Mormons please help me?

Question

I have been mormon all my life (16 years) but I recently found out some things about the church that have taken a huge blow on my faith (which was never strong to begin with). here are some of the issues. please help me with them.

1. Brigham young was extremely racist
2. Brigham young taught what are now considered false doctrines, including the Adam God doctrine
3. Joseph smith married a 14 year old, telling her that by doing so her whole family would be saved
4. Joseph Smith married other members' wives, including some that he sent on missions himself (reminds me of David in the old testament)
5. The Book of Abraham was translated from what is evidently an Egyptian funerary text

These some issues that have come up that me very uncomfortable with the church. please

Answer 1

You are in a nutty cult.



Sorry, but that's the way it is.

Answer 2

There is allot of good stuff above. I would like to add that you need to beware of stuff floating around on the internet. I cannot believe how much false and distorted stuff there is about the church. We also need to understand history in the context of the times these people lived in. Just check out some of the prophets of the bible. Some of them did some things that were absoutely terrible.



Also, you need to realize that prophets are just people. They have their own opinions about stuff. However, we are told that though prophets are not perfect, they will never lead us astray.



The last thing I want to bring to your attention is this: Once you have a strong spiritual witness that the Book of Mormon is true and that there really are living prophets, the continuous outpouring of so called evidence put forth by uninspired men will have no impact on you. The spiritual witness is actually much more convincing. You can receive this testimony by doing the following:



1. Read the Book of Mormon with sincerety and real intent to know what it teaches, not with the intent to find it's faults. As you read, ask yourself if you really think that Joseph Smith could make this stuff up. you have to admit, the Book of Mormon is loaded with some great and profound teachings, all of which lead us to do good. Did a con man really write this?



"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moroni 10:3,4).



2. Stay close to God by praying about your concerns. When there is no other source for truth, God will not let you down.



3. Strive to live the teachings of the gospel. In this way, you come to know God.

Answer 3

By today's standards BY was rascist, good thing he did not live today. Much of what he said was fine then. The things he taught are best understood in the context of when he said them. Joseph Smith was not an exalted personage when he was alive, and as such he was human and human beings sometimes falter. The Book of Abraham is , whether or not its origins are proven or not, not the center of the religion. The big thing is that Christ, through his death and ressurection, saved us from eternal damnation. I know it is hard, but really try not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Answer 4

1. You seem to have an issue with comparing the norms of a past era, ie 1840 with that of the current time, 2011. Did you know that the founding fathers of America would be considered "racist" if you applied the same standard to them? Thomas Jefferson and other framers of the Constitution the same Constitution that gives "equal rights to all men," had slaves and was a slaver. Yet, he and others are looked up to as great men.



Brigham Young, living in an earlier era where the norms of society were vastly different than they are today, would have seemed to hold the "typical" attitudes of the era. Brigham Young did state that all men are children of God and are equal in that sense. He did however, notice inequality of races and spoke of that perceived inequality. Times change, attitudes change, and prophets change. Thats why we need ONGOING revelation and CURRENT day prophets. So in a real sense for me, the fact that the CURRENT prophet in our day, Thomas S. Monson, has different opinions than Brigham Young actually is a testimony BUILDER for me, that it tells me God leads us dynamically, and does not stay stagnate with outdated doctrine.



2. Brigham Young spoke of the doctrine. However, it was NEVER taught as official church doctrine. NEVER. It may be his opinion, but it was never doctrine. You, as a Mormon, certainly have your own opinions on things. Like whether Mitt Romney or Obama should be president. Either opinion does NOT change your status as Mormon, nor effect church doctrine. Brigham Young had his own opinions, just like we ALL do.



3. Joseph Smith taught a doctrine, polygamy, that had a purpose in its day. It is no longer needed. Many women were righteous, but did not have righteous husbands. Many single women had no prospect for finding a righteous husband. Yet, the doctrine of the church taught for a Celestial marriage women had to marry in the "New and Everlasting" covenant. Or, they would not reach the highest degree of heaven.



With no prospect of an eternal marriage, one of the purposes of polygamy was to allow more women the opportunity of a Celestial marriage. Joseph Smith married several sisters, in the covenant of marriage to allow them the access to the Celestial Kingdom. However, something very important that the anti-Mormons will not tell you is this: NONE of those other marriages where ever sexual. None, other than Joseph's marriage to Emma. Emma even said so. The other sisters even said so. Anything different from that would be a blatant lie. And you know the source of all lies, do you not? This important distinction supports the singular purpose of plural marriage as I stated it.



