Author: Sharon Lindbloom
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The Reason We Take Exception
“What goes around comes around.” So said the Karate Kid. A similar thought is found in Galatians 6:7: “Whatever one sows, that will he also reap,” Hosea 8:7: “They sow the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind,” and in the words of Jesus: “…the measure you give will be the measure you get” (Matthew…
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Muslims and Mormons
“U.S. Muslims and Mormons share deepening ties” states a headline from an April 2, 2008 article in the L.A. Times. The article discusses a bond between Mormons and Muslims that springs from their corresponding history of alienation and shared values. The article focuses on the similarities between the two religious groups and the ways in…
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In the Heavens, Are Parents Single?
On Monday (April 14, 2008) the Salt Lake Tribune ran an interesting article by Michael Nielsen, one of nine on the editorial board of the independent publication Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. The opinion article addresses the query regarding “How the LDS Church could address the polygamy question.” Dr. Nielsen rightly notes, “To deny…
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What Did You Do in the Pre-Existence?
The circumstances under which a person is born into this world directly correlates to the individual’s behavior in the pre-existence. Or so Mormon General Authorities have freely taught. Born Black? You are cursed because of your behavior in the pre-existence. Born in China with “dark skin”? You were less obedient than you could have been…
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Faith-Promoting Perceptions
On April 10, 2008 the Reuters blog, FaithWorld, discussed the “fundamental” PR problem the LDS Church is facing these days with the shakedown at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’ YFZ Ranch in Texas. Blogger Ed Stoddard wrote somewhat sympathetically about the unfortunate “polygamous Mormon” stereotype being perpetuated among an undiscerning…
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A Final Resting Place for Parley P. Pratt
One of the first LDS Apostles, Parley P. Pratt, was hastily buried near Van Buren, Arkansas on May 14, 1857. Murdered in cold blood and considered by many Latter-day Saints a martyr to his Mormon faith, Parley’s dying wish was to have his remains brought back to Utah to be buried among his friends. In…
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Images of the Restoration
Images of the Restoration is a really interesting blog site for those interested in Mormon history. Currently, the site includes 10 drawings that represent different aspects of the foundational history of the LDS Church with documented historical accounts accompanying each image. Some of the topics included are Oliver Cowdery’s gift of using a divining rod,…
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Least Influential Mormons
On the MormonMentality blog, esodhiambo asked readers to make a list of the “least influential Mormons of the Twentieth Century.” A couple of readers took this to mean the “person least influential on 20th century LDS-ism” and named Joseph Smith. One reader wrote, “I second [the] nomination of the Prophet Joseph. No one’s name gets…
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John C. Bennett
On a recent trip through Iowa I stopped at the Polk City Cemetery, where early Latter-day Saint leader John C. Bennett is buried. Bennett joined the LDS Church in Nauvoo, during the summer of 1840. He quickly became a very close friend and confidante of Joseph Smith. Joseph received a revelation on January 19, 1841,…
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Did the Sun Rise?
The wind blew on Friday and snuffed the lamp out. The wind blew. The earth shook. Darkness settled down like a heavy, suffocating pall. Wailing and mourning and oppressive grief filled every fold. Go home. Light the fire. Think of other things. Did the sun rise on Saturday? Did the birds dare to sing? Maybe.…
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Self-Righteousness Boasting
Kris Frederickson, a MormonTimes.com columnist, recently wrote about Learning from others outside Mormonism. She wrote, “My understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been greatly improved by the teachings of religious men and women over the ages, many of whom were never actually members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…” MS.…
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With a Sincere Heart
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you,…
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Four Cornerstones of the Gospel
Reading an article in the January 19, 2008 edition of the LDS Church News I was struck by an evident disparity between Mormonism and traditional Christianity. In an article titled “Bearing down in pure testimony,” a missionary training seminar talk by LDS apostle L. Tom Perry was described for readers. Speaking of the impact mission…
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Criminal Mischief
An Associated Press article in the Salt Lake Tribune yesterday (9 March 2008) reported: “Members of the Sangre de Christo parish of the Roman Catholic Church voted Sunday to pursue criminal charges against three Mormon missionaries who allegedly vandalized a shrine and committed sacrilegious acts in the church.” Members of the Catholic parish built the…
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Cultural Sins Among Mormons
Latter-day Saints are having a lot of fun over at the Mormon Matters blog. On Tuesday (4 March 2008) blogger John Nilsson posted My Top Ten Cultural Sins, or Why I Don’t Mark My Scriptures and freely confessed his shortcomings as a Latter-day Saint. Others have followed suit and what has resulted is a pretty…
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Expounding the Prophets
On March 4th 1843 the LDS Prophet Joseph Smith told the Nauvoo City Council: “I was opposed to hanging, even if a man kill another, I will shoot him, or cut off his head, spill his blood on the ground, and let the smoke thereof ascend up to God; and if ever I have the…
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Mormons Don’t Necessarily Believe in Christ?
Lifelong Mormon Lyndon Lamborn went to an LDS “Disciplinary Council” meeting on August 19th 2007. The only thing on the agenda was to determine what should be done with Mr. Lamborn’s membership in the LDS Church. He had lost his faith in Mormonism when he discovered discrepancies between the way LDS history was presented by…
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Riches of Glory, Vessels of Mercy
Earlier this year an LDS reader of Mormon Coffee left this comment about her visit to an evangelical Christian church service: “The Annie Moses band (they were very talented)…shared their testimonies of Christ…so did the pastor… But what made it all very irreverent and disingenuous was the simple fact that they were all being PAID…
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Black Pete the Revelator
Mormon Coffee’s short series in observance of Black History Month concludes today with a look at the man who is believed to be the first black person to ever join the LDS Church. Known only as Black Pete, this man was among the first Mormon converts in Ohio. His conversion to the LDS Church was…
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Elijah Abel: “Thy Soul [Shall] Be White in Eternity”
Elijah Abel was the first Black man to hold the priesthood in the LDS Church. He received his ordination as Elder on March 3, 1836. Later Elijah was ordained a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy. In 1838 he went on missions to Canada and New York, and served a mission to Ohio…
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