Category: Standard Works
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Church Handbook encourages members to read several modern English translations
The leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leadership have decided to encourage their members to read modern translations of the Bible in addition to the official King James Version (KJV). The change to the “General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” was announced on December 16,…
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Do the Amarna Letters support Alma 7:10?
Alma 7:10 talks about how the Savior would be born “at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers.” Obviously, Jesus was not born “at Jerusalem” but rather in Bethlehem. LDS apologists use the Amarna Letters to back the error found in the Book of Mormon. Is this a good argument?
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Questions To Ask When Reading the Book of Mormon
Ask these questions as you read the Book of Mormon with discerning eyes. Examine its origins, influences, revisions, Joseph Smith’s world, and how each chapter compares or contrasts with modern Mormonism.
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3 Absolute Imperatives
NOTE: This article was published in the March/April 2025 Mormonism Researched newsletter, a free publication. To subscribe, please visit the registration site. Over the years, Latter-day Saint leaders have been very bold when it comes to some non-negotiable imperatives regarding the truthfulness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The argument goes, and I…
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Top English Bibles you May Want to Consider Reading
When it comes to Bible translations, it can be a very daunting task to choose one to read because there are so many. In the article attached here, Christian scholar Rob Bowman covers 25 of his favorite Bibles and provides some ideas when choosing the right one for you!
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New York Times 1912 Exposé of the Book of Abraham
The New York Times produced this 1912 exposé based on the three facsimiles included with the Pearl of Great Price within the Book of Abraham.
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Charles M. Larson’s Endorsement of GLM Video on the Book of Abraham
Charles M. Larson writes a comment on August 17, 2024, in response to Why Mormonism Can’t Recover from “The Book of Abraham”: Hello. I am the author of By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus — a New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri (Institute for Religious Research, Grand Rapids, MI 1992), and I strongly endorse…
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Divided by a Blanket or “Thick Curtain”
Note: The following was originally printed in the April 2024 edition of MRM Update, a special edition given to supporters of Mormonism Research Ministry. In our Book of Mormon display at the Utah Christian Research Center is a table with a 19th century-style hat on top. In the hat is a rock that looks very similar…
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The Book of Mormon and New World Geography
Note: The following was originally printed in the March/April 2024 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. It was back in 1969 when an LDS archaeologist named Dee. F. Green responded to what he called a “myth” regarding Book of Mormon archaeology. Writing for the periodical Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought,…
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Discoveries Provide Abundant Evidence of Bible’s Reliability
The historical and archaeological evidence supporting the Bible, such as inscriptions and discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls, provides strong validation for its reliability, making it far more plausible than the Book of Mormon, which lacks corresponding historical evidence.
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Copying What Is Believed To Be Sacred
If you’ve ever shared the Gospel with Latter-day Saints, you’ve probably run into the “how do we know that verse is correct?” response. This is common after a Christian has shared a passage that seemingly runs counter to a theological position held by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many times Mormons appeal…
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Does James Contradict Sola Fides (Salvation by Faith Alone)? A Closer Look at James 2:14–26
To listen to a Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast on this topic that aired May 6-10, 2024, go to the following: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 This article includes a verse-by-verse analysis of James 2:14-26. In doing this, we will compare the King James Version (the official version of The Church…
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Is Mormonism the “Faith” That Jude Speaks Of?
Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2023 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. When Jude, “the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,” penned his general epistle, he admonished his Christian readers to “earnestly contend for the faith.” He stated in Jude 1:3: Beloved, while I was…
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The LDS Church’s Groundless Celebration of Moroni’s Visitation
Church News, a weekly publication by and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, recently noted, “The gospel Restoration [Mormonism] started on Sept. 21, 1823, when a heavenly messenger appeared to Joseph Smith and said: ‘My name is Moroni. Let’s get to work’” (as paraphrased by LDS church historian Kyle McKay in Church News,…
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What Happened to the Joseph Smith Mummies?
Under the date of July 3, 1835, the Documentary History of the Church (2:235) states that a man named Michael Chandler visited Kirtland, Ohio “to exhibit some Egyptian mummies. There were four human figures, together with some two or more rolls of papyrus covered with hieroglyphic figures and devices.” Speaking in the first person,…
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Joseph Smith: Of Walls and Elevation
By Bill McKeever Note: The following was originally printed in the November/December 2021 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. “Did you know that Joseph Smith was shocked to learn that Jerusalem had walls around it while translating the Book of Mormon?” Such is the opening line of a video produced by…
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Why a Modern Translation of the Bible Can Be Beneficial
Officially The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourages its members to use the King James Version of the Bible (KJV). While the KJV was a fine version for its time, it can be difficult for modern English-speakers to understand many parts of what the translation is saying. Many readers skim over the archaic…
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The 1830 Book of Mormon: Joseph Smith’s Rough Draft
6 June 2021 Last month (on 25 May 2021) LDS Living reprinted an essay from the book, “Know Brother Joseph,” by Angela Hallstrom. In this essay, the LDS author explains that the very existence of the Book of Mormon is a “vital” and “foundational” aspect of her testimony of the validity of The Church of…
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Abraham 1:26 and the Priesthood Ban
Note: The following was originally printed in the November/December 2020 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. In his book The Church and the Negro, LDS author Dr. John Lewis Lund cited a letter written by ninth LDS President David O. McKay. Dated November 3, 1947, McKay gave a lengthy response to…
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The Book of Mormon and Three Degrees of Glory
By Bill McKeever Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2020 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. A criticism that I share with many Christians is the lack of unique Mormon doctrine in the Book of Mormon. If Nephites really existed, why is it we do not see them believing…
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