spamlds

One of the reasons I started tracking this was that you can't always tell what the motives for vandalism and arson are when they occur. Acts of violence happen sometimes because missionaries are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The elder who was killed in Virginia and his companion just happened to walk up on a drug deal in progress. Often the motives aren't determined until weeks or months later when investigators complete their work. By then, the media has usually moved on and you don't hear about it at all. By tracking many items, you can see regional trends and sometimes you can correlate them to specific anti-Mormon activity. One of the things that anti-Mormonism does is create an environment that tacitly says it's OK to persecute Mormons, treat us unfairly, or attack us with hostility. People would never say the the same kinds of things about Jews, Muslims, or any other minority. We're the last minority it's OK for politically-correct people can bash.

(Note: This was an article that was published in the Examiner in 2010 that was written in light of a FBI report on how hate groups operate. It reveals that anti-Mormons are on the same track as other hate groups and that there are specific benchmarks we should be aware of when monitoring their activities. It also uses the FBI's recommendations to propose a positive, effective way to deal with individuals who have been influenced by these hate groups. It provides an insight into how we should deal with anti-Mormons that we encounter.) In the past several years, I have studied anti-Mormonism, not only with the objective of defending my faith against the vicious attacks of these individuals and their organizations, but also with the intent to understand what motivates them. Anti-Mormons generally fall into two broad categories. The first category consists of disaffected members who lost or abandoned their faith and feel resentment or hostility towards the Church and its members. The second category consists of clergy and members of various religions who regard Mormonism as competition or a threat. A friend who works in law enforcement recently sent me a copy of a report on hate groups that was published in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. This informative report defines hate into two categories, which neatly align with the two groups of anti-Mormons. The FBI defines the first group as indulging in "rational hate" which is based on unjust acts. The first group of anti-Mormons begin with "rational hate." The term rational doesn't mean that their hate is justified, but instead indicates that the individual feels that he has been personally wronged or dealt with unjustly by the target of his hate. For example, let us consider the unfortunate case of a man who feels like he has been unfairly dealt with by the Church because he has not been permitted to enter the temple because he has not obeyed the principle of tithing. The day comes when his faithful daughter prepares to enter the temple to be married, yet he cannot attend. Although he has known throughout his life that paying tithing was a requirement to enter the temple, when his personal failure to obey this principle finally has a personal consequence, he lashes out and becomes hostile to the Church. He feels he has been the victim of injustice. The report defines irrational hate as "[h]atred of a person based on race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or national origin" (Schafer and Navarro 1). Anti-Mormon sentiments found among practioners of other religions generally fall into this category. Their feelings are based in insecurity. It may be that the message of the restored gospel makes them question the veracity of their own belief systems and the resulting insecurity causes them to overcompensate by redirecting their hostility towards Latter-day Saints and our religion. Although they profess Christian love, they act compulsively toward Mormonism based in an irrational hostility towards us. Sigmund Freud, in Civilization and Its Discontents, wrote, "It is always possible to bind together a considerable number of people in love, so long as there are other people left over to receive the manifestations of their aggressiveness" (107). The FBI experts Schafer and Navarro explained: "Both rational and irrational hate mask personal insecurities. Everyone experiences personal insecurities in varying degrees throughout their lives. The more insecure a person feels, the larger the hate mask. Most people concentrate on the important issues in life, such as earning a living, rearing a family, and achieving personal goals. These pursuits give meaning and value to life. Nonetheless, irrational hate bleeds through day-to-day activities in the form of racial barbs and ethnic humor. Not all insecure people are haters, but all haters are insecure people" (Schafer and Navarro 1). This irrational hate "bleeds through" in Internet discussion groups, social networks, and blogs all across the Internet. Anti-Mormons coordinate and organize themselves into groups, ministries, and parachurches to disseminate their hate. Of late, it has become the vogue expression among them to say that "I'm not anti-Mormon; I'm anti-Mormonism." They seek to make a distinction between hating the person and hating the religion. Nevertheless, if we were to apply this same reasoning to other faiths, such as Judaism, can it be said that the Nazis only hated Judaism, but not the Jews themselves? How ludicrous! Schafer and Navarro outline a seven-stage process in the development of hate groups: 1. Group gathers 2. Group defines itself 3. Group disparages the target 4. Taunts target 5. Attacks target without weapons 6. Attacks target with weapons 7. Destroys target (2) The FBI experts focused their study on violent "skinhead" groups throughout their report; however, the same patterns and characteristics they described can be observed in anti-Mormon ministries and parachurches in each step of the seven-stage process. Let's examine and compare them. Step 1 - Gathering The authors stated, "Irrational haters seldom hate alone.They feel compelled, almost driven, to entreat others to hate as they do. Peer validation bolsters a sense of self-worth and, at the same time, prevents introspection, which reveals personal insecurities" (3). One of the characteristics we see among some ex-Mormons and anti-Mormons from evangelical Christian sects is this compulsion and drive to "entreat others to hate as they do." This peer validation gives them justification of the rightness of their quest. In particular, the sectarians are insecure about their own relationship to God. The doctrines of their own religious sects teach them that they should not expect to feel anything as a result of their faith or conversion. All they can hope for is an assurance that comes from the words of scripture that they are saved or that God has accepted their faith. Perhaps their animus towards Mormonism comes as a reaction to the promise that we share, that one can indeed receive personal revelation from the Holy Ghost and that is something the believer can feel and know for himself. Perhaps it is a form of envy that drives the sectarian anti-Mormon's insecurity. Step 2 - Defining and Organizing During this step, Schafer and Navarro explain that "[h]ate groups form identities through symbols, rituals, and mythologies, which enhance the members’ status and, at the same time, degrade the object of their hate (4). It is altogether common for anti-Mormons to organize themselves into ministries and parachurches. Many of these are operated by failed ministers who have been rejected by their denominations, who have fake academic credentials, or individuals frustrated with a sense of powerlessness. In this case, these ministries co-opt the message of traditional Christian sects and use their symbols, rituals and "mythologies" to make members of the group feel that they are involved in a noble, righteous endeavor. The presence of these groups is tacitly supported by mainstream churches who hire them to come offer presentations to their congregations, or who purchase videos, pamphlets, and other anti-Mormon media to circulate among their flocks. Step 3 - Disparaging The authors of the FBI report further explain that, "By verbally debasing the object of their hate, haters enhance their self-image, as well as their group status" (4). Verbal criticism of Mormonism among the ranks of Mormon-haters seek to bolster the sense of security the members of the group innately desire. It marginalizes and de-humanizes their target. Certain catch-phrases emerge. "Mormons are a cult." "Mormons believe in a different Jesus." "Mormons believe Jesus and Satan are brothers." There are many such disparaging statements that anti-Mormon groups implant in their members, which then get repeated to the general population. Anti-Mormon hatred could not persist if the haters were to concede that Mormons are Christian believers who study the Bible and seek to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Thus, their mantra must be echoed constantly to bypass any conscious reflection resulting from positive personal contacts with the Church. For example, one Texas parachurch shows the anti-Mormon movie, "The Godmakers" to its youth group every semester to inoculate them from positive contacts with LDS friends in school. This is why you often hear the claim that the haters are "anti-Mormonism, not anti-Mormon" or that they "love the Mormon people, but despise our religion." It assuages any personal guilt that results from hate, yet perpetuates and justifies the enmity underlying it. Step 4 - Taunting Schafer and Navarro observed, "Time cools the fire of hate, thus forcing the hater to look inward. To avoid introspection, haters use ever-increasing degrees of rhetoric and violence to maintain high levels of agitation" (4). Members of the Church, particularly those active in Internet discussion groups have seen this occur. Contact with Latter-day Saints will inevitably lead a reasonable person to re-evaluate or abandon his prejudices and to consider us as fellow believers, whether or not conversion is the result of the contact. When dedicated haters observe this return to reasonableness, they react with increased vehemence. I spent nearly a year in discussions with a group of non-Christians on an Internet forum, exchanging ideas and concepts about our beliefs. Overall, the contacts were amicable with these individuals. During that year, there was a small contingent of "Bible-believing" Christians who were staunchly anti-Mormon. The informal leader of their group was an individual I had seen elsewhere, in other Christian forums, who bullied others of his own faith with his aggressive, domineering use of the Bible to try to establish his personal brand of evangelical Christianity upon these groups. Whenever I managed, through reason and scripture, to achieve a concession or admission that Mormonism might have some scriptural, Biblical underpinnings, although we might disagree on the interpretation of the Bible, the anti-Mormon leader resorted to name-calling, taunting, and personal attacks. (I actually maintained a public log on that forum, cataloging the number of times he called me a hypocrite, an idiot, or a false apostle just to document the pattern of behavior.) He followed the pattern of step four, increasing the hatefulness of his rhetoric and even boasting of his prowess and ability to do violence. We see this escalation in the demonstrations of "street preachers" at LDS General Conferences in Salt Lake City. These individuals engage in verbally abusive behavior to try to incite violent conflict with members of the Church. They often burn copies of the Book of Mormon, deface sacred temple garments, and engage in other provocative behavior. The FBI authors also stated, "One study indicated that a majority of hate crimes occur when the hate target migrates through the hate group’s turf" (4). Mormonism's missionary outreach is often blamed as the cause of and justification for anti-Mormon activity. Anti-Mormons claim that if the Church did not send out missionaries to invade their "territory" or to steal the members of their churches, they would leave us alone. However, history shows this to be false. Persecution of Joseph Smith began almost immediately after he first shared the account of his first vision in 1820 with a Methodist clergyman. The Book of Mormon was not revealed until 1823, it's translation didn't begin until 1827, and the Church itself was not founded until 1830. Anti-Mormonism actually preceded the founding of the Church and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Step 5 - Attack the target without weapons The authors of the FBI report determined that a crucial corner is turned at this point. They wrote, "This stage is critical because it differentiates vocally abusive haters from physically abusive ones. In this stage, hate groups become more aggressive, prowling their turf seeking vulnerable targets. (4) Anti-Mormons frequently use the courts and zoning boards to block and prevent the construction of Mormon temples and meetinghouses. In this process, while using the zoning hearings, anti-Mormon groups blanket neighborhoods and communities near the proposed construction sites with anti-Mormon literature and videos to stoke anti-Mormon sentiment. These efforts result in incidents of vandalism or arson, as we saw occur in Mukilteo, Washington and in West Linn, Oregon in 2010. The spread of hate cannot be controlled. Although members of these groups claim to not be party to incidents of violence, they are responsible for dissemination of a message that tells unstable individuals that violent behavior against Mormons will be tolerated. Step 6 - Attack the Target with Weapons The escalation from verbal (or Internet) taunts, if not impeded by some external influence, eventually escalates to physically violent confrontations. Schafer and Navarro wrote, "Personal contact empowers and fulfills a deep-seated need to have dominance over others" (4). In 2007, an anti-Mormon parachurch distributed nearly 30,000 free anti-Mormon videos on DVD to areas in the United States where Mormons are found in significant numbers. Some 18,000 of those videos were distributed in and around Mesa, Arizona. Incidents of vandalism occurred and eventually incidents of physical assaults on Latter-day Saint members. In general, such instances have been extremely rare since the end of the 19th century. The last lynching of a Mormon was associated with the controversy generated by the election of Mormon apostle B.H. Roberts to the United States Senate. Throughout the 20th century, into the present day, this author credits the influence of liberal activst groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, which have acted as a counterweight to the influence of politically-active right-wing Christian groups who are traditionally hostile towards Mormons. Mormonism has benefited from a social stalemate between the secular left and the religious right in the United States for the past century. Erosion of either one of these influences may signal an uptick in anti-Mormon violence. Step 7 - Destroy the Target Schafer and Navarro theorized, "The ultimate goal of haters is to destroy the object of their hate. Mastery over life and death imbues the hater with godlike power and omnipotence, which, in turn, facilitate further acts of violence" (5). Sectarian Christianity has a long, unfortunate history of violent crusades to destroy foes it considers heretical or un-Christian. In the 19th century, both secular and religious leaders sought to destroy Mormonism. The Church survived only by fleeing the bounds of civilization and establishing itself in a desert region in the Intermountain West. Today there is nowhere left where the Church might flee for safety from persecution and anti-Mormonism. Thus, it is necessary for us to examine the roots of anti-Mormon hate and help our members cope with the threat it represents. The FBI report gives us a valuable insight into how to disarm hate groups. Interdiction of anti-Mormon hate The FBI report examines racist "skinhead" groups as an example of the seven stages. It suggests that interdiction must target the root of the hatred: insecurity. The early steps of the seven-stage process all seek to eliminate the possibility of personal reflection. Personal reflection on the insecurities that are at the source of hate can bring an individual to identify and conclude that their actions are irrational and harmful. This can be a challenge, because--as the authors stated: "Hate-motivated skinheads have well-rehearsed answers for questions, such as 'Why do you hate?' 'Can’t you see what you’re doing is wrong?' 'How would you like it if someone picked on you because of your race?' Skinheads answer smugly; they feel secure as skinheads." Similarly, such questions to anti-Mormons usually receive pat answers provided for them through manipulations of scripture. They claim they don't hate us, but that they love us and want to save us (by destroying our religion). They don't see what they are doing is wrong because it is encouraged by their respected clergy and justified by false Bible interpretations. Meanwhile, they often portray themselves as victims of persecution from secular society. The Society for the Prevention of Anti-Mormonism once documented the activities of an Indian Christian ministry dedicated to informing the world of the very real persecution of Christians in India that also operated anti-Mormon ministries of its own. How ironic! Such questions to anti-Mormons are thus ineffective. To reach the past the conscious barriers to reflection, the FBI researchers sugges that interviewers ask probing questions about family relationships, which are probably the cause of the insecurities. Schafer and Navarro suggested: "Because hate masks personal insecurities, interviewers should temporarily forego questions about why skinheads hate and strive to identify the skinheads’ personal insecurities. Interviewers should begin this probe by asking skinheads about their family relationships, which probably represent the source of the skinhead’s insecurities because a sense of who people are and where they fit in society typically develops within the family structure. Interviewers also should explore skinheads’ future plans, educational goals, and desired employment. This forces skinheads to see themselves as they really are. If forced to look at themselves, skinheads become vulnerable, less resistant to rehabilitation, and, in law enforcement settings, more likely to confess" (6). The idea is that we want to get those who hate us to reflect upon who they are as people and the motives behind their actions. Attempts to do this typically result in protests that we are engaging in ad hominem attacks. This is not so. We are moving away from the contention to examine the source of the contention. Where does the hate come from? Focusing on family relationships makes them realize that they feel vulnerable and that the hate is an attempt to mask feelings of vulnerability and insecurity. Asking about future plans attempts to get the hater to look ahead to where he is going. Does the hater realize that the ultimate end of his actions will lead to violence and harm? How would it affect his career, his family, his future? Taking this personal angle is messy. Sometimes the backlash is increased hostility. In dealing with rational haters, such as those who have left the Church and fight against it, they are often trying to avoid dealing with the hurt feelings and the harm they have caused their loved ones. Their conscience is troubled when they think about their willingness to break sealing relationships to parents, spouse, and children. Nevertheless, it is necessary for them to reflect on the end result of their choices to hate and their compulsive behavior. In the case of irrational haters--those from sectarian Christian backgrounds--I have often challenged them to confront the compulsive nature of their anti-Mormon activities by asking them to test their ability to resist engaging in them for a period of three weeks. Like quitting smoking or some other addictive behavior, it is revealing to the individual when he discovers the power of his compulsion, when he cannot resist it for a period of say, three weeks. The authors explained, "Haters cannot stop hating without exposing their personal insecurities" (2). Personal repentance is the process by which the individual Mormon-hater can confront, confess, and expose his personal insecurities and the actions that come from them. Schafer and Navarro conclude, "Knowing how the hate process works helps interviewers penetrate the hate mask and address the hater’s underlying personal insecurities. If investigators can attenuate these personal insecurities, haters will become more receptive to rehabilitation" (7). When we encounter anti-Mormonism, let me suggest a three-fold process for interdiction of hate. 1. See the offender as a child of God who is filled with insecurities that motivate his or her hateful actions. 2. Respond to the false charges, lies, and disinformation with accurate information inasmuch as possible. 3. Take a personal interest in the hater and inquire about his family background, upbringing, and future plans. Help him reflect on what insecurities drive their actions and cause their animosity towards Mormons. This will be difficult because they cannot go forward until they expose their personal insecuriies. There will be resistance, lashing out, personal attacks, etc. Every single instance of anti-Mormonism represents a personal tragedy of some kind. It distances a person from God. It blinds the eyes and binds the heart that the Holy Spirit seeks to touch. Although apologetics sites do much good in presenting correct information about the Church and responding to the deceptions of our adversaries, the process of saving souls is personal, not academic. May the Lord grant us power and faith sufficient to break the bands of sin that bind these individuals and help them see the light of truth. Whether they believe Mormonism is true or not is beside the point. The truth is that Mormonism doesn't deserve to be destroyed any more than any other religion. Let each of us enjoy our rights and worship God as he will. If we preach a positive message, we have no need to be anti-anything. Works cited: Schafer, Don A. and Joe Navarro, The Seven Stage Hate Model: The Psychopathology of Hate Groups. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, March 2003, 72:3. Print. Freud, Sigmund, ed. Strachey, James. Civilization and its Discontents. W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. New York, NY, 1961. 107. Print

