A Spiritual and Intellectual Journey From Mormonism to Deism
by Richard Williamson
I find it strange that so much of our human intellect
and emotion is wasted dwelling on the myths upon which all religions are
founded. The conclusion that all religions are manmade was one of the
greatest discoveries of my life. All religions are specifically designed
by their originators to be self serving and designed to maintain social
and political control of the adherents. In some cases the design is so
grand as to attempt gaining and maintaining world power, as was the case
with the great Universal Church-Catholicism. Today we are vividly
witnessing the threatened rise of Islam in its bid to take over the
world, with its Jihadist agenda and blatant willingness to kill, maim
and destroy the infidel; the infidel being anyone who is not a worshiper
of Allah and his prophet Muhammad.
Theocratic attempts to rule the world via a hybrid governmental
system of mixing religious and political power has always proven to be a
failure, a failure that brings death, persecution and fosters a deadly
and deepening ignorance of the masses under the control of these
prophets and holy men who claim to “speak for God”.
It goes without exception that these “prophets of God” always
erupt on the scene as self anointed saviors. They all have some new and
better book and claim, “God gave me a dream and now the world must
listen to me”. Many have claimed
that an angel visited them, or God himself showed them that they are to
be the new messiah, and if people do not listen to this new brand of
religious piracy they will perish in hell for all time and all eternity.
It goes without exception that the threat of eternal
death, burning in hell, losing your 70 virgins, or having your family
taken away from you in the next life for disobedience to “the one true
church” in this life, is always the closing sales pitch of these
arrogant and deranged “prophets and holy men” who claim to personally
speak for God. This God is of course the one true God, and he loves you,
but if you fail to follow the rules as set down by these earthly
anointed holy men, you will feel God’s wrath when you die. Should one
belong to Islam, or be a victim of its Jihad you may well feel the wrath
of Allah while still alive. This living threat of violent reprisal, in
today’s world, is mostly limited to Islam, yet countless lives are
damaged by the religiocentric arrogance of most religious groups once a
person breaks ranks or questions the veracity of their particular sect.
The theme seems to be, that God only really loves you if you believe and
behave the way our group says you must, for after all, we speak for God.
Why do religious groups claim such authority? Usually it is because
their “authority” comes from a book; for the Christians, they have the
Bible, for the Jew the Torah, Islam has the Koran, and Mormonism claims
Joseph Smith brought yet another “one and only true book” written by God
himself-via mans’ assistance,
The Book of
Mormon.
Mormons also claim revelation from God via Joseph
Smith in two other exclusively Mormon books, The Book of Abraham and The
Doctrine and Covenants-formerly The Book of Commandments. Both books
were written by Joseph Smith and are claimed by Mormons to be direct
revelations from God to Joseph Smith. The book of Abraham is claimed to
be a translation from Egyptian hieroglyphics by Joseph Smith.
The book of Abraham has been
fully examined by many top academic Egyptologists.
The conclusion of these
scientists is that Smith’s “revelatory” translation of the Book of
Breathings is nonsense. The actual papyrus from which Smith “translated”
his book of Abraham is nothing more than a Egyptian funeral text-or Book
of Breathings that was commonly used in Egypt at the time of its
creation. There are literally thousands of these funeral texts in the
possession of museums, private and academic collections the world over.
The papyrus Smith had was not a story about Abraham in Egypt; Smith
again fabricated a fantastic story of religious fiction and claimed he
received a revelation from God. The fact that no one on earth could
decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics at the time Smith claimed he could is a
well known fact. The Rosetta Stone was not discovered until some 30
years later. This codex was the key to breaking the language of the
Egyptian hieroglyphics. The book of Abraham has been thoroughly
discredited by every reputable Egyptologist that has investigated this
“revelation” of Joseph Smith.
The
Abrahamic religions consist of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. All
these groups claim to have an original exclusive deal with God as far
back as Abraham. Mormons claim their religion actually goes back to Adam
and Eve in the Garden of Eden, thus trumping Islam, Judaism and
Christianity. I ask where is the evidence for that totally fallacious
claim? The only evidence forthcoming from the Mormons is: “Oh, it was
revealed by God to Joseph Smith the prophet”! There is no evidence for
this exclusive claim of Mormonism….”you must have faith and trust that
the leaders are telling you the truth”!
