Author: Sharon Lindbloom
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Another Harmful Mormon Myth Refuses to Die
An interesting article appeared in the Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader this month. It seems that columnist Steve Pokin became intrigued after an LDS acquaintance told him “that it was once legal to kill a Mormon in Missouri.” Because this claim sounded implausible to Mr. Pokin, he decided to do some research. His article, “Was there ever…
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Worthiness Interviews in the Mormon Church Lead to Trouble
In August the Mormon Mental Health Association (not officially affiliated with the Mormon Church) released a position statement regarding LDS worthiness interviews. In a nutshell, the MMHA’s professional opinion is that worthiness interviews are not a good idea. In the LDS Church, members are called to meet with their ecclesiastical leaders to determine if each…
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The 6 Ideas That Led a Man to Mormonism
LDS Living, a popular independent faith-promoting magazine and website for Mormons, recently produced and published a video, “The 6 Questions That Led Me to Christianity.” In the fallaciously-titled video, an unnamed man explains why he joined the LDS Church. He begins, His questions (along with a summary of his comments) are these: 1. How do…
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Mormon Youth: The Hope of Israel
I received my August 2018 edition of the LDS Church’s Ensign magazine last week. Bundled with the Ensign was a supplement: The text of a “Worldwide Youth Devotional” titled “Hope of Israel.” This devotional was presented to the youth of the Mormon Church in June by LDS President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy. President Nelson…
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Mormonism’s Exclusive Line of Divine Authority
Last month the LDS Church celebrated the anniversary of the 1978 lifting of the spiritual restrictions placed on black Mormons. Usually referred to as the Priesthood Ban, these restrictions not only disallowed black men from holding the Mormon priesthood, but also kept all black members from participating in LDS temples, denying them the church’s “saving…
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Mormonism and the Blossoming Rose of Isaiah 35:1
9 July 2018 An article appeared online last month that took a critical look at water usage in the state of Utah. Journalist Nathalie Baptiste wrote, “Utah is one of the driest states in the country, but you couldn’t tell by how much water its residents are using. The average American uses between 80 and…
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LDS Seventy Encourages a Genuine Relationship with Jesus Christ
In the June issue of the Mormon Church’s Ensign magazine, LDS Seventy Fred A. “Tony” Parker wrote about overcoming the pain of racism experienced within the LDS Church. His advice is to “find healing through the Savior” while Church members simultaneously seek to be “one in Christ.” He writes, “To be His people, we must be…
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The Disbelief of Mormon Prophets, Seers, and Revelators
Last weekend the LDS Church celebrated the 40th anniversary of its discontinuance of a long-standing ban that denied black Mormons the full benefits of Church membership (i.e., priesthood, endowment, sealing/temple marriage). The celebration, “Be One,” focused on a continuing effort to unite all members of the Church without regard to race. As part of this celebration,…
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The Exclusiveness of Mormonism’s Truth Claims
Mormon politician Mitt Romney sent out a tweet a week ago that the media deemed to be highly newsworthy. On May 13th Mr. Romney disparaged well-known evangelical minister Robert Jeffress, tweeting: “Robert Jeffress says ‘you can’t be saved by being a Jew,’ and ‘Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.’ He’s said the same…
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A Fundamental Disagreement between Mormonism and Christianity
On April 19th (2018) Deseret News published an article by Daniel Peterson in his “Defending the Faith” column that discusses the Trinity. Dr. Peterson begins, “A fundamental disagreement between Latter-day Saint Christianity and mainstream Christianity concerns the doctrine of the Trinity. Both outsiders and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints themselves commonly say…
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Good News for Mormon Women: The Overcoming Obstacles Approach
Summary Many obstacles can stand in the way of Mormons recognizing the truth concerning Mormonism and accepting God’s merciful gift of redemption in Christ alone. For many LDS women, those barriers are deep-set, high, and very wide. Yet as Christians learn to understand and address these obstacles, the eternal fears with which Mormon women struggle…
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Joseph Smith’s Remarks on Happiness
The Mormon Church talks a lot about happiness. For example, the Church calls its restored gospel “The Plan of Happiness.” LDS leaders have taught that “the very purpose of our lives can be defined in terms of happiness,” and “the things of the earth were created for our happiness.” In the October 2008 General Conference,…
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Is Mormonism’s Promise of Eternal Life for Sale?
Last week Salt Lake Tribune journalist Peggy Fletcher Stack asked, “Does tithing requirement for entry into LDS temples amount to Mormons buying their way into heaven?” She explained, It is no surprise that faithful Mormons push back against the suggestion that the LDS Church promotes a pay-to-play salvation. The Salt Lake Tribune article notes that,…
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Technology is Changing Mormon Missionary Work
On March 8, 2018, Deseret News ran a story with a lengthy title that began, “How technology is changing Mormon missionary work.” This article discusses the LDS missionary force’s increased use of technology to find and teach investigators, often via online chats. Relating one such chat, the Deseret News article quotes sister missionary Kimeme Ackley…
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A Mormon’s Disdain for Evidential Faith
Latter-day Saint Taylor Christensen recently posted a heartfelt video that begins, “This is not an anti-Mormon video.” Taylor talks about his own journey through so-called anti-Mormon information as he sought to understand why so many people were leaving the Mormon Church. In the process, Taylor discovered difficult truths about Mormon history including (but not limited…
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Ever Wondered What Mormons Believe?
The LDS Church recently released seven new one-minute videos via its web presence geared toward non-Mormons, Mormon.org. The videos discuss parenting, prayer, and basic beliefs held by Mormons. The three videos that fall into this last category are “60 Mormon Beliefs in 60 Seconds,” “Do Mormons Really Believe in Jesus?” and “Do Mormons Believe in…
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Will Mormons Worship Heavenly Father Forever?
An interesting article appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune recently with the intriguing title, “Humans can become like God? Mormons say Orthodox Christians have similar belief — but that’s news to Orthodox Christians.” In this article, Bob Mims presents an overview of both the LDS concept of “deification,” and that of the Eastern Orthodox Church,…
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Mormons Urged to Keep on the Covenant Path
22 January 2018 On Friday, January 12 (2018) the 16th LDS President, Thomas Monson, was laid to rest. On Sunday, January 14, Russell M. Nelson was set apart as the new President, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of the LDS Church. On Tuesday, January 16, the Church’s newly formed First Presidency (Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H.…
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On the Death of the Mormon Prophet
Thomas Monson, the 16th prophet of Mormonism, died at 90. While he was revered for his leadership and personal stories, his passing raises concerns about false prophecies within the LDS Church.
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Finding Grace in Mormonism
According to a recent Deseret News article, back in 1980 it became apparent that Mormons didn’t understand that “grace” had a place in their religion. Latter-day Saints who had been interviewed for a Newsweek article titled, “What Mormons Believe,” so described their Mormon faith that the journalist concluded, “Mormons believe that men are born free…