FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Difference between revisions of "Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 18"
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||"LDS officials in the early 1960s" attempted to "suppress a copy of the ''Book of Commandments'' locked in their church archives." | ||"LDS officials in the early 1960s" attempted to "suppress a copy of the ''Book of Commandments'' locked in their church archives." | ||
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*Tanner and Tanner, ''Major Problems of Mormonism'', 135. | *Tanner and Tanner, ''Major Problems of Mormonism'', 135. |
Revision as of 01:48, 14 January 2009
Claims made in "Chapter 17: Is Mormonism Christian?" | A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: Richard Abanes
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Claims made in "Postscript" (paperback only) |
Claims made in "Chapter 18: Cover-Ups, Conspiracies, and Controversies"
[T]he general public, especially outside America, still possesses little knowledge of the unsavory nature of Mormonism.
—One Nation Under Gods, p. 403.
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
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402 (PB) |
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir "has been one of the most effective tools of evangelism used by Latter-day Saints to proselytize unsuspecting music lovers..." |
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403 |
"[T]he general public, especially outside America, still possesses little knowledge of the unsavory nature of Mormonism." |
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403, 605n9 |
Baptisms for the dead were performed for "various Nazis, including Adolf Hitler, whom Mormons sealed for eternity to his mistress, Eva Braun. It was apparently done in order to give Hitler and his henchmen an opportunity to accept Mormonism in the afterlife and thereby become gods." |
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403 |
Baptisms for the dead are "a non-Christian practice." |
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404 |
"It is possible that many readers of this book have had their deceased relatives baptized by proxy into Mormonism, even though such persons might not have wanted anything to do with Mormonism during their lives." |
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Section: "Unhistorical History"
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
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404, 605n14 |
"Mormons took it upon themselves to baptize...Jews who had perished in Nazi concentration camps." |
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405, 605n18-19 |
LDS leaders "actively suppress the activities of would-be researchers in Mormon archives." |
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405, 605n21 |
"LDS leaders re-write historical documents, deny that other documents exist, create fictitious historical data, add words to update old revelations so that they conform to current events/knowledge, and delete various sections of divine pronouncements said to have been transcribe perfectly when originally delivered." |
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406, n22 |
The History of the Church was "supposedly written by Joseph Smith" but was mostly written after his death. |
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406 |
Changing the history so that it "read as if Joseph Smith himself had written the material...was a flagrant breach of standard protocol for persons producing historical works." |
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406, 606n23 |
One of the "forged predictions" added to the history was that of a "mighty people" that would dwell "in the midst of the Rocky Mountains." |
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406, 606n23 |
One of the "forged predictions" added to the history was "about the political career of Senator Steven A. Douglas." [check spelling] - Should be "Stephen" |
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407, 606n26 |
"[M]ore than 62,000 words were either added or deleted" from the history. The endnote adds that "Mormon leaders additionally claim that their official history is not only 'an unusually accurate historical document,' but is 'the most accurate history in all the world'" |
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407 |
Volume six of the History of the Church "contains the minutes from Smith's October 1843 church conference regarding Sidney Rigdon....But when compared to the minutes originally printed in the Times and Seasons....the revised/modern version reveals an account exactly opposite of what actually happened." |
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408, 608n28 (HB) 606n28 (PB) |
"Another tactic utilized by Mormon leaders has been to revise Smith's revelations so as to make the church's history more palatable." |
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408, 607n33 (PB) |
"LDS officials in the early 1960s" attempted to "suppress a copy of the Book of Commandments locked in their church archives." |
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Section "Thinking is a Sin"
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
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412 |
"Most of the academic dishonesty foisted upon church members by LDS scholars and leaders relates to the Mormon notion that all works of history must be 'faith-promoting.'" |
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412 |
"Mormonism has been an emotion-based religion opposed to intellectual, rational thought." |
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412 |
Latter-day Saints are supposed to only rely on the "burning in the bosom" even "when faced with irrefutable facts that undermine the LDS church." |
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412, 607n34 |
Latter-day Saints are instructed to "simply not think and obey church authorities." The endnote states: "The message has never been rescinded in any official way." |
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413-414, 609-610n39 (HB) |
"Some of the most disturbing instructions about blind obedience came from LDS president Ezra Taft Benson in his 'Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet' speech. His fundamentals for living a righteous Mormon life left little room for independent thought." |
