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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church/Chapter 1
< Criticism of Mormonism | Books | Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church
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Response to claims made in "Chapter 1: A Chosen Race in a Promised Land"
| Introduction | A FAIR Analysis of: Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church A work by author: Simon G. Southerton
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Chapter 2 |
Response to claim: 3 - Attempts to describe Mormon doctrine are "fraught with peril"
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
Attempts to describe Mormon doctrine are "fraught with peril."Author's sources: *Author's opinion.
FAIR's Response
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Response to claim: 3 - Reversals of doctrine regarding polygamy and regarding Blacks and the priesthood were "painful and damaging" to the Church
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
Reversals of doctrine regarding polygamy and regarding Blacks and the priesthood were "painful and damaging" to the Church.Author's sources: *Author's opinion.
- No examples of the "pain" and "damage" are provided.
FAIR's Response
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Response to claim: 4 - The idea that the words of living prophets supersede the words of dead prophets has been "recently" promoted
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The idea that the words of living prophets supersede the words of dead prophets has been "recently" promoted.Author's sources: No source given.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim is false
This has always been the doctrine of the Church:[When invited by Joseph Smith], Brother Brigham took the stand, and he took the Bible, and laid it down; he took the Book of Mormon, and laid it down; and he took the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and laid it down before him, and he said: "There is the written word of God to us, concerning the work of God from the beginning of the world, almost, to our day. And now,' said he, 'when compared with the living oracles those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books.' That was the course he pursued. When he was through, Brother Joseph said to the congregation, "Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord, and he has told you the truth.'"[1]
If living prophets outrank scriptures, then living prophets clearly supersede dead prophets: whether written or spoken.
Neil L. Andersen (2012): "A few question their faith when they find a statement made by a Church leader decades ago that seems incongruent with our doctrine"
Neil L. Andersen:
A few question their faith when they find a statement made by a Church leader decades ago that seems incongruent with our doctrine. There is an important principle that governs the doctrine of the Church. The doctrine is taught by all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. It is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk. True principles are taught frequently and by many. Our doctrine is not difficult to find.
The leaders of the Church are honest but imperfect men. Remember the words of Moroni: “Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father … ; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been” (Ether 12꞉6)[2]—(Click here to continue)
Response to claim: 4 - Mormon doctrine is "fluid and changeable"
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
Mormon doctrine is "fluid and changeable."Author's sources: No source given.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim contains propaganda - The author, or the author's source, is providing information or ideas in a slanted way in order to instill a particular attitude or response in the reader
Mormon doctrine is not constantly changing. It has sometimes evolved to keep up with the times.
Question: Is "Mormon doctrine" constantly changing?
Each prophet who has lived was called to teach and guide the people of their specific time
Apostles and prophets are human, fallible and subject to their own opinions and emotions just like the rest of humanity. This does not, however, diminish their capacity to speak in the name of the Lord on issues which affect our eternal salvation. We pay heed to the words of the living prophet who has been called to guide the church in our time, while relying upon the standard works to help us understand and confirm these teachings.
It is claimed by some that the Church frequently changes its doctrine. They point to teachings of early church leaders such as Brigham Young (often quoting from the Journal of Discourses) and criticize modern church leaders for not accepting or implementing every pronouncement recorded by these early leaders.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led by a living prophet, who is authorized to speak on the Lord’s behalf to the Church to address the issues of our day. We value the words and teachings of prophets who have lived in the past. We are encouraged to study the scriptures in order to apply the lessons taught by these great individuals to our present lives. Each prophet who has lived was called to teach and guide the people of their specific time. The situations which we face in today’s society are unique to us, and dealing with them requires the ongoing guidance of a living prophet.
It is not reasonable to expect that everything taught by Joseph Smith or Brigham Young applies to us today
We are fortunate to have so many detailed teachings of the early prophets of the restoration. There is much wisdom to be gained by studying their counsel. It is not, however, reasonable to expect that everything taught by Joseph Smith or Brigham Young applies to us today. Many things that these men taught were relevant to the 19th century church. In order to help us determine how to apply the teachings of past prophets to our present lives, we have a living prophet.
