Free Republic

Share Del.icio.usDiggTwitterFacebookStumbleUponEmail Close [X] the latest breathless dispatch from the Rick Perry presidential watch beat is that the governor told the Des Moines Register he's getting "more and more comfortable every day that this is what I've been called to do." Now, if Perry really believes he's being called, I won't blame the Lord, whom Perry has falsely accused before. Recall that unfortunate Gulf oil spill that Perry famously blamed on "an act of God." And there's always a chance the governor didn't hear quite right. It could have been a bad connection, like the time Perry prayed for rain...

AUSTIN — Employing deeply religious language that national experts say affords both power and peril for his political career, Gov. Rick Perry in late May told a private group of East Texas business leaders that he was “called to the ministry” at the age of 27, suggested that the governor's office was his pulpit and that God put him “in this place at this time to do his will.” According to a transcript of the meeting, organized to raise funds for Perry's Aug. 6 “day of prayer and fasting” at Reliant Stadium, the governor stated that property rights, government regulation...

Why did the angel take Nephi Plates back to heaven? Do they not belong with man? Would not their existence prove once for all that Mormonism is truth? God allowed the Jews to carry the 10 commandments for several centuries in their original physical form, written by the finger of God Himself!"Will you, as a Mormon, please read the Bible cover to cover and ask God to reveal to you that it contains all of God's message to man and that parts are not lost or altered and that the Book of Mormon is false?"If the original 1830 Book...

So, young single adults ... have you ever been in a ward you didn't like? The chemistry was off? Didn't connect with your quorum? Not enough hotties? Too few mingles? Well, what did you do about it? If your answer is, "I served others, fulfilled my calling, loved the congregation and tried harder," then kudos. Good work. If your answer is, "I up and left," then you're a ward hopper and we need to talk. The costs of jumping ship It may seem like a small thing to go to a fresh ward each Sunday — after all, you're still...

When Lehi exited his tent one morning, he discovered on the ground "a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness" (1 Nephi 16:10). Later in the Book of Mormon, we read that the ball was prepared by the Lord and was called the "Liahona," which is translated as a "compass" (Alma 37:38; see also 2 Nephi 5:12). Critics were quick to ridicule the Liahona, claiming that the magnetic compass was unknown in 600 B.C. There are...

"Millions of ordinances are performed in the temples each year in behalf of our deceased loved ones. May we continue to be faithful in performing such ordinances for those who are unable to do so for themselves. I love the words of President Joseph F. Smith as he spoke of temple service and of the spirit world beyond mortality. Said he, 'Through our efforts in their behalf their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work...

AZ seeks emergency hearing on twin polygamy towns July 14th, 2010 @ 12:32pm SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Arizona attorney general's office has asked a Utah judge for an emergency hearing on the rising tensions between residents of twin polygamous communities on the Utah-Arizona border. The Thursday request comes in the wake of property-use disputes and allegations that police have failed to enforce the court-ordered authority of an accountant charged with managing the United Effort Plan Trust. The trust holds nearly all the properties in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., the base of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus...

Early Mormon theology about the divine origin and destiny of Adam may have been an affront to contemporary Protestants, who revered such ambiguities as hallowed mysteries, but such candid new doctrine — like Adam's spirit existing before coming to earth — eventually encouraged Latter-day Saints to view Adam's roll as both a literal and figurative one. The story of Adam and his and Eve's famed transgression have long been an important narrative for most of the world's largest religions — Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The account had influenced art, and therefore society, long before Michelangelo painted Adam and Eve on...

Fox News host Glenn Beck announced Tuesday that he has launched an online “academic program” teaching classes in “religion, American history and economics.” “School may be out for the summer, but for Glenn Beck class is just starting,” reads an announcement on Beck’s website. “This July, while others are relaxing poolside, head back to the classroom — from the comfort of your own home. That may sound like an oxymoron, but Glenn’s new academic program is only available online.”