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Until the past thirty-five years the very idea of Mormon history was viewed as something of a joke by most professional historians. Despite the massive outpouring of dissertations and books devoted to studying Mormon history, virtually none were known or treated seriously outside the ranks of a handful of western history buffs, social historians, and other enthusiasts with highly specialized interests. Brigham Young University dissertations were seen as providing the classic stereotype of the genre. No matter what the topic, each dissertation seemed to begin with Joseph Smith's first vision and end with a reaffirmation of the author's faith in...

Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings An ordinance is a sacred act performed by a man who holds the priesthood. Baptism and the sacrament are examples of priesthood ordinances. Some ordinances may be performed by brethren who hold the Aaronic Priesthood. But most ordinances are performed by Melchizedek Priesthood holders. This section gives directions that a priesthood leader should follow when performing an ordinance. Brethren who perform ordinances should prepare themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit. They also should make sure the ordinance meets the following requirements: All ordinances must be performed in the name of Jesus Christ. All...

SALT LAKE CITY -- University of Utah President Michael K. Young has a strong message for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He says freedom of religion is eroding in America and he urges Mormons to join the American Civil Liberties Union. While speaking at the annual conference of the LDS International Society on Monday at Brigham Young University, Young said religious freedom is about free will and agency. "We should be among the most passionate civil libertarians in the world," Young said. He expanded this during the question and answer period following his presentation by...

I once observed to a Mormon friend that Gordon B. Hinckley, late president of the Mormon Church, publicly lied when it suited him. No, I didn’t simply up and assault my friend’s faith. That would be bad manners. He and I discussed religion often; this happened to come up in the course of one of our conversations. “Lied?” said my Mormon friend. “Name one instance.” Without having to think hard or research, I came up with three: 1. When Hinckley served as an assistant to his predecessor, Ezra Taft Benson, he repeatedly assured church members that Benson was actively engaged...

"The right to lie in the service of your own interests is highly valued and frequently exercised"-Nero Wolfe I began this list when I was a full time employee of the LDS Church Education System (CES). I worked as a Seminary Principal/teacher, Institute teacher/Director, and Stake CES Coordinator from 1975 - 2002. My last assignment was brief. I signed a Letter of Agreement with CES to serve as the Director of the Pullman, Washington LDS Institute of Religion adjacent to Washington State University in July 2002. I resigned from CES a month later. I carry fond memories of the students,...

Introduction If Mormonism itself is not the "one true religion" as it claims to be, then that claim, of course is not true, and is a lie. If Joseph Smith did not really see angels, and if he did not really translate the Book of Mormon with divine help, then those claims are lies.But the purpose of this article is not to deal with those broad issues, since the amount of evidence that would be required to demonstrate the falsity of those claims (and the other broad claims of Mormonism) is more than can be dealt with in a small space. Rather,...

Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants: Church History   “Lesson 21: Joseph Smith Is Tarred and Feathered,” Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants: Church History, (1997),110Purpose To help each child desire to develop a forgiving attitude. Preparation 1. Prayerfully study Doctrine and Covenants 64:8–11, 15–16 and the historical account given in this lesson. Then study the lesson and decide how you want to teach the children the historical account. (See “Preparing Your Lessons,” pp. vi–vii, and “Teaching the Scriptural and Historical Accounts,” pp. vii–ix.) 2. Select the discussion questions and enrichment activities that will involve the children and best help them achieve the...

The Biblical Jesus vs. the Book of Mormon Jesus (From a post on exmormon.org) Special thanks to who ever posted this originally (sorry I forgot your name) and aknowledgement to Gordon Hinckley who said "we worship a different Christ". LDS members believe that they are singularly blessed with a record of the earthly ministry of Jesus from his life in Palestine, his visit to the Spirit World, and his visit to the Americas. Yet, a chronological reading of the story of Jesus’ last week in Palestine to his ministry in the America, using LDS scripture, leaves one puzzled as...

  Mormon youth, 12-18-year olds, are at least as mobile as any Milennial, and as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they now have access to a new iPhone app, LDS Youth, that allows them to view video messages from peers worldwide, access stories, thoughts, articles, and inspirational messages through their portable devices. With each amenity, is the share-feature, enabling youth to spread encouragement by phone among their peers and families.This app comes in conjunction with a newly updated LDS/Mormon website, Youth.lds.org (“Mormon” is a nickname for members of the Savior’s restored Church named in...

When the family organization was revealed from heaven—the patriarchal order of God, and Joseph began, on the right and the left, to add to his family, what a quaking there was in Israel. Says one brother to another, "Joseph says all covenants [previous marriages] are done away, and none are binding but the new covenants [marriage by priesthood sealing power]; now suppose Joseph should come and say he wanted your wife, what would you say to that?" "I would tell him to go to hell." This was the spirit of many in the early days of this Church. ....

