This post makes a simple argument, which I want to make clear from the beginning: some — NOT ALL — conspiracy theories are real. There really are conspiracies in which people conspire to get money and power and sometimes even commit murder as part of the conspiracy.
This does not mean that EVERY claim of a conspiracy theory is true. In fact, you could safely argue that most conspiracy theories are not true. Just to cite one example, I don’t buy that the 9/11 attacks were an “inside job” perpetrated by the U.S. government. I have looked at the evidence, and it just doesn’t seem likely to me.
The reason I am writing this post is that I hear smart people, both inside the Church and out, dismiss something as a “conspiracy theory” as if that ends the argument. That is simply an ad hominem claim and a logical fallacy. And the problem is that many people dismiss “conspiracy theories” that don’t fit their paradigms without ever considering the evidence. This is a dangerous tendency and completely against Latter-day Saint — and indeed all Christian — orthodoxy.
The central event in Christian history was the Atonement. In a worldly sense, the Atonement was the result of a conspiracy by the leading religious authorities in Jerusalem who conspired to kill an innocent man to protect their power. The entire thing was a classic secret combination.
Of course Latter-day Saint scriptures point out that secret combinations have been around since the days of Abel and Cain. Moses 5:51: “For, from the days of Cain, there was a secret combination, and their works were in the dark, and they knew every man his brother.”
The secret combinations continued in every society: “And they did reject all the words of the prophets, because of their secret society and wicked abominations.” (Ether 11:22) “For behold, they murdered all the prophets of the Lord who came among them to declare unto them concerning their iniquities; and the blood of those whom they murdered did cry unto the Lord their God for vengeance upon those who were their murderers; and thus the judgments of God did come upon these workers of darkness and secret combinations.” (Alma 37:30) “And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.” (2 Nephi 9:9).
I am going to make this very clear: it is impossible to honestly read LDS scriptures without coming to the conclusion that secret combinations (ie conspiracies) 1)happen throughout history 2)are inspired by Satan 3)are more pervasive than we think and 4)are going to be common in the Latter days.
Given that we are in the latter days, what are the conspiracies around us?
The first point I want to drive home, and this is essential it seems to me, is that there really are conspiracies in the latter days. I am not saying I know what they all are (if I did they would not be secret combinations). But there clearly ARE cases in which powerful people conspire to get money and power.
I want to quickly discuss one case from the 1990s because it is essential to understanding how people in power will try to dismiss something as a “conspiracy theory” when it clearly is not. When the Monica Lewinsky scandal first started with President Clinton, nearly all of the Clinton supporters called it a conspiracy. Hillary Clinton even used the phrase “vast right-wing conspiracy” to dismiss the entire situation. As the scandal continued, Lewinsky turned over one of her dresses that she said was stained with Bill Clinton’s semen to the FBI, which tested the semen and confirmed it was Bill Clinton’s semen. So, clearly the charges of a “conspiracy theory” were false at least when it came Bill Clinton engaging in some kind of sexual relationship with Lewinsky.
We are seeing the same kind of obfuscation today regarding many of the conspiracies that are clearly taking place.
So, how can we tell if a conspiracy or secret combination is happening? I am going to propose a few rules.
1)Groups of powerful people, either in business or government or both, will be involved.
2)There must be a pathway for these people to either make a lot of money or get a lot of power through the conspiracy.
3)They will deny the conspiracy as part of the coverup.
4)But people with basic common sense will be able to see that there is “something fishy going on.”
5)You do not need to know all of the details of the conspiracy to nevertheless know it is a conspiracy.
Now, let me make this clear: we will never know about the vast majority of conspiracies, which will take place in the dark with oaths of secrecy. But there will nevertheless be signs of a potential conspiracy that are pretty obvious to neutral observers.
Let’s take a look at one of the biggest conspiracies today: the conspiracy in favor of mass vaccination of everybody in the world for COVID.
Are there powerful people, both in private industry and in the government, involved? Obviously yes.
Is there a potential to make a lot of money and consolidate power? Obviously yes.
