Joseph Smith Jr., the Mormon Prophet was killed in the Carthage IL jail in June 1844. He had been charged with ordering the destruction of an anti Mormon Newspaper and with illegally ordering out the Nauvoo Militia. Joseph had been charged with crimes a number of times but his lawyers had always able to get him released. Anti-Mormons were determined he would not get away this time. The jail was stormed and Joseph and his brother Hyrum were killed.

Joseph had led several people to believe that they would succeed him. One potential successor was young Joseph, his12 year old son. Most contenders agreed that Joseph Jr. had publicly named his son to follow him. Some spoke of being a guardian till Joseph lll was of age. The meeting that followed Joseph's death was not conclusive. But it toke the traditional vote in which members sustained existing officers in their office.

Brigham Young, the Senior member of the 12 Apostles assumed defacto command, His written directives were signed, Brigham Young, President of the Quorum of 12. As time passed, he identified himself as President. After he had led a significant number of Nauvoo Mormons to "Winter Quarters" near Council Bluffs, he was named president of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Joseph's wife Emma opposed polygamy. She refused to go west with Young. She married a non Mormon, Major Bideman. It is ironic that after the marriage to Emma, the Major fathered an illegitimate child. Emma was a true saint, in my opinion. She raised the Majors illegitimate child while he went to California looking for gold.

Joseph lll grew up in Nauvoo. He was the bartender in the Nauvoo House, the hotel built by his father. He farmed and served as a Justice of the Peace.

A number of Mormon Elders continued to lead local churches in Il and Wisc after Brigham Young and the majority of Mormons left Nauvoo for the west. By 1852 a consensus had grown among these men that they should reorganize the Mormon church with young Joseph as President. The concept was referred to as Lineal Priesthood.

Joseph resisted the invitations to head the group of reorganized Mormons until 1860 when he met with them in Plano IL to accept the presidency. In his acceptance speech, he admitted that he was not familiar with Mormon scriptures and said he had come to them by a power not his own. As far as I know, he never explained that statement. But I think I know what persuaded him to become the Midwest Mormon leader. While researching in the Hancock County courthouse. I found that his farm was sold at public auction on the courthouse steps at the very time he was accepting the RLDS leadership.. Joseph blamed bad weather for his failure as a farmer. I suspect he came to believe that God had sent the bad weather to force him to take up his rightful calling.

Joseph the prophet founded several Mormon communities during his lifetime. Kirtland Ohio, Independence and Far West Missouri and Nauvoo Il. He pictured these towns as new Jerusalems, Young Joseph was urged to follow the footsteps of his father. He settled on a rural section in southern Iowa. He called his new gathering place, Lamoni, after a Book of Mormon king.

So finally we come to my experience with Mormonism. Lamoni was predominately RLDS. It was a town of 1600. The church sponsored college, Graceland, was in Lamoni.There was a small Methodist church, but most of my classmates attended RLDS Sunday School. Lamoni did have one tavern, but the practicing RLDS did not drink.

I remember vividly my first difficulty with RLDS practice. Mormons baptize at the age of 8. I was in a prebaptismal class talking about RLDS tithing. RLDS are expected to contribute 10% of their increased worth. After deducting all necessary living expenses, you pay 10% of what's left over. We lived in a house with no utilities. Dad taught us that electricity and plumbing were luxuries. When I expressed that view in the prebaptismal class, I was told these were necessities. I don't believe I took this up with Dad, but it was the first occasion in which I began to wonder about revealed religion as taught by my Dad and my church.

During my teen years in Lamoni, I accepted my parents religion, but without any real fervor. Church reunions each summer were the most fun. It was kind of like a revival meeting. A large tent was set up for meetings and many people set up family tents nearby. We played volley ball in the afternoons and had campfires after the evening preaching service. Mornings began with a prayer and testimony meeting followed by preaching. Testimonies were personal experiences attesting to the speaker's faith in the RLDS church. Some spoke of being healed. Occasionally there was speaking in tongues and sometimes interpretations given.

I attended Graceland College and graduated from the University of Kansas. My first job was at an electronics firm, in Cedar Rapids Iowa. I met a young lady who lived in an upstairs apartment two houses from mine. A few months later, Phyllis Nelson and I were married.

