Tag Archives: Mormon Doctrine

How “official” is the Mormon First Presidency?

In 1973, five years before the Mormon Church lifted its ban on Blacks holding the LDS priesthood and participating in Mormon temple ordinances, Wendell J. Ashton, the Mormon Church’s director of Public Affairs, appeared on “1973 Special News Report: When … Continue reading

Posted in Authority and Doctrine, LDS Church, Mormon History, Mormon Leaders, Mormon Scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

“As Mormons, we worship…?”

At the Mormon.org website, visitors can learn about Joseph Smith and what he means to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Under the sub-heading, “A Martyr of the Restored Gospel,” the site says, “Joseph Smith gave … Continue reading

Posted in God the Father, Jesus Christ, LDS Church, Mormon Culture, Mormon History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Is it wrong say Mormonism embraces a “different Jesus”?

Mormon bishop Nate Sharp wrote a blog article aimed at “Dispelling 5 More Myths About Mormons.” I want to take a look at the first ”myth” he tackled: “Myth #1: Mormons believe in a ‘different Jesus.’ “One myth about Mormons … Continue reading

Posted in Friendship, Interaction, and Evangelism, Jesus Christ, LDS Church, Misconceptions, Mormon Leaders, Truth, Honesty, Prayer, and Inquiry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Mormon Leadership Not Appropriate at a Christian Event

In a blog post on Monday (March 9, 2015) Jana Riess told readers about the recent cancellation of a Christian retreat at which Dr. Riess was scheduled to speak. The reason the retreat was cancelled: Christian church leaders deemed that, … Continue reading

Posted in Authority and Doctrine, Christianity, Friendship, Interaction, and Evangelism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

The False Necessity of LDS Water Baptism

Guest Contributor In his February 2015 Ensign article entitled, “The Gate Called Baptism” (45-47), Elder Devn Cornish of the Second Quorum of the Seventy said that “…baptism, a holy sign of a covenant between God and His children, is required for our … Continue reading

Posted in Baptism, Book of Mormon, Christianity, D&C and Pearl of Great Price, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

If Mormon missionaries were straightforward about Mormonism…

Though done in a lighthearted manner, this 4-minute video is a fairly accurate depiction of standard Mormon doctrine. It would be nice if Mormon missionaries explained Mormonism as clearly as the characters in this video do, but I imagine that … Continue reading

Posted in Authority and Doctrine, God the Father, Great Apostasy, LDS Church, Mormon Missionaries, Mormon Temple, Prophets, Truth, Honesty, Prayer, and Inquiry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

James Talmage: Almost Charged With Apostasy for Writing That The Holy Ghost was a Person

Excerpted from James P. Harris’ foreword to The Articles of Faith (First Edition): Another theme that occupied Talmage’s attention was related to the Holy Ghost. Talmage wrote: Met with Theological Class Committee and [First] Presidency in lecture work. The subject … Continue reading

Posted in LDS Church | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

A doctrine God revealed to Brigham Young

Charles Harrell is an Associate Professor at Brigham Young University. In his 2011 book, This Is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology, he discusses many issues not normally found in a typical LDS-authored book. One such issue is the … Continue reading

Posted in Brigham Young, Early Mormonism, Fundamentalist Mormonism, God the Father, Mormon History, Mormon Leaders | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

New LDS.org Gospel Topic articles were submitted to the “presiding Quorums of the Church and the First Presidency for approval”

I am already hearing of BYU professors mocking the new LDS.org gospel topic articles as non-official. Elder Steven E. Snow, LDS Church Historian and Executive Director of the Church History Department, explains that each of the articles was submitted to … Continue reading

Posted in Authority and Doctrine, LDS Church, Misconceptions | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

We Thank Thee, O God, for…

Once-official LDS history and doctrine is undergoing some hefty rewrites via the new Gospel Topics essays at LDS.org. As previously little-known information about Mormon history and doctrine has become available online, many Latter-day Saints are experiencing crises of faith when … Continue reading

Posted in Early Mormonism, Mormon Culture, Mormon History, Mormon Leaders, Prophets | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 97 Comments