Why the Current LDS People have lost their capacity to Reason

A Testimony Built on a Foundation of Sand - A Call for LDS Church Members to Repent (April 13, 2003)

"...he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall." 2 Nephi 29:28

"Only those who know for themselves Jesus is the Christ will be able to stand, and if you don’t know it, you need to get on your knees until you do." Heber C. Kimball

Why is there a strong movement in the church so anxious to flaunt the pentagram on the Church buildings? What sense does it make, to promote the pentagram as a church emblem now? Why is there now a group in the church promoting this? Why is there such a movement in the church to make this a Mormon Emblem when it never was? What is going on with this, and who is behind it all?

Each of us will ultimately be judged by what we accept or reject. Consider the ramifications if a church member had tried to attack the character of a holy prophet of the holy church of God during the major part of the twentieth century, by promoting poorly researched information that the prophet had ties to the religion of Satan and practiced aspects of the occult. Many Latter-Day Saints would have naturally become indignant in defense of their religion's true prophet (particularly Joseph Smith, who established the church and sealed his testimony in his own blood and sacrifice), they would assume the church would be valiant in his defense and would be swift to excommunicate the offending church member for spreading such vicious untruths. Most would realize that if Joseph Smith's credibility was destroyed that the Mormon religion would not be a religion at all, but would be a sham, if stories from persons (on the level of the mobocrats that murdered him) were given dignity in the church. Yet this is what is actually occurring today, and worse, the situation is complicated by the endorsement and involvement of current church leadership hierarchy.

It seems there is an influence now in the church to transform the religion from its original roots as a true church founded on the principles of God to one that is similar to a Satanic cult. The predominant evidence shows the occult never came up in the church until 1984 when Hofmann’s forgeries and the first pentagram was noticed on the Church Museum building across the street from Temple Square.

Why don’t the church leaders realize that by proudly displaying the pentagram, they have raised the possibility in the eyes of the Christian as well as the rest of the world that they are worshiping the emblem of Satan? Do they realize the potential of the consequences? What is the purpose, or do they realize the potential damage of flaunting that symbol in the eyes of the world? The pentagram is regarded as a Satanic evil symbol by most Christian religions. (Click on the following link)

The Pentagram and the Modern LDS Church

Efforts and arguments to prove the pentagram to be a true Mormon symbol do not amount to anything substantial - there isn’t enough evidence to show that this was ever a Mormon symbol. It doesn’t make sense to flaunt the pentagram starting now, when the whole world views it as an evil symbol of the occult; the deliberate publicity will unnecessarily bring unfavorable publicity to discredit the church..

Why are most LDS people not capable of carrying on an intelligent conversation regarding their own religious beliefs to give a rational answer to such questions? When not sure of themselves most church members will fall back on, "Well, there is one thing we know to be true, and that is when in doubt, to always follow our prophet for he will never lead us astray." What are considered the more knowledgeable church members will give a specific quote, such as, "Well, I heard what our prophet (or any other general authority) has said on this matter, and it is ...."

Why the LDS People have lost their capacity to reason:

Anyone who has had dialogue with a current LDS church member about religion will likely relate to encountering the following phrase in statements of an LDS church member about their own religious beliefs: "Of course, when in doubt, we know we are to follow the words of our living prophet in all things."

At this point, the conversation deteriorates or is likely terminated, or, the church member will confidently attempt to pontificate on the sayings of the latest "prophet" or church position, which, in his mind will overrule any previous conversation, rational or otherwise. It is the acceptable practice among the current LDS Church members to fall back on this slogan at any time to refute a contrasting point of view or statement of a previous church leader, or any previous agreement of logic or contradiction, even if a previously established statement of truth contradicting their current position was one they themselves uttered.

Any further conversation at this point seems to become an exercise in futility, as the church member has in his mind established that he/she has the right to discard anything previously discussed or even agreed to, as it is of the highest priority in the minds of the current LDS to subvert their own reasoning capability to establish the "Follow the Prophet" directive above all else. With one of these comments the LDS person now exudes a sense of assuredness and confidence that the matter is completely settled, whether or not their answer contained any semblance of a satisfactory capacity for reason; nor does it seem to matter if they themselves really understand their own purported beliefs; they may be "not able to explain it now, but there is 'someone' " they "know" (somewhere?) who does. It is also a common escape to say, "I know I have seen it in the scriptures, but I am not sure how to find where it is right now."

Isaiah, 28:20, "For the bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it."

