Quorum definition and meaning Collins English Dictionary

Wow, is it time for the Year in Review already? It seems like only a couple decades have passed since January 1, 2020 -- a year some experts are now saying lasted a full double dog year, 14 human years, or about three stake conferences in length.
Although TSCC's shenanigans were overshadowed this year by outrageously insane behavior from every corner, TSCC nevertheless made its own valuable contributions to the insanity pile -- the icing on the cake, if you will, or perhaps more accurately, the dry heave on top of the stomach-emptying vomit.
But now, as 2020 comes to a close, let us sit back, reflect on the past year, and wonder what the hell was everyone smoking? Yet somehow, despite everything getting turned upside down this year, 2020 still began with . . .
January
Foreshadowing the year to come, 2020 attacks right from the start and scorches Australia with massive wildfires. Also foreshadowing the year to come, TBMs offer to help by skipping a couple of meals and donating the value of those meals to the church, which then used the donated money to pay the cable bill for Brother Richards in your ward. The logic behind this series of transactions is still somehow one of the least confusing aspects of the year to come.
Despite the Book of Mormon literally saying the Lamanites were cursed with dark skin, TSCC claims it was an "error" in the Come Follow Me manual that described the Lamanites' dark skin as a curse. Clarifying the clarification, Pres. Newsroom stressed that it wasn't the dark skin that was the curse, the curse was having to still defend the racist passages in the Book of Mormon in 20 freaking 20.
Finally in January, controversy erupts at BYU over, of all things, ballroom dancing, when BYU announced it would prohibit same sex couples from competing in the US Nationals Amateur Dancesport Championships it was hosting, despite national organization guidelines which allowed same sex couples to compete. Several prominent dancers announced they would boycott the BYU-hosted competition, but BYU stuck to its principles despite this withering pressure from super-intimidating ballroom dancers. Ha ha! But seriously though -- BYU predictably caved and allowed same sex couples to dance in the competition. Pres. Newsroom later defended BYU's changing stance, claiming the university had not sold its values for a mess of pottage but had done so for the glory of ballroom dance, which was a different matter altogether.
February
Two years after Ballard emphatically declared that church leaders weren't hiding anything, church leaders admit in a Wall Street Journal article that they've been hiding 100 billion dollars out of fear members would stop paying tithing if they knew about it. Following the example of shining role model, Enron, TSCC used more than a dozen shell companies to hide their investment portfolio from members. Shocked by this brazen deception, TBMs vigorously protest by continuing to pay a full tithe, keeping their mouths shut, and pretending this is all fine.
In an unusual move, BYU deletes the section prohibiting homosexual behavior from its honor code, leaving the impression that comparable hetero behaviors such as dating and kissing would now be permitted for homosexual students, with BYU's own Honor Code office privately telling students homosexual couples would now be held to the same morality standards as unmarried heterosexual couples. After a photo of two female students kissing outside the honor code office goes viral, BYU spokesperson Carrie Jenkins backpedaled and claimed there had been a "miscommunication", but refuses to say what the school's policy is. After much confusion, the matter is finally cleared up when Mormon church president Nelson issues a statement demanding the media stop referring to him as "Mormon church president Nelson" and insists the media instead refer to him as "brilliantly gifted heart surgeon Nelson".
A man wielding a knife is shot and killed by police after caught trespassing inside the MTC in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Afterward, police claimed the man was clearly suffering from mental illness, noting that he willingly entered a location known to be crawling with Mormon missionaries.
March
In March, absolutely nothing happened, so we can move on to April -- unless you consider the beginning of the apocalypse, the end of the world as we know it, and the imminent return of Jesus to be worth mentioning.
But first, in March: in the midst of continued confusion over the BYU honor code change, Ballard offers hope to the LGBT community when he delivers a BYU devotional speech condemning marginalizing anyone based on sexual orientation, calling it "evil and horrifying". Gay BYU students barely have time to applaud Ballard's speech when, the very next day, BYU -- which aspires to the level of evil and horrifying -- marginalizes LGBT students by issuing a formal letter stating that no, they are still not allowed any form of romantic expression because such behaviors still violate the "principles", if not the actual language, of the honor code. Clarifying the matter further, BYU spokesperson Carrie Jenkins said LGBT students should have known all along the honor code changes were meant for the Big 12 Conference and not for them.
TSCC gets pummeled from all sides in March, with God hitting Salt Lake City with a 5.7 earthquake that breaks the angel Moroni statue on top of the temple, and Covid forcing TSCC to cancel church services, close its temples, recall missionaries from overseas missions, close the MTCs, and cancel all BYU sports, just as the basketball team looked to have its best showing in the NCAA tournament in years. Summing up the disastrous month, Pres. Newsroom said TSCC hasn't taken a beating that bad since the last BYU-Utah football game.
April
In a historic first, TSCC cancels the live audience for general conference. The precaution was necessary, Pres. Newsroom said, to prevent panicky Mormons from stealing all the toilet paper in the Conference Center.
Recalling that last October Nelson promised a conference unlike any other, TBMs feverishly share wild rumors in the run-up to April conference, ranging from Jesus Christ personally appearing at conference to the prophet solemnly ordering members to pack up and move to Missouri. Realizing the conference had been a deep disappointment compared to expectations, Nelson tried to spin the narrative by insisting the conference had achieved a historic first: for the first time ever, not a single live audience member had fallen asleep during a session.
In the midst of a global pandemic, economic collapse, apocalyptic rumors, and widespread unemployment, TSCC demonstrates how keenly they are in touch with members' needs when they . . . rollout a new church logo. Dubbed "Snow Globe Jesus", the new logo design barely won out over top contenders Bobblehead Jesus and 70s Playgirl Centerfold Jesus.
Having failed in their first fasting attempt to eradicate Coronavirus, Nelson announces a second, more powerful fast to be held on Good Friday, for an extra spiritual power-up. Cases in Utah -- which averaged 100 positive cases per day prior to the fast -- promptly doubled, then tripled, then increased 5x, then increased 10x, then increased 20x, then increased 30x . . . Alarmed at the exponential increase in cases, Utah lawmakers hurriedly pass legislation preventing Mormons from conducting a third fast.
May
TSCC -- long accused of being a money-seeking corporation masquerading as a religion --releases plans for the Tooele Utah temple, including a master planned community of high-priced homes surrounding the temple which will be developed, and profited by, TSCC. When asked about the comparison to Jesus driving the money changers at the temple, Pres. Newsroom happily cited the prepositional loophole of "at" vs. "around" to justify TSCC's money changing behavior. When informed that the same Hebrew preposition means "at, in, by, or near" in English and therefore the church is technically still in violation of Jesus's injunction, Pres. Newsroom claimed his religious freedom was under attack from linguistics.
In the midst of a global pandemic, economic collapse, apocalyptic rumors, and widespread unemployment, TSCC again demonstrates how keenly they are in touch with members' needs when they . . . proudly release updated standards for the artwork permitted in church foyers. Although Caucasian Jesus predictably won the coveted approval, Pres. Newsroom let it be known there was stiff competition from top contenders Catholic Sacred Heart Jesus and Fat Buddha.
In what many observers regarded as a somewhat controversial move, two BYU students, Jeff and Steve, are disciplined by the honor code office for failing to say "no homo" after engaging in a handshake that lingered a bit too long.
June
In the midst of a global pandemic, economic collapse, apocalyptic rumors, and widespread unemployment, TSCC again demonstrates how keenly they are in touch with members' needs when Rebrand Rusty makes a fashion update to that most recognizable symbol of Mormonism, the missionary in the white shirt. Although missionaries may now wear blue shirts, over-zealous elders quorum presidents everywhere want you to know you will still be looked down upon if you wear a blue shirt to quorum meeting.
Three months after Ballard condemned persecution of the LGBT community as "evil and horrifying", TSCC files an amicus brief in a Supreme Court case, arguing in favor of the right to fire LGBT employees simply for being LGBT and not for any job violation. When asked whether the church was now "evil and horrifying" or whether Ballard had been wrong in his devotional address, Pres. Newsroom wondered aloud how difficult it would be to find another job in this weak economy.
In the face (ha ha!) of rising anti-mask sentiment, a coalition of Utah religious leaders sign a joint statement urging Utahns to wear face masks. TSCC is represented in the coalition by a counselor in the Utah area presidency, who ranks on the Mormon authority meter somewhere around the assistant secretary of the Beehive class.
In a fiery online speech, Bednar complains about the loss of religious freedom during the pandemic, claiming that governments had forced TSCC to shut down. When pointed out to him that other churches adapted by conducting online services, and that Alma 32:10 specifically says that meeting in a church is not required, Bednar doubled-down on his complaint, insisting that his religious freedom to sit on the stand and be adored by the congregation each week had most definitely been infringed.
July
In an all-out attack on exmos, the July Ensign boldly claims that truth will never be found on exmormon sites. Exmos quickly compiled a list of truths hidden by TSCC that were revealed on exmo sites, such as the $100 billion Ensign Peak investment, general authority pay, the seer stone translation method, the LGBT policy of exclusion, the multiple versions of the first vision, and church tithing money being invested in City Creek. When confronted by this list, the Ensign published a follow-up article claiming its religious freedom to lie about its religion was under attack.
Looking to send a stronger signal on the mask mandate, the full Utah area presidency now issues an official statement to members, urging them to wear masks in public. This upgraded authoritative mandate now ranks on the Mormon power meter somewhere around a ward PEC meeting with half the attendees asleep.
Finally in July, Utah County Mormons make national news when, in the midst of the pandemic, they crowd into a packed Utah County Commission meeting, purposefully not wearing masks, to demand that area schools reopen without requiring students to wear masks, because -- given the size of their excessively large families -- the least the school district could do is help them trim the number back a bit.
August
In the midst of a global pandemic, economic collapse, apocalyptic rumors, and widespread unemployment, TSCC again demonstrates how keenly they are in touch with members' needs when Rebrand Rusty renames the church magazines. The Ensign will be rebranded as The Liahona and The New Era will now be called For the Strength of Youth, because "New Era" simply wasn't weird enough. TSCC also dropped the old fashioned term "garments", now calling its special underwear For The Strength of Your Loins.
Colleges across the country begin to reopen, but with modified sports schedules, leaving independent football school BYU scrambling to fill its schedule at the last minute. Announcing its modified schedule, BYU noted that the 200,000 U.S. Covid deaths, while tragic, were a small price to pay to guarantee that BYU would not lose to Utah in football again this year.
And August wraps up with the First Presidency issuing a letter forbidding bishops and stake presidents from testifying in court cases, because the last people TSCC wants on the stand are leaders who have pledged to be honest in all their dealings.
September
Always striving to use the full name of the church and emphasize the name of Jesus Christ, Rebrand Rusty renames LDS Business College to Ensign College, after the itself recently rebranded Ensign magazine, with neither rebranding using the full name of the church or of Jesus Christ. This series of name changes is still, somehow, one of the least confusing aspects of 2020.
With the Covid epidemic worsening by the day, TBMs plead with God in fervent prayer to please let them die of Covid before they have to eat the 40 year old buckets of wheat in the basement.
October
Feeling like 2020 hasn't kicked enough people while they are down, Christofferson attacks a vulnerable group in his general conference talk by insulting single women who choose to have their baby rather than have an abortion, calling their children "bitter fruit." When asked about his choice of words, Christofferson defended himself, saying that he couldn't very well call them "bastards" over the conference center pulpit, now could he?
Two years after gaslighting church youth about polygamy at a Face 2 Face broadcast in Nauvoo, Master Gaslighter Cook uses his general conference address to gaslight the entire church over slavery and Native American relations. Boldly claiming the church was always against slavery and had great relations with the Native Americans, Cook spun a beautiful but demonstrably false narrative. It was somewhat surprising then, when independent fact checkers awarded Cook's talk the exact same credibility level as the other conference addresses.
The Book of Mormon becomes the surprise publishing hit of the Fall, with copies flying off the shelves, after Mormon Senator Mike Lee compares serial adulterer, porn-star banging, own-daughter-lusting Donald Trump to Book of Mormon fictional character Captain Moroni. Publishing experts scrambled to proclaim the Book of Mormon the next big hit in the popular billionaire porn genre, adding that a powerful, shirtless military captain in the early Americas breathed new life into the somewhat tired genre. Negative reviews soon killed book sales, however, with reviewers slamming Captain Moroni as "even more vanilla than my parents", with one reviewer tartly noting that even if all the "coming to passes" were replaced with "coming with lasses", the book would still be boring beyond belief.
November
With a contested US election, rumors and accusations flying on all sides, and the Constitution hanging by a thread, Mormon Senator Mitt Romney fulfills the long-awaited "White Horse" prophecy by saving the Constitution and the election by acknowledging that Trump lost the election and there is no legal path to overturn it. TBMs rejoice in the prophecy's fulfillment and delight in their role at preserving the US Constitution in such a critical moment. Ha ha! No. TBMs start a petition calling for Romney's impeachment, continue to call for overthrowing the election result, and demand that God himself reissue the white horse prophecy, with the "right" side winning this time. For his part, God answered the prayers of the right-wing petitioners in exactly the same way he answered Joseph Smith's prayer in 1820.
With the Covid epidemic worsening by the day, Nelson addresses the full church and kind of, sort of hints that members should maybe follow medical advice and wear masks. TBMs, who only last March were waxing poetic about God calling a doctor -- a doctor! -- to be president of the church during a pandemic, promptly ignore Nelson's counsel and turn to the real experts: some anonymous guy on Youtube and Aunt Phyllis on Facebook.
In what many observers regarded as a somewhat controversial move, BYU roommates Emma and Madison are disciplined by the honor code office for sitting too close together on the couch while watching a romcom on Netflix.
December
December opens with the traditional First Presidency Christmas devotional, but with the unusual sight this year of the first presidency seated in a socially distant arrangement. Noting the seating change, Nelson likened the social distancing to the Savior himself, who -- as in all things -- had led by example by socially distancing himself from the church for 200 years now.
In a final effort stressing the importance of masks, Elder Renlund -- himself a Covid survivor -- releases a video unambiguously instructing members to wear masks, calling it a sign of Christlike love. TBMs, many of whom opposed mask-wearing, thoughtfully ponder this clear counsel from one of God's chosen mouthpieces and reflect how to bring their lives in harmony with . . . Ha ha! No. TBMs excoriate Renlund for being too political and grumble that if everyone wears a mask, they might have to start going back to church soon, and no one wants that.
Fairmormon -- already sufficiently embarrassing thanks to its own tortured apologetics -- sinks to a new level of shame by releasing clownish videos attacking the CES letter on a Youtube show called This Is The Show, or TITS for short. As if that weren't juvenile enough, show host Kwaku El, in a fit of bravado, threatens to kill John Dehlin -- which even stiff-necked exmos know violates at least one of the commandments. Fairmormon's behavior is so appalling that even Tapir Dan Peterson, former Fairmormon shill and staunch defender, distances himself from the group and resigns from its board. Fairmormon's antics -- disturbing as they are -- somehow still provide a comforting assurance that even in 2020, when everything is upside down, some things still remain the same: the best weapon against the church isn't the CES letter, it's a passionate Mormon believer with a microphone.
And now, fellow exmos, as 2020 -- finally! -- comes to a close, let us gather our families together in the fallout bunkers where we are hiding, and wish each other a better and brighter 2021. It can't get any worse, can it?
No, really -- can it?
Happy New Year, exmos.

