Proof that mormon founder joseph smith was arrested AND CONVICTED for fraud.

 It is not new the fact that joseph smith, the founder of the mormon cult was arrested for "glass looking".

This was taking money from people and pretending to "see" by occult means treasure buried on that persons' land.

But, what mormons WON'T tell you is that joe was not only arrested but CONVICTED of this crime.

They will say he was arrested and not convicted, or they will play the "persecution" or "people had a grudge against him" cards.

Now, these mormons are either ignorant of the incident or are flat out lying to you.

Here i present PROOF by witnesses and OFFICIAL COURT DOCUMENTS which has been discovered that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that joe was a con-man.

Hiel and Joseph Lewis: "Some time previous to 1825, a man by the name of Wm. Hale, a distant relative of Uncle Isaac Hale, came to Isaac Hale and said that he had been informed by a woman by the name of Odle, who claimed to possess the power of seeing under ground (such persons were then commonly called peepers), that there were great treasures concealed in the hill northeast from Isaac Hale's house, and by her directions Wm. Hale commenced digging. But, being too lazy to work and too poor to hire, he obtained a partner by the name of Oliver Harper, of New York State, who had the means to hire help. But after a short time operations were suspended, for a time, during which Wm. Hale heard of PEEPER Joseph Smith, jr., and wrote to him and soon visited him, and found Smith's representations were so flattering that Smith was either hired or became a partner with Wm. Hale, Oliver Harper and a man by the name of Stowell, who had some property. They hired men and dug in several places.”

"But while he was engaged in looking in his peep-stone and old white hat, directing the digging for money, and boarding at Uncle Isaac Hale's, he formed an intimacy with Mr. Hale's daughter, and after the abandonment of the money-digging speculation, he consummated the elopement and marriage to the said Emma Hale, and she became his accomplice in his humbug Golden Bible and Mormon religion.". Ibid. p. 78, 79. Close relatives of Emma Hale Smith.

Joseph Smith proved a conman

Mormons love "testimonies" and "witnesses".

So, let's see some of these witnesses:

EYEWITNESS STATEMENTS

Peter Ingersoll: "Smith told me the whole affair was a hoax; that he had no such book and did not believe there was such a book in existence; ‘But,' said he, ‘as I have got the damned fools fixed, I shall carry out the fun.'"[1]


Thurlow Weed

In 1825, when I was publishing the "Rochester Telegraph," a man introduced himself to me as Joseph Smith, of Palmyra, New York, whose object, he said, was to get a book published. He then stated he had been guided by a vision to a spot he described, where, in a cavern, he found what he called a golden bible. It consisted of a tablet which he placed in his hat, and from which he proceeded to read the first chapter of the Book of Mormon. I listened until I became weary of what seemed to me an incomprehensible jargon. I then told him I was only publishing a newspaper, and that he would have to go to a book publisher, suggesting a friend who was in that business. A few days afterward Smith called again, bringing a substantial farmer with him named Harris. Smith renewed his request that I should print his book, adding that it was a divine revelation, and would be accepted, and that he would be accepted by the world as a prophet. Supposing that I had doubts as to his being able to pay for the publishing, Mr.
Harris, who was a convert, offered to be his security for payment.

Meantime, I had discovered that Smith was a shrewd, scheming fellow who passed his time at taverns and stores in Palmyra, without business, and without visible means of support. He was about five feet eight inches in height, had regular features, and would impress one favorably in conversation. His book was afterward published in Palmyra.[2]


Dr. John C. Bennett: "Shortly after I located in Nauvoo, Joe proposed to me to go to New York and get some plates engraved and bring them to him, so that he could exhibit them as the genuine plates of the Book of Mormon, which he pretended had been taken from him, and "hid up" by an angel, and which he would profess to have recovered. He calculated to make considerable money by this trick, as there would of course be a great anxiety to see the plates, which he intended to exhibit at twenty-five cents a sight. I mentioned this proposition to Mrs. Sarah M. Pratt, on the day the Prophet made it, and requested her to keep it in memory, as it might be of much importance." When asked by me in the spring of 1885 about this statement of John C. Bennett, Mrs. Pratt confirmed it fully and stated also that Bennett had reported to her this conversation with Joseph on the very day when it happened.[3]


Mrs. Abigail Harris: "In the early part of the winter in 1828 I made a visit to Martin Harris, and was joined in company by Joseph Smith, Sen., and his wife. The Gold Bible business, so-called, was the topic of conversation, to which I paid particular attention, that I might learn the truth of the whole matter.

They told me that the report that Joseph Smith, Jun., had found the Golden Plates was true, and that he was in Harmony, Pa., translating them. The old lady said, also, that after the Book was translated, the plates were to be publicly exhibited—admittance, twenty-five cents."[4]


Hiel and Joseph Lewis: "The statement that the prophet Joseph Smith made in our hearing at the commencement of his translating his book in Harmony, [Pa.] as to the manner of finding the plates was as follows:

