Comprehensive List of Things Hidden or Obscured in Mormonism in order to manipulate members into belief.
Elder Oaks and Elder Ballard have assured the members
“it’s this idea that the Church is hiding something, which we would have to say, as two apostles that have covered the world and know the history of the Church and know the integrity of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve from the beginning of time, there has been no attempt on the part, in any way, of the Church leaders trying to hide anything from anybody… So, just trust us wherever you are in the world. And you share this message with anyone else who raises the question about the Church not being transparent. We’re as transparent as we know how to be in telling the truth. We have to do that. That’s the Lord’s way.” (SOURCE)
This quote though seems so contradictory to the actual Historical Documentation regarding the Church and its history. What follows is a collective list of all the instances where LDS Leadership and Official Channels of the Church have hidden or obscured items or issues in what appears a deliberate and intentional way that appears deceptive.
1.) Top Leadership over two decades initiated dishonest and deceptive strategies around 38 Billion Dollars in Investments in order to keep members from being aware of the money the Church had. (SOURCE)
2.) Joseph Fielding Smith when serving as Church Historian discovered a earlier First Vision account and considering it a “strange account” cut it out of Joseph Smith’s personal journal and stored it away in the Church Historian’s Vault until it resurfaced in 1965. (SOURCE)
3.) The Council of Fifty was a secret organization established by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in March 1844 in Nauvoo, Illinois. The council was composed of fifty of Smith’s closest associates and was established to discuss and make decisions on various matters, including the possibility of establishing a theocratic government in the West. After Joseph Smith was killed in 1844, Brigham Young, the new leader of the LDS Church, continued to lead the Council of Fifty. The council played a crucial role in the church’s decision to move west to Utah and establish a new home for the Saints. The minutes of the Council of Fifty meetings were recorded and kept secret, known only to a select few members of the council and the church leadership. Over time, the minutes became the subject of speculation and interest among scholars and church members alike, as they provided insight into the council’s discussions and decision-making processes. In the early 20th century, LDS Church historian B. H. Roberts began working on a comprehensive history of the church, including the Council of Fifty. Roberts was able to obtain access to the minutes of the council meetings, but the church leadership at the time was concerned about the sensitive nature of the material and instructed Roberts to keep the minutes confidential. The minutes remained largely hidden away for many years due to the attitude of violence and other unhealthy attitudes and statements, with only a few select scholars and church officials allowed access to them. However, in the late 20th century, attitudes towards transparency and openness within the church began to shift, and there was increasing pressure to release the minutes to the public. In 2016, the LDS Church published the complete minutes of the Council of Fifty meetings in a volume entitled “The Council of Fifty: A Documentary History.” The publication was seen as a significant step towards greater transparency within the church and provided scholars and church members with a valuable resource for understanding the history and development of the LDS Church.(SOURCE)
4.) Ronald E. Poelman was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. In the October 1984 General Conference of the church, Poelman delivered a talk entitled “The Gospel and the Church.” Poelman’s talk was notable for its emphasis on the importance of personal revelation and the need for individual members of the church to seek a personal relationship with God. He also emphasized the importance of following the teachings of Jesus Christ and living a Christ-centered life. However, after Poelman’s talk was delivered, the Church’s top leaders were not satisfied with the talk and had Poelman redo the talk in an empty conference center and deliver a completely different version of the talk. They even went so far as to add a cough track. It was this version that was recorded for distribution on audio and video tapes. Several key passages, including those emphasizing the importance of personal revelation, had been removed or changed. This caused controversy and criticism from some members of the church who felt that the edits were misleading and did not accurately represent Poelman’s message. (SOURCE)
5.) Prior to the release of the Gospel Topic Essays regarding polygamy around 2015, Church members were never taught in official channels that Joseph Smith was a polygamist nor were they taught the circumstances of his polygamy such as teen brides and the marrying the wives of other men nor the pressure Smith placed on these girls and women to enter these relationships. (SOURCE)
6.) The Church pushed a narrative of Joseph Smith using the Nephite Spectacles for translation rather than inform people that Joseph actually used a seer stone that he obtained in his folk magic practices of Treasure Digging whereby he would pretend to locate lost gold and silver buried in hills, protected by guardian spirits. They failed to inform audiences until 2013 that Joseph translated the Book of Mormon by placing his egg shaped seer stone used in treasure digging into a hat and burying his face into the hat to exclude all light and then claimed to receive the Book of Mormon translation. All the while the Church obscured the Seer Stone story they had the stone in their possession withheld from the public’s awareness. (SOURCE)
