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I leave and heave A sigh and say goodbye

I had been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints for just a few days when I encountered my first experience of anti-Mormon prejudice. -SNIP- “But you’re not Christian and you don’t believe in forgiveness.” It was not a question, but a declaration, delivered with a finality reminiscent of a judge’s gavel rendering verdict on a hapless miscreant. -SNIP-Mormons do not pretend that their understanding of Christ is identical to that of Christian orthodoxy. We embrace the New Testament and much of what the modern Christian world teaches about the Savior of the world, but...

Last week, a Texas jury convicted Warren Jeffs, leader of the polygamist FLDS Church, of two counts of child sexual assault...For Americans who are increasingly interested in the religion of the two Mormons running for president, Jeffs' conviction raises what could appear to be difficult questions about modern Mormonism. There is no formal connection between Jeffs' FLDS Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... From 1852 until 1890, however, the Mormon Church did publically teach and practice polygamy... Given that history, many Americans ask themselves whether Jeffs' cocktail of religious authority, polygamy and child sex represents some...

During the early 1830s, Emma Smith was beginning to have some strong suspicions that her husband, Joseph (Mormon prophet) might be involved in infidelity. While these were only suspicions, Oliver Cowdery (one of the three “witnesses” to the Book of Mormon) had proof of Smith’s adultery and confronted him on it. Smith denied to Cowdery that he was in any such activity. Cowdery would be excommunicated from the Mormon church on several counts including, “by falsely insinuating that he [Smith] was guilty of adultery.” 1 Emma’s suspicions were confirmed when she caught Joseph and 19-year-old Eliza Partridge locked in a...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced Thursday that he will once again seek the Republican presidential nomination, but four years after his first bid, analysts say he will once again face the same unique hurdle: his Mormon religion. SNIP Mr. Romney steered clear of his religion when he kicked off his campaign in New Hampshire, but that could change this weekend when he and Mr. Huntsman travel to Washington, where they are scheduled to speak at the Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC) conference — an event that could provide an early snapshot of where they stand with religious conservatives. Ben...

Author: Kathryn M. Daynes Reviewer: Sarah Barringer Gordon Categories: Utah History, History of the Church Journal: 41:4 Any substantive evaluation of Kathryn Daynes's More Wives Than One should begin by emphasizing that this is a work of the highest order—Daynes brings originality, talent, and rigor to her work. Her book is likely to be extremely important; it received the Mormon History Association's Best Book Award for 2002. The award is richly deserved: the book includes innovative work in multiple dimensions of a complex and often elusive past. The book, a study of polygamy in Manti, Utah, from religious, social, and...

In last week’s issue I explained that even if evidence for an early Christian community in Mesoamerica could be found, that still wouldn’t satisfy most critics or prove that the Book of Mormon is true. The task of finding the evidence of a real ancient community of New World Christians becomes difficult once we understand the complexity and nature of what might be found.First, it’s important to remember that the Nephites were “Christian” for, at the most, 400 years. Second, the Nephite-Christians were a small group of persecuted believers among a sea of non-Christian believers in the ancient Americas. Some...

HAVE YOU NOTICED THIS ABOUT MORMONS?   If you were to desire to enter the exclusive LDS-Mormon club, you would have to be agree to the church doctrine including this:   First Presidency Doctrinal StatementsIt is not only his discourses that form the basis of Joseph F. Smith's doctrinal legacy. During his presidency, several important documents signed by the First Presidency and/or the Twelve were issued that still serve as a touch stone of Latter-day Saint belief. One such document, The Origin of Man: By the First Presidency, was issued in 1909 during a time when evolution was gaining attention...

Last month (March 2011) Ensign magazine included a challenge titled “How Well Do You Know Our Church Leaders?” It consisted of 15 details from the lives of the 15 current Prophets, Seers and Revelators of the LDS Church. Readers were invited to match the names with the facts. The Ensign challenge included things like figuring out which leader once raised rabbits or worked on an oyster boat. The lives of LDS leaders throughout the history of the Mormon Church reflect much more interesting details than those included in the Ensign article. So I here add my own version of “How...

Four decades ago, when my wife Dianne and I were active Baptists, somehow we ended up with a Baptist hymnal in our home. This same kleptomaniac-like behavior has surfaced on multiple occasions with respect to LDS hymnals. We even have an LDS hymnal embossed with “Joseph Smith Memorial Building.” Our Baptist hymnal is a...once widely-used, 1956-copyrighted edition published by Convention Press... SNIP Recently I searched our current 1985 edition of "Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" to determine how many of these hymns are common to our older Baptist hymnal. One might be surprised to learn...