He said that by a DREAM he was informed that at such a place in a certain hill, in an ironbox, were some gold plates with curious engravings, which he must get and translate, and write a book; that the plates were to be kept concealed from every human being for a certain time, some two or three years; that he went to the place and dug till he came to the stone that covered the box, when he was knocked down; that he again attempted to remove the stone, and was again knocked down. This attempt was made the third time, and the third time he was knocked down. Then he exclaimed: ‘Why can't I git it?' or words to that effect, and then he saw a man standing over the spot, who, to him, appeared like a Spaniard, having a long beard down over his breast to about here (Smith putting his hand to the pit of his stomach), WITH HIS (the ghost's) THROAT CUT FROM EAR TO EAR, AND THE BLOOD STREAMING DOWN, who told him that he could not get it alone; that another person whom he (Smith) would know at first sight must come with him, and then he would get it; and when he saw Miss Emma Hale he knew that she was the person, and that after they were married she went with him to near the place and stood with her back towards him while he dug after the box, which he rolled up in his frock, and she helped carry it home; that in the same box with the plates were spectacles; the bows were of gold and the eyes were stone, and by looking through these spectacles all the characters on the plates were translated into English."[5]


Levi Lewis: "Know Smith to be a liar. Saw him intoxicated at three different times while pretending to translate the Book of Mormon."[6]


Mrs. Sarah Pratt: "A good deal of whiskey was consumed in Nauvoo. Joe himself was often drunk. I have seen him in this state at different times. One evening one of the brethren brought Joseph to my home. He could not walk and had to be led by a helpful brother. The prophet asked me to make some strong coffee, which I did. He drank five cups, and when he felt that he could walk a little better, he went home. He dared not come before Emma in this state. Joseph was no habitual drunkard, but he used to get on sprees. When drunk he used to be ‘awfully funny.' He sometimes went to bed with his boots on."[7]


C. G. Webb: "Whisky, good whisky, was then 25 cents a gallon. No wonder that Joseph sometimes went to bed with his boots on, or that he slept, as he sometimes did, in a ditch. He was a right jolly prophet. No sanctimonious humbug about him."[8]


From History of Chenango County, N.Y.: Joe Smith, the founder of Mormonism, operated quite extensively in this town [Afton, N.Y.] and vicinity during the early years of his career as a prophet. The reputation of the family was very bad and Joe was considered the worst of the whole. Somewhere about 1828 or 1829 Smith made his appearance in Afton and attended school in District No. 9. Here his supernatural powers manifested themselves by telling fortunes or "foretelling futurity." This was done by placing a stone in his hat and then looking into it drawn over his face so as to exclude the light. He first organized a society at the house of Joe Knight, on the south side of the river, near the Lobdell House, in Broome County. Excavations were made in various places for treasures, and rocks containing iron pyrites were drilled for gold. Previous to digging in any place a sheep was killed and the blood sprinkled upon the spot. Lot 62 was the seat of one of these mining operations.

To convince the unbelievers that he did possess supernatural powers he announced that he would walk upon the water.

The performance was to take place in the evening, and to the astonishment of unbelievers, he did walk upon the water where it was known to be several feet deep, only sinking a few inches below the surface.

This proving a success, a second trial was announced which bid fair to be as successful as the first, but when he had proceeded some distance into the river he suddenly went down, greatly to the disgust of himself and proselytes, but to the great amusement of the unbelievers.

It appeared on examination that planks were laid in the river a few inches below the surface, and some wicked boys had removed a plank which caused the prophet to go down like any other mortal.

After pretending to heal the sick, cast out devils, etc., he gained quite a number of followers, but at length came to grief by being prosecuted as an impostor. He was tried before Joseph P. Chamberlain, a Justice of the Peace. Two pettifoggers, by the name of John S. Reed and James Davidson, volunteered to defend him.

Three witnesses were examined on the occasion, all of whom
testified that they had seen him cast out devils. They saw ‘a devil as large as a woodchuck leave the man and run across the floor'; one of them saw a devil leave the man and ‘run off like a yellow dog.' These witnesses were Mr. Knight and son, and Mr. Stowell, all of whom subsequently went west with Smith.[9]


Henry Harris: "The character of Joseph Smith for truth and veracity was such that I would not believe him under oath. I was once on a jury to a Justice's Court, and the jury could not and did not believe his testimony to be true.[10]


Mrs. Abigail Harris: ". . . Martin Harris and Lucy Harris, his wife, were at my house [early part of winter, 1828]. In conversation with the Mormonites, she [Lucy Harris] observed that she wished her husband would quit them, as she believed it all false and a delusion. To which I heard Mr. Harris reply: ‘What if it is a lie; if you will let me alone I will make money out of it!' I was both an eye- and ear-witness of what has been above stated, which is now fresh in my memory, and I speak the truth and lie not, God being my witness."[11]


Lucy Harris: "Whether the Mormon religion be true or false, I leave the world to judge; for its effects on Martin Harris have been to make him more cross, turbulent and abusive to me. His whole object was to make money out of it. I will give a proof of this. One day at Peter Harris' house (Abigail Harris' husband) I told him he had better leave the company of the Smiths, as their religion was false. To this he replied, "If you would let me alone, I could make money out of it.' It is in vain for the Mormons to deny these facts, as they are well known to most of his former neighbors."[12]


Joseph Capron: "The whole family of Smiths were notorious for indolence, foolery and falsehood. Joseph at length pretended to find his plates. This scheme, he believed, would relieve his family from all pecuniary embarrassment. He gave me no intimation at that time that the book was to be of a religious character, or that it had anything to do with revelation. He declared it to be a speculation,
and said: "When it is competed, my family will be placed on a level above the generality of mankind!"[13]