All organized religions breed violence and
intolerance. Rare is the occasion when nothing more than lip service is
paid to inter-faith religious tolerance. It mystifies me when after
thousands of years of recorded history we humans fail to see the light
of truth. We have become so very insular in our thinking, to the point
of true cognitive dissonance, cognitive dissonance that keeps us from
embracing the truth when the evidence is presented to us in clear and
valid arguments. I speak of the insurmountable evidence, the
scientifically established facts that prove all religions are manmade
mythological systems. Yet the faithful just bury their heads in the sand
and refuse to look at the evidence and continue to live in ignorance
fueled by the denial of reality. It is a cognitive choice to refuse to
look at the evidence; I was once like this myself. It can be a
frightening concept to think that all my religious indoctrination is
false, for what would become of me then. It is claimed that Jesus stated
the answer to this fear, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth will set
you free”.
During
the dark ages, brought about in large part by the intellectually
stifling Catholic Church, we saw persecution, torture and killing of
anyone who dared challenge the teachings of the Papacy. We see the
brutality of Islam today, the riots in cities and the bombing of
innocent people because someone put a cartoon in a newspaper that the
Jihadist claims, via some form of revelation, that these things are
offensive to Allah and his prophet Muhammad and punishment must be meted
out. The Jews claim in the Old Testament that God commanded the holy
Israelite armies to destroy innocent life, burn villages and towns, kill
animals and leave nothing but a razed stubble field. For what reason?
Because God said that they are the chosen people and everything else
must die. Further we have the historical and archaeological testimony of
the “holy wars”, Christians and Muslims fighting for their supremacy as
God’s chosen people. Really it was about land, power and world
domination. I am convinced God had nothing to do with it.
The Mormons also have a dark legacy that is well
hidden from the vast majority of the Mormon faithful. Mountain Meadows
Massacre occurred on September 11, 1857.
It is the most blatant of many barbarous acts in Mormon history.
The Fancher–Baker wagon train party were in route to California from
Arkansas, when they met the evil face of the Brigham Young sect of
Mormons in Southern Utah. Under a false flag of truce the Mormons lured
the settlers out of their circled wagon position, disarmed them and then
systematically killed 120 men, women and children. The wagons, draft
animals, cattle and personal possessions of the Fancher-Baker party were
stolen and divided up among the killers. This barbarous act was the
largest act of domestic terrorism until 3,000 people died in the
September 11, 2001 Islamic terrorist attacks in New York City.
Honest
historians have concluded that the Mountain Meadows Massacre occurred
primarily as retribution for the murder of Parley Pratt, a Mormon
apostle. Pratt was gunned down by an irate man who was the husband of a
woman that Pratt had seduced and convinced to join his group of
“celestial wives”. She became one of Pratt’s polygamist wives while
still married to another man. This couple was from Arkansas as was the
Fancher-Baker party. The
Fancher-Baker party became a scapegoat for the Mormon wrath. Being from
Arkansas, they were labeled as being responsible for Pratt’s death and
rumors were circulating among the Utah Mormons that some male members of
the Fancher-Baker party had taken part in killing Joseph Smith at
Carthage, Illinois in 1844. None of the men in the Fancher-Baker party
were in Carthage, Illinois when Smith was shot. The man who killed
Parley Pratt was not a member of the Fancher-Baker party. The Mormons
wanted revenge, and the exclusive Mormon doctrine of Blood Atonement
provided the justification for killing these 120 people from the Fancher-Baker
wagon train.
Blood Atonement is a bizarre doctrine of Mormonism,
that they today deny (lie about) was ever taught by the Mormon Church,
yet the original Mormon writings prove otherwise. Blood Atonement was
taught openly by Brigham Young and other Mormon ecclesiastic leaders in
Utah. It is a doctrine that simply states there are certain sins that a
person can commit that are not covered by the blood atonement of Jesus
Christ. Yet according to true Christian doctrine all sins are cover by
the sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross at Calvary. The Mormon blood
atonement doctrine states this is not true, and the only way to have
certain sins remitted is by having ones’ own blood shed, because even
Jesus cannot save you from certain sins. Thus this doctrine of blood
atonement laid the ground work for the killing of the 120 innocent
people of the Fancher-Baker party.
