text:
The Most Ridiculous and Revealing Claim of Mormonism – How the Arrogance of Joseph Smith Jr. Eventually Destroyed Mormonism
A detailed analysis of the Joseph Smith Jr. translation of the Holy Bible – Book of Genesis Chapter 17 – The Covenant of Circumcision between God and Abraham
Written by Lee B. Baker Former Mormon Bishop
Copyright © 2016 Author Lee B. Baker
All rights reserved.
Cover Art used by Permission – Utah State Historical Society
This book is dedicated to the several Mormon Leaders, Scholars and Teachers listed below, who have arrogantly refused to explain or even provide a single comment specific to the Joseph Smith Jr. translation of the Book of Genesis, Chapter 17.
Their rejection to do so has served as the primary motivation for this uniquely focused study of the personal motives, biblical skills and questionable character of Joseph Smith Jr. and the "translation" Smith wrote between 1830 – 1833, which was in fact an irrelevant and self-aggrandizing version of The Holy Bible, King James Version
In Special Acknowledgement of the Arrogance and Conceit of:
Mr. David E. Premont of Olney, Maryland Of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Church Education System – Baltimore Seminary and Institute Coordinator; Baltimore, Columbia, Seneca Maryland and Wilmington Delaware Stakes
Mr. Robert B. Vukich of South Jordan, Utah
Church Historian, Instructor and Scholar Of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIRMormon.org)
All profits from the sales of this book will be used in support of Christian outreach opportunities to the Mormon people and activities that promote and protect the First Amendment of The Constitution of the United States of America.
For additional information on the history, beliefs, practices and doctrines of The Mormon Church, Read:
"Mormonism – A Life Under False Pretenses, 2nd Edition The True Story of a Mormon Bishop's Journey of Discovery " By Lee B. Baker
|The Most Ridiculous and Revealing Claim of Mormonism – A Synopsis of the Issues in Context
|The Purpose and Authority of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible – The Authoritative Mormon Perspective
|Epilogue and Conclusions
|About the Author
|Appendix A – On the Grammar of Genesis 17:11 as Translated by Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, by Ken G. Marks
Special Thanks to:
The Utah State Historical Society, Records and Photographs Departments, Salt Lake City, Utah
Church History Department, Research Center and Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus Campus and the Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies
Bible Institute of Los Angeles, BIOLA – Division of Biblical and Theological Studies, Old Testament – Professor David Talley
Professor Camille Frank Olson, Department Chair, Ancient Scripture, Brigham Young University
Professor Richard E. Bennett, Department Chair, Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University
Rabbi Aaron Naka, Rabbi Elyakir Cevanon and Rabbi Miguel Icekson Fassler
Edited by Kenneth G. Marks
The Most Ridiculous and Revealing Claim of Mormonism – A Synopsis of the Issues in Context
About an hour before sunset, at the base of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, I was perilously balanced on the razor thin threshold between an enormous intellectual embarrassment and a major religious offense. Within the most sacred Jewish location on earth, I had just asked Rabbi Miguel Icekson Fassler[1], "Did Abraham, as the Father and Patriarch of all Jews, fail to follow God's very clear and simple Covenant of Circumcision?"
The distinguished Rabbi slowly closed the Torah, held it to his chest, squinted his eyes and said, "Mr. Baker, you apparently have no concept whatsoever of who Abraham is, not who Abraham was… but who he is." I then explained that the question specific to Abraham's competency was not rhetorical or allegorical, nor was it actually mine. I provided Rabbi Fassler with a five-minute overview of Mormonism and the purpose, function and authority of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, as used by the Mormon Church today.
The Mormon Church, through Joseph Smith Jr.'s "Inspired Translation" of the Bible, proclaims to the world that Abraham, the Father and revered Patriarch of the Jews, Christians and Muslims was acutely incompetent or, at the very least, slightly unreliable with some very important instructions from God. According to Mormonism, Abraham completely failed at his very first covenant with "YHWH", Yahweh or Elohim.
It was not a complicated task[2], not at all. Specifically and clearly, all Abraham was asked to do was, "circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you." Painful, certainly, but not overly complicated. The requirement continues with, "And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations". Again, not overly complicated and very explicit on the age requirement, or so it seemed.
Abraham had failed, Moses had failed and I had brought that devastating news to a Hasidic (Orthodox) Jewish Rabbi in the shadow of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, over 4,000 years after each and every one of the great patriarchs of Judaism had fallen short of God's simple covenant. It is very possible that Abraham himself did it right, and that it was Moses who had failed and just written it wrong in Genesis. In any case, according to the Mormon Church, Rabbi Fassler, his sons and many of millions of Jews had bungled it, or more politely had ignorantly failed at this very simple covenant with God.
For us Christians, it is also possible that Mary and Joseph were simply uneducated or ill-informed Jews and they mistakenly let "The Son of God" be circumcised on the 8th day, instead of in His 8th year, according to Joseph Smith Jr. It would seem, to the non-Mormon, like a very unfortunate and somewhat depressing start to the nearly perfect life of the exclusively sovereign, universal and eternal Messiah of all Mankind.
When the true gravity and immense potential of this mistake was fully realized, Rabbi Fassler sat back, looked up at the walls of Jerusalem and said,
"Who can change the Word of God, who can change the Torah? The suggestion that Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Isaiah or Ezra would NOT know the will of God in this matter is ridiculous and offensive to all Jews."
Without further embarrassment to me or the Rabbi, I thought quietly of the many Mormon efforts in their short history to align themselves with the Jews. They have been relentless in the past to consider themselves the literal descendants of Abraham and refer to all others as "Gentiles" as if the Mormons were Hebrews. The Mormon Church has attempted on every front to draw closer to the Jewish Faith. I would suspect that no representative from the Mormon Church has ever informed any representative from the Jewish Community that they "The Jews" have been doing that Circumcision thing… well, wrong for just over 4,000 years. But luckily for the Jews, Joseph Smith Jr. has heard from God in 1832 and if they "The Jews" want to get it right from here on, the fix is now crystal clear and divinely documented[3], it is really to be done at 8 years not 8 days.
Official Mormon doctrine states that under the faulty leadership of Abraham or the deceptive hand of Moses, a major ceremonial mistake had been made that would cause all of God's Jewish Prophets and all of God's Jewish People to fail at the very same simple task of circumcision. If only, if only God's Thoughts or God's Words could have been clearly communicated to any one of His approximately one hundred recognized Jewish Prophets, then His Son, His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, would have been saved from the humiliation of an early circumcision.
In any case, the Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that, according to Mormonism[4], the Word of God had been corrupted very early on. And that much in the Bible has been distorted and should not be considered as valid. It should be noted here that the Mormon Church stands alone in their self-indulgent and outrageous criticism of the Dead Sea Scrolls without example, evidence, data or support of any kind. This is yet another "Mormon Revelation" from God that has most likely not been provided to the Jewish Community for fear of appearing arrogant.
The several very distinctive and profane religious claims of Mormonism, a uniquely American Religion, have enjoyed nearly 100 years of immunity without a truly acutely and focused public examination. Those days are over. The remarkable and ridiculous religious claims as well as the previously hidden history of Mormonism are beginning to unravel to confirm that the Latter-day Saint organization is more closely linked to a worldwide Fraud than a worldwide Faith.
The Mormon Church was formally established on April 6th of 1830 with a very small collection of family and friends who either participated in the foundational fraud or genuinely believed that Joseph Smith Jr. had prophetic powers and sacred skills. They freely gave of their time, their money and very soon they would give their wives and their daughters to the "Prophet" of the "Restoration" of God's only "True Church" on the earth.
As the fledging congregation grew, it began as The Church of Christ, then it was The Church of the Latter Day Saints, then The Church of Jesus Christ, then The Church of God, then The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, and finally The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The doctrines, scriptures, practices and policies of the Mormon faith have remained in a constant state of theological, ceremonial and administrative transformation or revision for the total of its 186 years history.
Prior to the full translation and analysis of the Rosetta Stone[5], Joseph Smith Jr. "claimed," through a gift from God, that he was able to read both Egyptian Hieroglyphs[6] and "Reformed" Egyptian[7] to create the Book of Mormon. Prior to the development of the astonishing science of mitochondrial DNA, Joseph Smith also claimed that the Book of Mormon people (allegedly of Hebrew origin) were actually, "The principal ancestors of the American Indians[8]." Additionally, prior to the 1967 rediscovery of the original Egyptian documents used by Joseph Smith to invent the Book of Abraham, the Mormon Church could and did safely baffle both the early 19th Century Scholars and its financial backers with relative impunity. After 1967 the fraud of the Book of Abraham, a pivotal Mormon Scripture, has been professionally[9] and completely exposed. Similarly and prior to the age of the computer, the senior Mormon leadership could safely claim that the Book of Mormon itself was "translated" from ancient gold plates.
A highly developed computer program generated to support advanced statistical analysis has recently established beyond a reasonable doubt that Smith heavily plagiarized a small collection of earlier manuscripts[10] to fabricate the Book of Mormon. Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Smith could comfortably overextend his charisma and authority to claim that the Bible itself had suffered major corruption, which fortunately for the early Mormons he could both identify and correct under the direction of God Himself.
To the Mormon faithful, the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) of the Bible corrects and restores the original words and lost doctrine of the Bible. As will be documented within this study, the Mormon leadership have used the JST version of the Bible to establish, explain and expound on doctrine previously unknown to the Christian world. Additionally, the JST has been used to reduce or eliminate core Christian teaching specific to the nature, character and deity of both God and Jesus Christ.
