RFM today tackles the fact that not only was the 1832 account (6 pages) excised by someone within the Church History Department of the LDS Church and stored away for decades but that in fact there are another 16 pages that were also cut out and never returned and missing to this day.
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Interesting. Two things occurred to me. It was stated that we could tell there were inscriptions on the lost 8 pages (as opposed to them being blank) because of the indentations left on the next page. To me that means that we should be able to analyze and recover the text from those indentations. Has no one really tried that? We should be able to recover at least one, if not more than one page of text. Secondly, I wonder what prompted the speculation that the 8 pages were removed at the same time as the three? Was there evidence that the 8 were removed with the same knife or something? To me it seems just as likely that the 8 pages were removed at a different time.
It think you are right about the indentations possibly being readable. Not only that, but the methods for doing that kind of thing were pioneered at BYU. If the will exists, so does the expertise, and practically at their fingertips.
This says more about the churches true mission of deception than almost anything else.
I would like to say I’m surprised, but I’m not. After learning of the JFS suppression of the first vision account, I’ve always wondered what else church leaders have suppressed or even destroyed to keep unpleasant truths from
ever reaching the average member.
I was a TBM until a few years ago when I, as countless others, stumbled across some questionable church history and found myself going down a rabbit hole that seemed to have no end. I believed all of it that I had been taught since my youth: Modern day prophets and apostles talking with Jesus, polygamy being practiced after we die, premarital sex second only to murder as a sin, all the whitewashed church history, and of course the TK smoothie (shout out to Bill on that one).
What I found just as disturbing as the actual truth of church history, was the extent that the church leaders have gone to suppress that truth from me and all other members. While the JFS incident blew my mind when I first heard it, learning the truth of what happened to Leonard Arrington, and of course Boyd K Packer threatening CES employees to fall in line with the suppression of truth or lose their job is just as bad.
As the church continues to hemorrhage members because of its truth suppression, they still avoid uncomfortable truths at all cost, and Elder Ballard’s statement, just as Daniel Peterson’s statement is just a flat out lie. Although the church essays are a step in the right direction, they conveniently avoid important details or facts that ultimately try to conceal the whole truth or twist it.
All I can say is thank you to RFM and Bill Reel and many others that aren’t letting truth suppression, carefully worded and twisted statements and lies to continue unchecked anymore. Please support them financially so they can continue this important work. I do and I will continue to.
To the church leaders: Just be honest…tell the truth, don’t hide or twist information, or conveniently leave out import details. Confront the difficult but true history head on. This can be done and still portray a faith promoting view point that people will respect, even if they disagree. Teach the full truth in the church houses and at general conference. Let the members be aware of it and deal with it, instead of finding out the hard way like I did. I promise you in the long run, it will be better for the retention and commitment of church members.
I echo this sentiment.
Thanks Jerry!!
It’s heart breaking truth.
Jerry,
As much as I agree with the church’ just being honest’ as past TBM’s we also need to recognize what that means so perspective is used when expectations fall short of reality.
1st…Authority would be completely leveled. THEIR autbority. If they show the documented record that Peter, James and John never showed nor John tbe Baptist; their claims of everything collapses.
2nd…..modern church..post lectures on faith, have had correlating material taking over complete narration.
3rd….there has NEVER been honesty. Day one was a lie. When anything is built from the ground up on lies, it’s impossible for honesty to be anywhere in the equation.
4th….the higher you climb; the harder the fall. No way is falling apart of their plan. They’ll go hell, literally before becoming honest. IMHO they must not believe their own doctrine…since their doctrine would land them at best in a Telestial world.
God had a higher purpose unbeknownst to us. Those pages went missing because The Lord in his wisdom knew that JFS was going to hide the 1832 account of the first vision so… wait, that doesn’t make any sense. Let me rethink this and I’ll get back to you.
Sounds like someone should drop the ole rock back into the hat and let us know where the pages are or what was on them. This would be similar to JS & OC’s experience in reading a parchment written by John as noted in D&C 7.