Antisemitism is alive and well on the FIRM Foundation website (UPDATE: sort of)

I’ve been very busy the last couple of months, partly because I’m engaged in re-reading the Book of Mormon over the summer. (I should have some things to say about that in a future post.)

Right now, however, it looks like Rod Meldrum still hasn’t reigned in Rian Nelson’s antisemitic crackpottery over at the FIRM Foundation website.

Earlier this year, the FIRM Foundation’s site was down for a couple of days after being suspended by its hosting service. When their site came back up, an antisemitic blog post they had recently published had been removed, but several other antisemitic posts were still up and available, as I documented at the time.

Today, the FIRM Foundation’s Facebook page reposted one of Rian’s articles from September 2022. It’s another one I haven’t seen before in which he references the vile antisemitic “Khazarian” conspiracy theory:

This kind of swill has no connection to the Book of Mormon, which condemns antisemitism in the strongest possible terms, as have leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

—Mike Parker [“Peter Pan”]

Update, Tuesday afternoon, June 13th: I commented on the FIRM Foundation Facebook post about the antisemitism in Rian’s article. Rian claimed that I was “putting words in his mouth,” so I shared the link to the AJC article (screenshot 1; screenshot 2). He then deleted my Facebook comments, blocked me from the FIRM Foundation Facebook page, and edited the article. It now reads:

I guess that’s an improvement. The post still includes the terms Zionists and cabal, which can and are used in antisemitic ways.

I honestly don’t know if Rian understands that the things he believes and espouses are vulgar anti-Jewish slurs. And blocking me because I pointed this out? Nice touch.
 

Rian Nelson posts antisemitic comments; Jonathan Neville blames Daniel Peterson for pointing this out

From the “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” department:

In my last blog post, I detailed how the FIRM Foundation’s website was taken down by their host, probably due to antisemitic conspiracy theories that Rian Nelson had posted on the site. After a couple of days, the site was back up again with another host, minus the offending remarks.

Over on his own blog, Sic et Non, Daniel Peterson pointed out Rian Nelson’s problematic posts, including the most recent ones that were taken down (Feb. 9, 2023; Feb. 12, 2023; Feb. 28, 2023;) and some similar, older ones that are still on the FIRM Foundation’s site (Mar. 17, 2021; Apr. 19, 2021; Jun. 13, 2022).

Now, here’s the fun part: Jonathan Neville called Daniel Peterson “Slander Dan” for pointing out what Rian Nelson had written.

As a lawyer, Neville should know the difference between slander and libel. He should also know that the key component of both is that the person makes “a false statement purporting to be fact.” In this case, Daniel Peterson has “slandered” no one, since he has quoted and linked to actual statements made by Rian Nelson.

Neville’s account of what happened is, shall we say, factually lacking.

Recently on his blog [Daniel Peterson] posted excerpts from a brief Facebook post by Rian Nelson in which Rian described his belief in a conspiracy theory.

In truth, Peterson posted lengthy remarks from six blog posts on the FIRM Foundation website.

And this isn’t just any old conspiracy theory we’re talking about here—it’s a thoroughly vile conspiracy theory that claims that Ashkenazi Jews aren’t real Jews and that they’re trying to take over world government and banking institutions. By calling it “a conspiracy theory,” Neville is dramatically underplaying the disgusting depths of Rian Nelson’s beliefs.

Neville continues:

Rian made the post in response to an accusation from an anonymous person that he was anti-Semitic. Rian foolishly fell for the bait, posted his response, and then removed it.

The Facebook comment was not “anonymous.” Rian was responding to Rebecca Clayton, a woman who comments on many of Rian’s posts. She seems to be a sincere Heartlander who calls out conspiracy theories and antisemitism. This was their exchange:

Please explain to me, Brother Neville, how Rian Nelson’s disgusting remarks about “evil Khazarians who claim to be of the tribe of Judah” are an example of “foolishly [falling] for the bait.” How exactly was he “baited” into making that statement? It seems, based on the links I provided above, that it’s actually right in line with what Nelson firmly believes and has no problem telling the whole world about through the FIRM Foundation website.

But one of Dan’s henchmen screen-captured Rian’s post and sent it to Dan so Dan could publicize it to the world in an effort to slander all Heartlanders.

