Spiritual Death is defined by the LDS church as separation from God the Eternal Father, and is considerably worse than physical death which is overcome by a universal resurrection achieved by the atonement of Jesus Christ.
In the LDS faith, Spiritual Death is basically achieved by not being Mormon. One can go to a variety of heaven, but one cannot return and dwell in the presence of the father. Furthermore, to the degree one publicly opposes the LDS church, one condemns one's self to spiritual death. Thus, one can understand the proper context of the quote by Joseph Smith that says, "When you join the Church of Jesus Christ, you leave neutral ground forever behind."
What a remarkably convenient way of neutralizing people that leave the church and then condemn it.
So I am going to play their game, and yet not play it.
On October 26th, 2007, My wife and I formally left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Dictionary.com defines church as "church /tʃɜrtʃ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[church] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a building for public Christian worship.
2. public worship of God or a religious service in such a building: to attend church regularly.
3. (sometimes initial capital letter) the whole body of Christian believers; Christendom.
4. (sometimes initial capital letter) any division of this body professing the same creed and acknowledging the same ecclesiastical authority; a Christian denomination: the Methodist Church.
5. that part of the whole Christian body, or of a particular denomination, belonging to the same city, country, nation, etc.
6. a body of Christians worshipping in a particular building or constituting one congregation: She is a member of this church.
7. ecclesiastical organization, power, and affairs, as distinguished from the state: separation of church and state; The missionary went wherever the church sent him.
8. the clergy and religious officials of a Christian denomination.
9. the Christian faith: a return of intellectuals to the church.
10. (initial capital letter) the Christian Church before the Reformation.
11. (initial capital letter) the Roman Catholic Church.
12. the clerical profession or calling: After much study and contemplation, he was prepared to enter the church.
13. a place of public worship of a non-Christian religion.
14. any non-Christian religious society, organization, or congregation: the Jewish church."
Wow. That's a lot of meanings, but the point is that the word church can mean a lot of things. The LDS theocracy will define church as "What we say it is", but since I am no longer interested in their opinions, let me state that I am defining church in this case as "The theological doctrines taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as they should be practiced, not as they are practiced." I am not going to attack the church as it is supposed to exist on paper; I AM going to mention my reasons for leaving the LDS Church and my utter contempt for those who run it.
Having established these very narrow parameters, let me now state my primary reason for leaving.
Here is a scripture that states for me the basic tenets of anyone baptized into the LDS church. It is the oath they take and the covenant that they make upon accepting babtism.
"8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?" - Mosiah 18: 8-10 (From the Book of Mormon)
The part of that scripture that applies here is, "Stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and all places that ye may be in."
Thus it is that I write here as a witness on December 13, 2007 with all of the spiritual surity that I possess, and the knowledge that Jesus Christ is my savior that Gordon B. Hinkley, Thomas S. Monson, and James E. Faust are sniveling weasel crotch lickers who have deliberately enabled evil for their own personal political agenda; and that as a result of personal prayer and research, I also testify that virtually all of those who have held the title of Apostle in the entire history of the church are also sniveling weasel crotch lickers.
Fact #1: Dick Cheney is an evil man.
Fact #2: The LDS Prophet is revered throughout the LDS community and from a young age we are taught to emulate his every action.
These are facts. I am not going to argue about them here. For Fact #1, see the rest of my blog entries, and for Fact #2 open any lesson manual of any kind in any LDS meeting house in the entire world. There, in dozens of different languages, you will find language saying that while yes, the Prophet is a man, we are to pay attention to his words AS IF THEY COME FROM THE LORD HIMSELF, AND THAT HE DOES NOT NEED TO SAY 'THUS SAYETH THE LORD' FOR THEM TO BE CONSIDERED AS BINDING AS SCRIPTURE.
There is a heirarchy of LDS revelation and the purity thereof. Anything with the full authorization of the First Presidency (current living) and the Quorum of the Twelve is at the top of that list, but every little thing is still condemnation against you if you do not abide by it.
