Methods of Deception, Part 3

Shawn McCraney critically analyzes a BBC documentary featuring LDS Apostle Jeffrey Holland, arguing that Holland's demeanor and statements reveal a defensive pride and suggest that Mormonism is more of a religious business than a spiritual truth. He expresses pity and concern for those who trust in LDS leadership, emphasizing that secular exposure of these methods highlights a deception overlooked by national Christian leaders, who mistakenly embrace Mormonism through shared emotional expressions rather than confronting its manipulative practices.

Shawn emphasizes the need for religious leaders, particularly within the LDS Church, to renounce unbiblical doctrines and pursue truthfulness, encouraging a move towards genuine Christianity based on grace and liberty through Christ. He critiques the methods of deception employed by the LDS Church, highlighting inconsistency between public declarations and private beliefs, and calls for an understanding of biblical teachings on race that reject discriminatory interpretations.

The teachings discussed emphasize that God does not show partiality, valuing all people equally regardless of race or status, as reflected in biblical verses like Romans 2:11 and Colossians 3:10-11. However, Shawn addresses the historical racial teachings within the LDS Church, critiquing the past doctrines that associated skin color with spiritual worth and criticizing the continuation of these beliefs despite official statements from leaders like Jeffrey Holland who have called such past explanations "speculations" and "folklore."

The LDS Church does not tolerate racism in any form and states that past reasons for why black individuals could not hold the priesthood are speculative and not doctrinal. While current leaders assert anti-racism, historical texts like the Book of Mormon have been interpreted as espousing ideas of racial differences correlating with worthiness, although such beliefs are now officially repudiated by the church.

Shawn's teaching highlights the presence of racial doctrines in Mormon texts, stating that the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price describe the black skin curse narrative, associating it with the descendants of Cain and Ham and implying priesthood limitations. Despite these historical teachings, the LDS Church now publicly asserts that previous racially-based restrictions were not doctrinal but rather based on speculation and folklore, distancing themselves from such explanations.

The teachings of this period, particularly by leaders such as Brigham Young and Mark E. Petersen, emphasized a belief that skin color and race were determined by actions in a pre-mortal existence, with those seen as less valiant being born with darker skin and facing certain spiritual limitations. This doctrine held that individuals of African descent were restricted from priesthood blessings due to this belief system, though acceptance of the gospel in their mortal life could lead to eventual celestial rewards, albeit with restrictions.

The teaching by Shawn critiques the historical discriminatory doctrines of the LDS Church regarding race, particularly highlighting how entrenched prejudices were justified by religious texts and leaders' teachings, leading to generational biases and confusion over doctrinal changes, such as allowing priesthood for all races in 1978. It examines the lasting impact of these doctrines on individual faith and the moral struggle faced by believers when confronted with institutional deception and the realization of having been misled.

Securities and religious fraud both exploit deception to manipulate trust, entice investments, and sustain these scams through ongoing deceit. To avoid such fraud, it is advised to embrace a steadfast faith that remains consistent and unchanging.