Further: The original Utah era Mormon temple endowment
ceremony put the members under an Oath of Vengeance to seek the
destruction of enemies of the church who were responsible for the death
of Smith and his brother Hyrum. This oath was not taken out of the
endowment ceremony until the 1930’s. There
was also a three part symbolic act in the temple endowment ceremony
where the patrons simulate having their throats cut across and their
tongues pulled out by the root, having their hearts cut out of their
chests, and lastly having their intestines cut out-disemboweled for
revealing the secret teachings taught in “The House of the Lord”. These
three self sacrificing acts were removed from the temple endowment
ceremony in 1990. I truly fail to see where any of these teachings of
hatred and violent action have any place in a church that claims they
believe in Jesus Christ.
This
is a major reason why Mormonism will never be accepted by the Christian
communities of the world as a Christian Church, because Mormonism at its
core denies the complete atonement of Jesus Christ according to New
Testament theology. There are a host of other exclusively Mormon
doctrines which also disqualify Mormonism from being accepted as a
Christian Church and rightfully so. Mormonism is not a Christian
religion. I did not understand, until I had done a fair amount of
research into Christian origins and New Testament theology, as to why
Mormonism is not a Christian faith. This is in spite of the fact that
Mormons claim to worship Jesus Christ. The Mormon Jesus is not the Jesus
of New Testament theology or original Christian theology. The Mormon
Jesus is the product of Joseph Smith’s imagination.
After
decades of historical research into what and why the Mountain Meadows
Massacre happened, it is also a strong conclusion that Brigham Young was
attempting to send a clear message to the “Mericats” that his rule was
absolute and that he should be feared in his little Mormon kingdom of
the west. The term “Mericats” is a derogatory term that Brigham Young
used to describe the leaders of Americas government, and any outsiders
who supported the United States of America. Brigham Young was
anti-American, for he was God’s chosen and anointed prophet and
Brigham’s law superseded the laws of the Constitutional Republic of the
United States. Joseph Smith also believed he was above the law of
America, that Joseph Smith’s laws were the laws of God, and he would bow
to no one. These 1857 killings
in Utah were committed on the orders of the leaders of “The One True
Church of Jesus Christ-as restored by the prophet Joseph Smith”.
Apparently Jesus likes the idea of killing innocent people who do not
believe in “The one true church of Mormonism”.
The 2001 attacks in New York City and Washington DC
were also perpetrated by a religious group claiming supremacy in the
eyes of God, “the One True religion of Islam with its God Allah and his
prophet Muhammad”. How strange it is that these “revealed” religious
attacks occurred on the same date-September 11th.
This aggressive Mormon animosity and religiocentrism
really began much earlier in the 1830’s in Missouri under Joseph Smith.
Mormons love to cling to the idea that they were and still are today
persecuted because of their beliefs. In part this is true, because
claiming persecution helps fuel their need to feel superior as they are
now God’s chosen church and the persecution badge justifies this self
delusion, and it makes them kin to the Jews who were also persecuted.
Mostly the Mormons were persecuted only after they made war like actions
and threats to their neighbors in Missouri because the Mormons made it
clear they were the true Zion people (not the Jews) and that God had
promised to deliver the promised land of Missouri to them. This new
Zion-Missouri was the rightful inheritance of the new Zionist people-the
Mormons. That Missouri was the place of the Garden of Eden, according to
Joseph Smith, and that Jesus was coming back to Adam ondi Ahman (a small
place near Independence, Missouri) to build the New Jerusalem and at
that time a magnificent temple would descend from heaven. This Adam ondi
Ahman, getting its name from Joseph Smith, is in Mormon lore the place
where the chosen and anointed Mormon faithful will someday walk back to
and there they will gather in solemn assemblies to meet personally with
Adam and Jesus and all the other holy men of Israelite/Christian history
in a big council of God’s elect.
The lionization of Joseph Smith is only recognized
within the Mormon Church. History is very clear that Joseph Smith died
in a gun fight after having shot three men. Two he killed and a third he
wounded, with a Pepper Box 6 barreled pistol that was smuggled into his
jail cell. Smith did not die a willing martyr for Jesus Christ, as did
many of the early followers of Christ. Smith was a convicted con man, a
participant in conspiracy to commit murder,
a soothsayer, a worker of black
magic, a pedophile, and was married to at least 30 wives, many of whom
were married to other men at the time “Old Joe Smith” convinced them to
marry him or God would destroy him. Had Smith lived to go to trial, for
he had been subpoenaed by the President of the United States to appear
before the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. on the charge of treason,
Smith’s reign as king of this world and his Mormonism would have ended
abruptly. Yes, Smith had himself ordained king of the world by his
secret council of 50. What is so odd is that Smith personally chose the
members of his council of 50, so for sure they had the power to anoint
Smith king of the world.
