Joseph Smith died after firing all six bullets in his "pepperbox" revolver, intending to kill other human beings.
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"Mormonism Is Not A Christian Religion and Founding Prophet Joseph Smith Was A Sexual Predator"
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Prophet Joseph Smith's revelation concerning the religious obligation of polygamy -- followed by Mormon President Gordon Hinckley's "categorical statement" "that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy" -- and finally the official Mormon position that polygamy has been expunged from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints because "Latter-day Saints believe in “obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law,” is a sequence of events that contradicts both Reason and Revelation. The core contradiction in this witch's brew is tantamount to The Vatican retracting Jesus' own words.
For Mormonism to countermand "a divine Revelation" with a diametrically opposed Counter-Revelation (in a period of 50 years) -- and then to say that the Counter-Revelation is true because Mormons "believe in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law" -- demonstrates one of two flaws:
Either Joseph Smith's Polygamy Revelation was voiced by an outlaw/charlatan who misrepresented Divine Revelation, or the "prophet's" revelation was countermanded by a fickle God who could not adhere to the dictates of His own omniscience for the brief span of half a human life-time.
For Mormonism to countermand "a divine Revelation" with a diametrically opposed Counter-Revelation (in a period of 50 years) -- and then to say that the Counter-Revelation is true because Mormons "believe in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law" -- demonstrates one of two flaws:
Either Joseph Smith's Polygamy Revelation was voiced by an outlaw/charlatan who misrepresented Divine Revelation, or the "prophet's" revelation was countermanded by a fickle God who could not adhere to the dictates of His own omniscience for the brief span of half a human life-time.
Joseph Smith's insistence on "the eternal revelation of polygamy" also spotlights equally confounding circumstances --- the prophet's first wife Emma's ferocious opposition to polygamy, and Joseph's plural marriage to as many as 30 women, including a 14 year old girl. On more than one occasion, Joseph threatened reluctant women with Eternal Damnation if they failed to submit to his will.
Although there is evidence that Smith practiced polygamy since 1835, it is documented that "In April 1841, Smith wed Louisa Beaman, and during the next two and a half years he may have married or been sealed to 30 additional women,[389] ten of them already married to other men."
In one particularly brazen instance, Smith proposed - and then tried to force - polygamous marriage on the wife of trusted aide, William Law, whom Smith had previously called to be "counselor to Mormonism's first presidency." http://stoppolygamyincanada.wordpress.com/essays/facts-about-william-law-joseph-smith-jr-s-attempts-to-seduce-laws-wife/
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In the following video clip, Mormon founder Joseph Smith's predatory sex life is detailed by Mormon historian Sandra Tanner.
Ms. Tanner is great, great granddaughter of Brigham Young.
Tanner's Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/
The following sources clarify LDS reluctance to discuss the deep history of Mormonism, particularly as it relates to Joseph Smith's sexual predation and
1.) A girl who resisted Joseph Smith's sexual advances was subsequently defamed by Smith as a prostitute: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,203538
2.) Wikipedia account of Joseph Smith's first wife Emma: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Smith
3.) The individual stories of Joseph Smith's 34 wives: http://blog.mrm.org/2008/06/the-stories-of-the-wives-of-joseph-smith/
4.) Joseph Smith: Trading Salvation For Sex: http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon432.htm
5.) Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess: http://www.amazon.com/Sidney-Rigdon-Portrait-Religious-Excess/dp/1560850302
1.) A girl who resisted Joseph Smith's sexual advances was subsequently defamed by Smith as a prostitute: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,203538
2.) Wikipedia account of Joseph Smith's first wife Emma: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Smith
3.) The individual stories of Joseph Smith's 34 wives: http://blog.mrm.org/2008/06/the-stories-of-the-wives-of-joseph-smith/
4.) Joseph Smith: Trading Salvation For Sex: http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon432.htm
5.) Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess: http://www.amazon.com/Sidney-Rigdon-Portrait-Religious-Excess/dp/1560850302
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Plural Marriage
Because the practice of plural marriage is so intimately linked to the murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty, it might be well to speak of this subject at the first. To begin with, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that marriage is more than a civil ordinance. It is, first and foremost, an institution ordained of God. Marriage between one man and one woman is sacred. Further, Latter-day Saints believe that marriage and the family were intended to last forever, to survive death. They teach, therefore, that marriages performed in temples, by the proper authority, are not ended with the death of the marriage partners but rather are for time and all eternity.
