Silk, Cement, Glass (Ether 3:1), Machinery. No evidence of these in the new world before 1492.

Chariots (Alma 18:9) and Carriages (2 Nephi 20:28). No evidence of wheeled vehicles other than toys.

Seven day week not known (day of rest).

Cimitars.

No evidence of portable tents in Mesoamerica during that time.

Quetzalcoatl legend dates 1000 years before Christ.

When the Nephites landed in the Americas there were already millions of inhabitants in the land with large cities and infrastructure. Why are these peoples not mentioned?

Why didn't Nephi compare and contrast the New World with Jerusalem? Two vastly different places.

No evidence supporting the existence of these metals, skills and products at the time of BoM: Bellows, Brass, Breast Plates., Chains, Copper, Iron, Metal Coins, Ore ( no evidence of mining activities), Plows, Silver, Swords (none that are metal), Steel.

Tom Ferguson: "Metallurgy does not appear in the region until about the 9th century A.D"

Art does not portray the existence of metallurgical products or metallurgical activity.

Ass, Bull, Calf , Cattle, Cow, domestic Goat (the Nephites claimed to have found the domestic goat!), Horse (the horse plays a major role in the Nephite and Lamanite societies), Ox, domestic Sheep, Sow, Swine, Elephants. All mentioned in the BoM (not found before Columbus).

Butter, Milk?

Animals that existed in pre-Columbian America, but not mentioned in BoM include: Coatis, Deer, Jaguars,Tapir, Monkeys, Sloths, Turkeys, etc..

Bees came with Europeans (Ether 2:3)

Plow agriculture was not known in new world: Barley (Mos 7:22, Alma 11:7, 15), Wheat (Mos 9:9).

"There's a whole system of production of wheat and barley . . . It's a specialized production of food. You have to know something to make flax [the source of linen], and especially in tropical climates. Grapes and olives . . . all these are cultures that are highly developed and amount to systems, and so the Book of Mormon is saying that these systems existed here." (BYU anthropology professor, Dr. Raymond T. Matheny, August 25, 1984 Sunstone conference in Salt Lake City).

Foods of ancient America not described (chocolate, lima beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, manioc).

Terrain of Central America not described.

Numerous LDS books and papers describe proposed BoM locations for cities and the "narrow neck of land". No city has yet been identified as being Nephite or Lamanite. For example, Zarahemla was occupied for hundreds of years without any evidence of ever existing. BoM describes a time period from 2000 BC to 400 AD and millions of people. The cities they occupied have yet to be found.

No place names tie to the names of today.

Hill Cumorah and battlefield in New York?

No gaps in archeological record with near eastern culture exist in Mesoamerica.

The History of the Church records an incident from June, 1834 in which JS identified a skeleton found in an Indian burial mound in Illinois: ". . . the visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered the person whose skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God. His name was Zelph . . . who was known from the Hill Cumorah, or eastern sea to the Rocky mountains."(HOC 1948 ed., II: 79-80).

No non-partisan archeologists theorize Hebrew or Egyptian linkages or influences in Mesoamerica.

Greek influences in BOM?

No other examples of "Reformed Egyptian" in the entire world.

No cuneiform evidence exists for the Jaredites in the New World.

No linguistic relationship exists today between any native American language and ancient Egyptian, Summerian/Akkadian or Hebrew.

Indo-European is much older than BOM time period, yet vestiges of Indo European exist through all of Europe and parts of Asia. How did BOM language evolve so rapidly into non-related Indian languages?

Only four main types of Mesoamerican writing systems are known: (Aztec, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Maya).

Anthon Transcript owned by RLDS can't be translated today (many character look like Roman alphabet).

Mesoamerica was only place in New World where written language was established (Larson Quest for GP. pp54.)

Indians are not racially/genetically the same as Hebrews. Indians are Mongoloid.

JS sent missionaries to local Lamanites (Indians). He considered them to be descendants of BOM people.

"Some of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, who handled the plates and conversed with the angels of God, were afterwards left to doubt and disbelieve that they had ever seen an angel." (B. Young - JOD 7:164 1859).

"oh wretched man that I am" Romans 7:24 / 2 Nephi 4:17

"earthquake, rocks rent" Matt 27:51 / 1 Nephi 12:14

"old serpent, which is the devil" Rev 20:2 / 2 Nephi 2:18

"one faith, one baptism" Ephesians 4:5 / Mosiah 18:21

"One man perish" Jesus/Laban / John 11:5

example: Matt 5:27 and 1 Nephi 12:27 "by them of old time" not included in earliest Greek (should have said "to them of old")

Matt 6:4,6,18 and 3 Nephi :4,6,18 "openly" added later

Matt 6:13 and 3 Nephi 13:13 "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" should have said, "and do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one"

In addition to the parallel mentioned above, a computer examination of the KJV Preface showed forty-five word parallels (ranging from two to four words in a row) which are not found in the text of the King James Version. Since the Preface is only two pages long, we think that this many parallels could prove to be significant. The following are just ten examples: "rule and reign over" -- "sacred word" -- "because of the fruit thereof," -- "eternal happiness," -- "it, nay" -- "the immediate" -- "itself abroad in the" -- "great hopes" -- "most sacred" -- "did never."