Strangely Smith died in the afore mentioned gun fight in the
jail in Carthage, Illinois a
short time after being “anointed king of the world”.
Smith was being held on charges of treason and
violation of the first amendment constitutional rights of his neighbors.
Smith ordered the burning and destruction of a printing press. The press
and the printing shop were both destroyed because the truth had been
printed about Smith and other elite members of Smith’s Mormon kingdom.
They did not like the light of day illuminating their various crimes and
sexual indiscretions, after all these were God’s chosen and anointed
leaders in these the last days before the return of Jesus Christ. The
Mormon Church to this day frowns heavily on any of its members being
critical of the “Brethren”. In fact honest and critical evaluation of
Mormon history by its members is highly discouraged. Mormons are today
counseled to read only church authorized sources of information. There
is an infamous secret vault in Salt Lake City, under the watchful eye of
the first presidency of the Mormon Church. This vault is closed to all
but a very select few. This is the place where sensitive documents are
kept, documents that would re-write the real history of Joseph Smith and
his Mormon kingdom. This information is keep out of the public eye, for
much of it is damaging and would clearly show Mormonism to be a huge
fraud. These facts are known in part, because in the past select
researchers have been given access to this vault. Much of the legitimate
documentary evidence available in literature and research papers on
Mormon origins come from these now secured sources.
It is an interesting aside that
the Seventh Day Adventists also have a secretive vault for the same
purpose as the Mormons, to preserve the false prophecies of Ellen G.
White who made similar non-prophecies as Joseph Smith which flopped in
their veracity. It seems that cults the world over have secret vaults to
keep prying eyes out. The Vatican is another good example.
Recently a Mormon friendly version of “the Joseph
Smith papers” has been released by the Mormon Church. It is not
complete. The books contain sanitized and re-worked history to promote
the idea that Joseph Smith was all the things that the modern Mormon
Church leaders teach its members that he was.
I think propaganda that is created and controlled by
the same organization should arouse suspicion in our minds. It should at
least make one stop and look both ways before stepping out into oncoming
traffic.
There is a vast amount of literature and resource
material available to thoroughly discredit Joseph Smith and the entire
content of the Mormon theology. Mormonism promotes the weakest and
weirdest doctrines of all the psuedo-christian sects that came out of
the American revival period in the early 19th century. The
entire Mormon temple ceremonies are nothing but hodge-podge Masonic
rituals mixed with Joseph Smith’s imagination and some Old Testament
flavorings thrown in for good measure. Mormons claim these temple
rituals go all the way back in antiquity to Adam and Eve. This is
another absurd claim that is easily proven false because there is no
record whatever in all of Judaism that even remotely represents
Mormonism’s interpretation of ancient Israelite temple worship. Mormons
claim that all this was lost because of corrupt priests and evil
leaders, and that God revealed it back to Joseph Smith so he could
restore these precious lost rituals so all of mankind could learn the
mysteries of godliness by going to the Mormon temple.
Well someone better notify the Jewish scholars and Rabbis that
the Mormons now have all the “lost temple rituals” that the Jews did not
even know they had lost.
The Book of Mormon is claimed by Mormons to be the
keystone of their religion. They made a big mistake with that statement.
The evidence against all things claimed in “Old Joe Smith’s gold bible”
is enormous. One does not even have to look at the claims of the Book of
Mormon as it relates to America-the place where these magical events
allegedly took place- in order to fully discredit the claimed religious
history of the Book of Mormon. Current biblical archaeology alone
disproves Smith’s 19th century understanding of world history
and especially Smith’s knowledge of biblical history. When we get past
that evidence, we are left with the basic tenets and claims of the Book
of Mormon as relating to America, where this religious history is
supposed to have occurred. The Book of Mormon is so riddled with
anachronisms and faulty history as to make it a fully discredited work
of fiction. The archaeological, geographic, literary and genetic
evidence prove the Book of Mormon to be nothing more than a blatant
fraud perpetrated by Joseph Smith and at least 3 other accomplices;
Oliver Cowdry, Hyrum Smith and Sidney Rigdon. Much of the content of the
Book of Mormon was plagiarized from the King James Version of the Bible
and at least two other books of religious fiction; View of the Hebrews
by Pastor Ethan Smith (no relation to Joseph Smith) and A Manuscript
Lost by Rev. Solomon Spaulding. The Book of Mormon was written mostly
while Joseph Smith had his head stuck inside his hat while he gazed upon
a “magic rock-Seer Stone” which is also the same method Smith used to
find hidden treasure in the earth!
