July 2015

Second Edition Update to Chapter 16

Helen Radkey entered the limelight following her work which exposed the fact that the Mormon Church reneged on its agreement to discontinue posthumously baptising Jews who had been victims of the holocaust. She also reported that the Church had baptised such people as members of the Hitler family; the serial killer, Ted Bundy; and Pope John Paul II. Helen was banned from the Salt Lake Family History Library. She posted the two following reports which shed additional and interesting light on the position of Mormon Fundamentalists in relation to the mainstream Mormon Church, on 2 June 2009.

The Mormon Church And Polygamy: A Double Standard?

SALT LAKE CITY- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints excommunicates any church member who practices polygamy. The Church has publicly disowned Mormon fundamentalists, representing the sects of Mormonism which embrace early Mormon teachings that made polygamy a central part of the Mormon faith-the ongoing legacy of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism.

While the LDS Church says it does not sanction polygamy, behind closed temple doors, and in Mormon databases, many excommunicated Mormon fundamentalists (and their plural wives) have been reclaimed through posthumous rituals for the dead-and, in numerous cases, posthumously reinstated through “resurrected” original LDS ordinances, including baptisms.

Reinventing its polygamous history, the Church is ushering deceased excommunicated Mormon fundamentalists-such as Rulon Clark Allred; Rulon Timpson Jeffs; and members of the LeBaron clan, including notorious killer, Ervil Morell LeBaron-back into the LDS fold.

The LDS temple system is systematically validating the plural marriages of many deceased Mormon fundamentalists who, when they were alive, were excommunicated from the LDS Church because of polygamy. Some of these polygamists have been posthumously sealed in LDS temples to plural wives they married-after the LDS Church officially suspended polygamy.

Why does the LDS Church condemn the practice of polygamy-including the polygamy of Mormon fundamentalists-as the LDS temple system consistently validates deceased Mormon fundamentalists and many of their plural marriages?

Mormon Fundamentalists From The Lists Of The LDS Posthumously Baptized.

The International Genealogical Index (IGI) is an index of posthumous ordinances compiled by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The IGI can currently be found online at Family Search.

All who pretend or assume to engage in plural marriage in this day, when the one holding the keys has withdrawn the power by which they are performed, are guilty of gross wickedness. Bruce R. McConkie-Mormon Doctrine Second Edition.

…Rulon [Allred] said, “We are not able to get into [their] temples, brothers and sisters, because they have us locked out. We’re not welcome in their [LDS] churches; we’re a bunch of scalawags because we believe in the fullness of the gospel…” Ben Bradlee, Jr. & Dale Van Atta-Prophet of Blood: The Untold Story of Ervil LeBaron and the Lambs of God.

A sample list of (20) names of Mormon fundamentalists from the IGI:
(IGI) Baptisms Individual wives listed.

Rulon Clark Allred (1906-1977) 5 4
John Yeates (Yates) Barlow (1874-1949) 4 4
Joseph Leslie Broadbent (1891-1935) 2 3
Rulon Timpson Jeffs (1909-2002) 1 1
Joseph Smith Jessop (1869-1953) 5 2
Joseph Lyman Jessop (1892-1963) 3 3
Fredrick Meade Jessop (1910-2005) 1 0
Leroy Sunderland Johnson (1888-1986) 2 1
Charles William Kingston (1884-1975) 3 1
Alma Dayer LeBaron (1886-1951) 2 3
Benjamin Teasdale LeBaron (1913-1978) 2 0
Ross Wesley LeBaron (1914-1996) 1 0
Joel Franklin LeBaron (1923-1972) 2 0
Ervil Morrell (Morel) LeBaron (1925-1981) 2 1
Verlan McDonald LeBaron (1930-1981) 3 1
Joseph White Musser (1872-1954) 5 3
Gerald Wilbur Peterson, Sr. (1917-1981) 1 0
John Wickersham Woolley (1831-1928) 9 4
Lorin Calvin Woolley (1856-1934) 9 1
Charles Frederick Zitting (1894-1954) 3 5

The two articles quoted, along with other posts by Helen Radkey, including more on the Mormon Church’s broken promise to the Jewish community, can be located at Mormon Curtain.

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The above information is now included in all versions of Volume 1. Since publication of the Second Edition, I have added a little extra information to Appendix H regarding the Articles of Faith. This is an update of the content:

Appendix H

The Articles of Faith.

The Articles of Faith are thirteen statements of belief that Mormons generally perceive to have been coined by Joseph Smith. They were derived from some earlier statements, which were actually penned and published by Orson Pratt in 1840, in his pamphlet; An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions. Smith, as usual in his writings, simply plagiarised them, adjusting them to suit his own requirements. He first published them as his in Times and Seasons, Vol. 3, 15 Mar 1842:709-710. See: The Changing Articles of Faith by Sandra Tanner, online resource available at UTLM; also: Tanner 1991:27-28.

Oliver Cowdery wrote a version in the Latter Day Saints Messenger and Advocate in October 1834 and later, Joseph Young, brother of Brigham Young, had a go at writing some articles while proselyting in Boston in 1836. Orson Hyde later wrote some that were similar to Orson Pratt’s version, when he was in Frankfurt, Germany in 1842, in his German language pamphlet ‘A Cry From the Wilderness’. It was in the same year that Smith wrote the Wentworth letter.

