Mormons - The Truth about the Modern Day Cult

Faces of hate aka LDS church security

2009-07-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

Just some pics showing the disgusted hateful looks these mormon security guards wear as they patrol their fortress. Taken during "kiss in" protest. I'm not sure if they are all constipated or what but boy do they look miserable. On a side note they seem to be pretty camera shy..which is odd because when you step foot on temple square and they sense something fishy they have cameras all up in your face. Most would try to turn around when you take their picture. I'd be ashamed if I were them too!

Say cheese!

cryptkeeper and pal (look I'm cool I'm adjusting my earbud...wanna be FBI but all I could get was a lousy security job position)

This one in the suit is definitely a ringleader..I call him the cryptkeeper

Church spokeswoman kim farrah with church security stooges
Kim Farrah church spokeswoman with church security. I love her expression. And damn that girl needs her roots done!

Mormon Temple Square Kiss Surveillance Video

2009-07-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

The following is surveillance video from the harassment which occurred when a gay couple sitting peacefully on a bench kissed and were swarmed by a group of Mormon security guard monkeys. The charges for trespassing against the couple have been dropped. Read the full story here.

This is a perfect example of the Christlike love mormons pretend to preach.

Back up and running.

2009-04-27T23:46:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, sorry my blog was down for a few weeks. Some technical difficulties took me offline but they have been addressed and now I will be able to continue my quest to bring light to the reality of what is the LDS church. Stay tuned for more posts! ;) There is plenty in store. More temple ceremony info, book of mormon facts/contradictions, as well as updates on current events involving mormonism.

Thank you all for your comments and support.

Sincerely,

Rich Barton
(ex Mormon)

HBO's "Big Love" Takes a step inside Mormon temple ceremonies

2009-03-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

Mormons are making a stink in the media once again...are any of us surprised?? The hit HBO series "Big Love" announced plans to show a sacred temple endowment ceremony. The basis of the series focuses on a polygamist family living in Sandy UT. Although mormons claim they have nothing at all to do with polygamists...the fact of the matter is Mormonism grew from polygamists. Sure its a dark chapter in the history of mormonism, just like when they denied blacks from holding the priesthood until the civil rights movement prompted leaders to magically "receive" revelation changing this policy.....um more like pulled revelation out of their ass. Yes these topics among many others are some of those things that just never seem to be explained when growing up mormon. People just magically seemed to get "revelations" when convenient.

While I find it amusing mormons contiuously make efforts to explain they are in no way connected to polygamist teaching or lifestyle I can only laugh out loud. Joseph Smith creator of mormonism, was the one who once again "received relevation" instating polygamy. This continued with Brigham Young while the mormons made their exodus to Utah. In fact, the only reason mormons ever gave up polygamy was to expedite statehood....this is backed up by the fact that Mormons still believe in Polygamy in the afterlife. See Mormon Doctrine Bruce R. Mcconkie).

I am excited to see just what will be shown on the upcoming episode. Apparently an Endowment Ceremony (for entire temple ceremony script click here) will be shown. HBO reports that an expert familiar with mormon temple ceremonies was available and advising during the entire episode to validate and make certain the ceremonies were portrayed as accurately as possible.

Mormon owned KSL newstation had as their top stories on March 9 and 10 articles about the airing of the upcoming contreversial episode. Not only was I amused but I was actually extremely excited. By making such a big deal and featuring so much on the story it will only cause more and more people to tune in and watch the series. And I am pretty sure that once they see what happens in the temple they will definitely realize how fucked up mormons really are.

I myself have personally witnessed and taken part in these ceremonies. Having grown up mormon and surrounded by it living in Utah, it wasnt until I actually stepped foot in the temple that I ever had any clue what went on inside. Mormons are extremely extremely superstitious when it comes to talking about their temple ceremonies. Part of that comes from fear, part of the temple ceremony discusses the consequences possible if the secrets of the temple are revealed. Up until the 1980's part of the ceremony actually consisted of symbolic movements of drawing the hand across the throat and then up the abdomen...symbolizing having your neck slit and your bowels withdrawn should you reveal or talk about the secret ceremonies. The other factor that stops people from discussing temple ceremonies is the same power the LDS church uses in every aspect to control its members...that factor is GUILT.

For the entire script of Mormon Temple Ceremonies click here

For those who would rather watch a very accurate and informative video of mormon temple ceremony practices with re-enactments as well as explanation click here

Mormons try to gain sympathy for their participation in prop 8

2008-12-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

Well the mormons are at it again. Using their media analysts and creative team to try to turn their image from participation in the proposition 8 passage from bigoted tyrant to picked on victim. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The LDS church has issued many statements, each cleverly worded describing their participation in the passage of prop 8 as "part of the democratic process" and they continue to make references to democracy, freedom of speech, and that it was the church members who made this happen not the "church" itself. All of this clever language attempting to draw sympathy to the LDS church does not surprise me. They have the money and the manpower to influence media and many many people, LDS members and nonmembers alike. With so much emphasis on democracy and tradition and rights I am reminded of one of the most famous articles which formed this nation. The Gettysburg Address in which the first line
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
Now I may be mistaken but I believe that says all men are created equal, leading me to believe that regardless of color, nationality, religious belief or so many other ways that men have devised to seperate themselves from one another, at the core we are all equal. Equal meaning deserving of the same rights. Oh thats right, it must mean all men except the gays right? Just like the mormons declining blacks the right to hold the priesthood in the 60's, only this is different. They needed to change their "doctrine" in order to appease their growing multicultural congregation which came in the form of "revelation". I guess unchanging god, the same god the is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, who is the same today and yesterday and will be the same tomorrow, must have changed his mind. Did god make a mistake? The difference between the issues of the past and the issues of the present is this....homosexuals DO NOT want or expect to have mormons accomodate them and marry in their holy temples. They probably do not have any interest in anything that remotely deals with mormons. So why does the LDS church feel so threatened by proposition 8. What special interest do they have in banning gay marriage besides carrying on their tradition of being a bigotous hate monger of a church, intollerant of all people and all beliefs but still spouting out teachings that they claim are "christian" in nature. Sure they are christian in nature in the same way that the crusades spread christian love. So really Thomas S. Monson my question to you is..What does it matter to you? What is your personal investment to this? How does this affect you at all? and How does this undermine the "traditional" family? It doesn't! Not anymore than your secret temple ceremonies with practically naked people wearing shields get washed and annointed and felt up by your temple workers (for more on temple ceremonies see my post on secret temple ceremonies) I say we take a vote on temple marriage, mormons shouldn't have a problem with that. Why don't we just open that can of cultish worms to the media and have a hayday with it. Im sure you won't mind if we destroy your families, expose all your secret signs, tokens and handshakes. So how about it?

