Here I share the full audio of the Mormon excommunication of Lance Earl. Here I present evidence that a Stake President of the Mormon church conspired to deny the rights and protections enshrined in the Mormon Handbook 1, Stake Presidents and Bishops, 2010. You will see an intentional attempt by the Mormon church, to keep dark works clothed in secrecy, to falsely fabricate events, and to file a false police report. All this is in an effort to portray me as a violent man who causes Mormons to “fear for their safety”. The evidence presented here will expose Mormonism for what it is, the 21st-century Sanhedrin.

Because of the quality of portions of this episode, you may need to wear headphones to hear properly. Sorry about that.

Video Presentation

Timeline Notes

• 00:28, 01:25, 04:55, & 7:16 – Stake President Garn Lovell took steps to make sure he could say or do anything during the hearing and leave me no rebuttal. To that end, he attempted to forbid me from recording the proceedings, even though Idaho State Law granted me the right. I willingly admit to misleading him, but I had reasons which I believe were valid. I knew Lovell would manufacture events that would be used to discredit and/or harm me. Events during the hearing and legal action taken afterward fully validate my concerns.
• 00:56 – At this time, I reached into a briefcase, extracted an audio recorder and turned it off.
• 02:33 – Lovell refuses to allow Grace attend the hearing. She was the only person who would be a potential threat to him and possibly testify of the things he said and did.
• 04:55 – In reality, I had a number of other audio recorders concealed under my clothing.
• 06:14 – An opening prayer was offered. Please listen carefully to the words of the prayer. Gratitude for leaders of the church was mentioned but no gratitude for Jesus was expressed. It was acknowledged that men, not Jesus lead the church and lead the people in the paths of righteousness. As a parting thought, gratitude for the atonement was mentioned. But let us be clear, the atonement of Mormon jesus provided every man with resurrection only; this is known as a “general atonement.” Only by individual works may a Mormon earn a place in heaven where their small god lives; this is known as “individual atonement.” Why would any be grateful for that anemic atonement?
• 07:59 – Lovell attempts to establish my worthiness by asking me a number of questions, none of which were about my faith in the Lordship of Jesus.
• 10:00 – In order to be found in apostasy against a church that follows Jesus, a person would have to be in opposition to Jesus. Here I begin to lay the groundwork for an argument proving I am not in apostasy according to Mormon and Biblical standards. Sadly, this was an argument I was not allowed to make.
• 11:00 – The Mormon standards of apostasy speak of opposition to the church but make no mention of opposition to Jesus.
• 13:16 – Jesus Christ is named as a witness on my behalf. Lovell rejects Him as an acceptable witness.
• 13:23 – The two counselors in the Stake Presidency, along with the twelve members of the High Council, are named as witnesses. Lovell directs these men not to answer my questions.
• 14:17 – The fourteen men called as witnesses are reminded of their responsibility to answer questions regarding their faith. When asked if they have a defense for their faith or if they are afraid to speak for Jesus, all remained silent. I said “Paul” when I meant to say “Peter.”
• 16:40 – Being confounded by the truth, Lovell demands that I leave the premises.
• 17:42 – I begin a short testimony of my Lord and King, Jesus.
• 18:04 – Lovell admits a security guard into the room who begins threatening me with legal action.
• 18:53 – Lovell places a 911 call and reports a disturbance. Three police officers raced to the church where they received a report from Lovell. Keep in mind that Lovell was unaware I had audio of all that took place. Consequently, he was free to press the narrative of a disturbance when in fact, I was mearly witnessing of Jesus. This truth apparently threatened him.

Exibits

The column that resulted in a Stake President and Bishops gag order to never speak of my faith again.

CRP, the Criminal Restoration Policy

The column that was seen as a violation of the gag order and resulted in the taking of my temple recommend.

The Forgotten Prophet

My letter to the first presidency of the Mormon church requesting assistance.

Brother Lance Earl
2530 Big Canyon Road
Rockland, Idaho 83271
208-317-9843

June 28, 2016

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Office of the First Presidency
50 E. N. Temple
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150

Dear Brethren,

It is with a strange mix of hope and hopelessness that I write you today.

It has been nearly a year since my Temple Recommend was taken, and still, I am unsure of what I am accused.