7.) The Church always taught in regards to Joseph Smith’s Treasure Digging that when asked “Was not Joseph Smith a money digger? Yes, but it was never a very profitable job for him, as he only got fourteen dollars a month for it.” (Joseph Smith, Elders’ Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints [Kirtland, Ohio] 2 no. 3 (July 1838), 43). The Church always downplayed his treasure digging activities and they never explained what it meant to be a treasure digger which allowed members to assume that Joseph was holding a shovel and digging for treasure at the behest of whoever hired him. But this view neglects that Joseph claimed and word extended beyond his community that he had a seer stone and could through the means of its use locate fictional treasure in the ground. And that the process to obtain said treasure was to perform magic rituals that included animal sacrifice, magic circles, and thwarting off guardian spirits. But these hidden treasures weren’t real and anytime those digging got close, Smith informed them that the treasures had sunken deeper into the earth. Also the overlap in themes with the Gold plates buried in a hill protected by a guardian spirit (Moroni) and translated by the same seer stone. This overlap is alarming and adding to why this narrative might have been obscured. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
8.) Until recent changes in 2023, members going to the temple for the first time attending their endowment were given a chance to leave the ritual if they do not want to make the covenants that are about to be extended. But this is not how informed consent works. Anyone sitting in the Endowment for the First time who stays would be clueless to the specifics of the covenants they are about to enter into. On top of such, these covenants would have had significant spiritual consequences for believers. Informed Consent requires that attendees have the covenants and the connected penalties for not keeping them in full detail prior to committing to them so that one can consider them for a reasonable amount of time prior to entering a space where there is pressure to commit one’s life to them. Even with the recent change which only gives one a brief introduction to the covenants one will make and gives one very little time to consider the covenant prior to commitment, informed consent is not being respected. (SOURCE)
9.) The Church has withheld from official sources the significant event of B.H. Roberts, a well known and respected seventy, presenting to top Leadership what he saw as weaknesses and contradictions in Mormonism’s truth claims and the problematic material that suggested the Church was on fragile ground. The Church has always stayed away from reporting on these meetings and they have also portrayed B.H. Roberts as having a pristine testimony without acknowledging the likelyhood that Roberts has doubts. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE).
10.) The Church withheld until around 2015 that Joseph Smith founded the Danites, a group of male members who were to keep the Church safe even if violence was required to do so, and that Smith was aware and was briefed by the Danites of their activities. Even in their Gospel Topic Essay, they state “Historians generally concur that Joseph Smith approved of the Danites but that he probably was not briefed on all their plans and likely did not sanction the full range of their activities” which indicates their unwillingness to be specific about what Smith did know. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
11.) Joseph Smith had numerous run-ins with the law. The LDS Church and its correlated curriculum have always painted these as “trumped up charges” or have ignored the legal run ins completely. The Carthage and Liberty Jail episodes among them. When in reality many of these legal cases were based on real evidence and legitimate charges. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
12.) In 1866, Mormon settlers in Circleville detained and disarmed a group of Paiute Indians. A Few tried to escape and they were shot, Mormons killed the remaining prisoners by striking them on the back of their heads before slitting their throats. The killings occurred at the height of Utah’s Black Hawk War. This story has been withheld from official Church narratives and even the Utah school systems have been motivated to withhold these stories from the curriculum. Indigenous peoples inspite of being lumped into the Mormon narrative of “Lamanites”, were harmed and traumatized over and over by the LDS Church and its members. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
13.) The Mountain Meadows Massacre was a tragic event that occurred in southern Utah on September 11, 1857. A group of emigrants from Arkansas, known as the Fancher-Baker party, were traveling through Utah on their way to California when they were attacked and killed by a group of Mormon militia and Paiute Native Americans. It is believed that around 120 men, women, and children were killed. The reasons behind the attack are complex and include religious tensions between Mormons and non-Mormons, political unrest in the region, and a general atmosphere of suspicion and paranoia. Brigham Young was aware of the attack and the involvement of his own people but sought cover it up and shift the blame onto the Native Americans even as late as 1863. For many years, the LDS Church attempted to downplay its role in the massacre and even actively worked to cover up evidence of what had happened. For example, in the aftermath of the massacre, the Mormons buried the remains of the emigrants in shallow graves, and it was not until years later that the graves were excavated and the extent of the violence was fully revealed. It was not until the 20th century that the LDS Church began to fully acknowledge its role in the massacre and express regret for what had happened. In 2007, the Church issued an official apology for the massacre, stating that it was a “terrible and inexcusable episode in the history of the Church.” The Church has also worked with descendants of the victims to memorialize and honor their memory. However, some critics argue that the Church’s acknowledgement and apology have not gone far enough and that the Church still has not fully come to terms with its role in the massacre. The Church’s intentional cover-up of the events and its attempts to shift blame onto the Native Americans have contributed to ongoing mistrust and resentment between the LDS Church and non-Mormon communities in Utah and beyond. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
