Hide and Don’t Seek

20 August

2 Corinthians 6:17; “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,”

Paul’s admonition to the true believers in the early church is our focus for today. We’re pleading with the Mormons to come out of the darkness, and into the light of God’s truth!

I was reminded again of the Church’s true agenda. Hide and don’t seek, but more on that in a moment…

I came across an interesting article on a couple of different ‘anti-Mormon’ websites who focused on an LDS lesson manual published in 1997; The Teachings of Brigham Young. The problem with the manual wasn’t so much on what it said, but what it didn’t say.

The following is an overview of what they’re teaching about the second prophet of Mormonism in their adult classes. The irony shan’t be missed considering there’s a university named on his behalf, yet their members aren’t afforded the necessary information to learn all there is about the man.

1997 Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young

There’s no mention of polygamy at all in this 370 page manual. Nothing is said about the practice of plural marriage, nor does it mention Brigham’s veritable harem of 52 women he referred to as wives outside of the manual.

We found this odd since polygamy was the focus in many of his sermons, and the entire world, now and then, are well aware of his reputation

Aside from the first few children he had while living a monogamous lifestyle, there’s no mention of his 55 children. See Chapter One, pp. viii – 13.

You won’t learn about Brigham’s 15 divorces in this manual. When it came to the topic of home life, the manual brazenly uses the term ‘wife’, not ‘wives’. For example, in chapter twenty-three it talks about Brigham’s teachings on eternal marriage which said, ‘…Let every man in the land … take a wife…’

In Chapter One, p. 6, a conversation between Brigham and Joseph Smith was highlighted as they were building the Nauvoo Temple. Smith gave Young the following directions, yet not a word of polygamy was mentioned even though this is the exact time Smith introduced it to the Church.

“Before the [Nauvoo] temple was completed, Joseph Smith privately introduced President Young and other members of the Twelve to temple ordinances, including baptism for the dead, the temple endowment, and family sealings…”

There’s also no mention of any prophecies uttered by Brigham Young. No mention of the Adam-God Doctrine, no ‘blood atonement’ doctrine, and neither is there any doctrine on their true feelings about blacks.

This is odd considering these were the main doctrines Young was known for during his tenure as LDS prophet. There’s not one prophecy of Brigham Young listed anywhere in this manual. What they do list are snippets of sermons he delivered that can be found in the Journal of Discourses, but teachers are cautioned against using any ‘outside’ information to supplement their classes.

‘…the sources cited will not be readily available to most members. These original sources are not necessary to have in order to effectively study or teach from this book. Members need not purchase additional references and commentaries to study or teach these chapters. The text provided in this book, accompanied by the scriptures, is sufficient for instruction.’

This too is ironic considering Brigham Young touted the Journals as reliable. See LDS CHURCH ENDORSEMENTS FOR THE JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES. The following quote comes from the introduction of Volume 5 –

“It is unnecessary for us to dwell on the importance of the Discourses contained herein and the value of this Volume to the Saints* library…and we are confident that in years to come the value…will be enhanced.” – Asa Calkin

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Mormonism is like a game of hide and don’t seek. We’re wondering why they wouldn’t want members to seek more info on their god taught by their ordained leaders?

Why can’t teachers use outside information when in reality, it’s not outsider info at all?

Furthermore, why didn’t this manual provide all of Brigham Young’s history?

What is there to be shameful of if you’re really the ‘one and only true church on the face of the earth’?

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