24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.
25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people,
Richard CraycroftNovember 1, 2025
The AR-15 is not, by definition, an "assault rifle." It is a semi-automatic rifle. Maybe I'm just nit-picking, but this an article about being factual.
Bradley R. LarsenNovember 1, 2025
I posted the following about 2 days ago. Never showed up in your comments section. I would love to have a private discussion about this issue w/Bro. Densely. It's very important topic. He is welcome to contact me through the email I've provided with this comment.
The other side of the coin regarding conspiracies and those who might look for evidence of such, is the powerful current tendency of people to be triggered into thinking that all conspiracy proposals are crazy and those who push them are nut jobs.
You could level all the critique you marshal about the dangers of promulgating ideas of conspiracies, and how misguided those may be who do so, against people who put their head in the sand about such things.
Your mention of “drug cartels”, “Operation Berkshire, Watergate, the “sinking of the Titanic” is low hanging fruit when it comes to conspiracies. They are all either obvious criminal conspiracies or crazy.
And what does your comment about 265,00 social media posts [appearing} between January and March 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic” have to do with what may be the truth of many of the allegations made in these posts? How about nothing. These comments may very well be ‘riffing’ off of very real data and analysis. Should people shut up about these things because not doing so will “lead to disunity and contention in our society”??
Could it be that keeping quiet about these impactful issues may result in far worse damage to society than airing solid information about them, whether promulgated by social media or not? This is a certainty in my view.
I’m curious how you reconcile the general view promoted by your article with D&C 123:13 “Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—”
. . . or with Moroni’s injunction in Ether 8:23-24 regarding the danger of letting secret combinations get above us in the last days. A secret combination is a conspiracy by definition. How do people “awake to a sense of [their] awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you”, if they give into a powerful aversion to talk or even think about such things?? Seems rather wrong-headed to me to fall into this trap.
Juliann BradshawOctober 28, 2025
Lots of good points to ponder. I would suggest you add D&C 123, especially vs 13-15 though. The Book of Mormon is full of warnings, counsel and incidences concerning secret combinations so that we, in this dispensation, awake to our awful situation and become aware of those in secret chambers seeking our destruction.
BayOctober 27, 2025
This is so good! I don't think I've read a more thorough and understandable summary of the causes, mechanisms, dangers, and prevention strategies for conspiracy thinking. Many thanks.
ScottHOctober 27, 2025
Someone I care about has become deeply entangled in various conspiracy theories. As institutional trust approaches zero, emotion becomes the gold standard for reality testing. This person now actively seeks conspiracy theories that stoke passion; it's like an addiction. They even become upset when others don't share their passion. I wish I knew what to do.
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CommentNovember 3, 2025
24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up. 25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people,
Richard CraycroftNovember 1, 2025
The AR-15 is not, by definition, an "assault rifle." It is a semi-automatic rifle. Maybe I'm just nit-picking, but this an article about being factual.
Bradley R. LarsenNovember 1, 2025
I posted the following about 2 days ago. Never showed up in your comments section. I would love to have a private discussion about this issue w/Bro. Densely. It's very important topic. He is welcome to contact me through the email I've provided with this comment. The other side of the coin regarding conspiracies and those who might look for evidence of such, is the powerful current tendency of people to be triggered into thinking that all conspiracy proposals are crazy and those who push them are nut jobs. You could level all the critique you marshal about the dangers of promulgating ideas of conspiracies, and how misguided those may be who do so, against people who put their head in the sand about such things. Your mention of “drug cartels”, “Operation Berkshire, Watergate, the “sinking of the Titanic” is low hanging fruit when it comes to conspiracies. They are all either obvious criminal conspiracies or crazy. And what does your comment about 265,00 social media posts [appearing} between January and March 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic” have to do with what may be the truth of many of the allegations made in these posts? How about nothing. These comments may very well be ‘riffing’ off of very real data and analysis. Should people shut up about these things because not doing so will “lead to disunity and contention in our society”?? Could it be that keeping quiet about these impactful issues may result in far worse damage to society than airing solid information about them, whether promulgated by social media or not? This is a certainty in my view. I’m curious how you reconcile the general view promoted by your article with D&C 123:13 “Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—” . . . or with Moroni’s injunction in Ether 8:23-24 regarding the danger of letting secret combinations get above us in the last days. A secret combination is a conspiracy by definition. How do people “awake to a sense of [their] awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you”, if they give into a powerful aversion to talk or even think about such things?? Seems rather wrong-headed to me to fall into this trap.
Juliann BradshawOctober 28, 2025
Lots of good points to ponder. I would suggest you add D&C 123, especially vs 13-15 though. The Book of Mormon is full of warnings, counsel and incidences concerning secret combinations so that we, in this dispensation, awake to our awful situation and become aware of those in secret chambers seeking our destruction.
BayOctober 27, 2025
This is so good! I don't think I've read a more thorough and understandable summary of the causes, mechanisms, dangers, and prevention strategies for conspiracy thinking. Many thanks.
ScottHOctober 27, 2025
Someone I care about has become deeply entangled in various conspiracy theories. As institutional trust approaches zero, emotion becomes the gold standard for reality testing. This person now actively seeks conspiracy theories that stoke passion; it's like an addiction. They even become upset when others don't share their passion. I wish I knew what to do.
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