  25 March 2011 — Salt Lake City News Release The Joseph Smith Papers series continues to put historic materials into the hands of modern readers. On 23 March 2011, the Church Historian’s Press released the latest book in the landmark project, Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations.As a prophet of God, Joseph Smith received many types of divine communication, and this new book presents those revelations as they were printed during his lifetime. Together with its predecessor, Revelations and Translations, Volume 1: Manuscript Revelation Books , the books make the early revelations more accessible than ever before for...

"If you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all," says Thumper rabbit in the movie Bambi.  Sounds nice enough, right?  Not to me. Unfortunately, we tend to promote this philosophy as the ideal.  But it isn't...it's simply another form of oppression and tyranny.  (I know what you're thinking: "Thumper??!  An oppressive tyrant??!  Get a grip, Julie!")  Just stay with me, dear reader, and hear me out...:) Rather than speaking truthfully and ethically to each other, we suppress reality and truth in the name of inauthentic "niceness."  With no constructive outlet, we're more likely to use subversive, underhanded...

Many Americans doubt the morality of atheists. According to a 2007 Gallup poll, a majority of Americans say that they would not vote for an otherwise qualified atheist as president, meaning a nonbeliever would have a harder time getting elected than a Muslim, a homosexual, or a Jew. Many would go further and agree with conservative commentator Laura Schlessinger that morality requires a belief in God—otherwise, all we have is our selfish desires. In The Ten Commandments, she approvingly quotes Dostoyevsky: "Where there is no God, all is permitted." The opposing view, held by a small minority of secularists, such...

Let me state from the outset that my purpose here is not to argue that Mormons are meaner than anyone else. I don’t think that. What I am going to argue though is that Mormons aren’t nicer than anyone else either. I’d say if you could get into the heads of Mormons you’d discover that they are thoroughly human, no nicer or meaner than any other large group of people. Now if you don’t know about Mormonism, the above might seem trivial to you, but consider this, when people talk about knowing Mormons, what is one of the things they...

The Savior’s Visit to the Spirit World    By Elder Spencer J. CondieOf the SeventySpencer J. Condie, "The Savior’s Visit to the Spirit World", Ensign, July 2003, 32–36   What Jesus did during the hours between His death and Resurrection provides the doctrinal foundation for building temples.   “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). After Jesus spoke these words from the cross, His immortal spirit took leave of His physical body. His lifeless flesh was laid in a sepulchre, and a stone sealed its entrance.A brief time later, angels declared to a group of women gathered at His tomb, “He...

Seventh-day Adventists won't tell you they are behind the "Revelation Seminars" they sponsor. They act all" interdenominational" if questioned. Watch out for these SDA outreaches as well: Voice of Prophecy, Faith for Today, It is Written, The Quiet Hour, Amazing Facts etc. They also hide behind Heath oriented shows on the networks, and sponsor stop-smoking clinics etc, all as introductions to Seventh-day Adventism. They very much want to be perceived as Evangelical Christians, seeking a place on the ministerial fellowships. All this is good PR for them, but what do they really believe? What facts won't they tell you? They...

The insanity trial of admitted killer Christopher A. Gribble begins Monday with the selection of jurors who will decide whether Gribble was legally insane when he and Steven Spader slaughtered a Mont Vernon mother and maimed her daughter during a random 2009 home invasion. His trial in Hillsborough County Superior Court likely will differ from that of his machete-wielding accomplice Spader, found guilty by a jury Nov. 9 of all six counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and related charges. Gribble, a Brookline Eagle Scout, admitted he stabbed and slashed local nurse Kimberly L. Cates, 42, to death with a...

In 1820 a 15 year old boy named Joseph Smith said that the angel Moroni (other versions say God or three angels) appeared to him and told him all churches were wrong, their professors were corrupt, and all their creeds were an abomination. So in 1830 he Founded The Mormon cult. He said the true Gospel had not been preached for 1800 years, and Mormonism is the only true church. Joseph Smith was assassinated in Carthage Illinois in 1844.The teachings of the cult are as follows:  A race of gods, {advanced humanoids from a planet orbiting the mysterious star...

Jim Robinson has laid down the law with regard to tech thread flame wars. I am motivated to make sure we tech-thread-heads are aware of this. This vanity is a heads-up with regard to Jim's comments last night, and I've added a few thoughts of my own as an observer. Here's what Jim said: To All: [That goes for everyone.] I don’t see any reason whatsoever to be having flamewars on FR over computer products. Those who have a problem with Apple should just not buy the product and that takes care of that. Don’t come to FR to flame...

7 anti-Apple cliches that need to dieby Chris Rawson (RSS feed) on May 29th 2010 at 8:30PMPC vs. Mac flamewars are older than the web itself, but it seems like the more popular/successful Apple gets, the more heated the argument gets on both sides. Almost any debate about the relative merits of one platform or another is guaranteed to degenerate into an all-out shouting match. In the midst of all the fighting and name calling, the oddest thing happens: almost every time, you'll see a lot of the same points being raised by both sides again and again. Some of...