Hi everyone, I'm providing this list just in case it should provide some interesting discussions or as a reference for the future. When I ran the Society for the Prevention of Anti-Mormonism site, I kept track of anti-Mormon vandalism and violence I found in the media for several years. I stopped maintaining the list in 2014. This isn't an exhaustive list, but it is fairly comprehensive. This list is old and some of the links may not work anymore as the hosting web sites may change their contents over time. Some of the pictures and videos may not link properly. If I can't fix them, and if the moderators feel that it's not worth it, I can remove them. I just think this could be a valuable source. I will probably post a couple other useful references that I developed in the next few days. 20 June 1996 Five LDS chapels in Sandy, Utah spray-painted by vandals. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/496854/5-LDS-CHAPELS-IN-SANDY-DEFACED-WITH-SPRAY-PAINT.html 27 May 2001 Sandy, Utah Vandals broke into and damaged a LDS meetinghouse causing over $100,000 in damage. Police said it was the worst case they had ever seen. Vandals smashed light fixtures, glass, sprayed fire extinguishers, and damaged every faucet and toilet, causing flooding throughout the building. http://www.mormonnews.com/010601/D1SandyVandalism01.shtml 26 April 2002 Magna, Utah meetinghouse vandalized. Window broken, cleaning materials spilled out around the building. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/910270/ 24 February 2003 Vandals in Orem deface LDS meetinghouse. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/966745/Vandals-in-Orem-deface-an-LDS-meetinghouse.html 31 December 2004 Sandy, Utah meetinghouse. "Numerous obscenities and derogatory remarks aimed at homosexuals, blacks and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were spray-painted over the majority of the church's outside walls. There was no vandalism inside the church." http://www.deseretnews.com/article/600101550/Vandals-scrawl-graffiti-on-LDS-meetinghouse.html 4 January 2006 Elder Morgan Young, a Mormon missionary murdered in Chesapeake, Virginia http://www.ksl.com/?sid=145847&nid=148 8 November 2006 LDS church in Canyon Rim attacked with graffiti, Molotov cocktail. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650205249/Church-is-attacked.html 24 April 2007 Two teens plead guilty to arson in blaze of Sugar House LDS meetinghouse. Incident occurred 6 November 2006, http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5737686 19 November 2007 Mormon meetinghouse burned down by arsonist. Here's the story about the building being rebuilt. http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/local/mesa/mormon_church_rebuilt_10_24_2009 5 April 2008 Mormon missionary assaulted in Mesa, Arizona http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/233064.php 22 April 2008 LDS family's home sprayed with anti-Mormon grafitti http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/5723152.html 2 May 2008 LDS missionary assaulted in Richmond, Virginia, leaving him with a broken jaw. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695275658/LDS-missionary-suffers-broken-jaw.html 14 August 2008 Cottonwood, Arizona meetinghouse vandalized. Break-in, spray-painted walls and furniture, destroyed artwork on walls, damaged computers in clerk offices, discharged fire extinguishers. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705323563/Arizona-LDS-church-vandalized.html?linkTrack=rss-44 10 September 2008 Arson suspected in fire at the St. Paul Temple (which is actually in Oakdale, Minnesota.) http://wcco.com/crime/arson.mormon.temple.2.814345.html 17 October 2008 Mormon elders attacked in Australia. One of them was hospitalized for multiple stab wounds. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27210832/ 5 November 2008 The Meridian web site (www.ldsmag.com) was brought down by a distributed denial of service attack. Meridian often ran articles supporting California Proposition 8. 7 November 2008 A LDS meetinghouse in Orangevale, California was spray-painted with "No on 8" and "hypocrites." http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/479857.aspx 8 November 2008 LDS meetinghouse in Saint Louis Obispo defaced along with several other Christian churches. http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/479857.aspx 10 November 2008 Five LDS meetinghouses in Layton, Utah had their windows shot out with a BB gun. A crowd of 400 protested in front of the Oakland Temple. http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/479857.aspx 12 November 2008 2500 protesters at the Los Angeles Temple. Some Hispanic women who tried to remove the desecrating signs from the temple grounds were beaten by a mob. LDS meetinghouse in Sacramento was spray-painted with "No on 8." http://www.calcatholic.com/mobile/newsArticleMobile.aspx?id=f78a0a5d-afde-4f6b-90f6-5c21123a7f98 A Book of Mormon was set afire on the doorstep of a Mormon meetinghouse in Arapahoe, Colorado http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_10964515?source=commented-news 14 November 2008 Envelopes containing suspicious white powder were received at the Salt Lake and Los Angeles temples of the Church, forcing the sacred edifices to be closed, evacuated, and decontaminated. The FBI was involved with the investigation. It was presumed to be related to the recent Proposition 8 passage. 19 November 2008 A Syracuse, NY LDS Seminary building was evacuated and police responded with HAZMAT teams in response to a report of a suspicious package received at the building. Police reacted strongly due to earlier reports in the week of white powder in suspicious packages in Utah and California. http://www.abc4.com/mostpopular/story/Suspicious-package-delivered-to-LDS-seminary/qNe7QLWPMEe678SlOmOGZQ.cspx 19 November 2008 South Park creators announce "Mormon Musical," which ridicules latter-day saints. 29 November 2008 Protesters harassed visitors at the Mesa Arizona Temple's annual Christmas decoration lighting. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/11/28/20081128gaymarriage1128.html 1 Feb 2009 LDS meetinghouse windows broken, "significantly damaged." Two arrested. http://www.kidk.com/news/38780982.html 17 February 2009 LDS and Presbyterian churches vandalized in Oregon http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705285668/Vandals-hit-two-churches-in-Oregon.html 2 April 2009 Anti-Mormon protesters disrupt the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0407ldsprotest0407.html http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/11/29/20081129B2Story1129.html 22 April 2008 The Victoria Advocate, reported the vandalism of a Mormon family's home. http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/search/archives/?q=vandalism+mormon+family&search_type=archives 15 May 2009 Suspicious fire in Centerville burns LDS meetinghouse. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=6497677 17 June 2009 17 June 2009 Las Vegas police investigated a religious-based threat made against local family. The incident included a threatening message written on a driveway, a bomb threat, and anti-Mormon grafitti painted on a street nearby. Police put a nearby school on lockdown while they made their investigation. http://www.abc4.com/mostpopular/story/Vegas-Police-Anti-Mormon-graffiti-referring-to/KwXu2E21d0CREMIptDGRLQ.cspx 11 August 2009 A LDS meetinghouse in Grand Junction, Colorado was vandalized. No apparent anti-Mormon motive. http://cbs4denver.com/crime/Mormon.Church.Grand.2.1124625.html 24 July 2009 LDS chapel in Medford, Camden County, New Jersey was vandalized by a retired police officer who, in the throes of an psychological episode, was turned down for a job by an LDS church member. According to the Courier Post Online, former police Sgt. Kurt Levins: "...With a black permanent marker, the 54-year-old defamed an oil painting of Jesus coming out of the heavens, boldly writing a message from 'Lucifer.'" "Levins -- later determined to be psychotic -- continued down the hall of the red brick church into the chapel room. He defamed a mahogany pulpit on the altar, etching into it a threatening message to Mormon legend Porter Rockwell. Then, he fired nine shots into the back paneling of the altar and left." http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20110220/NEWS01/102200344/Church-break-in-miraculously-under-wraps Amazingly, this story was kept out of the press by request of the police department and cooperation from local Mormon leaders. Levin, who faced up to 10 years incarceration for the charges, received probation with conditions that he be periodically tested to ensure he remained on his medications and prohibits him from owning firearms. 14 August 2009 Cottonwood, Arizona LDS church vandalized http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705323563/Arizona-LDS-church-vandalized.html 4 September 2009 Missionaries in Guyana arrested on immigration charges. Political motives were suspected because the LDS members were predominantly represented in the opposition party. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7794528 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705327723/LDS-missionaries-released-in-Guyana.html 6 October 2009 Two apparently drunk men broke and stole a 30-pound replica of the Book of Mormon off a statue on Temple Square. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705334545/2-men-accused-of-swiping-bronze-Book-of-Mormon-from-Brigham-Young-statue.html 9 October 2009 Two teens arrested for vandalism of a meetinghouse in Alvin, Texas http://spamlds.ning.com/xn/detail/2015866:Topic:16967 12 October 2009 Five LDS meetinghouses in Utah had windows broken, rocks with message "Stop spreading your lies, pagans." http://www.deseretnews.com/user/comments/705336281/Police-investigate-church-vandalism.html 16 November 2009 Authorities are investigating a case of vandalism of Mormon headstones in a historical cemetery in a Wyoming ghost town. http://www.mormontimes.com/mormon_voices/mormon_experience/?id=11695&preview=1 28 November 2009 Two men shot at a Church dance in Ontario, California. According to the linked source, The men were "attending a dance at the church when a fight broke out and an unknown number of suspects opened fired outside. Police did not know whether the two men were targeted or were hit randomly. No one has been arrested and the motive for the shooting is under investigation. This one may not be related to anti-Mormonism, but I've learned not to discount it because investigations often turn up surprising facts or sometimes individual incidents are part of a string of related events. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/11/two-men-shot-and-injured-outside-ontario-church-dance.html January 2010 An LDS family in the vicinity of Sacramento, California (Natomas) had their car vandalized with anti-Mormon messages http://news.yahoo.com/video/local-15749667/17571970 18 January 2010 A suspicious package was left in the parking lot of an LDS meetinghouse in Menifee, California (between L.A. and San Diego). A police hazardous response team investigated and found a rock wrapped up in a package to appear like an explosive device. Police consider it a malicious prank. http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-01-18/news/suspicious-package-in-menifee-church-parking-lot-was-possible-prank 27 January 2010 Man arrested in a month-long hate-crime spree that defaced several churches with anti-Christian and anti-Semitic grafitti. The individual is also a suspect in the setting of a fire at a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Snoqualmie, Washington. The arrested man's family claim the suspect is mentally ill. 19 April 2010 Two LDS meetinghouses in Idaho Falls, Idaho were damaged by rocks thrown through plate glass windows on doors and classrooms. The rocks had anti-Mormon slogans like "Read the Bible," "Joseph Smith was a liar," and "Mormonism is false" written on them. May 17 2010 Police are seeking a man who tried to set fire to the Los Angeles Temple. According to a KTKA report, the suspect entered the Church property around 10:30 a.m. carrying combustible material in backpack. The man was monitored on security cameras. He was unable to get inside the locked doors, but a few hours later a suspicious fire broke out in a garden are on the temple grounds. A picture and description of the suspect is found at the link below: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-mormon-church-fire,0,6360738.story 29 August 2010 A Mormon bishop, Clay Sannar, was fatally shot in a Church in Visalia, California on Sunday after services. The suspect, whose name has not been released, entered the Church asking to speak to a Church leader. The suspect shot Bishop Sannar in the foot and dragged him into the foyer and then shot the Bishop in the face, according to witnesses. The suspect, who was not a member of the Church, was found by police and killed after an exchange of gunfire. Police have not established a motive in the killing. Bishop Sannar leaves behind a wife and six sons. Please pray for the Sannar family in this time of grief and bereavement. See links below for details: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12203700 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700061255/Mormon-bishop-fatally-shot-in-California-chapel.html http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/08/29/lay-bishop-mormon-church-killed-calif-office/?test=latestnews Visalia shooter was a former member who turned anti-Mormon. Stanislaus county court shows in 2000, Ward and his wife both attempted suicide, suffocated their pets, and wrote anti-gay and anti Mormon slurs on their apartment walls. Two years later Ward's mother called police saying her son was acting crazy and threatening to kill people. Then in 2004, ward was arrested for making death threats against a Mormon Church leader and police saying “I'm gonna kill that police chief and lots of cops.” http://www.cbs47.tv/news/local/story/More-Information-About-the-Suspect-Kenneth-Ward/FyLK6ZtSaECQAi_wbI0WmQ.cspx 8 September 2010 A West Linn, Oregon police spokesman asked for the public's help to find he vandals who spray-painted anti-Mormon slurs at a new meetinghouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sgt. Neil Hennelly said a church maintenance supervisor found graffiti on Aug. 29 against "Mormans." Hennelly says church officials told him they suffered vandalism "10 or 12" times while the meeting house was under construction but never reported it to police. The slurs were accompanied by a spray-painted image of a bong-style marijuana pipe. The police spokesman noted there were long, contentious discussions over city planning and zoning issues. Anti-Mormons organized to block the construction of the building and held it up in the zoning board. The Church announced its intent to build on the property in 2002. After a court battle that included two trips to the Oregon Supreme Court, they returned to West Linn officials in late 2005 with a plan that added land and agreed to add trees and a 6-foot-high brick wall to help muffle noise. Read more: http://www.newsok.com/anti-mormon-slurs-painted-on-new-or-meeting-house/article/feed/189473#ixzz0z49O2m8h 16 October 2010 http://www.kirotv.com/news/25412144/detail.html A LDS meetinghouse in Mukilteo, Washinton was destroyed by a fire. Investigators have determined that the cause was arson. The local authorities and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms are investigating the incident. Update 20 November 2010: Investigators determine that a Molotov cocktail was the cause of ignition of the fire. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/theblotter/2013477978_police_molotov_cocktail_ignite.html 23 October 2010 Pleasant Grove, Utah LDS church was vandalized and burned by a group of teenagers. Three boys and one girl, ages 13-14 were seen by witnesses and charged by police. http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/article_7fdb350f-49a2-5b2e-8278-af6d1a5df814.html 30 October 2010 Two LDS meetinghouses burned in Salt Lake City, believed to be arson. The chapels torched were located at 2702 South Main and 3219 S. 300 East. Individuals with information are asked to call the South Salt Lake Police at 801-840-4000. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700077570/Two-LDS-meetinghouses-burn-in-South-Salt-Lake.html?pg=1 Update: On 26 July 2011, Patrick Ehat pleaded guilty to charges of arson. The arsonist was sentenced to probation, restitution, and completing a mental health program. The offender apparently suffers from mental illness, was estranged from his family. He was formerly a missionary for the Church before he was excommunicated. Ehat admitted to police investigators that he had a grudge against the Church since his excommunication--that would qualify this as an anti-Mormon church burning. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705388202/Arsonist-who-caused-400K-damage-to-2-Mormon-meetinghouses-gets-probation.html http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-suspect-arrest-in-alleged-church-fires,0,5806771.story 21 December 2010 Mark Eric Bayne, 36, of Salt Lake City, threatened to kill Mormons on his Facebook page, resulting in his arrest. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Bayne used his Facebook page" to post a status update on Nov. 26 that referred to Mormons as the 'worst form of humanity' and made threats to 'take at least thirty of their women and children [at the cost of each man] EVER DAY,' the complaint states. The message continues on to label “primary targets,” whose identities have been redacted from the complaint." The SLTrib web site reports that Bayne "appeared before U.S. Magistrate Sam Alba on Friday and will next appear in court on Tuesday. He faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted of the charge. Bayne is being held in the Davis County Jail under the custody of U.S. Marshals until his detention hearing next week." http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50897701-76/bayne-complaint-facebook-threats.html.csp 2 February 2011 A LDS meetinghouse was vandalized in Rancho Palos Verdes, authorities reported Tuesday. This is the third in a series of vandalism/graffiti incidents against non-mainstream Christian churches in the area. Two other churches vandalized were a Jehovah's Witness kingdom hall and a Seventh-Day Adventist church. Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_17263881 14 March 2011 Two Mormon churches in Jacksonville, Florida were defaced. According to the article: "Richard Lee Settle was arrested after his Visa debit card was discovered at the site of one of the desecrations. At the Mormon church at 5100 Firestone Road, there were three scrolls spray-painted in red, blue and black paint and a “suspicious package,” containing tobacco products and the debit card, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office reported. Graffiti around the building included a Star of David, a question mark, a plus sign, a multiplication sign, the word “dragon,” and a reference to a Biblical verse." A second LDS church at another location was defaced in the exact same manner. According to the source: "Investigators reported that Settle has been known to target Jewish facilities, Mormon facilities and federal government buildings for about 15 years and has done so in a similar fashion, usually identifying himself as the culprit." Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-03-13/story/two-jacksonville-mormon-churches-defaced#ixzz1GbqP8r2S 18 March 2011 An LDS meetinghouse was vandalized in Orland, California. Police say it appears to be the work of juveniles and is probably not a hate crime. Approximately $600 in damages resulted from the vandals discharging a fire extinguisher and trying to start a fire with some religious pamphlets. Source: http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_17642600 13 May 2011 Police are investigating the seventh incident, yes SEVENTH, incident of vandalism at the Richlands, Washington temple siince January of this year. According to the KVEW-TV web site, "Five of the incidents have involved someone throwing rocks or bricks through glass windows or doors.Two of the incidents have involved tires being slashed on vehicles parked at the temple." Source: http://www.kvewtv.com/article/2011/may/13/richland-police-investigate-vandalism-lds-temple/ 20 July 2011 LDS meetinghouse in Cookeville, Tennessee was vandalized with Christian religious graffiti. A cross was painted on the side of the building with the words "Amen" and "Why? Because he first loved us." Police are investigating the vandalism. Members are concerned because of the clear religious overtones of the graffiti. Source: http://www.newschannel5.com/story/15110513/graffiti-have-some-worried-about-hate-crime Video link: http://www.newschannel5.com/story/15110513/graffiti-have-some-worried-about-hate-crime?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6067352 26 July 2011 LDS meetinghouse vandalized in Missoula, Montana vandalized. A high school across the street was apparently the primary target, but the LDS meetinghouse had some windows broken. This was probably not related to anti-Mormonism, but we record all instances of vandalism in case a pattern emerges. Source: http://www.kaj18.com/news/vandals-hit-big-sky-high-school/ 3 December 2011 Graffiti at a Mormon meetinghouse in Rowland Heights, California is being investigated at a hate crime . Authorities have not yet released any information about the nature of the crime at this time. Source: http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_19464698 15 December 2011 "Police and fire crews are investigating an arson-caused fire that heavily damaged an LDS Church stake house" in Santaquin, Utah. http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Arson-suspected-in-LDS-church-fire/-r9tlLh3W0-AoyX6LnJpcw.cspx http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705395860/Arson-suspected-in-Mormon-meetinghouse-fire-in-Santaquin.html Update from 7 March 2012: One of the two teens involved, an unnamed 16 year-old, pleaded guilty to arson in court. A second suspect, age 17, will stand trial shortly. Sources: http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_19464698 http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53668409-78/court-juvenile-church-fire.html.csp Update #2: 22 March 2012 - The second suspect in the arson incident pleaded guilty to charges. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53771781-78/teen-church-guilty-juvenile.html.csp 23 December 2011 LDS meetinghouse in Pocatello, Idaho vandalized. Police noticed lights on in the building around 6:30 a.m. and investigated, finding a 22 year-old male inside trashing the building. The man claimed at first to be a custodian, but was later found to have no association with the Church. The man was taken into custody for a mental health evaluation. http://www.localnews8.com/news/30064816/detail.html 4 February 2012 LDS meetinghouse, two homes, and several cars were vandalized in Fruitland, Davis County, Utah. The meetinghouse was sprayed with graffiti that read "Psalms 144:1." The verse says, "Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." One of the homes was sprayed with "Jesus loves me" and the third with unspecified vulgarity. Police believe this isn't a hate crime, but the work of juveniles. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700222232/Police-investigating-vandalism-incidences-in-Davis-County.html 14 March 2012 Mormon missionaries' car torched in St. George, Utah in incident of arson. http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2012/03/13/vehicle-arson-in-middleton-leaves-lds-missionaries-puzzle/ 14 June 2012 Riverside County (California) sheriff’s deputies have arrested two men and two boys suspected of vandalizing a Mormon church Thursday, June 14, in Jurupa Valley. Diego Desantiago and Enrique Gomez, both 18 and of Jurupa Valley, were arrested for investigation of burglary, committing a hate crime and conspiracy, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20120620-jurupa-valley-4-suspects-arrested-in-church-vandalism.ece Follow-up, 31 December 2012: Four police investigators are being awarded the Joseph Sherwood Prize for Combating Hate by the Anti-Defamation League for their work in rapidly solving and making arrests for the 14 June 2012 incident. http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20121231-religion-police-awarded-for-combating-hate-crime.ece 29 June 2012 Tolleson, Arizona meetinghouse fire determined to be a case of arson. http://www.azfamily.com/news/PD-LDS-church-fire-an-arson-case-161617255.html 3 July 2012 LDS meetinghouse in Cedar City, Utah the target of vandalism. http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20120703/NEWS01/307030001/Vandals-tear-up-inside-LDS-church?nclick_check=1 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2012/07/01/20120701tolleson-church-fire-national-team-aids.html 7 October 2012 Soda bottle bombs found at a Hagerstown, Maryland LDS chapel. Police investigated report of 13 soda bottle bombs, described as "chemical-reaction devices." The bottles contained hydrochloric acid and aluminum foil. Ten of the items had exploded and the remainder were secured by the fire department. A neighbor notified police when the devices were spotted. http://articles.herald-mail.com/2012-10-07/news/34310133_1_soda-bottle-bombs-hydrochloric-acid-church-of-jesus-christ 12 November 2012 Teen jailed for causing $40,000 damages to LDS chapel. According to The Frontiersman: “Multiple computers throughout the building were destroyed, door handles knocked off many of the doors damaging the door and handle in the process, bathroom mirrors destroyed, electronic components for the building systems destroyed, pictures destroyed, damage to the pulpit, damage (to the church’s organ),” Peters wrote. “The clean up alone for the fire extinguisher mess cost $14,000 because of the powder getting into the ventilation system. That needed to be done twice.” http://www.frontiersman.com/news/teen-jailed-for-causing-damage-to-lds-ward-building/article_040f911c-2d51-11e2-8b5e-0019bb2963f4.html 6 May 2013 State and federal authorities investigated a fire at a Mormon meetinghouse in Ogden, Utah. Cause of the fire was a Molotov cocktail incendiary device thrown into the building. Damage was limited to the kitchen area of the building where the device had been thrown in a window. The ATF and FBI are investigating. Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56270315-78/fire-church-ogden-bureau.html.csp 13 May 2013 Three teens were arrested for torching a LDS chapel in Magna, Utah. Damage has been estimated at $500,000. No motives were given for the arson. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56302217-78/crews-fire-magna-chapel.html.csp 28 May 2013 Mormon and Catholic churches were threatened by a self-proclaimed "jihadist" in Fort Collins, Colorado. According to KDVR.com's web site: “Specific threats” were made against both Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Catholic church, Sgt. Paul Wood said. The suspect, a white male in his early 30s with brown hair and green eyes, has had previous run-ins with police, including one incident in which he claimed to be an arch angel from the Bible. The man has been known to wear t-shirts around his face to hide his appearance, police said. He has also been seen driving a white Honda coupe spray painted with anti-government and anti-religion slogans. Police asked anyone who sees the suspect to contact law enforcement. http://kdvr.com/2013/07/28/fort-collins-mormon-catholic-churches-on-guard-after-threats/ Coincidentally, the groundbreaking for the Fort Collins temple is scheduled for August 24th. The temple has been opposed by anti-Mormons in the area. See the following link for details. http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20130727/BUSINESS/307250037/Fort-Collins-LDS-temple-break-ground-Aug-24 19 Aug 2013 A Bozeman, Montana LDS meetinghouse was vandalized. The suspect(s) broke a window, bypassing a locked door, and spray-painted the word "sheep" throughout the interior of the building. Authorities say that there may be a link to vandalism of nearby Baptist and Catholic churches in the area a month ago. http://www.kpax.com/news/mormon-church-in-bozeman-vandalized/#_ 7 Nov 2013 Three Chubbock, Idaho LDS meetinghouses were vandalized with anti-Mormon epithets. Police are investigating the incident, which is similar to another instance of vandalism several months ago. http://www.kpvi.com/content/news/local/story/Police-Vandalism-Technically-a-Hate-Crime-Still/FFZIy63vP0OOx7zuNICZqQ.cspx 25 Feb 2014 Police arrested two men and charged them with burglarizing a Mormon meetinghouse in Schoharie, New York on 1/27/2014. One suspect wore a devil mask to hide his identity during the crime. http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Troopers-Man-wears-devil-mask-damages-Mormon-5265240.php Next???

