Birth of Mormon, death of a prophet

Interesting piece which certainly adds to my knowledge of Mormonism
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/03/03/paul-c-gutjahr-birth-of-a-religion-death-of-a-prophet/

I always found it hilarious that the Book of Mormon, written in the early 19th Century, was written in King James' English, of the early 17th.

The whole story was fascinating and of course he is meant to have found it by dowsing. Someone actually had the same idea a few years before him but got caught out. I must find the story again.

Now a big and wealthy church world leaders in genealogy. I am sure they want to try and pin down our DNA to back up the bible.

Wasn't BoM said to have been plagiarised from something called The Solomon Manuscript?
Serialised novel by a Mr. Solomon.
Seem to remember reading that somewhere.

Great pragmatists though. When civil rights movement emerged in USA the then Mormon prophet had a handy revelation to remove their worldwide ban on blacks in the priesthood.
One of my aunties, a passable card reader in her day; met a mormon missionary who was over here from Utah. Went out and married him after he went back.
He came to his senses under her influence plus his taste for whisky. They both passed active 'new agers' happy as a pair of sandboys to the last.

I'm told that my great-grandparents were Mormons.

It all sounds like so much wackiness to me. But if you admire success, you have to admire them!

They just built a church not far from my house: the building looks old, to blend in with the wealthy street that it's on: but it was built just a few years ago.

Yes, they really do roll with the times. The latest, just on the news this morning, is that they are cracking down on their practice of baptizing for the dead, because of Jewish complaints that deceased Jews are being baptized into the Mormon fold.

Now, tell me: which of the two groups sounds nuttier there: the Mormons for doing it? Or the Jews for complaining about it?

Jim