Peter Ingersoll: I was once ploughing near the house of old Joseph Smith. When about noon, he requested me to walk with him a short distance from his house, for the purpose of seeing whether a mineral rod would work in my hand, saying at the same time he was confident it would. When we arrived near that place at which he thought there was money, he cut a small witch-hazel bush and gave me direction how to hold it. He then went off some rods, and told me to say to the rod, "Work to the money," which I did in an audible voice. He rebuked me severely for speaking it loud, and said it must be said in a whisper. While the old man was standing off some rods, throwing himself into various shapes, I told him the rod did not work. He seemed much surprised at this, and said he thought he saw it move in my hand. . . . Another time he told me the best time for digging money was in the heat of summer, when the heat of the sun caused the chests of money to rise near the top of the ground. "You notice," said he, "the large stones on the top of the ground— we call them rocks, and they truly appear so, but they are, in fact, most of them, chests of money raised by the heat of the sun."[14]


Lucy Smith: "A man by the name of Josiah Stoal came from Chenango County, N.Y., with the view of getting Joseph to assist in digging for a silver mine. He came for Joseph on account of having heard that he possessed certain keys by which he could discern things invisible to the natural eye. Joseph endeavored to divert him from his vain pursuit, but he was inflexible in his purpose, and offered high wages to those who would dig for him in search of said mine, and still insisted upon having Joseph work for him. Accordingly, Joseph and several others returned with him and commenced digging. After laboring for the old gentleman about a month, without success, Joseph prevailed upon him to cease his operations, and it was from this circumstance of having worked by the month at digging for a silver mine, that the very prevalent story arose of Joseph having been a money-digger."[15]


Hiel and Joseph Lewis: "Some time previous to 1825, a man by the name of Wm. Hale, a distant relative of Uncle Isaac Hale, came to Isaac Hale and said that he had been informed by a woman by the name of Odle, who claimed to possess the power of seeing under ground (such persons were then commonly called peepers), that there were great treasures concealed in the hill northeast from Isaac Hale's house, and by her directions Wm. Hale commenced digging. But, being too lazy to work and too poor to hire, he obtained a partner by the name of Oliver Harper, of New York State, who had the means to hire help. But after a short time operations were suspended, for a time, during which Wm. Hale heard of PEEPER Joseph Smith, jr., and wrote to him and soon visited him, and found Smith's representations were so flattering that Smith was either hired or became a partner with Wm. Hale, Oliver Harper and a man by the name of Stowell, who had some property. They hired men and dug in several places.

The account given in the history of Susquehanna County, p.580, of a pure white dog to be used as a sacrifice to restrain the enchantment, and of the anger of the Almighty at the attempt to palm off on Him a white sheep for a white dog, is a fair sample of Smith's revelations, and of the God that inspired him. Their digging in several places was in compliance with ‘Peeper' Smith's revelations, who would attend with his peep-stone in his hat, and his hat drawn over his face, and
tell them how deep they would have to go; and when they found no trace of the chest of money, he would peep again and weep like a child, and tell them that the enchantment had removed it on account of some sin, or thoughtless word, and finally the enchantment became so strong that he could not see, and the business was finally abandoned. Smith could weep and shed tears at any time if he chose to.

"But while he was engaged in looking in his peep-stone and old white hat, directing the digging for money, and boarding at Uncle Isaac Hale's, he formed an intimacy with Mr. Hale's daughter, and after the abandonment of the money-digging speculation, he consummated the elopement and marriage to the said Emma Hale, and she became his accomplice in his humbug Golden Bible and Mormon religion."[16]


Porter Rockwell: "Brother Joseph, how is it in the other world?" Joseph said in answer: "Don't you bother, Brother Rockwell, about the other world; try to be as comfortable as possible in this and make the most of it; nobody knows what the other world will be."[17]

FOOTNOTES: [1] Cake, Lu B., Peepstone Joe and the Peck Manuscript, p. 52 Old acquaintance [2] Scribners Monthly, August,
1880. Vol. XX. p. 614. (Affidavit - New York, April 12th, 1880) [3] Wyl, Dr. W., Mormon Portraits, p. 21 Joseph's Nauvoo Accomplice
[4] Cake, Lu B., Peepstone Joe and the Peck Manuscript, p.33. Member of the Society of Friends, and universally respected [5]
Wyl, Dr. W., Mormon Portraits-Joseph Smith. p. 80. Relatives of Emma Hale Smith [6] Ibid. p. 20. Neighbor [7] Wyl, Dr. W., Mormon
Portraits-Joseph Smith, p. 22. Wife of Orson Pratt [8] Ibid. p. 22 (attributed Mr. W.) [9] Ibid. pp. 13-15. [10] Ibid. p. 20 (Affidavit
before Jonathan Lapham, Justice of the Peace) [11] Cake, Lu B., Peepstone Joe and the Peck Manuscript, p. 34. [12] Ibid. p. 35.
(Affidavit Palmyra, N.Y., November 29, 1833) [13] Ibid. p. 34. [14] Wyl, Dr. W., Mormon Portraits-Joseph Smith, p. 18 (Affidavit
dated Palmyra, December 2, 1833.) [15] Ibid. p. 78. Joseph Smith's mother, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet
[16] Ibid. p. 78, 79. Close relatives of Emma Hale Smith [17] Ibid. p. 20. (As related by Mr. Johnson) Joseph Smith Jr.'s Coachman
and Factotum

JOSEPH SMITH’S CLAIMS EXAMINED

JOSEPH SMITH’S CLAIMS EXAMINED

No 1820 Revival; 1st Vision Unreliable

Joseph Smith alleged that because of a revival in 1820 in the vicinity of Palmyra, NY, he went to the woods to pray for guidance as to which church he should join. He claimed that two glowing personages appeared to him and told him to join none of them, as they were all wrong, their creeds an abomination and their professors corrupt.

