Author: Sharon Lindbloom
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Three Little Words
For several hours each night before the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, Utah, Mormon Tabernacle Choir music is broadcast over loudspeakers. One might hear popular Mormon songs like Come, Come Ye Saints (a pioneer song) or Praise to the Man (a tribute to Joseph Smith), among many others. These songs are expected. But one might…
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Courage to View the Gold Plates
Pomeroy Tucker was a contemporary of Joseph Smith. Living in Palmyra, New York, he knew the Smith family, counted Martin Harris among his friends, and was actively engaged in the 1830 printing process of the Book of Mormon. In 1867 Pomeroy Tucker published a book about Mormonism titled, “Origin, rise, and progress of Mormonism: Biography…
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The Mormon Church Speaks Out Against Using Pejoratives
With all the attention the Mormon Church is getting in the media these days, it’s not surprising that the LDS Church’s Head of Public Affairs, Michael Otterson, has come out swinging over the way Mormonism is being described. In particular, Mr. Otterson does not like people applying the word “cult” to his religion. One can…
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Getting the Facts About Mormonism From the Source
Earlier this week I mentioned the Politico post that drew attention to a local news report in Memphis in which the reporter talked to people on the street and asked, “Can you name the [presidential] candidate that’s running for president that believes that if he’s a good person in his religion he will receive his…
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The Dysfunctional Doctrine of Mormon Polygamy
Continuing our discussion about Mormon polygamy, on June 29 (2011) Doug Gibson, from Ogden’s Standard-Examiner, recounted the toll the 19th century practice of polygamy took on LDS “marriages and hearts.” He wrote, “Polygamy was a contradictory doctrine, and extremely dysfunctional. Brigham Young once said that he wished it wasn’t a doctrine, but later also raged…
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Where Did the Mormon Doctrine of Polygamy Come From? Emma Knew.
On July 12, 1843 Joseph Smith recorded what Mormons believe was a revelation from God “relating to the new and everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant, as also plurality of wives” (Introduction to D&C 132). In this section of what is now Mormon scripture, Joseph’s wife, Emma, is called out and told…
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Clarifying Mormonism
On Monday (27 June 2011) Deseret News online published an article that began, “Misconceptions about Mormons were cleared up accurately, but not by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Sounding rather surprised that non-Mormons could get it right, Joey Ferguson’s article “CNN accurately explains beliefs and misconceptions of LDS Church” reports on two…
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Petty Doctrinal Differences
Mitt Romney’s second campaign for President is, predictably, generating a lot of talk about Mormonism. And, again predictably, Mormons are stepping up their online efforts to set the record straight. Latter-day Saint Dinah Chance from Freeport, Florida wrote a letter to the editor of The Northwest Florida Daily News in which she stated, “If Christians…
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Mormon Devotion
“Could an atheist be a statesman? A Mormon?” ** The above headline caught my attention the other day. [**Note: The original headline quoted here has since been rewritten.] Of course, the author meant–and subsequently addressed–the question of whether a Mormon, or an Atheist, could be a statesman, but the headline could also be understood to…
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Are Mormons Saved?
Mormon Times recently ran an article that asked — and answered — that question. According to LDS guest writer William Monahan, when people ask if Latter-day Saints are saved or born again, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Even so, citing the Mormon Church’s 3rd Article of Faith, Mr. Monahan confirms that LDS salvation is…
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A Personal Relationship With Jesus
Mormon Times guest blogger Kate Jensen wrote about some of her memories from growing up in Texas in the 1980s. In a piece titled “To see forever,” Ms. Jensen provided a little background on her Mormon faith as she explained, “its true that all church members seek to develop and maintain personal relationships with God…
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Sacred Mormon Garments Work Like a Charm
Comedienne Joy Behar recently interviewed Donny & Marie Osmond. They talked very briefly about many subjects, which resulted in virtually nothing being said about anything, with one minor exception. When the questions turned to Mormonism, and specifically to what Ms. Behar referred to as “magic underwear,” Donny and Marie got serious. Ms. Behar said, “Explain…
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How Many Mormon Gods for Us?
Last week on her blog, Religion Dispatches, Joanna Brooks wrote, “It’s a little-known fact: according to Mormon tradition, God is not an old man but rather a male-female couple: a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother.” Ms. Brooks was referring to a long-standing but little-spoken-of Mormon doctrine that was recently highlighted in a BYU Studies…
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Thomas Monson’s To Do List (For You)
The Mormon Church’s Teachings of the Living Prophets Student Manual Religion 333 quotes Mormonism’s 13th prophet-president Ezra Taft Benson, “Of all mortal men, we should keep our eyes most firmly fixed on the captain, the prophet, seer, and revelator, and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is the man who…
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Why Join the Mormon Church?
Soon after graduating from high school, Stephanie realized she wanted to join the Mormon Church. But she was reluctant to tell her parents. In an article for Mormon Times Stephanie wrote, “While my father and mother are wonderful people, they did not have an understanding of the gospel at the time. Both agnostic themselves, it…
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The Central Message of Mormonism
Last Friday (April 29, 2011) LDS Deseret News published an article providing tips for successful member-missionary work (as distinct from the formal Mormon missionary program). Because a recent poll showed that 77 percent of Americans aren’t sure if Mormons are Christians or not, “Understanding how the public views us can improve our responses to gospel…
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Rebecca Swain Williams: More To Her Story
The April 2011 edition of Ensign magazine includes an article about early Latter-day Saint Rebecca Swain Williams. As the article notes, Rebecca and her husband, Fredrick G. Williams, converted to the LDS Church in late 1830 while living in Kirtland, Ohio. Back in New York, Rebecca’s father opposed her conversion to Mormonism. This caused a…
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How Well Do You Know Mormon Church Leaders of the Past?
Last month (March 2011) Ensign magazine included a challenge titled “How Well Do You Know Our Church Leaders?” It consisted of 15 details from the lives of the 15 current Prophets, Seers and Revelators of the LDS Church. Readers were invited to match the names with the facts. The Ensign challenge included things like figuring…
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From the Mailbag (3/8/11)
After relating his conversion-to-Mormonism story consisting of feelings, miracles, and other experiences, “Ben” concluded, I had a lot of other spiritual experiences [on my mission] and over the years since then. I won’t take up any more of your time but I share them with you so that you can understand why I am a…
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