In 1981, Ezra Taft Benson said:
The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
God’s revelation to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the Ark. Noah needed his own revelation. Therefore the most important prophet so far as you and I are concerned is the one living in our day and age to whom the Lord is currently revealing His will for us. Therefore the most important reading we can do is any of the words of the prophet contained each month in our Church Magazines. Our instructions about what we should do for each six months are found in the General Conference addresses which are printed in the Church magazine.
Beware of those who would set up the dead prophets against the living prophets, for the living prophets always take precedence.[3]
Prophets are not scientists: Their views of science tend to reflect the prevailing views of the time
Prophets are not scientists: Their views of science tend to reflect the prevailing views of the time. For example, Brigham Young expressed a number of opinions regarding science that one would consider very humorous or even outlandish today, such as the suggestion that the moon and the sun were inhabited.
Modern day prophets are no more immune to the current thinking of their day. On May 14, 1961, Apostle (and future Church president) Joseph Fielding Smith declared that “We will never get a man into space. This earth is man's sphere and it was never intended that he should get away from it.” As much as critics would like to declare this a “failed prophecy,” would it be reasonable to expect the Church to teach such a thing in light of current knowledge?
The Apostle (and future leader of Christ’s church) Peter denied Christ three times. Applying the same standard to Peter’s statement that the Church’s critics apply to 19th century prophets, one would have to interpret this to mean that future church leaders would be forced to teach that Christ was not actually the Son of God! After all, Peter went on to become the head of Christ’s church, and was therefore a prophet.
Church members need to compare what church leaders teach to the standard works
Joseph Fielding Smith clarifies how members need to compare what church leaders teach to the standard works:
It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teachings of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man’s doctrine. You cannot accept the books written by the authorities of the Church as standards in doctrine, only in so far as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works.[4]
Response to claim: 7-8 - The Nephites raise "herds of cattle, goats and horses"
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The Nephites raise "herds of cattle, goats and horses."Author's sources: No source given.
FAIR's Response
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Response to claim: 8 - The Nephites raise Old World wheat and barley
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The Nephites raise Old World wheat and barley.Author's sources: No source given.
FAIR's Response
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Response to claim: 8 - The author states that the Nephites construct a temple that is "similar in splendor" to Solomon's
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The author states that the Nephites construct a temple that is "similar in splendor" to Solomon's.Author's sources:
- No source given.
- Common source used is 2 Nephi 5꞉16
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources
Nephi never claimed that the temple that he built was "similar in splendor" to Solomon's temple.
Question: Was Nephi's temple "similar in splendor" to Solomon's temple?
Nephi stated that it was not like Solomon's temple" because many "precious things" were "not to be found upon the land"
Nephi is clear that the temple is not to the scale or grandeur of Solomon's temple; he merely patterns the building and its functions after the Jewish temple.
16 And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon's temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine. (2 Nephi 5꞉16)
Nephi also probably had access to more workmen than the few members of the original Jerusalem party under Lehi.
One critic, who used to be a member of the Church, actually demonstrates his ignorance of the Book of Mormon by stating that the temple that was built was said to be "similar in splendor" to Solomon's Temple, directly contradicting Nephi's description. Nephi stated that "could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple" because many of the precious things contained in Solomon's temple "were not to be found upon the land." Therefore, Nephi himself confirms that his temple was not "similar in splendor" to Solomon's temple.
This is a good example of the critics reading the text in the most naive, most ill-informed way possible. One should also consider that smaller population would not have needed a massive complex like the temple at Jerusalem anyway.
Response to claim: 8 - The Nephites are skilled in the use of metals such as iron, copper, brass, gold and silver
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The Nephites are skilled in the use of metals such as iron, copper, brass, gold and silver. The author indicates that this is anachronisticAuthor's sources: *No source given.
