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The Oahspe Text and Mormonism

Note

This article is an unfinished outline, it needs to be finished. Add charts which show the correlations of kingdoms, terms, etc…

This article outlines many of the unique correlations between the contents of Oahspe and Mormon theology and scripture.  For an introduction to Oahspe, see my article here.

This article outlines many of the unique correlations between the contents of Oahspe and Mormon theology and scripture.  For an introduction to Oahspe, see my article here.

Here are just a few of the concepts in Oaspe which support esoteric Mormon doctrine.

1. Oahspe’s view of the great spirit, or most high god, and how it accords with Mormonisms.
2. Oahspe’s view of the ruling gods and hierarchy of heaven. how they are simply ascended men. ‘
-also the degrees of heaven and how they accord with Mormonism
3. Oahspe’s view of the apostasy (caused by cosmic regions of darkness), and how the “great and abominable church came to be”, the apostasy of heaven and setting up of the self-made god’s who fight against Jehovah.
4. Oahspe’s view of true religion, which is in works and not words.
5. Could the unbelievable similarities between Oahspe and particularly the United Order it promotes be part of the ‘greater things’ that the LDS Saints would have gotten had they proved worthy in Nauvoo?

Overview

One interesting aspect of the Oahspe text is how its generally hostile toward organized religion. Its teachings on this matter come across a lot like other Mormon sources which insinuate that organized religions are often revealed by gods & angels but quickly corrupted through apostasy.

Oahspe’s four false gods of the lowest heavens are part of anti-organized religion theology reminiscent of the “mother of harlots” or “great and abominable church” aspect of Nephi’s vision of the Book of Mormon. Suggesting the true church of Jehovah exists in heaven, not often on earth. It suggests the medieval or Gentile Christian Church was part of the 4 false religions on earth run by lower false gods, doing things such as the inquisition, political and military control, forced conversion, manipulation, etc.

1 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.
2 And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many nations and kingdoms.
3 And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.
4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church.
5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.
6 And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.
7 And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.
8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.
9 And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.

Differences

However, unlike modern Mormonism Oahspe gives VERY specific tests to differentiate between true and false religion, many of which modern Mormonism (but not necessarily original Mormonism) flatly fails. These include 1. Worshipping any God born of a woman. 2. The use of armies and navies and false priests and borders to maintain political systems. (finish…)

Finish this section -> If one were to believe Oahspe, it would suggest that Modern Mormonism was likely created by the high Gods of Jehovah, but quickly corrupted and taken over by Leeomelang the false god, who changed the Book of Mormon, and influenced many of Joseph’s revelations in ways to support the apostate Gentile Christian doctrines of Christ being The ONLY savior and means to heaven instead of one of several, and having the LDS church be the ONLY true church instead of one of several.

Commonalities

-Oahspe teaches that the cause of the Great apostasy was cosmological. (see article on degrees of glory) That our earth and Solar System go through differing regions of the Galaxy with differing levels of light. That the “light” in these regions determines our “glory” (see D&C 88 & 76). That when we pass through dense, or dark nebula regions man and his heavenly rulers loose spiritual contact with the galactic creator and his ruling hosts and fall into apostasy.

-Another parallel is the teaching that the united states was formed to help man escape bondage of the “beast” or great and abominable church… but during the fullness of the gentiles, the beast was allowed to overrun america and even over-power the LDS saints. We as a church have adopted many of their false beliefs and practices, but will be eventually freed.

28/60.31. Behold, they [the four false Gods of Medieval Gentile religion, Gentile Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism] have appropriated four great divisions of the earth to themselves; and the heavens above them have become their dominions. Let them, therefore, keep what they have taken.
28/60.32. Because they have bound mortals by their religions, and established themselves by mortal laws and by force of their standing armies, you shall give to them all they have bound on earth and in the heavens.
28/60.33. But, behold, I have another continent, lying beyond the ocean, America, where My people know Me, and worship Me.
28/60.34. You shall inspire mortals to go there from the east and find America, and inhabit it.
28/60.35. And there, it shall come to pass, none of the false Gods shall establish their doctrines by mortal laws, and bind My people.
28/60.36. And, as for the spirits of those mortals whom the false Gods caused to be slain in the inquisitions, leave them to those Gods that took them.
28/60.37. And, though such spirits have vengeance in their hearts, and will be the means of ultimately casting the false Gods into hell, yet you shall not go near them.
28/60.38. But you shall look to the mortals, whom you shall take over to inhabit the western continent.
28/60.39. And when they have arrived, you shall send loo’is there, and raise up, by birth, certain mortals, who shall ignore the doctrine of enforced worship for any False God, Lord or Savior.
28/60.40. For the people of that land shall be free, not only in body, but in spirit also.
28/60.41. And it shall be guaranteed to them to worship in My way, so that their conscience may dictate.
28/60.42. And when the dawn of the arc of The millennium (Kosmon) comes, behold, I will open up My heavens to mortals, and prepare the foundation of My kingdom on earth