As I said in the thread in question, I spent several years running a site that studied anti-Mormonism. I learned some interesting things about the phenomenon that you might find surprising. We tend to think of them as hostile atheists or wary members of "competing" Christian sects (yes, they regard it as competing for souls). Sometimes they are former members with an axe to grind--the "left the Church but can't leave it alone types." However, very few people understand that there is an industry associated with anti-Mormonism. They actually refer to it as the counter-cult industry. There are approximately 800 "parachurches" or "ministries" that publish, distribute, and disseminate anti-Mormon media in the United States. Most of these are for-profit enterprises. Very few of them are associated with Christian denominations. They operate outside the denominational structure and provide "plausible deniability" to the denominations. The individual churches within the denominations will hire these people to come in and speak or they purchase media (pamphlets, DVDs, etc.) and distribute them to their members. They also organize protests at temple open houses, dedicatory services, and at LDS pageants. One large megachurch in Texas shows the anti-Mormon film "The Godmakers" every school semester to their youth to "inoculate" from the positive contacts they might have with LDS youth in their schools. Churches often host "cult awareness" seminars where they present misleading information about the LDS Church and train people specifically how to counter the Spirit that accompanies LDS missionaries. They teach, "Yes you MAY feel something" from the Mormon elders, but don't trust your feelings. The person who posted the recent "anti" threads was probably someone who had been to a seminar and learned some specific topics to post and how to approach it in the manner in which he did. One anti-Mormon ministry in Arizona distributed almost 30,000 anti-Mormon DVDs that were cleverly designed with cover art that looked like LDS DVDs published by the Church. The graphics, fonts, color schemes, intentionally tried to mimic ours. These DVDs were connected by the police to several instances of anti-Mormon violence that occurred in Arizona. An interesting bit of research I did turned up an interesting connection with this particular Arizona ministry. I found a web site called African Ex-Mormons for Jesus and I looked up its public Internet WHOIS info. The address linked it back to this same ministry, through a front business in Canada. There was a huge effort by anti-Mormons near Mukilteo, Washington in October 2010 that led to arson that burned down a LDS meetinghouse. (See http://www.ksl.com/?sid=12848130). When the meetinghouse was rebuilt and about to be rededicated, vandals defaced the brand new meetinghouse with graffiti. Also in the Northwest US in 2010, another LDS meeting house was vandalized in West Linn, Oregon. There was also an incident in West Linn where the school library was trashed and vandalized. On the librarian's desk was found a Book of Mormon with a knife stabbed into it. The librarian was LDS. I tracked anti-Mormon incidents for several years and watched, as the "Mormon Moment" was growing in the media, so did the incidents of violence against Mormons. Much of the anti-Mormon fervor in the Northwest was stirred up by a for-profit anti-Mormon ministry in Vancouver. We researched their "business" and discovered they were operating without a business licence, an expired corporate charter, and their main office was a shabby, run-down apartment in a bad part of town. These guys pretend to be a not-for-profit and solicit donations. Many anti-Mormons have academic credentials from degree mills. The only times we confronted these folks is when they tried to make their credentials the basis of their arguments. I was threatened with lawsuits on a number of times when we exposed their fake masters' degrees in "Biblical Studies." On a couple of occasions, I discovered that Christian anti-Mormons would meet on public forums like Reddit to coordinate with atheist anti-Mormons to attack the Church. At the end of my work studying the anti-Mormon phenomenon, I was developing evidence to show that there is coordination among these groups to develop an anti-Mormon calendar. You can track their publications statistically and show that they will release certain topics to the media and to popular Internet forums on a schedule. For example, in March-April (close to Passover), you'll see the articles about Mormons doing proxy baptisms for Holocaust victims. In September, they'll bring up the Mountain Meadows Massacre (which also occurred on 9/11--a date they hang onto for effect). When Nielsen is doing the ratings sweeps, there are always pubs on polygamy. I could go on and on, but my point is that anti-Mormonism is bigger than you think. It is not just misinformed people who mean well and want to save us. They are organized. They make money doing it. They organize to dominate discussions on Facebook, Reddit, and comment sections on various blogs. One anti-Mormon keeps a constant anti thread going on a discussion group that is about mixed martial arts! Another lady runs an anti-Mormon site that is set up to look like a cooking blog. Some work together to re-write Wikipedia posts that offer correct info about the Church and change it to false info. Finally, before I end this long-winded post, Mormon social media sites like this should use Rush Limbaugh's philosophy. When he was criticized for not allowing critics equal time on his program, he said, "I AM equal time!" In other words, there's a huge Internet out there. There are thousands of anti-Mormon groups that are working to pull us down. They don't need any more free space to post their lies. When they come here, the mods do a great job shutting them down. It only takes a 140-character "tweet" to insinuate doubt. It takes thousands of words to defend the right sometimes. If they are allowed to overtake a forum, they will run off the faithful who don't desire to have contention be a part of their lives. The anti-Mormons know this and exploit it. Sometimes we have to be blunt with them and stand our ground with faith and good humor. Martin Luther said once, "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn.” That advice served me well in the years I studied anti-Mormons and their tactics.