So charismatic was the new American Prophet, that in his lifetime, Joseph Smith Jr. persuaded many of his associates that Polyandry[11] (the taking of another man's wife) was actually part of an authorized Biblical adaptation of Polygamy. He also converted hundreds to the incredibly offensive and polytheistic concept that God was once just a man like all of us and that all men can become Gods[12] themselves. His legacy and his genius was the near-flawless union of an incontestable story in the early 19th century American frontier, with his overpowering self-confidence to genuinely believe the complex deception himself.
His core message to the world was that the Christian Church had gone hopelessly astray, and he was God's new Prophet to bring it back. He alone was called by God to restore the authority of the Priesthood of God and restore the accuracy of the Holy Bible. The Bible, he and his followers taught, was severely corrupted over the many centuries by countless evil priests and assisted by wicked or at least ignorant monks and scribes. To the uneducated this assertion sounded very plausible.
And yet, concealed deep within the arrogant and thorough overreach of this suspicious and implausible Biblical interpretation, is the rock-solid evidence that Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of Mormonism, is and was a complete fraud.
To my knowledge there has never been a detailed critical review of this seemingly trivial correction to the Bible by Joseph Smith Jr., and yet, if true, its impact would be enormous to Jews and overwhelming to Christians around the world. If my analysis is correct, then Mormonism, will be reduced to a relatively small collection of pioneer families that will continue to endure the many lies of Joseph Smith Jr., solely for the distinctively Mormon social and financial benefits of membership.
If Joseph Smith Jr., the founding Prophet of Mormonism, is correct about his one very significant adjustment to the Abrahamic Covenant of Circumcision, then we are to believe that God permitted all of His Prophets from Abraham and Moses down to Jesus Christ Himself, to fall short of His divine conditions and requirements. According to the Official History of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith Jr., in the year 1832, restored important sections of the Old Testament to their original script and context. It is claimed that through divine authority and inspiration[13] from God, Joseph Smith Jr., without the aid of any Hebrew manuscripts[14] or scrolls, corrected[15] the age of Circumcision from the "incorrect" 8 days old to the "proper" Covenant age of 8 years old.
With that simple adjustment, we are to believe that Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jacob, Ezekiel, Daniel, David and even Jesus Christ (The Son of the living God) all did it wrong, under the watchful eye of God Himself.
Additionally, the Mormon Church would have us believe that the Prophets not only did it wrong, they also continued to receive direct and detailed personal guidance, clear revelation and understandable communication directly from God on a multitude of subjects over two millennia. Yet not a single word would come from God concerning the exceptionally obvious mistake regarding the very First and Foundational Covenant of Circumcision? Rather a strange behavior from an all-powerful Creator of the Universe who regularly kills His own people for not worshiping Him in His very specific, unique and officially prescribed method, mode and manner.
This short book will review both the prospect of Joseph Smith's functional "translation" skills, and the practical impact of every Jew who has ever lived, doing the Brit Milah or circumcision completely wrong.
Mormonism may have been able to confuse the Biblically ignorant (myself[16] included) on the subjects of the Mormon priesthood, the Mormon baptism for the dead, the Mormon history of polygamy or even the Mormon pre-existence of mankind. However, no rationally thinking adult could be so irresponsible as to teach his or her children and grandchildren that The God of All Creation, could be either so theologically detached or emotionally smitten with Joseph Smith Jr., as to withhold such a massively important correction of His own doctrine for nearly 4,000 years. The thought itself is the very definition of ridiculous and possibly the most enlightening illustration and demonstration of Mormonism's deception upon the world.
As time, education, information and science march forward, the total number of fraudulent claims that Joseph Smith Jr. has deceived us with now serve to prove the arrogant statements that were once sarcastically flaunted by the Mormon Prophets and Mormon Apostles themselves:
"It's either true or false. If it's false, we're engaged in a great fraud." Mormon Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley – 2007
"He (Joseph Smith Jr.) never would have dared to contradict the doctrines of the whole Christian world, had his story been a fraud!" Mormon Prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith – 1944
"If this is not a fact, he (Joseph Smith Jr.)was the greatest religious fraud this world has ever seen. Between these two positions-prophet or fraud-there is no middle ground."
Mormon Apostle, Joseph F. Merrill – 1948
"(Joseph Smith Jr.) who has been branded as the greatest fraud that ever lived on the American continent."
Mormon Apostle, Matthew Cowley – 1953
This book will examine in convincing detail every possible aspect and explanation of this absurd correction to the Bible by the Mormon "Prophet" Joseph Smith Jr. The official position of the Mormon Church is, no position at all. The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible is presented within the canonized set of Mormon Scriptures, without any explanations, without any qualifications and without any uncertainties. The new translations to the Bible, provided by the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr., are to be used precisely for what they have been reported to be: "A new translation of the Bible intended to restore some of those plain and precious parts[17]."
Without question, the senior leadership of the Mormon Church has never once been indecisive or hesitant concerning the accuracy or authority of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. To be more precise, the Senior Leadership of the Mormon Church, essentially will not tolerate or consider any questions concerning the accuracy or authority of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. As such, the question is left to the general membership of the Latter-day Saint faith, your Mormon neighbors and Mormon coworkers to improvise and invent answers to any questions concerning the accuracy or authority of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
The two most common, if admittedly impractical explanations are:
- "Joseph Smith's correction here in the Book of Genesis deals with the age of accountability (8 years of age), and not with the actual date of Circumcision." or,
2) "Joseph Smith was not finished with his translation work on the Bible before his death, and thus any section or individual passage cannot be considered complete or final."
On the surface, both of these positions sound credible and would most likely deflect the initial question from the uninformed Christian with the sincere desire to bring the Mormon to the Biblical Jesus Christ. The position of this book is to assume the Mormon perspectives and indoctrination, and yet still empower the Christian with the required Mormon insight and background to enlarge the conversation and promote a legitimate examination of the true impact of these simple questions:
If you claim that Joseph Smith Jr. was not finished with the translation of the Bible, why then would the Official History of the Mormon Church record this statement from Joseph Smith himself? – "We this day finished the translating of the Scriptures, for which we returned gratitude to our Heavenly Father[18]."
"Did Joseph Smith Jr. in reality modify, correct or change the actual Covenant of Circumcision, nearly 4,000 years after God Himself provided the specific requirements directly to Abraham?"
"If Joseph Smith Jr. was addressing the age of accountability and not the age of circumcision, then why did he not remove the word "circumcision" as the very subject of the passage[19]?"
"If Joseph Smith Jr. was not finished with his translation, why then does the Mormon Church itself publish the claim that he did finish his translation, within the Official document[20] that is dedicated to the "Joseph Smith's Bible Translation"?
"If Joseph Smith Jr. was actually addressing a modification to the age of accountability within the context of the time of Abraham, what new ritual, rite or ceremony was to be accomplished at the age of 8 years old, and not 8 days, if not circumcision?"
"If as claimed by Mormon Doctrine, the functional change intended by Joseph Smith Jr. was not only the age but also the observance of Baptism, then why did Joseph Smith Jr. not use the word Baptism in its place of Circumcision within his supposed correction of the Bible?"
"If as claimed by Mormon Doctrine, the functional change intended by Joseph Smith Jr. was the observance of Baptism (at 8 years old), then why is this Baptism never again referenced, directed, accomplished or described by any of God's Prophets or People within the Old Testament, New Testament or even the Book of Mormon?"
"Is it not true that standard semicolon, as used by both Joseph Smith Jr. and the other transcribers and translators of the Bible, has both consistently and correctly been used to bring two related statements closer together, not further apart?"
This short book will give the Christian reader an opportunity to discuss a specific theological point with the Mormon, which has a very limited set of possible responses. Unlike the subjects of Mormon Polygamy, Mormon Prophets, Mormon Scriptures or the Mormon Priesthood, this is a very explicit and focused subject that is either a valid correction to the Bible or a clear example of fraud.
At the very core of this simple and clear Biblical question, is the potential to drive a theological wedge between straightforward intellectual reason and fanatical loyalty within the life of the Mormon. Loyalty will drive the Mormon to an irrational defense of Joseph Smith and honesty will drive the Mormon to safeguard his or her own personal integrity. This internal struggle may be the spiritual catalyst required to openly question many other uniquely Mormon moral, ethical and religious dilemmas.
It has been said, "When an honest man realizes that he has been mistaken, he suddenly, either becomes… no longer mistaken or no longer honest."
My experience as both a Mormon Bishop and a member of that faith for over three decades, tells me that there is a third and uniquely "Mormon" alternative that can and will apply. The option that most Mormons take is "Neutral," simply and entirely "Neutral." The active Latter-day Saint may choose to place such issues and questions on the Mormon "shelf" to deal with later or not at all. I believe that this is a very popular option among the Mormons because there is so much recently exposed[21] about their religion that requires both blind faith and deliberate ignorance. Whereas the orthodox Christian faiths encourage questions, personal knowledge and faith, Mormonism has so efficiently hidden, altered and misrepresented its own history, that faith in Mormonism actually requires the careful and deliberate limitation of any objective knowledge of the Mormon Church History or a moral review of the Mormon senior leadership.
The Purpose and Authority of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible – The Authoritative Mormon Perspective
The very foundation of this examination is framed by the official and authorized doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, specific to the purpose and authority of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
To maintain the highest possible credibility regarding the identification of the actual Mormon value and use of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, I will use the statements and testimonies of the Mormon leadership themselves specific to this point.
If the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible is useless or insignificant to the Mormon Faith, then my presentation of this subject is equally useless and insignificant. On the other hand, if my representation of the value and importance of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible is an accurate reflection of the official and authorized Mormon doctrine, then an opposing view from the average or uneducated Mormon stands in contrast to the Leadership of their own Church.