4. The same explanation for question #3 applies. These marriages were in name only, and were essentially performed in name only for the purpose of completing a requirement to enter the Celestial Kingdom. That is all.



5. This statement is false. Anti-Mormons use this argument so much that it is boring, if not laughable because of its errors. They suppose that just because there is a picture in the BofA that they imply the entire BofA comes from a funerary text. There were MULTIPLE records that Joseph Smith was translating. Not all of them were recovered. Just like we do not have access to the plates of Gold that contained the Book of Mormon, the record Joseph Smith used in translating the BofA is not available in its entirety either. So you, I, and any anti-Mormon would be totally false and inaccurate to say the BofA came from a funerary text because WE DO NOT HAVE the source of the BofA. Like, duh!



With all of this said and done, it does not really matter what I say here, or what anti-Mormons say either. The proof of the pudding is what GOD has to say about it. And for that matter, I would rather put my trust in God than any anonymous faceless person I have contact with here.



If you want to know the truth of things, why not ASK GOD. He would know, would he not.

Pray to him, and ask him, with real intent, with a desire to know, being sincere and humble..he will give you the truth.



That is what I have done. That is what 14 million LDS have done. And that is why I am a

Answer 5

There's just not much space here to address your questions fully and do them justice. Pray about your concerns. Talk to your parents. Talk to your seminary teacher or YM/YW leader. Make an appointment with your bishop. Many of these questions are effectively addressed at fairlds.org, a Mormon research and apologetics organization online.



Most importantly, don't neglect keeping the commandments as you grapple with these questions. Keeping the commandments makes you more able to get and recognize answers from the Holy Ghost; failing to keep the commandments diminishes your ability to get and recognize answers.

Answer 6

Do you want to know what I think the real problem is? I think that the real problem is that instead of focusing on the things of the Lord, like reading your scriptures every day and praying, you are worrying more about the opinions of man.



Okay let's say for a moment that those claims are right. What does that actually change. If this is God's church then what does it matter if men make mistakes. The Bible is full of examples of men who were called by God to do some work and ended up making huge mistakes. If people like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young did make mistakes then it is God that should be the one to judge them and, if necessary condemn them.



I think that Moroni put it best when he wrote the title page to the Book of Mormon,



"And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ."



If you really have doubts then get on your knees and pray to God to get His advice, not the wisdom of mankind.

Answer 7

See, this is what comes of reading anti-Mormon propaganda. Ask yourself, first, where did you learn this stuff? Was it from someone who's a committed member of the church, who has a strong testimony of God, Jesus Christ, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and living prophets today?



Or was it from someone who has left the church, with a big chip on their shoulder, who now wants to destroy the LDS church?



I can give you some web sites to peruse, but the first thing I would tell you is, READ YOUR SCRIPTURES!! Especially the Book of Mormon, and build your testimony of that. Realize that NO ONE in our church is perfect, no, not even Brigham Young or Joseph Smith.

Answer 8

Not enough room here to answer your questions effectively. I'll give you brief answers and if you want to know more, you can go to fairlds.org, mormondialogue.org, or you can e-mail me or ym me at [e-mail]. The best advice, though is to spend a lot of time with the Book of Mormon, especially Alma 32.

1.Brigham Young was indeed racist by our standards, but by the standards of his time he was quite progressive in his views. The prophet, Jonah, was far more hateful to certain outgroups than BY ever was. Technically, it was nationalistic hatred rather than racial, but it was the same kind of thing.

2. We really don't know what to make of Adam-God. Either we don't understand what he meant, he was misquoted, he was testing the saints or he was in error. None of these things make him less of a prophet.

3. In Joseph's time and place, marriage between a 14yo woman and a man in his thirties was normal.

4. Joseph's polyandrous marriages are also not very understood. There is no reason to believe that he had sex with any of them and it is likely he thought of them as binding families together .

5. Two schools of thought. We know that there is a lot of papyrus missing. I hold that the BoA was on the missing papyrus. Some believe in what is called a catalyst theory, that is the papyrus merely triggered Joseph to receive pure revelation. It is well known that the BoA parallels other ancient Abrahamic literature that was unavailable to Joseph.

Answer 9

You're kicking and screaming. Do you realize that? All the way to the truth. GOOD! Fight the truth, and it will still win. When God calls you to face the truth, you can fight Him. He allows that. Go ahead!



