Piece Of Art

On Wednesday, May 2, 2012, a neo-Nazi militia leader killed four people and himself in Gilbert, Maricopa County, Arizona. (In 1912, many Mormons who had fled the Mormon colonies in Mexico due to the actions of the forces of Pancho Villa settled in Gilbert. Villa's skull was stolen from his grave in 1926, according to some accounts and denials , by members of Skull and Bones .) Jason "J.T." Ready (born February 17, 1973) was a former lance corporal Marine before being demoted and discharged from the Corps for bad behavior. He had previously made headlines when he started a militia -- named the US Border Guard -- to hunt illegal immigrants and drug gangs in the Arizona desert, FOX News Channel and the New York Post reported. Ready had also put himself forward as a candidate for the position of Pinal County Sheriff. Ready was politically active in anti-immigration causes. He also served as president of the Mesa Community College Republican Party Club and as a precinct co...

The Mormon Conspiracy A View From The Outside by Loren Coleman Following is a posting that I first wrote for February 5, 2008, and posted on Cryptomundo.com. It stirred up discussion of a topic some would like to keep quiet. But it won't go away. Please note, I am reporting, not stating any stance, one way or another. I am highlighting an issue that is out there, being talked about in back room conversations and campfire exchanges. With this summer of 2012 bringing forth Mitt Romney as a national presidential candidate, Mormonism may or may not be a topic in politics. But it is already one within the politics of Bigfoot hunting. We should not be afraid to tackle it here again. ++++++ Look, no one wants to talk about it straightforwardedly, so let me bring this to the fore. In the journal published as a book, Intermediate States: The Anomalist 13 , I deal with a touchy subject in my article "Between Worlds: The Three Nephites." I began the essay this way: During the 2008 ...

There is something strange going on with a seemingly isolated story quietly occurring in Utah-Colorado. It has come to involve suicides, Indian artifacts, and perhaps, most covertly and confusingly, Mormons. On June 10, 2009, two dozen people* were indicted after a sweeping investigation into ancient artifacts allegedly stolen from public and tribal lands. The indicted are accused of stealing, receiving, or trying to sell American Indian bowls, stone pipes, sandals, arrowheads, jars, pendants, and necklaces. More than 100 agents were involved in the arrests of 23 people. Another person was issued a summons. All were part of a tight-knit network of people involved in illegally excavating, dealing, and collecting stolen artifacts, said Timothy Fuhrman, of the FBI office in Salt Lake City. Bureau of Land Management and FBI agents used a confidential source who in 2007 and 2008 paid more than $335,000 for 256 stolen artifacts, according to court documents. The local reaction was swift and...

The following was published in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' LDS Living , a bi-monthly magazine published out of Orem, Utah. In the now rare first edition of my book Mysterious America (1983), there is a chapter on the Nephites. The chapter is not in the 2001 and 2006 editions of the book . Mable Firstap was driving between Ohio and Pennsylvania [on I-80] when she spotted three clean-cut men walking on the side of the road. “They just had a glow about them, so I didn’t mind stopping to see if they needed help,” said Firstap. “When I did, I saw that they were each carrying a Book of Mormon.” Firstap told them that she was LDS. “They told me that I needed to get my food storage in order. Then they actually vanished! I couldn’t believe it!” And neither should you. The three Nephites, as we know from the Book of Mormon, exist, but Ms. Firstap doesn’t. Her name is a combination of today’s date and the month—April 1—April Fool’s Day. Furthermore, while the three Nep...