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The word anti-Mormonism is derived from the prefix "anti-," meaning "to be in opposition to," and the adjective "Mormon," denoting anything related to Mormonism. Therefore, the adjective "anti-Mormon" typically indicates something that is perceived to be in opposition to the teachings, history, leadership, culture, or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Common forms of anti-Mormonism are hostile speech, publications, mob violence and government action at local, state and national levels against those identified with the Church. It has also been defined as including "any hostile or polemic opposition to Mormonism or to the Latter-day Saints, such as maligning the founding prophet, his successors, or the doctrines or practices of the Church. Though sometimes well intended, anti-Mormon publications have often taken the form of invective, falsehood, demeaning caricature, prejudice, and legal harassment, leading to both verbal and physical assault."

Use of the term

The phrase "anti-Mormonism" is primarily used by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but has also been used by historians, Exmormons, and others. The term is used most often as an adjective ("anti-Mormon") for material and occasionally persons, although opinions on exactly who or what is deserving of such a moniker vary greatly. It is used by some to degrade or attack and by some to describe anything with motivations contrary to the LDS Church.Some examples of Mormons expressing this sort of sentiment are as follows: "Are You an Anti-Mormon?", AntiMormon.KeepRight.net, accessed June 2006. "Correspondence between James White and Dr. Louis Midgley", SHIELDS-Research.org, accessed June 2006. & "How I define an Anit-Mormon", FAIR Message Boards, accessed June 2006. Others reserve the term for things enlisting inflammatory tactics. Many non-Mormons and Exmormons reject the use of the term entirely on the grounds that the entity in question provides "valid information" and is, therefore, not "anti-Mormon" but "the truth."

History

Mormonism, or the Latter Day Saint movement, arose in western New York, the area where its founder Joseph Smith, Jr. was raised, during a period of religious revival in the early nineteenth century. Joseph Smith claimed to have many visions involving God, Jesus, and angelic Native American prophets. These claims were often not received well by those in the community, as evident in the following excerpt from Joseph Smith's account of LDS Church history:

"... one of the Methodist preachers ... treated my communication ... with great contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them. I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects—all united to persecute me."

While the claims of a divine call often received a cold shoulder, the eventual publication of the Book of Mormon,Latter-day Saints consider the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith claimed to have translated from gold plates, to be a work of scripture of similar importance to the Bible. and the official organization of the Church of Christ in 1830 were met with increased opposition on various fronts.

In New York and Pennsylvania, anti-Mormon behavior dealt mainly with issues including whether or not Smith actually had the gold plates, if those plates belonged to the people, rather than Smith, if Smith ever really had (theological) visions, Smith’s treasure-digging episodes, and accusations of the occult.

In Ohio, anti-Mormons focused on the ill-fated banking efforts of the Kirtland Safety Society and other failed economic experiments including the United Order.

In Missouri, once the gathering place of the Latter Day Saints, Mormons tended to vote as a bloc, wielding "considerable political and economic influence," often unseating local political leadership and earning long-lasting enmity in the sometimes hard-drinking, hard-living frontier communities. These differences culminated in hostilities and the eventual issuing of an executive order (since called the Extermination Order) by Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs declaring "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State." Three days later, a renegade militia unit attacked a Mormon settlement at Haun's Mill, resulting in the death of 18 Mormons and no militiamen.

In Nauvoo, Illinois, persecutions were often based on the tendency of Mormons to "dominate community, economic, and political life wherever they landed." The city of Nauvoo had become the largest in Illinois, the city council was predominantly Mormon, and the Nauvoo Legion (the Mormon militia) had grown to a quarter of the size of the U.S. Army. Other issues of contention included polygamy, freedom of speech, anti-slavery views during Smith’s presidential campaign, and the deification of man. The persecution in Illinois became so severe that most of the residents of Nauvoo fled across the Mississippi River in February of 1846.

Even after Mormons established a community hundreds of miles away in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah in 1847, anti-Mormon activists in the Utah Territory convinced President Buchanan that the Mormons in the territory were rebelling against the United States due to the Mountain Meadows massacre and plural marriage. In response, President Buchanan sent one-third of USA's standing army in 1857 to Utah in what is known as the Utah War.