The LDS church member who has used this "Follow the Prophet" slogan will likely avoid or stonewall any future interaction with the party who contradicted them, or from that point on there will be no meaningful dialogue on meaningful topics at all between the two parties who disagreed, and they will find that the only common ground they share must be confined to small talk. If an attempt is ever again made to engage in meaningful dialogue with the current LDS member on the same subject after they have used what they consider to be the "Follow the prophet" trump card, the possibility of any future associations with this person in their mind may now be in serious jeopardy.

"There are those among this people who are influenced, controlled, and biased in their thoughts, actions, and feelings by some other individual or family, on whom they place their dependence for spiritual and temporal instruction, and for salvation in the end. These persons do not depend upon themselves for salvation, but upon another of their poor, weak, fellow mortals.

"I do not depend upon any inherent goodness of my own, say they, to introduce me into the kingdom of glory, but I depend upon you, brother Joseph, upon you, brother Brigham, upon you, brother Heber, or upon you, brother James; I believe your judgment is superior to mine, and consequently I let you judge for me; your spirit is better than mine, therefore you can do good for me; I will submit myself wholly to you, and place in you all my confidence for life and salvation; where you go I will go, and where you tarry there I will stay; expecting that you will introduce me through the gates into the heavenly Jerusalem....Now those men, or those women, who know no more about the power of God, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person, suspending their own understanding, and pinning their faith upon another's sleeve, will never be capable of entering into the celestial glory, to be crowned as they anticipate; they will never be capable of becoming Gods.

"They cannot rule themselves, to say nothing of ruling others, but they must be dictated to in every trifle, like a child. They cannot control themselves in the least, but James, Peter, or somebody else must control them, They never can become Gods, nor be crowned as rulers with glory, immortality, and eternal lives.

"They never can hold scepters of glory, majesty, and power in the celestial kingdom. Who will? Those who are valiant and inspired with the true independence of heaven, who will go forth boldly in the service of their God, leaving others to do as they please, determined to do right, though all mankind besides should take the opposite course." (Brigham Young, presented in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on February 20, 1853, Journal of Discourses, 1:312)

Why do the Mormons insist that the Lord wouldn’t allow the leaders to lead them wrong when the evidence is there with their dealings with Mark Hofmann? The whole church was led to believe the church was founded in the occult. The Doctrine and Covenants states you repent of public sins publicly. Statements that the leaders wouldn’t allow them to be lead astray is contrary to the obvious evidence. The appearance of pentagrams on church buildings has served as a reminder that the church is as vulnerable as ever to being erroneously influenced and led in the same way as when they were influenced by the Hofmann forgeries that portrayed the church as being founded on the occult. Modern LDS people seem to be again led astray in the same manner as they were when Hofmann was influencing them, when they were undeniably lead astray, lock, stock, and barrel. No true Mormon could accept the Hofmann forgeries, and no true Mormon should now accept the introduction of symbols of the occult on church buildings.

Many critics of the church have arrived at a judgment on the validity of the Mormon Religion after conversations with missionaries and representative church members. Their judgment is often based on the assumption that the Mormon they are talking to is an expert on their purported religious beliefs when in fact the Mormons they question are often extremely limited in their own testimony and knowledge of the true church (which should be a surprise to nobody, considering the only common bond is the use of the "follow the prophet" slogan). What should surprise some is the fact that those responsible for teaching erroneous information in the church today most often hold prestigious positions of leadership and authority church positions.

"For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. Isaiah, 28:8

Although there are exceptions to any generalization, e.g., although it is possible for LDS missionaries to carry forth the Gospel effectively and with the Spirit of The Lord, it is an undeniable aspect of today’s church that missionary work is burdened and restricted by the modern LDS "mind-set", that is, the previously described stumbling blocks that restrict church members' ability to reason, making it difficult for today’s missionaries to speak with any degree of certainty outside of a very limited scope of their religion.

"Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!" Isaiah, 28:1

A frequent, although false accusation made of the Mormon Church is that its members belong to a cult. But based on the trends in current LDS thought, it is understandable to see why they are viewed this way. Many of the membership who consider themselves to be intelligent often do not realize the answers they give to sincere and legitimate questions come across as no less than stone-walling tactics, which give the impression these members do not really know what they claim to know, or sincerely believe the religion they claim to believe in. Although the church is growing with new converts, damage is done to the Mormon Faith when the lack of reason previously described handicaps conversion of intelligent thinkers. The Savior taught, "My sheep will know my voice.... a stranger they will not follow."