The LDS church is not a victim. Neither are the supporters of prop 8. They knew what they were contributing to and supporting and now search for sympathy following the backlash. Well I have something for you. The LDS church can fuck right off! Stop your pouting and take responsibility for your acts of hate, power and downright disgusting behavior!

As for me, I will continue to convince as many members as I can to remove their names from the LDS church records and continue spreading my gospel of truth which is you can't trust mormons, or any other organized religion for that matter.

Peace!

Prop 8 Keith Olbermann

2008-11-11T21:10:00.000-08:00

Wow!! A few thoughts from MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on prop 8..absolutely moving!

Prop 8 Protest. Salt Lake City Utah

2008-11-09T16:25:00.000-08:00

Yours Truly with my funny sign

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the prop 8 protest at the mormon church headquarters on Nov 7. The turnout was amazing. There were hopes of maybe attracting 1000 protesters...however the spokesperson for the Salt Lake City police said they estimated a whopping 2,000 to 5,000 showed up! It was an absolutely amazing experience! Hopefully those dumb motherfuckers got the message, we are many, we are proud, and we will not settle for 2nd class citizenship. I have a few photos of me and my friends, and as soon as I get more I will upload them! Enjoy!

Me doing what I do best.....mocking dumb mormons

My friends and their signs!

The March took over the streets...forcing traffic to turn around, police had no choice but to watch.

The Mob chanting in Unison "Seperate Church and State" Shadows of figures came to the windows from the massive church office building to peer at the angry mob outside!!

Mormons and Prop. 8

2008-11-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

So everyone seems to have heard that the crazy mo's have decided to butt their big noses in on the whole California Gay Marriage proposition 8 issue. Well as a bisexual male I feel that I should have the right to marry a man if I so choose. I'm not surprised that the LDS church has used their power over their members and their vast wealth to wage a campaign to ban gay marriage. Really why should they give a fuck?? Are they afraid their leadership hierarchy made of men will suddenly collapse because they will all run to california to get married?? I have a feeling the the LGBT community will not be calling trying to set up times to have their marriages performed in LDS temples! So what exactly is it that bothers them so bad?? How does giving the right for someone else to enjoy the bond of marriage affect them?? IT DOESN'T!! When I have proposed this question to several Mormons the response I get over and over again is "the bible says marriage is between a man and a woman" blah blah blah. This is the lamest possible response I have heard. Not only have I mentioned before that the bible is the biggest waste of paper and is only good for rolling your own cigarettes but secondly I don't see the mormons practicing all of the rest of the ancient traditions in the bible such as stonings, crucifixion, etc etc. So why is it that they seem to pick out the parts that they like....and ignore the parts that they don't like...I'll tell you why, because they have been taught over and over again to simply be led as sheep, to not ask questions, to not think for themselves.

The mormon church has definitely overstepped their bounds into the political arena, hopefully all of the negative press they have received will help more and more people take the steps to leave this religion based on bigotry, hate, and fear and start thinking for themselves and leading more fulfilled lives.

Below is a template of the letter I used for my own resignation from the church. Hopefully it will inspire people to take the first step and stand of for themselves and remove their names and distance themselves from such a deceitful controlling organization.

____________________________________________________________________

Date

Enter Adress information here

Dear (bishop, stake president etc),

I was born (enter date here) in(enter location). I was raised as a Mormon since birth, and baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (“the Mormon Church”), in the (Ward name), when I was 8 years old. My membership records are currently under your administration, in the (enter ward and stake information).

At this time, I officially resign from the Mormon Church. I wish to no longer be a member of the Mormon Church, and I require that my name be voluntarily removed from all church membership records, to reflect this fact.

In this voluntary removal process, I demand you and the Mormon Church to adhere to the following seven guidelines. The Mormon Church shall:

1. NOT impugn my character, slander my good name, nor disseminate any form of speculation, misinformation, or personal comments regarding me, to anyone.

2. NOT hold a church court, execute a disciplinary action, excommunicate me, or otherwise harass me, nor make any attempts thereto, since I have done nothing to warrant such an action. Nor shall the Mormon Church send any representative to attempt to persuade me not to remove my name from membership roles.

3. REMOVE my name from all membership records, cancel my baptism, revoke all ordinations to church “authority”, and remove all promise of “blessings” for obedience to such.

4. PROVIDE me with specific, written confirmation when this task is officially complete. This letter of confirmation will reflect that my resignation from the Mormon Church was not due to any pressure from or determination by Mormon Church authorities, but rather per my own request.

5. EXERCISE due diligence in carrying out this procedure. I hereby notify you that you have 90 days, (no later than enter date here) to provide written confirmation of my voluntary removal from the Mormon Church. Delays beyond this may result in my engaging legal counsel to pursue other options.

6. NOT contact any member of my family to notify them of my decision to remove my name from church membership roles. Any contact with any member of my family the Mormon Church in this regard would cause irreparable damage to my relationship with my parents.

7. NOT use my name in baptismal or other ordinances for the dead.

If you care to know my reasons for leaving the Mormon Church, I will say only that I do not believe in the doctrines, the authority or teachings of the Mormon Church. I feel it is important to disassociate myself from an organization that I find to be completely at odds with my personal beliefs.

