Tag: Mormon Church
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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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Does Truth Matter When Recounting Mormon History?
30 June 2020 The July (2020) issue of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Ensign magazine includes an article titled, “Church History: A Source of Strength and Inspiration.” It consists of selected portions from the September 9, 2018 “Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults: A Face to Face Event with Elder Cook.” For the…
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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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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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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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Mormonism’s Prophet Offers Simple Counsel
The current president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, has been touring Latin America. According to an article published in the Salt Lake Tribune, President Nelson spoke in Guatemala last weekend, counseling church members there to “Keep it simple.” He said, “My counsel today is very simple: Please keep…
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Revisiting a Fundamental Disagreement between Mormonism and Christianity
7 June 2019 About a year ago here at Mormonism in the News, I addressed an article about the doctrine of the Trinity by LDS scholar Daniel Peterson. Dr. Peterson has recently reposted his 2018 article. Because links to that recent repost keep popping up in my news feed, I thought it might be helpful…
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Book Review: Insights from a Prophet’s Life (Russell M. Nelson)
15 April 2019 Last week the Truth & Transparency Foundation posted an article titled, “False Story Removed From Newest Book on the Life of Mormon President Russell M. Nelson.” The Foundation revealed that Insights from a Prophet’s Life: President Russell M. Nelson by Sheri Dew went to press while including “a faith promoting story with material…
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When the Mormon Church Skirts the Truth, Who’s To Blame?
In February, BYU professor Daniel Peterson posted on his blog what I think is an odd article. The title is a question: “Is the Church lying to us through its art?” Dr. Peterson admits that he understands the critics’ claim that “the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is misrepresenting its history by means…
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Masonry and the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony
Earlier this month The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posted a new essay to the Church History Topics section of its website. In the church’s continuing effort to be more “transparent” about its past, the new essay, titled “Masonry,” examines the relationship between the LDS temple endowment ceremony and Masonic ritual. The essay…
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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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The Season for Safeguarding Joseph Smith’s Honor
19 December 2018 In approaching Christmas, Christians focus on Jesus Christ as we commemorate His birth. We celebrate God’s merciful Gift: “Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David” (Luke 2:11). As summarized at GotQuestions.org, “We celebrate Christmas because… Jesus is the Savior who delivers us from sin…
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Something Crucial is Missing from the Mormon Church’s Official Name
In August the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints alerted the world to a revelation he received regarding the name of his church. Commonly referred to as the Mormon Church or the LDS Church, President Nelson explained that the use of these nicknames was incorrect and in order to conform to…
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Worthiness Interviews in the Mormon Church Lead to Trouble
In August the Mormon Mental Health Association (not officially affiliated with the Mormon Church) released a position statement regarding LDS worthiness interviews. In a nutshell, the MMHA’s professional opinion is that worthiness interviews are not a good idea. In the LDS Church, members are called to meet with their ecclesiastical leaders to determine if each…
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The 6 Ideas That Led a Man to Mormonism
LDS Living, a popular independent faith-promoting magazine and website for Mormons, recently produced and published a video, “The 6 Questions That Led Me to Christianity.” In the fallaciously-titled video, an unnamed man explains why he joined the LDS Church. He begins, His questions (along with a summary of his comments) are these: 1. How do…
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Mormon Youth: The Hope of Israel
I received my August 2018 edition of the LDS Church’s Ensign magazine last week. Bundled with the Ensign was a supplement: The text of a “Worldwide Youth Devotional” titled “Hope of Israel.” This devotional was presented to the youth of the Mormon Church in June by LDS President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy. President Nelson…
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The Disbelief of Mormon Prophets, Seers, and Revelators
Last weekend the LDS Church celebrated the 40th anniversary of its discontinuance of a long-standing ban that denied black Mormons the full benefits of Church membership (i.e., priesthood, endowment, sealing/temple marriage). The celebration, “Be One,” focused on a continuing effort to unite all members of the Church without regard to race. As part of this celebration,…
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The Exclusiveness of Mormonism’s Truth Claims
Mormon politician Mitt Romney sent out a tweet a week ago that the media deemed to be highly newsworthy. On May 13th Mr. Romney disparaged well-known evangelical minister Robert Jeffress, tweeting: “Robert Jeffress says ‘you can’t be saved by being a Jew,’ and ‘Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.’ He’s said the same…