Dear Editor,
What do you think of when you here the word "Mormon?" Melissa Shoaf brought up a good point in her Tuesday "Your Turn."
Most people do not know much about Mormonism at all. So I would like to clarify a few things. Many people in the United States believe Mormonism to be a denomination of Christianity. However, they do not know much about the religion. Most Christian authorities classify Mormonism as a cult. You can find information on Mormonism at the Christian Book Store under the cult section.
So what is Mormonism? Joseph Smith, its founder, grew up in New York in the early 19th century. There was a large revival in which he was supposedly saved. He then went into the woods to pray about which church to go to.
There are three to six versions of what happen after this. One version says he saw Jesus, and Jesus told him that all the religions were wrong, and he had to re-establish the correct religion. Another version says he saw God and Jesus, while yet another says he just read the Bible and came to this conclusion on his own. Many of these different versions he wrote himself, showing his lack of credibility. Joseph went on to supposedly translate many ancient texts, including a supposed lost book from Egypt written by a prominent Old Testament figure that he saw in a traveling museum.
This scroll has since been translated by four Egyptologists, separately, showing that Joseph Smith did not translate a single word correctly. It was shown, however, that he plagiarized his entire "translation" from the Egyptian Book of Breathing.
To move on, yes, there was polygamy. It was outlawed by the President of the church in 1890. The President, or Prophet, of the Mormon Church has the power to overrule any doctrine from any other Prophet, even from God's word. When the United States threatened to not allow Utah statehood, the President of the church suddenly "had a revelation from God that they should not practice polygamy."
Pretty convenient revelation, I think. But don't just take my word on it. Go to a Christian bookstore like Family Christian Store or Halo's and find literature about this. Then, the next time someone asks you who Mormons are, you'll know what to say.
Bryan Fortriede
Student
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