WHITE-WASHING OF MORMON HISTORY

I just found an interesting website called Mormon History at this link - http://www.historyofmormonism.com/.  On this website, it says its purpose is this:

This Mormon history website aims to share that history with the world, so that their stories of faith in God, dedication to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to one another can inspire others. This Mormon history site includes a detailed history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is properly known, from its founding by the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1830 up to the current time. Biographies of important Mormon leaders and prominent members will show the human side of Mormon history and the ways in which the Lord works among people today to spread the good news of the Gospel to the whole world. Other articles will help those who are new to the history of Mormonism in understanding the teachings and practices of the Mormon Church.

We invite you to read the Mormon history stories of the faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to ponder the faith and belief which inspired them to give up everything they had to follow God, even at the risk of losing their own lives. We invite to read their stories and draw inspiration from their courage and dedication in building up the Kingdom of God here on earth.

At the bottom of the first page, this website contains this disclaimer:  "This website is not owned by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. The views expressed by individual users are the responsibility of those users and do not necessarily represent the position of the More Good Foundation.  For the official Church websites, please visit LDS.org or Mormon.org."

So what is More Good Foundation?  Well, in clicking into that link, I found this information: 

The More Good Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that helps Mormons share their beliefs on the Internet so interested people can learn more about Mormonism. It was created in 2005 by David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue Airways, and James Engebretsen, Associate Dean of the BYU Marriott School, as a solution to the overwhelming need for increased positive and accurate information about the LDS faith on the Internet. It is operated by a small team of employees and many volunteers.

Interesting - holding this website out as "a solution for the overwhelming need for increased positive and accurate information about the LDS faith on the Internet."  Unfortunately, though, this website is not accurate in that it contains bits of truth mixed with obvious errors and omissions.  For instance, this website says the following about the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor (which led to his incarceration in Carthage Jail where he was killed on June 27, 1844):  "On June 7, 1844, William Law, a disaffected Mormon, published the first and only edition of the Nauvoo Expositor. It was a scandalous paper that called for Joseph Smith to be hung. It described in lurid prose all the evil things Joseph and other leaders were supposedly doing."  But that is not an accurate description of what really happened at all.  White-washed, to say the least.  The reason that Joseph Smith ordered the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor (and the burning of the building in which it was housed) was because an article printed in the Nauvoo Expositor exposed the truth behind his practice of Polygamy/Plural Marriage, as well as other inappropriate behavior.  At that point in time, Joseph Smith's practice of Polygamy (and Polyandry) was not publicly known, and that's the way he wanted it.  In fact, just 2 weeks before this article was published in the Nauvoo Expositor, Joseph Smith made this statement at a Sunday meeting in Nauvoo:

"...What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one. I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago; and I can prove them all perjurers." (History of the Church, vol 6, p. 411)  Joseph Smith made this statement preaching from the stand to the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo on Sunday May 26, 1844.  At the time he had secretly taken at 33 plural wives.

So when William Law and the Nauvoo Expositor wrote a story in its newspaper exposing the truth behind all of this, Joseph Smith was outraged, thinking, I'm sure, how dare they print this!!  From some accounts that I have read, Joseph Smith apparently was a hot-head.  And of course, his hot-headed reaction in ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor is what landed him in jail where he was killed by a mob on June 27, 1844.

http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/nauvooexpositor.htm

At the above link is a complete reprint of what was contained in the Nauvoo Expositor.  I have read this several times, but what the Mormon History website says about the Nauvoo Expositor does not seem to be true in the least.  Again, I quote:  "On June 7, 1844, William Law, a disaffected Mormon, published the first and only edition of the Nauvoo Expositor. It was a scandalous paper that called for Joseph Smith to be hung. It described in lurid prose all the evil things Joseph and other leaders were supposedly doing."   Not only is this an inaccurate statement as far as its incompleteness is concerned, but I did not find one thing in it that says anything even remotely close to calling for Joseph Smith to be hung.  So as far as I can tell, this statement is a downright fabrication apparently stated to exaggerate what was said in an attempt to condone the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor.

What the article in the Nauvoo Expositor accused Joseph Smith of was:  (1) fornication and adultery; (2) unrighteous dominion over the City of Nauvoo since he was not only the President of the Mormon Church but also the Mayor of the town of Nauvoo, and they felt he had too much power; (3) hostile spirit and conduct against the government and citizens of the state of Missouri (in that he was fighting extradition back to Missouri after escaping from jail prior to fleeing to Iowa and then Illinois); (4) attempt at political power and influence by declaring his campaign for President of the United States, which they felt was preposterous, absurd, inconsistent, and not in accordance with Christian religion; (5) Joseph's preaching of the doctrine of many Gods, which they felt was false doctrine and blaphemous; (6) the excommunications of several members of the Church at Council's of which they were unaware, which they felt was not proper since these persons were not present to answer the charges against them; (7) the religious influence exercised in the church's financial concerns by Joseph Smith; (8) breach of fiduciary duty in the handling of the finances of the Mormon Church, including the misappropriation of funds relative to properties, making Joseph Smith a very wealthy man to the detriment of the general membership of the Church; etc.

