View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 15

{{FairMormon}} 
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 15
|H=Response to claims made in "Chapter 15: Making the Transition"
|T=[[../../|One Nation Under Gods]]
|A=Richard Abanes
|<=[[../Chapter 14|Claims made in "Chapter 14: The Politics of Compromise"]]
|>=[[../Chapter 16|Claims made in "Chapter 16: Mormon Racism: Black Is Not Beautiful"]]
}}
{{ChartOneNationUnderGodsChapter15}}
<onlyinclude>
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 15
|H=Response to claims made in "Chapter 15: Making the Transition"
|S=
|L1=Response to claim: 331, 591n2 (PB) - Did the number of plural marriages jump "nearly five-fold" immediately after Utah gained statehood?
|L2=Response to claim: 332 - Did Reed Smoot take an oath of vengeance against the United States because of their failure to come to the aid of the Saints when they were being persecuted?
|L3=Response to claim: 334 - Did the concept of revenge play a "very prominent role" in early Latter-day Saints' beliefs?
|L4=Response to claim: 334, 592n10 (PB) - In the 1800s, did Latter-day Saints "glorify vengeance" through the singing of hymns?
|L5=Response to claim: 335 - Were Latter-day Saints who served in positions in the U.S. government hindered by having taken an "oath of vengeance"?
|L6=Response to claim: 335-336 - Did the "oath of vengeance" require the Latter-day Saints instruct their descendants to take vengeance upon the U.S. government?
|L7=Response to claim: 336 - Do LDS church authorities believe that "non-Mormons are unfit to rule" and that Latter-day Saints are the only ones fit to rule the world?
|L8=Response to claim: 336, 593n17 - Did Church president Joseph F. Smith defend his "illegal cohabitation with five wives" during Senate testimony?
|L9=Response to claim: 337, 593n20 - Did Joseph F. Smith authorize polygamous marriages in Mexico and request that the records stay there so that they wouldn't be found during a search by U.S. officials?
|L10=Response to claim: 339, 593n32 - Did Joseph F. Smith admit that he had broken the laws of the land and the laws of God?
|L11=Response to claim: 343, 594n54 - What was the "Second Manifesto" issued by Joseph F. Smith?
|L12=Response to claim: 351, n91 - Does the Church teach the the current practice of monogamy is only temporary and that polygamy will be reinstated when Christ returns?
|L13=Response to claim: 353 - Do Latter-day Saints have "underlying white supremacist beliefs"?
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: 331, 591n2 (PB) - Did the number of plural marriages jump "nearly five-fold" immediately after Utah gained statehood?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did the number of plural marriages jump "nearly five-fold" immediately after Utah gained statehood?
|authorsources=
Kenneth L. Cannon II, "After the Manifesto: Mormon Polygamy 1890-1906," in D. Michael Quinn, ed., ''The New Mormon History'', 203-204.
}}
{{propaganda|A "five-fold" increase sounds like a lot.  But, the number of marriages was small, so it doesn't take much to increase "five-fold." The author doesn't disclose that this increase was ''outside'' Utah. The author's source should alert him to this, since Cannon mentions "two marriages" being performed per year.  These two marriages were not in the United States.
}}

==Response to claim: 332 - Did Reed Smoot take an oath of vengeance against the United States because of their failure to come to the aid of the Saints when they were being persecuted?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did Reed Smoot take an oath of vengeance against the United States because of their failure to come to the aid of the Saints when they were being persecuted?
|authorsources=
No source provided. This is inferred by the book since Smoot had been through the temple.
}}
{{misinformation|The oath asked ''God'' to take vengeance for wicked acts, it did not bind Senator Smoot to do so.
}}
{{:Question: Was there an oath in a former version of the temple endowment that required vengeance upon the government of the United States?}}

==Response to claim: 334 - The author asserts that the concept of revenge played a "very prominent role" in early Latter-day Saints' beliefs==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=<br>
The author asserts that the concept of revenge played a "very prominent role" in early Latter-day Saints' beliefs. Doesn't the Bible condemn revenge?
|authorsources=
*{{b||Leviticus|19|18}}
*{{b||Luke|6|27}}
*{{b||Romans|12|17}}
*{{b||Romans|12|19}}
*{{b|1|Peter|3|9}}
}}
{{misinformation|The oath asked ''God'' to take vengeance for wicked acts&mdash;this is hardly unbiblical, since the Bible repeatedly promises that ''he'' will "avenge the blood of his servants" ({{b||Deuteronomy|32|43}}; see also {{b||Psalms|58|10}}, {{b||Psalms|94||}}, {{b||Isaiah|1|24}}, {{b||Jeremiah|46|10}}, {{b||Luke|18|17-18}}, {{b||Revelation|6|10}}).  The Bible also has numerous examples of the righteous pleading for or declaring God's vengeance upon their enemies (e.g., {{b|1|Samuel|24|12}}, {{b||Isaiah|35|4}}, {{b||Jeremiah|11|20}}, {{b||Jeremiah|50|15}}, {{b||Jeremiah|15||}}, {{b||Ezekiel|25||}}, {{b|2|Thessalonians|1|8}}).
}}

