Yearly Archives: 2024

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“If a court record could be identified, and if it contained a confession by Joseph Smith which revealed him to be a poor, ignorant, deluded, and superstitious person, then it follows that his believers must deny his claimed divine guidance which led them to follow him... How could he be a prophet of God, the leader of the Restored Church, if he had been the superstitious fraud which 'the pages from a book' declared he confessed to be?” - Francis W. Kirkham, LDS Historian A New Witness For Christ in America (1942), Pages 486-487 | wasmormon.org
“If a court record could be identified, and if it contained a confession by Joseph Smith which revealed him to be a poor, ignorant, deluded, and superstitious person, then it follows that his believers must deny his claimed divine guidance which led them to follow him... How could he be a prophet of God, the leader of the Restored Church, if he had been the superstitious fraud which 'the pages from a book' declared he confessed to be?” - Francis W. Kirkham, LDS Historian A New Witness For Christ in America (1942), Pages 486-487
“A careful study of all facts regarding this alleged confession of Joseph Smith in a court of law that he had used a seer stone to find hidden treasure for purposes of fraud, must come to the conclusion that no such record was ever made, and therefore, is not in existence... If any evidence had been in existence that Joseph Smith had used a seer stone for fraud and deception, and especially had he made this confession in a court of law as early as 1826, or four years before the Book of Mormon was printed, and this confession was in a court record, it would have been impossible for him to have organized the restored Church.” - Francis W. Kirkham, LDS Historian A New Witness For Christ in America (1942), Pages 385-387 | wasmormon.org
“A careful study of all facts regarding this alleged confession of Joseph Smith in a court of law that he had used a seer stone to find hidden treasure for purposes of fraud, must come to the conclusion that no such record was ever made, and therefore, is not in existence... If any evidence had been in existence that Joseph Smith had used a seer stone for fraud and deception, and especially had he made this confession in a court of law as early as 1826, or four years before the Book of Mormon was printed, and this confession was in a court record, it would have been impossible for him to have organized the restored Church.” - Francis W. Kirkham, LDS Historian A New Witness For Christ in America (1942), Pages 385-387
“if this court record is authentic it is the most damning evidence in existence against Joseph Smith... Now bear in mind that the is the key witness to the existence of the Bainbridge court record, and that that record is the most devastating blow to Smith ever delivered” - Hugh Nibley, LDS Historian The Myth Makers (1961) Page 142 | wasmormon.org
“if this court record is authentic it is the most damning evidence in existence against Joseph Smith... Now bear in mind that the is the key witness to the existence of the Bainbridge court record, and that that record is the most devastating blow to Smith ever delivered” - Hugh Nibley, LDS Historian The Myth Makers (1961) Page 142
“the inhabitants thereof began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again. And it came to pass that there were sorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics; and the power of the evil one was wrought upon all the face of the land” - Mormon 1:18-19 | The Book of Mormon | wasmormon.org
“the inhabitants thereof began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again. And it came to pass that there were sorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics; and the power of the evil one was wrought upon all the face of the land” - Mormon 1:18-19 | The Book of Mormon
“Three of us took some tools to go to the hill and hunt for more boxes of gold or something, and indeed we found a stone box. We got quite excited about it and dug carefully around it, and by some unseen power it slipped back into the hill.” - Martin Harris, One of the Three Witnesses, Scribe to Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon Financier The Last Testimony of Martin Harris, The Instructor, October 1930, Vol 65, No 10 | wasmormon.org
“Three of us took some tools to go to the hill and hunt for more boxes of gold or something, and indeed we found a stone box. We got quite excited about it and dug carefully around it, and by some unseen power it slipped back into the hill.” - Martin Harris, One of the Three Witnesses, Scribe to Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon Financier The Last Testimony of Martin Harris, The Instructor, October 1930, Vol 65, No 10
Some scholars say historical records point to discrepancies with the official church history. How do you reconcile the differences? And what is the church's position on historical scholarship? "Well, we have nothing to hide. Our history is an open book. They may find what they are looking for, but the fact is the history of the church is clear and open and leads to faith and strength and virtues." - Gordon B. Hinckley, LDS Church President Answering Associated Press questions about the LDS Church, Dec 25, 2005 | wasmormon.org
Some scholars say historical records point to discrepancies with the official church history. How do you reconcile the differences? And what is the church's position on historical scholarship? "Well, we have nothing to hide. Our history is an open book. They may find what they are looking for, but the fact is the history of the church is clear and open and leads to faith and strength and virtues." - Gordon B. Hinckley, LDS Church President Answering Associated Press questions about the LDS Church, Dec 25, 2005

Truths From Mormon Satan – Or Someone Who Plays Lucifer in the Temple, Corbin Allred

Corbin Allred is an American actor best known for his roles in film and television, particularly within the Mormon community. Born into the church in Salt Lake City, Utah, Allred was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and his faith played a significant role in some of his …

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The BITE™ Model of Authoritarian control is a framework to identify and analyze the ways cults and other high-control groups manipulate their members with mind control or undue influence. BITE stands for Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control. | wasmormon.org
The BITE™ Model of Authoritarian control is a framework to identify and analyze the ways cults and other high-control groups manipulate their members with mind control or undue influence. BITE stands for Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control.

