JOSEPH'S CIRCLE OF DEATH
by Larry Hall
"Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not
deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods,
and worship them;" (Deuteronomy 11:16)

In August 1997, my wife and I took a trip to the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our purpose for making the trip was to take detailed photographs of the temple architecture and the cultic symbols attached. In our conversations with Mormon patrons and temple hostesses, we were astounded at the power of Satan to delude and confuse those who do his bidding.

Young, wide-eyed children (being carried piggy-back by their fathers) proudly proclaimed such phrases as: "There's the Beehive House, daddy!" "That's where they have the celestial room, dad!" "Look, the Angel Moroni!" My heart was crushed, and I felt a sense of urgency unlike anything I have felt before. These souls are important to Christ, and they must be alerted to the dangers of their actions without delay!

A very pleasant young lady greeted my wife and I at the visitors center. She ushered us into a room and showed us photographs of the various "sacred" rooms within the temple. As she answered our questions regarding Mormon doctrine, she was very careful to represent her beliefs in an orthodox Christian fashion.

It was not until I reminded her of the Mormon "plurality-of-gods doctrine" and her eventual status as a goddess that she realized she had been caught in a lie. I could only shudder at the thought of how many uninformed Christians have actually believed her.

I then asked her to explain the symbols that are emblazoned on the exterior granite-like (actually sandstone) walls of the temple. She told us that "earth stones" and "sun stones" are important celestial and sacred symbols. But when I pointed to the inverted pentagrams and asked her to explain why they appear identical to the ones found on Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible, our ability to communicate with each other rapidly deteriorated.

The young lady just turned and walked away, leaving us only with the words, "Now I know where you are coming from!" It was fascinating to see just how swiftly darkness will disappear in the presence of light! The young lady was right about one thing, however. Mormon Temple symbols are sacred--but only to the horned god of witchcraft and those who follow him!

How Soon We Forget!

The passage of time has always been an enemy to those who wish to learn from their mistakes. People just forget! Communication problems are partly to blame. Parents often fail to tell their children about important events that have occurred in their lifetimes. And when they do, their children rarely think the information is important enough to be passed on to another generation.

There is much to be said about the phrase, "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it." For example, how many of us remember the gun control efforts of Adolph Hitler prior to the disarming of all German people? How many people can recall the number of children who were killed in order to "save them" in Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1995? And how many people remember the newscasts of "confirmed" secondary explosive devices that were being disarmed in the damaged Oklahoma City federal building exactly one year later? How many important facts have been conveniently swept under the rug because we choose to forget?

Mormon history is no different! During Joseph Smith's lifetime, most people were familiar with his strong connection with witchcraft and the occult. They knew about his extramarital affairs and "wife collecting" habits. They knew about his theft of Masonic secrets and temple ceremonies at the same time he was taking Masonic women. They knew about Smith's funny three-dollar bills, counterfeiting schemes, and criminal history. They knew about his bar and frequent use of alcoholic beverages.

But after 150 years, many of these facts seem to have been long forgotten. During that time, efforts by the Mormon Church to censor, suppress, or change Joseph's history have been very effective in maintaining strong church growth. According to Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Censorship seems to be a very important thing in the Mormon church. It is apparently felt that more converts can be won to the church with a bogus history than with a factual one." ¹

Book burnings and the destruction of unfavorable publications have been recorded, and many revealing materials have been concealed by the Church Historian or locked safely in the First Presidency's vault. Consequently, most Mormons are unaware of the cultic history of their founder.

Fortunately, however, many documents and affidavits have survived all attempts to destroy them. Diligent research and documentation by many investigators have made it possible for the truth to be known. Thanks to Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Wesley Walters, E. D. Howe, H. Michael Marquardt, Dr. Walter Martin, and a host of others, Mormons can now make an educated choice. Christ wants them to come home!

Blind Leaders of the Blind

In an article entitled "Joseph Smith the Warlock?," we briefly discussed the Faculty of Abrac, the occultic seer stone, and Joseph Smith's criminal conviction of glass-looking (crystal gazing) while he was under the tutelage of the Angel Moroni, four years prior to printing the Book of Mormon.