The mods here are like shepherds who do a good job protecting the flock. I appreciate their vigilance.

A lot of the misconceptions and misunderstandings about the Church come from people confusing us with other sects. When I was getting ready to join the Church, my mom said, "If you think we'd let you die instead of letting you have a blood transfusion, you have another thing coming!" "No Mom," I replied, "That's the Jehovah's Witnesses." Then she though I wouldn't celebrate Christmas anymore--again, that was the Jehovah's Witnesses. She didn't know the difference. My best friend thought I'd give up on using technology and go around wearing black. I had to explain that the Amish aren't Mormons. (They're actually Anabaptists.) Some other crazy things included: "Mormons will come into your house and just eat anything they want from your refrigerator!" (Must have known some missionaries, lol!) "A Mormon woman has to sleep with any man who asks her." (My wife heard that one from her mother before she joined the Church.) "On their wedding night, the Mormons sew the newly married couple into a big sack for their 'honeymoon.'" (Seriously). When I was running the S.P.A.M. web site, I used to get statistics that included search terms that brought people to the site. One recurring question was, "Can Mormons swim?" Somewhere people think that Mormons aren't allowed to swim. (Maybe because mission insurance doesn't allow missionaries to swim, do martial arts, ride a motorcycle, etc.)

I'm not making any accusations here, because the tone on the replies has bee good so far. However, I want to issue a caution to the original poster and the respondants. For several years, I operated a site called the Society for the Prevention of Anti-Mormonism (S.P.A.M.) The site was not an apologetics site in the usual sense. What we did was study anti-Mormon tactics and their methodology. The answers to almost every gospel question, like the ones Byron posted are readily available on any number of good LDS sites. The best site on the planet to get answers to these questions is the Church's main portal, LDS.org. The posting of several topics at once like this is very similar to what we called a "shotgun attack" on the S.P.A.M. web site. You see these all over the Internet. There are articles like "50 Questions for Mormons" or "20 Questions Every Mormon Must Answer," etc. It is very often the case that anti-Mormons will join a discussion forum like this and then try to dominate all the discussions asking questions that either conflict with sectarian doctrines or address esoteric doctrines not essential to salvation. They will toss out questions, either in a list, or in rapid-fire succession so that it is unlikely that a coherent presentation can be presented. The questions like, "Do Mormons believe Jesus and Satan are brothers?" or "Do Mormons believe they can become gods?" or "Does God live on planet Kolob?" fall into these two categories. I'm not saying that Byron is anti-Mormon and I'm not judging his motives. I'm just cautioning that this is a tactic that is taught to evangelical Protestants in "anti-cult" seminars hosted by their churches. It is just exactly that: a tactic. When they apply the tactic, it is often without sincere intent, or with the sincere intent to instill doubt and contention among faithful Mormons. In particular, they hope the questions themselves will cause doubt to germinate in the heart of weaker LDS members. The "shotgun attack" used by anti-Mormons is one technique that Mormons should be aware of and able to identify. Over the course of several years, we analyzed hundreds of anti-Mormon articles, books, videos, and websites and determined that anti-Mormon attacks fall into one of six tactics. I'll list them here just for information. 1. Use of non-authoritative sources and out-of-context quotations 2. Attack the story of the Book of Mormon's origin, not its contents 3. Distort Mormon doctrines by comparing them to the unscriptural teachings of Christian creeds 4. When all else fails, lie! 5. Use slander, personal attacks, and character assassination 6. Accuse your opponent of doing the very thing you are doing Again, I'm not saying Byron is an anti-Mormon, but when I saw several topics posted by a new forum member, whose profile says "Christian," my "Spidey-senses" went active. This has all the hallmarks of a "shotgun attack." Hopefully, the OP will participate in respectful discussion by sincerely considering responses with an open mind. In the end, our position is to seek truth from God, through the Holy Spirit to know the truth of anything.

I had the gift of tongues come upon me in France as a missionary on a couple of occasions. One off them, was when I was having a conversation with a professor of theology who taught at a university near Toulouse. For over an hour, I answered his theological and doctrnal questions at a very high level. At the end of our meeting, he asked me how long I had been in France. I answered that I had only been there for two months. He was amazed. He asked how much French experience I had had before coming to France and I said that I had two years of high school French and eight weeks at the MTC. He was astounded and remarked, "I wonder if I've just seen a manifestation of the gift of tongues?" I testified that it was so. When under the influence of this gift, I did not feel any different than usual. My ability to express the thoughts in my mind simply flowed naturally, but only in hindsight, was it remarkable. Two days later, my bicycle broke and and I struggled to communicate with the bike shop mechanic trying to explain that the bearings in the crank of my pedals were shot. No gift of tongues was given and I was left to struggle with the language according to my own faculties.

