Category: Mormon Publications
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The Gospel Topics Essays: The Dynamite Approach
Summary Written by LDS scholars, the “Gospel Topics Essays” are available on the official lds.org website. These articles cover a variety of topics and attempt to confront the checkered history of Mormonism while smoothing out the rough edges. However, instead of placating many questioning Mormons, these writings tend to chafe the souls of the faithful…
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Debate: The Miracle of Forgiveness
Aaron’s Debate Notes 1. The woman caught in adultery Spencer Kimball wrote in the The Miracle of Forgiveness (Bookcraft, 1969): “In my childhood, Sunday School lessons were given to us on the 8th chapter of John wherein we learned of the woman thrown at the feet of the Redeemer for judgment. My sweet Sunday School…
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The First Vision: Key to Truth? A Review of Seventy Richard J. Maynes’ June 2017 Ensign article
There are two cornerstone events in the history of the Mormon religion that are as important as the literal resurrection of Jesus is to Christianity. Remember how the apostle Paul testified to the historicity of the raising of Jesus from the dead? He claimed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance…
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Mormons, Please Consider the Lesson of the Unwise Bee
The LDS Church’s February 2017 issue of Ensign magazine includes a parable written by LDS apostle James Talmage, originally published in the Improvement Era in September 1914. “The Parable of the Unwise Bee” poetically tells the story of a wild bee who becomes unwittingly trapped in Mr. Talmage’s office. No effort on Mr. Talmage’s part…
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Mormon Apostle Offers Solutions To Counter Information on the Web
Note: The following was originally printed in the February 2017 edition of the MRM Update, offered to financial supporters of Mormonism Research Ministry. To request to a free subscription of our other periodical, Mormonism Researched, please visit here. The December 2016 issue of Ensign magazine carried an article by Mormon Apostle M. Russell Ballard that expressed a concern…
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Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It?
Note: The following was originally printed in the January/February 2017 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. To listen to a 5-part Viewpoint on Mormonism series that originally aired January 2-6, 2017, click the following: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 By Eric Johnson The title for this article is the actual title for…
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Review of Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley
During 2017 LDS members studied Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley. What follows is a chapter-by-chapter evangelical review. The manual Chapter reviews For a 5-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast that originally aired January 9-13, 2017, click Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5. To see reviews of each chapter of other…
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Review of “Our Father, Our Mentor” from June 2016 Ensign
By Michael Rabus The June 2016 issue of the Ensign magazine, which is the official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, contained a short article by the Second Counselor in the First Presidency; President Dieter F. Uchtdorf titled “Our Father, Our Mentor. It made sense that the June issue would contain…
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Could Mormonism be a Counterfeit from Satan?
By Michael Rabus For a Viewpoint on Mormonism broadcast on this topic that aired on May 23, 2016, click here. The April 2016 issue of the Ensign magazine featured an article titled “Recognizing Satan’s Counterfeits” by Dennis C. Gaunt in which the Book of Mormon was offered as the foundation of detecting spiritual counterfeits. When…
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10 Things You Can Learn About Mormonism by Reading the Ensign Magazine
By Michael Rabus I have found one of the most effective ways of showing Mormons the dangerous doctrine that comes from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to share with them articles from the churches own official magazine, the Ensign. I started reading the Ensign magazine in February of 2015 and made…
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Murky Waters Spin Around the New LDS Push for Transparency
In recent years the LDS Church has been working to change its image of being an organization that tightly controls and artfully spins historical issues to its best advantage. In what has been called a “push for transparency,” the Mormon Church has published several essays online that reveal some of Mormonism’s sordid history, framed in…
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Are the Gospel Topics Essays Helping or Hurting LDS Membership?
When the Gospel Topics Essays were first posted on the official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (lds.org), the intention of the leadership was to calm the concerns that many members had about their church’s more controversial history and doctrine. However, the essays have caused mixed reactions. Naturally, some members have welcomed…
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The New and Everlasting Covenant: A Review
Link to the December 2015 article by Seventy Marcus B. Nash: The New and Everlasting Covenant Listen to an 8-part podcast series that aired January 18-27, 2016: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Note: This article—repeated word-for-word here—was written by Seventy Marcus B. Nash and printed in the December 2015 Ensign magazine…
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Review of Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter
During 2016 LDS members studied Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter. What follows is a chapter-by-chapter evangelical review. The manual Chapter reviews Check out a 4-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast series that originally aired from from January 5-8: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 To see reviews of each chapter of other “Teachings” manuals,…
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The Great and Abominable Church
In the March 2015 edition of Ensign magazine, Mormon Apostle Dallin Oaks discusses the topics of atheism, moral relativism, secular humanism and the “great and abominable church.” The article, titled, “Stand as Witnesses of God,” was a devotional address he gave in February of 2014. On page 30 he likens atheism to the teachings of…
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Quotes on the Family from the August/September 2015 Ensign Magazines
Using the 1995 Proclomation on the Family as a catalyst, the August and September 2015 Ensign magazines featured more than half a dozen articles related to youth and family. Here are some of the key quotes culled from those issues. August President Thomas S. Monson: “Stand as a Light” (pp. 4-5) “I plead with parents…
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Gospel Topics Essay: Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women
Gospel Topics Essay: Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women To see an introduction to the Gospel Topics essays, click here. The entire essay is printed below, underlined, with my commentary included throughout. Because I will try to be short and to the point as much as possible, a number of sites (many from MRM) to…
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Gospel Topics Essay: Mother in Heaven
To see an introduction to the Gospel Topics essays, click here. The entire essay is printed below, underlined, with my commentary included throughout. Because I will try to be short and to the point as much as possible, a number of sites (many from MRM) to support my disagreement are included. I encourage interested readers to consider…
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Gospel Topics Essay: Peace and Violence among 19th-Century Latter-day Saints
Gospel Topics Essay: Peace and Violence among 19th-Century Latter-day Saints To see an introduction to the Gospel Topics essays, click here. The entire essay is printed below, underlined, with my commentary included throughout. Because I will try to be short and to the point as much as possible, a number of sites (many from MRM) to support…
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MRM’s Short Introduction to the Gospel Topics Essays
To see all of the reviews and podcasts MRM has done on the Gospel Topics Essays, click here. In an attempt to deal with several vital historical issues propagated by the LDS Church throughout the years, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints produced a series of 13 essays between 2013-2015. On January 18,…