Tag: lds church
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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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Consider David Whitmer’s Testimony
The February issue of Liahona magazine (published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) includes a supplement to the church’s religious study curriculum, “Come, Follow Me.” The magazine article looks briefly at two Book of Mormon witnesses, David Whitmer and Martin Harris–both of whom, along with Oliver Cowdery (a third Book of Mormon…
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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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Mormon Rejection of an Important Aspect of the New Testament Church
LDS scholar Dan Peterson noted in his August 31st (2020) blog, “Attacking Other Faiths,” that his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, differs from evangelical Christian churches in the way it approaches non-LDS faiths. While Dr. Peterson does not define what he believes constitutes the “attacking” of other faiths, he does point…
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The Unbiblical Heart of Mormonism is Alive and Well
31 July 2020 The August 2020 issue of Ensign magazine includes two back-to-back articles that reference the LDS doctrine of human beings becoming like God. An apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is quoted in “Seeing Yourself in the Great Plan of Happiness” by Seventy Brian K. Taylor: “Our entire perspective…
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Brigham Young’s Eternal Predicament
On June 1st (2020) the prophet/president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, posted remarks on his social media page(s) that addressed racism and its atrocities. Many Latter-day Saints noted that President Nelson’s words calmed them, brought them comfort, and gave them feelings of peace. I’m fairly certain that the…
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Honoring the Bible, Mormon Style
11 May 2020 Last month Meridian Magazine (for Latter-day Saints) published an article online titled, “Putting the Bible in its Honored and Rightful Place.” Author Wallace Goddard notes that evangelical Christians hold the Bible in high regard and goes on to explain that Mormons do, too, but: “we don’t believe that it does the work…
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April General Conference Reaffirms Mormonism’s Love/Hate Relationship with Christianity
Throughout its history, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a sort of love/hate relationship with historic Christianity. That this attitude continues today was reaffirmed during the church’s General Conference earlier this month. Mormonism’s negative stance toward Christianity began, as did Mormonism itself (it is claimed), with Joseph Smith’s 1820 First Vision.…
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Following the Prophet’s “First Vision” Example
The February 2020 issue of Ensign magazine, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, includes an article written by Henry B. Eyring of the church’s First Presidency. In keeping with the church’s 2020 emphasis on Joseph Smith’s First Vision (due to the traditionally-accepted 200th anniversary of the event), President Eyring…
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The Book of Mormon Is Not Fully Understood by LDS Leaders
On January 18, 2020, Peggy Fletcher Stack and the Salt Lake Tribune published an article titled, “Error in printed LDS Church manual could revive racial criticisms.” It seems that the print edition of the LDS church’s 2020 Sunday school manual, Come Follow Me, includes an outdated teaching on a racist passage found in the Book…
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So What About the $100 Billion? It’s Probably Legal for the Church To Stockpile, but How Much Is Too Much?
$100 billion. That’s how much is in the reserve coffers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to a report by two former employees who had worked with Ensign Peak Advisors, which is the investment division of the church’s cash and short-term investments. The report was released on December 17th, 2019. (For…
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The Four Fundamental Cornerstones of Mormonism
The president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, is currently on a four-nation tour of Southeast Asia. Reporting on President Nelson’s visit to Cambodia, the church’s newsroom website recounted, “The 95-year-old prophet also noted the coming bicentennial of Joseph Smith’s vision of the Father and the Son, known by…
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Progressing Toward Exaltation
President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, recently spoke to a worldwide audience of young adult Latter-day Saints. His topic was, “The Love and Laws of God,” focused on helping Mormons understand that all the rules that make up Mormonism have been given by God for their own protection,…
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LDS Church Releases Video on the Nature of God (According to Mormonism)
A month ago (10 July 2019) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posted a video in its “Now You Know” series titled, “What do Mormons Believe About God?” The video begins with the statement, “Some of the most fundamental questions in life are centered on the nature of God.” The goal of the…
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Is the Holy Spirit of Mormonism Trustworthy?
The testimony of Latter-day Saint Sunju Kim Muir was included in the June 2019 Ensign magazine, published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (As I am unable to discern whether Sunju is a man or woman, I’ll use the universal “he” throughout this article.) In his testimony, Sunju explains that when he first…
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Jane Manning James: “Is There No Blessing for Me?”
The Salt Lake Tribune recently (14 June 2019) published an opinion piece by Jana Riess, author, researcher, and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Titled, “Commentary: Black Mormon pioneer Jane Manning James — only member ever sealed as a ‘servant’ — finally gets her due,” the article first noted that a feature…
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Mormonism and Catholicism: “Friendly in Every Respect”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is currently hosting its public open house for those who would like to see the new Mormon temple in Rome, Italy (January 28-February 16, 2019). Leading up to the public open house event, the church provided special tours for specific groups of people like clergy and journalists.…
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An LDS Apostle’s Attitude Toward Doubting Mormons
On January 13th(2019) Dale Renlund, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke at a church-sponsored worldwide devotional for young adults. Together with his wife, Ruth, the Renlund’s talk addressed faith and doubt. The overarching theme was centered on the evil nature of doubt, where the Renlunds treated those who have…
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Another Harmful Mormon Myth Refuses to Die
An interesting article appeared in the Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader this month. It seems that columnist Steve Pokin became intrigued after an LDS acquaintance told him “that it was once legal to kill a Mormon in Missouri.” Because this claim sounded implausible to Mr. Pokin, he decided to do some research. His article, “Was there ever…