LDS Church Formally Denies Federal Agents Visited Mormon Canneries; Oathkeepers Now Retracts The Story

The story about Federal agents visiting Mormon canneries in Tennessee has been further debunked and can now be put to bed once and for all. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says it didn't happen, and Oathkeepers has now pulled the story from their website.

From the LDS Newsroom blog, the Church's official statement:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has received a number of inquiries about an alleged visit by federal officials to a Church canning facility in Tennessee seeking information about those who use the facility. The Church has investigated these claims and there is no basis for the rumors.

In my second post about this issue, I suggested that Oathkeepers intended nothing malicious or self-serving in publishing the original information; they might have been misled by a source previously considered reliable. This proved to be the case, and Oathkeepers deleted their previous post, replacing it with an explanation. Oathkeepers states that the source who provided the original information is now denying that he ever told them that event occurred. As a result, Oathkeepers has now instituted a more vigorous vetting process; from now on, they will NOT post any such story based on what they are told by other people unless and until they are willing to go on video or at least on an audio recording with their information. That way, in case someone starts to crumble under the public attention or other pressures, and wants to deny what they told Oathkeepers, they will have video or audio proof.

This is proof that Oathkeepers is not some itinerant conspiracy mill masquerading as a patriot group, but a genuine organization of patriots who represent themselves as guardians of the republic and who are devoted to promoting constitutionality. Those who sympathize with these goals can join them in full confidence that the group is a worthwhile investment.

Was Oathkeepers Misled? Story About Federal Agents Visiting Mormon Cannery In Tennessee Now Debunked

Update December 12th: The LDS Church has formally denied that any of its canneries were visited by Federal agents, and Oathkeepers has now removed the post. Updated post HERE.

The story about Federal agents allegedly visiting a Mormon cannery in Tennessee and asking for a list of people who bought bulk food storage is now debunked. An individual who goes by the name of SouthernBellePrepper has produced a video where she discloses her findings.

SouthernBellePrepper says she first called LDS Church Headquarters in Salt Lake upon learning of the story, and the person with whom she spoke denied that Federal agents had visited the Hendersonville and the Knoxville Mormon canneries in Tennessee. She then called the contact numbers for the canneries and left messages; both canneries eventually got back to her and said they had not been visited by the Feds. She further said one of the cannery representatives also told her that if Federal agents had visited her cannery and asked for a list of names, she would have refused to give them such a list. Video embedded below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKLnsaQgqc8



Increasing the credibility of SouthernBellePrepper's response is the fact that she identifies herself as a member of Oathkeepers in a comment posted to the video.

As of this post, Oathkeepers has not yet updated their website to reflect this new development. The remaining question is why Oathkeepers put out the story. Since Oathkeepers has a solid reputation within the patriot community for putting out accurate information, which explains why nearly a dozen prominent websites picked up the story and replicated it, my best guess is that they were misled by a source which had been reliable in the past. I look forward to Oathkeepers taking ownership of the situation and posting an explanation on their website. It is no disgrace to be accidentally hornswoggled; it's happened to better people. Even the LDS Church got hornswoggled by Mark Hofmann and survived the experience, so Oathkeepers likewise can survive.