Apologette
01-16-2014, 09:41 AM
It is, quite frankly, sickening to see how Mormons justify the sexual pranks of Joseph Smith. He was a predatory animal, and totally without remorse or conscience. There is really nothing distinguishing Smith from David Koresh or Jim Jones. A secular article explains what we're dealing with when we look at Joseph Smith or his followers:
"In many cults, the sexuality and sex lives of members are controlled,
manipulated, and exploited, just as are other aspects of life. Cult leaders
seem to realize rather quickly (if they didn=t already have it in mind) that
a great source of power can be found in the sexual control of their
followers. Most people come into cults with certain personal values,
including having a sense of their own sexual preferences, behaviors,
norms, and expectations. But because of the influence of the group=s
persuasive methods, reinforced by leadership demands and peer pressure,
in most cases a cult member=s value system and sense of morality get
altered, sometimes radically. Enforcing sexual submission may be
considered the final step in the objectification of the individual as cult
member." ( Dominance and Submission: The Psychosexual
Exploitation of Women in Cults1
Janja Lalich
Community Resources on Influence & Control
Alameda, California
Is there any doubt that Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormons, was a Master Manipulator of young girls? Look at the techniques he used: promising the 14 year old, Helen Mar Kimball, that she and her whole family would be exalted to godhood if she "married" him; that a sword-wielding angel would kill him if he didn't engage in polygamous relationships; using family members of the targeted females (often males promised their own plural wife if they cooperated) to influence the young girl to comply with the goal - 'plural marriage" to a man much older and already legally married - Heber Kimball being an example of this. These are all manipulative techniques used by Smith to control and exploit young girls.
The article cited above well describes Joseph Smith, cult leader, manipulator, and obvious pyschopath:
"Psychopaths are social predators who charm, manipulate, and
ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving a broad trail of
broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets.
Completely lacking in conscience and in feelings for others,
they selfishly take what they want and do as they please,
violating social norms and expectations without the slightest
sense of guilt or regret. (Hare, 1993, p. xi)"
Smith was charming, charismatic, and able to attract people, but he didn't have the slightest hesitation in terms of lying. He lied to Emma. He lied about being visited by God (or angels, or Jesus, or God and Jesus, etc.) in a grove - and embellished his story as time went on, (contrast various accounts here: http://www.mrm.org/first-vision). Smith was a thief, and many left the cult when their wallets were emptied in the Kirtland Banking fraud engineered by Smith and Rigdon - who hightailed it out of town when the law caught up with the deception (a convenient mission call), leaving poor Oliver Cowdery holding the empty bag). Smith was an adulterous dog (to use a street term), kicking Mormon men to the curb (sending them on convenient missions) and marrying their wives in their absence, then telling the wives to remain with their legal husbands so he wouldn't get caught red-handed should they become pregnant. This demonstrates an especially sick example of how women were manipulated by Smith. Their morality was shaped into something other than the norm by their belief that their cult leader could do no wrong - that everything he did had God's stamp of approval. Smith cared nothing for "social norms," because for him they did not exist. He established what was right and what was wrong, and as the article states, he never demonstrated any guilt or regret - except in the instance of being caught! Smith ordered his minion, Porter Rockwell, to ******inate Governor Boggs of Missouri, and this is established by William Law, Smith's Counselor (http://mormonthink.com/grant7.htm ). Smith obviously had no conscience at all - he justified all his acts by attributing them to his "god," which in reality was himself! Smith was mentally ill, period! And that's a kindness, since the other alternative would be to say that the man was totally possessed by a Satanic demon (which very well might be the truth).
The article continues:
Given the arbitrary and erratic nature of cult leaders and their reasoning,
rules may change often and unexpectedly. But no matter what the set-up,
behaviors and at***udes are directed from on high and are not to be
disputed. The cult leadership justifies these rules by explaining that the
particular lifestyle is necessary to reach the purported goal whether it be
spiritual awakening, political or social revolution, personal development,
or even financial prosperity.
Ultimately, once someone has been led to accept the cult leader=s
philosophy, then just about anything goes. He calls the shots, and
members are expected to go along with the program or get out. Threat of
expulsion gets equated with losing a chance at salvation, and can be too
grim a prospect for a person who is psychologically trapped in a cultic
system. Even the risk of losing the camaraderie and emotional support of
fellow members can carry enough weight to keep a person tied to the
cult. (ibid.)