Recently, a beloved nephew, who will soon leave to serve a mission in Tonga, entered the Temple of the Lord for the first time. I longed to be with him. I ached to be with him.

Before I explain the circumstances of my current predicament, please allow me to present a little background.

There has been bad blood almost from the instant I moved to Rockland, Idaho some seventeen years ago. Almost immediately, I was falsely accused of stealing. Rumors tend to grow and multiply. One rumor grew into many until it touched every part of my life. Things only became worse and in time, it was whispered that I was a sexual predator. This originated in a ward council meeting. I confirmed this with my bishop and learned that it was he who introduced the subject.

In 2014, when I ran for the Idaho State legislature, these rumors were leveraged against me. I lost that race, but the loss was most significant inside the boundaries of the American Falls Stake where these rumors reduced my name and standing to the lowest level.

This year, another man ran against that same legislator. On that legislator’s Facebook page, members of my ward and stake used all manner of lies to create an imaginary friendship between myself and this man. They actively applied every rumor and every hate they feel for me to this man. A massive print and digital campaign was launched across the stake. Printed cards and text messages made it to virtually every home. The message simply informed the people that I and this other man are friends and asked if the people had had enough. The objective was to apply the false allegations and hate that were once directed to me alone, to this man as well. In the end, he lost his race by a small number of votes. Many who call me brother on Sunday used me as a wrecking ball to destroy the reputation and good standing of a man I barely know. This, for me, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

With the background in place, I will address the matter at hand.

I am a columnist for the Idaho State Journal. I write about my passions which are faith, family, and the constitutional principles of liberty. Conventional wisdom dictates that civil people never talk about religion or politics. However, I have three great treasures. First is the restored gospel. Second are the men who wrote the founding documents that created a free land where the church could be restored. Third is my family that lives free because of the founding documents and are sealed to me because of the restored Gospel. I feel driven to boldly speak for these truths. I understand that since these are “forbidden topics”, virtually everything I write will be embraced by some and rejected by others.

I know that even truth can be spoken with a spirit that hides all truth and offends good men. I know that the evil men find the truth to be hard and offensive. It has been difficult for me to present challenging topics that balance these two realities. I am at times, less than perfect and cause offense where none is intended.

Bishop Bart Ralphs of the Rockland Idaho Ward, inherited a large farm which he does not farm. Instead, it is primarily enrolled in the CRP program, a farm subsidy.

In the summer of 2015, I wrote a column entitled, “CRP, The Criminal Restoration Policy”. I supported that work with the Constitution and the words of Ezra Taft Benson. As a result, I was called into the office of Bishop Ralphs and told that I could “never involve the church again” or I would lose my Temple Recommend. I questioned that demand and it was confirmed to me that I was to never speak, teach, or write about my faith again.

After careful consideration, I came to recognize that this demand deprived me of free agency, a key and essential gift that makes exaltation possible. It also violated a God-given right that is codified in the First Amendment and which cannot be expanded or contracted by men or government. In a Facebook private message, I relayed my feelings to my Bishop. He responded by unfriending me. There was no other reply.

A month later, I wrote and published “The Forgotten Prophet” (attached). On the Sunday it appeared in print, my Temple Recommend was taken. In that meeting with Bishop Ralphs, I became angry and said some things that I later came to regret. In that same meeting, Bishop informed me that he was no longer my friend.

A few days later, on September 18, 2015, I mailed Bishop Ralphs an apology for becoming angry (attached). There was no reply for many months.

I argued successfully, I think, that my free agency, freedom of conscience and my first amendment rights had been violated. Though this has never been admitted, I believe it is true because no one has since demanded that I remain silent regarding my faith. Instead, I have faced a continuous volley of new accusations.

In September of 2015, Mindy, my dear wife, and I began traveling an hour to attend church outside of the American Falls Stake. We desperately needed to be in a place where we can worship the Prince of Peace in a place of peace. We met with Bishop Paul Bitton and Stake President Dye about moving our records to the Chubbuck Idaho 6th ward. President Dye and Bishop Bitton sought council from their regional leader and scheduled a meeting with Bishop Ralphs and President Lovell. Bishop Bitton later reported to me that he and President Dye used all their influence to convince Bishop Ralphs and President Lovell that they had overstepped their appropriate priesthood authority by attempting to quash freedom of conscience, agency, speech and expression. In the end, Bishop Ralphs and President Lovell would not be persuaded.

