I was raised a Mormon, in the days when we were taught what Mormons actually believe, and before they started pretending to be more mainstream. They would love to pretend to be just another christian denomination, but this couldn't be farther from the truth.
In the wake of the complete travesty that was Proposition 8, the Mormon Church brought itself lots of publicity and fame. But, IMO, not nearly enough. The true teachings of the Mormon Church need to be brought to light so that everyone understands just who it is that they are listening to.
Without further ado, I bring you the wacky teachings taught to me as a child and some of the information I uncovered when searching for the truth about my former religion.
1. Blood Atonement
This is the most secretive of all Mormon teachings. They will deny it. Most modern Mormons have no idea that this was actually practiced in the early days of the church.
Blood Atonement is the most frightening of all teachings and they have backpeddeled away from it as fast as they can. Here it is in a nutshell. Mormons believed that the blood of Christ was not enough for atonement of some sins. They believed that the blood of the sinner must be spilled in order to save his soul.
I have copied these quotes from here, but I actually read them in the books mentioned, which, unfortunately, I do not still possess.
There is of course no remaining evidence or proof that this was actually practiced in the early days of the LDS Church although there is plenty of speculation and rumor.
Under the section, "Blood Atonement," of the book, Mormon Doctrine, LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie wrote, "...there are some serious sins for which the cleansing of Christ does not operate, and the law of God is that men must then have their own blood shed to atone for their sins," (2nd ed. 1979, p.92).
In the same article McConkie quoted his father-in-law, who was the tenth Mormon Prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith, as saying:
"Man may commit certain grievous sins... that will place him beyond the reach of the atoning blood of Christ.... If these offenses are committed, then the blood of Christ will not cleanse them from their sins even though they repent. Therefore their only hope is to have their own blood shed to atone... (Doctrine of Salvation, Vol. 1, pp. 133-138)" (Ibid).
McConkie went own to explain that the Mormon blood atonement, "...doctrine can only be practiced in its fullness in a day when the civil and ecclesiastical laws are administered in the same hands," in other words, when Church and State are one, an obvious reference to a future in which the government will be controlled by the LDS Church, a Mormon Theocracy.
My parents believed the day would come when a Mormon Theocracy would rule. It was taught to me as the perfect form of government.
2. Temple Marriage
Temple Marriage sounds kind of sweet and romantic, right? You get to marry the one you love and have it be "For time and all eternity". The reality is that it's extremely misogynistic. If you are a man and married in the temple, if your wife dies you can remarry another woman in the temple too. That means that you can have both wives in the hereafter. (Or more, if you were that busy). A widow however, who married in the temple cannot remarry in the temple. She is bound to that one man in the hereafter and no other. She may have another "earthly" marriage, but not a temple one. Modern Mormon women have pretty much chosen to ignore this fact and the church is happy to let them and not draw attention to its sexist teachings.
Many scriptural links here
3. Garments
The funny Mormon underwear. Mormons receive and have to wear garments after they have been to the temple to get "endowments". Endowments, as I understand it are instructions and promises to God. I never made it as far as the temple but I heard a lot about garments growing up. Mormons wear garments next to their skin at all times. They are considered holy and worn out ones cannot simply be thrown away. They have to have special "Marks" cut out of them first. The garments are considered to be protective. I heard countless stories of bullets that wouldn't go through garments or evil spirits that tried to get into a body only to be repelled by the garments.
An interesting side note about the endowments is that up until 1990 there was an oath that all Mormons took when receiving endowments. In the interest of keeping Mormonism mainstream and the more cultish doctrines secret it has been changed. According to Wiki it was this:
Prior to 1927, participants made an oath that if they ever revealed the secret gestures of the ceremony, they would be subject to the following:
" my throat...be cut from ear to ear, and my tongue torn out by its roots
our breasts...be torn open, our hearts and vitals torn out and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field
your body...be cut asunder and all your bowels gush out.
[changed to] different ways in which life may be taken.
