The Truth About "The God Makers," 15

"lf Mormonism is really what it claims to be, then the entire human race ought to submit to the authoritarian claims of The Brethren."

To the contrary, LDS doctrine speaks against authoritarian rule. "The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and. . . the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness." There must be no authoritarianism, only persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and pure love (D&C 121:36, 39, 41).

The book never mentions that common consent is a right that each member of the Church may exercise (D&C 26:2; 41:9; 42:11). See comments about page 93, line 2 and Page 28, line II for earlier discussion.

The LDS Church has behind it the power of God, and deems freedom of choice a sacred right. The Church might be considered authoritative, but not authoritarian.

If Mormonism really what it claims to be, then the entire human race ought to submit to the authoritarian claims of The Brethren and thereby hasten the return of the Mormon 'Messiah.'"

The book charges that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot be worshipping the biblical Christ, because they really are worshipping a satanic Mormon "Christ," even though Latter-day Saints claim to worship the real Savior of the world.

If Mormons claimed that everyone else but Latter-day Saints were worshipping a Catholic or a Baptist "Christ," then the authors and the entire Christian world would really have something to protest. Yet the authors somehow feel it is their right to emphatically state that the Monnon "Messiah" is not the real Christ. Their assertion shows an authoritarian attitude.

"God. . . will make me to be god to you in His stead, and the Elders to be mouth to me; and if you don't like it, you must lump it."

Here the authors quote Joseph Smith from History of the Church, but the omission of words changes the meaning. The actual account is: "God made Aaron to be the mouthpiece for the children of Israel and He will make me be god to you in His stead . . . ." Joseph Smith is paraphrasing the incident from Exodus where God told Moses He would give him Aaron for a spokesman.

In his talk Joseph Smith said, "My lungs are worn out," indicating that he was exhausted from speaking. Therefore, as the text explains, Joseph compared himself to Moses, who was given Aaron for a spokesman.

In the biblical account the Lord said to Moses, "He shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God" (Ex. 4:16). In other words, as Aaron spoke, Moses could correct him if he said anything wrong, just as God could tell his prophet Moses what to say. Moses by the same token could tell Aaron what to say, and in a figurative way Moses was as God to Aaron.

Joseph Smith, using this Exodus expression, now introduced another church leader to the congregation and said, "I have been giving Elder Adams instruction in some principles to speak to you, and if he makes a mistake, I will get up and correct him" (HC 6:319-320).

The audience would, of course, have been disappointed hearing from a substitute speaker when they came to hear Joseph Smith. He had spoken for hours to an audience of several thousand the day before. In his weariness, Joseph then turned over the speaking assignment to an aide and said to the audience, "If you don't like it, you can lump it." (I suppose Joseph said this humorously.) None of this background is mentioned by the authors.

"The list of proven false prophecies beginning with Joseph Smith on down is ... staggering."

The footnote refers to two anti-Mormon sources which give a handful of alleged "false prophecies." I examine these at the points where they appear elsewhere in The God Makers.

"Joseph Smith used his 'seer stone' to prophesy, but it has never been used by any Mormon 'Prophet' since."

How do the authors know it has not been used? Why do the authors ignore the biblically mentioned Urim and Thummim that we know for sure was used by Joseph Smith in receiving some of the Doctrine and Covenants revelations, as well as in translating the Book of Mormon? Since he possessed a seer stone, it is likely that Joseph Smith used it. Most of the first LDS prophet's revelations, however, came by inspiration, although some were the result of direct visitations by heavenly messengers. It is the same today. See comments about page 95, lines 35-37, for earlier discussion. Perhaps the Urim and Thummim and the seer stone are devices for training seers. Joseph's successors perhaps had sufficient spiritual instruction and experience before being called as prophets to be seers without the stones.

"How do Mormon 'prophets' prophesy? The astonishing answer to that is that they don't."

At the dedication of the Washington, D.C., temple in 1974, President Kimball was asked by a reporter if he still revived revelations. President Kimball said, "Indeed I do. Indeed I do." When Presided Kimball was asked more specifically by a reporter at the 1975 rededication of the Arizona temple, "How do you receive revelations?" his reply was, "I receive them the same as Moses and the other prophets" (Church News, March 22, 1975, p. 3).

Before he became the twelfth president of the LDS Church, Spencer W. Kimball said the following:

What the world needs is a prophet-leader who gives example— clean, full of faith, godlike in his attitudes with an untarnished name, a beloved husband, a true father.

A prophet needs to be more than a priest or a minister or an elder. His voice becomes the voice of God to reveal new programs, new truths, new solutions. I make no claim of infallibility for him, but he does need to be recognized of God, an authoritative person. He is no pretender as numerous are who presumptuously assume position without appointment and authority that is not given. He must speak like his Lord: ". . . as one having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matt. 7:29.)

He must be bold enough to speak truth even against popular clamor for lessening restrictions. He must be certain of his divine appointment, of his celestial ordination, and his 'authority to call to service, to ordain, to pass keys which fit eternal locks ...