As we continue the search, remember what the biblical God has to say against idolatry, witchcraft, and divination. Is it reasonable to assume that He would now condone any of these abominations or choose a prophet who practices them? I think not!

"...evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,
deceiving, and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:13)

The Magic Circle

According to witchcraft magick rituals, the circle is extremely important in gaining power over evil spirits. As stated by Gibson, "As a magic circle, the shape has great protective power in occult practices and is also important as a meditational symbol." ²

Regardie tells us in The Tree of Life, a Study in Magic, "The principle symbol common to every operation is the Magical Circle. The Circle, in addition to being, as is evident, the symbol of the infinite, also typifies the astral sphere of the Magician which, in one sense, is the individual consciousness, outside of which nothing can exist...The Circle in which the magician is enclosed represents his particular cosmos;..." ³

To increase the power, an additional circle is drawn on the outside of the first. According to The Ancients Book of Magic, as reported by the Tanners, "...he [the Magician] draws the outer circle about 3 inches away from the circle he has already drawn...the operator must remember not to leave this circle during the whole invocation until the closing words have been said, for as long as he remains in the circle, no matter how fierce the demons may be they cannot break through the walls of the circle,..." ⁴

The magic circle and all the sacrifices and conjuring that went on inside were very important in the lives of Joseph Smith and his family. In the article entitled "Joseph Smith the Warlock?," we reported this statement by his mother Lucy: "...let not the reader suppose that ...we stopt [sic] our labor and went at trying to win the faculty of Abrac, drawing magic circles, or sooth saying to the neglect of all kinds of business. We never during our lives suffered one important interest to swallow up every other obligation." ⁵

Joseph's Magic Circle

Many affidavits have been published that show the magic techniques of Joseph Smith within his circle of power. It should be obvious to anyone reading the accounts that Smith's perversions are about as close to biblical Christianity as eating pickled pigs feet is to the Kosher dietary laws of Judaism.

One particular account of Joseph's treasure-hunting magic circle is found in E. D. Howe's Mormonism Unvailed. The sworn statement of Joseph Capron (1833) says: "The sapient Joseph discovered, northwest of my house, a chest of gold watches; but, as they were in the possession of the evil spirit, it required skill and stratagem to obtain them. Accordingly, orders were given to stick a parcel of large stakes in the ground, several rods around, in a circular form. This was to be done directly over where the treasures were deposited. A messenger was then sent to Palmyra to procure a polished sword: after which, Samuel F. Lawrence, with a drawn sword in his hand, marched around to guard any assault which his Satanic majesty might be disposed to make ....the devil came off victorious and carried away the watches." ⁶

Another sworn statement continues the picture of Joseph Smith. Segments of this lengthy article are as follows:

"I, William Stafford, having been called upon to give a true statement of my knowledge, concerning the character and conduct of the Smiths ...do say, that I first became acquainted with Joseph, Sen., and his family in the year 1820...a great part of their time was devoted to digging for money: especially in the night time,...They would say, ...that in such a place, in such a hill, on a certain man's farm, there were deposited keys, barrels and hogsheads of coined silver and gold--bars of gold, golden images, brass kettles filled with gold and silver--gold candlesticks, swords, &c. &c....which Joseph, Jr., could see, by placing a stone of singular appearance in his hat...that he could also discover the spirits in whose charge these treasures were, clothed in ancient dress.

Stafford continues, "Joseph Smith, Sen., came to me one night, and told me that Joseph Jr. had been looking in his glass, and had seen, not many rods from his house, two or three kegs of gold and silver, some feet under the surface of the earth....Joseph Sen., first made a circle, twelve or fourteen feet in diameter. This circle, said he, contains the treasure. He then stuck in the ground a row of witch hazel sticks, around the said circle, for the purpose of keeping off the evil spirits. Within this circle he made another, of about eight or ten feet in diameter. He walked around three times on the periphery of this last circle, muttering to himself something I could not understand. He next stuck a steel rod in the center of the circles, and then enjoined profound silence upon us, lest we should arouse the evil spirits who had the charge of these treasures....Joseph [Jr.] had remained all this time in the house, looking in his stone and watching the motions of the evil spirits...he saw the spirit come up to the ring and as soon as it beheld the cone which he had formed around the rod, it caused the money to sink." ⁷