During the ministry of Joseph Smith, the founding president and prophet of the Church, and continuing for over 50 years, plural marriage was practiced. The Saints believed that God had commanded them to do so as a part of the restoration of ancient truths and practices from biblical times. Both Abraham and Jacob took additional wives (Genesis 16:1–11; 29:28; 30:4, 9, 26), and there is no indication that God disapproved of their actions. God did condemn King David’s unauthorized relationship with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11–12) and King Solomon’s marriages to foreign women who turned his heart away from the worship of Jehovah (1 Kings 11).It was, in fact, as a result of Joseph Smith’s inquiry to God in the early 1830s as to why plural marriage was practiced anciently that the divine instruction to institute the practice in modern times came.
Thus plural marriage was a religious principle, not just a social experiment or a sexual aberration; this is the only valid and reasonable explanation as to why the practice was maintained in spite of decades of opposition and persecution. Latter-day Saints believed that plural marriages, when properly performed by authorized persons, were both legal and acceptable to God. Church leaders then and now are quick to observe, however, that monogamy is the rule and polygamy is the exception. Unauthorized practice of this principle is condemned in the Book of Mormon (Jacob 2:23–30, 34; 3:5), the Doctrine and Covenants ( Doctrine and Covenants 132:38–39), the sermons of Joseph Smith himself (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City, Deseret, 1976, 324; cited hereafter as TPJS) and teachings of current Church leaders.
Most all of those who became Latter-day Saints during the 19th century had been associated with other religious societies before their conversion and had been reared in traditional monogamous homes. The idea of having more than one wife came into sharp contrast with all they had been taught and brought up to believe. Therefore plural marriage was at first extremely difficult for many of the Saints to accept. John Taylor, the third president of the Church, remarked that “it was the one of the greatest crosses that ever was taken up by any set of men since the world stood” (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols., Liverpool, F. D. Richards & Sons, 1851–86, 11:221; cited hereafter as JD; see also Brigham Young, JD 3:266).
Men and women within a plural marriage family were expected to demonstrate loyalty and devotion to spouse and to observe the highest standards of fidelity and morality.
Public opposition in the United States to the practice of plural marriage grew during the last quarter of the 19th century. A number of Church officials were incarcerated, and the government threatened to confiscate Church property, including the temples. In the wake of oppressive laws that had been enacted, Latter-day Saints believe that the Lord by revelation withdrew the command to practice plural marriage. President Wilford Woodruff issued what has come to be known as the Manifesto, and a constituent assembly of the Latter-day Saints in general conference accepted it in October 1890. Regarding those who have defied the direction of Church leaders and continue to practice polygamy today, President Gordon B. Hinckley, the current president of the Church, explained: “I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. ... If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. ... More than a century ago God clearly revealed ... that the practice of plural marriage should be discontinued, which means that it is now against the law of God” (Conference Report, Oct. 1998, 92; cited hereafter as CR). Latter-day Saints believe in “obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” (Articles of Faith 1:12). While they stand firmly against the practice of plural marriage today, they leave in the hands of local magistrates the enforcement of the civil law. In speaking of those who continue the practice, President Hinckley said: “They are in violation of the civil law. They know they are in violation of the law. They are subject to its penalties. The Church, of course, has no jurisdiction whatever in this matter” (CR, Oct. 1998, 92).
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