Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Joseph Smith and the Split in the Mormon Church

Who was Joseph Smith? How did the Mormon Fundamentalist group start?

                Mormonism is said to be the fastest growing faith in the Western Hemisphere. At last count there were about 14 million around the world.

                The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) all started with a man named Joseph Smith, Jr. who was born in 1805 in Vermont. He was one of ten kids and his parents were very poor. Smith was an earnest, good-natured kid, and with only a few years of formal school, was determined to have a better life than his father. Smith had infectious enthusiasm. People would say that “he could sell a muzzle to a dog”.

                Smith grew up during the theological chaos of The Second Great Awakening, and was almost always thinking about the big questions of life and death.

                When he was  fourteen, he heard of a woman named Sally Chase who had a special magic stone called a “seer stone” that allowed her to see anything, even things that others couldn’t see. He went to see her and she taught him how to use the seer stone, by placing it in the bottom of an upturned hat and burying her face in it to exclude light. When Smith did the same, another seer stone appeared to him in a vision, which also told him the precise location of it. He went and found it and started his career as a “scryer” (crystal gazer). People would pay him to find buried treasure on their land.

                After 6 years of claiming success as a scryer, people learned that he had never unearthed any treasure and he was found guilty of fraud.

                One night, at age 17, Joseph was visited by the angel Moroni, who came to tell Joseph of a sacred text inscribed on gold plates that had been buried 1400 years earlier. Moroni showed Joseph where they were and told him not to share them with anyone, or to even retrieve them yet.

The next day when Joseph found them and tried to grab them, they disappeared. He was chastened by Moroni, and told to return to the place where he’d found the plates every year on a certain day. Moroni would visit him on this day and eventually give him another chance at the plates.

Joseph gazed at his seer stone and discovered that to have access to the plates he was also supposed to marry a certain girl and bring her on his next visit.

Joseph finally received the plates and discovered that they were inscribed in Egyptian characters. Later, 19 witnesses testified to having seen the plates. Moroni gave Joseph a set of “interpreters”: divine spectacles that would allow him to translate the inscriptions. Joseph then dictated what he read to a scribe. After 2 months they decided to take a break. The scribe took the pages home to show his wife and ended up losing them.

After a lot of prayer, Moroni returned the plates to Joseph but not the spectacles. Instead Joseph used his seer stone to translate, using the same method that Sally Chase taught him (upturned hat with stone in it). Keeping the stack of plates next to the hat, Joseph dictated the scripture that appeared to him out of the darkness (in the hat).

The book that was printed from these translations is now known as The Book of Mormon.

*note: after translation, the plates were conveniently returned to Moroni and not seen since.

Some of the Mormon beliefs are:

                Earth was created out of existing material.

                God was once a mortal man who lived on another planet with his own higher god.

                Mary and God had a physical union that resulted in the birth of Jesus.

Truth is determined by feelings. They will disregard any facts that contradict what their feelings tell them is true. If they get bad feelings when hearing “bad things” then those things are lies.

They only read church approved materials. Any writings that are critical of the church are satanic.

They must all go on missions at some time in their lives, so that they can convert the world.

                Theirs is the only true church and true religion.

                Earth is 7,000 years old.

The Mormon version of the history of America consists of the following:

An ancient Hebrew tribe migrated from Israel to North America hundreds of years ago. One branch of this tribe, the Lamanites, consisted of idle people, full of mischief and subtlety. God was so annoyed with their behavior that he cursed them with dark skin (Native Americans).

(Modern DNA analysis shows that Native Americans are not descendants of any Hebrew race)

Jesus visited North America shortly after his resurrection to tell his chosen people about his new gospel.

There was a battle between the two tribes, where Lamanites killed all Nephites (which explains why Columbus encountered no white people).

The Garden of Eden was located in America.

                Possibly the greatest attraction of Mormonism was the promise that every follower would have a personal relationship with God. Joseph encouraged his followers to receive communiqués directly from God. We will see later that this is one of the most important foundations of Mormonism that has led to horrible acts of evil.

                The other most important tenet that Joseph Smith devised was that of “plural marriage”. This one has caused controversy ever since it was written in The Doctrine and Covenants, another one of Mormonism’s primary texts. Joseph taught that a man must have at least three wives to reach the fullness of exaltation in the afterlife. He said that God commanded that “all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same. . . and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned”.

                Joseph Smith married at least 33 women and probably as many as 48, the youngest of these was just 14 when Joseph told her that God commanded that she marry him or face eternal damnation.

