Another week another blog post. Hello and welcome. We hope that the past week has been kind and that the Lord has blessed your week in abundance.
This week’s blog is extremely exciting for The Latter Day Church of Christ. We have some wonderful things to share with people and also a response to further persecution and accusation that is flying around many parts of the LDS Church.
Firstly the news. We have now received our Advertising pack form the publishers and we must say that they are fantastic. A picture of our main poster can be seen on this post. We will be doing some proselyting in the Coopers Square in
Burton Town Centre within the coming weeks and we hope to be able to impart to people a little knowledge and spirit.
The Latter Day Church of Christ is also in possession of the
Translated version of the Bible by Joseph Smith. The
Prophet Joseph Smith began this revision in 1830 and completed the initial revision by July 2, 1833. In one of the new Revelations by the Lord our Prophet Matthew Gill
was told to use this Bible, so now we have it and we plan top use it. The work has begun transposing and also layout and the full work should be completed by the end of June. Also the
Book of Prophesy and Revelation is ready for the printers and has just been passed by the
“Office of Prophet of the church” We have also had a revision of the
Book of Jeraneck passed so we have lots of works going to the publishers in the next couple of weeks to months. The Fist
General Assembly Meeting of
The Latter Day Church of Christ will take place on the
27th of May and we welcome all people to attend and to feel the spirit of the Lord and to also hear a Modern Prophet of the Lord. All said the work of the kingdom is progressing very well. Now I will hand over the remaining Blog Post to our prophet Matthew Gill:-
It would seem that people are either not paying any attention to our blog our to the information that we are giving out or they are deliberately being offensive just to cause offence. May I just stress once again to all the LDS Mormons that we do believe in many of the same things but on others we have to Part Company. It would seem that you give no credence to your own Articles of faith, which I have quoted many times on this blog site. The Latter Day Church of Christ do not believe that your church is led by a Prophet of God and that you have no base for such a claim, however I would never stop speaking or associating with LDS Mormons because of that. However it seems that many LDS members feel that they have a right to go around slandering our church and also myself and those associated with the church. How sad it is when people who profess to believe in a God of love do not show that countenance in their own lives. I know that God lives. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ as contained in the Translated Bible, the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, the Book of Mormon the Book of Jeraneck and the Book of Prophesy and Revelation is true and that I was chosen to be a mouth piece for the Lord in these last days of trouble a and strife. I will never deny that and I don’t see why we should be asked to.
Many of the LDS Mormons that I know have very little knowledge of our church and for that matter of their ownlet alone the basics of the Gospel. It would seem to me that it would be a very good idea to first obtain that knowledge before accusing us of things that are unfounded. I would urge all the LDS Mormons that I know to learn more of the history of the church and to look a little deeper,at their own the cracks are there I don’t believe that you are looking hard enough, some of you don’t want to look at the history of your church because you are of the opinion that you don’t need to. A great historian once said “Those who don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it” I think this statement could be directed at the LDS church.
To You I say this the harder you persecute us the harder our resolve will become. We have a duty and a job to do that is divine. As Joseph smith said “No unhallowed Hand will stop the work progressing” We will do what the Lord has commanded. To the people I know personally, and you know who you are I say this. You know me; you know what I have said to you personally, you will find nothing in what I have said about the Gospel or about the History of the church that is untrue. Put the Book of Jeraneck to the test, put the words of Jeraneck to the test and read and pray about it. You will find nothing in what the Latter Day Church of Christ teach that is wrong. Once again I call upon you to speak to us directly and to come to me and ask me directly or any of the presiding presidency we are here to answer any questions you may have. Amen.
I would like to thank the prophet for the time he has taken in past weeks to answer the persecutors personally. Now for our message for the week we hope that you find this week’s message insightful and educational.
Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy
"I had not been married scarcely five minutes, and made one proclamation of the Gospel, before it was reported that I had seven wives.... I am innocent of all these charges.... What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one. I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago; and I can prove them all perjurers."
—Joseph Smith, Jr.,
Another indictment has been got up against me [the polygamy indictment]. It appears a holy prophet (William Law) has arisen up, and he has testified against me (causing the polygamy indictment to be brought forth).... God knows, then, that the charges against me are false.
I had not been married scarcely five minutes, and made one proclamation of the Gospel, before it was reported that I had seven wives. I mean to live and proclaim the truth as long as I can.