As with so much in Mormonism, what is formally stated, printed or established as the official position or doctrine of the faith, is often not accepted or at the very least not repeated by the general membership of the faith. Mormonism is an exceptional religious sanctuary for those who conveniently become "independent" thinkers when the Bishop or other Mormons authorities are not in the area.
A personal strategy of evasion reflects an individual's desire to maintain some degree of integrity rather than an outright demonstration of disloyalty to the Mormon Church. The fact is that the Senior Leadership of the Mormon Church, which is totally sequestered from the real world is never questioned about some of the more bizarre or ridiculous statements that the general membership must deal with on a daily basis. This then leaves the average Mormon to invent an explanation for events or episodes in Mormon history that are not fully discussed by the untouchable leadership.
Accepting the reality that it is the senior leadership of the Mormon Church and not the general membership that establishes the official doctrine, authorized polices and formal tenants, views and positions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; I will use their teachings and their statements to determine the validity, authority and legitimacy of the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) of the Bible as contained within the canonized set of official Scriptures published by and for the Mormon Church.
Based on a wide-ranging data search of the Official Mormon Publication[22], LDS Collectors Library 2005TM, the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible has been cited as the preferred Biblical reference within the Worldwide General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by its Prophets, Apostles and senior leadership over 1,000 times. The vast majority of the times that the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible is used by the leadership of the Mormon Faith within these special meetings, the references are both presented and celebrated as the "corrected", "inspired" or "precise" version of the Bible.
According to Mormon doctrine[23], the instructions and references given to the Church in a "General Conference" are to be taken as "Scripture" to the body of the Church. The often repeated and authorized use of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible by the leadership of the Mormon Church within their formal meetings, manuals and magazines testifies as to the value and validity of the document within the Mormon set of Scriptures.
Following are a few of the more substantial and authoritative statements from the Mormon Leadership specific to the validity of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible:
"The words of the Savior, given to the world in the Prophet Joseph Smith's inspired translation of the Bible, have renewed significance[24]."
"As guided by the Spirit, Joseph spent about three years going through the Bible, making thousands of corrections to the text and restoring information that had been lost. This restored information sheds marvelous light on many doctrines that are not clearly presented in the Bible as it exists today. These inspired revisions to the text of the Bible are known as the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Hundreds of passages from the Joseph Smith Translation are now included in the Latter-day Saint edition of the King James Version of the Bible[25]."
"The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible is a member of the royal family of scripture. It should be noticed and honored on any occasion when it is present[26]."
"The Lord commanded Joseph Smith to prepare a translation of the Bible that would restore the correct teachings. The Bible is a sacred book that contains the word of God but mistakes were made as it was copied and translated into different languages. Words were left out, changed, or added, changing the meaning of some of the scriptures[27]."
"However, I do not think that I should have ever discerned it in that book had it not been for the New [Joseph Smith] Translation of the Scriptures[28] [Bible]."
"The Prophet Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible is one of the greatest tangible evidences of his spiritual insight and divine calling." and "Joseph Smith began a new translation of the Bible intended to restore some of those plain and precious parts. This effort defied the prevailing opinion of the day: that the Bible contained the inerrant word of God as contained in the revered text of the King James Version[29]."
"Save Jesus Christ only, the world has never known a more competent scriptural authority than Joseph Smith. It is one thing to read a book of scripture and quite another to be personally instructed by its authors. Who among the world's scholars and religious leaders can lay claim to having stood face to face with Adam, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, Peter, James and John?"
"I can tell our beloved brother Christians… that no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith.[30]"
"Add all this imperfection to the uncertainly of the translation, and who, in his right mind, could, for one moment suppose the Bible in its present form to be a perfect guide? Who knows that even one verse of the Bible has escaped pollution, so as to convey the same sense now that it did in the original?[31]"
With the credibility and validity of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible now firmly established, the only other diversionary tactic available to the Mormon, to avoid the obvious fraudulent "Inspired Translation" of the Bible, is with the construction or destruction of the linguistic skills of Joseph Smith Jr.
I will defer to a professional analysis and explanation[32] of this single sentence or "translation" of Joseph Smith Jr. to my associate and English Teacher, Mr. Kenneth G. Marks.
Please see Appendix A.
Epilogue and Conclusions
This week on the Provo, Utah Campus of Brigham Young University, a brilliant and nationally recognized Professor[33] of Applied and Computational Mathematics will teach Algorithm Design and Optimization in support of real-world applications in software and advance computer engineering. But he will not be able to comment on the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
With a PhD from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he, like most of his BYU Associates, can pontificate with ease on Bayesian statistics, Kalman filtering and the finer points of complex mathematical analysis of variance. But not one of them, not a single one of them, has demonstrated the ability to understand, explain or instruct from a single perfectly valid English sentence written by the exceptionally uneducated Joseph Smith Jr. in the summer of 1832.
This exceptionally common and supremely graphic Mormon demonstration of a pure academic fraud on a personal level is the universal implementation of religious thought-compliance. When so employed, this action renders all Mormons logically level with each other and intellectually identical. To put it another way, under such a cultish mind-control, the highly-educated Mormon lawyer will offer no more of a thoughtful religious insight than the Mormon lumberjack.
As a Mormon High Priest and a senior Intelligence Analyst[34] for over 36 years, I saw many examples of how firmly the leadership of the Mormon Church could communicate the necessity to "check your brain at the door" during special Priesthood meetings and Temple instructional seminars. We were continually trained to know and repeat back the "Church Answer", without comment, independent thought or rationale. Ask a Mormon, ask any Mormon in any profession and within any social-class or economic-stratum, the simple question posed by this book. Ask them about the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible and the Covenant of Circumcision. If you do, you will see the Mormon judge become tongue-tied, the Mormon business owner become perplexed and the distinguished BYU Professor become confounded beyond recovery before your very eyes.
It is not that they do not comprehend the English language or that they do not understand the essential elements of the issue before them. They simply cannot state what is rational, coherent or logical. For that would be equivalent to an acknowledgment that Joseph Smith Jr. did not really "translate" the Bible nor did he "translate" the Book of Mormon and he most certainly did not "translate" the Book of Abraham[35].
The very simple, if somewhat ridiculous position of the Mormon Church is that Abraham, the Patriarch of Judaism, Islam and Christianity actually did the Covenant of Circumcision completely wrong. Even more ridiculous, is the inconceivable supposition that Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, also completed the Covenant totally wrong under the watchful eye of God, the Father of all Creation and the author of the Covenant that no one had yet done right!
From the very beginning the Jewish People were bound to God by a distinctive and sacred Covenant (B'rit)[36]. As Norman F. Cantor[37] explains it,
"The covenant was not a negotiated contract – the Jews had not entered voluntarily into a compact with Yahweh, nor could they withdraw from their obligations to God. Of his own inscrutable will, Yahweh had chosen this obscure people as his own. The B'rit is not the outcome of a deal between two free parties. It is an act of providence unilaterally imposed by divine majesty upon the Jews. The Jews had no choice but to maintain God's covenant – this was their burden and their glory."
The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible is rejected or abandoned by the general membership of the Mormon Church only when and if the "Mormon Translation" is clearly un-Christian or unreasonable in both context or application.
The probability that Jesus Christ, in addition to every Major prophet of God, was incorrectly circumcised because a simple clerical error in the ancient region of Canaan about 2000 B.C that fortunately for the Jewish Faith, was fixed by Joseph Smith Jr. in A. D. 1832, in upper New York State is absolutely the most revealing and ridiculous claim of Mormonism.
As a heartfelt plea to all members of the Mormon Faith, I would ask that you seriously consider the validity and power of the information you have been exposed to within this study. My wife and I know the personal heartache and pain of questioning the motives of leadership of the Mormon Church, yet your very Salvation and that of your Family will hang in the balance.
With the publication of the thirteen official LDS Gospel Topic Essays[38], the Mormon Church has confidently shifted the responsibility of knowing the facts about the past religious deceptions, from them to you. The Mormon Church with the approval of The First Presidency and The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has acknowledged the following six facts that you are now responsible to accept or reject, as you lead your children into or out of the continued deception of Mormonism:
- Joseph Smith Jr. placed a small rock (that he found while digging a well) in his hat, then buried his face in that hat to "translate" the Book of Mormon[39]. The Gold Plates of Moroni were not used and not needed at all, in fact Joseph stated that it was Nephi not Moroni that visited him in his room as a young man. The bringing forth of the Book of Mormon was NOT done as the many tender paintings and stories of Mormonism represent as a divine, scholarly or solemn event. It was and is deception to teach otherwise.
- Joseph Smith Jr. lied about the "translation" of the Book of Abraham[40] and the Church continues to print and reprint the Facsimiles and Hieroglyphs within the Book of Abraham. Incredibly, the official statement from the Mormon Church specific to the Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Characters and Vignettes now printed within the Book of Abraham is, "None of the characters on the papyrus fragment mentioned Abraham's name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham." Yet, the Mormon Church continues to print those fake characters with the totally falsified explanations year after year to send with the Missionaries to swindle the world. It was and is deception to teach otherwise.
- Joseph Smith Jr. secretly and illegally took nearly 40 wives[41], eleven were the wives of other men and had sex with some of them. Further, he deceived his first wife (Emma), his Church and his other wives about his actions, his intent and his authorization from God to do so. At the age of 38, Joseph Smith took a 14 year-old bride with the intent to secure Salvation for her entire family at the direction of God. It was and is deception to teach otherwise.
- Joseph Smith Jr. lied about his "First Vision". He never told anyone, not a single person, about his chat with God and Jesus Christ for just over 12 years. Even then, he changed his account of the event in 1832, then it was different in 1835, and 1838 and again in 1842. Not a single original member of the Mormon Church had ever heard of the "First Vision", which is now considered the foundational event of Mormonism. It was and is deception to teach otherwise.