                This controversial belief is part of what made Mormons so hated then, and caused Joseph Smith to be murdered in Illinois by a mob in 1844. His successor Brigham Young moved the Saints to the Great Basin where “spiritual wifery” was fully embraced.

                Due to pressure from the government, Mormons publicly claimed in 1890 they had abolished plural marriage, when in fact they continued to quietly send missionaries to Canada and Mexico to set up polygamous colonies. The highest ranking LDS leaders also continued to secretly take multiple wives well into the twentieth century.

                LDS leaders did eventually abandon the practice and actually began urging government agencies to prosecute polygamists. This single change led to the successful LDS Church we see today.

                However, a group of followers split from the LDS Church, believing that they had made an unforgivable compromise. They insist that the Church sold them out, by abandoning the most crucial theological tenet for the sake of politics. This group is now called Mormon Fundamentalists. They consider themselves “keepers of the flame”.  

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Mormon Fundamentalist Clans and/or Sects

What is an example of a fundamentalist sect? What do they believe and how do they function?

                There are many different sects that follow the beliefs of the Mormon Fundamentalist cult. I will touch one a little bit now.

                The Kingston Clan (a.k.a “Davis County Cooperative Society”) is located in Davis County, Utah. It began after a dispute with other fundamentalist leaders. This sect was founded in 1941 by Charles Elden Kingston, who had a vision that told him to start a self-supporting society.  

 Elden and his brother, J. Ortell Kingston, believed they were of special ancestry and were direct descendants of Jesus Christ. They maintained the original teachings of Joseph Smith, believing that other sects were incorrect. They continued the practice of plural marriage and eventually began to encourage intra-family marriages of close relatives to “purify bloodlines”. They also encouraged marriages to young girls.

Ortell aggressively pursued financial expansion for their Cooperative Society and he was successful. Ortell evaded taxes and obtained welfare through the many wives. Since plural marriage is illegal, the state considers the multiple wives to be unwed and when they start having children they are seen as unwed mothers that can receive welfare. This trick is used by many fundamentalist sects.

                Various reports have estimated Kingston holdings at $150 million to $170 million. An anonymous source intimately familiar with the clan’s inner workings says the often published $170 million figure is laughably low. They do not just make money from exploiting the government though; the Kingstons own numerous businesses in at least five western states. They own grocery stores, restaurant supply stores, their own bank, and much more.

                Despite the wealth of the leaders, their multiple wives lived in near inhumane conditions. A former member stated that “the men of the Kingston group do little or nothing to support their many wives and children”. Wives would sometimes have to dig through garbage cans to find food for their kids.

                Clan members are required to work as many as sixty hours a week for near-minimum wage at one of the Kingston businesses. Instead of receiving paychecks, they have their wages deposited into a Kingston bank account, and receive scrip that allows them to buy stuff at Kingston-owned stores. Rents, debts, and an obligatory ten percent tithe are all deducted from the paycheck.

                The Kingston leadership teaches that no one will reach heaven unless a daughter is married off to a clan leader.

                Due to the frequent incest that occurs, birth defects are rampant. A genealogical researcher reported that she has heard Kingston women report to giving birth to “blobs of protoplasm” and “having 8 or 9 pregnancies without ever giving birth to a living infant”. These defects and problems are blamed on the sinfulness of the women.

               

                Today the clan is led today by Paul Kingston, who is also a lawyer. He is married to at least 25 women and has fathered some 200 offspring.

                This clan was brought to the media’s attention when a teenage girl from the clan called 911 from a pay phone. Immediately after her 16th birthday, her father, John Daniel Kingston, had pulled her from high school and forced her to be his brother’s 15th wife. His brother was 32 at the time. The girl, Mary Ann, tried to run away twice but was caught both times. After the second escape she went to her mother, who turned her over to her father. He drove her to an isolated ranch (used as a “re-education” camp for wayward wives and unruly kids), where he whipped her savagely with a belt. He left after this, and she limped 5 miles to a gas station where she called police.

                Both John Daniel and his brother were arrested and convicted. John Daniel was found guilty of child abuse and was in jail for 28 weeks. His brother was found guilty of incest and unlawful sexual conduct and was sentenced to 10 years. He was released after only 4 years for good behavior.

                Unfortunately, this clan is still in operation today.

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Criminals of the FLDS

What crimes have been committed by FLDS members?

