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Mass confusion is still extant pertaining to three key Christian words -- each related to "ministry" and those who serve God: "priesthood" "saints" "ordination" Each of these words have, unfortunately, been largely skewed by the historical Church: The first two by Roman Catholicism; the latter by Protestantism. 'Holy Priesthood...Royal Priesthood' No New Testament-based Church can neglect 1 Peter 2:4-9 and Revelation 1:5-6 plus Revelation 5:10 in its definition of "priesthood." In 1 Peter 2, the "holy priesthood" (verse 5) and the "royal priesthood" (verse 9) are described as a privilege presented to those who... ...come to Christ (verse 4); ...are...

In his landmark work Jesus the Christ, James E. Talmage spends several pages outlining the “high priest’s unrighteous adjuration” of the Savior. The Sanhedrin wanted so badly to not only stem the growth of Jesus’ growing disciples, but to take back control of what he continued to point out as a broken religious system of Pharisees, Sadducees, hypocrisy, judgment and adherence to outdated laws that ignored the heart of his message of love, tolerance and spiritual growth. Before I proceed, let me make it clear with those who are looking closely for opportunities to cry foul that I am not...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has excommunicated a prominent backer of ordination of women priests, her advocacy group has said. Kate Kelly, founder of Ordain Women, was notified of the ruling on Monday, a day after a trial by judges in the Mormon Church, Ordain Women said. The group said the Mormon Church hierarchy deemed her an apostate for her contravention of Church doctrine. The Utah-based Mormon religion boasts more than 15 million members worldwide. According to a letter informing her of her excommunication obtained by the Deseret News, a leading Utah newspaper, Ms Kelly will be...

...The Herald Journal of Logan, Utah is running an online poll asking readers, “Would you support the excommunication of Mormon activists John Dehlin and Kate Kelly?” At the time of this writing, the “No” response outnumbered “Yes” by nearly 4 to 1. Mormon blogger Jana Riess is very troubled by the Church’s actions toward Kelly and Dehlin. She asked, “Are we looking at a Mormon purge?”... “If the point of these pending excommunications is to strike fear in the hearts of other Latter-day Saints who love the Church but do not always agree with it on matters of social justice,...

....From California to Virginia and states in between, more than a dozen Mormons interviewed in the past week said they had recently been informed by their bishops that they faced excommunication or risked losing permission to enter a temple because of comments they had made online about their faith, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.SNIP "When it goes so far as creating organized groups, staging public events to further a cause, and creating literature for members to share in their local congregations," Otterson said, "the church has to protect the integrity of its doctrine as well as...

Beginning Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014, and running through Easter, April 20, the Church is launching an Easter initiative called “Because of Him,” focusing on the hope, healing, and salvation made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Elder David F. Evans, Executive Director of the Missionary Department, said, “As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek to do as He has instructed: ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ The ‘Because of Him’ Easter initiative is part of an ongoing effort to follow the Savior’s admonition.” Using the Internet and social media, the Church...

PALM SPRINGS – A lawsuit filed Friday against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church bishop and a missionary, claims a woman was repeatedly sexually abused when she was a teenager in Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert, and it was covered up. The lawsuit, which was filed in Riverside County Superior Court in Palm Springs, contends that from July to November 1985, Jacqueline Tyler, then 13, was repeatedly abused by a missionary and that after a church bishop learned of the alleged abuse, her family was told to stay quiet and the bishop "made advance payment or...

A fledgling Mormon dating site reports that IRI, the intellectual property rights arm of the LDS Church, is attempting to shutter the planned launch of Mormon Match because of its use of the word “Mormon” and its appropriation of an image of the Salt Lake Temple.Here’s what the front page of the site-in-progress looks like now:For a good discussion of the issues involved, see Holly Welker’s post in Religion Dispatches. (I don’t think RD’s headline is quite accurate, though; as far as I know, the Church has not filed a lawsuit but applied pressure and commenced an “opposition proceeding.” According...

While the church got headlines for dropping its much-mocked ‘Mormons get their own planets’ doctrine, it quietly reaffirmed a far more important, and more radical, tenet of the faith.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently backpedaled on a key tenet of Mormon theology: that after death, righteous Mormons will become gods, with the capacity to create planets of their own. But while press coverage of the walk-back has focused on the “Mormons get their own planets” doctrine, already ridiculed on Broadway and TV, what’s remarkable is what the LDS church left in.Indeed, the church doubled down on the...

A group of 500 Mormon women who want ecclesiastical equality with men are expected to seek admittance to a male-only session of the faith's spring conference on Saturday, as they promote the ordination of women into the lay priesthood of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Adorned in purple, members of Ordain Women plan to march from a park to the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square, the heart of a four-block campus that is the church's global home. They will stand in line for seats to the evening priesthood meeting at a semi-annual two-day conference, after last...