Wrong again, Brother Neville. Daniel Peterson, in his blog post, specifically noted in connection with these quotes from Rian Nelson, “I’m deeply disappointed (to put it mildly) that at least one member of my Church is trafficking in such ideas.” He did not in any way claim that “all Heartlanders” shared Nelson’s views.

People sent me Dan’s post, of course. I hadn’t seen Rian’s post previously, and hardly anyone else had, either. Like the rest of the world, I would never have known about it if not for Dan’s post.

Except we’re not just talking about one Facebook comment, are we, Brother Neville? We’re talking about a long history of posting bizarre and abominable conspiracy theories via the FIRM Foundation’s website.

FWIW, I think Rian’s post was dumb. His conspiracy theories are delusional, IMO, and I’ve told him that many times. But people are complicated, lots of people think crazy things, and normally that doesn’t matter because we recognize that none of us is perfect.

I admire Neville for calling out Rian Nelson’s conspiracy theories as “delusional,” but claiming that “none of us is perfect” does not excuse Nelson’s many lengthy tirades about a secret Jewish cabal that’s trying to take over the world. These are not just unfortunate beliefs; they are repellent views that should be condemned as loudly as possible.

Dan and his cronies and followers are so insecure about their SITH and M2C dogmas, which they cannot defend openly on their merits, that they resort to such a desperate tactic as capturing a momentary Facebook post and publishing it to the world to falsely slander a group of fellow Latter-day Saints.

“They cannot openly defend on their merits”? Good grief—for years Neville has been pointing out the published writings and statements made by those who believe Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon with a seer stone and that the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica. If these aren’t open defenses of these beliefs, I don’t know what he would consider qualifies in that category!

And, once again, this is not about “a momentary Facebook post.” It’s about a lengthy paper trail of repugnant antisemitic statements. Neville is proving he either can’t read, can’t count, or is just making up a false narrative to help his friend, knowing most of his readers won’t bother to read Daniel Peterson’s post for themselves but will just take Neville’s word for it.

Rian, as an individual, is fair game. He can speak for himself.

But he doesn’t represent Heartlanders who are a diverse group of Latter-day Saints who have a common belief in the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah. They have a variety of beliefs/opinions (multiple working hypotheses) about Book of Mormon settings beyond Cumorah, about interpretations of Church and secular history, as well as about politics, science, sociology, music, art, literature, and every other human interest.

No, Brother Neville—Rian is not just an individual with his own views. He is the webmaster and chief blogger for BookOfMormonEvidence.org, the flagship website of the Heartland movement and the site where the semiannual FIRM Foundation Expo is organized. It is the largest and highest-traffic Heartland site on the internet. The very name “Book of Mormon evidence” undoubtedly draws in many unsuspecting members and nonmembers who Google that term (as it was designed to do, no doubt), where they stand a reasonable chance of being exposed to Nelson’s loathsome antisemitic and QAnon conspiracy theories.

No matter how much Neville or Rian Nelson claim that Nelson’s views don’t represent the FIRM Foundation or the Heartland movement, Nelson is the most prominent blogger on the FIRM Foundation’s website. That gives him at least some measure of authoritative status.

The problem here isn’t Daniel Peterson; it’s Rodney Meldrum for giving Rian a platform and not cutting him off when he went full “Jewish cabal” conspiracy theorist under the banner of the very Book of Mormon that condemns such views.

—Peter Pan

Afterword: Imagine for a moment that Interpreter published multiple, lengthy blog posts denying the Holocaust and, when called out on this, Daniel Peterson just said his webmaster is a nice guy with some nutty ideas, and those posts don’t represent the views of the Interpreter Foundation.

And then he left those posts up.
 

FIRM Foundation web site down after antisemitic blog post

Regular readers of this blog—I’m assuming there’s more than one and therefore it’s acceptable to refer to them using the plural—will notice that I haven’t posted anything in over a month. Without going into too much detail, my life has been unexpectedly busy, and taking a break from Neville Land has been a huge weight off of my shoulders.

Something interesting happened this last week that I believe deserves some attention, though. BookOfMormonEvidence.org, the flagship site of Rodney Meldrum’s FIRM Foundation and the Heartland movement, has been down since Friday, March 3rd. Visiting the site or any of its pages produces only this placeholder message:

What’s most interesting about this is the URL of the placeholder page:

The URL indicates that their page has been “suspended”—taken down by Bluehost, the provider that hosts their site.