-Oahspe teaches that group association is the “beginning of the Second Resurrection” (Terrestrial Resurrection of Mormonism). It details how most rise into group association as part of one of the “four beasts” or earthly religions; and that these religions seek to help people grow into unselfishness. When people have reached a sufficient enough grade or level of unselfishness, they are allowed to ascend yet further into the highest “etherean heavens” as brides and bridegrooms of Jehovah. Since the apostasy, the earth’s predominant religions no longer seek to willingly raise adherents to higher these ever higher levels, but make themselves out to be the “all-highest” and thus impede eternal progression.

28/59.10. We admit the declension of our grades, as you have said; but, behold, your emissaries carry off our highest grades.
28/59.11. If you would carry away only our drujas, we would not interdict the travel of your ships in our heavenly dominions. But as soon as your ships come, behold, our highest grades rush for them.
28/59.12. For which reason, we have been obliged to prohibit your laborers within our dominions. (Eskra 59:10-12)

-This seems remarkably similar to the degrees of glory explained in D&C 76. Thus the Telestial Kingdom of Joseph Smith matches the fist Atmosherean resurrection in Oahspe. A location where individuals exist singly and separately and have not learned to “associate in groups”. Most of the world’s religious people end up at the top of this heaven. Oahspe describes this heaven as belonging to those who have started to learn organic association, but have “not learned to put into practice their faith and are still psychologically bound to a self-made God. (The demiurge as other texts put it, or a God who is a projection of one’s own ego.) The second Atmosherean resurrection in Oahspe correlates to Joseph Smith’s Terrestial Kingdom. Joseph Smith described it this way,

98 And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world;
99 For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas.
100 These are they who say they are some of one and some of another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;
101 But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant. (D&C 76:98–101)

The “Some of Christ” mentioned here is obviously a false Christ. The Jesus who most Christians young in the faith worship, a self righteous Jesus who is a projection of a believers one’s own ego. A religious group who has “a form of godliness but denies the power thereof”. A Jesus who leads churches divided in sectarianism and self-righteousness, who….

-Oahspe teaches a system of spiritual adepthood similar to the law of one. That God came to earth long ago and made a race of men able to perceive Him through clairvoyance and claraudience. That many of a certain race called the I’huans (house of Israel) had this gift. Perhaps this is what Christ is referring to when he says in 3rd Nephi 15:23, ” And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost.” Oahspe calls this “gift of the Spirit” of being able to see, speak to, or hear beings from the higher realms “sargis”. It tells of how Moses, Samuel and Elijah had this power in full, and where “true prophets” in that they used this gift to commune with etherean angels from the etherean (celestial) realms. We could

-The “angel of the Lord” that Joseph and Hiram quote as telling them to start polygamy or he would “cut them down” is the false God “piad” taught of in Oahspe. If these accounts are true, then Joseph really was a “fallen prophet” in that respect at least. But as D&C teaches, those with calling and election sure are “saved” as long as they don’t murder, and if they screw up, they are “destroyed in the flesh” and taken home, since an etherean has covenanted to mentor and father them. Whatever repercussions their ill motivated behavior has, becomes their joy or their bondage and all things end up working for the god’s greater good in the end.

Tell Zina, I put it off and put it off till an angel with a drawn sword stood by me and told me if I did not establish that principle upon the earth I would lose my position and my life.

“An angel came to him [Joseph Smith] and the last time he came with a drawn sword in his hand and told Joseph if he did not go into that principle, he would slay him. Joseph said he talked to him soberly about it, and told him it was an abomination and quoted scripture to him. He said in the Book of Mormon it was an abomination in the eyes of the Lord, and they were to adhere to these things except the Lord speak… [The Prophet reported that] the angel came to me three times between the years of 1834 and 1842 and said I was to obey that principle or he would slay me.” (1905 BYU Testimony of Mary Elizabeth Lightner)

see http://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Encouraging-Joseph-Smith-to-Practice-Plural-Marriage-The-Accounts-of-the-Angel-with-a-Drawn-Sword.pdf for a discussion on some 20 accounts of this motivation for introducing plural marriage.