I ask that you respect this resignation as an exercise of my religious rights as a United States citizen and in accordance with the Mormon Church’s own 11^th Article of Faith. Thank You.

Sincerely,

Yo yo! Gimme that secret handshake!!

2008-09-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am sitting at work one day and I find this weird cover for a headrest for some table or something and for some odd reason I put in on my head...It just so happened to look like that ridiculous hat they make you wear during the temple ceremony's! Like some sort of fucked up baker hat/beret. Anyways I decided to take a nice little pic and this is what I ended up with!! lol. Dont forget to shake me with the sure sign of the nail!

My Mormon Patriarchal Blessing

2008-07-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ok so let me see if I can give a quick run down on patriarchal blessings. I don't really feel like finding and quoting references so I'm going to go from the best of my knowledge and memory. Patriarchal blessings are usually given to "worthy" teenagers or young adults. The main purpose of a patriarchal blessing is to give you your ancient lineage, or in other words, tell you which tribe (of the 12 tribes of Israel) that you belong to. They usually include promises of blessings if you live your life in accordance to church teachings. They are given by a Patriarch, a man ordained just to give these blessings or revelations as they seem to be. Much of what is included is very general, some specific, all of which is FAKE. To receive the blessing you must meet with your church leader to make sure you are "worthy" and "ready" to receive this blessing. It's very hard to explain to a non mormon but it's almost as if its looked at a fortune telling blessing you are entitled to. You are not supposed to share your patriarchal blessing, it is supposed to be very personal and private. I however, obviously think it is complete bullshit. That is why I have posted my original blessing below, just to give people an Idea of how assinine they actually are.

Click the images to enlarge and see full version.

Mormons, Polygamists and lots of stupid LDS shit!

2008-07-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

Have no fear I have not lost my disgust for Mormonism!! I have simply been too busy with work and school to sit down and write a few things. The ideas have been cooking. I realized I haven’t posted any drafts of the letter template I used to remove my name from the church records. Below is a copy of the letter I used. Keep in mind that it takes months for them to actually get off their asses and remove your membership information. In my specific case it took about 6 months, and I sent 2 reminder letters and one letter threatening legal action. I will also be working at scanning in a copy of my patriarchal blessing. This is a blessing given to either teenagers or adults which is supposed to act as sort of a guide for your life…..not necessarily like fortune telling but kind of. At the moment I don’t have the information but when I have it ready I will post a copy of my blessing along with the official church definition of what a patriarchal blessing is for.

As for those polygamists in TX. Well they are obviously fundamentalist whack jobs, no question about it. My favorite part of the whole saga is that every time I look in the newspaper or TV or anything I always see discussions with Mormons wanting to clarify that they are in fact not associated with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ. On a technical note sure they might be right, one says “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” and one decided to add the word “Fundamentalist”, same difference in my opinion. They both stem from the same seed. That fact is irrefutable. We all know what bigoted pigs founded the church. Joseph Smith being the key player of course. It is a fact that Mormons still do believe in polygamy in the afterlife. The only reason they ever decided to “stop” practicing it was to expedite statehood, that was the ONLY reason. Well and of course we know that back in those times Viagra wasn’t invented so how was a dirty old bastard like Brigham Young supposed to make love to 40 wives when he couldn’t even get it up??

Hmmmm what else do I have to write about. Oh yes, I remember, at a family BBQ a few weeks ago my all mormon brainwashed uncles and aunts were sitting around discussing church as usual. Somehow I heard someone get on the topic of how we were in the “last days” a term I had heard my entire life, how the millennium would come soon and the world would end or be cleaned with fire and Christ would once again reign on his earthly throne. LOL. Ok so anyways I heard some family members talking about how there were sooo many wars, and natural disasters, and people starving and all these types of calamities happening which certainly signified that “the end was near” I started to chime in and share my 2 cents but stopped myself because I couldn’t remember the exact reference to back up my argument. After a little research I found it. I remembered that somewhere in the mormon scripture of Doctrine and Covenants that Joseph Smith had prophesied the end of the world. In section 130 of the doctrine and covenants Joseph talks about what will happen in the second coming of Christ in verses 14-17 Joseph says he was praying very earnestly when a voice came and told him that if he lived until the age of 85 he would see the face of the son of man. Joseph said he didn’t know whether this mean the end of the second coming/destruction or the beginning or whether that would be when he would die and then he would see christs face. Either way he was dead wrong…lol…no pun intended. Obviously the second coming did not happen when prophesied. Joseph did not live to be anywhere near 85 years old (thank goodness, he did plenty of damage in his short life). So what explanation have we for this mystery?? One mormon told me that since joseph didn’t live till the age of 85 the prophecy is not valid. What do you mean??? A prophecy is a prophecy, fate is fate, in their minds these are things that are not variable, they do not change. Hmmmm, guess that means that he was not a prophet. DUH.

Awesome new quote from Albert Einstein

2008-07-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

"The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish."

ALBERT EINSTEIN
in a newly published letter

Ok I had to add one more on mormon missionaries

2008-04-05T00:39:00.000-07:00

I found this one and couldn't resist. Now I in no way side with the christians in the conversation because...well...I don't believe in christ. But this is pretty funny how this guy shuts these morons up and leaves them speechless. Enjoy!!

