Joseph Did You Know?

 

 

 

The Mormon People are a robust population of Americans, descended from pioneers who fled religious persecution to form an oasis in the desert. But while they rested enemies came and sold Tares among their wheat. And like Jesus told them, they let their crop grow until fruition along with the Tares. And now, in these later days, its harvest time.

 

Nobody in their right mind can believe that the congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is inherently evil. It becomes standard practice to micro-analyze the methods of worship of the Saints to demonstrate what they consider “non-Christian.” What is a Christian?

 

Put simply a Christian is a person that believes in some fashion in Jesus Christ. There are 47,000 Christian denominations worldwide, all believing that they have the truth, and the other 46,999 denominations worship the devil and are going to hell. Saint Peter has his work cut out for him.

 

Just last night I watched a video purported to expose the “weird” sex practices of the Mormons. It cited their aversion to pre-marital sex, homosexuality, inappropriate touching, abortion, and expounded getting married, staying married, and raising large families. Totally unAmerican by today’s standards allowing a man to marry a man, a woman to marry a woman or a tiger to marry a chair. And abort the baby if you’re not quite through sowing your wild Tares! Do you believe God would bless this mess? America’s direction proves that God is running low on fire and brimstone.

 

We on the eve of a national election. Both camps claim that if they don’t win it’s the end of America. The America your grandparents knew ended a long time ago. The definition of the constitution has no resemblance to the one our forefathers gave us. In the very first amendment it clearly confirms the right of the free exercise of religion. And a mob of good Christians shot Joseph Smith out of a window in a county jail for exercising his! They really did that, folks. You can’t call those bullets back!

 

And Bigham Young led his followers to Mexico. Yes! Mexico! To a desert with a salty lake to try to grow a few beets. There was a war, and the Saints woke up in beautiful downtown Capital Venture USA! And the Mormons adapted. They circled the wagons, built their temples and at least tried to obey God as they understood Him. And slowly, insidiously the American Dream began to “adjust” that understanding until the present day where anyone can marry anyone anywhere except Utah where a civil servant can’t have an extra wife to look after the babies. It’s “Federal Law!” Where’s your separation of Church and State now, Barney?

 

Now a group of Mormon victims of sex abuse are mounting a campaign to bring these transgressions to light. Focusing on men who used their authority entrusted to them to dominate those who believed they were put in that position by the God their grandmother told them about. Those who would asperse these kids claim it is an attack on the Church. Could it be that this is the Church’s attack on THEM! A thinning of the herd? A judgement?  Neither I nor any reasonable person would believe that the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints approves of the molestation of children.

 

Do I personally believe in all the concepts of the Mormon Church. No. No more than I believe in the Catholic, the Methodist or Baptist. All their attempts to second guess God is a mustard seed that will not grow. Personally, as a writer myself, I know how the Book of Mormon came to be. There were no golden tablets, any more than a flying horse that Mohammed rode to heaven but Joseph Smith came down from Hill Cumorah with something. To know what you have to understand inspiration. God doesn’t sieze the hand of the prophet, he seizes the mind.

 

Years ago, during a visit to Salt Lake City I noticed railroads running down the middle of the street downtown and I asked if these tracks were still used. I was told that yes, they were. People commute every day from Ogden or other points. As we drove back to Brigham City I took notice of the industry, the farming, the condition of the road, everything. And the people! The percentage of people in Utah who identify themselves as Mormon centers around 42%. A non-Mormon majority in a place the Mormons built. I considered that, and that night I wrote the article “Joseph Did You Know?” Remembering the tracks I’d seen earlier that day I asked myself, did he know we were all gonna ride the train?