While the report on ritualistic abuse appears to have been written by a man who is very sincere and really believes what he is reporting, many rational people will have a difficult time believing the statement that forty-five of the sixty victims “allege witnessing and/or participating in human sacrifice” (page 1). Although we would not want to claim that this would be impossible, it does seem that it would be very difficult to cover up that many murders. It is possible, however, that there may be a way to reconcile this in the report itself. On page 3, Bishop Pace reported that “Children are put in a situation where they believe they are going to die—such as being buried alive or being placed in a plastic bag and immersed in water.”
If a child only saw someone being buried, but did not witness that the person was later “rescued” (i.e., dug up again), the impression would be left that the person was, in fact, dead. Furthermore, it would be possible to actually stage a fake human sacrifice. Individuals who are cruel enough to bury people alive and then rescue them at the “last moment,” would certainly not hesitate to perform a pretended sacrifice. Since these rituals were supposed to have taken place by the light of “candles,” it would be easy to fool children with a knife having a blade that goes back into the handle instead of penetrating the child. (We are familiar with a magic trick in which a large needle which resembles a sword appears to pass right through a person.) The use of some blood from an animal would help to make the whole thing believable. This, of course, is only speculation on our part.
In his book, The Darker Side of Evil, Corruption, Scandal and the Mormon Empire, page 109, Anson Shupe alleges that in the Hadfield case children told “stories of orgies where participants wore costumes and the adults took photographs. Worship of Satan was demanded.” While we have not had time to examine the transcript of this trial to confirm that Satanism was alleged to have been involved, there are some interesting parallels to Pace’s memo in newspaper reports of the trial. One “little girl talked about one instance when people had cameras hanging from the ceiling, needles being stuck in her, blood being drawn and people coming out of graves” (Salt Lake Tribune, December 16, 1987).
The reader will remember that Glenn Place also wrote concerning the tactic of children being placed “in a plastic bag and immersed in water” to terrorize them (page 3) and also revealed that if they did not do what they are told “their brother or sister will die, their parents will die . . . or they themselves will be killed” (page 4). On December 17, 1987, the Tribune reported an allegation that Hadfield’s son was held under the water:
Whitehead said children who have been sexually abused often have also been threatened. Such was the case of Alan Hadfield’s children, who testified that their father said “he would drown them and kill their mother” if they told. The 12-year-old Hadfield boy testified that when he was younger his father held him at the bottom of a swimming pool to dramatically prove his threat.
We, of course, do not know whether there is any connection between the Hadfield case and Bishop Pace’s research. Although it is possible that Pace could have talked with some individual(s) linked to the Lehi scandal, he specifically said that those he interviewed “are in their twenties and thirties for the most part.” Since the Hadfield trial took place a little less than five years ago, it seems unlikely that these “children” would have been old enough to fit Pace’s description.
In any case, from his interviews Bishop Pace reached the conclusion that a significant number of people must be involved in the occultic activity: “All I know is that I have met with 60 victims. Assuming each one comes from a coven of 13, we are talking about the involvement of 800 or so right here on the Wasatch Front” (page 5). (Salt Lake City is part of the Wasatch Front.) Glenn Pace seems to be multiplying the number of people in each coven with the number of victims he interviewed (60). On page 1 of his report, however, he made it clear that he believes there could “be twice or three times” as many victims— possibly as many as 180. He simply had not had the opportunity to interview them at the time he wrote the report. On page 5, he made this sobering statement: “Obviously, I have only seen those coming forth to get help.” It appears, then, that Pace envisions a large number of people participating in these satanic activities.
