Tag Archives: Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates

Joseph Smith, the first Mormon Prophet, claimed he was divinely guided to a set of gold plates that were buried near his home in the state of New York. After taking possession of these plates, according to the official LDS … Continue reading

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The Wives of Joseph Smith Visit Manti

The annual Christian outreach at the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, Utah concluded about 2 weeks ago. During this year’s outreach, 34 women, dressed in pioneer clothing, each took on the identity of a wife of Joseph Smith. This was … Continue reading

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Brigham Young’s Test of a Prophet

Brigham Young taught, “[The wicked] found fault with Joseph Smith, and at length killed him, as they have a great many others of the Latter-day Saints. What for? Because of his wickedness? No. But the cry was, ‘Away with him, … Continue reading

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Joseph Smith “carried off my daughter”

Over the years, much has been written about the heartbreak caused by Mormon weddings. The oft-cited cause of this heartbreak is the sacred, exclusive LDS temple wedding that necessarily excludes “unworthy” friends and family from attending. According to Mormonism, marriages … Continue reading

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Cultic Characteristics in Mormonism

Though the word “cult” has fallen far out of favor, cults and religious sects still exist. Christian author and theologian Roger E. Olson recently addressed the history of the word and its evolving definition in an article titled, “Criteria for … Continue reading

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How was Joseph Smith’s seer stone like a smart phone?

I know the headline sounds like a lead-in to a joke, but in fact, Mormon apologist Daniel Peterson wrote a “Defending the Faith” column for Deseret News in which he suggested that, though “some critics of Joseph Smith mock the … Continue reading

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Do Mormons Have Faith in the Bible?

The Mormon Church recognizes four books as scripture: The Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible. And yet, as noted at the MRM website, Joseph Smith said [of the Bible], “Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, … Continue reading

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Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration

It’s Throwback Thursday! The following blog article originally posted at Mormon Coffee on May 3, 2006. This year, 2015, marks the 10th anniversary of the original release of the Mormon Church-produced film discussed in this post. Please note: the original film … Continue reading

Posted in Early Mormonism, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, LDS Church, Mormon Culture, Mormon History, Mormon Missionaries, Nauvoo, Prophets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

What I Learned on My Visit to Old Mormon Nauvoo

A few weeks ago I visited The City of Joseph: Nauvoo, Illinois. It was quick trip; I was only able to spend two days in the area, hurrying from place to place in an effort to do some primary source … Continue reading

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Looking at the April 2015 Mormon General Conference

The LDS Church’s most recent General Conference was held April 4-5, 2015. A couple of interesting graphics have been produced as a result. Over at MormonChannel.org’s Facebook page visitors were asked to fill in the blank: “Because of #ldsconf I will … Continue reading

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