Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 13

< Criticism of Mormonism‎ | Books‎ | One Nation Under Gods

Revision as of 14:17, 14 January 2009 by GregSmith (talk | contribs) (→‎286 (PB))


Claims made in "Chapter 12: Wars and Rumors of Wars"
A FAIR Analysis of:
Criticism of Mormonism/Books
A work by author: Richard Abanes
 Claims made in "Chapter 14: The Politics of Compromise"

Claims made in "Chapter 13: Unholy Matrimony"

Coexisting with these two deities was a limitless amount of cosmic spirit matter known as "intelligence," out of which Elohim and Heavenly Mother made countless spirit babies via celestial sex.
—One Nation Under Gods, p. 285

∗       ∗       ∗
Page Claim Response Author's sources

282, 572n8 (PB)

 "Another subterfuge Joseph used to protect himself was to have his women feign marriage to other men. Historian George D. Smith related how Joseph related how Joseph resorted to this tactic during his marriage to seventeen-year-old Sarah Ann Whitney..."
  • George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton (1995), 27.
  • "History of Joseph Kingsbury, Written by His Own Hand, 1846, 1849, 1850," Stanley Snow Ivins Collection, vol. 15, 74-76, Utah State Historical Society.

282, 572n8 (PB)

 "Three weeks later, while in hiding, Joseph Smith wrote a revealing letter which he addressed to [Sarah Ann Whitney's] parents...inviting them to bring their daughter to visit him."
  • George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton (1995), 27.
  • Joseph Smith, letter to Whitney family, Aug. 18, 1842, photocopy, George Albert Smith papers, Special Collections, Marriott Library.

283, 572n10 (PB)

 Sarah Pratt "had been propositioned by Joseph, which partly led to her rejection of Mormonism."
  • W. Wyl, Mormon Portraits, 62.

283, 572n11 (PB)

 Joseph publicly denied polygamy, stating "What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one."
  • History of the Church, vol. 6, 410-411.

284 (PB)

 "Many of these women actually were teenaged girls acquired by Smith when he was well into his thirties."
  • No source provided.

285, 573n21

 "Coexisting with these two deities was a limitless amount of cosmic spirit matter known as "intelligence," out of which Elohim and Heavenly Mother made countless spirit babies via celestial sex."
  • McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 387
  • Brigham Young, June 18, 1865, Journal of Discourses, vol. 11, 122.
  • Orson Pratt, "The Pre-Existence of Man," The Seer, March 1853, vol. 1, no. 3, 38

285, 574n25 (PB)

 "Earth, by the way, in this Mormon scenario, was fashioned as part of a joint creative project supervised by the most faithful of Heavenly Father's spiritual progeny (e.g., Jesus, Joseph Smith, Noah, Adam, John the Baptist, etc.). Elohim's other spirit children included: Lucifer, who would become the Devil (a.k.a. Satan); Napoleon; George Washington; Joseph Smith; Louis Armstrong, Donny and Marie Osmond, Senator Orrin Hatch, U.S. President George W. Bush, and everyone else who has ever lived on this planet."
  • McConkie, 169.

286, 574n26 (PB)

 Elohim is a "polygamous god."
  • Orson Pratt, "Celestial Marriage," The Seer, November 1853, vol. 1, no. 11, 172.
  • John J. Stewart, Brigham Young and His Wives and The True Story of Plural Marriage, 41.

286 (PB)

 Elohim is "the god of this planet."
  • No source provided.

286, 575n29 (PB)

 "We humans are enduring the same kind of circumstances Elohim went through on his route to deification.
  • McConkie, 64.

287 (PB)

 "More spirit children means more power, which in turn pushes a Mormon male further up the hierarchical ladder of gods in our universe."
  • This statement is not LDS doctrine—it is the creation of the author.
  • Absurd claims
  • Author's opinion.

287, 575n38(PB)

 "This is not to say that Christ was conceived in any way that might be considered supernatural. He was not miraculously begotten, for instance, by the Holy Ghost, as Christianity teaches."

