Category: Mormonism
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Jonah Barnes: Another LDS Apologist Goes Rogue
Jonah Barnes, a controversial figure in Latter-day Saint apologetics, has sparked growing controversy with his recent claims. Increasingly, voices within the LDS community are questioning his credibility.
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Dallin H. Oaks named the 18th President of LDS Church
Dallin H. Oaks, 93, who served since 2018 as the First Counselor of the First Presidency, has been named the 18th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He takes over for 17th President Russell M. Nelson who passed away at the age of 101. “I accept with humility the responsibility that…
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Statement on the Grand Blanc LDS Chapel Tragedy
We at Mormonism Research Ministry are deeply grieved by this horrific act of violence. Our hearts ache for the lives cut short, the wounded who now suffer, and the families left shattered in its wake.
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17th LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson, 101, Passes Away
Russell M. Nelson (9/9/1924-9/27/2025) passed away at his Salt Lake City home on Saturday night, September 27, 2025. He will be replaced by 93-year-old First Counselor of the First Presidency Dallin H. Oaks (born August 12, 1932), most likely at the October General Conference scheduled for this weekend. Nelson served as President of the Quorum…
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Q&A: John Taylor’s 1886 Revelation on Polygamy
On September 27, 1886, John Taylor received a revelation on the permanence of the doctrine of plural marriage. In 1933 the First Presidency denied its existence and called the “purported text” for it a “pretended revelation.” The LDS Church finally conceded its existence on June 14, 2025.
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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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As Transparent as They Know How To Be
NOTE: This article was published in the January/February 2025 Mormonism Researched newsletter, a free publication. To subscribe, please visit the registration site. On November 19, 2017 apostles M. Russell Ballard and Dallin H. Oaks (later to become a member of the First Presidency) addressed an audience of young members of The Church of Jesus Christ of…
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The Presiding Patriarch Problem
In October 1979, Eldred G. Smith, the patriarch of the LDS Church, was summoned to the office of President Spencer W. Kimball in Salt Lake City. For more than three decades, Eldred Smith had served as a general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During his tenure, he gave “Patriarchal Blessings”…
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Why Can’t the Mormon’s Testimony Be a Valid Proof That the LDS Religion Is True?
Many Latter-day Saints insist that their personal testimony is valid even when what is believed is contrary to the Bible. In this article, taken from Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson’s book Answering Mormons’ Questions, a closer look at this topic is considered.
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The Boast of Joseph
Joseph Smith has been portrayed by LDS Church leaders as a humble man. Yet was the Mormon founder as humble as he has been made out to be? Actually, Smith said that he has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world” than anyone. Let’s take a closer look at…
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Joseph Smith’s Most Famous Sermon: The King Follett Discourse
The King Follett Discourse is Joseph Smith’s most famous, well-recorded, and controversial sermon. It was the last General Conference talk Joseph gave before his death, and its teachings on the nature of God and man are among the most controversial things Joseph ever taught.
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Q&A: The King Follett Discourse
The sermon “is widely recognized as his single most important preaching event and perhaps the most important Mormon sermon of all time.”
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Is Blake T. Ostler a Rebel LDS Philosopher, Dismissive of Prophets?
LDS philosopher Blake Ostler disputes traditional LDS teachings and denies common views of Heavenly Mother. He calls Brigham Young’s theology a “disaster” and proposes a “radical revision of some common assumptions about the Mormon concept of God.”
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Priesthood Authority and the Restoration
Priesthood authority is a cornerstone doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, central to its claims of a restoration. According to LDS teaching, the loss of this authority triggered the Great Apostasy, rendering all Christian baptisms invalid until they are performed by someone with authority.
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LDS Apostle Calls a Long-Standing Mormon Doctrine into Question
Dieter Uchtdorf’s claim that no one is beyond Christ’s forgiveness clashes with Mormonism’s own scriptures and leaders, who insist murder is an unforgivable sin.
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Is the “Laying on of Hands” Essential?
Latter-day Saints insist that priesthood authority hinges on the precise act of laying hands on the head, a ritual they claim was lost in the Great Apostasy and restored through Joseph Smith.
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Mormonism and the Dangers of Historical Fiction
Netflix’s “American Primeval” has sparked a rare rebuke from LDS Church, which slams the series for its “dangerously misleading” portrayal of Brigham Young.
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“American Primeval” and the Mountain Meadows Massacre
Netflix’s American Primeval takes a wildly fictional swing at the Utah War, portraying Mormons as bloodthirsty villains in a brutal massacre of a U.S. Army camp that never happened.
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Latter-day Saints’ Ultimate Reckoning with God
In a devotional at BYU, Seventy Jörg Klebingat dismissed Jonathan Edwards’ fiery sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” as a misunderstanding of God’s character.
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Mormonism’s Twist on John Newton’s “Amazing Grace”
The LDS Church is revising its hymnbook, including “Amazing Grace,” a song deeply cherished in Christian worship, though it carries a different understanding of grace in Mormon theology. While Christians embrace grace as a gift, Mormonism ties grace to obedience and effort.