FAIR's Response
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Response to claim: 8 - The Nephites use steel to fashion swords, breastplates, and arm and head shields
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The Nephites use steel to fashion swords, breastplates, and arm and head shields. The author indicates that this is anachronisticAuthor's sources: No source given.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim is false
"Steel," as it is referred to in the Book of Mormon, is applied to two Old World weapons (Nephi's bow and the sword of Laban). Only in Ether are swords made of steel (Ether 7꞉9). Nephites are said to use steel (Jarom 1꞉8), but it is never described for breastplates, arm, or head shields. The author is again shown to be woefully ignorant of the Book of Mormon text.Book of Mormon anachronisms—Metals—Swords
Response to claim: 8 - The Nephites built defensive mounds around their cities
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The Nephites built defensive mounds around their cities. The author indicates that this is anachronistic.Author's sources: No source given.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources
The Nephite fortifications actually are consistent with those built in ancient Mesoamerica?
Question: Are the fortifications described in the Book of Mormon consistent with those built in ancient Mesoamerica?
The Book of Mormon's description of fortifications matches those in use in Mesoamerica
4 But behold, how great was their disappointment; for behold, the Nephites had dug up a ridge of earth round about them, which was so high that the Lamanites could not cast their stones and their arrows at them that they might take effect, neither could they come upon them save it was by their place of entrance. (Alma 49:4).
3 And it came to pass that after the Lamanites had finished burying their dead and also the dead of the Nephites, they were marched back into the land Bountiful; and Teancum, by the orders of Moroni, caused that they should commence laboring in digging a ditch round about the land, or the city, Bountiful. 4 And he caused that they should build a breastwork of timbers upon the inner bank of the ditch; and they cast up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork of timbers; and thus they did cause the Lamanites to labor until they had encircled the city of Bountiful round about with a strong wall of timbers and earth, to an exceeding height. 5 And this city became an exceeding stronghold ever after; and in this city they did guard the prisoners of the Lamanites; yea, even within a wall which they had caused them to build with their own hands. Now Moroni was compelled to cause the Lamanites to labor, because it was easy to guard them while at their labor; and he desired all his forces when he should make an attack upon the Lamanites.(Alma 53:3-5).
The Book of Mormon's description of fortifications matches those in use in Mesoamerica. Multiple sites have been found; the city of Becan is well-known:
 The moat at Bécan in the Yucatan is 16 meters wide, and covers a distance of 2 kilometers. The enclosed city covers 25 hectares (almost 62 acres). Reconstruction, on-line at http://mayaruins.com/becan.html |
The rise of Mesoamerican fortification in the archaeological record matches the introduction of this form of warfare among the Nephites by Captain Moroni in about 72 B.C.
It should be noted too that the rise of Mesoamerican fortification in the archaeological record matches the introduction of this form of warfare among the Nephites by Captain Moroni in about 72 B.C. (See Alma 49:8).The first number indicates "Definitive" sites; the second is "Possible" sites:
John L. Sorenson, "Fortifications in the Book of Mormon Account Compared with Mesoamerican Fortifications" (Table 2, p. 429) in Stephen D. Ricks & William J. Hamblin, (eds), Warfare in the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 425-444. The first number indicates "Definitive" sites; the second is "possible" sites.
Response to claim: 8 - The Lamanites vastly outnumber the Nephites
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The Lamanites vastly outnumber the Nephites. The author indicates that this is unlikely.Author's sources: No source given.
FAIR's Response
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Question: What was the relative size of Nephite population compared to Lamanite population?
Despite the majority of the immigrants going with Nephi, the Lamanites are consistently mentioned as being much more numerous (at least double) than the Nephites
Despite the majority of the immigrants going with Nephi, the Lamanites are consistently mentioned as being much more numerous (at least double) than the Nephites. This includes the period before Mosiah I's exodus (See Jarom 1:6) and afterward, despite the introduction of Zarahemla's people (the so-called 'Mulekites') to bolster Nephite numbers. (See Mosiah 25:3, Helaman 4:25.)
There is one intriguing passage in which Mormon explains the numeric disparity as it applies to Captain Moroni's wars:
...thus the Nephites were compelled, alone, to withstand against the Lamanites, who were a compound of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, and all those who had dissented from the Nephites, who were Amalekites and Zoramites, and the descendants of the priests of Noah. 14 Now those descendants were as numerous, nearly, as were the Nephites; and thus the Nephites were obliged to contend with their brethren, even unto bloodshed. [italics added] Alma 43:13-14.