There is no evidence from the churches of Palmyra that there was a revival in 1820. Baptismal records show that there was a revival 4 years later in 1824, but this destroys the chronology established by Smith as recorded in official church history.

There are also problems with his first vision story:

• The official version was not recorded until 18 years after the event supposedly occurred.

• There is no mention of it in Oliver Cowdery’s history of the Latter Day Saint movement written in 1834 under Smith’s supervision.

• In 1828, Smith attempted to join the Methodist church, a direct violation of the command he

allegedly received from God 8 years earlier.

But most troubling of all, is the fact that early church publications and records document at least 6 distinctly different versions of his first vision. The differing versions contradict each other in regard to Smith’s age, the reason he went to the woods to pray, the number and identity of the personages who appeared to him, and most notably, the message he received.

BOM not Translation

Joseph Smith claimed that he translated the text of the Book of Mormon from gold plates through the Urim and Thummin by the power of the Holy Spirit. The title page of the Book of Mormon published today contains the words “Translated by Joseph Smith.” This is a core belief of his followers.

You will be shocked to learn that the above account did not happen. According to the witnesses present in the room when Joseph Smith was dictating the text of

the Book of Mormon, “Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light.” (quote David Whitmer)

The gold plates were under a cloth or hidden in the woods and were not used directly in the creation process. Other witnesses included Emma Smith, Martin Harris, Oliver

Cowdery, Isaac Hale and Michael Morse (Joseph Smith’s brother in law).

These details do not contradict the statements by the 11 witnesses. The unavoidable conclusion is, the Book of Mormon is not a “translation” within the commonly held meaning of that word.

No BOM Archeology

No person mentioned in the Book of Mormon has ever been identified in the ancient archeology of the Americas. No place mentioned in that book has ever been located geographically.

The language referenced in the Book of Mormon is Reformed Egyptian and no evidence for that language has been found anywhere on the earth. No event mentioned in the Book of Mormon has been confirmed from any objective source.

Many objects mentioned in the Book of Mormon (e.g. steel, coins, wheels, swords, horses, Christian or Hebrew artifacts) have not been confirmed with archeology. Many objects and customs that archeology confirms did exist during that time period (e.g. obsidian, human sacrifice, dogs as food, adobe brick, terrace farming, hieroglyphics, cotton, tobacco) are not mentioned in the Book of Mormon. In contrast, hundreds of archeological findings support the accuracy of the Bible.

Archeologists and researchers who have examined Book of Mormon claims have rejected its validity. Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Dan Vogel, Dee Green, Michael Coe and the Smithsonian Institute have all issued statements denying the historicity of the Book of Mormon.

DNA Refutes BOM

In 1830, Joseph Smith presented the Book of Mormon to the world, declaring it to be the most correct of any book on earth. It has been promoted for the past 174 years by his followers, not only as a scriptural supplement to the Bible, but also as a literal history of the ancestors of the American Indians.

Joseph Smith taught that Native Americans were actually descendants of Jews who had traveled to the Americas in three migrations; the first at the time of the Tower of Babel, the last two, approximately 600 BC

However, recent DNA analysis of American Indians from more than 150 tribes, both ancient and present-day, reveals that Joseph Smith’s claims have no basis in fact. Of the thousands of Native Americans tested, 99.4% were of North East Asian descent, while the remaining 0.6% were of African and European descent.

No DNA evidence supports Joseph Smith’s assertion that American Indians are of Jewish or Hebrew descent.

BOM Text Impossible

The Book of Mormon text contains logical impossibilities. The Book of Mormon’s Old Testament portion (BMOT) quotes heavily from the New Testament of the Bible. There are at least185 quotations and 2,500 unique vocabulary words from the New Testament in the BMOT such as: “Bible,” “Jesus,” “Christ,” “Christian” and “baptism”.

These New Testament words do not appear in the Old Testament of the Bible but they do appear in the BMOT. It is impossible to quote a text 600 years before it came into existence.

Similarly, circa 550 BC, Nephi quoted four verses from the Book of Malachi over 100 years before they were written, circa 425 BC. Since these verses were not

Of the three biblical priesthoods, Joseph Smith included in his church the two that are unavailable to Christians
written until after Lehi left Jerusalem, Nephi could not have had access to them. In short, this is a double impossibility of both time and space.

The Book of Mormon also contains 18 chapters of the book of Isaiah from the 1611 King James Version of the Bible, including most of the italicized words.
Nephi quotes from that version 2,000 years before it came into existence.

Smith Convicted

In 1826 at Bainbridge, New York, Joseph Smith was arrested, tried and convicted of the crime of “glass looking,” an occult practice similar to crystal ball gazing. This trial was the direct result of Smith’s attempt to find buried treasure for Josiah Stowell, for a fee, with the use of a seer stone.

