Mormon Bigfoot
I am a huge fan of cryptozoology, which is the pseudoscientific study of legendary creatures. Every time a new cryptid is blurrily photographed with a camera from 1973, I get excited. A post I saw on Facebook about Bigfoot sightings in Utah and the request of a friend of mine to address the issue led me to dedicate a post to cryptozoology. This week I debated posting about Bigfoot and moon men together as a longer post about Mormon cryptozoology, but I decided that each topic could merit a post on its own, so I went with Bigfoot this week. Stay tuned for my moon men post next week.
In the book Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball relates a story from David W. Patten's biography by Lycurgus Wilson which contained a letter from Abraham O. Smoot that contained a story that he remembered from a meeting he had with David W. Patten. If that isn’t already a red flag, then I would suggest playing a game of telephone. This fourth-hand information has become the very tenuous evidence that “Bigfoot is totally real, man.” Going ahead with the assumption that this is a true account, I still believe that it does not indicate the existence of Bigfoot.
As cool as it would be to find out that the infamous Sasquatch is real, I believe that the story has long been misinterpreted. This the transcript of the letter included in the book, “As I was riding along the road on my mule I suddenly noticed a very strange personage walking beside me. ... His head was about even with my shoulders as I sat in my saddle. He wore no clothing but was covered with hair. His skin was very dark. I asked him where he dwelt and he replied that he had no home, that he was a wanderer in the earth and traveled to and fro. He said he was a very miserable creature, that he had earnestly sought death during his sojourn upon the earth, but that he could not die, and his mission was to destroy the souls of men. About the time he expressed himself thus, I rebuked him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood and commanded him to go hence, and he immediately departed out of my sight.”
While this sounds like it could be Bigfoot, there are indicators that this is simply Cain’s spirit wandering the Earth. Spirits are immortal and therefore could not be released from their pain by death. The righteous in the spirit world during Christ’s visit described the experience like bondage despite being in spirit paradise (D&C 138:50). How would a son of perdition feel trapped in a spiritual state? It would likely be a torturous experience from which there would be no escape. Physical pain can fade, but I doubt that the spiritual pain a son of perdition would experience in spirit prison would go away. We also know that the spirit world is here on Earth, which explains why a spirit would claim it is stuck wandering here (Gospel Principles). The way he is commanded to depart is also similar to the way spirits are cast out in the scriptures (Matt. 4:10).
While saying that Cain is basically just a ghost instead of Bigfoot may not seem like a great solution, it is consistent with another historical account. Heber C. Kimball had an experience in which he and other missionaries were tormented through the night by evil spirits, “I then rose and sat up on the bed, when a vision was opened to our minds, and we could distinctly see the evil spirits, who foamed and gnashed their teeth at us. We gazed upon them about an hour and a half. . . . I shall never forget the vindictive malignity depicted on their countenances as they looked me in the eye; and any attempt to paint the scene which then presented itself, or portray their malice and enmity, would be vain. . . . Years later, narrating the experience of that awful morning to the Prophet Joseph, Heber asked him . . . whether there was anything wrong with him that he should have such a manifestation. ‘No, Brother Heber,’ he replied, ‘at that time you were nigh unto the Lord; there was only a veil between you and Him, but you could not see Him. When I heard of it, it gave me great joy, for I then knew that the work of God had taken root in that land. ‘It was this that caused the devil to make a struggle to kill you’” (Life of Heber C. Kimball 144-146)
This quote indicates to me that Cain could have appeared in spirit as a horrifying monster to frighten David W. Patten. So next time you see Bigfoot, be sure to take a high definition picture and run the other way. It’s not a friendly cryptid, but the tormented spirit of a son of perdition that wanders the Earth and wants to destroy your soul. But what do you think? Is Cain Bigfoot? Am I crazy for even talking about this in the first place? (No need to answer that one). Message me or leave a comment with your theories or opinions. And stay tuned for more cryptozoology when we tackle the question of moon men, the inhabitants of the sun, and the topic of aliens next week.
While this sounds like it could be Bigfoot, there are indicators that this is simply Cain’s spirit wandering the Earth. Spirits are immortal and therefore could not be released from their pain by death. The righteous in the spirit world during Christ’s visit described the experience like bondage despite being in spirit paradise (D&C 138:50). How would a son of perdition feel trapped in a spiritual state? It would likely be a torturous experience from which there would be no escape. Physical pain can fade, but I doubt that the spiritual pain a son of perdition would experience in spirit prison would go away. We also know that the spirit world is here on Earth, which explains why a spirit would claim it is stuck wandering here (Gospel Principles). The way he is commanded to depart is also similar to the way spirits are cast out in the scriptures (Matt. 4:10).
While saying that Cain is basically just a ghost instead of Bigfoot may not seem like a great solution, it is consistent with another historical account. Heber C. Kimball had an experience in which he and other missionaries were tormented through the night by evil spirits, “I then rose and sat up on the bed, when a vision was opened to our minds, and we could distinctly see the evil spirits, who foamed and gnashed their teeth at us. We gazed upon them about an hour and a half. . . . I shall never forget the vindictive malignity depicted on their countenances as they looked me in the eye; and any attempt to paint the scene which then presented itself, or portray their malice and enmity, would be vain. . . . Years later, narrating the experience of that awful morning to the Prophet Joseph, Heber asked him . . . whether there was anything wrong with him that he should have such a manifestation. ‘No, Brother Heber,’ he replied, ‘at that time you were nigh unto the Lord; there was only a veil between you and Him, but you could not see Him. When I heard of it, it gave me great joy, for I then knew that the work of God had taken root in that land. ‘It was this that caused the devil to make a struggle to kill you’” (Life of Heber C. Kimball 144-146)
This quote indicates to me that Cain could have appeared in spirit as a horrifying monster to frighten David W. Patten. So next time you see Bigfoot, be sure to take a high definition picture and run the other way. It’s not a friendly cryptid, but the tormented spirit of a son of perdition that wanders the Earth and wants to destroy your soul. But what do you think? Is Cain Bigfoot? Am I crazy for even talking about this in the first place? (No need to answer that one). Message me or leave a comment with your theories or opinions. And stay tuned for more cryptozoology when we tackle the question of moon men, the inhabitants of the sun, and the topic of aliens next week.
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