It has been interesting reading the various comments here. I made a lengthy comment earlier and, since then, some chapters in Alma I read in my daily scripture study came to mind. I just started the "war chapters" of Alma, which I think have great bearing on our time. The thing that impresses me most is that the wars came upon the Nephites because the Church fell into pride and dissenters began to cause trouble. That impacted the whole of the Nephite community because the vehicle for message of salvation got distracted from its core missions. After Alma put the Church into Helaman's hands, Helaman and the high priests of the Church saw the need for a regulation of the Church. By "regulation" here, the scripture means corrective attention from its leaders. I attended a conference convened for the benefit of stake presidents, bishops, and branch presidents in the the state of Virginia. Elder Nelson presided and one of the Seventy (I don't recall his name and my notes from the meeting are packed away from recent move) who was on the Scripture Committee of the Church. They described this meeting as a a "regulation" meeting. They spoke of "establishing" the Church as described in Alma, meaning that these kinds of meetings were to ensure that the Church in an area is founded or established on sound doctrine. The teachings in that meeting were gentle, instructive, and corrective in some areas. This is the kind of meeting Helaman and his brethren held among the Nephites. In Alma 45:21 it says: For behold, because of their wars with the Lamanites and the many little dissensions and disturbances which had been among the people, it became expedient that the word of God should be declared among them, yea, and that a regulation should be made throughout the church. Note that the corrective action was to deal with "little dissensions and disturbances." That's the kind of stuff that arises on forums like LDS Freedom Forum or A Voice of Warning. Julie Rowe's teachings cause disturbances that cause problems in the Church. Many well-meaning people get drawn away by these false oracles. When the General Authorities issue the correction (or when it comes through stake presidents or their bishops), some of these people will become "dissenters." They become critical of the Church for not being "awake" to the dangers that their chosen oracle is proclaiming. In Helaman, the next verses tell us: 23 And now it came to pass that after Helaman and his brethren had appointed priests and teachers over the churches that there arose a dissension among them, and they would not give heed to the words of Helaman and his brethren; 24 But they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; therefore they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not give heed to their words, to walk uprightly before God. Invariably, the dissenters start with criticizing leaders, then they object to paying tithing, complaining how the Church allocates its funds. Then they cause contention in their quorums or in their Church classes. Some of them go inactive, but they haunt Internet forums stirring up dissent. Others leave the Church and follow cult-like offshoots, like Bishop Koyle's "Relief Mine" group. A few will apostatize completely and go to other churches where, like Amalickiah, they go to "stir up the Lamanites" to anger against their former brethren, and seek to persecute the Church. Once the poison of these false oracles get into an Internet forum, the greatest mistake is to debate the doctrinal points or the accuracy of the supposed prophecy. That's what causes dissent. The dissent is the symptom of the poison. It gives Satan his opening to divide and conquer. The people who want to follow the true oracles become the constant targets of the dissenters' harping and they eventually will leave the forum. That just leaves the dissenters to argue among themselves until the Church itself loses credibility in the eyes of other visitors. Just go to one of these "prophecy" discussions on these other web sites and you'll see predictions that the collapse of society or the "call-out" to the "tent cities" was imminent in 2010 and again in 2012 and again this year with the Shemitah and the blood moon eclipses. It doesn't take much to see that their track record of accuracy is pitiful. I'm not saying that those things aren't going to happen, but they're not going to happen without the Lord giving the real prophets of our dispensation the warnings we need. The nature of the warnings we receive are clear and unambiguous. If we heed them, we'll be ready. If we don't we won't. As interesting as these things can be, the prophecies of Bishop Koyle, the dreams of Julie Rowe, Hopi prophecies, or the vision of Catholic St. Malacky are not the oracles the Lord has appointed. If we trust in them more than we trust in the legitmate oracles, we will be deceived and lead ourselves and others astray.

I really feel strongly about the topic of these false oracles that are distracting members of the Church from the true ones. In the Doctrine and Covenants, we have an example that the Lord used for instruction and correction. In Kirtland, Ohio, there was a wave of successful missionary work that added hundreds of members to the Church in a place far from the first home of the Church in New York. The members were excited and filled with zeal. That zeal led them to many errors. Satan led new members astray with false revelations. The members meant well. They were so excited that God had restored prophecy and revelation to the earth that they got carried away. People did all kinds of unseemly things in the name of "having the Spirit." One man, for example, followed a glowing orb that he saw in a vision and it led him to jump off a bluff in pursuit of it. He might have been seriously injured, but he landed in a tree. The manifestations were similar to those swooning, fainting, trances that were common among spiritualists of the time. The Prophet arrived in Kirtland and found there was much to correct. He had to teach these new members that there was an order and economy in the house of God. The Lord is not disorderly in the way he gives revelation. Revelations come according to one's stewardship. Also, the "spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets" (1 Corinthians 14:32). What a living prophet receives will dovetail with that of previous prophets. In Kirtland, Joseph had to take aside Brother Hiram Page, who was receiving revelations for the whole Church via his own personal "seer stone." The instructions the Lord gave Joseph are in Section 28 of the D&C. 11 And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page,between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that stone are not of me and that Satan deceiveth him; 12 For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants. (D&C 28) When I taught Seminary about 20 years ago, I learned that the contents of Hiram Page's revelations had to do with the location of the future Zion in Missouri. In other words, Satan was trying to disrupt the plan of the Gathering by introducing some truths out of sequence, before the Lord had given them to the Church through Joseph. Joseph had to correct Brother Page and had him destroy the stone to remove the temptation to resort to it again. Today we have all kinds of people repeating so-called revelations from Julie Rowe, Bishop Koyle, Denver Snuffer, and others--some of whom profit from their "revelations." Members are unwilling to wait for the Lord to speak through the called and sustained prophets. Even though some of the things these people say may seem true, the Lord is not speaking to the Church through them. They will lead whoever follows them astray. I want to say that with as much emphasis as I can. These are modern-day Hiram Pages who are not called by the Lord to reveal these things, even if there were truth to their "visions." In the Book of Mormon, Lehi's son Jacob explains why the Jews in Jerusalem were smitten and scattered, even though they had living prophets among them. He wrote: "....Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it" (Jacob 4:14). If any saints hunger for the "more sure word of prophecy," there are ample writings from true, called, ordained, and sustained Church leaders all the way back to Joseph Smith. John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, George Albert Smith, and others prophesied exactly how America will meet its demise. Those hungry for descriptions of plagues, earthquakes, fires, floods, and war will find it from the words of these true oracles without having to resort to today's pretenders. All of these men held the appropriate priesthood keys and offices to give the revelations they left for us. Consider for example, Orson Pratt. Pratt was specifically commanded by the Lord in D&C 38 to "...lift up your voice and spare not, for the Lord God hath spoken; therefore prophesy, and it shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.." (D&C 38:10). Pratt was called by the Lord to prophesy. He has his critics because was strong-minded and stubborn at times. He published a speculative work on "The Great First Cause" that went beyond revelation into his speculations and it was declared non-doctrinal by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. Pratt repented and returned in time. Aside from that, no one in authority every criticized his prophecies. Likewise, Wilford Woodruff and John Taylor gave remarkable prophecies and we know where their authority came from and how they got it. People have a tendency to say, "Oh, Orson Pratt was excommunicated, so we shouldn't listen to him." Then these same people will turn around and follow a Bishop Koyle or a Denver Snuffer, who were excommunicated and never repented or returned to the fold. There is plenty of true revelation from reliable sources upon which we can focus our studies. My point is that the Church has a rich body prophetic and apocalyptic utterances from true oracles who were called by God for that purpose. I value all of these teachings and I have done my utmost to study them and understand them. I stay grounded in the scriptures and bless God that he has given us these additional words of knowledge to help us and motivate us. Most of all, I'm thankful for living prophets who we can trust to lead the way and tell us what needs to be done at the time the Lord sees fit to provide those instructions.

I'm surprised that no one has chimed in with Joseph Smith's explanations from Lectures on Faith. Here is a snippet: 9 From this we learn, that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen; and the principle of action in all intelligent beings. 10 If men were duly to consider themselves, and turn their thoughts and reflections to the operations of their own minds, they would readily discover that it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action, in them; that without it, both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental. Everyone exercises faith in something every day. We set the alarm clock at night expecting that it will wake us in the morning. We flip on the light switch when we get out of bed with the assurance that (so long as we have paid the electric bill and that there isn't a disruption of service) the light will come on. We turn the key in the ignition in the car with the assurance that, barring mechanical problems, it will start. Anyone who enrolls in college has the assurance that, if he meets the conditions for success, he will pass the classes and earn a degree. Anyone who goes on a diet and successfully loses weight exercised faith. A farmer plants a crop and expects that it will grow. All of these things are actions based on faith. Faith is a choice we make. Everyone has faith in something. Atheists have faith in science. I read an article a couple of years ago from a NASA scientist who is sure (has faith) that we will contact extraterrestrials in the next 20 years. That last one is really significant, because these scientist lobby Congress for billions of dollars every year in the hope (faith) that they will find extraterrestrial life if they have the right tools and look in the right places. How is that different from a person who seeks God? If he looks in the right way, ine right frame of mind, with real intent, he'll succeed. Discouragement and trials may buffet him, but eventually he'll succeed. The faith is manifest in the actions he takes to achieve it. Faith appears when action is taken, whereas belief is only passive. A person might think there are aliens out in the universe, but it takes great faith to ask a government to fork over billions of dollars worth of the citizens' labor to find them. In that light, faith can be misguided. We can have faith and act in error. We can place faith in something that is erroneous or false, but the fruits that result will not be correct. Faith manifested in something that is true brings forth good fruit, positive results, and increased understanding--leading to greater faith to act.

When I was running the Society for the Prevention of Anti-Mormonism web site (hence the SPAMLDS moniker) from 2008-2011, I used to use the Statcounter service to track the site's performance. Among the information it provides is the IP addresses of your visitors and their Internet domain. You can see where your traffic is coming from. I used to be surprised to see from time to time, visitors from Church headquarters in the logs. I figured they were employees surfing on their lunch break or maybe someone from HQ checking to see if I was leading people astray. I never got any communications from them. I always tried to stay right in the "center of the road" doctrinally, so I really didn't worry much. Another tool I used was Google alerts. You just enter in a keyword and Google will send you lists of blogs, news, and other sources that feature the keywords. I had alerts for LDS, Mormon, and of course, the site's name. It worked like a vacuum cleaner, efficiently bringing in almost everything going about the Church in English each day. What was interesting is how it showed trends. One anti-Mormon site would come up with a topic and the rest would pick it up and spread it for a few days. Then the topic would change. I started to see that there were calendar trends. Every spring, before conference, there would be something about genealogy, doing baptism for the dead for Holocaust survivors, etc. The new 9/11 for anti-Mormons is the Mountain Meadows Massacre. They use 9/11 every year to remind people that it was the date of that tragic event in our history. In October, there would be things about polygamist groups and attempts to connect them to the Church. There were always articles about "Smithmas" at Christmas time. Anyways, I digress. I'm sure the Church uses some very sophisticated tools to research opinions about the Church. There is also the commission it was given by the Lord in Section 123 to gather up all the libelous accounts that are published against the Church and archive them. I'm sure there is a "Defending the Faith" committee that supervises that effort.