FLASHBACKS IN TEMPLE
One of the most interesting parts of Glenn Pace’s report is concerning “flashbacks” which he claims those who have been ritually abused experienced when they went through the Mormon temple ritual for the first time:
I’m sorry to say that many of the victims have had their first flashbacks while attending the temple for the first time. The occult along the Wasatch Front uses the doctrine of the Church to their advantage. For example, the verbiage and gestures are used in a ritualistic ceremony in a very debased and often bloody manner. When the victim goes to the temple and hears the exact words, horrible memories are triggered. We have recently been disturbed with members of the Church who have talked about the temple ceremony. Compared to what is happening in the occult along the Wasatch Front, these are very minor infractions. The perpetrators are also living a dual life. Many are temple recommend holders.(Memo by Glenn Pace, page 4)
No one, of course, is allowed to go through the Mormon temple endowment ceremony without a special recommend. What Glenn Pace is obviously alleging is that some trusted members of the Mormon Church, who have recommends to go through the temple, have been using some of “the exact words” and “gestures” found in the Mormon ceremony in a highly secret satanic ritual which they participate in on other occasions. He gives no information as to where they meet, but in the same memo (page 5) he says that “sometimes the abuse has taken place in our own meetinghouses.”
When Glenn Pace speaks of the “gestures” in the temple ritual, he is undoubtedly referring to the execution of the “penalties.” There can be little question that these penalties were originally derived from Masonry. Joseph Smith himself was a member of that fraternity. We find the following in Joseph Smith’s History under the date of March 15, 1842: “In the evening I received the first degree in Free Masonry in the Nauvoo lodge . . .” (History of the Church, vol. 4, page 551). The entry for the following day says: “. . . I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the sublime degree” (page 552). It was not long after Smith became a Mason that he created the Mormon temple ceremony.
The Masons had some very bloody oaths in their ritual. Capt. William Morgan, who had been a Mason for thirty years, exposed these oaths in a book printed in 1827. After publishing his book, Freemasonry Exposed, Morgan disappeared and this set off a great controversy over Masonry. In any case, on pages 21-22 of his book, Morgan revealed the oath that Masons took in the “First Degree” of their ritual: “. . . I will . . . never reveal any part or parts, point or points of the secret arts and mysteries of ancient Freemasonry . . . binding myself under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by the roots . . .” On page 23, Morgan went on to show that the Masons graphically demonstrated the penalty. They were told to draw “your right hand across your throat, the thumb next to your throat, your arm as high as the elbow in a horizontal position.”
There is an abundance of information from early sources to demonstrate that the “The First token of the Aaronic Priesthood” in the Mormon temple ceremony was derived from the oath given in the “First Degree” of the Masonic ritual. In Temple Mormonism, published in 1931, page 18, we find this information concerning the Mormon ritual:
The left arm is here placed at the square, palm to the front the right hand and arm raised to the neck, holding the palm downwards and thumb under the right ear.
Adam— “We, and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the first token of the Aaronic priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign or penalty. Should we do so, we agree that our throats be cut from ear to ear and our tongues torn out by their roots.”. . .
Sign—In executing the sign of the penalty, the right hand palm down, is drawn sharply across the throat, then dropped from the square to the side.
The bloody nature of this oath in the temple endowment was verified by an abundance of testimony given in the Reed Smoot Case. For example, in vol. 2, page 78, J. H. Wallis, Sr., testified: “. . . I agree that my throat be cut from ear to ear and my tongue torn out by its roots from my mouth.”
Some time in the first half of the 20th century, a major change was made concerning the penalties in the endowment ceremony. The bloody wording of the oath mentioned above was entirely removed. Nevertheless, Mormons were still instructed to draw their thumbs across their throats to show the penalty. In the 1984 account of the ritual, the wording was modified to remove the harsh language regarding the cutting of the throat and the tearing out of the tongue:
The representation of the execution of the penalties indicates different ways in which life may be taken . . . We give unto you the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood . . .
The sign is made by bringing the right arm to the square, the palm of the hand to the front, the fingers close together, and the thumb extended. . . . This is the sign. The Execution of the Penalty is represented by placing the thumb under the left ear, the palm of the hand down, and by drawing the thumb quickly across the throat, to the right ear, and dropping the hand to the side. . . .
