are spurious at best.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The Yoda character was designed by special effects crews and puppetry artists working with Industrial Light and Magic, Inc. [ILM], which is responsible for all the special effects in the <em>Star Wars </em>movies. ILM is a subsidiary of Lucasfilm, which is owned by George Lucas.<br />Anne Merrifield, Secretary to George Lucas at Lucasfilm Ltd., stated:<br /><br /><em>…we never cease to be amazed at the stories that are out there. Yoda was most definitely not modeled after Spencer W. Kimball, and if people believe there is any sort of LDS doctrine in the “Star Wars” movies, it is completely coincidental.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Therefore, both myths are officially denied…<br /></em></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">According to “<em>So Now You Know…A Compendium of Completely Useless Information,</em>” Yoda’s face was modeled after Albert Einstein.</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">George Lucas is not affiliated to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One can find philosophical comparisons between Mormon doctrine and the philosophies within the <em>Star Wars</em> movies. The relationship of Jedi masters and padawans, a companionship of two, one senior and one junior, is similar to the way missionary companions are formed – two missionaries, one senior and one junior.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Additionally, the council of the Jedi (Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), who counsel together in the Jedi temple, leads the Jedi as they use the light side of the force (the priesthood or Holy Spirit?) in their quest to rid the world of the Sith and the Dark side (evil). The Jedi rely on the force (Holy Spirit) to guide their actions and protect them from their enemies.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">I believe that those similarities are not coincidental. The philosophies within the <em>Star Wars</em> movies are very similar, and are likely based on, modern Christianity. The battle between good and evil, light and dark, is a timeless theme and not unique to either Mormonism or Star Wars. We also find Christian influence in the immaculate birth of Anakin (the chosen one who was expected to bring balance to the force ) as well as distinctly Orthodox views as the Jedi are not allowed to marry.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">If the philosophies presented in <em>Star Wars</em> were influenced by Biblical Christianity, then it makes sense to find some similarities with Mormon doctrine, considering that Mormons believe in the Bible as well.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Harry Bright, Harlan Briscoe. So Now You Know…A Compendium of Completely Useless Information, MFJ Books, New York 2004, p.107</span>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3249320337323333599.post-78270619567833158002009-09-14T19:04:00.004-07:002009-09-15T16:13:49.968-07:00Frog and Boiling Water<p><strong><br />MYTH</strong>: <em>A frog placed in water that is gradually heated will not attempt to escape.</em></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">FALSE</span></strong></p><p>This myth claims “<em>that if a frog were dropped into a pan of boiling water it would immediately jump out to save its life. However, if that same frog were placed in a pan of cold water and the heat was gradually turned up, the frog would stay put until cooked.</em>” <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a></p><p>This myth has been promoted in the LDS community since at least 1982 when it was referenced by Elder Royden G. Derrick, then a member of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> Since that time, this myth has been repeated by Quinn G. McKay,<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> Elders Marion G. Romney<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a> and James E. Faust<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a> as well as the <em>Book of Mormon</em> <em>Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual</em>.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a></p><p>This myth finds its roots in nineteenth-century physiological literature. A 1897 publication referenced an 1882 experiment done at Johns Hopkins University as evidence that "<em>a live frog can actually be boiled without a movement if the water is heated slowly enough; in one experiment the temperature was raised at a rate of 0.002°C. per second, and the frog was found dead at the end of 2½ hours without having moved.</em>” <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a></p><p>This myth has been challenged by recent experiments, but supporters of this myth argue that in these more recent experiments the water was heated at a rate roughly ten times faster than the 1882 experiment (the temperature increased at a rate of 2°F, 0.019°C. per second as opposed to 0.002°C. per second.)<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a></p><p>Harvard University biology professor, Doug Melton,stated, "<em>If you put a frog in boiling water, it won't jump out. It will die. If you put it in cold water, it will jump before it gets hot -- they don't sit still for you.</em>” <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a></p><p>According to Dr. Victor Hutchison, Research Professor Emeritus from the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Zoology:</p><p><em>The legend is entirely incorrect! The ‘critical thermal maxima’ of many species of frogs have been determined by several investigators. In this procedure, the water in which a frog is submerged is heated gradually at about 2 degrees Fahrenheit per minute. As the temperature of the water is gradually increased, the frog will eventually become more and more active in attempts to escape the heated water. If the container size and opening allow the frog to jump out, it will do so.</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a></p><p>Admittedly, it appears that no modern biologists have attempted to reproduce the 1882 experiment exactly as it was originally done. So, it is possible that water heated at a much slower speed than two degrees per minute could result in a boiled frog. Sadly, or possibly gratefully, I don’t have the heart to attempt this experiment on my own, so I’ll leave it to the experts, who claim this myth is exactly that: A myth.</p><p></p><p><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Quinn G. McKay, “All That Glitters Isn’t Celestial,” Tambuli, Mar 1988, p.7<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Royden G. Derrick, “To Be in Control,” New Era, Sep 1982, p.4<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Quinn G. McKay, “All That Glitters Isn’t Celestial,” Tambuli, Mar 1988, p.7<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Marion G. Romney, “Converting Knowledge into Wisdom,” Tambuli, Oct 1983, p.1<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> James E. Faust, “The Gift of the Holy Ghost—A Sure Compass,” Ensign, Apr 1996, p.2<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-size:78%;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Lesson 10: “He Inviteth All to Come unto Him”, Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, (1999), p.42<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Edward Scripture, The New Psychology (1897): page 300. The original 1882 experiment was cited as: Sedgwick, "On the Variation of Reflex Excitability in the Frog induced by changes of Temperature," Stud. Biol. Lab. Johns Hopkins University (1882): 385. Referenced in Wikipedia.com: Boiling Frog, Retrieved February 9, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8"><span style="font-size:78%;">[8]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> "The legend of the boiling frog is just a legend" by Whit Gibbons, Ecoviews, November 18, 2002, retrieved January 6, 2008. Referenced in Wikipedia.com: Boiling Frog, Retrieved February 9, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9"><span style="font-size:78%;">[9]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> "Next Time, What Say We Boil a Consultant", http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/01/frog.html. Retrieved on 2006-03-10. Referenced in Wikipedia.com: Boiling Frog, Retrieved February 9, 2009<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3249320337323333599#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10"><span style="font-size:78%;">[10]</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Snopes.com, January 12, 2009, http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/frogboil.asp. Retrieved February 9, 2009</span></p>Monster Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570743266241112830noreply@blogger.com0