I'm guess the Second Anointed ones form a church within the church? And everyone else has to spin off their own church within the church to feel special like so many Mormons who eventually started their own church.

As a young Aaronic Priesthood holder back in the sixties our Priest teacher was a very nice and sincere man who was studying to be in Institute teacher. At this time he was learning all the secrets of the church and telling them all to us and they were fascinating.. I heard about Satan throwing some of the early elders around the room and all sorts of stuff some of which still hasn't made it to Google. That is when my devil nightmares started.

He talked with awe then about the Second Anointing. He described it like the Holy Ghost himself had visited you personally and made it known that you were going to the Celestial Kingdom and that your "Calling and Election" had been made sure". He said that this would happen to fewer people than the fingers on your hand. This is what the church was teaching then.

Of course now they hand them out like popcorn in order to stem the flow.

Being Mormon has always been about being arrogantly elite. At a certain point, though, just being Mormon doesn't do the trick. The upper crust Mormons need to separate themselves from the riff-raff and the Second Anointing is just the ticket---for now. Something even better will come along soon. Will have to. My brother is never going to be happy knowing he is just part of a large group.

Done & Done Wrote:
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> Being Mormon has always been about being
> arrogantly elite.

Yeah, it was founded by a poor man, a social outcast who craved status. So after realizing ministers were given instant status and credibility (and all they had to do was talk) he invented a religion with multiple levels of status, with himself at the top. What was better than getting to be with God? Getting to BE God.

My introduction to the great mysteries and secret doctrines came from my friend's father who used to take us on fishing trips to places like Alice Lake and Ham's Fork in Wyoming. He was also my bishop for about 6 years growing up. At night we would sit around the campfire and he would tell us all about the secrets of polygamy (Fanny Alger sort of blew me away), curses of Cain and others (church members who betrayed the prophets, Ihave forgotten them but they were wild), and of course, The Second Anointing. His goal in life was to reach this stage but alas I don't think he ever made it. His wife liked to have too much fun and he was cursed with the ability to curse and swear like no other human I have ever known. My favorite memory of him was hearing him chased by a cow moose through the willows along a river bank and he was swearing at her using some very non-bishop like sexual terms not only in English but Spanish and Danish as well.

There is a book entitled something like The Fate of The Persecutors of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It sounds like your bishop had read it.

That seems very likely, or perhaps he had been taught by someone who did. That title seemed familiar, I looked up the author, who was at one time secretary to BH Roberts. I'm pretty sure we have this book in storage, it belonged to my wife's grandfather. He had a collection of fascinating Mormon books. I'll have to pull it out next time we are in Utah.

I read the book long ago; I still have it, with my impenetrable marginalia, in storage. It was published by Bookcraft, not known for its editorial rigor, and subsequent fact checkers found that the "persecutors" went on to live normal lives and die normal deaths.

Other than being false, though, it's an exciting read.

It seems to me that the purpose of most rituals, articles of faith, etc, is to separate, not unite. This is certainly true in Mormonism. As D&D wrote, being Mormon is about being arrogantly elite.

JS spent much of his short adult life creating some new doo-dad for the extra special people (which of course included him as the first and foremost of the extra special) in Mormonism.

The BoM made Mormonism unique, and it was supposed to be the be-all and end-all of the restoration - the fulness of the gospel and all that. That turned out hardly to be the case.

Next came the Aaronic Priesthood. Not a word about that in the BoM. Once the luster wore off the AP, then came the Big M (no, not that Big M) Priesthood.

Then Temples. Then the endowment. Then sealing and baptism for the dead (lucky you, after you're dead, you get to be one of us!!). I'm not sure when the callings for Seventy and High Priest got created, but I imagine they were recognition of extra-specialness. When I was a kid, becoming a high priest was still something of a big deal in the congregation.

The last gasps of extra-specialness in JS day were the Second Annointing, and the Council of Fifty, which seemed like it was planned as the Ring to Rule all Rings, or something like that. It was going to be the Grand Key, the council to rule them all.

JS's death at that point ended his constant creating things new and special for the top dogs. The only things I can think of that were added after JS's time was the BIC concept. If Blacks were the fence sitters, BICs were the extra-valiant. You know, Saturday's Warrior, and all that BS. The other later addition was the solidifying of the hierarchy and the importance for males to climb the hierarchy, with the pinnacle of course being membership in the Q15 or Presiding Bishopric.

Thanks for the historical analysis. You have a professorial ability in making plain and simple this "precious" things. ;)

I started this thread because it occurred to me (since I'm fascinated with the reoccurring theme of the Mormon circus run by a den of unbelieving thieves) that if there is a church within a church it could explain how there would or could be a condition of faith (like unto a mustard seed ;) still present in these groups of Mormon movers and shakers. They, I believe, get a sacrament in their Thursday Holy of Holies meetings?

Smith was nesting thing and that into his church plagiarizing and justifying it by the reasoning God's truth was a patchwork that Joe was to sew back together again.

Just a thought. There may be a structure (Church of the Firstborn and all) for these leaders to maintain belief, community, and all important immunity in "all things?"

A church within a church.....

Me sitting in sacrament meeting as a little kid playing "this is the church, this is the steeple, open the doors, and see all the people" with my hands out of sheer boredom.

A religious context within which to finger oneself with impunity.

Finger yourself and the church at the same time! a Two'fer!

Elder Berry Wrote:
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> I'm guess the Second Anointed ones form a church
> within the church? And everyone else has to spin
> off their own church within the church to feel
> special like so many Mormons who eventually
> started their own church.

Like Joseph Smith (who started his own (false) "church")?
That's the problem with followers... and following

Not fool proof. One guy they invited into the sure bet club spilled the beans. What good is a calling and election Shure ordinance if it can be broken? Apparently the church did away with this none sense but Gordo brought it back.

Wouldn’t it be fun to go to church and bear your testimony about how excited you are to be getting the Second Anointing and watch everyone turn to the person next to them, asking “Second Anointing? What the hell is that?”

—-And see how fast you get scooped off stage left.



(Mischief is such a gift.)

What fun! I would love to be an ANY Mormon meeting where someone mentions the SA!