. . . pressure from the top of the Cult (among other reasons), as Tom Phillips, aka "Anointed One," explains below:

" . . . I will survive.

"It is true I have been extremely busy this month on the matter some have named the 'October Surprise'. Due to this it was impossible for me to attend the Exmo Conference which I dearly wanted to attend. Not just to speak but to meet the wonderful people like yourself, whom I have met on the boards.

"The obstacles I am facing were quite unexpected, have taken more time and attention and delayed the outcome. Some of those obstacles are 'political' and there have been attempts by highly influential Mormons to stop me.

"This is the main, though not the only reason, for me having to bail out of the Conference.

"Be assured, however, that I will survive and I will take the fight to them, regardless of what they try. Truth Will Prevail.

"Thank you Ana for all the support and help you have given me and so many others.

"Tom"

("Re: Been Out of the Loop--What's the Update on the 'October Surprise'?," posted by Tom Phillips, aka, "anointed one," on "Recovery from Mormonism" bulletin board, 22 October 2013, at: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1058872,1059351#msg-1059351)
_____


Personally speaking, I experienced enormous pressure and criticism designed to make me shut up on Mormonism. It came, of course, from my TBM family; from local Mormon Church leaders and members; and from Mormonism's Blue Suits at the top of the Cult's chain of command.

Don't let the you-know-whats get you down, Tom. Those looking for the inside realities of Mormonism need your voice--and they appreciate your courage (as do we all, except of course, the testimony-teetering trolls but, hey, that's their problem).

:)



Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2013 01:21AM by steve benson.

Thanks for posting this, since I did miss it.

I wish him the best anyway. Even if he has to postpone whatever he has planned, we kind of got an "October surprise" anyway with the whole "The Late War" situation.

Steve, could you elaborate on what kinds of pressure you received at least from those Mormons not in your family? They deserve to be named and shamed for their disgusting efforts to stop the truth from getting out. Before I learned all of the lies, I never would have imagined what shameless, scheming pigs these "church leaders" are. Since finding out the truth, I have sought out every bit of information I can find about the church, its leaders and its history. I would just love to know how far they are really willing to go.

--AZ Mormon stake president, Craig Cardon (now a GA), who warned me that I was full of the spirit of Korihor, that Satan would abandon me like he had Korihor and that I must "cease and desist" from publicly criticizing the Mormon Church's sexist view and treatment of women. He also threatened to out me to others as a disbeliever.

--AZ hometeacher (a now-deceased individual from one of the Mormon founding families of Mesa, AZ, whose name I am keeping confidential out of sensitivity to his elderly widow), who warned me that I would be excommunicated if I kept questioning the historicity/authenticity of the Pearl of Great Price. (Curiously enough, he, too, was a closet doubter),

--AZ Mormon stake president, Kent Christensen (professor at Arizona State University), who released me from my high councilman position because of my editorial cartoons critical of AZ's Mormon governor, Evan Mecham (who was eventually impeached and removed from office for high crimes and misdemeanors). Christensen accused me of abusing my "god-given" talents by mocking the sacred symbols of Mormonism, later telling me that his release of me from the high council had resulted in me doing better cartoons thereafter.

--AZ Mormon state legislator, Jerry Gillespie, who complained to my stake president that I should not be holding high positions in the Mormon Church, given my criticisms of AZ's then-Mormon governor.

--AZ Mormon political radicals, Shirley Whitlock and Earl Taylor, who despised Martin Luther King, Jr.; who admired my grandfather ETB; and who went directly through my grandfather's SLC Church office to contact ETB's office manager, Gary Gillespie, warning him that if I was not stripped of my Mormon "callings," they would move to have me disciplined in local LDS ecclesiastical courts. The office manager then called me directly and asked me what was going on in Arizona, saying that these Mormon fanatics were making the Mormon Church look like "fools."

--AZ's then-Mormon Church spokesman, John Lyons, who, over a lunch with me that he requested, compared my criticism of Mormon governor Mecham to public revelations on Christian radio about the secrets of the LDS temple ceremony, Lyons later denied that he had accused me of that.

--Fliers anonymously circulated at a local AZ stake priesthood meeting, quoting Mormon scripture and claiming that I was in a state of open apostacy with regard to my disobedience of Mormon Church leaders.