This new holy prophet (William Law) has gone to Carthage and swore that I had told him that I was guilty of adultery. This spiritual wifeism! Why, a man dares not speak or wink, for fear of being accused of this.... William Law ... swears that I have committed adultery. I wish the grand jury would tell me who they (the alleged wives) are—whether it will be a curse or blessing to me....
A man asked me whether the commandment (revelation) was given that a man may have seven wives; and now the new prophet has charged me with adultery.... Wilson Law (William's brother) also swears that I told him I was guilty of adultery.... I have rattled chains before in a dungeon for truth's sake. I am innocent of all these charges, and you can bear witness of my innocence, for you know me yourselves.... What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one.
I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago (when charged with polygamy shortly after his marriage to Emma Hale); and I can prove them all perjurers.
This sermon is extremely important because in it Joseph Smith declared, just one month and one day before his martyrdom, that he had only one wife. In other words, he declared that he was not a polygamist. It is significant that this sermon is published by the LDS Church itself, in its most important history. The sermon alone proves that Joseph was not a polygamist.
There are a number of points in the sermon which deserve close analysis:
I had not been married scarcely five minutes ... before it was reported that I had seven wives. Joseph was plagued with polygamy rumors all his public life and always denied being a polygamist. Either he told the truth and was a true prophet; or he was a polygamist who was a liar and base deceiver, and was therefore a fraud and a false prophet. There is no half-way situation in this matter. As previously stated, he never hesitated to tell the truth about any other doctrine, in spite of persecution—which is evidence that he was also telling the truth in this case.
This spiritual wifeism! Why, a man dares not speak or wink, for fear of being accused of this. This is a reference to Dr. Bennett's teachings two years earlier that Joseph taught that “promiscuous intercourse between the sexes, was a doctrine believed in by the Latter-Day Saints ... that myself and others of the authorities of the church not only sanctioned, but practiced the same wicked acts” (Times and Seasons 3 July 1, 1842). Joseph is declaring that spiritual wifery rumors are still prevalent in Nauvoo, and that they are all false.
A man asked me whether the commandment was given that a man may have seven wives. If Joseph had been guilty of polygamy, and was trying to keep it secret as the Utah LDS Church claim, he certainly would not have made this statement. The truth is that he wanted to get the whole matter out in the open and to put a stop to the polygamous activities which some of the apostles and their friends were practicing at the time.
What a thing it is for a man to be accused of ... having seven wives, when I can only find one. Here is a definite declaration by the Prophet that he had only one wife—Emma. This statement alone answers the question of whether or not he was guilty of polygamy. Those who later claimed that he had more wives were polygamists themselves, who used his name to cover their own crimes of polygamy. Or, like William Law, claimed Joseph was a polygamist in order to depose him.
Joseph's statement that “I can prove them all perjurers” was very significant, for it meant that he had foreseen the coming problem of being accused of polygamy and had taken the measures to be able to prove that he was innocent. He declared in the same sermon:
For the last three years I have a record of all my acts and proceedings, for I have kept several good, faithful, and efficient clerks in constant employ; they have accompanied me everywhere, and carefully kept my history, and they have written down what I have done, where I have been, and what I have said; therefore my enemies cannot charge me with any day, time, or place, but what I have written testimony to prove my actions; and my enemies cannot prove anything against me. (LDS History of the Church 6:409)
Unfortunately, Joseph's carefully laid plans to prove his innocence were thwarted by Brigham Young and his followers—for they took Joseph's papers with them to Utah and kept them from the public.
Joseph Smith III (son of the Martyr) explained:
At the death of my father, Joseph W. Coolidge was appointed administrator of the estate.... The private and personal correspondence of my father, many books and some other matters of personal character were in his office in care of (Apostle) Willard Richards, and others, clerks and officials. These were either retained by the administrator upon his own responsibility; or were refused to my mother's demand at the direction of the Twelve; the latter we were at the time led to believe.... In answer to repeated demands for my father's private papers, journal and correspondence, made by my mother, there was an invariable denial. (Edward W. Tullidge, Life of Joseph the Prophet, 744–745)
In another account Joseph III stated concerning the LDS leaders' refusal to return his father's private papers to Emma: His private records, biography, portions of history—family and general—manuscripts, memoranda, and parts of his library were all included in this refusal to comply with Mother's request. (Saints' Herald 82 January 29, 1935)
Most of the “good, faithful, and efficient clerks” were not good and faithful to Joseph. Some were polygamists themselves, and they rewrote Joseph's history under Brigham's direction to make it appear that Joseph was the author of polygamy. The LDS Mormon Church has published, “Moreover, since the death of the Prophet Joseph, the history has been carefully revised under the strict inspection of President Brigham Young, and approved by him” (LDS History of the Church 1:v–vi).