But He inevitably wins over the deepest parts of your heart in the end, because the truth forces you to hand it over, bit by bit in honesty. And you eventually come to understand words can't quite describe losing that particular war with the sheer joy it reveals.



To find the real God.... go to HIM. Alone. Without holding prejudices behind your back to whip out and "surprise" Him with. Hint: He can see through you.

Answer 10

Mormons consider that Joseph Smith was chosen by God to usher in the restored gospel. Non-Mormons view him as having founded a church. Big difference. The character of JS is crucial to whether he is a good role model to follow as prophet to an entire religious movement. If not, how does one reconcile involvement in the Mormon Church?

When going back and analyzing the information available in factual history, it becomes very obvious that Joseph Smith was dishonest in nearly every facet of his life. It isn't just that he was flawed as a prophet, it is the systematic way in which NOTHING adds up.



Here is a list of the different facets of his dishonesty:



* Joseph Smith found a brown rock while digging a well and claimed it to be a "seer stone" He subsequently would tell people where to dig for treasure (none was ever found) and was later prosecuted for fraud.



* Joseph had affairs starting with his seventeen year old housekeeper and continuously deceived Emma (his legal wife). He continued to lie to Emma while marrying (in secret) a total of between 33 and 38 women including at least two 14 year old girls and 11 women who were already married to other men. Some of these men he sent on missions and married their wives while they were gone. http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/



* Smith coerced 14 year old Helen Mar Kimball into “marriage” by telling her that her eternal fate and that of everyone she loved depended on her agreement to his proposal. Mormons say it was normal for a girl to marry that young. The statistics from the time don't support that claim. Smith's sisters didn't marry until their 20s. It was NOT normal for a young girl to marry a much older, already married man. It was NOT normal to keep the marriage secret from family and friends. It was NOT normal for the young bride to continue to live with her parents as a single girl. http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/



* There were nine wildly differing versions of the First Vision. The only possible conclusion after comparing the different versions is the Joseph made them all up, changing the details as "needed." http://www.mrm.org/first-vision



* The Book of Abraham was clearly made up and didn't even come close to the writings contained in the papyrus. http://www.mrm.org/book-of-abraham



* He defrauded numerous followers with the illegal Kirtland Banking scam. http://utlm.org/onlineresources/josephsm…



* Despite popular Mormon folklore, Joseph Smith did not give his life innocently "like a lamb to the slaughter" in martyrdom. He died after shooting three men with a pistol (one died) and desperately trying to prevent his death even with his last utterance – giving the Masonic call of distress in hopes of final rescue. http://www.i4m.com/think/history/carthag…



Mormons justify following JS despite his numerous obvious major character flaws by saying that they don’t expect a prophet to be perfect and their church embodies the true gospel despite the human foibles of members and prophets alike. Non-Mormons ask how they justify following a leader who displayed such questionable integrity in his actions and words. How much does the personal character of a leader matter in any organization? Of course, anybody can make mistakes. The problem here is the ongoing pattern of dishonesty prevalent in Smith's life. As the current and past LDS leaders have proclaimed, "it is either all true, or none of it is true!"

Answer 11

Good man. You found out that it is a fraud. Mormonism is full of controversy and has a consistent shady history. The facts are available to you. It is time to consider defecting.

Answer 12

What are you asking them for help for?

1. The man was a racist as well as many people back then, in all religions. Many still are today.

2. Brigham taught a lot of things that aren't doctrine. In fact, many of the prophets taught a lot of things that aren't considered doctrine. Only a select few things make it through to doctrine. It's funny when a man that people consider a prophet says "this is truth: (insert truth here)"...and then people years later stop believing it's truth out of nowhere because it's not popular anymore.

3. Yep, apparently he didn't have sexual relations with ANY of his celestial wives. So why was his first wife so pissed off about it?