Can anyone familiar with Joseph Smith deny that the above explains Smith's control to a "t?" Smith was arbitrary and erratic, changing the presentation of his views as needed. To the world, he was a monogamist, a faithful husband and devoted father. To the targeted members of his cult, he was simply following the orders of his god, or some angel, and engaging in promiscuity in order to obey some capricious deity who demanded sex outside of legal marriage in order to "produce souls" that would take on bodies and increase one's "kingdom." Smith called the shots, and members were to comply - or excommunication loomed! Notice it says, "the cult leadership (in this case, Smith) justifies rules by explaining that a particular lifestyle (in this case polygamy or polyandry) is necessary to reach some purported goal (which was the production of offspring to increase Smith's and "heavenly father's" kingdom, because after all, all those spirits in the celestial kingdom were waiting impatiently to take on bodies in mortality and earn godhood).
Folks, Joseph Smith was a cl***ic example of a very sick, psychopathic and malignantly narcissistic cult leader. His control extends beyond the grave, as anyone posting here for any length of time can see. His poor followers justify his every act as sacred and justified, because after all he was in touch with "heavenly father, some invented deity from another planet who was especially concerned about Smith's sex life - concerned enough to produce a revelation (D&C 132) that any Muslim mullah would be proud of - "take as many virgins as you need, Joe, I'm with you!" Smith's revelations rival Mohammed's, that's for sure.
The Mormons here are TBMs, and that means they are totally sold out to Joseph Smith and view him as a deified personage, a god out there mingling with other gods. His sordid behavior, his predatory acts, are all justified by these cultists, and penetrating into the reality of the matter seems beyond their intellectual ability. They would hand over their own female children to Smith in a NY minute because their "god," Smith is not to be questioned. He is, after all, in contact with other deities near starbase Kolob, who have authorized his acts. Such is what we are dealing with her. It is sad. I suggest everybody here read about the power of cult leaders, as exemplified by Joseph Smith, so that they can have good insight into what we're dealing with on apologetic boards.
http://cultresearch.org/pdf/csj14-1.pdf
"In many cults, the sexuality and sex lives of members are controlled,
manipulated, and exploited, just as are other aspects of life. Cult leaders
seem to realize rather quickly (if they didn=t already have it in mind) that
a great source of power can be found in the sexual control of their
followers. Most people come into cults with certain personal values,
including having a sense of their own sexual preferences, behaviors,
norms, and expectations. But because of the influence of the group=s
persuasive methods, reinforced by leadership demands and peer pressure,
in most cases a cult member=s value system and sense of morality get
altered, sometimes radically. Enforcing sexual submission may be
considered the final step in the objectification of the individual as cult
member." ( Dominance and Submission: The Psychosexual
Exploitation of Women in Cults1
Janja Lalich
Community Resources on Influence & Control
Alameda, California
Is there any doubt that Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormons, was a Master Manipulator of young girls? Look at the techniques he used: promising the 14 year old, Helen Mar Kimball, that she and her whole family would be exalted to godhood if she "married" him; that a sword-wielding angel would kill him if he didn't engage in polygamous relationships; using family members of the targeted females (often males promised their own plural wife if they cooperated) to influence the young girl to comply with the goal - 'plural marriage" to a man much older and already legally married - Heber Kimball being an example of this. These are all manipulative techniques used by Smith to control and exploit young girls.
The article cited above well describes Joseph Smith, cult leader, manipulator, and obvious pyschopath:
"Psychopaths are social predators who charm, manipulate, and
ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving a broad trail of
broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets.
