Category: Mormonism
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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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“Additional Perspectives and Insights” on Joseph Smith’s First Vision?
The LDS Church released a new video of Joseph Smith’s First Vision a few weeks ago (an explanation of this Vision can be found here). “Ask of God: Joseph Smith’s First Vision” begins with the explanation that, as there are “at least nine accounts” of this visionary experience recorded by Joseph Smith and “some of…
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Book Review: Mormons Believe…What?! Fact and Fiction About a Rising Religion
Check out a five-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast that originally aired on March 20-24, 2017 concerning Lawrence’s book: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Written by Gary C. Lawrence Synopsis: A Mormon pollster writes a book criticizing the views of outsiders of the Mormon Church who he believes present a wrong portrayal of…
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Richard Mouw–Defending a Brand of Mormonism Many Mormons Don’t Believe
Note: The following was originally printed in the July/August 2016 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Dr. Richard J. Mouw, the former president of Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA, has been involved in Mormon-Evangelical dialogues for the past decade and a half. Yet, despite actively engaging the topic for such a long…
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Does James 1:5 Teach About Praying for a Testimony?
This article first appeared in the Practical Hermeneutics column of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL, volume 37, number 06 (2014). There is nothing more important to a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, Mormon) than having a personal “testimony” confirm the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and, ultimately, Mormonism. James…
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An Alarming Misunderstanding of Joseph Smith’s Significance to Christianity
An article appeared online this week with a title that grabbed my attention. In “The Alarming Truth Behind Anti-Mormonism,” LDS author Dustin Phelps tells his readers, “I intend to expose what anti-Mormonism is and what its objectives really are.” What follows is a lengthy argument against Atheism; it’s the way Mr. Phelps ties Atheism…
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Mormons Should Be Thankful for a Sixth Kind of Ex-Mormon
On Sunday, the The Salt Lake Tribune published “Kirby: Five kinds of ex-Mormons” by humor columnist Robert Kirby. In his article, Kirby noted that he has, in the past, written about “Five Kinds of Mormons” and “Five Kinds of Non-Mormons”; the logical next step is determining the five kinds of ex-Mormons. He explained, “So, in the…
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Quotes That Didn’t Make the Cut in the Manual Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley
Since 1998, the LDS Church has published a church manual for the membership to study in the following year. Except for a two-year hiatus when the manual was Gospel Principles, each volume had the title “Teachings of Presidents of the Church” and then the name of a particular church president. Typically a volume included 24…
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“Many People Have Wondered if Mormons Are Christians.”
The LDS Daily website (“Not an official website of the true church”) provides Mormon readers with Family Home Evening lesson ideas. This week Aleah Ingram suggests a lesson titled, “Are Mormons Christian?” She writes, In her lesson, Ms. Ingram includes the words of LDS Hymn #134, “I Believe in Christ.” This song speaks highly of…
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Robert D. Hales Obituary (1932-2017)
Robert D. Hales, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away at 85 on October 1, 2017, after a 40-year career as a church leader and general authority.
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M. Russell Ballard Obituary (1928-2023)
M. Russell Ballard (10/8/1928-11/12/23, a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who served as an apostle and the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, died on November 12, 2023. Ballard was married to Barbara, with whom he had seven children. They had a total of 43 grandchildren, 105 great-grandchildren,…
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Thomas S. Monson Obituary (1927-2018)
Thomas Spencer Monson (1927-2018), the sixteenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints died of natural causes on January 2, 2018 at the age of 90. Except for a short stint in the military, Monson was employed for his entire life by the LDS Church. He will be replaced by senior-ranking Apostle…
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The Real Threat of Mormonism
Over the years I have encountered many misperceptions that Mormons have about Christians and Christianity. One of note is found in a little book published in 1998 by LDS author Scott Marshall. In an effort to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, Mr. Marshall wrote, “THE TRINITY CREATION. They believe in the trinity…
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“Because Joseph Smith was a prophet…”
Mormonism was in the news a lot last weekend. Saturday and Sunday were the days of the LDS Church’s October General Conference. During the Church’s semiannual conferences, leaders of the Church are understood to encourage, challenge, and educate Mormons with inspired spiritual talks. Last Saturday morning the talk by Craig C. Christensen (of the…
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Mormonism’s “Near Deification” of Joseph Smith
Mormon blogger Mette Ivie Harrison posted an intriguing article on August 23rd at Huffington Post. She titled it, “Do Mormons Worship Joseph Smith?” In the article Ms. Harrison expressed her dismay that some non-Mormons might misunderstand the way modern Mormons feel about the faith’s first prophet and wrongly conclude that Mormons worship Joseph Smith. Latter-day…
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The Transfiguration of Brigham Young: Mormon Folklore?
For a two-part Viewpoint on Mormonism that aired July 21-22, 2016, click here Part 1 Part 2 When Joseph Smith died in June of 1844, the Mormon Church faced a succession crisis. Mormon historian Richard S. Van Wagoner explained, “Despite frequent kidnapping and assassination attempts, Joseph Smith established no firm policies regarding presidential succession in the event…
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“The Mormon Jesus Is Not Our Jesus”
On May 23, 2016 One News Now published a short article noting that “Seminary leaders disagree about Mormons’ beliefs.” The seminary leaders in question are Richard Mouw (who thinks Mormonism is approaching orthodoxy), and Richard Land (who disagrees). The One News Now article merely summarizes the essence of this disagreement, using barely 200 words to…