What is needed is more a Moses than a Pharaoh; an Elijah than a Belshazzar; a Paul than a Pontius Pilate (Conference Report, April 1970, pp. 120-121).

The authors quote: "Excluding the Manifesto and the statement (not a revelation) on blacks, only three of [the twelve LDS] Presidents received revelations which were added to the 'standard works' [LDS scripture]."

1. Earlier the book was critical because some of the theology of Mormonism developed gradually and was not all in place the day the LDS Church was organized; now the complaint is that there is no new revelation. "The formative period was during Joseph Smith's administration, so that later there was little need for additional revelation in the area of doctrmal development.

2. Although the Manifesto and the statement that every worthy male (blacks) could hold the priesthood were additions to the Doctrine and Covenants and in the form of official declarations, both Wilford Woodruff and Spencer W. KimbaH emphatically said they were based on revelation.

3. There has always been a time lag between the time a revelation is received by a prophet and the time it appears in a printed volume of scripture. For example, Joseph F. Smith received in 1918 a revelation on redemption for the dead, but it was not canonized until 1974, and is now known as Section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants. At the same time, another revelation oi Joseph Smith's was added to the D&C as Section 137, this one received in 1836 concerning salvation for the dead in relation to the celestial kingdom. Other revelations that were received by Joseph Smith or any of the prophets could be added in the future.

4. In LDS doctrine, revelations do not need to be canonized to be considered authentic.

5. Six volumes called Messages of the First Presidency compiled by James R. Clark were published between 1965 and 1975 which contain policy statements and letters by the First Presidency. Included in these volumes are revelations .and statements based on revelation up to the year 1951. (Further volumes in this series are expected.)

6. A partial list of uncanonized revelations in the LDS Church follows (sources will be abbreviated):

Classic Stories	Classic Stories from the Lives of Our Prophets, by Leon Hartshorn.
Essentials	Essentials in Church History, by Joseph Fielding Smith.
HC	History of the Church, by Joseph Smith (commonly referred to as the Documentary History of the Church.)
IE	Improvement Era.
JD	Journal of Discourses (various authors).
Messages	Messages of the First Presidency, by James R. Clark, 6 vols.
Presidents	Presidents of the Church, by Preston Nibley.
Profiles	Profiles of the Presidents, by Emerson West.

Date received	Topic	Source Reference
1844	Transfiguration of Brigham Young as seen by many Saints	HC 7:236 JD 23:363,364 (John Taylor)
February 17, 1846	Joseph Smith appears to Brigham Young.	Wilford Woodruff, Deseret Weekly News, 53:21
July 24, 1847	"This is the place" revelation to Brigham Young	Brigham Young, the Man and His Work, p. 99, JD 16:207 (Erastus Snow).
August 29, 1877	President Young's last words.	Essentials, p. 459
1877	Signers of the Declaration of Independence appear to Wilford Woodruff	JD 19:229 (Wilford Woodruff)
October 13, 1882	Call of Heber J. Grant.	IE 22:97-99 (December 1918), Classic Stories, 208-212. Message 2:347-349.
April 14, 1883	The role of Seventies refined.	Messages 2:354
November 24, 1889	The Lord answers Wilford Woodruff's prayers concerning the wrongs of the courts and government.	Messages 3:175
1890	Revelations to Wilford Woodruff supporting the Manifesto	Deseret News, Nov. 7, 1891. Messages 3:221-228.
April 18, 1894	The Law of Adoption giving sealing procedures to Wilford Woodruff.	Messages 3:251
1898	These should be no more lengthy apostolic interregnums in the Church, revealed to Lorenzo Snow by the Lord in person.	LeRoi C. Snow, "An Experience of My Father's," IE 36:677. Classic Stories, 147-149.
1899	Tithing reemphasized to Lorenzo Snow in St. George, Utah.	Classic Stories, 149. LeRoi C. Snow, "The Lord's Way out of Bondage, IE 41: 400-401, 439-42.
1909-1912	His grandfather appeared to George Albert Smith in a dream.	Sharing the Gospel, by George Albert Smith, 110-112. Classic Stories, 238-9. Profiles, 252-253.
1915	Family Home Evening program started by Joseph F. Smith	IE, December 1964, 1079.
April 20, 1935	Calling of Harold B. Lee as managing director of Church Welfare programs.	Ensign, January 1973, 104
1936	Start of welfare program by Heber J. Grant.	Messages 6:9
1947	George Albert Smith told mission presidents to have counsellors. "In 1947 when George Albert Smith was Prsident of the Church, there came a revelation to the Church..."	Speeches of the Year, by Spencer W. Kimball, BYU, Jan. 13, 1967.

"Ask any Mormon to name the three most important prophecies uttered by the current 'Prophet, Seer and Revelator,' Spencer W. Kimball, and he won't be able to mention one. "

Can anyone mention right off the three most important prophecies of any of the prophets in the Bible? This is not to say it can't be done, but the point is that the main function of a prophet is to teach the will of God, to call God's children to repentance, and to inspire the people as the prophet Mkah did when he said, "What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8).