PROVO, Utah (ABC 4 News) - The Provo City Fire Department has released the full report on the December Provo Tabernacle fire. The 135-page report outlines events leading up to the fire from December 17th that destroyed the historic landmark in Provo. Trax Lighting and AV arrived at the Tabernacle a few days before the fire to setup lighting for a concert that was to be taped by BYU Broadcasting. During the setup of a lighting truss, a technician said he set aside two lamps that were part of the in-house lighting system. Fire officials believe these lights were placed...

PARK CITY — Cathy Chamberlain spoke about recognizing and remedying common misperceptions of women in the LDS Church, at the 4th Annual LDS Business Conference. "There are a lot of myths out in the world about who Mormon women really are," Chamberlain said Friday in Park City. "The most common myth outside of the church is that LDS women are second-class citizens in the church. Among our own women, they're not sure their roles are as important as men's roles. "We've got some cultural myths we've got to remove, and it's become a mission of mine to figure out how...

Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings An ordinance is a sacred act performed by a man who holds the priesthood. Baptism and the sacrament are examples of priesthood ordinances. Some ordinances may be performed by brethren who hold the Aaronic Priesthood. But most ordinances are performed by Melchizedek Priesthood holders. This section gives directions that a priesthood leader should follow when performing an ordinance. Brethren who perform ordinances should prepare themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit. They also should make sure the ordinance meets the following requirements: All ordinances must be performed in the name of Jesus Christ. All...

SALT LAKE CITY -- University of Utah President Michael K. Young has a strong message for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He says freedom of religion is eroding in America and he urges Mormons to join the American Civil Liberties Union. While speaking at the annual conference of the LDS International Society on Monday at Brigham Young University, Young said religious freedom is about free will and agency. "We should be among the most passionate civil libertarians in the world," Young said. He expanded this during the question and answer period following his presentation by...

"The right to lie in the service of your own interests is highly valued and frequently exercised"-Nero Wolfe I began this list when I was a full time employee of the LDS Church Education System (CES). I worked as a Seminary Principal/teacher, Institute teacher/Director, and Stake CES Coordinator from 1975 - 2002. My last assignment was brief. I signed a Letter of Agreement with CES to serve as the Director of the Pullman, Washington LDS Institute of Religion adjacent to Washington State University in July 2002. I resigned from CES a month later. I carry fond memories of the students,...

Introduction If Mormonism itself is not the "one true religion" as it claims to be, then that claim, of course is not true, and is a lie. If Joseph Smith did not really see angels, and if he did not really translate the Book of Mormon with divine help, then those claims are lies.But the purpose of this article is not to deal with those broad issues, since the amount of evidence that would be required to demonstrate the falsity of those claims (and the other broad claims of Mormonism) is more than can be dealt with in a small space. Rather,...

Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants: Church History   “Lesson 21: Joseph Smith Is Tarred and Feathered,” Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants: Church History, (1997),110Purpose To help each child desire to develop a forgiving attitude. Preparation 1. Prayerfully study Doctrine and Covenants 64:8–11, 15–16 and the historical account given in this lesson. Then study the lesson and decide how you want to teach the children the historical account. (See “Preparing Your Lessons,” pp. vi–vii, and “Teaching the Scriptural and Historical Accounts,” pp. vii–ix.) 2. Select the discussion questions and enrichment activities that will involve the children and best help them achieve the...

The Biblical Jesus vs. the Book of Mormon Jesus (From a post on exmormon.org) Special thanks to who ever posted this originally (sorry I forgot your name) and aknowledgement to Gordon Hinckley who said "we worship a different Christ". LDS members believe that they are singularly blessed with a record of the earthly ministry of Jesus from his life in Palestine, his visit to the Spirit World, and his visit to the Americas. Yet, a chronological reading of the story of Jesus’ last week in Palestine to his ministry in the America, using LDS scripture, leaves one puzzled as...

When the family organization was revealed from heaven—the patriarchal order of God, and Joseph began, on the right and the left, to add to his family, what a quaking there was in Israel. Says one brother to another, "Joseph says all covenants [previous marriages] are done away, and none are binding but the new covenants [marriage by priesthood sealing power]; now suppose Joseph should come and say he wanted your wife, what would you say to that?" "I would tell him to go to hell." This was the spirit of many in the early days of this Church. ....

If I ever do decide to write a book about last weekend, they'll probably call it something like, "Fall From Grace: How a Good Mormon Boy Just Wanted to Watch a Little Basketball, But Ended Up Drinkin', Smokin' and Gamblin' the Weekend Away." I blame March Madness. The annual NCAA basketball tournament opened last weekend, and let's face it, some of us go a little crazy this time of year. Opening weekend alone features 48 games. Forty-eight. I did the math, and that many 40-minute games works out to 1,920 minutes -- a whopping 32 hours -- of basketball. And...