lies, stories, totems, and tribes

“…The heart of the sons of men
is full of evil,
and madness is in their heart
while they live…”
(Ecclesiastes 9.3)
 
Wherewith shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before the high God?
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the LORD require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God?
 (Micah 6.6, 8)
​

a homily on our mad state of rebellion

lies, stories, totems, and tribes
dc 10.25
​

 lies, stories, and sin then

In the spring of 1829, after several months of hectic and sporadic translation, Joseph Smith had produced 116 manuscript pages of what was to be the opening of what would eventually be entitled “The Book of Mormon.” Under pressure from his chief financial supporter, Martin Harris, who wished to “prove” Joseph’s work of translation existed and was true, Joseph allowed Harris to take the manuscript and show it to those whom the latter wished to impress. Under circumstances that to this day remain a mystery, the manuscript disappeared.
 
Soon, Joseph came to learn/ suspect that the disappeared/ stolen manuscript had been altered by those who possessed it. This they had done to expose Joseph as the fraud and liar that they believed him to be. According to DC 10, those who had possession of the manuscript and had altered it were waiting for Joseph to retranslate. If, upon doing so, the retranslation was the same as the original, they would present their altered text as fabricated proof that Joseph was a fraudulent translator. In other words, they created a false story and were prepared to lie in order to catch Joseph telling what they believed to be a lie.
 
In describing the actions of those who had altered the text, their reasons, and their justifications, we read,
 
“Yea, he [Satan] saith unto them: ‘Deceive and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy; behold, this is no harm.’ And thus he flattereth them, and telleth them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie, that they might destroy him.”[1]
 
From this passage, we learn several truths.
 
1.   It is sin to tell a lie even if the intent of the lie is to catch another in a lie—whether the other’s lie is real or imagined.
2.   The use of lies as a strategy against another is used with the intent and in the interest of destroying another.
3.   Those who adopt such a strategy yield to Satan’s flattery as he is the instigator of such a strategy.
 


  lies and stories now

Recent stories have surfaced that a certain group of immigrants in a central Ohio town have been abducting peoples’ pets—notably dogs and cats. After stealing them, they have taken them to their homes, cooked them, and ate them. Any honest person with half a brain approaches such stories with skepticism, especially anyone knowing world history and the common use of lying stories to attack foreigners, the other. False conspiracy theories and lying stories about foreigners have been a cottage industry in human history.
 
The Hebrew Bible is chock full of salacious stories about Israel’s enemies. In the Middle Ages descendants of those who propagated and then recorded such conspiracy stories in the Hebrew Bible were themselves victims of salacious and lying conspiracy stories as they were accused of killing Christian children and drinking their blood—a crime, I have to believe, worse than having pets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even the “inspired writers” of the Book of Mormon—that Book claimed to be the truest of the true—couldn’t resist slandering the other, those deemed to be enemies and a danger to “true culture.” Speaking of the Nephites enemies, the Lamanites, Enos engaged in a bit of cultural and xenophobic slander.
 
“They were led by their evil nature that they became wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat.”[2]
 
I, for one, am glad that Enos has never joined me for a nice steak dinner when I enjoy my medium to rare ribeye steak. And we won’t even mention the many times that various Book of Mormon authors showed their bigotry by commenting on their enemy’s dark skin color—a bigotry as at home in early 19th century America as it has been throughout human history right into the present.
 
But, back to the poor pets of central Ohio. Local officials have consistently and adamantly declared that the slanderous stories of disappeared pets showing up on the plates of immigrants are false. There is not one iota of evidence. These stories represent a lie.
 
But the fact that these stories are lies has not stopped certain unprincipled and immoral political leaders and pundits on the right from retelling the stories. Indeed, the GOP candidates for president and vice president have been especially exuberant in retelling the debunked stories. Even in the face of fact checking that puts the lie to the stories, they have doubled down and propagated the story on the national stage.
 
As it turns out, by their own admission, these same two evil geniuses have “created the story.” Says the junior partner, J.D. Vance, “I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention…” And this admission is offered boastfully, arrogantly, and loudly.
 
Like Israelites of Jeremiah’s day, notwithstanding their sin which they present for all to see, they have “a whore’s forehead” and “refusedst to be ashamed.”[3]
 
In admitting that their story is “created,” of course, they exhibit all the stupidity of a bank robber taking a selfie as he or she robs a bank. But then, neither has ever impressed anyone with their intelligence.
 
These two proud confessors of their lying also exhibit the same sinfulness as those who some two hundred years earlier told a lie in order to catch Joseph in his supposed lie. The media, these latest purveyors of lies claim, has lied, even if only by omission. Therefore, in their warped sense of right and wrong, “it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie.” It’s just good storytelling, and even better politics.
 
