 NOTES AND
LINKS TO MORE FACTS
Please Note: You must be connected to
the internet prior to clicking on the links listed below
DISCLAIMER: Some of the links and
references listed here, in addition to containing valuable material about Mormonism, also
contain Christian proselytizing material. Their inclusion here is not intended as an
endorsement of any pro-Christian or pro-Bible statements: this site does not endorse or
promote any religion or religious organization.
GENERAL REFERENCES
INTERNET SITES AND LISTS OF LINKS
http://www.exmormon.org/goodsite.htm
Links to other sites.
http://www.mindspring.com/~engineer_my_dna/mormon/table.htm
An alphabetical list, by topic, of Mormon-related links; many articles. Maintained by
James David.
http://www.california.com/~rpcman/MAP.HTM
Articles and links.
http://utlm.org/ Many articles by Jerald and Sandra Tanner,
especially from their newsletter The Salt Lake City Messenger. Also several
complete books are online here, including their complete book The Changing World of Mormonism
is online here.
http://members.aol.com/peterelias/thetruth.htm
Many early texts on Mormonism and early Mormon publications; also a free on-line
magazine (pro-Christian orientation)
http://www.primenet.com/~heuvelc/mormon.htm
Text of many early Mormon publications, including the 1830 version of the Book of
Mormon and the original Book of Commandments. Curt Van Den Heuvel's site.
http://www.irr.org/mit "Mormons In
Transition," sponsored by the Insitute for Religious Research, with many articles;
pro-Christian orientation; an on-line newsgroup, (MIT-Talk) with evangelical basis
http://www.mrm.org The "Mormon Research
Ministry," an evangelical Christian group headed by Bill McKeever; many good articles
on Mormonism
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/ The
"Berean Christian Ministry," headed by John Farkas; many articles, a useful chronology of church history, and a
long refutation of a Mormon
scholar's attempt to discredit critics of the church.
http://saintsalive.com The "Saints Alive In
Jesus" group, an evangelical Christian group headed by Ed Decker
BOOKS
Listed here are only a few "must read" books. There are hundreds of others. If
your local library does not own them, your librarian can obtain them for you on
interlibrary loan, usually for a very small fee. Most books listed are linked to on-line
reviews or order information.
No Man Knows My History:
The Life of Joseph Smith by Fawn M. Brodie, 2nd ed., Knopf, New York, 1993. The
most authoritative biography of Joseph Smith. Brodie is a well recognized historian.
Mormonism: Shadow or Reality by
Gerald and Sandra Tanner, 5th edition, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987, Salt Lake City. The
Tanners have done extensive research on early Mormon history and made many rare
publications available by publishing photocopies of them at a low price. This book is a
good summary of the contradictions and problems of Mormonism. Available from Utah Lighthouse Ministry, where a catalog of
their publications is available. Also published in a slightly smaller version as The
Changing World of Mormonism, Moody Press, Chicago, 1981 (now online).
Inventing Mormonism:
Tradition and the Historical Record by H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters,
Signature Books, Salt Lake City, 1994. A detailed examination of Mormonism's origins by
historians.
The Mormon Murders: A True
Story of Greed, Forgery, Deceit, and Death by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White
Smith, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, New York, 1988. The gripping account of the Mark Hofmann
forgeries and murders, by two reporters. The role of the Mormon church leadership in this
scandal is carefully documented here.
For Any
Latter-day Saint: One Investigator's Unanswered Questions by Sharon I. Banister,
Star Bible Publications, Fort Worth, 1988 (available from the author, Rt 1 Box 20,
Ladonia, TX 75449, for $7.00 postpaid). Over 600 problematical questions about Mormon
history and doctrine, very clearly presented, with many photographic reproductions of the
relevant Mormon books and diaries.
