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 11^th. 

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 19^th 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 19^th 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 7^th 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.