-oahspe teaches against saviors and gods born of woman. (find quotes) I believe the doctrine and covenants is trying to teach the same principle… that christ was a living archetype of Jehovah. This teaching seems anti-christian at first and offended me. but the more I meditate on this, the more I see it is true and is a teaching Joseph Smith, and the Doctrine and Covenants is trying to slowly get gentile christianity to understand. Jesus, was a type of the father. Jehovah, is the name given to the most hight God, etc//

1 Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for [Jehovah] is God, and beside him there is no Savior. (D&C 76:1)

-whole thrust of righteousness in oahspe supports Joseph smiths teaching that the Zion community is the hallmark of true religion.

-god requires discipline…

-oahspe’s view of solar system traveling in a circuit and falling under the dominion of god is very similar to Abraham cosmology.

09/1.1. First, the earth travels in a circuit around the sun, which is divided into four arcs called spring, summer, autumn and winter.
09/1.2. Second, the sun, with his family, travels in a large circuit, which is divided into one thousand five hundred arcs, the distance for each arc being about three thousand years, or one cycle.
09/1.3. During a cycle, the earth and her heavens travel through the etherean regions of hundreds of etherean worlds, which are inhabited by Jehovah’s high raised angels, whose Chiefs are involved in the management of worlds.
09/1.4. During the time of a cycle, the earth is therefore under the control and management of such angels of Jehovah for the resurrection of man of the earth.

-etherean worlds (inhabited inside and out) are Joseph Smith’s Celestial Worlds or “like see of glass”.

-Atmospherea is Mormonism’s terestial kingdom.

-Both Oahspe and the Law of One detail how terrestrial beings use technology. They use “fire ships” or spacecraft to travel, and use solar currents, etc.. But that Celestial beings can travel by “thought” using a “line of light”.

-Joseph Smith taught that when the lord comes “many will think it is a star, a commet, etc.. but it will be the lord”. Oahspe details how this comes about, and how celestial words do indeed look like stars.

-Oahspe teaches that North America will be Zion or the land the Millennial Kingdom

-Oahspe teaches of Pan that was destroyed by flood, and details how this occurred, and that is was essentially where the Americas are now, even though Japan is the closest remnant.

-Oahspe teaches much about the Jaredite culture which it calls the “Algonquin” people. It tells of the founder which sounds like the brother of Jared.

-Oahspe’s temple rites are similar to Mormon one.

-Oahspe teaches that the “most high god” is a “great spirit” or a god not born of woman who is a composite of all that is, and that it is lower “Gods” who manage our world who are “born of woman”. The book of Mormon teaches this too…

26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?
27 And he said, Yea.
28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?
29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.
30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.
31 And king Lamoni said: Is it above the earth?
32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.
(Alma 18:26–32)

Those whose faith is in a most high god who loves all his children equally and believe god just wants people to live a good life in peace and harmony to others, need not worry. They will enter Jehovah’s kingdom when they die.

25/42.5. But be attentive to My Chosen, the Believers (Faithists), in all parts of heaven and earth; not letting one of them fall into the hells of My enemies.

Note: This came to me in a dream. For those with whom Oahspe resonates more than Modern Mormonism, you should consider the possibility that Mormonism was begun by the true messengers/angels of Jehovah, but that it was quickly high jacked by angels of the lower heavens. This would include the stealing of the 116 pages of the Book of Mormon and replacing it with a channeled version of the same text which supports the doctrines of Leomalang instead of Jehovah and the Great Spirit. This explaining why parts of the book are wrong, like the date of the final battle, and the coming of Christ. Because the text was channeled by Ixtlilxochitl and other well-meaning angels of the lower heavens under the influence of Leomalang. I personally am not entirely sure what to believe concerning the particulars of which parts are right/wrong of both Oahspe & Mormonism, as I believe they both have truth and error.

