Author: Sharon Lindbloom
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Ordinary Mormon Families of Utah Territory
Deseret News recently ran a story about Richardson’s Point, a historic spot in Iowa along the Mormon Trail. The graves of the first two casualties of the Mormon westward migration are found at Richardson’s Point. In March of 1849 toddler James Tanner fell off the tongue of a wagon and was killed when the wagon…
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Mormon Apostle Discusses “The Essential Doctrine of Christ”
Last week Deseret News reported on an address Mormon apostle Dallin Oaks delivered to LDS missionaries during a worldwide missionary broadcast. Reaching an audience of 75,000, Mr. Oaks chose to define “Our message for missionaries.” Deseret News explained, “Following a period of dramatic changes in the number of missionaries serving in the world, the Church…
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No Room for Debate: Mormon Church’s Controversial Policy Revealed By God
It seems that perhaps the Mormon Church is tired of all the dissention and discussion regarding the Church’s recently revealed policy affecting same-sex couples and their children. It began in early November (2015) when the Church Handbook of Instructions was changed to include a directive for Church leaders to the effect that same-sex Mormon couples…
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Mormon Scripture and the Bundy Brothers
Ammon Bundy believes in his cause. As a 4th generation Mormon, his church has taught him how to know right from wrong, how to recognize the leading of the Spirit, how to stay on the right side of any line. So Mr. Bundy is confident in his actions. He and his compatriots have taken control…
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The Possibility of Idolatry
Peter Leithart at First Things recently addressed the oft-heard claim that “Christians and Muslims worship the same God but understand God in partly different ways.” He explains, “Muslims and Christians indeed share certain beliefs, and it is, of course, possible to believe different things about the same person… “Yet the common beliefs of Muslims and…
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Do Most Mormons Now Support the Ordination of Women to the LDS Priesthood?
Surveys and polls have been conducted among Mormons in recent years regarding the controversial question of whether or not women should be ordained to the all-male Mormon priesthood. LDS Church leadership has been resistant to the idea, explaining that the issue is a doctrinal one (which implies that a revelation would be required to open…
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What Child Is This? The LDS Christmas Story
It was long ago, two thousand years, when sweet baby Jesus was born. Although every baby is cherished by his parents and grandparents and siblings and cousins, this little boy was precious to all the world. The story began in Nazareth… The Old Testament patriarch Noah, who had died long ago and been resurrected as…
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This is eternal life.
Jesus said in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” When I read this Bible verse, I usually think about the imperative call to know the only true God; eternal life is tied to the true God, and none other.…
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Made in the Image of God
A unique but central tenet of the Mormon faith is found in the LDS Scripture Doctrine and Covenants 130:22. It says, “The Father [God] has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s…” Mormon President Gordon B. Hinckley defended this doctrine from the Bible: “In His image man was created. …In the account…
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An Existential Crisis?
A guest post by Mike Turnlund. Being a non-Mormon and an outsider to the LDS faith has not kept me from studying the Latter-day Saint system of belief. I am not a seeker, as I already know Jesus Christ – the Jesus Christ of the Bible, not of the Book of Mormon. There is a…
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Of First Importance in Mormon Proselytizing
In the early-1950s the Mormon Church taught its missionaries a particular method for effective proselytizing. The book, A Systematic Program for Teaching the Gospel was published and distributed by the LDS Church as detailed instruction for missionaries. I was recently reading Lesson 1, “The Godhead,” and was struck by how the Mormon Church’s missionary approach…
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A Scriptural Twin Study: Nature Versus Nurture
A guest post by Mike Turnlund. One of the enduring issues in the science of psychology is nature versus nurture. Is a person’s behavior, at least in part, motivated by the person’s nature, that is, genetic factors; or by nurture, that is, environmental factors? To answer this question, psychologists have employed twin studies. Here identical…
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This is a Test: Joseph Smith and Deuteronomy 13
It had been a long forty years of wandering in the wilderness. God’s people Israel were finally nearing their Promised Land. Moses’ life was drawing to a close and the people were about to enter a new way of life under the untried leadership of Joshua. They needed to be prepared for what lay ahead.…
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Mormonism’s Restoration Revokes Changes Wrought by Christ
Christian theologian John Piper wrote about “How Christ Fulfilled and Ended the Old Testament Regime.” Dr. Piper noted, “with the coming of Christ virtually everything has changed.” He listed five specific elements found in the Old Testament that the coming of Christ changed. Interestingly, the “Restoration” — that is, Mormonism — reinstituted many of the…
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I Looked out the Window and What Did I See?
Two months ago I had the amazing opportunity to visit Switzerland. What an inspiring display of God’s creativity! Deep blue water, soaring snow-topped peaks, brilliant green-carpeted valleys…and, of course, happy cows everywhere. One morning I watched out the window of our tour bus as we headed away from the incredibly beautiful village of Interlaken. As…
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Mormonism’s View: The Bible We Have Today “Is Rather Incomplete.”
Mormonism has always held to the position that the Bible we have today has been corrupted. In 1st Nephi 13 the Book of Mormon talks about the “many plain and precious things taken away from the book”; that is, the book identified in the Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual as the Bible (see…
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Early Mormonism in Missouri
In 1838 the headquarters of the Mormon Church was located in western Missouri. Mormons began arriving in this state in the early 1830s settling in Jackson County, around the city of Independence. However, trouble erupted between the Mormons and the non-Mormon Missourians, which resulted in the Mormons being forced out of Jackson County in 1833.…
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General Conference: Mormons Told To Get Past Joseph Smith’s History and Move Forward
During last weekend’s General Conference of the LDS Church (3-4 October 2015), Mormon apostle Neil L. Andersen spoke on the topic of faith, and the importance of keeping it burning brightly. He said that faith does not come by chance, but by choice. Mr. Andersen talked about faith challenges that result from “honest questions,” emphasizing…
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Nauvoo’s Bloody Autumn of 1845
Nauvoo, Illinois, the city the Mormons built, was thriving and growing in the 1840s. The population was such that Nauvoo rivaled Chicago for “biggest city in Illinois.” Most visitors to today’s restoration of historic Nauvoo will learn that fact, perhaps from several different Mormon tour guides. One statistical comparison that isn’t mentioned, however, is that…
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How to Help Mormon Missionaries
I’m a mom. I get it. Mormon blogger and author Mette Ivie Harrison wants people to be kind to her kids as they serve their LDS missions. In a recent article at Huff Post Blog, “How to Manage Mormon Missionaries,” Dr. Harrison notes, “…as a mother whose daughter recently returned from the Houston, Texas mission,…