Email to Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake: Pilot Program – Informed Consent

The members of the Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake received an email informing them the area had been selected for a Pilot Program named Informed Consent. The program announced two objectives: 1) to ensure that converts are fully informed before they commit to baptism, and 2) for all members to have a “short” lesson to make sure they are fully informed. The reason being “too many of our members are discovering our difficult history on ex-mormon websites and podcasts and it is sadly leading them astray. The brethren’s hope is that if you are gently informed from faithful sources only, that hopefully we can all weather this storm together.” The email included links to church sites for sources for all the statements. Upon examination it becomes clear it’s not an official church-sanctioned email, but a disillusioned member who had access to the stake email system.

Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake | Pilot Program: Informed Consent | wasmormon.org — Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake | Pilot Program: Informed Consent Email

The email covers several controversial topics corresponding to complete articles published on wasmomron.org, including:

The church is working to be more honest about church history and quietly published the Gospel Topic Essays a decade ago, and President Nelson even showed members how Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon with his face in his hat looking at a rock.
The church does not teach that members will get their own planets or become gods.
Joseph Smith practiced polygamy, with some wives already married to other men, and engaged in behaviors not consistent with church teachings.
The Book of Abraham is not what Joseph Smith claimed it was, and its translation is incorrect.
Church history contains many contradictions, such as the different versions of Joseph Smith’s First Vision and the testimony of the Three Witnesses.
There are multiple published accounts of visions prior to Joseph Smith’s unpublished account.
The translation of the Book of Mormon using a seer stone is acknowledged, as well as concerns about plagiarized content in the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, and the many anachronisms found in the Book of Mormon.
Brigham Young instituted the priesthood ban due to his racist views.
President Nelson has repeatedly urged to stop using the term Mormon, though all previous church presidents embraced the nickname and even Joseph Smith defined it as ‘More good‘.
Church leaders are moving towards viewing the Book of Mormon as an inspired work by Joseph Smith, rather than a literal history.
DNA does not support the Book of Mormon’s claims about the origins of Native Americans, and the introduction to the Book of Mormon was recently altered to account for this.
The Word of Wisdom specifically allows drinking beer, as Joseph and Brigham are both known to do.
The endowment ceremony originated as a Masonic ritual, including the handshakes and symbols.

The email encourages members to review these topics using church-approved sources and to engage in open discussions with leaders, as the church seeks to address troubling beliefs and move closer to mainstream Christian ideals.

Pilot Program: Informed Consent

The email was delivered via Mailchimp, an email service provider, but the original web version has since been deleted. But not before someone shared screenshots of the email on reddit (props to user/PattyCakeTaffyPullXP). Theoretically, those who received the email may have a copy in their inbox still. The contents of the email have been reconstructed from the screenshots and finding the links has been crowdsourced (with the help of @luciferslantern) (though we’re not certain the links match the original). ~~If you have the original email and are interested in helping reconstruct it, please contact us and/or forward the original so we can be sure the links are consistent~~ (Update: We’ve received the original email with links anonymously from the sender of this email and have updated the links here to reflect that along with a few approved updates to better links).

Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake: Pilot Program
View this email in your browser (broken link)
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS (logo)
Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake
Pilot Program: Informed Consent
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I have some wonderful news, your Stake has been chosen to trial a new approach to learning about the Gospel.
As you know our leaders are trying to be more transparent with some of our history. No doubt you have all started to notice this with the release of the Gospel Topics Essays 10 years ago and videos of President Nelson showing us how Joseph translated the Book of Mormon, with his face in a white stovepipe hat, with a seer stone.
This pilot program will involve two different objectives. The first is for our beloved missionaries to ensure that all converts are fully informed before they commit to baptism, with no more milk before meat. The second is for all members to go through a short lesson, to make sure they are fully informed about our history. Too many of our members are discovering our difficult history on ex-mormon websites and podcasts and it is sadly leading them astray. The brethren’s hope is that if you are gently informed from faithful sources only, that hopefully we can all weather this storm together.
The brethren have also noticed that a number of worrying beliefs have crept in that are not backed by doctrine or come from the mouths of our Prophets, so they are wanting to clear the decks and ensure that some of the more troubling beliefs, being whispered around the halls, are finally put to rest.
Below you will see a number of points that will then link to supporting information on the Church’s websites. If you don’t have much time, feel free just to read the below rather than viewing the websites and looking into all the footnotes/source material to get the full faithful picture.
So take a deep breath and let’s dive in at the deep end.
We are not getting our own planets, this is not in our scriptures, nor is it doctrine. Church News FAQ No 12.
We are not becoming a God. Church News FAQ No 11.
The Book of Abraham is sadly not what Joseph claimed it was. The Gospel Topics Essay on the subject states we have the papyrus that it was translated from. The translation is 100% incorrect, does not mention Abraham at all and the papyrus was created thousands of years after Abraham lived. It was therefore not written by Abraham’s own hand as the introduction to the Book of Abraham states.
Joseph ‘translated’ the characters above the figures in the facsimiles, but they are all sadly wrong, eliminating any possible claim to a missing scroll theory. The Joseph Smith Papers project also shows how the facsimiles were doctored to remove some of the real Egyptian content, that did not fit with the Abraham narrative. eg the presence of Anubis in facsimile 3 (the far left character with a jackal snout, removed prior to printing). The brethren are prayerfully considering de-canonizing the Book of Abraham, which would then sadly eliminate all of our unique pre-existence knowledge.
Joseph Smith married 30-40 women. Footnote 24
12-14 of these women were already married to other righteous men. Footnote 29
The youngest was 14. Gospel Topics Essay
He was intimate with his wives and possibly had 2-3 children with them. Footnote 25 and body of Gospel Topics Essay
Joseph Smith instigated polygamy, not God, as it was Joseph who after reading about it in the Old Testament, aked the Lord if he could put it into practice in 1831. After Joseph was already practicing polygamy with multiple women, Joseph warned others that if they would not marry him an angel with a drawn sword would end his life.
Polygamy is still in our doctrine and will be part of our lives in the eternities. Brigham Young stated that the only men who become Gods will be those who enter into polygamy, Joseph F. Smith made it clear it was essential for the salvation and exaltation of mankind. John Taylor in referring to Joseph Smiths revelation stated the keys of the kingdom would be removed from those who did not practice it. President Nelson and Oaks are both currently sealed to two women and will be with both of them in the Celestial Kingdom.
D&C132 contains all the doctrine for practicing polygamy. Sadly all of these rules were broken by Joseph. Not all the wives were virgins (one was six months pregnant) and Emma wasn’t told about most of them. Only a few children came from the unions. Emma was also threatened with death multiple times in D&C 132 if she did not comply, which denied her any free agency in the practice of polygamy.
The Book of Mormon was translated using a rock in a hat. This was the same method Joseph used right before to attempt to locate buried treasure for others, while sadly never finding any. He was in trouble with the law for this fraudulent practice.
Joseph Smith plagiarized the Joseph Smith translation of the bible from Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible. BYU.
There are multiple versions of the first vision, that contradict each other about important details (who visited, Joseph’s age, reason why, etc) Gospel Topics Essays, It is true that it was a common idea in that part of the world and at that time in history, to claim to have had a first vision. Many other people had their accounts published before Josephs like Norris Stearns (1815), Elias Smith (1816), Asa Wild (1823), James G. Marsh (1832) and Charles G. Finney (1821).
Multiple prophets and apostles have stated in the Journal of Discourses that it was only an angel who visited Joseph that day. Some make it clear that God and Jesus never visited Joseph. Orson Hyde JOD Vol.6 p335, Brigham Young JOD Vol 2 170-171, Wilford Woodruff JOD Vol. 2. 196-197, Heber C Kimball JOD Vol.6 p29, John Taylor JOD Vol.10 p127, George A Smith JOD Vol.12 333-334, George A. Smith JOD Vol.13 77-78.
There are multiple statements from the three Witnesses where they admit they only saw the plates in their imaginations, not with their physical eyes. Gospel Topics.
It is possible that Oliver Cowdrey denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon. This is only a second-hand source though, but it was published in a church-run newspaper at the time. BYU
It was Nephi and not Moroni who visited Joseph and directed him to locate the Gold Plates. Times and Seasons Vol III 753. Millennial Star N4 Vol 3 p71, Biographical Sketches p79, Pearl of Great Price 1851, p41.
Joseph was not illiterate in 1830. 1829 letter. 1831 Letter. 1831 Letter. Ensign Article.
He used to give ‘amusing’ recitals to his family, about the ancient inhabitants of the land before he received the golden plates. Joseph Smith Papers Project.
