Understanding the True
Origins of Mormonism
The Incredible Story of a Race of Celestial Beings
that once Came to the Earth...
by Clare Gregory
Preface
This book is unique compared with others that deal with Mormonism. It is not
a scholarly deposition of historical facts and controversies. Instead it is a
highly personal story of my life and viewpoints regarding the LDS faith and
how my perspective gradually changed. I was born in the Church. At age
seventeen, I came across my first Anti-Mormon literature and accepted all of
the LDS viewpoints against it, defending the LDS Church with the sincerity of
a child. Those issues I did question I accepted on faith with complete
confidence Mormonism was the only true religion on earth. My parents had
trained me well. My mother was Stake Relief Society president and my father
on the Stake High Council. I served a mission with great pride and tried as
hard as I could to push any doubts that I had from my mind, so I could love
the Lord and serve in the LDS Church with all my heart and soul. I invested
my final twenty-three years into faithful Church service mixed with an intense
study of LDS scriptures and doctrine. I served as counselor to five Elder’s
Quorum Presidencies and for three years as Executive Secretary in a Bishopric.
It is amazing how a religion can capture the loyalty and devotion of one’s
heart to such a magnificent degree and for such a long time, only to discover
at the age of forty that what was once believed to be true, can not be.
Many have felt as I have felt, doubting what they were feeling about their
testimony, but then obediently perform another service project, go to the
temple, or do their home teaching with a smile, and their testimonies
magically return! The Church really is true!
I know that’s what I did and felt for many, many years.
Until reason and logic demanded from me answers that stared me in the face. I
could not deny any longer that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
can not be true, for its theological foundation is not logical.
To some I admit that is a very bold statement. Faithful members of the
Church who are devoted to their callings and their God would find that such a
statement contradicts their own logic and good sense. To them, Mormonism is
the most logical religion on earth and to believe otherwise is irrational and
twisted logic: religious babble and nonsense!
Latter-Day Saints
Primarily, this book invites the LDS community to look at the illogical
theology that the Church is built upon in order to invoke questions and
stimulate the mind to search for the truth. I invite any member to poke holes
in the logic presented. I welcome both positive and negative feedback, for I
believe honest expression of our differing viewpoints can only bring us both
closer to understanding the truth and exposing error. I care not to belittle
anyone nor find fault in human weakness. I’m interested only in the truth and
nothing but the truth. I certainly am not God, and I appreciate anyone’s
feedback in finding faulty assumptions or incorrect facts that I may be basing
my conclusions on. Finally, we would expect to debate facts and assumptions,
but the conclusions I’ve reached are based on sound reasoning and can not be
easily ignored.
Investigators of the LDS Church
This book is written also for those investigating the Church, wondering if
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and whether the LDS Church really is what it
claims to be. I ask the truth seeker: do you want to join a religion that
teaches strong Christian and family values but also has an irrational
theological foundation? If you get no further than this paragraph, my
recommendation is that the you read the Book of Mormon and the Bible together,
but don’t pray and ask God whether either one is true. That infers God is a
liar. God tells the truth, and we don’t need to ask Him to confirm by His
Holy Spirit if He is truthful. He will send his Spirit by His grace as we
believe in Him and ask for it. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it
goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) If we wish to
ask God if it His will to join the LDS Church, then this would be appropriate
to ask. God may desire a person to be in the LDS Church even if its claims
are only partially true. To another, God’s will may be to stay away. Only
God knows the answer depending on the individual needs of that person.
Mormonism fits the needs of many people. My wife is such a person, and I
respect that at this time in her life she needs the Church. But for others,
the LDS Church could be severely damaging, and to such, God will keep them
away. Therefore, pray to discern the Lord’s will in the matter, not about the
truthfulness of the Book or Mormon or whether Joseph Smith was a prophet.
This book later explains in detail how a person can get an affirmative answer
to such questions about Mormonism, and yet, still it may be against the will
of the Lord to be baptized a Mormon.
Jesus taught:
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who are in Heaven, Hallowed
by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive
others. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine
is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen.” (Matt 6:9-13.)
In this inspired pattern given by Jesus, nowhere does He instruct his
followers to ask God to ask whether something is true or false. What is
taught, however, is that we ask God to not lead us into temptation, but to
deliver us from evil. We ask the Lord’s will be done. Mormonism is an
example of why Jesus taught this pattern of prayer. Satan tells half-truths.