- The Mormon Church has admitted that there is not a single thread of DNA evidence to support the Book of Mormon claim that the native American Indians[42] are ancestors of the Jewish people. The Mormon Church several times places the blame of such a misunderstanding at the feet of the Mormons themselves with the phrase that they have "assumed" such. Even the Introduction of the Book of Mormon has been changed to reflect this past lie, and the Mormon people are oblivious as to the fact. It was and is deception to teach otherwise.
- The Mormon Church has admitted that the "Manifesto[43]" to end Plural Marriage in the year 1890 was only a diversionary lie to the United States government. Incredibly, the Mormon Church actually acknowledges that the 1904 Manifesto to stop Plural Marriage was the real deal, and that the authorized and canonized version of 1890, which is carried to Church by every Mormon today, was just a carefully crafted lie. It was and is deception to teach otherwise.
I pray that you will accept personal responsibility for your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, apart and independent from the many deceptions of Joseph Smith Jr. and the Mormon Church.
As a member of the Mormon faith for 32 years, I have honorably held many leadership positions at the Branch, Ward and Stake level. The most demanding of these "callings" was as the Bishop of the Mililani Second Ward, Mililani Stake in Hawaii. The most rewarding position was with my wife as the Young Single Adult Leaders of the Columbia Maryland Stake. Our youth group (unmarried ages 18-30) drew its membership from as far north as Baltimore and south to Washington D.C.
As a retired Military Intelligence Officer, I found that the key principles of authority and organization within the Mormon Church provided me with a degree of confidence. I was ordained a Mormon High Priest by Charles P. Warnick, who was ordained by the current Prophet of the Mormon Church, Thomas S. Monson. This relatively short "Priesthood Authority Line" was also a Mormon source of confidence and pride.
As a Bishop and an Assistant Seminary Instructor, I was more responsive than others to the written History of the Church and the subjects of polygamy and polyandry. When sensitive or delicate questions were presented to us from the Mormon and non-Mormon youth, I pledged my utmost support. Often the Christian visitors to our group knew more facts specific to the more distinctively Mormon Doctrine than we did, although the majority of these valid subjects would be considered as anti-Mormon.
I forced my own excommunication in 2008 after several painful years of meetings and letters to the highest levels of the Mormon Church concerning questions of deceit, doctrine and history.
Lee B. Baker
Former Mormon Bishop and High Priest LeeBaker.4Mormon.org
Appendix A
On the Grammar of Genesis 17:11 as Translated by Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, by Ken Marks
"And I will establish a covenant of circumcision with thee, and it shall be my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations; that thou mayest know forever that children are not accountable before me until they are eight years old."[i]
Joseph Smith's curious translation of Genesis 17:11 (Gen17:11/JST) does just fine with its English grammar, and being absent any troublesome words, its meaning seems clear. It is one long sentence, not unusual for sentences modeled after 17th-century English, and is divided by that sometimes-puzzling marker, the semi-colon. At the end of this article, I will examine the semi-colon's role in the verse. Suffice it here to observe that dividing a sentence by semi-colon does not create two sentences, according to the conventional understanding of a sentence.
Grammar has to do with the structure of a sentence. Grammar analysis typically includes identifying the type of sentence; examining relationships among the sentence's phrases and clauses; and, within phrases and clauses, examining relationships among its words. So let's start at the beginning. We all remember something like this: a sentence is a set of words that expresses a complete thought as a statement, question, request, or exclamation; and that has both subject and predicate.[ii]
Gen17:11/JST is a declarative sentence, that is, it makes a statement. Its structure is also defined as compound-complex: a sentence containing two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
A clause is simply a phrase (i.e., a group of words) with subject and predicate. Gen17:11/JST consists of five clauses: two independent and three dependent.
An independent clause[iii] can stand alone to render a meaningful sentence. Stripped to their simple subjects and predicates, the independent clauses in Gen17:11/JST are "I will establish" and "it shall be." The two clauses are joined by a comma and the coordinating conjunction "and."[iv] Were the sentence to end after "in their generations," Gen17:11/JST would be just a compound sentence. Following the semi-colon, however, are three dependent clauses that make this sentence compound-complex.
A dependent clause[v] depends upon (or is grammatically subordinate to) another clause in the sentence. Though dependent clauses contain subject and predicate, they cannot stand alone: their function in the sentence would be unclear without a connection to the rest of the sentence. In Gen17:11/JST, the three clauses ("that thou mayest know forever" and "that children are not accountable before me" and "until they are eight years old") would all be fragments if capitalized and punctuated as complete sentences. They must have, and in Gen17:11/JST do have, grammatical connection to an independent clause ¾ or to another dependent clause that is itself connected to an independent clause in the sentence. A dependent clause is connected to the rest of the sentence by means of a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun at the beginning of the clause.
Furthermore, dependent clauses may function as either adverbs, adjectives, or nouns within their sentences.[vi] In Gen17:11/JST we will see that two of the dependent clauses function as adverbs, one as a noun. Let's examine the three dependent clauses to learn how each functions and affects the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
FIRST DEPENDENT CLAUSE: "that thou mayest know forever . . . "
While "that" could be the connecting, introductory word for any of the three types of dependent clauses (adverb, adjective, or noun), the clause in question has meaning only if it is adverbial. If adjectival, the clause must modify the noun preceding ("generations"), but such a usage here would render the rest of the sentence unintelligible, and, by grammatical convention, there would not be a semi-colon or comma between the noun and "that."[vii]
Nor does this clause function as a noun. Standing at the beginning of a series of clauses, a noun clause serves as subject and needs a predicate following; but there is no predicate here to tell what "that thou mayest know forever" will do or be.[viii]
The sense that we get at first reading is also the grammatically-correct sense: this is a causal adverbial clause, answering the question why? of the predicate in one or both of the independent clauses. Indeed, when we look at a complete list of subordinating conjunctions in English, we find the word "that" can be such a conjunction, in the sense of so that. The first dependent clause then, when placed with its independent clauses, clearly means this:
"I will establish a covenant of circumcision with you and it shall last as our covenant through all your family's generations, so that you may know [something] forever . . ."
SECOND DEPENDENT CLAUSE: "that children are not accountable before me . . ."
Here is a grammatically-correct noun clause beginning with "that." The whole clause is the direct object of the verb "may know" in the previous clause. Thus we learn what it is that Abraham will know, as result of God establishing His lasting covenant:
"I will establish a covenant of circumcision with thee, and it shall be my covenant between me and thee . . . so that you may know forever that children are not accountable in my eyes [for their behavior, presumably] . . . "
THIRD DEPENDENT CLAUSE: "until they are eight years old."
Keep in mind that this verse is one long sentence. And here the thought of the sentence is given completion with an adverbial dependent clause, connected by the subordinating conjunction "until" and showing a time relationship to the dependent noun clause preceding: how long are children not accountable in God's eyes? Until they are eight years old.
We may now paraphrase Smith's complete sentence, grammatically-correct and unambiguous, alleging what the Lord God said to Abraham. For simplicity let us use three shorter sentences.
"I will establish with you a covenant signified by[ix] circumcision. My covenant will be between me and you, and between me and all your descendants. This I will do so that you may know, and your descendants may know forever, that children are not accountable in my eyes until they reach the age of eight."
We must start with a caveat: it's sometimes tricky in English to base interpretation on punctuation. We should recall that the ancient languages of the Bible had no punctuation at all. This does not mean that scholars of ancient Hebrew or Greek are just making their best guesses regarding punctuation when dealing with ancient texts. In the structure of the ancient languages, there are indicators of the places English translations ought to put punctuation to facilitate meaning and reading.
The main point to be made about the semi-colon in Gen17:11/JST is that it conforms to common usage in the King James Bible. Thus to Smith's readers from the 19th century to the 21st, there was and is no reason to assign some obscure use of the semi-colon that would change the meaning of the passage from what it appears to be, as paraphrased above.
The primary use of the semi-colon in Shakespeare's and Smith's days was ¾ and in our day is ¾ to separate independent clauses without the use of the comma and coordinating conjunction (semi-colon = comma + coordinating conjunction). "I will establish a covenant of circumcision with thee, and it shall be my covenant between me and thee" could be punctuated, therefore, as follows, with no change of meaning: "I will establish a covenant of circumcision with thee; it shall be my covenant between me and thee."
A secondary yet not rare use of the semi-colon is to substitute for a comma alone (semi-colon = comma), frequently employed in sentences that are long or that already have other commas serving varying purposes. Both the King James Bible and modern writers often utilize the semi-colon in this way to separate dependent clauses from their independent clauses, just as Gen17:11/JST does. In a shorter sentence, or one that did not already have three commas within the independent clauses, commas before the three dependent clauses would have served equally well. The semi-colon in Gen17:11/JST merely helps the reader track the progress of a long sentence with its two independent clauses, three dependent clauses, and multiple commas.
To conclude: If we wish to follow Joseph Smith's revelations as being the faithful Word of God, the language and grammar of Gen17:11/JST compels us to believe that God instituted the covenant of circumcision explicitly to let Abraham and us know that He does not hold children accountable until their eighth year.
[1] House of Judah, Tribe of Levi (Documented Biblical Family Genealogy), Rabbi of B'nei Israel Synagogue, Santiago, Chile. Member – The World Arabian Horse Organization, Breeder of the Stables of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar.
[2] The Holy Bible, Book of Genesis, Chapter 17, Verses 11-12, KJV, Page 23, Published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Copyright 2013, Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
[3] See the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis 17: 11-12, page 798 within the Canonized Set of LDS Scriptures, following the Bible Dictionary.
