You hit the numbed on the head. :)
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By the way, here's that oh-so-bad journalism behind Monson's footsies with killers:
If You Think the Berlin Wall Fell Because of the LDS Church, You've Fallen for the Big Mormon Lie, Brought to You by Tom Monson and LDS, Inc.: Money-Mad Monson's Dance with the Communist Red Devil . . .
Mormons in denial clearly need to think again--as in think First Presidency counselor Thomas Monson dancing with dictators.
Monson showed the world that he can play footsies with Commie thugs better than prize-winning partners on the BYU Ballroom Dance Team can glide their way into your hearts.
Why care if your waltz buddy is a murdering Communist dictator, as long as you're making money for Mormon entrepreneurs and providing handshaking photo ops with LDS Cult leaders anxious to set up a prophetless, profit-making shop in your country?
Exhibit A in this regard: Monson's diabolical dance with East Germany's devil and Soviet-backed henchman, Erich Honecker.
For those who may not be familiar with the professional "accomplishments" of Comrade Honecker, below is a brief synopsis:
"In 1961 Honecker was in charge of the building of the Berlin Wall. In 1971, he initiated a political power struggle that led, with Soviet support, to himself becoming the [German Democratic Republic's] new leader . . . During the 1980s, when Mikhail Gorbachev began his reforms, he remained a hard-line Communist. But popular protest led to his resignation on October 18, 1989, and he was replaced by [a] short-lived successor . . . .
"From 1989 until 1993, Honecker avoided prosecution over Cold War crimes, specifically the 192 deaths of those trying to escape over the Berlin Wall."
("Erich Honecker--Definition," at:
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Erich_Honecker)
". . . [Following his fall] from power . . . after 18 years, Honecker was extradited to Germany from Moscow, where he fled to escape manslaughter charges linked to deaths of defectors at the Berlin Wall. But the trial collapsed in 1993 due to Honecker's terminal illness."
("FACTBOX--Strongmen Brought Low in History," Reuters, 30 December 2006, at:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30855826.htm)
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Oh, but brothers and sisters in the glorious restored Gospel of Jesus Cash Christ, let's not get hung up in the brutal, bloody details.
Let's put an end to all the negativity and send in the First Presidency to warmly cement a deal with the Communists--against the backdrop of the cold cement of the Berlin Wall.
Monson, representing LDS, Inc., eagerly flew to East Germany to schmooze the Russian-backed tyrant and shake Honecker's hand, stained though it was with the blood of innocents.
Apparently it's acceptable in the minds of money-grubbing Mormons if Monson flirts with a cold-blooded killer and tyrant like Honecker, as long as it helps push product line.
Enter ever-ready Mormon manufacturers of pretty figurines and other sacred knickknacks eager to note on their commercial website that Mormon Mafioso Monson gave Communist Criminal Honecker one of their own celestially-crafted creations.
The company "Hansen Classics," which produces the porcelain family figurines so prevalent in LDS hearth and home, made this sales pitch, heralding an October 1988 photograph showing Monson and Honecker in notorious kiss-up mode (which is no longer found on its original website, hmmmmm . . .):
"President Thomas S. Monson, second [counselor in the] Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shakes hands with East German state and party leader Erich Honecker. President Monson presented Honecker Friday with a gift sculpture, 'In The Family Circle,' and praised the East German government for its CORPORATION [yes, that's an actual typo, emphasis added] with Church members."
(for the now-sanitized site, now for some reason not showcasing the Monson-Honecker meet-and-greet photo and its accompanying description, see: "Hansen Classics: Fine Porcelain Figurines," at:
http://www.hansenclassics.com/news.html)
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Monson later attempted to justify his consciousless courting of Communist East German butchers in the name of getting a cash-producing Mormon temple up and running behind the Iron Curtain (along with Mormon missionaries peddling the streets of East Berlin looking for new tithe-paying members to rope in).
In a sickening sermon entitled, "Thanks Be to God," Monson waxed rhaposodic in rationalization for playing footsie with the totalitarian thug Honecker, rejoicing in retelling how he presented this notorious mass murdererer with Mormon porcelain dolls, while simultaneously assuring Honecker that good Mormon East Germans would loyally and meekly follow the commands of their godless Communist leaders.
Recalling his glad-handing of Honecker, Monson said:
" . . . [I]t was back to Berlin for the crucial meetings with the head of the nation, even Chairman Erich Honecker.