Completely lacking in conscience and in feelings for others,
they selfishly take what they want and do as they please,
violating social norms and expectations without the slightest
sense of guilt or regret. (Hare, 1993, p. xi)"
Smith was charming, charismatic, and able to attract people, but he didn't have the slightest hesitation in terms of lying. He lied to Emma. He lied about being visited by God (or angels, or Jesus, or God and Jesus, etc.) in a grove - and embellished his story as time went on, (contrast various accounts here: http://www.mrm.org/first-vision). Smith was a thief, and many left the cult when their wallets were emptied in the Kirtland Banking fraud engineered by Smith and Rigdon - who hightailed it out of town when the law caught up with the deception (a convenient mission call), leaving poor Oliver Cowdery holding the empty bag). Smith was an adulterous dog (to use a street term), kicking Mormon men to the curb (sending them on convenient missions) and marrying their wives in their absence, then telling the wives to remain with their legal husbands so he wouldn't get caught red-handed should they become pregnant. This demonstrates an especially sick example of how women were manipulated by Smith. Their morality was shaped into something other than the norm by their belief that their cult leader could do no wrong - that everything he did had God's stamp of approval. Smith cared nothing for "social norms," because for him they did not exist. He established what was right and what was wrong, and as the article states, he never demonstrated any guilt or regret - except in the instance of being caught! Smith ordered his minion, Porter Rockwell, to ******inate Governor Boggs of Missouri, and this is established by William Law, Smith's Counselor (http://mormonthink.com/grant7.htm ). Smith obviously had no conscience at all - he justified all his acts by attributing them to his "god," which in reality was himself! Smith was mentally ill, period! And that's a kindness, since the other alternative would be to say that the man was totally possessed by a Satanic demon (which very well might be the truth).
The article continues:
Given the arbitrary and erratic nature of cult leaders and their reasoning,
rules may change often and unexpectedly. But no matter what the set-up,
behaviors and at***udes are directed from on high and are not to be
disputed. The cult leadership justifies these rules by explaining that the
particular lifestyle is necessary to reach the purported goal whether it be
spiritual awakening, political or social revolution, personal development,
or even financial prosperity.
Ultimately, once someone has been led to accept the cult leader=s
philosophy, then just about anything goes. He calls the shots, and
members are expected to go along with the program or get out. Threat of
expulsion gets equated with losing a chance at salvation, and can be too
grim a prospect for a person who is psychologically trapped in a cultic
system. Even the risk of losing the camaraderie and emotional support of
fellow members can carry enough weight to keep a person tied to the
cult. (ibid.)
Can anyone familiar with Joseph Smith deny that the above explains Smith's control to a "t?" Smith was arbitrary and erratic, changing the presentation of his views as needed. To the world, he was a monogamist, a faithful husband and devoted father. To the targeted members of his cult, he was simply following the orders of his god, or some angel, and engaging in promiscuity in order to obey some capricious deity who demanded sex outside of legal marriage in order to "produce souls" that would take on bodies and increase one's "kingdom." Smith called the shots, and members were to comply - or excommunication loomed! Notice it says, "the cult leadership (in this case, Smith) justifies rules by explaining that a particular lifestyle (in this case polygamy or polyandry) is necessary to reach some purported goal (which was the production of offspring to increase Smith's and "heavenly father's" kingdom, because after all, all those spirits in the celestial kingdom were waiting impatiently to take on bodies in mortality and earn godhood).
Folks, Joseph Smith was a cl***ic example of a very sick, psychopathic and malignantly narcissistic cult leader. His control extends beyond the grave, as anyone posting here for any length of time can see. His poor followers justify his every act as sacred and justified, because after all he was in touch with "heavenly father, some invented deity from another planet who was especially concerned about Smith's sex life - concerned enough to produce a revelation (D&C 132) that any Muslim mullah would be proud of - "take as many virgins as you need, Joe, I'm with you!" Smith's revelations rival Mohammed's, that's for sure.
The Mormons here are TBMs, and that means they are totally sold out to Joseph Smith and view him as a deified personage, a god out there mingling with other gods. His sordid behavior, his predatory acts, are all justified by these cultists, and penetrating into the reality of the matter seems beyond their intellectual ability. They would hand over their own female children to Smith in a NY minute because their "god," Smith is not to be questioned. He is, after all, in contact with other deities near starbase Kolob, who have authorized his acts. Such is what we are dealing with her. It is sad. I suggest everybody here read about the power of cult leaders, as exemplified by Joseph Smith, so that they can have good insight into what we're dealing with on apologetic boards.
http://cultresearch.org/pdf/csj14-1.pdf