14.) Joseph Fielding Smith’s “Answers To Gospel Questions” Volume 1, Q45, the question is, “Will you kindly explain the meaning of the doctrine of the blood atonement,” and the answer is all about the blood of Christ and his atonement. What he intentionally withholds from the answer is Brigham Young’s doctrine of Blood Atonement. This sleight of hand tactic is a common one where Church leaders suggest some faithful response while intentionally avoiding answering the question with an honest answer about problems in Church history. Brigham Young taught “Blood Atonement” as a doctrine and said doctrine made it appropriate to carry out violence on a sinner in order to help them make atonement for their sins. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
15.) The Church avoids disclosure and conversation around Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and the early Quorums of the 12 having ownership of businesses that sold alcohol including Brigham Young’s whiskey distillery and the Laverkin winery. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
16.) The Church often focuses on the simplified story of Joseph Smith’s leg surgery emphasizing Smith’s turning down of alcohol to mitigate the pain. They often leave members with the belief that Smith wasn’t fond of drinking and abstained from alcohol generally in spite of numerous historical accounts that have him drinking and even opening a tavern. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
17.) Treating the proclamation on the family as if it was a document revealed by revelation but withholding from members that it was a legal document created by the Church legal team to give them a “Friend of the Court” standing in the fight against Gay Marriage. As a side note noting that No females leaders were invited to be involved with the creation of it but rolling it out in the women’s session of conference. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)
18.) The Brigham Young “Teachings of the Presidents of The Church” covered up or altered quotes used within the manual to portray Young’s words differently than what the historical record imposed. This was most notable with all quotes used that referenced wives in the plural within Brigham Young’s teachings. Ellipses and the removal of plural versions of the word wife were done so that members used manuals that would dealt with the teachings under the understanding of monogamy rather than deal with the Church’s early polygamy. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)
19. ) The Church commissioned B.H. Roberts to work through History of Joseph Smith and correct errors, add corroborative material, improve the narrative, and provide commentary on the events. What this entailed is that Roberts and those working under him adapted the volumes to include additional history and events and teachings but to place them in the first person language of Joseph Smith. What this means is that the The 7 Volume History of the Church can not be trusted to be the views and thoughts and events experienced by Joseph Smith but rather one must be careful to grasp the significant addendum material knowing such. When compared to the original manuscripts from which it is drawn, “more than 62,000 words” can be identified that were either added or deleted and much of the writing occurred after Smith’s death in 1844. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
20.) Also in Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol 4, Q32, there’s a question about a reporter’s article that states a mormon belief, “It seems the Mormon Church teaches that Negroes have inferior souls.” Joseph Fielding Smith gets all indignant, insisting the reporter has no clue what Mormons believe, writing “Mormons have no animosity towards the Negro. Neither have they described him as belonging to an ‘inferior race.'”. This just isn’t true. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
21.) former Doctrine & Covenants (Book of Commandments) Section 101 circa 1835 which said marriage should be but between one man and one woman (Even as Joseph Smith was practicing polygamy secretly) was removed in 1870s. (SOURCE)
22.) The changing of Book Of Mormon title page to alter the phrase “literal descendants” to “among the descendants” (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
23.) The changing of the phrase in the Book of Mormon from “white and delightsome” to “fair and delightsome” (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
24.) Joseph Smith and perpetuated by the LDS Church up until recently was the narrative that the bible had been corrupted and that the Inspired Bible translation done by Joseph Smith was a restoring of the plain and precious parts of the bible that had been lost. Current scholarship acknolwedged by the Church and its Brigham Young university is that Joseph Smith heavily plagarized Adam Clarke’s Commentary, a contemporary bible commentary, in order to create the inspired Bible translation. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
25.) Perpetuating a narrative of a Lay Clergy allowing members to believe their leaders went without “purse or script” while avoiding a direct discussion of just how much income LDS Leaders receive. Church leaders still refuse to disclose the extent of their pay and benefits. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
