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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 5

2013-09-16T22:08:33Z

Juliann Reynolds: /* 519n58 (PB) */

{{Articles FAIR copyright}} {{Articles Header 1}} {{Articles Header 2}} {{Articles Header 3}} {{Articles Header 4}} {{Articles Header 5}} {{Articles Header 6}} {{Articles Header 7}} {{Articles Header 8}} {{Articles Header 9}} {{Articles Header 10}}
__NOTOC__
{{FAIRAnalysisHeader
|title=[[../../|One Nation Under Gods]]
|author=Richard Abanes
|noauthor=
|section=[[../../Index|Index of claims]]: Claims made in "Chapter 5: People of Zion"
|previous=[[../Chapter 4|Claims made in "Chapter 4: Smith's Golden Book"]]
|next=[[../Chapter 6|Claims made in "Chapter 6: No rest for the Righteous"]]
|notes={{AuthorsDisclaimer}}
}}
=Claims made in "Chapter 5: People of Zion"=
<blockquote>
<center>
''Mormon high priests possessed the authority to bestow salvation. Such authority had always been viewed by Christians as belonging to God alone.''
<br>
—''One Nation Under Gods'', p. 99.
</center>
</blockquote>
{{parabreak}}

====83, 517n2 (HB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The book states that the "Mormon church" was formally organized in New York.
|response=
*There is no church called the "Mormon Church." "The Church of Christ" was formally organized in New York by Joseph Smith.
*[[Name of the Church]]
|authorsources=
*N/A
}}
====517n2 (HB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The official name of the Church's changed from The Church of Christ to The Church of the Latter Day Saints and then to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
|response=
*This is correct. See: [[Name of the Church]]
|authorsources=
*No source provided. (Marquardt source refers to the location of the church organization)
}}

====86, n22-23 (HB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did "anti-Christendom" become a "defining feature of Mormonism?"
*Did the Church denounce Christianity as "satanic?"
|response=
*{{SourceDistortion}}
*[[../../Use of sources/Christianity is satanic]]
*[[Did early LDS leaders denounce Christianity|Did early LDS leaders denounce Christianity?]]
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|pages=255}}
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=17|vol=5|start=73}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=37|vol=5|start=229}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=44|vol=8|start=171}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=50|vol=8|start=199}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=John Taylor|disc=3|vol=6|start=25}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=John Taylor|disc=25|vol=6|start=167}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=John Taylor|disc=25|vol=13|start=225}}.
}}

====86, n24-25====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Does the Church continue to teach that "all Christian churches are corrupt?"
*Does the Church teach that "Satan sits in the place of God in Christianity?"
|response=
*{{SourceDistortion}}
*[[Apostasy/Individual versus organizational]]
*[[../../Use of sources/Christianity corrupt and Satan replaces God|Use of sources: Christianity corrupt and Satan replaces God]]
|authorsources=
*Bruce R. McConkie, ''Mormon Doctrine'' (1958; second edition, 1966), p. 132.
*Kent P. Jackson, [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=401605481ae6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 "Early Signs of the Apostasy,"] ''Ensign'', December 1984, 9.
}}

====87, 517n26====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*{{AuthorQuote|"Smith's long association with occultism also helped draw spiritual 'seekers' into Mormonism because his affinity for the paranormal enabled other occultists to easily identify with him."}}
|response=
*The author is repeating Quinn's opinion.
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=xxiii}}
}}
====87, 520n31 (HB) 518n31 (PB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The book claims that "many" of the early members of the Church used seer stones. Among these are mentioned "Jacob and David Whitmer, Hiram Page, Philo Dibble, W.W. Phelps, Lucy Mack Smith, and Elizabeth Ann Whitney."
|response=
* {{nw}}
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=247-258}}
*Ogden Kraut, ''Seers and Seer Stones'', 55.
*Samantha Payne, Affidavit, June 29, 1881, Ontario County Clerk's Office, Canandaigua, New york, published in ''Ontario County Times'', July 27, 1881, 3, photocopy in fd 31, box 149, Marquardt papers, Marriott Library.
}}

====88, 520n35 (HB) 518n35 (PB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Were seer stones used by Latter-day Saints "well into the late 1800s" because Joseph didn't "condemn them?" The book then supports this claim by stating the Joseph "did the very opposite" by showing one of his seer stones to the Quorum of the Twelve on Dec. 27, 1841.
|response=
* {{nw}}
|authorsources=
*Kraut, 62.
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=250}}
}}

