Modern Slavery Prevalent in U.S., BYU Conference Told

Mid Utah Radio ^ | Oct. 29, 2010 | Brad James

[Colofornian]

(PROVO)-Although vast strides have been made in alleviating slavery throughout the world, in the United States it is alive and well in various shapes and forms, Kevin Bales said in a human trafficking conference at Brigham Young University Thursday.

Bales, the president of the nonprofit Free the Slaves, said in modern times, slavery occurs more in recruiters showing up in villages around the world offering jobs.

Since many people are living in dire straits, despite the shady visage recruiters have, many people take a chance in order to give their families a better life.

Currently, what may be the largest U.S. human trafficking escapade in recorded history, involves Thais who were recruited by Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Global Horizons Inc. and eventually ended up working on hog and chicken farms in Utah.

As the Salt Lake Tribune reported, they mortgaged farms in Thailand to pay huge upfront fees to Global Horizon upon the guise from the company promising three years of high wages in the United States.

The Thais found that if they quit, they would lose their homes and farms and ultimately, were not paid at all after experiencing worsening conditions.

Roughly 60 Thais in Utah were able to attract help from Utah Legal Services and contacted officials concerning their plight.

Bales said some countries, including the U.S., don’t follow up well on workers brought into their boundaries, at least not poorer ones from developing countries.

Donna Hughes, a professor at the University of Rhode Island and international researcher of human trafficking, said many countries prosecute prostitutes but should drop charges against those who are human trafficking victims, while offering them compassion and help. .

[Colofornian]

From the article: ...a human trafficking conference at Brigham Young University Thursday.

Well, good for BYU that it held this conference.

[SeeSharp]

Although vast strides have been made in alleviating slavery throughout the world, in the United States it is alive and well in various shapes and forms...

Yeah. It's called the income tax.

[Colofornian]

From the article: Currently, what may be the largest U.S. human trafficking escapade in recorded history, involves Thais who were recruited by Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Global Horizons Inc. and eventually ended up working on hog and chicken farms in Utah. As the Salt Lake Tribune reported, they mortgaged farms in Thailand to pay huge upfront fees to Global Horizon upon the guise from the company promising three years of high wages in the United States. The Thais found that if they quit, they would lose their homes and farms and ultimately, were not paid at all after experiencing worsening conditions. Roughly 60 Thais in Utah were able to attract help from Utah Legal Services and contacted officials concerning their plight.

Hmm...I wonder if the Mormons present at this BYU conference discussed one of their "scriptural" verses...Doctrine & Covenants 134:12.

I mean, if we all were to take the “revelations” of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church, seriously then these 60 Thais while they were being enslaved would not be eligible for the Mormon “gospel.”

How can that be?

Go back to mid-1835. Smith is churning out new “Scripture.” Smith is taking aim at new converts. But in that time, did he believe the Mormon “gospel” to be aimed at slaves? (No, not unless express “permission” was granted by their “owners”). This is what Smith portends to be the Mormon god's view on these slaves:

”We believe it just to preach the gospel to the nations of the earth, and warn the righteous to save themselves from the corruption of the world; but we do not believe it right to interfere with bond-servants, neither preach the gospel to, nor baptize them contrary to the will and wish of their masters, nor to meddle with or influence them in the least to cause them to be dissatisfied with their situations in this life, thereby jeopardizing the lives of men; such interference we believe to be unlawful and unjust, and dangerous to the peace of every government allowing human beings to be held in servitude.” (Joseph Smith, D&C 134:12, still in the Mormon standard works of what they regard to be "scripture" still applicable today)

D&C 134:12 is LDS “Doctrine” that has never been removed or rescinded!!! This passages makes it quite clear – in contrast to the apostle Paul who vied for the religious freedom of Onesimus while treating him as a full Christian brother and encouraged Philemon to do the same--somehow, LDS think that "religious freedom" applies to everyone except slaves!

I mean, imagine if you will, for a moment, that you are the God of the universe; God of every planet; God of the earth; Creator of every person. Imagine for a moment you are speaking forth universal eternal truth. And then imagine that someone claims you (as God) made the above “Scriptural” statement:

D&C 134:12, written in 1835 pro-slavery America, made it quite clear that instead of the Mormons having a universal god who issued eternal truth applicable to all cultures, he is instead an American-sounding god who speaks only in King James English & was beholden to the American slavery industry.