--Mormon apostles, Dallin Oaks and Neal Maxwell, who attempted to swear me to secrecy about my closed-door conversations with them concerning inner-sanctum Mormon Church historical realities re LDS doctrine, policy and practice. They expressed repeated and obvious concern that I might be taping our conversations and reminded me to keep the matters which we discussed amongst ourselves. Oaks later denounced me in an opinion piece published in the Salt Lake Tribune, labeling me a "heel" for calling him out on his public lies to a reporter, telling that reporter in a taped convsersation (which I have in my possession) to beware of my "anti-Mormon" agenda. (When I eventually publicly exposed Oaks for lying about Boyd Packer's secret and abusive involvement in the excommunication of a local SLC critic of the Mormon Church, Paul Toscano, Oaks refused to openly admit his dishonesty but privately offered to resign from the Quorum of the 12. Gordon B. Hinckley advised him to stick it out). Maxwell warned me that if I left the LDS Church, that decision would negatively affect my family for countless generations, denying those yetr unborn the blessings of the LDS Gospel.
_____


I probably could come up with more examples but I think these are a pretty good selection, per your request.


(for related thread, see: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1060619)



Edited 16 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2013 03:56PM by steve benson.

"They expressed repeated and obvious concern that I might be taping our conversations and reminded me to keep the matters which we discussed amongst ourselves."

But if that were the case, I would have expected you could recount some of these conversations in great detail . . . . . .. . . never mind.

The SP was paranoid that I may have recorded my "Love Council" on my turned off laptop, demanding I leave it in the room for them to inspect!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2013 01:29PM by steve benson.

What possible pressure could they have put on someone who is out? Their families know their situation.

People need to get aggressive and litigious with this POS cult!

I appreciate anything anyone does to expose TSCC for what it is - a cult-like corporation masquerading as a religion.

But.

Why announce any kind of 'surprise' on this or any other board when TSCC monitors these sites? Seems to me it would be better to hit them out of nowhere with no warning therby giving them no chance to manipulate the effort.

It's great fun for the rest of us to speculate and anticipate, but it's more frustrtrating when the expectation isn't fulfilled. Just let ALL of us be surprised at once. We can still hoot and holler while TSCC scrambles.

are Mormon leaders defending Ev Mecham retroactively?

Conform & Comply. I'm surprised there isn't a new revelation / D&C section on this (yet).

Which proves once again, that the church really doesn't have very much power rather than their local goon squad. Yes, they can threaten your eternal soul, but that's really about it. Unless you're in the corridor, they're not much of a power.

I think it's more like, the church doesn't have very much power other than what you give to them.

When I read Benson's list of pressures upthread, I had to chuckle a bit. Not one of those actions would be perceived by me as pressure. I wouldn't give a flip in the slightest about any of it. That said, I am not a public figure, nor do I have a Pulizter to uphold the reputation of, and none of my family are mormons aside from my dad and step mom. So I do recognize that each individual has different circumstances that would make some pressures more effective than others on some people.

But really, I think it all boils down to how much you care about some minor cult's opinion of you.

Pretty much. I think if you're in the corridor and have entanglements it's no picnic. But outside of that, they're not much of a threat.

dogzilla Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> When I read Benson's list of pressures upthread, I
> had to chuckle a bit. Not one of those actions
> would be perceived by me as pressure. . . .
>
> But really, I think it all boils down to how much
> you care about some minor cult's opinion of you.


Yes and no.

I think it all boils down to how much some people think they matter to some minor cult.

Persecution complexes aren't always left at the ward building when we leave TSCC.

Unless you walk in someone's shoes, don't underestimate the "pressure" that might result from that person's vocal and public denouncements of Mormonism. "Pressure" describes both the intensity of the person applying the pressure, and the psychological mental state of the person receiving it.

In Steve Benson's case, I have no doubt that both kinds of "pressure" were operative. Keeping Steve Benson quiet is a far more important agenda for Church hierarchy, including involvement of local leaders and family, than stifling you or I, simply because of his stature and visability in both the Mormon and non-Mormon communities. I think you can be sure that such pressure was intense, and not adequately or easily described in a brief written narrative. Moreover, I would not be surprised if Steve experienced intense psychological pressure, which itself had, and may continue to have, deep discomfort and psychological effects, whether identifiable or not.

During the past years, I have had intense disagreements with Steve over numerous issues, some of which resulted in pointedly harsh language by both of us. Nonetheless, I would never diminish Steve's contribution to the ExMormon cause, which is substantial. In the last decade (or 2) I cannot think of anyone who has made more of a contribution in this regard. Whether you like him or not, or agree with him, or not, he has demonstrated courage in taking the public stand that he has, at great personal sacrifice.

Henry Bemis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> he has demonstrated courage in taking the public stand
> that he has, at great personal sacrifice.

Yes, I would agree with that. It's easy for someone like me to take for granted the fact that I have no Mormon family whatsoever.

My family were supportive when I joined and even more supportive when I left. Well, except for my brother, who referred to me as "the Jesus Freak" of the family.