Bluehost’s knowledge base article on site suspension indicates that “the most common reason for the suspension is non-payment.” However, Bluehost’s user agreement also stipulates, “You will not use the Services in any manner, as determined by Bluehost in its sole discretion, that…engages in or promotes behavior that is defamatory, harassing, abusive or otherwise objectionable” (9.6.2).

I mention Bluehost’s user agreement because the last blog post written and published on the FIRM Foundation site by Rian Nelson, in addition to promoting his usual QAnon nutbag conspiracy theories, made the antisemitic claim that the United States government caused the recent chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, as part of its “agenda to depopulate the ‘eaters’ and ‘goyim’ [non-Jews].”

When confronted about this on the FIRM Foundation’s Facebook page, Nelson doubled down on his views about a Jewish conspiracy:

For those of you not familiar with the term “Khazarians,” this article by the American Jewish Committee explains its meaning and history. It’s a very old antisemitic conspiracy theory “that Ashkenazi Jews—Jews descending from Eastern Europe—are not ‘real Jews’ and are working to infiltrate other nations on their quest for world domination.”

Was the FIRM Foundation website taken down by Bluehost because it’s been pushing antisemitic tropes? I don’t know. It may be down simply because they forgot to pay their hosting fee. That seems unlikely to me, however, because the next FIRM Foundation Expo is being held in early April 2023, and tickets are on sale right now. Not paying their hosting fee would be a huge blunder right now.

If you have any inside information about this, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Update, Sunday evening, March 5th: The FIRM Foundation website is back up and using a different host. The antisemitic post and the Facebook post about it are gone, but hereʼs an older post babbling about the Khazar conspiracy. And hereʼs some antisemitism and 9/11 trutherism together. And from two years ago, more about the Khazars and the Jewish cabal.

Update, Monday afternoon, March 6th: For more links and information about antisemitic remarks made by Rian Nelson on the FIRM Foundation blog, see Daniel Peterson’s blog post, “Hijacking the Book of Mormon for the Satanic Cause of Anti-Semitism.”

—Peter Pan
 

An open letter to Rian Nelson of the FIRM Foundation

Dear Rian,

I notice that you recently blogged about me. Thank you for opening a dialog; I hope this leads to further discussion.

I’ll respond to each of your points:

The blog below is from a a [sic] man who calls himself “Peter Pan.” I respect all peoples [sic] opinions, but it is very sad when they begin calling Heartlanders names.

This is a very interesting statement, since in your own blog you referred to the BYU Book of Mormon Conceptual Map by the derogatory name “Fantasy Map” (a term that Jonathan Neville has used in over 100 of his own blog posts) and also wrote that I “just seem like a very small person” to you. So, apparently, name-calling is not exclusive to my site.

He said we are an apostate sect, and hucksters, racists and other inflammatory things.

Allow me to examine those three terms in the context in which I used them:

• Over the last four years, I have given many examples of statements from you, Jonathan Neville, and other Heartlanders that are apostate or lean in that direction. One of the most troubling features of Heartland movement is how its advocates continually imply that today’s Church and Church leaders are teaching falsehoods or withholding the truth about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the hill Cumorah. (For example, see these statements by Jonathan Neville about how Church leaders have been purportedly suppressing the truth about the translation of the Book of Mormon in General Conference talks and Church magazines, and this claim he made that a general authority published anti-Mormon material in a Church magazine.) These things are very disturbing. You are leading your followers away from the teachings of living prophets while claiming to be faithful to dead prophets. You are also causing dissension and division among the Saints by repeatedly attacking mainstream Latter-day Saint scholars and implying that they are a “fifth column” within the Church. These things are despicable and dangerous. When confronted, you claim that you follow the Brethren and have faith in the Church, but your own statements contract that claim.
• Yes, I called the leaders of the Heartland movement “hucksters.” A huckster is “a person who employs showy methods to effect a sale,” and the conferences and videos produced by the FIRM Foundation certainly fit that description.
• Please read carefully: I have never once called you or anyone else a racist. I have said, however, that some of things you have written are racist: I’ve referred to “a disturbingly racist blog post,” “appeals to vaguely racist notions,” and “a disturbingly racist approach” to a specific matter. Occasionally using racist language does not make you a racist; it simply means that you should carefully consider what you write and how it could be interpreted by your readers before publishing.

He defends the “fantasy map” they use as you see it in the video below by John Lefgren.

