Category Archives: Mormon History

Mormon proselytizing can be tricky

Deseret News (online) published this cartoon by Arie Van De Graff on Jan 21, 2013. It might come as no surprise that there actually is A Book of Mormons. Written and compiled by Latter-day Saints Richard S. Van Wagoner and … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Sobered by their demise — they went contrary to the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith

Delbert L. Stapley Early in 1964 Mormon Apostle Delbert L. Stapley wrote a letter to his friend, Michigan Governor George W. Romney. Mr. Stapley wrote the letter due to concerns he had after hearing a pro-Civil Rights talk given by … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon Culture, Mormon History | Tagged , , , , | 58 Comments

Unwise Choices Lead Mormons to Disillusionment

Mormon apostle Quentin L. Cook spoke Saturday morning (6 October 2012) at General Conference using Alma 5:26 as his text. In this Book of Mormon passage Alma asks those people who have believed in Christ and pledged to follow Him … Continue reading

Posted in Joseph Smith, LDS Church, Mormon History, Truth, Honesty, Prayer, and Inquiry | Tagged , | 117 Comments

Mormon History: Here a blip, there a blip…

Latter-day Saint Melissa Inouye writes, “Mormonism isn’t like a string of Christmas lights.” She would rather liken Mormonism to a loaf of sourdough bread, and here’s why. Each light in a string of Christmas lights is dependent on the other … Continue reading

Posted in Early Mormonism, Mormon History | Tagged , , , , , | 69 Comments

A Mormon Denominational Walkabout

On a recent visit to Kansas City I stopped in Independence, Missouri. It was a beautiful spring day, so I took a short stroll covering approximately a five-block area near the LDS Visitors Center. Of course, the Community of Christ’s … Continue reading

Posted in LDS Church, Mormon History | Tagged , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Incidents of Persecution in Missouri

Earlier this week Michael Otterson, the head of public affairs functions for the Mormon Church, wrote at the Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog that Mormons in Missouri are currently experiencing “a time of healing” from the persecutions they suffered at … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Liberties, Mormon History | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Did the Mormon Church ever discriminate against black people?

Jason Horowitz of The Washington Post explored “The Genesis of a church’s stand on race” on Tuesday (2/28/12). Looking at the long-standing Mormon Church’s “ban on blacks in the priesthood,” which came to an end via revelation in 1978, Mr. … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon History | Tagged , | 55 Comments

Mormonism’s Secret History

In 1851 Mormon apostle Erastus Snow completed overseeing the production of a Danish translation of the Book of Mormon. It was the first non-English edition of the book ever published. When Deseret News provided an overview of the history of … Continue reading

Posted in Early Mormonism, Mormon History | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

A real crisis

Two articles have come out this past week that show the LDS Church is a bit concerned with its people finding out the true history of the church. Marlin Jensen, a general authority who is going to be leaving his … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon History | Tagged , , , , , , | 33 Comments

The America That Mormon Prophets Never Foresaw

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