The Book of Mormon has been analyzed by advanced
computerized programs; the conclusion is that plagiarism is without a
doubt present. Most recently a group of researchers at Stanford
University put the Book of Mormon through an exhaustive examination
utilizing the computer program SPSS, a very sophisticated statistical
analysis tool. The lead professor in this venture was an active Mormon
man who seemingly could no longer live in the world of cognitive
dissonance required by Mormonism in order to “keep your faith”. The
outcomes of this Stanford University research will be presented at The
Ex Mormon Foundation Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 10,
2009 at 10:45am, by Professor Craig Criddle, PhD, Stanford University. I
will be in attendance to hear firsthand the results of this extensive
study.
Today we know that the Old Testament is not a
continuous history of the Israelites. In fact, the unification of Israel
did not begin to occur until the time of King Josiah in the 7th
century BCE (600 BC). Moses
never was in Egypt, and 600,000 armed male Israelites never marched out
of Egypt. This is absurd. 600,000 men along with women, wives, and
children would by conservative estimates equate to approximately 2
million people. 2 million people with flocks and herds wandering in the
wilderness for 40 years and they left not one shred of physical evidence
that they were there. What about the bed time story of Joshua and the
city of Jericho. Did the walls come tumbling down and the sun stand
still because the earth stopped rotating? No, these things did not
happen; again the archaeological evidence and the laws of physics speak
the truth about these biblical myths. It is clear that today people have
begun to challenge many of these age old religious myths and we are
finding answers.
The answers are not always pleasant.
It is painful when you first conclude as a child that Santa Claus
does not live at the North Pole in a hidden village. It is painful when
we find out for the first time that most if not all of the “religious
truths” we have been taught as children are myths. These realizations
hurt. Often our pride is injured as well, when we figure out that we
have been misled. Our ego will often refuse to accept the fact that we
believe in myths that we thought were religious doctrines necessary for
our salvation. Coming to
the conclusion that I had been blinded and fooled was not easy for me,
for I was convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Mormon
religion was the one true religion of God.
It is rare to find a person of supreme character, a
person like Socrates, one who pursued the evidence and followed wherever
it lead, and most importantly accepted the new found truths. Along this
journey of truth the honest traveler will adjust his or her conclusions
and perceptions as they meet the world of reality, often for the first
time. This is how we as a human race have progressed from being largely
ignorant of the natural world to having a much clearer knowledge of
creation. We could still be stuck in the dark ages under the rule of
Catholicism had brave men and women not begun to challenge the ignorance
and arrogance of the Papacy. After all the earth never was the center of
the universe, or even the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
The greatest thing about my journey out of Mormonism
is the new truths I have learned along the way. I have become one who is
hungry for knowledge of new things. It feels good and right to jettison
the old myths that are not productive in the least, in helping me in my
quest for enlightenment. Until one finds the courage to take the journey
to learn the truth on their own, to challenge and investigate with an
open mind, setting aside their fear of the truth, they are confined to
live a life of self imposed limits.
Many cling to religion because it gives them a sense
of comfort, some because it fuels their need to feel better than other
people-superior to the rest of common humanity. Far too many Mormons
that I know, and that I have known, take great pride in their
self-righteousness.
I was an active Mormon until age 46. I had been a High
Priest for 10 years, held numerous positions in the ecclesiastical
leadership and been deeply involved as an ordinance worker in the Mormon
temple. I was not a neophyte member, but rather a true believer who kept
seeking for more knowledge about what I thought to be the true religion
of God. There were some major doctrinal and historical teachings that
just did not make sense, and after a long investigative journey I could
no longer live in the world of cognitive dissonance. I could no longer
“just have faith” that I was not being lied to, when in fact I had been
lied to for 46 years. Most of the lies were lies of ignorance. My
teachers and church leaders were only repeating what they had been told.
This I have easily forgiven.
