According to information and a video posted online, the decentralized hacktivist collective known as ‘Anonymous’ touts being “prepared to consider [the LDS Church’s various official online outlets] fair game.” The 3-minute video uses a computer-modulated voice to communicate its “Greetings, Mormons” message. A screenshot of the lengthy, detailed message from the video—uploaded to archive.org—is posted below, as well as a copy of the text itself.
The first warning message was sent on Jan. 25 at 4:06 pm via Anonymous’ Twitter account, and features the usual “they will have to expect us” refrain.
The impetus of the so-called threat was supposedly sparked months ago when Ordain Women’s Kate Kelly was excommunicated from the LDS Church, but has only recently surfaced and allegedly will be exacted when and if “[the LDS Church] excommunicate[s] Mr. Dehlin and do[es]n’t reverse Ms. Kelly’s eternal discipline for sincere doubt, open discourse, and dissent.”
The video also mentions the Granite Mountain Records Vault, money dispersal on behalf of church leadership, and a reference to Sheri Dew, CEO of Deseret Book Company.
The tactics of Anonymous’ “preparations” have not been made public, but a DDoS is assumed to be one possibility, as well as leaked audio and video recordings of some of the church’s procedural goings on. It’s perhaps too early to ascertain what the messages, “We left our umbrella behind” and “now is the time for our return. ‘Visitors Welcome,’ indeed” mean with regard to operative, concrete terms, other than its likely reference to Paul Pry, whose name is attached to both the video and the document uploaded.
(full text from image below)
Greetings, Mormons.
We are Anonymous.Recently, leaders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (widely known the as the Mormon Church), set in motion an imminent disciplinary hearing for Mr. John Dehlin, a rising voice with regard to controversial, unflattering issues in the Mormon community.
Mr. Dehlin provided an outlet for the ever-growing number of those who felt disenfranchised by the revolving and evolving complexities of the Mormon Church, an outlet that the Mormon church neither provided nor allowed. The church is, in effect, deriding those whose curiosity and concern ranged from small questions to paradigm-shattering crises by excommunicating Mr. Dehlin, who in many instances worked one-on-one with the disenchanted.
This is not the church’s first rodeo. They’ve excised and threatened members throughout history, from the so-called September Six in 1993 to the more recent instance of Mrs. Kate Kelly, a human rights attorney whose organized pleas for gender parity were considered grounds for excommunication by an all-male panel in the overwhelmingly patriarchal micro- and macro-leadership of the Mormon church.
The world is watching, Mormon church.
Anonymous is familiar with the official online outlets of the church, as well as the large cache in the Granite Mountain Records Vault. Anonymous is aware of the internal emails of various Church Office Building employees and the benign hilarity of the inside jokes found therein. We are apprised of the reasons behind Sheri Dew’s as-yet-unmarried status. The precise dollar amounts allocated to the various ranks of leadership, such as, say, the alarming amount spent under the umbrella of ‘landscaping’ on behalf of a mission president in Rochester, New York between the years 2007-2011. If you excommunicate Mr. Dehlin and don’t reverse Mrs. Kelly’s eternal discipline for sincere doubt, open discourse, and dissent, we are prepared to consider these assets fair game. We left our umbrella behind when Mrs. Kelly was excommunicated and now is the time for our return. ‘Visitors Welcome,’ indeed.
We Are Anonymous.
We Are Legion.
We Do Not Forgive
We Do Not Forget
Expect Us.
Because We Are Mormon Stories Fans, and we are prepared to fund the Book of Mormon musical to play in perpetuity.
Anyone who claims this ‘anonymous’ is threatening a good thing is completely illogical and delusional. If you support this you obviously don’t believe in the LDS church, and shouldn’t care what it does or doesn’t do.
wrong. If you support this, you support free speech. The church isn’t as perfect as they tell us they are. It is our gospel that we should believe, not the church. it is the means of delivery.
What’s funny is that mask doesn’t look scary or intimidating, it looks like a french mime clown. Who cares what they think? GOOFBALLS. Whoaaaa. If they take down the sight, I’m sure it’s impossible to put up another one. LOL
You are clearly too uneducated and ignorant to acknowledge what that mask represents. Typical.
You are clearly too uneducated and ignorant to acknowledge what that mask represents. Typical. .
