Author: Aaron Shafovaloff
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Latter-day Saints—Where Did You Get Your Authority?
By Hal Hougey A. The Jews Asked Jesus and the Apostles This Question – Matt. 21:23-27; Acts 4:7-12 Jesus and the Apostles did not need, nor did they produce, credentials from the priesthood to show their authority. So neither will we. LDS have the same misconception that the Jews had: that authority passes from one…
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Telestial Glory Is “So Great That We Would Be Tempted To Commit Suicide To Get There”?
Eldred G. Smith, considered the “Patriarch to the Church”, affirmed a belief that is still popular today among Mormons: “I cannot for a minute conceive the telestial being hell, either, because it is considered a heaven, a glory. The Prophet Joseph Smith told us that if we could get one little glimpse into the telestial…
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Proclamation of the First Presidency and Twelve October 21 1865 (Rebuke of Orson Pratt)
From James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-75), 2:, p.235-240 1865-October 21-MS October 21, 1865 § PROCLAMATION of The First Presidency and Twelve. In an article entitled "The Holy Spirit," published by brother Pratt in the Millennial…
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Hearken O Ye Latter-Day Saints August 23 1865 (Rebuke of Orson Pratt)
From James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-75), 2:, p.229-235 1865-August 23-MS 27:657-663 (October 21, 1865) § HEARKEN, O Ye Latter-day Saints, and all ye inhabitants of the earth who wish to be Saints, to whom this…
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Instructions to the Saints January 29 1860 (Rebuke of Orson Pratt)
From James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-75), 2:, p. 214-223: 1860-January 29-MS 22:595-600 (September 22, 1860)
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"Jesus Christ, Literal Son of God", by Joseph F. Smith
James R. Clark in Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 4, p. 327, wrote: 1914-December 20-The Box Elder News, January 28, 1915. Copy furnished by Thomas Truitt, Salt Lake City, Utah.
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The “Marvelous Creative Power and Function” by Which Christ Was Conceived
I continue to be amazed over the amount of evidence supporting the claim that Mormon leaders taught that God the Father “joined” with Mary, his spirit-daughter, to “associate together in the capacity of husband and wife” and naturally conceive Jesus in the same way that children are normally begotten on earth. I was surprised to…
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Merry Christmas from Bruce McConkie?
The back of this “Christmas card” has a note from Kevin Barney of FAIR: “My usual tack when asked about it is to point out that the idea is not now and never was doctrine; it was a speculation… I will confess, however, that I actually like this idea. Maybe it is because I have…
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From the Mailbag (12/20/2007)
Let it go. It’s still the fastest growing, wealthiest church. It seems the more you do, the less impact you have. “…the standard of truth has been erected; No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will…
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An Analysis of “21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith”
It’s sad when a religious representative answers questions like a politican. As I write this an article is featured on the front page of FoxNews.com, “21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith”. The following is an analysis of the response they received to their questions. “Many of these questions are typically found on anti-Mormon blogs or…
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From the Mailbag (12/9/2007)
“I am investigating the LDS church…they seem to discredit this article I gave to them, what is your advice to learn who is right?” – Jason Jason, I would make sure you take the time to look at both sides, both favorable and critical. Mormons often like to given metaphors and analogies that somehow communicate…
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“Any suggestions on how to break into the conversation?”
I have a great friend who is LDS. I love him and his family. I have shared the gospel with him, but I have not shared much of what I know about his faith because I’m really afraid of what it will do to our friendship, and I know that it may crush him if…
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The Law of God: Designed to Reveal You as Sinful and God as Righteous
The apostle Paul reasons in Romans that people don’t keep the Law, neither the one written in the Torah nor the one written on our hearts. We need to find our righteousness elsewhere, even in another person. The harshest part of the law is that it demands perfection of our hearts, not just our external…
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How Has 2 Nephi 25:23 Been Interpreted?
By Aaron Shafovaloff 2 Nephi 25:23 is a key text by which Mormons identify and distinguish their view of grace, repentance, works, and merit. It has consistently functioned in Mormonism as a text speaking of the prerequisite conditions for receiving forgiveness, eternal life, and exaltation, although some neo-orthodox Mormon revisionists are attempting to recast it…
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10 Reasons I’m Thankful
1. Even when I was an enemy to God, a child of wrath who was dead in sin, God opened the eyes of my heart and freely forgave my sins by faith alone. I remember explaining Ephesians 2:8-9 away, but God used Romans 4:4-5 to conquer my heart. It is stark, unmitigated, notorious grace. The…
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Luke Wilson, Director of IRR, Passes Away
It was with great sadness to hear that Luke Wilson, our good friend from the Institute for Religious Research, passed away on November 13th. The fact that I had just seen Luke last month made his sudden passing even more of a shock. I had known Luke for many years, but we never really had…
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“Down with Paul, up with Joseph!”
Eric and I had an interesting conversation on Sunday, October 7th, over Skype with a Mormon named Jason who lives in Utah. He runs a web site dedicated to Joseph Smith and is a committed Mormon. We talked among other things about the nature of God, eternal progression, and marriage. Our discussion on marriage brought…
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Dallin Oaks: The Destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor’s Printing Press was Illegal
Some Mormons give the impression that the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor newspaper was legal. This kind of language is misleading. While there is some lingering ambiguity over the legality of the destruction of the copies of the Expositor, even Mormon apostle Dallin Oaks (who wrote Carthage Conspiracy) admits that the destruction of the Expositor’s…