VANITY: Elizabeth Smart got me thinking--what's up with Mormons?

[Feline_AIDS]

The following is the short version of how I recently discovered Mormonism is nothing like I thought it was.

A few weeks ago, ABC announced that former kidnapping and rape victim Elizabeth Smart would join them as a commenter on kidnapping cases around the country. With the memory of Casey Anthony lingering in my head, I thought, I'll youtube Elizabeth Smart and see what kind of smooth talker she is to be asked to do this. What I found was a beautiful, poised, graceful woman who would never stoop to entering a "hot body contest" like Casey Anthony, but certainly not one I would have guessed would become a news commenter. Those people are expected to repeat facts we've all already heard at least 2374828 times before, only in a more "impactful" way. She seems like the type not to speak unless she has something to say, which is a great and rare quality, however it's certainly not what we expect to see on TV.

So I started googling. I was 16 when Elizabeth Smart was abducted, too young to be scared or concerned because Utah was across the country and if my mother's constant warnings had reflected any shadow of reality, people were abducted left and right all the time anyway.

I read Elizabeth Smart's (ES) testimony in Brian David Mitchell's (BDM) competency hearing, BDM's first interview with police in Sandy, Utah, Wanda Barzee's testimony at BDM's trial, ES's testimony at BDM's trial, ES's statement at BDM's sentencing, the testimony of a head doctor at BDM's competency hearing, and a few articles written soon after ES was found.

As I read, I realized that I knew very little about Mormonism, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I knew they believed in odd things, Jesus visiting America after his resurrection for example, but that was the extent of my knowledge. (Oh, also a family story: When the Mormons came through South Carolina in the late 1800s, they told one of my relatives that he could have two or more wives if he became a Mormon and went to Utah. He tried to get his current wife to go with him, but she wasn't having it, and he went by himself. He returned a year or two later claiming that the new wives they had given him were combined not as pretty as the wife he already had in South Carolina. She took him back.)

After some more googling, I learned that Mormons believe the following (not exhaustive):

-God has a physical body

-God was once a man, and men on Earth can become equal to God

-God lives near the star Kolob

-God is accompanied by a goddess (or goddesses), who is too holy to talk about, and possibly more powerful/holy than God himself

-Jesus and Satan were brothers

-Jesus was married

-Good Mormons will be rewarded for their works by getting their own planet over which they'll have dominion just like God has over us

-The Bible is imperfectly translated and cannot be trusted

-A tribe of Jews came to North America and perpetuated a HUGE advanced civilization of millions of people (for which there is zero archeological evidence)

-The good tribe was annihilated by the bad tribe in one giant battle in New York state that killed 2+ million people

-The LDS church is controlled by a group of people who receive "revelations" about what to do

-The LDS church has a president whose revelations frequently alter or update church doctrine

(Here's where I'll say that not all Mormons believe these things, because they probably just don't know. Similarly, lots of people who attend my Presbyterian church probably know little about Calvin or what we disagree with other Christians about. Mormons have a policy that some on exmormon.org called "Milk before meat," meaning new members/converts are not told all these beliefs until they are very deeply involved in the church.)

This was quite surprising to me. Mormons are polytheists. Mormonism, I suppose, is actually closer to Islam than it is to Christianity. Islam is defined by the Koran, which is essentially the "final chapter" of the story begun in the Bible. The Book of Mormon is also a "final chapter" of the story begun in the Bible. Both of them radically alter Christianity to the point that it is nothing like it.

Now how does this relate to Elizabeth Smart? She and her Mormon family met her abductor when he was panhandling in SLC. Her mother gave him some money and IIRC, asked if he needed work. Little did she know he was scoping out candidates for the 14-year-old wives he had received a revelation to take. ES's family had him come work on their home. Perhaps you could call this Christian charity, and perhaps that's what it is. But part of me wonders if, since Mormonism is largely a works-based salvation model, their willingness to help BDM was bolstered by the need to do good works. I don't think this equates to blame--not even close. But it might help explain why they invited a drifter they didn't know to come work on a roof where skylights provided a view of the floorplan leading to their daughter's bedroom. I read some past posts on FR about the BDM trial, and the consensus among Freepers commenting was 1) the father, Ed Smart, is ultra creepy, and 2) it was his fault for inviting a bum to work on the house. The declarations of "creepiness" of the father are unfair, I think, because he was the police's #1 suspect at first, he was emotional, his daughter had been kidnapped from the seemingly safe home he had provided for her, and he knew she was probably going through hell. He deserves credit for keeping her story in the news while she was gone and for not giving up hope that she was alive. The fault here belongs to BDM and Wanda Barzee, his wife and accomplice.