This is just my thinking, based on some input, and there's always more input out there, waiting... So while I don't mind you quoting me to ghawd, let him know that open to amending this, okay?
The WoW bans "all hot drinks". That's it for ghawd's input to JoJu regarding what later became the ban on coffee and black/green tea. And of course, it wasn't a "ban", it was a suggestion... I had always thought that from February 27, 1833 until Sept. 09, 1851, the WoW remained merely a suggestion and a person's standing in the church had no relationship to the person's obedience to Sec. 89. But that appears not to be the case.
"...the Word of Wisdom was nevertheless regularly emphasized in the early years of the Church. In February 1834, the High Council of the Church resolved that: 'No official member in this Church is worthy to hold an office, after having the Word of Wisdom properly taught him, and he, the official member, neglecting to comply with or obey it...
"This statement was later reprinted in the November 1, 1836 issue of the Messenger and Advocate to answer "frequent applications ... for advice respecting official members of this Church relative to their observance of the Word of Wisdom.
In May of 1837, the Messenger and Advocate reaffirmed its previous stand and stressed obedience to all of God's commandments.
"The Quorum of Seventies voted to withdraw fellowship from non-observers (so far as not recognizing them as preachers of the Gospel) in July of 1837, and five months later this same group covenanted to keep the Word of Wisdom." --An Historical Analysis Of The Word Of Wisdom, pgs 27 & 28 https://archive.org/details/AnHistoricalAnalysisOfTheWordOfWisdom/page/n26/mode/1up?q=church+of+jesus+christ+of+latter+day+saints+conference+reports
But it appears that WoW violations, while cited as reasons for disfellowshipping, seem never to have been solely the cause: "In all cases where membership or fellowship was taken away, -- there were other accusations that were directed at the offender. In many cases, the Word of Wisdom violation appeared to have been considered less important than the other infractions. In fact, the evidence strongly suggests that Mormons were not expelled solely for violations of the Word of Wisdom except in the case of extreme drunkenness. --ibid., page 30
Then during September Conference, 1851 (Yeah, September! What’s up with that?), while John Smith, the then church patriarch was giving a talk on the WoW, BY got up and asked the ladies to agree to keep the Wow. The ladies voted in the affirmative. Then BY asked "...all the boys under 90..." to also vote to do the same. The record states that the voting was unanimous. (This is when the church's website it became a Commandment...)
But... "A later acceptance date seems more logical for the following reasons: (1) Brigham Young himself did not strictly live the Word of Wisdom until the early 1860’s. For example, Jules Remy, an English traveler, observed Brigham preparing "a quid of Virginia tobacco" in late September 1855 and in 1862 the Mormon President alluded strongly to the fact that he had recently over-come habits contrary to Word of Wisdom teachings.
"(2) Young said as late as 1861 that he never chose to make observance to the Word of Wisdom a test of Church fellowship.
"(3) The Mormon reformation of 1856-1857 was characterized by sermons advocating a return to a more strict adherence to Christian principles. During this period, a type of inquisitional catechism was formulated to provide an index to a Mormon’s faithfulness. The only question having to do with the Word of Wisdom was an inquiry concerning whether or not an individual had been drunk. The inference is obvious" --ibid, pages 51-53
Now we get to the point that has always been ascendant in my mind for the Big Three WoW items being labeled as the bad guys, Coffee, Tea & alcohol: From the moment of their arrival and settling of the Great Basin Kingdom, what they couldn’t grow had to be imported. And the importation of goods required hard money: gold and silver. The Saints could not use the territorial script with East Coast vendors. Here’s the view of Leonard Arrington:
“Separated as they were from the United States by over 1,500 miles of treeless plains, hounded as they had been by hating mobocrats, it was necessary for the Latter-day Saints to develop and maintain a self-sufficient economy in their Rocky Mountain retreat. Economic independence was a necessary goal of the group and every program of the Church tended toward that end. Economic independence meant developing all the agricultural, mineral, and industrial resources of the community under proper (i.e. church) leadership for the purchase of machinery and equipment needed in building a prosperous commonwealth. There must be no waste of liquid assets on imported consumer’s goods … Saints who used their cash to purchase imported Bull Durham, Battle-Axe plugs, tea, coffee, and similar ‘wasteful’ (because not productive) products were taking an action which was opposed to the economic interest of the territory. In view of this situation, President Young came to be unalterably opposed to the expenditure of money by the Saints on imported tea, coffee, and tobacco. It was consistent with the economics of the time that he should have had no great objection to tobacco chewing if the tobacco was grown locally. It was also consistent that he should have successfully developed a locally produced ‘Mormon’ tea to take the place of the imported article. Something more permanent and productive than tea, coffee, and tobacco was wanted for the building of the Kingdom, in view of the limited funds at the disposal of the Saints.” --Leonard J. Arrington, "An Economic Interpretation of the Word of Wisdom," Brigham Young University Studies Vol. 1 (Winter, 1959), p. 37.
With the coming of the railroad, the opportunities for the Saints to spend even more money for East Coast goods increased. Here’s a part of a BY’ sermon in September of 1861. Please note the lack of a will to enforce the WoW, but to please stop sending money out-of-state!:
“You know that we all profess to believe the Word of Wisdom. There has been a great deal said about it, more in former than in latter years. We, as Latter-day Saints, care but little about tobacco; but as ‘Mormons’ we use a great deal. How much do you suppose goes annually from this Territory, and has for ten or twelve years past, in gold and silver, to supply the people with tobacco? I will say $60,000.
“Brother William H. Hooper, our Delegate in Congress, came here in 1849, and during about the eight years he was selling goods his sales for tobacco alone amounted to over $28,000 a year. At the same time there were other stores that sold their share and drew their share of the money expended yearly, besides what has been brought in by the keg and by the half keg. The traders and passing emigration have sold tons of tobacco, besides what is sold here regularly. I say that $ 60,000 annually is the smallest figure I can estimate the sales at.
"Tobacco can be raised here as well as it can be raised in any other place. It wants attention and care. If we use it, let us raise it here. I recommend for some man to go to raising tobacco. One man, who came here last fall, is going to do so; and if he is diligent, he will raise quite a quantity. I want to see some man go and make a business of raising tobacco and stop sending money out of the Territory for that article.” --Brigham Young, Sermon of September 29, 1861, JD, IX, 35
The record shows that after the 1861 sermon, BY and others ramped up their efforts to get the Saints to agree to observe the WoW. There was increased hectoring from the pulpit and in church publications. But it was apparently for naught:
On October 30, 1870, Brigham Young indicated that tea and coffee sales were increasing among Church members. --Brigham Young, Sermon of October 30, 1870, JD. XIV, 20
In November 1871, Orson Pratt expressed regret that many Mormons remained unfaithful regarding the Word of Wisdom --“Minutes of the Salt Lake School of the Prophets”, November 25, 1871, HDC
Brigham Young, Jr., an Apostle, stated that the majority of Saints disregarded the Word of Wisdom. --Brigham Young, Jr., Sermon of October 8, 1872, JD, XV, 193-195
In October 1873, George A. Smith somewhat cynically remarked that not all of the tobacco sold in co-operative stores was being used to kill sheep ticks. --George A. Smith, Sermon of October 7, 1873, JD, XVI, 238
Back in the early 1860s, in recognition that the Saints were not heeding the WoW, BY had suggested that the St. George area start growing wine grapes. Things went well and tithing, being paid in kind, resulted in the St. George tithing office having 6,000 barrels of wine on hand! --Juanita Brooks, "St. George, Utah— A Community Portrait," Symposium on Mormon Culture held at Utah State University, November 14, 1952, p.4
Here’s one view of how the WoW was doing, as of March 25, 1877: “Do we as a people realize the importance of those precious words? Do we accept them as the word of God unto us? Are they observed by this people as they should be? Could we find fifty Latter-day Saints in the Territory who abstain from tea, coffee, whiskey and tobacco or consider that it is worthwhile to even give it a thought?
“Is it not high time to wake up and open our eyes and look about us. If the Lord had no purpose in giving the Word of Wisdom, why did he take the trouble to give it? And if it is not necessary for us to observe it, what is the use of having it? Do we not know that all stimulants taken into the stomach are unhealthy? We see our little ones swept from our midst, one here two there, and four and five of one family stricken down one after the other with this dreadful diphtheria. Do we realize that there is a cause and also a remedy for these things? Does not common sense tell us that their little bodies are charged with impurities ...?
“I do not address the ladies because I think the remedy lays altogether with them. No. The gentlemen are more culpable, they take for more poison into their systems than the women. I have heard of one or two women who drink whiskey to excess. And it may be that a few old ladies smoke their pipes; but I have seen nothing of the kind for years; and as to chewing tobacco (the worst poison of all) I do not think one lady can be found in our whole community that indulges in the filthy ... practice. Of course, it is not our province to teach the elders their duty, but we can plead and importune with them; but if they will persist in polluting with these filthy poisons, the Lord may find a remedy they think not of.” --Emily Dow Partridge Young, "Diary of Emily Dow Partridge Young, March 25, 1877, pg. 10, copy located in the Special Collections Library, Brigham Young University
Now here’s a weird thing I never knew: In a book titled “I was Called to Dixie”, Andrew Karl Larson reported that John Taylor, BY’s successor, asserted he received a revelation on October 13, 1882, which upgraded Sec. 89 to Commandment status! But no attempt to clue in the Saints was made for about a year. And the specifics of that 10/13/1882 revelation have not been preserved, at least for the commoners’ eyes. --Andrew Karl Larson, “I was Called to Dixie” (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1961), p. 607. Larson’s source citation read: By a revelation through President John Taylor, October 13, 1882. This writer wrote Dr. Larson, desiring more precise information, and soon afterward receive word that the original reference had been lost but most probably was found among papers in the St. George Temple.
Viewed as a ‘Second Reformation’, involving not only the WoW, but Plural Marriage and tithing, its success was likely the result of all the leaderships adherence to the following a new order. On September 28, 1883, Wilford Woodruff, as president of the Quorum of the Twelve, declared:
“I want to say to the First Presidency that we have been together as a quorum since this morning's meeting except for one hour. We have had a free and full talk upon our individual affairs-upon our family matters, upon the word of wisdom, the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us as Apostles, etc. And we have come to the conclusion that we will more fully observe the word of wisdom, as we have all more or less been negligent upon that point.” --Minutes of the Salt Lake School of the Prophets, September 28, 1883, p. 52.
So observation of the WoW was ramping up in the church! Hearts were buoyed! The WoW was spoken of as being as important as the Celestial Order of Marriage!!
And therein lay the problem, beginning with the 1885 Supreme Court decision that allowed for the prosecution of men who practiced polygamy. Between 1885 and 1893, nothing of note was mentioned regarding observation of the WoW, basically, because most of the leadership was in hiding. They did not dare to schedule meetings that had notice of their attendance.
But things were not yet perfect. At April Conference, 1886, the First Presidency referred to those who officiated or participated in Temple functions, noting that it was "most inconsistent to carry in the smell of whiskey and tobacco.” In 1893 the general membership of the Church was chided for excessive use of tea, coffee, and tobacco.
Things were finally set straight during October Conference, 1894, when Wilford Woodruff declared, “The Word of Wisdom applies to Wilford Woodruff, the President of the Church, and it applies to all the leaders of Israel as well as to the members of the Church; and if there are any of these leading men who cannot refrain from using tobacco or liquor in violation of the Word of Wisdom, let them resign and others take their places. As leaders of Israel, we have no business to indulge in these things. There may be things contrary to the Word of Wisdom that we indulge in, and that we think we cannot live without; if we cannot, let us die.”
During that same conference, a young pup of an Apostle, Heber J. Grant, said to male members, “If you think more of a cup of tea or coffee, or a cigarette, or a chew of tobacco than your Priesthood, to resign your Priesthood.”
But there was still a lack of complete unanimity among the brethren! Here’s the written record of a meeting in May of 1898 regarding enforcement of the WoW:
“The subject of the Word of Wisdom and its strict enforcement was brought up for discussion. Pres, L. Snow having raised the question whether Bishops were justified in refusing to give members of the Church recommends to the Temple because they did not observe the Word of Wisdom. Brother J. H. Smith inquired what was meant by hot drinks. President J. F. Smith said it was defined by Hyrum Smith in the Times and Seasons; also that he (Bro. Smith) had heard President Brigham Young say that at the time the revelation on the Word of Wisdom was given prominent men in the Church were inveterate tobacco users and tea and coffee drinkers and that it was because of those practices that the Word of Wisdom was given.
“President L. Snow read the revelation on the Word of Wisdom and drew special attention to that part which relates to the use of meats, which he considered as that which relates to the use of liquors and hot drinks. He also referred to the revelation which says that he forbids the use of meat is not of God. He went on to state that President Taylor had expressed the view that some of the brethren talked too strongly against the drinking of tea and coffee. Brother Snow said he was convinced that the killing of animals when unnecessary was wrong and sinful, and that it was not right to neglect one part of the Word of Wisdom and be too strenuous in regard to other parts. President Woodruff said he regarded the Word of Wisdom in its entirety as given of the Lord for the Latter-day Saints to observe, but he did not think that Bishops should withhold recommends from persons who did not adhere strictly to it. --Journal History, March 11, 1898, p. 2
Obviously, the standard under which all of us grew up with in the church was not yet set. They were trying, but an outsider has to wonder, why didn’t they, prophets one and all, hit their knees and ask of ghawd, who giveth liberally and upbraidth not…?
People who tried to ‘lawyer’ their way out of compliance urged the point of view that pepper and ginger drinks were what ghawd referred to when he said ‘hot drinks’, not tea and coffee, which are just heated drinks…
And the initial language was examined and used as an excuse, because the first phrase says, “A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirkland…” So only they might be subject to the greetings, which then says, “…not by commandment or constraint…” We’ve all tried to weasel our way out of something based on what we viewed as ‘flexible’ language.
In October 1902, President Joseph F. Smith wrote John Hess, a Stake President at Farmington, Utah, in answer to an inquiry regarding the granting of recommends to Church members who did not observe the Word of Wisdom. President Smith advised Hess to:
“(1) Use his own discretion in most cases,
“(2) Refuse recommends to flagrant violators,
“(3) Work with those having weaknesses,
“(4) Be somewhat liberal with very old men who had contracted the tobacco habit but insist that they refrain from using tobacco those days they are in the temple, and
“(5) Draw the line on drunkenness.”
All of which supports the contention that it’s not a hard and fast law of ghawd, right?
Politically speaking, Mormonism was in the dumpster, even in Utah, in the aftermath of polygamy, and the trifling with rules carried out by Apostles Cowley and Taylor, both of whom were sealed to ‘spare’ wives in 1905 and 1909, respectively, despite the 1890 Declaration and the 1904 Second Manifesto. Yeah, Mormonism as a dumpster fire…
And the leadership knew it. At October Conference, 1908, George F. Richards gave the keynote theme: "I am sorry to say that I do not believe there is another revelation contained in this book, the Doctrine and Covenants or another commandment given of the Lord that is less observed or honored than this Word of Wisdom, and that, too, by members and officers of the Church . . .”
Following the keynote talk, Anthon H. Lund, a member of the First Presidency, declared that General Authorities were now insisting that individuals accepting positions in Wards, Priesthood Quorums, etc., live the Word of Wisdom! Wowsers! BAM! In your faces, losers!
Then Apostle George Albert Smith sort of tempered things in the next talk, when he provided a note of positive encouragement to Saints with Word of Wisdom weaknesses by reporting that in the St. George Stake, (an area formerly plagued with some wine abuse) all members of the Stake Presidency, High Council, and Ward Bishoprics, with two exceptions, were living the Word of Wisdom. - I bet is sucked to be those two!
Adding to the muddy swirl of ‘what the hell is going on’ was the fact that the church, by all the evidence, was against Prohibition! State efforts to make Prohibition a state law were thwarted in 1908 and 1909, which caused confusion. If the Church was against alcohol, why not support Prohibition?
In 1915 the State Legislature tried again and a law was passed. But then Governor Spry, an active member, vetoed it. Later it was claimed by people supposedly in the know that he was ordered to do so by President Joseph F. Smith! Given an opportunity to refute this claim, Joseph F. Smith did not do so. But the word on the street was that Smith was just reluctant to meddle in Gentile affairs. But Prohibition did pass in Utah, in 1917.
Finally, FINALLY!, with the arrival of Heber J. Grant in 1919, the church (Heber) began to emphasize the WoW with constant firmness and fervor. It had become the binding principle all of us grew up with. But as to picking out a date when that switch was flipped is difficult, other than to point to the ascendancy of Heber J. Grant. Of course, there are those who want to maintain it was always binding, such as the church’s website, which identifies September Conference, 1851 as the date it became official. But that’s bullshize as historical events clearly show.
Heber J. Grant was always staunch in his support of the WoW as a gospel principle, but he wasn’t given the support he desired by those under whom he served, even as an Apostle.
In 1894 he wrote the following: “I confess to you, my friends and fellow-laborers in the cause of God, that I have been humiliated beyond expression to go to one of the Stakes of Zion, to stand up and preach to the people and call upon them to obey the Word of Wisdom, and then to sit down to the table of a President of a Stake, after having preached with all the zeal, energy, and power that I possessed, calling upon the people to keep the commandments of God, and to have his wife ask me if I would like a cup of tea or a cup of coffee; I have felt in my heart that it was an insult, considering the words that I had spoken, and I have felt humiliated to think that I had not sufficient power, and enough of the Spirit of God to enable me to utter words that would penetrate the heart of a President of a Stake, that he at least would be willing to carry out the advice which I had given.
“l remember going to a Stake of Zion but a short time ago and preaching with all the energy I possessed and with all the Spirit that God would give me upon the necessity of refraining from the drinking of tea and coffee, and I heard also at that conference a very eloquent appeal to the Latter-day Saints by a man who, I understood, was a president of a quorum of Seventy. But when we came to take our meal, he jokingly said that he could not do without his tea and coffee and he proposed to have it and suffer the consequences.
“I remember going to another Stake of Zion and preaching to the people on the necessity of refraining from tea and coffee and giving some figures upon the wasting of the people's means} and the president of the Stake remarked, after I got through, that he thought the Lord would forgive them if they did drink their coffee, because the water in that stake of Zion was very bad. I did not say anything, but I thought a good deal, and I had to pray to the Lord and to bite’ my tongue to keep from getting up and doing something that I never have done in my life, and that is, to pick out a man and thrash him from the public stand. I felt that God owed me a blessing for not publicly reproving that man, because I wanted to do it so badly.
“Now I had made up my mind before I came to this Conference that I would not open my mouth upon the Word of Wisdom. I have become so discouraged, so disheartened, so humiliated in my feelings, after preaching year after year both by precept and example, to realize that there are Bishops, Bishops’ Counselors, Presidents of Stakes, and Patriarchs among the Church of God whose hearts I have not been able to touch, that I had about made up my mind that I would never again say Word of Wisdom to the Latter-day Saints. I felt that it was like pouring water on a duck, s back.” --Journal of History, October 6,1894
That about wraps it up. We have ONLY Heber J. Grant to thank for making Sec. 89 a commandment. No other leader, prior to him, had a compelling notion that it was ghawd’s law. BY only got involved for economic reasons; he didn’t want the Saints sending money to the East Coast!.
Ghawd never visited a single soul with the realization that it was a Law, until the unique personality of Heber J. Grant made the endeavor a personal crusade.
So, YAY Heber!!
Anyone tells you differently, have them email me. F—k the church’s website explanation. It’s all bullshiz. Even if a ghawd spoke to JoJu back in 1833, that confused son of a bitch (either one, both!) never had another effective word on the subject.
Men: it's all the doings of unadorned male bullshittery. And you can quote me.
(The guy on the SCMC who has my file will be pleased with this effort; I've slacked off lately, but now he can be relevant again! You're welcome, and Merry Christmas!)

