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Tuesday, July 25, 2017

In the Face of Deception, My Father's Defense of the Truth

This was an awesome story and message given by my father, Jim Hartley, over 12 years ago at a church meeting. When I first read this, I was completely astonished at the lengths evil men took to defeat the Allies during World War II. But my father used this story and applied it in a spiritual fashion, which helped strengthen my faith in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope this story and message will be of benefit to others. Below are my father's words:

In the Face of Deception, My Defense of the Truth
Adapted from an address given by James E. Hartley to local LDS Church leaders in Murray, Utah,
15 May 2005

Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny.  Cold, ice-blue eyes.  Six feet four inches tall and 220 pounds.  A menacing scar running from his left ear to his chin. He became one of Adolf Hitler’s most notorious secret agents, and at one point, one of the most dangerous men in Europe.  Scheming, daring, and intimidating, Lieutenant Colonel “Scarface” Skorzeny of the Nazi SS led one of the largest sabotage operations ever directed against American forces during World War II.

In October 1944, Hitler directed Skorzeny to choose from among all the German services a special unit of “American” soldiers. They were actually Nazi Germans, who could speak American English. Many of them would be dressed in captured U.S. military uniforms. Part of this unit would be sent behind American lines as spies and saboteurs.  Skorzeny assembled 2,500 troops, including an elite commando unit of 150 men, who were the best English speakers. In addition, he accumulated a number of captured U.S. jeeps, trucks, and one Sherman tank. To these, “Scarface” added many more German vehicles and tanks that were “remodeled” and painted to look like their U.S. counterparts. When completed, his collection of “American” vehicles and weapons included 50 tanks, which were organized into his formidable 150th Panzer Brigade. Skorzeny’s troops were divided into three groups, each with a mission to capture key bridges over the Meuse River in Belgium and Luxemburg so that Hitler’s forces could cross enemy lines and crush American and Allied forces.

Skorzeny’s operation was code-named “Greif,” which, in German, means, “grab.” And each highly-skilled saboteur was known as a “Greifer,” or “grabber.

In less than two months, Scarface Skorzeny organized an exceptionally effective group.  He had them trained in American equipment, weapons, ranks, and customs.  They learned American swear words and slang.  They were also supplied with American identification, money, and even letters and snapshots from the United States. 

Skorzeny’s infiltration of U.S. forces was part of a massive German surprise assault.  On December 16th, 1944, 29 German divisions attacked in what was the largest and one of the bloodiest battles in World War 2. The U.S. and its allies called it, the “Ardennes Counteroffensive,” but, its more famous nickname is “The Battle of the Bulge,” a battle that resulted in more than 186,000 German and Allied soldiers killed, wounded, or captured.

After the battle began, 44 of Skorzeny’s imposters slipped through the American line and began running wild in “U.S.” jeeps and trucks.  They rode in and out of the American forces, scouting airstrips and supply dumps, and identifying weak spots in their defenses.  These Greifers blocked roads with fallen trees, cut telephone wires, snarled American maneuvers by mixing up road signs, destroyed U.S. trucks by removing warnings of minefields, and guided devastating artillery attacks.  One Greifer stood at a crossroad and directed an entire American regiment in the wrong direction.

Initially, the execution of Skorzeny’s plan was flawless.  The real Americans didn’t realize that imposters were among them.  But the plan started to unravel two days after the fierce battle began. Three supposed GI’s were taken into custody because they didn’t know the correct U.S. password.  An interrogation specialist broke them and uncovered Skorzeny’s scheme, including the 150th Panzer Brigade using American-looking tanks. 

U.S. forces were alerted and a colossal spy hunt began.  MP’s and guards stuck guns into the ribs of all soldiers, including high-ranking officers, whose Americanism seemed the slightest bit suspicious.  They were asked questions like, “Where’s the Windy City?”  “Who is Betty Grable?” “Who is Mickey Mouse’s girlfriend?” and questions about U.S. sports and history. Suddenly, Skorzeny’s ruse no longer worked and most of the Greifers again slipped back through U.S. lines to return to one of Skorzeny’s main attack units. Ultimately, the Americans repelled Skorzeny’s troops and Panzer units, but not before Scarface’s Greifers had caused substantial damage and confusion. 

Unfortunately, U.S. forces were not initially successful in other locations. Nazi troops pushed 50 miles into U.S. and Allied lines before they were stopped.  Ultimately, the tenacity of the Americans and a German shortage of fuel and reinforcements forced the Nazi’s to retreat. A little more than a month after it began, the Battle of the Bulge ended in an Allied victory. It was the key turning point in the war in Europe.

