Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormon America: The Power and the Promise/Index


A work by author: Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling

Index to claims made in Mormon America: The Power and the Promise

This is an index of claims made in this work with links to corresponding responses within the FAIRwiki. An effort has been made to provide the author's original sources where possible.

Introduction: A New World Faith

Page Claim Response Author's sources

xv
  • The authors mention a temple of secret rituals with precincts forbidden to tourists and TV cameras.
  • No source provided.

xviii
  • It is claimed that LDS believe that the Garden of Eden was literally located around Independence, Missouri.
  • No source provided.

xix
  • The authors claim that God told Joseph to "revise significant portions of the Bible that Smith taught had been corrupted by Jews and Christians."
  • No source provided.

xix
  • The book claims that there is no forum for public debate and that there is no church legislature to set policy.
  • No source provided.

xxv
  • They abstain from alcohol and tobacco, as many other groups do, but also from caffeinated beverages.
  • No source provided

Chapter 1: Sealed with Blood

Page Claim Response Author's sources

3
  • April 11, 1844: Joseph Smith organized the Council of Fifty to plan political future and had them anoint him “King, Priest and Ruler over Israel on Earth"

3
  • Joseph Smith petitioned Congress for authorization to raise and lead a 100000-man army to subdue the western territories from Texas to Oregon, and that anyone who would “attempt to hinder or molest the said Joseph Smith” would be subject to two years’ imprisonment.

10
  • The temple rituals had many similarities to the Masonic rituals that the prophet had just learned.

12
  • 1842: Disagreement between JS and John C. Bennett was “their competition for nineteen-year-old Nancy Rigdon as plural wife...Smith excommunicated Bennett."

13
  • On March 11, 1844, Council of Fifty was formed as a theocratic policymaking body “shadow government” (Flanders – RLDS historian) that functioned sporadically in Utah into the 1870’s.

13
  • Two of the original 53 members of the Council of Fifty “apparently were known counterfeiters."

13
  • Joseph Smith was anointed “King, Priest and Ruler over Israel on Earth."
  • D. Michael Quinn, April 11, 1844.

15
  • The Council of Fifty, "supposedly a civic body," took ecclesiastical action excommunicating Law and Foster.

16
  • Quinn re. Expositor: “He could not allow the Expositor to publish the secret international negotiations masterminded by Mormonism’s earthly king.”
  • Authors' quoting the opinion of another author, D. Michael Quinn

16
  •  Author's quote: With the backing of his Council, Smith ordered that the new press be smashed and all possible copies of the press run destroyed.

17
  • Someone slipped a six-shooter into his cell that he later fired into the attacking mob.

Chapter 2: Beginnings: A Very American Gospel

Page Claim Response Author's sources

21
  • Swedenborgianism, with its concepts of eternal marriage and a three-tiered heaven.
  • Source not provided

23
  • Lucy Mack Smith, "described Joseph Jr.’s youthful fascination with Indians in the years just prior to his translation of the Book of Mormon: ...Joseph would occasionally give us some of the most amusing recitals..."
  • Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches, 1853. p. 85.

25
  • Seer stones illegal – 1826 Smith “found guilty” of disorderly conduct for money-digging.

25
  • Isaac Hale objected to marriage of Emma to Joseph because of “disreputable occupation of looking for treasure with magic stones rather than working the land like a respectable farmer."

26
  • During the translation, Joseph would work on one side of the blanket "with the Urim and Thummim as a kind of magic spectacles, his favorite seer stone, the golden plates, and the hat, while the scribe worked on the other."

26
  • Joseph would "bury his face with the seer stone in the hat and then dictate words to the scribe."

29
  •  Author's quote: View of the Hebrews...containing considerable material on the subject, as well as a description of ancient Central American Indian ruins.
  • No source provided.

31
  • Book of Abraham used to justify policy toward blacks.

31
  • Joseph Smith used seer stone in 1836 to try and find treasure under a house in Salem, Mass.

34
  • Danites were pledged to “plunder, lie, and even kill if deemed necessary."
  • Source not specified.

Chapter 3: The American Exodus

Page Claim Response Author's sources

42
  • There is historical evidence that Joseph Smith blessed his son, Joseph III that he would become his successor.
  • Mark Hofmann  [needs work]
  • Mark Hofmann produced a forgery that was claimed to be the blessing given by Joseph Smith to his son Joseph Smith III.

