I hear of an organisation called the Strengthening Church Members Committee, set up to investigate polygamists. ibid.
John Sweeney: What’s the Strengthening Church Members Committee, and does it still exist?
Michael Purdy: I don’t know and I’m not ... I guess that’s a question not for me. I couldn’t tell you that. I don’t know. ibid.
cf.
Michael Purdy: I’ve heard, yeah, there is a Strengthening Church Members Committee … ibid.
Mormons believe that you can baptise the dead. They’ve done that to thousands of Jews who died in the Holocaust. ibid.
I became convinced that’s it’s a fraud. ibid. Park Romney interview
These are masters of mendacity. ibid.
I am alienated from my family. ibid.
The Mormon Church does not inform perspective members of the faith-challenging aspects of its history. Top Ten Mormon Problems Explained, Youtube 2012
The Book of Abraham: Smith proudly displayed the papyrii for visitors … [that] have nothing to do with Abraham. ibid.
The First Vision: there is simply no evidence that Joseph told anyone about the vision until many years later and not till after the Book of Mormon was published. ibid.
The impression given is that the dictation process involved Joseph’s direct visual contact with the plates … However, the actual method Joseph Smith used was to put a favourite stone – a rock purported to have magical properties – in a hat and dictate the Book of Mormon to a scribe … The plates … were never used in the translation process. ibid.
The Book of Mormon civilisations were steel-smelting, chariot-driving, Christ-worshipping, temple-building people that multiplied into millions. But there is no evidence any of these people ever existed. ibid.
There are many anachronisms in the Book of Mormon. ibid.
The Book of Mormon pales in comparison with such literary masterpieces as A Tale of Two Cities … Joseph Smith was indeed capable of creating the Book of Mormon … Twain referred to it as ‘Chloroform in Print.’ ibid.
Black men were excluded from the LDS priesthood from its inception until 1978 … Blacks represent Satan on Earth. ibid.
Kinderhook Plates … they told the story about an ancient Jaredite [family] … The Church continued to support the idea … A hoax … They were proven false. ibid.
The practice of Mormon polygamy is difficult for LDS saints to defend … Polygamy was illegal in the United States … [Mormons] repeatedly lied about polygamy … ‘Lying for the Lord.’ ibid.
He [Joseph Smith] knew none of the witnesses had seen the plates with their natural eyes … Martin Harris said: ‘I never saw the gold plates.’ ibid.
Some important problems with the temple … most of the temple ceremony is identical to masonic rituals … The five points of fellowship … was removed in the 1990s … ibid.
1Many other troublesome issues such as Moroni’s visitation, the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, prophets after Joseph, failed prophecies, the restoration of the priesthood, Mountain Meadows Massacre, Joseph Smith’s History, Joseph’s translation of the Bible, tithing issues, testimony problems etc. ibid.
It looks beautiful from the outside but when you peel off the mask and talk to the victims you uncover another part of the story. The Godmakers I, 1982
‘They have turned my own beautiful children against me. The brainwashing techniques of this organisation are really incredibly effective.’ ibid.
The worthy Mormon can become a god himself in the life hereafter. ibid.
Mormons believe that Elohim is their heavenly father and that he lives with his many goddess wives on a planet near a mysterious star Kolob. ibid.
Thus the Jesus of Mormonism established his church in the Americas as he had in Palestine. ibid.
And yet there are nine versions [of Joseph Smith’s vision] each of which contradicts the other. ibid.
‘There is no Nephite language; there are no Nephite cities … There is no evidence for the book.’ ibid.
Mason-like rituals … Thousands of occultic ceremonies are performed each day for the dead. ibid.
Joseph Smith was heavily involved in the occult. ibid.
Utah which is 75% Mormon leads the nation in bankruptcy and stock fraud, and ranks among the highest in divorce, suicide, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, venereal disease and bigamy. ibid.
Forced Mormon leadership to modify several co-called unchangeable sacred doctrines to not only counter the message of the film but to vie against for place alongside Christianity. The Godmakers II, 1992
They obscure their anti-Christian identity. ibid.
Mormons worldwide tithe $15 million a day. Over 50% comes from Mormons in the US. ibid.
The Mormon Church generates $6 billion a year through its business enterprises. ibid.
Polygamy became a standard requirement for Mormonism … It’s a history of power and manipulation. ibid.
Shortly after this interview Lillian was found dead in her home, the result of a gunshot wound. The LeBaron family murders are still under investigation. ibid. caption
‘Mormon leaders have altered, dismissed and covered up thousands of historical and archaeological errors, false prophecies and doctrinal contradictions.’ ibid.
Mormons believe that they will build the new Jerusalem near Independence, Missouri, and it will be the primary capital of the kingdom of God. ibid.
Part of this bondage is the requirement to wear sacred temple underwear 24 hours a day from that day on. ibid.
‘Virtually a Disneyland of occult symbols.’ ibid.
Hinckley: ‘He liked to have feminine looking boys.’ ibid. testimony
Indeed, in some instances the merciful companion to truth is silence; some truths are best left unsaid. Line Upon Line: Mormonism Transcended, Russell M Nelson, 1986, Youtube 2008
I wasn’t reading anti-Mormon literature, I was reading the original sources. ibid. ex-member
The further down you dig into this information, the more troublesome the Church becomes. ibid.
It was just a man-made religion like all the rest. ibid. Richard Packham
It’s the discovery of the deceit and the lying I think that makes so many former Mormons so angry and bitter against the Church. ibid.
I lost every single one of them. ibid.
‘Shadow Mormons’ are those who privately do not accept the exacting doctrine of the Church, but publicly profess to be true believers. They are in shadow to protect their relationships with family, friends and employers. In the Shadow of the Temple, Youtube 2009
I’m in pain here; I’m leaving what I’ve believed in my whole frickin’ life. ibid. ex-member
This trickery is salesmanship. ibid. Jean Bodie
Yes, I’m pissed and there’s a ball of anger that will never go away; I’m just better at coping with it. ibid. ex-member
Trade polygamy for eternal marriage … and expelled those who had broken the rules. Hidden in America s1e2: Mormons, 2013
Six million in America alone … 30% in Utah. ibid.
The Church is a major player in every industry. ibid.
When Chad Hardy tries to change perceptions of Mormons by creating a calendar of shirtless missionary the Church of Latter Day Saints is not amused. ibid.
American, extremist, misunderstood – a few of the labels popularly tagged to this religion which is probably Britain’s fastest growing faith … The religion has spread to every corner of Britain. They now number well over 100,000 with another 4,000 converts joining every year. Mormons: Fact & Fantasy, 1978
The Mormons arrange for monthly home visits. Women are assigned in pairs to visit perhaps five or six mothers in their area and help out where needed. ibid.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints of Latter Days Saints has over sixteen million members worldwide. Their belief that Jesus appeared in America after the Crucifixion has attracted both criticism and ridicule. With a huge business empire, questions have been raised about the church’s financial and political ambitions. In the UK there are nearly two hundred thousand British Latter-Day Saints. Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over s1e5: Mormons, W 2019