About five months later, the U.S and its allies defeated Germany. Ten days after the end of the war, Skorzeny gave himself up to American forces.  He was held in a German prison for two years before being tried for his role as a Nazi offender. But, on July 27, 1948, three of Skorzeny’s former SS comrades impersonated American military police, obtained custody of Skorzeny, and helped him escape.  Skorzeny remained free and fiercely loyal to Hitler until end of his life.  He organized covert neo-Nazi paramilitary organizations, and he became highly involved in coups and assassination plots in at least 7 countries in Europe, Africa, and South America.

Today’s “Scarface” Deceivers

In the epic battle for men’s souls waged by Satan against Jesus Christ, Satan recruits, trains, and dispatches countless spiritual saboteurs like “Scarface” Skorzeny—masters of lies, deceit, and fraud.  Among their many targets are the Prophet Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“LDS Church,” “Mormon Church”). They are trying to flood the world with anti-Joseph Smith and anti-Mormon misinformation.  But, those who genuinely seek truth recognize that not all so-called “information” is truth, no matter how well it is presented.  If we are naïve or careless in our learning, and if we don’t have the Holy Ghost as our guide, we will be deceived, sooner or later.  Satan’s “Scarface imposters” are exceptionally good at their treachery.

            In opposition to Satan’s attacks, I offer five defenses why Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God.

1.      Fantastic Claims, But There Were Witnesses

 Some allege that Joseph was a delusional fraud because of his fantastic claims of seeing visions, receiving visits from heavenly beings, and having translated a book from an ancient record made of gold plates.  When you think about it, Joseph Smith’s claims are rather fantastic!  He claimed to have seen and conversed with God the Father and Jesus Christ!  He also maintained to have been visited by ancient Biblical prophets, including Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and the ancient Apostles Peter, James, and John.  Then there’s that other angel fellow, Moroni, from whom Joseph claimed to have received a golden record.

Yes, those claims about visions and gold plates are fantastic…but, I believe those claims for many reasons.  One reason is that only once—the first vision—was Joseph alone when the “fantastic” events occurred.  For other major events, Joseph was joined by other witnesses.
Oliver Cowdery was with Joseph when John the Baptist and later Peter, James, and John appeared to them to restore priesthood authority and power.

Three witnesses, Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer were with Joseph when they were visited by the ancient Book of Mormon prophet, Moroni. Those witnesses solemnly declared “to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people” that they saw an angel of God (Moroni) and the original gold plates of the Book of Mormon.

Joseph was allowed to show eight others the ancient golden record. Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith saw, touched, and hefted the original gold plates of the Book of Mormon.  Like the three witnesses, those eight signed their names as a solemn testimony to the world of the authenticity of the ancient record.

On February 16, 1832, Sidney Rigdon was with Joseph in Hiram, Ohio when, together, they saw the God the Father, Jesus Christ, and heavenly angels. 

On April 3, 1836, Oliver Cowdery was with Joseph in the Kirtland Temple when they were visited by the Savior, Moses, Elias, and Elijah. 

Joseph was not alone!  There were, in fact, other witnesses to the reality of the visions and the gold plates of the Book of Mormon.

2.      Defectors Never Denied the Fantastic Claims

There is an ironic extension of those marvelous experiences that provide me with a second reason why Joseph Smith was not a fraud.  Of the twelve men just mentioned, who shared in Joseph’s visions and witnessed the gold plates, six of them left the faith, namely, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, Martin Harris, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and Hiram Page.  These had become highly critical of Joseph.  Two of them eventually returned to the faith, Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris.  But, while those six were disaffected and bitter, they would have naturally unveiled any hoax, fraud, and deception.  Yet, even as defectors, they never denied that those visions and the Book of Mormon plates were authentic. 

3.      Intense Malice toward Joseph Smith

A third reason why I know Joseph was not a fraud is the extreme persecution and ultimate murder of the man.  If the Kingdom of God really was restored to the earth through Joseph Smith, I would expect Satan to unleash intense rage, hatred, and murderous attempts to stop the young prophet.  If evil had not attacked, then, frankly, that would be a sign that Joseph was not really a prophet, and we would not need to concern ourselves with him.  But, evil did attack, viciously.

