A Story of American Religion: From Profit to Prophet A. Some famous and influential Mormons a. Glenn Beck b.

Mitt Romney c. Jon Huntsman d. Stephanie Meyers (Twilight said in a whisper) B. Founded in 1830 a. By Joseph Smith b. 13 million adherents c. Has at least doubled every 15 years since 1945 d. Growing at 3% a year. e. Could possibly be 265 million Mormons by 2080 C. Why the growth? a. They live what they believe (think they can become gods) b. Very aggressive in culture c. In a shaky world, people want something solid D. A little bit about Joe a low life scam artist a. Claimed to be a direct descent of Christ (more on that when we discuss the Mormon Jesus) b. Very involved in the occult i. Seer stones ii. Money digging iii. Evil spirits and such c. Founded religion based on a fake angel visitation E. The official version a. 1823 during a revival i. Young Joe was in bed after contemplating joining a denomination b. Angel Moroni (moron with an I i. Told him where to find the book of Mormon

F. The unofficial (a word in this case meaning more true) version (One Nation Under Gods, Richard Abanes) a. Circa 1819/20: Joseph Smith, Sr. and his sons all of whom practice folk magic and embrace believes associated with occultism become involved in money-digging b. 1822: Joe Jr. discovers a chocolate-colored stone in a well he helps dig for the Chase family. Smith begins using it as a seer stone to locate buried treasure, stolen goods, and silver/gold deposits. He and his family continue to practice divination and rural folk magic. c. 1822-24: Joes reputation as a money-digger, fortunate-teller, and seer spread throughout NY and PA d. 1825: Joe is now being regularly hired by persons who what him to find buried treasures through his occult skills. Josiah Stowell contracts Joe to locate silver mine near Harmony, PA. e. 1826: Joe continues money-digging in NY until his is arrested, tried, and convicted as a glass-looker (misdemeanor). f. 1826-27: Joe begins spreading a story about an 1823/24 dream wherein he learned from a bloody ghost about the secret location of some golden plates hidden in a hill. The plates supposedly contain information relation got the location of buried treasure. g. 1828/30: The bloody ghost dream gradually develops into a vision of a spirit, then into a vision of an angel, then into a vision of an angel named Nephi and/or Moroni. Finally, in September 1827, Joe allegedly retrieves the plates. He subsequently changes his story, eventually claiming the plates are actually a theoretical treatise (i.e., a speculation) about Americas ancient inhabitants. Joe soon attributes religious significance to them, which in turn motivates him to use the volume to attract a religions following. G. Book Mormon a. Written in Reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics i. Showed a sample of them to renowned scholar Charles Anthon who, according to Smith, confirmed their legitimacy ii. In a letter written by Anthon in 1834 he said, The whole story about my having pronounced the Mormonite inscription to be reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics is perfectly falsethe paper contained anything else but Egyptian hieroglyphics. iii. Mormons continue to circulate the Anthon story b. Translated by Joe with a stone and a hat i. Only he had the ability to read ii. Unlike the Bible It has all been proven to be false H. Lesson for us a. Know you Bible b. Be skeptical c. Where Mormonism has been proven to false on countless occasions, Christianity has been proven true