Early books labeled as anti-Mormon

Much of this anti-Mormon sentiment was expressed in publications during the early part of LDS Church history. Some of the more prominent books commonly referred to as anti-Mormon in Mormon culture are listed below:
  • The first book of the famous Sherlock Holmes series presents Mormons in a quite unfavorable light. Specifically, Mormons in their early years of settlement in Utah are presented as a violent people, terrorising their neighbors, and it is asserted that non-Mormon women were kidnapped and coerced into polygamous marriages. However, it might be that this writer did not specifically intend to write an anti-Mormon book, but utilised existing material in order to create what he thought of as an exotic and unexpected background for his murder mystery.

Modern anti-Mormonism

Christian groups

Many traditional Christian denominations do not recognize members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Christians due to differences in beliefs.Some examples of doctrinal differences that lead many Christian denominations to consider Mormons not Christian include: the belief that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three separate beings, the first two having separate physical (flesh and bone) bodies (); the belief that the Old Testament and New Testament are the word of God as far as they have been correctly translated (); the belief that the president of the Church is a living prophet with the ability to receive ongoing revelation and, as Jack Welch explains, to clarify doctrine and change practices related to that doctrine (, ); the belief in a "multi-tiered paradise," with degrees of glory rather than a distinct heaven and hell (); and the belief of some Mormons that God was once a man and that righteous Mormons can someday become gods of their own worlds (). Some even considering Mormonism a cult because of these theological differences, as evident in Mormonism being featured alongside Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Islam, and Unitarian-Universalism in the book The Kingdom of the Cults.

Some of these anti-Mormon Christians are perhaps most visible as "Street Preachers" at LDS General Conferences, who often use signs and megaphones to harass Mormon conference-goers. As a result of organized protests at Mormon events, a number of Latter-day Saints and even non-Mormons have begun to counter-demonstrate at events (by singing hymns, for example).

Others Christian groups view such behavior as unproffessional and expect a more academically sound approach to anti-Mormon work. In one case, Carl Mosser and Paul Owens, two evangelical Christians, presented a paper that admitted a trend of anti-Mormon material to imply their claims have never been countered by Mormons, ignoring research done by apologists. The paper criticises this attitute, claiming it causes much anti-Mormon material to be dismissed.

Exmormons

Much anti-Mormon activity comes from those who have left or been excommunicated from the LDS Church, although the platform from which they criticize varies greatly.

Jerald and Sandra Tanner, both former members of the LDS Church, founded the Utah Lighthouse Ministry in 1983, to "document problems with the claims of Mormonism and compare LDS doctrines with Christianity." In 1999 the LDS church sued the Tanners for posting on their website 17 pages of the Church Handbook of Instructions topically related to membership termination, with a link to download the full version. In reaction to the lawsuit, the Tanners removed the material but continued to have an internet link to the handbook from their website to another website that had a copy of the Handbook. The court (District of Utah) granted the LDS Church's motion for an injunction. The lawsuit was settled out of court, with an agreement to limit fair use of copyrighted material to 50 words or less, before an appeal could rule on what observers described as a potentially landmark case concerning internet linking. Full text available here

Ed Decker is another prominent former member of the LDS Church who became a born-again Christian evangelist. His writings were described by Carl Mosser in Saints Alive in Jesus: Ed Decker - The Godmakers as follows:

"Decker is infamous for the mistakes he makes describing Mormon doctrine, the sensationalist claims he has made about Mormon rituals and leaders, and the generally uncharitable attitude with which he conducts his ministry. Most Mormons are inoculated against anything with Decker's name on it. I think it is foolish to give Decker's materials to Mormons and unwise to give them to Christians to read. The Mormon will be repulsed and hardened, the Christian misinformed."

