First, he was finding treasures with stones
Then he said that he was visited by god
Then he wrote TBOM
Then he had all thes visions and revelations
Then he was trying to get to ladis and girls saying that god would kill him, them, or their family if they wouldnt accept.
All this an so much more...

I just can't believe how was he able to fool so many people. Too many red flags to ignore. How is possible that a church founded by such a liar is still alive???

Smith actually fooled very few people in his day, but it was enough to get his cult up and running. The fantasy he invented was revised and handed down through the generations. The thing is still alive because cult tactics such as lovebombing, shunning, and fearmongering are very effective in controlling the members.

canadianfriend Wrote:
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> Smith actually fooled very few people in his day,


That is some solid perspective on the matter.

MORmONISM only makes sense to MORmONS!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rOPRdjrlJE

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woo




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Joseph Smith original circle of friends were an oily bunch of con men and women (think Emma and his mother Lucy here) who were willing to say ANYTHING to con a dollar out of an homest man.

As their little core of thieves grew and the proto church began to emerge they turned their sites to missionary tactics to recruit new members with fresh financial resources. The missionaries used every deceptive tactic known to encourage immigrant growth. They wanted new money, to be sure, but the poor were just as welcome do to the voting power each new citizen gave Smith in growing political ambitions. Those with assets were told to bring them along. The destitute were told to come also as this new Zion had so much abundance to share, there was ample to give every man a fresh start in life.

That was the dream. Unfortunately, there was no truth to the sales pitch. Once the new recruit and his family reached the new promised land he was expected to consecrate all his wealth to the care of Joseph Smith and friends and receive back only "sufficient" for his needs. And if said recruit and family were still in need, they were then instructed that everything really belonged to God including the personal possessions of the Gentiles who refused to tithe unto the Lord. So claiming the possessions of the "unrighteous" was not to be considered stealing, but rather claiming what is God's as long as a tenth is "consecrated" to the Mormon church.

Thus began a process of natural selection. Those for whom the Mormon practice of "Consecration" was found abhorrent either fled, or were murdered by the increasingly powerful Mormon band of secret police/thugs called the Danites before they could spread the word to outsiders on how things really worked in "Zion."

The website https://launiusr.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/mormon-nauvoo-and-the-problem-of-theft-of-non-mormon-property/ is just one of many discussing the problems locals had to put up with Mormons stealing everything not nailed down.

For an outsider's view of Nauvoo, including his fear of being murdered at the hands of the Mormons "The City of the Mormons, or Three Days at Nauvoo" by Henry Caswall is a fascinating read that can be found in PDF at http://www.truthandgrace.com/The_city_of_the_Mormons.pdf

So, in conclusion, Mormonism is the product of natural selection. The needy, the weak, the corrupt stay within the ranks of Mormonism, while those with integrity who do eventually figure out the scam escape, or die trying.

Very interesting. Thanks for the comment and good info.

When on my mission, I would occasionally meet someone "interested" who, as it turned out, was really only interested in receiving mormon welfare.

Judging by their subsequent lack of total commitment to Mormonism, I've often thought that perhaps my pioneer ancestors really only became Mormons to obtain perpetual emigration funds and get to America.

I have often thought this, too--why else was the church so popular in England and Scandinavia? I think that people joined for opportunity, a chance at land, and to get out of a dead-end social system in some cases.

With the promise of the West and the potential to be your own person and do your own thing (to some degree), why wouldn't you join?

I love that song. Neil Diamond's best ever!

Great link. Thanks ASteve for posting it.

Godzilla Wrote:
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> First, he was finding treasures with stones
> Then he said that he was visited by god

Nein Nein Nein Nein Nein, this is mormon mythology - he actually made this story up long after the BOM was invented



> Then he wrote TBOM
> Then he had all thes visions and revelations
> Then he was trying to get to ladis and girls
> saying that god would kill him, them, or their
> family if they wouldnt accept.
> All this an so much more...
>
> I just can't believe how was he able to fool so
> many people. Too many red flags to ignore. How is
> possible that a church founded by such a liar is
> still alive???

If you will look you will see that there was a time when there were as many people leaving as there were joining.

he was sooooooo full of bovine defication

Didn't one of the leaders later comment that after the Kirkland Bank fiasco you couldn't find five individuals that believed in Joseph Smith? I think it was Heber C. Kimball.

Smith only had to dupe the dupe who fathered the dupe who fathered the dupe who fathered the dupe who is my father.

No other dupe-licity than that was needed, I reckon.

Remember; they were run outta every fuggin town they landed in.

The wild wild wild west allowed Breedum to create a commune that was insulated from antagonists.