Interestingly, these men say in this publication of the Nauvoo Expositor, as follows:

"We are earnestly seeking to explode the vicious principles of Joseph Smith, and those who practice the same abominations and whoredoms; which we verily know are not accordant and consonant with the principles of Jesus Christ and the Apostles; and for that purpose, and with that end in view, with an eye single to the glory of God, we have dared to gird on the armor, and with God at our head, we most solemnly and sincerely declare that the sword of truth shall not depart from the thigh, nor the buckler from the arm, until we can enjoy those glorious privileges which nature's God and our country's laws have guarantied to us-freedom of speech, the liberty of the press, and the right to worship God as seemeth us good.-We are aware, however, that we are hazarding every earthly blessing, particularly property, and probably life itself, in striking this blow at tyranny and oppression: yet notwithstanding we most solemnly declare that no man, or set of men combined, shall, with impunity, violate obligations as sacred as many which have been violated unless reason, justice and virtue have become ashamed and sought the haunts of the grave, though our lives be the forfeiture."

They go on to say:

"Many of us have sought a reformation in the church, without a public exposition of the enormities of crimes practiced by its leaders, thinking that if they would hearden to counsel, and shew fruit meet for repentance, it would be as acceptable with God, as though they were exposed to public gaze,

"For the private path, the secret acts of men,

If noble, for the noblest of their lives."

but our petitions were treated with contempt; and in many cases the petitioner spurned from their presence and particularly by Joseph, who would state that if he had sinned, and was guilty of the charges we would charge him with, he would not make acknowledgment, but would rather be damned; for it would detract from his dignity, and would consequently ruin and prove the overthrow of the Church.  We would ask him on the other hand, if the overthrow of the Church was not inevitable, to which he often replied, that we would all go to Hell together, and convert it into a heaven, by casting the Devil out; and says lie, Hell is by not means the place this world of fools suppose it to be, but on the contrary, it is quite an agreeable place: to which we would now reply, he can enjoy it he is determined not to desist from his evil ways; but as for us, and ours, we will serve the Lord our God!"

Discovering all of this about the publication of the Nauvoo Expositor as well as the actual truth about Joseph Smith's death was a real eye-opener for me, especially because I grew up being told that he died as a martyr due to religious persecution.  That is the Mormon Party Line, and they talk about it a lot via lessons in Primary, Sunday School, Seminar, etc.; talks in Sacrament Meeting; the singing of hymns like Praise to the Man; etc.  But although that is the Mormon Party Line, the characterization of Joseph Smith as a religious martyr is the farthest thing from the truth.  Joseph Smith was arrested and placed in jail because he ordered the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor (and the burning of the building in which it was housed).  Saying that he was unjustly accused doesn't make it so.  Although people are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, with the evidence that was stacked up against him, there is little doubt but that he was guilty.  And along with all of his other illegal activities (as discussed in length in my post entitled "Rough Stone Rolling?  Really!?!"), he was, in my opinion, most definitely a criminal.  White-washing the whole thing to characterize him as an "innocent man" is ridiculous, as was his statement when he was being taken to jail:  "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall be said of me—He was murdered in cold blood."

So much of what is portrayed as Mormon History is white-washed to make it seem more virtuous and less shocking.  Leaving out key pieces of information that muddy the waters seems to be a major ploy used in "prettying" things up. 

http://www.i4m.com/think/history/carthage-jail-smith.htm

Naturally, I was shocked when I discovered that Joseph Smith had a gun with him when he was in Carthage Jail, and that he used it to shoot 3 men, killing 2 of them.  That gun was given to him by Cyrus H. Wheelock when he went to visit Joseph Smith and the others in Carthage Jail.  That is something that is glossed over entirely by the Mormon Church.  Instead, they try to go with the "innocent man" routine, and that Joseph Smith was a "religious martyr."  The fact that he had a gun and used it to shoot 3 men, killing 2 of them, seems to debunk that theory.

Another one of those areas that they try to pretend doesn't matter is the fact that there are at least 9 versions of the First Vision.  The "official version" held out by the Mormon Church today wasn't even written until 1838 (18 years after the fact) and at a time when many people were leaving the church because of the excommunications of various individuals including Oliver Cowdery and the Whitmer brothers, is an example of molding the facts to fit their purposes - and the obvious philosophy of the end justifies the means.  Attempting to hide the actual origins of Polygamy as well as the practice of Polyandry (women being married to more than one living husband) is another example of this tendency toward white-washing.  I could go on and on, but since the truth is very obvious if actually examined, I won't go into every detail here.

Thankfully, though, there are a lot of other websites out there that tell the truth behind all the lies and deception perpetuated by the Mormon Church.  And the truth is out there to find via Google, which will aid in leading people to the truth if they are open to discovering it.