Mormon here lists a variety of peoples under the rubric 'Lamanites,' and then indicates that these descendants almost match the Nephites in numbers. Yet, clearly, the 'Lamanites' (in a broader sense) always have a massive manpower advantage, as we are told just a few verses later in Alma 43:51.
The phrase "those descendants," by this reading, does not apply merely to the "descendants of the priests of Noah," since this is a tiny group of only 24 Lamanite women and their former-priest husbands. (See Mosiah 20:5, Mosiah 23:31-39.) These "Amulonites" had been decimated by angry Lamanites only a few years earlier, and were ever after persona non grata on both sides of the conflict. (See Alma 25:3-9.) Their numerical contribution to the Lamanite hordes was likely negligible.[5]
Mormon's point seems clear—all the 'Nephites': original Lehi/Nephi descendants, Zarahemla descendants, and any 'others' or client peoples—are nearly numerically matched simply by the descendants of Laman, Lemuel, Ishmael and a variety of Nephite descendants. To this must then be added the manpower "sink" which the Lamanites possess in the form of the 'others' which they control politically.
This is what makes the Lamanite invasion so dangerous, since as defenders the Nephites require fewer men to hold off an attacking army (See Alma 49:1-25, Alma 59:9). If the Nephites were "nearly" outnumbered by all the "Lamanites" (in the broader sense of those under Lamanite political control), then a Lamanite attack would be both foolhardy and of no great worry to a well-entrenched general like Moroni.
The Lamanites' vast numerical superiority is repeatedly emphasized
But, the Lamanites' vast numerical superiority is repeatedly emphasized: (See Alma 43:51, Alma 48:3-4).
Moroni struggles to provide his troops with reinforcements and adequate garrisons (see Alma 52:16-17,Alma 58:3-5, Alma 58:32-36) while the Lamanites can continually field large new armies (see Alma 51:9-11, Alma 52:12, Alma 57:17, Alma 58:5).
The Lamanites even seek to exploit their numerical advantage by opening a two front war (See Alma 52:13, Alma 56:10). This strategy splits their forces and risks defeat in detail, which would be very unwise if they did not enjoy a marked numerical advantage. This advantage is clearly present, since their tactics very nearly succeed (See Alma 52:14, Alma 53:8, Alma 58:2).
In short, Mormon spells the problem out clearly—the Nephites are dramatically outnumbered— and he explains that this is because the Lamanite and dissenter numbers alone nearly match all the Nephite manpower, with the understanding that the client people(s) available as Lamanite manpower tip the balance.
No other reading makes sense of the text, which is rigorously consistent.
Alma refers to the dissident Zoramites, and prays, "O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren"
Alma refers to the dissident Zoramites, and prays, "O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren." (See Alma 31:35). Yet, the Nephites refer to Lamanites, Nephites, and "Mulekites" as their "brethren." (See Mosiah 1:5, Mosiah 7:2-13,Alma 24:7-8). Clearly, the Zoramites are a mixed group of those who immigrated from Palestine and 'others.'
Mormon also mentions another "people who were in the land Bountiful" near the narrow neck that Moroni worries will ally themselves with Nephite enemies (See Alma 52:32).
Demographically, much more is going on here than the critics' skimming of the text reveals.
Response to claim: 8 - The "skin of blackness" is occasionally removed from the Lamanites when they are righteous, and returns to the Lamanites when they become unrighteous
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The "skin of blackness" is occasionally removed from the Lamanites when they are righteous, and returns to the Lamanites when they become unrighteous.Author's sources: No source given
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim contains propaganda - The author, or the author's source, is providing information or ideas in a slanted way in order to instill a particular attitude or response in the reader
Presentism or anachronism: the author (like many members) reads the text through modern lenses, instead of as an ancient document.
Question: What was the Lamanite curse?
The Book of Mormon talks of a curse being placed upon the Lamanites
And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them. 2 Nephi 5꞉21
It is claimed by some that the Church believed that Lamanites who accepted the Gospel would become light-skinned, and that "Mormon folklore" claims that Native Americans and Polynesians carry a curse based upon "misdeeds on the part of their ancestors."
