Category: Joseph Smith, Jr.
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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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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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“A Look at the Newly Discovered Joseph Smith Manuscripts”
This 1980 issue of Ensign celebrates a manuscript that was later discovered to be a fraud.
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Joseph Smith and the Kinderhook Plates
Note: The following was originally printed in the July/August 2024 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are told by church leaders that Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of their religion, had been given the ability by God to make reliable translations…
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Joseph Smith and His Top 10 Boastful/Arrogant Claims
Many of us struggle with pride. As the Bible teaches in Proverbs 16:18, “pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before the fall.” In my life I’ve learned that pride gets me into more trouble than any other sinful attribute ingrained in my sinful life. Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus…
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The Friction Between Isaac Hale and His Son-in-Law Joseph Smith
Note: The following was originally printed in the February 2023 edition of MRM Update., sent bimonthly to financial supporters of MRM. To request a free subscription to Mormonism Researched, please visit here. Isaac and Elizabeth Hale were married in 1790 and raised their family in an area then known as Harmony, Pennsylvania, located about 17 miles from…
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LDS Leaders Want Mormons To Make Informed Decisions – Sometimes
This month (June 2023) the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrote and released a letter to be read during sacrament meetings (Sunday church services) to LDS church members in the United States. The letter, signed by President Russell M. Nelson and his two counselors (President Dallin Oaks and President…
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LDS Apostle Names the Most Remarkable Thing in the History of the World
M. Russell Ballard, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently gave an address to church members and missionaries in Canada. Church News reports that in his talk, President Ballard identified “the most remarkable thing in the history of the world.” As a self-identified apostle…
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Statue of Joseph Smith Joins 54 Other “Messiahs of Peace” at India’s World Peace Dome
In Pune, India stands the World Peace Dome, the “world’s largest dome” described as “an epitome of architectural magnificence.” Beneath the dome is the World Peace Prayer Hall, where up to 3,000 people may gather for “meditation and introspection” while surrounded by “the statues of the world’s greatest philosophers and scientists,” called “Messiahs of Peace.”…
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The Clever Joseph Smith
Note: The following was originally printed in the May/June 2022 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. The best of con men try their best to come up with stories that are difficult to falsify. In this area I give credit to Joseph Smith. Have you ever noticed how Smith was able…
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Joseph Smith vs. Joseph Smith
by Sharon Lindbloom 1 September 2022 Steven Harper is a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, a school owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Last week (23 August 2022) Dr. Harper published an article in the online edition of LDS Living Magazine titled, “Starting right—how…
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Trivializing the Unbiblical Core of Mormonism
26 April 2021 In mid-April (2021) Mormonism LIVE! hosts RFM (Radio Free Mormon) and Bill Reel broadcast a program on which LDS apologist, Kwaku El, was their guest. In taking calls from the audience, Mr. El was asked how he knows that Joseph Smith was really acting under God’s direction when he engaged in polygamy,…
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Joseph Smith’s Gift
In a virtual devotional earlier this week (on 7 March 2021), LDS apostle Jeffrey Holland spoke to young adult members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As he encouraged these young adults to get involved in the church’s Institute, a religious education program for college-aged Latter-day Saints, Mr. Holland recounted a story…
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Is Joseph Smith Your Prophet?
January 2021 saw the launch of a new global youth-based magazine published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For the Strength of Youth is aimed at young members of the church, ages 11-18. One aspect of the publication is to “provide additional content that complements the church-supported, home-centered teachings of ‘Come, Follow…
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Plural Marriage and Joseph Smith: A PR Nightmare
November 2015 Publicly mention the religion of Mormonism and the first thought to come to mind is “polygamy” or, as it is also called, plural marriage. This common perception linking Mormonism with the practice of one man marrying two or more women has caused the public relations department of The Church of Jesus Christ of…
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For Mormons, Christmastime Is for Honoring Jesus – and Joseph Smith
17 December 2020 ‘Tis the season. Christmastime is here, the holiday celebrated all around the world by Christians and non-Christians alike. The December issue of Ensign, the official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, celebrates the Christmas season with a few holiday-related items. One is a reproduction of the oil painting,…
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Were the Apostle Paul and Joseph Smith Two Peas in a Pod?
Introduction In the History of the Church 6:408-409, Joseph Smith bragged about his greatness when he said, Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man…
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Book Review: Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Vision: Examining the Foundations of Christianity and Mormonism
Authored by Robert M. Bowman Reviewed by Eric Johnson Listen to a 5-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast as Bill and Eric interview the author from July 27-31, 2020: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 A disclaimer should be included on the first page of a 2020 book written by Dr. Robert Bowman,…