With all of this happening, we must remind our readers with all America of God’s moral evaluation of this evil pairs’ us of lying storytelling.
 
1.   J.D. Vance and the other man whose name I refuse to speak or write have sinned in creating a story that is a lie in order to catch another in a lie—whether the other’s lie is real or imagined.
2.   J.D. Vance and the other man whose name I refuse to speak or write use lies as a strategy against others with the intent of and in the interest of destroying others (and, indeed, their lies have brought threats and acts of violence against the innocent and vulnerable community targeted by their lies).
3.   J.D. Vance and the other man whose name I refuse to speak or write have yielded to Satan’s flattery as he is the instigator of such a strategy.
 
J.D. Vance and the other man whose name I refuse to speak or write possess the same spirit as Satan. They are destructive. What was true of those infamous lying creators and tellers of lies in Joseph’s day is true of J.D. Vance and his partner in crime, the man whose name I refuse to speak or write.
 
“[Satan] flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he draggeth their souls down to hell; and thus he causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare.”
 
Would to God that it might be soon! It can’t come soon enough for me.
 


  signals, totems, and tribes

The stories that have been created and repeated about central Ohio immigrants stealing, cooking, and eating “legitimate citizens” pets—I suppose if they were eating their own pets, the story would have less power?—are lies. The telling of such stories is a sin. Those who tell such stories are sinners.
 
These are moral truths. Absolute. The word of God.
 
Having said that as clearly as I know how, anthropologically speaking, these lies possess a kind of twisted and perverted “truth.” They serve as signals and totems. Those who tell the stories and those who embrace them signal to each other that they are on the same team. That they belong to the same tribe. That they are one. There is us and there is them. And we are part of the chosen us. Those who signal those of their tribe through lying stories declare that they are trustworthy members of the tribe. Those who embrace the lying stories told by others in the tribe prove their loyalty to the tribe.
 
Again, huge chunks of the Hebrew Bible’s storytelling serve the role of signal and totem. “We are all members of the same, chosen tribe.” This is often done without regard to “the facts,” and at the expense of the hated and “evil” other. It is often destructive of others. We will again use the Book of Mormon to provide a parade example of signaling a tribal “truth” of trustworthiness, unity, and superiority through the lie of storytelling.
 
In Alma 31, we meet a group of “dissenters” designated, “Zoramites.” After dissenting from their Nephite religious tradition—a dissent that also had political overtones and repercussions—they established their own form of religion, religious institutions, and sacred places. They built themselves a high platform which they designated, “rameumptom.” From this sacred space, they prayed. Like many cultic prayers, including LDS sacrament prayers, it was always the same prayer.
 
Holy, holy God; we believe that thou art God,
and we believe that thou art holy,
and that thou wast a spirit, and that thou art a spirit,
and that thou wilt be a spirit forever.
Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren;
and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren,
which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers;
but we believe that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children;
and also thou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ.
But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever;
and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved,
whilst all around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell;
for the which holiness, O God, we thank thee;
and we also thank thee that thou hast elected us,
that we may not be led away after the foolish traditions of our brethren,
which doth bind them down to a belief of Christ,
which doth lead their hearts to wander far from thee, our God.
And again we thank thee, O God,
that we are a chosen and a holy people.
Amen.”[4]
 
This is storytelling in the form of prayer. It is an act of signaling. It signals unity. It signals community. It signals superiority or “election.” Now, often when we consider this Zoramite storytelling/ prayer, we focus on its doctrinal falsehoods, especially the one in which they proclaim that God “hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ.” It is true that “factually,” the prayer/ story is mostly lies and half-truths. But anthropologically, it possesses a great group “truth” that is far more important than the facts.
 
“Thou hast separated us from our brethren”
“We do not believe in the tradition of our brethren”
“Thou hast elected us to be thy holy children”
“Thou hast elected us that we shall be saved”
“All around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell”
“[We] thank thee that thou hast elected us”
“We [are] not… led away after the foolish traditions of our brethren”
“We are a chosen and a holy people”
 
The stories that the GOP presidential and vice-presidential candidates are telling about immigrants eating citizen’s pets fills the same function as this Zoramite prayer. It establishes and solidifies group identity and unity.
 
It does little good to wonder and ask whether those who adopt the lying stories such as that of the Zoramites or the GOP presidential and vice-presidential candidates believe the lies contained in the story. The signal is more important to those who disseminate and accept the stories than the facts. And the signal is anthropologically “true”—though the man who goes always unnamed can pervert even this, as the only “us” he is truly interested in is the “I,” “me,” “myself.” The signal bears witness that they have all been elected into the same superior tribe and all others are going to hell: the facts be damned.
 
