I found this on Yahoo just a few minutes ago....Have anyone else seen this???

From listverse.com "10 Dark Secrets Of Mormon History"


10. Mormons Threatened To Exterminate All Missourians

9. A Mormon Militia Burned Villages To The Ground

8. Joseph Smith Ordered Governor Bogg’s Assassination

7. Mormon Settlers Massacred 140 Pioneers Headed For California

6. Brigham Young Said Mixed-Race Marriages Should Be Punished By Death

5. Brigham Young Said Only Spilling Blood Could Redeem Those Who Left Mormonism

4. Joseph Smith Recorded Conflicting Visions

3. Mormon Scriptures Contain An Image Of An Egyptian God With An Erection

2. Joseph Smith Married 14-Year-Old Girls

1. Polygamy Severely Oppressed Women

http://listverse.com/2015/04/08/10-dark-secrets-of-mormon-history/

The Oath of Vengeance Temple Oath up until 1920's is pretty dark. The Death Cult Oath of suicide up until 1990 is pretty dark. There might not be surviving Mormons that took this oath, but there are surviving Mormons that know about this oath.

Maybe these were so dark the author of the article did not kmow they existed. I don't know where on the top 10 I would put them though and which i would remove.

Perhaps #1 includes this, but it seems so incomplete.

I would also add polygamist missionaries publishing articles of denial and chastising challengers of Mormon marriage practices that the young women going to the United States and Utah were being sorted out into polygamy. We now know these missionaries were deceiving prospective Mormons about polygamy and complaining amongst themselves that the attractive ones were not being saved for them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/2015 03:04PM by gentlestrength.

I'm sure there are more than ten "dark secrets of mormon history".

The author seems to only be able to come up with ten!

This is better than "zero" on exposing the cult!!!

I noticed the Yahoo website has been none-stop posting about the mormon cult since I can remember!

I think Yahoo is using an algorithm that includes topical news stories that would be of interest based on websites frequented by the address.

It is likely Mormons are getting the same major news with interest stories on yarn, family, and the decline of the Western world sprinkled in where we are getting the negative stories on Mormonism because we feequents a site like RfM.

I am seeing the same thing, it is troubling. Personalized propaganda.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/2015 06:16PM by gentlestrength.

Thanks I never thought about the "algorithm"...that makes a lot of sense!!!

All of these are true. Today's faithful Mormon would first say:

"Not true. Anti-Mormon lies."

Then even if you could convince them they would say:

"So what?"

True believing Mormon's and zealot Mormon protectors (apologists) first must experience doubt outside of these 10 "dark secrets" before they will see the truth about them.

"The truth is not uplifting; it destroys." - BKP

Very true.

The figure most historians give is 120, but the exact number is certainly uncertain, given that the Fancher-Baker party may have been joined by an unknown number of apostates who wanted to leave Utah. There's anectdotal evidence for this.

http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Meadows-Massacre-Juanita-Brooks/dp/0806123184

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Prophets-Brigham-Massacre-Mountain/dp/0806136391

Also, I'm one who thinks reducing complex issues to simplistic and sensationalistic "talking points" can be counter-productive. None of these give "both sides of the story," and that becomes as problematic as the one-sided LDs "faith-promoting" versions we've been subjected to for over a century. Mormon historians and apologists are particularly skilled at dismissing such information as "anti-Mormon persecution."

As another example, the claim "Joseph Smith ordered Governor Boggs' Assassination" would be better titled "Evidence strongly suggests Orrin Porter Rockwell attempted to assassinate Missouri governor."

On that one, there was testimony Rockwell was seen at a gun shop where the weapon was stolen from, Sarah Pratt claimed someone tried to borrow her husband's rifle, and after the shooting, Rockwell was known to have "fallen on prosperous times."

And according to Col. Patrick E. Connor, who hired Rockwell in 1862 as a guide for what later became the horrific "Bear River Massacre," the Avenging Angel admitted to the assassination attempt.

I agree. There is no direct proof that Smith ordered the shooting and likewise none to disprove it either. Rockwell may well have acted on his own in loyalty to the Prophet.

Your restatement is more factual. There's plenty enough against Joseph Smith without misstating the facts.

My personal opinion is if Joseph Smith didn't order the Boggs shooting outright, he made a cryptic reference to his prophecy that Boggs would die a violent death--at least there are reports he made such a declaration--and looked Rockwell in the eye knowingly.

But that would be specualtion, and I would never try to pass that off as actual history. Your idea that Rockwell acted on his own is certainly possible; who knows what sets off a crazy person with obvious homicidal tendencies? John C. Bennett, BTW, is the source of some of this information, and Mormon historians have effectively marginalized him for the most part. Many of his claims, however, have been confirmed by other sources.

