Land War

Posted on March 30, 2009
Filed Under Sideblog | 15 Comments

A land war in Missouri. I keep waiting for the book on the Mormon Missouri experience that really contextualizes it by analyzing Missouri prior to and after the Mormons were there. The issue of cheap land is but one of the contexts often overlooked.

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Comments

15 Responses to “Land War”

Mormons and Missouri:
Missouri gentiles will have to either gain a divine connection to their homeland, or be displaced completely by the coming wave of Mormons who have, for generations, looked to these lands as their divine inheritance and birthright. Palestine and Israel have fought over their land for decades, because each of them feel the sacredness that God intends it for them alone. Without the depth of conviction for the ground on which we live, the Mormons will be able to entice us, or our descendents to sell. There is sadly a saying that everyone has a price. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just all share and help each other regardless of religious dogma?
Former LDS Mayor of Chillicothe, Missouri
Jeff Foli

What will be born new and rise with the Mormon migration to Missouri will be the most exciting thing to observe. I doubt anyone will recognize it to have much to do with Mormonism directly, but I believe it will not come to destroy, but to build up and unify humanity into a cohesive brotherhood.

I doubt there will be any real gathering to Missouri, although the Church has over the last 20 years slowly bought up a considerable amount of real estate. Often in other names so as to avoid a price bubble.

I don’t think comparing it to the Zionists in Israel is particularly apt either. If only because I think most Mormons see it as something that happens after the destructions prior to the second coming rather than during the relative peace we are in now and are likely to be in for some time.

4 Jeff Foli on March 2nd, 2010 9:34 pm

I have been told by 2 respected Mormons that only those who take the prophesies seriously will return to Missouri.

Potential Reperations:
I have a bill in front of the Missouri Legislature/Judicial Committe regarding land and Mormon involvement. Those with whom I am dealing are Representative Mike Lair, Representative Bryan Stevenson-Chair – Judiciary Committee, and Representative Stanley Cox-Vice-Chair – Judiciary Committee.

5 Jeff Foli on March 2nd, 2010 9:41 pm

The Church has bought up 29,000 acres through third party buyers. The trust is waning with the Missourians bacause of this kliendestine activity, and they are not being told about the real possible value of these lands because of early Mormon ownership. The challenges will come many years from now, when and if these lands are split, records never seen are suddenly found, and these lands values escalaute excessively because of this. Then history will repeat itself, and those non-Mormons decendants who’s paernets or grandparents sold out realize the real values, will react. I challenge the church leaders to have any such activities stopped immediately, and have those already done being re-negociated based on realistic facts. Also, return any and all courthouse records that have been stolen in the past many decades.

6 Jeff Foli on March 2nd, 2010 9:45 pm

Imagine going to a garage sale, and buying a seeming cheap painting, only to later find that behind it was an original Mona Lisa? Many land owners in Missouri, escpecially Daviess and Caldwell Counties are sitting atop Mona Lisa’s and do not even know it. Many of thier lands have been owned by Mormons in the 1830’s and have intrinsic value by the mere fact that many modern Mormons would likely pay many times the normal going rate for its sentimental value. Decendants are now numerous after 170 years and the price would be determined by how many people have a desire for a piece of thier history. My question, is who will the modern church honor? Hugh Pinnock could not emphasize to me enough of their connection and good will with Missouri State officials, but what about the little people of Missouri? Who will stand up for them and their good? With Dawn Harpsters situation, it reflects a very sad pattern and precedent set by the church in that they seem to be more interested in getting valuable, once Mormon, land for pennies on the dollar. Why not be fair to everyone across the board?

7 Jeff Foli on March 2nd, 2010 9:46 pm

Since my last imput here, I have learned sadly that the Mormon Church, throuh its unregulated and undiciplined leaders, have made another bed of decption and dishonesty via Jeff Walker of BYU. Non-Mormon Missouri attorney Dawn Harpster, as human as she might be, was made promises that were not honored, and beyond even that, Jeff Walker had the gall to publish an article written by Harpster and take full cedit for it as he rose to professor stautus in the process. Harpser is now, regretfully, going to serve time in Federal prison as a result of her involvement with the Church. Cannot the people of Missoui ask the Mormon Church for at least honesty and transparency? Harpster has alerted leaders Marlin Jensen and Detlef Lehnardt, to no avail.

From: Jeff Foli, former Mayor of Chillicothe, Missouri

8 Jeff Foli on March 2nd, 2010 9:48 pm

I completely and totally sustain the modern Mormon leaders as Prophets, Seers, and Revelators. Whether they are true, false, or fallen Prophets, that is between them and God. I have no control.

9 Brent Hartman on April 22nd, 2010 9:28 pm

Hey Jeff. People that have never lived in north central Missouri don’t understand the dynamics of the area. Many LDS now share Clark’s skepticism about the literal gathering to Missouri taking place anytime soon. They don’t realize that it has already begun, and not just amongst the mainstream LDS.

Many fundamentalist Mormons have already moved to Missouri. I know of hundreds that live in the Davies county and Humansville areas, and that number is only going to grow. Hundreds will soon be thousands, which will soon be tens of thousands.