The words of Malachi 4:1 appear in I Nephi 22:15 over a hundred years before Malachi wrote them.

Jaredites brought flocks, two of a kind , seeds, bees.

Revival gathering (Mosiah 2)

Guilt ridden falling exercise (4:1-2)

Petition for spiritual emancipation (4:2)

Absolution and ecstasy (4:3)

Repentance (4:4-8)

Born again (5:7)

Take name of Christ (5:8-15)

"King Benjamin had a gift of God" (changed to Mosiah) (BOM page 178 v28).

"There were other Anti-Christs among the Nephites, but they were more military leaders than religious innovators . . . they are all of one breed and brand; so nearly alike that one mind is the author of them, and that a young and undeveloped, but piously inclined mind. The evidence I sorrowfully submit, points to Joseph Smith as their creator. It is difficult to believe that they are the product of history, that they come upon the scene separated by long periods of time, and among a race which was the ancestral race of the red man of America." (BH Roberts Studies of the BoM., page 271).

Consequently there is a continual use of the 'thee', 'thou' and 'ye', as well as the archaic verb endings 'est' (second person singular) and 'eth' (third person singular). Since the Elizabethan style was not Joseph's natural idiom, he continually slipped out of this King James pattern and repeatedly confused the norms as well. Thus he lapsed from 'ye' (subject) to 'you' (object) as the subject of sentences (e.g. 'Mos. 2:19; 3:34; 4:24), jumped from plural ('ye') to singular ('thou') in the same sentence (Mos. 4:22) and moved from verbs without endings to ones with endings (e.g. 'yields . . . putteth,' 3:19)." (The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon, by Wesley P. Walters, 1990, page 30).

Many are unrealistically specific.

BOM revelations stop at Joseph's time (rest is sealed).

BOM is quite specific about Christ but does not add anything that the NT does not address (for example, what Christ did from age 12 - 30).

BOM prophecies that the Jews would be restored to the land of their inheritance if they believed in Christ (they are occupying it now) (2 Nephi 10:7).

One theory is that 1 and 2 Nephi were written last (lost manuscript).

"And it came to pass..." over 2000 times.

Nine Moons (Omni 1:21).

Great Spirit (Alma 19:25-27).

Consistency with the Bible.

Internal consistency (errors).

External consistency (archeology, science, race).

"He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Nephi." (J. Smith - Times & Seasons Vol. 3, p. 753 1842) also (J. Smith 1851 PoGP p. 41).

"View of the Hebrews" pre-dates the BoM and theorizes that Indians descended from the Hebrews.

BH Roberts (Studies of BoM pp.240,242) said, "But now to return . . . to the main theme of this writing -- viz., did Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews furnish structural material for Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon? It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major things in the other. Not a few things merely, one or two, or a half dozen, but many; and it is this fact of many things of similarity and the cumulative force of them that makes them so serious a menace to Joseph Smith's story of the Book of Mormon's origin . . ."

Josiah Priest in 1833 wrote in American Antiquities "The opinion that the American Indians are descendants of the lost 10 tribes is now a popular one and generally believed".

"Through the whole continent, and in the remotest woods, are traces of their ancient warlike disposition. We frequently met with great mounds of earth, either of a circular, or oblong form, having a strong breast-work at a distance around them, made of the clay which had been dug up in forming the ditch on the inner side of the inclosed ground, and these were their forts of security against an enemy... About 12 miles from the upper northern parts of the Choktah country, there stand...two oblong mounds of earth...in an equal direction with each other... A broad deep ditch inclosed those two fortress, and there they raised an high breast-work, to secure their houses from the invading enemy."

In the book of Alma, which is found in the Book of Mormon, we find some extremely important parallels to the writings of Adair in chapters 48,49,50 and 53 (in most cases, the underlined/bold statements are found only here in the entire BoM): "Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort: throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies...the Nephites were taught...never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy... they had cast up dirtround to shield them from the arrows...the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security...they knew not that Moroni had fortified, or had built forts of security in all the land roundabout ...the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security...because of the highness of the bank which had been thrown up, and the depth of the ditch which had been dug round about...they (the Lamanites) began to dig down their banks of earth...that they might have an equalchance to fight...instead of filling up their ditches by pulling down banks of earth, they were filled up in a measure with their dead...And (Moroni) caused them to erect fortifications that they should commence laboring in digging a ditch round about the land...And he caused that they should build a breastwork of timbers upon the inner bank of the ditch: and they did cast up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork of timbers " (Book of Mormon, Alma, 48:8, 14; 49:2, 5, 13, 18, 22; 50:10; 53:3-4).- 4).

BoM says "for the space of nine moons." (Omni 1:21). On page 125 of Adair's History of the American Indians we find the following "...for the space of four moons..."

