Worshiped by Tea Baggers, Now Glenn Beck Says He’s Had a Revelation from God

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Last week, we found what we thought was a definitive poll result in the New York Times/CBS News survey of self-identified tea baggers. The fact that 57 percent of them still support George W. Bush speaks volumes.

But uber-pollster Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com looked at the same poll and found a factor that is much more revelatory and potentially alarming:

[Tea-partiers] are disproportionately attached to, and perhaps influenced by, FOX News. And they are particularly enamored of Glenn Beck. Nationally, just 18 percent of people have a favorable opinion of Beck (the majority have no opinion whatsoever about him). But most tea-partiers do. Do the math, and you’ll find that 59 percent of those who do think highly of Beck consider themselves a part of the tea-party. This is, in fact, the single biggest differentiator of any of the items that the NYT asked about: not ideology, not any particular political belief, but whom they watch on television.

What makes this prospectively troubling is that, on his radio show yesterday, Beck informed his followers that he’s had a revelation from God:

BECK: God is giving a plan, I think, to me. That is not really a plan. The plan that he would have me articulate; I think to you, is get behind me. And I don‘t mean me. I mean him. Get behind me. Stand behind me.

Although his followers seem unaware of it, Beck is a Mormon — a fact that might come as an ugly surprise to the 39 percent of tea baggers who call themselves evangelicals, a group that considers the Mormon Church a satanic cult. Mormonism has been rife with prophets since its founding in early 19th century. In fact, unlike most Protestant sects, Mormonism was founded by a man who claimed to be a prophet. According to Mormon theology, Joseph Smith claimed to have been directed by the angel Moroni to a set of golden plates buried in a field in New York state. The plates — which no one other than Smith ever saw — were engraved with text that Smith would transcribe into what became the Book of Mormon, the third Testament in the Mormon Bible.

As a Mormon with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of followers, it’s feasible that Beck might elevate himself from Latter Day Saint to latter-day prophet as well. If Beck continues along this route, we may be looking at the first new cult movement of the 21st century.

Here’s the transcript from the “Worst Person in the World” segment on “Countdown” last night, in which Keith Olbermann gets to the heart of the “plan” God has given Glenn Beck. Hint: Like Joseph Smith’s revelation, it involves gold:

But our winner is “Lonesome Rhodes” Beck. You have to hear this to believe it. Especially the last part. Remember his book “The Plan” and his tour “The Plan?” And his amusement park “The Plan?” And tartar control “The Plan,” and the “Plan Lite,” and the Plan Smiley?

He is not writing it. It‘s being dictated to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN BECK, FOX NEWS HOST: Yesterday when I walked out of the studio I looked at Pat and I almost said to Pat — I said, I can feel it coming.

He said, I know. He said it‘s just — they are just strong in power and focus.

And I said it‘s just — it‘s darkness and I can just feel it coming.

And I started to say, I said the problem is, is that — and I stopped. Because I don‘t want to utter something like this without really thinking it through. What I was about to say is the problem is, is that God is giving a plan, I think, to me. That is not really a plan.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

OLBERMANN: OK. So the plan is in the plan. Is whatever it is at least tell us where to go and who to follow?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: The plan that he would have me articulate; I think to you, is get behind me. And I don‘t mean me. I mean him. Get behind me. Stand behind me.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

OLBERMANN: I‘m confused. Behind you? Behind him? You were left behind? Did you learn this at the university of — I don‘t remember? But wait, here‘s the big payoff where in the plan is accidentally revealed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Pat and I both went hope and prayed. We both — opened our bibles, and we found something the next day that I think is important for you today to understand.

He found one thing. He found the first piece. I found the second piece. The message was the same. But I think the message is for you today. I‘ll give that to you here in just a second. First I have to break for our sponsor Goldline.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

OLBERMANN: That‘s the plan. Buy more gold over the Internet. Hallelujah, we‘re saved.

Lonesome Rhodes Beck, now available in one, two, or three ounce investment nuggets, today‘s worst person in the world.

If Beck attempts to walk back his claim yesterday that he’s had a revelation from God, he’ll likely say his statement was taken out of context. Media Matters has audio of Beck’s complete diatribe about his revelation from God.

Here’s a partial transcript, nabbed from Donklephant.com:

Yesterday, when I got off the air, I had a conversation between, um, Pat and myself and it lead to a meeting last night. Because, um, I’m going to, um, change the TV show again. I felt like, I, I mentioned last night that we were flying, circling an airport and I know the landing strip is down there, but the lights aren’t on. And I can’t see it yet, but I know we’re close and we’re circling. And this is not good enough.

And, um, I tell you, you don’t know — just like I don’t really know you, and I know in generalities, how hard you work and what you do and what your life is like — I don’t. I know in generalities. The same with you with me. We both have trust in each other that we’re doing everything in our power, and I have asked you recently, if you’re not doing that, to decide. Because now is the time. Are you here to relax and be entertained, or are you here, will you pick up the mantle left to you by the Founders to be a guardian of man’s freedom? Will you do it? Because your children will ask you what did you do? I believe your God will ask you what did you do.

We all find ourselves at a certain place at a certain time and we may not know what the role is we’re suppose to play, we may, in the end, we may not even know how much we effected different things, but we each are here and experience everything for a reason, that’s why I asked you yesterday — do not accept coincidence in your life. Look for the answers in your life, look for your answers in your life through coincidence, because there’s no such thing as a coincidence.

God is giving a plan I think to me that is not really a plan. And I stopped myself because I didn’t want to utter those things out loud, because that’s not exactly right, and it’s not.

The problem is that I think the plan that the Lord would have us follow is hard for people to understand. But I’m telling you, here’s what I feel with everything in me, and, if you’ve listened to this program for a long time, you know who I am. Um, and you know many of things I’ve done and said that have put me in, ya know, harm’s way one way or another, they always start at the same place, they always start at my gut or my heart, and then I figure it out as we go along. All the stuff that I feel has been important on the show has been things that I felt and didn’t understand.

Because of my track record with you who have been here for a long time. Because of my track record with you, I beg of you to help me get this message out, and I beg of you to pray for clarity on my part. The plan that He would have me articulate, I think, to you is “Get behind me.” And I don’t mean me, I mean Him. “Get behind Me. Stand behind Me.” I truly believe I have done years now of reading the Founders, their diaries, their letters, the Pilgrims, their diaries, their letters. I’ve held their letters in my hands. The exchanges between the Founders, I’ve held their actual letters in my hand. I have seen it with my own eyes — and I will tell you that God was instrumental and then knew it! They knew they had very little to do with it. They just stood where they were supposed to stand and they said the things that they were supposed to say as He directed. Some of them lost their way, some of them got it wrong, they got back and forth — they were human. But that’s what He’s asking us to do — is to stand peacefully, quietly, with anger, quiet with anger, loudly with truth.

Faith — is the answer. Get on your knees, don’t like it take a September 11th, get on your knees, please, I don’t care what church you go to, no church at all, I don’t care. Turn to Him.

When we were, and I’ve never told this story before — when we were starting the TV show, ya know, there were things that I did that I wouldn’t do now because I had to be more of an entertainer to get people to go, “What is this show at five o’clock?” I never said anything I didn’t believe, but I may have said things in an entertaining fashion. And I’m also, I also had to figure out, I’m a learning curve here, what is true and what is not and we were alone, and we still are. Nobody is helping us on this, we have to piece it together.