[4] Mormon Bible Dictionary: Bible – Preservation of the Text of the O.T., page 632, Canonized Set of LDS Scriptures, "The Dead Sea Scrolls, some of which are believed to be as early and the 2nd century B.C., give evidence that the O.T. text was corrupted at least by that time." Additionally, the irrational but Official Mormon statement found on page 69 of the current LDS Old Testament Student Manual (Genesis to 2 Samuel) Religion 301, claims, "Baptism was one ordinance being incorrectly observed." This statement, in relationship to Genesis 17:2-14, and the Covenant of Circumcision is patently absurd as nowhere within the Old Testament is Baptism mentioned.
[5] The Rosetta Stone is a rock stele, found in 1799, inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis, Egypt, in 196 B.C., on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion is Demotic script, and the lowest is Ancient Greek.
[6] As used with his "translation" of the Book of Abraham, which has been found to be a total fraud.
[7] "Reformed Egyptian" is a completely fictitious language without example, history or reference in any context anywhere in the world other than by Joseph Smith Jr. specific to the invention of the Book of Mormon.
[8] Introduction of the Book of Mormon: Wording changed from "the principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors of the American Indians" this has been credited to the fact that no DNA of any Native American Tribe has ever shown any trace of Hebrew linage.
[9] See Examples: Non-LDS, The Lost Book of Abraham – Documentary Film by The Institute for Religious Research, and Utah Lighthouse Ministry: Online Resources. LDS, Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham, lds.org, Gospel Topic Essays.
[10] View of the Hebrews, 1825; The First Book of Napoleon, The Tyrant of the Earth, 1809; Late War, Between the United States and Great Britain, 1819; The King James Bible with Apocrypha, 1611.
[11] Joseph Smith, according to Mormon records, secretly took the wives of between 12 and 14 other men and had the opportunity of sex with a number of them, without the knowledge of his first wife (Emma) and all this is reportedly under a set of commandments from God Himself.
[12] The Mormon doctrine that all men and women can become Gods of their own worlds, remains a very active and valid goal in 2016 of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. See lds.org Gospel Topic Essay "Becoming Like God."
[13] "We know he read the Bible in English, but by the standards of the world, Joseph was neither a scholar nor a theologian, much less a professional translator of holy scriptures." April 1995, General Conference, Elder Robert K. Dellenbach of the First Quorum of the Seventy.
[14] The Dead Sea Scrolls (circa 150 B.C.) confirm the King James Version (A.D. 1611) as does the Septuagint (circa 285 B.C.), the Samaritan Pentateuch (circa 150 B.C.), the Hebrew Talmud (circa 350 B.C. to A.D. 200), the Masoretic Bible (circa A.D. 950), and the Hebrew Tanakh (circa A.D. 1150), specific to the circumcision date clearly recorded in Genesis, Chapter 17, and required by God as 8 days old.
[15] Genesis 17:11-12 KJV (original – 1611) and Genesis 17:11 JST of KJV (as corrected by Joseph Smith Jr., 1832) The Covenant of Circumcision with Abraham from 8 days old to 8 years old.
[16] Born and raised Roman Catholic in west Denver, CO., converted to the LDS Faith in 1977, with no functional Biblical foundation.
[17] Lds.org, Joseph Smith's Bible Translation, Authorized by the Mormon First Presidency, Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[18] History of the Church, Vol. 1, page 368, Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[19] Additionally, examples of the Biblical phrase "that thou mayest know" which follows the use of a semicolon can be seen in Exodus 8:10, 9:14, 9:29 and 10:2. In each usage the intent is rational and descriptive of the previous action or event, as in the JST Genesis 17:11, which is "circumcision".
[20] See lds.org – Completion of the New Testament translation is reported on page 4, and completion of the translation of the Old Testament is documented on page 5 of the Official Statement: "Joseph Smith's Bible Translation" issued under the Authority of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These claims are substantiated by links to the Joseph Smith Papers, wherein the reader can view these statements in the actual hand of Joseph Smith, in an original letter to the Church, signed by Joseph Smith himself on 31 July 1832 and 2 July 1833 respectively for the completion date of the Old and New Testament.
[21] The Mormon Church has recently published 13 powerful officially sanctioned documents known as "The Gospel Topic Essays", which can be viewed on lds.org. These essays address some of the more controversial doctrines and offensive historical facts of Mormonism. Many of these documents have confirmed the existence of wide-spread deception and deceit among the early Leadership of the Mormon Church and an organizational effort to hide the immoral activity of Joseph Smith Jr. Many view these documents as a way for the current leadership of the Mormon Church to be seen as more honest about their past lies to avoid any legal responsibilities in the future, if claims of fraud arise. Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[22] Primary Source – LDS Scriptures – Official Sermons and Publications of the LDS Church and Leadership, LDS Collectors Library 2005TM, contains over 30,000 documents. Purchased from Deseret Book, owned by the LDS Church, © 2004 and 2005 LDS Media, ISBN: 978-0-974708-04-1, Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
[23] Mormon Scripture – Doctrine and Covenants 68:4, "And whatsoever they [the Mormon Leadership] shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation."
[24] Lds.org, October General Conference, 1985, Apostle Dallin H. Oaks, Spirituality. Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[25] Lds.org, Chapter 17: The Great Plan of Salvation, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 2011. Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[26] Lds.org, Apostle Dallin H. Oaks, Robert L. Millet, Selected Writings of Gospel Scholars Series, page 128. Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[27] Lds.org, Lesson 20: Joseph Smith Translates the Bible and Other Scriptures, Primary Lesson for the Children of the Mormon Faith. Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[28] Lds.org, October General Conference, 1985, Apostle Neal A. Maxwell, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Premortality, a Glorious Reality. A quote from Orson Pratt. Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[29] Lds.org, history, revelations-in-context, Joseph Smith's Bible Translation, page 1. Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[30] Lds Ensign Magazine, June 1994, Joseph Smith among the Prophets, by Robert L. Millet. Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[31] Lds Apostle Orson Pratt, December 1,1850. Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., owned and operated by President of the Corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[32] See Appendix A, On the Grammar of Genesis 17:11 as Translated by Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, by Ken G. Marks
[33] Professor Sean C. Warnick, son of Charles P. Warnick, the Mormon High Priest who Ordained Lee B. Baker in May of 1987 to the Office of High Priest within the Mormon Melchizedek Priesthood. Additionally, the BYU Department Chair of Ancient Scripture, Ms. Camille Frank Olson, and the BYU Department Chair of Church History and Doctrine, Mr. Richard E. Bennett, have been invited to provide any comment or analysis. After six months of repeated requests for an academic or ecclesiastical comment, no statement was provided.
[34] National Security Agency, Russian Linguist, Counter-terrorism Instructor, SIGINT Systems Engineer, and Covert Communications Specialist supporting the CIA.
[35]The Book of Abraham is a very close second to The Most Revealing and Ridiculous Claim of Mormonism and should be reviewed at: The Lost Book of Abraham – Investigating a Remarkable Mormon Claim. Institute for Religious Research, irr.org
[36] The B'rit or Brit Milah, which means "covenant of circumcision," is a Jewish ritual performed on a baby boy eight days after he is born. It involves the removal of the foreskin from the penis by a Mohel, who is a person that has been trained to safely perform the procedure.
[37] Author, The Sacred Chain – The History of the Jews, Harper Collins Publishers, ISBN: 0-06016746-7, Copyright 1994, Chapter 2, pages 19-20.
[38] Found on the official LDS Website: https://www.lds.org/topics/essays?lang=eng
[39] Lds.org, Book of Mormon Translation, page 3, The Mechanics of Translation, Quote from Emma Smith.
[40] Lds.org, Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham, page 4, The Papyri.
[41] Lds.org, Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo, page 3-5.
[42] Lds.org, Book of Mormon and DNA Studies, pages 1-3.
[43] Lds.org, The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage, page 6.
[i] Smith's translation of Gen 17:11 contains several important words and phrases in common with the King James Version of Genesis 17:10-12A. The KJV reads as follows: "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you …" I know of no significant variations from the KJV among English versions. (I've consulted a score of so of them, from Tyndale to 21st century translations).
[ii] Conventionally, a sentence also requires first-word capitalization and ending punctuation: period, question mark, or exclamation point.
[iii] Also called a main clause.
[iv] A coordinating conjunction joins words or phrases of grammatically equal value; the following seven are commonly regarded as the only coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
[v] Also called a subordinate clause.
[vi] When functioning as an adverb, a dependent clause modifies the predicate in the independent clause (or other dependent clause in the sentence), and a subordinating conjunction begins the dependent clause. There are about 50 subordinating conjunctions in English. Most are one word, though some are a two-word phrase. Subordinating conjunctions indicate one of several possible relationships between the independent clause and the adverbial dependent clause. The conjunction may, for example, show cause (as do the conjunctions because and so that), concession or comparison (although; just as), condition (if; unless), place (where; wherever), or time (after; until).
When functioning as an adjective, the dependent clause is usually called a relative clause. It modifies a noun, noun phrase or pronoun. The connecting word is a relative pronoun (e.g., that, who, which), and it immediately follows the word or phrase the relative clause is modifying.
Adverb and adjective clauses modify some word or phrase in an independent clause or in another dependent clause in the sentence. When functioning as a noun, however, the dependent clause is a sentence part ¾ subject, complement, or object ¾ within an independent (or another dependent) clause. Noun clauses sometimes begin with relative pronouns, sometimes with subordinating conjunctions.
[vii] Here is a hypothetical example of an adjective clause following and modifying a noun: "…in the generations that are yet to come."
[viii] Here is a hypothetical example of a predicate following such a noun clause: "that thou mayest know the truth forever is my desire."