One critic asks, "According to the Book of Mormon a dark skin is a curse imposed by God on the unrighteous and their descendants as a punishment for sin. Do you agree with that doctrine? (Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 12:22-23, Alma 3:6, 2 Nephi 5:21-22, Jacob 3:8, 3 Nephi 2:15-16, Mormon 5:15; references to the "Lamanites" are taken to be referring to Native American "Indians".)" [6]
Although the curse of the Lamanites is often associated directly with their skin color, it may be that this was intended in a far more symbolic sense than modern American members traditionally assumed
The curse itself came upon them as a result of their rejection of the Gospel. It was possible to be subject to the curse, and to be given a mark, without it being associated with a change in skin color, as demonstrated in the case of the Amlicites. The curse is apparently a separation from the Lord. A close reading of the Book of Mormon text makes it untenable to consider that literal skin color was ever the "curse." At most, the skin color was seen as a mark, and it may well have been that these labels were far more symbolic and cultural than they were literal.
Response to claim: 8 - The Book of Mormon links the color of a person's skin to morality
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The Book of Mormon links the color of a person's skin to morality.Author's sources: *2 Nephi 5꞉21
- Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, March 1835
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim contains propaganda - The author, or the author's source, is providing information or ideas in a slanted way in order to instill a particular attitude or response in the reader
Presentism or anachronism: the author (like many members) reads the text through modern lenses, instead of as an ancient document. Parts of the Book of Mormon directly repudiate this attitude (e.g., Jacob 3꞉8-9).Response to claim: 9 - The Book of Mormon promotes the view that the "white race" is superior
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The Book of Mormon promotes the view that the "white race" is superior.Author's sources: No source given.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim contains propaganda - The author, or the author's source, is providing information or ideas in a slanted way in order to instill a particular attitude or response in the reader
Presentism or anachronism: the author (like many members) reads the text through modern lenses, instead of as an ancient document. Parts of the Book of Mormon directly repudiate this attitude (e.g., Jacob 3꞉8-9, 2 Nephi 26꞉33).Response to claim: 10 - In 1966 the Book of Abraham papyri were discovered
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
In 1966 the Book of Abraham papyri were discovered.Author's sources: *Charles M. Larson, By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri, 2nd ed., (Grand Rapids, MI: Institute for Religious Research, 1992), no pg. given.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources
Actually, fragments of the papyri were discovered.Response to claim: 10 - The translation of the papyri does not resemble the Book of Abraham
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The translation of the papyri does not resemble the Book of Abraham.Author's sources: *Larson, 1992
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim is based upon correct information - The author is providing knowledge concerning some particular fact, subject, or event
Hugh Nibley announced this in the Church magazine within two months of the papyri being given to the Church.
Question: Was the Church forthright in identifying the rediscovered papyri prior to their examination by non-LDS Egyptologists?
The January 1968 issue of the Improvement Era demonstrates that the Church was very forthright about this issue
The Church announced that the fragments contained a funerary text in the January 1968 Improvement Era (the predecessor to today's Ensign magazine). Of the 11 fragments, one fragment has Facsimile 1, and the other 10 fragments are funerary texts, which the Church claimed from the moment the papyri were rediscovered. There is no evidence that the Church has ever claimed that any of the 10 remaining fragments contain text which is contained in the Book of Abraham.
The critics are telling us nothing new when they dramatically "announce" that the JSP contain Egyptian funerary documents. The Church disseminated this information as widely as possible from the very beginning.
The timeline of events
A review of the time-line of the papyri demonstrates that the Church quickly publicized the nature of the JSP in the official magazine of the time, The Improvement Era.
There were 11 fragments discovered and given to the church. The Church was very quick in releasing this information to the membership and the world.
- November 27, 1967
- Church receives papyri.
- December 10–11, 1967
- Deadline to submit material for the January 1968 Improvement Era.