The original meaning of the word "prophet" was "teacher of righteousness. " The ability to foretell and receive revelation were concepts added later. A prophet can be a prophet without ever making a prediction.

One of the most scholarly and reliable sources of biblical interpretation states that a prophet is "the one who announces the purpose and activity of God" (The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible [1962], Abingdon Press, New York, Vol. 3, p. 897). Another respected source says "The [biblical] prophet was primarily a man of the word of God" and all other prophetic functions were "subordinated to bringing the word of God to his fellow-men" {The New Bible Dictionary [1974], Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p. 1038).

In this section the book talks about the lack of prophecy and revelations in the LDS Church in recent times. Every LDS prophet from Joseph Smith to the present prophet has, however, received revelations from God. (See previous item.) In addition, faithful Church members recognize that every significant change made by President Spencer W. Kimball was undoubtedly based on revelation. See the accompanying tabulation.

1. Revelation. The revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy males regardless of race or color (June 8, 1978).

2. First Quorum of the Seventy. Organization of the First Quorum of the Seventy, later releasing the Assistants to the Twelve and calling them into the First Quorum of the Seventy.

3. New scripture. The adoption as scripture of Joseph Smith's vision of the celestial kingdom and Joseph F. Smith's vision of the redemption of the dead. This was the first formal addition to the Church's body of scripture in eighty-six years. Also, the new LDS edition of the King James version of the Bible (1979) and the Triple Combination (1981). The adding of the subtitle to the Book of Mormon—"Another Testament of Jesus Christ."

4. Conferences. Elimination of auxiliary general conferences, replacing them with regional meetings and area conferences. Reducing general conference from three to two days. Eliminating two of the stake quarterly conferences.

5. Genealogy. The genealogy name-extraction program, under which Church members meet their obligations by completing four generation group sheets, with names collected far more efficiently for temple work by extracting them directly from civil and church records.

6. Temples. Announcement or commencement of twenty-five temples, more than the seventeen built in the preceding 144 years of Church history.

7. Simplificatwn. Besides refining conference schedules, establishment of a new consolidated meeting schedule for all Church members.

8. Emeritus status. Creation of an emeritus status for some General Authorities, honoring them for long and faithful service, but relieving them of the heavy burdens they had been carrying.

9. Missionary. A vast increase in missionary emphasis, with special attention and prayer given the three-quarters of the world's population where no missionary work is now being done. The number of missionaries increased 40 percent to 30,000, with a challenge to double that number by increasing the percentage of eligible young men serving missions from 25 percent to 50 percent.

10. Organizational changes. Profound organizational changes at the top, clearly dividing ecclesiastical responsibilities under the Twelve from temporal responsibilities under the Presiding Bishopric, clarifying the role and administration of the youth organizations, redefining roles of the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Quorum of the Seventy. Thirteen new area presidencies organized in 1984.

11. Women's concerns. Strong attention to the problems of women in today's world including official statements on abortion and the proposed "Equal Rights Amendment"; organization of a Women's Resource Center, and the holding of the first Churchwide women's meeting on a scale comparable to general priesthood meeting. More attention is being given to single women.

12. Mass media. Introduction of mass media methods of spreading the gospel, including a nationwide prime-time television program on the family, a series of inserts in the Reader's Digest, and a number of family-emphasis rallies featuring Church leaders and LDS celebrities in entertainment and sports. Satellite dishes are installed in every stake center in the USA and Canada to receive conference broadcasts and other special programs from Church headquarters. Radio and TV public service announcements on the home are prepared for national use.

13. Jerusalem. Building of the Orson Hyde Memorial Gardens on the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem, attracting attention to the Church's particular interest and involvement in that part of the world, and establishing a Jerusalem center for Near-eastern studies for Brigham Young University.

"There is no evidence that Heber C. Kimball made any prophecies that came true."

Of Heber C. Kimball's prophecies the one that is best documented was fulfilled in 1849 when the LDS pioneers had struggled for two years in Utah and some were ready to return to the East. At that time, "Heber C. Kimball rose before the Saints to prophecy that they would soon be able to buy eastern goods cheaper on their own streets than they could in the East."

Even some of the most faithful shook their heads. However, within weeks thousands of "forty-niners" began passing thiough the Salt Lake Valley on their way to the gold fields of California (Leonaid 1. Arrington and Davis Bitton, The Mormon Experience, p. 105). Many of those traveling to California were businessmen who had brought with them tons of merchandise that they hoped to sell for a handsome profit on the West Coast. By the time they arrived in Salt Lake City, they realized their wagons were too overloaded for the trip across the Sierras. Word also arrived that other merchants had chartered entire ships with merchandise that was in the San Francisco area waiting to be sold. Arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, these entrepreneurs sold all they could at rock bottom prices and then hastened on to California to seek gold.

"[LDS] criticism against Catholics and Protestants for not adding to the canon of Scripture applies equally to itself, and by its own doctrines condemn it as apostate."

