Yes, and I am a product of this virus. Mormonism is such a inextricable part of my personal genealogy that I would not exist if it weren't for it.
I don't like noodling that fact and I don't like Mormons telling me to leave Mormonism alone like I can forget my previous life and not think about all the lives before mine which led to mine.
I would amend BTDT's metaphor to say, "how far back does the Mormon Retrovirus infect your family?"
Retroviruses are a form of virus that enters the victim's cells and grafts themselves into the his DNA, so that every succeeding generation of cells carries the virus too. Some retroviruses become genetically hereditary.
I'm simplifying a bit, but the point is that Mormonism infects people who then pass it on to their children as almost a genetic heritage. Mormonism is not like influenza or even cancer, limited to a single individual. It is far more invasive and persistent than such diseases. It is a curse unto the third and fourth generation.
Lot's Wife Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It is > a curse unto the third and fourth generation.
So inciteful. It is a retrovirus trying to get ahold of human DNA through memes to continue that most viral of human cultural desires - complete Borg-like control of individuals.
That said, I remember doing some genealogy work back in the day, and I found starting on my maternal side of the family, from my 3rd g-grands and back thru history, temple work has been done.
:-/
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2019 04:13PM by angela.
It's the brain drain that will be the demise of TSCC finally.
I've seen a dumbing down just in my lifetime. What's sad is when it's in-laws and subsequent generations of their children. Not only are some of them ignoramuses, they're self-righteous little prudes. Since my favorite brother's funeral last year I've cut myself off from his bio children because they're more like their mom than they take after him. And that grieves me beyond words.
Ironically it's his adopted children who have a heart, not the ones he had with his wife. It's the gene pool I tell you!
My dad joined during WW2. That has infected 3 generations beyond him. But, some of the family members got themselves vaccinated and are no longer infected.
I have a direct Paternal descendent that came west to SLC Valley in 1847. His name is on the Monument at This Is The Place. Family joined very early on. The families of my mom's parents both came west with the hand cart companies. One almost died at Martin's Cove. Those two families both joined in late 1830's as well.
DaveinTX Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have a direct Paternal descendent that came west > to SLC Valley in 1847. His name is on the > Monument at This Is The Place. Family joined very > early on. The families of my mom's parents both > came west with the hand cart companies. One > almost died at Martin's Cove. Those two families > both joined in late 1830's as well.
My great great great grandmother was in the Willie handcart company coming to Utah from Denmark. She survived.
I have an ancestor who is in the Joseph Smith papers. He served in the stake presidency in Missouri under David Whitmer and later entered the Salt Lake Valley with Brigham Young in 1847. I don't know when he joined the church but probably is the earliest of any of my ancestors to join. Most joined the church in Europe and migrated to Utah in handcart companies and later on the railroad.
I too am a descendant of two of the Willie handcart survivors.
On my mother's side, the ancestor was Jens Nelson whose only child (at the time) died of exposure and starvation.
On my father's side it was a 17-year old girl named Elizabeth who eventually married her rescuer. Thomas Griffin Winn was already married to an Elizabeth, so I am a descendant of Elizabeth II.
Mid 1800's in Hartford Connecticut on my dad's side. My great great grandfather and his family sailed on the Ship Brooklyn voyage from New York to San Francisco charted by the cult.
My ancestor was a strong Brigham Young supporter in Nauvoo when no one knew for sure who would replace dead Joseph Smith. He even named a son after BY to show his loyalty. Journeyed to Salt Lake with him. I have no idea if he was duped by Brigham or was actually a willing henchman.
Several ancestors were Joseph's bodyguards. As far as I know not one of my ancestors was one of his plural wives I'm happy to say. But he did pollute their minds!
Both my mother's and father's side of the family go back to the original few cult members. One was a member of the Smith family, one was their neighbor, and one was JS's counselor. They all knew each other, and were polygamists, except for the neighbor. It's the neighbor's family line that is lease "infected", and now more than half of those relatives have left the cult.
I think of them all as apostates, who left the approved church of their English ancestors to join a sick, polygamous, voo-doo cult.
My children are not the "apostates," as we have brought our family back into the basic "Christian" way of thinking.
Our developing brains in the Information Age are producing natural antibodies, to fight off the virus. Also, unconditional love works better than Vitamin C, to strengthen our immunity.
All those generations of human beings, who could have been effluvium. Rich, attractive, successful, high-ranking in the cult--yes, they are. Happy, loving and kind--not!
Edit--All those generations of human beings, who could have lived happy, normal lives, have instead become invected from JS spewing his virus all over them. JS and BY and the Mormons did some terrible things to my ancestors (stole their money and land, put them in harm's way, banished them, etc), yet they all stayed obedient to the cult. WHY???
in my past including Martin handcart company. One grandmother was a convert, so that is not so far back, but her husband was the son of polygamists.