REFERENCES TO SPECIFIC TOPICS
THE "FIRST VISION"
http://www.irr.org/mit/fvision.html
http://utlm.org/topicalindexc.htm#First
Vision
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/clndest10.htm
http://www.mrm.org/articles/first.vision.html
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/firstv.htm
and
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/firstv2.htm
http://www.irr.org/mit/inventbk.html (a
review of the book Inventing Mormonism)
http://members.aol.com/peterelias/cltrsndx.htm
(Oliver Cowdery's history of the church, an "official history," not mentioning
the first vision)
http://members.aol.com/peterelias/cowdery3.htm
http://www.alphamin.org/letters/letter06.html
(by James White: Letters to a Mormon Elder)
THE NON-EXISTENT 1820 REVIVAL
http://www.alphamin.org/letters/letter06.html
http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/mclaims1.htm
http://www.xmission/~research/about/index.htm
(Michael Marquardt's site)
The following three links are about Marquardt's book Inventing Mormonism, a
scholarly investigation into Mormonism's early years:
http://www.xmission/~research/about/contents.htm
http://www.xmission/~research/about/summary.htm
http://www.xmission/~research/about/reviews.htm
JOSEPH SMITH AND THE METHODISTS
For Smith's connection with the Methodists, see Inventing Mormonism, pp
54-55, citing Turner, History of Phelp's and Gorham's Purchase, p. 214, which
relates that Smith was an informal "exhorter" at Methodist camp meetings before
1822; Pomeroy Tucker, The Origin, Rise and Progress of Mormonism (NY 1867), p 18:
Smith joined the "probationary class" of the Methodist church; there was no
Methodist church in Palmyra until July 1821 (Inventing Mormonism, p 60 n 41);
http://utlm.org/topicalindexc.htm#Methodist
Church
JOSEPH SMITH AND "MONEYDIGGING"
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/necromantic.html
http://utlm.org/topicalindexc.htm#Money-Digging
and Magic
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/chatm/witness.htm
(excerpts from E.D. Howe's book Mormonism Unvailed, one of the earliest books
exposing Mormonism)
http://www.alphamin.org/letters/letter07.html
http://members.aol.com/peterelias/1826tryl.htm
An account of Joseph Smith's trial in 1826 on a charge of moneydigging.
BOOK OF MORMON "WITNESSES"
http://www.irr.org/mit/bomwit1.html
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/testimonyof3.htm
http://www.exmormon.org/file9.htm
http://www.irr.org/mit/address1.html
The book by David Whitmer, An Address To All Believers in Christ, testifying
that God revealed to him that Joseph Smith is a fallen prophet.
http://www.xmission.com/~research/about/docum4.htm
(Martin Harris interview in Tiffany's magazine)
http://aol.members.com/peterelias/anthon.htm
The letter from Professor Anthon about the characters from the gold plates.
METHOD OF TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK OF MORMON
http://www.irr.org/mit/address1.html
or http://members.aol.com/peterelias/whitbom.htm
(David Whitmer's Address To All Believers in Christ; see p. 12, 30)
http://members.aol.com/peterelias/true9607.htm
http://utlm.org/topicalindexa.htm#Black
Hole The significance of the 116 pages of lost manuscript for testing the authenticity
of the book
Martin Harris, Millennial Star 6 Feb 1882, cited in Robert N. Hullinger, Joseph
Smith's response to Skepticism, p 9-14, Salt Lake City 1992, said that the plates were
not needed, also quoted by John Clark, Gleanings By the Way, 1842, p 228, cited in
Hullinger p 11, n 23.
BOOK OF MORMON ARCHAEOLOGY
http://www.irr.org/mit/bomarch1.html
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/bomproblems.htm
http://utlm.org/topicalindexa.htm#Archeology
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/bomarch.htm
http://www.california.com/~rpcman/BOMQUEST.HTM
JEWISH LAW AND THE BOOK OF MORMON
Salt Lake City Messenger, Issue #74, February 1990, available from Utah Lighthouse Ministry
BOOK OF MORMON CHANGES; OTHER CHANGES
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/bomchanges.htm
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/bmchg.htm
http://utlm.org/topicalindexa.htm#Changes
Changes made in revelations after their first publication, to reflect Smith's changes in
doctrine.