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Section "The Mormon Purge"
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
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414, 608n42 (PB) |
Quoting Steven Benson: "When the prophet has spoken, the debate is over." |
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415, 608-609n43-57 (PB) |
The Church excommunicated a number of "perceived dissidents." |
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418, 609n58 |
President Hinckley said "that all such enemies of the church deserve what they get as cursed servants of Satan." President Hinckley said:
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418, 609n59-60 |
The "Strengthening Church Members Committee" is a "pseudo-clandestine group to spy on Church members." |
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Section "Skeletons in the Closet"
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
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419 |
The 1997 Relief Society manual made it sound as if Brigham Young only had one wife and six children. |
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420, 609n63 |
Gordon B. Hinckley "did his best to cover-up polygamy" when he appeared on Larry King Live and said that only two to five percent of the early LDS practiced it. |
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420, 610n68-71 |
The Book of Mormon claims that Native Americans "would miraculously turn white-skinned" by accepting "Mormon beliefs." Brigham Young and Spencer W. Kimball said that they would become "white and delightsome." |
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Section "Hofmann's Deadly Documents"
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
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422, n75 |
The Church acquired the Hofmann documents in order to suppress them. |
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424 |
LDS officials "began hindering" the Hofmann investigation by "refusing to divulge information about the various transactions." |
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424 |
"Mormon leaders also blocked efforts by police to see exactly what documents were in LDS church vaults, apparently knowing that some of their authentic documents not yet released to the public might further damage the church's reputation if the contents of them were to be revealed." |
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424, 610n77 |
According to the Tanners, Richard Turley's book Victims: The LDS Church and the Mark Hofmann Case "shows that Mormon Church leaders were engaged in a conspiracy of silence with regard to the McLellin collection to save the church's image." |
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424, 610n78 |
LDS leaders "apparent lack of discernment with regard to Hofmann's legitimacy refuted in a most visible way the LDS belief that church leaders are divinely enabled by God to know deception when they see it." |
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Dunn in God's Name
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
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427 |
"The Mormon habit of sometimes taking detours around truth to protect the church has not always led to murder." |
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428, n85 |
Paul H. Dunn defended his "fabrications" in order to "illustrate his theological and moral points." (second quote is from cited source) |
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Section "Mormon Games"
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
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430-433 |
The author recounts the Salt Lake Olympic bribery scandal. |
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Section: "America's Mormon Destiny"
Page | Claim | Response | Author's sources |
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434, 614n117-127 |
The belief that Latter-day Saints will "rescue the Constitution from ruin, and in so doing, ascend to a place of pre-eminence over America, and eventually the world" is "an integral part of Mormonism." |
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Further reading
Template code | Inserts this reference | Click to edit |
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{{To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition}} | To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition | edit |
{{To learn more box:''Under the Banner of Heaven''}} | To learn more about responses to: Under the Banner of Heaven | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Robert Price}} | To learn more about responses to: Robert Price | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon}} | To learn more about responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ashamed of Joseph}} | To learn more about responses to: Ashamed of Joseph | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Moser}} | To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Moser | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Parrish}} | To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Parrish | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Benjamin Park}} | To learn more about responses to: Benjamin Park | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith}} | To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon}} | To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: ''Big Love''}} | To learn more about responses to: Big Love | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Brett Metcalfe}} | To learn more about responses to: Brett Metcalfe | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bill Maher}} | To learn more about responses to: Bill Maher | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bruce H. Porter}} | To learn more about responses to: Bruce H. Porter | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Carol Wang Shutter}} | To learn more about responses to: Carol Wang Shutter | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: CES Letter}} | To learn more about responses to: CES Letter | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Charles Larson}} | To learn more about responses to: Charles