WE began attending the RLDS church in Cedar Rapids after our first child was born, and a few months later she was baptized.

My experience with the RLDS church is that if you attended the Sunday School and responded to questions, you would soon be asked to teach. A young man in my class asked for information on Mormon polygamy. This started me off on a serious study of Mormon History. I found an RLDS tract for him. It denied that Joseph had anything to do with polygamy and blamed it all on Brigham Young. This had been the position of Young Joseph. He said that his father was a good man, and a good man would not have introduced polygamy. But I found the tract unconvincing and began looking into it deeper. I found that polygamy was first announced officially in Utah and that the church paper in Nauvoo seemed to deny the practice. I noticed that many of the denials didn't mention polygamy, but denied that there was iniquity in Nauvoo. Today, LDS members (that is, the Utah Mormons) justify this apparent deceit by saying that God had given Joseph a revelation commanding him to enter into polygamy, and therefor it was not a sin. So, there was no iniquity in Nauvoo.

I joined the History associations of the LDS and RLDS churches. One of my first discoveries was that my church was wrong regarding the origin of polygamy. I found in the archives in Independence and Salt Lake City the affidavits of women who told of their polygamous marriage to Joseph Smith. I read letters and diaries written by high officials of the RLDS church which implicated Joseph in polygamy. But my church denied that Joseph was responsible for polygamy and accused Brigham Young of being its author.

If you have visited Nauvoo or Independence and visited the church visitors centers you will remember that Joseph was confused by revivals held by competing religions. He wondered which church to join. He said he read James 1:5 which says that if you lack wisdom, ask of God. Joseph said he went to the woods to pray and saw a vision of God and Jesus. They told him that none of the churches were the true church.

The problem with this official first vision story is that it was not published till 17 years after the alleged event. Joseph had told the story to many people previously but it had never been published, even in church papers.. These accounts all differed. Sometimes it was angels who appeared and sometimes Book of Mormon characters.

Then I read Joseph's description of a vision 3 years later. In this description, Joseph said the reason he had prayed in 1823 in his bedroom was to find out if there was a God.

This suggested to me that the 1820 vision in the woods was a fabrication. This was confirmed when I met with a Mormon researcher from Marissa IL., named Wes Walters. He was a Presbyterian minister who had lost parishioners to Mormon missionaries. He devoted much of his adult life to debunking Mormonism. Wes obtained photocopies of newspapers from Western New York for the early 1820's. Wes discovered that there were no revivals in Joseph's home town in 1820, but there were in 1823. This would explain the rationale for what Mormons call the second vision in 1823, but destroys the credibility of the 1820 vision.

I expanded my research to the Mormon scriptures. These include the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith's revelations and the Book of Abraham. RLDS do not recognize the Book of Abraham. Joseph wrote this book after he had acquired an Egyptian mummy. The Mummy wrapping was covered with hieroglyphics. Joseph claimed to be able to read them. He said the hieroglyphics told the story of the biblical Abraham and his visit to Egypt. The Book of Abraham contains this story. Some of these hieroglyphics were reproduced in the churches periodical. Scholars tell us that the hieroglyphics are extacts from the Egyptian "Book of the Dead" and have nothing to do with Abraham. This book was never canonized by the RLDS, but it is accepted by Utah Mormons.

All Mormon sects accept the book of Mormon as a translation of gold plates that record the history of various Jewish groups that came to America. Much of the book is the story of Lehi and his descendants. He and his family were warned to leave Jerusalem before it fell to Babylon about 600 BC. One son was evil and waged war against the righteous members of the family. God cursed them with a red skin. That explains the origin of the American Indians. Jesus appeared to the descendants of Lehi, taught them in much the same language as found in the New Testament, named12 disciples and disappeard. There is an era of good feeling for 200 years, then war resumes. The last of the white descendants of Lehi finished the book of Mormon History and deposited it in a hill near Joseph Smith's home.

I had never really thought much about the Book of Mormon till my pastor told me that God had called me to be a priest. Young RLDS men (and now women) do not attend seminaries and assume they will be automatically ordained. You become a member of the RLDS priesthood when a pastor feels he has been inspired by God to call you to the priesthood.