Funny clip on mormon missionaries

2008-04-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks Mark for sending me this link. This is hilarious. That old lady is my hero! Enjoy! (Don't worry, there is some serious blogging to come in the next few weeks, masterpieces take time :) )

Mormon Missionaries - Fucking idiots

2008-03-15T00:45:00.000-07:00

Well I just happened to run across this video on mormon missionaries. Let me tell you from personal experiences that my mission experience was by far the worst experience of my life. I have never ever before in my life seen such manipulation at work than when I was preparing for my mission and even worse in the MTC or missionary training center. It is pretty hard to explain this unless you actually experience it, and most of the people that have experienced it are still under the influence of mormon indoctrination and will tell you it was the best 2 years of their lives filled with such faith building and wonderful experiences. Believe me, going out day after day and being forced to harass people isn't as glamorous as these ex missionaries portray it. And whats worse is that every single missionary is paying $450 a month to be out there converting more members just to have the church make a little profit off of the new member tithing money. No wonder Provo Utah is the multilevel marketing capitol of the world. They get good tips from the biggest multilevel marketing scam in the world...The Mormon Church. Well I'm sure you believe me when I say I have much much more to write on this subject...all in good time. For now enjoy this clip I found.

My affair with Brigham Young

2008-02-29T23:27:00.000-08:00

Well who knew that Brigham Young was such a good kisser....or that he liked guys. Maybe he had all those wives to cover up his secret sexual identity...who knows! LOL

Bible for dummies??

2008-02-02T23:21:00.000-08:00

Ummmm wow! Do I really need to comment. Is there any other kind of bible??? :)

Was Jesus gay? And if he was...would it matter??

2008-02-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

This one is kinda old but I watched it again today and had to add it. Pat Condell is awesome!

Mormon Church fundamental flaws

2008-01-31T00:31:00.000-08:00

Well here I am not in the mood to write much tonight. Seeing as it's 1:30am and I have to work tomorrow, but there has been something on my mind for the past few days. First off, I just don't comprehend how anybody that claims to have "morals" and brains can rationalize the obvious flaws with the Mormon church. First off speaking of prophets, since there has been soooo much talk about the recent death of the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. Somehow Mormons missed the memo about their all great leader and founder Joseph Smith. I mean first he makes up some bogus story about angelic figures and plates of gold and blah blah blah. Tonight I would like to focus on the latter part of his life. I have written about this before but feel it necessary to expound. Somehow people miss the fact the he was a criminal. He was wanted by the president of the united states for charges of treason. Somehow people also forget how he landed his prophetic ass in carthage jail. Well lets talk about that. There was a publication at the time called the Nauvoo Expositor. They just happened to run a story on polygamy and ties with Joseph Smith Jr. He became so outraged at the article that he ordered the printing press and facilities where the Nauvoo Expositor was created, destroyed. That is how he landed his lousy ass in jail. Now if he had nothing to hide and polygamy was "ordained" from god to him, why would he be so mad? Was he afraid that the people would start to catch on and expose his personal harem? Was he afraid that fact that he was a no good womanizing bigot who used his so called "priesthood authority" and "revelations from god" to coerce young women into marriage? Those few tidbits and FACTS about his life are more than enough reasons why any sane person would realize that he was no more than a complete fraud and common criminal. Sounds like a paralell with modern day Warren Jeffs. Lets reflect on Smith's personal bodyguard Porter Rockwell. A man who killed many, many enemies of Smith.(sounds real christlike to me, since jesus killed so many of his enemies right) And lets not forget Smith's personal army. The Danites. His very own personal battalion of brainwashed souls prepared to lay down their lives for a lier and fraud. Well I think writing all this tonight has just disgusted me, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE MORMON PEOPLE THAT THEY SEEM TO PURPOSELY TURN A BLIND EYE TO SUCH DAMNING EVIDENCE. You fuckin got me... Well until then I suppose I can only offer support and insight to those poor poor souls who are trapped in this lie. Until next time.. Cheers. and God Bless Atheism!!

Entire script - Mormon Temple Ceremony and pics of the Signs and tokens (secret handshakes)

2008-01-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

After looking for this for a while I finally found an accurate complete script of the extremely bizzare Mormon temple ceremony. This script is viewed as a movie ( I have searched for the movie and am still determined to find a clip of it to post) Take a look at this site, very informative and accurate.

Complete mormon temple ceremony script

I also found a page the shows the ridiculous clothing worn and pictures of the mormon handshakes, or handclasps(part of the signs and tokens). Sounds like secret combinations to me....something to think about. Check out the secret mormon handshakes here.

Mitt Romney Making an Ass out of himself!

2008-01-13T15:57:00.000-08:00

This is a real nice video of presidential candidate Mitt Romney making an ass out of himself trying to scramble defend his religion. He talks too much! I love how worked up he gets! It would be fun to ruffle his feathers!! With all that talk and excuses maybe he really doubts his own faith?? Something to think about.

One of my favorite Mormon south park episodes

2008-01-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

Dumb, dumb dumb dumb dumb!! lol. (sorry I think it has Portuguese subtitles or something but its the only one I could find)

100 reasons why I hate religion.....

2007-12-27T14:01:00.000-08:00

So here I am 10:48 pm Christmas night. All tucked into bed trying to get some sleep knowing that I will have to return to work early tomorrow. As I lay in bed trying to relax my mind and drift off to sleep I mull over the days activities and somehow I get started on religion….and all of the things I hate about it. Maybe it’s the time of year who knows, I mean today we were celebrating Jesus’ birthday right? Lol. Well not sure it’s a day that should be celebrated but I sure do enjoy the presents and chance to gorge myself on in any possible way so what the hell, I don’t care what we celebrate, I’m just glad we had a good celebration.

So on with my recent thoughts about religion….where to start. Well first off I had the chance to go see the movie the Golden Compass with my sister today. It was the second time I have seen it and it’s a great show. I think that is what got me started on religion today. You see last week we were invited to see this movie on opening day for a Christmas party for work. Leading up to the day of the movie the office was abuzz about the “controversy” surrounding this movie. A controversy I apparently missed, but hey I try to stay clear of the news and newspapers so I suppose I can only blame my self for the lack of information. From what I gathered from friends was that the author of the books of the Golden Compass series is an atheist and that many elements in the books and storyline reflect this. Of course living in Utah everyone seemed to be scared and without even giving the movie a chance started trying to convince others not to see it. Typical Mormon reaction to just about everything.