To her credit, Elizabeth Smart testified she never believed that BDM was receiving revelations from God, and she never thought he was the prophet he claimed to be. (Lots of people wondered why she didn't run since she was out in public. She testified repeatedly that BDM told her that he would kill her, or if she escaped, her family. He knew people who could do it for him if he was taken to jail. And he was able to get in her house to take her, so why shouldn't she believe the rest?) But Mormonism leaves the door open to these people--these false prophets, one of whom was Joseph Smith himself. BDM was a rapist and a pedophile and deserves to die for his crimes, I think. (He won't--he got a life sentence in his federal trial. Fun BDM anecdote from Wanda Barzee's testimony: He killed his stepdaughter's pet rabbit and fed it to her, telling her it was chicken.) But he was also imitating the theological behavior that the LDS church was founded on. Reading what Wanda Barzee, BDM's wife, said as she testified only confirmed this. Barzee was mentally unstable, but she was also a devout LDS follower. She believed in this culture of latter-day saints and revelations, and it was that belief that enabled her to follow BDM and believe his revelations about plural wives, alcohol, drugs, and the rape of a 14-year-old girl.

The Latter-Day Saints model is a clever design, really. Christianity, "when it happened," physically benefitted no one. Mormonism benefitted Joseph Smith. Christians know that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that they are saved by grace; there is nothing they can do to earn their salvation. But the LDS Church informs members of "callings," which are works they must perform to remain in good standing. The LDS church has a steady supply of indentured workers laboring desperately for their salvation.

I'm not surprised that something like this exists; I'm surprised that so many people are hoodwinked by the story Joseph Smith made up. Sure, you could say that Christianity is just a story someone made up, too. But the Bible is a historical document that references real people, real people groups, and real places. The Book of Mormon is a fairytale.

Back to Elizabeth Smart: I hope she lives a full and happy life. I genuinely like her and her attitude. I want her to succeed as an ABC correspondent. It was evident from her testimony that she has put the past where it belongs and is moving on with her life, and that is something that I am thrilled to see. She is refusing to be a victim, and is instead claiming ownership over herself and her life. Good for her. I hope when she becomes a goddess, she gets a nice planet like earth to rule over, and not some frozen chunk of ice like Pluto.

-- Sites that I visited while considering these things:

Elizabeth Smart's testimony in BDM's competency hearing http://media.trb.com/media/acrobat/2009-10/49605279.pdf

BDM's sentencing hearing http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=15696692

Elizabeth Smart's testimony part 1 http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50632966-76/smart-viti-yes-elizabeth.html.csp

part 2 http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50639245-76/smart-viti-yes-cable.html.csp

part 3 http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50647494-76/elizabeth-mitchell-smart-viti.html.csp

Wanda Barzee's testimony in BDM trial http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50704089-76/steele-barzee-mcknight-mitchell.html.csp

http://exmormon.org/ and http://www.exmormon.org/phorum/

Lifting the Veil of Polygamy - Documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-iIOWOblW0

The Bible vs The Book of Mormon - Documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTtq62XQ4jw&feature=relmfu

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

[TheOldLady]

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[repub4ever1]

Again, I am looking at the present day situation as context. Mormons of the past certainly could be branded as non-tolerant of other religions. Even though Romney & Huntsman are at the exact bottom of my preferences in 2012, I am not fearing their presidency as threatening to my religion.

Peace!

[Gamecock]

***If none of above is true, then I am not in the least bit concerned about Mormons.***

Will the Mormon religion send it’s adherents to Hell? (yes)