The answer to the second question is likely in the 19th century he spoke in 17th century English and it was published in the Book of Commandments -- later the Doctrine and Covenants. Evidently God got tired of speaking in old English since not even he speaks it in the 21st century.
On the first question:
There have been talks by Elder Boyd K. Packer and others that talk about "the still small voice," and even he confessed that that is all he has experienced (No visions or angels at all). In a later world wide youth TV presentation, Elders Henry Eyring and Dallin Oaks both state that they know of no one in the quorum of the 12 (or first presidency) that have ever had an Alma-like visitation by an angel. They told the young listeners that it would be unrealistic of anyone to expect such a visitation or vision. They then taught that Oaks' own testimony came like dust settling upon a window sill silently slowly and without angels, voices or visions. (or words to that effect). Hmm. Interesting.
In the Book of Mormon, Moroni chapter 7 there is a nice discourse on the engagement of angels and men, women, and children. Remember that supposedly when Jesus visited the ancient Americas, he and concourses of angels visited all those people left standing after the destructions that he had just leveled wiping out entire cities. Blood and guts everywhere. Children, infants and fetuses. Ok, OK. I digress.
In Moroni it challenges, "(7:27) Wherefore my brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, . . . . . . . . (7:29) And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men. . . . . .
(7:36) Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
(7:37) Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief and all is vain.
(7:38) For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made." (i.e. no angels = you're all screwed!)
Sorry women that you are not men, for evidently in the BofM only men actually count. (sarcasm alert).
Although the GAs are happy to permit the members' colloquial myth that Jesus talks face to face with the prophet, that all the 12 have received a personal visit, and that angels administer to them in all operations of the church regularly, clearly they have not pronounced this themselves. They have actually said precisely the opposite - that they do not have visitations or visions, but rather have warm feelings -- just -- like -- everyone -- else religiously emotional. Some GAs have tendered the notion that they "do not speak of their holiest experiences in public" as a cover for not giving a direct answer to this question. Really? Hmm. Joseph Smith did not seem constrained at all in widely proclaiming angelic visitations in any location. The greater the need, the more magnificent the visitation. Why would early church leaders talk about visits with numerous heavenly visitors not being constrained to keep it all secret, and today's leaders merely hint at mythical events, but cloak every mystical thing in shrouds of mystery and innuendo? They love to quote each other, but seem at a loss for words directly from heaven. It seems to me that the ancient scriptural apostles spoke broadly and specifically about these angel connections. Today's church is supposedly the restoration of that early church and yet lacks this common event as recorded in the Bible, if that is accurate of anything.
Well, I think that there are some issues if the scriptures that are promoted as containing the "fullness of the gospel" tend to point out that you don't actually have what it records as requisite of a true faith even according to itself. Are they actually absent any real experiences other than their own feelings rising in the night to be written upon pads of paper? Or is Christ ashamed that he talks to humans today? And by the way, going back to the first question -- Christ seemed to talk often in first person when delivering messages to the 19th century saints. How come today it is all in lawyer-ese as "proclamations" to protect against social issues? Doesn't Christ want us to actually hear another, "I am the Lord thy God," or maybe a "Thus saith the Lord?" Maybe he is simply tired of the 17th century English and would rather just speak Aramaic, but no one would understand it, I suppose. I mean, what if president Nelson rose to the pulpit in general conference, cleared his voice, and said: "In the early morning hours the voice of the Lord came to me charging me to deliver this message - (ahem)-- "Wazzup? Jesus here, dude. Ya know what I mean? . . . Ya'll been acting up lately, and . . . . . . . . . ." (so forth). (Now, for further loud laughter, think of this message being delivered in Chinese . . . .)

RUTH  
Chapter Four – Marriage [of] Bo`ahZ and ROoTh  
-1. And Bo`ahZ ascended [to] the gate and sat there.
And behold, the redeemer passed by, that [of whom] had worded Bo`ahZ,
and he said,
“Turn [סורה, ÇOoRaH], sit here, so and so [פלוני אלמוני, PeLONeeY ’ahLMONeeY].”
And he turned and sat.  

“Such a one (pelônî-’lmônî), like ‘Mr. So-and-So’ (I Sam. [Samuel] 21:2; II Kings 6:8).” (Smith, 1953, p. II 847)  

-2. And he took ten men from elders of the city,
and he said,
“Sit here.”
And they sat.  

“Ten men: In later Judaism the least number possible for a synagogue (Sanhedrin 1) and the quorum necessary for the marriage benediction (Midrash Rabbah, Ruth 7:8).” (Smith, 1953, p. II 847)  

-3. And he said to [the] redeemer,
“A portion of the field that is to our brother, to ’ehLeeY-MehLehKh ["My God is King", Elimelech], sold, Nah`ahMeeY ["My Pleasure", Naomi], the returner from Field [of] Moab.  

“Num. [Numbers] 27:8-11 assumes that no land was held by a widow, but this law is obviously ignored here. Jer. [Jeremiah] implies that land was offered to the next of kin before it was put on public sale, not that it was bought back after it had left the family’s possession. Lev. [Leviticus] 25:25 implies the opposite. There is no easy way out of these difficulties.” (Smith, 1953, pp. II 847-848)  

-4. “And I said [to myself],
‘I will reveal [to] your ear’  

“Advertise, ‘reveal,’ lit. [literally], ‘uncover thine ear,’ an idiom arising from the necessity of drawing aside the head covering in order to whisper.” (Smith, 1953, p. II 848)  

“to say,
‘Buy in the presence of [נגד, NehGehD, “against, opposite”] those sitting,
and in the presence of elders of my people.
If he redeeming redeems, and if he does not redeem, tell to me and I will know,
for there is none but you to redeem,
and I am after you.’”  
And he said,  
“I will redeem.”  

“If thou wilt not: The Hebrew had ‘he,’ probably a copyist’s slip.” (Smith, 1953, p. II 848)  

-5. And said Bo`ahZ,
“In the day you buy the field from [the] hand [of] Nah`ahMeeY,
and from [-את, -ayTh (indicator of direct object; no English equivalent)] ROoTh, the Moabitess, wife of the dead,
you [“I” in the text] buy to raise up [the] name [of] the dead upon his inheritance.”  

“The exact legal situation is difficult to determine… the end of the verse refers to the levirate law of Deut. [Deuteronomy] 15:5-6. This law, however, restricts the duty of marriage to brothers ‘under the same roof,’ and this is assumed in Gen. [Genesis] 38.” (Smith, 1953, p. II 848)  

-6. And said, the redeemer,
“I am not able to redeem to me lest I corrupt [אשחית, ’ahShHeeYTh] [את, ’ehTh ] my inheritance;  

“Burrows… thinks… that Ruth preserves a combination of practices earlier than Deuteronomy. If the land alone is in question it will belong permanently to the estate of the purchaser; but if Ruth is also taken in levirate marriage the land will belong to her son, who is to be reckoned as the son of the dead. Boaz is willing to accept such a loss. The other kinsman is not, and this adequately explains why he is concerned for his inheritance…” (Smith, 1953, p. II 849)  

“redeem to yourself, you [את, ’ehTh] my redemption,
for I am not able to redeem.”  
-7. (And that sometimes in YeeSRah-’ayL ["Strove God", Israel], upon the redeemed and upon the exchange [התמורה, HahThMOoRaH],
to realize every word, removed [שלף, ShahLahPh], [each] man, his shoe, and gave [it] to his neighbor,
and that is the certification [התעודה, HahThe`OoDaH] in YeeSRah-’ayL.)  
-8. And said, the redeemer, to Bo`ahZ,
“Buy [it] to you.”  
And he removed his shoe.  

“In Deut. 25:9 the unwilling brother’s shoe is loosed by the widow who also ‘spit in his face.’ The purpose may be to shame him for his refusal. The present account differs at three points: a more distant relative is expected to marry the widow, he takes off his own shoe, and no one blames him.” (Smith, 1953, p. II 848)  

-9. And said, Bo`ahZ, to [the] elders and all the people,
“Witnesses are you the day,
for I have bought [את, ’ehTh] all that is to ‘ehLeeY-MehLehKh and [את, ’ehTh] all that is to KheeLYON [Chillion] and MahHLON [Mahlon] from [the] hand of Nah`ahMeeY, 10. and also [את, ’ehTh] ROoTh the Moabitess, wife of MahHLON, I bought to me to wife, to realize [the] name [of] the dead upon his inheritance, and will not be cut off, [the] name [of] the dead, from with his brothers and from [the] gate [of] his place. Witnesses are you the day.”  
-11. And said, all the people that were in [the] gate, and the elders,
“Witnesses!  
Give, YHVH [את, ’ehTh] the woman, the comer unto your house,
[to be] like RahHayL [“Ewe”, Rachel] and like Lay’aH [Leah],
that built, [the] two [of] them, [את, ’ehTh] house of YeeSRah-’ayL,
and do forcefully in ’ehPhRahThaH [“Patrician”, Ephratah],
and call [the] name in BayTh-LehHehM [“House [of] Bread”, Bethlehem].  
-12. And be your house like [the] house [of] PehRehTs [“Burst”, Perez],
that birthed ThahMahR [“Palm Tree”, Tamar] to YeHOo-DaH [“YHVH Knew”, Judah],
from the seed that gave YHVH to you,
from the youth [feminine] the this.”  

“Tamar bore twin sons to Judah, and the tale emphasizes that although Pharez did not have the red cord marking the first-born, he actually ‘came out first’ (Gen. 38:29; I Chr. [Chronicles] 4:1), and Judah’s line therefore continued through him.” (Smith, 1953, p. II 850)  

-13. And took, Bo`ahZ, ROoTh,
and she was to him to wife,
and he came unto her,
and gave, YHVH, to her a pregnancy [הריון, HayRahYON],
and was born a son.  
-14. And said, the women, to Nah`ahMeeY,
“Bless YHVH, that did not fail [השבית, HeeShBeeYTh] to you [the] redeemer today,
and will be called, his name, in YeeSRah-’ayL.
-15. And he will be to you, to restorer [למשיב, LeMaySheeYB] [of] soul and to nourish [ולכלכל, OoLeKhahLKayL] [את, ’ehTh] your hoariness [שיבתך, SaYBahThayKh],
for your daughter in law, that loves you, has borne him,
that she is good to you than [מ-, Mee-] seven sons.”  
-16. And she took, Nah`ahMeeY, [את, ’ehTh] the boy,
and placed him [ותשתהו, VahThSheeThayHOo] in her bosom,
and was to him to nursemaid [לאמנת, Le’oMehNehTh].<sup>1</sup>  
-17. And called to him, the dwellers, a name, to say,
"Born is a son to Nah`ahMeeY,
and call his name `OBayD [“Slave”].”  
He was father of YeeShah-eeY [Jesse], father of David.  