Larson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Christopher Nemelka}} | To learn more about responses to: Christopher Nemelka | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Colby Townshed}} | To learn more about responses to: Colby Townshed | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Contender Ministries}} | To learn more about responses to: Contender Ministries | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Crane and Crane}} | To learn more about responses to: Crane and Crane | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: D. Michael Quinn}} | To learn more about responses to: D. Michael Quinn | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Dan Vogel}} | To learn more about responses to: Dan Vogel | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: David John Buerger}} | To learn more about responses to: David John Buerger | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: David Persuitte}} | To learn more about responses to: David Persuitte | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Denver Snuffer}} | To learn more about responses to: Denver Snuffer | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Dick Bauer}} | To learn more about responses to: Dick Bauer | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Duwayne R Anderson}} | To learn more about responses to: Duwayne R Anderson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Earl Wunderli}} | To learn more about responses to: Earl Wunderli | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ed Decker}} | To learn more about responses to: Ed Decker | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Erikson and Giesler}} | To learn more about responses to: Erikson and Giesler | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ernest Taves}} | To learn more about responses to: Ernest Taves | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Fawn Brodie}} | To learn more about responses to: Fawn Brodie | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: George D Smith}} | To learn more about responses to: George D Smith | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Grant Palmer}} | To learn more about responses to: Grant Palmer | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Hank Hanegraaff}} | To learn more about responses to: Hank Hanegraaff | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Hurlbut-Howe}} | To learn more about responses to: Hurlbut-Howe | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: James Brooke}} | To learn more about responses to: James Brooke | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: James Spencer}} | To learn more about responses to: James Spencer | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: James White}} | To learn more about responses to: James White | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner}} | To learn more about responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD}} | To learn more about responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: John Dehlin}} | To learn more about responses to: John Dehlin | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jonathan Neville}} | To learn more about responses to: Jonathan Neville | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Kurt Van Gorden}} | To learn more about responses to: Kurt Van Gorden | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Laura King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery}} | To learn more about responses to: Laura King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Loftes Tryk aka Lofte Payne}} | To learn more about responses to: Loftes Tryk aka Lofte Payne | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Luke WIlson}} | To learn more about responses to: Luke WIlson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Marquardt and Walters}} | To learn more about responses to: Marquardt and Walters | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Martha Beck}} | To learn more about responses to: Martha Beck | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Mcgregor Ministries}} | To learn more about responses to: Mcgregor Ministries | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: McKeever and Johnson}} | To learn more about responses to: McKeever and Johnson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: New Approaches}} | To learn more about responses to: New Approaches to the Book of Mormon | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard Abanes}} | To learn more about responses to: Richard Abanes | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard Van Wagoner}} | To learn more about responses to: Richard Van Wagoner | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard and Joan Ostling}} | To learn more about responses to: Richard and Joan Ostling | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Rick Grunger}} | To learn more about responses to: Rick Grunger | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Robert Ritner}} | To learn more about responses to: Robert Ritner | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Rod Meldrum}} | To learn more about responses to: Rod Meldrum | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Roger I Anderson}} | To learn more about responses to: Roger I Anderson | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ronald V. Huggins}} | To learn more about responses to: Ronald V. Huggins | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Sally Denton}} | To learn more about responses to: Sally Denton | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Simon Southerton}} | To learn more about responses to: Simon Southerton | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Thomas Murphy}} | To learn more about responses to: Thomas Murphy | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Todd Compton}} | To learn more about responses to: Todd Compton | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Vernal Holley}} | To learn more about responses to: Vernal Holley | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Walter Martin}} | To learn more about responses to: Walter Martin | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Wesley Walters}} | To learn more about responses to: Wesley Walters | edit |
{{To learn more box:responses to: Will Bagley}} | To learn more about responses to: Will Bagley | edit |