"That special morning the sunlight bathed the city of Berlin. It had been raining all night, but now beauty prevailed. We were driven to the chambers of the chief representatives of the government.
"Beyond the exquisite entry to the building, we were greeted by Chairman Honecker. We presented to him the statuette 'First Step,' depicting a mother helping her child take its first step toward its father. He was highly pleased with the gift. He then escorted us into his private council room. There, around a large round table, we were seated. Others at the table included Chairman Honecker and his deputies of government.
"Chairman Honecker began, 'We know members of your Church believe in work; you’ve proven that. We know you believe in the family; you’ve demonstrated that. We know you are good citizens in whatever country you claim as home; we have observed that. The floor is yours. Make your desires known.'
"I began, 'Chairman Honecker, at the dedication and open house for the temple in Freiberg, 89,890 of your countrymen stood in line, at times up to four hours, frequently in the rain, that they might see a house of God.
"In the city of Leipzig, at the dedication of the stake center, 12,000 people attended the open house.
"In the city of Dresden there were 29,000 visitors; in the city of Zwickau, 5,300. And every week of the year 1,500 to 1,800 people visit the temple grounds in the city of Freiberg. They want to know what we believe. We would like to tell them that we believe in honoring and obeying and sustaining the law of the land.
"We would like to explain our desire to achieve strong family units. These are but two of our beliefs. We cannot answer questions, and we cannot convey our feelings, because we have no missionary representatives here as we do in other countries. The young men and young women whom we would like to have come to your country as missionary representatives would love your nation and your people.
"More particularly, they would leave an influence with your people which would be ennobling. Then we would like to see young men and young women from your nation who are members of our Church serve as missionary representatives in many nations, such as in America, in Canada, and in a host of others. They will return better prepared to assume positions of responsibility in your land.”
"Chairman Honecker then spoke for perhaps thirty minutes, describing his objectives and viewpoints and detailing the progress made by his nation. At length, he smiled and addressed me and the group, saying, 'We know you. We trust you. We have had experience with you. Your missionary request is approved.'
"My spirit literally soared out of the room. The meeting was concluded. As we left the beautiful government chambers, Elder Russell Nelson turned to me and said, 'Notice how the sunshine is penetrating this hall. It’s almost as though our Heavenly Father is saying, ‘I am pleased.’
"The black darkness of night had ended. The bright light of day had dawned. The gospel of Jesus Christ would now be carried to the millions of people in that nation. Their questions concerning the Church will be answered, and the Kingdom of God will go forth.
"As I reflect on these events, my thoughts turn to the Master’s words, 'In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.' (D&C 59:21.) I confess the hand of God in the miraculous events pertaining to the Church in the German Democratic Republic."
(Thomas S. Monson, "Thanks Be to God," in "Ensign." May 1988, pp. 50ff, at:
http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=561127cd3f37b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD)
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How tender, how touching, how tortured.
Honecker's death occurred on 29 May 1994-- ironically enough, mere hours apart from that of Mormonism's notoriously anti-Communist president Ezra Taft Benson (I have a piece of the Berlin Wall in my home office, with an accompanyng note from my mother indicating the proximity of the two men's deaths). Honecker's demise is mentioned on a Mormon-promoting website with a reminder of Honecker's actual contributions to inhumanity--acts which Monson conveniently failed to mention in his sermon singing the praises of the Communist leader:
"Erich Honecker, former head of the German Democratic Republic, passed away today at the home of his daughter in the land of Chile. Erich Honecker was the principal architect of the Berlin Wall, which was built to stem the outflow of freedom-loving people and skilled artisans from East Germany, their desire being to reside in the western portion of Germany where a democratic government led the people.
"Ruthless tactics were devised to prevent anyone from crossing the Wall--these tactics including death without trial administered by the guards who carefully patrolled and monitored the area leading up to the Wall from the East German side."
(Thomas S. Monson, "Faith Rewarded: A Personal Account of Prophetic Promises to the East German Saints," under the subhead, "With Thee All Things Are Possible": AN APOSTLE'S PROMISES ARE ALL FULFILLED 1991-95," at:
http://ldsbooks.narod.ru/books/Faith-Rewarded-A-Personal-Account-of-Prophetic-Promises-to-the-East-German-Saints-by-Thomas-S-Monson.html)
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At the funeral of Honecker's nemesis, Ezra Taft Benson, even Gordon B. Hinckley had to admit just how brutal of despot Honecker was; yet, apparently Honecker was not brutal enough for the Mormon Church to defy his tyrannical reign or to call upon East German Latter-day Saints to rise up against the ungodly oppression of the Communist state. Confessed Hinckley:
“I cannot imagine two men [Honecker and Benson] so different in the causes they espoused, in what they did for mankind, and in the philosophies by which they guided their lives.