“Obed… is often combined with a divine name, e.g. [for instance], Obadiah [“Slave of YHVH”]… Perhaps the deity’s name of the original tale has been omitted purposely by the writer.” (Smith, 1953, p. II 851)  

-18. And these are [the] genealogies [תולדות, ThOLDOTh] [of] PahRehTs:  
PehRehTs begat HehTsRON [“Courtier”, Hezron] 19. and HehTsRON begat RahM [“Tall”, Ram], and RahM begat ahMeeYNahDahB [“My People are Noble”, Amminadab], 20. andahMeeYNahDahB begat NahHShON [“Brazier”, Nahshon], and NahHShON begat SahLMaH [“Robe”, Salmon (sic for Salma)], 21. and SahLMON begat BoahZ, and BoahZ begat OBayD, 22. andoBayD begat YeeShah-eeY, and YeeShah-eeY begat David.  

“The genealogy was added at a later time, since in the story the child of Ruth is reckoned as the son of Mahlon, not of Boaz. The introductory now these are the generations of is characteristic of P [the priestly redaction], and the regular repetition of begat is also P…  
“Since I Chr. 2:4-13 is identical, except for three minor variations in spelling, an easy assumption is that the verses were copied from Chronicles… the verses may have been inserted in Chronicles from the end of Ruth… If Chronicles received a thorough revision in the Maccabean period… the insertion with some rearrangement of material may have been made at that time.  
“The genealogy is probably artificial.” (Smith, 1953, p. II 851)

 
FOOTNOTES
 
¹ A curious note from Adam Clarke: “Naomi took the child] this might do for Naomi; but it was bad for the child. A child, unless remarkably healthy and robust, will suffer considerably by being nursed by an old woman; especially if the child sleep with her. The aged gain refreshment and energy by sleeping with the young; and, from the same means, the young derive premature decrepitude. The vigour which is absorbed by the former, is lost by the latter. It is a foolish and destructive custom to permit young children (which is a common case) to sleep with aged aunts, and old grandmothers. (Adam Clarke, 1831, p. II 102)  
Bibliography  
Adam Clarke, L. F. (1831). The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testament... with Commentary and Critical Notes (first ed., Vols. II Jud-Job). New York: J. Emory and B. Waugh.  
Ali, T. M. Never Mind (2000, third printing 2002 ed.). (G. L. Peter Cole, Trans.) Jerusalem, Israel: Ibis.  
Dickinson, E. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (21st printing ed.). (T. H. Johnson, Ed.) Little Brown and Company.  
Laffey, A. L. (1990). Ruth. in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.  
Nabokov, V. (1963). The Gift (first English edition ed.). (M. S. Nabokov, Trans.) New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.  
Smith, L. P. (1953). The Book of Ruth. In J. K. George Arthur Buttick (Ed.), The Interpreters' Bible (1st ed., Vol. Two). Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Abingdon Press.  
Study Aids  
The New Bantam-Megiddo Hebrew & English Dictionary, by Dr. Reuven Sivan and Dr. Edward A. Levenston, New York, 1975. I had misunderstood my brother to say that he got through seminary Hebrew with just this (plus his fluency); in fact it got him through Hebrew in undergraduate school. I update it from the other dictionaries. Its pages have fallen away from the glue that bound them; this is my third copy. Part of my original plan had been to be able to go into Sunday School armed only with my annotated Hebrew Bible and a pocket dictionary. Unless you have a similar plan, forget this and use instead:  
Compendious Hebrew-English Dictionary, Comprising a Complete Vocabulary of biblical, Mishnaic, Medieval and Modern Hebrew, complied by Reuben Avinoam (Grossmann) in collaboration with H. Sachs, revised and edited by M. H. Segal, The Dvir Publishing Co. Tel-Aviv, 1950. Part of a three volume set (the others being English-Hebrew and a supplement). A hand me down from dad. It used to be my first recourse when the pocket dictionary fails me; nowadays I just go directly to it.  
ספר הבריתות, תורה נביאים כתובים והברית החדשה [ÇehPheR HahBReeYThOTh, ThORaH NehBeeY’eeM KeThOoBeeYM VeHahBReeYTh HeHahDahShaH] – “The Book of the Covenants: Law, Prophets, Writings, and the New Covenant”] The Bible Society in Israel, Jerusalem, Israel, 1991. Easy to read “Arial” type font. Will survive anything short of untrained puppies. My second copy, a gift from Joy; the one I read and annotate. The back finally broke so I had it re-bound in blue leather by Jim Strawn of Smythe Books, LLC – beautiful work.  
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0.htm - A Hebrew - English Bible According to the Masoretic Text and the JPS 1917 Edition – Really useful for ensuring consistency in translation; it also has an audio feature.  
An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible

In this instalment of the current series on authoring a federal European constitution, I am going to deal with the controversial question how far a written constitution should bind the sovereign, and whether the state as an instrument of the sovereign should be indefinitely bound at all. I contrast parliamentary sovereignty with popular sovereignty. Ideally, this part should be read in conjunction with the following part that will deal with questions of judicial review that are inextricably linked to questions of sovereignty.
Parts to this series
Pt 0: Subsidiarity, decentralisation, and the importance of municipal autonomy
Pt 1: Revisions regarding the government of a federal EU
Pt 2: Of the administrative and the electoral branches
Pt 3: Thoughts concerning parliamentary supremacy/sovereignty
Pt 4: Judicial pre-view rather than re-view?
Pt 5: State of emergency: ideas regarding emergency powers
Pt 6: The presidential veto‘s significance
This article contrasts our current understanding of democracy with how democracy was more classically understood, and whether there are areas where the demos should proceed to reclaim its power from putative “elites”. As I became a member of DiEM25 only a short while ago, this question has sparked some interest with me because, while DiEM25 is a federalist movement, there is some talk going on about including in the eventual constitution a “sovereign parliament”. As we shall see, federalism and parliamentary sovereignty are contradictory.
Natural law against positive law
The controversy of natural law against positive law has been going on since the Enlightenment. Understanding this controversy is central to understanding why “rigid constitutionalism” (the presence of entrenched constitutional law) has become more widespread within Europe rather than its opposite, parliamentary sovereignty.
Proponents of natural law posit that law comes from sources higher than humans because law is (or ought to be) based on morals and morals come from higher sources. Such higher sources of law may be deities, holy scripture, other kinds of revelation, or “values”, among others. The problem with natural law is that what is considered natural law is contingent upon what the observer considers “natural”. In other words, the conflict over natural law circles around the question how “natural” it really is.
Positive law, on the other hand, is law that is made by humans:

In its strictest sense, positive law is law that is made by humans. Specifically, Black’s Law Dictionary defines positive law as “Law actually and specifically enacted or adopted by proper authority for the government of an organized jural society.” In a more complex sense, the term positive law refers to a legal philosophy of positivism.

Positive law proponents have a different view of the relation between morality and law. I am partial towards Austrian lawyer Hans Kelsen’s pure theory of law. Next to having been the Austrian constitution’s principal author, he is regarded as the 20th century’s most prominent exponent of legal positivism. In his pure theory of law, Kelsen attempts to strip law of all metaphysical baggage:

The main challenge for a theory of law, as Kelsen saw it, is to provide an explanation of legality and the normativity of law, without an attempt to reduce jurisprudence, or “legal science”, to other domains. The law, Kelsen maintained, is basically a scheme of interpretation. Its reality, or objectivity, resides in the sphere of meaning; we attach a legal-normative meaning to certain actions and events in the world (PT1, 10). …
… But then, of course, the question is why certain acts or events have such a legal meaning and others don’t? Kelsen’s answer to this question is surprisingly simple: an act or an event gains its legal-normative meaning by another legal norm that confers this normative meaning on it. An act can create or modify the law if it is created in accordance with another, “higher” legal norm that authorizes its creation in that way. And the “higher” legal norm, in turn, is legally valid if and only if it has been created in accord with yet another, “higher” norm that authorizes its enactment in that way. The problem that obviously arises here is the “infinite regress”. That is, the chain of presupposed higher laws goes on without end. While this is often considered a problem mainly for positive law, I do not see how this is much different from proponents of natural law positing that there is some sort of higher source of law. In either case, the existence of such a higher source can only be assumed. Kelsen approached this issue pragmatically by presupposing the existence of a “basic norm”:
At this point, Kelsen famously argued, one must presuppose the legal validity of the Constitution. At some stage, in every legal system, we get to an authorizing norm that has not been authorized by any other legal norm, and thus it has to be presupposed to be legally valid. The normative content of this presupposition is what Kelsen has called the basic norm. The basic norm is the content of the presupposition of the legal validity of the (first, historical) constitution of the relevant legal system (GT, 110–111).
As Kelsen saw it, there is simply no alternative. More precisely, any alternative would violate David Hume’s injunction against deriving an “ought” from an “is”. Hume famously argued that any practical argument that concludes with some prescriptive statement, a statement of the kind that one ought to do this or that, would have to contain at least one prescriptive statement in its premises. If all the premises of an argument are descriptive, telling us what this or that is the case, then there is no prescriptive conclusion that can logically follow. Kelsen took this argument very seriously. He observed that the actions and events that constitute, say, the enactment of a law, are all within the sphere of what “is” the case, they are all within the sphere of actions and events that take place in the world. The law, or legal norms, are within the sphere of “ought”, they are norms that purport to guide conduct. Thus, to get an “ought” type of conclusion from a set of “is” premises, one must point to some “ought” premise in the background, an “ought” that confers the normative meaning on the relevant type of “is”. Since the actual, legal, chain of validity comes to an end, we inevitably reach a point where the “ought” has to be presupposed, and this is the presupposition of the basic norm.

To my mind, Kelsen’s has found a more elegant solution to the problem of the origin of law than natural law proponents, at least as long as we primarily consider their pragmatism. Proponents of rigid constitutionalism frequently have a higher view of natural law than of positive law, at least to the extent that they assume that basic human rights ought to be afforded special protection by the constitution, lest they cannot be abolished by majority decision. This begs the question where such basic human rights originate from if they are deemed so paramount that they may not be abolished? If we entertain Kelsen’s idea of the basic norm, it is, to my mind, a moot point that the basic norm cannot be there without any meaning other than a legal fiction. The basic norm needs to be “filled” with values over which the demos has come to an understanding about what is worthy of protection. This is practically similar to natural law but not theoretically as the laws may only partially originate from higher sources. During deliberation, values derived from higher sources may be incorporated into law together with values derived from secular sources. The separation of law (the ‘is’) and morality (the ‘ought’) is maintained, albeit the line between the two becomes somewhat fuzzy.
As Austrian lawyer Peter Pernthaler lays out:

Nicht in diesen Formeln, sondern in der damit vorausgesetzten Begrenzung der Volkssouveränität durch Menschenrechte, Verantwortlichkeit der Staatsgewalt und andere überpositive Rechtsgrundsätze, die auch die demokratische Verfassungsgebung beschränken, liegt die Bedeutung des Transzendenzbezugs der modernen Staatsverfassung: Nach den Erfahrungen plebiszitär verbrämter totalitärer Staatsgewalt in Diktaturen und autoritären Regimen ist die Grundvorstellung des Verfassungsstaates, dass auch die verfassungsgebende Gewalt des Volkes keine schrankenlose Gewalt des Staats über Menschen begründet, ein besonders wichtiges Element der Freiheitlichkeit dieser Ordnung.
It is not in these formulas, but in the limitation of popular sovereignty by human rights, responsibility of the state authority and other over-positive legal principles, which also limit democratic constitutionalism, that the significance of the transcendence reference of the modern state constitution lies: After the experience of totalitarian state power dressed up in plebiscitary fashion in dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, the basic idea of the constitutional state, that the constitutional power of the people does not establish an unlimited power of the state over people, is a particularly important element of the freedom of this order.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
In contrast, Hans Kelsen:

Die Frage, die auf das Naturrecht zielt, ist die ewige Frage, was hinter dem positiven Recht steckt. Und wer die Antwort sucht, der findet, fürchte ich, nicht die absolute Wahrheit einer Metaphysik noch die absolute Gerechtigkeit eines Naturrechts. Wer den Schleier hebt und sein Auge nicht schliesst, dem starrt das Gorgonenhaupt der Macht entgegen.
The question that aims at natural law is the eternal question of what is behind positive law. And he who seeks the answer will find, I fear, neither the absolute truth of a metaphysics nor the absolute justice of a natural law. He who lifts the veil and does not close his eye, the Gorgon head of power stares at him.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
At the end of the day, we must ask ourselves: what do we value more – the power of the demos to make or unmake any law (strict legal positivism), or the supremacy of god-given rights by which all other law is bound (strict natural law)? Two of the most well-known federal constitutions in the world – the US Constitution and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany – both take strict natural law approaches. They extensively protect basic rights and this protection is upheld through judicial review by powerful supreme courts.
What is parliamentary sovereignty?
As A. V. Dicey put it for the United Kingdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_sovereignty#History) – a country without a definitively codified constitution – in 1885,

Parliament means, in the mouth of a lawyer (though the word has often a different sense in conversation) the King, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons: these three bodies acting together may be aptly described as the "King in Parliament", and constitute Parliament. The principle of Parliamentary sovereignty means neither more nor less than this, namely that Parliament thus defined has, under the English constitution, the right to make or unmake any law whatever: and, further, that no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament.

This means that Parliament can make and unmake any law it wants. It cannot, by definition, bind itself indefinitely to a law higher than itself. In other words, it cannot entrench laws. R. Elliot, in his essay Rethinking Manner and Form: From ParliamentarySovereignty to Constitutional Values published at York University in Canada, points out how this presents a contradiction, funnily rendering Parliament un-sovereign, with a quote by Professor Hamish Gray (PDF page 3):

[I]f Parliament is sovereign, there is nothing it cannot do by legislation; if there is nothing Parliament cannot do by legislation, it may bind itself hard and fast by legislation; if Parliament so binds itself by legislation there are things it cannot do by legislation; and if there are such things Parliament is not sovereign.

