Free Republic

According to Dr. Joel Mathews, the phrase "In God We Trust" was first printed on our coins in 1864 and on paper bills in 1957. It had been proposed that "Our Country, Our God, Our Trust" be used, but that was shortened to be able to stamp the motto onto coins. Kansas State University Polytechnic's March Civic Luncheon began with Kansas Weslyan University's Dr. Philip Meckley asking: o How can we look at comparative religious traditions? o How can we live with differences for the sake of our human community? Matthews, a K-State Polytechnic instructor, began the lecture by saying...

Lyle Jeffs, who has been running the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for his imprisoned brother, has been indicted on food stamp fraud charges, the U.S. Attorney for Utah announced Tuesday. The indictment was unsealed the same day FBI and sheriffs deputies searched businesses in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., that are owned by members of the FLDS. Also indicted was Seth Jeffs, brother to both Lyle and FLDS President Warren Jeffs. [Snip] They are accused of conspiracy to commit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the new...

First of all, I should have started earlier. Christmas got in the way of my redditing. Second, the second day of Smithmas was supposed to be a video of Gordon B Hinkley slipping up in an interview and saying "Jesus Smith" instead of "Joseph Smith". Unfortunately, the video has been banned from the internets, and it took me all day searching just to confirm that I couldn't find it. My third day of Smithmas would have been a photo of the Joseph Smith SphinxI may have followed up with more Joseph-worship, but got sidetracked by the video being killed, and...

A MORMON CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA IS RECEIVING PRAISE AFTER A PHOTO OF A MUSLIM MAN PRAYING IN THEIR CHURCH GOES VIRAL. A Mormon church in Brisbane, Australia has received plenty of praise from individuals and groups around the world when they invited a group of Muslim worshippers from a local mosque to visit their Church and pray with them. Facebook pictures of Ali Kadri, who is a representative of the Islamic Council of Queensland, show that he and his fellow worshippers prayed at the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints on December 12. One of the members of the...

Merry Smithmas! I'd almost forgotten, but December 23rd is the birthday of the founder of the LDS church, Joseph Smith. The photo is of a Christmas nativity display at BYU in 2005, the 200th anniversary of his birth (complete with baby Joseph in the crib): www.mrm.org/...

POST IS TOO LONG TO POST ALL HERE - A F.A.I.R. Mormon Apologist by the name of CC (CleanCut) submitted a response to ALL 17 of the claims in this post 17 Little Known Facts About the Mormons What follows is,,, 1. the 17 facts as stated by Challengemin.org 2. CCs comments. (You see CCs original comments for verification on the above post comments section) 3. my (Damons) counter comments. FACT #1 The Mormon Church teaches ALL other Churches are WRONG; ALL their creeds are an ABOMINATION in the sight of God; and ALL their teachers are corrupt. One of...

An atheist professor said Tuesday that it's acceptable to criticize Christians but not Muslims, because he does not "fear" retaliation from Christians. "I know what keeps me from critiquing Islam on my blog is just fear," Phil Zuckerman said at a discussion on religious liberty at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. "I've got three kids. "So I know I can say anything about Christianity or Mormonism, and I'm not living in fear, which is a testament to Christianity and Mormonism, and that's wonderful. Thank you," said Zuckerman, who is a self-described atheist and professor of secular studies at Pitzer College...

Situated at the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah, Temple Square is the spiritual, cultural and administrative center of the Mormon faith. This ten acres plot of land includes a Temple, a domed tabernacle and numerous buildings, monuments and memorials. While this place may seem holy and wholesome, a closer look at the structures reveal the presence of occult, pagan and masonic symbols. A deeper study of those grounds only adds to the controversy regarding Mormonism and reveals the disturbing truth about its real god.This article's intent is not to condemn Mormonism as a faith, but rather to analyze the...

MORMONISM IS IN LOCKSTEP WITH FREEMANSONRY,OCCULT MYSTERY SCHOOLS AND ISLAM BUT AT THE HIGHEST CONTROLLING LEVELS...

The evidence of Joseph Smith's close connection to occultism and Freemasonry, and how this influenced the origin and development of the LDS Church is not well known outside of scholarly circles. This article summarizes the evidence for Joseph's personal involvement in both Freemasonry and occultism, and their influence on the Mormon religion. "There is absolutely no question in my mind that the Mormon ceremony which came to be known as the Endowment, introduced by Joseph Smith to Mormon Masons, had an immediate inspiration from Masonry." — Dr. Reed Durham, LDS Historian Mormonism's Link to OccultismBoth Joseph Smith and his father...

