Most of these affluent Mormons looked upon others in what I call "The Verticle Scale". In other words, everyone who approached them, or they approached, they put on a Verticle Scale. You were either their equal, or inferior. If an "inferior" then the Golden Rule did not apply to "YOU". You had to show them humble defference, and if they showed you condescending niceties (like saying "How are you?"), they thought they were doing YOU a favor!
Myself, I always believed in the "Horizontal Scale" with others; that you treat ALL others with respect, until they show you disrespect, then I was no longer obligated to show them respect. THEY, on the other hand, believed that if I was not their "equal" (and I NEVER was), then it did not matter how they treated me. The "Golden Rule" did not apply to "inferiors".
Being around affluent Mormons made me finally understand HOW the white people of the South were before the 1970s when healthy young white men expected old unhealthy black women to give up their seats on the bus. Affluent Mormons had that same sort of ABSOLUTE ARROGANCE. They still do.
And, of course, at that time, the Church was NOT teaching against that. The Church was teaching: "If you go to your meetings and obey your leaders and pay your tithing then you'll be BLESSED". By "blessed" it means "stuff"; promotions at work, safety in travel, divine healing. The Gurus of India tell their followers the same thing: Give the elephant and monkey gods flowers and food, and GIVE US YOUR MONEY, and you'll be BLESSED (i.e. get stuff) from the gods. I came to realize that the Mormons were NO DIFFERENT than the Hindus of India! They were exactly the same!
The Mormon thinks: "Well, this Church MUST be true! Look at how the Lord has blessed me! I have a sexy wife, a nice car, job promotions, a good business, healthy children! Wow! It MUST be true!"
The Hindu thinks: "Well, the Ganesh Temple must be true! Look at how Lord Ganesh [the elephant-headed god] has blessed me! I have a sexy wife, a nice car, a good business, healthy children! Wow! It MUST be true!"
Both are self-deluded. I knew that material success is NO SIGN of having a true religion. If it was, we should all be Jews and curse Jesus daily, because the Jews are most successful of any one group!
WHY has God "blessed" a people with so much material success, when in fact Jews REJECT Jesus as the Messiah????
The fact is: The Gospel of Jesus Christ, what He actually PREACHED, was NOTHING about earthly material success! Nothing! In fact, Jesus preached the EXACT OPPOSITE!
But, how could I convince Mormons of that when their own "inspired leaders" taught them that material success WAS a "blessing" of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Back in 1995, I was considering returning to the Church. I considered Joseph Smith a "fallen prophet"; not a false one. I thought that I could "change from within"; meaning that if I wrote books and articles, and Mormons read them, it would somehow, eventually, perhaps over decades, "change" Mormon culture from one of total hypocrisy into what it should be. I wrote a number of articles, and, at great expense to myself, mailed them to Institute and Seminary teachers all around Utah, Idaho, and Arizona. My thought was, if I could "change the thinking" of CES teachers, then they would "teach" differently, and eventually "change the thinking" of young Mormons, and eventually these young Mormons would "change the thinking" of the Church.
Boy....was I STUPID (yes, even more so than now)!
Here is what I wrote and mailed out in 1995, when I was considering returning to the Church (I never did):
Dear Seminary Teacher/Institute Instructor,
What I call "The Gospel of Gain" has replaced the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many affluent Wards in the Church. The Gospel of Gain is basically this:
*The purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to make us successful in this life and the next; to get us blessing of health and wealth in this life, and to become Gods and Goddesses in the next.
That is NOT the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
The Gospel of Jesus Christ promises NO RICHES OR WEALTH or even HEALTH in this life. Jesus said:
"In the world ye shall have tribulation." (John 16:33)
He also said: "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matt. 19:24)
"Blessed are the poor who are pure in heart...for they shall see the kingdom of God." (D&C 56:18)
The "good news" of Jesus Christ, the "good news" that He preached was "good news unto the poor"! The Pharisees and Sadducees had taught the people that wealth was a "sign" of righteousness (a doctrine believed today by most affluent Latter-day Saints); a "sign" that the LORD had "blessed" you. It logically followed that the poor were dispised because it was thought "they weren't blessed" and therefore they were UNrighteous!
Jesus came and said just the opposite. He said the POOR were blessed, and the RICH would NOT get into heaven?
Why? Because riches expand the EGO, and a HUGE EGO stopped one from Heaven just as a camel could not get through the eye of a needle.
Mormon culture has said that if you are active in Church the LORD will give you "blessings" (i.e. material success, health, attractive spouse). Most Latter-day Saints are told this from birth. But, The Book of Mormon nor the Gospels teach this!