I knew Rockwell's biographer Harold Schindler fairly well, and his book is worth reading even though Schindler was a faithful Mormon (the other guy who has authored a number of works sold in Deseret Books isn't worth anything beyond offering useful kindling to start a campfire). Will Bagley--who knew Schindler even better--says he may be planning to write a book about Rockwell. I'll keep people posted if that happens.

I don't have all the details and evidence, but Susan Easton Black, in a church history class at BYU, taught that Rockwell attempted to assassinate Boggs. She didn't connect it to Joseph, but she seemed to think there was enough evidence to state it as a fact. She made it sound like he was the biggest badass in history, killed many men, etc... Not sure why I thought that was cool and not appalling at the time.

Is that accurate? You don't hear that in Gospel Doctrine class!

One of myriad omissions, eh?

I always thought that it should have been named "Gospel Dogma" class.

I taught it for years and used a lot of outside material. After that the church pronounced it the holy of holies and no information could enter it except the whitewashed propaganda in the manual.

And then, it was recycled (is recycled?) endlessly and mashed down into pablum. Still, the faithful come to 'edified.' I should have said petrified (like living rocks whose tissues are slowly replaced with mineralized dogma).

here are some others:
a) first governor of Utah was beaten to death on his way trying to escape the Mormons, Daniel H. Wells leader of the gang.

b) numerous cases of blood atonement, one comes to mind in bountiful where a man came forward and volunteered to be cut up to pay for his sins. The brethren willingly carried out the deed the following Sunday.

c) Rumor has it that the original plans for the salt lake temple were to have a room in the basement where the death penalty was to be administered as an ordinance of the gospel upon an alter. Thank God BY died before the completion of the temple.

d) 400 indians were masacred so the saints could take over all of Cache Valley. There is a mormon celebration commemorating this event every year in Wellsville on Labor day.

Brigham Young was the first governor of Utah... The second was Alfred Cumming...

Beaten to death? Hardly...

Your distorted narrative is doubtless referring to John W. Dawson, the third governor who was decidedly antagonistic toward Mormons and left Utah after less than a month here. He was attacked and beaten in Parley's Canyon, but he died in Indiana in 1877.

http://www.historytogo.utah.gov/people/governors/territorial/dawson.html

Blood atonement--per Will Bagley--was a very real horror in the territory's early history, but you impeach your credibility with your earlier hyperbole.

As for the "400 Indians" massacred, I'm assuming you're referring to the Bear River Massacre. A number of us have reported on that here, and Mormon involvement is only tangential (Orrin Porter Rockwell and Lot Smith served as guides to Patrick E. Connor's forces). The figure is uncertain, but the number you give is higher than this account by Brigham D. Madsen, the historian who was responsible for getting the atrocity re-named "The Bear River Massacre" instead of the "The Battle of Bear River."

http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/american_indians/bearrivermassacre.html

And one of my regular research collaborators is from Wellsville; I'll get some input from him on what the Wellsville Pioneer Days events are commemorating, and I assure you, he's no fan of the LDS Church.

I was glad to see this posted. My nephew sent the link to me (privately) wondering if I had read these things. It gave me the opportunity to point him to mormonthink and the cesletter. He said he was surprised by some of the stuff and wasn't aware of it. He's pretty jack mormon, maybe this will help him on his way.

Smith a convicted fraud and treasure digger.

Smith guilty of destruction of free press.

Smith wanted for high treason and treason against the state of Illinois.

Smith's other child brides.

Genetic legacy of Smith's "revelation" on polygamy leading to mass child graves and genetic flaws in some communities.

Danites and hitman Porter Rockwell 'offing' enemies of the church.

Current prophet and some apostles mixed up in allowing electro shock aversion therapy of gay kids at BYU.

Subsequent suicides of gay people involved in this program and suicides of gay Mormons reaching epidemic levels.

Apostles and a Prophet mixed up with a document forger and terrorist bomber/murderer when they tried to purchase and hide documents they believed were true, but that showed the CULT in a bad light.

Anti gay political corruption, front groups, illegal and undeclared political donations.

High-ups in the CULT mixed up in Zion's Bank money laundering.

Teaching that science and intellectualism is Satanic.

Teaching dark skinned people that they are dark skinned because their ancestors were evil, and that they can become white if they follow Mormon dogma.

Teaching gays they choose to be gay and can stop if they are faithful enough.

Telling gays to marry away the gay, leading to broken families, empty marriages, and despair.

There's plenty I can't remember right now. Mormonism is a cesspool of lies, sexual crimes and "evil" and damaging ideas.

Yes....and the lists goes on and on!

As I stated above, if people want to find out about the "true dark secrets about mormonsim" Yahoo is not a place to go. But, the website is exposing "some" of the cult's dirty laundry, and that is better than nothing. If some investigators, cult members especially the newly converts that doesn't have a clue what they are getting into, then the little exposure from Yahoo website is a good start...and if they want to dig up more dirt, then they would/should come to RFM or other sources like cesletter!