Just keeping busy between conference sessions. Thanks for the kind sentiments.

First, evil spirits On the subject of evil spirits. Yes, we know they exist because the scriptures tell us they do. I have noted in my years of observation of other churches (I'm a convert to the LDS Church) that denominations that put a big focus on evil spirits tend to experience them. For example, Pentecostals and Holiness churches often talk about everything being demonic. A lady I know who was Pentecostal was obsessed with protecting her family from demonic influences. She wouldn't let them listen to music, watch TV, go to movies, dance, or do many other things. Interestingly, she reported that her church had a lot of experiences with evil spirits. Latter-day saints focus on having the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Doing so provides a positive orientation that provides a protective influence. Even though we know there are dark forces out there, we steer toward the light consciously. Second, the subject of women giving blessings There's nothing unusual or mysterious about this. Praying for the sick and exercising faith in their behalf is effective. Laying on of hands is not necessary to do this. Jesus healed the sick from a distance without touching them at all. He also smeared clay and spittle on the eyes of a blind man to restore his sight. Elijah told a guy to go wash in a river to be healed. Faith is what is important. There is nothing sinful or mysterious in women laying on hands to pray. They should not pretend it is a priesthood blessing. The Lord gives us ordinances in forms that add to the sense of order and propriety. The ordinances are symbolic. Third, conspiracies of the last days. I actually wrote a book (now out-of-print) for Cedar Fort Press about conspiracy theories and looked at them from a scriptural perspective and with amplifying passages from latter-day prophets. There's nothing particularly uplifting about the topic. The conclusion of my book, after doing much study on the subject, is that the Lord knows what he's doing and that everything the Church is doing under the direction of living prophets serves to have us be ready for any eventuality. If you follow the prophet, things will take care of themselves. You'll have the Spirit to be with you to warn you of what you should specifically do. Likewise, what the Spirit tells you to do may be different than what God tells your neighbor to do. The Holy Ghost will orchestrate the resources to meet the challenges. God's got it covered. No worries. Have faith and be positive. Peter walked on water so long as he looked at Jesus. When he took his eyes off the Savior and became concerned with the storm, that's when he started sinking.

The Bible is full of examples on how God speaks to latter-day saints. Communications can come in the form of "the voice of the Lord" or "the still, small voice." It can be given in dreams and visions. It can come in the form of angelic visitations. It can come through the words of a prophet or the faiithful counsel of a friend. It can come from reading the word of the Lord in the scriptures and having our hearts touched by it. It can come by having the Lord speak with you "face to face" as he did with Moses. Sharing the details of these personal experiences should be done as inspired by the Spirit so as not to cast the pearls of God's merciful manifestations to us before the "swine" who might ridicule them.

Missionaries and bishops can probably tell you a little bit about discernment. When I was on my mission, I was knocking on doors one day in a large French city. We had a conversation with a guy who lived in a large walk-up apartment building. He didn't let us in, but he kept talking to us through the door. He kept challenging us with various questions about faith and why it isn't logical or scientific to believe. There was an edge of bitterness in his voice, but my companion didn't quite pick up on it. All of a sudden, I knew (discerned) that this guy had been a former member of the Church. I asked him out of the blue, "So how long has it been since you left the Church?" My companion's head snapped around in astonishment and the guy looked at me incredulous. Sure enough, he admitted that he had been a member and had fallen away. It had been many years since he had left the Church after having his faith damaged by some anti-Mormon literature. I didn't "read" his mind, but I was given the "hunch" and I was bold enough to act on it. Personally, I think that Jesus operated like we do. Although he was a member of the Godhead, he assumed mortality fully and he overcame the veil gradually. His personal purity and obedience to his Father's commandments gave him access to unlimited spiritual gifts. Those gifts came, like the do with us, as he had need of them.

The question involves some fallacious thinking. It seems to suggest that the righteousness of the man in question was reflected by his serving in various Church callings. It focuses on works and does not include grace in the least. Many latter-day saints are mistaken in this kind of thinking. The Book of Mormon clearly teaches that we are saved by grace. "And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king" (Alma 22:14, italics added). None of us deserve to be saved. Nothing we do merits it. Whether like the man in the "scenario" we lie or we don't, none of us do anything that can merit salvation. We are saved by the atonement of Christ. If we exercise faith and repentance, Christ is merciful and saves us despite our errors and mistakes. Nobody will be error-free when we leave this life. We keep the commandments because we love God, not because we earn his love or forgiveness by doing so. We practice living a celestial law on this earth so we may be able to enjoy the blessings of heaven here while we are in mortality. We will be pleasantly surprised when we see who Father has forgiven because they called upon the name of his Son for mercy, despite the imperfection of their lives.

I had to look up "Replacement Theology" before chiming in. Here's a sample of what I found: Supersessionism, also called replacement theology or fulfillment theology, is a Christian theological view on the current status of the church in relation to the Jewish people and Judaism.[1] Supersessionism is the belief that the Christian Church has replaced the Israelites as God's[2] chosen people[1][3] and that the Mosaic covenant has been replaced or superseded by the New Covenant.[4] From a supersessionist's "point of view, just by continuing to exist, the Jews dissent."[5] This view directly contrasts with dual-covenant theology which holds the Mosaic Covenant as still valid for Jews. While supersessionism was a core tenet of the Church for the majority of its existence, and remains a common assumption among Christians, since the Holocaust it has been rejected by some mainstream Christian theologians and denominations.[6]:1–5 Mormons have a unique view on Israel. Israel is the body of the righteous spirits who were valiant in the pre-mortal life and were foreordained to be messengers and administrators of the covenant on earth. We most often think that foreordination applies to a pre-mortal calling conferred upon individuals, but perhaps the most important meaning of foreordination is in reference to the blessings and responsibilities that were foreordained to an entire group. Moses spoke of this type of foreordination as he spoke of all the house of Israel. "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." (Deut. 32:7-9; italics added.) Commenting on this Old Testament passage and its implications to the doctrine of foreordination generally and to the house of Israel specifically, President Harold B. Lee said: It would seem very clear, then, that...Jacob, who was later to be called Israel, and his posterity, who were known as the children of Israel, were born into the most illustrious lineage of any of those who came upon the earth as mortal beings. All these rewards were seemingly promised, or foreordained, before the world was. Surely these matters must have been determined by the kind of lives we had lived in that premortal spirit world. Some may question these assumptions, but at the same time they will accept without any question the belief that each one of us will be judged when we leave this earth according to his or her deeds during our lives here in mortality. Isn't it just as reasonable to believe that what we have received here in this earth life was given to each of us according to the merits of our conduct before we came here?10 Also, as previously cited, the Apostle Paul taught the doctrine of election to the Saints in Rome and Ephesus. Election, in this instance, is a type of collective foreordination-a selection of spirits to form an entire favored group or lineage. Although it is a collective foreordination it is nonetheless based on individual premortal faithfulness and spiritual capacity. Elder Melvin J. Ballard, in a classic address given in 1922 entitled "The Three Degrees of Glory," explained how some were foreordained to be of the house of Israel. There was a group of souls tested, tried, and proven before they were born into the world, and the Lord provided a lineage for them. That lineage is the house of Israel, the lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their posterity. Through this lineage were to come the true and tried souls that had demonstrated their righteousness in the spirit world before they came here. Our particular branch is the house of Joseph through his son Ephraim. That is the group whence shall come the majority of the candidates for celestial glory.11 (http://emp.byui.edu/OpenshawR/Pearl%20of%20Great%20Price/Called%20and%20Prepared%20from%20the%20Foundation%20of%20the%20WorldWith%20the%20War%20in.htm) Israel is more than just the Jews. Abraham was not a Jew and he did not live under Mosaic Law--he lived under the gospel (Galatians 3:8). Isaac and Jacob were not Jews. They lived under the same law as Abraham. The Old Testament focuses on their posterity who ended up living under the Law of Moses as a "schoolmaster" them to Christ. Thus Israel includes all those who are foreordained to be messengers of the covenant. The Restoration began with Joseph (the Gatherer) reaching out to the other Israelites through missionary work. Patriarchal blessings tell us that members of all the various tribes have been identified as converts join the Church. That work continues and will continue until the end of the Millennium and all of those who are called are gathered in. Oddly enough, there are Jews who are "not of Israel" because they are not part of the foreordination and not called to election of Israel (Romans 9:6). As far as political Israel goes, latter-day saints have prophetic statements from Joseph Smith that tell us that confirm the Bible's predictions that Israel would be gathered and restored to rebuild the temple. This is part of the Restitution of all things. Joseph also instructed that the time would come when the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles would generally end and our missionaries will be sent to the Jews, that the "first shall be last and the last shall be first." We don't believe that Christianity supplanted, superceded, or replaced the covenant with Abraham's seed. Jesus taught a Restored Gospel, too. He restored back to Israel what Abraham and the ancient patriarchs back to Adam had enjoyed. Mormonism is a restoration of that same gospel. Those who embrace it are either of the house of Israel by foreordination, blood, or adoption. When a Jew or Gentile embraces the gospel today, is baptized, and confirmed, he enters into the ancient Abrahamic covenant and becomes the seed of Abraham and of the house of Israel. He enters into the covenant into which he was called and elected before his birth.

