Author: Aaron Shafovaloff
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Bill McKeever on Tom Hanks (in Fox News article)
Bill McKeever, a rep for the Mormonism Research Ministry, added, “Personally, I find it un-American to tell people that they shouldn’t vote their conscience. Hanks said he doesn’t ‘like to see any discrimination codified on any piece of paper.’ Considering that just about every law discriminates in some form or another, makes this comment ridiculous.…
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What if Thomas Monson, Pope Benedict XVI, and John Piper Began Teaching That the Practice of Homosexuality Was Morally Praiseworthy?
I pick John Piper to make it personal for me and some other evangelicals. He is not by any stretch of the imagination the pope of Protestantism, but he is my living hero. I even named my only begotten son after him. If he were to begin teaching that the practice of homosexuality was morally…
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The Impact of Mormonism on the Enjoyment of God as an Artist
C.S. Lewis once wrote, “It was when I was happiest that I longed most… The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing… to find the place where all the beauty came from.” – Till We Have Faces In his essay “Christianity and Literature,” he also wrote, “[An] author should never conceive of himself…
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Debate: The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon?
The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon? An Evangelical – LDS Debate Christ Presbyterian Church invites you to join us for a debate on whether the LDS scriptures accord with the Bible. Our participants will be Jason Wallace and Martin Tanner. Mr. Wallace is pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City. Dr. Tanner…
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Zelph Revisited, by Donald Q. Cannon
Zelph Revisited, by Donald Q. Cannon
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Inordinate Accusations of Hatred as a Means of Insulation
We received an e-mail from “Wes” in January that came off rather strong: “Oh, bye the way, aren’t you just a bunch of ignorant biased, hateful, anti-christ, jealous, bigots who have nothing better to do than to persecute mormons who never did anything to you? I’ll answer the question for you: Yes.” Not knowing his…
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You Didn’t Bring Your Dead Brother Alvin? Sorry, You Can’t Have the Plates
As September 22nd was the date known as the Autumnal equinox to contemporaries of Joseph Smith in 1823, September 25 was a notable day the following year. Joseph Smith Sr., Jr.’s father, published a notice in the Palmyra newspaper denying “reports [that] have been industriously put in circulation, that my son, Alvin, had been removed…
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Joseph Smith and Folk Magic
The post focuses on Joseph Smith’s involvement in magical practices, particularly surrounding the autumnal equinox and their significance in the origins of the Book of Mormon, as examined through various scholarly reviews.
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Joseph Smith and the Magical Autumnal Equinox
Anyone who regularly interacts with Mormons over Mormon history knows that “most members of [The LDS Church] in the twenty-first century know nothing of Joseph’s magical practices” (>>). I have been studying Mormonism for about ten years, and the depth to which the early Joseph Smith was immersed in a worldview of invoking magic and…
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If Proper Mormon Baptism Is an Absolute Prerequisite for Divine Forgiveness, Christians Are Deluded and Have Never Had a Sin Forgiven by God
In The Religious Educator, Mark D. Woodbury, director of the Reno Nevada Institute of Religion, writes: The good news is that there is repentance. Repentance is a great gift from God; indeed, the scriptures teach us that Christ “hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of…
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The Duty to Expose a Shameful Ceremony is Infinitely More Sacred Than a Shameful Ceremony
Publicly exposing the Mormon temple ceremony takes away the superficial power of secretiveness and mystery and helps people face reality. The power of mystery is largely sapped with a simple YouTube video. Obeying God’s commandments is a form of Christian worship. God’s word tells us: “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but…
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The Stories of the Wives of Joseph Smith
Consider the fact that Mormons told the women in the visual illustration that they were lying, since “Joseph Smith only had one wife.” The LDS Church lies by 1) not educating the common Mormon people about the nature of Joseph Smith’s polygyny and polyandry, and 2) allowing gigantic “faith-promoting rumors” concerning polygamy to perpetuate, all…
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An Open Response to Allen Wyatt
Allen, Good to hear from you. First, a “club with which to bludgeon the faithful”? When you use the language of physical violence to caricature what I do, Allen, it doesn’t make me take you very seriously. In fact, it sounds manipulative and bullying, an implicit threat that anyone who actively opposes your church will…
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Still No Apology
Bill, Randy, and I had a good night at Temple Square talking to people about the priesthood ban and the theology the Mormon church once used to justify it. I also used the occasion to talk about the unique priesthood of Christ. If you’re visiting because of having seen an advertisement for SeedOfCain.com, allow me…
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Hiding Behind Skirts
Todd Wood writes, “I am telling you guys, a real LDS general authority or better yet, an LDS apostle, needs to start blogging. Where are the bold prophets and apostles for times like these in America? Can you imagine if the prophet Isaiah or apostle Paul lived in 2008? Would they be crying out, ‘Someone…
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Is Your Prayer an Abomination Before God?
These past two weeks I have been away from Utah, first in Colorado to meet with the development team of the upcoming Internet Biblical Seminary e-learning platform, and then in Tennessee to stay with my uncle and then go to the Together For The Gospel conference in Louisville, Kentucky. I had the pleasure of hearing…
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The Attempt to Sell the Book of Mormon Copyright
Text of Revelation (link) A Revelation given to Joseph Oliver [Cowdery] Hyram [Hiram Page] Josiah [Stowell] & Joseph Knight given at Manchester Ontario C[ounty] New York Behold I the Lord am God I Created the Heavens & the Earth & all things that in them is wherefore they are mine & I sway my scepter over all…
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On Fruits of the Spirit, a Particularly Bad Work of the Flesh, and Satan’s Power
This post is a continuation of the discussion on the previous post, “If Mormonism is a lie, what should people do about it?” The discussion evolved onto the topic of the role of feelings in discerning truth. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, as some of you know, is centrally about living a Spirit-led life, particularly…
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Quotes on Merit, Earning, Worthiness, and Qualification
2000 – present “Let us make our homes sanctuaries of righteousness, places of prayer, and abodes of love that we might merit the blessings that can come only from our Heavenly Father… How might we merit this promise [spoken of in Ezekiel 36]? What will qualify us to receive this blessing?” – Thomas S Monson, “To…
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If Mormonism Is a Lie, What Should People Do About It?
If Mormonism is false, should we do nothing about it? There seems to be a pervasive notion among many non-Christians that even if Mormonism is a religion fundamentally based on lies, people who know about it should, in a manner of speaking, simply sit back, kick up their feet, and take up wine-tasting. To quote…