The original texts of the Book of Mormon 1830 edition and the Book of
Commandments (predecessor to the Doctrine and Covenants can be found
at http://www.primenet.com/~heuvelc/
PRESENT MORMON DOCTRINE CONTRARY TO BOOK OF MORMON
http://www.mrm.org/articles/test.html
http:/home.sprynet.com/sprynet/chatm/doctrn1.htm
http://www.alphamin.org/cntradic.html
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/bmchg.htm
http://www.mrm.org/articles/birth.html
On the Virgin Birth, how Jesus was conceived.
http://www.irr.org/mit/CHANGOD.html The
changing concept of God.
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/bcm2.htm
Changing doctrines of Mormonism.
THE 1825 BOOK View of the Hebrews
http://www.irr.org/mit/viewhe1a.html
(text of View)
http://www.primenet.com/~heuvelc/voh/voh.htm
(text of View)
http://www.primenet.com/~heuvelc/bom/written.htm
Could Joseph Smith have written the Book of Mormon?
http://www.california.com/~rpcman/VOH.HTM
Parallels between View and the Book of Mormon. See also http://www.exmormon.org/bofmorm.htm
http://www.irr.org/mit/bhrobert.html B.
H. Roberts' conclusions.
FAILURES OF GOD-INSPIRED PROJECTS
Failure of the Kirtland Bank:
http://utlm.org/topicalindexc.htm#Kirtland
Bank
Gathering of Zion:
http://www.teleport.com/~packham/prophet.htm
Polygamy - see notes at: #POLYGAMY
Deseret Alphabet:
http://www.wp.com/BrionZion/homealph.htm
http://www.teleport.com/~packham/byoung.htm#PROPHECIES
THE HOFMANN MURDER SCANDAL
The Mormon Murders: A
True Story of Greed, Forgery, Deceit, and Death by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White
Smith, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, New York, 1988. The role of the Mormon church leadership
in this scandal is carefully documented here.
A Gathering of Saints: A
True Story of Money, Murder and Deceit by Robert Lindsey, Simon and Schuster,
New York, 1988. Another book on the Hofmann scandal.
Salamander: The Story of
the Mormon Forgery Murders by Linda Sillitoe and Allen Roberts, 2nd edition,
Signature Books, Salt Lake City.
http://utlm.org/topicalindexb.htm#Hofmann,
Mark
THE MORMON TEMPLE CEREMONY (THE "ENDOWMENT")
The first five links contain the actual text of the ceremony in the various forms it has
had since the early days of the church.
http://www.enteract.com/~marsh/index.htm
http://www.inlink.com/~rife/ldsendow31
http://www.inlink.com/~rife/ldsendow84
http://www.inlink.com/~rife/ldsendow90
http://members.aol.com/VeilWorker/endowment.index.html
http://utlm.org/topicalindexc.htm#Temple
Ceremony
http://home.earthlink.net/~cybermule/temple.htm
http://www.mrm.org/articles/garments.html
A description of the sacred undergarment which Mormons are required to wear after
receiving the endowment.
http://www.nowscape.com/mormon/undrwrmo.htm
More on "garments"
http://www.mrm.org/articles/temple-ceremony.html
http://www.nowscape.com/mormon/mormcr1.htm
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/templechanges.htm
http://members.aol.com/VeilWorker/recommend.html
The questions that are asked in the "worthiness interview" to determine whether
a member is worthy to receive admission to the temple.