26.) The Allegation that Tithing money or the interest off tithing being used to: bail out Beneficial Life Insurance, build City Creek Mall, pay the SEC Fines while telling members that Tithing money was not used. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
27.) The Church hoarding Billions of Dollars only committing a miniscule amount of their financial portfolio to Humanitarian Aid. Notice in the last source the Church’s official website neglecting to inform members of money being invested and the disclosure of just how much money is invested. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)
28.) Women in Nauvoo being smeared for reporting polygamous proposals. Three women came forward, Sarah Pratt, Nancy Rigdon, & Martha Brotherton. All were denounced as liars and their virtue and reputation was thoroughly attacked in the mormon newspapers. And yet church leaders today will happily quote from the Happiness Letter sent to Nancy Rigdon. Brigham Young had himself sealed to Martha Brotherton by proxy after she died, even though she adamantly refused him in life and they smeared her as a horrible liar. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
29.) Paul H Dunn repeated and published stories of his life that turned out to be completely false. The Church discouraged people from exposing him and moved him to Emeritus staus only after pressure mounted. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
30.) While Church Leadership served on outside public company’s board of directors in order to procure additional pay while limiting the memberships ability to be aware of such. Also just how many companies the LDS Church owns and maintains while having very little disclosure about such with LDS Membership. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
31.) The LDS Church in its rhetoric and artwork insinuated that Joseph Smith worked directly with the plates when translating the Book of Mormon. This wasn’t true. The alledged plates were either covered or not in the room at all. (SOURCE)
32.) Obfuscation of the Mark Hofman Salamander forgery, quietly bought by Gordon Hinckley to conceal, until criminal investigation exposed the deception. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
33.) Obfuscation of electroshock homosexual therapy at BYU including Elder Oaks denial this occurred under his watch. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
34.) Joseph Smith’s Use of “the Happiness Letter” in order to put pressure on and besmirch Nancy Rigdon when she turned down his offers to enter an intimate relationship. Church leaders have quoted from this letter repeatedly while never acknowledging the manipulative motive behind its creation. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
35.) Elder Holland when asked about the Church’s contribution to Prop 8 says that the Church did not give “One Red Cent” to the fight against Same Sex Marriage in California. Problem is it gave a reported amount of almost $200,000. Some want to debate over whether it was cash or in kind donations but to battle over rhetoric seems to be a sly way to find a loophole. The Church also denied direct involvement in Prop 8 and claimed this was just members. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
36.) The Slow change from being “Special Witnesses of Christ” to being “Special Witnesses of the name of Christ” with veiled references to having seen Christ or seen his face or know his voice when they are also on the record admitting they have never seen Christ in the literal sense such as a vision or having Christ appear the room. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)
37.) Elder Holland claims to hold the very copy of the book of Mormon that Bethsheba, Hyrum Smith’s wife, had in her possession from which Hyrum Smith the prophets brother read to her and had turned the corner of the page down from where he read. The problem is that the copy Elder Holland holds up in his hand at General conference is distinctly different from the copy in the Church History department claimed to be the same book. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
38.) Elder Holland tells a faith promoting story about a missionary who out on his mission is led by the spirit to his older brother who had severed his relationship with his family years earlier. Elder Holland had told this story for years and other General Authorities before him had shared it. The problem is the story was a false faith promoting narrative. Each telling contained different contradicting details and too far fetched too believe of a story-line. Soon after the Deseret News picked up on the story, the far fetched details began to be questioned by critical thinking Mormons and Elder Holland through the Deseret News and Church PR quickly distanced himself from the story. But even his side of how he came to learn the story was inaccurate is problematic. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
39.) Elder Holland when asked directly whether Mitt Romney would have made penalty oaths in the temple answers NO. Problem, such is a flat out lie. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
40.) Elder Holland in a Regional meeting claims that the Church is growing in such a rate that it is creating Double Digit NEW Stake creation “every week of our lives”. The Problem is that the Church every year tells us the number of stakes in the Church at year end of the previous year. Elder Holland made this claim in early 2015 And from 2015 through 2017 the church consistently averaged 1.6 new stakes per week while also closing stakes throughout the year as well. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
41.) President Nelson highly embellished a personal story about a flight that had mechanical issues (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
42.) President Nelson misrepresents a story about a women he encountered who wore a red hat. This story was included in his biography and the book had to be pulled prior to publishing and edited with the story taken out. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
