GORDON B. HINCKLEY
The Living LYING "Prophet?"
The Church was never meant to be an "end in itself". It was meant to "prepare the way"; like John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus.
This article will reveal a few disturbing facts about President Hinckley. This article was not written to destroy your faith in the Church, but to re-center your faith not in Church leaders, but in Jesus Christ.
"I move the Curse of Cain to the little trash can, and that's that!
*Negroes are the descendants of Cain.
*The Mark of Cain was a black skin, flat nose, and kinky hair.
*Negroes were "less valiant" in the War in Heaven in the Pre-Existence.
*Negroes would not get the Priesthood until after the Millennium.
This was known as "The Curse of Cain Doctrine". It was always presented as "a doctrine of the Church" from the time of Brigham Young into the days of Spencer W. Kimball (late 1970s). At no time was it ever put forth as "personal opinion".
In a 1997 interview on the Australian COMPASS tv program, he was asked:
COMPASS: "What was the reason for that? [i.e. denying blacks the priesthood]HINCKLEY: "I don't know what the reason for that was."
(COMPASS, aired Nov. 1997, Australian Broadcasting System)
Was Hinckley being honest here? Did he REALLY "NOT" know the "reason" why blacks were banned for so long?
Hinckley worked for the Church since 1930. He was a General Authority since 1951. He was in Quorum of the Twelve meetings when the priesthood-ban was discussed, for at least three decades. He was an Apostle during at least 27 years of the priesthood-ban.
In 1949 the First Presidency issued this statement (signed by all three members):
"The attitude of the Church with reference to Negroes remains as it has always stood. It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandement from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the Church from the days of its organization, to the effect that Negroes may become members of the Church but that they are not entitled to the priesthood at the present time." (The First Presidency on the Negro Question, 17 Aug. 1949)You simply CANNOT get any more "official" than an official statement from The First Presidency.
This is NOT all! Don Jesse, the OFFICIAL spokesman for the LDS Church, issued a letter in 2003 which DENIED that the Church ever taught that blacks are cursed or the descendants of Cain! Read it here:
Don Jesse LIED! The Curse of Cain was an official doctrine of the Church, and the priesthood-ban an official policy of the Church based solely upon the Curse of Cain doctrine.
Others at Church Offices have lied worse than Jesse! Here are two conversations this author had with Don LeFevre (Church Spokesman before Don Jesse) and Brook Hales (spokesman in the Office of the First Presidency):
Caller: “Yes, I would like to know if the Mormon Church ever taught that blacks were cursed or the descendants of Cain?”A large packet of materials was sent to Brook Hales at the Office of The First Presidency; including quotes from all Church Presidents and Apostles concerning the Curse of Cain as well as photocopies of official Statements of The First Presidency that the Priesthood ban was based upon the Curse of Cain and that it was “a doctrine of the Church”. Eight month later this author and the non-Member called the Office of The First Presidency again and again the non-Member was transferred to Brook Hales of that office. Here is a report of that second conversation:Hales: “No! The Church has never taught that black people were cursed or the descendants of Cain!”
Caller: “Then why are there these websites with quotes from Brigham Young and other Church leaders to the effect that blacks are the descendants of Cain and cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood?”
Hales: “Really? I’ve never seen them! You know, people say lots of things about the Church that isn’t true; especially on the Internet!”
Caller: “But I’ve read books about it, and the Church did in fact teach that blacks couldn’t hold the Priesthood until 1978. Wasn’t that based on the Curse of Cain?”
Hales: “Well...we...they..LOOK! The Church has NEVER taught that black people were cursed! Never that they were the descendants of Cain! I can’t help with other people say!”
Caller: “Can I send you some information quoting early Church leaders?”
Hales: “Sure!”
Caller: “Did the LDS Church teach that black people were the cursed descendants of Cain?”The following is from a telephone conversation between a non-Member caller and Don LeFevre (for many years-including many years before 1978-the official Church Spokesman). This conversation took place after Brother LeFevre retired as Church Spokesman:Hales: “Not at all! The Church teaches that we are ALL the sons and daughters of God. All equal in every respect.”
Caller: “But how can you explain all the quotes of early Church leaders that Negroes are the cursed descendants of Cain, and that Cain was cursed with a black skin?”
Hales: “Well, you know, some of the early Church members used to speculate on a lot of things, but this was something never approved by the Brethren-ah....by the leaders of the Church!”
Caller: “So, you’re saying that the Church never taught that blacks are the descendants of Cain?”
Hales: “Not that I’m aware of.”
Caller: “I’d like to know if the Mormon Church taught or not that black people were the descendants of Cain, and inherited his curse; which was a denial of the Priesthood and a black skin?”Hinckley wants to erase all the negative things in the Mormon past, for "PR" purpuses. He would come out and say, "The Church was WRONG to deny blacks the Priesthood!" He said essentially that during a recent Priesthood session of General Conference:LeFevre: (very confidently) “No! That has never been a teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!” Caller: “But why then couldn’t blacks have the Priesthood before 1978?”