This is a problem that applies not just to parliamentary sovereignty but to sovereignty in general and cannot be reasonably solved. I, on the other hand, think that there could be a way in which not a solution but at the very least a reasonable reconciliation might be found. However, that way is not found within British constitutionalism but within continental European constitutionalism. More specifically, we have to differentiate between British-style parliamentary sovereignty and continental-style popular sovereignty.
Parliamentary sovereignty and codified constitutions
There are currently six countries in the northern part of Europe where the principle of parliamentary sovereignty still applies, despite all of these countries having codified constitutions as opposed to the UK with its non-codified one. These countries are the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. This is in contrast to continental Europe, in general, where it is not parliamentary sovereignty that applies but popular sovereignty.
The Dutch constitution – published in 1815, it is the oldest constitution still in existence within the EU – explicitly forbids the courts from practising judicial review. In the other mentioned countries, the courts overturning laws is likewise seen as a no-go and there have been instances where courts declaring laws to be in contravention of higher law caused some resentment.
Within the environment of a codified constitution, parliamentary sovereignty means that the constitution establishes the organs of state but that it is, really, positive law-making that does all the rest. Parts of the constitution that concern themselves with things that are meant to protect the citizenry against state overreach – such as basic rights – under parliamentary sovereignty, necessarily have to be understood as mere statements of intent to which the legislature binds itself voluntarily. One such case was Germany’s constitution from 1919 to 1933 that included a section on basic rights that were mere statements of intent. The Weimar Constitution also included a part concerned with amending it but it was accepted practice that requirements named therein could be circumvented by passing an ordinary law by a constitutional majority of two thirds. A law passed in this manner was not literally considered to be in breach of the constitution but merely adding to it, despite the original provision remaining in place. According to the principle “lex posterior derogat legi priori” (new law derogates old law), the new added quasi-constitutional law overwrote the constitution itself. A similar approach is practised to this day in Austria, where Hans Kelsen’s constitution allows parliament to pass laws in breach of it as long as such laws are designated constitutional by the legislature with two thirds supermajority (with the exception of the basic constitutional principles that require referenda to be amended)#Entrenchment). This is a very radical application of both positivism and majoritarianism, to the point that not even basic rights are protected if there is a majority to override them. In both countries, this led to the establishment of dictatorships: the Nazi regime in Germany and the Austro-fascist regime in Austria were well-aware that the veneer of legality was of great use to legitimising their rule.
Parliamentary sovereignty and federalism
There is currently no country known to me that features both parliamentary sovereignty and federalism. This should not be surprising, for federalism relies on a rigid constitution to delineate the competencies within the remit of the constituent states and those competencies within the remit of the federation. Albeit there are two well-known federations that developed under the supremacy of the British Parliament – Australia and Canada – commencing with the patriation of either country’s constitution in the 1980s and the removal of the last vestiges of British colonial rule, parliamentary decision-making has definitively come under the courts’ review there.
In federations where (federal) parliament is de facto supreme (Austria and Weimar Germany), this led to lasting undermining of, mostly legislative, competencies by the federation. Austria today is in practice more a unitary state than a federation, and Weimar Germany was on a similar trajectory. Indeed, unitarisation was equated with democratisation during the Weimar Republic era because federalism was inextricably associated with the authoritarian, monarchical predecessor state that was the German Empire. In the Imperial German Constitution, federalism was instituted as a means to satisfy traditional ruling elites – the state monarchies and their bureaucracies – while at the same time uniting the country under a common ruler, a behemoth by the name of Prussia. Hence, the executive was mostly left to the states whereas the legislative branch was transferred to the federation. The continuing existence of Prussia was viewed as unsatisfying by the authors of the Weimar Constitution, due to its enormous size covering more than two thirds of Germany that inevitably put it in a competing position to the federal government. In Austria, federalism was likewise a means of ensuring the continued influence of traditional ruling elites. Under the Habsburgs, German-speaking Austria was divided into “crownlands” with devolved competencies. The conservatives and reactionaries wanted to massively extend their powers and make them autonomous within Austria, whereas the progressive social democrats sought to unitarise Austria. As a compromise, the crownlands were reconstituted as states of a federal republic but without increased competencies. The few residual competencies left with the states were further eroded in the second half of the 20th century by use of federal parliament’s effective supremacy.
What I want to illustrate with the above paragraph is that intent matters. If it is our intent to preserve far-reaching state level political, financial, and cultural autonomy for the foreseeable future in the Union, we need to institute a system that precludes sweeping transfers of competencies from the state to the Union level. I remain convinced that we will not achieve this while adhering to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty, not least because in federations sovereignty is supposed to be shared between the levels of government.
Kompetenz-Kompetenz
“Kompetenz-Kompetenz” is a term originating within German constitutionalism. Constitutional lawyers in Germany use this term to point out which level within a system of multilevel governance has the competency to decide over the delineation of competencies. It has since found its way into EU terminology, although in the EU the states remain “Masters of the Treaties”. In Germany and Austria, “Kompetenz-Kompetenz” rests with the respective federation.
What is important to keep in mind here is that awarding the federal level with Kompetenz-Kompetenz may be a recipe for the kind of sweeping unitarisation and centralisation that I warn against in the paragraph above. It is also unclear why, in a system that is constructed towards separating state and federal level political parties from each other, the party system at the centre of the federation should decide over which level may do this or that. At the very least, both state and federal level should be involved in enumerating each other’s powers. In Germany, the state level may be legally involved through a required two-thirds majority in the upper house, the Federal Council, but the Council is firmly in the hands of a centralised party system. This comes in addition to the fact that, thanks to being in the hands of the party system, it is the executive that initiates constitutional amendment procedures and not the people.
When we look at federations such as Australia, Canada, Switzerland, or the United States, it becomes clear that in these countries amendments to the constitutions need the approval not only of the federal level but also of the state level. In Australia, amendments need to pass both the Commonwealth Parliament and a referendum with a majority of all voters overall and in each state separately. In Canada, amendments to certain entrenched provisions need the approval of the federal parliament and a supermajority of provincial legislatures. In Switzerland, not only the Federal Assembly needs to approve constitutional amendments but so does a majority of validly cast votes across the country and in a majority of cantons. In the United States, constitutional amendments need to be approved both by Congress and by three quarters of state legislatures; alternatively a Convention can be summoned. But, as in Germany and in Austria, with the exception of Switzerland, in these countries constitutional amendments are initiated by politicians, not the people as a whole.
It is clear that a European federal constitution needs to provide for the inclusion of both the people as a whole and the states in constitutional amendments.
The Swiss example, to my mind, is of great importance here. The Swiss Federal Court does not possess powers of judicial review as far as federal legislation is concerned. As such, the Federal Assembly was de facto sovereign until the introduction of the popular initiative. A popular initiative meant to allow the demos to directly introduce proposals of law to the Assembly in Switzerland may only concern itself with amending the constitution. Another direct democratic instrument at the disposal of the Swiss is the optional referendum by which voters may vote to stop a law passed by the Assembly before it comes into force. These two instruments allow Switzerland to have both effective popular sovereignty and a rigid (within limits) constitution. Parliamentary sovereignty transformed into popular sovereignty, so to say. I shall explain how this arrangement could be transported into a European federal context in the next paragraph.
Entrenchment and the constitutional meaning of eternity clauses
One very popular way in which constitutions have been entrenched since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 has been the inclusion of so-called “eternity clauses” in the document. An eternity clause is a provision that bars the legislature – the pouvoir constitué – from amending certain sections of the constitution. The most prominent example of the inclusion of eternity clauses is the German Basic Law. Article 79 of the Basic Law protects, among others, the existence of the federation, its subdivision into states, the welfare state, democracy, rule of law, the separation of powers, and the basic rights – among which are human dignity and the abolishment of the death penalty. I remain very much in favour of keeping it that way in Germany, for we have done very well thanks to it. However, I do understand that Europe is not Germany and that what is considered politically acceptable here is not necessarily politically acceptable in Denmark, for example, where constitutionally baring parliament from making certain decisions is frowned upon as undemocratic.
Before I continue, I need to introduce further terminology. Specifically, this paragraph is going to deal with the distinction between the pouvoir constituant and the pouvoir constitué. These two terms designate the position of popular sovereignty before and after a constitution is put in place. The pouvoir constituant denotes the constitution-“giving” power, and may be split up into the pouvoir constituant originaire (that originally put the constitution in place) and the pouvoir constituant derivé (that revises the constitution in whole or in part). On the other hand, the pouvoir constitué means the power of the established state, deriving its powers from the aforementioned pouvoir constituant, as it exists within its institutions. I prefer to call the former “demos”, so as to make clear that the latter is built upon the former. The demos is where all sovereignty emanates from.
Up to now, I only spoke of parliamentary sovereignty in exactly these two terms - “parliament” and “sovereignty”. However, the sovereignty of parliament is sometimes referred to as parliamentary supremacy. I think at this point it makes sense to go one step further and separate the two into (popular) sovereignty, as described above, on the one hand, and explicit supremacy on the other.
In this sense, sovereignty rests exclusively with the demos. It is the demos and only the demos that may author constitutions; it, by definition, cannot bind itself indefinitely, however contradictory this may in fact be. It is the master of all laws within the borders of the state and has the last word over all decisions. According to Martin Heckel:

Die verfassunggebende Gewalt ist aus Normen nicht ableitbar, aber enthält eine Normenentscheidung, die Normen schafft. Sie ist die Frucht eines historischen Augenblicks, die doch Konstanz über den Augenblick hinaus beansprucht. […] Sie verlangt Unverbrüchlichkeit, obwohl sie aus dem Bruch des bisher geltenden Verfassungsrechts entstammt und auch die geltende Verfassungsordnung im Umbruch hinwegfegen kann. Sie äußert sich in der – oft gewalttätig eruptiven – Revolution des Volkes, das aber dann kraft seiner Verfassungsgebenden Gewalt die verfassten Organe des Staates auf die strikte Durchsetzung der Verfassung gegen jeglichen Revolutionsversuch, Staatsstreich und Verfassungsbruch verpflichtet – solange es [das Volk] die Verfassung trägt.
The constituent power cannot be derived from norms, but contains a normative decision that creates norms. It is the fruit of a historical moment, which nevertheless claims constancy beyond the moment. ...] It demands unbreakability, even though it stems from the breach of the previously valid constitutional law and can also sweep away the current constitutional order in upheaval. It expresses itself in the - often violently eruptive - revolution of the people, who then, however, by virtue of their constitutional power, oblige the constitutional organs of the state to strictly enforce the constitution against any attempt at revolution, coup d'état and breach of the constitution - as long as they [the people] bear the constitution.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Within the Union’s constitutional order, however, it is Parliament that is supreme; that is to say, Parliament is at the centre of the entire political system and all competencies not assigned to other bodies (the Senate, the executive, the judiciary, the states etc.) rest with Parliament. The constitution distributes competencies among the federal, state, and local levels in such a fashion that it includes for Necessary and Proper clauses that the courts have to interpret in a way that allocate to each level not just the enumerated powers but also those powers that are necessary and proper to exercise the enumerated powers.
Eternity clauses should be avoided. Including them may only lead to resentment in those states that do not have a political culture that values such clauses over the supremacy of parliament. Instead, procedures should be included that enable the demos to be directly involved in resolving central constitutional matters. We ought to embrace a “weak constitutionalism” as Joel Colón-Ríos puts it in his book “Weak Constitutionalism: Democratic Legitimacy and the Question of Constituent Power“
Central matters can include basic rights, the federal distribution of powers, or certain state principles such as the rule of law In my recent reply to u/NombreGracioso, who is at unease with eternity clauses, I sketched out an amendment procedure:

1) Plebiscite - a non-binding, consultative popular vote for the public to test the waters about rewriting the constitution. The quorum is at 50 percent of validly cast ballots.
1.1) Alternatively to 1), a popular initiative may circumvent the plebiscite if a minimum number of signatures signifies sufficient interest in amending the constitution.
2) Initial referendum - after the consultation, if the public turned out to be in favour, a referendum is held to determine whether the assembly should be elected. The quorum: at least 50 percent of validly cast ballots in two thirds of the states.
3) Assembly elections - according to a special electoral law, the constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution is elected.
4) Consultative popular votes - the assembly puts the amendments to a popular vote in order to determine their popularity and, by extension, the likelihood of the proposed constitution going through in step 5. In order to be deemed representative, the quorum is the same as in step 2.
5) Final referendum - the revised constitution is adopted by another referendum. The required quorum is increased to 50 percent of validly cast ballots in three quarters of the states.
As you can see, the quorum gradually increases to the point that, at the end, the people of all states have to be in favour. This is a greater hurdle than the normal constitutional amendments procedure I laid out in my previous reply. The danger of an emotionalised voting public is reduced by the long, multi-step process. If people don't even give a damn, usurpation by a small but loud minority is prevented by the quorum at step 1 already.
An alternative process of amending entrenched provisions could be done by corresponding votes of the legislature in joint sessions, so 1) you have a plebiscite, 2) a first two-thirds majority vote by the joint legislative bodies, 3) special elections, 4) consultative popular votes concerning the detailed amendments, and 5) a confirming two-thirds majority vote by the joint legislative bodies. Special elections also take place in Switzerland after a resolution in favour of the total revision of the federal constitution has been adopted.

The demos should at any time have the opportunity to call for a constituent assembly in order to review the constitution and the laws. There ought to be a way for the demos to be able to include its ever-changing preferences and ideas in the it without being subject to the same limitations as Parliament. At no point in time may any of the pouvoirs constituées bind the constituent assembly to any law or set up any requirements that it must meet, for it is the demos in the constituent assembly that possesses ultimate power to make or unmake the constitution.
This approach should ensure democratic legitimacy while at the same time protecting the constitution from being modified by elected officials with the intention of gutting it.
Building on this article, the next article will show ways of dealing with the problems that come with judicial review.