- December 26–31, 1967
- January 1968 Improvement Era issue mailed to subscribers.[7]
- February 1968
- Another fragment was discovered in the Church historian's files, and publicized in the February 1968 Improvement Era.[8]
Cover of the January 1968 issue of the Improvement Era, the Church's official magazine of the time. Note the color photograph of the recovered Facsimile 1.
Response to claim: 10 - The denial of the priesthood to the Blacks was based upon the Book of Abraham
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The denial of the priesthood to the Blacks was based upon the Book of Abraham.Author's sources: *No source given.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources
- History unclear or in error: The use of Abraham as a proof text was a relatively late development.
- Blacks and the priesthood—Origin of the priesthood ban
- LDS scripture and the priesthood ban
Response to claim: 10-11 - The Church publicly taught racist principles in the 1950's
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* The Church publicly taught racist principles in the 1950's.Author's sources: *Mark E. Petersen, "Race Problems—As They Affect the Church," Talk given at Brigham Young University on Aug. 27, 1954
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources
Some leaders taught ideas that would now be seen as racist. Others did not.- Author(s) impose(s) own fundamentalism on the Saints
Logical Fallacy: Tu Quoque/Appeal to Hypocrisy—The author tries to discredit the validity of someone's position by asserting their failure to act consistently.
The author is determined to represent LDS leaders as either bumbling, ill-informed, manipulative, or overwhelmed. The author never acknowledges that the LDS do not believe in infallibility in their leaders. The author finally admits on p. 205 that there is no official geography—why, then, does he bother to reiterate the views of various leaders as if this were some kind of problem? Since even he agrees there is no official geography, what difference does it make if members and leaders are of differing views, or if they even change their minds?Response to claim: 11 - The 1978 revelation allowing all men to hold the priesthood came in response to "public pressure" -
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
The 1978 revelation allowing all men to hold the priesthood came in response to "public pressure."Author's sources: No source given.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources
Social and public pressure was low at the time.
Priesthood ban |
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Native Americans |
Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?
Social pressure was actually on the decline after the Civil Rights movement and coordinated protests at BYU athletic events ceased in 1971
Jan Shipps, a Methodist scholar and celebrated scholar of Mormon history and culture, considers it factual that "this revelation came in the context of worldwide evangelism rather than domestic politics or American social and cultural circumstances." She wrote:
A revelation in Mormondom rarely comes as a bolt from the blue; the process involves asking questions and getting answers. The occasion of questioning has to be considered, and it must be recalled that while questions about priesthood and the black man may have been asked, an answer was not forthcoming in the ‘60s when the church was under pressure about the matter from without, nor in the early ‘70s when liberal Latter-day Saints agitated the issue from within. The inspiration which led President Kimball and his counselors to spend many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple pleading long and earnestly for divine guidance did not stem from a messy situation with blacks picketing the church’s annual conference in Salt Lake City, but was "the expansion of the work of the Lord over the earth." [9]
Gospel Topics: "Church authorities encountered faithful black and mixed-ancestry Mormons who had contributed financially and in other ways to the building of the São Paulo temple, a sanctuary they realized they would not be allowed to enter"
"Race and the Priesthood," Gospel Topics (2013):
Brazil in particular presented many challenges. Unlike the United States and South Africa where legal and de facto racism led to deeply segregated societies, Brazil prided itself on its open, integrated, and mixed racial heritage. In 1975, the Church announced that a temple would be built in São Paulo, Brazil. As the temple construction proceeded, Church authorities encountered faithful black and mixed-ancestry Mormons who had contributed financially and in other ways to the building of the São Paulo temple, a sanctuary they realized they would not be allowed to enter once it was completed. Their sacrifices, as well as the conversions of thousands of Nigerians and Ghanaians in the 1960s and early 1970s, moved Church leaders.[10]—(Click here to continue)
Did President Jimmy Carter threaten the Church's tax-exempt status because of their policy on blacks and the priesthood?