For many years, followers of Joseph Smith denied the reports of those present at the trial and accused them of being Smith’s enemies. Court documents including a bill of costs from Justice Albert Neely have now been found that confirm that the trial occurred and that Joseph was convicted of the crime of “glass looking.”

The significance of this conviction is more than the fact that Joseph Smith was convicted of a crime. The described use of the seer stone is eerily similar to the method Joseph Smith actually used in creating the Book of Mormon as described herein.

Smith and Polygamy

On July 12, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois, Joseph Smith allegedly received a revelation commanding the practice of polygamy, which he labeled celestial marriage. His diary contains the following entry, “I received the following revelation in the presence of my brother Hyram and Elder William Clayton.”

Excerpts from the revelation read, “…I [the Lord] reveal unto you a new and everlasting covenant and if ye abide not in that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory…If ye abide in my covenant…then shall…[ye] be Gods.”

William Clayton, Smith’s personal secretary, recorded the following, “I did write the revelation on celestial marriage given through the prophet Joseph Smith, on 12th of July, 1843.” Many sworn testimonies given by those living in Nauvoo at the time the revelation was made public, verify the fact that Joseph Smith not only gave this revelation but also practiced polygamy himself.

Two Invalid Priesthoods

The Bible speaks of three priesthoods: the Aaronic, the Melchizedek and the Royal Priesthood of All Believers.

The Aaronic priesthood consisted of priests and a single high priest. It was instituted by God in the Old Testament to be a mediator between God and man, with the high priest offering sacrifices for the sins of the people. This priesthood was made obsolete with the death of Christ on the cross, since he was the last sacrifice for sin and the new mediator between God
and man. Neither the Bible nor church history records the existence of the Aaronic priesthood in the New Testament Christian church. Any attempt to “restore” this priesthood shows contempt for Christ’s sacrifice.

The Melchizedek priesthood was unique. The Bible records it being held by only two people, Melchizedek in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ in the New Testament. No evidence exists of any other person holding this priesthood. “Every reference in the Bible to a Melchizedek priesthood is in reference to the specific and unique ministry which Jesus Christ alone fulfills as God’s chosen means of salvation for his people.” (Paul Trask)
The Royal priesthood consists of all born-again believers who make up the body of Christ, with Jesus as their great high priest. He is the only high priest for the Christian church. Because he will never die, his high priest status can

never be transferred to another. Any attempt to appropriate Christ’s high priest title or ministry to oneself usurps His unique title and function and constitutes blasphemy. Consequently, Joseph Smith’s priesthood system, which includes multiple high priests, is heretical.

Of the three biblical priesthoods, Joseph Smith included in his church the two that are unavailable to Christians – The Aaronic and the Melchizedek. Tragically, he ignored the only priesthood that is available to Christians, the Royal Priesthood.

Salvation By Works

In over 30 LDS scripture passages Smith altered the requirements for salvation. He said, “ye are justified by faith and works through grace” (Rom. 4:16 Insp. Ver.) and “if ye keep the commandments of God ye shall be saved.” (Mosiah 7:94 BOM)

The Bible says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” Titus 3:5. The Bible doctrine of salvation may be summarized as: we are saved from sin and death through faith in the grace of Jesus by his sacrifice for us on the cross -- and that alone.

Churches that remain connected to Joseph Smith do not teach the essentials of the Christian faith. Salvation by works is neither Biblical nor effective. If a church does not teach the Christian doctrine of salvation its members will be confused. They might perceive wrongfully that God has abandoned them. We are never good enough to merit God’s love and can only obtain God’s acceptance through Jesus’ atonement for our sins, which is the basis for our salvation.

Jesus–Faithful Shepherd

We understand what you may be feeling after reading the facts above. The fear and turmoil you may be experiencing is temporary. As former followers of Joseph Smith we have found Jesus is the only Faithful Shepherd. The broken-hearted can turn to Him for comfort.

It is our prayer that you will know the truth because the truth will set you free. If you are a follower of Joseph Smith who cares about the truth, you will surely be disturbed as you confirm the facts above. You may want to deny the evidence. The allegations here are too serious not to be tested.

If you discover this ad is true, you may feel that you have wasted your life. But you haven’t, if you make sure you follow Jesus, not Joseph. You may be angry with us but we are only telling you the truth.

You may experience pain about the loss of identity and heritage. Jesus will never forsake you. He will send you the Holy Comforter. He will give you new friends. You may feel guilt at your part in the perpetuation of a false system. Fear not -- Jesus can make you new and clean, but you must let the sin cease. In all religious experience, only Jesus is real. If you seek him, you will find him — it will be worth the cost.

LDS - STOP SAYING YOUR ARE CHRISTIANS

Mormon Fraud - The Kinderhook Plates

The Many Wives Of joseph smith

Joseph Smith and the Kinderhook Plates

In 1843 six brass plates were found in a mound in Kinderhook, Illinois. Mormons who saw the plates were impressed by their ancient appearance and felt that they would prove Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon. In a letter written from Nauvoo, Illinois, dated May 2, 1843, Charlotte Haven said that when Joshua Moore "showed them to Joseph [Smith] the letter said that the figures or writing on them was similar to that in which the Book of Mormon was written, and if Mr. Moore could leave them, he thought that by the help of revelation he would be able to translate them" (Overland Monthly, Dec. 1890, page 630).