​
1) By the early 1800's the USA had failed and needed to be saved.
​
In the late 1700's early 1800's the colonial USA was facing unconscionable challenges. 15 states were formed between 1786 and 1791. 10 states would be formed during the next 20 years. After Missouri in 1821, only 1 state would be formed during the next 24 years. Although there were many different political parties and patriotic groups, challenges like counterfeit money, slavery, alcoholism and warring Indian tribes had some groups believing the easterly landlocked Nation had failed and would be taken over by Great Britain or one of the several countries that already claimed the western lands of the continent. One patriotic party known as the Freemasonry Brotherhood is credited with many attempts at saving the nation during these several colonial decades. Across many regions of the time, the Freemasonry Brotherhood was comprised of many chapters and factions. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere and others were well known affiliates of the greater Freemasonry Brotherhood and all were very active in their local chapters and factions. The Nation however would continue to divide with the Civil War on it's doorstep. As a reminder of how primitive living was back then remember that although electric motors were invented in the 1830's the commercial lightbulb wouldn't be put into use for 60 years. Joseph Smith never saw a lightbulb.
​
​
​
2) Spiritual "new names" are not unique. They follow a monthly "name" schedule.
​
Mormonism has chapels and temples. Chapels are typically open to the public for Sunday services and are also where other weekly gatherings are held. Temples are for private ceremonies where victims of Mormonism are invited to make additional promises to Mormonism. These promises may eventually include marriage as well as a commitment to spiritual polygamy. During these ceremonies, a person is given a spiritual "name". This is referred to as their "new name". While it is customary for wives to tell their husbands their "new name", males are admonished to keep their own new name a secret. Although many people may attend any of several ceremonies a day, it is taught that that new names are unique for each person. In reality the "new names" follow a predetermined schedule. On any given day all males and all females receive the same male or female name for that day. This list of names can be found here.
​
3) "The Book of Mormon" has been proven to have pages and pages of similarities to six different publications printed up to twenty-six years before it.
​
Contributing to this is that by 1830 tens of thousands of substantial publications had already been printed including "Gullivers Travels", "Candide" and "Robinson Crusoe". Known publications the Book of Mormon bears similarities to are 1) "The Late War" (1816), 2) "A Classical Dictionary" (This publication was revised by different contributors which was common for the time. Although Charles Anthon's publication states "1848", the publication existed long before that. There are different resources that outline the similarities. This is one.), 3) "The First Book of Napolean" (1809. Author's names include Michael Linning/Eliakim The Scribe and/or Modeste Gruau which are all likely the same person as psuedonyms were common in those days. Even Benjamin Franklin used several psuedonyms for his writings). 4) "Manuscript Found: Conneault Creek also known as the Oberlin Manuscript or the Honolulu ManuscriptTranscript". 5) "A View of the Hebrews" (1823) *****I HAVE SCOURED THE INTERNET AND AS FAR AS I CAN TELL I AM THE FIRST PERSON TO LINK THE FOLLOWING PUBLICATION WITH THE BEGINNINGS OF MORMONISM*****) 6) "The History of Freemasonry and the Grand Lodge of Scotland" (1804. Note that revisions suggest later dates but 1804 is listed in the preface) Among other things, this publication mentions "three knocks with a mallet" and "metal plates with engravings placed in a cavity" several times. It also has 4 unnumbered pages of characters similar to "reformed Egpytian" these pages are hidden between pages 424 and 425. Note that what was claimed as "reformed Egyptian" is also similar to this.)
​
4) In 1778 England's "Captain James Cook" discovered Hawaii. Polygamy was prominent there.
​
The Book of Mormon was finally published in 1830. 50 years before,As more and more westerners came to the islands they witnessed first hand how quickly a population can grow with polygamy. More and more information regarding Captain Cook's discovery and familiarity and affiliation with Freemasonry is being discovered regularly. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young publicly paid tribute to Captain Cook in their own way. This is not meant to suggest those ways were similar in nature or meaning though. Joseph Smith sometimes used the pseudonym "Captain Cook" and Brigham Young wore an amulet that was owned by Captain Cook.
​
5) Joseph Smith went on a peculiar treasure search in Salem, Massachusetts that was later written about in the Doctrine & Covenants.
​
A letter claimed to be from Joseph to Emma about it also exists. Another interesting link to Salem and Hawaii is that a family there named Crowninshield built a nobel yacht that was eventually traded to a drunken, proxy King of Hawaii. (King Kamehameha's son after the Kings suspicous death). The yacht was eventually sunk by the kings drunken sailors. In 1824 this proxy king died suspiciously on a trip to Great Britain. There are many rumors about what treasures and other heirlooms the proxy king may have traded for the yacht.
​
6) Many scientists believe this is an image of Joseph Smith yet Mormonism continues to ignore it and use more sensational renderings of his physical features instead.
​
7) Martin Harris was not who Mormonism claims he was.
​
Mormon history portrays Martin Harris) as a poor, humble, lonely farmer who faithfully sacrificed his only farm to finance the first publishing of the Book of Mormon. It also claims that his faithless, money hungry, short tempered wife left him for it and that he too eventually lost faith and was left to destitution and forgotten.
​
In reality, well known researchers affiliated with Mormonism and others reveal that Martin Harris and his father Nathan were altruistic, zealous, wealthy, crafty, persuasive, powerful, controlling, violent and heinously patriotic. As a soldier in the war of 1812, Martin had likely killed in the name of patriotism. They were also members of the Freemasonry Brotherhood.
​
Martin Harris was 10 years old when his family moved to the Palmyra region in 1793. His father eventually controlled hundreds of acres. Martin married his first "wife" when he was 25. She may have experienced more than enough trauma to justify any of the negative things different parties claim about her for reasons of their own though, even if some of the things they claim are true. This is because his "wife" was really a child who was also his first cousin. She was 15 years 10 months and 27 days old when he married her. Her name was Lucy Hill. He sexually abused her and attempted to impregnate her regularly. He also physically abused her. This is just a glimpse into what Martin Harris was capable of. She eventually gave birth to at least 6 children. During their "marriage" she eventually moved out but they did not officially divorce. In 1836, she mysteriously died at the age of 38. Martin was 53. Just a couple months after Lucy's suspicious death, Martin Married the 22 year old niece of Brigham Young named Caroline Young. He also attempted to impregnate her regularly and eventually father 7 children with her.
​
About the time Martin was 30, a successful landowner and businessman, he left his life of luxury to fight in the War of 1812 where he became a leader and heroically returned around 1815. It's safe to say that as a leader in the War of 1812 he killed men and/or was responsible for the killing of men in the name of patriotism as wars require and justify men and women to do. Back home and industrious again, the talented Martin Harris won several awards for producing white undergarment linen from flax grown on their farms. In fact, he won so many awards he stopped entering the competitions so someone else could win.
​
Ironically, Joseph Smith was also 10 years old when his family moved to the Palmyra region in 1816. 23 years after the Harris' did. Martin was 22.5 years older than Joseph. Mormon history claims Martin didn't meet or hear of Joseph until Joseph was 21 years old. In this version of Mormonism's history, even though Joseph was nearly 22 years old this additional link mistakenly refers to Joseph as a "boy". This is just another example of propaganda geared towards hiding the truth about Martin Harris. Additionally, it's highly unlikely that the Smith's with it's many sons of "working age" lived within 2.5 miles of the Harris's vast 600 acre farm(s) for 11 years without encountering the powerful and well connected Harris', especially when the only thing that separated them was the town and eventually the Erie Canal after it was built in the area. It's likely that the announcement of the to-be-constructed Erie Canal passing through Palmyra was the very reason the Smith family chose to move to the area. It was their 8th move in 10 years. Because the influential Harris was "nominated" to oversee the construction of the Erie Canal in the Palmyra region, it's highly likely he met the Smith family when Joseph was 10 or 11 years old (Alvin would have been about 18) and that many of the Smith's worked on digging part of the miles and miles of the the 4 foot deep, 40 foot wide trough that would become the Erie Canal because where it passed through Palmyra was less than a mile from the Smith home. The Smith's not working during the winter months on a rare, 8 year long canal dig passing within a mile of their residence would completely betray the parts of history about the Smith's being hardworking and industrious. Instead, it would lend a hand to other parts of history claiming they were lazy. It's likely that there are false parts in both sides of those stories. However, even within Mormonism's own history published by BYU and other outlets there are critical discrepancies regarding the year and circumstances Harris met the Smith's.
​
Upon the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 Martin and his father had an endless avenue to ship livestock to eastern markets on the canal's barges as well as opportunity to be the first to interact with needy immigrants needing a place to go after arriving at the port in New York. Any immigrant they encountered would have been extremely grateful for the opportunity to travel inland on a barge to find work in Palmyra and other regions along the Erie Canal. In fact, the Erie Canal became so critical to the New York region it is credited with making New York the global icon that it is today. Prior to the Erie Canal, Boston, New Orleans and Philadelphia were substantially larger ports.
​
8) Of all the founding people in Mormonism's beginnings Martin Harris' grave marker is by far, the most substantial.
Mormon history claims Harris died two years before Young. There are however reports that Young also mysteriously died by poisoning and that Harris' actual whereabouts and death date may have been hard to track. Although Mormon history claims Joseph Smith had over 26 angels appear to him his grave marker is shared with Hyrum and Emma. Brigham Young's marker is a simple bust and a stone. Martin Harris' marker is a stately obelisk over 10 feet tall and an amphitheater. For many years, until a couple years ago, the amphitheater hosted a performance titled "Martin Harris: The Man Who Knew" The obelisk is typically something the Freemasonry Brotherhood reserves to mark the grave of a nation builder. For the man forgotten within Mormon history as the humble farmer who lost faith, this is a substantial disparity in grave markers on the part of "Mormonism".
​
9) The real name of Joseph's first wife Emma is "Emma Hale Smith Bidamon" not just "Emma Hale Smith".
​
The Book of Mormon was published in 1830 when Joseph Smith was 25. As a young man, Joseph Smith claimed this was a tedious 10 year process after the first angels visited him as a boy in 1820 at the age of 14 and after several attempts more angels eventually allowed him to retrieve the metal plated Book of Mormon and other relics from a hidden cavity. The metal Book of Mormon was engraved in a language referred to as "reformed Egyptian" that needed to be transferred into english. This is the only reference to this language in literary history. History claims the methods to do the translating were either by wearing a breastplate and a pair of glasses with rocks as lenses (known as the "Urim and Thummim" or by looking at a single rock (often referred to as the "seer stone") placed in a hat or by using another seer stone Joseph preferred instead.
​
Joseph was forced to claim that that Emma served as one of his scribes during the complicated translation process. Like other scribes including Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer. According to history, Joseph would translate from behind a curtain, the scribe would write. In spite of this, after Joseph's murder in 1844, rather than follow Brigham Young to California, Emma stayed in Nauvoo with thousands of other grateful followers of Joseph Smith. Addiitonally, Emma would continue a relationship with a non-mormon man and remarry him within two years of Joseph's murder. While Emma is often only known as "Emma Smith" in word, image and statue, her real name is "Emma Hale Smith Bidamon". Eventually she would follow one of her and Joseph's sons as the leader of Mormonism.
​
10) After Joseph's murder, his followers were split into at least 5 groups.
Instead of following Brigham Young, other followers of Joseph Smith would follow James Strang to Voree Wisconsin. He would also go on to claim that he was led to plates hidden in a cavity and he would also produce writings from them although his writings were far less substantial. Ironically history claims Martin Harris was never far away from James Strang. It's likely this group was the faction's backup plan in case Brigham's group was annihilated. This group was likely buoyed up by writings that had previously been described as the "116 lost pages" that Martin had scribed for Joseph. This is because Strang was also ordered to claim that he was led to buried plates that he also translated. His translations are believed to have been just a few pages. Another group went to Philadelphia. Another group sailed on a ship called the Brooklin around Africa to meet Brigham in California. Their leader Samuel Brannan became California's first millionaire by not only being the first to publish the discovery of gold in 1849 but to also sell mining supplies. The largest group led by Brigham Young stopped at the Great Salt Lake in the center of the continent's "West" rather than going to California.
​
11) Joseph Smith once claimed that the moon was inhabited and he used specific numbers when he did so. This may have actually been an attempt by him to
​
12) Mormon history claims 24 additional angels (including biblical figures Adam, Abraham, Noah and Moses) visited Joseph Smith.
​
13) Of of Mormonism's official "Three Witnesses" (Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris and David Whitmer) and the "Eight Witnesses" (Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr., John Witmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith and Samuel Harrison Smith) those who weren't murdered all left Mormonism but for one reason or another did not deny what they had claimed about it or their role in it. This is likely because of retribution by the faction should they attempt to deny it.
Of the four women who witnessed the translation process of the Book of Mormon, all left the faction of Mormonism led by Brigham Young.
​
14) Around 1833 at the age of 28, the victimized Joseph Smith secretely organized his own militia and body guards.
​
15) Four Smith brother's were murdered in the name of the beginnings of Mormonism. Alvin, Joseph, Hyrum and Samuel.
Alvin), who was 7 years older than Joseph, died from poisoning (aka "suspicious" circumstances) just weeks before Joseph turned 18. Joseph and Hyrum were murdered in June 27, 1844. Samuel was murdered 33 days later.
​
16) Joseph Smith was murdered within weeks of announcing he was running for President of the United States. Although Joseph had been under the factions control for nearly 3 decades, he may have always believed he would be victorious and eventually break free from them. With his own militia, thousands of followers and economic wealth under his control by the hand of the collective imagination of the victims of Mormonism, it makes sense that he believed he could be elected president and no longer be under the control of the faction. This however was the last straw for the faction who had likely ordered Smith to lead the victims of Mormonism deep into the West. The easterly landlocked USA was comprised of 26 states at the time.
​
17) There were 13 people at the table of the "Last Supper", there were 13 original colonies, the eagle in the Great Seal of the United States is holding 13 arrows, Martin Harris had 13 children and on July 21, 2016 someone within Mormonism secretly set up 13 corporations to control at least $32 billion dollars of Mormonism's stock assets. Mormonism owns hundreds of millions of dollars of stock in Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and corporations prominent in other industries. It owns the largest cattle ranch in the US, the largest nut producer in the US, a private university with over 55,000 students at campuses in Utah, Hawaii and Idaho and it is the largest landowner in Utah and Florida and other states. It also owns ecclisiastical and commercial real estate worth billions upon billions in every US state and in dozens of countries.
​
18) Of all the symbols and combinations of symbols Brigham Young could have chosen to represent Mormonism's successful settlement of the Great Salt Lake Region in 1847, chose an Eagle and a 5 pointed star for the Eagle Gate statue in Salt Lake City. Note that the 5 pointed star or pentagram was around long before certain groups tried appropriating it as something else. Also note that the Great Salt Lake region was still controlled by Mexico in 1847 although the Mexican American war would end and the region would come under the control of the USA with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February of 1848.
​
19) Until 1978 Mormonism refused to allow spiritual marriages between black men and black women while expecting spiritual marriages to occur between white men and women.
​
20) This one may seem trivial but well known signs of an abusive relationship apply to the way Mormonism exploits it's victims. Because of this and so much more lets ask if it is possible if many leaders within Mormonism are also secretly being controlled by threats just like Joseph Smith was. Additionally, like Joseph may have done, is it possible that some of these victims are trying to leave secret clues that Mormonism is an imposter?
​
21) Until 2008, 100% of the men who hold Mormonism's 15 key leadership roles were related to each other. This includes the 12 members of the quorum of the 12 apostles and the 3 members of the First Presidency. It is estimated that 90% today are related to each other. Some are directly related to Martin Harris. The First Presidency is directly responsible for the activities of Ensign Peak, the key organization controlling Mormonism's wealth. What many don't realize is that the reason the IRS won't investigate Mormonism is because Mormonism is higher up the chain than the IRS is when it comes to US interests.
​
As news of these truths continues to spread, missionaries in vulnerable countries and family members of missionaries in vulnerable countries may want to ask themselves if they are at risk of becoming targets for kidnapping and ransom by cash strapped, radicalized groups who formerly ignored them as religious zealots and may now see them as defenseless pawns of one of the richest organizations in the world.
​
Also, my apologies to the talented cast of "Book of Mormon Musical" for my contributions in what may result in the sudden cancellation. This is due to Mormonism finally being revealed as an imposter that has preyed on children for 200 years rather than a provincial gumption spawning a peculiar but well intending culture.
​
A link to an original fictional story that could be the explanation for all of this...
​
Or a link to Utah's 21 gut-wrenching statistics that Mormonism is directly responsible for...
https://www.reddit.com/VoxChiasmus/comments/e9b7ui/mormon_lies_utah_cries_21_things_you_need_to_know/