[ix] Admittedly I've stepped outside the grammar of the text here to interpret that complex preposition "of." Fortunately, however, we have plenty of clarification throughout Genesis to leave no doubt that circumcision was symbolic of or signified something important in God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants.
Kenneth G. Marks is a credentialed educator of 42 years experience, over 20 of them learning more about English grammar while he helped honors English and creative writing students wrestle with its complexities. This analysis of Joseph Smith's sentence is not perfect. It can, however, be confirmed in its essence (or refined in its particulars) by those with better understanding of certain points or by consulting basic English rules found in any good grammar website or standard textbook. Ken is not a scholar of the ancient languages though he has enough coursework in Latin and New Testament Greek to respect the value of various study helps and to know how to use them. Questions or comments will be answered: [email protected]


text:
By M. R. Napolitano, Y. An, B. Seanor
Airplane layout three (2000) 103 - 128
In contemporary years neural networks were proposed for identity and keep watch over of linear and non-linear dynamic platforms. This paper describes the functionality of a neural network-based fault-tolerant method inside of a flight keep an eye on approach. This fault-tolerant flight regulate process integrates sensor and actuator failure detection, identity, and lodging (SFDIA and AFDIA). the 1st activity is accomplished by way of incorporating a primary neural community (MNN) and a collection of n decentralized neural networks (DNNs) to create a process with n sensors which has the power to observe a large choice of sensor mess ups. the second one scheme implements a similar major neural community built-in with 3 neural community controllers. The contribution of this paper makes a speciality of improvements of the SFDIA scheme to permit the dealing with of sentimental mess ups in addition to addressing the problem of integrating the SFDIA and the AFDIA schemes with no degradation of functionality when it comes to fake alarm charges and flawed failure identi"cation. the result of the simulation with diverse actuator and sensor disasters with a non-linear airplane version are awarded and mentioned.
Read Online or Download A fault tolerant flight control system for sensor and actuator failures using neural networks PDF
Similar aviation books
Boeing Helicopters CH-47 Chinook - Aerofax Minigraph 27
A nice resource of data at the info (inside and out) of Boeing's Chinook helicopter.
I was once stationed at feet. Hood with B Co. , 2/158th Aviation, sixth Cav Bde (AC) while the photographers took the pack up photographs for this e-book. It was once enjoyable escorting them round for the images and it's a very good stroll down reminiscence lane to turn via them virtually two decades later.
Some of the diagrams pulled from the operator's handbook are small and feature TINY textual content. the photographs are terrific and the extent of element is such that you could be desire a magnifying glass to get all of it. total a very good e-book.
F7F Tigercat in motion КНИГИ ;ВОЕННАЯ ИСТОРИЯ Издательство: Squadron/Signal publicationsСерия: plane 79Автор(ы): Captain W E Scarborough USN (Ret. )Язык: EnglishГод издания: 1986Количество страниц: 51ISBN: 0-89747-188-1Формат: pdf (150 dpi) 1600x1200Размер: forty two. eight mbRapid 34
High Stakes: Britains Air Arms in Action 1945-1990
After the dirt of global struggle II had settled, the army place of the united kingdom was once faraway from straight forward. It was once in fact allied to the us and a part of NATO, however it used to be at odds with the previous in keeping an Empire and the 2 countries additionally had competing oil pursuits within the center East. The UKs engagement in warfare after 1945 was once hence an odd mix starting from place of birth protection via insular activities in the colonies or protectorates to maintain empire - to enjoying an enormous position in confronting the USSR.
- Round Engine Racers - Bearcats Corsairs
- Kosovo : Operation "Allied Force"
- America's First Air Battles : Lessons Learned or Lessons Lost?
- A new numerical design tool for concept evaluation of propeller aircraft
Additional resources for A fault tolerant flight control system for sensor and actuator failures using neural networks
Sample text
Willtams) 39 ... ao Above: Candy stnpes on the upper surfaces of 51-7069 are revealed in this view taken from a tanker This was a bomb toss test alfcraft (Boeing W1ch1ta) Left. Boeing test pilots Jack Funk (left) and Dick Taylor discuss the mission 1n front of 51-7069. (Boeing K3633) The reason that the B-47 beat out its competitors was that 11 could carry the ""special purpose"" bomb. This Mk 28 atomic bomb had a 1 1 megaton yield and could be carried in the bomb bay of a 8-47 This picture was taken at the National Atomic Museum.
FL 15 Apr 52 - 15 Feb 61 (Transferred to 2nd AF) MacDi ll AFB. AFB NE 8 Nov 54. - 31 Dec 58 (Transferred to 2nd AF) Hunter A::B GA (Transferred to Pia ttsburgh AFB. NY 15 Jul 59) 25 9ep 53 - 25 Jun 61 (Deactivated) Smoky Hill AFB.
ING ILLUMINATION LIGHTS RIGHT INBOARD NACELLE COllPARTMENT 57 MISSION TACTICS & MODIFICATIONS Thu f1rst B 478· I BW. ind d1st1r1ct1ve bldck and wl11te cl1cckerccf (Wt/It ams) 111,11 kings Originally conco1vod as a high altitude bomber. mission tactics for tho B-47 were changed because of improvements in Soviet anti aircraft defenses New tactics were developed for low altitude penetration (beneath the radar). a pull ·up. bomb release, and departure. Such maneuvers were commonplace lor fighters. but not bombers.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Wall Of Sound LP
19,99 € * inkl. MwSt. zzgl. Versandkosten
- Artikelnummer 24300
- Band/Artist: FRIEDMAN, MARTY
- Format: LP
- Genre: HARDROCK
- Erscheinungsdatum: 04.08.2017
Grammy nominated recording artist and legendary guitarist as well as Ambassador of Japan Heritage... mehr
Grammy nominated recording artist and legendary guitarist as well as Ambassador of Japan Heritage (!) Marty Friedman returns with WALL OF SOUND, the much anticipated follow up to his Billboard charting album, INFERNO. 11 bombastic tracks featuring a diverse group of guests: Jinxx (Black Veil Brides), Shiv Mehra (Deafheaven) and Jorgen Munkeby (Shining), WALL OF SOUND explores, expands and destroys any conventional notions of instrumental music. It was produced by Friedman, engineered by Paul Fig (Ghost, Rush, Alice In Chains) and mixed by Jens Bogren (Lamb of God, Opeth). Legendary Queen producer, Mack, came on board to handle the mixing on two tracks, "Streetlight" and "For a Friend".


text:
July 30, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
A form of joint reinforcement commonly used in miter joints as well as butt joints. The spline itself is usually a thin piece of wood cut so that the grain runs perpendicular to the joint for ultimate strength. The pieces to be joined each receive a groove that will accept the spline. This is a great way to add strength to a joint that normally lacks it. Its also very useful for alignment purposes during complex glueups. Spline slots are usually cut on the tablesaw or with a router.
Article: Making and Using Splines


text:
Stafford House Chicago @ 332 S. Michigan Ave
332 S. Michigan Ave., #500, Chicago, IL 60604Stafford House Chicago @ 332 S. Michigan Ave
4.5 9 (9)
19 Followers
Private English Language school with 20+ training rooms and multiple small meeting rooms. Occupies 5th floor of historic 332 S. Michigan Ave Building. Many rooms have lake views. We offer a very welcoming environment, but want guests to be aware that we are primarily focused on serving our students. Thus, we cannot provide the same level of service or amenities you might see at a hotel. We have three key rules we would like all guests to be aware of prior to renting space: •Leave rooms as you found them (Chairs, Clean white boards, etc.) •Please do not eat in the classrooms. If you need to eat, you may eat in the student lounge area or at any one of the multiple eating establishments in the area. Drinks are permitted as long as you leave the room as you found it. •Please understand that we cannot accommodate special requests (e.g. connecting your laptop to the TV, technology troubleshooting, rearranging rooms, etc.)
Amenities & Services at 332 S. Michigan Ave.
- WiFi
- Filtered Water
- TV/Monitor
- Whiteboard
- Window View
The Loop
The heart of downtown Chicago
Community Stafford House Chicago @ 332 S. Michigan Ave in Chicago
19 People favorited spaces at Stafford House Chicago @ 332 S. Michigan Ave in Chicago
19 followers at Stafford House Chicago @ 332 S. Michigan Ave in Chicago
- Flavia Sparacino, Barbara Morgan-Browning started following 10 months ago
- Anna Baccellieri started following 11 months ago
- MAtt Vetter, Frank Molignano, Rob Carrara, Eugene Beckles, Lauren Ransom, Daniel Brown, Dwayne Pierre-Antoine, Justin Pierce, Camille Turner, Mallory Seagraves, Leah Bartell, Lewis Roberts started following one year ago
Rating and Reviews


text:
From 9 to 24 karat.
The criteria was difficult to establish here.
There are a handful of modern pro wrestling championships that perhaps eclipse those on this list, but lack the historical significance on which too many coast. The PROGRESS World Championship in latter years has become known as a golden ticket to wrestling stardom. Similarly, the ICW World Championship acts as an inroad to prominence in the current wrestling world, with an overseas defence compelling the promotion to rename it from the ICW National Heavyweight Championship in 2015. This formalisation was unnecessary. When, for example, WWE announced the creation of the Universal Championship in 2016, it met no such criteria. It was received as a World Championship before it was even defended in the U.S.. It is received as a World Championship when it's barely defended now. That's WWE for you, hence the inclusion here of a certain blue makeweight.
It's also wrestling, plain and simple; whether or not a title is worthy of the World designation is a pure work.