After serious study, I told the Pastor that I did not accept the Book of Mormon as the real history of ancient Americans, and he agreed that I should not be ordained a priest. He is dead now. I wish I had asked him how it was that God had called me to be a Priest but didn't know my position of the Book of Mormon.

Several things that persuaded me that the Book of Mormon was bogus. Joseph said it was written in reformed Egyptian to conserve space. I don't believe any form of Egyptian is more compact than Hebrew.

There are many reports of how Joseph translated the plates. His Wife Emma transcribed some of it. She said she never saw the gold plates. They were covered by a towel. Joseph put a stone in his hat and buried his face in the hat. Emma said that she transcribed as he dictated without reference notes.

Joseph only said the book was translated by the gift and power of God. Early references to the artifacts of translation mentioned interpreters. Three years after the fact, a Mormon writer suggested that the interpreters might be have been the Biblical Urim and thummim. These devices are mentioned in the Old Testament as tools for divining. Joseph liked this suggestion and in later editions of the Mormon revelations, the Urim and Thummim were identified as the interpreters.

But there is internal evidences that the Book of Mormon is a modern book. Alexander Campbell, the founder of the Christian Church, stated that the Book of Mormon addressed all the problems that were discussed during the religious controversies of the early 1800's.

The Book of Mormon includes many chapters copied verbatim from the writing of Isaiah. The Book of Mormon says that Lehi brought the book of Isaiah with him when he fled Jerusalem. According to all but very conservative scholars and Mormons, some of the quoted material was written by second and third Isaiah well after the fall of Jerusalem. These scholars say that the book of Isaiah that we know was written by three men over several centuries. This being the case, the Book of Mormon should not have the material from the later writers.

The Book of Mormon tells a secondary story of another immigration to America. This one is supposed to have come about when the people's languages were confused following the building of the Tower of Babel. I have always considered the tower of Babel to be one of the fabulous tales in Genesis. But if you believe in the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, you have to accept this rather unlikely event as being true. These travelers crossed the ocean in a fully enclosed ship. When they needed air, they could open a door in the top and bottom (Ether 1:500.) The interior of the barge was illuminated by a stone that God had touched with his finger.

One of the most potent argument against the validity of the book of Mormon is that it follows quite closely a book published just a few years earlier entitled "View of the Hebrews".

The book of Mormon begins with the testimony of two groups of witnesses. Mark Twain wrote that most of the witnesses were related to Joseph. He said he couldn’t be more convinced of the authenticity of he book of Mormon if the entire Smith family had attested to it. The testimonies seem quite compelling until you read statements by some of the witnesses. Martin Harris said he saw the plates with his spiritual eye. As I noted above, Joseph never showed them to his wife as she wrote his words. This despite the statement in the book of Mormon saying that the translator could show the gold plates to those that assisted him. Maaybe Joseph knew that his wife was unlikely to be satisfied with seeing them by her spiritual eye.

When asked what happened to the gold plates, he said he returned them to an angel.

Then I began looking at Joseph's revelations. One of his most famous is the Civil War revelation. It was written in December of 1832 and predicted that a civil war, starting in South Carolina, would eventually engulf the whole world.

Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass beginning at the rebellion at South Carolins, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls

And the time will come when war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place.

For behold the southern states will be divided against the northern states, and the southern states will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called and they shall call upon other nations, even to defend themselves against other nations, and then war will be poured out upon al nations

And it shall come to pass, after many days slaves shall rise up against their masters who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war.

…And thus with sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth sholl mourn; and with famine and plagues, and earthquakes and thunder from heaven and the fierce and vivid lightning, shall the inhabitants of the arth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation and chastening hand of the almighty God until the consumation decreed shall make a full end of all nations.

That the cry of the saints, and the blood of the saints shall cease to come up to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, from the earth to be avenged of their enemies.

Wherefor stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the lord come: for behold it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen

This looks like a pretty good prophecy until you look at the newspapers of 1832. They were full of threats by southern lawmakers to nullify federal legislation. But a compromise was reached and the war did not come till 1861. Joseph must have lost confidence in the revelation, because it was not included in the 1835 edition of his revelations. It is now found in the LDS book of revelations. The phrase "war will be poured out on all nations" is now justified by the first and second world wars.