While the Kinderhook plates have often been put forth as evidence for Joseph Smith's claims concerning the Book of Mormon, there is another side to the story. Evidence now shows that the Kinderhook plates were actually modern forgeries created specifically for the purpose of entrapping Joseph Smith.

Joseph Smith accepted these plates as authentic and even claimed that he had translated a portion of them. The evidence comes from the diary of William Clayton, Joseph Smith's private secretary. The information in Clayton's journal was deemed so important that it was put in the first person and used as a basis for the story of the Kinderhook plates which is printed in the History of the Church, vol. 5, page 372. The following is attributed to Joseph Smith:

I insert fac-similes of the six brass plates found near Kinderhook, . . .

I have translated a portion of them and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth.

After the plates were found, nine "citizens of Kinderhook" certified that R. Wiley took the "six brass-plates" from "a large mound, in this vicinity." Unfortunately for the LDS position, it was later revealed that the plates were forgeries. On April 25, 1856, W. P. Harris, who was one of the nine witnesses to the discovery of the plates, wrote a letter in which he stated that the plates were not genuine:

. . . I was present with a number at or near Kinderhook and helped to dig at the time the plates were found . . . I . . . made an honest affidavit to the same. . . . since that time, Bridge Whitten said to me that he cut and prepared the plates and he . . . and R. Wiley engraved them themselves. . . . Wilbourn Fugit appeared to be the chief, with R. Wiley and B. Whitten. (The Book of Mormon?, by James D. Bales, pp. 95-96)

On June 30, 1879, W. Fugate, who was also one of the nine people who signed the certificate, wrote a letter in which he admitted his part in the hoax:

I received your letter in regard to those plates, and will say in answer that they are a humbug, gotten up by Robert Wiley, Bridge Whitten and myself. . . . We read in Pratt's prophecy that "Truth is yet to spring out of the earth." We concluded to prove the prophecy by way of a joke. (Letter of W. Fugate, as cited in The Kinderhook Plates by Welby W. Ricks, reprinted from the Improvement Era, September 1962)

At the time of the Civil War the Kinderhook plates were lost. M. Wilford Poulson, of Brigham Young University, later found one of the original plates in the Chicago Historical Society Museum. The plate which he found has been identified as no. 5 in the facsimiles printed in the History of the Church. While Professor Poulson's research led him to believe that the plate was a forgery, Welby W. Ricks, who was President of the BYU Archaeological Society, hailed the discovery as a vindication of Joseph Smith's work:

A recent rediscovery of one of the Kinderhook plates which was examined by Joseph Smith, Jun., reaffirms his prophetic calling and reveals the false statements made by one of the finders. . . .

The plates are now back in their original categoryof genuine. . . . Joseph Smith, Jun., stands as a true prophet and translator of ancient records by divine means and all the world is invited to investigate the truth which has sprung out of the earth not only of the Kinderhook plates, but of the Book of Mormon as well. (The Kinderhook Plates)

In 1965, three years after Mr. Ricks made this triumphant announcement, George M. Lawrence, an LDS physicist was given permission to examine and make "some non-destructive physical studies of the surviving plate." In his "Report of a Physical Study of the Kinderhook Plate Number 5," George Lawrence wrote:

The dimensions, tolerances, composition and workmanship are consistent with the facilities of an 1843 blacksmith shop and with the fraud stories of the original participants.

Since Mr. Lawrence was only allowed to make non-destructive tests, some LDS scholars would not accept his work as conclusive. In 1980, however, LDS scholar Stanley P. Kimball was able "to secure permission from the Chicago Historical Society for the recommended destructive tests." Professor Kimball described the results of the tests in the official LDS Church publication, The Ensign, August 1981, pages 66-70:

A recent electronic and chemical analysis of a metal plate. . . brought in 1843 to the prophet Joseph Smith. . . appears to solve a previously unanswered question in Church history, helping to further evidence that the plate is what its producers later said it was—a nineteenth-century attempt to lure Joseph Smith into making a translation of ancient-looking characters that had been etched into the plates. . . . As a result of these tests, we concluded that the plate . . . is not of ancient origin. . . . we concluded that the plate was made from a true brass alloy (copper and zinc) typical of the mid-nineteenth century; whereas the "brass" of ancient times was actually bronze, an alloy of copper and tin.

If Joseph Smith had not been murdered in June 1844, it is very possible he might have published a complete "translation" of these bogus plates. Just a month before his death it was reported that he was "busy intranslating them. The new work . . . will be nothing more nor less than a sequel to the Book of Mormon. . . " (Warsaw Signal, May 22, 1844). The fact that Joseph Smith was actually preparing to print a translation of the plates is verified by a broadside published by the LDS newspaper, The Nauvoo Neighbor, in June 1843. On this broadside, containing facsimiles of the plates, we find the following:

The contents of the Plates, together with a Fac-Simile of the same, will be published in the "Times and Seasons," as soon as the translation is completed.

In any case, it is obvious that Joseph Smith's work on these fraudulent plates casts serious doubt upon his credibility as a translator of LDS scriptures like the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham. Smith's work on the Kinderhook plates was supposed to have revealed that they "contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt and that he received his kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth." Now, in order to derive this much information from the plates it would have been necessary to have "translated" quite a number of the words. A man who could invent such information from bogus plates is just the type of man who would pretend to translate the Book of Abraham from Egyptian papyri which he really knew nothing about or the Book of Mormon from golden plates which he never made available to scholars. Charles A. Shook once observed: "Only a bogus prophet translates bogus plates." While this may not be the most tactful way of putting it, this is a very serious problem which cannot be brushed aside. Furthermore, Jesus himself has told us to "Beware of false prophets" (Matthew 7:15).