Once in the church, new members find little opportunity to be able to expand in the truth of the gospel. Instead of spiritual nourishment, they are immediately expected to turn over their free-agency to the stupefying catch-phrase, "follow the prophet," yet are not spiritually nourished with substantial information to reconcile the many contradictions between the current and former church; they are left to the mercies of the abyss substituted for reason in the new church, in which the scriptures are redefined with convoluted and vague meanings, and church members pass around stories told in the third person of what a church authority is believed to have said when addressing a particular topic at a "fireside." This allows inconsistencies and confusion over church doctrine to be dismissed as hearsay when convenient, even as the church teachings drift in and out of worldly rather than spiritual teachings, such as the introduction and acceptance of occultism.

"O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm." 2 Nephi 4:34

This current living prophet, however, has openly betrayed the Mormon religion as founded by Joseph Smith by dealing with Mark Hofmann and his forgeries, which portrayed the Mormon religion as being founded in the occult. He and the other present leaders seem to have an insatiable desire to use hundreds of thousands of church dollars to seek and procure negative anti-Mormon papers such as the Hofmann forgeries and the McLellin papers, which would then not be removed from public circulation but would be published, as Hofmann's "Salamander" forgery was, with the approval of church leaders to make revisions to the authentic version of church history. This is the same McLellin that became a bitter apostate in the early church and a sworn enemy to Joseph Smith.

Although these sins have taken a more historical context, they have not been repented of, nor has the LDS Church attempted to redirect itself away from the new course of affiliating with the occult in spite of the frauds being exposed. The strange sell-outs of the true religion continue to mount with the recent promotions of the pentagram on the newly constructed Nauvoo Temple.

Why does the reconstructed Nauvoo temple display pentagrams so prominently when no other temple does? The only "evidence" are William Weeks drawings that are not completely verified, turned over to the church in the late 1940's, after passing through the hands of many non-Mormons, and after over a supposed century. To this evidence the Church has staked the reputation of the true religion, but why?

What could be going on in the modern LDS Church that has introduced the pentagram as an important church symbol? What sense does it make for the Mormons now to be putting the pentagram out as one of their symbols and making it out as a religious and good symbol when the world regards it as evil, when at one time the largest number of those that have previously proudly displayed it are the openly proud followers of Satanic cults? Why are the LDS now seeking a kindred identity with these kind of people? These are all among the many questions that remain unanswered, but cannot remain unasked.

The pentagram never was considered a Mormon symbol until it turned up on a Mormon building a few years ago. A phone call placed to church spokesmen shortly after the completion of the Church Museum connected us to spokesman Don LeFevre and finally to (after a number of transfers) an LDS church official who provided the explanation that this was the version a BYU professor came up with trying to combine a collage of various symbols.

There are those in the church who are starting to say it is on the temple - it most definitely isn’t and never has been, upon examinations and photos of the exterior of the building. ( Click on following links for more information:)

Why is the Pentagram on the Nauvoo Temple?

Was the pentagram on Solomon's Ring?

A Response to Mormon History Revisionists

What is the influence that now exists in the church to perpetrate this? The predominant evidence shows that influences promoting evil have gained a strong foothold in today’s LDS Church. Although Hofmann was exposed as a fraud, the spirit of his works have never been repented of. It doesn’t make any sense for the church to put themselves in this position; either Joseph Smith was a true prophet and the church is true -in which case his teachings should adhered to- or the modern versions of Hofmann forgeries and pentagrams that have most recently been promoted are true, which would therefore make the LDS Church evil - but both versions cannot be true.

Mosiah 5:13 "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"

Joseph Smith said that when an evil reaches a certain point, it is an evil in itself not to resist it. There is a moral obligation for all honorable men to oppose the evil that has entered into the true church of God. The object of this article is merely to oppose this evil, not necessarily to oppose any individuals or leaders, but to oppose the evil being perpetuated regardless of its origin, and whether or not the spotlight shines on certain individuals are the unintended but nonetheless unavoidable consequences. It is not our purpose to oppose church leaders but only to expose the false doctrine that it is evident they are teaching. We invite all who have partaken of the evils described here, regardless of their status in the church, to repent and re-enlist on the side of the true religion established by God and restored through Joseph Smith.

"And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall." 2 Nephi 29:28

The time is soon coming when church members will find themselves forced to admit and choose which version of the Mormon religion they follow, the original true religion, or the modern religion that embraces ties to the occult. The time is growing short for members of the LDS faith to awake to their awful situation and repent of these recent betrayals, and return to the true religion of the early church founded by Joseph Smith.