Introduction to Oahspe

Introduction

Its difficult to decide exactly what to say about Oahspe. Its a pretty amazing book. I’d have to say that when I first started reading it it often rubbed me the wrong way. Because of the challenging ideas it possesses, its hard to recommend to any orthodox religious believer, but it was precisely those complex challenging ideas which kept me reading it over and over. Parts of it might be down-right dangerous to a stable mind. Much of it comes across anti-organized religion/pro general religion; in a way reminiscent of early LDS authors and preachers. Overall I think the book has an amazing amount of truth.

Origins
Oahspe was revealed through John Ballou Newbrough in 1882. As told in his own words, John dabbled in spiritualism for ten of fifteen years until he “was not satisfied with the communications; [but] was craving for the light of heaven”. In time he says “I took it into my head that wise and exalted angels would commune better with us if we purified ourselves physically and spiritually. Then I gave up eating flesh and fish, milk and butter, and took to rising before day, bathing twice a day, and occupying a small room alone, where I sat every morning half-an-hour before sunrise, recounting daily to my Creator my shortcomings in governing myself in thought and deed”.

After six years of governing himself thus, he states to have begun to be visited by angels who “propounded to me questions relative to heaven and earth, which no mortal could answer very intelligently”. Two years subsequent to his communion with these angels, he was directed to buy a type-writer; whereafter he was instructed to rise early and with an angel standing over his head directed to write for a half-hour or so each morning for fifty-two weeks by the process of automatic writing. He was also directed not to read what was written until it was all finished. Upon completion he was instructed to publish the book without forming a church around it.

During this period John “pursued his vocation” of Dentistry, until 1884 when apparently in seeking to follow the teachings of the book, he moved to an area near Las Cruces, New Mexico and started a commune-type colony called “The land of Shalam”. In 1885 Newbrough and his wife eventually gathered fifty children and followers from foundling homes, police sergeants, and depositories”. By all accounts, the children, from all races, were pampered and treated with love and kindness, however, due mostly to financial failures the the colony folded by 1901, and the children were sent to orphanages.

Overview
If I had to pass judgement, I am still not sure where to classify Oahspe’s “heavenly origins”. The channeled material in the popular “Ra” book suggest that some unknown organization from the terrestrial or celestial levels of heaven approached some of the beings who govern our solar system, and suggested to aid man’s progression through revealing this book which spreads truth and error by its presentation of historical accounts of previous cycles of the earth’s existence. To me, there are a few problems with this possibility, but notwithstanding my opinion, the similarities to Mormonism in the book are not easily dismissed.

It contains so much information about the “laws of the higher kingdoms” concerning ascending to the higher heavens (Terrestrial & Celestial Kingdoms in Mormonism) as to be uncanny. Also about building Zion, the united/communal order, and the condemnation originating from material inequality. How earthly religions turn into idols and must be renewed/torn down. The cycles/dispensations/times of the gospel and its messengers. How unselfishness in the key to exaltation. Detailed cosmology and physics principles, Etc, etc..

But at the same time the text typically condemns the earth’s religions and paints them in a negative light, instead of showing them as imperfect “schoolmasters” as Paul seemed to view Judaism. The scribe(s) is/are generally anti-religion but pro-spirituality and in my opinion somewhat misrepresent or distort the role of religion in earth’s history (The Ra Material seems to support this). It derides the four beasts/false Gods/religions of the Millennium (Hinduism, Buddhism, Gentile Christianity & Islam), but completely ignores the true/false dualism in all these religions and presents them in an attitude of criticism so as to try and destroy faith altogether instead of leading people to any kind of unity of faith or universalism.

Christology of Oahspe

Oahspe’s Christology is much like that of Islam. Its account of “Joshua” (Christ) suggests that the historical Jesus was indeed a high follower of “Jehovah” whose birth was hailed by high beings from the cosmos, and did many miracles, but that much of the biblical account of Jesus was largely manufactured by the early Christian Church. (And was based on earlier accounts of dispensational leaders like Moses & Zoroaster/Melchezidek). Like the Islamic belief, it teaches that Jesus was a powerful prophet and ‘a son of God‘ instead of ‘The Son of God‘. (Although as an exalted being he truly reached unity or at-one-ment with God, and thus became God)  That Jesus was resurrected and taken the highest heavens of Jehovah but was stoned instead of crucified. (A part I don’t believe).  An LDS reader would probably want to skip this section of the text altogether. I’ve come to my own conclusions about which parts might be true and which parts are distorted, but the reader will have to judge for themselves, and remember that the book doesn’t always claim to be telling the truth, but to be restoring the beliefs, stories and myths of ancient peoples. Its storyline of Islam & Gentile Christianity being high-jacked by lower Gods and wrongly used as instruments of war seems reasonable enough.