While the forged Kinderhook plates present a real dilemma for those who maintain Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, Smith's purported translation of the Book of Abraham presents an even greater problem. For more information on these subjects see the book,Major Problems of Mormonism.

Changes to the Doctrine & Covenants

Changes to the Doctrine & Covenants

The Mormon scripture called the Doctrine and Covenants is a series of revelations which Joseph Smith and other LDS prophets claimed to receive directly from God. The first of these revelations were printed in The Book of Commandments in the year 1833. Since that time many of these revelations have been radically altered, with words and even whole sentences deleted. In other places later doctrinal innovations were written back into earlier revelations to hide the glaring contradictions that would otherwise result. In this way, events that were previously unheard of suddenly become part of the historical record as a revelation from God.

Here are some specific examples representative of thousands of changes:
 

Original 1833 Book of Commandments	Current, Altered Doctrine & Covenants
BC 4:2, p. 10 — and he has a gift to translate the book [of Mormon], and I have commanded him that he shall pretend to no other gift, for I will grant him no other gift. [Harmony, Pennsylvania March 1829] [View Book of Commandments text.]	D&C 5:4 — And you have a gift to translate the plates;[and this is the first gift that I bestowed upon you;] and I have commanded that you should pretend to no other gift [until my purpose is fulfilled in this;] for I will grant unto you no other gift [until it is finished]. Note: The changes to this revelation were necessary for Joseph had already claimed the divine ability to do his own translation of the Bible. Later he would claim the gift to translate ancient Egyptian papyri. However, the evidence does not support these as authentic translations.2
BC 28:6-7, p. 60 — Behold this is wisdom in me, wherefore marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you, on the earth, and with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world: Wherefore lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins and be faithful until I come: even so. Amen. [Harmony, Pennsylvania September 4, 1830] [View Book of Commandments text.]	D&C 27:5ff — Behold this is wisdom in me, wherefore marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you, on the earth, and with[Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of the everlasting gospel…] [Harmony, Pennsylvania first part August 1830, remainder September 1830] Note: At this point in the revelation over 300 words are added regarding the restoration of the Mormon priesthood by means of divine ordination. By making the account part of a revelation that is dated to 1830, it appears the story has been known since then. However, it is not a part of any revelation until the 1835 edition of the Doctrine & Covenants (section L(50) v. 2, p. 180). Apparently Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who were in charge of editing the 1835 D&C, inserted this material so that the concept of the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods being restored and the office of high priest would appear to have been in place from the start and would appear to have been given directly by God. The revelation concludes with over 130 additional words, taken from the Bible copied almost verbatim from Ephesians 6:13-17. No explanation is given for the dating discrepancy. [Click here to see 1835 D&C L (50) pp. 180, 181]
BC 44:26, p. 92 — If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments; and behold, thou shalt consecrate all thy properties, that which thou hast unto me, with a covenant and a deed which can not be broken; and they shall be laid before the bishop of my church, and two of the elders, such as he shall appoint and set apart for that purpose. [Kirtland, Ohio February 1831] [View Book of Commandments text.]	D&C 42:29-30 — If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments; and behold,[thou wilt remember the poor, and] thou shaltconsecrate [of] all thy properties [for their support] that which thou hast [to impart] unto me [them] with a covenant and a deed which can not be broken. [And inasmuch as ye impart of your substance unto the poor, ye will do it unto me] and they shall be laid before the bishop of my church [and his counselors], two of the elders [or high priests], such as he shall appoint [or has appointed] and set apart for that purpose. (February 1831)
Note: By 1835 when the D&C was printed Joseph Smith had given up on the idea of communalism. Therefore this revelation was changed so that Mormons were no longer told by God to consecrate all their properties, but instead the emphasis is shifted to a command to remember the poor and give "of your property". Also, at the time the revelation was originally given there was no office of "counselor" or "high priest" in the Mormon church, so these also had to be added to the revelation retroactively, once again giving the appearance these offices were there from the beginning.
BC 9:1, p. 22 — Now, behold I say unto you, that because you delivered up so many writings, which you had power to translate, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them, and you also lost your gift at the same time … [Harmony, Pennsylvania May 1829] [View Book of Commandments text.]	D&C 10:1 9:1 — Now, behold I say unto you, that because you delivered up so many [those] writings, which you had power [given unto you] to translate [by the means of the Urim and Thummim], into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them. (v.2) And you also lost your gift at the same time, [and your mind became darkened]. Note: There is no mention of the Old Testament Urim and Thummim in the Book of Mormon nor is there any connection of the Urim and Thummim to the translation of the Book of Mormon until 1833, which is four years after this revelation was supposedly given.
Another example of a revelation that has undergone hundreds of changes was first published in The Evening & Morning Star in October 1832. The revelation was said to have been received in November of 1831. [View document]	This revelation is now D&C 68 and contains multiple references to the Melchizedek priesthood, high priests and the First Presidency. Once again the attempt is made to write later developments into previously given revelations to make them fit Joseph’s evolving church structure. [View document]

The Book Of Abraham

Mormonism

Do mormons respect other religions?
"Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the 'whore of Babylon' whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness. Any person who shall be so corrupt as to receive a holy ordinance of the Gospel from the ministers of any of these apostate churches will be sent down to hell with them, unless they repent".- Apostle Orson Pratt proclaimed, The Seer, p. 255

“Nothing less than a complete apostasy from the Christian religion would warrant the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”—History of the Church, vol. 1, p. XL



Do mormons have the same Jesus as Christians?
LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie taught that Christians have "a mythical Christ" (Mormon Doctrine, p.269). That means we must decide which faith has the real Christ because somebody clearly has a mythical Christ. Do these faiths have the same Jesus? No, if you read the LDS Ensign. It says Christian Churches worship a different Jesus (May 1977, p.26).