There is a big difference between not adding new revelations for nearly two thousand years and the LDS practice of canonizing scripture from time to time. To Latter-day Saints, the messages of the prophet at general conference and in Church periodicals are considered comparable to similar canonized scripture.

When Joseph F. Smith was asked at a U.S. Senate hearing if he received revelations that were subsequently canonized, the book says he stated, "No, sir, none whatever. . . . I have never pretended to nor do I profess to have received revelations."

In the reference the authors give, I couldn't find the material quoted after the ellipses. At least twice in his testimony the sixth President of the LDS Church said he did receive revelations, but there is some confusion in the account. President Smith did say that he had not received a dramatic direct visitation from heaven, but that he knew he was operating by strong promptings of the Spirit. The reader who reads the minutes of the hearing will undoubtedly be moved deeply by the humiliation and rudeness to which President Smith was subjected in many days of questioning by those who were unfriendly and unkind.

The book fails to mention that this hearing was held to try and unseat Utah's elected Senator Reed Smoot for allegedly being a polygamist or supporter of polygamy. The hearing was started in 1904, three years after President Smith had become President of the LDS Church. (See United States Senate Reed Smoot Hearings (1904] 4:181-184.)

Later, President Smith himself presented to the conference of the Church, October 3, 1918, a report on several divine communications he had received concerning the spirit world. On October 31, it was unanimously accepted by the First Presidency and the Twelve, In the April conference of 1974 the revelation was unanimously accepted by the Church, and thus became canonized. It now appears as Section 138 in the Doctrine and Covenants. See also comments about Page 212, lines 19-24 for earlier discussion.

"If Joseph Smith were a true Prophet, it would be expected that the Mormon Church would have widely published his prophecies and gained many converts thereby."

A few possible reasons why the LDS church does not brag about fulfilled prophecies:

1. To want a list of fulfilled prophecies is akin to asking for a sign. "It is a wicked and adulterous generation that seeketh after a sign" (Matt. 16:4; 12:39; Luke 11:29).

2. Those who join a religious cause quickly because of the miraculous are often the first to leave for minor reasons.

3. The LDS Church's emphasis is not on signs but on gospel teachings, repentance, a conviction of Jesus the Christ, and righteous works. A sampling of fulfilled prophecies of Joseph Smith that come to my mind is given in Appendix C.

"{Joseph] Smith's claim that he was ordained by John the Baptist and Peter, James and John cannot be substantiated historically as an actual event."

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, the two people present on the occasion of John the Baptist's appearance, both independently recorded May 15, 1829, as the date. This account of the Aaronic Priesthood restoration by Joseph Smith is found in Joseph Smith—History 1:68-73 in the Pearl of Great Price. Oliver Cowdery's version is included as a footnote on the same page with the verses stated. Latter-day Saints admit there is no known date for the coming of Peter, James and John, but several references are made to the event by Joseph Smith and other Church leaders. See comments about Page 202, lines 12-13 for earlier discussion.

"The saga of [Joseph Smith's] 'First Vision' is a prime example [of countless changes in 'revelations']. "

Actually there are several accounts by Joseph Smith of this vision and they are surprisingly similar, especially when one realizes the accounts were given several years apart, to different audiences and for different purposes. The best source for a treatment of the different accounts is a book by Milton V. Backman, Joseph Smith's First Vision, Bookcraft, Inc., 1980. See accompanying chart for content of the different versions of the First Vision.

Religious excitement of the period			•					•
Joseph's concern for his soul (or future state)	•			•	•	•		•
Disillusionment with various denominations	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Joseph's concern for mankind in general	•
His quest for forgiveness of sin	•
His quest to know which church (if any) was right	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
His searching the scriptures	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
His prayer	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
The strange force of opposition		•	•	•	•			•
Appearance of the light	•	•	•	•			•	•
Appearance of Deity	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
(Two personages)		•	•	•	•	•	•	•
The message: 1. Forgiveness of sins	•	•		•
2. Testimony of Jesus	•	•	•				•
3. Join no church (all were wrong)	•		•	•	•	•	•	•
4. Gospel to be restored	•		•					•
Joseph filled with love	•
Unsuccessful effort to get others to believe the story	•		•					•

Source: James B. Alien, "Eight Contemporary Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision—What Do We Learn From Them?" Improvement Era, Vol. 63 (April 1970), pp. 4-13.

*See chart in connection with Page 218, lines 18-19 for historical setting of these various accounts.

Allen, James B. "The Significance of Joseph Smith's 'First Vision' in Mormon Thought," Dialogue, Vol. I (Autumn 1966), pp. 28-4.5.

Backman, Milton V., Jr., Joseph Smith's First Vision (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980).

Bushman, Richard L„ "The First Vision Story Revived," Dialogue, Vol. 4 (Spring 1969), pp. 82-93.

Cheesman, Paul R„ "An Analysis of the Accounts Relating Joseph Smith's Early Visions." Unpublished master's thesis, Brigham Young University, 1965.

Jessee, Dean C„ "The Early Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision," BYU Studies, 9 (Spring 1969), pp. 275-294. (Other articles in this issue of BYU Studies pertained to this subiect.)