43.) Russell Nelson claimed an assassination attempt in Mozambique and this story appears to be false or at a minimum highly embellished. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)
44.) Russel Nelson claimed that the November 2015 exclusion policy was both delivered and abandoned via revelation (SOURCE)(SOURCE)
45.) For the longest time there was no mention of Joseph’s wives or his practice of polygamy besides Emma at the church history museum exhibit about his life. This is changed now I believe but certainly was avoided forever.
46.) The Church repeatedly tells the story of Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner & her sister Caroline saving the Book of Cammandments from mob destruction but never seems to get around to telling membership that Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner was a plural wife of its founder Joseph Smith and also fails to convey that Smith first approached Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner when she was 12 years old to notify her she would one day be a plural wife of his. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
47.) Changes to the introduction to the book of Mormon. 2004: Removal of “as does the Bible” 2006: Past editions of that page say all of the people chronicled in the book “were destroyed, except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.” The new introduction reads much the same, but says the Lamanites “are among the ancestors of the American Indians.
48.) A change in the book’s introduction may be of interest to those who question whether Latter-day Saints are Christians, but church officials declined comment about when that change was made. The second sentence of the introduction in many editions says the book is “a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel.” The 2004 edition produced by Doubleday for non-Latter-day Saints omits the phrase, “as does the Bible.” A church spokesman declined comment on when the change was first made or an explanation of why. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)
49.) The Church withholds Membership numbers in regards to loss of members both in total and among active membership. They also fail to speak of growth in reagrds to active membership. They hold the information in regards to how many members attend Church and if that number is increasing or diminishing.
50.) Quinton Cook stated in 2015 that “Some have asserted that more members are leaving the Church today and that there is more doubt and unbelief than in the past. This is simply not true. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never been stronger. The number of members removing their names from the records of the Church has always been very small and is significantly less in recent years than in the past.” He plays a trick with the numbers using a blip from decades ago where the Church seems to self correct for a membership in order to make the claim. We know from other LDS voices in the know that the Church is losing members in droves. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)
51.) That Joseph was so loyal and so in love with Emma. Apparently he was just the IDEAL husband. Stories and art of him as a loving father and husband and a man of integrity. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
52.) The Church often claims it had to be relocated over and over again due to the incessant persecution. The Church has never been forthright about the how much of that persecution it caused itself via leaders dishonesty, practice of polygamy with teenage brides, and its heavy handedness in political action. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
53.) Willfully ambiguous and difficult to interpret statement about the priesthood ban by Dallin H. Oaks: “I observed the pain and frustration experienced by those who suffered these restrictions and those who criticized them and sought for reasons. I studied the reasons then being given and could not feel confirmation of the truth of any of them. As part of my prayerful study, I learned that, in general, the Lord rarely gives reasons for the commandments and directions He gives to His servants.” perpetuating the idea that while the Church has disavowed the theories behind the Racist Priesthood and Temple ban, that the ban itself is still held to be from God. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
54.) It was previously taught that the Church was fully restored and President Gordon B Hinckley even intimated that this was the reason that little revelation was needed from this point forward when he said “Let me say first that we have a great body of revelation, the vast majority of which came from the prophet Joseph Smith. We don’t need much revelation. We need to pay more attention to the revelation we’ve already received. Now, if a problem should arise on which we don’t have an answer, we pray about it, we may fast about it, and it comes.” But in recent years members have been told we are just in the beginning of an ongoing restoration. (SOURCE)
55.) Elder M. Russell Ballard he pleaded at a recent YSA Face to Face event. “We’re as transparent as we know how to be in telling the truth.” And as read at the top also said “it’s this idea that the Church is hiding something, which we would have to say, as two apostles that have covered the world and know the history of the Church and know the integrity of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve from the beginning of time, there has been no attempt on the part, in any way, of the Church leaders trying to hide anything from anybody… So, just trust us wherever you are in the world. And you share this message with anyone else who raises the question about the Church not being transparent. We’re as transparent as we know how to be in telling the truth. We have to do that. That’s the Lord’s way.” These quotes juxtaposed against this list make the quotes themselves a deceptive effort to hide the fact that Church leaders have hidden and obscurred things.
