Mormon Coffee

You can watch the whole talk here. A downloadable .mp4 file of video is available here.

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A downloadable .mp4 file of video is available here.

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A downloadable .mp4 file of video is available here.

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A downloadable .mp4 file of video is available here.

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MRM received the following e-mail from a Mormon on March 27:

Greetings

I must comment on a little section quoted regarding the poem / hymn “The Seer, Joseph The Seer” by John Taylor. Your written word states :

The portion quoted by Hinckley is rather innocuous compared to some of the other lines. For instance, in the first stanza we find:

“His equal now cannot be found, By searching the wide world around. With Gods he soared in the realms of day, And men he taught the heavenly way.”

Another stanza states:

“The saints, the saints, his only pride! For them he lived, for them he died! Their joys were his, their sorrows too, He loved the saints, he loved Nauvoo. Unchanged in death, with a Savior’s love, He pleads their cause in the courts above.”

Reading this, I must simply state Brother John Taylor hit the nail on the head. Indeed the equal of Joseph the Seer cannot be found searching the world around and indeed with Gods (yes plural) he soared the realms of day. And finally I must add how un offended I am at the concept of the prophet pleading the cause of the Saints in the courts above. Otherwise thanks for publishing this poem / hymn written to honor the greatest man (with the exception of Jesus only) to have walked this earth. As you are fortunate enough to be so proximate to the headquarters of the restored Church of Jesus Christ – perhaps you should avail yourselves the opportunity to feel the Spirit of God and let it witness to you of the prophetic calling of Joseph the Seer.

Sincerely,

Tim

Bold emphasis is mine. This e-mail evokes a lot of emotions in me. The Holy Spirit in me aches over this kind of thing.

Just give me Jesus.

Start at 17m 55s.

This song gives me heart and body a shiver of awe. Take all my idols away, Jesus.

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Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The Curse of Cain returns?

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Heads up: I get snarky over the hypocrisy and sophistry of BYU professors.

Without BYU professors, how else would we sift through the contradicting teachings of Mormon prophets and apostles? How else would we escape the “common misunderstandings” fostered by the top priesthood authorities in the Mormon Church?

We thank thee, O God, for BYU professors
To guide us in these latter days
When troublesome teachings by prophets and apostles hang o’er us
And threaten our mental peace to destroy
There is hope smiling brightly before us
And we know that deliverence is nigh
In the writings of BYU professors

In the Gospel of Gaskill, a.k.a. Savior & the Serpent: Unlocking the Doctrine of the Fall (2005), Alonzo writes,

Some would suggest that God’s command to Abraham or Nephi (to slay a human being) was a “contradictory command.” Those who take this position often cite these words by the Prophet Joseph: “God said, ‘Thou shalt not kill;’ at another time He said, ‘Thou shalt utterly destroy.’ This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted—by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed. Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof till long after the events transpire.”

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Andy Bird and I discuss some witnessing tips and some issues related to my presentation at Compassionate Boldness 2009.

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In July of 2004 Mark Hacking called the police to report his wife, Lori, was missing. Almost a year later Mark was convicted of first-degree murder. He had shot his sleeping, pregnant wife in the head with a .22 rifle and sent her body off to decay in a Salt Lake County landfill.

Mark and Lori were eternally married in the autumn of 1999 in the Bountiful (UT) Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They planned to someday be together in the Celestial kingdom. Lori’s murder changed that plan. As a murderer, Mark has committed a sin

“for which there is ‘no forgiveness’ (D&C 42:79), meaning that a murderer can never gain salvation…he is outside the pale of redeeming grace…

“Murderers are forgiven eventually but…they are not forgiven in the sense that celestial salvation is made available to them…After they have paid the full penalty for their crime, they shall go on to a telestial inheritance.” (Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, “Murderers,” 520)

According to LDS doctrine, exaltation in the Celestial kingdom is only available to couples, and only to couples that have been married for time and all eternity in a Mormon temple:

“If one is going to be in God’s kingdom of exaltation, where God dwells in all his glory, one will be there as a husband or wife and not otherwise.” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, 245)

“Since marriage is ordained of God, and the man is not without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord, there can be no exaltation to the fulness of the blessings of the celestial kingdom outside of the marriage relation. A man cannot be exalted singly and alone; neither can a woman. Each must have a companion to share the honors and blessings of this great exaltation.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:65)

What I’m wondering is, according to the LDS gospel system, what happens to Lori Hacking? Joseph Fielding Smith said,

“No one can be deprived of exaltation who remains faithful. In other words, an undeserving husband cannot prevent a faithful wife from an exaltation and vice versa.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:65)

Lori’s parents have removed the “Hacking” name from Lori’s gravestone, telling the press that “Mark obviously didn’t want her (Lori) anymore.” I’m guessing that if Lori could speak, we’d find the feeling is mutual. It’s unlikely that Lori would want to spend eternity sealed to her murderer.

So what does eternity hold for Lori? Assuming she was “a faithful wife,” how does the Mormon system grant her its highest promised blessing?

Please provide source documentation with your answers.

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