A person DOES NOT NEED the Church in order to become materially successful, to find an attractive spouse, nor to have healthy well-behaved children. It is a "MYTH". It is a false tradition.
I know that most of you were raised to believe that if you are active in the Church and "worthy" you will get earthly "blessings". But that is a false tradition; a tradition that sends false singles, false expectations, and ultimately leads to MAMMON WORSHIP.
Many Members of the Church today worship MAMMON (earthly riches). They do. I'll give you an example of one such man.
Incident at the Lake Osewgo Young Adult Home Evening in 1993
I remember an incident back in 1993, when I lived in Vancouver, Washington. I had heard about a Young Adult Home Evening at a young adult ward on a Monday night in Lake Oswego, just outside of Portland. Not having anything to do that Monday evening, I decided to attend. Instead of a speaker, or an activity, somebody brought a tape. It was a "motivational" tape, the speaker, a motivational speaker. All he talked about was how to "become wealthy". After it was over, the person who brought the video, the 1st counselor in the Young Adult Ward bishopric, a man about 47 years old, about 5'9", but was a MASSIVE chest and very powerful arms, asked various young adults how they liked the tape. All of them said, "Wow! I LOVED it!" He smiled and was pleased. As I walked outside and started down the hall, he came up beside me and asked, "How did you like the video?" I replied, "I didn't care for it." He looked shocked. The smile went off his face, and he asked my why I thought that way. I said to him something like, "I think a Home Evening should be a spiritual event where the Gospel is preached, not something about success and wealth and how to achieve it!" He looked at me and half-way smiled and said, "Well, that's what the Gospel IS ALL ABOUT isn't it? How to become a success in life!" I said, "No, it's not!"
He looked at me like I'd spit on his mother! He took one of his MASSIVE arms and SLAMMED me against the white cool wall of the Chapel hallway; pinning me with his arm. He pressed his face against mine and said, "Now WAIT A MINUTE!!!! WAIT A MINUTE!!!! How DARE you say that to ME!!!!"
I literally had to calm him down. He finally released me, and, very cordially, said, "Can I speak with you outside for a second?" I went out with him. As soon as we were outside he got within a half-inch of me, and looked up and said, "I should KICK YOUR ASS RIGHT HERE! I should KICK YOUR PUNK ASS RIGHT HERE! You punks don't scare me! You punks don't scare me!" At the time I was about 185 pounds, with "the arms of a girl" (as my friends used to say). Again, I had to calm him down.
And we had a "talk". He believed that the very PURPOSE of the Gospel was to "become a success" (i.e. to achieve wealth and success in this life and become a God in the next). I told him that I believed the purpose of the Gospel was to teach us how to treat others, to love others. I told him the Gospel meant the "good news" that Jesus Christ had come and paid for our sins. That is what "Gott-Spel" (Anglo-Saxon for Good News) meant. It was about Jesus and what He did for us; not about us becoming a success. I gave him the example of the Jews in America. They thought Jesus was a FALSE Christ. Yet, were not most of them successful? Did they not achieve material wealth WITHOUT the "Gospel" (as he understood it)? After I said that he got an expression on his face like he suddenly realized something he had never thought of before.
Later, I wrote a note to the bishop of that ward, suggesting that he say something about this incident. I tried to speak with him (the bishop of that YSA ward) a number of times, but he'd say, "I'm too busy. I've got too many Courts!" I wrote a note and said, "Perhaps you would not have so many Courts if your ward Members were told to 'repent!" I soon saw him. He put his arm around me and said, "Boy, if I preached Hell-fire and brimestone, nobody would come to Church!" I replied, "But at least they might repent!" He DISPISED me from that day on, and, whenever he saw me, would say, "How are you doing ___BOY___?"
Anyway, this is just another example (and I have HUNDREDS) of Mormons worshipping "Success" and $$$. Go to any affluent ward, and you'll never, if ever, hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached. You'll hear the Gospel of Gain, over and over and over and over and over again.
For most Mormons born into affluent wards, they are NEVER taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ (unless they independently read The Book of Mormon or the New Testament or go on a mission). They are raised to believe that the Gospel is about "wealth, success, achieving goals, etc". Many of these people DESPISE THE POOR! I know, I attended some of these wards while I was poor. Many wouldn't even talk to me.
This problem isn't so bad in affluent wards in Utah, but go to affluent wards in California, or Mesa Arizona, or affluent wards in the Pacific Northwest. You'll sit in Church, and you can FEEL the darkness surrounding you.