MASONIC INFLUENCE ON MORMONISM
http://www.mindspring.com/~engineer_my_dna/mormon/masendow.htm
http://www.mindspring.com/~engineer_my_dna/mormon/masonry.htm
http://www.irr.org/mit/masonry.html
http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech4.htm#Joseph
Smith's Magic Talisman Joseph Smith's magical talisman
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/nohelp.html
http://www.mrm.org/articles/masonic-influence.html
http://eli.wariat.org/upc/net/higher-fire/10-95/msg00048.html
http://eli.wariat.org/upc/net/higher-fire/10-95/msg00049.html
http://eli.wariat.org/upc/net/higher-fire/10-95/msg00050.html
http://eli.wariat.org/upc/net/higher-fire/10-95/msg00051.html
http://eli.wariat.org/upc/net/higher-fire/10-95/msg00052.html
THE "ADAM = GOD" DOCTRINE
http://www.webcom.com/jtc6563/t4.html
http://www.mrm.org/articles/theory.html
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/adamgod.htm
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/evolut4.htm
The changes in the Mormon doctrine about God.
http://www.mrm.org/articles/adam-god.html
(Text of Brigham Young's 1852 sermon)
http://www.teleport.com/~packham/byoung.htm#ADAMGOD
More statements by Brigham Young
http://aol.members.com/peterelias/adamgod1.htm
(Brigham Young's 1852 sermon from Journal of Discourses 1:46-53)
A good discussion, with photocopy of Bruce R. McConkie's private admission that Brigham
Young did teach the doctrine, is in Tanner, LDS Apostle Confesses Brigham Young Taught
Adam-God Doctrine, available from Utah
Lighthouse Ministry. Similar material is in Banister's book For Any Latter- Day Saint
http://www.mrm.org/articles/mcconkies-letter.html
The text of McConkie's letter admitting that Brigham Young did teach that Adam was God
See also: Adam is God??? by Chris A. Vlachos, pamphlet available from Utah Lighthouse Ministry
POLYGAMY ("CELESTIAL MARRIAGE")
http://www.irr.org/mit/enigma.html A
review of Mormon Enigma:
Emma Hale Smith, by Linda King Newell and Valene Tippett Avery, University of
Illinois Press, 1994; a biography of Joseph Smith's first wife, relating the development
of Smith's ideas on polygamy and her opposition to it.
http://utlm.org/topicalindexb.htm#Polygamy
http://www.nowscape.com/mormon/polyg.htm
http://www.mindspring.com/~engineer_my_dna/mormon/denpract.htm
Smith's public (and untruthful) denials of the rumors about his practice of polygamy.
http://www.mindspring.com/~engineer_my_dna/mormon/menwives.htm
Documentation of Smith's seduction of other men's wives.
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/clndest2.htm
An early and generally unknown revelation about polygamy
Mormon Polygamy: A History
by Richard S. Van Wagoner, Signature Books, Salt Lake City. An excellent history of its
theory and practice, reviewed at http://www.california.com/~rpcman/POLYGAMY.HTM.
http://www.polygamy.org Home page of Tapestry of
Polygamy, a group of formerly polygamous women who are exposing its evils as practiced
by some Mormon groups today.
THE "CURSE OF CAIN": THE CHANGING DOCTRINE ON SKIN COLOR
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/africanamerican.htm
http://utlm.org/topicalindexa.htm#Blacks
http://www.exmormon.org/blacks1.htm
http://www.california.com/~rpcman/racism.htm
http://www.teleport.com/~packham/byoung.htm#NEGRO
Brigham Young's Doctrines on the Black race
THE DOCTRINE OF "BLOOD ATONEMENT" AND THE DANITES
("AVENGING ANGELS")
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/bloodatonement.htm
http://utlm.org/topicalindexa.htm#Blood
Atonement
http://www.exmormon.org/bloodatn.htm
http://www.exmormon.org/violence.htm
http://eddy.media.utah.edu/medsol/UCME/l/LEE,JOHN.html
Also about Lee.
http://www.mormons.org/response/history/index.htm
http://eddy.media.utah.edu/medsol/UCME/r/ROCKWELL,ORIN.html
About O. P. Rockwell, a Danite and hit man for Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.
http://www.media.utah.edu/medsol/UCME/d/DANITES.html
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/murder.html
http://www.mokamo.com/cam/history.html
http://www.irr.org/mit/faulring.html
The authoritative work on the Mountain Meadows Massacre is Juanita Brooks, The Mountain Meadows
Massacre, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1991.