On October 25, 2015, Mindy and I met with Stake President Garn Lovell and his councilor Larry Lankford. This meeting was immediately adversarial. President Lovell, for over an hour, repeatedly accused me of speaking for the church in my columns. I boldly denied every accusation. I also stated that if there was a column that he was concerned about, we should read and discuss it and if I was found to be in the wrong, I would accept the consequences. He stated again and again that he had the offending columns in his possession but he refused to show me or even identify them. To this day, I have no understanding of his accusations.

Finally, President Lovell accused me of a future sin. He stated that he fully expected to see the details of our meeting in my next column. This was very offensive. I am a serious and principled columnist. I have never and will never publish confidential or off the record information. In this single statement, President Lovell attacked my character, my integrity and my honor.

Mindy is the least confrontational person I know. She is slow to anger and quick to bite her tongue. I was shocked when she looked President Lovell in the eye and stated, “that was completely inappropriate”. Then she stood and walked out the door. I said, “shame on you” and followed my wife.

In this matter, I do feel serious regret for two actions taken. First, I regret having become angry on the day my Temple Recommend was taken. Second, some months after my recommend was taken, there was a group attack on the Rockland Facebook page. This was one of many that have occurred in social media. In response, I published a column that was driven by anger. Anger is never acceptable. As indicated above, I did write an apology to Bishop Ralphs. Since my angry response to the community was in the form of a column, I publicly admitted my guilt and apologized in my next column, What Manner of Man, (attached).

On February 9, 2016, Mindy and I met with Bishop Ralphs and Bishop Bitton. Bishop Ralphs opened the meeting by introducing a new accusation. He stated that I had been critical of you, the general authorities. I boldly and forcefully denied that accusation. Bishop Ralphs immediately dropped that point and has never spoken of it since. On February 18, I sent a follow-up letter to Bishop Ralphs, (attached).

On March 7, 2016, Bishop Ralphs and his first counselor, Keith Miller met with me in my home. At that time, Bishop Ralphs did apologize for multiple occasions when he stated that he was not my friend. I frankly accepted his apology. Then, he stated that he was ready to accept my written apology of six months earlier. Then he criticized and condemned my apology to him and my apology to the community as being inadequate. The message seems unclear when a man simultaneously accepts and rejects an apology.

In this meeting, I asked Bishop Ralphs if he would tell me of what I am accused. It was agreed that he would provide a list of written charges. It has been over 100 days and still no answer has been provided. I don’t know if one of the previous accusations apply to me or if some future accusation will be applied.

Relations are equally difficult with the counselors in the Bishopric.

In the summer of 2015, I wrote, on a Rockland Facebook group page, about the power of the people and described an incident where the rights of one Idaho man had been protected by people who stood together on principle, loving their neighbor as themselves. I was a key player in this event so I had first hand knowledge. First counselor, Keith Miller, weighed in and told the community that I was deceiving them and that the events I described could not have occurred. In the end, the discussion turned to another personal attack against me by nearly 30 adults from my ward. It is interesting to note that several of the major news networks picked up the story and related it exactly as I had.

Second Councilor Ladd Permann called me some months ago. He was angry over something I had written. I assured him that I was willing to speak with him on the matter, but not over the phone and not over the Internet. Things tend to spin out of control when men do not look each other in the eye, so I offered to meet when and where he chose. He stated that he would call me back to schedule a time. I never heard from him again so I reached out a couple of times. While watching the spring, 2016 General Conference, my thoughts turned to Ladd. I sent him a Facebook message. The message follows, “I continue to feel bad that you continue to refuse to speak with me. Silence will only make things worse and more difficult. At the recent school concert, I sadly watched as you locked your eyes to the floor as you passed me. You do the same when you ignore my messages and phone calls. However, honest communication heals. Let it begin with us.” Facebook reported that he saw it within minutes. He never replied.