After seeing the Golden Compass movie I overheard some debate in the office about the symbolism in the movie. The overall theme was organized religion (shown as the majesterium in the movie) wanted to control the aspects of people’s daily lives and keep them in the dark “to protect them”. I was told by an acquaintance that this certainly represented the Catholic Church but the Mormon Church is exactly the opposite….in fact it’s biggest value is free agency. I almost shit myself laughing. Growing up a Mormon yes I did hear the term “free agency” thrown around quite a bit. However I assure you that this so called “free agency” in no way resembles actual free agency which would include being able to be free to think, act, and do as you choose. Mormons view agency as the right to choose right from wrong. Here’s my question….who decides what is right or wrong. God? Jesus? Joseph Smith? Brigham Young? I mean seriously I don’t see any credible sources in the lineup. The answer I usually get is that God says what is right and wrong and you can read it in the bible. Well we all know what a useless pile of paper that fictional hardbound piece of junk is. Let’s move onto the next source. Jesus. Well once again what we know of Jesus comes from the fairytale called the bible so we can automatically throw that source out as well. Ahhh Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, now really at least we know these men actually existed right? They must be credible sources. Well seeing as how they were both bigoted, scumbag, manipulative criminals I am going to have to say that I can’t really trust them to tell me right from wrong either. I suppose I have run out of sources…..no wait….I’m getting a prompting…..a warm feeling……a burning in my bosom……..damn, just a gas bubble. Lol. For a minute I thought it was the Holy Ghost, the last and most elusive bearer of truth and guider of right and wrong. Growing up I heard all the same explanations of the holy ghost, promptings, voices, warm feelings, feelings of joy, happiness etc etc etc. In fact when I first vocalized my lack of faith in religion I was told time and time again that surely I had felt a warm, cozy, welcoming peace and good feeling as I sat in church or did other “religious” duties. I’m sure there are times when I felt relaxed, maybe even good, and maybe just maybe happy. However, I can feel warm and fuzzy and peaceful and content doing a number of other things…for example….having sex, doing drugs, drinking. Certainly those things make me feel good so what the hell they must be the holy ghost right? Hopefully I have made my point. Holy Ghost sorry to break it to you bud but I just don’t think you fit into the picture either so I’ll just get this over with and deny you so I can secure my first class ticket to hell. And to think…some poor souls actually believe that.

Do I really need someone to tell me what is right or wrong for me? Are we not all individuals and what is right for me…just may be wrong for someone else. These cookie cutter rule books that organized religion so eagerly drape over their ignorant members is a joke. Can some people benefit from organized religion…certainly. Those people that need someone telling them what to do. I know many people that have become so brainwashed and dependent upon “rules” “guidelines” and “commandments” that I seriously doubt they would be able to function in daily life without these things. I find this situation to be extremely heart wrenching as I see people so chained to and controlled by and governed by forces that are completely %100 fabricated. They are completely in the minds of these people and nowhere else. The Mormon Church in particular does a superb job at brainwashing young people into these patterns or ways of thinking. I am unfamiliar with how intense this process may be in other religions but don’t doubt that it is very, very prevalent. These psychologically created feelings may include feelings of guilt, fear and obligation. Intense pressure also is created by family, ward members and society. So what can we do about this? Well if you have ever tried talking sense into a brainwashed Mormon it is pretty difficult. They have been trained to defend any position no matter how stupid or illogical it may be, and even when logic has been used to expose their weakness suddenly faith comes into play and cures everything. Faith….the cure all. The churches slogan should be “Faith, you need it because we admit…there’s some shit we can’t explain and some things that we just fucked up on and don’t have an excuse for”

Well it’s now 11:39 pm I’ve been typing for almost an hour. I think we should discuss religion more another day! Don’t worry I don’t think we will run out of information to cover. Until then, Cheers! Good Night, and Merry Christmas!

Some thoughts on Mitt Romney

2007-12-24T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well I figured it was about time to add a little something on one of my new least favorite people in the spotlight lately, Mitt Romney. Can you really blame the poor guy. I mean being brainwashed as a kid and growing up in mormonism is hard to drop....but not impossible. However, my sympathy for his sad situation in now way crosses over to support. I have absolutely no desire to live in a modern day theocracy. Electing mitt romney as president will do nothing but move this nation back into the middle ages where religion had it's dirty chokehold and diseased fingers wrapped around every aspect of an individuals life. Sure Romney will gain favor with many christians, growing up and being mormon for 22 years I can tell you that mormons love to claim that they are christians and I can assure you the mormons I grew up with somehow seemed to lack any christian value or quality. Sure they made everyone know about the "mormon values" they believed in, but christian values?? They dont exist in mormonism. Well until next time enjoy this lovely clip from Pat Condell. ---Cheers

Why debate religious dogma??

2007-12-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

This was too good to not share! He puts everything so well! Enjoy!

Why I'm not a Mormon!

2007-11-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

Mormons and Why I'm Not one
Proudly Presented by Rich Barton

So this has been a long time in the making and I finally have the time tonight to sit down and write a few of my feelings on Mormonism and the cult/business that allows thieves and bigots to hide behind a facade of fluff, smoke, and mirrors.