LeFevre: “Now that’s a difficult question! There’s been much speculation on that. We really don’t know why.”
Caller: “Did it have anything to do with the Curse of Cain?”
LeFevre: “No”
Caller: “Look, Mr. LeFevre, I have Mormon friends who’ve shown me hundreds of pages of documents proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that your Church taught that Negroes were the descendants of Cain and that because of this they couldn’t have the Priesthood and that your own Prohets taught this as doctrine! What have you to say?”
LeFevre: (humorously) “Well, ha..if they did teach that, I don’t believe it!”
Caller: “You don’t believe they ever taught it?”
LeFevre: “I just don’t believe it, PERIOD! I never believed it! Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Caller: “Yes, you can start telling me the truth!”
LeFevre: laughs and hangs-up the phone
“I remind you that no man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ. How can any man holding the Melchizedek Priesthood arrogantly assume that he is eligible for the priesthood whereas another who lives a righteous life but whose skin is of a different color, is ineligible?”That would mean that Brigham Young and ALL LDS Church Presidents (up until and including Spencer W. Kimball who believed the priesthood-ban was of God) (and most Apostles including Bruce R. McConkie) from his day until only recent times were not true disciples of Christ!
Hincley is trying to cover-up the Curse of Cain legacy!
The Church has become "The Party"; as George Orwell wrote, rewriting the past:
"The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth." (George Orwell, 1984, chapter 7)
The Mark Hofmann Bombings
In April 1980 Mark Hofmann, a Church Member in Salt Lake City, claimed to discover an old Mormon document. It was presented to Church leaders...
Hofmann would "discover" hundreds of such documents over the years. In 1981, Acting Church President Gordon B. Hinckley (he was 3rd Counsellor but Acting President because the rest of the First Presidency was senile) was warned repeatedly by letter from a Morrisite Prophet that Hofmann was "an atheist and a liar" and that had forged the documents. Hinckley choose to ignore these warnings and continue buying documents directly from Hofmann; usually hiding them in The First Presidency's Vault (to save himself and the Church from embarassment).
Hinckley bought many documents directly from Hofmann; documents which Hinckley thought were genuine, but were fakes manufactured by Hofmann. Hinckley rejected ALL the warnings--even telling Church Security to intercept all such letters.
On October 15, 1985, Hofmann killed Steve Christensen; a Mormon bishop who had discovered that Hofmann was lying. He killed him by the use of a pipe-bomb; left at Christensen's place of business. The next day Hofmann killed Kathy Sheets, the wife of the former boss of Steve Christensen, merely to "throw off" police from suspecting him of killing Christensen.
The next day Mark Hofmann, while taking out a third bomb to kill another innocent person, dropped the bomb while getting out of his car. The bomb exploded, and seriously injured Hofmann. Police investigators soon suspected Hofmann.
Hinckley told police that "Hofmann was innocent". Church leaders had arranged an illegal and secret $185,000 loan for Hofmann from First Interstate Bank; so Hofmann could "buy" some more documents embarassing to the Church, and then donate them secretly to the Church so they would not published.
After a Preliminary Hearing in 1986, Hofmann confessed to forging hundreds of documents, and to double-homicide by means of bombs. He is now serving life in prison.
Hinckley held a 30-minute news conference after newspapers and t.v. revealed that Hofmann had met with Hinckley personally, one to one, many times, and that Hinckley had paid Hofmann from a "special account" not linked to the Church directly, so that Hinckley could "honestly" say that the Church had no purchased such and such document that he was trying to hide. When reporters tried to ask Hinckley and Oaks and Pinnock direct questions, Oaks kept saying, "Could you rephrase your question?" and "The Church was bent upon NOT securing the McLellin Collection [a lie]" and "We've already answered that!" When Hinckley was asked (by a BYU journalist student) if he had bought documents to hide them, Hinckley answered by telling the young man that the Church was obligated to buy historical documents, then he went into a diatribe about the new History building just built, then he ended the news conference.
After that Oaks told an assembly at BYU that the Brethren "could" have discerned Hofmann, but they had to turn-off their Spirit of Discernment in order to "do business" daily (i.e. the Spirit of Discernment would cause them to be suspecious of everyone, and thus prevent them from doing daily Church business).
Yes...really...he really said that!
You can read about Mark Hofmann and his forgeries and murders in the book The Mormon Murders; a new edition has been published, and you can find this book at any major bookstore chain (Barnes&Noble, Borders, B.Dalton, etc.:
You can read a brief overview of the Hofmann Episode at:
Before 1978, there were tens of thousands of Black Africans who had, beginning in the late 1950s, formed Book of Mormon believing congregations. One was called "The Mormon Church of Nigeria" and another "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Inc.". There were others. At one time, the Mormon Church of Nigeria had over 40,000 members.