====89, 518n47====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Was a revelation changed to conceal Oliver Cowdery's use of a divining rod?
|response=
*[[Doctrine and Covenants/Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"]]
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|pages=46}}
|authorsources=
*''Book of Commandments'' (VII:3), 19.
}}
====89, 518n49====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph give Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball divining rods "as a symbol of gratitude for their loyalty."
|response=
*{{SourceDistortion}}
* [[../../Use of sources/Divining rods to Kimball and Young|Use of sources: Divining rods to Kimball and Young]]
|authorsources=
*Stanley B. Kimball, ''Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer'', 248-249.
*Anthon H. Lund, ''Anthon H. Lund Journal'', under July 5, 1901 quoted in D. Michael Quinn, ''BYU Studies'', Fall 1978, vol. 18, 82, cited in {{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=87}}.
}}
====89====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph's family own a "magic dagger?"
|response=
*Note: In [[Becoming Gods|''Becoming Gods'']], the author calls this a "magick dagger."
*[[Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic/Mars dagger|Mars dagger]]
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|pages=37, 344n93}}
*{{FR-12-2-16}}
|authorsources=
*No source given.
}}
====89-90, 519n53-57====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph's family own "three homemade magical parchments?"
|response=
*Note: In [[Becoming Gods|''Becoming Gods'']], the author calls these "magick parchments."
*The text mentions the ""Holiness to the Lord,"" the ""Saint Peter Bind Them,"" and the ""Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah"" parchments without showing how they are related to the Smith family.
*[[Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic/Magick parchments|Magick parchments]]
*{{FR-12-2-16}}
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|chapter=5|pages=37, 344n94}}
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=104-115}}
*Note: the main text (paperback edition) has the citations in the following order: 56, 57, 54, 55, 53.
}}

====89====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph have a "Jupiter talisman" with him the day he died?
|response=
*[[Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic/Jupiter talisman]]
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|pages=37, 344n95}}
|authorsources=
*No source given.
}}
====519n58 (PB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The phrase is not in the published talk or the live recording of the talk. See: [[Non-existent quotes/Haight: assistance of the moon]]
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages= 291}}
*The author states: [I]n 1998, Apostle David B. Haight "reinvoked the astrological principle that people should 'do nothing without the assistance of the moon'" (Quinn, ''Early Mormonism'', 291).
|response=
{{nw}}
*The author does not include Quinn's primary source for this statement from Elder Haight.
*Quinn's statement from ''Mormonism and the Magic World View'' (p.291):
<blockquote>
"Without mentioning astrology Apostle David B. Haight in 1998 reinvoked the astrological principle that people should 'do nothing without the assistance of the Moon'. (See ch 3)" (Endnote 412)
</blockquote>
:Quinn's endote, however, says nothing about Elder Haight:
<blockquote>
Endnote 412: "Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, 279:Barrett, The Magus, 1:148; also Patrick Curry, Prophecy, and Power: Astrology in Early Modern England (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Press 1989),11"
</blockquote>
*From the author's later book [[Becoming Gods|''Becoming Gods'']] p. 352, endnote 155:
<blockquote>
"Haight's remark 'do nothing without the assistance of the moon was made during his lecture at the 168th Annual General Conference. But when the transcribed text of the speech was made available online through the LDS Church's official Internet site, the phrase had been deleted."
</blockquote>

}}

====92====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*{{AuthorQuote|"There is no question that [Mormonism] began as a doomsday sect led by an end-time prophet."}}
|response=
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]
|authorsources=
*Author's opinion.
}}
====95, 522n74 (HB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Martin Harris claim that "all temporal and spiritual power would be given over to The Prophet Joseph Smith?"
|response=
*[[../../Use of sources/Those Power-Hungry Mormons|Those Power-Hungry Mormons]]
|authorsources=
*Chandler, reprinted in {{EarlyMormonDocs|vol=3|start=222|end=223}}
}}
====99, 521n97====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The author states that Joseph claimed that his revision of the Bible "not only deleted mistakes in the Bible's first book, but also re-inserted a great deal of material that supposedly had been excised from it by corrupt and evil men."
|response=
*The endnote does not provide a reference for this claim—it simply states that the text is now included in the ''Pearl of Great Price'' as the ''Book of Moses''.
|authorsources=
*No reference is provided for the claim that Joseph said that information he was adding was originally removed by "corrupt and evil men."
}}
====99, n100====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*{{AuthorQuote|"Mormon high priests possessed the authority to bestow salvation. Such authority had always been viewed by Christians as belonging to God alone."}}
|response=
*{{FalseStatement}}
*Latter-day Saints have always believed that salvation can only be obtained through Jesus Christ.
|authorsources=
*Joseph Smith, ''Far West Record'', October 25, 1831. Quoted in Lauritz G. Peterson, "The Kirtland Temple," ''BYU Studies'' (Summer 1972), vol 12, 401; cf. Brooke, 193-194.
}}

