Throwing in the towel consequences for LDS ??

[Homeless Nutter]

Let's say the Mormon poobahs finally tire of all the bullshit and folderol, and admit Joseph Smith pulled a fast one and the entire edifice of LDS is built upon the mass gullibility of some really, really flawed people.

Would they be subject for criminal prosecution for persisting in their scam for decades after it became obvious to them they were furthering a criminal enterprise ??
[...]

Nothing would change. The next day new Mormon leaders would denounce the old ones as possessed by Satan, or what-not, deny Joseph Smith having been a fraudster and an adulterer and assure their distressed flock that their beliefs are definitely not a result of a blatant scam. Any attempts to prosecute the organization would most likely be blocked, by means of political influence and everything would go on as usual, with new boss - same as the old boss.

Mormon society is a way of life for millions of people - they don't give a damn whether the stories of JS were true or not. They're attached to their culture - whatever its origin may happen to be.

 In fact - trying to prove any large religion false is a futile effort, because it's too big of a business, for everyone to just let it fail. 


Scientology - on the other hand - they're pretty low on numbers and generally hated by virtually everyone. If David "F***face" Miscavige publicly announced scientology to be a scam - and admitted to the criminal way their enterprise received tax-exempt status, that would be like - the happiest day on Earth. World-wide media and police would just tear them to shreds and the whole organization would just disappear overnight (although dumb people would probably still read "Dianetics"). One can dream...

But it's too late for Mormons. They'll just have to die out slowly, like other religions, thanks to science education, and technological progress.