If we are praying to know something is true, and we get an answer that it is,
we may be led into error and darkness because that truth may be buried into a
great big lie. So the only way to expose a half-truth is to see the error,
NOT in seeing the truth. For this reason, we are instructed to pray as Jesus
has commanded us. In short, if it is the will of God to join the LDS Church,
then by all means do that. But don’t base it on whether or not something you
learn is the truth. The principles of will and truth are mutually exclusive.
God’s command is to believe in Him, not test or prove He’s right. We are
commanded to do his will. So allow reason, common sense, and the Holy Spirit
itself guide you in your process of finding God. If you desire to ask God for
wisdom, please do so. But expect God to answer your prayer through personal
experience, people, information, and circumstances that come your way, and by
the still small voice of the Spirit. But that wisdom is independent to the
will of God which will guide you in WHERE and HOW you use what he gives you.
If you force the issue with Mormonism, and you expect a “good feeling” as an
answer to the truth, you simply invite false revelation and mixed-up feelings
to guide you. Use your head when examining Mormonism for what it truly is,
both what is currently being taught as well as its historical foundation
through Joseph Smith. If you like the history, doctrine, philosophy, and
people, and you want to believe it, you don’t need to have a “testimony”
through prayer to join the LDS Church. If you believe it, and you feel it is
God’s will for you to join, then get baptized. If not, just leave it alone.
And if God’s will for your life is to stay away from the LDS Church, don’t
assume that the missionary sitting across from you is not following God’s will
for him or her. Leave that kind of judgement to God. Every human being is
different, and only God can reveal what path we should each choose to
ultimately find Him.
Christians
For Christians who fight feverishly against Mormonism or who are just
curious, this book has a different twist you may or may not like. It claims
the LDS Religion not a complete hoax but is half-true, and therefore, many of
the assumptions that have been made against Joseph Smith’s character by
Anti-Mormons are challenged. This book does not attack nor discredit the
character of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, nor any of the leaders in
Mormonism. Rather, it proceeds on the assumption that Joseph Smith was an
honest human being that was deceived by false angels and false light in which
he truly believed and sacrificed for, and he was finally killed for the cause
he believed in. It also asserts that Joseph Smith had a mission from the Lord
to build upon the reformation, and that in 1820 Jesus alone did appear to him,
but that he turned from his calling by dabbling into occult powers and
treasure hunting that later set him up for false manifestations. He assumed
the bogus angels were genuine based on his initial experience with Jesus
Christ, who forgave Joseph Smith of his sins according to his initial 1832
first-vision story, which principle of forgiveness and purpose for going to
the sacred grove would not be contended by any Christian. Eighteen years
later in his ministry, however, Joseph justified distorting the first vision
story to more effectively promote the LDS priesthood that he sincerely
believed was from God. The result is the official 1838 first vision story,
which is a combination of truth mixed with much error
I acknowledge up front my assumptions about the first vision can neither be
proven nor disproved. The truth of what really happened is only in Joseph
Smith’s head. That’s what is so difficult with the LDS religion. The reasons
and motivations behind his behavior are locked away from sight. However,
after spending twenty-three years examining LDS theology and history, the
explanations I present in this book I believe best fit all of the external
evidence that exists on both sides of the LDS debate. I believe this book
moves us very close to the truth of what really happened. The objective
evidence points to a sincere and semi-honest man full of imperfections, who
unfortunately fell in love with false but tantalizing powers he did not
completely understand himself. If someone else writes a more rational theory
that explains the historical and theological contradictions on both sides of
the LDS debate, I’d like to see it. I’m not interested in taking sides or
finding fault. I’m interested in the truth. The closer we get to the truth,
the happier I am.
This book asserts that much harm has been done to the LDS members who read
current Anti-Mormon literature, leaving no bridge for them to cross to the
Biblical Jesus after being completely devastated by the lies and hypocrisy
that are exposed by well-meaning Christians and nonbelievers. Some Latter-day
Saints have their belief in Jesus Christ completely stripped from them, being
left to wander for years searching for a religious belief system that can
replace what they once believed to be true. For a sincere Latter-day Saint
who believes with his whole heart and soul in the doctrine of Joseph Smith,
there are few places, if any, that even remotely fit the unique theological
mindset that Mormonism produces. Some exmormons turn to humanism to survive;
others turn atheism. They are happier being honest with themselves than
believing a lie. But they may be left with residual of anger and frustration
for the waste of time, effort, and money they put into a false religion. The
feelings may haunt them for decades. They may fail to find the true peace and
healing power of Jesus Christ. They unknowingly condemn themselves by their
disbelief in Him. So I ask Christians to carefully consider the theological
bridges provided in this book to help Latter-day Saints in transitioning to
the Biblical Jesus.