Book of Mormon Anachronisms – Slippery Treasures and Treasure Digging Concepts

Joseph Smith was brought up being praised for a “gift.” What gift is that? The gift his father practiced and saw in him. The practice was condemned by Benjamin Franklin 100 years earlier. The practice appears in church history, in the doctrine and covenants, and even the Book of Mormon. This practice is easily ridiculed …

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"The victim must do all in his or her power to stop the abuse. Most often, the victim is innocent because of being disabled by fear or the power or authority of the offender. At some point in time, however, the Lord may prompt a victim to recognize a degree of responsibility for abuse. Your priesthood leader will help assess your responsibility so that, if needed, it can be addressed. Otherwise the seeds of guilt will remain and sprout into bitter fruit. Yet no matter what degree of responsibility, from absolutely none to increasing consent, the healing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ can provide a complete cure." - Elder Richard G. Scott, Healing the Tragic Scars of Abuse, General Conference April 1992 | wasmormon.org
"The victim must do all in his or her power to stop the abuse. Most often, the victim is innocent because of being disabled by fear or the power or authority of the offender. At some point in time, however, the Lord may prompt a victim to recognize a degree of responsibility for abuse. Your priesthood leader will help assess your responsibility so that, if needed, it can be addressed. Otherwise the seeds of guilt will remain and sprout into bitter fruit. Yet no matter what degree of responsibility, from absolutely none to increasing consent, the healing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ can provide a complete cure." - Elder Richard G. Scott, Healing the Tragic Scars of Abuse, General Conference April 1992
"Even in a forced contact such as rape or incest, the injured one is greatly outraged. If she has not cooperated and contributed to the foul deed, she is of course in a more favorable position. There is no condemnation where there is no voluntary participation. It is better to die in defending one's virtue than to live having lost it without a struggle." - Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, 1969 | wasmormon.org
"Even in a forced contact such as rape or incest, the injured one is greatly outraged. If she has not cooperated and contributed to the foul deed, she is of course in a more favorable position. There is no condemnation where there is no voluntary participation. It is better to die in defending one's virtue than to live having lost it without a struggle." - Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, 1969
"I am proposing that dissonance, that is, the existence of non-fitting relations among cognitions, is a motivating factor in its own right. By the term cognition, I mean any knowledge, opinion, or belief about the environment, about oneself, or about one's behavior. Cognitive dissonance can be seen as an antecedent condition that leads to activity oriented toward dissonance reduction, just as hunger leads to activity oriented toward hunger reduction." - Leon Festinger, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, 1957 | wasmormon.org
"I am proposing that dissonance, that is, the existence of non-fitting relations among cognitions, is a motivating factor in its own right. By the term cognition, I mean any knowledge, opinion, or belief about the environment, about oneself, or about one's behavior. Cognitive dissonance can be seen as an antecedent condition that leads to activity oriented toward dissonance reduction, just as hunger leads to activity oriented toward hunger reduction." - Leon Festinger, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, 1957
"People can hold very strong core beliefs. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the evidence cannot be accepted. It creates an extremely uncomfortable feeling called cognitive dissonance. It is so important to protect these core beliefs that people will rationalize, ignore, and even deny any information that doesn't fit within their core belief." Cognitive Dissonance | wasmormon.org
"People can hold very strong core beliefs. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the evidence cannot be accepted. It creates an extremely uncomfortable feeling called cognitive dissonance. It is so important to protect these core beliefs that people will rationalize, ignore, and even deny any information that doesn't fit within their core belief." Cognitive Dissonance
"The existance of dissonance, being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance. When dissonance is present, in addition to trying to reduce it, the person will actively avoid situations and information which would likely increase the dissonance." - Leon Festinger, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, 1957 | wasmormon.org
"The existance of dissonance, being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance. When dissonance is present, in addition to trying to reduce it, the person will actively avoid situations and information which would likely increase the dissonance." - Leon Festinger, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, 1957
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find the full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/docbob49/. There are stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by hundreds of users like you. Come check them out and consider sharing your own story at wasmormon.org!
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find the full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/docbob49/. There are stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by hundreds of users like you. Come check them out and consider sharing your own story at wasmormon.org!
"A small town Mormon boy. I had 4 years of released time seminary, a mission interview by Assistant Apostle Packer in 1962, a mission to Mississippi where we were told not to contact the Negro. I had a BYU faculty interview by Apostle Stapley in 1977 and a Salt Lake temple marriage. I served as a Branch President in Nebraska, on the High Council in Flagstaff, and in the Bishopric in Cache Valley. I was a Mormon." - Bob's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/docbob49/
"A small town Mormon boy. I had 4 years of released time seminary, a mission interview by Assistant Apostle Packer in 1962, a mission to Mississippi where we were told not to contact the Negro. I had a BYU faculty interview by Apostle Stapley in 1977 and a Salt Lake temple marriage. I served as a Branch President in Nebraska, on the High Council in Flagstaff, and in the Bishopric in Cache Valley. I was a Mormon." - Bob's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/docbob49/