CMLL, AAA and even the Americanised Lucha Underground are not included here, partly because your writer admits almost total in-depth ignorance of the lucha libre scene, but also because, in the case of the former league - by some distance the most enduring, popular and prestigious of the three - the 'World' designation is distributed across several weight divisions.
Ultimately, it's a subjective feeling; which championships project themselves as championships as a result of history, scale, reach and longevity of promotion, protection, perception on the international stage...?
12 WrestleMania 35 Match Predictions Following WWE Elimination Chamber 2019
Every Wrestler Signed By Wrestling Promotions In 2019
13 Ups And 16 Downs From WWE Royal Rumble 2019
Former Power Slam Magazine scribe and author of Development Hell: The NXT Story - available NOW on shop.whatculture.com!


text:
Water Damage Certification
When contracting the services of a company to deal with water damage, you should ask if they have a water damage certification to prove that they are competent enough to do the task of restoring your water damaged home and its consequential effects. The task will include setting deterrents for the development of molds, mildews and other microorganisms and repairing of the damaged items such as clothes and fixtures, furniture and all the parts of the house including the structure, the walls, floors, etc. A non-profit group called the IICRC or the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification is an independent group that issues these types of certifications.
Classes of Water Damage Certifications
Although IICRC has no teachers or schools of its own, it approves schools and teachers to train and manage the IICRC programs worldwide. Levels of certification are assigned based on the years of experience the company has on water damage restoration as well as the number of various certifications already received from the IIRC. To be certified by the top level means that the company has satisfied some required certifications and a minimum of three years' experience in the field of water damage restoration. The company has to acquire a series of certifications for the various aspects of restoration and recovery.
These Include:
- Applied Microbial Remediation Technician
- Water Damage Restoration Technician
- Commercial Drying Specialist
- Applied Structural Drying Technician
IICRC Instructors and Maintaining the Water Damage Certification
When a contractor has a certification from the IICRC, it will be his proof that he is a competent and recognized contractor. However, the learning does not stop after having received the first certification. The contractor must continue to acquire new learnings and information to earn more credits in this field to retain the certification. The certified teachers should also obtain the CEC (continuing education credits) to maintain their instructor titles as issued by the IICRC. The instructor should also maintain his/her membership with directly IICRC or with an IICRC certified school.
Advantages of Having Water Damage Certification
When a contractor is IICRC- certified, it only proves that they are experts in their field. Thus, when you employ the services of a contractor with an IICRC certification, you can be sure that you are getting the services of a reputable water damage contractor water damage contractor who can give you the best results as far as restoring your damaged home is concerned within the agreed period. Certified contractors have earned their certifications through strict screening and continuous learning and are guaranteed to offer solutions to all types of water or damage scenarios. They will only have your best interest in mind, and you can rest assured that they will do what is necessary to restore your home to its original state. You can get more information on IICRC, the different types, and levels of certifications and a directory of IICRC-certified companies in your locality.


text:
Brent Crude Falls 45 Cents, Or 0.7 Percent to $64.97 Per Barrel
Brent crude futures were down 45 cents at $64.97 a barrel. The analysts observed that a strengthening dollar that hit a six-day high, however, weighed on oil prices. It is concluded that the robust dollar makes oil and other dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies. However, since 7the February, it was seen that U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 58 cents, or 1 percent, at $62.26 a barrel. Prices rallied to a high of $62.74 a barrel early in the session. Which is the highest price since 7the of Feb.
In this post, you will get to know the difference between the Brent Crude as well as WTI. One of the major differences between Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is their origin. The Brent Crude originates from oil fields in the North Sea, however, West Texas Intermediate is sourced from U.S. oil fields. Mainly, it is sourced from Texas, Louisiana and North Dakota. The characteristics of both Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate are light and sweet, which make them ideal for refining into gasoline.
However, in nature, Brent Crude is more ubiquitous, and most oil is priced using Brent Crude as the benchmark, but in The United States, West Texas Intermediate is the preferred measure.
Since Brent Crude is produced near the sea; therefore, the transportation cost is significantly lower. While in case of West Texas Intermediate, it is produced in landlocked areas, making transportation costs heavier.
Nowadays, WTI has become cheaper than Brent Crude oil due to advancements in oil drilling and fracking. However, earlier, Brent Crude tended to be cheaper than West Texas Crude.
From the summer of 2014 to the spring of 2015, revolution is observed where the increased production led oil prices to fall from above $100 to below $50. In the overall health of the energy complex, the price of oil is the main factor.
Among some of the other factors that can lead to significant differences between Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate geopolitical trouble is one of them. At times of crisis, the spread blows out as political uncertainty leads to surges in Brent Crude prices. Since West Texas Intermediate is based in landlocked areas in the United States, so it is less affected.
In terms of quality, WTI and Brent crude are quite similar. However, it was observed that for many years, there was the very small difference in the price of Brent and WTI. But, now from 2011, the two benchmarks have diverged.


text:
Fencing team captures first
The MIT women's fencing team charged to victory last Sunday, capturing first place in the New England championships. A tense moment came in the fourth round of the tournament when Tech (with 7 bouts won and 1 lost) came up against the then-undefeated Brown University.
Loud cheering from the Brown team turned to quiet despair as Tech's women plucked victory after victory from their grasp ending in an outstanding 4-0 MIT sweep.
"Brown came into this championship thinking that the battle for first was between them and MIT," Coach Iria Romano said. "We didn't."
A demoralized Brown limped to third place behind runner-up Harvard, but no one even approached the stellar 30-2 record of the lady blades from MIT. Congratulations to Kathryn Fricks '92, Sara Ontiveros '93, captain Felice Swapp '92 and Alice Chang G.
More tense moments were provided by captain Swapp in the varsity individual competition. In a final-round bout with a University of New Hampshire lefty who had defeated her in the team event, Swapp found herself behind 3-4 with only two seconds left to fence.
As soon as the word "fence" was out of the director's mouth, Swapp was off the mark charging at her opponent and landing her point on the target, bringing the score to 4-4. Swapp handily finished the bout and cruised to a fourth place finish.
Other individual honors go to second-place Chang, and eighth-place Ontiveros. In amazing coincidence, the MIT junior varsity team finished in the same positions as their varsity counterparts, with Shing Kong '94 in eighth, Ronke Olabisi '93 in fourth and Heather Klaubert '94 in second.
The fight for Northeast Regional champion happens this weekend in the Johnson Athletic Center. The MIT women's team was one of six from the New England and New York region to qualify for this prestigious event and will boast three women (Chang, Swapp and Ontiveros) in the individual competition on Sunday. The results will determine qualifiers for NCAA Nationals competition.
(Sara Ontiveros '93 is manager of the women's fencing team.)


text: I cannot tell you how much I love putting cake and colour together, although I could do without the cravings for something sweet whilst looking at all the gorgeous food. Perhaps I need to have lunch before I work on the next set of combinations. Feel free to pin any of the combinations onto Pinterest as that's what they are there for.


text:
The suspension of these payments is the most recent maneuver by the Trump administration to undercut the health-care law that President Donald Trump has vowed since his campaign to demolish.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration took another major swipe at the Affordable Care Act (ACA), halting billions of dollars in annual payments required under the law to even out the cost to insurers whose customers need expensive medical services.
In a rare Saturday afternoon announcement, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said it will stop collecting and paying out money under the ACA's "risk-adjustment" program, drawing swift protest from the health-insurance industry.
Risk adjustment is one of three methods built into the 2010 health-care law to help insulate insurance companies from the ACA requirement that they accept all customers for the first time — healthy and sick — without charging more to those who need substantial care.
The other two methods were temporary, but risk adjustment is permanent. Federal health officials are required each year to calculate which insurers with relatively low-cost consumers must chip in to a fund, and which ones with more expensive customers are owed money. This idea of pooling risk has had significant practical effects: encouraging insurers to participate in the insurance marketplaces the ACA created for Americans who cannot get affordable health benefits through a job.
Most Read Nation & World Stories
- Smollett developments leave some baffled, others outraged
- Obama quietly gives advice to 2020 Democrats, but no endorsement
- Coalition of states sues Trump over national-emergency declaration to build border wall
- He threw away a napkin at a hockey game. It was used to charge him in a 1993 murder.
- Alec Baldwin wonders whether Trump's 'SNL' attack poses 'a threat to my safety'
In its announcement, CMS said that it is not going to make $10.4 billion in payments that are due to insurers in the fall for expenses incurred by insurers last year.
CMS, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that oversees much of the law, is supposed to issue an annual report on the program but has not released a report due late last month.
The suspension of these payments is the most recent maneuver by the Trump administration to undercut the health-care law. A Republican-led Congress last year failed to repeal much of the ACA. The administration has been taking steps to dismantle it through executive powers.
The five-paragraph statement plus a timeline issued Saturday justified the latest maneuver by tying it to a legal dispute over the fairness of the risk-adjustment formula.
The dispute goes back about three years to a new type of nonprofit insurer, known as Consumer Oriented and Operated Plans (co-ops), created by the ACA as alternatives to traditional insurance companies. Most of the co-ops found themselves in such fragile financial condition that they closed, and a few that have survived sued the government, alleging they were unfairly making contributions into the risk-adjustment fund while larger, better-established insurers were receiving payments.
In two cases, federal district judges in Massachusetts and New Mexico reached opposite conclusions. The Massachusetts judge found the HHS formula fair, but the one in New Mexico ruled it was "arbitrary and capricious." Federal health officials are asking that the New Mexico ruling be reconsidered.
Two major insurers' trade groups decried the move.
"Risk adjustment is a mandatory program under federal law," said Scott Serota, president of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. "Without a quick resolution … this action will significantly increase 2019 premiums for millions of individuals and small business owners. … It will undermine Americans' access to affordable coverage, particularly for those who need medical care the most."
