6 Secret Things You Didn't Know About The Mormons

My name is Graham Hettinger, and I am an Ex-Mormon. I spent the first 18 years of my life as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints a.k.a. The LDS Church a.k.a. The Mormons. As a faithful member, I never questioned what my church leaders told me. It wasn't until I left, that I came to realize just how strange, twisted, and dark the Mormon Church really is.

1. Joseph Smith Was A Convicted Con-Man And Treasure Hunter

As a young man, and before he founded the Mormon church, Joseph Smith was known around his town as a treasure hunter and "glass looker". He was taken to court three times on charges of disorderly conduct and being an imposter, after parading himself around town as one who could use "seer stones" to find hidden treasure on the property of the locals. This was all before "discovering" the Book of Mormon hidden in a local hillside.

" [Smith said] he had a certain stone which he had occasionally looked at to determine where hidden treasures in the bowels of the earth were; that he professed to tell in this manner where gold mines were a distance under ground... That at Palmyra he pretended to tell by looking at this stone where coined money was buried in Pennsylvania" (Source: Fraser's Magazine, Pg. 244 - Published: 1873)

2. Joseph Smith Practiced Polygamy and Polyandry

In the year 1843, Joseph Smith received a revelation from God that he should begin the practice of polygamy in an effort to grow his Church. Little known to many, is the fact that Joseph Smith had already married roughly 19 woman before that date, some as young as 16. On top of that, he also married about 11 woman in his lifetime who were already married to another man; a practice known as polyandry. (And a practice that is specifically deemed to be adultery in the same revelation that allowed the practice of polygamy, as noted below.)

"And as ye have asked concerning adultery, verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man receiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed." (Source: LDS Scripture; Doctrine and Covenants, Section 132, Verse 41)

3. Current Mormon Bishops Ask Under-Age Children Sexually Explicit Questions in Interviews

From the age of 12 and onward, Mormon children have one-on-one interviews with their Bishops (local congregation leaders). These interviews are most commonly held as a prerequisite for entering the Mormon temples. To be clear, the Mormon Bishops are not formally-trained, nor are they paid for holding this position. They are simply a member of the local congregation that a regional leader has deemed suitable for this job. Additionally, parent's are not allowed to be present for these interviews. Both the young boys and the young girls are often asked about their sexual behavior. A portion of the 'Church Handbook of Instructions: Book One' is shown below, directing the Bishops what to discuss. [It should be noted that this Handbook is not made public by the LDS Church, and was leaked to WikiLeaks.]

"Another matter for discussion should be the importance of obeying the commandments, particularly...Being modest in dress and action, refraining from any kind of sexual activity, and refraining from reading, listening to, or viewing pornographic material..." (Source: Church Handbook of Instructions: Book One, Page 24-25)

4. Mormons Posthumously Baptized Anne Frank and Adolf Hitler

This one is pretty straightforward. Mormons believe in baptizing the dead into the LDS Church, in an effort to save the souls of those who passed on. While Anne Frank and Adolf Hitler alone would be a moral atrocity, the Mormons had a habit of posthumously baptizing Holocaust victims. The LDS Church publicly stated in 1995 that they put a stop to baptisms of Holocaust victims; however, it was reported that in 2012 Anne Frank was vicariously baptized into the Mormon Church. (Against the policy of the Church which requires family approval prior to baptism.)

"Although the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints promised in 1995 to stop including Holocaust victims in its ritual, the church admitted last week that Anne Frank had been “baptized” in a Mormon church..." (Source: New York Times article by Mark Oppenheimer - Published: March 2, 2012)

5. LDS Beliefs are Really, Really Racist (And tend to disregard science)

According to the Book of Mormon, translated/written by Joseph Smith, members of the LDS Church believe that dark skin is a curse from God for rejecting his laws and power. It's especially miraculous when someone's skin can change back to white, if they are sufficiently obedient to God. For many years, Mormon Prophets publicly stated, referencing the Book of Mormon, that African-Americans would not be able to join the LDS Church or hold the Priesthood. In 1978, President of the Church Spencer W. Kimball announced that all worthy men, regardless of race or color, would be able to hold the Priesthood.

Alma 3:6 "And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression..." (Source: The Book of Mormon)

3 Nephi 2:15 " And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites ..." (Source: The Book of Mormon)

6. Joseph Smith Was Caught Lying About His Translation Powers

Since there is more than one instance of Joseph Smith being outed as fraud, I will focus on the most important one: the Book of Abraham. This book is part of the LDS canon of scriptures today, and has an origin story to rival any superhero. The short of it is that in 1835, a traveling exhibition of Egyptian mummies and papyri came through Smith's town. Smith took a great interest in the Egyptian scrolls, bought the whole lot, and began translating them. After roughly a month of translating, Smith presented his Church with the Book of Abraham. Cut to 1967, the LDS Church gets their hands on the original Egyptian papyri and, armed with a knowledge of the Egyptian alphabet and language thanks to the Rosetta Stone, translate the document... to disappointing results.

"Here then is final evidence that Joseph Smith created the Book of Abraham by guesswork translation —in the usual sense— from the signs on the Egyptian papyri that he owned. The specific source of the Book of Abraham is the “Breathing Permit of Hôr,” misunderstood and mistranslated by Joseph Smith (Source: Dr. Robert Ritner, Professor of Egyptology in the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)