Category: Mormon Coffee Blog (2007-2019)
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Mormon Church Growth & Retention
On July 18th the LDS Church released this to the press: SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the second-fastest growing church in the United States, according to the 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, published by the National Council of Churches. After citing some statistics regarding worldwide…
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Turbulent Times
On June 23rd the current LDS Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, celebrated his 96th birthday. One element of the festivities included breaking ground for a new building on the campus of Brigham Young University; a building to be named in honor of President Hinckley. Several people spoke at the groundbreaking, including Thomas S. Monson. President Monson…
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Mormonism: Depressing
Utah has the unfortunate reputation of being “the runaway leader in antidepressant use.” In February of 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported the findings of a study which showed Antidepressant drugs are prescribed in Utah more often than in any other state, at a rate nearly twice the national average. Utah’s high usage was cited…
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Mormon Pioneers and Little Lambs
Today is Pioneer Day in Utah. Each July 24th the residents of Utah celebrate the “Days of ’47” commemorating Brigham Young’s 1847 arrival in the Great Salt Lake valley. This holiday is a big deal; a state holiday with parades, fireworks and family picnics. It’s a lot like the 4th of July is for the…
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Mormonism and Spiritual Experience
A couple of weeks ago (July 8th) LDS Deseret News printed a column by staff writer Jerry Johnston. He told this story: “Not long ago I was visiting a woman from Mexico who had been praying about joining my own church, the LDS Church. She said the Virgin Mary came to her in a dream…
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Artistic Interpretation–Mormon Style
During my tour of Temple Square in Salt Lake City last week I visited the LDS North Visitors Center. A friend pointed out a large painting (reproduction) on the wall at the stairway landing. It was a painting of Jesus as a boy teaching in the temple. I found it interesting so I took a…
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Protestors at the Mormon Miracle Pageant
I’m back from a quick trip to Utah. While there I toured Temple Square, Brigham Young’s Beehive House, and the cemetery where Mr. Young and several of his wives now lay. I went to Zion’s Bookstore (which now has a nice coffee bar, by the way) and to Deseret Book. I went to the Church…
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Polygamy vs Democracy
During the summer, faithful Mormons put on musicals (or pageants) as a way of illustrating their religious history, as well has encouraging the seeker to convert to their uniquely American faith. The early Latter-Day Saints were among the pioneers who trekked into the American West, carving out a place for themselves within the mountains of…
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Ministering Angels of Mormonism
At last April’s General Conference, President James E. Faust (Second Counselor in the First Presidency) talked a bit about ministering angels (see “A Royal Priesthood”). To understand President Faust’s comments, it’s important to first recognize that the LDS view of angels is different from the historic Christian understanding. According to the Bible, angels are created…
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LDS Apostle Accused of Deception in Defense of Marriage
Last April I blogged about the recent temple wedding of LDS Apostle Russell M. Nelson (see Wedding Bells for LDS Apostle). I made note of the fact that Mr. Nelson, whose first wife died in 2005, was on his second temple marriage (for time and all eternity) and asked, So the question is, according to…
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Playing God
On Tuesday I was listening to the Michael Medved Show on conservative talk radio. Because the date was 6/6/06 Mr. Medved was discussing the biblical number 666. One person who called in to the program identified himself as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The caller said he’d researched a…
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LDS in the Weekend News
There are two things I’d like to draw your attention to today. First is a story out of Massachusetts. After a weeklong trial, [LDS member Kevin F.] Curlew, who acted as his own attorney, was convicted by a jury on charges that he sexually assaulted a then-9-year-old boy he befriended while volunteering at The Church…
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Mormons Should Try Walking in Jewish Shoes
It started in 1995. Jewish leaders met with LDS Church representatives in an effort to find a solution to the concern Jews had over posthumous proxy Mormon baptisms of Jewish Holocaust victims. The two groups signed an agreement aimed at preventing the names of Holocaust victims from being added to the Church’s genealogical index and…
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Mormon Pioneers: Average Americans
The Logan, Utah Herald Journal ran a story yesterday about the recent publication of the diaries of Mormon pioneer Charles Ora Card. Mr. Card, great-great grandfather of sci-fi author Orson Scott Card, made detailed daily entries for much of his life. The published diaries are from the years 1871-1886, when Mr. Card lived in northeastern…
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Mormonism and Myth
Deseret News reports on a collaborative enterprise that has just been completed: Any way you look at it, the story of the Mormon pioneers is one of the great epics of the American West. Over the years it has been looked at in many ways: Words have been written, songs have been sung, dances have…
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LDS Church on the Marriage(s) of Jesus
Today The Da Vinci Code opens in U.S. theatres. There’s a lot of buzzing going on, including some from the LDS Church. Wednesday’s online Deseret News ran a short article titled “LDS do not endorse claims in ‘Da Vinci’” quoted here in part: LDS doctrine does not endorse claims made in a popular book and…
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Take Precaution: Wear Jeans in Utah
On Monday 21-year-old Joseph Patrick Romero pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated assault. His crime: On January 22nd in Sandy, Utah, Mr. Romero purposefully ran his car into Chris Palomarez, a young man who happened to be wearing black pants, a white shirt, and a name badge. The victim escaped with minor injuries. What’s interesting about…
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After Suicide: Mormon Hope
Last month I blogged about suicide in Utah (see Youth Suicide in Utah). In the May 12th edition of the Salt Lake Tribune, religion reporter Peggy Fletcher Stack wrote about religious questions raised by suicide. In “Searching for Solace: Suicide raises difficult religious, personal questions” Ms. Stack discusses the eternal fate of suicide victims according…
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Mostly Silent: Victims Must Fend for Themselves
Today’s LA Times ran an in-depth article detailing the horrific abuses associated with modern-day polygamy. “Blind Eye to Culture of Abuse – Children of a polygamist sect have been exploited, molested for years” takes a hard look at what women and children have been forced to endure while living The Principle. A focus of the…
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Twelve Million Mormons
This morning when I checked my email inbox I found a message with a subject line that read, “Millions of customers can’t be wrong!” The message was a spam ad for “alluring pheromones” that promise to attract women of all ages to any man who uses the product. Wow. The ad said the product is…