Many times, Joseph Smith was ridiculed, maligned, slandered, beaten, taken to court on false charges, threatened, hunted, poisoned, and imprisoned because of his claims.  Ultimately, he was murdered by a mob of about 200 men with their faces cowardly camouflaged in black paint. 

Confronted over and over with malicious opposition and brutality, a fraudulent Joseph Smith would have given up and admitted his deceptions.  The fact that the “jaws of hell” repeatedly gaped open after him, and the fact that he stayed true to his claims tell me that Joseph was, indeed, a true prophet of God.  Otherwise Satan would not have worked so hard to destroy him.  And, Satan wouldn’t still be working so hard today with slanderous anti-Joseph Smith and anti-Mormon and materials. 

4.      The Miracle of the Book of Mormon

The fourth and most powerful evidence to me that Joseph Smith was a prophet is the miracle of the Book of Mormon.

Only a servant of God blessed with the gift and power of God could have produced that book.  Consider the unlikelihood of someone like Joseph Smith ever authoring such a marvelous book.  When the work was completed, Joseph was only 23 years old.  He had practically no formal education.  Yet, Joseph Smith produced a printed volume that is over 500 printed pages that are replete with doctrines, prophecies, testimonies, exposition, narration, parables, metaphors, similes, chiasmus, and literary devices characteristic of ancient Hebrew.  The book is an account that covers approximately 2,600 years and includes 54 chapters on war, 21 historical chapters, 55 chapters of visions and prophecies that agree completely with the Bible, 71 chapters of doctrine and exhortation that also agree in greatest detail with the Bible, and 21 chapters on the personal ministry of Jesus Christ. 

Linguists and statisticians have carefully analyzed the language of the Book of Mormon, and have demonstrated that no one man could have written it.  Their conclusion was that the likelihood of the Book of Mormon having only a single author are more than a billion-to-one.  Furthermore, careful, scientific wordprint (“stylometric”) analyses clearly show the work of multiple authors, none of which match the wordprints of Joseph Smith or his close associates.

Translating the Book of Mormon from English into another language today requires two to four years, even by highly educated and skilled translators who have computers, dictionaries, and comprehensive resources!  Yet, the uneducated farm boy, Joseph Smith, produced a 531-page testament of Jesus Christ in about 65 working days without any reference materials!

I’ve read that book many times.  I’ve prayed about that book.  I try to live its teachings.  It is another testament of Jesus Christ! 

I feel the same divine spirit and testimony of Christ whether I’m reading the Bible or the Book of Mormon.  In fact, the Book of Mormon helps me understand and love the Bible much more.  Because of the Book of Mormon, I have a much better understanding of essential gospel doctrines, such as who God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are; what my relationship is to God, my family, and my fellow men; the purpose and plan for life; that Jesus Christ really did  resurrect and lives today; that all humankind will one day resurrect; that my mistakes and sins can be forgiven; how to discern truth from error; and how to lead a life that is purposeful and fulfilling.

Therefore, if the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God—which it is—
then the man who translated it is a true prophet of God.

Anyone who mocks the Book of Mormon or denies its divinity has never humbly and prayerfully immersed him- or herself in it.  The Book of Mormon is a great book!  I love its stories.  I love its teachings.  I love how I feel when I read it.  It is holy scripture, and, as Joseph Smith said, “A man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book.”  It’s a miracle book!  Without Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, I would likely not be a Christian!

5.      The Greatest Witness—The Holy Spirit

The fifth reason I offer is the decisive factor in my defense of Joseph Smith: the witness of God through the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Ghost, God has confirmed to me over and over the reality that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, the Book of Mormon and the Bible are companion witnesses of Christ, and that Heavenly Father loves all of us as His children.

Not only does the Holy Spirit confirm divine truth, he also helps us recognize fraud, deceit, and evil.

Years ago, one of my teenage sons, a devout young man, acquired anti-Mormon information.  He considered himself a valiant defender of the LDS faith.  So, he attempted to expose and debunk the false claims of antagonists.  Before long, he discovered that he was no match for them.  He became confused, dejected, and oppressed by a dark and powerful spirit.  He came to me in great distress.  Together we prayerfully worked through enough of the anti-Mormon materials to clearly see how facts were twisted; lies and half-truths were substituted for the whole truth; concepts were cleverly pulled out of original context and placed in fabricated contexts; highly questionable sources were quoted as if authoritative; “maybe’s,” “possibly’s,” and “could-have-been’s” were skillfully presented as fact.  Most importantly, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, we sensed the spirit of the materials: dark, bigoted, and hateful.  Those kinds of mean-spirited materials can never be trusted.  My son is now better equipped with a powerful weapon for defending the faith: the Holy Spirit.

