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Is there anything that goes by the name “Christian” that has not been usurped, abominated, surpassed and eclipsed by that damnable heresy Mormonism! Let us not allow Christmas to draw our attention away from the great event of the ages – the birth of Joseph Smith. Let us not permit the events recounted in the gospels to distract us from the great events of the “Restoration”. God forbid that the annunciation of angels, the trembling wonder of shepherds and the reverence of wise men at the advent of God become flesh should eclipse the news of the “First Vision.” God...

The FIRST DAY of Christmas Past was just too easy! Prophet Joseph Smith, was the ANSWER all did see! SNIP Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805. His nephew, Joseph F. Smith, said of this fact – “in my judgment the next birthday celebration to that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ should be that of Joseph Smith.” The following is parts of a talk Joseph F. Smith gave at a Memorial honoring the Prophet Joseph Smith’s Birthday held on December 23, 1894. That year marked the 50 year anniversary of his martyrdom. “I should like to...

SNIP This special season has greater importance for the Latter-day Saints than for others because we not only observe the birthday of the Savior but also the birthday of our Prophet, Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith, the great Prophet chosen by our Heavenly Father to usher in the last dispensation, was born on December 23, 1805, just two days before December 25, which the world observes as the birthday of Jesus Christ. December 23 should be a day of great importance in every Latter-day Saint home, a day of remembering and honoring one of the great prophets of God, a day...

Definition of SmithEmphasisMas? Over-the-top renditions of Christmas themes applied to Joseph Smith! The most obvious example was the BYU Joseph Smith Nativity scene in 2005 Joseph Smith Nativity [A Virtual 'Merry Smithmas' 'Greeting Card' circa 2005] Here are three additional examples of SmithEmphasisMas: DATE 'SMITHEMPHASISMAS' WHO SAID/PUBLISHED IT/LINK 2011 (Dec. 18) (1) Headline by church-owned newspaper mentions "co-celebrants'" December birthdays: Joseph Smith gets same billing as Jesus Christ: Deseret News (owned by the Mormon Church): Two December Births to celebrate: Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith; (2) The article starts off so that you would think the writer is talking about...

'Twas the night before Smithmas, and all through the temple, Not a cumelon was creeping, or a tapir, (for ex-emple!) The garments were hung out to dry in the air, But fortunately for us, we have two extra pairs. The children were stashed at Gramma's homestead, While Mom and Pop got dunked once again for the dead! And Mom in her veil, and I in my old bakers' cap, Had just about finished another endowment wrap! When beyond the temple grounds I heard a big clatter Even sprang from my seat to see about the chatter; To the pentagram window...

The literal simplest meaning of "Christmas" = Christ as the "Sent One." The Mormon Church stresses Joseph Smith as key "Sent One": 1862 (July 13) [Quote republished by church in 1925] Brigham Young: "I have taught for thirty years, and still teach, that he that believeth in his heart and confesseth with his mouth that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is his Prophet to this generation, is of God; and he that confesseth not that Jesus has come in the flesh and SENT Joseph Smith with the fulness of the Gospel to this generation, is not of...

If you were ever to receive a liturgical Order of Smithmas Sacrament Meeting devoted to Joseph Smith, here's what it might look like! Part B of Double Posting: 'Answers' to the 26-Question Quiz from Part A {Note: This is part B of How would YOU score on this 26-question quiz about 'Smithmas?' [Vanity, Part A]} What makes this part B? Well, the "answers" to the 26-question quiz of part A weren't included there. Want to see how you scored in that Part A Quiz? [If you haven't yet taken the Quiz, go HERE before continuing to read this piece...Then come...

66 years ago today (Dec. 17, 1947), an Old Testament "scholar" for BYU gave the annual "Joseph Smith Memorial Fireside" message in Logan Utah at the Lds Institute for Religion. The Institute, geared to be a spiritual hub for Utah State University Mormon students, has grown from 114 students to it being perhaps the "second largest" LDS Institute of Religion in the world with over 7,000 students. See Perry honors 75 years of Logan InstituteThe Logan Institute has made a significant "contribution" to the Mormon celebration of "Smithmas" by developing "Joseph Smith Memorial firesides" that "began in 1944 and have...