Sight=the ability to see
Site=location or webpage
This is literally elementary.
The Church will be lucky if taking down the site is all that happens. This group works in more… Creative ways than that. Don’t underestimate the power of the internet. The LDS church, and all of it’s sexist, racist, offensive ways deserves whatever they decide to do to it. I hope it’s bad. Good luck, you mormon assholes.
This a satirical article. It’s not real. Calm down and crawl back to your hole.
It’s not a hoax, you massive faggot. :^)
There are other religions, Christian and not Christian, that are the real racists, real sexists, and real offensive.
Appleby Baptist, Westborough Baptist, Evangelicals, for starters.
There are other religions, Christian and not Christian, that are the real racists, real sexists, and real offensive.
Appleby Baptist, Westborough Baptist, Evangelicals, for starters.
The hypocrites sure like to whine.
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If scandal is out there waiting to be exposed, then expose it. I’m sure the church will survive it.
I find it interesting to see someone using blackmail, bully-talk, extortion, illegal activity, etc. as a threat against someone for allegedly using blackmail, bully-talk, extortion and illegal (per church law) activities.
I guess at least these jerks still feel the need to come up with some kind of a basis for who they decide to be a jerk to.
The stench of their hypocrisy is certainly unsavory, however.
Someone is using the ANONYMOUS persona in a way it was never meant to be used. ANONYMOUS isn’t about people’s membership in a Church. ANONYMOUS is supposed to be about LIBERTY, FREEDOM and exposing the people in this world who try to infringe on other people’s civil rights. THERE ARE NO RIGHTS in a RELIGION. If you are against the Doctrine of a Religion, why stay in that religion??? This is making a mockery of the things ANONYMOUS is supposed to stand for and someone is hurting their credibility. You can’t sue a church for WRONGFUL TERMINATION. And don’t think you can be in the LDS Church or outside it, for that matter and change it’s policies or doctrines. It’s not a Public Entity. This is RIDICULOUS and the real community of ANONYMOUS ought to take this FAKER down.
Your site is pathetic. Creating completely fabricated news such as this? What a waste of everyone’s time. Pathetic.
How is that bowling alley internet Bobo? Working good over at the Ol Tulsa Lanes?
Well, now we are waiting. I want to see all that juicy information published to see if it is true or not. I don’t know about all the other commenters, but I think the truth is the most important thing.
Also, something good to find out is how the houses of general authorities were paid. I doubt general authorities pay mortgages every month. No time for that. Most likely these homes were paid up front and I want to know where the money came from to pay these houses.
If the people making the video can come up with this information that would be cool.
These public complainers amaze me. If someone overtly disagrees with the church they should go elsewhere. Being an LDS Church member is not a paid position and church property is private property dedicated to preaching the church beliefs. It is not a place for freedom of speech to pull members away. They are free to do that on their own time as non members. No rights have been taken away from them.
Actually, the leaders in the LDS church have a stipend (ie – are PAID).
*highest*
Sorry to burst your anti mormon, bigoted and hateful bubble, which exist only in the small cyber- world of negativity called anti-Mormonism, but this is NOT from Anonymous. This is from an anti-Mormon , who is known for his ” lying for the devil” lol behavior. As you can plainly see, LDS.org various websites function beautifully and without interruption. I was asked recently by a bigot why I care about this cesspool world called anti- Mormonism: it is because in resembles anti -semitism . From the name-calling , dehumanizing members of the Church to actually violence and threats of violence. I take this seriously from any hate group. I will always fight bigotry where I find it.
Which anti-mormon is this from?
Just be grateful you’re not a black person from before 1978, or one of Brigham Young’s underage wives.
Right on! Folks who make a career of dissing the church seem to get more ridiculous the longer they’re at it.
When someone starts bashing the underwear another religion wears, you know that person isn’t all there in the head. Seriously.
No, what is funny is that it was palpable when the LDS Church Headquarters network managers snorted in derision at the threat towards the Granite Mountain Vault. Sure, sure, they thought…Anonymous knows about Granite Mountain…but they don’t know about the isolated backups in Missouri…
Millions of record-less Native Americans live without temple ordinances…(well, I don’t know if live is the right word…but, yeah, being dragged across the country…and of course they forgot to bring their genealogy with them…) No eternal life for them, sez the LDS Genealogy Elite…