As is typical of restorationist text supposedly originating from or passing through the lower heavens, my opinion is that the work is most biased and the least accurate in its accounts of more recent Western World events (founding of Christianity, Islam, America, etc), almost as if it came through a more Eastern World religious tradition (perhaps even a Chinese tradition).

The book does however, present interesting similarities concerning the Book of Mormon “Jaredite” people (Algonquin) and the principles of exaltation (it’s group nature), as well as various peoples temple rights and histories.

Issues with the Text

I personally think the texts matching accounts of Moses & Capilya are perhaps the most suspect in the whole book. These two contemporary prophets stories are SO similar that it makes far more sense to me that Oahspe is actually passing on mythicized stories from ancient records which are actually talking about the same individual! The similarities stemming from the fact told by Herodotus and the Kolbrin, that the Indus Valley civilization was actually colonized by Egyptians sometime after the time of Moses, and that these colonist brought their stories of Moses which were later incorporated into Vedic traditions.  Likewise, I don’t trust its timeline of the last 25,000 years. Although it seems more trustworthy that the bible’s, it doesn’t at all match with archaeological findings and seems hard to believe that the level of sophistication it suggests existed quite as early back as it suggests (just my 2 cents). Its account of the ancient ‘continent’ of Pan could be reasonable ONLY if Pan was the drown parts of the Oceania Platform near New Zealand and Indonesia, and NOT some imaginary continent off the coast of JaPan as it suggests.

Again, as mentioned, it seems to me that the text is not suggesting to be entirely ‘true’ per se, but instead is a restoration of the beliefs, stories and myths of many ancient cultures.

To see examples of the many, many ways that this text correlates with Mormonism read “The Oashpe Text & Mormonism

Oahspe Timeline
Oahspe has a very unique timeline.  Once which largely follows modern radiocarbon dated timelines.

# THIRD PRECESSION CYCLE Length BC BP
1 Aph? (sinking of Pan) 3,600 23,156 25,150
2 Sue 3,200 19,556 21,550
3 Apollo 2,800 16,356 18,350
4 Thor 3,200 13,556 15,550
5 Osiris 3,300 10,356 12,350
6 Zarathustra (Melchizedek) 3,100 7,056 9,050
7 Abraham (= with Po, Brahma, and Eawahtah) 2,400 3,956 5,950
8 Moses (= with Capilya, & Chine) 3,400 1,556 3,550
9 Kosmon 0 1852 AD 1850 AD

Oahspe’s timeline of Biblical events.

Date
Hojax/Thoth builds the Great Pyramid.
-1548 BC 1556 BC. Moses (3400 BK)
-1417 BC
1425 BC. Israelites start to marry Canaanites (3269 BK, v.21)
-1151 BC
-“For 397 years after going out of Egypt, the Israelites lived without a earthly (corporeal) king, and worshipped Great Spirit”. False Gods make Saul king begin worshipping image of a man.
-Samuel starts college of the prophets and secret group at Naioth (who preserve true worship)
-1139 BC
-In 409 year after leaving Egypt, they give up peace policy & mosaic inspiration and go to war. Ahijah foretells coming captivity (v.29)
-916 BC
924 BC. Elijah, was raised up from the branch of the college of prophets (2768 BK v.34)
-783 BC
791 BC. the college of prophecy raised up Jonah, and Amos, and Hosea (2635 BK v.43)
-722 BC
730 BC. Assyria sacks Israel (2574 BK)
-687 BC
686 BC. Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, established idol worship, kills Isaiah. (2439 BK – this date is almost certainly a typo, off by 100 years)
-492 BC
491 BC. The Ezra Bible completed (2344 Bk v.44) False God takes over control of Israel.
-In 350 years after this (beginning of Essenes) God raises up Jesus/Joshu from the Essenes
3/4 BC
3/4 BC. Jesus lived to be 36 (so born in like 3 BC)
72 AD
72 AD. 40 years after his death Jews scattered. (by Looeamong, nations plunged into war and anarchy)

Open an HTML version of Oahspe here.

See full PDF version of Oahspe here.  (15MB download)

For more detail see oahspestandardedition.com
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