Is there an attempt to cover up the conspiracy? When you consider that discussing the conspiracy is now not allowed on the vast majority of social media platforms, uh, yes, there is a coverup.
Is there “something fishy going on?” Well, given that the survival rate from COVID-19 is 99.7 percent for everybody and much higher than that (approaching 100 percent) for children and young adults, there is definitely something fishy going on. People with eyes to see will see. Why the non-stop push to vaccinate kids and young people when they are not at risk from COVID and when the vaccine does nothing to stop transmission of the virus? Why are politicians and health authorities ignoring the obvious role of natural immunity in stopping the virus, when in fact natural immunity is significantly more effective than the vaccine? Why the constant attempts to suppress other treatments for the virus, everything from Vitamin D to hydroxychloroquine to ivermectin? Why were we not told from the beginning that the vaccines would lose effectiveness and that boosters would be needed? Why are public health officials now saying you are not fully vaccinated unless you get a booster shot, and implying that future booster shots may be necessary in another six months? Why are health officials impugning or ignoring the adverse reactions to the COVID vaccines in the VAERS database when just two years ago the VAERS database was well-respected (before it started reporting negative things about the vaccines)? Why did public health officials pull out all of the stops to cover up the origin of the virus in Wuhan, China and the potential funding of gain of function research at the Wuhan facility? Why the totalitarian moves to segregate the vaccinated from the unvaccinated, including concentration camps, when the science clearly shows that the unvaccinated are not a threat to the vaccinated? Why is the FDA insisting that it will take 55 years to release details about the Pfizer vaccine trials?
Do I know all of the details of the SARS-Cov2 vaccine conspiracy? Of course not. I am not part of the conspiracy so I don’t know the details.
But there is clearly something going on. The broad facts of the conspiracy are these: powerful people are conspiring to push an unproven and even potentially dangerous vaccine upon people around the world to get gain. The “gain” for the pharmaceutical companies is obvious as is the “gain” for the politicians who are using the pandemic to further their own power. Although nobody knows the exact details, it is reasonable to believe that certain politicians and public officials are being paid off to promote the vaccines.
This conspiracy theory may be one of the most believable ever. Does anybody really believe that all of the politicians, public officials and pharmaceutical executives involved are not motivated by power and money? Is anybody naive enough to think all of these people with long histories of corruption are suddenly moved entirely by good will?
As for the results in the coming months, I am most concerned for my friends and family members who may be the victims of these vaccines. It is true that the vaccines are safe and effective for some people like the elderly and others at high risk. But for so many younger people, and so many pregnant women, the vaccines are much more dangerous than COVID itself. Here is what I would propose to those who are “conspiracy theory hesitant:” take a look around you at people you know who may have had an adverse reaction to the vaccine. If you have had an adverse reaction yourself, please keep track of your symptoms. There will be more and more adverse reactions in the coming months. You will hear of children who have been vaccinated getting heart conditions or other health problems just a day or two after getting the jab. Some of these people may be your own children or your own grandchildren. (Just as an example, my own daughter is suffering adverse reactions to the vax that have lasted for months now). And of course remember that you will never be “fully vaccinated,” according to public officials, unless you get booster shots in the coming months and years, and who knows how your body will react to these booster shots. Remember, no long term studies on booster shots have been performed.
As I say, keep track of these adverse reactions and then count them up six months or a year from now. I think you will be shocked.
I hope I am wrong and that these things do not happen to you or the people you love. But unfortunately my predictions on COVID-19 and the reaction to the pandemic have been spot on from the beginning. Yes, there are conspiracies and secret combinations, and we are living through a very big one right now.
Note: The Church has urged members to get vaccinated, but has also encouraged freedom of choice. Having studied this issue, I believe many people who are older and/or at high risk to COVID should get vaccinated. The Church is not part of the conspiracy, and the Church is not at fault for encouraging vaccination, which is clearly beneficial to some people. You can believe two things at the same time: there is a high-level and pervasive conspiracy going on with the COVID vaccines, and the Church is acting in good faith to try to navigate the situation. I believe both of those things and I support the Brethren.