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While studying some points of interest in Masonry, I came across some names within their books that sounded familiar to me. The familiarity became abundantly clear when I opened the Book of Mormon. I began researching some of the names in the Book of Mormon and their meanings. I compared them with the Bible, bible dictionaries and even Webster’s dictionary. I found 57 names of people and places that are demonic or names of false gods and their derivatives, however I have chosen to narrow this down to three names that I thought was most relevant. Someone mentioned to me...

According to Latter-Day Saints (LDS, Mormon) President Orson Hyde, Jesus was married to several women, including Mary Magdalene, and had biological children. "..[In John 2,] Jesus was the bridegroom at the marriage of Cana of Galilee, and he told them what to do. Now there was actually a marriage; and if Jesus was not the bridegroom on that occasion, please tell who was. ... We say it was Jesus Christ who was married, to be brought into the relation whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified. ... I do not despise to be called a son of...

This afternoon, after a long battle with cancer, Freeper Tminusfour passed away. For those of us who were blessed to know her personally, she was an amazing inspiration. She fought the cancer for nine years, cheerfully saying it would not define who she was. She was a model Christian, showing Christ's love in all that she did. She is survived by her husband, Freeper 4merliberal, by four daughters, and by a son and three stepsons. Now in the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, she is released from pain and hears the words "Well done, good and faithful...

Mormons have some really weird beliefs. For example, many (all) Mormons believe they (males only) can take a cooking/salad oil, pour just a small drop on the crown of your head and their god will heal them of almost anything. Mormons believe that by wearing ugly underwear bought from a specific company, their god will protect them from harm. Mormons believe that by wearing a really weird looking costume they are taught secret ways to touch angels so after they die, the angels will let Mormons get into heaven quicker. Mormons believe their god requires women to not wear outer...

Glenn Beck has set up Mercury One Children and Family Border Relief Fund to help illegals coming into the United States. He’s already raised $600,000. Beck stated that Obama would not have to step in and ask for $3.7 billion if private charities would pick up the slack and give to the swarm of illegals crossing the border.Is he kidding?  Do we really need more churches and non-profits enabling this blatant attack on America? Rich people and liberal elite billionaires have no skin in the game when it comes to the consequences of illegal immigration so what do they care?It’s the working...

As I’ve thought about the issues of asking questions, faithful agitation, and looking for a much-needed change regarding gender inequality in the Church, I have come to the conclusion that we as a church don’t know all there is to know about God. None of that has to take away from the truthfulness of the Gospel, but the suggestion that the Church is perfect makes the declaration of having a living prophet seem a bit confusing. If there are not things that we are waiting to open our eyes to (which means God is waiting on us to ask him)...

SALT LAKE CITY — Sexual assaults in Utah are going underreported, but the work of a BYU professor is helping to convince lawmakers and law enforcement to pay more attention to prosecuting such cases. Julie Valentine, a sexual assault nurse examiner and nursing professor at BYU, found that only 6 percent of cases in Salt Lake County have been prosecuted. Valentine examines rape victims and collects forensic evidence for cases. As she examined victims for prosecution, she would not hear back about any follow-up and wanted to find out why. “We would do these examinations — we’d do hundreds —...

Announcement: 9 November 1871 Groundbreaking and Site Dedication: 9 November 1871 by Brigham Young Private Dedication: 1 January 1877 by Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow, and Brigham Young Dedication: 6–8 April 1877 by Daniel H. Wells (with Brigham Young presiding) SNIP The St. George Utah Temple is the first temple where endowments for the dead were performed. The Founding Fathers of the United States of America appeared twice to Wilford Woodruff in the St. George Utah Temple asking why their temple work had yet not been performed on their behalves. A striking painting depicting this singular event hangs in the temple...

Ogden • A Plain City man accused of beating a fellow churchgoer last year at a Mormon baby blessing and mission farewell was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail. Wayne Dodge, 52, pleaded guilty last month in Ogden’s 2nd District Court to one count of class B misdemeanor assault. One charge of felony aggravated assault was dismissed, according to court records. Judge W. Brent West ordered Dodge to complete an anger management class as part of a 12-month probation. The judge also ordered Dodge to pay a $550 fine and have no contact with the victim. Dodge, who faced...

Marriott International launched its #LoveTravels marketing campaign on June 2, targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender customers—as well as pro-LGBT consumers—with a campaign designed to “convey the company’s commitment to make everyone feel comfortable being who they are.” The campaign already has its own dedicated website (two of them, actually); hotel-mounted billboards in Washington DC; and is spreading in social and LGBT media. Shot by the photographer Braden Summers, it features the recently out-of-the-closet basketball player Jason Collins and the transgender model Geena Rocero, and invites people to share their stories of travel on social media with the hashtag #LoveTravels....

Lawsuit claims teen girl was repeatedly abused by Mormon missionary in 1985 in Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert.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...

TROUTDALE, Ore.–Jared Michael Padgett was a straight-arrow kid who had a fascination with guns, planned a career in the military and was deeply devoted to his Mormon faith, those who knew him say. And they're all wondering why the 15-year-old took an assault rifle, a handgun and nine ammunition magazines to his high school and killed a fellow freshman, injured a teacher and took his own life. Police said Wednesday that they have not been able to establish a link between Padgett and Emilio Hoffman, the 14-year-old who was shot dead in a locker room. Police have not said whether...

SALT LAKE CITY — Eight LDS missionaries serving in the Salt Lake City East Mission and their leaders are working with the Forest Service to remove a flagpole that the missionaries cemented to the top of Mount Olympus earlier this week. Hikers discovered the flagpole with a U.S. Flag and an autographed mission T-shirt on Forest Service lands and alerted rangers. The Forest Service confirmed that posting the flagpole was indeed breaking the law. “You would need to get a permit to put up a flagpole. In wilderness it wouldn’t be allowed at all,” said Kathy Jo Pollock of Uinta-Wasatch-Cache...

VANCOUVER — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is suing the religious leader of a small polygamous sect in British Columbia, alleging Winston Blackmore has violated the church's trademarks and is attempting to portray himself — and his controversial community — as a part of mainstream Mormonism. The Salt Lake City-based church has filed a notice of claim against a corporation set up by Blackmore, who is one of two leaders in a commune in southeastern B.C. known as Bountiful. Blackmore and his followers practise a fundamentalist form of Mormonism that still holds polygamy as a tenet of...

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...