Posted by:
The 1st FreeAtLast
(
)
Date: September 02, 2013 04:17AM
...July 1993 Ensign article by Mormon apostle Russell Nelson. Here's the quote from his piece:
"Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.”
(Ref.
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1993/07/a-treasured-testament?lang=eng)
And here's what the LDS Church's The Friend magazine told Mormon children in the September 1974 issue:
"Joseph also used an egg-shaped, brown rock for translating [the BoM] called a seer stone. The translating was done at Peter Whitmer’s home, a friend of the Prophet’s where Oliver Cowdery, Emma Smith (Joseph’s wife), one of the Whitmers, or Martin Harris wrote down the words spoken by the Prophet as soon as they were made known to him.
"Martin Harris said that on the seer stone 'sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by [the one writing them down] and when finished [that person] would say "written;" and if correctly written, the sentence would disappear and another take its place; but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates.'
"Even with the help of the Urim and Thummim and the seer stone, it wasn’t easy to translate the sacred record. It required the Prophet’s greatest concentration and spiritual strength."
(Ref.
https://www.lds.org/friend/1974/09/a-peaceful-heart?lang=eng)
Ask your husband if he actually believes that JS "translated" the BoM using one or two magical rocks and his hat?
And here's one of JS' written First Vision stories from the LDS Church's Joseph Smith Papers website:
"I retired to the silent grove and bowd down before the Lord, under a realising sense that he had said (if the bible be true) ask and you shall recieve knock and it shall be opened seek and you shall find and again, if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbradeth not; information was what I most desired at this time, and with a fixed determination I to obtain it, I called upon the Lord for the first time, in the place above stated or in other words I made a fruitless attempt to pray, my toung seemed to be swolen in my mouth, so that I could not utter, I heard a noise behind me like some person walking towards me, <I> strove again to pray, but could not, the noise of walking seem ed to draw nearer, I sprung up on my feet, and... (See p. 1 at
http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/interview-9-november-1835)
"...and looked around, but saw no person or thing that was calculated to produce the noise of walking, I kneeled again my mouth was opened and my toung liberated, and I called on the Lord in mighty prayer, a pillar of fire appeared above my head, it presently rested down upon my <me> head, and filled me with joy unspeakable, a personage appeard in the midst, of this pillar of flame which was spread all around, and yet nothing consumed, another personage soon appeard like unto the first, he said unto me thy sins are forgiven thee, he testifyed unto me that Jesus Christ is the son of God; <and I saw many angels in this vision> I was about 14. years old when I recieved this first communication; (See p. 2 at
http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/interview-9-november-1835)
JS with a "toung" that "seemed to be swolen" in his mouth just before the First Vision, eh? Well, why no mention of the "actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being" that supposedly took control of JS' tongue and immersed him in "thick darkness", causing him to feel that he "was ready to sink into despair" and "abandon myself to destruction", per his FV story of early 1838, the one that became the foundation of LDS theology? (See verses 15-17 at
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1.15-17?lang=eng for the official First Vision narrative).
Info. about JS' conflicting FV stories is at
http://mit.irr.org/joseph-smiths-changing-first-vision-accountsIf you haven't done so, I suggest that you purchase a copy of Grant Palmer's "An Insider's View of Mormon Origins" and give it to your husband (ref.
http://signaturebooks.com/2010/02/an-insiders-view-of-mormon-origins-2/). Amazon.com and Abebooks.com have used copies.
Your husband should also read historian Dr. D. Michael Quinn's masterful "Early Mormonism and the Magic World View" (ref.
http://signaturebooks.com/2010/02/early-mormonism-and-the-magic-world-view/).
You need to have a frank discussion with your husband. Mormonism is a demonstrable fraud. The Book of Mormon is - provably - a work of fiction (see "Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church" for related info. - ref.
http://signaturebooks.com/2010/02/losing-a-lost-tribe-native-americans-dna-and-the-mormon-church/). JS was a consummate liar and adulterer (see
http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/ for details).
Your husband is going to have to grow some b*lls and a spine in relation to his family. He needs to define boundaries w/ them, including NOT attending the chronically dishonest LD$ Church. He is NOT a little boy who needs to placate them. He needs to act like an independent ADULT!
You need to make it clear to your husband what is and is not acceptable in relation to his regressive participation in cultic Mormonism. For example, is he going to start paying tithing, which will negatively impact the household budget and your retirement savings as a couple?
Your husband has some critical growing up to do. There is a TON of info. (facts) online about cultic Mormonism; he should be reviewing it.
In the final analysis, if you find that his participation in Mo-ism starts to negatively affect your life, don't hesitate to give him an ultimatum: You, or his family members and the LDS Church. He'll have to make up his mind what's more important to him. If he opts for the latter, I suggest that you get a divorce and move on with your life. You cannot save him; he has to want to stay away from the grossly unethical LDS Church himself.
Ultimately, the quality of your life is your responsibility.
I hope that your husband wakes up and realizes that his decision to participate in Mo-ism again is unwise.
Good luck!