The vast majority of the Mormon people are sincere, yet allow themselves
to be kept in the dark. The real evil remains hidden in the fact that
the “Brethren”, the top 15 men of the Mormon Church know they are not
speaking the truth about the history of Joseph Smith nor will they
promote the true un-polished history of Mormon origins. Mormonism is a
multibillion dollar corporation; these top 15 men are never going to let
the truth be told about their house of cards, for it would tumble to the
ground over night. What is happening is a small consistent defection. In
fact it is not really that small. The best sources estimate that
approximately 100,000 active Mormons each year are resigning with
official letters of resignation so that the Mormon Church by law must
remove their names from its rolls. Recently the
Salt Lake Tribune newspaper
did an article on the staggering rate of inactivity in Utah among the
Mormon people. It is estimated that state wide approximately 30 % of the
Utah Mormons have any regular contact with the Mormon Church (70% have
little or no contact). This trend is also being seen in almost all areas
of the world where the Mormon Church is proselytizing. The vast majority
of converts to this religion fall away or go completely inactive in less
than 3 years, most in less than 1 year. The Internet and a general rise
in education have a lot to do with this. People can click a mouse and
learn all about Mormonism.
The
Mormon Church has figured this out and has recently begun to set up
websites that promote its propaganda. I think it will fail, because the
facts exposing Mormonism are so very divergent from the Mormon
propaganda and apologetics websites that most intelligent people will
see right through the deception. In fact this is how most Mormons are
learning about the historical deception that they have been victims of.
Personally most of my research was done through
reading texts, research papers, examining original Mormon source
documents and through personal conversations with a few key ex-Mormons
who had been in higher leadership positions in the Mormon Church and had
been down the road I was on. Two of these men were formerly employed by
the Mormon Church as Directors of Seminaries and Institutes of Religious
Studies. It was not until after I had resigned from the Mormon Church
that I discovered the plethora of information available on the Internet
about Mormon history and Mormon origins. I also discovered many good
resources and support networks for ex-Mormons. I was glad to see that I
was not alone and to learn that 100’s of thousands of people have left
Mormonism for the same reasons I did. Mormonism
is nothing more than bizarre doctrines, half truths and outright lies.
I strive to be a man of integrity. As questions came
up about my Mormon beliefs I had to make peace with them. I could no
longer allow myself to live like I had an intellectual lobotomy. I have
always been a spiritual person, a seeker. I think that this made me an
odd Mormon from the start. Always wanting to know more, know the why’s
of things, questioning if what I read or had been taught by the church
was accurate. I was not questioning the veracity of these things, I was
questioning my own understanding, and did I understand clearly and
accurately what I had learned. I was eager for knowledge, I thank God
for this quality.
I have always been an admirer of the founding fathers.
The two I would most like to have met were George Washington and Thomas
Jefferson. They are without doubt two of the greatest souls to inhabit
planet earth. I had always been taught that Washington and Jefferson
were Christian men. In a sense they were Christian men, but not
Christians. When I learned they were Deists, I balked. So I began to
research the faiths of the founding fathers of America. Sure enough many
of these men were Deists and critical of the biblical myths and the
piracy of the organized religious groups.
John Adams, another favorite of mine, was a Unitarian. I think if
we had a Unitarian Universalist Church in my small town I would attend
services there. The UU congregations are open, inclusive and do not
preach mythology or biblical damnation for not following the party line.
Spirituality is in my opinion a key element to our
humanness. I also think it is because of this innate desire to feel
oneness with creation and the Great Creator that religious myth has
become a counterfeit parasite on humanity. I invite all to do the
research and see if this theory is not true.
Deism is a natural religion. There is no need for myth
or manmade religious falsity to justify our love for God, The Supreme
Intelligence, Nature’s God.
Where I live in northern Nevada I have a view off my
deck that I, my friends and family call The Cathedral. We look directly
east at the nearly 12,000 foot elevation of the Ruby and Humbolt
mountain ranges, literally about 6 miles away as the crow flies. Each
time that I look with intent at these marvels of geologic creation and
watch as the seasons change the mountain scenes, as the sun rises and
sets, or when the moon rises on snow fields illuminating the dark winter
world, I feel deeply that there is a Supreme Creator.
I take issue with those who would embrace the idea
that all the geologic and botanical beauty, the natural law and
creative-self replicating life forces on our planet happened without
purpose. When we look
deeper into space we see more evidence of design, intelligent design. I
think it a crime that Intelligent Design models are frequently
associated with Creationism-the
biblical myth claiming 6 days of creative work and one day off!