4. This is true. One big happy polygamous household in heaven. Why not seal everyone to everyone in heaven and have one big happy family when you're up there? We're all "god's children" anyways. =D

5. The Book of Abraham, phrog and I just got done debating this one. Supposedly we have 13% of the remains. Now, only a small portion was dedicated to being a common burial text when you look at the original scrolls as a whole. The other 83%, was the translation and included the story about Abraham. So they found the small portion that had nothing to do with anything Joseph Smith translated, instead of finding just a fraction of the portion that had stuff that could be used to prove the Book of Abraham true. What are the chances that the only stuff that was destroyed in the fire was the only thing that mattered to prove it a real translation? Convenience. Like I said, convenience happens when people can't prove things are true because for some "coincidence" they no longer exist or where taken away by "angels", or destroyed in a fire. Boy, the hand of God surely doesn't want people to believe through clear evidence. And yet, Joseph showed an extra 10 people the gold plates for....? For extra faith? =D

You're going to realize this sort of stuff pops up in every religion. That's what happens when people take stories, manipulate those stories and lie about stuff that never happened the way the story says they happened. There are no angels. There are no demons. There are no exorcisms. There are no prophets. There is no gift of tongues. That crap is gibberish nonsense. There is no prayer. And no "god" exists as described by any form any religion says it does. People can't explain life and death, so they make up something and it builds up to a religion and people believe through blind faith. Stop trying to prove your crap true people, because the evidence just isn't there. Notice "miracles" stopped occurring when the technology got good enough to explain them?

You want to believe in a god? Fine, go ahead. But anyone that tries to tell you they have the only true "God" is flat out false. Ask them to prove it. Tell the Mormons to show you the gold plates. They will say, they aren't here anymore, the "angel" took them back up to heaven. How convenient. Tell them to show you the proof that Joseph's translation of the Book of Abraham is real. The fire ate up the only portion that mattered. How convenient. I'm done with fairytales. =D

Answer 13

You have two choices in life. You can eat from the Tree of Life, and you can be happy for Eternity, or you can spend your time feeding your doubts.



Was there even one good thing that these Anti-Mormon websites (that you obviously read) said about Joseph Smith, or THE Church Of JESUS CHRIST Of Latter Day Saints?



Think about it, how disingenuous is that?



If they were being completely candid wouldn't they include at least one good thing about THE Church Of JESUS CHRIST Of Latter Day Saints?



How about this for an idea... Before you go off and do what Ex-Mormons typically do (namely exchange venereal diseases after meeting anonymous strangers at the local bar or wherever) why don't you make a goal to read a hundred books about Proofs that THE Church Of JESUS CHRIST Of Latter Day Saints is true.



Yes I know, there is a lot more than a hundred books, about the proofs of THE Church Of JESUS CHRIST Of Latter Day Saints that have been written over the years.



So you can either do that, or you can go to your local Doctor, and let him know, you are getting all revved up to start exchanging V.D. with complete strangers, like so many Ex-Mormons wind up doing.



Your choice.



(No, I don't honestly believe you are a Mormon in the first place. Yeah, caught ya. But sometimes other people read these answers, so there.)

Answer 14

People are just that. People. No one is perfect. And people mess up. But I believe in a loving Heavenly Father and His Son. Others may try to talk me out of it or talk down on my faith, but they can't shake me because of where I'm grounded. No one can take those spiritual experiences away from me, or discount them, because they are mine. Please take this the right way- I don't mean to be rude to anyone, just explain a bit of why I believe what I believe. I recommend talking to a local church leader. They've heard this all before too. :)

Answer 15

i've got spent approximately 40 years in bishoprics, severe councils, and clerk positions, and that i've got considered various human beings go away the Church. i've got sat on various disciplinary councils. None of them left the Church because of the fact of "information" against the Church. There are some who merely gradually flow away into inactiveness. each each now and then it quite is because of the fact of a loss of religion, triggered via doubts led to via something they have study. considered one of my brothers replaced into like that, whether he has when you consider that come again to Church. He didn't wish to tell me approximately his doubts because of the fact he had grow to be confident that there replaced into no answer to his doubts, and he didn't wish to burden me together with his doubts. it quite is merely too undesirable he did not communicate with me, because of the fact there is often an answer. component to his difficulty although replaced into that he replaced into finding for a reason to not go on a venture, and "blindly" persist with the occasion of his older brothers. It replaced into partly a satisfaction subject. I certainly have a concept approximately people who go away the Church and declare it replaced into because of the fact of information. They fall into 3 communities. (a million) some are easily perplexed via the arguments of adult males. (2) some seek for information the Church isn't real, yet deep down they understand the actual reason replaced into they have been indignant or they felt responsible approximately their sins. (3) And others do not understand their own reasons. In a psychology classification I as quickly as took I heard of an exciting test on the topic of this 0.33 team. a individual in yet another psychology classification replaced into hypnotized and given a post-hypnotic advice. The hypnotized pupil replaced into informed that as quickly as the instructor coughed the pupil might upward push up from his seat and open the window to the faculty room. He does not remember something he replaced into informed while hypnotized. He replaced into then awaken from his hypnotic trance and informed to flow returned to his seat. the pupil remembered not something of what he replaced into informed whilst hypnotized. the instructor after a couple of minutes coughed, and the pupil have been given up and opened the window. Now right it quite is the factor of this tale. while asked why he opened the window his innovations today synthetic a reason. He stated he replaced into warm, and surprisingly adequate his physique proved it via getting crimson and sweaty.

