Category: Mormon Coffee Blog (2007-2019)
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The Gift at Christmas
One of the most remarkable things about the Mormon religion is how its leaders can so badly misinterpret the basic meaning of certain words. Take “gift,” for example. When I think of a “gift,” I think of something given to another at no obligation, even though there still is a cost attached. The payment, however,…
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Latter-day Saint Visionaries and Would-Be Prophets
LDS columnist and author Jana Riess recently interviewed Christopher Blythe, the author of a new book that examines The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ evolving doctrines regarding the end of the world (Terrible Revolution: Latter-day Saints and the American Apocalypse). In part two of this interview, Dr. Riess and Dr. Blythe discuss the…
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The Unbiblical Heart of Mormonism is Alive and Well
31 July 2020 The August 2020 issue of Ensign magazine includes two back-to-back articles that reference the LDS doctrine of human beings becoming like God. An apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is quoted in “Seeing Yourself in the Great Plan of Happiness” by Seventy Brian K. Taylor: “Our entire perspective…
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Ex-Mormonism’s Five Doctrines: An Alternate List
Mette Harrison, an ex-member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently posted an article on Religion News Service titled, “The five doctrines of ex-Mormonism.” Mette writes about ex-Mormon get-togethers she has attended and how she has noticed that, in her opinion, ex-Mormons have traded one set of dogma for another. They still…
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Does Truth Matter When Recounting Mormon History?
30 June 2020 The July (2020) issue of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Ensign magazine includes an article titled, “Church History: A Source of Strength and Inspiration.” It consists of selected portions from the September 9, 2018 “Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults: A Face to Face Event with Elder Cook.” For the…
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Brigham Young’s Eternal Predicament
On June 1st (2020) the prophet/president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, posted remarks on his social media page(s) that addressed racism and its atrocities. Many Latter-day Saints noted that President Nelson’s words calmed them, brought them comfort, and gave them feelings of peace. I’m fairly certain that the…
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Honoring the Bible, Mormon Style
11 May 2020 Last month Meridian Magazine (for Latter-day Saints) published an article online titled, “Putting the Bible in its Honored and Rightful Place.” Author Wallace Goddard notes that evangelical Christians hold the Bible in high regard and goes on to explain that Mormons do, too, but: “we don’t believe that it does the work…
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April General Conference Reaffirms Mormonism’s Love/Hate Relationship with Christianity
Throughout its history, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a sort of love/hate relationship with historic Christianity. That this attitude continues today was reaffirmed during the church’s General Conference earlier this month. Mormonism’s negative stance toward Christianity began, as did Mormonism itself (it is claimed), with Joseph Smith’s 1820 First Vision.…
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“#Hear Him.” Mormon Prophet Invites Members to Listen to the Lord.
16 March 2020 Russel M. Nelson, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently released a video invitation to his friends. Leading up to Easter and in accordance with the church’s 2020 focus on Joseph Smith’s First Vision, President Nelson said, “My dear friends, today I wish to share with you…
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A “Victory for the Book of Mormon”? Think About It.
According to Mormon apologist Dan Peterson, an article in the January/February 2020 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review presents a “victory for the Book of Mormon.” The gist of his argument is this. He writes, “One of the criticisms often leveled against the Book of Mormon is that no Jew would have built a temple outside…
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The Book of Mormon Is Not Fully Understood by LDS Leaders
On January 18, 2020, Peggy Fletcher Stack and the Salt Lake Tribune published an article titled, “Error in printed LDS Church manual could revive racial criticisms.” It seems that the print edition of the LDS church’s 2020 Sunday school manual, Come Follow Me, includes an outdated teaching on a racist passage found in the Book…
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The Four Fundamental Cornerstones of Mormonism
The president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, is currently on a four-nation tour of Southeast Asia. Reporting on President Nelson’s visit to Cambodia, the church’s newsroom website recounted, “The 95-year-old prophet also noted the coming bicentennial of Joseph Smith’s vision of the Father and the Son, known by…
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Progressing Toward Exaltation
President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, recently spoke to a worldwide audience of young adult Latter-day Saints. His topic was, “The Love and Laws of God,” focused on helping Mormons understand that all the rules that make up Mormonism have been given by God for their own protection,…
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Mormonism’s Prophet Offers Simple Counsel
The current president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, has been touring Latin America. According to an article published in the Salt Lake Tribune, President Nelson spoke in Guatemala last weekend, counseling church members there to “Keep it simple.” He said, “My counsel today is very simple: Please keep…
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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…