A Magic Sword Fight With Spirits

You will notice in the Capron affidavit that a "drawn sword" was used by one of the money-diggers to guard against Satanic assault. With only slight modification in technique, this is a common practice in most magic rituals. According to the 1801 copy of The Magus, a Complete System of Occult Philosophy, "...if in any thing the spirit shall appear to be obstinate, ambiguous, or lying, let him be bound by convenient conjurations; ...if you doubt any thing, make, without the circle with the consecrated sword, the figure of a triangle or pentagon, and compel the spirit to enter into it." ⁸

Regardie, in The Tree of Life says, "...the Circle should be traced in the earth with the magical knife or sword,..." ⁹

And according to The Greater Key of Solomon, "...holding the consecrated Knife in the right hand, and the Pentacles being uncovered by the removal of their consecrated covering, strike and beat the air with the Knife as if wishing to commence a combat,..." ¹⁰

Somehow, Joseph Smith was never successful in making the spirits submit to his physical sword! Perhaps he should have paid more attention to the Bible. "...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" (Ephesians 6:17) That is the sword that ALWAYS makes the devil run!

"...CUT ITS THROAT and Make It Walk in a Circle Three Times Around..."

I am sure that most of our readers are familiar with the reports and stories about sacrifices, both animal and human, that are part of witchcraft rituals. Christians are normally shocked when they learn the details that surround this activity. To the Christian, the senseless shedding of blood (to appease either God or some unknown spirit) is appalling and unnecessary in this dispensation of grace.

The original animal sacrifices required by God for the remission of sins was finished once and forever with the sacrifice He made of Himself as the Lamb! "...the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils." ¹¹

When I first began my study of the similarities between animal sacrifices by Joseph Smith and those performed in witchcraft, I also thought about the Mormon doctrine of "blood atonement." The doctrine declares that there is no room for salvation by grace alone. It requires the shedding of the sinners own blood. According to Brigham Young, "This is loving our neighbor as ourselves; if he needs help, help him; and if he wants salvation and it is necessary to spill his blood on the earth in order that he may be saved, spill it"..."I could refer you to plenty of instances where men have been righteously slain, in order to atone for their sins" ¹² "The blood of Christ will never wipe that out, your own blood must atone for it;..." ¹³

I have to wonder if Brigham ever read Hebrews 10:29-31, "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing,...It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Is it possible that Brigham's theology and strong attraction to the "shedding of blood" had an occultic beginning? Does his thinking find its foundation and blessing in the "magickal" practices of Mormonism's first prophet?

There are a few people who do not accept the evidence that animal sacrifices occur in witchcraft. But then again, there are those who still believe that the earth is flat. They may be the same group of people! The evidence is rather conclusive that sacrifices are an important part of these black arts and their own literature tells us so!

According to Arthur Edward Waite, author of The Book of Ceremonial Magic, "After the Office of the Dead the operator shall extinguish the taper, and at sunrise shall cut the throat of a male lamb of nine days, taking care that the blood does not gush forth upon the earth." ¹⁴

In the book, The Greater Key of Solomon, we find: "In many operations it is necessary to make some sort of sacrifice unto the demons, and in various ways....Such sacrifices consist of the blood and sometimes of the flesh." 15

In Escape From Witchcraft, Roberta Blankenship explains what two girls (both Satanists) wrote to her concerning their initiation ritual: "They had to go to a graveyard in the dead of night, walk across a man-sized cross, and denounce any belief in Christ. Afterwards, a ritual was performed and the girls had to drink the blood of animals that had been skinned alive." ¹⁶

Cult watcher and author Kenneth Boa explains a general practice during sabbat, "Almost always a naked girl, representing the sacrifice, lies on the altar during this portion of the sabbat. She is not killed, but a ceremonial animal sacrifice (perhaps a dog or a cat) is offered to the devil. The animal is killed above the girl and the blood allowed to spill on her body. In rare cases (this was more common a few hundred years ago), an unbaptized human infant is sacrificed instead of the animal." 17


Dogs, Cats, and Sheep...They Didn't Stand a Chance!

Let's examine a few parallels between known witchcraft rituals and documented blood sacrifices made by Joseph Smith.

