This site used to be the home of the LDS Deaf Connection. However, I'm no longer a member a the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

And I bet now you're wondering if you read that right. Yes, I'm no longer mormon or LDS as they like to call themselves. And really, it shouldn't be all that surprising. I mean, the only odd thing is that it took me so long to figure things out in the first place.

Just think about it...I used to believe things like an angel led some kid to a set of gold plates, which he then translated by various means, including an ancient breastplate with attached spectables, or a "peep stone", or whatever, and when he was done, the angel conveniently took the plates away before anyone saw them? Except this one time when a few of his close friends, brothers, and father saw them. Except even then, there's some confusion as to whether they really saw them or if they just "saw" them with "spiritual eyes". But no matter, this handful of close friends and relatives signed their name to it, so it must have happened, right?

And it did come to pass that apparently these gold plates contained the history of a bunch of Israelites who fled Jerusalem to America, and bred like rabbits, insomuch that soon all of the Americas, and even the Polynesian Pacific islands were populated by descendants of this little band of Hebrew refugees. Or at least it was that way until it was clear that Polynesians and ancient native Americans had no connection with each other, let alone Hebrew ancestors. So then it kind of changed, it's only that some of those ancient american natives were descendants of the original band of refugees (aka Nephites and Lamanites, in mormon terminology). Just because we can't find any evidence of an ancient american connection to Jerusalem doesn't mean that it didn't really happen. Just you wait, someday some enterprising young mormon archaelogist will manage to find a scrap of pottery that vaguely resembles something that just sort of looks like something that could have come from Jerusalem, and then our faith will be validated! Yea, even unto the confounding of those nasty heretics who dared doubt that the Book of Mormon was a true history of god's people, engraven on plates of gold

Fun as that was, though, Joseph Smith didn't stop there. After a bunch of other visits from various angels, he got around to setting up a church and doing lots of other fun things. One that stands out is his practice of polygamy. You know, one guy and lots wives. Except sometimes it was two guys and a wife. Or really young wives. Girls, in fact. Wait, two guys and a wife? Well, yeah, sort of. There were a few cases where Joseph Smith married another guy's wife. Concurrently. This isn't really well known, possibly because Joseph Smith never came up with a doctrinal explanation, so those mormons that have even heard of it tend to try to pretend it didn't happen. Only, that's kind of hard to do, since official Church records document it pretty well.

And besides, even though Brigham Young preached that polygamy was absolutely essential to our salvation, the LDS church stopped practicing plural marriage in 1890. And then they REALLY stopped practicing it in 1904. Except, of course, for those who were already in plural marriages, such that there were General Authorities in plural marriages up into the 1950's. And when those died off, then the LDS church REALLY, REALLY stopped practicing polygamy. Except spiritually, where if a man's first wife is divorced or dies, she remains sealed to him, as does any additional wives the guy legally marries in his lifetime. But aside from those trivial exceptions, the LDS church really doesn't practice polygamy anymore. It will be restored in the last days, of course, but today, right now, no faithful mormon believes in polygamy. Really. Except for all the exceptions, of course.

I did mention it was odd that it took me so long, right? Well, the biggest thing is that the CoJCoLDS (short for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormons) isn't honest about its own history. Consider this example, for instance:

Today:

"How grateful I am that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has from its beginnings stood strongly against racism in any of its malignant manifestations. President Spencer W. Kimball stated the Church's position well: "We do wish that there would be no racial prejudice ... Racial prejudice is of the Devil ... There is no place for it in the Gospel of Jesus Christ" ..."
        Elder Alexander B. Morrison of the Seventy, September 2000 Ensign

The Actual History:

"You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable, and low in their habits ... wild and seemingly deprived of all the blessings of intelligence ... Cain slew his brother ... Cain might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings ... This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him which is the flat nose and the dark skin ... and the abolitionists cannot help it nor in the least alter that decree!"
        Brigham Young, Prophet and President

"The Negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned, but this inequality is not of man's origin it is the Lord's doing, and is based on his eternal laws of justice!"
        Bruce R. McKonkie, Apostle

"Now we are generous with the Negro - We are willing that the Negro have the highest kind of education - I would be willing to let every Negro drive a Caddillac if they could afford it - I would be willing that they have all the advantages they can get out of life - But let them do these things among themselves!"
        Mark Peterson, Apostle

[And when the CoJCoLDS finally deigned to change policy, note how Kimball, then president of the church, took credit for changing God's mind on this racist policy:]
 
"We have pleaded long and hard in behalf of these our faithful brethren ... he has heard our prayers and, by revelation, has confirmed that the long promised day has come ... Accordingly, all worthy male members of the Church may ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color!"
        Spencer W. Kimball, Prophet and President

Now, everyone has skeletons in their closet. But honest people will own up to them. The CoJCoLDS hides and even rewrites its own history rather than admitting what really happened, even if it isn't the most positive thing. In other words, the CoJCoLDS isn't honest.

Comments? Email me.