J. F. Gibbs's complete book Mountain Meadows Massacre is online at http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/meadowscontents.htm
THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM
http://www.irr.org/mit/boapage.html
The complete book By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus by Charles M. Larson
http://www.mrm.org/articles/abraham.html
http://www.mindspring.com/~engineer_my_dna/mormon/index.htm
http://utlm.org/topicalindexb.htm#Book
of Abraham
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/chatm/seer2.htm
http://www.xmission.com/~research/about/abraham.htm
http://www.xmission.com/~research/about/alphabet.htm
The text of Smith's so-called Egyptian Alphabet & Grammar
THE "INSPIRED REVISION" OF THE BIBLE
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (RLDS) has long used the
version by Smith.
http://utlm.org/topicalindexc.htm#Inspired
Revision of the Bible
THE KINDERHOOK PLATES
http://www.mindspring.com/~engineer_my_dna/mormon/indekind.htm
http://utlm.org/topicalindexb.htm#Kinderhook
Plates
http://www.nowscape.com/mormon/kindrhk/kindrhk.htm
JOSEPH SMITH'S PROPHECIES
http://www.teleport.com/~packham/prophet.htm
A listing of many of Smith's unfulfilled prophecies
http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/falseprophetjs.htm
http://www.mrm.org/articles/civilwar.html
Joseph Smith's famous prophecy of the Civil War
http://www.california.com/~rpcman/civilwar.htm
Another article on the Civil War prophecy
http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech13.htm#Rocky
Mountain Prophecy Joseph Smith's prophecy about the Mormon move to the Rocky Mountains
http://www.alphamin.org/letters/letter07.html
For some of Brigham Young's failed prophecies, see:
http://www.teleport.com/~packham/byoung.htm#PROPHECIES
JOSEPH SMITH'S DEATH
http://members.aol.com/peterelias/true9701.htm
http://members.aol.com/peterelias/expositr.htm
The text of the Nauvoo Expositor, the opposition paper which Smith destroyed, thus
leading to his imprisonment and death. It contains all the true accusations which
Smith wanted suppressed
http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech17.htm#Destruction
of Expositor The destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor
For a detailed discussion of Smith's political ambitions, his title "king" and
his secret government, see the book by D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: [Volume
1] The Origins of Power, Signature Books, Salt Lake City, 1994. (Quinn was
excommunicated from the Mormon church for his historical researches, but remains a
believer)
MORMON FALSIFICATION OF MORMON HISTORY
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/mormhist.htm
D. Michael Quinn's Talk "On Being A Mormon Historian" in which he urges the
church authorities to be more open in telling the entire history of the church, without
coloring it. Rather than follow his advice, the church excommunicated him.
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/legacy1.htm
An evaluation of the propaganda film Legacy, produced by the church.
http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/persecution.htm
An evaluation of the church's claim that it was persecuted.
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/dunn.htm
The uncovering of the lies told by a high-ranking Mormon official
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/mantle.htm
A speech by Boyd K. Packer, a high-ranking church official, on how the church justifies
its distortion of its history. Also discussed at http://www.exmormon.org/disease.htm
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/purge.htm
The recent purge of Mormon historians who told too much
http://www.exmormon.org/lying.htm A
discussion of speech by Dallin Oaks, a high-ranking church official, on the need for
withholding the whole truth.
http://www.exmormon.org/apology.htm
http://www.california.com/~rpcman/LYING.HTM
http://www.teleport.com/~packham/gbh&god.htm
The present "prophet" Gordon B. Hinckley lies about church doctrine in two
interviews for the news media.