In their book, Mormonism, Magic and Masonry, the Tanners cite the comments of Hiel Lewis as printed in The Amboy Journal on June 4, 1879: "...the sacrifice of white dogs, black sluts, black cats, and such like was an indespensable [sic] part or appendage of the art which Smith, the embryo prophet, was then practicing. He claimed to possess the supernatural power of second sight, or to see things at a distance, and deep under ground, and his frequent references to 'the enchantment,' proves that he was a conjurer, a sorcerer..." ¹⁸

E. D. Howe reported this passage by William Stafford in 1884: "...they devised a scheme, by which they might satiate their hunger, with the mutton of one of my sheep. They had seen in my flock of sheep, a large, fat, black weather. Old Joseph and one of the boys came to me one day, and said that Joseph Jr. had discovered some very remarkable and valuable treasures, which could be procured only in one way. That way, was as follows: That a black sheep should be taken on to the ground where the treasures were concealed--that after cutting its throat, it should be led around a circle while bleeding. This being done, the wrath of the evil spirit would be appeased:" ¹⁹

Concerning that same incident, William's nephew C. R. Stafford states, "Jo Smith, the prophet, told my uncle, William Stafford, he wanted a fat, black sheep. He said he wanted to cut its throat and make it walk in a circle three times around and it would prevent a pot of money from leaving." ²⁰

W. D. Purple, who attended the 1826 trial of Joseph Smith gives this account of another sacrifice (as reported by the Tanners): "Smith had told the Deacon that very many years before a band of robbers had buried on his flat a box of treasure, and as it was very valuable they had by a sacrifice placed a charm over it to protect it, so that it could not be obtained except by faith, accompanied by certain talismanic influences....Digging was commenced with fear and trembling, in the presence of this imaginary charm....Mr. Stowell went to his flock and selected a fine vigorous lamb, and resolved to sacrifice it to the demon spirit who guarded the coveted treasure ....while Smith,... sprinkling the flowing blood from the lamb upon the ground, as a propitiation to the spirit that thwarted them." ²¹

This report by Emily Austin concerns an incident by Smith sometime between 1825 and 1827: "So they killed a dog and tried this method of obtaining the precious metal....Alas! how vivid was the expectation when the blood of poor Tray was used to take off the charm, and after all to find their mistake ...and now they were obliged to give up in despair." ²²

References:
(1) Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism, 1981, p. 34
(2) Claire Gibson, Signs and Symbols, 1996, p. 81
(3) Israel Regardie, The Tree of Life, 1994, pp. 111-112
(4) Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism, Magic and Masonry, 1983, p. 31 (from The Ancients Book of Magic, p. 10)
(5) Ibid., p. 20, (from Joseph Smith's Bainbridge, N. Y. Court Trials, part 2, pp. 126-127)
(6) E. D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 1834, pp. 259-260
(7) Ibid., pp. 237-239
(8) Francis Barrett, The Magus, 1801, pp. 100-101
(9) Israel Regardie, The Tree of Life, 1994, p. 208
(10) S. L. MacGregor Mathers, The Greater Key of Solomon, 1914, p. 26
(11) 1 Corinthians 10:20
(12) Journal of Discourses, Vol. 4, p. 220
(13) Ibid.
(14) Arthur Edward Waite, The Book of Ceremonial Magic, 1997, p. 270
(15) S. L. MacGregor Mathers, The Greater Key of Solomon, 1914, p. 122
(16) Blankenship, Escape From Witchcraft, 1972, p. 1 (from A Ready Defense, McDowell, 1993, p. 374)
(17) Kenneth Boa, Cults, World Religions and the Occult, 1977, p. 147
(18) Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism, Magic and Masonry, 1983, p. 33
(19) E. D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 1834, p. 239
(20) Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism, Magic and Masonry, 1983, p. 33 (from Naked Truths About Mormonism, January 1888, p. 3)
(21) Ibid., p. 33 (from A New Witness for Christ in America, Kirkham, 1959, Vol. 2, pp. 366-367)
(22) Austin, Mormonism; or, Life Among The Mormons, 1882, p. 32f (from Joseph Smith's Bainbridge, N.Y., Court Trials, Wesley Walters, 1977, p. 125)

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