Category: Moral Issues
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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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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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In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (Book Review)
Although many Mormons know that second LDS President Brigham Young was a practicing polygamist, some may not realize that Joseph Smith had many wives as well. When this issue is broached, I have heard it said more than once that we were connocting nothing more than an anti-Mormon lie. What LDS writer Todd Compton does…
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Is Suicide Unforgivable?
Is suicide unforgivable?By Eric Johnson
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Joseph Smith’s Aberrational Marriage Habits
The following was originally printed in the Nov-Dec 2010 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith introduced the doctrine of polygamy to his followers, and led the way by example, wedding over 30 females. According to LDS author and researcher Todd Compton, the ages of Smith’s wives…
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The Beehive House, Persecution, and Polygamy
The Beehive House, Persecution, and Polygamy By Bill McKeever The following was originally printed in the September/October 2010 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here.
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Should a Mormon Spouse Be Honest About Being Eternally Sealed to Someone Else?
Should a Mormon spouse be honest about being eternally sealed to someone else? The following was originally printed in the February 2010 edition of MRM’s Update, a special edition mailed to financial supporters who also receive the publication Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription of Mormonism Researched, please visit here. The letter is printed as it…
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Troubled by Joseph Smith’s Polygamy
In this video, a returned Mormon missionary explains how personal revelation helped him on his mission. It seems an investigator was struggling with accepting the LDS Church due to troubling historical information she had learned about Joseph Smith and polygamy. Watch the video to get the background and the greater context of the story. But…
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Polygamy/Plural Marriage (Defined)
Polygamy/Plural Marriage. A doctrine practiced in the LDS Church from the 1830s until 1890 in which men were encouraged to have multiple wives in order to receive greater blessings in eternity. Polygamy is no longer a practice of Mormonism, but the revelation which teaches it is still found in Doctrine and Covenants, section 132. Joseph…
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Manifesto (Defined)
Manfiesto. A declaration signed by fourth LDS President Wilford Woodruff in 1890, officially promising the abolition of the practice of polygamy. This was in response to allegations that Mormon leaders were still teaching and encouraging the practice of plural marriage even though it was illegal.
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Homosexuality (Defined)
Homosexuality. Strongly prohibited in the LDS church. A person who is a practicing homosexual is not allowed to get a temple recommend. Twelfth President Spencer W. Kimball explained, “In this context, where stands the perversion of homosexuality? Clearly it is hostile to God’s purpose in that it negates his first and great commandment to ‘multiply…
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Why Would “Five Wives” Brand Offend Mormons?
Much has been written over last week or so about Idaho’s ban of the sale of a particular brand of vodka because of its label. The spirit, made at Ogden’s Own Distillery in Utah, is called Five Wives Vodka, and the Idaho State Liquor Division doesn’t like it. On May 24 (2012) Howard Wasserstein, deputy…
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Abortion and LDS Inconsistency
There are good reasons to show why abortion is not a viable choice for Christians. Hear the Viewpoint on Mormonism broadcast for Jan. 21, 2015 that deals with this topic at the Roe v. Wade anniversary and read an article on this topic by Bill McKeever.
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Two men for every three women?
In Utah, the issue of polygamy is a very sensitive topic. Should the topic of one man marrying more than one wife somehow come up in a conversation, watch the eyes roll and folks run away from the conversation. So, needless to say, this is not an issue generally dealt with over the picket fence.…
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Nauvoo Women: An Overlooked History of the Mormon Relief Society
This year (2011) Mormon ladies have been learning about the history of the Church’s Relief Society, said to be “the Lord’s organization for woman.” Julie B. Beck, the Relief Society general president wrote that “understanding our history is not only important but essential” (Ensign, January 2011, 7. Emphasis in the original). Ms. Beck gave several…
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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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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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Persecution and Polygamy: How Many Mormons Actually Died as a Result of 19th Century Persecution?
By Bill McKeever Listen It is rare to hear a Mormon tell of his church’s history without a reference being made to the persecution the Mormons faced in Missouri and Illinois during the 1830s and 1840s. That Mormons were mistreated is a matter of actual history, and I certainly have no intention to downplay any…
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