A good example of the church's distortion of history is its
long cover-up of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. See Juanita Brooks, The Mountain Meadows
Massacre, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1991.
Also see J. F. Gibbs's complete book Mountain Meadows Massacre online at http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/meadowscontents.htm
PROHIBITION ON COFFEE, ETC. (THE "WORD OF WISDOM")
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/w_wisdom.htm
Problems and inconsistencies with this revelation.
http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/mclaims8.htm#The
Word of Wisdom
TITHING, CHURCH WEALTH
http://www.mrm.org/articles/tithing.html
http://www.mindspring.com/~engineer_my_dna/mormon/tithing.htm
On the wealth of the church, see: Anson Shupe, Wealth and Power in American
Zion, Lewiston NY 1992, or John Heinerman and Anson Shupe, The Mormon Corporate Empire,
Beacon, 1988.
OBEDIENCE: "FOLLOW THE BRETHREN"
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/cannon.htm
Excerpts from Under The Prophet In Utah by Senator Frank J. Cannon, showing
how the church leaders exert power over members.
http://www.iperform.net/jwr/fourteen.htm
A speech by Ezra Taft Benson, a recent prophet and president, instructing members to obey
the prophet without questioning and without checking his advice against scripture.
http://www.california.com/~rpcman/mothink.htm
http://www.california.com/~rpcman/THINKING.HTM
A critical article on the church's mind control.
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/purge.htm
The recent mass excommunications of intellectuals and historians who questioned church
authority.
http://www.iperform.net/jwr/heresies.htm
Bruce R. McConkie on the heresy of evolution.
HOMOSEXUALS, MASTURBATION
http://www.affirmation.org The website of Affirmation,
an organization for Mormons with homosexual leanings. Much information about the church's
stance on sex.
http://www.exmormon.org/byuhis.htm The
treatment of male homosexuals at the church university
http://www.affirmation.org/masturbation.htm
A talk by Mormon apostle Mark E. Petersen, on how to prevent masturbation.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/9156/WSWWB.HTM
A critical article by Jeffery R. Jensen, M.D., on the harm done by the church with its
stance on homosexuality.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/9156/HLDSSS.HTM
Another article by Dr. Jensen, criticizing the church's department of social services
http://www.iperform.net/jwr/only.html
A speech by Boyd K. Packer on the evils of masturbation in young men, and how to prevent
it.
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/religion/judeochristian/protestantism/mormon/mormon-
masturbation.htm
POSITION OF WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
Books by two exmormon women describing their difficulties with the church's treatment of
women:
Deborah Laake, Secret
Ceremonies, Dell, 1993
Sonia Johnson, From
Housewife to Heretic, Doubleday, 1981. Johnson was excommunicated for her activism
in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment.
http://www.exmormon.org/mormwomn.htm A
woman's viewpoint.
http://www.california.com/~rpcman/LYING.HTM
How the church misrepresents its stance on the role of women.
PERSONAL STORIES BY FORMER MORMONS
The following site has the personal stories of over a hundred people who left the church
and their many different reasons for doing so. http://www.exmormon.com/
For briefer comments from former Mormons, see http://www.teleport.com/~packham/voices1.htm
IS MORMONISM A CULT?
The following links are to checklists and other guidelines, to help you to evaluate
whether any group (not just Mormonism) is a "cult."
http://www.csj.org/csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.html
http://www.csj.org/csj.org/infoserv_cult101/evaluate.html
http://www.shassan.com/ The home page of Steve
Hassan, an authority on cults.
http://student.uq.edu.au/~py101663 Jan
Groenveld's Cult Awareness Centre
Comments: packham@teleport.com
Please let me know if you find that any links are out-dated, or if you can
suggest additional links. Thanks!
© 1998 Richard Packham Permission
granted to reproduce for non-commercial purposes, provided text is not changed and this
copyright notice is included
TO RICHARD PACKHAM'S HOME PAGE
|
