Mormon Coffee

20 free courses from Covenant Theological Seminary’s “Worldwide Classroom”

I am often accused of being “unChristlike” because I take a vocal stand against Mormonism. I recognize heresy in Mormon teachings and stand against it for two reasons. One is the call in Scripture for followers of Christ to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). The other, also found in Scripture, is the call for “the Lord’s servant…to teach…correcting his [spiritual] opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Whatever one thinks of my position in regards to Mormonism, these two mandates from Scripture compel me to confront what I understand to be false teachings.

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As September 22nd was the date known as the Autumnal equinox to contemporaries of Joseph Smith in 1823, September 25 was a notable day the following year. Joseph Smith Sr., Jr.’s father, published a notice in the Palmyra newspaper denying “reports [that] have been industriously put in circulation, that my son, Alvin, had been removed from the place of his internment [burial site] and dissected.” Whoa. That needs some context.

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Should Michael R. Ash be concerned for Boyd K. Packer?

The October 2008 edition of First Things contains a lengthy article titled, “Is Mormonism Christian?” The article is in two parts. The first was written by LDS Seventy Bruce D. Porter and takes one position; Christian professor and author Gerald R. McDermott wrote the second part, concluding with a different opinion.

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Anyone who regularly interacts with Mormons over Mormon history knows that “most members of [The LDS Church] in the twenty-first century know nothing of Joseph’s magical practices” (>>). I have been studying Mormonism for about ten years, and the depth to which the early Joseph Smith was immersed in a worldview of invoking magic and controlling spirits continues to amaze me. One thing that I recently learned was the significance of the Autumnal equinox to Joseph Smith’s worldview.

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