Could you imagine a verse still applicable today—one similar to the Mormon scripture of Doctrine & Covenants 134:12—which would tell you in effect that yes, the gospel was for women who are sexually trafficked--but only if their Pimp-owner says "Yes?" (or only if the “owner” of these Thai-slaves based in Utah said “yes”?)

D&C 134:12 "settles" the issue for the Mormon: Are slaves & trafficking victims worthy of the "gospel?" LDS Answer? Nope! "neither preach the gospel to, nor baptize them..." says LDS "Scripture.

And why not? Well, says D&C 134:12: We don't want ya ta meddle with the Mastuhs' business “property,” or to say it as precisely as LDS "scripture" says it: nor to meddle with or influence them in the least to cause them to be dissatisfied with their situations in this life...

(Nah. We can't have unhappy slaves or trafficking victims now, can we? Too disturbing to their "stations" of life, eh?)

Now what are the ultimate reasons for this again? D&C 134:12 provides the answer:

Reason #1: ...such interference we believe to be unlawful and unjust... (There ya have it...wouldn't want to be "unjust" by giving slaves the gospel & baptizing them, would ya?)

Reason #2: ...and dangerous to the peace of every government allowing human beings to be held in servitude. (And, of course, the "closer": Wouldn't want to disturb the peace & quiet of slavery-sanctioning governments, now would ya?)

Finally, keep in mind that each Mormon, when determined by their bishop as to whether they are eligible for temple access, are asked interview questions. Q. #2 is:

Note this portion of the longest Q asked of 19th-century Mormons by their bishops: Do you speak against...any principle taught in the Bible, Book of Mormon, book of Doctrine and Covenants...

If this question had been retained in today's bishop-Mormon interviews, contemporary Mormons speaking against polygamy would have to answer, "Oh, yes, I speak against D&C 132 all the time!!!" Or, if they baptized a woman caught in the sex trafficking industry as a sex slave, they would need to say, "Oh, yes, I've directly opposed D&C 134:12!!!"

[MarineBrat]

Slave Trader Traitor

[mnehring]

Its called Liberalism, and the slaves are happy to keep getting table scraps in exchange for their freedom.

[ottbmare]

I live in the Washington DC area where there are many prosperous people, citizens and noncitizens, who are of foreign birth. There have been quite a number of cases, some in my own town, of these people holding others captive as domestics. Several have been heavily fined and sent to prison, which is gratifying.

[hosepipe]

SLAVERY!!!!.....

If the gov't can tax you on something you OWN(property/vehicles/land) then you are paying rent on it to the government.. Americans have been socialists for so long they don't even know what the term means anymore.. They are slaves to City/State and Federal governments..

All three governments have taken over the garden..
Its time to de-weed them ALL.. and cut back the over-growth..

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

Let’s see, we have a quarter of the population of China churning out shirts and stuffed toys for 25 cents a day.

Slaves in this country would be far more expensive.

But for some things you do need them here.

[CurlyDave]

I am not a Mormon, but it is easy enough for me to see that 134:12 only applies if the government of the country they are in allows humans to be held in servitude.

Since the US does not allow slavery, this clearly does not apply to the current US...

And, it is very clear that the early Christians had no intention of fighting against slavery. If the only difference is that they allowed preaching to slaves without their master’s consent, this is pretty weak tea as a substantial difference.

[ThunderSleeps]

You're right there. I'm a slave.

The Thais found that if they quit, they would lose their homes and farms and ultimately, were not paid at all after experiencing worsening conditions.

Amazing parallels with the plight of the middle class in America. If we try to quit paying confiscatory taxes to a government that increasingly blows the money on programs we don't support...our wages and property will be seized by that very same non-representative government. We too are experiencing ever-worsening conditions economically, health-care wise, national defense, and even fundamental, basic liberties. (do I need the government to tell me what kind of light bulbs, appliances, cars, toilets, etc. I can have?)

[SouthTexas]

Identify them and deport them, prosecute those that brought them in. Case closed.

[Colofornian]

I am not a Mormon, but it is easy enough for me to see that 134:12 only applies if the government of the country they are in allows humans to be held in servitude.