President Carter had a brief meeting with President Kimball, Representative Gunn McKay, and Representative Jim Santini on 11 March 1977 at the White House
On March 11, 1977 at 12:03 pm President Carter met with Spencer W. Kimball, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Representative Gunn McKay (D-Utah), and Representative Jim Santini (D-Nevada) for approximately 20 minutes in the White House.[11] This meeting, noted in President Carter's White House diary, is popularly rumored among ex-Mormons to be the meeting in which Carter threatened the Church with a rescinding of the Church's tax-exempt status over the issue of the priesthood ban.
An image of a page from President Jimmy Carter's White House diary for the day of 11 March 1977 showing a meeting with President Spencer W. Kimball. The Daily Diary of President Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Carter Library & Museum off-site
President Carter visited Salt Lake City on November 27 1978 for program in the Salt Lake Tabernacle
One ex-Mormon on the Recovery from Mormonism message board claimed to have located an "the actual photograph" of the 11 March 1977 meeting on LDS.org! [12] That photograph, however, is actually of a meeting in the Tabernacle on November 27, 1978.
President Kimball presents U.S. President Jimmy Carter with statue, Salt Lake Tabernacle, November 27, 1978. Photo located on https://www.lds.org/churchhistory/presidents/controllers/potcController.jsp?leader=12&topic=multimedia#
This meeting was documented in the January 1979 Ensign:
Two presidents saluted the family as one of life’s greatest institutions at a special November 27 program in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, culminating National Family Week in the United States.
Before a capacity crowd, with national and international television cameras whirring, President Spencer W. Kimball urged his listeners to recognize the family as "our chief source of physical, emotional, and moral strength." He presented United States President Jimmy Carter with a bronze statuette depicting the family circle. The miniature of a father, mother, and child is based on the original work by Utah sculptor Dennis Smith, Circle of Love, one of the pieces in the Relief Society monument to women in Nauvoo. [13]
President Kimball wrote a letter to President Carter in May 1977 to present a copy of Carter's genealogy
President Kimball wrote a letter to President Carter in May 1977, only two months after the March 11 meeting:
W. Don Ladd, Regional Representative of the Twelve, and Thomas E. Daniels of the Genealogical Department of the Church presented a family tree and a leather-bound volume of genealogical information on the Carter family to the President on 31 May.The book included a letter to President Carter from President Spencer W. Kimball, in which he spoke of the Latter-day Saints’ "deep reverence and gratitude for our ancestors, which in turn gives us greater sense of responsibility to our posterity."
President Carter found the Church’s research "very exciting to me," and he said, "I look forward to studying the chart. This is an area of knowledge I’ve never had." The two-inch thick volume included several 8-by-10-inch pedigree charts and family group sheets, along with a research summary of each line researched and what was still missing from those lines. This is the first time the Church has ever given such a gift to a president of the United States. [14]
The allegation that the LDS church's tax-free status was threatened in 1978 seems to have originated prior to 1988, and resurfaced in 2001
On June 2, 1988, the Chicago Tribune quoted "critics" of the Church as speculating that Kimball's meeting with Carter involved the threat of the Church losing its tax exemption. The Tribune quotes Ogden Kraut, whom they stated was an "an excommunicated Mormon fundamentalist writer-photographer":
Despite church claims that the change came from revelation, critics say the move was pure business, that the Mormons wanted to expand further into black Third World countries and would not be able to do so as long as blacks were discriminated against, and that the Mormon church, the fastest growing mainstream church in the U.S., stood to lose its tax-exempt status for discriminating against blacks.
``We were told by a secretary in the church that Spencer Kimball spent 36 minutes talking to President (Jimmy) Carter, and shortly thereafter, the so-called `revelation` came down,`` said Ogden Kraut, an excommunicated Mormon fundamentalist writer-photographer.
Fundamentalist Mormons take the Bible and the Book of Mormon literally, and insist that God doesn`t make revelations to earthlings, Kraut said.
``My belief is that it was the expedient thing to do. The church didn`t want to lose its exemption,`` Kraut said. [15]
The claim resurfaced in 2001 when a claim that the federal government had threatened to revoke the Church's tax-exempt status back in 1978 was made by a woman named Kathy Erickson in a letter to the Salt Lake Tribune on March 11, 2001. Erickson stated,
Gainful Revelation Date: March 11, 2001
What’s done is done. There no longer is any prejudice against blacks in the Mormon church, the power of money took care of that. Back in 1978 the federal government informed the LDS Church that unless it allowed blacks full membership (including the priesthood) they would have to cease calling themselves a non-profit organization and start paying income taxes. On $16.5 million a day in tithing alone that’s a lot of tax monies that could be better used in building up the Kingdom of God.
