William C. Conway (May 15, 1865 – 1969) was an American neo-Druid and the leader of a

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

sect in the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

that combined the teachings of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

with

Druidry A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

and some of the ideas of

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

and

Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult Initiation, initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner (mystic), Carl Kellner, He ...

. A native of Redondo Beach,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, Conway was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) and held the office of

high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...

in the

Melchizedek priesthood The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest. Hebrew Bible Melchizedek is a king and priest appearing in the Book of Genesis. The name means "King of Right ...

and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the Aaronic priesthood. Conway was also a member of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), and was initiated into the XI° order of the O.T.O. on January 1, 1945, by Franklin Thomas or perhaps at some earlier date by Victor Neuburg.Peter-R. König
"Per Aftera ad Astra: Anal Intercourse and the O.T.O."
''"Das OTO-Phänomen'' (1994, Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Religions und Weltanschauungsfragen, ). In the O.T.O., Conway was referred to as Tau Lucifer II. In the early 1950s, Conway began to claim that he had possession of the

Urim and Thummim In the Hebrew Bible, the Urim ( he, ''ʾŪrīm'', "lights") and the Thummim ( he, ''Tummīm'', meaning uncertain, possibly "perfections") are elements of the ''hoshen'', the breastplate worn by the High Priest attached to the ephod. They are ...

and the seer stone that Joseph Smith used to translate the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

. He generally accepted the teachings of

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...

, but began to teach that the LDS Church had been incorrect to abandon the practice of

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

, which Smith had taught. Conway also believed in the major tenets of

—particularly

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

—and sought to incorporate them into Mormonism. In 1955, a Zapotec tribe of the Yucatan Peninsula in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

declared Conway to be a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

and the mouthpiece of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. Conway began claiming that he was the reincarnation of Moroni, a prophet in the ''Book of Mormon'', and that a reincarnated Joseph Smith, "Our Druid Brother", had visited him."Occultic Infiltration"
''

Salt Lake City Messenger Jerald Dee Tanner (June 1, 1938 – October 1, 2006) and Sandra McGee Tanner (born January 14, 1941) are American writers and researchers who publish archival and evidential materials about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

'', no. 80, Nov. 1991. In 1958, Conway published an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

wherein he set out a number of his beliefs. He taught that

menstrual blood Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of ho ...

was corrupt and that

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of hor ...

could be eliminated through righteousness. He also taught that through priesthood

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

, common metals could be transmutated into

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and that a Book of Mormon prophet named Mulek had blessed

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to be a holy gathering place. Conway taught that the "

One Mighty and Strong The One Mighty and Strong is the subject of an 1832 prophecy by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The prophecy echoes and parallels the words and prophecies contained in Isaiah 28:2 and Isaiah 11:11; 2 Nephi 3:21-25. ...

" prophesied of in Mormon scripture was a nineteenth-century "young white Indian" from Yucatan named Eachta Eachta Na.

J. Gordon Melton John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the Ins ...

(1996, 5th ed.). ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'' (Detroit, Mich.: Gale) p. 570. Conway established a church which he called the Perfected Church of Jesus Christ of Immaculate Latter-day Saints, which he sometimes referred to as the Restored Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ of Immaculate Latter-day Saints. Conway's partner was a Zapotec woman who gave birth to twins in 1956; Conway declared that she had conceived by means of an "

immaculate conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

". Conway died at the age of 104.Massimo Introvigne
"The Devil Makers: Contemporary Evangelical Fundamentalist Anti-Mormonism"
'' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' 27(1):154 (Spring 1994) at p. 165–166 fn. 32.

Notes

References

*Kate B. Cater (1969). ''Denominations that Base their Beliefs on the Teachings of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet'' (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Daughters of Utah Pioneers The International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers (ISDUP, DUP) is a women's organization dedicated to preserving the history of the original settlers of the geographic area covered by the State of Deseret and Utah Territory, including Mormon pio ...

) *Russell R. Rich (1967, 2d ed.). ''Those Who Would be Leaders: Offshoots of Mormonism'' (Provo, Utah:

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

) *Steven L. Shields (1990, 4th ed.). ''Divergent Paths of the Restoration'' (Independence, Mo.:

Herald House Herald House or Herald Publishing House is the publishing division of Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri. It publishes books, periodicals and other materials at the direction of the First Presidency. Its history dates to the publicatio ...

) *

Jerald and Sandra Tanner Jerald Dee Tanner (June 1, 1938 – October 1, 2006) and Sandra McGee Tanner (born January 14, 1941) are American writers and researchers who publish archival and evidential materials about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

(1988). ''The Lucifer–God Doctrine'' (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Utah Lighthouse Ministry Jerald Dee Tanner (June 1, 1938 – October 1, 2006) and Sandra McGee Tanner (born January 14, 1941) are United States, American writers and researchers who publish archival and evidential materials about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ o ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, William C. 1865 births 1969 deaths American men centenarians American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Thelemites Latter Day Saint leaders Members of Ordo Templi Orientis Neo-druids People from Redondo Beach, California Prophets in Mormonism

See also

Notes

References