287-8, 575n39 (PB)

 God the Father visited the earth to conceive Jesus Christ through Mary after "making her his wife" even though she was "his daughter" and "betrothed to Joseph."
  • Brigham Young, Deseret News, October 10, 1866.
  • Brigham Young, August 19, 1866, Journal of Discourses, vol. 11, 268. Brigham says, "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. On this account infidels have called the Savior a bastard. This is merely a human opinion upon one of the inscrutable doings of the Almighty. That very babe that was cradled in the manger, was begotten, not by Joseph, the husband of Mary, but by another Being. Do you inquire by whom? He was begotten by God our heavenly Father. This answer may suffice you—you need never inquire more upon that point. Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father, and he is the Savior of the world, and full of grace and truth."
  • Orson Pratt, :Celestial Marriage," The Seer, October 1853, vol. 1, no. 10, 158. (It should be noted that the First Presidency rejected Pratt's writings in The Seer as Church doctrine.)

288, 576n42-43 (PB)

 "Later as an adult, Jesus would become a polygamist, just like Elohim."
  • The Church teaches no such doctrine. Most references to Elohim's status come from Orson Pratt, who believed that this was true. The Church, however, has neither accepted nor promoted such a teaching.
  • Was Jesus Christ married/Was Jesus a polygamist
  • Orson Pratt, "Celestial Marriage," The Seer, 172, 158.

288, 576n44

 The author states that the "road to godhood" for others is "far more difficult and takes considerably longer" than the route taken by Jesus Christ, since Jesus did not require "wives" or "temple rituals" to achieve godhood.
  • This is an absurd claim by the author. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins—something that no man is even capable of doing for himself. This is what the author implies is the easier road to godhood?
  • Absurd claims
  • Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 129.

289, 578n51 (HB)
576n51 (PB)

The following differences exist between the hardback and paperback editions:

  • "According to the late BYU scholar Eugene England, Mormon women literally are to become 'birth machines' so Mormon males can continue creating and populating various worlds without end." (HB)
  • "In 1987, BYU scholar Eugene England noted how many "influential" Mormons and LDS religion teachers still saw women as mere "birth machines"—a view he called "one of the more popular rationales for eternal polygyny." Just recently "an increasing number of faithful Mormons" have started rejecting such a notion." (PB)

The following endnote was corrected in the paperback edition:

  • Jessie L. Embry, "Burden or Pleasure?: A Profile of LDS Polygamous Husbands," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Winter 1987), vol. 20, no. 4, 148. (HB)
  • Eugene England, "On Fidelity, Polygamy, and Celestial Marriage," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Winter 1987), vol. 20, no. 4, 148. The note states, "England condemned this view, explaining that it was based on a too rigid interpretation of D&C 132:63. (PB)

290, 577n56-57 (PB)

 Ann Eliza Young in her 1875 book Wife No. 19 stated the polygamy in Utah was not an option, but a command.
  • Ernest H. Taves, This is the Place: Brigham Young and the New Zion, 153.
  • Ann Eliza Young, Wife No. 19, or the Story of A Life In Bondage, Being A Complete Expose of Mormonism, and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices, and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy.

294, 579n68

 "LDS leadership had no problem with near relatives marrying." The author mentions the sealing of John Bernhisel to his sister, Maria, as quoted in Joseph's diary.
  • Scott H. Faulring, ed., An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith, 424.

294, 579n74

 "Modern LDS scholar George D. Smith" in a study of 153 polygamous men "noted that two of the wives were only thirteen years old, more than a dozen girls were fourteen, twenty-one were fifteen; and fifty-three were only sixteen."
  •  The author's claim is false: G.D. Smith is not an "LDS scholar." GD Smith is an atheist, writes frequently for secular humanism's flagship publication Free Inquiry, and finances Signature Books, which expends considerable effort attacking the foundational events and doctrines of the Church.[1]
  • Polygamy book/Age of wives
  • George D. Smith. Cited in Jerald Tanner and Sandra Tanner, "Joseph Smith and Women," Salt Lake City Messenger (#91), November 1996, 7.