54
  • Mountain Meadows massacre.

Chapter 4: Polygamy Then and Now

Page Claim Response Author's sources

58
  • Joseph started polygamy and had a large number of wives.

58
  • The authors claim that Fawn Brodie’s research was largely substantiated by later scholarship.

58
  • There were at least five cases of women who rejected his polygamous proposals.

58
  • At least 11 of Joseph's wives married to another man. Mormon apologists have attempted to justify polygamy in part because it sheltered single women beyond marriageable age, the facts show otherwise. The vast majority of plural wives were younger than the first wife, often nubile teenagers.

59
  • Possibly a few exceptional cases involving his closest associates taking wives who already had husbands.

59
  • It is claimed that Joseph Smith "often" asked close friends for their wives and daughters.

59
  • Some of the marriages were the result of pressure or spiritual coercion from the prophet.

60

 T
  • The “comely sixteen-year-old Fanny Alger” became Joseph's plural wife in 1833.

60
  • W.W. Phelps introduced an anti-polygamy resolution in Oliver Cowdery's handwriting while Joseph was away, which was adopted by the Church.

60
  • Scriptural resolution in D&C against polygamy Phelps/Cowdery “became a scriptural revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants.” This remained until removed in 1876 and replaced by Section 132.

61
  • Smith conducted marriage for Newell Knight against law, since the woman was not yet divorced from her non-Mormon husband. Smith said "Gentile law has no power to call me to account for it."
  •  The author's claim is false: No law was broken, and marriage certificates were issued by the state of Ohio; no license was required.
  • Any religious leader had a right to perform marriages in Ohio.
  • Ohio marriages illegal?
  • This claim is also made in One Nation Under Gods: p. 129, 529n14-15

61
  • His youngest bride, in some ways typical, was fourteen-year-old Helen Mar Kimball.

62
  • Helen had not grasped that marriage in time would eventually have a sexual component.

66
  • The Book of Mormon was "conventionally monogamous:" "Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, Saith the Lord…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" (Jacob 2:24, 27)

67
  • Swedenborg taught “spiritual wifery” in marriage for eternity. Swedenborg was discussed in Smith’s hometown newspaper.

67
  • 1842 declaration of monogamy in the Times and Seasons was signed by Emma and two of Smith’s wives Eliza Snow and Sarah Cleveland.
  • Newell and Avery, Mormon Enigma, pp. 128-129.

Chapter 7: Mormons, Inc.

Page Claim Response Author's sources

115
  •  Author's quote: "Outsider's money estimates always raise disclaimers from officialdom, presumably because of the danger that fat-looking figures might weaken members' tithing compliance."
  • Author's opinion

Chapter 10: Families Forever

Page Claim Response Author's sources

160
  • The author's claim that LDS believe that even God himself is married.
  • No source given

161
  • Couples are "sealed forever" through secret ritual in a Mormon temple.

Chapter 19: Are Mormons Christian? Are Non-Mormons Christian?

Page Claim Response Author's sources

320
  • The people of the New World were visited by the "Mormon Jesus."

Dissenters and Exiles

Page Claim Response Author's sources

352
  •  Author's quote: "The church has often swatted down intellectuals individually"
  • Quote by Lavina Fielding Anderson

354
  • The Church operates a clipping service called the "Strengthening Church Members Committee" to monitor individual members, which Lavina Fielding Anderson refers to as "an internal espionage system."
  • Lavina Fielding Anderson

354
  • The LDS system of internal discipline "operates more like a small cult than a major denomination."
  • Author's opinion

354
  • The LDS Church penalizes members for "merely criticizing officialdom or for publishing truthful—if uncomfortable—information," and "shroud their procedures with secrecy."

354
  • The LDS Church prosecutes "many more of its members" than other religious groups.

