Category Archives: General Conference

This is a Test: Joseph Smith and Deuteronomy 13

It had been a long forty years of wandering in the wilderness. God’s people Israel were finally nearing their Promised Land. Moses’ life was drawing to a close and the people were about to enter a new way of life … Continue reading

Posted in Authority and Doctrine, Early Mormonism, General Conference, God the Father, Joseph Smith, King Follett Discourse, LDS Church, Mormon History, Mormon Leaders, Nature of God, Nature of Man, Nauvoo, Prophets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

A Gift of Grace?

At general conference in April, 2015, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the LDS First Presidency, gave a message called “The Gift of Grace.” In it he said “salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience.” How is one … Continue reading

Posted in General Conference, Grace, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

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

Posted in General Conference, Joseph Smith, LDS Church, Mormon Culture | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

“Utter Nonsense” Presented at the April 2015 Mormon General Conference

It’s like an April Fools joke, but nobody’s laughing. Instead, people are scratching their heads. During the April 2015 Sunday morning General Conference session, Mormon Apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf (of the First Presidency) gave a talk that just a few … Continue reading

Posted in General Conference, Grace, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

The Virtue of Joseph Smith

Speaking at the general conference last October, Mormon Apostle Neil L. Andersen gave a talk simply titled “Joseph Smith.”  Toward the end of his message, Andersen said, “I give you my witness that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and … Continue reading

Posted in General Conference, Joseph Smith, Truth, Honesty, Prayer, and Inquiry | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

The Continuing Call to Follow the Prophet

It was 35 years ago today that then-LDS apostle Ezra Taft Benson (President of the Quorum of the Twelve) delivered his now-famous speech, “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet,” to a devotional assembly at Brigham Young University. According to historian … Continue reading

Posted in Authority and Doctrine, General Conference, LDS Church, Mormon Culture, Mormon History, Mormon Leaders, Prophets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Jesus Came to Save Sinners

While reading the October 2014 General Conference addresses, I was interested to read that Mormon apostle D. Todd Christofferson said, “So God does not save us ‘just as we are,’ first, because ‘just as we are’ we are unclean, and … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Forgiveness, General Conference, Gospel, Grace, Repentance, Salvation, Worthiness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Mormonism’s Prophetic Authority and Selective Disobedience

Mormon blogger Jana Riess writes about “selective obedience” in her April 7th (2014) blog. She’s responding to a comment made by LDS apostle Robert Hales at last weekend’s General Conference. In his address, Mr. Hales contrasted three types of behavior: … Continue reading

Posted in Authority and Doctrine, D&C and Pearl of Great Price, General Conference, LDS Church, Mormon Leaders, Prophets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Critics of Mormonism Are All the Same

The feminist Mormon group Ordain Women explains on its website: “Ordain Women aspires to create a space for Mormons to articulate issues of gender inequality they may be hesitant to raise alone. As a group we intend to put ourselves … Continue reading

Posted in General Conference, LDS Church, Mormon Culture | Tagged , , , , , | 47 Comments

Where Did Mormon Leaders Go Wrong?

Apart from excitement over the fly that plagued Mormon Seventy Terence M. Vinson during his General Conference talk on Sunday (October 13, 2013), much of the Conference buzz on the world wide web (sorry – I couldn’t resist) is focused … Continue reading

Posted in Authority and Doctrine, General Conference, LDS Church, Mormon History, Mormon Leaders | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments