Help the Living

There has been a lot written lately about the morg's baptisms for the dead. I do not like the practice.
I disagree with the requirement for baptism as a requirement to be saved for the living, why do the dead have to be baptized?

Here is a link to a PDF that summerizes the history of how the Mormon church is linked to a group called the Campbellites:  http://www.njiat.com/JunePDFs/Campbellism%20and%20the%20Church%20of%20Christ%2004_30_09.pdf

In this, it is detailed why baptism is not necessary for salvation. If baptism is not necessary for the living, it is not necessary for the dead.  Here is direct quotes for the above link:

The Reasons Why Baptism Is Not Essential for Salvation

2. Jesus never baptized anyone. If baptism is essential for salvation, then Jesus
never saved anyone.
3. Paul did not view baptism as part of the Gospel (1 Cor: 1:14-17).
4  John’s baptism did not save anyone, even though it was “unto remission of
    sins” (Mk.1:4; cf. Acts 19:1-5).
5. Since there is only one God, there is only one way of salvation (Rom 3:28-30).
    This means that whatever is necessary for salvation today was also necessary
    during O.T. times.
6. The Gospel of justification by faith alone apart from obedience to God’s
    commands is taught in both O.T. and the N.T. (Rom 1:1-2).
     Abraham: before the Law (Rom 1:1-2).
     David: after the Law (Rom. 4:6-8)
     Habakkuk: in the Prophets (Rom. 1:17)
7. Baptism is the N.T. parallel of circumcision, just as the Lord’s Supper is the
    parallel of the Passover (Col. 2:11-12). Since circumcision was not essential for
    salvation, then neither is baptism.
8. Abraham was saved before he was circumcised in order to emphasize that
    salvation  was by faith alone apart from obedience to God’s commands, and
   that the Gentiles would be saved by faith alone apart from obedience to any
   command such as baptism (Rom. 4:9-11, 16, 23-5:2).
9. Cornelius was saved and baptized by the Holy Spirit before he was baptized
    (Acts 10:44-48). This passage clearly refutes baptismal regeneration.
10. Baptismal regeneration:
a) makes salvation depend on the availability of water
b) makes salvation depend on the availability of a Campbellite preacher
c) confuses the symbol with the reality
d) makes faith and obedience the same thing
e) is based on a superstitious and magical view of baptism.

11. The thief on the cross was saved without baptism. The Campbellite argument
that he was saved under the O.T. way of salvation is not possible, seeing that
Christ had already died on the cross and finished the atonement before the thief
died. The thief belongs on the N.T. side of the cross, and not on the O.T. side.

What if the mormon church used the millions and millions of dollars it spends to build and run its temples on helping people who are alive, to build water wells in Africa, to build housing in Haiti, to feel the poor?

Not Good for Women VII

Progressive, forward thinking, working women, artists. The mormon ads portray the women in the mormon church as all of these things. Yet, is this really the belief of the leaders and doctrine in the church?

Try on this latest quote:

‎"The most important thing for a woman in this life is to be the wife of a worthy

 priesthood holder and the mother of his children."

"We know that every father can, or should be, an officer in the priesthood,

meaning that he holds the priesthood and presides over his family in 

righteousness."

Boyd K. Packer

Saturday, February 11, 2012http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/worldwide-leadership-training/2012/02/priesthood-power-in-the-home?lang=eng

Note the date.

The man presides OVER his family. Wow. Not the words that translate into equality.

Not the attitude of a progressive church that treats women as equals.

Not of God?

I stopped believing in the infallibility of the leaders. I stopped attending the temple. I then stopped attending church on a regular basis. I stopped reading all the church publications.  I then stopped paying tithing.  Leaving was a process for me, not an event.

Part of me wanted to still believe. Part of me wanted to one day return, because I knew nothing else.  Then I saw a video on the Book of Abraham.  After that, I knew there was no going back. I knew it was all a fraud. I could not live a fraud.

Do you know what it means to publish peer reviewed articles and books?  "Peer Review is a process that journals use to ensure the articles they publish represent the best scholarship currently available. When an article is submitted to a peer reviewed journal, the editors send it out to other scholars in the same field (the author's peers) to get their opinion on the quality of the scholarship, its relevance to the field, its appropriateness for the journal, etc.

Publications that don't use peer review (Time, Cosmo, Salon) just rely on the judgement of the editors whether an article is up to snuff or not. That's why you can't count on them for solid, scientific scholarship.http://www.lib.utexas.edu/lsl/help/modules/peer.html

The mormon scholars do not use peer reviews to  establish articles, opinions, facts, etc. they publish on DNA, archaeology, BofM or PofGP research they publish.  Why is this important? Because it then cannot be verified or substantiated.  

"Robert K. Ritner is currently Professor of Egyptology at the Oriental Instituteof the University of Chicago and was from 1991-1996 the first Marilyn M. Simpson Assistant Professor of Egyptology at Yale University. Dr. Ritner specializes in Roman, Hellenistic, Late and Third Intermediate Period (Libyan and Nubian) Egypt and is the author of the book The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice, and over 100 publications on Egyptian religion, magic, medicine, language and literature, as well as social and political history. He has lectured extensively on each of these topics throughout the United States, Europe and Egypt. In association with The Field Museum of Chicago, Dr. Ritner was the academic advisor to two recent British Museum exhibits “Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth,” and “Eternal Egypt,” and he has served as consultant and lecturer for the travelling Cairo Museum exhibit “Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt.”http://nelc.uchicago.edu/faculty/ritner

Why do I care about Robert Ritner's credentials?  Because he has this to say about the Book of Abraham:  Now, for the first time, the surviving papyri have been translated into English in their entirety. In analyzing and translating the ancient texts, Robert K. Ritner, foremost American scholar of Egyptology, has determined that they were prepared for deceased men and women in Thebes during the Greco-Roman period. They have nothing to do with Abraham, Joseph, or a planet called Kolob, as Smith had claimed.  http://signaturebooks.com/2012/02/scholar-says-mormon-scripture-not-an-egyptian-translation/

He also has this to say, "“Except for those willfully blind,” writes Professor Ritner of the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, “the case is closed.” In his new book, The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: A Complete Edition, he also accuses two scholars of Egyptology at Mormon-owned Brigham Young University of borrowing and distorting his own writings in trying to defend Smith’s interpretations as authentically translated Egyptian."  http://signaturebooks.com/2012/02/scholar-says-mormon-scripture-not-an-egyptian-translation/

So it remains, if the Book of Abraham is not a translation from Joseph Smith, then how can he possibly be a prophet of god?

Why They Leave?

'You are so angry'
'You are so hateful'
'You will only be happy again when you come back to church'
'You are unhappy because you are sinning'
'You will only be at peace when you leave your sinful life behind and begin attending church again'
'Tithing has natural consequences if you don't pay to the church'

These are all things I have been told when I stopped attending the mormon church. I fundamentally reject all of them. I have never been happier or more at peace since leaving.  I have told many people,

'Good things happen to good people; bad things happen to bad people.
Bad things happen to bad people; bad things happen to good people.
This isn't religion, this is life.'

When I stopped paying tithing, I was so afraid that god was going to reach out and punish me. That didn't happen. I went from working a minimum waged job-part-time job, to a full time job, to a full time job with benefits. I have been able to support my children.  Why? Because I worked damn hard and took extra classes to supplement my education. That is life. God had nothing to do with it. Neither did paying or not paying tithing.

It is easy for people who live their lives by certain values to then judge everyone by those same values. People who pay tithing have been told all their lives that if they pay, they will be blessed. Yet, statistics show that those same people are no more financially well off than those who don't pay tithing. Also, there are more filings for bankruptcies in the state of Utah than any other state.  http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon356.htm

I was told my entire life as a mormon that those who leave, do so for only a few reasons: 'You want to sin'; 'You have been offended'; 'You are too lazy to walk the straight and narrow path'.

There is a new survey that shows these assumptions to be false:
http://whymormonsleave.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/WhyTheyLeave_30Jan2012v4.pdf

Here is an excerpt:


Reasons why People Lose Faith
If you no longer believe that the LDS church is the true church (and once
did), which of the following were factors in your loss of belief:
                                                 Moderate to Strong Factor                         Primary Factor
I lost faith in Joseph Smith                                            81%                        39%
I studied church history and lost my belief                     84%                        39%
I ceased to believe in the church's doctrine/theology       87%                       38%
I lost faith in the Book of Mormon                                 79%                       35%
I re-evaluted what it means to believe/know, and realized
that I never really believed.                                             52%                       18%
I lost confidence in the general authorities                       71%                       18%
Church's stance on homosexuals / Prop 8                       68%                      15%
I did not feel spiritually edified at church                         67%                      15%
Church's stance on women                                            70%                       14%
I became bothered by church culture
 (e.g. conservative politics, etc.)                                     57%                       11%
I lost my faith in God 39% 11%
Church's stance on science-related matters                     64%                         9%
I lost my faith in Jesus                                                   39%                          8%
I lost confidence in my local church leadership                41%                         8%
Church's stance on race issues (blacks, native
  Americans, etc.)                                                            72%                         7%
I did not receive the promised spiritual witness                 37%                         6%
I received a spiritual witness to leave the church and go
  elsewhere                                                                      18%                         5%
I or someone I loved was abused by someone in the church.12%                     3%
I wanted to engage in behaviors viewed as sinful by the
church (e.g. alcohol, extra-marital sex)
                                                                                        8%                         1%
I was offended by someone in the church.                         8%                         1%
Lack of meaningful friendships within the church              13%                         1%

Regrets

Some people say they live life with no regrets. I don't understand that.

This weekend I was watching home videos of Mr. Lover from his early 20's.  He had a speed boat and a great group of friends.  They would take his boat and 2 others out to Mojave Lake a few times each summer and camp out and water ski and have a great time.  Of course, there was lots of food, alcohol and music.

What was I doing in my early 20's?  Serving a mission for the mormon church, getting married and having kids. It's too late now to live that life of freedom and frivolity.  I didn't have the opportunity to have a life free of worry and responsibility.  I didn't have a life full of friends and happiness and carefree. Instead I had a life of paying bills and work and concern for the future.

Why? Because the mormon church said.  They said to get married young, even before you have the ability to sow wild oats, before you have college done, before you are financially settled.  Have children right away, even before you are financially ready for them, before you are done with school, before you are settled in a career.

Regrets? Yes, I have a few.

Historical Accuracy

The internet is open to all who have access to a computer.

I hope that one day, those whom I love will find the information that I have found and will not be afraid of it.
Are these websites accurate? If the mormon church is telling the truth about its history, it will be able to stand up to scrutiny and its leaders and members have nothing to be afraid of if that history is scrutinized:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFT1YUUDIUI&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa60T879hDQ&feature=related

http://www.i4m.com/think/images/JS_Polygamy_Timeline.png

http://sidneyrigdon.com/criddle/rigdon2.htm

http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/BOM/sci/long.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_wives_of_Joseph_Smith

http://sidneyrigdon.com/criddle/rigdon1.htm

And of course, this one is the most important one:

http://freedomofmind.com/Media/blog.php?id=15&title=An_Expert_Responds_to_the_Cult_Controversy_re%3A_Mormonism

Standing for Truth

Why I am no longer a mormon?

The Church makes no apology for its selective story-telling policies.  Boyd K. Packer, a high church official, has said that “some things which are true are not very useful.”  

These are exact quotes from the following article.  It is time for the people who are members of the mormon church to wake up:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/religion/the-church-of-jesus/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-b071a.htm
 What is it about the LDS Church which warrants the distinction of being singled out as a ripoff?  Isn’t the Mormon church just like all the others, taking money from members to fund the day-to-day operations of the church? 

Four aspects of how the Mormon Church operates makes it a ripoff:
1.       Since 1959, the LDS Church does not disclose their financial holdings. Why the secrecy? Simple.  They are building an empire.
2.       Members who do not pay the prescribed 10% have privileges withheld.  This is extortion.
3.       New recruits are not informed of the sordid origins and evidence contradicting the foundational claims of the faith.  This is unethical.
4.       Blatant meddling in politics, unethical for a tax-exempt organization.

Since 1959, the LDS has not disclosed their financial vibrancy.  Only in the UK and Canada, where it is required by law, does the church come clean with their financial holdings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finances_of_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints).  The LDS church stands alone among the major religious denominations in the USA in this secrecy....

MONETARY EXTORTION

Tithing in most religions is considered a gift, but the LDS Church makes it an obligation. Fear is often used as a motivator to get people to pay a full tithing. The member often hears the term 'fire insurance' associated with tithing. He who is tithed shall not be burned at Christ's' 2nd coming. Malachi 8:10 is often quoted - "Will a man rob God, yet ye have robbed me".

The guilt placed upon Latter-day Saints can be considerable. Members are not considered in 'good standing' if they are not paying a full 10% tithe. They cannot attend the temple if they do not pay in full. They cannot have temple-related callings or any high-profile positions if not full tithe-payers. And those who are full tithe-payers are often counseled to then start paying generous fast offerings, contributing to the missionary fund, etc. Extracting as much money as possible is the theme, and guilt is always knocking at the door.  This is a destructive mind control technique, which in turn reinforces the escalation of commitment human bias.  

SHAKY FOUNDATION

The Mormon faith is built on the foundation of a latter-day prophet, Joseph Smith, who was purportedly called by God to restore His true church, this being accomplished by direct revelation and restoration of authority through divine messengers from the heavens in 1820.  Besides taking Smith at his word, the primary evidence that the sincere investigator is given to evaluate this claim, are the ‘revelations’ Smith received via translation from Egyptian-type writings; the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham, and other ‘revelations’ from Smith.

What the investigator is NOT told, incredibly, is virtually criminal.  The sincere investigator deserves to know a bit more than just one side of the story, including:

1.       In the trial of 1826, Joseph Smith was brought before the court on charges of fraud (money digging for profit).  At this trial, Smith freely admits, under oath, that he was incapable of locating buried treasures using either his peep stone or while being carried away in vision.

2.       The method of “translation” of the golden plates which supposedly produced the Book of Mormon was Smith looking into his hat through a peep stone.  The golden plates Smith claimed he possessed were never anywhere in sight during the so-called ‘translation’.  Every eyewitness account of the translation of the Book of Mormon describes Smith using this peep stone and hat method.  Russell M. Nelson, Dallin Oaks, and other church leaders have also confirmed this.  Does this sound like a method which would be used by a prophet of God or a con man? 

3.       It is a documented fact (multiple accounts diaries, personal histories, and the LDS family search website) that Joseph Smith Jr. took multiple plural wives without the knowledge or consent of Emma.  If this was a commandment from God, why the secrecy?  He persuaded women who were already married to marry him.  Five different people (Joseph Smith, Joseph F. Smith, Benjamin F. Johnson, Mary Lighter, and Lorenzo Snow) assert that an angel of God with a sword commanded Joseph to institute polygamy or the angel would slay him. 

4.       The Book of Mormon cites cattle, elephants, sheep, horses, wheat, silk, chariots, steel, and glass, yet these things were unknown to native stone-age Americans when the European pioneers arrived.  And the Book of Mormon makes no mention of what DID exist in abundance on this continent; potatoes, corn, llamas, buffalo, etc. Yet the LDS church claims the book represents an accurate depiction of American history.  How does a culture forget how to make wheels?

5.       The other LDS canonized scripture which Smith purportedly ‘translated’ from Egyptian is the “Book of Abraham”.  The original papyrus scrolls that Smith translated into the Book of Abraham were found in 1967 and authenticated by LDS and independent scholars.  Over a half dozen Egyptologists, including the expert hired by the Church, verified that the scrolls are Egyptian funerary documents typically found buried with mummies, and post-date the time of Abraham by 1500 years.  The information contained on these scrolls bears zero resemblance to the Book of Abraham and could not have been “in Abrahams own hand” as asserted by Smith.   Joseph’s own cross-reference showing the characters and the corresponding meanings is complete nonsense, according to every Egyptologist who has examined the documents, some of which are in Smith’s own hand, according to handwriting analysts. 

6.The account of the first vision, where Smith purportedly received, in 1820, his calling from God and Jesus to be a prophet is not reconcilable with historical information.  Neither Joseph Smith nor anyone else prior to 1838 referred to the event at all.  Smith claimed intense persecution due to the vision as a teen, and it was during a time of “great excitement on the subject of religion”. However, no one, friend or foe, remembers any persecution or even a claim to have experienced a vision prior to 1827.