On page 122 of Adair's book, we find the words, "for the space of three days and nights..." This is very close to Alma 36:10, "for the space of three days and three nights...".

Joseph Jr., admitted to being a money digger, though he said it was never very profitable for him (History of the Church, V. 3, p. 29). He and his father's money digging continued until at least 1826. On March 20th, 1826, Joseph was arrested, brought before a judge, and charged with being a "glass-looker" and a disorderly person. The laws at that time had what was known as the "Vagrant Act." It defined a disorderly person as one who pretended to have skill in the areas of palmistry, telling fortunes or discovering where lost goods might be found. According to court records Justice Neely determined that Joseph was guilty, though no penalty was administered, quite possibly because this was a first offense (Inventing Mormonism, Marquardt and Walters, SLC: Signature Books, 1994, pp.74-75).

D. Michael Quinn writes: "During this period from 1827 to 1830, Joseph Smith abandoned the company of his former money-digging associates, but continued to use for religious purposes the brown seer stone he had previously employed in the treasure quest. His most intensive and productive use of the seer stone was in the translation of the Book of Mormon. But he also dictated several revelations to his associates through the stone" (Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, D. Michael Quinn, Signature Books, SLC, 1987, p. 143).

Richard S. Van Wagoner writes: "This stone, still retained by the First Presidency of the LDS Church, was the vehicle through which the golden plates were discovered and the medium through which their interpretation came" (Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess, Signature Books, SLC, 1994, p.57).

"The Lord did not come with the armies of heaven...But he did send His angel to this same obscure person, Joseph Smith jun...and informed him that he should not join any of the religious sects of the day, for they were all wrong" (B. Young - JOD Volume 2 p.171 1855).

"How did it (the organization) come? By the ministering of an holy angel from God, out of heaven, who held converse with man, and revealed unto him the darkness that enveloped the world...He told him the Gospel was not among men, and that there was not a true organization of His kingdom in the world." (Wilford Woodruff - JOD Volume 11 p.196 1855).

"How did the state of things called Mormonism originate? We read that an angel came down and revealed himself to Joseph Smith and manifested unto him in a vision the true position of the world in a religious point of view. He was surrounded with light and glory while the heavenly messenger communicated these things to him." (John Taylor - JOD Volume 10 p.127 1863).

"When the holy angel appeared, Joseph inquired which of all these denominations was right and which he should join, and was told they were all wrong." (George A. Smith - JOD Volume 12 p.334 1863).

No one knew of today's version of the First Vision until after Joseph dictated it in 1838, and no published source mentions it until 1842 .

The visitation of 1820 of God and Jesus to Joseph Smith has been shown by the mass of conflicting information on the supposed event, to have never occurred. The date conflicts with other recorded historical events and even with Joseph Smith's mother's account of her son's history! No one ever mentioned this revelation until Smith dictated it 18 years later! It plays no role at all in Mormon history until the 1860s. His early hand written account (1831-1832 diary) does not even mention God the father visiting.

This publication was called Oliver Cowdery

was the main writer of the "Messenger and Advocate.". Its accuracy was checked by Joseph Smith himself. In this publication Joseph tells how, after his brother Alvin's death, and after his mother, sister and two brothers had joined the Presbyterian Church, he started to seek religion and pray "if some Supreme Being existed" (vol. 1 p. 79). If he had a vision of God in 1820, he would have already known that a supreme being existed in 1822/23.

Joseph Smith's neighborhood experienced no revival in 1820 such as he described, in which great multitudes joined the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches. According to early sources, including church conference reports, newspapers, church periodicals, presbytery records and published interviews, nothing occurred in 1820-21 that fits Joseph's description. There were no significant gains in church membership in the Palmyra-Manchester, New York area,[3] during 1820-21 such as accompany great revivals. For example, in 1820, the Baptist Church in Palmyra only received 8 people through profession of faith and baptism, the Presbyterian church added 14 members, while the Methodist circuit lost 6 members, dropping from 677 in 1819 to 671 in 1820 and down to 622 in 1821 (see Geneva area Presbyterian Church Records, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, PA; Records for the First Baptist Church in Palmyra, American Baptist Historical Society, Rochester, NY; Minutes of the [Methodist] annual Conference, Ontario Circuit, 1818-1821, pp. 312, 330, 346, 366).

Lucy Smith indicates that this phenomenon occurred around 1824. Her son, Alvin died on November 19, 1823, and following that painful loss Lucy Smith reports that, "about this time there was a great revival in religion and the whole neighborhood was very much aroused to the subject and we among the rest, flocked to the meeting house to see if there was a word of comfort for us that might relieve our over-charged feelings" (First draft of Lucy Smith's History, p. 55, LDS Church Archives).

Church records from that time period show outstanding increases in membership due to the reception of new converts. The Baptist Church received 94, the Presbyterian 99, while the Methodist work grew by 208.