It all started long before I was born, my great, great, great grandfather converted to Mormonism in England in the 1800's. In the years that followed his family made their trek to the US and eventually landed in Utah along with the other pioneers. They settled a small town north of Salt Lake City, subsequently, my great, great grandfather was the first bishop of the ward in that town. Fast forward to 1983, the year I was born (in the covenant as they would say) meaning I was born to parents that were married and sealed in an LDS temple. So right from the moment I was born Mormonism decided to sink its rotten teeth into my life. Several months later I was blessed as is customary and at the age of 8 not having the slightest clue about what I was getting myself into, I was baptized. The psychological games actually started several years before that. As a teenager in growing up I was surrounded by other church members. Growing up in the same small town founded by my forefathers and surrounded by about 99% Mormons I didn't know anything else. I had no idea how the rest of the world functioned or what they believed, I simply knew what I was told, and followed the rules. I do have some memories of breaking these rules..for example. When I was 13 and was called in for my annual interview with the bishop my guilt persuaded me to confess that I had in fact masturbated. We all know that this is not an uncommon thing for teenage boys to do, however, this bishop decided to inform me that "my eternal salvation was at stake", and sadly enough, I believed him for a while. Lets fast forward a little further (god maybe I should write a biography, I feel like I am skipping so much) I graduate from high school and go to college. I go to college for a year and have a wonderful LDS girlfriend, we try to behave ourselves and are brainwashed into believing that abstinence is worth it and that the goal of a temple marriage is valued beyond anything else. At first I decide I am not cut out to do the whole Mormon Missionary gig, I figured my time would and money would be better spent at college and actually making something that will be of value in my life for the future. I am coming up on 20 yrs old, my grandfather (who happened to be a stake president, and patriarch) counsels me and with great pressure from the family, friends, girlfriend, her family and what felt like the whole world, I decide to do the "right thing" and go on a mission. So I do the whole preparation thing and make sure I am "worthy", in fact, some old man...my stake president at the time decided to tell me I needed to wait 1yr before leaving since I had engaged in oral sex with my girlfriend, completely brainwashed and oblivious I decide that is what I must do. After months of spiritual and personal preparation I get my mission call. To Santiago Chile, I am excited. I always wanted to learn Spanish. A few months later I dropped off at the MTC (missionary training center) in Provo UT. Never before have I seen so many clueless fucking robots. I mean these kids were a million times worse than the worst holier than thou person I could imagine. Immediately I felt trapped. Had I made a wrong decision....Wait of course not! I was doing what the lord wanted right? I was taking one for the team and sacrificing 2 years of my life because it was for a "greater good". I just needed to hang in there and sweat it out. Besides, when I come home I would be a hero and make Mom and Dad, and everyone else so proud right? I had to follow through. So I did. More on the MTC. This has got to be one of the most focused, intense, well thought out brainwashing systems I have ever seen or been witness to. Rigid schedules. 10 hour class days consisting of religion and language and nothing else, and this lasts for 2 months. I couldn't believe it, this was hell. How did I let myself get in this deep? I did what I was told to do and prayed asking for strength or comfort to finish, because once again, this is what the Lord wanted me to do right?
I manage to survive the MTC and arrive in Santiago Chile, Jan 28, 2004. We meet the mission president (basically he acts as a parent/bishop over a certain area). I go to work, preaching and convincing and lying and deceiving. For the first 3 months things seemed to go ok, probably because I was simply in the process of adapting to my new environment/language and culture. This was a huge transition for an immature 20 yr old boy from small-town Utah, who had never traveled or lived on his own. Once the transition wore off and I became more accustomed to the culture/language and "work" which I was doing, then I started to become uneasy. I think it started when I was assigned to a real asshole companion. For those who don't know here is the cliff notes version on Mormon missionary companionships. Every missionary is assigned a companion. This is a person who you will live with, eat with, sleep in the same room with (not the same bed) and the person who you must keep with your sight and within a reasonable distance(varies depending on who tells you)in my case we were told about 20 ft, at all times. You have no idea who your companion will be, you are simply assigned a companion and you must leave and start your "work" with them immediately. Let me expound on just exactly how asinine this concept is. The only real privacy you are granted is in the bathroom at your private home, if you enter a public bathroom (for more than one person) your companion must accompany you to make sure you don't commit any sort of sin. This sounds ridiculous but it is %100 true. Sad to say, but the only solitude I had on my mission was taking a shit, how depressing is that? You can't listen to music, unless its church music, you can't watch TV. You have the same schedule everyday. Ours was blocked out into 15 min increments..all of which had to be filled with what we planned to do. Here is a quick rundown of the schedule. 6 am. Wake up, 12 min to get showered and ready including getting dressed. (eliminates possibility you have to masturbate while in the shower). The rest of the morning is assigned to study, personal study and companion study, where you plan out your day and talk about boring spiritual stuff. Then comes breakfast 1/2 an hour. Another hour of studying and then you have to be out of the apartment/house and start your preaching. So you basically walk around all day. Miles and miles of walking, and not your slow stroll either. They had these kids programmed to speed walk everywhere they went, I mean, we'd feel guilty if we were walking slow and wasting the lord's time right?
Day after day we did the same thing, talk to people everywhere we went and convince them to let us come into their home to tell them about Jesus and joseph smith and all the special things that would happen in their lives if they accepted both. It was during my time teaching these people in their homes that I seriously started questioning many core teachings that I had never before thought about. Here we were invited into someone's home and we are telling them in order to be a good person you must pay tithing, and quit smoking, or drinking and the list goes on and on. It was during these times, for example when I was trying to convince a dirt poor family who barely had enough money to buy food, that somehow if they paid their 10% tithing to the church that their lives would magically get better and they would be blessed. It was during these intense moments that I realized I was asking people to sacrifice when they had nothing left to give, and for what? I started realizing I did not believe many of the core teachings of the LDS faith, and subsequently felt like the biggest hypocrite in the world trying to convince others to change their lives and believe in something I did not believe at all..something I was simply told over and over and over as a child and simply took as common undisputable knowledge shared by all. My first qualms were with tithing. Is gods kingdom really a country club where to be saved and gain entry you must pay your monthly membership fees? Let's break down this process. The ultimate goal of the Mormon is to gain entry into the Celestial kingdom, this is the highest kingdom of heaven. However to gain entry to this kingdom one must do certain things, be baptized, males must hold priesthood, be sealed in the temple and have temple endowments. In order to retain satisfactory status in the church you must pay tithing, not use tobacco or alcohol, maintain sexual purity(including masturbation) and the list goes on and on. The point I am trying to get at is in even if you live your life according to all the other rules they have set forth, if you don't pay tithing you cannot attain the goal of celestial glory, how is this possible?? It is impossible to receive a temple recommend (club card which allows you to enter Mormon temples, given out by bishops and church leaders only after they have judged you as "worthy") if you do not pay your tithing, without a temple recommend you cannot be sealed in the temple and therefore have lost your chance at eternal life. Now maybe I am crazy but this sounds like a real fucking joke to me. And the part