==Response to claim: 334, 592n10 (PB) - In the 1800s, the author claims that Latter-day Saints would "glorify vengeance" through the singing of hymns==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
In the 1800s, the author claims that Latter-day Saints would "glorify vengeance" through the singing of hymns.
|authorsources=
''Sacred Hymns and Spiritual Songs'' (1871) {{link|url=http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&id=5XYoAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Sacred+Hymns+and+Spiritual+Songs%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=kuGSIY4p_M&sig=CJ0XD4KFK5g6tUwjFBtuDDjsbgs&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result}}. Quoted in {{CriticalWork:Quinn:Mormon Hierarchy2|pages=250}}
}}
{{disinformation|These hymns are a rather mild Christian apocalyptic, and do not "glorify vengeance" in any way.
}}
{{:Question: In the 1800s, did Latter-day Saints "glorify vengeance" through the singing of hymns?}}

==Response to claim: 335 - Latter-day Saints who served in positions in the U.S. government were hindered by having taken an "oath of vengeance"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=<br>
Latter-day Saints who served in positions in the U.S. government were hindered by having taken an "oath of vengeance"
{{AuthorQuote|"One can only wonder how these persons have reconciled their sacred oath with their pledge of allegiance to America."}}
|authorsources=
Main text mentions Ezra Taft Benson and Daken K. Broadhead.
}}
{{misinformation|Since many members of the Church have had distinguished service in government and apparently felt no conflict between their Church covenants and government service, this should perhaps alert the author (and his readers) the fact that he has misunderstood or misrepresented LDS doctrine and belief on this point.
}}
* See and [[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_15#332|p. 332]] and [[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_15#334|p. 334]]

==Response to claim: 335-336 - Did the "oath of vengeance" require the Latter-day Saints instruct their descendants to take vengeance upon the U.S. government?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=<br>
*Did the "oath of vengeance" require the Latter-day Saints instruct their descendants to take vengeance upon the U.S. government?
*{{AuthorQuote|"Exactly how many of today's Saints continue to harbor within their hearts this vow to take vengeance on the U.S. remains unclear, since it would be a secret not to be shared with outsiders. At the very least it may mean that when push comes to shove, every Mormon acquainted with the oath and taught to follow it will choose loyalty to the church (whatever form that may take) over loyalty to the United States."}}
|authorsources=
No sources provided. This is pure speculation on the part of the author.
}}
{{propaganda|This claim is simply absurd.
}}
*[[../Absurd claims|Absurd claims]]
*[[../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]

==Response to claim: 336 - Do LDS church authorities believe that "non-Mormons are unfit to rule" and that Latter-day Saints are the only ones fit to rule the world?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Do LDS church authorities believe that "non-Mormons are unfit to rule" and that Latter-day Saints are the only ones fit to rule the world? 
|authorsources=
No source provided.
}}
{{disinformation|This claim is contradicted by LDS scripture: {{s||DC|98|10-11}}, {{s||DC|101|80}}, {{s||DC|134|1-12}}.
}}

==Response to claim: 336, 593n17 - Did Church president Joseph F. Smith defend his "illegal cohabitation with five wives" during Senate testimony?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did Church president Joseph F. Smith defend his "illegal cohabitation with five wives" during Senate testimony.
|authorsources=
''Proceedings'', vol. 1, 129.
}}
{{propaganda|The author provides his own spin to this claim. President Smith was quite frank that to cohabitate violated the "rule" of the Church and the "law of the land," but refused to say that doing so violated the "law of the Church" (p. 128-129) He then explained:

<blockquote>
...I was placed in this position.  I had a plural family, if you please; that is, my first wife was married to me over thirty-eight years ago, my last wife was married to me over twenty years ago, and with these wives I had children, and I simply took my chances, preferring to meet the consequences of the law rather than to abandon my children and their mothers; and I have cohabited with my wives&mdash;not openly, that is, not in a manner that I thought would be offensive to my neighbors&mdash;but I have acknowledged them; I have visited them....I would have been willing to submit to the penalty of the law, whatever it might have been. (p. 129-130)
</blockquote>
}}
* {{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head02|Illegality and civil disobedience}}
* {{InternalContradiction|Despite quoting this material, the author then claims ([[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_15#339.2C_593n32|p. 339]] that 200 pages later in the testimony that Pres. Smith "finally admits" he has broken the law.  Yet, he frankly admitted it right up front.}}

==Response to claim: 337, 593n20 - Did Joseph F. Smith authorize polygamous marriages in Mexico and request that the records stay there so that they wouldn't be found during a search by U.S. officials?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did Joseph F. Smith authorize polygamous marriages in Mexico and request that the records stay there so that they wouldn't be found during a search by U.S. officials? 
|authorsources=
*Cannon II, 207.
}}
{{information|U.S. law does not apply to Mexico.  Federal marshals have no jurisdiction over events which happened abroad.
}}