Evil Spirits from the spirit prison and from Hell. Elder Parley P. Pratt described the difference in appearance between these spirits and the righteous spirits which dwell in paradise. Persons who have departed this life, and have not yet been raised from the dead are spirits. These are two kinds, viz.--good and evil. These two kinds also include many grades of good and evil.The good spirits, in the superlative sens of the word, are they who, in this life, partook of the Holy Priesthood, and of the fulness of the gospel.This class of spirits minister to the heirs of salvation,...

People who have died are very important to members of the Mormon Church. The dead are a very important aspect of the Mormon gospel. The sixth President of the Church, Joseph F. Smith, taught, “We will not finish our work until we have saved ourselves, and then not until we shall have saved all depending upon us; for we are to become saviors upon Mount Zion, as well as Christ. We are called to this mission. The dead are not perfect without us, neither are we without them [see D&C 128:18].” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church, Joseph F....

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Utah attorney general's office is invoking jailed polygamous leader Warren Jeffs as proof that plural marriage should be illegal in Utah. The state argues in a filing Tuesday to an appeals court in Denver that Jeffs' actions shows what polygamy can look like. Jeffs is serving a life sentence in a Texas prison for sexually assaulting underage girls he considered wives....

The CW this week is that McCarthy’s Benghazi gaffe was a gift to Hillary Clinton but it’s also a gift to House conservatives who are looking for a foothold in electing Boehner’s successor. You won’t convince the centrists in the caucus that McCarthy’s too squishy to rule but you might convince them that he’s a political liability whom the GOP can’t risk having as a major spokesman during next year’s death match with the Clintons. All tea partiers need to mount a challenge is a candidate. Hensarling won’t do it, Jordan won’t do it, Ryan won’t do it. Jason Chaffetz?...

A Secret Service official’s allegedly deliberate decision to embarrass Rep. Jason Chaffetz could “give pause” to other lawmakers who have applied for federal jobs, cautioned former House Judiciary Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.

Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz will run for speaker. The Utah Republican announced his decision on Fox News Sunday, citing support from colleagues who “recruited” him to challenge the establishment favorite, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “We don’t want to fight internally,” Chaffetz told Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, “but realistically we can’t vote to promote the existing leadership. “Kevin McCarthy’s a good man,” Chaffetz said, “and he’s a reason we have such a solid majority. But things have changed, and there’s really a math problem.” Chaffetz granted that McCarthy may have the majority of votes to...

Boehner was the lesser of two evils. But not by much. You had Obama on the one side and Mr. Spray Tan on the other, and the hatred of one did not mean the love of the other. And for five years he failed. Handed the speakership by a pissed-off public, he did nothing with it. He didn't figure out how to handle Obama, he didn't figure out how to handle Reid, he was clueless with Pilosi and rudderless with the Republicans. He could neither command nor cooperate. Nor could he speak. As half the population was left without a...

If you're one of those rare people who think one spouse is not enough, your prayers may be answered. After the Supreme Court decision in favor of gay marriage, conservative critics spotted sister wives on the horizon. "Polygamy, here we come!" tweeted Weekly Standard editor William Kristol. Some members of the Supreme Court agree. Dissenting Chief Justice John Roberts argued that "much of the majority's reasoning would apply with equal force to the claim of a fundamental right to plural marriage." In 1996, Justice Antonin Scalia claimed the court had put itself on the path to upholding the rights of...

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church issued the following statement Friday: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledges that following today's ruling by the Supreme Court, same-sex marriages are now legal in the United States. The Court's decision does not alter the Lord's doctrine that marriage is a union between a man and a woman ordained by God. While showing respect for those who think differently, the Church will continue to teach and promote marriage between a man and a woman as a central part of our doctrine and practice."

In 2001, 1 in 7 Americans accepted polygamy as a "family" form (7%); by 2015, it's jumped to 1 in 6 Americans (16%). Source: Shocker: Morality Goes Out the Window, Americans Embrace Social LiberalismAs of last week, three of the dozen "apostles" of the Mormon Church – 1 in 4 -- were well ahead of that cultural curve and indeed, per Mormon doctrine, were headed for eternal polygamy.Allow me to explain: Seven years ago this Spring, the Salt Lake Tribune published an article that mentioned how "Three of the church's current apostles, for example, were widowed and remarried. Each will...