Other Exmormons speak out about Mormonism; however, they are not affiliated with any Christian denomination. Their self-described "recovery" from Mormonism and their secular criticisms are still often labeled as anti-Mormon by some Church members. Examples of such organizations include Exmormon.org, which claims to be dedicated "for those who are questioning their faith in the Mormon Church" and is unaffiliated with and does not officially advocate any religion, and ExmormonFoundation.org, which describes itself as a "non-profit, non-sectarian organization dedicated to supporting those in transition from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Richard Packham, founder of the Exmormon Foundation, gives insight into the motiviations when responding to the question, "Don't you have anything better to do with your time than to attack someone else's faith and beliefs?":

"I consider my efforts to tell the truth about Mormonism to be worth the time and effort, just as I am sure Mormon missionaries consider their efforts justified. I have been thanked many times by people who have seen my materials on Mormonism. They tell me that I have helped them, that I have enriched their lives, that I have contributed to their happiness—in short: I have had a positive effect on many people. I say this not to boast, but to put the lie to anyone who accuses me of "tearing down" or "destroying" or "doing evil" or wasting my time."

Modern books labeled as anti-Mormon

The following modern books are commonly referred to as anti-Mormon in Mormon culture: Although Brodie's biography of Joseph Smith is often noted for not having the venomous tone of other anti-Mormon books, it is included here because of it's poor scholarship being mentioned often in Mormon literature as anti-Mormon. Such literature includes the following: Flanders, Robert Bruce (1966) "Writing on the Mormon Past", Dialogue, 1 (3), 47-61. Nibley, "The Myth Makers" (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1961). Bringhurst, Newell (2001) "The Legend and Legacy of Fawn Brodie," Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2001. Pp. 21–72. Nelson, William (1992) "Anti-Mormon Publications", The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1, Macmillan Publishing Company. & "AntiMormon Bibliography", LightPlanet.com, accessed June 2006.

  • The God Makers is considered anti-Mormon by myriad sources, including the following: Scharffs, Gilbert (1994) "The Truth about 'The God Makers'" (Bookcraft Pubs, October 1994). Vajda, Jordan (2002) "Partakers of the divine nature" (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, January 1, 2002). Griffith, Michael (1997) "A Ready Reply: Answering Challenging Questions About the Gospel" (Horizon Pub & Dist Inc, July 1, 1997). & Lindsay, Jeff (2004) "Sci-Fi Themes in LDS Theology?.

Websites labeled as anti-Mormon

The following are examples of prominent websites commonly referred to as anti-Mormon in Mormon culture:

Views of anti-Mormonism

Official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Although a position on anti-Mormonism is not part of the official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it has been mentioned specifically in a number of General Conference talks made by church General Authorities and Apostles.

Marvin J. Ashton, a former member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, began a fall 1982 conference by relating an experience he had with a protester outside of Temple Square. He went on to declare "*o the world, and especially to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" that "there is no time for contention." He then quoted Robert Frost in his prescribed response to anti-Mormonism:

"The poet Robert Frost once defined education as 'the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.' Probably we will never be free of those who are openly anti-Mormon. Therefore, we encourage all our members to refuse to become anti-anti-Mormon. In the wise words of old, can we 'live and let live'?"

Carlos E. Asay of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy spoke in the fall 1981 conference concerning opposition to the LDS Church. He ascribes "Lucifer" as the source of at least some anti-Mormon and apostate groups, relates an experiences of a Mormon convert being excommunicated and encourages the avoidance of "those who would tear down your faith":

"Since the spring of 1820, Lucifer has led a relentless attack against the Latter-day Saints and their leaders. A parade of anti-Christs, anti-Mormons, and apostate groups have appeared on the scene. Many are still among us and have released new floods of lies and false accusations. These faith-killers and testimony-thieves use personal contacts, the printed word, electronic media, and other means of communication to sow doubts and to disturb the peace of true believers.
"Two months ago we received a tender letter from a bishop. He informed us that he had been involved in an excommunication of a recent convert. The new convert had fallen under the influence of a very dedicated apostate who was successful in destroying the convert’s testimony. It seems that, to discredit Joseph Smith and subsequent prophets, the apostate cited changes made in Church publications over the years.
"... Avoid those who would tear down your faith. Faith-killers are to be shunned. The seeds which they plant in the minds and hearts of men grow like cancer and eat away the Spirit."

Gordon B. Hinckley, the current President of the Mormon Church, related a story in the fall 1997 conference in which he read from the letter of an Exmormon who left the church at the urging of his fiancé, whom the letter-writer indicates as being anti-Mormon. Hinckley describes the situation in the letter as a "terrible tragedy" and states that he "believe* the writer still has a testimony of this work. That testimony has been with him since the time he was baptized, but he has felt neglected and of no consequence to anyone."

