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neighbours signed formal affidavits swearing they had viewed the plates. But once they had been translated, the gold plates vanished. *The messenger called for them,’ Smith explained. In March 1830 the translation was published by a local printer. It was the Book of Mormon, a history of ancient North America. The following month the Mormon Church was officially organized with Joseph Smith was murdered by a hostile mob in Carthage, Illinois, in June 1844. Brigham Young became the leader of the harassed' band of Mormons who worked their way across the country until they arrived at the rather inhospitable wasteland around the 'Great Salt Lake in Utah. In 1848, many of the Mormons were dismayed by Young's choice for the site of their future city. But a year later the California Gold Rush began and the gold-mad hordes charging westward all paused at Salt Lake Oty for supplies. Within a short time the city was prospering, and many of the Mormons became rich overnight. This is essentially the history - and the legend - o£ the Mormons. The controversy which raged around the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and its teachings is too complicated to discuss here. The point is this: there is enough evidence to believe that a spectre, a vision, or an angel visited Joseph Smith, or else he ascertained the location of those plates by some psychic ability - or by pure accident. And wouldn't it be interesting if the story were entirely true? If the elementals, ultraterrestri“ls, or some other force did select Joseph Smith, passed along the information about the platesj and engineered the formation of the Mormon religion? All of our great religions were founded in almost the same way. Muhammad (A.D. 570-632) was just an Arab tradesman until at the age of forty he began to have visions and conversations with mess* engers, which led him to organize the Muslim religion and write the Koran. More recent religions, such as the Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses, were established by men who claimed communication with supernatural beings and often issued amazing prophecies which came true. Throughout history common men have had uncommon experiences which have changed them instantly and in many cases even changed the whole fabric of the period in which they lived. A Jewish tentmaker named Saul was once on the road to Damascus to help suppress the rise of Christianity when, according to tradition, a blinding light appeared in the sky, and a voice converted him on the spot. He became St Paul. Two groups or forces have always been involved in this cosmic charade. Early man quickly learned to separate them into the good (prehuman) and evil (antihuman) and gave each new god and demon a name. In the interests of clarity, we shall label the good guys the Alpha Group and the bad guys the Omega Group. The Alpha Group gave man a set of ethics and moral principles, while the Omega Group fostered racism, greed, and violence. As time passed, the two groups began imitating each other's tactics, and the task of discriminating between them became impossibly difficult. In his confusion man soon began to associate everything that happened around him to one of the groups. Natural catastrophes and accidents were automatically blamed on the Omega six members in Fayette, New York. Today it has over 2.5 million followers,