Author: Eric Johnson
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Was Brigham Young a “Jerk”?
Brad R. Wilcox, a BYU professor and the second counselor in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Young Men general presidency, gave a fireside talk on Sunday, February 6, 2022 to church congregations in Alpine, UT. He claims that members have complained to him about how Mormonism’s authoritative priesthood was not given to…
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Review of “The Greatest Gift of Christmas” (Apostle Dieter F. Utchdorf, Dec. 2021 Liahona)
By Mike Rabus Posted February 7, 2022 In the December 2021 issue of the Liahona magazine, Apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf wrote an article encouraging church members to renew their focus on Jesus Christ. A few questions I have based on the topics he discussed include: Uchtdorf starts the article by recounting some faith-promoting Christmas memories. On…
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Review of “The Love of God” (Apostle D. Todd Christofferson, Oct. 2021 General Conference)
By Mike Rabus Posted February 4, 2022 For a three-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast series on this talk that aired November 22-24, 2021, visit Part 1 Part 2 Part 3. Delivered by Apostle D. Todd Christofferson, the talk “The Love of God” delivered at the October 2021 general conference covers many of the doctrinal topics that come up…
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A Change Made to a Controversial “Policy”: God’s Directive or a Political Adjustment?
The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon) reversed a church “policy” in 2019 that had been implemented just three and a half years earlier. The original policy made on November 3, 2015 stated how “a natural or adopted child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship, whether…
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Review of “The Greatest Possession” (Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, Oct. 2021 General Conference)
By Mike Rabus Posted January 17, 2022 Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland gave a talk at the October 2021 General Conference titled “The Greatest Possession” that was published in the November 2021 Liahona magazine. There are two main points that I’d like to share with you from this talk: Holland opened the talk with a reference to…
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Mike Rabus
Mike Rabus has been a student of Mormonism for nearly ten years. He was reading the Apologetics Study Bible when he first heard about the Book of Abraham. He decided to ask a LDS coworker about it-which was the first of many conversations-and led to an in-depth study into the truth claims of the LDS…
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Review of “Pure Truth, Pure Doctrine, and Pure Revelation” (President Russell M. Nelson, October 2021 General Conference)
By Mike Rabus Posted January 10, 2022 The first talk given in the October 2021 General Conference was delivered by 17th President Russell M. Nelson, which is published in the November 2021 issue of the church magazine known as the Liahona. Although it was a brief talk, there are two truth claims made by Nelson…
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Reviews of “Come, Follow Me” Old Testament 2022
For the 2023 Come, Follow Me New Testament curriculum, click here. The series titled “Come, Follow Me,” originated in 2018 when the church put together weekly studies for members of all ages. The topics included doctrinal issues such as the Godhead, the Plan of Salvation, the Atonement, and Ordinances and Covenants among them. During the…
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10 Reasons to Reject the God of Mormonism
Grasping the concept of the true God of the universe is crucial for every seeker after truth. This is certainly the message communicated in the Bible. If the Bible ought to be considered the Word of God–and it should–here are 10 reasons why the God of Mormonism ought to be rejected. 1. The God of…
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Why a Modern Translation of the Bible Can Be Beneficial
Officially The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourages its members to use the King James Version of the Bible (KJV). While the KJV was a fine version for its time, it can be difficult for modern English-speakers to understand many parts of what the translation is saying. Many readers skim over the archaic…
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Review: Crossing the Divide: From Baptist to Latter-day Saint
Review: Crossing the Divide: From Baptist to Latter-day Saint (2021) Authored by Bryan Ready Posted October 29, 2021 Several books have been written during the past few years by authors who make a claim of being Christian pastors before converting to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In fact, I have previously reviewed…
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Apostle Provides the Old “Bait and Switch”
Posted October 7, 2021 Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2021 edition of the Mormonism Researched, a bimonthly periodical of MRM that is free upon request. To request a free subscription to Mormonism Researched, please visit here. For many years, the bait and switch scam—advertising a product at an incredible bargain price but…
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Why a Fourth Gospel Topics Essay on Plural Marriage?
Note: The following was originally printed in the July/August 2021 edition of the Mormonism Researched, a bimonthly periodical of MRM that is free upon request. To request a free subscription to Mormonism Researched, please visit here. Between October 2013 to December 2015, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published 13 official “Gospel Topics essays”…
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The Temple Endowment Ceremony
Participation in what is called the temple “endowment” ceremony is an important facet of the LDS faith since it is in this ritual where Mormons learn secret “key words,” “signs” and “tokens” that they hope will help them return to God’s presence. Brigham Young, Mormonism’s second president, claimed, “Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances…
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Throw Away Kimball’s the Miracle of Forgiveness? A Response to a Utah Area Seventy
A Utah area seventy interviewed two LDS teenagers one day in August 2021 on the issue of LDS repentance. Richard Neitzel Holzapfel spoke at a stake leadership meeting at the Herriman Utah Rose Canyon Stake and told the two students–a male and a female–to be “honest and authentic.” The video published on August 13, 2021…
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Should a Christian school allow a Mormon student to enroll?
Posted 8/15/2021 A disclaimer. For 17 years I was employed at a private Christian school in Southern California, teaching classes in English, Bible, journalism, and yearbook as well as ESL Bible. For the last 6 years at the school (2005-2010), I served as the Bible department head. The experience was awesome and I loved my…
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M. Russell Ballard Gets His Day in Utah–July 23, 2021
July 23, 2021 has been declared M. Russell Ballard Day in Utah by Gov. Spencer Cox. Ballard, 92, is the current President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who was honored on July 22, 2021 at the state capitol where he was presented with the day’s designation. Source At the ceremony, Ballard was credited…
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Confusion over Gethsemane and the Atonement
Posted 7/2021 Traditionally most LDS leaders have stressed the importance of what took place in the Garden of Gethsemane for the atonement. Some leaders in recent years are attempting to include what took place at the cross as part of the narrative. This issue was discussed in the April 2021 Liahona magazine, an official LDS…
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Examining 10 Claims of the Great Apostasy
Over the past few decades, Latter-day Saints have been quick to maintain that they should be considered “Christians” just like their Christian friends. This idea is typified in a general conference talk by Seventy Gary Coleman who described how he responded to 14-year-old Cortnee, the daughter of an LDS mission president, after her friend told…
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Introducing Christianity to Mormons: The First 700 Words of a New Book
MRM’s Eric Johnson has written a book titled Introducing Christianity to Mormons. It was released by Harvest House Publishers in 2022. It has been written because survey evidence shows how 45% of all people who leave Mormonism head to atheism, agnosticism, or nothing at all. Only 10% of those who leave end up in a…