There you go using the term “fantasy map” (in scare quotes, no less) instead of its actual name, the BYU Book of Mormon Conceptual Map. Using its real name would show respect for its creators, but it would prevent you from using derogatory labeling as a polemical weapon.

I support the following scriptures and quotes, that strengthen my faith and testimony, as I believe the Book of Mormon events began in North America:
1- D&C 128:20
2- D&C 125:3
3- Joseph’s letter to his wife Emma, on the Plains of the Nephites. JSP
4- Story of Zelph and Onondagus on the Illinois River JSP
5- Hundreds of quotes by Prophets, Apostles and Leaders HERE.

I’ve discussed each of these references and the problems with the Heartland interpretation of them. Feel free to use the search feature on my blog to find these discussions.

The problem with the Heartland approach is that you start with a conclusion (“the Book of Mormon events began in North America”) and then interpret these texts so that they fit into your predetermined belief, while also ignoring or hand-waving texts that contradict that belief. For example, Jonathan Neville doesn’t like the statements from Emma Smith, Martin Harris, David Whitmer, and many others that Joseph Smith used a seer stone in a hat to translate the Book of Mormon, so he dismisses those eyewitness testimonies and tells people, wrongly, that they should focus only on specific, cherry-picked statements of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, without interpreting those statements in the light of all the available evidence.

When you write:

Please read, pray and study these references above on your own, for validation of your own feelings.

…you’re doing the same thing Neville does—telling people to focus on only a limited number of specific sources that are the keystones of your belief.

I share this information with you for an awareness of the vitriol my friends Wayne, Rod, and Jonathan have endured for many years. They are entertained and just shrug it off as the good men they are.

The “vitriol” I have supposedly heaped upon your friends is no worse than what you and your friends have said about Daniel Peterson, Jack Welch, Richard Bushman, John Sorenson, and many other good men. You and your associates have repeatedly stated that these men—along with Church employees and Church leaders—have “rejected the teachings of the prophets,” are responsible for loss of faith and a decline in the growth of Church membership.

If you want respect for yourselves, then you need to start giving respect to others. This entire conflict began in 2008 with Rod Meldrum claiming that Church scholars are leading members astray; you, Jonathan Neville, and others have continued to promulgate that lie since then. If you want to know the source of the supposed “vitriol,” take a look in the mirror.

I love the gospel and the Savior and His Church. It saddens me to see good members put others down and don’t have the courage to openly debate in a positive way. We all love the Book of Mormon and it is my prayer we can all come together and not fight with each other. Our fight is against Satan not our fellow members.

I wholeheartedly agree! So please stop putting down and misconstruing the beliefs and statements of those who disagree with your interpretations about Book of Mormon geography, Book of Mormon translation, and other matters. Stop implying that the Brethren and Church employees are suppressing or distorting Church history. Stop peddling misguided “QAnon,” anti-vaxx, and other conspiracy theories. Start focusing on the truth of the teachings in the Book of Mormon and allow for different viewpoints on historical and geographic issues without asserting that those who disagree with you are “rejecting the teachings of the prophets.”

The anonymous Mesoamericanist supporter of the Book of Mormon won’t disclose his real name as he continually calls Heartlanders names.

Many authors throughout history have used pseudonyms for one reason or another. (There’s a long list of them on Wikipedia.)

I go by the pseudonym Peter Pan for a couple of reasons. The first is that I thought it was funny and that it tied in with the name of the blog (which was created first). The second is that, to be honest, there are some unstable people in the Heartland movement—Stephen Reed being just one prominent example—and I’d rather not expose myself or my family to being stalked or harassed by them.

Summary of Quotes from Peter Pan

1- “hucksters who are selling the Heartland hoax to gullible Latter-day Saints”
2- “advancing fraudulent pseudoarchaeology”
3- “May’s latest venture is a scheme”
4- “dubious interpretation of D&C 125:3 to find what he insists must be there.”
6- “must have a true and correct belief in Book of Mormon geography, otherwise their faith is misplaced”
7- “According to Wayne May, the Church is “under condemnation” for not believing in the correct geography of the Book of Mormon.”
8- “This is yet another example of the false god of the Heartland Book of Mormon movement:”
9- “with their own message of American Exceptionalism.”
10- “According to them, the United States is God’s promised land, and therefore the peoples of the Book of Mormon must have lived in the United States and the Book of Mormon’s promises must apply only to the United States and its inhabitants.”
11- “explains Neville’s disturbing views on nationalism and racial superiority
directly accuses the Church and its leaders of hypocrisy and teaching false doctrine. Wayne May once again claims that the Church is “under condemnation” for not accepting the Heartland Book of Mormon geography”
12- “He then asks viewers to give him money to help pay for the effort to find it.”
13- “As I’ve previously written, the Heartland movement is an apostate sect that is critical of living prophets and apostles.”
14- “Heterodox Teachings” [Not in agreement with accepted beliefs, especially in church doctrine or dogma.]