"[There are] countless changes in 'revelations' and personal accounts, effect by the Mormon hierarchy without notice. "

Changes made in revelations and history are not necessarily distortions or falsifications; they may be corrections and filling in information that has come to light.

Books on U.S. history today are completely different from those of years past. Written histories are constantly being revised and update as new information comes to light. The same can be said about religious histories, including that of the Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young both wrote in their diaries, which were later published, that they were making such revisions. There was no a tempt to deny this. Bible and Christian history is constantly updated.

Any new edition of LDS scripture and history is open to examination and any changes arc carefully analyzed, discussed, and publicized by the LDS and non-LDS observers. Probably no history ( scripture anywhere is as closely scrutinized as is that of the LDS Church.

"The following foundational Mormon doctrines are implicit in this {first] vision:

(Each of the subsequent four points made in the book is listed below and followed by the known facts.)

The book says	LDS view
1. "God is a man with a physical body"	It would be closer to LDS doctrine if The God Makers had referred to God as being a glorified, perfected and exalted personage in whose image man was created. Elsewhere the book claimed that the LDS concept of God having a body was a later development.
2. "The Father and the Son are two separate Gods, each with His own holy body."	This is basically true, but Latter-day Saints would add that they are one in purpose.
3. "There had been a total apostasy, leaving all churches in hopeless heresy."	Latter-day Saints claim a fullness of the gospel and believe many other churches contain truths and good basic moral teachings; but regarding saving ordinances (priesthood functions), the LDS Church does claim to have these exclusively as authorized by the Savior.
4. "The Father and Son put in their first and only appearance on earth together in the history of mankind [when they appeared to Joseph Smith]."	If so, then this appearance must be very important. When one realizes the false theology about the Godhead that was current at that time, one can understand why God and Christ would appear—to make clear the separateness of the Godhead. Of course, not all accounts of God's dealings with his children on earth are available. There might have been other such events. Actually, there was a somewhat similar happening at the stoning of the disciple Stephen when "he being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jessus standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55)

"The official account [of the First Vision] that the Church relies on today was not published until 1842, some twenty-two years after it was alleged to have occurred. It is difficult to believe that the most important event in thousands of years and in fact in all of human history would have been kept secret for so long . . .. The First Vision was unknown during those early years when the church was struggling for recognition."

There are five observations that are in order in regard to the foregoing statement: 1. Although the account was not published until 1842, it was written down in its current form in 1838-1839 and there are at least two earlier similar accounts by Joseph Smith, one as early as 1832. See commentary about Page 214, lines 3 and 10 for previous remarks. 2. Twelve years, fifteen years, eighteen years, or even twenty-two years is not a long time for spiritual events to get into print compared to the hundreds of years after the events happened that the Bible was compiled. 3. The First Vision was not "the most important event . . . in all of human history." Christ's ministry and his atonement would rank highest of all events. 4. We can only guess why the First Vision was not recorded earlier. Perhaps the Lord asked for it to be kept secret, as he sometimes asked of his followers during his earthly ministry. Jesus also commanded the apostles not to reveal their experience on the Mount of Transfiguration for a time until after he ascended into heaven (Matt. 17:9; Mark 9:2-9). Joseph Smith recorded that there were "many other things which I cannot write at this time" (JS—History 1:20). 5. Since there are now other primary accounts of the First Vision dating to 1832 and 1835, there is a good chance the story was known earlier in the Church than the book maintains. Earlier documents may yet be found.

"In 1832 the by-then 'Prophet' Joseph Smith claimed a 'revelation' that without the priesthood 'no man can see the face of God, even the father, and live' [DSfC 84:22] . . . How then could Joseph Smith have 'seen God' in 1820?"

The authors omit the first part of the expression, which says, "Without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh" (D&C 84:21). In other words, for a mortal to act in God's name he must have priesthood. These verses are not intended to restrict God in initiating contact with mortals. In other words, with the priesthood restored, God would normally work through those lines of authority, but God or Christ may reveal themselves in any way they wish, as happened to Paul on the road to Damascus when he had his vision (Acts 9). The very next verse (D&C 84:23), in fact, refers to a time when the Lord was planning to show himself to all the people of Israel at once, but they lacked the faith to receive this blessing (Ex. 19:11).

To be gramaticaJly correct the proper referant for "this" is "the power of godliness" and not "priesthood" in D&C 84:20. In other words, the power of godliness transfigures and overshadows a person, not priesthood, or that person cannot endure beholding the face of God.

"The 'Lectures on Faith' . . . declared the father to be 'a personage of Spirit.' The 'Lectures' were incorporated into Mormon scripture in 1835."