=Further reading=
{{AbanesWorks}}
{{Articles Footer 1}} {{Articles Footer 2}} {{Articles Footer 3}} {{Articles Footer 4}} {{Articles Footer 5}} {{Articles Footer 6}} {{Articles Footer 7}} {{Articles Footer 8}} {{Articles Footer 9}} {{Articles Footer 10}}

[[fr:Specific works/One Nation Under Gods/Index/Chapter 5]]

Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 5

2013-09-16T22:06:25Z

Juliann Reynolds: /* 519n58 (PB) */

{{Articles FAIR copyright}} {{Articles Header 1}} {{Articles Header 2}} {{Articles Header 3}} {{Articles Header 4}} {{Articles Header 5}} {{Articles Header 6}} {{Articles Header 7}} {{Articles Header 8}} {{Articles Header 9}} {{Articles Header 10}}
__NOTOC__
{{FAIRAnalysisHeader
|title=[[../../|One Nation Under Gods]]
|author=Richard Abanes
|noauthor=
|section=[[../../Index|Index of claims]]: Claims made in "Chapter 5: People of Zion"
|previous=[[../Chapter 4|Claims made in "Chapter 4: Smith's Golden Book"]]
|next=[[../Chapter 6|Claims made in "Chapter 6: No rest for the Righteous"]]
|notes={{AuthorsDisclaimer}}
}}
=Claims made in "Chapter 5: People of Zion"=
<blockquote>
<center>
''Mormon high priests possessed the authority to bestow salvation. Such authority had always been viewed by Christians as belonging to God alone.''
<br>
—''One Nation Under Gods'', p. 99.
</center>
</blockquote>
{{parabreak}}

====83, 517n2 (HB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The book states that the "Mormon church" was formally organized in New York.
|response=
*There is no church called the "Mormon Church." "The Church of Christ" was formally organized in New York by Joseph Smith.
*[[Name of the Church]]
|authorsources=
*N/A
}}
====517n2 (HB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The official name of the Church's changed from The Church of Christ to The Church of the Latter Day Saints and then to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
|response=
*This is correct. See: [[Name of the Church]]
|authorsources=
*No source provided. (Marquardt source refers to the location of the church organization)
}}

====86, n22-23 (HB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did "anti-Christendom" become a "defining feature of Mormonism?"
*Did the Church denounce Christianity as "satanic?"
|response=
*{{SourceDistortion}}
*[[../../Use of sources/Christianity is satanic]]
*[[Did early LDS leaders denounce Christianity|Did early LDS leaders denounce Christianity?]]
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|pages=255}}
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=17|vol=5|start=73}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=37|vol=5|start=229}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=44|vol=8|start=171}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=50|vol=8|start=199}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=John Taylor|disc=3|vol=6|start=25}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=John Taylor|disc=25|vol=6|start=167}}.
*{{JDfairwiki|author=John Taylor|disc=25|vol=13|start=225}}.
}}

====86, n24-25====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Does the Church continue to teach that "all Christian churches are corrupt?"
*Does the Church teach that "Satan sits in the place of God in Christianity?"
|response=
*{{SourceDistortion}}
*[[Apostasy/Individual versus organizational]]
*[[../../Use of sources/Christianity corrupt and Satan replaces God|Use of sources: Christianity corrupt and Satan replaces God]]
|authorsources=
*Bruce R. McConkie, ''Mormon Doctrine'' (1958; second edition, 1966), p. 132.
*Kent P. Jackson, [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=401605481ae6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 "Early Signs of the Apostasy,"] ''Ensign'', December 1984, 9.
}}

====87, 517n26====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*{{AuthorQuote|"Smith's long association with occultism also helped draw spiritual 'seekers' into Mormonism because his affinity for the paranormal enabled other occultists to easily identify with him."}}
|response=
*The author is repeating Quinn's opinion.
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=xxiii}}
}}
====87, 520n31 (HB) 518n31 (PB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The book claims that "many" of the early members of the Church used seer stones. Among these are mentioned "Jacob and David Whitmer, Hiram Page, Philo Dibble, W.W. Phelps, Lucy Mack Smith, and Elizabeth Ann Whitney."
|response=
* {{nw}}
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=247-258}}
*Ogden Kraut, ''Seers and Seer Stones'', 55.
*Samantha Payne, Affidavit, June 29, 1881, Ontario County Clerk's Office, Canandaigua, New york, published in ''Ontario County Times'', July 27, 1881, 3, photocopy in fd 31, box 149, Marquardt papers, Marriott Library.
}}