The only part of D&C 134:12 which would fall under this possible interpretation is the last part, the only part where "government" is even mentioned: "dangerous to the peace of every government allowing human beings to be held in servitude.”

But that's not where the Mormon god giving this revelation went first. It was only a secondary consideration. His primary focus -- where he went first -- was:

...nor baptize them contrary to the will and wish of their masters...

Now do you really think the God of the universe is going to be beholden to...
...slave masters and their wishes?
...and even, secondly, slave-honoring governments?
...when it comes to receiving His gospel?

...it is very clear that the early Christians had no intention of fighting against slavery. If the only difference is that they allowed preaching to slaves without their master’s consent, this is pretty weak tea as a substantial difference.

To say early Christians didn't "fight" against slavery doesn't mean they didn't personally advocate against it. The apostle Paul's appeal in Philemon is a good example of that.

Even God "tolerated" Jews to be enslaved for a while in Egypt before arranging for a later generation's release.

Why? (Where would we understand the concept of spiritual slavery if no slaves existed in the world?)

Certainly, you misconstrue history at that time if you think Christians up until Constantine were in any position to "allow" or not "allow" anything, let alone slavery.

And, as for "pretty weak tea," I didn't realize the difference between heaven and hell was "pretty weak tea." (And here I thought the Scriptures were pretty clear on concepts like "this world is not our home" and "how we keep our eyes on heaven like pilgrims just passing through..." etc.)

[Paragon Defender]

Seekers of truth,

If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums you will notice a pattern. There's an anti-Mormon group of people here that spends a great deal of their time attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They post regurgitated propaganda on an almost daily basis.

They have a misguided obsession. You can witness many different tactics employed that you might find quite interesting. The straw man argument is a big favorite and is frequently preceded by cherry-picking quotes or other material. After the "quotation" the attacker will misrepresent what has been said or what was meant and then attack their own interpretation.Later they will have the audacity to claim they were "only" quoting our own material.  

They will of course insist ad nauseum that they are merely using our sources and are therefore innocent of any deceptive practice. LDS persons have no issue whatsoever having our scriptures or leaders quoted as long as it is presented fairly and accurately. This is rarely (if ever) done.

Another favorite is posting scripture or statements which on their own really present no dilemma. They make something out of nothing while never bringing up a single objection that hasn't been addressed a hundred times before.

You might note a couple of other tactics used to try to antagonize is the use of disrespectful or insulting terms or language and/or pictures. That's a Christlike thing to do right? Yeah I don't think so either. It does speak volumes about them though.

Sometimes they cruise the headlines of the day seeking any story that might be twisted into making the Church look bad. Anything will do, just watch the progression of posts following it and see what I mean.

After reading their posts, I invite you to seek the truth about whatever "issue" they seem to be "revealing" or "exposing". I promise that if you do so with honest intent, the "ahah" moments you will have will be many and frequent. You will start to recognize the tactics employed to cleverly twist and attack and will likely chuckle the more you see. In actuality, there's nothing new here. It's all been addressed many times before.

The latest twist in the anti-Mormon propaganda machine is to actually go to the links provided, but then they cherry pick what they want, then quote and straw man attack that. Clever. It almost appears that they are helping you, the seeker of truth out by doing some footwork for you. Not so much. Don't be insulted, look for yourself. It's not the haystack they want you to think.

Here's a few links to get your started from a different viewpoint. I have found that the vast majority of the "issues" brought up can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here's more:

http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/

Now you will likely notice the "you never address our points" posts pop up as usual. All after providing the answers just as you have here.

Sometimes it is claimed that these sites present a needle in a haystack. Far from it. But if you give up before you try you won't know will you?

Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. Want to chat with someone on any topic? A few of these sites provide just that. So do your homework sincere seeker of truth. Listen and read from both "sides". Make up your own mind.

I witness to you of these truths and wish you the best, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

[greyfoxx39]

[Saundra Duffy]

Bump what you said on post #13. Thank you.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Seekers of truth, I urge you to flee mormonism!

If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums you will notice a pattern by mormons. There's an anti-Christian group of mormons here that spends a great deal of their time attacking the Christian Church They also have a missionary force of 50,000 young men that go door to door attacking Christianity and claiming to be the true church.. Most of what they believe and try to push door to door is reguritated heresy that was condemned by the Christian Church more than a thousand years ago. Mormonism is decidedly not Christian.