295, 579n77

 "Mormon males" treated women as "livestock or property." The endnote refers to an alleged quote made by Brigham Young to Henry Jacobs in which he is claimed to have told Jacobs that "the woman that you claim for a wife does not belong to you. She is a spiritual wife of brother Joseph...and she, in his behalf, with her children, are my property..."
  • Stenhouse could not have heard the alleged comment by Brigham in 1846, since he was baptized in England on July 14, 1845, and didn't come to the United States until late 1855. His "corroboration," therefore, is of no worth, and he is likely to have simply copied Hall's claim as his own.
  • Hall claimed that the comment was heard "in the hearing of hundreds," yet nobody else present among these "hundreds" has ever corroborated this story.
  • The claim also does not match Brigham Young's teachings on the subject.
  • Full details: Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men."
  • William Hall, The Abominations of Mormonism Exposed (Cincinnati: I. Hart & Co., 1853), 43-44.
  • T.B.H. Stenhouse, Rocky Mountain Saints: a full and complete history of the Mormons, from the first vision of Joseph Smith to the last courtship of Brigham Young (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1873), 185-186.

295, 580n81-62 (PB)

 "Wife swapping" was "acceptable."
  •  The author's claim is false: Grant's quote is about consecrating everything to God's service: money, wives, etc. It does not sanction "wife swapping."
  • Polygamy/Wife swapping
  • This claim is also made in Becoming Gods, [[Becoming Gods/Index#{{{pages}}}|p. {{{pages}}}]]
  • Jedediah Grant. Quoted in T.B.H. Stenhouse, Rocky Mountain Saints: a full and complete history of the Mormons, from the first vision of Joseph Smith to the last courtship of Brigham Young (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1873), 294.
  • Jedediah Grant, February 19, 1854, Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, 14.

297, 581n88-89 (PB)

 Missionaries were instructed to not select converted women as wives before they were brought back to Utah.
  • The author creates a composite quote from the two sources. Kimball's discourse doesn't actually mention plural marriage.
  • Kimball's quote in context:

"I say to those who are elected to go on missions, Go, if you never return; and commit what you have into the hands of God-your wives, your children, your brethren, and your property. Let truth and righteousness be your motto; and do not go into the world for anything else but to preach the Gospel, build up the kingdom of God, and gather the sheep into the fold. You are sent out as shepherds to gather the sheep together; and remember that they are not your sheep: they belong to Him that sends you: Then do not make a choice of any of those sheep; do not make selections before they are brought home and put into the fold."

  • Heber C. Kimball, August 28, 1852, Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, 256.
  • Heber C. Kimball, Quoted in Stanley P. Hirshon, The Lion of the Lord: A Biography of the Mormon Leader, Brigham Young, 129-130.

297, 581n90-95 (PB)

 "For those men unwilling to heed Kimball's warning, LDS authorities resorted to a far more permanent means of having their wishes obeyed—castration."

299, 581n95 (PB)

 Brigham Young said that "[t]he only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy."

301, 582n106 (PB)

 Orson Pratt taught that anyone not entering into plural marriage "will be damned."
  • The portion of Pratt's sermon on plural marriage referenced by the author is part of a discussion of how one must be sealed by a person having the proper authority in order for their marriage to be valid in the next life. Referring to the revelation on plural marriage, Pratt says:

"He has told us in that revelation, that only one man can hold these keys upon the earth at the same time; and they belong to that man who stands at the head to preside over all the affairs of the Church and kingdom of God in the last days. They are the sealing keys of power, or in other words, of Elijah, having been committed and restored to the earth by Elijah, the Prophet, who held many keys, among which were the keys of sealing, to bind the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers; together with all the other sealing keys and powers, pertaining to the last dispensation. They were committed by that Angel who administered in the Kirtland Temple, and spoke unto Joseph the Prophet, at the time of the endowments in that house. Now, let us enquire, what will become of those individuals who have this law taught unto them in plainness, if they reject it? [A voice in the stand, "they will be damned."] I will tell you: they will be damned, saith the Lord God Almighty, in the revelation He has given..." (emphasis added)

301 (PB)

 "Monogamy was equated with a failure to obey God, which not only displeased the Almighty, but endangered one's eternal destiny."
  • No source provided.