I stand by all of these statements as I made them in their original context. I invite anyone to search for these phrases on my blog and read what I wrote in full.

You can respond to Peter Pan at his blog below. Please, no derogatory remarks. I am sure he is a good member of the Church who loves the Book of Mormon. He just seems like a very small person to me.

And there’s the reference to me being “a very small person.” Who’s calling names now?

(For the record, I’m 5′ 10½″ tall, which is not “small.”)

It appears that some of your followers haven’t been heeding your advice. (“Please, no derogatory remarks about that very small person!”) Here are a couple of examples from your Facebook post about your blog:

(The comment above—along with all of its replies—was deleted by its author or by Rian Nelson.)

Respect is a two-way street, Rian.

If you would like to engage in a dialog, I would be more than pleased to have that conversation. Please feel free to contact me in the comments below or at peter ᴀᴛ nevillenevilleland ᴅᴏᴛ com.

Sincerely,

—Peter Pan
 

Heartlanders expect the apostles’ views to change

My personal life has been very busy lately, and this blog has suffered for new content because of it. For that, I apologize; I wish there was something I could do about it.

Just to offer you a little morsel, here’s a disturbing exchange that took place on the Facebook page of the FIRM Foundation. In response to another bizarre post by Rian Nelson—who doesn’t seem to know that a hostile non-Mormon editor punctuated the first edition of the Book of Mormon—a critic of the Church dropped in and commented that Heartland views on Joseph Smith and seer stones don’t line up with what modern Church leaders are saying. (His statement is factually correct, despite the fact that he was mocking the Church.)

A Heartlander responded by claiming that the apostle was wrong but might come around someday.

“Give him time – opinions can change.” That’s the Heartland way of explaning why their views contradict what living prophets are teaching. They believe that the Church is off course, and they’re hoping that Church leaders will someday start believing and teaching Heartlanderism.

—Peter Pan
 

Rian Nelson rejects charges of Heartlander apostasy

Although the primary focus of this blog is the writings of Jonathan Neville, I’ve also on occasion been critical of his fellow travelers in the Heartland movement, most notably Rian Nelson and Rodney Meldrum of the FIRM Foundation (the “Foundation for Indigenous Research and Mormonism Foundation”).

Meldrum’s organization produces books, DVDs, and articles in support of the Heartland theory of Book of Mormon geography. They also put on a semiannual expo with a large slate of speakers and presenters, most of whom are amateurs with no credentials in the subjects on which they present.

Among other responsibilities, Rian Nelson maintains the FIRM Foundation’s blog and Facebook page. His posts in these two outlets frequently appeal to bizarre conspiracy theories, including material about QAnon, globalist cabals, and anti-vaccination tirades. He also appeals to vaguely racist notions of the United States being in danger of being “overrun” by “illegal immigrants” from south of the border.

On July 20, 2021, Nelson took issue with this blog’s claim that he and other Heartlanders are on a “long slide into apostasy.” In his post “An Absurd Character Assassination From a Meso-Blogger called Peter Pan,” he claims that I “[get their] position very wrong.”

I reprint Nelson’s response with his usual spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors unchanged:

“I wish Peter and his Pan would fess up to his secrecy. What is he hiding? I personally put up the quote above from Pres Benson last Feb. It fit perfectly into my feelings that many in the church even the very elect will be deceived. My mind has never been on the General Authorities or leadership of the church although some GA’s have led some astray in the past. The Brethren are NOT leading anyone into apostacy and they are men who I and all those at the firm foundation love and respect. Please

President Nelson and the Apostles are wonderful men and lead and guide the Lord’s true Church. I have always felt as has Rod or any other person associated with the FIRM Foundation that we love and follow the Lord through His Apostles and Prophets. Mr. Peter Pan is lying and it is not right to promote such slander. If any of you reading this post decide to email him please be nice and loving as we don’t want to treat others as he is treating us.