====88, 520n35 (HB) 518n35 (PB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Were seer stones used by Latter-day Saints "well into the late 1800s" because Joseph didn't "condemn them?" The book then supports this claim by stating the Joseph "did the very opposite" by showing one of his seer stones to the Quorum of the Twelve on Dec. 27, 1841.
|response=
* {{nw}}
|authorsources=
*Kraut, 62.
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=250}}
}}

====89, 518n47====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Was a revelation changed to conceal Oliver Cowdery's use of a divining rod?
|response=
*[[Doctrine and Covenants/Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"]]
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|pages=46}}
|authorsources=
*''Book of Commandments'' (VII:3), 19.
}}
====89, 518n49====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph give Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball divining rods "as a symbol of gratitude for their loyalty."
|response=
*{{SourceDistortion}}
* [[../../Use of sources/Divining rods to Kimball and Young|Use of sources: Divining rods to Kimball and Young]]
|authorsources=
*Stanley B. Kimball, ''Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer'', 248-249.
*Anthon H. Lund, ''Anthon H. Lund Journal'', under July 5, 1901 quoted in D. Michael Quinn, ''BYU Studies'', Fall 1978, vol. 18, 82, cited in {{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=87}}.
}}
====89====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph's family own a "magic dagger?"
|response=
*Note: In [[Becoming Gods|''Becoming Gods'']], the author calls this a "magick dagger."
*[[Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic/Mars dagger|Mars dagger]]
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|pages=37, 344n93}}
*{{FR-12-2-16}}
|authorsources=
*No source given.
}}
====89-90, 519n53-57====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph's family own "three homemade magical parchments?"
|response=
*Note: In [[Becoming Gods|''Becoming Gods'']], the author calls these "magick parchments."
*The text mentions the ""Holiness to the Lord,"" the ""Saint Peter Bind Them,"" and the ""Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah"" parchments without showing how they are related to the Smith family.
*[[Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic/Magick parchments|Magick parchments]]
*{{FR-12-2-16}}
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|chapter=5|pages=37, 344n94}}
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=104-115}}
*Note: the main text (paperback edition) has the citations in the following order: 56, 57, 54, 55, 53.
}}

====89====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph have a "Jupiter talisman" with him the day he died?
|response=
*[[Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic/Jupiter talisman]]
*{{CrossRef:Abanes:Becoming Gods|pages=37, 344n95}}
|authorsources=
*No source given.
}}
====519n58 (PB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The author states: [I]n 1998, Apostle David B. Haight "reinvoked the astrological principle that people should 'do nothing without the assistance of the moon'" (Quinn, ''Early Mormonism'', 291).
|response=
{{nw}}
*The author does not include Quinn's primary source for this statement from Elder Haight.
*Quinn's statement from ''Mormonism and the Magic World View'' (p.291):
<blockquote>
"Without mentioning astrology Apostle David B. Haight in 1998 reinvoked the astrological principle that people should 'do nothing without the assistance of the Moon'. (See ch 3)" (Endnote 412)
</blockquote>
:Quinn's endote, however, says nothing about Elder Haight:
<blockquote>
Endnote 412: "Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, 279:Barrett, The Magus, 1:148; also Patrick Curry, Prophecy, and Power: Astrology in Early Modern England (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Press 1989),11"
</blockquote>
*From the author's later book [[Becoming Gods|''Becoming Gods'']] p. 352, endnote 155:
<blockquote>
"Haight's remark 'do nothing without the assistance of the moon was made during his lecture at the 168th Annual General Conference. But when the transcribed text of the speech was made available online through the LDS Church's official Internet site, the phrase had been deleted."
</blockquote>
*The phrase is not in the published talk or the live recording of the talk. See: [[Non-existent quotes/Haight: assistance of the moon]]
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages= 291}}
}}

