Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons

Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons







No Johnny-Come-Lately: The 182-Year-Long BLACK Mormon Moment Darius Gray


Diversity in the Mormon Church (1/4)


A Black Mormon Stands Against the KKK (2/4)


Jane Manning: Black, Mormon, Strong (3/4)


An Accurate History of Black Mormons (4/4)


SEE ALSO:

JOSEPH SMITH FOUGHT POLYGAMY: The Exoneration of Emma, Joseph, and Hyrum (2017)
http://bethanymagdalene.blogspot.com/2017/11/this-treatise-grew-out-of-mr.html

POST-PATAI Scholarship on the Hebrew / Christian Goddess

Most cutting-edge scholarship to date by top Biblical scholars. This stuff is AMAZING!!!

Are there Old Testament roots of the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary? Margaret Barker traces the roots of the devotion to Mary as Mother of the Lord back to the Old Testament and the first temple in Jerusalem. The evidence is consistent over more than a millennium: there had been a female deity in Israel, the Mother figure in the Royal cult, who had been abandoned about 600BCE. She was almost written out of the Hebrew text, almost excluded from the canon.

This first of two volumes traces the history of the Lady in the Temple, and looks forward to the second volume in which Barker will show how the Lady of the Temple is reclaimed in the advent of Christianity, and becomes the Lady in the Church. The result is breathtaking, and like all Barker's work, is impossible to put down.

A Great Mystery: The Secret of the Jerusalem Temple by
Eugene Seaich

In this thoroughly provocative book, the late Eugene Seaich made a detailed study of the intractable mystery of the Jerusalem temple. Using historical sources and ingenious detective work, Seaich suggested that the cherubim in Solomon's temple were portrayed in a copulatory embrace. Aware that this thesis was not entirely novel, the author built a substantial case in its favor and traced the influence of the atonement (at-one-ment) theology behind the concept through the periods of Israel's wisdom school, into the New Testament and Gnostic sources, up through the Middle Ages.

Seaich was a close associate of Patai and took this line of research even farther. He also was a Mormon who authored an amazing book on entheogens and religion:

"In The Far Off Land Eugene Seaich discusses the perennially fascinating topic of such mind-altering drugs as mescaline, psilocybin, and LSD, both how they appear in Nature and in the laboratory. This road has been traveled before, but Eugene takes a fascinating detour. He goes back millennia, glimpses the future, and goes deeply within his own psyche leading to a better understanding of the mind and our consciousness. These chemicals can be used as tools to help better lives, cure mental illness, transcend our conciousness and ultimitly to improve humanity . The reader might start reading about this "far off land," thinking that is an exotic destination. But after a few chapters, the engrossing prose will be reminiscent of one's home turf."

-Stanley Krippner, Ph.D.

THIS IS AN AMAZING PODCAST (MP3) ON THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. SEAICH:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120125033949/http://www.backyardprofessor.com/the_backyard_professor/files/eugene_seaich01.mp3


MORE ON THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. SEAICH:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Eugene-Seaich/226146687467770

Mother Goddess Wisdom in the Book of Mormon

For parts 1-6 click HERE

Transformation through Family History: The Power of Genealogy

The original story appears HERE:

The New York Times
April 13, 2008
Editorial Notebook
Of Witches and the Wait for Justice
By MAURA J. CASEY

In 1662, the colonists of Hartford accused 39-year-old Mary Sanford of witchcraft. Based on evidence — drinking wine and dancing around a bonfire — the court pronounced her guilty “for not having the feare of God before thyne eyes.” Sanford was hanged, leaving behind five children and a shaken husband who was later acquitted of similar charges.

More than three centuries later, Sanford’s descendants, 14-year-old Addie Avery and her mother, Debra, of New Milford, Conn., have petitioned the State Legislature to exonerate their distant grandmother and 10 other people executed for witchcraft. The fight has taught them something, perhaps more than they wanted to know, about the mob mentality.

The Averys did not always know they had a forebear accused of being a witch. A relative told them of their lineage and Sanford’s fate before a 2005 lecture on the Connecticut colony’s witch trials, which were sparked by widespread hysteria long before the better-known Salem witch trials of 1692. The lecture led to research, and the Averys took the first small steps toward asking the Legislature for exoneration. Along the way, they have learned what comes of taking a public stand.

Addie, who is home-schooled, researched every witch case in the colony. She was surprised to learn that all but two of the executed were women. Community leaders had presided over trials where the accused were usually the least educated and the least powerful. Women fit that bill nicely.