“Erich Honecker was the iron-fisted Communist ruler of East Germany, the feared and despised builder of the Berlin Wall, the practitioner of the godless dogma of oppression and slavery to the state. He died a refugee from his native land. He was able to leave his country and thus escape prosecution and possible execution because of the serious condition of his health.
“On the other hand, Ezra Taft Benson was the fearless and outspoken enemy of Communism, a man who with eloquence and conviction preached the cause of human freedom, one who loved and worshipped the Prince of Peace, the Redeemer of mankind. He died in the love of people across the world, a man respected and reverenced, a man for whose well-being millions constantly prayed.”
(Gordon B. Hinckley, "Farewell to a Prophet," in "Ensign," July 1994, pp. 37-40, at:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/posting.php)
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How moving--how hypocritically so.
Just how moved was Monson to speak up against the evils of totalitarian rule in East Germany?
Funny that Monson didn't mention that inconvenient side of life in East Germany to Honecker--or, for that matter, to Mormons whom Monson admonished to faithfully follow their murderous sleader so that one day, too, they could return from LDS missions better prepared to obediently serve their German state masters.
Heavens, no.
Instead, Monson wanted to reassure Honecker that good German Mormons would do all in their power to obey the laws of his Communist land.
So, Comrade Erich, here's a fine porcelain figurine, courtesy of the Mormon Church--along with a solemn promise from our ever-devout, lock-step German members to do exactly as they're told.
Ich bin ein Honecker follower.
Oh, and while we're at it, can we build a temple in your godless country, convert your citizens to our Christless cult and siphon off their hard-earned money?
So sickening was Monson’s dancing-with-dictators routine that even some faithful Mormons had a difficult time stomaching it.
As LDS writer Eugene England reluctantly observed in an essay entitled, "Give Yourself a Christmas Present:"
"President Monson seems more forgiving of the Communists than I'm afraid I could be. It is a little difficult, as he describes the delicate, necessarily secret negotiations that began as early as 1978 and eventually led to the first temple in a Communist nation, to reflect that such delicate diplomacy was perhaps the reason Tom Rogers was asked not to continue to produce for awhile his excellent play about the young German Mormon from Hamburg, Helmut Huebener, who in 1942 rebelled against a tyrannous dictatorship--Hitler's--and was executed.
"And it is a little difficult to read President Monson's account of his genial meeting, along with other Church leaders, in October 1988 with Erich Honecker, the dictator, under Russian direction, of the GDR . . . not far behind Hitler and Stalin in betrayal and even murder of his own people (who only two years after that meeting overthrew him and put him in jail).
"President Monson reports that Honecker praised the Mormons because 'we taught our members to obey and sustain the law of the land and to be good citizens, that we emphasize the family, and that our Church members were ideal citizens of that land.' . . . I'm not entirely certain I could want to be an ideal citizen of Mr. Honecker's utopian dictatorship."
In the end, however, even England--like so many "good" Mormons--went along with Monson in justifying giving in to the Dark Side for Joseph Smith's sake:
"But the fact remains that President Monson's persistent, forgiving geniality and his faithful, repeated prayer to God, 'Wilt Thou intervene in the governmental affairs,' succeeded where our own government's animosity and threats had not, and the faith of the German Saints was indeed rewarded--not just with the full blessings of the Gospel but, by 1990, with freedom from tyranny and uniting of the separate parts of the Church in Germany along with reunification under a non-Communist government.
"That was a miracle that many of us in the Church prayed for for many years because the Brethren asked us to, though I confess I did so without much faith. But it did indeed happen, and the prayers and faith of a prophet and the German people were, I believe, important factors."
Excuse me while I relieve myself of my lunch.
Follow the prophet, follow the Party, follow the money.
All is well, all is well.
In the end, dictators of a feather flock together.
The Mormon Cult meets Godless Communism--and a meeting of the minds ensues.
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2010 02:24PM by steve benson.