Quite a few male members of the Mormon Church of Nigeria, and the other churches, were also polygamists; a common thing in West Africa. In Nigeria especially, it is not uncommon for a man to have more than one wife. When a Christian church comes along and converts the man, he is allowed to keep all his wives but told NOT to take additional wives, and he must also agree to teach his sons and daughters not to enter into polygamy. All Christian churches do this, including the "Community of Christ" (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). Why?
The answer is simple.
In West African culture, a divorced woman is a pariah, and out-caste; along with her children. Women cannot divorce men, but a divorced women is thrown out of her tribe, and just about all of them become prostitutes. Why? That is their culture. Always has been. This is why other churches DO NOT want African polygamists to divorce their multiple wives, because the women will become prostitutes.
Today, about 98% of all West African prostitutes have AIDS, and many of them have died or are in the process of dying. About a fourth of their children also have AIDS; inheriting them from the wombs of their mothers.
In 1978, the LDS Church lifted the "priesthood-ban" restricting blacks from the priesthood and the Higher Ordiances of Mormon Temples. The Church sent emissaries to these Book of Mormon believing congregations, and, almost without exception, their leaders said: "Yes, baptize us and our congregations!" Not all did, but most did.
In about 1984, there were four members of the First Presidency. This is because the President of the Church (Ezra Taft Benson), and his two Counsellors were all senile, and could not eat by themselves or go to the bathroom; much less run the Church. So, Gordon B. Hinckley was called in to become "Counsellor" and the Acting President of the Church.
What did he do?
One of his first actions was to require that all black African men who were polygamists who wanted to join the Church had to divorce all their wives save one. Hinckley did this for "PR" reasons, because he didn't want headlines or newsreports about "Black African Mormon Polygamists".
Now, what happened? Many thousands of black African men, divorced all wives save one. What happened to their divorced wives and children?
Most of the women became prostitutes, and most of them are either now dead, or dying, from AIDS.
Later, when Hinckley was eventually told what was happening, the "word" went out (secretly) "go ahead and baptize them and let them keep their current wives but keep this quiet".
We are happy that President Hinckley changed his policy, but....
How many had to DIE before he did?
Where was the LORD in all of this?
Hinckley's "oops" cost a lot of lives, because he didn't want headlines reading, "The Black Mormon Polygamist of Nigeria".
What did President Hinckley do? He made Richard a member of the First Quorum of Seventy. Expect Richard to be called as an Apostle when the next vacancy comes up.
At various times, in various interviews, President Hinckley has cited LDS Church growth as a "sign" that the Church was true.
But....
Many churches, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, are growing much faster than the LDS Church. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is growing MUCH faster than the LDS Church, and with far fewer missionaries (about 3,000 total) and a missionary budget about 1/100th of the LDS Church.
This is from another website:
Contrary to common thought, the LDS Church is not the fastest growing church, nor is it close to being the fastest-growing religious movement to arise from the United States. The LDS Church began in 1830 and today has membership at 12.2 million (http://www.mormonhaven.com/stats04.htm). Pentecostal Christianity, which originated in Topeka, Kansas, in 1901, has membership of around 480 million adherents worldwide as of 1998 (www.adherents.com). Latter-day Saints claim over 150 thousand raw members in Africa, while Pentecostal groups claim over 150 million adherents on the continent. The Assemblies of God denomination, which was organized in 1914, has membership of about 50 million members worldwide, adding approximately 3.6 million new members a year (http://www.ag.org). That's 12 times as much as the LDS Church. Lawrence Young notes: "The Mormon church, which was established nearly eighty-five years before the Assemblies of God, has only one-fifth as large of a presence in Latin America" ("Confronting Turbulent Environments" in Marie Cornwall, Tim Heaton, and Lawrence Young, eds., Contemporary Mormonism Social Science Perspectives [University of Illinois: 1994], 60, cited in David Stewart, Trends in LDS Church Growth). This is despite the fact that Latin America is supposedly the ancient setting for the Book of Mormon.Why is Hinckley continuing to cite LDS Church growth as a "sign" the Church is true? Is the SDA Church "truer" than the LDS Church?The Seventh-day Adventist Church was organized in 1849 and as of the middle of 2004 has membership of 13.6 million (http://www.religioustolerance.org/sda.htm). Seventh-day Adventists were adding an average of 95,280 new members each month in 2000, and have experienced increased growth since that time (http://news.adventist.org//data/2000/08/0970097206/index.html.en). In comparison, the LDS Church only added an average of 27,000 new members a month in 2001, of whom only a fraction go on to experience meaningful church activity. The Assemblies of God are growing at approximately 10% per year, that's about four times the growth rate of the LDS Church, while the Seventh-day Adventists report growth at 5.6-8% per year--two to three times LDS rates.