1) By the early 1800's the USA had failed and needed to be saved.
​
In the late 1700's early 1800's the colonial USA was facing unconscionable challenges. 15 states were formed between 1786 and 1791. 10 states would be formed during the next 20 years. After Missouri in 1821, only 1 state would be formed during the next 24 years. Although there were many different political parties and patriotic groups, challenges like counterfeit money, slavery, alcoholism and warring Indian tribes had some groups believing the easterly landlocked Nation had failed and would be taken over by Great Britain or one of the several countries that already claimed the western lands of the continent. One patriotic party known as the Freemasonry Brotherhood is credited with many attempts at saving the nation during these several colonial decades. Across many regions of the time, the Freemasonry Brotherhood was comprised of many chapters and factions. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere and others were well known affiliates of the greater Freemasonry Brotherhood and all were very active in their local chapters and factions. The Nation however would continue to divide with the Civil War on it's doorstep. As a reminder of how primitive living was back then remember that although electric motors were invented in the 1830's the commercial lightbulb wouldn't be put into use for 60 years. Joseph Smith never saw a lightbulb.
​
​
​
2) Spiritual "new names" are not unique. They follow a monthly "name" schedule.
​
Mormonism has chapels and temples. Chapels are typically open to the public for Sunday services and are also where other weekly gatherings are held. Temples are for private ceremonies where victims of Mormonism are invited to make additional promises to Mormonism. These promises may eventually include marriage as well as a commitment to spiritual polygamy. During these ceremonies, a person is given a spiritual "name". This is referred to as their "new name". While it is customary for wives to tell their husbands their "new name", males are admonished to keep their own new name a secret. Although many people may attend any of several ceremonies a day, it is taught that that new names are unique for each person. In reality the "new names" follow a predetermined schedule. On any given day all males and all females receive the same male or female name for that day. This list of names can be found here.
​
3) "The Book of Mormon" has been proven to have pages and pages of similarities to six different publications printed up to twenty-six years before it.
​
Contributing to this is that by 1830 tens of thousands of substantial publications had already been printed including "Gullivers Travels", "Candide" and "Robinson Crusoe". Known publications the Book of Mormon bears similarities to are 1) "The Late War" (1816), 2) "A Classical Dictionary" (This publication was revised by different contributors which was common for the time. Although Charles Anthon's publication states "1848", the publication existed long before that. There are different resources that outline the similarities. This is one.), 3) "The First Book of Napolean" (1809. Author's names include Michael Linning/Eliakim The Scribe and/or Modeste Gruau which are all likely the same person as psuedonyms were common in those days. Even Benjamin Franklin used several psuedonyms for his writings). 4) "Manuscript Found: Conneault Creek also known as the Oberlin Manuscript or the Honolulu ManuscriptTranscript". 5) "A View of the Hebrews" (1823) *****I HAVE SCOURED THE INTERNET AND AS FAR AS I CAN TELL I AM THE FIRST PERSON TO LINK THE FOLLOWING PUBLICATION WITH THE BEGINNINGS OF MORMONISM*****) 6) "The History of Freemasonry and the Grand Lodge of Scotland" (1804. Note that revisions suggest later dates but 1804 is listed in the preface) Among other things, this publication mentions "three knocks with a mallet" and "metal plates with engravings placed in a cavity" several times. It also has 4 unnumbered pages of characters similar to "reformed Egpytian" these pages are hidden between pages 424 and 425. Note that what was claimed as "reformed Egyptian" is also similar to this.)
​
4) In 1778 England's "Captain James Cook" discovered Hawaii. Polygamy was prominent there.
​
The Book of Mormon was finally published in 1830. 50 years before,As more and more westerners came to the islands they witnessed first hand how quickly a population can grow with polygamy. More and more information regarding Captain Cook's discovery and familiarity and affiliation with Freemasonry is being discovered regularly. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young publicly paid tribute to Captain Cook in their own way. This is not meant to suggest those ways were similar in nature or meaning though. Joseph Smith sometimes used the pseudonym "Captain Cook" and Brigham Young wore an amulet that was owned by Captain Cook.
​
5) Joseph Smith went on a peculiar treasure search in Salem, Massachusetts that was later written about in the Doctrine & Covenants.
​
A letter claimed to be from Joseph to Emma about it also exists. Another interesting link to Salem and Hawaii is that a family there named Crowninshield built a nobel yacht that was eventually traded to a drunken, proxy King of Hawaii. (King Kamehameha's son after the Kings suspicous death). The yacht was eventually sunk by the kings drunken sailors. In 1824 this proxy king died suspiciously on a trip to Great Britain. There are many rumors about what treasures and other heirlooms the proxy king may have traded for the yacht.
​
6) Many scientists believe this is an image of Joseph Smith yet Mormonism continues to ignore it and use more sensational renderings of his physical features instead.
​
7) Martin Harris was not who Mormonism claims he was.
​
Mormon history portrays Martin Harris) as a poor, humble, lonely farmer who faithfully sacrificed his only farm to finance the first publishing of the Book of Mormon. It also claims that his faithless, money hungry, short tempered wife left him for it and that he too eventually lost faith and was left to destitution and forgotten.
​
In reality, well known researchers affiliated with Mormonism and others reveal that Martin Harris and his father Nathan were altruistic, zealous, wealthy, crafty, persuasive, powerful, controlling, violent and heinously patriotic. As a soldier in the war of 1812, Martin had likely killed in the name of patriotism. They were also members of the Freemasonry Brotherhood.
​
Martin Harris was 10 years old when his family moved to the Palmyra region in 1793. His father eventually controlled hundreds of acres. Martin married his first "wife" when he was 25. She may have experienced more than enough trauma to justify any of the negative things different parties claim about her for reasons of their own though, even if some of the things they claim are true. This is because his "wife" was really a child who was also his first cousin. She was 15 years 10 months and 27 days old when he married her. Her name was Lucy Hill. He sexually abused her and attempted to impregnate her regularly. He also physically abused her. This is just a glimpse into what Martin Harris was capable of. She eventually gave birth to at least 6 children. During their "marriage" she eventually moved out but they did not officially divorce. In 1836, she mysteriously died at the age of 38. Martin was 53. Just a couple months after Lucy's suspicious death, Martin Married the 22 year old niece of Brigham Young named Caroline Young. He also attempted to impregnate her regularly and eventually father 7 children with her.
​
About the time Martin was 30, a successful landowner and businessman, he left his life of luxury to fight in the War of 1812 where he became a leader and heroically returned around 1815. It's safe to say that as a leader in the War of 1812 he killed men and/or was responsible for the killing of men in the name of patriotism as wars require and justify men and women to do. Back home and industrious again, the talented Martin Harris won several awards for producing white undergarment linen from flax grown on their farms. In fact, he won so many awards he stopped entering the competitions so someone else could win.
​
Ironically, Joseph Smith was also 10 years old when his family moved to the Palmyra region in 1816. 23 years after the Harris' did. Martin was 22.5 years older than Joseph. Mormon history claims Martin didn't meet or hear of Joseph until Joseph was 21 years old. In this version of Mormonism's history, even though Joseph was nearly 22 years old this additional link mistakenly refers to Joseph as a "boy". This is just another example of propaganda geared towards hiding the truth about Martin Harris. Additionally, it's highly unlikely that the Smith's with it's many sons of "working age" lived within 2.5 miles of the Harris's vast 600 acre farm(s) for 11 years without encountering the powerful and well connected Harris', especially when the only thing that separated them was the town and eventually the Erie Canal after it was built in the area. It's likely that the announcement of the to-be-constructed Erie Canal passing through Palmyra was the very reason the Smith family chose to move to the area. It was their 8th move in 10 years. Because the influential Harris was "nominated" to oversee the construction of the Erie Canal in the Palmyra region, it's highly likely he met the Smith family when Joseph was 10 or 11 years old (Alvin would have been about 18) and that many of the Smith's worked on digging part of the miles and miles of the the 4 foot deep, 40 foot wide trough that would become the Erie Canal because where it passed through Palmyra was less than a mile from the Smith home. The Smith's not working during the winter months on a rare, 8 year long canal dig passing within a mile of their residence would completely betray the parts of history about the Smith's being hardworking and industrious. Instead, it would lend a hand to other parts of history claiming they were lazy. It's likely that there are false parts in both sides of those stories. However, even within Mormonism's own history published by BYU and other outlets there are critical discrepancies regarding the year and circumstances Harris met the Smith's.
​
Upon the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 Martin and his father had an endless avenue to ship livestock to eastern markets on the canal's barges as well as opportunity to be the first to interact with needy immigrants needing a place to go after arriving at the port in New York. Any immigrant they encountered would have been extremely grateful for the opportunity to travel inland on a barge to find work in Palmyra and other regions along the Erie Canal. In fact, the Erie Canal became so critical to the New York region it is credited with making New York the global icon that it is today. Prior to the Erie Canal, Boston, New Orleans and Philadelphia were substantially larger ports.
​
8) Of all the founding people in Mormonism's beginnings Martin Harris' grave marker is by far, the most substantial.
Mormon history claims Harris died two years before Young. There are however reports that Young also mysteriously died by poisoning and that Harris' actual whereabouts and death date may have been hard to track. Although Mormon history claims Joseph Smith had over 26 angels appear to him his grave marker is shared with Hyrum and Emma. Brigham Young's marker is a simple bust and a stone. Martin Harris' marker is a stately obelisk over 10 feet tall and an amphitheater. For many years, until a couple years ago, the amphitheater hosted a performance titled "Martin Harris: The Man Who Knew" The obelisk is typically something the Freemasonry Brotherhood reserves to mark the grave of a nation builder. For the man forgotten within Mormon history as the humble farmer who lost faith, this is a substantial disparity in grave markers on the part of "Mormonism".
​
9) The real name of Joseph's first wife Emma is "Emma Hale Smith Bidamon" not just "Emma Hale Smith".
​
The Book of Mormon was published in 1830 when Joseph Smith was 25. As a young man, Joseph Smith claimed this was a tedious 10 year process after the first angels visited him as a boy in 1820 at the age of 14 and after several attempts more angels eventually allowed him to retrieve the metal plated Book of Mormon and other relics from a hidden cavity. The metal Book of Mormon was engraved in a language referred to as "reformed Egyptian" that needed to be transferred into english. This is the only reference to this language in literary history. History claims the methods to do the translating were either by wearing a breastplate and a pair of glasses with rocks as lenses (known as the "Urim and Thummim" or by looking at a single rock (often referred to as the "seer stone") placed in a hat or by using another seer stone Joseph preferred instead.
​
Joseph was forced to claim that that Emma served as one of his scribes during the complicated translation process. Like other scribes including Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer. According to history, Joseph would translate from behind a curtain, the scribe would write. In spite of this, after Joseph's murder in 1844, rather than follow Brigham Young to California, Emma stayed in Nauvoo with thousands of other grateful followers of Joseph Smith. Addiitonally, Emma would continue a relationship with a non-mormon man and remarry him within two years of Joseph's murder. While Emma is often only known as "Emma Smith" in word, image and statue, her real name is "Emma Hale Smith Bidamon". Eventually she would follow one of her and Joseph's sons as the leader of Mormonism.
​
10) After Joseph's murder, his followers were split into at least 5 groups.
Instead of following Brigham Young, other followers of Joseph Smith would follow James Strang to Voree Wisconsin. He would also go on to claim that he was led to plates hidden in a cavity and he would also produce writings from them although his writings were far less substantial. Ironically history claims Martin Harris was never far away from James Strang. It's likely this group was the faction's backup plan in case Brigham's group was annihilated. This group was likely buoyed up by writings that had previously been described as the "116 lost pages" that Martin had scribed for Joseph. This is because Strang was also ordered to claim that he was led to buried plates that he also translated. His translations are believed to have been just a few pages. Another group went to Philadelphia. Another group sailed on a ship called the Brooklin around Africa to meet Brigham in California. Their leader Samuel Brannan became California's first millionaire by not only being the first to publish the discovery of gold in 1849 but to also sell mining supplies. The largest group led by Brigham Young stopped at the Great Salt Lake in the center of the continent's "West" rather than going to California.
​
11) Joseph Smith once claimed that the moon was inhabited and he used specific numbers when he did so. This may have actually been an attempt by him to
​
12) Mormon history claims 24 additional angels (including biblical figures Adam, Abraham, Noah and Moses) visited Joseph Smith.
​
13) Of of Mormonism's official "Three Witnesses" (Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris and David Whitmer) and the "Eight Witnesses" (Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr., John Witmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith and Samuel Harrison Smith) those who weren't murdered all left Mormonism but for one reason or another did not deny what they had claimed about it or their role in it. This is likely because of retribution by the faction should they attempt to deny it.
Of the four women who witnessed the translation process of the Book of Mormon, all left the faction of Mormonism led by Brigham Young.
​
14) Around 1833 at the age of 28, the victimized Joseph Smith secretely organized his own militia and body guards.
​
15) Four Smith brother's were murdered in the name of the beginnings of Mormonism. Alvin, Joseph, Hyrum and Samuel.
Alvin), who was 7 years older than Joseph, died from poisoning (aka "suspicious" circumstances) just weeks before Joseph turned 18. Joseph and Hyrum were murdered in June 27, 1844. Samuel was murdered 33 days later.
​
16) Joseph Smith was murdered within weeks of announcing he was running for President of the United States. Although Joseph had been under the factions control for nearly 3 decades, he may have always believed he would be victorious and eventually break free from them. With his own militia, thousands of followers and economic wealth under his control by the hand of the collective imagination of the victims of Mormonism, it makes sense that he believed he could be elected president and no longer be under the control of the faction. This however was the last straw for the faction who had likely ordered Smith to lead the victims of Mormonism deep into the West. The easterly landlocked USA was comprised of 26 states at the time.
​
17) There were 13 people at the table of the "Last Supper", there were 13 original colonies, the eagle in the Great Seal of the United States is holding 13 arrows, Martin Harris had 13 children and on July 21, 2016 someone within Mormonism secretly set up 13 corporations to control at least $32 billion dollars of Mormonism's stock assets. Mormonism owns hundreds of millions of dollars of stock in Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and corporations prominent in other industries. It owns the largest cattle ranch in the US, the largest nut producer in the US, a private university with over 55,000 students at campuses in Utah, Hawaii and Idaho and it is the largest landowner in Utah and Florida and other states. It also owns ecclisiastical and commercial real estate worth billions upon billions in every US state and in dozens of countries.
​
18) Of all the symbols and combinations of symbols Brigham Young could have chosen to represent Mormonism's successful settlement of the Great Salt Lake Region in 1847, chose an Eagle and a 5 pointed star for the Eagle Gate statue in Salt Lake City. Note that the 5 pointed star or pentagram was around long before certain groups tried appropriating it as something else. Also note that the Great Salt Lake region was still controlled by Mexico in 1847 although the Mexican American war would end and the region would come under the control of the USA with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February of 1848.
​
19) Until 1978 Mormonism refused to allow spiritual marriages between black men and black women while expecting spiritual marriages to occur between white men and women.
​
20) This one may seem trivial but well known signs of an abusive relationship apply to the way Mormonism exploits it's victims. Because of this and so much more lets ask if it is possible if many leaders within Mormonism are also secretly being controlled by threats just like Joseph Smith was. Additionally, like Joseph may have done, is it possible that some of these victims are trying to leave secret clues that Mormonism is an imposter?
​
21) Until 2008, 100% of the men who hold Mormonism's 15 key leadership roles were related to each other. This includes the 12 members of the quorum of the 12 apostles and the 3 members of the First Presidency. It is estimated that 90% today are related to each other. Some are directly related to Martin Harris. The First Presidency is directly responsible for the activities of Ensign Peak, the key organization controlling Mormonism's wealth. What many don't realize is that the reason the IRS won't investigate Mormonism is because Mormonism is higher up the chain than the IRS is when it comes to US interests.
​
As news of these truths continues to spread, missionaries in vulnerable countries and family members of missionaries in vulnerable countries may want to ask themselves if they are at risk of becoming targets for kidnapping and ransom by cash strapped, radicalized groups who formerly ignored them as religious zealots and may now see them as defenseless pawns of one of the richest organizations in the world.
​
Also, my apologies to the talented cast of "Book of Mormon Musical" for my contributions in what may result in the sudden cancellation. This is due to Mormonism finally being revealed as an imposter that has preyed on children for 200 years rather than a provincial gumption spawning a peculiar but well intending culture.
​
An original explanation for all of this...