Former Latter-day Saints who Don’t Believe in Jesus Christ
For those who have been Latter-day Saints and have been emotionally crushed
by the eye-opening facts that do exist against the Church, you may have lost
your faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit may have touched you to some
degree in the LDS faith, but concluding all was false and blaming Joseph
Smith, viewing him as a complete swindler and liar, you may have thrown out
the spiritual baby with the dirty bath water. This book will hopefully restore
some tiny belief in God and Jesus. It will provide a different viewpoint of
the origin of Mormonism that you may have never considered. If you can accept
the presumptions of this book, it will enabled you to still accept the facts
that you have found that proves the LDS Church is false, but also give you
some restoration of belief in Jesus Christ, leading you to His healing powers.
Inactive Latter-Day Saints
If you still believe the LDS Church is true but feel guilty and don’t attend
on Sunday because of the word of wisdom, tithing, a negative mission
experience, sexual orientation problems (this book explains clearly why some
Latter-day Saints naturally have emotional problems with sex), child abuse in
the name of priesthood, insecurities and fears for being different,
overwhelming feelings that your abilities can never meet the Church’s crazy
expectations, or some other thing or behavior that makes you feel unworthy of
receiving God’s love and power; then I have good news. This book will help
you to mentally drop all the false and extreme “expectations” of Mormonism
that are locked into your inner mind. You need not feel guilty anymore. You
can be free to live a better and happier life.
Atheists and Agnostics
Stories of visitations of angels and supernatural manifestations are becoming
common place in this generation, and many people are rightly skeptical of all
such claims. Unbelievable stories abound and dangerous religious fanatics
prey on believing minds. We need only point to David Koresh or Jim Jones to
place a warning sign in front of all human beings: “Don’t believe everything
you hear. People lie.”
However, for the atheist and agnostic who have a healthy skepticism about God,
this book will cause one to consider the evidence of the occult powers that
Joseph Smith dabbled into. The written testimony of the three witnesses to the
Book of Mormon is probably the strongest evidence on earth that something
supernatural truly does exists beyond the realm of human reasoning and the
physical senses. The unusual, supernatural manifestation of an angelic
visitation was not just a one-person experience, but three. It is well
documented. Each Book of Mormon contains a written testimony. The story was
never denied by any of the witnesses even to their deaths. Indeed, David
Whitmer took a special interest toward the end of his life to write a pamphlet
confirming his life-long witness, so that no one would misunderstand his
claims of seeing the plates and the angel. Martin Harris did the same. If it
were a deliberate fraud and hoax, NO ONE in their right mind would publish a
bogus story AGAIN before they died. If lying, they would simply have
disappeared into oblivion after their excommunication from the Church and
avoided the subject entirely. But this did not happen. The witnesses went
out of their way to make it clear they were not lying. The evidence is not
refutable. It can not be ignored.
The weak Anti-Mormon arguments against the testimonies of the witnesses to the
Book of Mormon are inconclusive. They conjure up dubious hearsay and
second-hand stories here and there but then blatantly ignore the written
evidence in front of each Book of Mormon! If the hearsay were true, then the
witnesses would have attempted to change the testimony inside each Book of
Mormon. They did not. The testimony states:
1) Three human beings saw an angel of supernatural glory and heard a voice
from heaven.
2) Eight human beings felt with their hands in broad daylight tangible plates
that appeared to be gold. It was not a “visionary experience”. It was real.
Two of the three witnesses of the angel were re-baptized after being
excommunicated, and the third didn’t rejoin because an audible voice from
heaven told him to separate himself from the Saints, and he obeyed the
command. There is not one shred of valid evidence to suggest that these men
lied about their experience. All three witnesses took the same story to the
grave! With his last breath of air, Martin Harris was still maintaining the
story was true. Therefore, based on the irrefutable evidence before us, the
final question is not whether the events happened or not. They did. But
rather, what caused the supernatural manifestations? Was it God? Or
something else? This book hopefully makes that question easier to answer.
This page was first created on 23 January 1999
Last Updated on 16 April 1999
Created and Maintained by The New Covenant Assemblies of Yahweh
Not all the views expressed in this book are necessarily those of NCAY