My grandparents were both deaf. They met in deaf school in Colorado when they were in 3rd grade. His family left to move to Utah and in his 20s, he went back looking for my grandmother. Her father made him promise that he wasn't part of polygamy and he told him he wasn't. At least my own grandfather didn't practice polygamy.
I only have one polygamist in my past thankfully. When I asked my dad about his family and if there were polygamists, he said they weren't THAT stupid.
Kirtland Ohio on one side of the family. That side came across with BY in '47. On the other side they converted in Denmark and went to Utah by handcart.
My Mormon Pioneer Pedigree goes all the way back to the Nauvoo days. They went west with the Saints to Utah. A group of them were sent by Brigham Young to Arizona were they settled in the area of Mesa, Arizona. My Mother is from Mesa. My Father was a convert.
My Mormon Pioneer Pedigree goes all the way back to the Nauvoo days. The Stewart's and the Troyer's families migrated west with the Saints to Utah. They were later sent by Brigham Young to Arizona were they settled and established the city of Mesa, Arizona. My Mother is from Mesa. My Father was a convert.
Alvin Franklin Stewart was my great, great, grandfather. He was the second mayor of Mesa.He was one of Joseph Smith's body guards and helped build the Nauvoo Temple. So I guess I am the product of Mormon Pioneer Royalty.
Almost from the beginning. My dad's family are Mormon pioneers and trace their heritage to the Ship Brooklyn voyage and back to Hartford, CT. Dad never made a big deal of it. Didn't learn those facts until I got a copy of the large family history book in the early 90's. I'm adopted and after finding my non-Mormon birth family 5 years ago, theirs is a more interesting story to me.
All I care about is that I’ve put enough roundup on it to stop that pesky tree virus. Yeah, my tree has a lot of Mormon branches. But of the eight roots that have sprung from it (kids and grandkids) only one is still growing in fertile mormon soil. Funny thing, that’s my favorite root. So I just hope it doesn’t become too strong.
"Well hello, how are you? We're missionary's from the Mormon Church and have a very short message for you...see this picture of him...we're so cool, you'll love us.."
Since there was no social distancing then, the virus spread quickly. What my father failed to understand was that he was joining a cult, where the leaders hit on the pretty new converts. This is what happened almost immediately to my parents. The visiting stake high councilman eyed my pretty mom sitting next to my dad in the audience, and began spinning his plan of seduction by asking if he could come over when my dad was at work and sell his line of products (that was the ploy). One mutation of the Mormon virus causes men to hit on married women and break up families.
Paternal grandfather: ALL the way back to the beginning in New England. My surname is listed on the This is the Place monument even. My family has been in SLC since 1847.
Paternal grandmother: Never. Her family came to USA from Germany. She lived in SLC for a few years, but mostly in S. CA.
Maternal Grandfather: This family came to SLC in 1852 I think. So they must have joined back in the 1840's in New England. Some of this line were a part of the Handcart crew that almost perished at Martin's Cove in Wyoming.
Maternal Grandmother: This family line joined in the middle 1850's in England and Scotland. They emigrated to USA and came to SLC just as the civil war was ending.
So, the virus is deep in me. I am the only one in my family that has ever actually resigned. The rest of the inactive ones just quit going, but have never resigned. The ones still active are crazy uber mormons now.
Mormonism is the poisonous mistletoe in my heritage oak. It began to choke off healthy limbs in Nauvoo, long ago.
There is no denying that every generation in my family since then has had its share of apostates. Rather than admit that this is an obvious manifestation of the religion's failure to capture and hold us, the branches are blamed for the mistletoe that chokes them!
It's a cowardly outlook, and the moral cowards in my family are the ones who carry the torch for Joe Smith. My father lived the life of a nervous coin-stacker. What remains of my mother cowers in a Mormon old people's home in southern Utah.
There was a project tracing the descendants of one of my famous Utah ancestors, you can find these online - It looks like I am related to about 70% of the state of Utah. Also my 23andme DNA results show about as many third cousins in Utah.
Born 1842 Ohio, Elizabeth Gardner. My great ... grandmother moved to Utah and married a William King at the Salt Lake City 8th Ward in 1858, with her 14-year-old sister in a polygamous marriage. They relocated to Virginia City and Carson City, Nevada, in the 1860s during the Comstock boom and split up/divorced (?). Lotsa kids with different names. 1875 article in the Nevada Appeal with her husband, a muleskinner, suing a silver mining mill for non-payment. Some of my family stories have her running a brothel across the street from the Nevada state capital building.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2020 06:24AM by snagglepuss.
I think once you have been infected, the damage inflicted by the virus infuses your cells down to your DNA and impacts you directly the rest of your life.
To treat the continuing ill effects requires the following antidotes:
alcohol (and lots of it) to kill outcroppings of the viruses
RFM as a continal mind disinfectant
Sunday activities (hiking, biking, traveling, etc) to keep your body fit to ward off the virus.
Number one cure: stay away from infected people. This isn’t possible for everyone unfortunately. But I think if I’d been able to eliminate mormonism from my life I would be cured, albeit with a few scars.