They have a misguided, feelings-based obsession. You can witness many different tactics employed that you might find quite interesting. The straw man argument is a big favorite among mormons and is frequently preceded by cherry-picking quotes or other material. Frequently, you see this tactic employed when discussing the Trinity. After the "quotation" the attacker will misrepresent what has been said or what was meant and then attack their own interpretation.Later they will have the audacity to claim they were "only" quoting our own material.  

They will of course insist ad nauseum that they are merely using Christian sources and are therefore innocent of any deceptive practice. Christians have no issue whatsoever having our scriptures quoted as long as it is presented fairly and accurately. This is rarely (if ever) done by mormons.

Another favorite is the "Pray and ask God if this is true tactic." This mormon tactic is to attempt to take you from the objective ground of truth in the Bible onto the subjective ground of feelings. Feelings are never the basis of truth. The reason they attempt this is simple... once you accept feelings as a basis of truth, they can get you to believe any bizzare thing their religion teaches (multiple gods, celestial sex and breeding gods, etc.).

After reading their posts, I invite you to seek the truth about whatever "issue" they seem to be "revealing" or "exposing". I promise that if you do so with honest intent, the "ahah" moments you will have will be many and frequent. You will start to recognize the tactics employed to cleverly twist and attack and will likely chuckle the more you see. In actuality, there's nothing new here. It's all been addressed many times before.

The latest twist in the Mormon propaganda machine is to actually go to the links provided, but then they cherry pick what they want, then quote and straw man attack that. Clever. It almost appears that they are helping you, the seeker of truth out by doing some footwork for you. Not so much. Don't be insulted, look for yourself. It's not the haystack they want you to think.

Here's a few links to get your started from a Christian viewpoint. If you are a mormon and considering leaving the religion, as so many do, these links will be of great help.

http://www.irr.org/mit/default.html
http://www.exmormonsforjesus.org/
http://4mormon.org/ex-mormon.php
http://www.exmormon.org/
http://www.mormoncurtain.com/

Now you will likely notice all kinds of whining mormon posts pop up as usual. Sometimes it is claimed that these sites present a needle in a haystack. Far from it. But if you give up before you try you won't know will you?

Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. Want to chat with someone on any topic? A few of these sites provide just that. So do your homework sincere seeker of truth. Listen and read from both "sides". Make up your own mind.

I witness to you of these truths and wish you the best, in the name of our Lord and [the real Biblical] Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Special thanks to Paragon non-defender for providing the template for this post.

 

[Elsie]

Modern Slavery Prevalent in U.S., BYU Conference Told

Yup...

Slaves work for no money...

[Elsie]

I am not a Mormon, but it is easy enough for me to see that 134:12 only applies if the government of the country they are in allows humans to be held in servitude.

And yet; even thought their GOD allows it; MORMONs in countries that PERMIT polygamy, are only ALLOWED one wife.

I find that strange...

[Elsie]

 

 Thank you.

 

You are welcome!

---

---

The Articles of Faith
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 

 

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
   
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
   
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
   
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
   
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
   
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
   
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
   
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
   
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
   
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
    
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
    
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
    
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Joseph Smith

[Morpheus2009]

The apples to apples comparison is still not there between polygamy and slavery. They are different matters. As far as I can tell, uniformity makes more sense than setting up a long list of exceptions to a rule, especially when your church membership is all over the place. The other assumption is that a religion has to base its rules on the laws of the land. Well, in all honesty, adultery is not a punishable crime anymore in the U.S., at least not directly, but that doesn’t change the Christian truth that it is actually wrong to cheat on one’s wife. Adultery in the sense that someone laid prostitutes while married in the Roman Empire, or among the Canaanite polytheists, was not a crime did not make it so.

I used to swallow all the conspiracy theory stuff about Mormonism, but eventually realized that it doesn’t take much to actually disbelieve them at all. It doesn’t take looking for a demon under every rock to show to plenty of people that it isn’t neccessarily true either.

While I may come across, as either a Mormon or a soon-to-be member of this church, I really hope that some of you wake up to how incoherent and overshooting a great deal of some of your points are, especially when some of us who disagree with you are not members of this church.