Mormonism, Mormonism, what shall we do with it? How many lives has it touched for both good and evil? God help us as we judge this unusual religion, that we judge accurately and wisely. The last thing I want to do is offend anyone, or cause people to argue and fight emotionally in a spirit of anger about our Maker. I provide this chapter to LDS and non-LDS as a way to open up the mind to a new and different model to view Mormonism through. The mind is an interesting tool. Each of us has different perspectives and viewpoints that we’ve believed that we look at the world through. The Anti-Mormons have a lens and so do active Latter-day Saints, and these two perspectives are generally so far apart, there is no agreement or reconciling of thought between the two extremes. Joseph Smith was either a prophet of God or he was not. Joseph Smith either saw God and the angels gave him the gold plates; or he lied, and Mormonism is the biggest fraud on this planet. This either/or thinking is the view that is generally held by both sides of the debate, and I’m going to challenge these black and white viewpoints. For 170 years we have all watched black and white Mormonism. I’m interested in changing TV sets. I propose we add color and view the truth from a multi-dimension perspective as it was created to be viewed, and not based on old models that stifle individual creativity and growth. To do this we must see the black and white perspective and contrast it to what can be an alternative explanation to the entire LDS story of Joseph Smith.

Where do we start in our efforts to examine Mormonism from a perspective that will stop the bickering and fighting over which religion is true? How do we stop the negativity generated by fear and misunderstanding regarding this unusual religion that claims exclusive salvation and revelatory gifts? What mental glasses can we put on to see it the way God may view it?

May I suggest we start with a most controversial subject of the religion? Nothing will get the heart pounding faster and the adrenaline flowing freely than mentioning the fact that Joseph Smith married 27 women, while in our second breath, we claim he saw and spoke with God. This extreme contrast, even for many active Mormons, creates a mental jolt that leaves the brain spinning into never-never land. It is so out of the ordinary experience of common people, we just simply can not relate to it. It immediately puts Joseph Smith into a realm of experience that few can even consider reality. So, how do we bring these impossible extremes back down to a level that all can see and understand a possible reconciling model? It is so emotionally charged with sex and visions of possible misconduct and deception, achieving this goal to seem like an impossible task. It appears that such and endeavor would end in ruin.

Nevertheless, God is faithful. The truth, when confronted, is not as unfriendly as we might think. It is only our own narrow-mindedness and lack of truly being empathetic with the views of others that causes reactionary impulses and quick judgements that make Mormonism a fireball of explosive conflict. And it is the black and white TV lens that most have been given that creates this explosion. Joseph Smith was either a prophet of God, or he fabricated the whole story of angels and God, thus deceiving innocent women and members for money and sex. That viewpoint is enough to start World-War III between Mormons and non-Mormons. And yet, rather than trying to find another model, people choose to remain the same, trying to control the unusual feelings of rage, confusion, and unloving feelings that the either/or reasoning creates.

Is there a better way to judge? Absolutely!

But In order to do change, the Mormons are going to have to stretch their thinking and viewpoints as well as the non-Mormon. In some cases, the LDS testimony might snap like a rubber band, and I’m sensitive to my writing this book knowing the pressures it may cause on some. Nevertheless, the either/or thinking simply is not true, and we must face the reality of the truth, or continue to be blinded by false premises.

In order to change models that are false, we must look at facts and reality. The mind must disconnect from biases and feelings and use the intellect to change our direction. Although this process can be painful and disturbing to some, nevertheless we must consider and face our false ideas directly, or we can not change.

In my transition out of Mormonism, I looked at many factors. One of these factors was the effect of plural marriage on the LDS Church, and particularly, how it affected the lives of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon. God provided three witnesses to testify about the Book of Mormon, I reasoned, and all three witnesses turned against Joseph Smith, his plural marriages, and his esoteric priesthood doctrines. So in straight numbers, that put the odds 3 to 1 that Joseph was wrong. Emma Smith, the prophet’s wife, decided to turn away from Brigham Young after her husband’s murder, adamantly denying Joseph Smith even practiced plural marriage. This brings the odds up even higher that Joseph Smith had erred. Wouldn’t the prophet’s own wife and family discern the truth? I believe this is half-obvious evidence of the hand of God sending subtle messages to the LDS people, if they would but choose to see it.

I saw the message, and I responded to the "evidence" before me. God willing, I hopped on a plane to Sweden to complete the objective I had set for myself. I wanted to unravel the mystery of Mormonism that had caused me unbelievable confusion and heartache for two decades. I met Christopher Warren, an ex-Mormon and religious theologian of sorts, and I found him to be an unobtrusive and sincere person. He had the answers I was looking for. He is the founder of the New Covenant Church of God, which provided a smooth transition from Mormonism to Biblical Christianity. The New Covenant Church of God allowed me to keep the things that are true in the LDS faith, but discard the errors. The Olive Branch, which is a book of compiled revelations, dreams, and visions from the Lord, was the meat I had been hungering after, and which I needed. I had pretty much grown out of the LDS paradigms, and it was time to move on. The Lord opened up a path for me, and I took it, and I have been greatly blessed by the decision. When I returned from Sweden, I immediately began writing down my unique views of Mormonism, culminating in this formation of this book.