We advise our Heartland supporters and all people to be kind to those of other Apologetic groups just as we should be kind to all of God’s children. We are simply requesting an honest treatment from these other groups and find some way of working together to build the Lord’s Kingdom and share Christ together with the world.” Rian Nelson

Allow me to remind our readers what Nelson’s original claim was. On February 17, 2020, he posted the following on the FIRM Foundation Facebook page:

(Note: The date of Ezra Taft Benson’s BYU address was October 25, 1966, not 1996.)

Nelson protests, “My mind has never been on the General Authorities or leadership of the church although some GA’s have led some astray in the past. The Brethren are NOT leading anyone into apostacy [sic] and they are men who I and all those at the firm foundation [sic] love and respect.”

But does Nelson read the things that he writes? His Facebook post began with the question-begging assumption, “For those concerned how this occultic ‘Joseph Smith’ could make its way into Church publications.…” In other words, according to Rian Nelson of the FIRM Foundation, Church publications are teaching an “occultic” version of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

I, for one, would never claim that Church manuals and other publications are perfect or without error, but Nelson’s claim goes far beyond simple mistakes. Since Church publications are produced by committees headed by general authorities and general authorities provide the final review and approval for all Church publications, any claim that these publications present an “occultic Joseph Smith” ultimately means that general authorities are leading the Church into apostasy, as I claimed Nelson had asserted.

And this is just one example of Heartlander comments that flirt with apostasy or explicitly advocate for apostate ideas and actions. Like Rian Nelson, Jonathan Neville has also accused the Church of printing false doctrine and even anti-Mormon material in its publications. (See here, here, and here.) I’ve collected dozens of examples of this behavior over the two-and-a-half years this blog has been operating; anyone is free to examine what I’ve written and decide for themselves whether or not the Heartland movement is potentially dangerous to the faith of the Saints.

In the meantime, Rian Nelson’s protests fall quite flat, for he did indeed directly imply what he claims he didn’t.

—Peter Pan
 

The whackadoodle world of the Firm Foundation Facebook page

I’ve mentioned Rian Nelson’s Facebook posts before. Nelson runs the Facebook page for Rod Meldrum’s FIRM Foundation (the “Foundation for Indigenous Research and Mormonism Foundation”) as well as FIRM’s blog. And both are simply overflowing with crazy conspiracy theories, including material about QAnon, globalist cabals, and anti-vaccination (just to name a few).

Nelson believes in so many conspiracy theories that he can’t even keep it straight if Freemasonry is a great evil like Satanism and the Illuminati, or if Freemasonry “promote[s] self-improvement, brotherhood, charity, and fidelity to truth.”

Sometimes Nelson’s posts—and the comments they generate from other Heartlanders—border on the frightening. Take a look at this Facebook post from June 9, 2021:

Nelson and other Heartlanders love to mine old quotes from Ezra Taft Benson to support their conspiracy mindset. Elder Benson—until he was told to tone it down by President McKay and President Kimball—would frequently promote anti-communist conspiracy theories, even from the pulpit. He certainly wasn’t a believer in Nelson’s long list of conspiracies, but that doesn’t stop Nelson from using Elder Benson to further his own agenda.

Even more disturbing, however, are the comments on Nelson’s Facebook post.

One disturbed Heartlander claimed, “Ezra Taft Benson was a very different man, from the current leadership, and the Church in 2021 is VERY different from the church in 1972.” And Heartlanders wonder why I accuse them of being on the verge of apostasy from the Lord’s Church.

Another commenter claimed that “DC”—presumably referring to Washington DC, the capital of the United States—“must fall before the Lord’s millennial reign from the new Jerusalem.” Nelson responded, “It will.” Exactly how this fall will take place neither of them said. I can only guess that it will involve some sort of uprising, similar to—but more successful than—the crazed mob violence that took place in the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

Meanwhile, today’s prophets and apostles—who Heartlanders apparently reject, based on the comments above—continue to teach peace and obedience to law. President Dallin H. Oaks stated in October 2020 General Conference, “Though Jesus’s teachings were revolutionary, He did not teach revolution or lawbreaking.” In April 2021 General Conference, he taught:

We must pray for the Lord to guide and bless all nations and their leaders. This is part of our article of faith. Being subject to presidents or rulers of course poses no obstacle to our opposing individual laws or policies. It does require that we exercise our influence civilly and peacefully within the framework of our constitutions and applicable laws. On contested issues, we should seek to moderate and unify.