If this sequence did not start until 1824, there are only six years in which to fit the ten year sequence Joseph claims occurred before the Book of Mormon was printed.

Oliver Cowdrey: "You will recollect that I mentioned the time of a religious excitement, in Palmyra and vicinity to have been in the 15th year of our Brother J. Smith Jr's, age that was an error in the type- it should have been the 17th...This would bring the date down to the year 1823." (Oliver Cowdrey - Times & Seasons Vol. 2, p. 241 1840).

For further details see, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1969, pp. 59-100.

In about 1832, Joseph Smith, began an account of the origin of the Mormon Church (the only one written in his own hand) that is considerably different from the official First Vision story he dictated some six years later. This 1832 account, which has been referred to as Joseph's strange account, was never finished and for many years remained inaccessible to the public. It was published in BYU Studies, Spring 1969, pp. 278ff, and is also included in Dean C. Jessee's The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1984, pp. 14ff). In this version Joseph presented himself as a boy who, between the ages of twelve and fifteen, was a committed and perceptive reader of the Bible. He claimed that it was his study of the Scriptures which led him to understand that all the denominations were wrong. He wrote: "by searching the Scriptures I found that mankind did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatized from the true and living faith and there was no society or denomination that built upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament" (Personal Writings, p. 5). Six years later, when Joseph set forth his official First Vision account, he changed his story and no longer claimed his personal Bible study led him to the conclusion that all churches were wrong. Instead, he said that the Father and the Son told him that all the churches were wrong and he must join none of them.

In the 1832 version Joseph only mentions the appearance of Christ, while in the 1838 rendition he claims both the Father and the Son appeared.

In the1832 account he already knows all the churches are wrong, while in the 1838 story he says it never occurred to him that all were wrong until the two deities informed him of this fact.

Joseph's mother, likewise, knew nothing of a vision of the Father and the Son in the Sacred Grove. In her unpublished account she traces the origin of Mormonism to a bedroom visit by an angel. Joseph at the time had been pondering which of all the churches were the true one. The angel told him "there is not a true church on Earth, No, not one" (First draft of Lucy Smith's History, p. 46, LDS Church Archives).

Still another version of the First Vision was published in 1834-35 in the periodical, Latter-day Saints Messenger and Advocate (Vol. 1, pp. 42, 78). This account was written by Oliver Cowdery with the help of Joseph Smith. It tells how a revival in 1823 caused 17-year-old Joseph Smith [6] to be stirred up on the subject of religion. According to Cowdery, Joseph desired to know for himself of the certainty and reality of pure and holy religion (p. 78). He also prayed if a Supreme being did exist, to have an assurance that he was accepted of him and a manifestation in some way that his sins were forgiven (Ibid., 78, 79). According to this account, an angel (not a deity) appeared in Joseph's bedroom to tell him his sins were forgiven.

The date of the revival is given as 1823, instead of 1820.

If Joseph had already had a vision of the Father and the Son in 1820, why did he need to pray in 1823 about whether or not a Supreme being existed?

When the revival prompts him to pray, the personage that appears is an angel, not the Father or Son.

The message of the angel is one of forgiveness of sins, rather than an announcement that all the churches were wrong.

"Freemasonry provides a point of entry into this very complex story. As it had been in Vermont, Masonic fraternity was a dominant feature of the cultural landscape in Joseph Smith's Ontario County. . . ....helps explain the Masonic symbolism that runs through the story of the discovery of the Golden Plates. Most obviously, the story of their discovery in a stone vault on a hilltop echoed the Enoch myth of Royal Arch Freemasonry, in which the prophet Enoch, instructed by a vision, preserved the Masonic mysteries by carving them on a golden plate that he placed in an arched stone vault marked with pillars, to be rediscovered by Solomon. In he years to come the prophet Enoch would play a central role in Smith's emerging cosmology. (Refiner's Fire, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 157-158).

Story of Enoch in Masonry legends 13, 14 &21 levels parallels JS life (finds brass and gold plates)

JS referred to himself as Enoch in D&C.

A comment by Lucy Mack Smith in her manuscript written in the 1840s, protesting that the family did not abandon all household labor to try 'to win the faculty of Abrac, drawing magic circles, or sooth-saying,' suggests a familiarity with Masonic manuals: the 'faculty of Abrac' was among the supposed Masonic mysteries" (Refiner's Fire, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 157-158).

Oliver Cowdery and Lucy Mack Smith later described three or four small pillars holding up the plates. All of these artifacts had Masonic analogues.