Of course, as we have seen, such lying storytelling does lead to hell. However, it is those who perpetrate such lying stories and those who adopt the lying stories as their own who are in danger of suffering he darkness of hell.
 


  conclusion

There are, Jesus teaches, two commandments: love God and love others. These two can be seen as a summary of what is arguably the most famous commandments in human history: the Ten Commandments. The first three commandments concern the love of God. The last six commandments concern the love of others. The fourth commandment can be viewed as a transitional command, focused on both love of God and love of others.
 
The final seven commandments are stipulations against doing harm to others. The fourth, transitional, commandment concerns the observance of a day of rest. To not observe a day of rest—especially at the societal level—is to harm workers (including animals!), treating them not so very differently than the Egyptians treated the Israelites in enslaving them.[5] To disregard the commandment to honor one’s parents harms them in the later years when they are in need of help from their younger more able children. The harm that is done to others when there is failure to observe the commandments prohibiting murder, adultery, theft, lying about others, and covetousness is obvious.
 
The Ten Commandments, then, at the very least teach us to do no harm. Lumped in with the harms is that of lying about others. The prohibition against lying is not simply a prohibition against making false statements of facts. Lies are more than false statements of facts. Lies are false statements of facts with the intent to do harm.
 
Those who altered the text found on the 116 manuscript pages created a lying story to catch another in their supposed lie. They lied with the intent to do harm. The language of DC 10 is stronger than this, however. Those who altered the text found on the 116 manuscript pages and created a lying story intended to ”destroy.” This is repeated over and over again in Section 10. They intended to destroy the young man, Joseph, (10.6, 19, 25). They intended to destroy “the work” he was trying to accomplish (10.12, 23). They intended to destroy “the gift” he had been given to accomplish the work (10.7). This intent to destroy through telling a lying story was directly inspired by Satan.
 
“He saith unto them: ‘Deceive and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy.”[6] 
 
This whispered anti-revelation of using a lie to destroy—the only kind of “lie” that spiritually exists—was sin. It made no difference whether the other was right or wrong. Even lying about or against another liar is sin. This whispered anti-revelation of using a lie to destroy is consistent with the very character and intention of Lucifer himself who “goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the souls of men.”[7]
 
Satan is the very “father of lies.”[8] He it is who inspires those who create lying stories. Just as those who altered the lost manuscript and created a lie to deceive and destroy, America’s present GOP presidential and vice-presidential candidates have create a lying story to deceive and to destroy. Whereas those who altered the manuscript remain in obscurity and hid their deeds, the GOP vice presidential candidate, anyway, has opening admitted to creating a lying story in order to catch others in a supposed lie—one of omission. More perfectly satanic and more steeped in the art of lying than his vice-presidential partner, the GOP presidential candidate makes no admission of lying. Like Lucifer, he is incapable of distinguishing truth from fiction and lives only to destroy. He will say anything as long as it fits his destructive purposes.
 
The lying story these two servants of Satan have created is intended to do harm to immigrants living in central Ohio. Indeed, it has done harm to thousands of innocent and legal immigrants living in central Ohio. But the lying stories these two demons tell about central Ohio immigrants are not intended to harm only central Ohio immigrants. They are intended to harm immigrants in every state, town, county, and community in America. Indeed, the GOP presidential candidate has been open from the very beginning of his terrifying entrance onto the national stage about his intent to do them harm.
 
Those who gladly received and adopt the lying story may or may not believe the facts of the story. But they believe the anthropological signal the lying story sends. They believe the liar is one of them and that they are one with the liar. They are members of the same tribe and possess the same election. The acceptance of the lying story establishes and solidifies group identity and unity. Unfortunately, in receiving and adopting the lying story they also reveal themselves to possess the same spirit of harmfulness and destruction. They join the throng of satanic angels who rejoice in Satan’s plan to destroy the souls of as many humans as possible.
 
Among the many wonders Enoch saw in his visions, “he beheld Satan.” He saw that Satan “had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness.” He saw that Satan “looked up and laughed” as he saw the suffering that the darkness caused. And he saw that Satan’s “angels rejoiced.”[9]
 
I sincerely suggest that my readers resist and combat the two satanic angels who create lying stories to destroy lest they become numbered among the choirs of satanic angels who rejoice in the destruction that Satan brings until, sooner or later, they find themselves chained with the veil of darkness and destruction that they thought to inflict upon others through their beloved lying stories.
 
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!


[1] DC 10.25
[2] Enos 1.20
[3] Jeremiah 3.3
[4] Alma 31.15-18
[5] See Deuteronomy 5.12-15
[6] DC 10.25
[7] DC 10.27
[8] See 2 Nephi 9.9
[9] See Moses 7.26