On April 26th, 2007 Dick Cheney spoke by invitation at the BYU commencement. All three members of the first presidency were in attendance.
The shock of this act forced me to begin researching the church's past, primarily in the books "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakau and "The Mormon Heirarchy" by D. Michael Quinn. The latter book is a secular history of the leadership of the LDS church told by someone excommunicated, and yet who still believes. The source material on this book is as thick as its material and the sources are all publicly available and not easily disputed.
Understand, that April 26th, 2007 was not the reason I left the church. It was merely when other sources outside of the church became more believable than LDS sources. Gordon B. Hinkley has given talks about the need, "to focus on the positive and not focus on the negative aspects of an instutition." This only goes so far.
Ignoring minor errors would be one thing.
But some things cannot be ignored, including:
1)Joseph Smith destroyed the Navoo Expositor for publicly stating that he was having sex with other men's wives.
The LDS church denies this, but after April 26, 2007, I believe other people before I believe the LDS church.
2)Henry D. Moyle publicly encouraged and created Baseball Babtisms in which young children were encouraged to join the church and be babtized 'so they could be part of an athletic club.' Not rogue missionaries, not insane bishops obsessed with numbers, but a member of the first presidency.
The church will deny this, but after April 26, 2007, I believe other people before I believe the LDS church.
3)Joseph Smith taught that the office of Presiding Patriarch was central to the spiritual well being of the church. He also taught without the office of Presiding Patriarch, dire spiritual consequences would befall the church. Joseph F. Smith was the last president to treat this office with respect. Others phased it out because they were jealous of its power. Modern day LDS leaders say the office is now unnecessary. The last major spiritual scripture added was a vision received by Joseph F. Smith. Modern prophets do not talk about visions or other unearthly things.
The church will deny this, and say that I am taking things out of context, but after April 26, 2007, I believe other people before I believe the LDS church.
4) Those pioneers we're always honoring? They formed conspiracy after conspiracy. The early history of the church is rife with murder, political intruige and sabotage, secret combinations which are warned against in the Book of Mormon.
Including my name sake, Thomas E. Ricks.
The church will deny this, and say that I am taking things out of context, but after April 26, 2007, I believe other people before I believe the LDS church.
5) Gordon B. Hinkley personally led the effort to destroy the ERA. But not just the ERA, but ALL issues being discussed advocating the rights of women being discussed in the feminist groups that they destroyed.
The church will deny this, and say that I am taking things out of context, but after April 26, 2007, I believe other people before I believe the LDS church.
6) Ezra Taft Benson was closely tied to the John Birch society, which was the close political ally and patron of Senator Joseph McCarthy, a figure who I despite with loathing that even exceeds my distate for Andrew "Hickory" Jackson, the genocidal maniac. Ezra Taft Benson was often in outright REBELLION against the other leaders of quorum, but WAS NOT EXCOMMUNICATED. In his later years, he 'was moderate' but he did not apologize for his associations with people who thought McCarthy was a great guy either.
These are the people who are fueling Ann Coulter, who is a McCarthy apologist. This is the leader of the LDS church.
The church will deny this, and say that I am taking things out of context, but after April 26, 2007, I believe other people before I believe the LDS church.
There are more but these are the big ones.
I am never going to discuss this with a mormon. I am never going to argue with them about it. I had a testimony. I know that this is not a question of rational argument. Spiritual truths do not come from intellectual treatise. I had an argument with a friend of mine who is a member of the church. In that discussion he said, "If 99% of that book is true, if even 1% of it is false then it is a lie and cannot be relied upon."
Which I immediately turned around and said, "If 99% of what the church says is true, if even 1% of it is false, then it is a lie and cannot be relied upon."