And so the gap between the teachings of the Lord’s apostles and the leaders of the Heartland hoax continues to widen.

—Peter Pan
 

Why Heartlanders and conspiracy theories are joined at the hip

Rian Nelson is continuing to post nutbar conspiracy theories on the FIRM Foundation’s Facebook page. Here’s one of his latest, followed by a terrific comment that strikes at the heart of why Heartlanderism and conspiracy theories go hand-in-hand:

—Peter Pan
 

Heartlanders push back against Rian Nelson’s nutty conspiracy theories

Rian Nelson is a prominent Heartlander who runs the social media for Rod Meldrum’s FIRM Foundation. He collaborated with Jonathan Meldrum to produce Moroni’s America – Maps Edition, and he’s a speaker at Meldrum’s April 2021 “27th International Book of Mormon Evidence Conference.”

I’ve previously discussed Rian Nelson and his attraction to off-the-wall conspiracy theories. He’s a believer in the “Q-anon” pedophile ring conspiracy, and has argued that the March 18, 2020, Utah earthquake “was actually destruction of child trafficking tunnels under the old Dugway Utah Germ Warfare base also referred to as another Area 51 UFO Base.”

So it was with some interest this morning (March 16, 2021) that I saw Heartlanders pushing back against Nelson on the FIRM Foundation Facebook page. Nelson was the anonymous author of this post (which has since been removed, probably by Nelson or Meldrum):

Readers’ initial reaction to yet another Rian Nelson conspiracy post was not positive:

I’ve long wondered if Rod Meldrum agrees with Rian Nelson’s lunatic beliefs. Meldrum allows Nelson to go virtually unchecked on FIRM Foundation blogs and social media, apparently without any consideration for how Nelson’s conspiracy-mongering can damage his foundation’s brand.

—Peter Pan
 

Heartland research director: “The Church is off course”

This post isn’t about Jonathan Neville, but it is about people in his sphere of belief—his theological circle, if you will.

The Joseph Smith Foundation is one of the more prominent organizations that promotes the “Heartland” theory of Book of Mormon geography and beliefs related to it, including denying that Joseph Smith used a seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon, emphasizing the United States as Lehi’s promised land, preferring the teachings of dead prophets and apostles over living ones, and other fundamentalist dogmas. (Despite what its name implies, the Joseph Smith Foundation is not a 501(c)(3) charitable organization; rather, it is a DBA for James Stoddard’s for-profit company, Integrivizion LLC.)

On the Joseph Smith Foundation website’s About page, Kimberly W. Smith is listed as the organization’s “Research Director.”

That same page asserts:

Joseph Smith Foundation team and staff are active members of [T]he Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints[,] although the foundation is not sponsored by the Church.… The resources available on Joseph Smith Foundation sites are based upon and to our best knowledge in harmony with the scriptures and the writings of latter-day prophets.”

Keeping in mind that statement of belief, consider these recent comments made by Kimberly W. Smith:

On January 27, 2021, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who is deeply mired in odious conspiracy theories—the very soil from which Heartlanderism has sprung—posted the following on his Facebook page. (I’ve redacted his name and profile picture out of respect for his privacy and because this post isn’t about him, per se.)

In response to this loathsome attack on President Russell M. Nelson and Latter-day Saint Charities, one individual responded:

Kimberly W. Smith, Research Director for the Joseph Smith Foundation, replied to the sister who expressed that she was in a faith crisis:

After implying that the modern Church has denigrated the Prophet Joseph Smith, Kimberly W. Smith recommended two books published by the Joseph Smith Foundation and then declared, “The [C]hurch is off course.”

A day or two later, Ms. Smith’s last comment was deleted, either by her or by the Facebook page’s owner.

I suppose there are several ways one could read Ms. Smith’s comment. I, for one, consider it to be a moment of transparent honesty—a sincere reflection of what those at the head of the “Heartland” movement really believe.

I’ve repeatedly predicted that it’s only a matter of time before Heartlanders declare The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its current leaders to be in apostasy and break off to form their own church. Recent comments made by Kimberly W. Smith, Rian Nelson, and Jonathan Neville sadly reinforce that prediction.