Before I left for Sweden, I had concluded Joseph Smith was a fallen prophet based on several factors, but mainly on the testimony of the three witnesses and plural marriage. Don’t misunderstand. I believe plural marriage has a proper place in the scriptures. I believe Abraham, and Moses, and many of the prophets in the Bible we permitted to practice this principle for purposes known to God. The issue is not whether it is a true or false principle. It is the compulsive way Joseph Smith implemented the practice that caused him to err. Had he been truly commanded like Abraham to practice the principle, then such would have been justified by God. But he did not receive this command. And I will explain the keys to discern that his actions were not from God.

I read the Book of Mormon, and I understood more clearly the workings of the Lord:

“Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none; For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts. Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord, or cursed be the land for their sakes. For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.” (Jacob 2:27-30.)

The Holy Spirit touched my mind. According to their own recorded beliefs, God sent the LDS people to a "cursed land" or the “barren desert” of Salt Lake Valley for specifically practicing plural marriage without His permission. Jacob 2:29 was fulfilled to the letter. And I saw God subtly rebuking the Latter-day Saints for following Joseph Smith’s compulsive view of plural marriage--not that the principle was false, but that the spirit which Joseph Smith implemented it was wrong.

In addition to the three witnesses, Emma Smith left her final testimony that her husband erred by not joining Brigham Young in the West. She adamantly denied to herself, her family, and to others that her husband had ever entertained such notions. Her denial is demonstrates how strongly she opposed plural marriage. The incorrect implementation of plural marriage had severed the Church into fragments and Brigham Young had INNOCENTLY followed Joseph Smith into error, thus propagating a false perspective of plural marriage into the LDS Church. Marriages “sealed” by the LDS priesthood in an LDS temple ceremony. It went beyond personal conscience. The Church trusted the LDS priesthood instead of their own inner light and common sense.

So, the LDS Church is a good lesson on how NOT to practice plural marriage. For example, Joseph having 27 wives is evidence something was wrong. Isaiah 4:1 teaches a number of seven wives and not multitudes like Joseph or Brigham. Abraham and Moses had even less than seven. And having “hundreds” of dead women sealed to prophets in the LDS temple certainly violates the principle of agency, since a dead woman can not voice an opinion in the matter, wouldn’t you agree? Also, notice the pattern in Isaiah 4:1—it is the woman’s desire to participate in plural marriage, not the man. This is very interesting. Look:

“And in that day seven women shall take hold of on man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” (Isaiah 4:1)

Was this the pattern of Joseph and Brigham? Or was the spirit of implementation closer to the false pattern in Noah’s day recorded in Genesis 6:1 before God destroyed all flesh with the flood?

“And it came to pass, when the men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters of men were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they TOOK THEM WIVES OF ALL THEY CHOSE.” (Gen 6:1-2.)

The sons of God were fallen angels that mated with the daughters of men and created a race of giants called the “Nephilim” [meaning Nephis or Nephites]. These fallen angels brought a counterfeit gospel; they taught we are “sons and daughters of God” by spiritual genetics. Assuming that the “sons of God” came from the same pool of “intelligence” that God evolved from, we can also through our free agency become gods and goddesses through “eternal progression”. It is a theory of spiritual evolution of sorts. Part of this philosophy is taking plural wives to increase our kingdoms in the after life, thus duplicating what the LDS theology taught at the time of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Because of the intensity and pervasiveness of the false light of the Nephilim across the earth at the time of Noah, God sent the flood to destroy all living flesh.

I hope this message sinks in. The true order of plural marriage is recorded in Isaiah 4:1. As such, it is the women who have the desire to practice the principle, not the man. The Latter-day Saints ought to study the principle of plural marriage in the Bible and compare the extreme differences in the practices of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Why would God give Joseph Smith a 14-year-old girl to be wed? She didn’t really want to, but Joseph went to her father, and her father explained the principle to the daughter, and she agreed? Emma was compelled to practice this principle against her will. An angel threatened Joseph Smith with a drawn sword if he did not implement the practice into the LDS Church.

Is this compulsive spirit the approach found in Isaiah 4:1 or the spirit of Genesis 6:1? Isn’t it clear which of the two spirits Joseph Smith was operating under? Latter-day Saints may close their eyes to the issue, but nevertheless, the facts are plainly there for all to investigate.