Elder Charles Wandell, upon reading Joseph's history as published by the LDS Church, declared that Joseph's history had been changed.
He asserted: I noticed these interpolations because having been employed (myself) in the Historian's office at Nauvoo by Doctor Richards, and employed, too, in 1845, in compiling this very autobiography, I know that after Joseph's death his memoir was "doctored" to suit the new order of things, and this, too, by the direct order of Brigham Young to Doctor Richards and systematically by Richards. (RLDS History of the Church 4:97)
After Joseph's death, Brigham Young expanded his polygamous base by bringing more and more Saints into the polygamy fold. After he had led his followers to Utah and Joseph had been dead for eight years, Brigham publicly presented to the Saints a mysterious document (Section 132 of the LDS Doctrine and Covenants). He claimed that it was only a copy of an original revelation which Joseph had received. Brigham claimed that he had kept the copy secretly hidden in his desk.
He declared: This revelation has been in my possession many years; and who has known it? None but those who should know it. I keep a patent lock on my desk, and there does not anything leak out that should not. (Supplement to Millennial Star 15 1853: RLDS History of the Church 3:349)
The mystery which was “had in secret chambers” for years was now made public. That mystery was polygamy! Joseph Smith fought against polygamy all of his public life, but Brigham Young managed to bring it into the Church in spite of Joseph's efforts to keep it out
For those out there who need more convincing about the nature of Brigham Young see the following account of when the two sons of Joseph Smith met Brigham Young. Notice how the supposed prophet acts and notice how the sons of the Prophet Jospeh Smith Act:-
Alexander Smith's Account of Brigham's Accusations against Oliver
When Alexander and David went to Salt Lake City in 1869, Alexander was thirty years of age and David was twenty-four. They used as their base the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Times and Seasons as left by their martyred father.
Brigham faced a monumental task now that Alexander and David had come to preach against polygamy. Alexander wrote of his and David's historic visit with President Young:
On the 17th we called on President Brigham Young, to see if we could get the tabernacle to preach in, and now really begins our experiences in this strange mission.
We went into the Deseret News office, and made inquiry if we could see Pres. Brigham Young, as we were instructed that that was the best way to get an audience with him. We were invited to sit down till our request could be taken to him, and get an answer. It seemed to me we were detained here about two hours and a half.... Finally I stood ... and arose to go....
As we rose to take our leave, a messenger came to inform us President Young would see us. Would we walk into his office? We passed through two or three anterooms or connecting rooms between the Deseret News Office and President Young's private office, and were ushered into the presence of Brigham Young and about nineteen or twenty others; and the puzzle of our long wait was solved. Messengers had been sent out in the city to call in the principal men of the church to be present at the interview, and it took time to get them all in. There were Pres. Brigham Young, John Taylor, Daniel Wells, George A. Smith, Brigham Young, Jr., George Q. Cannon, J. F. (Joseph Fielding) Smith, John Henry Smith, John Smith, Samuel Smith, Joseph Young, Phineas Young, and a number of others whose names escape my memory now. From the imposing array of names, you can judge the interview was considered by President Young to be an important one. To say I was surprised does not fully express my feeling at this imposing array of the heads of the church there. I had simply called upon Mr. Young to request the use of the tabernacle, not expecting to meet so strong an array of talent.
Alexander Hale Smith and David Hyrum Smith, who challenged Brigham's claim about Oliver Cowdery and the article on "Marriage." We were formally introduced to all in the room, and after this ceremony, I simply announced the object of my call, telling President Young I understood that others were granted the use of the tabernacle when not in service by themselves, and as my brother David and I were there to represent the Reorganized Church we would like to be accorded the privilege to address the people from the pulpit of the tabernacle. Here let me explain a little. Three years before I had spoken in Line and Fox's Garden, a place of public resort in the city, and in my service I was opposed by my cousin, Joseph F. Smith, and in my answer to him I made use of some statements which displeased President Brigham Young; and ere my request for the use of the tabernacle was noticed I was called upon by him to take back or retract my statements. I told him I could not do so because they were strictly true, and I stood ready to prove them. He asked me where I got my information, and I remarked I had lived through the experiences of many of the events referred to, and did not need to have anyone inform me. He then asked me if my mother did not give me information. By this time so much had been said we were both getting warm and earnest in our converse. I answered, Yes sir, and I had more confidence in her statement than I did in his. This made him quite angry, and he began to abuse my mother, calling her "the damnedest liar that ever lived;" accused her of trying to poison my father twice, and also accused her of stealing my father's and Uncle Hyrum's picture, and his family ring, and withholding them from the church and the family, and other things of like nature.