"They say we do not believe in the traditional Christ of Christianity. There is some substance to what they say. Our faith, our knowledge, is not based on ancient tradition... Our faith, our knowledge comes of the witness of a prophet in this dispensation..." - Gordon B. Hinkley

Mormons are told NOT to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

“Now I know that some may be offended at the counsel that they SHOULD NOT strive for a special and personal relationship with Christ. It will seem to them as though I am speaking out against mother love, or Americanism, or the little red school house. But I am not. There is a fine line here over which true worshippers will not step.” Bruce McConkie, as a Latter-day apostle.

Mormons are told NOT to worship Jesus Christ.

“We worship the Father and him only and no one else. We do not worship the Son and we do not worship the Holy Ghost.” Bruce McConkie, as a Latter-day apostle.



Is mormonism raciest?
"I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the Children of men, that they may not call scripture!" Bringham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 13, page 95. "Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will ALWAYS be so." Journal of Discourses, Volume 10, page 110.


" . . . after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation a upon a the earth as well as God;.... " Journal of Discourses, Volume 22, page 304.


In the LDS Church publication, the “Messenger and Advocate" (vol. 2, pp. 289-301, April 1836), Smith asserted that slavery as practiced by the Southern states was ordained by God and in keeping with the “gospel of Christ”:

"...and rebellious niggers in the slave states." Joseph Smith - Millennial Star 22:602


"This Greeley is one of their popular characters in the East, and one that supports the stealing of Niggers...". John Taylor - Mormon prophet
Journal of Discourses 5:119


Do mormons have the same God as Christians?

"God himself, the Father of us all, is a glorified, exalted immortal resurrected man!" (Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 322-23, 517, 643).


"...God himself was once as we are now and is an exalted man and sits enthroned in yonder heavens..." (Journal of Discourses, V6, P3, 1844)


"As man is, God once was: as God is, man may become." (Lorenzo Snow, quoted in Milton R. Hunter, the Gospel Through the Ages, pp. 105-106)


“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. These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did, and I will show it from the Bible” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp.345-346. Italics in original).


"Hence, the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible . . . Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many . . . but to us there is but one God--that is pertaining to us; and he is in all and through all," (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 474). "In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 5).


But, the Word of God says in John 4:24 "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."



Was mormon founder joseph smith a fraud?
In July of 1835, an Irishman named Michael Chandler brought an exhibit of four Egyptian mummies and papyri to Kirtland, Ohio, then the home of the Mormons. The papyri contained Egyptian hieroglyphics. In 1835 hieroglyphics were unreadable.



As Prophet and Seer of the Church, Joseph Smith was given permission to look at the papyri scrolls in the exhibit and to everyone's shock, revealed that "one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph of Egypt."1 The Church bought the exhibit for $2400. Joseph finished the translation of the Book of Abraham some time later, but the book of Joseph was never translated. The papyri were lost soon afterwards and thought to have been destroyed in a fire in Chicago in 1871. There was, therefore, no way to validate Joseph's translation. If the papyri were re-discovered and translated it would either prove or disprove the abilities of Joseph as a prophet of God. After all, he was supposed to be a prophet and have the abilities of a Seer as the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham supposedly proved.



In October of 1880 The Pearl of Great Price, a collection of writings, which contained the book of Abraham, was recognized as scripture by the Mormon Church.



To every one’s surprise, in 1966 the papyri were rediscovered in one of the vault rooms of the New York’s metropolitan Museum of Art. The Deseret News of Salt Lake City on Nov. 27, 1967 acknowledged the rediscovery of the papyri. On the back of the papyri were "drawings of a temple and maps of the Kirtland, Ohio area."2 There could be no doubt that this was the original document from which Joseph Smith translated the book of Abraham.



With the papyri rediscovered and Egyptian hieroglyphics decipherable since the late 1800's, it would then be an easy task of translating the papyri and proving once and for all that Joseph Smith was a prophet with the gift of "Seer" as he and the Mormon church have claimed. This would then prove the truth of the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham and would vindicate Joseph Smith as a true prophet of God.



Do mormons have strange beliefs?

"I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the Children of men, that they may not call scripture!" Bringham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 13, page 95. "Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will ALWAYS be so." Journal of Discourses, Volume 10, page 110.



" . . . after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation a upon a the earth as well as God;.... " Journal of Discourses, Volume 22, page 304.



In the LDS Church publication, the “Messenger and Advocate" (vol. 2, pp. 289-301, April 1836), Smith asserted that slavery as practiced by the Southern states was ordained by God and in keeping with the “gospel of Christ”.



Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven? (The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 3, p. 263-264 )