Author: Eric Johnson
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Another Joseph Smith Offshoot: The New Organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
By Eric JohnsonIn recent times, dozens of new splinter groups claiming to be the true followers of Joseph Smith have cropped up, including a number who practice polygamy. There have also been many factions from the former RLDS Church. One such group formed in 2005 is called The New Organization of the Church of Jesus…
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The Bridge or the Beehive? Mormon Apologetics in a Postmodern Age
Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson Since the time Joseph Smith, Jr., founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints (Mormon or LDS) in 1830, Christians have recognized this organization as a heretical religion that does not represent biblical teachings. Not long after Smith’s death in 1844, Brigham Young led his followers into the Salt…
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Keeping “Our Radar Focused” on the Membership
Pity the poor singles who live in the Salt Lake City area of Utah. According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune (“Loss of young adult members spurred changes to LDS wards,” 4/27/11, p. B1), 5,000 single Latter-day Saints between the ages of 18 to 30 who gathered at the LDS Church’s Conference Center…
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Feelings surpass everything?
I’m in the Holy Land this week with 48 people—the majority are teens—as another apologist and I lead them on a trip they will never forget. Last week I asked a Mormon friend about a particular site in Israel that some are touting as evidence for the Book of Mormon. With a wipe of his…
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“Following the Prophet” = “Continuing Personal Revelation”
Over the past few years, I have read plenty of material written by faithful Latter-day Saints (none of whom have very high authority in the church) who insist that their leaders are not infallible and that LDS individuals must rely on “personal revelation” to confirm the official teachings coming from Salt Lake City. Nice try,…
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Why Grace Can Be So Hard to Receive
I was driving by a car wash near our Utah home for the fiftieth or sixtieth time and once again saw the sign hanging there. It read, “Free vacuum.” Part of me had been avoiding this for the past three months. “C’mon, Johnson, don’t be a sucker,” my rational side screamed at me. “Nothing is…
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Book Review: Shaken Faith Syndrome
Reviewed by Eric Johnson Michael R. Ash, a Mormon apologist who runs the website www.MormonFortress.com, has written a book he hopes will pacify those Latter-day Saints who are thinking about exiting the Mormon Church. He claims on the book’s back cover that “an increasing number of Latter-day Saints are encountering anti-Mormon material….Some arguments have caused…
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Lying for the Lord
Michael R. Ash’s book, Shaken Faith Syndrome, aims to reassure Mormons facing doubt. It discusses the 1890 Manifesto denying polygamy while acknowledging the continued practice, framing it as civil disobedience against persecution.
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Ecumenicalism makes me uncomfortable
My LDS neighbor, a very kind man, was excited about inviting me to an ecumenical Christmas celebration held at his local stake center, so I decided to attend the Sunday night service. For the past seven years, the choirs from the local Mormon stake in my area and a Christian church down the street alternate…
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Quit Pestering Us, Church Leaders Tell Membership in Letter
On October 24th, the LDS First Presidency (led by Prophet Thomas S. Monson) wrote several letters that were to be read in Mormon Sunday services around the world. According to examiner.com, the first letter was “likely spurred by Boyd K. Packer’s most recent General Conference talk entitled ‘Cleansing the Inner Vessel.’ Church Headquarters has been receiving an increased…
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Book Review: What Every Mormon (and Non-Mormon) Should Know: Examining Mormon History, Doctrines and Claims
Reviewed by Eric Johnson Former Mormonism Research Ministry associate Lane Thuett has teamed with Edmond Gross to put together a well-documented 500+-page book on the subject of Mormonism. The authors have pitched a winner as they utilize a great number of authoritative sources to show that Mormonism is truly much different than historical Christianity. The…
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Book Review: What Happened to the Cross? Distinctive LDS Teachings
By Eric Johnson Mormon apologist Robert Millet, a professor of ancient scripture and a former dean of Religious Education at Mormon-owned Brigham Young University, has authored dozens of books on the LDS religion. Hence, he wrote the 2007 book What Happened to the Cross? to help Mormons share their faith about the atonement of Christ,…
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Archaeology and the Bible
By Eric Johnson Archaeology, or the scientific study of historic peoples and their cultures, is certainly a fascinating topic. Biblical archaeologists, as they were once called before the 1970s, have been able to locate many sites and artifacts in the Holy Land to help show how the cities and people listed in the Bible were…
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Jorge Zeballos’s Attempt at the Impossible
By Eric Johnson The ability to earn one’s own salvation is an important distinction in the teachings of the Mormon Church. Using the Book of Mormon passage that a person is saved “by grace after all (he or she) can do” (2 Nephi 25:23), LDS leaders throughout the years have made it abundantly clear that…
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Forgiveness: A 28 (or More)-Step Program?
By Eric Johnson Christianity has historically taught that God provides forgiveness to all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. Over and over again, the Bible proclaims that it is through the blood of the Lamb that God’s children are able to receive this forgiveness, despite the fact that “all have sinned and…
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Book Review: Mere Mormonism
Reviewed by Eric Johnson If you thought of C.S. Lewis and Mere Christianity when you saw the title of the book being reviewed, you were supposed to. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the author of Mere Mormonism—Ronald R. Zollinger—would have been worthy to tie the proverbial shoestrings of the late philosopher from England. Mere Mormonism will…
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Is Free Speech Just for the Rich?
MRM associate Randy Sweet and I decided to head to Provo—home of the LDS Church-owned BYU Cougar football team—to hand out our Brigham Young million dollar bill tracts before the game on Saturday, October 23. Wouldn’t you know it! For two of the three hours that we handed out the tracts, it poured cats and…
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Follow-up: Christian church doesn’t allow LDS parents to become Cub Scout leaders
We blogged about this story here at Mormon Coffee last week, but it is still very much in the news. A big hubbub is being made because a Mormon couple was not allowed to become Cub Scout leaders at a pack sponsored by a North Carolina Presbyterian church. Christ Covenant Church, which is about 10…
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The Mystery of Mormonism
Mormon author Orson Scott Card recently wrote a piece in the Mormon Times called “Gospel has no place for ‘mysteries’ ” (10/14/2010). In his mind, Christians who use the word “mystery” when confronted with an issue that is impossible to understand are taking the low road. He believes that the high road is understanding how…
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Knowing more about the Bible
A recent religious literacy poll done by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that Mormons know more about the Bible and general religion than Catholics, Jews, and Protestant Christians. (See “Survey: LDS know more about the Bible than other Christians,” The Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 29, 2010, p. A4.) The…
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