Is there many of you out there who experienced the occult world while being a member in the mormonchurch? For example communication with the other side?

No, but falling asleep during spiritual numbing rituals, like temple endowments and sacrament meetings was peachy-keen. Sawing logs was a worthy habit worth emulating.

No. The temple was the big disappointment. I was absolutely sure after hearing about the temple all my life as being so wonderful you couldn't even talk about it that we were going to see Jesus or at least some angels hovering around the crown molding or serving sacrament in the Celestial room.

All I got was a dumb grade school level play, more Mormon blather in the lone and dreary world, and the bum's rush from the Celestial Room by some old sister telling me to make room for the new arrivals through the veil.

Even the souvenir hat and apron were a let down.

Haha. I know. I guess I have insulted grade schools everywhere with that comment.

Done & Done Wrote:
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> No. The temple was the big disappointment. I was
> absolutely sure after hearing about the temple all
> my life as being so wonderful you couldn't even
> talk about it that we were going to see Jesus or
> at least some angels hovering around the crown
> molding or serving sacrament in the Celestial
> room.

MORmONS do everything they can to give that impression, then when there is NO divine manifestation a person does not dare act like they are disappointed because then they will be at fault for NOT being delighted with the stupid experience that was built up as supposedly being so sublime.

Those old guys in the live session in SLC temple were very exciting to watch!!! :)

Quite the troop of actors



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2018 06:07PM by delbertlstapley.

I saw actual miracles in the temple. How else can you explain participating in a session being conducted by rotting Corpses? Old Spice aftershave was the only indication that they were even remotely animated.

Rumor has it that they were going to reshoot Thriller in the next session.

Please exit through the gift shop.

Haha ha. That is really funny.

I hadn't until I found out about this stuff and then it was only in the past for me. No spirits/angels/pentagram stuff for me.

https://exploringmormonism.com/palmyra-magic-timeline/

Maybe the guy who compiled this list has an "axe to grind."

https://exploringmormonism.com/bruce-r-mcconkie-and-me/

But that timeline link is golden. Mormonism was founded in the occult. No doubt about it.

You're quite right, EB. This spring/summer I read Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn. It was a real eye-opener. The Smith family and early mormonism are riddled with recognizably magic-derived practices and even objects (Joe's Jupiter talisman, for example).


Quinn is so meticulous in his research (and engaging in his writing) that I read the whole thing. Although I'm a fast reader, it took me from May to August, interspersed with a lot of science fiction... ;-)

I really recommend it - particularly for the way he blows away mormon apologist critics of his first edition :-D

Tom in Paris

I also recommend it. I couldn't put it down when I read it when I was going from active to inactive.

Ironically, I had looked at a copy of it before my mission at my Great Aunt Mary's house. She had a signed copy because she contributed to it by telling Quinn about the time she got to see the brown seer stone in the COB. It doesn't say and she never said but I think she was able to see it because she was the one who found our ancestor Zina Huntington's Nauvoo journal in an old trunk and GAVE it to LDS Corp.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2018 04:56PM by Elder Berry.

It's a long (720 pages!) read. I'm interested in starting, but I'd take too long. Are there certain sections you recommend diving into for someone who doesn't have a lot of time to read?

That book was tough sledding.

I have heard that he originally had a lot of stuff about the Salamander letter in there and had to cut it out after Hoffman's forgeries were discovered. The result was a book that was not as well structured as his other works.

But the material is very important. Quinn is the real thing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2018 10:00PM by Lot's Wife.

I don't about "occult" experiences, but I definitely had what people call spiritual experiences, especially as a missionary.

Nothing comes close to what I've experienced in meditation, though.

I wish the temple was that exciting. The temple to me was an ordinance assembly line. I bet if you could read minds, many people going through the motions in the temples think it's pretty silly.

Rubicon Wrote:
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> I bet if
> you could read minds, many people going through
> the motions in the temples think it's pretty
> silly.

I still think it is horrifying like I'm in some nightmare of conformity and trapped chanting and repeating and submitting to some kind of ridiculous "we're better than everyone else" cult.

I thought every TBM had a spiritual vision, like a Smokey Bear PSA, where George Washington appeared before them and said: "Only YOU can do your ancestors temple work."

LOL! Love it.

Only you can prevent Telestial Kingdom Smoothie sex and Terrestrial Kingdom recreational sex only for eternity.


Doesn't everyone want to be a god reproducing for eternity?

Spiritualism was very popular in England before, during and after Joseph Smith Jr organized the Mormon Church. It was popular in that area of Northeast, USA the same time period. Many of the ideas in Spiritualism fit nicely with the claims of Joseph Smith Jr. As investigators, our family just assumed that he was "channeling" deceased people when he claimed visions and how hewrote the BOM as The facts, however, were much different. He was able to use current ideas of the time to validate his claims.

Generally, "occult" notions are ascribed to some kind of devil, darkness, etc, doing evil.
I have no belief or any reason to believe there is a devil, or a Satan or Lucifer character. I did, however, find it was a plausible, religious notion at one time as explained by the Bible, Mormonism, etc. So if anything is "the occult" it's a matter of interpretation, based on preexisting beliefs.