It will be interesting to see what happens in Missouri v. Mormonism II.

I think it hard to base a movement around a few hundred fundamentalists.

11 Brent Hartman on April 27th, 2010 7:38 am

Clark,

It’s not just fundamentalist that are moving to the area, and the hundreds of fundamentalist I mentioned are just the ones I know of personally. I’m sure there are many more than that. In fact, I just met another one yesterday.

Also, when you consider that the county seat of Davies County only has a population of a couple thousand people, it doesn’t take a whole lot of Mormons moving there to dramatically shift the demographics of the area.

Just one fundamentalist group I know of in the Gallatin area would make up 7 percent of the total town population, and they aren’t the only fundamentalist there.

In 1992, when I graduated from Chillicothe High School, the branch building in Chillicothe sat vacant. Chillicothe, Gallatin, and Trenton, the county seats for Livingston, Davies, and Grundy counties, all met at the branch building in Trenton. Missionaries from Adam-ondi-Ahman often made up more than half the branch. Today, the building in Chillicothe no longer sits vacant, and has even been enlarged. Trenton still has a branch, and Gallatin has a new ward building, which has recently been expanded.

You can doubt that there will be any real gathering all you want. Meanwhile, I’ll sit back and continue to watch the gathering that has already begun.

12 Flabbergasted on July 13th, 2011 5:56 pm

Mr. Foli: I don’t know, nor do I care, what ill will you are harboring against the LDS church. But if you had one thought in your erstwhile empty head, you would realize that Dawn is a con-artist. Not a martyr, not a scapegoat, not a ‘human’ being who made a mistake, not a good person gone wrong. The only promise she was made was by herself to herself when she promised she would steal others’ money and use it for her own agenda(s). What about the fact that she allocuted in federal court and admitted – outright – that she did NOT work for the mormon church? Was she afraid to testify against them due to the mormon gangs in prison? I realize how ludicrous that is, but no quite as unimaginably ridiculous as what you are spewing. Oh, yeah, there is that little matter that she manufactured title insurance and produced imaginary contracts. But you’re right, poor Dawn…she’s SUCH a good person, and she just didn’t deserve what she got. It is evident to me that you are simply using this forum as a vehicle to spread your intolerant and hate-filled ideas about Mormons under the guise of sympathy for the devil. The problem is that people like yourself, and Dawn Harpster, would rather put the blame squarely on the heads of, well, anyone within range, than accept responsibility for your own losses and mistakes. Bone up on your current events. Ask NorBank, which is a small, locally owned bank in N.K.C., by the way, not a huge multi-national conglomerate,whether Dawn was victimized by the mormons. I’d be willing to bet the folks who lost their jobs due to what Dawn did wouldn’t think so. Talk to someone who really WAS a victim. No, too much for you? Then think about this…this is all she was CAUGHT doing. You really believe this is all she did? Serial killers start with torturing small animals, politicians start with grade school elections. See where I’m going here? I am curious – I’ve known Dawn for about 15 years. How long have you known her? What I think is amazing, is that in reality (would you like to come and visit here with the rest of us?) the bank and the individuals DAWN stole from were the victims, and yet you actually blame the mormon church. Do you hate them so much that you would excuse what she did? What if she had comitted murder and said ‘the Mormons made me do it’? I wasn’t stupid enough to buy the twinkie defense but somehow I think you would’ve been. I guess being a teacher has given me the ability to know right from wrong, which is apparently too much for you to grasp, with or without your Patty Hearst-style excuses. I cannot believe that you would put your name to such a ridiculous and totally implausible theory. Finally, I have one thing to say about the completely laughable fact that you would STILL believe Dawn wrote the article you’re talking about. When she would steal another’s land…their property…the very home they raise their children in, why on earth would she not lie about writing an article? But you’re right. It was those evil mormons. The devil made her do it, and she ultimately has zero culpability. Really? I think the real shame is that she pled guilty, admitted her crime, and still basically got off completely. She gets to spend 4 1/2 years in a federal playground, then get out and take the rest of her life paying back the $800k + that she had the pleasure of spending even though she didn’t bother to earn it. If you truly believe what you are selling, I would LOVE to hear your theories on alien abductions and government conspiracies…

(by the way, I’m not sure what ‘stautus’ and ‘missoui’ are, but before you write about things of which you have absolutely no knowledge, I would at the very least use spell check).

I have no agenda in sharing info about Dawn Harpster. Most will probably see her as the only person with blood on thier hands. She takes responsibility for her actions and is paying the price. There were more players than just her, she was the only one who had to stand and explain her actions. Each player can speak for themselves. I have seen too much in my life to see things as black and white. Others participated in Dawns story. If people think the church and/or it’s people are agendaless, they are wrong. Dawn has written much privately that will stand as a witness, be it what may.

And I ask those who wish to express thier ideas to come into the light and say who you are and take responsibility for your words.

OK guys, I normally take a fairly hands off approach to comments but this is getting a bit nutty. So comments are closed.