Joseph Smith substantially changed the wording of an earlier revelation when he compiled the 1835 Doctrine & Covenants, inserting multiple verses that contained the entire priesthood restoration. None of it was in the original published Book of Commandments revelation.
Joseph accidentally translated Matthew Chapter 26 twice, three months apart, for the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Sadly there are no similarities between each attempt. 1st Attempt, 2nd Attempt.
In the April 1990 General Conference, President Nelson first discussed the use of the term Mormon and wanting to have the full name of the church be used instead. Then in the October 1990 General Conference, President Hinkley appeared to disagree with President Nelson. He stated that Mormon meant ‘More Good’ and that we should be proud to use that name. Joseph Smith also gave us the literal translation of the word Mormon and stated it means ‘More Good’. It is possible in the future, that the word Mormon will be more commonly used.
The exaltation and priesthood ban that was imposed upon some of our members for 126 years, was sadly because of the personal racist beliefs of past prophets of our church. The ban was not because dark-colored skin is an indication of divine disfavor or because of any actions in the pre-existence. Although Brigham Young stated that black people will not get the priesthood until the millennium, after every white man has had the opportunity, he was just speaking as a man (Footnote 9 source).
In 1907 President Joseph F. Smith taught that the church expects to see the day when they will no longer require any tithing from us, as they will have sufficient to run the church. Our church now makes more in interest from its prudent investments every year than it needs to run the church. For those then who are struggling in these difficult times, please consider Lorenzo Snow’s comments in 1899 ‘I plead with you in the name of the Lord, and I pray that every man, woman and child who has means shall pay one tenth of their income as a tithing’.
I am sure we are all aware now, that the Book of Mormon has a troubling number of anachronisms in it. There are large amounts of text and ideas, from multiple documents, all published between 400 AD and 1830 that have been found in the Book of Mormon and sadly most of them cannot be argued away.
The Book of Mormon also quotes from many New Testament verses (examples below), which of course could not have been found in the Brass plates:
2 Nephi 2:5 quotes Romans 3:20, even though Lehi lived 600 years before Paul.
Helaman 5:8 refers to the Sermon on the Mount, but it was written 60 years before the Sermon on the Mount occurred.
Mormon 9:24 quotes from Mark 16:17-18. Mark 16:9-20 was a much later addition to the New Testament (early 2nd century).
1 Nephi 22:15 and 2 Nephi 25:13 quote from Malachi 4:1-2, even though Nephi lived 200 years before Malachi.
Alma 7:24 refers to 1 Corinthians 13:13 and 2 Corinthians 9:8, even though Alma lived 100 years before they were written.
The brethren are slowly moving towards the idea of the Book of Mormon being an inspired work created by Joseph Smith, rather than a literal history of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent. This allows for him to have included so many ideas/stories from his immediate surroundings in the work.
Speaking at the 2016 Mission Presidents Seminar, President Nelson said of the Book of Mormon, “It is not a textbook of history… It is not a record of all former inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere.”
At April 2020 general conference, Elder Ulisses Soares, speaking about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, said it “was not “translated’ in the traditional way that scholars would translate ancient texts by learning an ancient language. We ought to look at the process more like a ‘revelation.”
On October 22, 2021, at a member gathering in Amman, Jordan, Elder David A. Bednar of the Twelve said, “The Book of Mormon is not a book of history.”. He also made similar comments in his October 2024 General Conference talk.
DNA Evidence has shown conclusively that American Indians come from Siberia and not from the Middle East. This discovery then led to the introduction of the Book of Mormon being altered to say that Lamanites are among the ancestors of the American Indians, rather than saying they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians, rather than saying they are the principal ancestors, as it said previously.
The revelation for the word of wisdom can be found in D&C 89. It is true that the revelation does specifically allow for beer drinking (mild drinks made of barley). It is common knowledge of course that Joseph and Brigham were known to drink and sell alcohol. The word of wisdom is also clear in relation to the fact that meat should be eaten only sparingly, only in times of winter or of cold, or famine. It is also clear on hot drinks of any sort being ‘not for the body or belly’.
It is sadly a myth that our endowment ceremony is related in any way to Solomon’s Temple. The masonic rituals that our endowment was based upon, originated in early modern Europe ie 1450-1789 AD. It contains identical handshakes/symbols/similar wording/stonemasons apron/set square (L), compass (V), and ruler (-) etc.
On top of the endowment ceremony, there is a second, more sacred ritual called the second anointing, or more commonly known as having your ‘calling and election made sure’. Usually, it is reserved for Stake Presidents/Mission Presidents and higher-up callings. It is for those who have done enough already in this life and are therefore granted eternal exaltation now. As has been requested though in our manuals we need to exercise caution when discussing this sacred ritual and not answer any questions in relation to it.
Brothers and Sisters, I know some of the above might have been hard to read directly from our Church’s website. However, as we eliminate some of the more troubling aspects of our faith and move a little closer to a more mainstream Christian ideal and beliefs, we hope you will come with us on this exciting journey.
It’s the brethren’s sincere hope that this information will be openly discussed amongst members in our region, who should not be afraid to come to your leaders/teachers/peers with questions about the above. To know this information and not share it amongst those who have devoted their lives to our beautiful faith, would indeed be profoundly immoral.
Sincerely,
Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake: Pilot Program Informed Consent Email
(transcribed from screenshots – best guess links added and updated from original author)