Sometimes it's interesting to look at the question of whether or not the Gergesenes (Gadarenes) keeping pigs was in violation of the Law of Moses from a non-Christian source. In this case, the online "Jewish Encyclopedia" discusses the seeming discrepancy with the Law of Moses and the "alleged" miracle (from their point of view) done by Jesus. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6458-gadarenes By: Executive Committee of the Editorial Board., Joseph JacobsInhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus (Matt. viii.; Mark v.; Luke viii.) in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon rushed down a steep hill and perished. From the readings of the best texts and from the unsuitability of the locality around Gadara it appears that the proper reading should be "Gerasenes" and the place located at Karsa, on the left bank of the Wadi Samak, near the sea of Galilee. A discussion occurred between Professor Huxley and Mr. Gladstone in "The Nineteenth Century" for 1892 as to the morality of the act, the critical questions being whether (1) Gerasenes were Jews; and (2) if so, was it lawful for them to keep swine? As regards the first question, it would appear that that section of the country was chiefly inhabited by pagans in the first century, and Gerasa is at any rate included by Schürer among the Hellenistic cities ("Geschichte," ii. 141-144). As to the second question, there is no doubt of the illegality, from a ritual point of view, of Jews keeping swine (B. B. vii. 7). The Gemara on the passage gives a historical foundation for the practise in the times of Aristobulus. Bibliography:The Nineteenth Century, 1892, passim;Cheyne, Encyc. Bibl. s.v.;Wünsche, Neue Beiträge zur Erläuterung der Evangelien aus Talmud und Midrasch, p. 119.The Gergasene pig-herders were probably Gentiles, but we have to remember that the range of compliance with the Jewish traditions varied. Not every Jew was observant and it could be the case that the lure of profit was more irresistible than keeping the Law.

We have to look at the context of the situation Paul presents. The gospel going to the Gentiles was a new thing. The Jews who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah tended to hang on to their traditions, like circumcision. They had a strong revulsion against anything having to do with idolatry. The Gentiles didn't have this aversion as part of their culture. The first controversy in the Church was over whether Gentile converts needed to be circumcised. In the minds of some, Christianity was a revision or reformation of Judaism. Thus there was an anticipation that the Gentiles needed to be circumcised and follow the other parts of the law of Moses. The Church had to resolve it in a conference in Jerusalem. The counsel that was given by the apostles to the Church is contained in Acts chapter 15. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; 29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. This was a struggle for many who were Jewish converts. It was a culture change that was appalling to them because they had to let go of certain prejudices against Gentiles and their ways. For example, a Jew would never eat the leftover food from a feast where that food had been offered to an idol. Even if they didn't participate in the sacrifice and offering to an idol, they would not want to even be associated with it after the fact. A Gentile wouldn't have that aversion. Sometimes social situations would occur that tested the saints and even the apostles in this regard. Being sensitive to Jewish opinion in Antioch, Peter avoided entering into the houses of Gentiles. Perhaps he didn't want to stir up persecution or he may have been concerned for offending potential Jewish converts. Paul took him to task for it. Paul's devotion to "equality" was admirable, but the Church's leaders took a more conservative approach at the moment so as not to offend many. (Hmmm, sound like the priesthood ban to anyone?) 11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. 14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? The "political correctness" involved here was downplaying the liberality of the gospel so as not to offend conservatives. It can also work the other way. Today we might be the minority, conservative opinion on issues like abortion or gay marriage and in some situations, it's better for us to not cause strife or contention, even while we don't yield on our values. We have to make the judgment call whether or not we should be strident and offend or quiet and not offend. Situations vary. We have to use discretion. There is a time when life demands that we take a stand and challenge others to make their decision for Christ and another time where we might quietly keep our standards and avoid forcing a decision on those who are not yet ready to be challenged in such a manner. In all things, we keep the commandments. The need for discretion occurs when and how we declare that other people need to keep them.

When I was on my mission in France, one of my companions and I baptized a man from Brazzaville, Congo. Hs name was Andre. He was a student at a French university in the city of Pau. After studying the gospel and attending meetings for several months, he was baptized after he began receiving revelatory inspiration through his dreams. After Andre's baptism, he began sending copies of the Book of Mormon and various pamphlets home to his family and friends in Congo. There were no missionaries in that country at the time (around 1981-82). His mother and brother felt drawn to the gospel. His uncle, who was sort of a family patriarch, began to try to undermine the gospel message. There was no branch of the Church his mother and brother could attend. (Keep in mind that this was just a couple of years after the 1978 priesthood revelation and the work in English-speaking Africa was just beginning. The work in French-speaking Africa began to develop much later.) Essentially, my new convert's family had only the Book of Mormon and the prayer of faith on which to make any decisions about the gospel. Even if they believed, there was no Church presence for them to receive baptism. By this time, I had been transferred to another area of the mission and I learned of this experience by a letter. After the uncle had troubled my investigator's mother about the enthusiasm Andre had communicated about the gospel, the mother prayed for guidance. Andre related that an angel--his deceased grandmother--appeared to his mother in their home. The grandmother told her that she should believe Andre and assist him in his work. She said that doing so would help bring Zion to her people. I wish I knew the rest of the story, but there was no Internet back then and it was easy to lose touch with friends after the mission. I have always hoped that Andre's family was able to receive baptism at some point. It was always a confirmation to me of the gospel's power.

Around our house, we call the iPhone the "iStone." lol

One must understand the nature of the spirit world for those who die without the gospel and those who do. A person who accepted the gospel in mortality, leaned upon the atonement of Christ, struggled to overcome the flesh, and endured to the end fighting the "good fight" will be free from Satan's influence when he goes to the other side of the veil. Those who did not are still subject to Satan's influence. Thus, those who die in ignorance of the gospel are in the same position as they were here. They have a choice to make. Those who reject the gospel here must overcome their carnal nature--without a body. This is difficult. They took their carnal nature with them. The absence of a body is looked upon as a bondage of sorts (D&C 45:17 and 138:50). It is harder to repent without the body. Keep in mind that, although people in the spirit world do not have bodies, they can commit sin in their hearts and minds. They have almost infinite ability to move about and view the things of this world. They delight in those mortals who engage in sin and are drawn to them. The Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young manual has an excellent lesson on the spirit world. Here's a point he made in it, speaking of the freedom of movement within the spirit world: "They move with ease and like lightning. If we want to visit Jerusalem, or this, that, or the other place—and I presume we will be permitted if we desire—there we are, looking at its streets. If we want to behold Jerusalem as it was in the days of the Savior; or if we want to see the Garden of Eden as it was when created, there we are, and we see it as it existed spiritually, for it was created first spiritually and then temporally, and spiritually it still remains. And when there we may behold the earth as at the dawn of creation, or we may visit any city we please that exists upon its surface." (See https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-brigham-young/chapter-38?lang=eng). I suppose the converse is true--if we wish to view any manner of wickedness from the spirit world, we can likewise view it from beyond the veil. I have read near-death experience accounts of people who said they saw the wicked spirits who were enslaved to alcohol or pornography in life who gathered around to observe mortals who engaged in those activities. Such mobility would make it easy for them to continue to seek gratification by proxy. Perhaps that is why evil spirits (like in the Bible) sought to possess the bodies of mortals, that they might experience the physical gratification associated with fleshly lusts. To make an end, the Lord has provided us with the best school in which to become like him. It's hard. It's stressful. It's painful. Mortal life is designed to bring out the worst in us so we can repent of it. It's not intended to be easy. The people in the spirit world who embrace the gospel must undergo an equivalent level of difficulty to obtain their exaltation. The atonement pays for our sins, but repentance is the price. Obedience is the test that they must pass, just as we must.

There was an anecdote shared by Sister Shari Dew where she related how she came to discern good from evil. She was appointed by the Church to attend a UN conference on the family. She expressed frustration that the meetings were dominated by feminists, progressives, homosexual activists, and others who seemed to be purposefully trying to redefine and undermine the traditional family. She sought to connect with allies who would be supportive of the Church (and the Lord's) purposes. She said she be became frustrated because it was difficult to tell who the good ones were and who were the evil ones. She prayed hard for guidance and suddenly clarity came. The evil ones were the mean ones. She began to notice, after that prompting, that the people who were actively working against God's way were almost uniformly unpleasant, argumentative, scornful, derisive, and even hateful against those who were on the Lord's side of the issues. They were animated by pride and had contempt for others. With that understanding, she was more readily able to connect with people who wanted to do the right thing. Almost universally, those who are under the devil's influence will become angry when the following subjects emerge: Jesus Christ, his Church, priesthood keys, and the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, among others. I have seen seemingly nice Christians turn flat out mean-spirited when those topics come up. The reason? Satan can't abide them. If a person has yielded his heart in any way to the Adversary, he will show up to oppose those things. They transform just like those "agents" in "The Matrix" in an instant. It's a remarkable thing to see. It happens frequently on the Internet. I was once visiting a Christian forum and they were having a debate about baptism. I gave a solution from the scriptures that they found novel and satisfying--until they realized I was LDS. Then the discussion turned in to an anti-Mormon bash. Never mind that the LDS view settled their issue to their satisfaction. When they learned it was derived from LDS doctrine, Satan's spirit took hold and all the bigotry and intolerance just spilled out. One minute, they were nice, pleasant denominational Christians and the next they were raving, hatemongers. What changed? Priesthood authority emerged and Satan had to oppose it. It happens all the time. So how do we figure out which ones are the evil ones? We bear witness of the truth and stand by to see who rails against it.

I wore garments (the old one-piece style) in Air Force basic training. Of course, there is zero privacy in that environment and it elicited a lot of questions. I used to respond with an answer I learned from Elder H. Theodore Tuttle of the Seventy. I'd ask the person posing the question he had a pastor or a minister in his family church. The answer was usually affirmative. I'd ask him if the minister wore a particular kind of clothing that identified his position, like a collar, vestment, or robe. In most cases, this was so. Catholic and Protestant ministers usually have some kind of distinctive apparel. Orthodox rabbis, Muslilm clerics, Buddhist monks, and others also have clothing that is distinctive. I'd explain that, because almost all men in our denomination are ordained ministers, and because I had served as a missionary, I could serve anytime as a gospel preacher. Because Mormon priests and elders are not professional clergymen, we have to work in the secular professions and trades. Thus, we wear our ministerial apparel under the clothing instead of on top. It served the same purpose: to remind us that we held authority and that we had special obligations to God. This answer was always accepted as a very reasonable one. One day, a guy from the other dorm was in our room when we were changing uniforms and he got a look at my garments and he made a crack about them. The guy whose bunk was next to mine stepped in to display his newfound knowledge. He asked the guy, "Hey, does your minister or priest wear a robe or a collar?" and he repeated my explanation almost verbatim. I found that pretty amusing. In answer to when we don't wear them, I would also include participation in sports. Obviously you wouldn't wear them playing soccer, tennis, or swimming. I'm a martial arts instructor and I don't wear them when I'm leading class or training. That would be awkward. Our religion is not about our underwear. It's about keeping the covenants we made to love God and serve him. Catholics have rosaries to help them remember sacred prayers. Orthodox Jews have phylacteries and yarmulkes. We have the garment to help us remember our obligations.