Now, repeat in your mind after me the words of the covenant, at the same time representing the execution of the penalty.
I,_____, think of the New Name, covenant that I will never reveal the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign and penalty. Rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken.
Joseph Smith borrowed two other oaths from Masonry which were very graphic. In the Second Token of the Aaronic Priesthood the participants agreed that if they revealed the secrets they were to “have our breasts cut open and our hearts and vitals torn from our bodies and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.”. . .
“The Sign is made by placing the left arm on the square, placing the right hand across the chest with the thumb extended and then drawing it rapidly from left to right and dropping it to the side” (Temple Mormonism, page 20).
As in the case of the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, the most offensive wording was deleted from this part of the Mormon ceremony a number of decades ago. The “execution of the penalty,” however, was still retained in the ritual until April, 1990.
In the First Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood, Mormons were originally instructed to say that if they revealed “any of the secrets of this, the First Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood . . . we agree that our bodies be cut asunder in the midst and all our bowels gush out” (Temple Mormonism, page 20). The offensive words in this oath were removed from the temple ceremony many years ago, but Mormons continued to execute the sign of the penalty until just recently. In the 1984 account of the ritual the participants were instructed to bring “the left hand in front of you with the hand in cupping shape, the left arm forming a square, the right hand is also brought forward, the palm down, the fingers close together, the thumb extended, and the thumb is placed over the left hip. (Officiator makes sign.) This is the sign. The execution of the penalty is represented by drawing the thumb quickly across the body and dropping the hands to the side.” (For a detailed treatment concerning the modification of the temple oaths see our book Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony: 1842-1990.)
Even after the oaths had been modified to remove the bloody wording, the execution of the penalties continued to upset many members of the church. As we indicated earlier, they were finally removed in April 1990. After the execution of the penalties was deleted, John Dart reported the following:
In pledging to never reveal the ritual, Mormons formerly made three motions—drawing one’s hand quickly across the throat, another indicating one’s heartwould be cut out and the third suggesting disembowelment.
“That’s why I stopped going to the temple because [the ritual] was so offensive,” said a former woman member in Salt Lake City. (Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1990)
If Glenn Pace’s theory is correct, some Mormons who were “living a dual life” reverted to using the type of “bloody” wording which was found in the temple ceremony many years ago. They may have made the wording even stronger than it was in the early Mormon Church. Although they retained some of “the exact words” which were in the modern version of the temple endowment. they changed the ceremony into a satanic ritual.
If this is the case, one can only begin to imagine how terrifying it would be for those who had been ritually abused in satanic ceremonies to encounter some of the same “gestures” and “wording” in what they sincerely believed was the House of the Lord. This certainly seems to be the type of thing that would bring a “flashback” to people who had erased these bad memories from their minds. It is unlikely that Glenn Pace would focus in on this particular issue, which could cause so much embarrassment to the church, if he did not really believe that it is a serious problem. In his memo he seems to be apologetic concerning his discovery: “I’m sorry to say that many of the victims have had their first flashbacks while attending the temple for the first time” (page 4).
As we noted earlier, it is possible that the information that Glenn Pace was receiving in the interviews he conducted in 1989-90 could have influenced church leaders to entirely remove the offensive “gestures” and wording concerning “different ways in which life may be taken” from the temple ceremony. At the beginning of his memo, Pace spoke of “the LDS Social Services report on satanism dated May 24, 1989, a report from Brent Ward, and a memorandum from myself dated October 20, 1989 in response to Brother Ward’s report.” In his memo, dated July 19, 1990, Pace indicated that he had been working with the victims for the “last eighteen months” (page 12). This would mean that he began his work toward the end of 1988 or early in 1989. It seems likely, then, that before church leaders made the changes in the ritual, they would have been aware that many members of the church who claimed to have been ritualistically abused were having “flashbacks” in which “horrible memories were triggered” when they first went through the temple. It is true, of course, that other members of the church who had never been abused felt that the oaths were unchristian and should be removed. It is possible that these two factors working together resulted in the major changes that were made in the endowment ceremony in April 1990.