I finally told him to stop; that what he had said was false and he knew it to be false. Of course this angered him still more. Some one said, "We love you boys for your father's sake." I said that made no impression upon me, I expected to live long enough to make for myself a name, and have the people of God love me for my own sake. At this President Young arose to his feet, clenched his fists, and shook them down by his side, raised upon his toes and came down on his heels repeatedly as he said, "A name, a name, a name. You have not got God enough about you to make a name. You are nothing at all like your father. He was open and frank and outspoken, but you; there is something covered up, something hidden, calculated to deceive."
I told him time would tell. He then told me that article on marriage in the Book of Covenants had been written by Oliver Cowdery and published in the book directly in opposition to father's wishes. I remarked, "President Young, unfortunately for your statement, that article with every other one in the book, used by the church previous to father's death, was laid before a general assembly of the church in solemn assembly, and endorsed by the whole church." I then challenged him or any other authorized representative of the church there in Utah to meet us in discussion of the differences in faith and organization existing between us. I told him, "You say you have the truth, and that we are in error. If you have the truth, what need you fear? You are men in full vigor of mind and reason, we are but boys. If it is as you say you can easily overcome us, if we are in the wrong; but if it proves that we are right the sooner you get right the better. Unfortunately for us, a Mormon legislature has made laws prohibiting preaching upon the streets of the cities in Utah, so we are denied the means used by your missionaries in Europe to convert thousands; but you have not made it a misdemeanor to preach upon the mountain side, and we propose to get the ears of this people, if we must needs preach on the mountain side."
President Young would no longer talk to me; so I said, "Come, David, let us go; it is useless to prolong this controversy." We arose to our feet, and David said, "Mr. Young, are we to understand that we are denied the use of the tabernacle?"
President Young then turned to his brethren, and said, "What do you say, brethren?" Several of them expressed themselves disapproving the letting us have it. The exact words of none come to me except those of George Q. Cannon. He arose and said, "So far as I am concerned, I can soon express myself. After we whose hairs have grown gray in the service of God and after we have borne the heat and burden of the day in persecution and suffering, on land and sea, and have labored long and hard in heat and cold to build up the work and name for their father; for these boys to come now and ask us for the use of our houses to tear down what we have been so many years in building up, to me it is the height of impudence, and I will not give my consent to it." He was very much in earnest, his face was as white as death.
David then quietly arose to his full height and his face was also white but his words were calm, but oh, so full of sarcasm: "We will not deny that you have traveled far, suffered much, and labored hard to build up a name for our father, but what sort of a name is it? A name that we his sons are ashamed to meet in good society, and it shall be our life's work to remove from our father's name the stain you have heaped upon it."
None were so severe as George Q. Cannon. After an expression had been called for and given, President Young then turned to David and said, "No, David, we do not think it wise to let you have the tabernacle." As we arose and turned to go out, Mr. Young said, "Boys, don't let this be your last visit; come again. I would gladly take you to my bosom if I did not think I would be taking a viper to my bosom that would sting me to death."
I told him he need not be alarmed, it was not likely after the reception we had just passed through, that we would visit either at his home or office. We went out, and the fight was on. (Autumn Leaves 14 Lamoni, Iowa, August 1901: 349–351)
It would seem that the saying “You can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink” is very true. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you do some people never seem to want to embrace the truth. This blog is written by many members of the church not just by one person, it is true to day that it is compiled by one person, but many people contribute to its content. We are not afraid to tell the truth no matter how much some people wish to hid from it. We as a church have had many people come and sit in discussion with us, some have been more open than others, but there are some that would wish to engage in secret discussions to save face with those of other Mormon sects. We will not condone this act. It says in the Book of Mormon that secret acts are not of God but of the devil...we are not ashamed to say that we have had many LDS Mormons in our midst wanting to know the truth, but that many of them only hear what they want and many are so afraid to be found out that they either stop coming or they deny that the meetings ever took place. It makes me wonder what sort of people they are as to have such a terrifying hold over other people, and what lies they are told to keep hold of these people. We are believers in the Christ, we worship him and we pay tribute to him in our worship. We want all people especially those LDS Mormons to see past the lies and falsehoods of the history of the LDS church. Wake up see the lies that you have been told and come and hear what we have to say.