"Another development in the Nauvoo Church, which has not been so obviously considered as Masonically inspired, was the establishment of the Female Relief Society. This organization was the Prophet's intentional attempt to expand Masonry to include the women of the Church. That the Relief Society was organized in the Masonic Lodge room, and only one day after Masonry was given to the men, was not happenstance. . . . included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words as: ancient orders, examinations, degrees, candidates, secrets, lodges, rules, signs, tokens, order of the priesthood, and keys; all indicating that the Society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." (Reed Durham LDS historian)

In 1802, in Webb's *Freemason Monitor* there is a tale about some records, engraved on gold, which were hidden in a cave, or vault, by Enoch. He came back and showed the cave and the records to Solomon. In this vault were pillars, a masonic sword, and a stone of some sort on a breastplate which was for the translation of the record. On top of the pillars were metal balls which helped one find directions, they were a sort of map, and oracles would be inscribed on them from time to time. Oliver Cowdery's father and brother were masons who had been initiated into the Royal Arch, the type of Masonry which used this particular myth.

Brigham Young (Journal of Discourses, Vol.19, pp. 39-40 June 17, 1877.) said that "Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates...the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room...They laid the plates on a table. . .under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: "This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ."

Joseph and contingent of men went to witness redress in Missouri.

Gentiles feared invasion.

Display of power caused Mormons to lose support of politicians that they already had.

Joseph blamed cholera attacks on wickedness of men in the camp.

Failed in a month.

Violated US law.

Wasn't foreseen and damaged church greatly.

Heber C. Kimball said that during this period, "not 20 would have called him a prophet of God" (JOD IV p105).

Rigdon likely influenced JS to institute it.

D&C 82 used weird names to protect some men when the assets after the UO were redistributed (Gazelam, Shinehah, etc.).

United Order was supposed to be an everlasting order until the coming of Christ (D&C 104:1).

Joseph's was a boarder with the Hales will treasure digging for Josaih Stowell.

Isaac forbade Emma's marriage to Joespeh. They eloped.

"God is my right-hand man" (DHC 6:78).

"I have more to boast of than any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a church together since the days of Adam. A large majority have stood by me. Neither paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I." (HOC Volume 6 pp. 408-409).

"God..will make me to be a God to you in his stead, and the Elders to be mouths to me: and if you don't like it, you must lump it" (HOC 6:319-320).

"I have out generalled or whipped out all Bennett's corrupt host." (Teachings of the Prophet J. S., Smith p. 258).

"There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. I discover hundreds and thousands of my brethren ready to sacrifice their lives for me" ( twist on Christ's words) (Teachings of the Pr. J. S., p. 315).

"When I get hold of the Eastern papers, and see how popular I am, I am afraid myself that I shall be elected..) (Teachings of the Prophet J. S., Smith p. 334).

"I have now preached a little Latin, a little Hebrew, Greek, and German; and I have fulfilled all. I am not so big a fool as many have taken me to be. The Germans know that I read the German correctly." ( (JS - JOD 6:10 1844).

"I have an old edition of the New Testament in Hebrew, Latin, German and Greek languages. I have been reading the German, and find it to be the most correct translation"(JS JOD 6:5)..Joseph knew German?

According to his diary he "returned home and spent the evening around my fire teching my family the science of grammar". (JS Diaries, Faulring p.55). His original writings exhibit poor grammar.

"Spent the day in reading Hebrew at home". (JS Diaries, Faulring p.68)

"I will now turn linguist..." (Teachings of the Prophet J. S., Smith p. 310).

"No man hath seen God at any time >>except them who believe<<" John 4:12

"And no man hath seen God at any time >>except he hath born record of the Son<<" John 1:19

There is an Onandaga tribe of Indians and an Onandaga County in the Northeast US near where Joseph lived.

Verna Jaques for money in D&C 90.

God demands money of Martin Harris (D&C 104:26).

"{Joseph} said that those who come here having money and purchased without the church and without council must be cut off..." (JS Diaries, Faulring p.304)

Pile of stones found in Missouri were attributed to Adam's alter.

But Moses 3:13 says, " And the name of the second river was called Gihon; the same that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia."

Worried about evil men changing them if he translated them again. Why fear duplication?

"Ham will continue to be the servant of servants, as the Lord has decreed, until the curse is removed...Treat, the slaves kindly, and let them live, for Ham must be the servant of servants until the curse is removed." (B. Young - JOD Volume 10 p.250 Oct. 6, 1863).

"You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of intelligence, that is generally bestowed upon mankind...Cain might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin...And how long is that race to endure the dreadful curse that is upon them? That curse will remain upon them, and they never can hold the Priesthood or share in it, until all other descendants of Adam have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the priesthood and the keys thereof." (B. Young - JOD Volume 7 p.291 Oct. 9, 1859).

"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" (BY JOD 10:110 ).

When all the other children of Adam have had the privilege of receiving the Priesthood, and of coming into the kingdom of God, and of being redeemed from the four quarters of the earth, and have received their resurrection from the dead, then it will be time enough to remove the curse from Cain and his posterity." (B. Young - JOD Volume 2 p.143 Dec 3, 1854).

"But we do not believe in setting the negroes free" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Smith p. 120).

"Had I anything to do with the negro, I would confine them by strict law to their own species, and put them on a national equalization" (Teachings of the Prophet J. S., Smith p. 270).