Furthermore, to which of the two shall we hold the higher standard? The academic treatise and history by a mortal man, or the Kingdom of God on Earth, with Sentinels against the darkness appointed by power, priesthood and prophesy? Sure the Prophet is supposed to be merely a man, but at the same time he possesses all the keys of the kingdom, all of the spiritual gifts of god, and acts as a prophet, seer and revelator. A Seer is an office in which the holder bearsa seer stone, in which all things past, present and future pertaining to the mysteries of God are revealed before them.
Furthermore, Joseph Smith himself taught, "And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie." Ether 3:12. And furthermore,
"46 And verily, verily, I say unto you, that whatsoever you seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth, in my name and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you remit on earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you retain on earth shall be retained in heaven.
47 And again, verily I say, whomsoever you bless I will bless, and whomsoever you curse I will curse, saith the Lord; for I, the Lord, am thy God." Doctrine and Covenants 132: 45-46.
Finally, THIS scripture I believe sums it all up nicely:
"11 Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing; suffer not the devil to lead away your heart again after those wicked harlots. Behold, O my son, how great iniquity ye brought upon the Zoramites; for when they saw your conduct they would not believe in my words."
Alma 39: 11, in which the prophet Alma condemns his son for his wickedness which caused others to lose their faith in the word being taught by the other prophets.
On April 26th, 2007 Gordon B. Hinkley cavorted with demons, and was not struck dead by God for it. Thus, the inevitable conclusion is that he is not a prophet, but a tool of the Adversary. There is no 'middle ground' in LDS theology. I KNOW Dick Cheney is evil, so therefore those who honor him, those who shower him with honorary degrees, CANNOT be the wardens and servants of God.
But even then, even then I still prayed. I wanted to be sure. So for six months I waited and prayed patiently with my wife. And the Lord confirmed to me that Hinkley is not a prophet. I still feel the spirit of Christ. I still believe in him, but I do not believe that Gordon B. Hinkley or any other leader of the current Church of Jesus Christ has ever been authorized to act as an arbiter of God's will on Earth.
And even, somehow, if I were wrong in that belief, they lost it the moment they honored the genocidal war criminal.
And since an LDS testimony is one given by emotions and spiritual insight rather than rational well thought out beliefs based on empirical and verifiable evidence, let me give another testimony based on spiritual insights, not from proof but from Truths given me by God, to the extent that my god given intuition and rationality can provide those insights.
I testify that Mitt Romney is part of a hidden order within the LDS church destined by a hidden prophesy that one of their number will become president, hence why the father and now the son has tried this, and I believe the son and his son and his son after him will try until they succeed.
I testify that it is because of this secret order that Gordon B. Hinkley and the other leaders of the LDS church have set aside common decency, and 'in the greater good' made a deal with Dick Cheney to honor him at BYU in return for the secret support of George H.W. Bush in the 2008 Presidential election.
I testify that is NO ACCIDENT that the 'mormon speech' that Mitt Romney gave last week was in College Station Texas, home of Texas A&M and also home of the George H.W. Bush presidential library.
I testify that it is no accident that Jeb Bush supports Mitt Romney, and that the Lord was severely displeased by Jeb's actions regarding Terry Shiavo. I further testify that so displeased was the lord by these actions that he condemns Jeb Bush and the entire Bush family unto the fourth generation lest they repent and condemn the actions of the unrighteous father. I further testify that these sins and that this curse is associated and extended to any advocated by Jeb Bush who doth not turn around and condemn the weasel crotch licker for the animal thing that he is instead of accepting Jeb's praise.
I testify that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Condeleza Rice, and anyone in the Project For the American Century will be answerable both to God and an an earthly tribunal and that I believe that tribunal will be the International Criminal Court (which they all condemned) and that they will all be tried as war criminals; not for their conduct in Afghanistan, but for the advocation and tolerance of torture and other war crimes in the country of Iraq.
I further testify that if Mitt Romney is elected President of the United States of America, a curse shall come upon this nation so dark and so black that none, not even the republican minority that refuses to acknowledge the sins of their leaders shall fail to see the Hand of God at work.
I say this in the Name of Jesus Christ, my lord and savior.
Amen.
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