====92====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*{{AuthorQuote|"There is no question that [Mormonism] began as a doomsday sect led by an end-time prophet."}}
|response=
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]
|authorsources=
*Author's opinion.
}}
====95, 522n74 (HB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Martin Harris claim that "all temporal and spiritual power would be given over to The Prophet Joseph Smith?"
|response=
*[[../../Use of sources/Those Power-Hungry Mormons|Those Power-Hungry Mormons]]
|authorsources=
*Chandler, reprinted in {{EarlyMormonDocs|vol=3|start=222|end=223}}
}}
====99, 521n97====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The author states that Joseph claimed that his revision of the Bible "not only deleted mistakes in the Bible's first book, but also re-inserted a great deal of material that supposedly had been excised from it by corrupt and evil men."
|response=
*The endnote does not provide a reference for this claim—it simply states that the text is now included in the ''Pearl of Great Price'' as the ''Book of Moses''.
|authorsources=
*No reference is provided for the claim that Joseph said that information he was adding was originally removed by "corrupt and evil men."
}}
====99, n100====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*{{AuthorQuote|"Mormon high priests possessed the authority to bestow salvation. Such authority had always been viewed by Christians as belonging to God alone."}}
|response=
*{{FalseStatement}}
*Latter-day Saints have always believed that salvation can only be obtained through Jesus Christ.
|authorsources=
*Joseph Smith, ''Far West Record'', October 25, 1831. Quoted in Lauritz G. Peterson, "The Kirtland Temple," ''BYU Studies'' (Summer 1972), vol 12, 401; cf. Brooke, 193-194.
}}

=Further reading=
{{AbanesWorks}}
{{Articles Footer 1}} {{Articles Footer 2}} {{Articles Footer 3}} {{Articles Footer 4}} {{Articles Footer 5}} {{Articles Footer 6}} {{Articles Footer 7}} {{Articles Footer 8}} {{Articles Footer 9}} {{Articles Footer 10}}

[[fr:Specific works/One Nation Under Gods/Index/Chapter 5]]

Non-existent quotes/Haight: assistance of the moon

2013-09-16T21:55:00Z

Juliann Reynolds: /* Elder Haight and the teleprompter */

{{Articles FAIR copyright}} {{Articles Header 1}} {{Articles Header 2}} {{Articles Header 3}} {{Articles Header 4}} {{Articles Header 5}} {{Articles Header 6}} {{Articles Header 7}} {{Articles Header 8}} {{Articles Header 9}} {{Articles Header 10}}
=={{Criticism label}}==
*Critics claim that Elder David B. Haight "reinvoked the astrological principle that people should 'do nothing without the assistance of the moon'" in a talk that he gave during General Conference in 1998.
*One critic takes this a step further by claiming that the phrase "do nothing without the assistance of the moon" was ''deleted'' from the transcribed version of Elder Haight's talk.

This claim has evolved over time due to successive misinterpretation of the original sources.

{{CriticalSources}}

=={{Conclusion label}}==
There is no question that grammar and phrasing of the talk was edited. The question is: where is the phrase "do nothing without the assistance of the moon" that the author highlighted ''twice'' before claiming that it had been removed from the printed version of the talk? There is no other portion of this talk which makes any reference to the moon.

The bottom line: this is a false claim and a false accusation.

== ==
{{Response label}}

{{SeeAlso|Non-existent_quotes/Haight:_assistance_of_the_moon/Quinn treatment|l1=D. Michael Quinn's treatment of the quote}}

===Was an embarrassing phrase removed from Elder Haight's talk?===
''Becoming Gods'' makes this claim on page 352, endnote 155:
<blockquote>
LDS Apostle David B. Haight "reinvoked the astrological principle that people should 'do nothing without the assistance of the moon'" (Quinn, ''Early Mormonism'', p. 291). Haight's remark "do nothing without the assistance of the moon" was made during his lecture at the 168th Annual General Conference. But when the transcribed text of the speech was made available online through the LDS Church's official Internet site, '''the phrase had been deleted.'''" {{ea}}
</blockquote>

Conference talks are routinely edited before they are printed. General Authorities may make off-the-cuff remarks or inject other comments that may not make it into the final printed version. But this accusation is different: the author of this book is asserting that there was something removed in order to hide it, despite the fact that the phrase would have been heard by the entire conference audience, and the video of the talk recorded. These recordings are easily accessible in many LDS meeting house libraries, so it is a relatively simple task to check the validity of this claim.

Was there a cover-up directed at removing an embarrassing 'magic related' remark made by Elder Haight ''in front of the entire Church'' during a General Conference? Note in the criticism that the suspicious phrase "do nothing without the assistance of the moon" is actually singled out twice. To resolve this claim, we will examine the published text of Elder Haight's talk and compare it to a transcript that was made from a video recording of the same talk.