All Seeing Eye, Anointing with oil, Apron, Beehive, Square and Compass, Earth Symbol, Emblem of the clasped hands, Solemn Assembly in the Temple, Five points of Fellowship, Special Garments applied to initiates, Garment Markings, Special handshakes, The phrase: "Holiness to the Lord", Moon symbol, New Name given, Special Prayer circle, Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, Blood/death oaths of secrecy with morbid gestures and words describing penalties agreed to if secrets are revealed, Location (possession of) Throne of the "Holy of Holies", Star symbols, Sun symbols, Tabernacles, Temples.

History of the Church, volume 4, page 551. Under the date of March 15, 1842 it reads: "In the evening I received the first degree in Free Masonry in the Nauvoo Lodge, assembled in my general business office." The record for the next day reads, "I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the sublime degree" (page 552).

Aprons and powers.

Upside down pentagrams, moons, masonic symbols, astrology.

Lack of revelation

Purchase and hiding of controversial documents.

Ultimately cost two church members their lives.

1841: Apr. 05 - Sealed to Louisa Beamon / Oct. 27 - Sealed to Zina D. (Huntington) Jacobs

1842: Jan Proposes to Nancy Rigdon / Feb - Sealed to Mary Elizabeth (Rollins) Lightner / Mar 09 - Sealed to Patty Sessions / Apr. - Sealed to Marinda Nancy (Johnson) Hyde / May 04 - Introduces temple endowment / Summer - Sealed to Martha McBride / Jun. 29 - Sealed to Eliza R. Snow / Jul 27 - Sarah Ann Whitney.

1843: Feb - Sealed to Ruth (Vose) Sayers / Mar 04 - Sealed to Emily Partridge / Mar 08 - Sealed to Eliza Partridge / May - Sealed to Helen Mar Kimball / May 01 - Sealed to Lucy Walker / May 28 - Sealed to Emma (his first wife) / Jun. 01 - Sealed to Elvira (Cowles) Holmes / June 12 - Sealed to Rhoda Richards / Jul - Sealed to Desmodema Fullmer / Jul 12 - Dictates revelation on celestial marriage / Sep 20 - Sealed to Melissa Lott / Nov 02 - Sealed to Fanny (Young) Murray.

The book "Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith" documents that Emma was a personal witness to Joseph's infidelity with 19-year-old Fanny Alger during their years in Kirtland, Ohio.

Sought Heber C. Kimball's 15-year old daughter as wife.

Sought Newell Whitney's daughter as a wife.

Eliza R. Snow without Emma's knowledge.

Orson Pratt left church after Joseph tried to seduce his wife. Later rejoined.

Conflict with Sidney Rigdon because Joseph sought his daughter, Nancy as a plural wife. JS denied it until Sidney produced a letter written in JS's own hand.

Emma told that she would be destroyed (D&C 132) if she did not abide it - JS was

destroyed less than a year later.

JS publicly exposed Hiram Brown and excommunicated him for teaching polygamy in 1844 while JS was practicing it. (J. Smith Times & Seasons Vol. 5 p.423 Feb. 1, 1844).

"Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in the case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again." (1835 D&C, Sec. C1 p.251). (Early teaching agrees with BoM).

"...We believe, that one man should have one wife;....Dr.J.C. Bennett's "secret wife system" is a matter of his own manufacture;" (J. Smith - Times and Seasons Vol.3 p.939 1842).

"The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy." (B. Young - JOD Volume 11 p.269 Aug. 19, 1866).

"Do you think that we shall ever be admitted as a State into the Union without denying the principle of polygamy? If we are not admitted until then, we shall never be admitted." (B. Young - JOD Volume 11 p.269 Aug. 19, 1866).

"And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family...Jesus our elder brother was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the Garden of Eden, and who is our father in heaven" (BY JOD 1:50-51).

"He (Adam) said, I want my children who are in the spirit world to come and live here. I once dwelt upon an earth something like this in a mortal state. I was faithful, I received my crown and exaltation...I want my children that were born to me in the spirit world to come here and take tabernacles of flesh." (BY Deseret News 6/18/1873) .

"When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him...He is our Father, and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do." (B. Young - JOD Volume 1 p. 50 April 9, 1852).

"Some have grumbled because I believe our God to be so near to us as Father Adam. There are many who know that doctrine to be true." (B. Young - JOD Volume 5 p. 331 1857).

"How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, , and which God revealed to me-namely that Adam is our father and God...Adam is the man who stands at the gate and holds the keys of everlasting life and salvation to all his children who have or who ever will come upon the earth." (B. Young - Deseret News June 18, 1873).

"When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family; and when he took his tabernacle, it was begotten by his Father in heaven...What a learned idea! Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven." (B. Young - JOD Volume 1 pp. 50-51 April 9, 1852).

Later denied by Mormon leaders: "We warn you against the dissemination of doctrines which are not according to the scriptures and which are alleged to have been taught by some of the General Authorities of past generations. Such as the instance of the Adam-god theory...We denounce that theory and hope that everyone will be cautioned

against this and other kinds of false doctrine." (Spencer W. Kimball - Church News Oct. 9, 1976).

