Mormonism Research Ministry

Category: Mormonism

  • Whatever Happened to Emily and Eliza Partridge?

    Bill McKeever

    Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2017 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. In early Mormonism, you might say some of  the women who became plural wives were kept as a set. Several Mormon leaders, including Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, married sisters. When Edward Partridge, Mormonism’s first bishop, died…

  • Joseph Smith Is Needed if the Atonement To Be “Fully Efficacious”

    Bill McKeever

    Note: The following was originally printed in the May/June 2017 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. In the first volume of Doctrines of Salvation, tenth Mormon President Joseph Fielding Smith made it very clear that there is “no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith” (1:188). While some might think that Mormonism has matured…

  • Isaiah 29:14: Marvelous Work and the Restoration

    Eric Johnson

    Isaiah 29:14 says, Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Apostle LeGrand Richards writes, Well did Isaiah predict: ‘For the wisdom of their…

  • Mormon Church Discipline and Confidentiality

    Sharon Lindbloom

    In a rare move, on August 8, 2017, the LDS Church released and excommunicated one of its general authorities, Seventy James Hamula. Mr. Hamula was raised in the Mormon Church, and held many positions of leadership over the years, including Stake President, Mission President, Area Seventy, Area President, Assistant Executive Director of the Church History…

  • An LDS Apostle’s Answers, Grounded in Mormon “Truth”

    Sharon Lindbloom

    MormonLeaks recently released “The McConkie Papers,” a series of 37 previously unpublished “sermons, lessons, and accounts” written by LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie. One of the files made available by MormonLeaks is “Answers Grounded in Truth,” a compilation of typed and (originally) handwritten, undated notes found in Mr. McConkie’s personal files. About Bruce McConkie, Bill McKeever…

  • The Mormon Testimony and Wishful Thinking

    Sharon Lindbloom

    At the Mormon Church’s 2017 Seminar for New Mission Presidents last month, LDS apostle D. Todd Christofferson spoke on the power of the Book of Mormon in converting people to Mormonism. In his remarks, Mr. Christofferson told the story of a returned missionary who was struggling with his faith after learning of several conflicting accounts…

  • Seventy (Defined)

    Eric Johnson

    Seventy. A man who holds a leadership position following the positions of the First Presidency and the Apostles. Those known as the Seventies fit into eight quorums. The men belonging to the first two quorums are known as General Authorities while the others are referred to as area authorities. Return to dictionary here.

  • The First Vision: Key to Truth? A Review of Seventy Richard J. Maynes’ June 2017 Ensign article

    Eric Johnson

    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…

  • “Additional Perspectives and Insights” on Joseph Smith’s First Vision?

    Sharon Lindbloom

    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…

  • Book Review: Mormons Believe…What?! Fact and Fiction About a Rising Religion

    Eric Johnson

    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…

  • Richard Mouw–Defending a Brand of Mormonism Many Mormons Don’t Believe

    Bill McKeever

    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…

  • Does James 1:5 Teach About Praying for a Testimony?

    Eric Johnson

    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…

  • An Alarming Misunderstanding of Joseph Smith’s Significance to Christianity

    Sharon Lindbloom

      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…

  • Mormons Should Be Thankful for a Sixth Kind of Ex-Mormon

    Sharon Lindbloom

    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…

  • Quotes That Didn’t Make the Cut in the Manual Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley

    Eric Johnson

    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…

  • “Many People Have Wondered if Mormons Are Christians.”

    Sharon Lindbloom

    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, “Since the Church was restored by Joseph Smith, many people have wondered if Mormons are Christians. A Christian is someone who…

  • Robert D. Hales Obituary (1932-2017)

    Eric Johnson

    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.

  • M. Russell Ballard Obituary (1928-2023)

    Eric Johnson

    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,…

  • Thomas S. Monson Obituary (1927-2018)

    Eric Johnson

    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…

  • The Real Threat of Mormonism

    Sharon Lindbloom

      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…