Mormons will be familiar with the thirteen articles being in the Wentworth Letter sent to ‘Long’ John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat. A review of the articles will provide some perspective on the religious beliefs and standards of moral behaviour that Church leaders and members were, and are, supposedly obliged to live by, compared with the actual behaviour of Church leaders in the early church as well as today.

The first eleven articles concern aspects of Mormon belief. The last two are important, as they deal with expected behavior. The Church believes in being subject to civic leaders and not just obeying but also sustaining the law. They also believe in being honest and chaste among other things.

The Articles Of Faith have had minor changes over the years. They can be located in History of the Church, Vol. 4:535-41 and the Pearl of Great Price.

THE ARTICLES OF FAITH

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not gor Adam’s transgression.
We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive
Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul – We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous,and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that wefollow the admonition of Paul – We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

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Volume 1: Addendum.

July 2015. (The last polygamous child).

Page 214 of The Mormon Delusion, Volume 1, contains the following statement:

“Apparently, the last polygamous child known to have been born within the Church was not born until 1931. Henry Smith Tanner married plural wife Colombia Eden Richards on 1 February 1909. Colombia’s child, David Smith Tanner, was born on 19 April 1931 when at least three of Tanner’s five wives were still alive, according to B. Carmon Hardy (1992:419). Whilst Henry died in 1935, all five wives were actually alive at the time of David’s birth and also his death, according to some Family Search records. David is recorded as dying in 1954 at age twenty-three, all five of Henry Tanner’s wives passing on later, between 1958 and 1980.”

Elsewhere, on pages 274, 297, 306, 324 & 348, Volume 1 confirms that such details are just a guide giving a likely picture and they may not all be entirely accurate. “Family Search… family links checked, dating can be very unreliable… Genealogical information sometimes conflicts and details included are those deemed most likely correct… Accuracy of information… is estimated at about 90%.”

David Smith Tanner turns out to be a case in point. It transpires that the Family Search record claiming that David died in 1954 is actually incorrect – he did not die at that time as recorded in Family Search. I was recently contacted by a family member who has confirmed that David and his older sister, Roselyn, are in fact currently living children of Henry Smith Tanner. I was delighted to discover that the last known polygamous child did not die in 1954 after all and am pleased to report that following a long career practicing dentistry in San Jose, California and Sandy, Utah, as of June 2015, David is still alive and well at age 84 and living in Salk Lake City, Utah.

Following the United States Supreme Court ruling, giving civil recognition to same-sex marriage relationships, on June 29th the First Presidency felt the need to issue a letter reconfirming its stand against homosexuality (as if we didn’t already know). It asks all bishops to meet with “all adults, young men, and young women on either July 5 or July 12 in a setting other than sacrament meeting and read them the entire statement.” Don’t members already understand such a well established doctrine? A copy of the letter and ‘background material’ can be located at ‘Life After Mormonism.’ (Click ‘next’ to continue reading).

It occurred to me that if the Mormon god really does provide any modern day revelation – surely he really should have advised his earthly leaders that this would happen long before they made themselves look extremely stupid, not to mention morally censurable, by illegally trying to manipulate the Prop. 8 vote in California and getting fined $5,000 for their trouble (see June 2013 note below), and equally as illegally plotting against sexual equality in Hawaii (see November and December 2013 notes below) – to save them from such embarrassment. Clearly, he doesn’t and he didn’t! These previous Church sponsored activities also fly in the face of a statement in the new letter “The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to love and treat all people with kindness and civility—even when we disagree.” Hypocrisy is in full flow. California and Hawaii were anything but kind and civil actions. Pretending ‘tolerance’ after such blatant prior attempts to stop modernisation of the law in a reasoned manner is reprehensible in the extreme, especially when it has absolutely no effect on faithful Mormons. In typical Mormon fashion, the Church tried to influence the law, so non-Mormons would have to adhere to its own antiquated and claimed biblical ideology, but of course, would still love them.

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During June, I was contacted by a descendant of the Henry Smith Tanner family who provided interesting information about the ‘last polygamous child’ I wrote about in The Mormon Delusion Volume 1. During my 2006 research on Family Search, I had concluded that David Smith Tanner (possibly the last LDS polygamous child), had died in 1954. This turns out not to be the case after all and he is in fact still alive and well. I am most grateful for the information and the following addendum has now been published.

Volume 1: Addendum. (Scroll down to ‘The last polygamous child’).

Page 214 of The Mormon Delusion, Volume 1, contains the following statement:

David Smith Tanner turns out to be a case in point. It transpires that the Family Search record claiming that David died in 1954 is actually incorrect – he did not die at that time as recorded in Family Search. I was recently contacted by a family member who has confirmed that David, and his older sister, Roselyn, are in fact currently living children of Henry Smith Tanner. I was delighted to discover that the last known polygamous child did not die in 1954 after all and am pleased to report that following a long career practicing dentistry in San Jose, California and Sandy, Utah, as of June 2015, David is still alive and well at age 84 and living in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Author’s note: David Smith Tanner died peacefully on 20th January 2021.

Month: July 2015

Additions to TMD Volume 1