• 1) Joseph Smith practiced the plural marriage in secret, contrary to the church covenants of receiving commandments and direction in the church by “common consent” of the members.

• 2) Joseph Smith lied in public that he practiced plural marriage.

• 3) The Doctrine and Covenants, the LDS scriptures, included a commandment to the LDS Church to have but one wife, which was not removed many years after the Church moved to Salt Lake City and replaced by the revelation on plural marriage Joseph Smith recorded in 1843.

• 4) Joseph Smith offered to let Emma have more than one husband as a “test” of her faith.

• 5) Joseph Smith “tested” several brethren by asking them to give them his wife.

• 6) The three witnesses and Emma Smith disagreed with Joseph Smith.

• 7) Joseph Smith married a 14-year-old girl.

Let me relate a personal experience to illustrate how careful we must be in judging this matter. My ten-year-old daughter had a friend give her a "silver dollar", and she brought it too me smiling like a Cheshire cat. "Look, Dad, my friend gave me 100% pure silver dollar!" Her face gleamed with happiness, pleased that her friend loved her enough to give her such a valuable, pure silver coin.

But when I looked closely at the coin, I saw it was only silver-plated copper. What was I to do? Should I tell my young daughter that her prize was NOT 100% pure silver? Should I burst her bubble and break her heart? No. At her young age, it would not be wise. It didn’t matter that much. So I let her believe as she did, and she loved her friend for it. She would grow up and learn the truth on her own, I reasoned.

Joseph Smith was just like my young daughter. Joseph Smith trusted his angel friends. Indeed, an angel threatened his life with a sword to implement the plural marriage into the LDS Church. So, Joseph believed the principle could be compelled on Emma, falling for the half-true principle of the Nephilim angel, praising the Lord for the love he thought had been shown to him. But God, for purposes known only to Him, allowed Joseph to believe his angel friend had given him a 100% “pure silver” theology. Like my daughter, Joseph wanted to believe what he did, even though it was not the “complete” truth. Do we understand? We need to be very, very careful on how we judge Joseph Smith and God’s working with him. God always gets things to go His way in the end, and the Mormon story is not over yet. All of God’s purposes will unfold over time.

And in terms of BrighamYoung? It was the same. He trusted his closest friend, Joseph Smith. Brigham loved Joseph and nearly worshipped the ground he walked on. He trusted his priesthood and teachings implicitly, not deviating one inch from Joseph's plans nor original doctrines. But Brigham Young also had been given a silver-coated copper theology, which was half-true. Neither did God desire to reveal the error to him, for God prepared the Salt Lake Valley for the Mormon people, for future purposes known only to Him.

Now back to my daughter. Rather than telling my daughter the truth, I chose to just let her grow up and figure it out herself. So, I was silent about the coin. She probably wouldn’t have believed me anyway. She loved her friend. If I had forced my view on her, she would have started crying and been upset, and she may not have believed me anyway. What good would it do? Besides she would figure it out on her own in time anyway.

I believe that is exactly what God is doing with the Mormons. Gradually, as more and more information is disseminated through available sources, particularly the Internet, and for those LDS who are truly seeking Jesus, they will realize that Mormonism is a silver-coated copper theology that is half-true and half-false. And when they see what God has done by being silent for so long about the Nephilim angels, they won't get all excited about the silver-coated theology, but they will simply understand it was all a part of God's purpose.

In the past, the Anti-Mormons have generally NOT been sensitive to the Mormon mind, and they expose the "errors" and yell, "FAKE! The religion is 100% copper--a phony!” Which really isn’t the truth. This hurts A LOT of people. Some people completely loose their testimonies of Jesus. It would be like telling my daughter who loved her 100% silver dollar, "My daughter, I'm sorry to tell you but that dollar is a COMPLETE FAKE! It is WORTHLESS!" It would hurt her feelings. Not only that, but claiming the coin was a fake would be a lie, because the copper dollar can be used to buy anything in the society we live in—it works. Likewise, Mormonism also works spiritually for many people, and they feel God’s Holy Spirit, and they use it to bless others. The Mormons simply don’t know that the theology is not 100% pure as they suppose. On the other hand, the Christians don’t understand the LDS Church is NOT 100% fake, either. They both believe a lie. But how much does this really concern our Divine Maker? Probably about as much as my daughter’s error concerned me. “She’ll grow out of it on her own,” I thought.

So, my approach in dealing with Mormonism is try to point out that the LDS religion does have much good in it. And just like our "copper" dollars can be used to purchase goods and services, the LDS religion is used by God constantly to bless the lives of the Latter-Day Saints. There is no doubt about that. And when the time is right, and both the Christians and LDS Religion are spiritually mature enough to bear it, both sides will be led by the Lord to understand the truth about Mormonism. It’s a half-true religion.

But it will be done in God's own time.