that killed me was me telling these people this is what they had to do. I soon began to ponder many other aspects of the religion. Looking for the answers to many unanswered questions. Why did the church support racism and prohibit blacks from receiving the priesthood if all men are created equal and in the image of God? Why did the church practice polygamy? A practice that gave dirty old bigots the power to indulge in young women and control them through their so called "priesthood authority". Too many questions to list came up about Joseph Smith. I'm not sure if there has ever been a more misleading, deceitful liar ever born on the earth. The lies he made up about revelations from God. The famous Book of Mormon which he supposedly received from an angel, and which ironically was given back to the angel after translation. Ha, you have got to be kidding me! It is a known fact that joseph smith was known by many as a treasure hunter and spent much of his time digging for buried treasure. Any coincidence that he would magically receive gold plates which contained the history of the ancient Americans? I don't think so. These wonderful tales came straight from the imaginative mind of a man...not from ancient Americans or god. The one thing joseph smith does deserve credit for is being creative, who else would come up with such a far fletched story and be able to convince so many of its validity. The master deceiver! I could go on forever about the life and lies of joseph smith, perhaps I should write a book on the subject, this would allow me to fully expose and expound upon the many lies, forgeries and crimes that constituted his life. Even in his death he has deceived many. Growing up in the church I heard over and over again the word martyr, how joseph had been so violently killed and went and i quote "as a lamb to the slaughter". This could never be farther from the truth. Joseph was jailed because he had destroyed a printing press from which a paper was printed which inquired into the subject of polygamy. What did he have to hide? Sounds like tactics used by organized crime rings to silence their opponents. At the time he was jailed he was also wanted by the United States for crimes of high treason. He was a criminal! A religious fanatic criminal! He did not die a martyr's death. He was armed with a smuggled pistol and shot back at his attackers reportedly killing several before he was killed. What martyr that goes "as a lamb to the slaughter" fires back? From what I've read Jesus didn't go about fighting back as he was being led to his death. And yet this same joseph smith is revered as a hero, a prophet, a martyr. How did the lies and crimes and corruption become so buried by the church? brigham young, josephs successor was equally if not more corrupt and his life contains enough lies for a completely separate article.
These were the questions that were haunting me as I sat in my apartment in Chile. I talked to the mission president about it, I told him I did not believe in the church and would like to return home and not waste any more of my time or money, he continually reassured me that with enough fasting and prayer god would tell me that I should not go home but that I should stay. Dozens of times over a six month period I told him the same thing...I did not believe in the teachings of the church and that I would like to return home. He decided to use psychological pressure to convince me to stay. Staging several conference calls with my parents back home in Utah, in which they pleaded with me to stay and how everything would work out fine and that they were so proud of me. Oh the guilt was unbearable. If I went home I would shame not only myself, buy my entire family. What was I to do? I was being held HOSTAGE by the church! One morning I woke up and decided enough was enough, I felt a moral obligation telling me that I could not keep lying and convincing people to change their lives and believe in something that I felt was wrong. So I wrote a note and stuck it to the apartment door and left that morning, alone. I basically went AWOL for a day. Not only was I seeking much needed serenity and alone time without an asshole companion peering over my shoulder, but I needed to get away. Since they would not let me leave the mission on my own terms I would use this as a way to have them send me home, as going missing for a day is not taken lightly. I enjoyed my day, visiting many beautiful parts of downtown Santiago Chile, indulging in some of the simplest pleasures in life, ones which I had been denied for the last year. Pleasures such as sitting on a park bench in the middle of the city and simply basking in the sunlight and people watching. It was so nice to be alone and simply relax. That day I went missing I felt the most liberating feeling I had ever felt. A high that lasted the entire day! I returned to my apartment that night and was immediately called by the mission president, he asked me if I would like to stay or go home! I laughed and asked how soon I could be home. Two days later I was on a plane home! I would miss Chile, the people, the culture, the beautiful country, I knew however, that I would not miss what I had been doing there for the last year. I returned home and tried to assimilate back into normalcy. A task which is much harder than it seems after a year straight of brainwashing and having spirituality force-fed down your throat every waking moment. I had disappointed my entire family and friends. Many very dear friends and family members refused to communicate with me after I came home. It was the friends who still showed love and support that really showed me what real friends are made of.
A year later I decided it was time to completely cut any ties with the church and to remove my name from the membership records. I found support in this decision from close friends and submitted the paperwork to have my name removed. This process ended up taking almost six months to complete and only after legal threats did they finally offer up proof that they had indeed removed my name from the records and cancelled my baptism, priesthood ordinations and temple endowments. Once again I felt liberated! I finally could feel closure in dealing with the church. I hoped I would never again be harassed or plagued by these things......I was sadly mistaken. When I asked for my name to be removed I explicitly stated that I did not want any member of my family to know, especially my mother and father as this would cause irreparable damage to my relationship with them. Approximately three months later I received a phone call from my father asking if he could stop by and talk to me on his way to work. I knew something big must have happened as this was not like him at all. I had no idea what he had to tell me. He stopped by and we chatted for a few minutes. He then asked if I had removed my name from the records and I told him that I had and immediately was curious as to how he came about this information. It just so happens that one of the members of the clergy from the ward where my parents lived (the same ward I submitted my removal papers through) was out to dinner with some friends and decided to gossip about me and my decision to remove my name. My uncle just happened to be present at the time and within hours news had reached my parents. My mother was devastated! In her eyes (and according to Mormon doctrine) I would now not be able to live with them in the afterlife, I was no longer sealed to them and she had basically just lost a son. This concept is extremely difficult for non church members to grasp but to say it was devastating to her is an understatement. I immediately called the bishop of the ward and demanded an explanation. This never should have happened. Who was responsible and what consequences would the individual with the big mouth be facing. I wanted justice! This horrible monster that I had tried so hard to distance myself from had snuck back into my life and tried to destroy a very core part of it, the relationship which I had with my parents. I felt violated. Exposed. Furious. I also met with the stake president and demanded explanation! I received none besides stating that they would talk with the individual and that it never should have happened. I left my number and address and asked to be informed of actions taken to correct this, I wanted retribution, not excuses! I was never contacted by either members of the stake or ward clergy. How could they let this man continue to hold his position in the church leadership when he so carelessly divulges confidential information that has the potential to destroy people's lives? How many other people's private, intimate details was he sharing with his friends over dinner? To this day I have never received an apology or correspondence relating to this. With my limited resources I sought civil action. Certainly this would fall under the category of defamation of character? Wasn't their some sort of confidentiality breach that I right to seek action over? I found little help and with my limited time and resources gave up seeking civil action. Not sure if I had a case, but certainly feeling I did.