1. In referring to God being "a personage of spirit" the "Lectures on Faith" did not mean "only" spirit, but were merely emphasizing the separateness of God's personage from Christ's personage. Nowhere does the Bible say God is only spirit, but John 4:24 says, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him moat worship him in spirit and in truth." Humans who worship God do so while possessing mortal bodies. Yet if persons must worship God in spirit, we cannot conclude God is only spirit any more than we can say man is only spirit. The full statement in the lectures seems to support this: "They are the Father and the Son—the Father being a personage of spirit, glory, and power, possessing all perfection and fullness." The Bible makes clear that Christ had a resurrected body when he ascended into heaven and that Christ is in "the express image of [the Father's] person" (Luke 24:39; Heb. 1:13). It certainly is logical that when the lectures state God the Father possessed all "perfection and fullness," they are not describing God as having less than Christ with his resurrected body.

2. LDS leaders and scholars have questioned whether Joseph Smith was the author of the Lectures on Faith (Leland H. Gentry, BYU Studies, Fall 1978, pp. 5-19). In any event the Lectures on Faith are not on the same level as the accepted scriptures of the LDS Church.

"And if Smith tied seen Father and Son in two separate bodies in 1820, why would the 'Prophet' in the mid-1830s (in the course of rewriting the entire Bible to correct alleged errors in translation) change Luke10:22 to read (as it still does in the Mormon Inspired Version'), 'that the Son is the Father, and the Father is the Son'? "

The above change in the Bible by Joseph Smith at first glance could mean as the book maintains that God and Christ are the same person. It more logically means that God and Christ are alike and have similar characteristics, the same purposes, etc. Christ also said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9), meaning that they were alike, but not the same. In this sense Joseph Smith altered Luke 10:22.

The interpretation that the Godhead consists of separate beings is correct and is supported by the fact that there are a dozen or more New Testament changes made by Joseph Smith in which he went out of his way to emphasize the separateness of God and Christ; for example: "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work" (John 9:4). Joseph Smith added, "then I go unto the Father." (Italics added.)

Another example, "Whosoever shall revive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me" (Mark 9:37). Joseph Smith's changes on this verse also go out of their way to identify and emphasize that the Father is a separate being: "And whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me only, but him that sent me, even the Father." (Italics added.)

Other such revisions Joseph Smith made emphasizing the separateness of God and Christ are found in Matt. 23:9-10; Luke 9:26; John 1:1, 16, 3:36, 5:34, and 6:44, 65.

When one looks at all of Joseph Smith's changes, not just one, then a proper interpretation of Luke 10:22 can be made. In addition, evidence that the separateness of God and Christ in the First Vision was not an afterthought is brought forth, since Joseph Smith worked on these revisions in the early 1830s.

"The statement by the 'Personages' in this vision that all of the Christian creeds on earth 'were an abomination' 'also doesn't ring true. The Apostles' and Nicene Creeds that were accepted by most Christian churches in 1820 simply state such basics as belief 'in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth ... in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, and resurrected,' etc." .

On page 44, lines 7-8 the authors said, "Christians consider the Bible to be the final authority in everything," and now they defend creeds. The word "Christians" is a generalization, because not all Christians feel this way.

The book quotes parts of the Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed that are somewhat biblical, but omits some things definitely nonbiblical, such as, "Christ is of one substance with the Father," which cannot be found in the Bible.

It should be mentioned that the creeds the Lord was warning Joseph Smith against as abominations undoubtedly included others besides the two mentioned by the authors. For example, if one considers the Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith of the Anglican Church, one will find assumptions not based on scripture, such as:

Joseph Smith's claim that God said the creeds were an abomination is not a unique charge of the LDS founder. Why did the Nicene Creed have to be debated fifty years before it was accepted? Even today many Christian thinkers criticize the creeds. The recent "God-is-dead" movement was largely a result of the frustration many have with Christian creeds. Some atheists claim they do not believe in a god because of the mish-mash found in creeds.

In Joseph Smith's day some of the most prominent Americans were disgusted with the creeds of Christendom. Thomas Jefferson said:

I [Jefferson] am a real Christian, that is to say a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the preachers . . of the gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its author never said or did.

They have compounded from the heathen mysteries a system beyond the comprehension of man of which Jesus, were he to return on earth, would not recognize one feature. . . . It is the speculations of crazy theologians which have made a Babel out of religion (Saul K. Padover, Thomas Jefferson on Democracy, 1939, pp. 122-123).

Writing to S. Hales in 1818, Jefferson wrote: "The truth is that Calvinism has introduced into the Christian religion more new absurdities than its leaders had purged it of old ones" (Ibid., p. 219).

On Jefferson's monument in Washington, D.C., is inscribed: "I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." If his complete quotation were on the monument it would bring out the fact that Jefferson was speaking against the dergy of his day (Ibid., p. 119).

Benjamin Franklin, replying to a letter from Ezra Styles, president of Yale, said shortly before his death:

As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left it to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupt changes (Carl Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin, 1941, p. 777).

The first great work expressing the deistic feeling in America was Thomas Paine's Age of Reason, considered to have generated the greatest stir of any book of its day. It made clear that Paine was not an atheist as some claimed, but a deist because of the tyranny and bigotry he found in the existing churches (Thomas Paine, Age of Reason, 1793, p. 287).