(Not much has changed there. Of the 170 people Connecticut has executed in over 300 years, only one was a college graduate, said Lawrence B. Goodheart, a University of Connecticut professor of history.)

Soon, the Averys’ lobbying attracted the support of other descendants of those who were accused. But critics spoke out, too, lashing out on Internet blogs. Ms. Avery was shaken to read the harsh comments, which reminded her of the mob frenzy that her ancestor faced. “The world has changed, but people haven’t,” she said.

Addie said she got a new education when she decided to publicly defend her ancestor. To her mother’s amazement, the attacks didn’t bother the suddenly thick-skinned teenager. “There are worse things than mockery,” Addie said. “Now, I’m not afraid to stand up when I see something wrong.”

Connecticut is slow to admit fault. It is not likely to soon join such states as Massachusetts and Virginia in acknowledging the injustice done to those accused in the witch hunts. A legislative committee passed on the issue this year.

But the prospect of returning to the Legislature next year, attending hearings and beginning the process all over again doesn’t seem to bother the Averys, least of all Addie. It may have taken more than 340 years, but finally someone is speaking up for Mary Sanford.

“I’ve discovered myself by honoring Mary,” Addie said.

Quotes of the Day

Minnesota Historical Society


“Well behaved women seldom make history” – Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Mormon, Pulitzer Prize Winner

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“On a visit to Salt Lake City a few years ago, Gloria Steinem quipped that the L.D.S. Church had probably created more feminists than she ever had.” – Margaret Toscano

2007 Sunstone Report

This year @ SUNSTONE:

I learned that my pioneer ancestors were entheogen-imbibing anarchists.
I contemplated the yoga of Christ, practiced meditation for Mormons, flirted with a mohawked lesbian in the lobby, had the pleasure of hearing an Anais Nin quote during my panel session, and to top it off - Dennis Potter looked hot in fishnet stockings under his ripped jeans and purple finger-nail polish!

I attended a private test-screening of Richard Dutcher's latest film FALLING and found it to be one of the most harrowing yet beautiful films I've ever seen. Richard's attention to detail in this film is exquisite. This is his best one yet.

CLICK HERE for the PROGRAM

TO BE CONTINUED ~ stay tuned for the Salt Lake City report!

Women's Spirituality @ SUNSTONE 2007

I returned to Sunstone this year for a panel on women's spirituality. MP3's will be available for download soon @ http://sunstoneonline.com/ LIFE IS A HIGHWAY: EXPANDED POSSIBILITIES IN MORMON WOMEN’S SPIRITUALITY Kathy Wilson, Jana Bouck Remy, Elizabeth Quick, Michael Farnsworth, Sharon Kennedy Elizabeth Quick Doe Daughtrey & Elizabeth Quick LISTEN FREE ONLINE:

https://sunstone.org/life-is-a-highway-expanded-possibilities-in-mormon-womens-spirituality/

Abstract Twenty-first-century Mormon women of all ages continue to discover new avenues for expressing their spirituality, developing spiritual gifts, and coming to terms with patterns that haven’t served them. As they adapt the old and integrate the new, they create new spiritual possibilities for themselves and ultimately for those who stand beside them and come after them. In the tradition of past Sunstone panels on human potential and women’s spirituality, this panel explores the spiritual journey of Latter-day Saint women who embark on alternate paths through practices such as dreamwork, channeling, and earth-based ritual, and who maintain (though not without struggle) intimate relationships while engaging in extra-Mormon spiritual practices. Moderator/ DOE DAUGHTREY, doctoral candidate, religion, Panelist Arizona State University; member, Sunstone board of directors Panelists MICHAEL FARNWORTH, Ed.D., educational psychology; recently retired from Ricks College marriage and family relations department JANA BOUCK REMY, doctoral candidate, American history, University of California, Irvine; blogger at Exponent II, SunstoneBlog, and PILGRIMGIRL.BLOGSPOT.COM SHARON KENNEDY, high school teacher, Carlsbad, California; mother of five KATHY WILSON, artist, art gallery owner, Salt Lake City ELIZABETH QUICK, M.A. student in women’s spirituality, New College of California, San Francisco; maintains several blogs and websites, including, In Memory of Her (HTTP:// BETHANYMAGDALENE.ATSPACE.COM/HOME.HTM) and Priestess Academy (HTTP://PRIESTESSACADEMY. BLOGSPOT.COM) Room Market Street

The Mushrooms of Mormonism - NEW LINK UPDATED

THIS is PART 2 in a SERIES of REVIEWS & COMMENTARY on SUNSTONE 2007

EVERY SESSION WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD @ http://sunstoneonline.com/symposium/symp-mp3s.asp within the next few weeks

CLICK HERE FOR THE TEXT OF DR. BECKSTEAD'S PRESENTATION

I told Robert Beckstead during this session that I dare say that this was the most important session at Sunstone this year! The one thing I contributed to this session was an anecdote about how I heard one of the world's leading ethnomycologists, JAMES ARTHUR say on Coast to Coast AM, a few years back (before he tragically died) that he wanted to write a book called the Mushrooms of Mormondom (or something very close to that).