It has now been almost a year since the incident. And obviously my feelings towards the church, like sauerkraut, become more sour and bitter with time. It's not something I care to dwell on and let affect my life in my current reality. You might ask why on earth would I take the time to write this then? I will tell you why. I was not lucky enough to see this organization for what it really is until after I was neck deep in it. It is ridiculous that people take such a corrupt, power hungry, bigotous, racist cult and wrap it up in a cute little box with a picture of Jesus on the front and some cute ribbons showing the good and service they do in the world. DO NOT BE FOOLED! For those of you who seek support and advice in leaving the church feel free to contact me. I would be more than happy to offer my insight. I also have excellent templates for letters if you would like to have your name removed. My desire is that this helps even if only one person, take the step towards realizing the falseness and leaving the church.

--Rich Barton

Mormon secret temple ceremonies

2007-11-16T23:10:00.000-08:00

Secret Mormon Temple Ceremonies
Proudly Presented by Rich Barton

Well since I received 0 responses on my poll as to which topic to blog about next, I made the executive decision and picked one of my favorite topics, Mormon temple ceremonies.
Much of what goes on in Mormon temples is a secret even to the Members, that is until they reach the age (and worthiness) to enter the temple and partake in the ordinances for themselves. Growing up in the church my entire life and being surrounded by Mormon culture I still had no idea what would happen in the temple until the day when I actually went to see for myself. I was 20 yrs old and was just about to leave on my mission. Before you are married or before you leave on a mission you must visit the temple and take out your endowments. This ritual consists of a washing and annointing by a temple worker. First you dress in a white smock, much like a sheet with a hole for your head...you are completely naked underneath and the sides are slit open from the arms down. You first receive a "new name" one which you will use and remember when you reach the angels guarding the kingdom of heaven. You then enter a small room where the washing and annointing takes place. From what I remember you are "blessed" in a way and promised certain blessings for keeping commandments. You are washed of the "sins of this generation" and annointed as a prince or something to that effect, in the kingdom of god. You are then clothed with the sacred Mormon garments that you are required to wear at all times from this point forward in your life. You leave that room and then return to a locker room where you dress in white. The next part of the ritual takes place in a larger room with a group of people. In this part of the ceremony or "session" as it is called. You watch a movie about the creation of the world, the fall of adam and oaths made with god. You are then shown secret signs and handshakes, or tokens and handshakes. These will also come in handy when passing through the sentinels at the gates of the celestial kingdom. Another part of the ceremony is the strange clothing. During the video (orignally it was a live production) you place different particles of clothing. First a green apron to clothe your naked loins. Then a sash. A hat similar to a bakers hat is also worn as well as a robe. During this you make certain promises with god that you will follow certain commandments if you dont you will face death or damnation. (there is a lot of manipulation going on at this point) After watching the movie and being shown and told the secret handshakes and signs and names of the signs you are then instructed to come to the front of the room. There is a curtain across the entire wall of the front of the room. This represents the veil or crossing through into heaven. You approach the veil and knock with a small mallet. A temple worker on the other side of the veil answers and asks you specific questions. You must share your secret name and reach through openings in the veil to exchange the secret handshakes and whisper through the veil the names of the signs and tokens. Once you have completed this the temple worker reaches through and pulls you through the curtains, a symbol of being welcomed into the celestial kingdom. You then are led down a hallway to the celestial room of the temple. A very beautifully decorated room, usually with alot of natural light coming in. Everything is white and very serene. You can then sit and meditate or whatever.
That is my memory of the temple experience. My first impression was.......WHAT THE FUCK AM I GETTING MYSELF INTO? The whole exprerience was soo weird and no-one had ever told me any of these things. Probably because you make an oath that you wont talk about the things to anyone if you do death is a possible consequence. In fact up until the 80's or 90's part of the ceremony was a ritual where you would move your hand across your neck and across your mid section showing the penalty for revealing this information. This was called the blood oath. And the mormons say the aren't a cult!! I dare you to challenge me on the topic. Another interesting fact about mormon temple ceremonies, in the early days of the church late 1800's and early 1900's, there was a part of the ceremony called the oath of vengeance. In this oath you swore to avenge the blood of the saints upon this nation!! Can you believe that? A direct call to action against the government of the United States! And people wonder why Joseph Smith was wanted by the President of the United States for charges of treason.

Well I hope I have shed some light on a subject that not many care to or dare to talk about. The experiences as expressed are to the best of my knowledge/memory there are several parts that I am sure I have left out, i will try to find documentation on the entire ceremony process and post it here.

For now, enjoy these videos I found!

Here is a video showing several different parts of temple ceremonies including the blood oath mentioned above. Notice the clothing they are wearing.. This video is extremely accurate

Secret Mormon Temple Ceremony video! Blood oath!

Another short clip on the blood oath!

And leave some comments for christ's sake!