SNIP According to the student manual, who is the Rod and Root of Jesse?" "Joseph Smith" SNIP

The Nativity

How do you know you're saved? Imagine you arrive at a most important banquet that's hosted by Christ Himself. After all--you're a Christian. Picture coming to His home and walking right up to the door. Perhaps you're a little surprised that the door is closed and you're shut outside. But not to be deterred, you knock and knock. No response, no reaction. So you call out, "Jesus open the door, Lord it's me." Still, no response, no reaction. At long last, you hear Jesus' voice and He says, "I never knew you!" What a devastating and shocking situation in which...

Maxwell Institute teaming up with the Vatican Library to give online access to priceless Syriac texts These efforts are the result of a strategic partnership the Vatican Library forged with the University of Heidelberg and the University of Oxford, and we’re pleased to announce, with BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute, in an ambitious project to make all of its collections available online. The Maxwell Institute has entered a formal partnership with the Vatican Library to provide digital access to priceless Vatican-owned Syriac manuscripts.

Ninth LDS President David O. McKay, once wrote: “The fallacy that Jesus has done all for us, and live as we may, if on our deathbed, we only believe, we shall be saved in his glorious presence, is most pernicious. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, has given us the means whereby man may obtain eternal happiness and peace in the kingdom of our Father, but man must work out his own salvation through obedience to the eternal principles and ordinances of the gospel. For centuries men have been blinded by the false teaching of ‘belief alone sufficient’; and...

The church has put up a couple interesting...topic pages recently on LDS.org... Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past...Funny, I don’t see the word “theory” used here: ...(2 Nephi 5:21). ...“theory” wasn’t used in this statement on the “negro question”: The position of the Church regarding the Negro may be understood when another doctrine of the Church is kept in mind, namely, that the conduct of spirits in the premortal existence has some determining effect upon the conditions and circumstances under which these spirits take on mortality (Statement by the First Presidency, August 17, 1949). Joseph Fielding...

...Latter-day Saint scripture and teachings affirm that God loves all of His children and makes salvation available to all. God created the many diverse races and ethnicities and esteems them all equally... ...for much of its history—from the mid-1800s until 1978—the Church did not ordain men of black African descent to its priesthood or allow black men or women to participate in temple endowment or sealing ordinances. SNIP In 1852, President Brigham Young publicly announced that men of black African descent could no longer be ordained to the priesthood, though thereafter blacks continued to join the Church through baptism and...

More than three decades after reversing its prohibition of black priests, the Mormon church has disavowed the ban, saying it was put into place during an era of great racial divide that influenced early teachings of the church. The nearly 2,000-word statement posted on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' website was the church's most comprehensive explanation of why it previously had barred men of African descent from the lay clergy. In the article, the church pinned the ban on an announcement from church president Brigham Young in 1852. The ban ended in 1978, but in the 35...

An ecumenical group of religious historians and other scholars will convene at the University of Notre Dame’s McKenna Hall on Dec. 5-6 (Thursday-Friday) for a conference titled “Catholics and Mormons: A New Dialogue.” The conference will explore relationships among Catholics and Mormons as their churches are increasingly allied in common social, political and relief efforts. Its themes will include “The Lay of the Land: Contemporary Mormonism and Catholicism,” “Catholicism and Mormonism in Historical Context,” “Revelation: Scriptures, Traditions, and Authoritative Teachings” and “Theologies of Encounter, Unity, and Diversity.”

From the video, "Lesson in Compassion".

<p>Four calling birds? A partridge in a pear tree? No one is sure exactly what the twelve gifts in the “The Twelve Days of Christmas” represent, but there have been several theories. One interesting claim is that the song was written to help young Catholics learn their faith. In this interpretation, each Christmas gift represents something connected to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Looking at the song this way helps families focus on the true meaning of Christmas. We've taken this tradition and added a little bit of an LDS spin to it.</p>

Following the distribution of the Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith DVD last month, there have been many conversations and opinions published online regarding the Christian outreach effort. One exchange took place on the Salt Lake Tribune’s public forum. A Catholic woman, who believes in “love and charity to all” wrote to express her dismay over the DVD distribution, ending her letter with a kind hope that Latter-day Saints had been able to enjoy their Church’s General Conference despite the “sport” engaged in by “anti-Mormons.” Perhaps this was not the most charitable and loving letter “to all” in consideration of the nature of...