Matt Eyles, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, noted in a statement that the timing of this latest move could be particularly disruptive, because this is the season during which insurers nationwide decide whether to take part in ACA marketplaces for 2019 and, if so, what rates to charge. "This decision … will create more market uncertainty and increase premiums for many health plans," Eyles said.


text:
The paradox of becoming educated
Recent news at the newspaper where I work caused me to think a lot about education, and my past efforts to improve myself and my lot in life.
A top person at Florida Polytechnic University recently took the top job at Palm Beach State College, one of my alma maters. I graduated from PBSC, as it's known now, when it was Palm Beach Community College, and attending the place was one of the greatest things I ever did. At a time in my life when so many wanted me to fail and so few wanted me to succeed, I succeeded brilliantly and moved on to Florida Atlantic University to finish my bachelor's degree.
But the seeds of that achievement were planted by the dedicated teachers at Palm Beach Community College.
There's a tendency in some segments of society to dismiss educated people and people seeking to improve themselves through education through a variety of dismissive and abusive terms and phrases. Believe me, I've heard them all and nearly all were directed at me at some time in my life. Even the venerable high school diploma can, in the right hands, be dismissed as a waste of time.
I first became aware of this derisive attitude when I reported to my first duty station in the Marine Corps in early 1979. I had finished basic training at Parris Island, then aviation and electronics training at the naval air station at Millington, Tenn., and was sent to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, Calif., to get my next assignment.
It was an adventure for me. I flew on a 747 from New York to Los Angeles, and the plane blew several main landing gear tires on touchdown. We taxied to the gate and debarked, and saw the rubberized mess that was the planes' main landing gear.
At El Toro, I learned that I would be going to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, and after a couple of weeks was given a ticket on a flight to Yuma. It was a night flight, and I remember looking out and wondering just where we were. It was pitch black outside. The plane landed and I eventually found myself at the receiving barracks. Mind you, it was a Saturday night, and the duty Staff NCO was watching a TV show that featured Prince.
He checked me in, got me assigned to a barracks room and I settled in. On Monday morning, I reported to the famous Hootowl hangar at the base and began checking in to VMA-513, a Harrier squadron.
Upstairs in the hangar, where the administrative offices were, the mood was typical office of the late 1970s. I handed over my orders and my service record to a corporal who didn't seem all that receptive to new arrivals. I was a private first class at the time, I think, and was used to being intimidated by people above me in rank.
The corporal flipped through the thin record, then stopped and looked at something.
He looked up at me and declared, "Well, just because you have a high school diploma doesn't mean you have any common sense."
I was stunned. I hadn't done more than hand over my papers, and suddenly judgment was passed.
I figured that the corporal was probably a high school dropout – as was common at the time – and he was just establishing that while I might have the piece of paper, he had the rank. So there.
A few weeks later, I was up in the administrative offices for something and I noticed that he had taken a magazine page, cut it out and taped it next to his desk on a wall. Hustler magazine then had a feature called "Asshole of the Month," spotlighting some politician who had earned the ire of publisher Larry Flynt. Taped over the caricature of a politician was a picture of me, taken for a new ID card. He must have grabbed the second shot taken and appropriated it.
I could never understand the reason for this hostility. I mean, I didn't brag about my educational accomplishments to him. Maybe others hurt him and he realized that I couldn't fight back so he targeted me, or maybe he targeted others, too.
The military is notorious for the ridicule heaped on educated troops, especially if they are enlisteds with either some college or an actual college degree. A familiar taunt aimed at those who try to act above the lowest military station in life is, "If you're so smart, why are you in the Army (Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, etc.)"
Indeed, showing too much intelligence could border on insubordination, and some folks hid their intelligence, though it hurt them, to be more acceptable to their superiors.
I found it odd that this also happened in the Postal Service.
Brutalized for brains
It often shocks people when I describe the way the Postal Service viewed workers with an education. While my orientation in New York was normal, the one in West Palm Beach included a declaration that we were not to consider ourselves above anyone else in intelligence. It was not uncommon to be told, "People come to work at the Postal Service because they're too dumb to get jobs anywhere else."
There were almost no self-improvement programs or even formal training programs available for postal workers, and the few I found were correspondence courses that offered no formal recognition or training for understanding postal operations so you could do your job better.
Managers would tell me that the worst thing you could ever do to a worker was train them to do their job better, because it gave them "ideas above their station in life."
There weren't even very many formal management training programs in the 1980s and 1990s, though there was a college course through Palm Beach Community College in postal operations. I took it, and it was mainly a postal manager reading from the Domestic Mail Manual. Boring with a capital B. I took the course and got an A, but it offered no road to advancement for me.
I soon realized that if I was going to do anything useful and productive with my life, I'd have to get a college degree. I began the long, challenging process of getting myself into Palm Beach Community College. It was pretty intimidating, even for me. I had to fill out a lot of forms, study for and take the American College Test, get a number and wait on line to register and then finally begin taking classes. Since I worked at night I could take daytime classes, and soon found that I was finally respected for having intelligence.
People think my fondness for community colleges is because I'm going senile, but it's because that was where things really started to swing my way and I found myself. It sounds trite, but it's true. I began to see a world of possibilities where none had appeared before.
It was blasphemy in the post office to even imply that you might be qualified to work somewhere else, and I still had to deal with the negative vibes at the West Palm Beach General Mail Facility. My break and lunch times were spent munching meals and studying while listening to classical music on my Walkman, but I couldn't help but hear the derisive and disrespectful comments.
"He thinks he's better than everyone else," I'd hear co-workers say to each other.
One boss told me, "Henry Ford said workers need to know just three things: what time to be at work, where to be and what to do. Everything else is just a waste."
I'd hear one fellow declare loudly when he saw me studying, "You're wasting your time."
Everyone seemed to have a relative who had attended college and graduated, but "ha(d) no common sense" and was working at a minimum-wage job.
Postal bosses, many of them high school dropouts (and one elementary school dropout) would lord it over me that I was busting my ass in a "futile" effort to advance. "Look at me," one female supervisor said. "I never graduated high school and now I supervise supervisors. Education is a waste of time."
Many of those bosses who lack formal education are now high-level postal officials. If people wonder why they can never get a straight answer from the post office on a question, it's because the organization doesn't reward knowledge and education.
The great escape
Those who are negative about education and your attainments at school are just the losers of our society, and there's a simple reason for their attitude.
They're jealous.
I realized this and it motivated me to carry on.
When I quit the Postal Service, I was taking a leap into the unknown that was even bigger than when I left the Marine Corps. I was scared, but I did it, and I never regretted doing it.
It might seem that I was jumping from an airplane when I left the Postal Service, but that college degree was my parachute, and it has helped me to many a soft landing. I wonder about those who ridiculed me for my educational pursuits, and how their lives turned out.
Not as good as mine, I bet.
Never let others define your success. Keep at your education and remember that even if it takes you 10 years to get that degree, it'll be worth it.
- It's time to save local journalism, not do more useless studies
- The greatest adventure of them all
- Carl Hiassen tells it like it is
- The frustrations of having a very drunk rider in the car
- Is getting hit in school all it's cracked up to be?
- University of Florida blows millions for new football facilities so players can walk less
- It never rains in Human Resources
- Sexual harassment is about power, control and authority
- Bergdahl's lack of prison time offensive to veterans
- Need a lift? Call me at Lyft
- The Wildest Times of My Life: Catholic School Bazaars in the 1970s
- The ever-forgetful Publishers Clearing House


text:
NPL e-Learning Programme
Magnetic Nanoparticles: Standardisation and Biomedical Applications
The field of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) is multidisciplinary and involves physics, chemistry, engineering and the life sciences. As a fairly recent area of research and professional activity, it lacks a structured set of educational resources, especially on standardisation and biomedical applications. This course is aimed at providing such a solution: it synthesises the state-of-the-art advancements within this field and delivers reference information for both general audience (with a scientific background) and experienced professionals in the field.
This course has been created as part of the EU-financed NanoMag project, and results from the collaboration between NPL, Acreo Swedish ICT AB, Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (grant agreement no: 604448).
Main Objectives
This e-Learning course aims to:
- Develop awareness of the pros and cons deriving from the use of MNPs, in order to sustain an informed opinion on this topic.
- Emphasise the benefits deriving from the standardisation and improvement in analysis methods of magnetic nanoparticles
- Provide the foundation to enable further study in this field
Learning objectives
Learners completing the four modules of the e-Learning course will:
- Understand the structural and magnetic properties of MNPs, with a focus on how properties on the nanoscale differ from the bulk properties of the magnetic material
- Become familiar with a range of synthesis techniques and their relative advantages
- Understand the benefits and limitations of using MNPs in biomedical and other applications
- Become familiar with a range of techniques for the characterisation of MNPs
- Understand the need for the standardisation of such characterisation techniques
This course is aimed at
- Scientists entering the field
- Professionals who are unfamiliar with the physical principles of magnetic materials at the nanoscale
- Medical professionals who want to review progress on MNP research within the biomedical sphere
Course structure
The Magnetic Nanoparticles: Standardization and Biomedical Applications e-Learning course comprises a series of online text-based modules, exercises and an extensive selection of additional content, delivered through a self-paced learning experience, free of charge. The course comprises four modules:
- Module 1: Introduction to Magnetic Nanoparticles
- Module 2: Biomedical Applications of Magnetic Nanoparticles
- Module 3: Characterisation of Magnetic Nanoparticles
- Module 4: Relevance of Standardised Analysis Methods of Magnetic Nanoparticles
Note: Please login to find out more
If you are already registered, please enter your username and password below.
Please note that the information will not be divulged to third parties, or used without your permission