Author: Sharon Lindbloom
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If Mormon Missionaries Were Straightforward About Mormonism…
Though done in a lighthearted manner, this 4-minute video is a fairly accurate depiction of standard Mormon doctrine. It would be nice if Mormon missionaries explained Mormonism as clearly as the characters in this video do, but I imagine that would not foster strong LDS Church growth. Mormon Secrets: What the Missionaries Don’t Tell By…
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Early Mormon Marriages: Tangled Webs to Sort Out in the Eternities
Many people are aware of Joseph Smith’s practice of polygamy. A subset of those people are also aware that some of Joseph’s plural wives were married to other men at the same time they were married to Joseph. Many of these folks think Joseph Smith was the only Mormon leader to engage in these strange…
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A Remarkable Prophecy About Joseph Smith?
In Joseph Smith’s official History (found canonized in the Mormon book of scripture Pearl of Great Price), the Prophet relates a prophecy delivered to him by the angel Moroni: “He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name…
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Joseph Smith Wasn’t Arrogant or Boastful?
In a Deseret News article titled “Defending the Faith: Joseph Smith wasn’t arrogant or boastful” (9/4/14), Mormon BYU Professor Daniel Peterson addressed a common criticism used against Joseph Smith: “Some critics like to use a quotation attributed to Joseph Smith as a weapon against him: “‘I have more to boast of,’ he’s reported to have…
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The Dedication of Louie B. Felt
In December of 1866, three months after they first met, 26-year-old Joseph H. Felt and 16-year-old Sarah Louisa (Louie) Bouton were married in Salt Lake City. Louie became the first Primary general president in the Mormon Church, serving in that capacity for 45 years. She is featured in an article found in the July 2014…
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What is Mormonism?
Last week it was discovered that when Google search engine users typed, “What is Mormonism?” into the search box, the answer provided was this: “Mormonism is a religion that denies the deity of Jesus Christ. In this religion, He is demoted to being a mere mortal, a true offspring of Elohim and an equal to…
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Member Inactivity in the Mormon Church
On Tuesday (23 September 2014) the blog nearing kolob took a look at recent Mormon missionary reports regarding localized Church inactivity. What follows is a summary of nearing kolob’s research findings (that they gleaned unscientifically from reading Mormon missionary blog posts). While this information is likely troubling to LDS leaders, and perhaps encouraging to critics…
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Ballad of the Mountain Meadows Massacre
On September 11, 1857, a Mormon mob perpetrated the Mountain Meadows Massacre, killing 120 travelers in Utah. A ballad by Pete Moore recounts this tragic event, highlighting the betrayal and brutality experienced by the victims.
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“Love Thy Neighbor”: Mormonism’s Second Prophet Explains What Jesus Meant
On Sunday, February 8, 1857 Brigham Young took the stand at the Great Salt Lake City Tabernacle to deliver a discourse to his congregation. On this occasion, Mormonism’s second prophet included some expositional preaching on Jesus’ command found in Matthew 19:19 (also in Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, 33, and Luke 10:27), “Thou shalt love thy…
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Testing Joseph Smith’s Integrity
Brigham Young University professor Daniel Peterson recently wrote an article for the Deseret News presenting evidence for the exemplary personal character of Mormonism’s founder, Joseph Smith. In “Defending the Faith: 2 legal tests of Joseph Smith’s integrity” Dr. Peterson discusses Joseph Smith’s three-year responsibility toward the Lawrence sisters and their sizable estate as legal guardian.…
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Mormon Missionaries Do Not Teach the Gospel
The Mormon-themed Meridian Magazine posted an article last week titled, “Baptized Too Soon?” In it, author Joni Hilton confessed her proclivity toward blaming the missionaries when new Mormon converts fall away, wondering if “…the missionaries were too hasty, and scheduled a baptism before the investigator really understood the gospel. Do they even have a testimony…
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A Simple Correlation: The Apostle Paul and Mormon General Conference
As defined at Wikipedia, the Mormon Church’s priesthood correlation program is “a program designed to provide a systematic approach to maintain consistency in its ordinances, doctrines, organizations, meetings, materials, and other programs and activities.” The Church began its correlation efforts in the early 1960s, to bring all aspects of the Church under one large umbrella…
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“The Law Is Not of Faith”
There is a difference between seeking justification* before God by faith or by the law. Some think we must combine the two, relying both on faith and individual works of obedience. Is this what God requires? Galatians 3 has the answer. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for…
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The Book of Abraham: A Mormon Conundrum
In early July (2014) the Mormon Church released a Gospel Topics essay on the translation and historicity of its controversial book of scripture known as the Book of Abraham. The essay has done nothing to quiet the controversy. At issue is the question of Joseph Smith’s translation of some ancient Egyptian papyri that resulted in…
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John Walker’s Key Opens Book of Mormon Names
The wise biblical King Solomon wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Researcher Rick Grunder has provided a great latter-day example of “What has been is what will be.” In his massive work, Mormon Parallels: A Bibliographic Source, Mr. Grunder provides readers with an interesting look at names found in the Book…
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Mormon Church’s “Bees” Are Swarming…
Last week the threat of excommunication for Kate Kelly became a reality. Ms. Kelly is the founder of Ordain Women, a Mormon group advocating for gender equality in the Mormon priesthood. She was found guilty of apostasy. Her bishop explained: “. . . our determination is that you be excommunicated for conduct contrary to the…
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Citizen Smith
In the late afternoon of that sticky June day, Joseph Smith lay broken and bleeding beside the foundation of the Carthage Jail. Though few people knew he held the secret, self-imposed scepter of king, the fact that he had been in the race for the United States presidency was common knowledge. But Joseph Smith did…
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From the Mailbag (Eternal Marriage)
Hi, I have a Mormon friend that finds forever marriage very important to him and I tried explaining how Heaven is going to be so much better then any marriage or person. He then asked “What is there to do?” I haven’t studied much about what life is going to be like in Heaven and…
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