56.) Elder Ballard says he doesn’t know where the invitation to be baptized in the First Discussion came from while at the same time being on the committee that perpetuated that teaching. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
57.) The original apostolic charge given apostles in the early Mormon Church was “Never cease striving until you have seen God face to face. Strengthen your faith; cast off you doubts, your sins, and all your unbelief; and nothing can prevent you from coming to God. Your ordination is not full and complete till God has laid His hand upon you. We require as much to qualify us as did those who have gone before us; God is the same. If the Savior in former days laid His hands upon His disciples, why not in latter days? (History of the Church, 2:194-198)” This has been changed apparently because apostles don’t see Christ. When new apostles enter the Quorum of the 12 they take are given a completely different Apostolic Charge. Hugh B Brown, an apostle intimated that this charge is to “Always be willing to subjugate his own thoughts and accept the majority opinion not only to vote for it but to act as though it were his own original opinion after it has been approved by the majority of the council of the twelve and the First Presidency.” Once you understand this charge it changes how we perceive the Leaders being in unity and it gives us awareness that behind the scenes the debates over issues are much different than how they present themselves arriving at consensus or obtaining revelation. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)
58.) The editing of Lucy Mack Smith’s book and banning of it. Church Leaders edited the book adding in the First Vision as if Lucy was sharing it and also editing other parts both removing and adding items tampering with Lucy’s own account. Also Brigham Young ordered the book to be destroyed and called it a “tissue of lies” because Lucy gave weight to her family line in terms of who was authorized to Lead the Church. (SOURCE – Read Historical Introduction)(SOURCE)
59.) Spencer W Kimball and Bruce R McConkie both obfuscate whether Brigham Young had taught the Adam God Doctrine (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
60.) Early church Leaders up through the 1980’s and 90’s taught that the Temple Endowment was restored from a corrupted form of the endowment that had been passed on by the Masons. That the temple endowment was restored by God and could not be altered. All of this is now understood to be both not true no consistent doctrine. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
61.) The while the Church has portrayed the fundamentalist Mormon faiths as “disobedient” people that left the Brighamite church, that the LDS Church actually abandoned them. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
62.) Wilford Woodruff lied with the 1890 Manifesto as the Church simply went underground with the practice and continued to authorize polygamous marriages even after the 1904 second manifesto. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
63.) The Church withheld from its members the 1886 Revelation by John Taylor along with other revelations. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
64.) On top of number 63 Multiple High Ranking Church Leaders also lied directly denying knowing the 1886 Revelation was legit and known to have come from President Taylor. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
65.) Joseph Smith claimed and The LDS Church perpetuated that the Egyptian Papyri used in the Book of Abraham Translation was the very “writings of Abraham”, “Written by his own hand”. The Church supported that line of thinking even as Egyptologists have shared evidence and information that deeply damages the faithful view. Mormonism eventually changed that wording at the beginning of the Book of Abraham scripture and have seemingly abandoned the position. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
66.) The Whistling and Whittling Brigade were grown men, not pre-teen Deacons as the Church insisted. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
67.) The marriage by Joseph Smith to Helen Mar Kimball “who was sealed to Joseph several months before her 15th birthday” to obfuscate the fact that she was 14 and 1/2 years old so as to downplay her being a child. (SOURCE)
68.) General Authority Corbitt saying recently activism can be good if it’s not directed at the church, then using as an example how civil rights was a righteous cause, ignoring the history of the church actively opposing the movement, including connecting it to communism and telling politicians George Romney and Stewart Udall to back off their support of Civils right in the opublic Sector and within the Church.. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