You can be excommunicated for teaching what Brigham taught..

"Some have said that I was very presumptuous to say this. Brother Brigham was my god and savior, Bro. Joseph was his god and the one that gave him the keys of the kingdom was his god which was Peter. Jesus Christ was his god and the father of Jesus was Adam" (Wilford Woodruff Journal April 10, 1852).

"...Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any." (Isa. 44:10)

"Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." (Isaiah 43:10)

"The man Joseph, the husband of Mary, did not that we know of, have more than one wife, but Mary the wife of Joseph had another husband" (B. Young - JOD Volume 11 p.268 1866).

"The birth of the Savior was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood-was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers." (B. Young - JOD 8:115 1860).

"Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers." (Bruce R. McConkie - Mormon Doctrine pp546-547 1966).

"God is increasing in knowledge, power and dominion, and will do so, worlds without end." (W. Woodruff - JOD Vol.6, p.120 1857).

"There are others...who postulate that God does not know all things but is progressing in truth and knowledge and will do so everlastingly. These, unless they repent, will live and die weak in the faith and will fall short of inheriting what might have been theirs in eternity." (BR McConkie - Church News Mar. 20, 1982 p.5).

"Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father? And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth." (Alma 11:38-39).

"And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son -- The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son -- And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth" (see also Mormon 9:11-12; Mosiah 16:15; Helaman 14:12; 16:18). Mosiah 15:1-4.

Christ is the Eternal Father (Mosiah 16:25) / Jesus is the Father and the Son (Mormon 9 :11-12) / Christ said "pray to the Father" in 3 Nephi 18:19, in 19:18-30, they prayed to Jesus / Ether 3:14 "I am the Father and the Son"

"We shall in this lecture speak of the godhead: we mean the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things...They are the Father and the Son; The Father being a personage of spirit, glory and power: possessing all perfection and fullness: The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle, made, or fashioned like unto man...possessing the same mind with the father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one, or in other words, these three constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things..." (JS 1835 D&C Lectures of Faith p.52 1835).

"Q. How many personages are there in the Godhead? A. Two: The Father and the Son...Q. What is the Father? A. He is a personage of glory and power...Q. Why was he (Christ) called the Son? A. Because of the flesh...Q. Do the Father and the Son possess the same mind? A. They do...Q. What is the mind? A. The Holy Spirit...Q. Do the Father, Son and Holy Spirit constitute the Godhead? A. They do." (JS 1835 D&C Lectures of Faith pp.55-58 1835).

The BOM was changed later to accomodate the later interpretation of the Trinity.

The first account of the first vision only mentions the Lord, later accounts separate the Father and the Son.

Was Christ a God without a body when he created the earth?

Holy Ghost is a god without a body. A body is needed for exaltation.

Old Testament text treats Jehovah and Elohim as the same.

Joseph said, "...thou eternal, omnipotent, omnicient, and omnipresent Jehovah God, thou Elohim...look down upon thy servant Joseph, at this time, and let faith on the name of thy son Jesus Christ...be poured upon him" (JS Diaries, Faulring p.251).

"All those who believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet, at the same time trying to live the holy principles Joseph the Prophet has revealed, are in the possession of the Holy Spirit of God and are entitled to a fullness" (B. Young - JOD Vol.9, p.312 1862). corruption of Romans 10:9 Jesus Christ replaced by Joseph Smith.

Bible history not adequately taught in Sunday School.

Only used to prove Mormon points with "out-of-context" verses.

Bible lessons are superficial / In general, members are ignorant of the Bible.

"...are you letting a cup of tea or a little tobacco stand in the road and bar you from the celestial kingdom of God" (JFS Doctrines of Salvation 2:16).

"Should I not take my tea and coffee...and every other good thing....." (BY JOD 5 p.98.).

Elder Babbitt admitted to the offense and said, "that he had taken the liberty to break the Word of Wisdom, from the example of President Joseph Smith, Jun., and others. . ."

On January 20, 1843 the diary records, "Elder Hyde told of the excellent white wine he drank in the east [Palestine]. Joseph prophecied in the name of the Lord that he would drink wine with him in that country."

Another reference is under March 11, 1843. It reads, "Joseph said he had tea with his breakfast. His wife asked him if [it] was good. He said if it was a little stronger he should like it better, when Mother Granger remarked, "it is so strong and good I should think it would answer Both for drink and food" (p. 332).

Friday, May 31, 1844 -- "called to see Sister Richards who was very sick. Laid on hands. Directed some Raspberry tea and she was better." (p. 486). In History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 424, this entry now reads, "called to see Sister Richards, who was sick. I administered to her laying on of hands, when she felt better." "The raspberry tea" has disappeared.

Saturday, June 1, 1844 -- "Drank a glass of beer at Moissers" (p. 486)

All the above references to breaking the Word of Wisdom were edited out by Church leaders when they printed Joseph Smith's History of the Church (7 Vols.).