"Revelers with colored corn starched hands celebrate during the 2014 Festival of Colors, Holi Celebration at the Krishna Temple Saturday, March 29, 2014, in Spanish Fork, Utah. Nearly 70,000 people are expected to gather starting Saturday at a Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork for the annual two-day festival of colors. Revelers gyrate to music and partake in yoga during the all-day festival, throwing colored corn starch in the air once every hour. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the large majority of participants are not Hindus, but Mormons. Thousands of students from nearby Brigham Young University come...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a religious organisation registered as a private unlimited company in the UK, was told in 2005 that it was not exempt from paying business tax on its temple in Preston, Lancashire. Because the public were not allowed access to the temple, which was reserved for the most devout Mormons, the High Court dismissed their appeal in July 2008. However, the church refused to accept the decision, claiming that it amounted to discrimination on religious grounds and taking their battle all the way to Strasbourg. Now the European Court of Human Rights has...

Miraculous claims surrounding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon are an evidence of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith. Critics intent on discrediting the Restoration point to DNA studies on indigenous American peoples in an attempt to expose Joseph, the Book of Mormon, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as frauds. Claiming that scientific evidence excludes any possibility that Middle Eastern or ancient Jewish travelers came to the Americas in antiquity, such critics attempt to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of Latter-day Saints and those of other faiths concerning the authenticity of the...

Feb. 14, 2014 (MonicaKelsey) - When someone says, "I am pro-life except in the case of rape or incest," they are using an oxymoron to describe themselves. This is in essence describing themselves as pro-choice and shows they have a lack of understanding of what being pro-life is truly about. Glenn Beck, who my husband listens to almost daily, is a good example of someone who is highly intelligent, but lacks the understanding of what it means to be pro-life with no exceptions. Let me explain. First of all, let me tell you about who I am. I am a...

Filioque Filioque is a theological formula of great dogmatic and historical importance. On the one hand, it expresses the Procession of the Holy Ghost from both Father and Son as one Principle; on the other, it was the occasion of the Greek schism. Both aspects of the expression need further explanation. Dogmatic meaning of filioque The dogma of the double Procession of the Holy Ghost from Father and Son as one Principle is directly opposed to the error that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father, not from the Son. Neither dogma nor error created much difficulty during the...

Thomas S Monson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ordered to appear before British magistrates' court amid claims that the organisation's teaching amounts to 'fraud' A British magistrate has issued an extraordinary summons to the worldwide leader of the Mormon church alleging that its teachings about mankind amount to fraud. Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been ordered to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London next month to defend the church’s doctrines including beliefs about Adam and Eve and Native Americans. A formal summons signed by District...

“I can’t fake it,” then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney said as the political advisers and family members nearby deflated. They knew what that meant. The scene, which occurred during the heated 2008 GOP primary battle between Romney and his rising political adversary, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), occurs early on in the new Netflix documentary, Mitt. The film premieres on Netflix at 11 AM today and offers a rarely-seen look at the former Governor and his family as they trudge through two seemingly-endless presidential campaigns. Director Greg Whiteley was given great access to Romney during those campaigns, and he uses it to...

Thomas Monson issued court summons to answer allegations of fraud - 2/4/14 The Prophet of the LDS Church, Thomas S. Monson has been ordered to attend court and face allegations of fraud. A court in London, England has issued Thomas Spencer Monson with 2 summons (see below) containing allegations of seven offences in contravention of Section 1 Fraud Act 2006. Mr. Monson is required to attend the court, Westminster Magistrates’ Court, on 14th March 2014. The court will then almost certainly refer the case to Southwark Crown Court for further proceedings. Failure of Mr. Monson to attend the Court on...

Since its beginning, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has proclaimed to the world...there was an apostasy of the church which had been founded by Jesus during his earthly ministry...This is a fundamental belief of the restored church. In fact, it is the apostasy of early Christianity which creates the very need for the restored Latter-day Saint faith: if there had not been an apostasy, there would have been no need for a restoration.2 Latter-day Saint theology asserts...the church of Jesus and his apostles came to an end...the doctrines which its inspired leaders taught were corrupted and changed...

...A frequently cited passage in LDS scripture identifies The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth”(...Doctrine and Covenants 1:30). “What does this mean?” asked Elder Tad R. Callister of the church’s Presidency of the Seventy during a devotional for college-age church members Sunday evening. “It does not mean that other churches do not have some truth, for certainly they do,” he said. “It does not mean that other churches do not render good, for they render much good. What it does mean is that this is...