—Peter Pan
 

Jonathan Neville is a critic of the Church

Jonathan Neville is a critic of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

When we think of critics of the Church, we often imagine non-members—evangelical Christians who disagree with the doctrines of the restored gospel or atheists who openly mock all religious beliefs. But there are also critics within the Church who are baptized members. Many of them have been very faithful most to their lives, only to run into some principle, practice, or historical fact that caused them to question their faith and allegiance.

Broadly speaking, today’s critics inside the Church fall into one of two camps: progressives (liberals) and fundamentalists (conservatives).

Progressive critics of the Church of Jesus Christ hold modern, fashionable political and social views that are counter to the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For example, many progressive critics within the Church believe that First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve should normalize homosexual relationships and permit gay marriages in our meetinghouses and temples. These individuals have embraced the suddenly popular view that same-sex attraction is natural, that our gay brothers and lesbian sisters are “born that way,” and therefore Church leaders are backward and “homophobic” by continuing to teach that acting on feelings of same-sex attraction is a sin.

Fundamentalist critics of the Church of Jesus Christ are on the other side of the political and social spectrum from progressive critics. In their view, Church leaders have gone too far in accommodating popular beliefs, and they believe that the Church should return to earlier forms belief and practice. Perhaps the best-known example of fundamentalist critics are those individuals who have falsely come to believe that Wilford Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith’s actions to end the practice of plural marriage were wrong and that practice should be restored.

Both types of critics insist that the Church and its leaders are “out of the way” and need to be corrected. They use social media or private meetings to spread their beliefs and to try to convince others that they are right and the Church’s leaders are wrong. They aim to put pressure on Church leaders to conform to their ideas.

Quite often, after rallying people to their cause and becoming a public spectacle, they end up being excommunicated for apostasy or other sins. Just as often they end up leaving the Church of their own free will, having experienced frustration at not being able to convince leaders and members that they are right and the Church is wrong.

Jonathan Neville is a fundamentalist critic. While he ascribes sincere motives to Church leaders, employees, and teachers, he has been repeatedly and continually claiming for several years now that they are engaged in “censorship,” that they are rejecting and repudiating “the teachings of the prophets,” and that they are misleading Church members—especially youth and new converts—by not affirming his belief that the hill Cumorah of the Book of Mormon is the same hill in New York where Joseph Smith received the gold plates.

Jonathan Neville believes that it’s his role to “steady the ark.” If the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles can’t or won’t fix the M2C* “disaster,” then it’s up to Jonathan Neville to step in and save the Church!

And how does he go about this? Does he follow the steps outlined in the law of the Church, revealed by the Lord to Joseph Smith in 1831, that these things are to be done privately, one-on-one with those he accuses, and “not before the world”? (D&C 42:88–89) No. He blogs incessantly about it, day after day, month after month, year after year, complaining about this supposed conspiracy.

And what has been the result of his course of action? Jonathan Neville is sowing doubt and destroying faith in the leaders of Christ’s Church.

You think I’m exaggerating? Here’s just one recent example: Earlier this month Rian Nelson, a Heartlander and frequent colleague and collaborator with Neville, reposted specific criticisms Neville had leveled at Saints, the Church’s published history. (The original post was on Neville’s blog, Saints Review, dated August 29, 2019; Rian Nelson reposted it under his own name on his BofM.blog on September 6, 2019.) The blog post charges that the authors of Saints have “rewrit[ten] D&C 28 to accommodate M2C.” After reading it, one person (whom I’ve left anonymous) expressed serious concerns about what he had read on a Facebook group about Book of Mormon archaeology:

“If the prophet is deceived on this, what else could he be deceived on?”

That should be the subtitle of every one of Jonathan Neville’s sixty-six blogs. He believes he’s building up faith in the Book of Mormon; what he’s really doing is destroying faith in the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

How long will it be before Jonathan Neville is excommunicated for repeatedly and publicly criticizing Church leaders (a form of apostasy) or leaves the Church to form or join his own little cult of Heartlanders who believe they are the Lord’s true church?

Not long, I fear.

—Peter Pan

* “M2C” is Jonathan Neville’s acronym for the theory that the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica and that the hill Cumorah in the Book of Mormon is not the same hill in New York where Joseph Smith received the plates of Mormon.