From an account of the temple rituals:
Finally St James and St John appear and proclaim the true gospel of Mormonism, which all gladly embrace. After this they receive certain grips and pass-words, and all are arranged in a circle, kneel, and the women lower their veils. Then, with the right hand uplifted, an oath is taken to avenge the death of Joseph Smith, jun., upon the gentiles who had caused his murder, to teach the children of the church to do likewise, [The oath against the murderers of the Smiths has since been removed.] to obey implicitly and without murmur or question all commands of the priesthood, to refrain from adultery, and finally, eternal secrecy concerning all that transpired in the endowment house is promised.
4. Swimming missionaries (or not)
One of the kookiest beliefs that Mormons have is that Satan has control of the waters. They will deny and backpedal, like they do all their kooky beliefs, but I was taught this as a child by my VERY faithful parents.
Missionaries are instructed not to swim. Apparently Satan is just waiting in the water to tempt or drown them and keep them from converting people to the gospel. My brother went on a mission and I still remember the warnings my father gave him before he left. Stories of missionaries who drowned in the water, or had narrow escapes, etc.etc.
This link spells it all out.
5. Becoming Gods
"As man is, God once was, as God is, man shall be". If a faithful Mormon makes it to the celestial kingdom he looks forward to becoming a God, creating and populating his own worlds. And here lies the real reason for plural marriage which is still practiced in heaven although they have eschewed it for now. A man becomes a God with the capability of creating and populating his worlds, and guess what the wives get to do? The populating part. Faithful Mormon wives get to look forward to be barefoot and pregnant in heaven for time and all eternity. Sign me up (not)! I argued this one with my mother for years. She was a brilliant woman and how she ever fell for this is really beyond me. Mormon women even have to wait for their husbands to resurrect them into the next life.
Each candidate then puts on over his robe an apron of white linen, upon which are sewn pieces of green silk representing fig-leaves, and also the cap or veil. All good Mormons are buried in their endowment robes, and the veil worn by the women covers their faces when they are consigned to the grave. In the morning of the resurrection, this veil is to be lifted by the husband; otherwise no woman can see the face of the almighty in the next world. This ends the first degree; and the initiated are now driven out of Eden into room No. 4, which represents the world, where they encounter many temptations, the chief of which is the false gospel preached by methodists, baptists, etc.
See the links under Temple Marriage.
6. Differentiating evil and good spirits
Evil spirits are out there and just waiting to pounce on faithless or hapless Mormons. But wait! It's easy to tell if its a good or evil one. Just ask it to shake your hand.
Doctrine and Covenants Sect. 129 verses 1-9
1 There are two kinds of beings in heaven, namely: Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones—
2 For instance, Jesus said: Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
3 Secondly: the spirits of just men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory.
4 When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you.
5 If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.
6 If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear—
7 Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message.
8 If it be the devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him.
9 These are three grand keys whereby you may know whether any administration is from God.
7. The founder, Joseph Smith was certifiable
This is important, because Mormons believe that their prophets are in direct touch with God. They are Gods spokesperson on earth. If a prophet makes a mistake, then God makes a mistake. They have of course tried to backpedal from this one too.
Doctrine and Covenants 21 Verse 5
5 For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
They simply cannot have it both ways. If a prophet related all these doctrines and rituals then they were straight from god and cannot and should not be changed. If they are changed then he was no prophet.
Joseph Smith in addition to claiming to receive a visit from an Angel, being given something called a "Urim and Thummin" to translate the Golden Plates with, was known to have scammed people before that ever happened. He was a treasure digger and convinced people he could look at a stone in his hat and get revelations about where the treasure was. This has been extensively documented at http://www.utlm.org/...
Note: LDS doctrine is not to be found simply in the Bible or Book of Mormon. It is also to be found in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price and in the Journal of Discourses.
I apologize to any Mormons here if I have offended you. I have nothing against Mormons, individually, at least those who have not donated and helped to take away the rights of my gay brothers and sisters. But the truth about the Mormon church needs to get out there. They are dishonest and try to hide the truth about their beginnings and teachings.