301-2, 582n108 (PB)

 "Brigham said [monogamy] was the 'source of prostitution and whoredom' throughout all Christendom."
  •  Misrepresentation of source: Brigham actually said "a source," not "the source:"

302, 582n109 (PB)

 "Because the counsel of church leaders was to acquire plural wives, to do otherwise was tantamount to apostasy, a crime worthy of death."
  •  Misrepresentation of source: The source listed by the author talks about an increase in the number of plural marriages during the "Mormon Reformation." It says nothing about apostasy being "worthy of death." The idea that apostasy was "worthy of death" originated with the Tanners. The author strings several different ideas together to create his conclusion that failure to acquire plural wives was "worthy of death."
  • 19th century crimes alleged to be "worthy of death"
  • Polygamy demanded?
  • Absurd claims
  • Marie Cornwall, Camela Courtright, and Laga Van BeekHow, "Common the Principle?: Women As Plural Wives in 1860," Dialogue: a Journal of Mormon Thought (Summer 1993), vol. 26, 142.

302 (PB)

 "[S]ingle or monogamous men were often mocked and ridiculed as practically impostent, or at the very least, weak and unable to sustain a truly righteous family.
  • The author provides no source to back up this assertion.
  • No source provided.

303, 582n111 (PB)

 "Women were told...that they told only be saved through men, whose responsibility it would be to call them forth from the grave so that they could receive salvation..."
  • LDS believe that salvation only comes through the atonement of Jesus Christ, and do not believe that it is dependent upon any man.
  • Sandra Tanner, "How the LDS Husband Hopes to Resurrect His Wife According to the LDS Temple Ceremony"

304, 583n114 (PB)

 Brigham said of women, "It is for you to bear children,...are you tormenting yourselves by thinking that your husbands do not love you? I would not care whether they loved a particle or not; but I would cry out, like one of old, in the joy of my heart, 'I have got a man from the Lord!' 'Hallelujah! I am a mother—I have borne an image of God!'"

305 (PB)

 "Nowhere in the Bible does the Hebrew God sanction, let alone command, polygamy."
  • Various references related to providing an Evangelical view of how polygamy in the Bible is viewed.

306 (PB)

 "The Hebrews never considered polygamy a standard practice for the general populace."
  • No source provided.

307, 583-4n123-5 (PB)

 "Smith, Young, and other authorities of the LDS church further erred in believing that the New Testament teaches polygamy; more specifically, that Jesus and his apostles were polygamists.

308 (PB)

 The Book of Mormon condemns polygamy.

Endnotes

  1. [note]  For Smith’s long-standing links to the secular humanist movement, see Louis Midgley, "George Dempster Smith, Jr., on the Book of Mormon (Review of On the Barricades: Religion and Free Inquiry in Conflict by Robert Basil, Mary Beth Gehrman, and Tim Madigan)," FARMS Review of Books 4/1 (1992): 5–12. off-site. See also Louis Midgley, "Atheists and Cultural Mormons Promote a Naturalistic Humanism (Review of Religion, Feminism, and Freedom of Conscience: A Mormon/Humanist Dialogue by George D. Smith," FARMS Review of Books 7/1 (1995): 229–297. off-site. On Signature Books’ ideological atheism, see Louis Midgley, "The Signature Books Saga," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 361–406. off-site

Further reading

Template code Inserts this reference Click to edit
{{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
Retrieved from "https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/index.php?title=Criticism_of_Mormonism/Books/One_Nation_Under_Gods/Chapter_13&oldid=36788"