Author Archives: grindael

“What Many People Called Sin Is Not Sin” Part II

Posted on May 22, 2014 by grindael

During a Church Court in 1850, Joseph E. Johnson claimed that he was aware of what he called “the first frigging” of Joseph Smith and Johnson’s mother-in-law, Mary Heron Snider. For details about this incident, see Part I. The reason … Continue reading →

Posted in D&C and Pearl of Great Price, Early Mormonism, Joseph Smith, Mormon History, Polygamy | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

“What Many People Called Sin Was Not Sin” Part I

Posted on May 19, 2014 by grindael

A Church Court is convened. A man is accused of committing adultery and fathering a child with another man’s wife.  One of the presiding elders speaks to those assembled about the offender and says that, “This matter was bro[ugh]t before … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Mormonism, Joseph Smith, Lorenzo Snow, Mormon History, Polygamy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

What’s In A Name?

Posted on April 24, 2014 by grindael

This is kind of a dual subject post, so bear with me. We sometimes place a lot of importance on names. For example, the Mormon Church places a lot of importance on the name of the Church: The Church of Jesus … Continue reading →

Posted in Friendship, Interaction, and Evangelism, LDS Church, Mormon Culture | Tagged , , , , | 95 Comments

The Adam God Challenge

Posted on September 2, 2013 by grindael

Once upon a time I was a member of the Mormon Church. I was converted at age 14 and ardently followed the teachings and lifestyle of Mormonism. I went to Church every Sunday, read the Book of Mormon, and had … Continue reading →

Posted in Brigham Young, Early Mormonism, God the Father | Tagged , , , | 66 Comments

The Doctrine of Christ

Posted on August 12, 2013 by grindael

The latest speculation about Mormon doctrine comes from lawyer turned “apostle” D. Todd Christofferson who spoke about the subject at the April 2012 General Conference, calling it “The Doctrine of Christ.” In this talk Christofferson makes the following observation: “In … Continue reading →

Posted in Authority and Doctrine | Tagged , , , , , , , | 107 Comments

Of Mice and … Egos

Posted on June 28, 2012 by grindael

Life is full of choices. In John Steinbeck’s classic novella from 1936 the result of one choice was George Milton putting a bullet in the back of his friend Lennie Small’s head. In the case of a recent in-house cleaning … Continue reading →

Posted in Mormon Culture | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

The America That Mormon Prophets Never Foresaw

Posted on November 28, 2011 by grindael

Joseph Smith made some crucial prophecies about the Second Coming that caused many other Mormon “authorities” to make additional ones, and voice the expectation that the United States would be destroyed as a nation, and Jesus would return by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Mormonism, Mormon History | Tagged , , , , , , | 26 Comments

The Deception and Fall of Apostle Albert Carrington

Posted on October 6, 2011 by grindael

In a Note I recently wrote for my Facebook Page Mormon & LDS Facts, I detail what I’ve called “The deception and fall of Mormon Apostle Albert Carrington.” The Note can be found in its entirety here. (Update: This Note … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Mormonism, Mormon Leaders | Tagged , , | 92 Comments

An Interesting Discovery: A Map of the Travels of Moroni

Posted on July 7, 2011 by grindael

In the ongoing Mormon Apologist Wars on the location of the Book of Mormon lands, one advocate of the LGT (Limited Geography Theory) is Michael Ash. In February of this year, he published an article entitled, “How Moroni and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book of Mormon | Tagged , , , | 120 Comments

What Happened to the Trinity in Mormonism?

Posted on June 16, 2011 by grindael

I often wonder about certain teachings in the Mormon Church that sort of ‘fell by the wayside’ so to speak. One of those was the doctrine of the Trinity. Once, it seems, Mormons believed in the doctrine of the Trinity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book of Mormon, Early Mormonism, Nature of God | Tagged , , | 56 Comments