69.) Doctrine & Covenants Section 8 changing from gift of “working with the sprout or rod” to “the gift of Aaron” in order to distance the Church from Joseph Smith’s treasure Digging. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
70.) The written version of Bruce McConkie’s Seven Deadly Heresies talk from the BYU website was heavily edited and materially altered to conform with current beliefs and passed off as his actual talk. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
71.) The removal of Boyd K. Packer’s Little Factory talk from the general conference repository. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
72.) The Church has a committee that it says nothing about. That committee has General Authorities at its head and you hear nothing about it. The Church would prefer to keep it a secret but word got out. What does this committee do? It spies on members and tracks any criticism said and keeps files on those who say it. Its name? The Strengthening Church Members Committee or SCMC for short. This committee has its members create false social media profiles and it infiltrates progressive and post Mormon spaces pretending to be like minded. These members lie and deceive to build trust. (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
73.) The Second Anointing is a super secret special ordinance that only a select few receive. You have to be nominated by one who has already received and it is mostly reserved for Mission Presidents, a few Stake Presidents, and the upper leadership of the Church from Seventies and up. It is so secret and forbidden that in the Teaching manuals teachers are explicitly told “Do not attempt in any way to discuss or answer questions about the second anointing.” (SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)(SOURCE)
74.) B.H. Roberts, a seventy, had problems directly involved with the writings of Church history. In November 1910, Church President Joseph F. Smith told the Salt Lake Temple fast meeting that Elder Roberts doubted that Joseph had actually received a priesthood restoration from John the Baptist. Church president Heber J. Grant also required B.H. Roberts to censor some documents in the seventh volume of the History of the Church. Elder Roberts was furious. ‘I desire, however to take this occasion of disclaiming any responsibility for the mutilating of that very important part of President young’s manuscript,’ Roberts replied to President Grant in August 1932, ‘and also to say, that while you had the physical power of eliminating that passage from the History, I do not believe you had any moral right to do so.’” (SOURCE) pg 12-14
75 & 76.) Elder Oaks in the “Be One Celebration” blatantly lies twice
TIME STAMP 12:27 – 15:05 https://youtu.be/ZXrlHULMFcE?t=755
1.) Elder Oaks reinforces that the Ban itself is still held by the Church as having come from God and only the theories supporting the Ban have been disavowed
2.) Elder Oaks blatantly lies and misrepresents Brigham Young’s Prophecies about the the ban being lifted in some future moment.
(SOURCE) & (SOURCE)
3.) Elder Oaks blatantly lies again when he claims the theories were “promptly and publicly disavowed” which never happened.
The talk he almost certainly is referring to is Bruce R McConkie’s “All are alike unto God, where McConkie not only doesn’t do what Oaks said but actually reinforces the theory about Premortal valiancy in paragraph 8 and in another talk 2 years later reinforces the theory around the curse of Cain
(SOURCE) & (SOURCE)
So After all of that I share with you once again the quote from Ballard and Oaks and ask if such is not only false but might you consider that they knowing at least some of these, are intentionally lying to your face?
“it’s this idea that the Church is hiding something, which we would have to say, as two apostles that have covered the world and know the history of the Church and know the integrity of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve from the beginning of time, there has been no attempt on the part, in any way, of the Church leaders trying to hide anything from anybody… So, just trust us wherever you are in the world. And you share this message with anyone else who raises the question about the Church not being transparent. We’re as transparent as we know how to be in telling the truth. We have to do that. That’s the Lord’s way.” (SOURCE)