Speaking of the period in America between 1670 and 1830, renowned theologian Paul Tillich has said, "First among the educated classes, then increasingly in the mass of industrial workers, religion lost its 'immediacy,' and it ceased to offer an unquestioned sense of direction and relevance to human living" (Roland N. Stromberg, Religious Liberalism, 1954, p. 1).

Carlyle has said of the Colonial Period: "An age fallen languid and destitute of faith and terrified of skepticism" (Ibid., p. ix).

Of this time Carl L. Becker has said, "What we have to realize is that in those years God was on trial" (Ibid., p. 1).

The impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who being themselves but fallible and uninspired men have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, have established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the earth (Peter H. Odegard, Religion and Politics, 1960, p. 110).

It is also true that in Colonial America only about 5 percent of the population belonged to any church and that those who did come to America for religious reasons did not come here initially to seek freedom of religion except for themselves. This is certainly an indictment against religion in Joseph Smith's day.

Nowhere in the old world at the beginning of American colonization was there anything like religious toleration. . . . It is sad but not surprising to recall that even the religious dissenters who found refuge in America were, with notable exceptions, no more disposed toward toleration than the oppressors of the old world Obid., p. 9).

Historian William Warren Sweet says, "The rise of an intense anticlericalism was another cause of opposition to the churches." Further he relates: "The United States began as a free and independent nation with organized religion at a low ebb" (William Warren Sweet, Religion in the Development of American Culture, 1952, p. 92.).

George Washington, who died only five years before Joseph Smith's birth, commented on a new mode of baptism: "The change from immersion to affusion is a deviation from the original because the Church has fallen by universal custom into neglect" ("George Washington and Freedom of Conscience," Journal of Religion, 1932, Vol. 12, p. 493).

When the Lord said to Joseph Smith that their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that many religious professors were corrupt—"having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof, " this agreed completely with what some of America's greatest minds were saying as well (Joseph Smith—History 1:19).

"Joseph Smith and his family at that time were heavily involved in necromancy and divination, communicating with spirits of the dead and divining the location of buried treasure, which the Bible declares to be an abomination to God in no uncertain terms. What 'God' could this be who has no word of reproof for Joseph's necromancy and divination, yet abominates all biblical creeds? Could that be why the 'truth' that he calls Joseph Smith to 'restore' turns out to be identical to the lie that Satan used to deceive Eve?"

See page 98, lines 35-37 and page 96, line 30 for remarks on divination charges. The previous point (Page 216, lines 11-19) discussed the "creeds are an abomination" charge.

"One of the strangest contradictions in the entire episode of the alleged first Vision is the fact that, having been twice forbidden in this same vision by the Father to join a church, the young 'Prophet' [joins the Methodist church in 1828 in Harmony, Pennsylvania]."

The source the authors use (BYU Studies, Spring 1969, p. 384) is not speaking of Joseph's joining the Methodist church in Harmony at all. The quote deals with a Methodist probationary class that Joseph attended in Palmyra, New York, in 1820, prior to the First Vision, not 1828. It is difficult to see how the authors could have made such a mistake, since the source text a few lines after the quotation they rely upon makes very clear the place and the period.

Before the organization of the LDS Church, Joseph Smith was interested in several religious groups. He admitted he was "somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them" (Joseph Smith—History 1:8).

The second source the authors use in this connection claims that in 1828 Joseph Smith joined the Methodist Church in Harmony. This comes from an anti-LDS source; and the authors do not mention that in the full account it says Joseph's name merely appeared on a classbook and after three days Joseph Smith asked to have it removed. It was removed by the teacher of the class when Joseph did not seek full membership. The story was written fifty-one years after the event. The statement is filled with numerous opinions, all unfriendly to Joseph Smith, and the account also said, "I think in June, 1828 [these events happened]," and "it was a general opinion . . . ." In summary, the source is questionable, and if it is true, it merely states that Joseph's name was on a class roll, which does not signify joining a church.

The two persons who gave the newspaper interview in 1879 were Joseph and Hiel Lewis, cousins of Emma Hale Smith, wife of Joseph Smith. The fact that the Hale family was much opposed to Joseph Smith most of their lives should have some bearing on how the claims are assessed.

The same unfriendly Lewis account, written fifty years after the fact, refers to a "bleeding ghost" instead of Moroni as the messenger who gave Joseph Smith the Book of Mormon plates.

It is more than reasonable to doubt a quote in an anti-Mormon work taken from another anti-Mormon book taken from a fifty-year-after the-fact interview given by hostile witnesses. (For previous comments, see previous item.)

The book now belittles what was then thought to be one of the earliest documents known in LDS history.

Although now known to have been a Mark Hoffman forgery, the authors significantly distorted the Mother Smith letter when most felt it was authentic. This letter was claimed to have been written by Joseph Smith's mother, Lucy, to her sister-in-law, Mary Pierce. The authors depreciate this document because it says, "The Lord . . . has made known his paths to Joseph in dreams . . . and . . . he is able to translate [the gold plates] . . . and he is able to recover these things also in dreams, therefore beware that you do not mock" (Ensign, October, 1982, pp. 72-73).

