Nephite - wasmormon.org

Native American Museum Returns Church’s $2 Million Donation Due to Strings Attached

Elder Kyle S. McKay presents a $2M "gift" to build a FamilySearch Resource Center at the First American Museum. After considering concerns and due to strings attached to the grant, FAM rejects the Church Sponsored Family History Center and returned the funds. “The agreement between the First Americans Museum and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints related to a grant in the amount of $2 million for the creation of a Family History Resource Center will be discontinued. FAM will return the grant funds and will suspend plans to develop the center until further notice... FAM values the perspectives of our Native constituencies. Thank you to those who voiced concerns in a respectful manner about the project.” “Concerns: Were there strings attached? Might the center be staffed by missionaries proselytizing to patrons? Would their deceased ancestors would be baptized vicariously?” | wasmormon.org/fam-rejects-2-million-from-mormons

The church leadership announced a $2 million donation to the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. Church President Russell M. Nelson stated that “the gift from the church will strengthen Native American and other families by creating within the museum a FamilySearch center.” The church praises itself on this contribution in a newsroom article and …

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Censoring ‘The Gospel and the Church’ Talk

Ronald E Poelman - 1984 - The Gospel and the Church. Comparing the original and the edited talk: "Both the gospel of Jesus Christ and the church of Jesus Christ are true and divine. However, there is a distinction between them which is significant and it is very important that this distinction be understood." vs "Both the gospel of Jesus Christ and the church of Jesus Christ are true and divine, and there is an essential relationship between them that is significant and very important." | wasmormon.org

In the October 1984 General Conference, Elder Ronald E. Poelman of the First Quorum of the Seventy gave a talk that many who saw, heard, or witnessed live thought was an amazing talk that addressed many things that had thus far remained unsaid regarding the relationship between the Mormon church and the Mormon Gospel. The …

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Brigham Young – No People Who Pay Females More Respect

“I can say with confidence, that there is no people on the face of this earth that pay more respect to females than do this people. I know of no community where females enjoy the privileges they do here.” - Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses Volume 9, 37 February 9, 1862 - Brigham Young had already married 50 of his 56 wives. wasmormon.org

Brigham Young is famous for having fifty-six wives. He was a champion of polygamy and is credited with integrating polygamy publicly within the Mormon religion. While Joseph Smith participated and started the practice of polygamy, he did it in secret. After Joseph Smith was killed, Brigham Young moved the church and most of the members …

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Joseph Smith’s Treasure Digging In Doctrine and Covenants

Treasure Digging in D&C 111: Section Heading and Verses 2-4. 2. I have much treasure in this city for you, for the benefit of Zion... 3. it shall be given you... 4. its wealth pertaining to gold and silver shall be yours. When it became apparent that no money was to be forthcoming, they returned to Kirtland. | wasmormon.org

The church has reluctantly had to admit that Joseph Smith used his seer stones in his efforts to translate the Book of Mormon and not just the Urim and Thummim he received with the gold plates. They don’t like to admit that the seer stone in question is the same one he used in his …

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Simon Southerton Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Simon was an active, believing member serving as a Bishop. While reading the Ensign he came across some interesting statements regarding the Flood which led him to research more about it. He came upon “volumes of scientific research” that contradicted things he believed at church. Then he applied his own scientific training in molecular genetics …

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The Anachronistic Olive Tree Allegory from Zenos in Jacob 5

"There are two major Biblical passages that provided structural material for this parable, and a number of shorter passages that supplied secondary ideas. The primary passages are Isaiah's parable of the vineyard, contained in Isaiah 5:1-7 and Paul's discussion of the relationship of Israel to the Gentiles (Romans 11:16-24), in which he used the metaphor of an olive tree..." Sources of Zenos's Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob 5 | wasmormon.org

Jacob 5 is a story about an orchard of Olive Trees and a servant who grafts branches from wild trees to tame trees and vice versa all according to the commands from the Lord of the Vineyard. The allegory represents the past, and future history of the House of Israel. It discusses the scattering of Israel before …

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Defiant Apologists Challenge the New Seer Stone Narrative

"If we accept that Joseph Smith dictated the Book of Mormon using a dark occultic seer stone he presumably found from an alleged career in treasure digging, scrying, and magic, this means the Book of Mormon was revealed through an occultic instrument and not by revelation and instruments provided by God." – Seer Stone v. Urim & Thummim: Book of Mormon Translation on Trial by L Hanna Stoddard & The Joseph Smith Foundation | wasmormon.org

The Mormon church is shifting the narrative surrounding the Book of Mormon translation lately by admitting that Joseph used a rock in his hat as a main translation method. This narrative shift has put some apologists in an awkward position. The Joseph Smith Foundation apologist group has published a book discussing Joseph Smith’s use of …

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Book of Mormon Horses: Real or Myth? Or Tapirs?

"According to the most scientists, the mention of “horses” in the Americas during Book of Mormon times presents an anachronism–something that doesn’t fit the time frame for which it is claimed. How do we, as believers, reconcile this dilemma? ... A more likely candidate for the Nephite loan-shift “horse” would have been the Central American tapir" – FAIR, The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Mormon Apologists | wasmormon.org

Irrefutable scientific evidence clearly shows that horses did not co-exist with Nephites or Lamanites during the Book of Mormon times. Mormon apologists stretch to come up with any explanation. their leading theory agrees with science on the one hand, that the horses in the Book of Mormon weren’t horses, but on the other hand, the …

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On Being a Mormon Historian from Michael Quinn

"The tragic reality is that there have been occasions when Church leaders, teachers, and writers have not told the truth they knew about difficulties of the Mormon past, but have offered to the Saints instead a mixture of platitudes, half-truths, omissions, and plausible denials... A so-called "faith-promoting" Church history which conceals controversies and difficulties of the Mormon past actually undermines the faith of Latter-day Saints who eventually learn about the problems from other sources." Dr. D Michael Quinn, Excommunicated Mormon | wasmormon.org

The late Dr. D. Michael Quinn was among the many scholars who were forced to choose between promoting church propaganda and maintaining their integrity as historians in response to Elder Packer’s controversial talk “The Mantle is Far Greater Than the Intellect,”. Quinn delivered a pointed response to Elder Packer’s remarks in his lecture entitled “On …

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Joseph Smith’s Peep Stone Translation Method Renders The Gold Plates Useless

"It implies it’s like darkening a room when we show slides. It implies that there is an image appearing in that stone and the light would make it more difficult to see that image. So, that implies a translation that’s a reading and so gives us a little clue about the whole translation process. But it also raises the strange question, ‘What in the world are the plates for? Why do we need them on the table if they are just wrapped up into a cloth while he looks into a seer stone?’" - Richard Bushman, Mormon Historian | wasmormon.org

If Joseph Smith used a rock (seer stone or peep stone) in his hat as the main translation process, as the church is slowly teaching today, how do we call it a translation? If he didn’t use the gold plates to produce the Book of Mormon, why did he even have them? Why were they …

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Joseph Fielding Smith Taught The Seer Stone Was Not Used for Book of Mormon Translation

"The Seer stone not used in Book of Mormon translation." Joseph Fielding Smith in Doctrines of Salvation | wasmormon.org

The New Narrative We have many statements and posts from current church leaders trying to normalize Joseph’s seer stone translation. We have Elder Uchtdorf and Brother Brad Wilcox discussing the rock in a hat and independently comparing it to a mobile phone of all things. We even have President Nelson demonstrating the rock-in-hat procedure Joseph …

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What is the CES Letter? Is it True/Safe to Read?

CES Letter is one Latter-day Saint's honest quest to get official answers from the LDS Church on its troubling origins, history, and practices. Jeremy Runnells was offered an opportunity to discuss his own doubts with a director of the Church Educational System (CES) and was assured that his doubts could be resolved. After reading Jeremy's letter, the director promised him a response. No response ever came.

The CES Letter is a collection of questions, concerns, and doubts about the Mormon church’s truth claims addressed to a Church Education System Director from Jeremy Runnels. Learn about the background, the effects and rebuttals and some of the contents.

Personal Mormon Faith Crisis Report – Faith Crisis Profiles

This faith crisis report next lists many anonymous faith crisis profiles each detailing the exit story of the member (along with precious statistics and demographics the church cares deeply about such as household income). Not to be confused with the actual faith crisis profiles shared on wasmormon.org.

The Problems with Joseph Smith and Peep Stone Translations

"We know that they had a table like this. We know they had the golden plates, covered usually. And Joseph used these: the Urim and Thummim, seer stones, in the hat. And it was easier for him to see the light when he'd, uh, take that position." Russell M Nelson, LDS Church President awkwardly gaslights everyone about Joseph Smiths translation process including looking at a rock in his hat.

Anyone who was raised Mormon, or even attended the church for any length of time knows the Urim and Thummim story. Joseph Smith is portrayed as having translated the Book of Mormon with some special seer stones which were found with the gold plates. The Book of Mormon translation was possible with this Urim and …

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