Category: Mormon Coffee Blog (2007-2019)
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Personal Worthiness Required
At the LDS Church’s most recent General Conference held in Salt Lake City a little over a week ago, Elaine Dalton took the stand. Directing her remarks to the general membership of the Church, Mrs. Dalton delivered a talk she entitled, “Look toward Eternity!“Near the beginning of her talk, Mrs. Dalton asked, Do you understand…
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A Strange System of Terrorism
This might be old news as the blogoshpere goes, but it’s worth noting nonetheless. About 2 weeks ago (24 September) the Salt Lake Tribune ran an interesting article under the “Living History” banner. Sporting no byline, the article drew comparisons between LDS history and radical Islam. Here are a few excerpts. Early Mormonism and radical…
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A Time of Loss
Last night, Jerald Tanner, co-founder of Utah Lighthouse Ministry, passed away quietly after an eight year struggle with Alzheimer’s. I first had the privilege of meeting the Tanners back in 1977 when my wife and I took our first vacation to Salt Lake City. At that time Utah Lighthouse Ministry was known as Modern Microfilm…
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Pass the Offering Plate
Several weeks ago, Time magazine featured a picture of a classic Rolls Royce with a cross serving as the hood ornament. The headline reads, “Does God want you to be rich?” The subhead adds, “Yes, say some meagchurches. Others call it heresy. The debate over the new gospel of wealth” (9/18/2006). First of all, this…
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Commandment-Keeping and God’s Grace
My October, 2006 edition of Ensign just arrived. I wish more of my Christian friends who think Mormonism is abandoning its heretical past would take closer notice of what the LDS Church is still teaching; for instance, in an article titled “Plain and Precious Truths Restored.” On page 53, Clyde Williams, BYU assistant professor of…
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Mormon Circles
According to the LDS history web site, on this day (September 22nd) in 1827 Joseph Smith “received the golden plates from the angel Moroni on the hill where they were buried.” Eyewitnesses reported that Joseph took the gold plates home and began translating them with the help of a seer stone — that is, a…
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If Elvis Were King
There’s a new movie being produced in Orem, Utah expected to bolster the faith of members of the Mormon Church. Rob Diamond has written and is directing “Tears of a King” which explores that [spiritual] part of Elvis’ life. The movie looks at the period when Presley studied the teachings of the LDS Church. He…
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Mormons Correct and Soften Smithsonian Exhibit
Today’s online Salt Lake Tribune includes an article about a relatively new exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution. “American Origins” contains portraits of prominent Americans from 1600 to 1900; therefore, it contains images of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Before the exhibit opened in July some LDS Church members got a sneak-peek. They were concerned about…
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Catholic Bishops vs. the Mormon Church
This week the Associated Press reported on a situation in the Slovak Republic involving the Mormon Church. The LDS Church is seeking Slovak support, which would allow the church to register as an official religious group in that nation. But bishops of the dominant Catholic church don’t like the idea. BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) – Roman…
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Warren Jeffs and the Mystique of Cultic Power
Now that Warren Jeffs, the leader of the nation’s largest polygamous group, has been arrested, some observers had apparently anticipated that his followers would have paraded through the streets, rejoicing that they were now free from this man’s control. Instead, however, it seems to be “business as usual” in the border towns of Hilldale, UT…
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Some Classes of the Human Family
Last Friday night (September 1st) I caught the first segment of Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees. The show “Polygamy in America: Cult or Calling?” was, predictably, about Warren Jeffs, the recently arrested leader of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Anderson Cooper broadcast portions of a “rare audio recording” of Mr.…
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‘Mormon’ Morphology
The recent arrest of Warren Jeffs, prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has The [non-fundamentalist] Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints concerned again about public perception of the Mormon Church and polygamy. The LDS Church issued a statement on Tuesday reiterating its claim that the term “Mormon” is…
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Mormon Missionaries Confront Misperceptions
The Chronicle Herald of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, recently ran an article about Mormon missionaries serving in that area. There have been a plethora of such articles in the past few weeks that have crossed my desk. From Canada to Australia, from Florida to the San Francisco Bay area and places in between, newspapers have…
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Warren Jeffs in Custody
Warren Jeffs, fugitive leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was apprehended last night near Las Vegas, Nevada. The Associated Press reports: The leader of a polygamist Mormon sect, who’s been one of the country’s most sought after fugitives, is now behind bars… Jeffs has been on the FBI’s Ten Most…
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New and Improved King Follett Discourse
In 2004 the LDS Church brought its long-running City of Joseph pageant (Nauvoo, Illinois) to a close. In 2005 a new pageant premiered in the City of Joseph — Nauvoo Pageant: A Tribute to Joseph Smith. Along with the introduction of the new pageant, the LDS Church also offered tourists several historic vignettes which were…
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The Church Effect
An article on Salt Lake City’s KUTV.com reports on the findings of a U.S. Census Bureau survey released on Tuesday. According to the 2005 American Community Survey Utahn’s continue to hold the record for getting married and starting families at a younger age than people in other parts of the country. Behind the state’s large…
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Evangelical Filmmaker Arrested at Mormon Pageant
Joel Kramer, director of Living Hope Ministries, was arrested Friday night near Logan, Utah as he attempted to film portions of the LDS pageant, Martin Harris: The Man Who Knew. The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Joel Kramer, 39, was arrested and booked for disorderly conduct after he told a Cache County sheriff’s deputy he was…
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Mormon Outrage, part 2
On Monday I blogged about a letter to the editor that appeared in USA Today. The Mormon author of that letter, Jeff Byrd, made some sweeping accusations regarding the ministry of Christian missionaries often conducted on the streets outside public LDS proselytizing events. Keith Walker of Evidence Ministries has prepared a timely and articulate response…
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One Mormon’s Outrage
Most people aware of Mel Gibson’s arrest last week for driving under the influence and his unfortunate behavior during that arrest (read the story). On August 3rd USA Today online posted an opinion (letter to the editor) titled Reaction to Gibson is hypocritical. The author, Jeff Byrd of Sacramento, California, wrote: I am writing to…