Answer 16

you perverse imitation of innocence! Both the bible and the book of mormon did say that the adversary is a crafty one. you pose as a member to try and relate to us, and hopefully make us question our very soul to your pitiful ways. I pity you; had you been a member of the church, you would know that we are known as the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. I can see right through your attempt, but all is not lost for god still loves you, regardless how you choose to use your agency, therefore rejoice and praise the lord. He will not force you to heaven.

Answer 17

There are lots more issues where those come from. As soon as you start using your brain instead of feelings, all sorts of problems emerge with the history, doctrine and leadership of this church.



You can go read the Mormon apologists' explanations at FAIRLDS.org. Watch out for their techniques, however. They will attempt to destroy the messenger, use circular logic, and generally just obfuscate without ever answering the real issues.



Brigham Young was racist. God will never allow a prophet to lead us astray. The current's prophet's ideas override the past ones. It makes your head spin.



About 100,000 people leave the LDS church officially every year. Most do so because of the sort of issues you are learning about. It becomes obvious the whole thing was a lie.

Answer 18

1. BY was racist ---

BY may well have been racist. he was a man who lived in the 1800's. there were slaves. there was no equality between races. nephi said we should try "likening the scriptures unto ourselves" (1 Nephi 19:23)....along those same lines we can only judge a man's actions by his own culture and time. that being said however I would like to point out something......prolly the most famous 'racist' statement made by BY is the one about 'mixing your seed' - so let's consider that statement in BY's time and culture rather than our own.....under what circumstances would a man 'mix seed' with a black in those times? inter-racial marriages/relationships were unheard of....socially forbidden. so the only possible situation BY could have meant was that of a man raping a black woman, often slaves - and then walking away without taking responsibility for anything.....no harm, no damage done, no resulting children. and in this case I agree with BY. THIS is not ok behaviour.



2. yea. BY taught what is called the 'adam-God doctrine'......but it was NEVER made doctrine of the church. why? BY was a prophet - shouldn't that make it doctrine? nope....and since he could never make anyone else understand what it was he was trying to present - it was abandoned. and as you should know - the LDS do NOT believe that prophets are infallible. GOD is infallible....man is not. and being a prophet does not remove one's free agency nor the ability to think, have opinions, passions, ideas, make mistakes.....



3. DNA is showing that the only children (in a day with no real birth control) JS had were with emma....lending credence to the idea that his "marriages" were familial sealings....sealing one family to another. once again - we really need to try and get our heads out of the gutter when we try to understand God's teachings....He doesn't spend time there.



4. see #3



5. JS had a lot more papyri than what was recovered - egyptologists estimate from their calculations that 87% of the info JS had is not available. what WAS found was the book of breathing for the mummy/man named hor. and that only in fragments. and some facsimile fragments. all in all we recovered about 13% of what JS had. it was not an uncommon practice to store important records (like the BoA) with mummies and their BoB for safe keeping. other records have shown this as well. so what survived the fire was pieces - some of them from the facs and some from the funerary rites. the BoA apparently did not survive. so no.....the BoA was not translated from an egyptian funerary text.



research on the subjects that some think 'cause the LDS church problems' have only shown me that indeed things "fit" what JS and the BoM claimed.

Answer 19

Those are all correct and factual.



Except the last one -- there's no evidence any "translation" was ever done on the papyrii Smith claimed to translate to get the book of Abraham. Evidence shows he just made it up, though he did CLAIM to translate it.



You're ahead of me -- I didn't find out about those things until after I got back from my mission. That's when I left the church, 31 years ago and couldn't be happier. Here's some more info for you:



http://20truths.info/



Peace.

Answer 20

Sounds like you have been on anti-Mormon websites. That is a great place to have your faith tested. Maybe you should talk to your parents or Bishop and not ask a bunch of strangers about your salvation.

Answer 21

1. True

2. True

3. True

4. True

5. True



Your best bet is to just ignore all logic and pretend you never heard this information if you plan to still be a Mormon.