It's not uncommon for a family member to claim they had a visit or received a message from a deceased person, usually a loved one.

Mormonism grew out of the beliefs of the times in Northeast America by a very clever charismatic man who had the ability to convince people he had some esoteric knowledge that was very appealing.

Just a little FYI: Occult definition Ox Engl: Mystical, supernatural, or magical powers, practices, or phenomena. Nothing about it being demonic. Stems from latin meaning hidden.

Heidi GWOTR Wrote:
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> Just a little FYI: Occult definition Ox Engl:
> Mystical, supernatural, or magical powers,
> practices, or phenomena. Nothing about it being
> demonic. Stems from latin meaning hidden.


My comment was meant to be in relation to Mormonism.

Heidi GWOTR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just a little FYI: Occult definition Ox Engl:
> Mystical, supernatural, or magical powers,
> practices, or phenomena. Nothing about it being
> demonic. Stems from latin meaning hidden.


yah uhhhhh well try telling that to LD$ inc, who flips out anytime that their MORmON church scam or MORmON founder PERVERT Joseph Smith gets associated with the occult.

All the excitement talked about in the Joseph Smith history was caused by the construction of the Erie Canal which ran right through Palmyria. I'm sure Joseph Was exposed to the latest fads and got a lot of ideas. Maybe if the Erie Canal never was built, the Mormon church never would have came into existence. I think the canal had a lot to do with the formation of the church.

I think the temple are the biggest problem with mormonism. For me who really looked forward to go there, as a very active mormon.. I just felt like walking into a nightmare of lies while being there. Something was really wrong with this place and I felt it in my whole existence. After this experiences I began to research the mormonchurch both historical and spiritual and I found out that this religion was not what I was told it was...

^How I felt in the temple too. Something felt off in a deceptive way. I couldn't put my finger on it at the time.

I had experienced "The Devil" only once in my life, and that had been during a temple dedication. We sat in the privileged GA seats, as my important relative was helping to officiate. During the dedicatory prayer, there were people sobbing all around me, including my mother. I opened my eyes and looked around, and this--paralyzing, scary feeling of intense hatred and fear overtook me. I was always convinced that was Satan, trying to take over! As for the sobbing spiritual Mormons, they said that they saw the Heavens open up, as though there were no ceiling in the building.

The only other times I have felt the presence of Satan have been in the temple--every time I was in there! I'm not kidding! I'm don't believe in ghosts, or the occult, but I can feel "bad vibes" and feelings of hatred, competition and jealousy, lies, greed, despair, ugliness. All that was in the temple. I went through for the first time, to marry a con-man, who had me and my parents completely duped. I wanted to back out, but everyone convinced me it was "wedding jitters." That was back in the days of the pantomimed throat slitting, chest slashing, and Hiri-kiri disemboweling motions. Yikes! Stan was there, even before all that began! The place smelled rank, like the stench of evil. Afterwards, I walked out of the temple barefoot, because some evil person had broken into my locker and had stolen my new wedding shoes and purse.

This was before I knew about the Satanic symbols all over the temple, and before I heard the tall tales of dead spirits lining up to be baptized, etc.

I never felt the presence of God in the temples, or in the Mormon churches, either, that's for sure!

I never had any such experience while in the church but I didn’t get that far, I left upon becoming an adult. I remember feeling a distinct negative energy when doing baptisms for the dead though. I felt incredibly guilty for having that feeling at the time and chalked it up to being nervous in such an ‘impressive’ space. I now think I knew instinctively that I was doing something very wrong and evil. I have had an experience with what I believe to have been an evil entity, I won’t go into great detail but it was during a time when I was emotionally vulnerable and I felt the presence of something that I could very much tell meant me harm and there was a palpable feeling of hatred and malice toward me. I wasn’t on drugs or delusional and I was wide awake for the experience. Before that I had absolutely no belief in a literal Satan or any spirits or entities whatsoever. Now, I’m not so sure but I know what I experienced was very real. I do believe that the Mormon church was founded on occult beliefs and practices and I see it as being contrary to true Christianity. I believe it to be evil not only in how it treats people but I consider its very beliefs to be evil.

Yes, it's evil pretending to be holy as God and think you are holier than others. Pride goes before fall. And what about this part in the endownment movie where lucifer gives orders and tells what happens IF the members don't obey him! I feel that fear and control is the heart of the mormon temple.

My LDS side of family had miraculous & profoundly spiritual events occur during their lives they chalked up to their religious faith.

Same for my Jewish ancestors who lived in Old Germany. Not sure about my Protestant ancestors since haven't come across any written family history of theirs to draw from.

I've had spiritual awakenings and events occur in my life both during my time as a Mormon and after. It took leaving TSCC for me to realize God was there for me throughout. It was a part of my learning curve to have been born into TSCC. I had to find out for myself it is a fraud - and was led out of it. My faith has deepened as a result, not weakened with the passage of time.

It's far easier for me to accept life and the divine as a mystery for which there doesn't need to be all the answers; unlike Mormon dogma would have us to believe. My faith suffices because I know there is something there beyond our finite understanding. Maybe someday we'll be privy to that knowledge. Or not. It's not something we have any control over ie, our birth or our beginning, or what lies beyond.