Elizabeth Smart               

On June 5, 2009 a man climbed through a window that had been left open to a house belonging to the Smart family. He woke Elizabeth, the Smart’s 14 year old daughter, and marched her at knifepoint 4 miles into the woods (little did he know that he had also woken the Smart’s other 9 year old daughter). They reached a campsite where the abductor and his wife conducted a wedding ritual. Following this she was commanded to disrobe, whereupon the abductor consummated the marriage by raping his young bride.

                The abductor’s name is Brian David Mitchell, who spent most of his life as a Latter Day Saint. Later in life he became confident that the church leaders had erred when they let the government force them to do away with polygamy. He and his wife, Wanda, were cast out of the LDS Church.

                Wanda claims that Mitchell manipulated her into obedience and submissiveness. He later announced to her that the Lord has commanded him to take additional wives. She resisted but he talked her into it. He claimed that he had been placed on earth to be a mouthpiece for the Lord during the Last Days.

                About one year after this announcement he met Lois Smart, a wealthy Mormon housewife. She offered him employment doing odd-jobs. He worked a half of a day there and met Elizabeth, with whom he became infatuated. Wanda says there were 5 weeks of preparation: Mitchell bought cable that would be used to tether the girl to 2 trees, he set up a bucket to be used as her bathroom, and a tent where he would sexually assault her.     

                Elizabeth was kidnapped and held captive for about 9 months. She was tethered to a tree, raped almost daily, and she often received instruction that Mitchell was a prophet. Once Mitchell had gained psychological control he felt confident enough to take her to public places (she was disguised). He would sometimes even leave her unattended while out in public and she never ran away.

Mitchell was manipulating the religious indoctrination that she had been taught her whole life. Elizabeth was raised to obey figures of Mormon authority unquestioningly and to believe LDS doctrine as God’s law.  Women who were raised in FLDS families have said “he would never have been able to have such power over a non-Mormon girl.”

Months later Elizabeth’s little sister came forward and finally told her parents she knew who had taken Elizabeth. A few months after this confession, police found Mitchell out in public with Wanda and Elizabeth. It took 45 minutes of asking the girl if she was Elizabeth Smart before she finally came clean.

Many people have a hard time understanding how Mitchell had such power over her. One Mormon woman who had been acquainted with Mitchell before this ordeal understands how he obtained this power. She says she felt strangely drawn to him because “everything he said was stuff I was raised on. . . I wanted to leave for hours but I just sat there.”

The Lafferty Boys

                The Lafferty family consisted of 6 brothers and 2 sisters. Watson, the father, was a disciplinarian who did not hesitate to beat the living tar out of his children and wife in order to enforce his rules. He also clubbed the family dog to death in front of the kids. Dan, the second oldest son, considered his father a great role model.

                The Lafferty children were raised in the LDS Church. Dan was a devout member of the Church. Dan grew up and married a Mormon woman, Matilda.

He had never heard of polygamy until later in life. He researched it and discovered an elaborate biblical rationale for polygamy, which he believed Joseph Smith had written. This caused him to change his life and apply new rules to his household, which had grown to include his wife, Matilda, her 2 girls from a different marriage, and 4 of their own kids. These rules were aimed at making sure women were subservient. Matilda was now no longer allowed to drive, handle money, or talk to anyone outside the family when Dan wasn’t present, and she had to wear a dress at all times. The kids were pulled out of school and forbidden to play with friends. Dan decreed that the family would receive no outside medical care. No publications were allowed in the home other than LDS literature. If Matilda disobeyed Dan, he’d hit her in front of his family and their kids.

Ron Lafferty was 6 years older than his oldest sibling. He was also a member of LDS and had a picture perfect marriage and 6 kids. A psychologist who has examined Ron claims that he probably suffered the most emotional damage from witnessing his father beating his mother, with whom he was very close. His siblings characterized him as a “mother-hen type” and relished the title.

Dan had converted his 3 younger brothers, who were starting to impose the fundamentalist laws on their own wives. Ron went to one of Dan’s regular meetings with the other brothers intending to straighten them out. Dan ended up converting Ron. Ron’s wife, Dianna, says that the night he came home from that meeting he was a different man.

All the wives ended up submitting to their husbands’ new changes, except for Brenda, the wife of the youngest Lafferty son, Allen. She was the most educated of the wives and she refused to go along with the nonsense. She told Allen she didn’t want him hanging around his brothers, which upset them.

About two months after marrying Allen, Brenda realized she had made a mistake. He wouldn’t allow her to pursue her dream job, and eventually made her stop working because he wanted her to be a traditional housewife. He was constantly avoiding the laws too; like refusing to pay taxes or register their car, etc. Unfortunately, by the time she realized her mistake, Brenda had become pregnant.