I did lose lifelong friendships, but there was never any pressure for me to remain in the Church.

What makes me not take it for granted is reading what others go through, who come from Mormon backgrounds. It's always heartbreaking to read and makes me very grateful for my own situation.

I couldn't agree more, which was why I was very careful to specify that none of those tactics would work on ME; however, I acknowledged that I do and did not have nearly as much at stake, nor was my grandfather a prophet. I went out of my way to acknowledge that my experience is not Steve's, nor is his mine. So I'm a bit bummed out I didn't make that very clear in my first post. I don't know how I could have stated those sentiments any more explicitly, but there you have it.

I heard it pretty clearly, no worries, it's the internet.

. . . I'm struck by how powerless and pathetic his bloviated efforts were.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2013 01:22PM by steve benson.

They are pathetic, aren't they? Seriously . . .

In that sense, you're right they have no power. I don't give a rats ass about what they say about my eternal salvation. But a multibillion dollar corporation with an army of lawyers tends to have some extra-ecclesiastical power. Joseph Smith obviously realized that threatening enemies with damnation wasn't working out so well so he threw together the danites to take care of what god wouldn't



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2013 01:29PM by Mormoney.

; ' )

Thank you Steve and Tom for giving voice to my silence.

+1

Both of you have the right to give us info when you are in a place you can.

I may not comment on all the posts by you or anointed one, but I read them all.

I am only glad that I didn't attend Exmo, Conference hoping you'd be there. From your history of post, you are under tremendous pressure not disclose anything which might damage the people you love & respect.

It's like me promising my employees Christmas bonuses I have no idea I will have that extra money to do it.

But dare we read this much into Tom's response? And worse, dare we make judgements as a result?

Yes.....I wish I could give more support somehow.....

I hope that whatever the surprise is, that it makes my family stop and think......

Good luck Tom.....I still pray, so I'll keep you in mind.

If all of this were happening 150 years ago, we would soon find ourselves dead in ditches with our "throats cut from ear to ear and the tongue torn out by the root"!

The ONLY thing that has kept the Mormon church "relatively" civil has been the Federal Government and its Bill of Rights that have enabled members and the surrounding society to resist and force the church to change.

Mormonism would never have changed on its own. Why would it self-limit its own power?

Today, Mormonism would be very much like the Taliban if it had not been for brave people like Tom Phillips who have kept the church's abusiveness in check.

Here here.....don't give up Tom.

Thank you Steve for the details. It is just facinating to see how they truly operate when they believe no one will find out. I really appreciate your efforts and Tom's as well to take them on publicly and with such calm dignity. I really hope that Tom is able to reveal whatever it is he has. Thank you!

Thanks for posting that, Steve, since I also missed Tom's reply.

We did figure as much because this is what they've done on other planets (heh heh).

We support our public exmos who have the courage to step forward and take the heat --at great personal cost.

Thank you, Tom and Steve, jesus smith, The Sues, Eric and Cricket, deconstructor, the September Six, Sandra and Jerald Tanner, Dennis and Rauny Higley, Kathy Worthington and dozens if not hundreds of pioneers in the fight for personal integrity and the demand for transparency and honesty in religion.

Tom - if the October surprise turns into a December surprise, or even a 2014 surprise, I am totally ok with that. The monster was not built in a day and we are all just chipping, chipping a way.

One day there will be a tipping point and that rough stone rolling is coming to a halt. They better "hasten the work" because their time is short indeed.

Every person who has raised their voice against Mormonism has stepped in front of that rough stone rolling and risked being trampled. Each one of us is in the REAL war - the war against corruption in the name of religion right here on earth.

We were victims of Mormon indoctrination and can show Mormons there is value in this earthly life, that being married for time is good enough and that no one keeps their children forever.

Thank you for your service.

Anagrammy

Though they tried to keep even me silent, and they succeeded for a time, I am more concerned about those like my DW who are also held because TSCC contains almost everyone she knows even though we are not in the morridor. Outside of TSCC she knows few people while I grew up here and even my law practice has few mo clients so that the people I am in contact with are not Mormon. Even worse, our children here are TBMs and that provides additional pressure on her to remain in TSCC. In a real sense I had it easier even with the strained relations with our children and their spouses.

I think a Great October Surprise to me was the fact the the LDS church is growing and now over 15 mil. but NO NEW TEMPLES were announced. I am too lazy to do the research but seems to me it is rare they fail to announce any new temples. I think it is great news and shows there may be a little stress at the bloated 15 level because of the ongoing apostasy, less tithing and I suspect fewer new adult members coming in the fold!