Subject:
Letter from Wendell Hall to troubled grandson, April 25, 2010
Dear _____________,
The caring and concern for me that motivated your recent letter is much appreciated. At your age and level of learning and experience, I very well could have written something much like it. Facts, however, are primordial, always trumping feelings--sincere and impassioned though they may be.
Consider for a moment our apposite backgrounds. Through my career as a linguist who has devoted many years to the textual analysis of writings primarily in English and Spanish but also in German, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Latin, I have attained a degree of expertise far beyond that of non-specialists. With many years of life yet ahead, you can strive to increase your knowledge and understanding too.
What is the only extant tangible item relating to Joseph Smith's story that is available for inspection and analysis today? No gold plates, no brass plates, no Urim and Thummim, no peep stones--nothing at all except for a scrap of paper in possession of the Reorganized LDS Church (now known as The Community of Christ) with the heading "Caractors," which he claimed were in Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic. Have a look at them yourself at http://nuspel.org/ mormons-2.html. When compared with samples of writings in these languages, any little child can see that there is no resemblance whatsoever except for a couple of Arabic numerals.
Hold fast to that which is noble, uplifting, true, and good in your heritage. Learn to discern and discard the false and detrimental.
Wishing you all the best,
Subject:
Letter from Carolyn to Merrill, May 10, 2009?
Thanks, Mom, for coloring all the days of my life through your words and deeds! Red for my life's blood, white for the chalk with which you wrote faith, hope and charity on the message board of my being, blue for true, and all three for Old Glory (long may she wave), loyalty, patriotism, assistance to the wak and needy (and every other virtue), yellow for the golden rays of sunshine, delight, pleasure and joy, black for caution and restraint, violet and rose for sweet thoughts and emotions and their timely expression...
Color me grateful and happy for all the bright, memorable moments spent with you.
Your favorite daughter,
Carola.
Subject:
Letter to Ward Bishop, February 17, 2009
Knowing that I am a computer programmer somewhat skilled in the use of these revoutionary machines, Brian Olsen, bishop of the Wallsburg 2nd Ward, saw in this an opportunity to bring a lost sheep back into the fold. He would assign me the worthy task and heavy responsibility of imparting my valuable skills to all families in the ward—first getting several weeks of training at the Midway Stake Center and then visiting each ward family, teaching them how to use computers for genealagical research. This would occupy months of busy hours in the waning days of my life, so I sent him this missive:
Subject:
Letter to Provo Daily Herald
Dear Bishop,
When you are my age or more, you may understand my stand with regard to spending time on genealogy. At age 86, with not many more days of life left, too many endeavors of mine—unfinished and just commenced—are much more dear to my heart. Furthermore, I'm all too cognizant of the fact that LDS concepts and usages relative to genealogy can't withstand the test of logical reasoning and the imperatives of solid, sound theology. So please do not extend an invitation to me to participate in your implementation of an ancestry searching program.
Those who die without the law will not be judged by the law. (Romans 2:11-12) Disavowal of this amounts to an outright rejection of the Messiah, the efficacy of his death on the cross, and the repudiation of his redeeming, saving sacrifice for us, by virtue of which.the requirements for salvation and exaltation other than our attitudes and behavior are waived with regard to certain ordinances and observances—exactly as for little children and those without the mental capacity to understand them.
Consequently, there is no need whatsoever for the living to act these out by proxy in behalf of the dead... as if being garbed in special garments (including fig leaf aprons), reciting stock phrases, and executing a number of precise gestures could have any eternal efficacy. Examined and analyzed honestly and objectively, such procedures amount to nothing more than curious convolutions of hocus pocus, like the fairy tale waving of magic wands. [Likewise, the insertion of symbolic "keys of the holy priesthood" into real locks.]
The tenet abetting baptisms for the dead is rooted in a gross misconstruction of a passage of scripture: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead. If the dead rise not at all, why are they then baptized for the dead?" (1 Corinthians 15:29)
These words of Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, were written to Grecians, not to Jews. Ancient Greek pagans had the practice of immersing themselves in water in a traditional ritual that was supposed to ease the entrance of the dying of their relatives and friends into what they called the Elysian fields, a paradisaical land of plenty where the heroic and righteous dead hoped to spend eternity. His comment had nothing to do with salvation for the dead. He was merely emphasizing the fact that even pagan Grecians, among many others, believed in a life after death
—not just the Israelites alone.
Many of mankind's most notable achievements have been based on grand illusions and grand delusions... like the Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal, and LDS temples, among other innumerable examples. The LDS church does indeed teach many truths and accomplish much good, but it is a house built upon sand. For a brief exposition on this, see http://www.nuspel.org/mormons.html
No offense intended, Bishop. I consider you to be a noble, great, and good man. As I mentioned to you, in itself genealogical research is an interesting and worthwhile activity, espeially if something other than names and clues to ethnicity and countries of origin are found—photos, writiings in poetry and prose, works of art and music, hobbies, educational backgrounds, achievements of order great and small.
In a renewed effort to practice what I preach, I googled some research on my ancesters and found lots of information as well as images related to the ancestor I referred to, le sire de Tracy (Traci).
Sincerely,
Wendell Hall
- - - - - - - -
William De* TRACY
Died: 1135
Father: HENRY 1 "Beauclerc" of Normandy (King of England)
Mother: Sybilla CORBET
Married: À?
Children: 1. Grace De TRACY (m. John De Sudeley)
*The preposition de denoted nobility.
" A depiction of Henri de* Traci and other knights who rode their war horses right into Canterbury Cathedral and slew the archbishop of Canterbury in reaction to an idle remark of King Henry II that someone ought to rid his realm of that fellow.
I have visited Canterbury Cathedral twice and stood on the exact spot where the dastardly deed was committed. No sign of blood stains.
|
|