Brenda knew that standing up to Allen meant standing up to the entire Lafferty family but she didn’t shy away. It helped that she had an impressive command of LDS scripture and could hold her own when debating fundamentalist doctrine with Ron and Dan. They despised her for defying them and for her influence over Allen.

         As Ron continued to make Dianna’s life worse, she turned to Brenda who encouraged her to divorce Ron for her children’s sake. Dianna eventually gained the courage to go through with it. Ron knew this and was enraged towards Brenda.

While attending a School of the Prophets, Ron claimed that he had started having “revelations” from God. He would sit at a computer, and close his eyes, waiting for the Lord to cause his finger to press a key and type a message. A psychiatrist later says that these revelations were delusional and were spawned by depression and narcissism, with no basis in reality.

Ron’s most disturbing revelation involved people he blamed for him losing his wife and kids; among these people was Brenda Lafferty. This revelation was God ordering Ron to “remove” Brenda Lafferty and her baby girl. Ron showed this to Dan, who seemed wary and wanted Ron to make sure it came from God. They pondered it for a couple days, during which time Ron received another revelation stating that Ron was “the mouth of God” while Dan was “the arm of God”. They interpreted this to mean that Dan was to do the killing.

Dan informed Allen of Ron’s revelation and their intent to see it through. Allen was shocked and said he had received no such revelations and wouldn’t accept it. He said he’d defend his wife and child with his life, but he failed to tell Brenda of his brothers’ intent.

Brenda still feared all the Laffterys, even Allen. Sometimes when she would disobey him or embarrass him in front of his family, he would berate her or beat her. She often thought of leaving him, but was determined to work it out.

On July 24, 1984 Ron and Dan went to Brenda and Allen’s home. Ron knocked on the door many times but got no answer so he went back to the car. Dan started to drive away, but a few minutes later, he got a strong feeling that he was supposed to go back. He thought “maybe Ron wasn’t supposed to do it.” He knocked on the door, and Brenda answered. He pushed past her into the house.

                Once inside Dan remembers Brenda making a comment like “I knew you were going to do something that nobody could stop.” Then she started apologizing for lots of stuff. He wrestled her to the ground and sat on her. By this time Ron had come in to help. Intending to knock her unconscious, Ron hit her in the face repeatedly until his hand hurt. She tried to escape, but when Dan caught her, she fainted.

                Dan asked Ron to tie something around her neck so she wouldn’t regain consciousness. When Ron went to do so, Dan claims an unseen force pushed Ron away from her. Dan said to Ron “apparently this is not for you to do.” So Dan finished with the cord and went to kill the baby first.

                He spoke to the 15 month old baby before he pulled the razor-sharp butcher’s knife across her throat. He remembers saying “I’m not sure what all this is about, but apparently it’s God’s will that you leave this world; perhaps we can talk about it later.”

                Dan then went back to Brenda and did the same to her. In the car, on the way to kill a couple other people, Dan recalls feeling “completely comfortable” and that things “had happened the way God intended them to happen.”

                Days later, the two of them were arrested.

 Dan doesn’t deny that he killed two people, but insists that it was not a crime since he was doing God’s will. On that day he says “it was like someone had taken me by the hand and led me comfortably through everything.”

                While in jail, Ron tried to kill himself but was revived. Dan avoided the death penalty when he told jurors that he recommended that they vote for that. The judge apparently warned the jury they couldn’t vote for that just because Dan had a death wish. Dan claims he was honestly willing to give his life since he willingly took another. Unanimity was required for capital punishment and 2 jurors were against that. He is sentenced to 2 life terms.

                Ron’s trial occurred months later, after being thoroughly examined by psychiatrists and psychologists to make sure he was mentally competent. Juries have had no problem sentencing him to the death penalty but he continues to exhaust any appeals he has and is still alive today awaiting the decision of the federal court.


Video Clips:

          1.  “Brian David Mitchell Interrogation (March 12, 2003)”. Youtube.com. Uploaded 2011. Accessed 31 March 2012. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QybphTUd-o0 >

                This is a video recording of part of the interrogation of Brian David Mitchell, the man who abducted Elizabeth Smart.   

                6:55 – they ask Mitchell how old Elizabeth is, and he says that she is 18 because that is what God told him.

                23:50 – Mitchell says he has compassion for the Smart family. He reiterates that he did not take Elizabeth from her home but that God had delivered her.

                29:20 – Mitchell says that Elizabeth has had a glorious experience while with him.