Conclusion: The Church of Jesus-Christ is not the fastest growing religion, nor is it the fastest growing U.S. based religion. The truth is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is loosing steam.
It's growing MUCH faster!
Joseph Smith ("King Follett Discourse," Journal of Discourses 6:3-4, also in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 342-345):
"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens. That is the great secret... It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God and to know...that he was once a man like us.... Here, then, is eternal life - to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves,... the same as all Gods have done before you..."Brigham Young (Journal of Discourses 7:333):
"He [God] is our Father - the Father of our spirits, and was once a man in mortal flesh as we are, and is now an exalted being."Brigham Young (Journal of Discourses 3:93):
"The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like himself."Milton R. Hunter (The Gospel Through the Ages, p 104):
"Mormon prophets have continuously taught the sublime truth that God the Eternal Father was once a mortal man who passed through a school of earth life similar that through which we are now passing. He became God - an exalted being - through obedience to the same eternal Gospel truths that we are given opportunity today to obey."Bruce R. McConkie (Mormon Doctrine, 1966 ed p 250):
"...God...is a personal Being, a holy and exalted man..."Joseph Fielding Smith (Doctrines of Salvation 1:10, 1954, cited from 21st printing 1975):
"God is an exalted man. Some people are trouble over the statements of the Prophet Joseph Smith ... that our Father in heaven at one time passed through a life and death and is an exalted man..."LeGrand Richards (private letter to Morris L. Reynolds, July 14, 1966):
"There is a statement often repeated in the Church, and while it is not in one of the Standard Church Works, it is accepted as church doctrine, and this is: 'As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.'" (cited by Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality, p 164Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young (published by the church as an official lesson manual 1997 [text "approved 10/95"], p. 29):
"President Brigham Young taught ... that God the Father was once a man on another planet who 'passed the ordeals we are now passing through...'"
Q: There are some significant differences in your beliefs [and other Christian churches]. For instance, don't Mormons believe that God was once a man?Gordon B. Hinckley, as quoted in Time Magazine, Aug 4, 1997:
Hinckley: I wouldn't say that. There was a little couplet coined, "As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become." Now that's more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about. [emphasis added]
Q: So you're saying the church is still struggling to understand this?
Hinckley: Well, as God is, man may become. We believe in eternal progression. Very strongly. We believe that the glory of God is intelligence and whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the Resurrection. ...that's one thing that's different. Modern revelation. We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, we believe he has yet to reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
"On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, [Hinckley] sounded uncertain, `I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it.'" [emphasis added]A spokesman for Hinckley, when questioned about the accuracy of the Time quotation, asserted that Hinckley's words were taken out of context, and that Hinckley was thus misquoted. The Time reporter, however, has made available the pertinent part of the transcript of his interview with Hinckley. Here is the relevant excerpt from President Hinckley's interview with Time:
Q: Just another related question that comes up is the statements in the King Follett discourse by the Prophet.
Hinckley: Yeah
Q: ... about that, God the Father was once a man as we were. This is something that Christian writers are always addressing. Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are?
Hinckley: I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it. I haven't heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don't know. I don't know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don't know a lot about it and I don't know that others know a lot about it. [emphasis added]
This is not what the Church teaches. The Church teaches that polygamy IS doctrinal, and will be practiced in the resurrection. What is Hinckley trying to do?
I can assure you, that neither your salvation nor eternal life, nor eternal marriage, is dependent upon following or sustaining Gordon B. Hinckley as a Prophet of God!
He does not prophesy.
He does not see visions.
He does not receive 'Thus saith the LORD' revelations.
His is NOT a "Living Prophet". Never has been.
Maybe it is time to open your eyes!
On any Sunday, drive down to Colorado City, Arizona, and walk into a HUGE building that looks like an LDS Stake Center, only 4 times bigger. Ask anyone, anyone there, "Do you have a testimony that Warren Jeffs is a living Prophet of God?" Tears will come to their eyes, and they will bear you their testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen that they "KNOW" that Warren Jeffs, is a living Prophet/Seer/Revelator!
What sincere people sincerely believe....even with all their heart....does NOT make it true!
Mormon Fundamentalist (poygamists) will point to their attractive wives, point out their successful business, and point out their healthy well-behaved children, and ask you:
Of course, I think GHB is 1000 times better than WJ, but neither of them prophesy, see visions, and receive 'Thus Saith the LORD' Revelations.
The BAD news is....Gordon B. Hinckley is NOT a "Living Prophet" of God. Never was. Following him will NOT grant you Eternal Life, nor marriage in heaven! A liar who is a leader can only lead you to where all liars go.
The GOOD News is.....
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