No laying on of hands for ordination known in NT.

Only Christ and Melchizedek held the highest priesthood until Mormons.

Mechizedek Priest is not a High Priest (Hebrews 7:21).

Priests of Aaron conducted many sacrifices-Christ was the supreme sacrifice-no more need of humanly priests. (Levitical priesthood administered the law).

No priesthood needed after Christ (see Hebrew 7:11-14). Only one High Priest at a time, Christ is still living.

In Bible, deacons are married men (1 Timothy 3:12). In early LDS church as well.

On April 28, 1842 Joseph showed the women of the newly formed "Female Relief Society" how they would "come in possession of the privileges, blessings and gifts of the Priesthood" (p. 244). Apparently this did take place, for on Saturday, October 7,1843 "Hiram and his wife were blessed, ordained, and anointed [to the fulness of the priesthood]" (p.418). Later, on Sunday October 23, "William Marks and wife anointed [to fulness of the priesthood and quorum of the anointed] 24 present" (p. 423). (Diaries of Joseph Smith, Signature Books).

Women can't even hold non-priesthood jobs such as Sunday School presidents or clerks .

Women were once allowed to administer by laying on of hands. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Smith p. 225,226,229).

Calling that no longer exists. Why not called Melchizedek priesthood?

"I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of men, that they may not call scripture." (Brigham Young JOD 13:95).

Excommunications of liberals.

"..But if you are told by your leader to do a thing do it. None of your business whether it is right or wrong.." (Heber C Kimball JOD 6:32).

"Follow the prophet..when the prophet speaks, the debate is over" NL Tanner Ensign August 1978 pp 2-3.

"Why not leave hidden the things that the Lord has hidden. If He wants the geography of the Book of Mormon, revealed, He will do so through His prophet, and not through His prophet, and not through some writer who wishes to enlighten the world despite his utter lack of inspiration on the point." (Editorial Church News, Jul. 29, 1979).

"He (Satan) wins a great victory when he can get members of the church to speak against their leaders and to "do their own thinking."...When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan-it is God's plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy. God works in no other way." (Ward Teachers Message - Deseret News Church Section, p.5 May 26, 1945).

"God's ways are not Mans Ways"

"In the last days, even the very elect will be deceived"

"I have come to believe that it is the tendency for many members of the Church who spend a great deal of time in academic research to begin to judge the Church, its doctrine, organization, and leadership, present and past, by the principles of their own profession.... In my mind it ought to be the other way around...."

"Your objective should be that they will see the hand of the Lord in every hour and every moment of the Church from its beginning till now....there is no such thing as an accurate or objective history of the Church which ignores the Spirit.... Church history can be so interesting and so inspiring as to be a very powerful tool indeed for building faith. If not properly written or properly taught, it may be a faith destroyer..."

"Some things that are true are not very useful."

"Teaching some things that are true, prematurely or at the wrong time, can invite sorrow and heartbreak instead of the joy intended to accompany learning.... The Lord made it very clear that some things are to be taught selectively and some things are to be given only to those who are worthy."

"In an effort to be objective, impartial, and scholarly, a writer or a teacher may unwittingly be giving equal time to the adversary....There is much in the scriptures and in our Church literature to convince us that we are at war with the adversary. We are not obliged as a church, nor are we as members obliged, to accommodate the enemy in this battle."

"The final caution concerns the idea that so long as something is already in print, so long as it is available from another source, there is nothing out of order in using it in writing or speaking or teaching." "Surely you can see the fallacy in that...." "You do not well to see that it is disseminated. It may be read by those not mature enough for 'advanced history,' and a testimony in seedling stagemay be crushed."

"...We are entrusting you to represent the Lord and the First Presidency to your students, not the views of the detractors of the Church."

"Well now, examine the character of the Savior, and examine the characters who have written the Old and New Testaments; and then compare them with the character of Joseph Smith....and you will find that his character stands as fair as that of any man's mentioned in the Bible" (BY JOD 14:203).

Wealth and celebrity are emphasized.

Meek and humble do not lead.

Conformity in dress and speech.

"We can pray the best, preach the best, and sing the best. We are the best looking and finest set of people on the face of the earth..." (B. Young - JOD Vol.4, p.77 1856).

Photo ops and church press try to create image of healthy leader at the helm. Other GAs led members to believe that Ezra Taft Benson was running the church when he was incapacitated.

Missionaries don't teach controversial doctrines until after baptism.

Scriptures changed to fit doctrine.

The Ensign printed a "collage" of Spencer Kimball's previous talks in the '80s to make it appear as if he were well and functioning as the Prophet of God during the last years of his life.

Weak foundation of "burning bosom" / Why doesn't Moroni Challenge always work?

I and many others never received witness after much effort, why not?

"I know...." where's faith?

Groupthink. Children parrot their parents in testimony meetings. Kids learn how to do a testimony.

Testimony meetings have expected, prescribed, acceptable behaviors. Psychologically, they're powerful.