Man Sentenced to Death After Skirmish in LDS Temple
SALT LAKE CITY- Following a brawl in the Salt Lake temple, the longtime disturber of the peace, 33-year-old Joshua Hamashiach, was sentenced to death by a Utah judge. The sentence was carried out Friday, April 3, 2015.
Though a lifelong member of the LDS church, Hamashiach spent the last three years teaching his own gospel along the “Mormon Corridor.” Living practically homeless, he developed a small following of blue collar workers and excommunicated members of the LDS church who were dazzled by his apparent gifts of healing and other so-called “miracles.”
Prior to the incident in the temple, Hamashiach was known to have stirred up trouble in various LDS meetinghouses. Catching members off-guard, he would teach that he was the son of God and that it would not be necessary to follow the teachings of LDS leaders.
Probably assuming him to be insane, church leadership did not immediately discipline Hamashiach, allowing him to remain a member in good standing with full access to the church’s various temples.
Just prior to the LDS General Conference earlier this month, Hamashiach entered the historic Salt Lake temple and began destroying furniture and fighting patrons. While details about the incident are sparse, it is certain that this action led directly to his indictment and eventual death sentence.
Though Hamashiach was able to escape the temple before police arrived, his whereabouts were eventually reported by one of his former followers. During the trial, practically all members of his organization abandoned him. Even his righthand man, Rock McJona, who had originally assaulted a police officer to prevent Hamashiach’s arrest, later denied to reporters that he knew Hamashiach at all.
Apparently since his excommunication, some of his followers have reunited and are set on promulgating his teachings. A few of the more unstable ones have even claimed that Hamashiach has risen from the dead.
While the future of Hamashiach’s little cult is unknown, it is likely that they will be heading down the same road he did--that is, into complete and utter obscurity.
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If you have read this far, you now understand a little better what it would have been like for the Jews to accept Jesus Christ during His mortal ministry.
Yes, this was thought-provoking satire. But how difficult would it have been at that time for Jesus' disciples to obey His command, "Come, follow me"? What would've been their sacrifice? This is why Nicodemus came to be taught by Him at night, and why the rich man went away sorrowing, etc. What is He asking us to sacrifice today to follow Him?
Essentially the same topic came up in the priesthood meeting I attended Sunday. Matthew 24 (especially the JST version) warns us of false Christs who will deceive even those of the very elect, if it is possible to deceive them. To assume these false Christs will all arrive as obvious heretics and malcontents, thrown from the Church and without any earthly or corporate Church authority fails to appreciate the scripture, as such people would not be successfully deceptive. In order to deceive, the coming false Christs (or perhaps those that are already here) must, at least in part, bring with them the trappings of earthly authority and terrestrial sanction.
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