Intelligent
Design theories are not the same as Creationism. Creationism is based on
biblical mythology and is not a scientifically viable thesis.
The wonders and mysteries of the natural world are
being laid open daily by advances in scientific discovery- actually I do
not think we discover anything. I think that we only uncover, and call
it discovery, those things that have always been there, waiting for
mankind to find them out and apply these new found wonders to our lives.
I wonder how much more we would know about our planet and the universe
if for almost 1,200 years Catholicism would not have greatly obstructed
the intellectual advancement of mankind. How much further would we be
today in reduced loss of life and the horrors of war if there were not
Muslims, Christians and Jews fighting over which god is right and which
group has the right to live? This has been going on for almost 1,700
years. It is without a
doubt time for human beings to wake up and overcome the control of all
organized religion and to begin to see that all mankind is equal in
their right to live without the propagation of religious myths that
cloud their judgment. To feel free to live a life intent on happiness
and prosperity, “We hold these truths to be self evident”.
The tenants of Deism make such a world possible. The
same tenants that were written into the Declaration of Independence by
Thomas Jefferson are the same tenants upon which Deism is based. The
American Republic established by the founders of America is the best and
most secure form of government ever devised, with its strong separation
of church and state-for good reason. Let all mankind live a life based
on reason and conscience that is rooted in universal morality and we
will prosper. Let a strong system of laws be established to assure good
social order and assure individual accountability for any infringements
upon the rights or property of others, and mankind will live in a state
of harmony never before known in history, which was the goal of
America’s founders.
My wife and I made this journey out of Mormonism together. We have been
blessed with a wonderful marriage of 25 years. We have had many trials
and purifying life experiences that we would not trade. It has been our
journey in life thus far that has made us who we are.
We have a family motto that
serves to remind us of our responsibilities as citizens and fellow
travelers on our planet, it is as follows: “I will not be involved in
anything that is illegal, immoral or unethical and I will do the right
thing because it is the right thing to do”. This is the basic tenant of
Deism; it is sweet, simple and covers all the bases of how to properly
conduct one’s life. The adherents of organized religion are mislead into
thinking that moral and ethical truths come from their brand of
religion, and without religion there would be utter chaos in the world.
Obviously religion has not stopped the world wide chaos we are
experiencing. In fact, it is my considered conclusion that religion is
the cause of much of the moral and social degeneration we are
experiencing. As mankind has begun to figure out the lies of religion,
we have become rudderless, and in many cases angry. This has caused a
backlash that is evident in the rebellious and immoral nature of our
current social climate.
Many people are no longer willing to follow the lies
and manipulative tactics of the organized religious bodies.
Instead of finding out the truth in full and making wise self
preserving decisions that will enhance their lives, far too many have
decided to throw the baby out with the bath water; “Oh what the hell, it
does not matter anyway”! Was Karl Marx correct, that religion is only an
opiate of the people? I would say that this is mostly true. Religion is
specifically designed to control people, and it has stooped to the
lowest levels of dishonesty to make sure it maintains its control and
power. What is the answer? Self government based on sound moral and
ethical principles, this is the clarion call of Deism. This is the basis
on which the Republic of the United States of America was founded. The
only thing that can assure a peaceful and moral society is personal and
national integrity.
I see the evidence for God every day of my life.
The evidence of the Supreme Creator is all around us. Let us
strive to make good in the world and serve each other with the talents
we are blessed to possess and that we have developed with our efforts
and God given abilities.
Truly, God gave us Reason, Not Religion.
The survey shows a giant step forward for Deism in the fact that it actually uses the word "Deist" and for the very significant raw numbers it shows as representing the number of people who are Deists. In reality, the number of Deists is actually higher than the survey shows because the survey uses an outdated definition of Deist. For a more accurate definition please see our Deism Defined page.
Click here to read the actual survey. (It's in PDF)
One of the reasons the freethinker Giordano Bruno was tortured and murdered by being burned alive by the Catholic Church during the Inquisition was that he said the Universe is eternal and infinite which violates the superstitions in the Bible found in Genesis. This new study vindicates Bruno.
The Abraham Accord between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and the US seems to be more of a war plan against Iran than any kind of legitimate peace agreement.