A passage from an early Mormon epistle addresses a claimed tendency of Exmormons to criticize the church of which they are no longer a part:

"*postates after turning from the faith of Christ ... have sooner or later fallen into the snares of the wicked one, and have been left destitute of the Spirit of God, to manifest their wickedness in the eyes of multitudes. From apostates the faithful have received the severest persecutions ... 'When once that light which was in them is taken from them, they become as much darkened as they were previously enlightened, and then, no marvel, if all their power should be enlisted against the truth,' and they, Judas like, seek the destruction of those who were their greatest benefactors." Although sometimes mistaken for a direct quote from Joseph Smith, this passage occurs in the book as part of "Excerpts from an Epistle of the Elders of the Church in Kirtland to Their Brethren Abroad", edited by Oliver Cowdery and F. G. Williams as published in the The Morning and the Evening Star.

Views of Latter-day Saints

Mormon apologetics and members vary both in their perception of criticism and opposition, as well as what they see as falling under the umbrella of anti-Mormonism. Hugh Nibley, the author of voluminous works in response to books deemed anti-Mormon, including a chapter on how to write an anti-Mormon book, explained why he thinks Exmormons criticize the Church:

"Apostates usually become sometimes feverishly active, determined to prove to the world and themselves that it is a fraud after all. What is that to them? Apparently it is everything—it will not let them alone. At the other end of the scale are those who hold no rancor and even retain a sentimental affection for the Church—they just don't believe the gospel. I know quite a few of them. But how many of them can leave it alone? It haunts them all the days of their life. No one who has ever had a testimony ever forgets or denies that he once did have it—that it was something that really happened to him. Even for such people who do not have it anymore, a testimony cannot be reduced to an illusion."

Jeff Lindsay, a prominent Latter-day Saint apologist, defines an anti-Mormon as "only the activists who attack the Church in a way intended to generate misunderstanding, fear, and shock ... who strives to stir up anger toward the Church and relies on misinformation or half-truths, ... especially when they do it for a living" and specifies, "*here is plenty of room for decent people to disagree with us. Most Protestants and Catholics who disagree with us are not 'anti-Mormons' but simply people of another denomination." He claims that, "Those of other faiths who disagree with us and engage in civil discourse with us about their differences are usually not 'anti-Mormons' but perhaps simply critics or just adherents of a different faith." In response to the question "What tactics do anti-Mormons use?", Lindsay writes:

"Some pastors and ministers who might consider themselves as anti-Mormons are sincere in their differences with LDS theology and write intelligently and honestly about their views. They can differ without distorting the truth and can be respectful and kind in their discussions. I guess that intelligent and honest writing doesn't sell well, because the vast majority of popular writing against the Church is ugly, deceptive, and inflammatory. This is the stuff that I tend to call 'anti-Mormon.'"

Davis Bitton presented criteria on how to identify anti-Mormon material in a 2004 paper published for FARMS entitled, "Spotting an Anti-Mormon Book." He specifies inaccuracy, telling Mormons what they believe, strong preference for negative information, always showing "the church, its leaders, its people, and its beliefs in the worst possible light," participating in anti-Mormon activities, denouncing the church, engaging in "behavior defiantly contrary to church standards," unjustly claiming to be a Latter-day Saint, and indulging in "snide, disrespectful, cruel comments about the Saints and those they sustain as prophets" as characteristics of anti-Mormon books and authors. Additionally, he singles out publishers such as the Utah Gospel Mission and the Utah Lighthouse Ministry as being "anti-Mormon, at least in intent."

Others consider the definition of anti-Mormonism rather fundamentally: those in opposition to or against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While not including those who simply believe differently, it includes those who are actively engaged in opposing the Mormon Church. Thus, a person's intelligence, honesty, qualification or accreditation do not make them anti-Mormon. Anti-Mormon arguments are those in opposition to the claims and institutional aims of the LDS Church, and anti-Mormons are those who spend a significant amount of time opposing the Church via such arguments or otherwise.