All religious materials carry a spirit.  When we pray while considering the messages of those materials, the Holy Ghost can help us discern their spirit.  If the tone or spirit of the materials is dark, intolerant, or malicious you can immediately conclude with 100% accuracy that they are not of God.  As soon as you know that, dispose of the materials. Do not linger with them or try to prove them wrong.  If you try, Satan and his saboteurs will wound you and your faith will falter.  Alone, without God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit, you and I are no match for Satan and his exporters of falsehoods!  Therefore, once the Holy Spirit identifies darkness, flee from it.  Leave it alone.  Trust in the Holy Ghost.

And, because of the Holy Ghost, I know that a dark, malicious spirit does not exist in the Book of Mormon or other revelations given through Joseph Smith.

Conclusion

In 1944, Nazi SS Lieutenant Colonel Otto “Scarface” Skorzeny and his 2,500 expert deceivers wreaked havoc among the American forces in the early days of the Battle of the Bulge.  They were military masters of deception and sabotage.  In the epic battle for men’s souls, there are many in the world today who are masterful religious frauds and spiritual saboteurs.  Do not be fooled by a mean-spirited saboteur’s misinformation about Joseph Smith or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Joseph was a prophet of God. The church restored through him is exactly what its name says, The Church of Jesus Christ. May the assurance of these truths saturate our souls now and forever, and protect us from Satan’s subversive lies and deceptions.


Thomas M. Johnson, “The Most Dangerous Man in Europe,” Secrets & Spies: Behind-the-Scenes Stories of World
War II, 1964, Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., 468-475



Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Two Brothers: One Chose Death, the Other Chose Life

My father, Jim Hartley, originally shared this story and message at a religious devotional in April 2005. I thought this was phenomenal the first time I heard it. This has helped instill in me a greater desire to choose good over evil. I hope others can find it of worth as well. Below is my father's message he prepared for the occasion:

Two Brothers: One Chose Death, the Other Chose Life

Brothers John, Edwin, and Junius (left to right)
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in 1864
There is a fascinating true story that is worth pondering. It’s about two brothers, John and Edwin. You see, one of them chose death and the other chose life. 

John was born in 1838 in Maryland. He wanted to be an actor. So, at age 17, John auditioned at the Charles Street Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. He received small parts from time to time, but it was another two years before he began performing regularly. John was particularly successful with various theatre companies in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond. Over time, he became a very popular and admired actor. 

His life radically changed in 1861, when the Civil War began. Because of his promise to his mother, John did not join the army. For a couple of years during the war, John left acting and pursued interests in western Pennsylvania’s oil fields. Later, he sold his interests and went to Montreal, Canada. Then, in March 1865, he traveled to Washington, D.C. to resume acting. He starred in the performance of “The Apostate” at Ford’s Theatre.

The next month, a new show opened at Ford’s Theatre, a comedy called “Our American Cousin.” John was not in that show. He didn’t intend to be. He had other business—to assassinate the President of the United States. 

During the performance on April 14th, 1865, John Wilkes Booth fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln. John escaped on horseback, first to Maryland then to Virginia. Federal soldiers tracked him down and trapped him inside a barn. John refused to give up and was finally shot to death.

John had become an agent for the Confederacy. For five months, he had been part of a conspiracy to kidnap President Lincoln and use him as a hostage to negotiate the release of Confederate soldiers who were being held in Union prisons. But, their attempt on March 17th failed. 

Nearly three weeks later, on April 9th, 1865, Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee surrendered, effectively ending the Civil War. John was furious. He and at least eight others conspired to assassinate President Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and the Secretary of State, William H. Seward. Just five days after Lee’s surrender, John Wilkes Booth completed his final performance at Ford’s Theatre with the murder of the president. Fortunately, the others in the conspiracy failed in their attempts on Johnson and Seward.

John had a brother named Edwin Thomas Booth. Edwin was five years older than John. He too was a talented actor. Edwin honed his skills by barnstorming through California mining towns and touring Australia and the Sandwich Islands (known today as Hawaii). His first appearances as a star were in Boston and New York City in 1857. By 1860, Edwin was widely recognized as one of the world’s finest Shakespearean actors. 

The assassination of President Lincoln by his brother was a blow to Edwin’s spirit from which he never recovered. It even caused him to withdraw from acting for nearly a year.