==Response to claim: 339, 593n32 - Did Joseph F. Smith admit that he had broken the laws of the land and the laws of God?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did Joseph F. Smith admit that he had broken the laws of the land and the laws of God?
|authorsources=<br>
*Multiple preceding citations regarding Joseph F. Smith either sanctioning or denying plural marriage.
*''Proceedings'', vol. 1, 334-335
}}
{{propaganda|President Smith did not "finally admit" anything: He had been straightforward about it from the beginning. Two legal and moral demands were in conflict, and Pres. Smith chose to obey that which he saw as the higher, and was willing to suffer the penalty.
}}
*{{InternalContradiction|The author has already cited material ([[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_15#336.2C_593n17|p. 336]]) more than 200 pages earlier in the testimony that had Pres. Smith admitting that by cohabitation he violated the "law of the land" and the "rule of the Church."}}
* [[../Use of sources/Joseph F. Smith finally admits|Use of sources: Joseph F. Smith finally admits?]]
{{:Source:Gospel Topics:The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage:Joseph F. Smith broke the law}}
<!-- ====340, 594n42====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Were many polygamous marriages back-dated in church records so that it would look like they were performed before the Manifesto was issued?
|response=
* Note that this claim is from the excommunication hearing of former apostle Matthias Cowley.
* {{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head08|Lying about polygamy?}} (entire article)
|authorsources=
*Matthias Cowley, testimony before Quorum of the Twelve, 1911. Quoted in Samuel W. Taylor, ''Rocky Mountain Empire'', 131.
}} -->

<!-- ==Response to claim: 341, 594n48-50 - Did Reed Smoot lie that he had never heard a discussion of plural marriage in his meetings with the apostles?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did Reed Smoot lie that he had never heard a discussion of plural marriage in his meetings with the apostles and that he had never "advised the promulgation of the practice of polygamy?"
|authorsources=
*''Proceedings'', vol. 3, 204.
*D. Michael Quinn, "Plural Marriages After The 1890 Manifesto," lecture delivered August 1991 at Bluffdale, Utah.
}}
"More than one student has suggested that the [Smoot hearings] constituted the most searching, and perhaps bigoted, congressional investigation of any religious body in American history." <ref>{{Solemn Covenant|start=252&ndash;253}}</ref>
{{:Source:Gospel Topics:The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage:Reed Smoot hearings}} -->
<!-- ====342, 594n53====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph F. Smith face a "power struggle" within in the church hierarchy as a result of different opinions on polygamy?
|response=
* {{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head31|Joseph F. Smith's administration}}
|authorsources=
*Reed Smoot, letter to E.H. Callister, March 22, 1904. Quoted in {{CriticalWork:Van Wagoner:Mormon Polygamy|pages=167}}
}} -->

==Response to claim: 343, 594n54 - A "Second Manifesto" was issued by Joseph F. Smith==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
A "Second Manifesto" was issued by Joseph F. Smith
|authorsources=
Joseph F. Smith, ''Conference Report'', April 6, 1904, 74-75.
}}
{{information|This is correct.
}}
{{:Source:Gospel Topics:The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage:The Second Manifesto}}

==Response to claim: 351, n91 - Does the Church teach the the current practice of monogamy is only temporary and that polygamy will be reinstated when Christ returns?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Does the Church teach the the current practice of monogamy is only temporary and that polygamy will be reinstated when Christ returns?
|response=
|authorsources=
The author quotes Bruce R. McConkie in ''Mormon Doctrine'': "[T]he holy practice will commence again after the Second Coming of the Son of Man and the ushering in of the millennium." Citation given is McConkie, ''Mormon Doctrine'' (Salt Lake City:Bookcraft, 1958; second edition, 1966), 578.
}}
{{disinformation|The Church has no position on whether polygamy will ever be reinstated.
}}
{{:Question: Why did Bruce R. McConkie say that polygamy would be practiced again before the Second Coming?}}

==Response to claim: 353 - Do Latter-day Saints have "underlying white supremacist beliefs"?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Do Latter-day Saints have "underlying white supremacist beliefs"?
|authorsources=
No source provided. Author's opinion.
}}
{{propaganda|The author is claiming that the Church is ''white supremacist?'' This is an absurd claim.
}}
*{{InternalContradiction|[[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_16#370|p. 370]] tells us that 'Mormons, by and large, were pleased that God had changed his mind at such a convenient time in history.'  So, why were the Mormons happy about the revelation if their faith was composed of "underlying white supremacist beliefs"?}}
*[[../Absurd claims|Absurd claims]] 
*[[../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]
*See [[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_16|Chapter 16]] for much more of the same nonsense.

{{endnotes sources}}




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