It is possible that Joseph was thinking of the Nat Turner rebellion when he wrote that the slaves would rebel against their masters. Turner was executed one year before Joseph wrote the revelation. The North did enlist blacks, but there was no black rebellion as predicted by Smith.

I think one of the most telling criticisms of Joseph Smith Jr. as a prophet is found in RLDS Doctrine and Covenants sec 94. This revelation was written in Kirtland Ohio on Aug 2 1833. Joseph addressed his people in Independence Mo. According to the revelation, God directed them to begin to build a temple there. Joseph hadn't heard the bad news from Independence. Just a few days before the revelation was given, anti-Mormons had attacked the Mormons and forced them to agree to leave.

Joseph wrote a revelation 4 months later to try to explain what went wrong. He wrote that the Saints were driven out because of their transgressions. He forgot or chose to ignore the earlier revelation in which he said God had accepted the Saints in Missouri and if they sinned no more, bad things would not come upon them. (94:5g).

In Section 60 God told Joseph Smith and other Elders in Independence that they should build or buy a boat and return speedily to Kirtland via St Louis. They suffered a boating accident on the Missouri. Joseph gave another revelation in which God told the group that Joseph smith and Oliver Cowdery should continue in haste to Kirtland. They pooled their money and Joseph and Oliver traveled by stagecoach. The other elders were told to walk back to Kirtland, preaching as they went. God explained that the boating accident came about because he had cursed the waters. God didn't explain why He told them to go by water in the first place.

Mormons cite submarine warfare during the world wars as substantiating God's curse on the water. Even today, Utah Mormon missionaries are instructed not to swim during their missions. The rationale is that Satan would be particularly likely to invoke the curse on the water against missionaries that are preaching against him.

Section 86 of the Doctrine and Covenants is called a word of wisdom. Mormons are told to avoid strong drinks, tobacco, and hot drinks. Meat should be used sparingly in winter or famine. RLDS avoid alcohol, and tobacco, but many drink coffee. Most Utah Mormons avoid coffee. I don't know any RLDS or LDS that pays any attention to the limitation on eating meat. When asked about this, the response is that it does not apply now that we have refrigeration.

The RLDS doctrine and Covenants has 113 revelations given by Joseph Smith Jr.. The LDS Doctrine and Covenants has several more. The most contentious is section 132 which permits polygamy. Many RLDS deny this came through Joseph Smith

The great majority of Joseph's revelations are messages to him or to his followers. They contain instructions. Some appoint individuals to go on missions. Another told Joseph how to search for treasure in Salem Mass. Some introduced religious innovations , such as baptism for the dead. Another described 3 levels of reward in heaven, likening them to the glory of the sun, moon and stars. Obviously there is no way to challenge these revelations. But the ones that have obvious flaws or contradictions led me to discount all his revelations.

I continued to attend church with my wife and children while examining my religion. I had good experiences with many of the members. I played ping pong with the pastor, played chess with an Elder and belonged to a flying club with another. But Sunday morning sermons created tension. One conservative Patriarch preached on Jonah and told us we must believe the big fish story because it was in god's word. I remember praying silently, telling God that I doubted the Jonah story, and asking for some manifestation if I was wrong. As you may have guessed, I received no confirmation.

I began to search other churches while the Viet Nam war was in progress. I visited a Quaker meeting and heard the adults ask young people what alternate service they had chosen. By contrast, the question in my church was "what branch of the service are you considering". This Quaker meeting was mostly silent and I could feel the deepening level of silence as people waited on God's spirit. But it seemed a bit too much to make an hour round trip for a half hour of silence.

I visited Catholic, Lutheran and Baptist services and found none satisfying.

I visited the Unitarian Fellowship in Florissant. I met Ron Glossop and many other people you know. The messages were stimulating. No one asked me to believe something that was unbelievable. I joined the fellowship after I formally withdrew from the RLDS church.

But I am still torn. I probably spend more time reading RLDS publications than I do the Unitarian World. I still remember the feeling of awe as I participated in a worship service and read a biblical passage or heard the pastor address me with "Thus saith the Lord".

Maybe it is like Chinese American Amy Tan, author of Joy Luck Club. She said she still felt the tight shoes she wore as a child in China. Maybe you can't go home again, but maybe you can't entirely forget home either.

James E Elliott

Sept 30, 2001

Filename sept 30 sermon.doc