The Gospel of Gain has KILLED the Spirit in these wards. Perhaps this is why the Brethren are so concerned; having such a difficult time with men who cheat on their wives, or women marrying rich Gentile men, or sexual sin among youth. They aren't being taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Young Mormons born into affluent wards are NEVER told about Hell! Never! Many of them despise the poor just as their grandfathers or greatgrandfathers dispised "Negroes" or others they thought "inferior" to themselves. Their greatgrandfathers were RACISTS. But they are not "racists". That's not "politically-correct". They are ELITISTS today. They're the same kind of people, but instead of racism they believe in elitism. Many who attend BYU KNOW how these wealthy LDS youth from California and Arizona (and Oregon and Washington) are:
*Braggarts
*Self-centered
*Narcissistic
*Ego-driven
*Immoral
*Dishonest
*Elitist
*Despisers of the Poor
They are, in almost all ways, JUST LIKE the Nephites before they were UTTERLY destroyed. In many, MANY, affluent Wards in the U.S., the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been COMPLETELY replaced by the Gospel of Gain. And the "fruits" are now coming into fruition.
To Prosper in the Land
Many Members think that Church activity promises them wealth. Does not The Book of Mormon say that if we obey the LORD and His servants we shall "prosper in the land"?
It does, but in Joseph Smith's day "prosper" did not mean wealth! Here are a few examples of how the word was used when The Book of Mormon was translated:
Lucy Mack Smith wrote to Oliver Cowdery:
"Samuel remained with his brother untill july or August he then went back to the State of New York and brought us news of their success and prosperity. This roused in Martin Harris a great desire to go down to Penn to see how they were prospering for himself aas he was more than commonly interested in the matter." (Biographical Sketches, p.118)
In fact, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were poorer than Church mice (i.e. churches are clean and have no food and the mice starv for want of food) when they were working on The Book of Mormon translation in Harmony, Pennsylvania! What did Lucy mean by "success" and "prospering"? Certainly NOT they were getting wealthy!
Here is another example: Joseph Smith writes:
"I arrived at home on Sunn morn. the 4th after a prosperous journey...." (Letter of Joseph Smith to Oliver Cowdery, Oct. 22nd, 1829, LDS Church Archives)
Did Joseph Smith make a lot of money on that journey! No! He was poor...poorer than poor!
In Joseph Smith's time to "prosper" and "prosperity" did NOT mean "to become rich/wealthy" as it means today! The word "prosper" and "prosperity" were the opposite of "adverse" and "adversity". To "prosper" meant you had no adversity, and had nothing to do with money or wealth or position; as many Members of the Church think today.
The Prophet Mormon in The Book of Mormon, has a prophetic vision of the "Mormons" of the latter-days. He addresses them, saying:
35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
36 And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.
37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.
38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?
39 Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?” (Mormon 8: 35-39)
This is a "FIT" discription of many affluent Wards, especially in California and Arizona! I know, I've belonged to such Wards where "wealth" and earthly accomplishment are seen as "signs" that one has been "blessed" by God, and poverty or a lowly status in the things of the world is seen as a "sign" one is has been "cursed" by God (not blessed), and that one is leading a very "unworthy" life engrossed in secret unrepentant sins. Often, the exact opposite is true! Truly, the poor are DESPISED by many of the more aflluent Members of the Church, who have been taught in their Wards since birth, and who believe that the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" is a "way" to "make one a success in life".
That is NOT the purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
But you cannot tell these people that, or they'll want to kill you.
Please....let your students KNOW that there is no promise of wealth/prosperity in the Book of Mormon, which is a fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The term "Prosperity" in the Book of Mormon means what it meant in Joseph Smith's day, NOT OUR DAY, and it meant the opposite of adversity. It did NOT mean the "opposite of poverty" as it means today!
Let them KNOW that, or some of them will continue to believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about how "to succeed in life". And it is NOT about that! It isn't about aquiring wealth in this life, but treasures in heaven!
It is my hope that you can do as Jesus did. While these Mormon youth are promised "earthly goodies" on Sunday, during the week you tell them just the opposite; that we should store up treasures in heaven, and that riches are not a "sign" of being blessed, but rather a hindrance to entering the Celestial Kingdom. That is what Jesus actually taught, and was one of the main teachings of His Gospel! Today, many in the Church teach the exact opposite under the name of the "Mormon Philosophy"; which is a Philosophy of Men, mingled with Scripture.
My family hates the red hair, but my friends and everyone at work loves it. LOL