Category Archives: Mormon History

You didn’t bring your dead brother Alvin? Sorry, you can’t have the plates

As September 22nd was the date known as the Autumnal equinox to contemporaries of Joseph Smith in 1823, September 25 was a notable day the following year. Joseph Smith Sr., Jr.’s father, published a notice in the Palmyra newspaper denying … Continue reading

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Joseph Smith and the Magical Autumnal Equinox

Anyone who regularly interacts with Mormons over Mormon history knows that “most members of [The LDS Church] in the twenty-first century know nothing of Joseph’s magical practices” (>>). I have been studying Mormonism for about ten years, and the depth … Continue reading

Posted in Joseph Smith, Mormon History | Tagged , , | 64 Comments

The Fruit of “Fanatical Earnestness”: The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses

Bill McKeever recently took a look at the documented history and evidence surrounding the testimonies of the Book of Mormon witnesses. In “Did the Eleven Witnesses Actually See the Gold Plates?” Mr. McKeever wrote, “Mormons generally believe that these eleven … Continue reading

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“All the women were prostitutes.”

Tomorrow (September 11, 2008) is another anniversary of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the traitorous murders of 120 men, woman and children led by Mormons in southern Utah in 1857. This year a couple of new books about the Massacre have … Continue reading

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Equally Zealous

I’m in Nauvoo, Illinois this week. This little history-packed town has some pretty interesting spiritual dynamics going on. As a Christian who challenges the claims of Mormonism, the Restorationists in town see me somewhat as an ally. The Restorationists split … Continue reading

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Lost Book of Lehi

During the summer of 1828, while working on the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith allowed his scribe, Martin Harris, to take 116 pages of the manuscript home to show Mrs. Harris. The manuscript pages disappeared. The lost book of Lehi … Continue reading

Posted in Book of Mormon, Mormon History | Tagged | 94 Comments

Governor Boggs vs. the Mormons

Last week, on July 24th, the state of Utah and Mormons everywhere celebrated Pioneer Day, the anniversary of the 1847 arrival of the Mormons to the Salt Lake Valley. I’ve been reading newspaper articles reporting on various celebrations from all … Continue reading

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The Book of Mormon in Context

“The possibility of finding buried treasure fascinated many in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century America. Reports of searching for such riches were widespread in the Palmyra [New York] area, and extant accounts show that treasure was generally sought through supernatural … Continue reading

Posted in Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, Mormon History | 142 Comments

“Mormon” History

The LDS Church continues the effort to distance itself from Mormon Fundamentalists. In a July 10, 2008 article printed in the Salt Lake Tribune, LDS spokesperson Scott Trotter is quoted as saying, “there is no such thing as a Mormon … Continue reading

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The Stories of the Wives of Joseph Smith

[SWF]http://www.youtube.com/v/8LhzU4iXLxQ&hl=en,425,344[/SWF] Consider the fact that Mormons told the women in the visual illustration that they were lying, since “Joseph Smith only had one wife.” The LDS Church lies by 1) not educating the common Mormon people about the nature of … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon History, Multimedia | Tagged , | 57 Comments