Author: Sharon Lindbloom
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LDS Church Releases Video on the Nature of God (According to Mormonism)
A month ago (10 July 2019) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posted a video in its “Now You Know” series titled, “What do Mormons Believe About God?” The video begins with the statement, “Some of the most fundamental questions in life are centered on the nature of God.” The goal of the…
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Is the Holy Spirit of Mormonism Trustworthy?
The testimony of Latter-day Saint Sunju Kim Muir was included in the June 2019 Ensign magazine, published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (As I am unable to discern whether Sunju is a man or woman, I’ll use the universal “he” throughout this article.) In his testimony, Sunju explains that when he first…
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Mormonism Affirms Its Doctrine of “Being Perfect—in Christ”
8 July 2019 The June issue of Ensign magazine (2019), published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, contains an article in its “What We Believe” section titled, “We Believe in Being Perfect—in Christ” (30-31, emphasis in the original). The LDS doctrine related to being perfect has been examined and discussed several times at…
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Of Martyrs and Lambs
In June 1844 Joseph Smith, the founder and first Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was shot dead by a mob of vigilantes. He was incarcerated in Carthage Jail at the time, awaiting action on a charge of treason sworn against him.1 This is what happened: Carthage, June 27th, 1844. A shower…
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Jane Manning James: “Is There No Blessing for Me?”
The Salt Lake Tribune recently (14 June 2019) published an opinion piece by Jana Riess, author, researcher, and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Titled, “Commentary: Black Mormon pioneer Jane Manning James — only member ever sealed as a ‘servant’ — finally gets her due,” the article first noted that a feature…
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Revisiting a Fundamental Disagreement between Mormonism and Christianity
7 June 2019 About a year ago here at Mormonism in the News, I addressed an article about the doctrine of the Trinity by LDS scholar Daniel Peterson. Dr. Peterson has recently reposted his 2018 article. Because links to that recent repost keep popping up in my news feed, I thought it might be helpful…
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Mormonism, Fraud, and Feelings
1 May 2019 Deseret News posted an article this week addressing the magnitude of investment fraud in Utah. Asking, “Does Utah deserve the title ‘fraud capital of the United States’?” journalist Dennis Romboy says the answer is yes: Everyone is vulnerable to being conned, but why do the folks in Utah seem more susceptible to falling…
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Book Review: Insights from a Prophet’s Life (Russell M. Nelson)
15 April 2019 Last week the Truth & Transparency Foundation posted an article titled, “False Story Removed From Newest Book on the Life of Mormon President Russell M. Nelson.” The Foundation revealed that Insights from a Prophet’s Life: President Russell M. Nelson by Sheri Dew went to press while including “a faith promoting story with material…
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Anti-Mormons, Scribes, and Pharisees
Last month LDS blogger Adam Dreamer posted an article he titled, “9 Ways Anti-Mormons are like the Scribes and Pharisees.” His stated purpose for the article was to demonstrate “how closely the arguments of Christ’s critics match – in substance and style, if not specifics – the arguments of anti-Mormons today. The scribes and Pharisees…
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Joseph Smith and Luke 10:22
The official History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka History of the Church or HOC) reproduces Joseph Smith’s journal where he stated: “This winter [1832-33] was spent in translating the Scriptures…I completed the translation and review of the New Testament, on the 2nd of February, 1833 and sealed it up, no more to be opened till…
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An Imaginary Tour of the LDS Temple in Rome
18 March 2019 On March 7th (2019) the Newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posted what it called an “unprecedented video production within one of the Church’s most sacred spaces.” This video is a virtual tour of the church’s new temple in Rome, Italy. Led by two Mormon apostles, David Bednar and…
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When the Mormon Church Skirts the Truth, Who’s To Blame?
In February, BYU professor Daniel Peterson posted on his blog what I think is an odd article. The title is a question: “Is the Church lying to us through its art?” Dr. Peterson admits that he understands the critics’ claim that “the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is misrepresenting its history by means…
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Masonry and the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony
Earlier this month The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posted a new essay to the Church History Topics section of its website. In the church’s continuing effort to be more “transparent” about its past, the new essay, titled “Masonry,” examines the relationship between the LDS temple endowment ceremony and Masonic ritual. The essay…
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Mormonism and Catholicism: “Friendly in Every Respect”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is currently hosting its public open house for those who would like to see the new Mormon temple in Rome, Italy (January 28-February 16, 2019). Leading up to the public open house event, the church provided special tours for specific groups of people like clergy and journalists.…
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Warum akzeptieren Christen das Buch Mormon nicht? (Why don’t Christians accept the Book of Mormon?)
Während eines Treffens in Baltimore Maryland im Jahr 1998, bemerkte der damalige Präsident der HLT Kirche Gordon B. Hinkley: „Ich kann nicht verstehen warum Menschen anderen Glaubens, das Buch Mormon nicht akzeptieren können. Man würde vermuten, dass sie sich nach zusätzlichen Zeugnissen der großartigen und feierlichen Wahrheit der Bibel umsehen würden.“ (Liahona 6/00) Präsident Hinkley‘s…
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An LDS Apostle’s Attitude Toward Doubting Mormons
On January 13th(2019) Dale Renlund, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke at a church-sponsored worldwide devotional for young adults. Together with his wife, Ruth, the Renlund’s talk addressed faith and doubt. The overarching theme was centered on the evil nature of doubt, where the Renlunds treated those who have…
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The Continuing Adjustments to Mormonism
7 January 2019 The media is reporting on a significant Mormon-related matter. On January 1st The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints introduced changes to its temple endowment ceremony. While not unheard of, temple changes are somewhat uncommon, the last noteworthy changes having occurred in 2005. Most of the recent changes to the ceremony are,…
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The Season for Safeguarding Joseph Smith’s Honor
19 December 2018 In approaching Christmas, Christians focus on Jesus Christ as we commemorate His birth. We celebrate God’s merciful Gift: “Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David” (Luke 2:11). As summarized at GotQuestions.org, “We celebrate Christmas because… Jesus is the Savior who delivers us from sin…
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Mormonism and the “True Church”
15 October 2018 The September Ensign magazine included an article meant to explain what it means when people say that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “is the true Church.” In discussing the purpose of the LDS Church (i.e., “for the perfecting of the Saints”), the article noted that past leaders “could grow toward…
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Something Crucial is Missing from the Mormon Church’s Official Name
In August the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints alerted the world to a revelation he received regarding the name of his church. Commonly referred to as the Mormon Church or the LDS Church, President Nelson explained that the use of these nicknames was incorrect and in order to conform to…