Many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that since the church is sanctioned by God, Satan and his followers will seek to destroy it, with some even seeing this opposition as evidence that the LDS church has divine origins. Some avoid anti-Mormon material, while others analyze and criticize it, such as William J. Hamblin, who addresses anti-Mormon attacks on the geography and archeology in the Book of Mormon in "Basic Methodological Problems with the Anti-Mormon Approach to the Geography and Archaeology of the Book of Mormon."

Other prominent LDS members note that the opposition from anti-Mormonism can actually be beneficial. As Hugh Nibley expressed it, "We need more anti-Mormon books. They keep us on our toes." Michael R. Ash of FAIR dissected this viewpoint in "The Impact of Mormon Critics on LDS Scholarship," concluding that the accusations of critics are helpful in encouraging and stimulating further research. Orson Pratt also seemed to invite criticism when he said:

"Convince us of our errors of doctrine, if we have any, by reason, by logical arguments, or by the word of God, and we will be ever grateful for the information, and you will ever have the pleasing reflection that you have been instruments in the hands of God of redeeming your fellow beings from the darkness which you may see enveloping their minds."

Normative influence

Some historians see the overtly anti-Mormon approach to government of Colonel Patrick Conner, who arrived in Utah in 1862 to protect overland mail routes during the Civil War, as a having a positive result in the long run for the territory of Utah. As a "powerful counterweight to Brigham Young and his church," Conner "down the territory’s fierce isolation from modern American society ... discovered precious metals and thus brought the mining industry to Utah ... helped lay railroads through the territory ... [and connected it more closely with the rest of the United States."

Some have credited past government pressure towards Mormonism as responsible for overturning doctrines that were politically out of sync (e.g., polygamy and priesthood racial discrimination).

Rejection of the term

Although commonly used, some see the term "anti-Mormon" as being invalid for various reasons. For example, Stephen Cannon, a Christian writer, sees the label as a "campaign by Latter-day Saints to disavow the facts presented by simply labeling the source as 'anti-Mormon'". He expounds on this in Games Mormon People Play: The Strategies and Diversions of Latter-day Saint Apologists:
"This writer has seen rank-and-file Mormons 'tune out' valid historical information that put their church leaders in a negative light simply because it came from an 'anti-Mormon.' I believe it is advantageous for Mormon scholars to put critics in as negative a light as possible so as to keep the maximum number of church members isolated from revealing facts. The first line of defense seems to be getting that 'anti-Mormon' label painted on critics as quickly as possible."

In 1985, Vaughn J. Featherstone, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the LDS Church addressed students at the Church-owned Brigham Young University, calling anti-Mormon material "theological pornography that is damaging to the spirit," stating that "none of it is worth casting an eye upon. Do not read the anti-Mormon materials. That is not the way you resolve questions about the truthfulness of the restored gospel." Many Mormons agree that anything with the label "anti-Mormon" is "spiritual pornography" and should be avoided completely. Also, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who "support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church" may be subject to disciplinary action, such as being released from certain leadership positions, being refused entry into Mormon temples, disfellowshipment, and possibly excommunication.

This leads some writers to reject the term "anti-Mormon", such as James White, who wrote to an LDS apologist, "If you will identify yourself as an anti-Baptist, I'll let you call me an anti-Mormon."

Some members of the church who write negatively about the church, especially those who call into question its divine nature, have had their writings labeled anti-Mormon despite rejecting that term. Members critical of the church tend to get disfellowshipped or excommunicated, making active members less likely to approach their work (for example, the September Six, Grant Palmer, Thomas W. Murphy, etc). Exmormons who write about the church are likewise frequently labeled anti-Mormon, even when their writings are not inflammatory in nature. The debate of who is "anti-Mormon" frequently arises in Mormon discussons of authors and sources. One view suggests, "It’s just another label used to draw the line in the sand and separate us and them." Another view suggests, "Everyone is anti- what they’re not pro-."

Some critics of the term claim that the LDS church frames the context of persecution in order to cultivate a persecution complex, or that Mormon authors promote the ideal of a promised heavenly reward for enduring persecution for one's beliefs.

See also

Notes and references

External links

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Anti-Mormonism".

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