Further reading

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{{To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition}} To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition edit
{{To learn more box:''Under the Banner of Heaven''}} To learn more about responses to: Under the Banner of Heaven edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Robert Price}} To learn more about responses to: Robert Price edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon}} To learn more about responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ashamed of Joseph}} To learn more about responses to: Ashamed of Joseph edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Moser}} To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Moser edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Parrish}} To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Parrish edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Benjamin Park}} To learn more about responses to: Benjamin Park edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith}} To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon}} To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: ''Big Love''}} To learn more about responses to: Big Love edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Brett Metcalfe}} To learn more about responses to: Brett Metcalfe edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bill Maher}} To learn more about responses to: Bill Maher edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Bruce H. Porter}} To learn more about responses to: Bruce H. Porter edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Carol Wang Shutter}} To learn more about responses to: Carol Wang Shutter edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: CES Letter}} To learn more about responses to: CES Letter edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Charles Larson}} To learn more about responses to: Charles Larson edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Christopher Nemelka}} To learn more about responses to: Christopher Nemelka edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Colby Townshed}} To learn more about responses to: Colby Townshed edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Contender Ministries}} To learn more about responses to: Contender Ministries edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Crane and Crane}} To learn more about responses to: Crane and Crane edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: D. Michael Quinn}} To learn more about responses to: D. Michael Quinn edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Dan Vogel}} To learn more about responses to: Dan Vogel edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: David John Buerger}} To learn more about responses to: David John Buerger edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: David Persuitte}} To learn more about responses to: David Persuitte edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Denver Snuffer}} To learn more about responses to: Denver Snuffer edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Dick Bauer}} To learn more about responses to: Dick Bauer edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Duwayne R Anderson}} To learn more about responses to: Duwayne R Anderson edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Earl Wunderli}} To learn more about responses to: Earl Wunderli edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ed Decker}} To learn more about responses to: Ed Decker edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Erikson and Giesler}} To learn more about responses to: Erikson and Giesler edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ernest Taves}} To learn more about responses to: Ernest Taves edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Fawn Brodie}} To learn more about responses to: Fawn Brodie edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: George D Smith}} To learn more about responses to: George D Smith edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Grant Palmer}} To learn more about responses to: Grant Palmer edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Hank Hanegraaff}} To learn more about responses to: Hank Hanegraaff edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Hurlbut-Howe}} To learn more about responses to: Hurlbut-Howe edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: James Brooke}} To learn more about responses to: James Brooke edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: James Spencer}} To learn more about responses to: James Spencer edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: James White}} To learn more about responses to: James White edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner}} To learn more about responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD}} To learn more about responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: John Dehlin}} To learn more about responses to: John Dehlin edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jonathan Neville}} To learn more about responses to: Jonathan Neville edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Kurt Van Gorden}} To learn more about responses to: Kurt Van Gorden edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Laura King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery}} To learn more about responses to: Laura King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Loftes Tryk aka Lofte Payne}} To learn more about responses to: Loftes Tryk aka Lofte Payne edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Luke WIlson}} To learn more about responses to: Luke WIlson edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Marquardt and Walters}} To learn more about responses to: Marquardt and Walters edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Martha Beck}} To learn more about responses to: Martha Beck edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Mcgregor Ministries}} To learn more about responses to: Mcgregor Ministries edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: McKeever and Johnson}} To learn more about responses to: McKeever and Johnson edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: New Approaches}} To learn more about responses to: New Approaches to the Book of Mormon edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard Abanes}} To learn more about responses to: Richard Abanes edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard Van Wagoner}} To learn more about responses to: Richard Van Wagoner edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Richard and Joan Ostling}} To learn more about responses to: Richard and Joan Ostling edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Rick Grunger}} To learn more about responses to: Rick Grunger edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Robert Ritner}} To learn more about responses to: Robert Ritner edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Rod Meldrum}} To learn more about responses to: Rod Meldrum edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Roger I Anderson}} To learn more about responses to: Roger I Anderson edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ronald V. Huggins}} To learn more about responses to: Ronald V. Huggins edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Sally Denton}} To learn more about responses to: Sally Denton edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Simon Southerton}} To learn more about responses to: Simon Southerton edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Thomas Murphy}} To learn more about responses to: Thomas Murphy edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Todd Compton}} To learn more about responses to: Todd Compton edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Vernal Holley}} To learn more about responses to: Vernal Holley edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Walter Martin}} To learn more about responses to: Walter Martin edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Wesley Walters}} To learn more about responses to: Wesley Walters edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Will Bagley}} To learn more about responses to: Will Bagley edit
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