Paper:
THE RESTORATION AND THE SACRED
MUSHROOM: DID JOSEPH SMITH USE
PSYCHEDELICS TO FACILITATE HIS
VISIONARY EXPERIENCES?

Presenter ROBERT BECKSTEAD, M.D., emergency physician,
Pocatello, Idaho; medical hypnotherapist; integrative
medicine coordinator

Abstract Gnosticism and shamanism practice techniques
of “knowing”—entering spiritual dimensions and
experiencing the ineffable, both heavenly and
hellish. Derivative forms of these ancient traditions
were practiced in upstate New York during Joseph
Smith’s formative years. Interestingly, shamans and
Gnostics used certain psychotropic plants and fungi
during rituals and ceremonies to facilitate trance
states. Used in this setting, psychoactive substances
are often called “entheogen,” meaning to manifest
“God within.” I will review the use of entheogens in
shamanic and Gnostic traditions and the evidence
that puts Joseph Smith in proximity to their use.
It will also show how the use of entheogens can
reproduce many of the paranormal and mythmaking
abilities Joseph manifested.

Respondent Questions from the audience
Chair EUGENE KOVALENKO
Room Weights and Measures

INTEGRAL MORMONISM

ASCENDING DESCENDING and TANTRIC THEMATIC PRACTICES
by Mormonism's own Ken Wilbur - JOHN KESLER

I attended my first session today at Sunstone. This (3 hr.) workshop was a hub of synchronicity for me!

MEDITATION FOR MORMONS with JOHN
KESLER

Description

The primary purpose of this workshop is to introduce
meditative practices that invite Mormons into the
mystical implications of their own tradition but also to
stretch a bit beyond the Mormon “spiritual field.”
A practicing Mormon, John Kesler has explored
many approaches to meditation including learning
from a number of teachers of the mystical schools
of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. In this
context, John is one of a handful of people who
have received transmission to facilitate a Zen
meditative practice, the “big mind process”
developed by Genpo Roshi, the leader of the largest
Zen lineage headquartered outside of Japan. John
has developed and teaches a meditative system
which he calls “integral thematic practice.”
John will introduce several meditations that resonate
with the patterns and practices of the Mormon
tradition. Because they draw on the resonances of
the Mormon spiritual field, a Latter-day Saint who
participates in these meditations may get the eerie
feeling that “I have been in this space before” even
without ever having participated in meditation. John
will also introduce a few meditations which other
traditions would suggest would be fruitful meditative
explorations.

Instructor

JOHN KESLER is an attorney, consultant, and
lecturer. He is founder and executive director of
the Salt Lake Center for Engaging Community,
and speaks and consults regarding community
flourishing and transformation. John developed and
teaches meditation and related practices called
“integral thematic practice” reflecting Mormon, Zen,
and other influences. He is also a founding member
of the Ken Wilber-led Integral Institute and its politics
center and founding teacher of the Integral Spiritual
Center of the Integral Institute.

Mary Magdalene

And the companion of the [Lord] Mary Magdalene.

[He] loved her more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often on her mouth.

The rest of the disciples... They said to him "Why do you love her more than all of us?"

The Savior answered and said to them,"Why do I not love you like her?

When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness,

they are no different from one another.

When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light,

and he who is blind will remain in darkness."

--The Gospel of Phillip, Nag Hammadi Library


Free Online Articles and Books

• Was Mary Magdalene the author of the Fourth Gospel?
• The Magdalene and the Tarot
• Magdalene.org
• Mary Magdalene - Wild Woman of the Bible
• The Maya of Magdalenas
• Mary Magdalene, Bride of Christ, First Woman Apostle and Early Leader of the Gospel
• The Nag Hammadi Library
• The Pistis Sophia
• The Da Vinci Code: Official Website

Recommended Viewing

• A&E's Biography Series - Mary Magdalene: The Hidden Apostle