[Previous]
​
Xanadu
"TEARS!" I screamed, half turning to look. She was just coming back through the open airlock connecting our storage bay to the ziking corvette. "Trauma Kit! Galley! Go! Go! Go!" I didn't hear her response.
I knelt over Yyz, rifle slung around on my back. He was coming back to consciousness as I moved and ripped open the blood soaked overalls to inspect the gut wound. "Hey? what are you doing to my clothes?" Disorientation. Its not a good sign. I felt around the lower ribs and pelvis, and found no broken bones. Turning him slightly to look at the exit wound, it was the size of my open hand. And an absolute mess of shredded flesh, intestines, and blood. I set him back as he was and began tearing clothes as fast as possible to stuff in the wounds and staunch the blood. I was numb to everything but the determination to keep him alive. I was still stuffing the wound cavity when Tears bowled in, kit in hand. With deft skill she began filling the wound with absorbent gauze while I applied pressure. "Hey, whats going on?" his speech was a little slurred. "Hi Yizz, we just finished taking care of that ziking ship. We're gonna get you patched up, and head back home." "That's good." ... "Can you pronounce it Yyz?" "Sorry about that buddy. I'll work harder at it." "What happened to that other ship? Did you shoot them all?" "Yeah, we got'em. It's a ghost ship now." "Oh, that's good." He seemed to be finding a little focus again. I think we were stabilizing his blood pressure. Tears slowed down with the stuffing and began to focus on pressure and taping up the wound. "I can manage the rest of this" she said. "Get this ship moving to civilization." I backed out of the scene, turned and headed to the cockpit, thought better of it, and went to the intercom. "Clotho, whats the closest civilization of any kind that we can find?" "Clotho!" My impatience was getting the better of me. "I'm here, I'm here. Just a second, I got to look through the right chart book." "Yyz is injured, we need to move, now!" ... "Captain, we are way out in the middle of nowhere, and our engines are still hot from that run." "Just spit it out" frustration at the time wasted was building
"The closest anything I can find is an Essene monastery. Seven days out if we try to fly as is. Four if you can help me dump water for cooling." Four days?! Yyz doesn't have four days like this. "I'm coming up." Four days? Four days!? I began hoping it was just a mistake. A rookie astronavigator, happened to miss an adjacent chart. Something an experienced eye would catch. We have a lot of reserve drinking water left in the big storage decks, she probably doesn't realize we can pick up some time by flushing that through too, and dump heat even faster. I was thinking of all the things the inexperienced might miss on a ship like this. But four days is not an option. . I climbed into the cockpit from the deck below. "By the gods Captain! You're covered in blood!" Clotho was horrified. I looked down, I had tracked blood on my boots all way from storage, my pants were soaked at the knees, my hands were stained orangish red, and my sleeves were soaked to the elbow. I still had my carbine on my back. "That's not important right now. I need you to show me where we are, and what charts and options we have." Clotho pointed me over to the charts she had open. "While you were below, I figured out where we are pretty accurately. Here are our coordinates. These are the charts listed nearby, but there is nothing around here" I clenched my teeth when I saw she was right all along. There was no mistake. The closest port was that Essene monastery, in this remote location for isolation from distraction. "Ok, then we head towards that monastery and hope they have some medical supplies. Let's get her turned to bear. We'll worry about the coolant dump after we get going." "Yes sir." "Xan" Tears called over the intercom. "We're heading to a monastery, I need you to close off that airlock" I answered. "Xan, I... Xan..." I could hear heavy breathing, "Yyz is dead." I didn't know what to say to that. "I'm sorry Xan" Tears finished. I couldn't accept it. I wouldn't accept it. I had kept such control, but now my anger was knocking at the door to get in. I got down to the cabins deck, anger knocked at the door. 'Why didn't Clotho just get this ship moving when I told her its an emergency?' I got down to the galley deck, rage pounded at the door. 'Why couldn't Tears keep him alive? When I left we were getting him stabilized.' I got down to the storage deck, and I was beginning to open the door to blind fury. 'Why did I give him a gun to protect that stupid airlock. Stupid, stupid stupid. He didn't know how to shoot the thing. I should have just told him to close the damn door behind us, and hide behind one of the pallets. What was I thinking with such a stupid plan?' I turned the corner, and the door of emotion was open, but when I saw Tears, it wasn't anger that came through but sorrow and guilt that flooded in. She came to me, and we just held each other without a word. We stood there clinging to life among the dead. "Tell me its all worth it Tears. Tell me its worth this misery to find a home world of barbarians fighting each other with sticks." I whispered. She looked up at me, "Its worth it Xan. Its worth it, for everyone of our ancestors who toiled and died under Anadarran control but dreamed of peace and home. For all of our people's children who need to understand their place in this galaxy and be able to look any other species in the eye and not feel like a lesser being. For us the living, to know who we are when not warped by our old slave cultures. Its all worth it." ... Slowly, the passion of the moment drained out with the tears, and I came to myself. Despite the solemness, there was a lot of work to do. Dead ziking to get off my ship. And... and Yyz needed to be bagged and moved to the freezer, his body to be returned to next of kin on Sebring. Tears and I worked together moving out the ziking bodies onto their ship. Clotho joined us as we worked Yyz into a bag, and moved him up to the galley freezer. We've been out on mission so long, most of the freezer food was gone and there was plenty of storage, these morbid flippant thoughts always intrude on me in these times. With that solemn work complete, we took showers and went to bed. We were all drained physically and emotionally, no watch was set. If another ship had followed all of that, they deserved to have us for dinner. ... The next day we ransacked the ziking ship for valuables and equipment and finished cleaning up any blood and feathers on the Harper. Clotho noted that the ZNS Kappa began emitting a distress beacon. It must have been activated when no controls were touched for a day cycle. It didn't bother us none, we were 72 lightyears from the closest monastery outpost. That broadcast would dissipate to nothing before it reached that far. But while listening to the broadcast, Clotho noticed something else on another frequency. Something she couldn't quite make out, but it didn't stop. It was a language she didn't know, set to fragmented music she couldn't recognize. But it kinda sounded like a foreigner speaking. .
"Captain, take a listen to this, do you know what it is?" "Neve... g...na... up... ver...let...you..d...n...run.......d..sert you." "I can't make heads or tails of it. Do you have a direction?" "I have a general direction, not too precise. Its at the limit of what our equipment can pick up." "Tears, what do you think?" "It can't be too far away, even for a very powerful transmitter. I'm not sure if now is the time to investigate." I am stuck with a choice. Return home, honor our dead crewman, or pursue the most promising chance in generations. Return home and face an inquiry that could last years. An Anadarran shot dead on a foreigner's ship, I can just imagine the political uproar and threats. Or avoid that delay and chase my life's mission with singular purpose while the opportunity was still within my grasp. "Lets turn and burn ten light years."
... "I got contact on the radio signals again, much stronger now." "Now what you have to understand is that the democrats are running around saying 'the religious right have taken over the republican party and are going to establish a theocracy'. Well for one, the democrats have been saying that for years, and is it true? Not one bit. But second when you look at the sweeping victory the GOP had last year, one thing that should not be overlooked is the assault weapons bill that was rammed through congress by senator feinstein and president clinton. Now that unconstitutional bill awakened millions of freedom loving Americans to what was going on in Washington..." "Its, its definitely a foreigner's voice. But I don't understand a word of it, its not dialect of Anadarran I have ever heard." Xanadu's hairs began to stand up on his arm and neck. "I am getting broadcasts on other frequencies too, sir!" Clotho added "Play another!" I was excited to hear it all. "...this is Money Talk with Bob Brinker" music played in an interlude, "Its America's money program, Money Talk, where you can learn to build your own financial independence. We have a caller on the line, Gary from Spokane, go ahead Gary. Hi Bob, long time listener calling from the land of critical mass. I wanted to ask you about moving some of my IRA investments out of spider funds and in to municipal bonds over the next few years..." "What about direction? Have you got a better fix?" "Yes sir, definitely a strong signal and direction. Our first hop was off, but we got it now. Do you think this is it? Do you think its your homeworld?" "Maybe, maybe... Is it pointing to one the of four stars we had left to check?" "No sir, we are way off track for those we had mapped. And we are outside the region the research had pointed to." We never would have found it... "I guess getting it wrong shouldn't surprise us very much." "Any estimate on distance?" "Nothing useful, it seems they have been reducing their power output over the years. The signal strength is much weaker than what I would have expected for the distance we covered." ... I pushed the Harper another short 10 light years towards the radio sources. More and more languages were distinguished, all foreigner voices. The excitement was palpable, but the bewilderment equally so. Of all the things the Anadarrans said about foreigners, it was their ancient barbarism that I never unquestioned. But when we arrived at a blue, white, brown, and green planet, the source of the radio transmissions, it was absolutely awash with electronic radio communication, shore to shore, ground to space. Some signals were open and plain, but now, most were low power and digitally encoded so that we couldn't decipher it. The planet was blanketed in low orbit satellites, and a network of very high orbit geostationary satellites. Unfortunately, none looked to be occupied. It was glorious to see, and deeply frustrating. The logical conclusion is that they had mastered radar and rocketry, which means landing would be a dangerous proposition. But little actual deep space traffic means they didn't have grav wave tech for a safe orbital meeting. ...
"Its all digitally encoded, everything is encoded, except for these coastal regions. We can pick up a lot of open traffic here, here and here. But this one seems to speak consistently the same two languages, with a lot of night light." Clotho pointed at a specific bright continental peninsula with a collection of large and small islands. We surveyed the marvelous sight from space. We didn't bother maintaining an actual orbit as our grav wave power allows us to quickly criss-cross the planet, and hover where we desire. ... "Captain, have you seen such digital communication in your military service?" Clotho asked "Not like this, the equipment is too expensive for all the common soldiers to use." "I mean, sir, have you seen the rate of data? Our equipment can't log it. I can only analyze snapshots with the oscilloscope. I think some of the satellites are keying amplitude, frequency, and phase changes all at the same time at an incredible rate and gigahertz frequencies. Even in the research institutes, they weren't trying something like this. The digital computing power to decode it is unbelievably advanced." . It was time to make contact. We tuned to the most active, open channel, 156.800 MHz, cranked up the broadcast to full power 10kW, and blasted the whole region... "Hello? This is Harper's Hope calling from orbit. Do you hear me?" No reply. This was an entirely awkward way to make contact with a new world. But the alternative of forcing a landing is too dangerous, and we don't have the ability to decode their digital comms. What else is there to do, but plow ahead? "This is Harper's Hope, please respond." As if they could understand what I was saying anyway. "This is Harper's Hope, hello from our world to yours." "This is sailing vessel the wanderer g' day mate we are reading you loud and clear in hope town but your gonna have to speak english or spanish to get a response mate." Well its a start. "This is HMBS Rolly Gray conducting search and rescue on the foreign ship. Clear all channels" Came another reply near the same chain of islands. "This is USS Tornado conducting search and rescue for the foreign distress signal. Silence on all channels" broadcasted another reply offshore from an island chain 1300km away. At first I was encouraged by the chain of obvious responses to my broadcast. But instead after this, no ship responded again despite repeated calls. Eventually I gave up. ... "Xan, I've just picked up a ship in low orbit! Its about as big as we are." Tears gave me a new option to pursue. Her excitement matched my own. "Lets match course and take a look from a good safe distance." It was a simple craft, no obvious weapons mounted. A bit ungainly, no grav rings for travel, and large flat arrays branching off from the structure. It was time to pull up and say "hi". ... "Houston, Station on space to ground one" "Station, this is Houston, go ahead." "We have visual contact with Echo Tango" "Roger visual with Echo Tango, over" "Echo Tango is maintaining relative position. Vessel is mostly cylindrical, estimated 125 meter length and 15 meter diameter, over" "Station, copy description. Will you be able to get us video feed or photos?" "Negative on video feed, ship is in the wrong position. We are working on uploading some photos, over." There she was, intelligent life from outer space! A metal cylinder with giant rings bookending each tip like a trailer axle with hula hoops for wheels. Large fins covering one half of the main body, and an array of antennas, radar arrays, and remote telescopes attached to the other half. The sublime experience was what every space geek dreamed it would be. ... Contact with the station was near comical and so serious at the same time. We saddled up to a nearby position and held by. I began calling out numbers, "1" , "2", "3" while giving them a radio squelch count for each number. They responded the same. Our first real understanding was reached. Step by step we built trust, to where I was able to maneuver the Harper to dock with the primitive ship. Well, I found out later that they called it a space station. You should have seen the look of surprise on their face when the airlock door opened and none other than a fellow foreigner stepped through. It was a real WTF moment for them. But when we got to visit and saw their electronic technology, we were blown away. They have chips half the size of a pinky nail that can store 512GB of data! They were recording everything we were saying and sending it to their engineers and computers on the planet to begin developing a translation software. I began learning their English the hard way, but they were picking up Anadarran the computer way. And it wasn't long until we were communicating with meaning aided by the computer translators. ...
First hard thing they asked was where we came from. I told them about the Anadarran Empire, how it had 1000 years ago stolen us from "earth". It was so weird to have a name to call our homeworld. But they used us as slave soldiers, to pacify their own people or other species like the Ziking and Essenes. If we failed to pacify the people into paying tribute, they would destroy us along with the Ziking or Essene populations. It was up to us to organize and train our own people, to protect our children, and to extract the food and shelter we needed from the populations we were to control and extort. The Anadarrans didn't care, they just wanted the products and free resources. The subjugated peoples would be required to pay tribute. All so the empire could try and catch up to the power and advances of the Hellenes and Quorum. It didn't really work economically, but it was very stable politically. After a millenia of stable power, a civil war of dynastic succession occurred. A few decades ago the war destroyed the capital city and Imperial family. The secret records of "earth" were lost forever. We don't know really know our origins, who they took or where. But we were too worried about gaining our freedom, and the chaos of the civil war brought that opportunity. We might have only started as a few hundred foreigners captured from the remote earth, but we were 100 million strong foreigners now. Tears and I are some of the first generation to get out and make it on our own. Then, I told them about Yyz, the sacrifice that was made to find our home. And that he still remained in our freezer, waiting to return to his home too. The homeworlders listened in rapt silence as we stumbled through the translation of our tale. They said they understood. They didn't look down us for our past, but that is such a hard thing for me to accept. ...
When they visited our ship, they took one look at our stuff and said it belonged in the "early 90s". Well apparently 30 year old technology is too outdated for them. I said the Anadarran empire switched from analog to digital over 500 years ago. They were shocked. They told me they had been doubling transistor density and other performance every two yeras for nearly 50 years! We were shocked. They had gone further in 50 years than the Anadarran empire was able to steal or develop in 500. Clotho was convinced it was the most advanced computer tech in all of Hellene or Quorum space, and they were far superior to Anadarran junk. Apparently they also had on the planet computer controlled 3d printers, computer controlled mills and lathes, and massive electronic data transfer rates. They were video streaming all of our ship and parts documents and equipment. They had engineers and scientists on standby developing rapid prototypes as we spoke aboard our ship! These people, they are gonna do just fine in the galaxy. ...
But there was more than just English to learn. There was Chinese and Russian, French and Spanish, Japanese and Korean, Portuguese, Hindi, German, Laotian, Vietnamese, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Bantu, and many other smaller ones. I asked, what do you...we... call ourselves? First they told me ,"American or Brittish or Russian." No, I insisted, we've always been called foreigners, as a whole people. But we aren't 'foreigners' here, are we?" "No, you are not foreigners. You... we are all human. Welcome back to humanity." We were home, a home we didn't truly understand how much we needed. But we were back and ready to shake this galaxy to the core. "I am not a foreigner, I am human. And I belong to humanity, fuck yeah."
the end.