Response to the Pilot Program Email

Some standout Reddit comments:

I didn’t stretch before reading and i got really dizzy and i think i pulled something trying to keep up with the gymnastics routine needed to remain a believing member
the_virtue_of_logic

Almost as if the theology invented by an 1800s conman and propagated for two more centuries by his followers would be woefully unreliable and perform poorly under the inevitable microscope of time.
TheFantasticMrFax

Lol – this isn’t a pilot program. We’ve apparently got an undercover exmo in a position high enough to allow them to send a message to the entire stake. Two messages, that is.
The fact that this email was resent after being deleted is awesome.
It is well. Please return and report after you have assessed the damage.
EvensenFM

Stake Presidency Responds

The Stake Presidency responded the next day with an email stating that the previous email was “deceptive” and “disguised as an official church program” and asked that members “disregard” and delete the fraudulent email.

Dear Mortdale Stake family,
It has been brought to my attention that a number of our members in the Mortdale Stake have received a deceptive email disguised as an official church program
The subject of the email states; Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake: Pilot Program
At this stage, it is unclear as to how many members have received that email.
Please note that the email is not from the church so please disregard and delete it.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a member of the Mortdale Stake Presidency.
With thanks,
Mortdale Stake Presidency Response Email
(transcribed from screenshots)

Soon afterwards, the original sender fired back and resent the original email with a small update notice stating that a local leader mistakenly interpreted the email as a scam:

Update: Please note a local leader mistakenly interpreted this email as a scam. This is a genuine request for all members of the Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake to become better informed about our history.
Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake: Pilot Program Informed Consent Email #2
(Update only, transcribed from screenshots)

This email is disguised as a pilot program, and though some may have issue with the dishonest or tricky manner it is delivered, it does bring many issues to the forefront (with sources) and encourages members to discuss them. Naming the pilot program ‘Informed Consent’ was a stroke of genius and kudos to the individual(s) who performed the research and deconstruction and then had the access and gall to send this out to their whole stake!

Aftermath

Some have speculated that there would be an announcement regarding this email the following week at the pulpit in this Stake. A volunteer visited a ward in the stake on October 27th and reported that “Nothing was said!!” about the situation. Even though the email the Stake President sent telling the stake that the “deceptive email disguised as an official church program” and asked members to “please disregard and delete it,” which unsurprisingly intrigued many members to go and read the email, they did not mention during church. They likely learned their lesson and/or received instruction from “The Brethren” to let it alone.

Others reflect that this is a similar approach to the CES Letter, and will forever be known as the Sydney Informed Consent Pilot Program. How would you react if you received this email as a TBM, or as a struggling and questioning member of the church? Would you have the guts to send this to your stake if you could? Feel free to send a copycat pilot program for your stake if you have access. Then, return and report.

Again, props to the person who first wrote and sent the email, as well as those who first shared the screenshots and the news, and then those who helped reconstruct the email and gathered links.

More reading: