Category: Mormon Publications
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Gospel Topics Essay: Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham
The LDS Church has produced another essay in its series titled “Gospel Topics.” Did Joseph Smith correctly translate the Book of Abraham papyrii? The arguments offered in this recent essay provide nothing new and show that Smith was unable to translate anything from the Egyptian langauge. This topic is featured during the week of December…
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Monson’s Wishful Thinking?
In his First Presidency message in the June 2014 issue of Ensign magazine titled, “Hastening the Work,” Mormon President Thomas S. Monson spoke of the “accelerated rate” at which the Church of Jesus Christ is growing. Monson writes: “Do you realize that the restored Church was 98 years old before it had 100 stakes? But…
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The Good News of Repentance?
In the December 2013 Ensign, Brian D. Garner of the Church Correlation Department wrote a five-page article titled “The Good News of Repentance” (pp. 40-44). As I was reading this piece—subtitled “There is great joy in heaven whenever we repent in sincerity of heart”—I was struck by what I believe is really the bad news…
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New LDS.org Gospel Topic Articles Were Submitted to the “Presiding Quorums of the Church and the First Presidency for Approval”
I am already hearing of BYU professors mocking the new LDS.org gospel topic articles as non-official. Elder Steven E. Snow, LDS Church Historian and Executive Director of the Church History Department, explains that each of the articles was submitted to the “presiding Quorums of the Church and the First Presidency for approval”: “How does the…
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Gospel Topics Essay: First Vision Accounts
A good Mormon will be able to explain Smith’s supposed vision of God the Father and Jesus. As part of the Gospel Topics Essay, Joseph Smith’s First Vision account is described and defended by the LDS Church. But what about the different accounts that provided contradictory details? Did Smith see angels or did he see God…
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Gospel Topics Essay: Are Mormons Christian?
While the topic has been discussed at length over the years, the idea that Mormons are Christians continues to be argued by many Latter-day Saints. In 1998, BYU professor Stephen E. Robinson explained why he thought the answer is yes in his book Are Mormons Christians? As part of its series on “Gospel Topics,” the essay titled…
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LDS Sources Index
MRM does not use “anti-Mormon” material to perform what our middle name is: Research. Rather, we own most of the resources from which we quote, although many of our sources can be found on-line that are published by both the LDS Church as well as Mormon apologetic-type groups. Thus, we go straight to LDS leaders…
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Jesus in the Ensign
Jesus in the Ensign By Eric Johnson The following was originally printed in the May-June 2005 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here.
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Mormonism, the Bible, and God the Father
The January 2014 Ensign magazine includes an edited version of a General Conference talk given in 1986 by (now deceased) Gordon B. Hinckley of Mormonism’s First Presidency. The 2014 “Gospel Classic” is titled, “The Divine Godhead.” In it Mr. Hinckley explains what he believes about God the Father and relates an experience he had while…
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The Miracle of Forgiveness Witnessing Guide
The MRM website on The Miracle of Forgiveness will give a good overview of this book. Use the witnessing guide included as an attachment in this article to help you reference some of the most important quotes found in Spencer W. Kimball’s The Miracle of Forgiveness. In addition, you can listen to a a series on The Miracle…
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Having it Our Way? (Jeffrey Holland’s 2011 talk at conference)
Having it Our Way? (Jeffrey Holland’s 2011 speech at conference)By Eric JohnsonIn a April 2011 general conference message, LDS Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland made it a point midway through his talk to explain how “the (LDS) Church is not a fast-food outlet; we can’t always have it ‘our way.’” (“An Ensign to the Nations,” Ensign, May…
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Covenants: The (Unkept) Promises
Covenants: The (Unkept) Promises By Eric Johnson An article (with no listed author) was the main attraction in the July 2012 Ensign magazine. Titled “Covenants: Our Most Important Promises,” it describes an ordinance as “a sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood. Some ordinances are essential to our salvation. As part of…
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Gospel Topics Essay: Becoming Like God
In its fifth essay of a series published on lds.org meant to explain hard teachings, the issues of godhood and new worlds are discussed. “Becoming Like God” was first published on 2/25/2014, with the doctrines of preexistence and exaltation serving as the focal points. We have reprinted this entire article, with our commentary scattered throughout.…
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Review of Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith
During 2014, LDS members will be studying the latest manual published by their church, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith We will evaluate this book regularly, chapter by chapter, by showing interesting quotes and providing an Evangelical Christian take on this manual. These reviews are written by MRM’s Eric Johnson.Chapter 21: Proclaiming the Gospel…
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The Priesthood Ban: Intended To Be Enforced Until the Resurrection?
On December 6, 2013, the LDS Church published an article (“Race and Priesthood”) that contradicted the facts from earlier church history. Was the banning of blacks holding the priesthood originated by Brigham Young and perpetuated for more than a century? Or was this teaching truly a “doctrine” originated by Joseph Smith as claimed by a number of…
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Top 10 List of Topics Most Discussed in Teaching of Presidents of the Church
Since 1998, the LDS Church has producing manuals that the adults cover in Sunday classes during the second and third Sundays of each month. During 2013, they are going through Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow. In 2014, they will cover Teaching of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith. What were the…
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Flying First-Class — Mormon Style
In reading the July 2013 Ensign, I came across a thoughtful story written by Bonnie Marshall in the Latter-day Saint Voices section of the magazine. Mrs. Marshall tells of a long flight she and her husband took when they returned to Utah from their mission at BYU-Hawaii. Because Mrs. Marshall’s husband was a large man,…
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Teachings of Presidents of the Church: An Index of Topics
Since 1998, the LDS Church has produced a series of manuals that have been used as curriculum for adult classes. Except for the revision of Gospel Principles (covered in classes from 2010-11), each manual focuses on the teachings of a specific church president. In fact, all but four deceased presidents have had books dedicated to…
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Two parables about the Atonement
Understanding the Atonement of Christ is vital if we are to understand exactly what salvation is all about. In 1977, Apostle Boyd K. Packer told a parable that talked about a creditor, debtor, and a third party who paid the debt. Then this friend turns the tables and says that he is the debtor’s new…