===The talk===
{| valign="top" border="1" style="width:100%; font-size:85%"
!width="33%"|Transcription of live talk [April 1998 General Conference] from home recorded video in Rancho Cucamonga, CA Chaffey Ward church library.
!width="33%"|Talk as printed in the Ensign: David B. Haight, “[http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=b589605ff590c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD Live the Commandments],” Ensign, May 1998, p 6.
!width="34%"|Comments
|-
|
And as we left that little meeting that evening and left that little farmhouse, there was a full moon shining down through the trees. And I said to Ruby,
||
As we left our meeting that evening and left that little farmhouse, there was a full moon shining down through the trees. I said to Ruby,
||
*Some minor grammar cleanup to remove the repetition of the phrase "that little."
|-
|
“I can imagine that on the night of April 6, 1830, after that small group had assembled, the Church had been organized, the six members had signed the necessary papers to see that it was recognized under the laws of the state of New York.
||
“I can imagine the night of April 6, 1830, after that small group had assembled, the Church had been organized, and six men agreeable to its organization were present to be in harmony with the laws of the state of New York;
||
*The phrase "agreeable to its organization" was added.
*The spoken phrase "recognized under the laws" was reworded to read "in harmony with the laws."
|-
|
And of the occasion was said what was prophesied, the future of the church, the testimony that would have been born. I said I would imagine that the night of April the 6th, 1830, the moon was shining showing that our Savior smiled upon that occasion and upon that setting.
||
I can imagine what was said, what was prophesied about the future of the Church, and the testimonies that would have been borne.” Then I said, “I would imagine that on the night of April the 6th, 1830, there was a full moon shining, showing that our Savior was smiling upon that occasion and upon that setting.”
||
*Grammar modifications.
|-
|
And later I said that to the little group and Brother Chamberlain who then was the director of the Hansen Planetarium in Salt Lake heard me say that. And he was thoughtful enough to get in touch with our, with our observatory, naval observatory, to find out what might have happened on April the 6th, 1830.
||
Later I expressed that idea to a group where Brother Chamberlain, who then was the director of the Hansen Planetarium in Salt Lake, heard me say it. He was thoughtful enough to get in touch with the naval observatory to find out what might have happened on April the 6th, 1830.
||
*Grammar cleanup
|-
|
They didn’t have records back that far and so he was thoughtful enough to contact in England the Naval Observatory and the records that might have been available over there and he later sent me some document-- documentar-- documentary indicating what was happening in the horizon in that week of April the 6th, 1830 and indicating on there that there was evidence that there was a full moon those days before and after and during April the 6th, 1830, which I have now as a prized possession that there was a full moon. The glories of the Lord had been poured out upon the occasion.
||
They didn’t have records back that far, so he was thoughtful enough to contact the Royal Observatory at Greenwich in England for records that might have been available over there. He later sent me some documents indicating what was happening in the horizon that week of April the 6th, 1830, indicating that there was a full or beautifully beaming moon those days before and after April the 6th. The glories of the Lord had been poured out upon the occasion.
||
*Grammar again.
|}

So, where is the alleged remark "do nothing without the assistance of the moon" in the transcription? It is not there. It was ''never'' there.

===Elder Haight and the teleprompter===
As Elder Haight grew older, he was unable to use the teleprompter to effectively read his written text. He joked about this in the October 1995 General Conference, three years ''prior'' to his 1998 talk discussed above.

<blockquote>
When Elder LeGrand Richards was getting along in years, he generally gave extemporaneous conference talks. As you know, we have some time restraints. There was concern as to how to notify him when his time was up. A little flashing light was put on the podium, and during one of his talks he said, “There’s a light here that keeps flashing.” The next conference they made the light red, but he just put his hand over it. So I might resort to some of that today. As we age, we get to the point where the teleprompter doesn’t work for us anymore; then the printers seem to be doing a poor job in printing the text; and then the ink doesn’t seem to be as good as it used to be, either! But I am honored and grateful to be here with you. {{ref|ensign.nov.1995}}
</blockquote>

It ought to be no surprise, then, that Elder Haight's spoken words differed somewhat from his written words.

=={{Endnotes label}}==

#{{note|ensign.nov.1995}}David B. Haight, "Seek First the Kingdom of God", ''Ensign'', Nov. 1995, 73. {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=5ceb6e9ce9b1c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1
}}

{{FurtherReading}}

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[[fr:Non-existent quotes/Haight: assistance of the moon]]