The church immediately saw the error of its ways and the brethren appealed to God for a revelation; it came quickly. God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform, and today The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has nothing but love for all races of people on Earth."[16]
A representative of the Church Public Affairs department responded:
Distorted History Thursday, April 5, 2001
It's one thing to distort history, quite another to invent it. Kathy Erickson (Forum, March 11) claims that the federal government threatened The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with its tax-exempt status in 1978 because of the church's position regarding blacks and the priesthood.
We state categorically that the federal government made no such threat in 1978 or at any other time. The decision to extend the blessings of the priesthood to all worthy males had nothing to do with federal tax policy or any other secular law. In the absence of proof, we conclude that Ms. Erickson is seriously mistaken.
BRUCE L. OLSEN Public Affairs Department The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [17]
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Notes
- ↑ Wilford Woodruff, Conference Report (October 1897), 18-19.
- ↑ Neil L. Andersen, "Trial of Your Faith," Ensign (November 2012).
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, "Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet," Ensign (June 1981).
- ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56), 203.
- ↑ An alternate explanation is that the Amulonites have also assimilated their own client peoples, increasisng their numbers. This is suggested in John L. Sorenson, "When Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land Did They Find Others There?," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1/1 (1992). [1–34] link
- ↑ Richard Abanes, Becoming Gods: A Closer Look at 21st-Century Mormonism (Harvest House Publishers: 2005). 73, 367 n.138. ( Index of claims ); Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 43. ( Index of claims );Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults (Revised) (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1997), 193, 235. ( Index of claims );Richard Packham, "Questions for Mitt Romney," 2008.;Simon Southerton, Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 2004) 40, 184. ( Index of claims )
- ↑ Jay M. Todd, "Egyptian Papyri Rediscovered," Improvement Era (January 1968), 12–16.
- ↑ Jay M. Todd, "New Light on Joseph Smith's Egyptian Papyri: Additional Fragment Disclosed," Improvement Era (February 1968), 40.; Jay M. Todd, "Background of the Church Historian's Fragment," Improvement Era (February 1968), 40A–40I.
- ↑ Jan Shipps, "The Mormons: Looking Forward and Outward" Christian Century (Aug. 16-23, 1978), 761–766 off-site
- ↑ "Race and the Priesthood," Gospel Topics (2013)
- ↑ The Daily Diary of President Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Carter Library & Museum off-site
- ↑ "According to the President Carter Library," posted by "CLee the Anti-Mormon," 8 February 2006.
- ↑ "Church Honors President Carter’s Support of the Family," Ensign (January 1979)
- ↑ "Church Give Genealogy to President Jimmy Carter," Ensign (August 1977).
- ↑ Lance Gurwell, "Critics Still Question `Revelation` On Blacks," Chicago Tribune, June 02, 1988.
- ↑ Kathy Erickson, letter to the Salt Lake Tribune, 11 March 11, 2001.
- ↑ Bruce L. Olsen, cited in Salt Lake Tribune on 5 April 2001.
Response to claim: 12 - Many General Authorities believed that the priesthood prohibition would remain in place until Christ's return
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
Many General Authorities believed that the priesthood prohibition would remain in place until Christ's return.Author's sources: *No source given.
FAIR's Response
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Response to claim: 12 - Passages in the Book of Mormon were rewritten to "tone down references to skin color"
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
Passages in the Book of Mormon were rewritten to "tone down references to skin color."Author's sources: *2 Nephi 30꞉6
FAIR's Response
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Response to claim: 12 - LDS scripture states that those with lighter skin color "are favored because of what they did as spirits in a pre-earth life"
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
LDS scripture states that those with lighter skin color "are favored because of what they did as spirits in a pre-earth life."Author's sources: *No source given.
FAIR's Response
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Notes