On these shifting sands, I cannot get my footing. I am currently a man without a ward, without a church. My heart is broken, never could I have imagined this happening to me. But still, I have my faith, my religion and my unmovable testimony of the reality and majesty of my Lord and Savior.

I have been offered an opportunity to regain my Temple Recommend. However, it requires that I bear false witness, that I lie. This I cannot do. I would ask, what power does the temple have to save if I gain entry with a lie?

Up until now, I have been satisfied to prayerfully wait on the Lord. However, when the people used me as a tool to harm another, I was compelled to action.

I know what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. I know that above all, it is about standing firm and resolute in the face of evil. I know that it is about truth and principle and loving my neighbor. Most of all, I know that it is about following my Savior as best I can. My testimony of him is secure and I have endeavored to keep every covenant. I will never turn from this.

I moved my family to Idaho, literally on the run from a Tacoma gang.

My family endured a season of violence and fear. I cannot describe what it was like to use a car to stop a man with a gun or how it felt to leave him down and broken in the street. But there was hope in that because I was still able to do something. I can’t describe what it was like, just before retiring to bed, to jamb a fork between the top of every door and the door frame and hang a pot on it so that it would fall and warn us if evil men entered our home. But, there was reassurance in that, it was something that I could do. I can’t describe what it feels like to drive an invader from my home with a gun or struggle to stop my voice from shaking for an hour afterward, but at least I was not left helpless and defenseless. I can’t describe what it was like to stand at one end of the hall, gun in hand, while my wife tore our five young children from their beds, pushed then to the floor and covered them with her own body, but at least we could do something.

During that terrible season, I awoke many times during the night to slip my hand under my pillow and touch a loaded pistol. There was an odd sort of peace in confirming again and again that it was there.

But this season of violence was not all bad. It all began when our thirteen year old daughter, Jenny, began to walk a dark path. She was running with these gang members, disappearing sometimes for days at a time. One evening, I was talking with my Mother about our troubles. She offered great and wise council. She reminded me of the brother of Jared, how he had approached the Lord with a plan. Mom told me to stop leaving everything to the Lord, to get a plan and take it to him.

I shared this with my wife. Daily, we prayed that Jenny would see the evil of these people, that she would see and fear their violence, that she would be in danger, that she would be protected, and that she would turn away from sin. The first attack came on the third day.

Through it all, we could clearly see the hand of the Lord. Though there was property damage, we were never harmed. Though the odds were at times, twelve to one, we were protected. Though we could not see them, those that were with us were greater than those that were with them. Of most importance, the Lord granted everything we asked… in ways that we never imagined. Jenny turned away from that dark and evil path.

Today, Jenny is a good wife and mother of four grandchildren that we dearly love. She is a neonatal nurse in Boise. Every day she saves the children of other parents who are praying for a miracle. She often speaks with such love and tenderness about the tiny lives that rely entirely on her gentle care. I always reflect and offer a silent prayer of gratitude. Jenny saves the children of other families who cannot help themselves because a loving Father in Heaven extended his mighty arm and pulled her back when I and my wife were powerless to do so.

I once believed that my season of fear and violence would be the hardest thing I would be asked to endure. I was desperately wrong. These current troubles rob me of my sleep. When I figuratively slide my hand under my pillow, there is nothing there except hopelessness. I remain prayerful and determined to do what is right.

I have come to know and love Helmuth Hübener, a young Mormon boy of incredible courage. I think I understand what troubled him most on the day he was executed in Nazi Germany.

At this time, I respectfully and prayerfully request one of the following. First, that our records be moved to a ward where we can worship in peace. Or second, that a church court be immediately convened wherein I will be formally charged with specific allegations that I can understand and address.

Sincerely,

Brother Lance Earl

With regard to the interception of oral communication, Idaho State Law Reads;

“It is lawful under this chapter for a person to intercept a wire, electronic or oral communication when one (1) of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception.”

Handbook 1, Stake Presidents and Bishops, 2010 is hidden from Church members. This guarantees that they will not understand their rights during an excommunication hearing.

Chapter 6, Church Discipline and Name Removal, of Handbook 1 can be viewed here

Letter from the church legal office which, based on my behavior at the excommunication hearing, makes the accusation that I represent a risk to church leadership