ROOTS OF MORMONISM - ANOTHER POEM

Every once in a while, I have poems basically POP into my head... and that is the case with this one...

ROOTS OF MORMONISM

Con artist, shyster, manipulator,
Charlatan, swindler, compulsive liar.
Making things up, deceiving the masses,
Creating doctrine through many ruses.
Proclaiming to be a Prophet of God,
But in reality, an enormous fraud.
Pretending to translate ancient language,
But plagiarizing nearly every passage.

And what Joseph didn’t plagiarize,
He just made up, there is no disguise
For what he did, very clear to see
If you look at it all objectively
Without the Mormon rose-colored glasses
That shade everything, making the dogmas
Seem logical when they make no sense,
Gobbledygook for which there’s no defense.

Marrying women already married
To living husbands, not ones they buried
Or even divorced, just adultery,
Not adhering to any moral boundary.
Coercing teenage girls into marriage,
Using them, clearly taking advantage
Of their innocence and need to believe,
Knowing they were pliable and naïve.

Carrying many things to the extreme
As part of his diabolical scheme
To dupe the people who listened to him,
Not afraid to go way out on a limb
And profess to translate some golden plates
Into the Book of Mormon, which relates
To the Lamanites, they boldly insist,
But DNA shows they didn’t exist.

And the list goes on, his plan was complete,
With scriptural references replete.
Inventing the Doctrine & Covenants,
Revelations from God, spiritual moments,
Captured on paper for all to absorb,
Modern day communication with the Lord.
And so many bought it, right down the line,
Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer divine.

Being born and raised in Mormonism,
I used to believe, but now a schism
Has formed in my mind and I’ve seen the light,
So obvious this simply isn’t right.
On so many levels, it’s just a scam,
A gigantic hoax, swindle and flimflam
Created by a crook named Joseph Smith
With others perpetuating the myth.

One day, I pray the truth will be clear
To Mormons who to the fraud adhere,
Believing in a religion that’s bogus,
Relying on the Mormon compass
To guide their every move and every thought,
Not even realizing they are caught
In a web of lies where deceptions abound,
Wanting them to feel the peace I have found.

As the scriptures say, the truth shall make you free,
And that’s what I hope for them eventually.

© Diane Tingen, 2/1/2011