If authentic, Mother Smith could have used "dreams" and "visions" synonymously as the dictionary and the Book of Mormon do (I Ne. 8:12). There are many possible explanations to her choice of the word dreams, but the most important aspect of this letter would have been that she states her son is translating golden plates with the help of God.

I do not know why the authors put ' 'the gold plates" in brackets in their highly edited version, because in Mother Smith's letter she included these words.

Anti-Mormons, including the authors of The God Makers, have maintained that Joseph Smith made up the Book of Mormon to earn some money, and that when people started believing it, the First Vision, the gold plates, the angel Moroni, priesthood restoration, were all added to strengthen Joseph's claims. This some call the evolutionary theory of Mormonism.

"Perhaps the letter's greatest significance," said Jan Shipps (a respected non-LDS historian and director of the Center for American Studies at Purdue University) "is that it tends to refute the theory that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon as a novel and that he only came to believe it was true after others accepted it as scripture." Said Dr. Shipps, "The letter tends to validate what Joseph Smith said and therefore it is something that will prove a thorn in the side of people trying to prove that the Book of Mormon was a conscious fraud" (George Raine, "LDS Church Releases 1829 Smith Letter," Salt Lake Tribune, August 24, 1982, p. B1).

The letter is addressed to Mrs. Mary Pierce and the handwriting is "definitely that of Lucy Mack Smith," Dean Jessee, a writer and handwriting specialist in the LDS Church Historical Department had said.

Mother Smith writes of the loss, "on account of negligence," of the 116 pages, and then delivers a synopsis of the contents of the lost manuscript. This is information she could only have gleaned by having read the manuscript herself or through word of mouth from her son.

It is my pleasure to inform you of a great work which the Lord has wrought in our family, for He has made His paths known to Joseph in dreams and it pleased God to show him where he could dig to obtain an ancient record engraven upon plates made of pure gold and this he is able to translate. . . .

I want for you to remember that God Himself has given to Joseph that he is able to translate and he is able to recover these things also in dreams therefore beware that you do not mock

"The handwriting is quite good and the writer's prose is relatively smooth, thus dispelling a belief that Lucy was illiterate," said Dr. Shipps and Mr. Jessee (Ibid.).

Lucy Smith described how her family had come to be ostracized in the upstate New York community as the Church was being organized. "Our neighbors generally treat us with contempt ever since it has been noised about what marvels that the Lord has worked," she wrote (Ibid.).

Unfortunately this Mother Smith letter, thought at the time the authors wrote The God Makers to be authentic, would actually have been very supportive of official LDS history. But, as shown, Decker and Hunt distorted it for their purposes. Now, of course, the letter can't be used for or against the Church since it has been declared a forgery.

The forged letter actually includes, "It pleased God to show him where he could dig to obtain an ancient record engraven upon plates made of pure gold and this he is able to translate" (Ibid.).

Actually the early account by Lewis referred to previously in the book on Page 217, line 19, claimed that Joseph Smith met with a "bleeding ghost" to get the plates. Now the authors like the dream "theory," based on the 1982-discovered letter then thought to have been written by Joseph's mother.

Are the authors critical of biblical dreams of Abraham, Joseph in prison, Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, Joseph (husband-to-be of Mary)? See biblical concordance for other dreams that were of God.

The authors often quote anti-LDS sources but neglect one anti-Mormon source that says, "Smith (they affirm) had seen God frequently and personally" (Abner Cole, Palmyra Reflector, February 14, 1831). Even Joseph's enemies were charging that he claimed to see God early in his career. See remarks about Page 215, lines 7-28 for earlier comments. See also accompanying list of early accounts of the First Vision.

THE FIRST VISION
Accounts of the First Vision Written or Published
During Joseph's Life

1831. Abner Cole (Obediah Dogberry) Palmyra Reflector Feb. 14, 1831. "Smith (they affirmed) had seen God frequently and personally."

July to December, 1832. Written by the Prophet Joseph Smith in a Letter Book. This is the first known effort of the Prophet to record the history of the Church.

November 9, 1835. The First Vision was dictated by the Prophet to Warren A. Cowdery as Joseph told the experiences to Robert Matthias. It is written in third person located in the back of Volume A-l of "Manuscript History of Joseph Smith."

November 9, 1835. The above account is also recorded in Joseph's personal 1835—36 diary. But it is changed to the first person.

1839. Joseph began to dictate his history to James Mulholland, his scribe, after his release from the Missouri prison. This became the official history of the Church. It was first published in Times and Seasons, then the Pearl of Great Price, and then, as edited by B. H. Roberts, the History of the Church, 1902.

1840. Orson Pratt, Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records, Edinburg. Pratt wrote this in England as a missionary tract in 1841 and published it in Philadelphia, Pa. This was the first published account of the First Vision.

March 1, 1842. Joseph Smith, The Wentworth Letter, Times and Seasons, Vol. Ill, No. 9, pp. 706-710.

15. Apostles and Prophets Should Continue in the Church (Ephesians 4:11-14)