In his report, page 5, Glenn Pace informs the reader that members of the satanic group not only do temple work but even serve as “temple workers.” If this is the case, we would presume that these occultists would prefer to work in places where they would have intimate contact with the people going through the ceremonies. Prior to the revision of the temple ceremony in 1990, those who went through the ritual were required to go through what was known as the “Five Points of Fellowship.” This part of the ritual would have been very appealing to a Satanist who desired close physical contact with those who pass through the ceremony. Reporting on changes made in the ceremony, the Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1990, gave this information concerning the removal of the “Five Points of Fellowship” from the temple ceremony:
Also dropped is an “embrace” of a man representing God, who stands behind a ceiling-to-floor veil. Reaching through a slit in the veil, the church member puts his or her hand to the back of the deity and presses against him at the cheek, shoulders, knees and feet with the veil between them. The contact at “five points of fellowship,” including the hand to his back, has been omitted, although the member must still give a secret handshake and repeat a lengthy password.
There can be no question that the “Five Points of Fellowship” were originally derived from Masonry. In Duncan’s Masonic Ritual and Monitor, page 120, we read that in Masonry the candidate can only receive “the grand Masonic word on the five points of fellowship.” In 1827, fifteen years before Joseph Smith revealed the temple ritual to the Mormons, William Morgan wrote the following concerning the use of the five points of fellowship in Masonry:
He (the candidate) is raised on what is called the five points of fellowship . . . This is done by putting the inside of your right foot to the inside of the right foot of the person to whom you are going to give the word, the inside of your knee to his, laying your right breast against his, your left hands on the back of each other, and your mouths to each other’s right ear (in which position alone you are permitted to give the word) . . . (Freemasonry Exposed, page 84)
Joseph Smith, of course, participated in this Masonic ritual when he became a Master Mason. It is not surprising, then, that when he created the Mormon temple ceremony he included the Five Points of Fellowship. It is clear from the description of the Five Points of Fellowship in the 1984 version of the temple ritual that Smith borrowed from Masonry:
Peter: The Five Points of Fellowship are “inside of right foot by the side of right foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear.” (Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony: 1842-1990, page 96)
Since the revision of the ceremony in 1990, those who participate in the ritual are only instructed to place “left arms . . . upon right shoulders.” They no longer are required to be positioned with the “inside of right foot by the side of right foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear.” Furthermore, all the wording concerning the “Five Points of Fellowship” has been completely deleted. These words previously appeared in five different places in the ritual—the “Lord” spoke of the “Five Points of Fellowship” twice; “Peter” referred to the “Five Points of Fellowship” twice, and the recipient mentioned them once. In the 1990 revised version all references to the Five Points of Fellowship have been cut out.
In our book, Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, page 30, we speculated that the Five Points of Fellowship may have been removed to avoid the possibility that temple workers might become too intimate with those who pass through the ceremony:
While it is good that the Mormon leaders removed this Masonic element from the endowment ceremony, some people who have been involved in temple work feel that the reason it was dropped was because some of the women felt the five points of contact (especially the placing of the “inside of your knee to his”) were too intimate. There were complaints that men playing the role of the Lord sometimes took advantage of the situation. We were also told that even some of the men felt they had a problem with the “Lord” behind the veil. Since a large number of men have played the role of the Lord in the various temples throughout the world, it is certainly possible that complaints could have been made at various times. . . . it is very possible that the “Five Points of Fellowship” were removed because this part of the ritual seemed awkward or embarrassing to some members of the Mormon Church.
Now that we have read Glenn Pace’s memo, which suggests that some Satanists may be serving as “temple workers,” we wonder if it is possible that church leaders may have been concerned that these people might be using the Five Points of Fellowship for evil purposes. By limiting participants to merely place their “left arms . . . upon right shoulders” church leaders have made it almost impossible for any intimate embrace to take place.