Edwin was of a different temperament than his younger brother. He demonstrated kindness and selflessness, which were apparently foreign to John. For example, sometime in either 1863 or ‘64, Edwin found himself on an extremely crowded railroad station platform in Jersey City. A well-dressed young man, about 20 years old, was accidentally pushed by the crowd up against the train. Suddenly the train lurched forward. The young man was twisted off his feet and dropped dangerously into the narrow space between the platform and the moving train. Edwin Booth reacted immediately. He locked a leg and an arm around a railing. With his other hand, he grabbed the young man by the collar and pulled him up to safety. The young man immediately recognized the famous actor, called him by name, and shook his hand in deepest gratitude for saving his life. Edwin did not recognize the young admirer he had just rescued. But, several weeks later, Edwin received a letter of thanks from the office of General Ulysses S. Grant. The person Edwin Booth saved was Robert Todd Lincoln, the oldest son of President Abraham Lincoln.

President and Mrs. Lincoln had three children. But, only Robert lived past the age of 18. Robert graduated from Harvard Law School and served in the Union Army. After the Civil War, he practiced law. In 1881, President James A. Garfield appointed him as the secretary of war. He held the same post under President Chester A. Arthur. In 1889, he was appointed as the U.S. minister to Great Britain. The Republican Party wanted him as a presidential candidate in 1884, 1888, 1892, and 1912, but, each time he declined the offer to run. Robert Todd Lincoln died at age 83, a renowned lawyer, businessman, and statesman. We owe Robert’s noble life to the brother of the man who assassinated Robert’s father.

What a contrast between two brothers. John Wilkes Booth, the talented actor whose life became dedicated to death. And, Edwin Thomas Booth, a world-famous actor, who risked his life to save the life of another. Both brothers altered the legacy of the Lincoln family.

John and Edwin remind us of two other brothers, who, in a way, are like the Booth brothers—one brother, who chooses death and the other, who chooses life.

In the premortal world, there was a great council to prepare the Plan of Salvation for the spirit children of God. One “who was in authority” went before God and said, “…Here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost; and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor” (Moses 4:1).

Because he sought to destroy the agency of man and take all power and honor to himself, his proposal was rejected. So, he rebelled “…[and] was thrust down from the presence of God….  And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning!” (D& C 76:25-28) And from that time on Lucifer sought to destroy humankind (Moses 4:6).

Like John Wilkes Booth, Lucifer has an older brother who has a completely different temperament. Rather than death and destruction, Satan’s older brother, Jesus Christ, seeks life. In contrast to Lucifer, Jesus’s response to God’s plan was, “Father, thy will be done and the glory be thine forever” (Moses 4:2).

The ancient Apostle John taught us, “For God so loved the world that He gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: [Jesus is] come that [we] might have life, and that [we] might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

It is worthwhile to ponder the lives of the two brothers, John Wilkes Booth and Edwin Thomas Booth—one who sought death and one who sought life. The Booth brothers remind us of two other brothers, Lucifer and Jesus the Christ—one who seeks death and destruction and One who is the life and the light of the world, who gave His life to rescue ours.

I bear witness of the Savior’s reality and of His love.  May we always follow the One who is the life and the light of all, Jesus Christ.


Aurandt, Paul, Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story, Bantam Books, New York, New York, 1977, 47-49
The National Park Service, Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, “A History of John Wilkes Booth”
Encyclopedia Britannica presents “Shakespeare and the Globe: Then and Now,” Biographies,
“Booth, Edwin (Thomas)” (http://search.eb.com/shakespeare/micro/78/51.html)
Goff, John S., Robert Todd Lincoln: A Man In His Own Right, 70-71 (http://members.aol.com/RVSNorton1/Lincoln59.html)
World Book Encyclopedia 1992: “Booth, Edwin Thomas” and “Booth, John Wilkes,” volume 2, 492
World Book Encyclopedia 1992: “Lincoln, Abraham,” “Lincoln, Mary Todd,” and “Lincoln, Robert Todd,” volume
12, 310-327

*The web links were functional at the time this message was original prepared in April 2005. As of July 2017, it appears they may no longer be functional.

* Image source: By Unknown - The Life and Times of Joseph Haworth (as "images/Fellow Actors/Edwin Booth/Junius, Edwin & John Wilkes Booth in Julius Caesar-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg"); the original is in the McClellan Collection at Brown University., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3259721