Free Republic

The Ravenous Wolves of FreeRepublicHow do we deal with the insults and pain of those whom Christ called "ravenous wolves"? Many aren't aware of it but the phrase "A wolf in sheep’s clothing" has biblical origins. Mat 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. The word translated "false prophet" here is not referring to a Godly person who has a prophecy that fails. Instead it's referring to a person who pretends to be a Christian but in reality is not. They are compared to "ravenous wolves" among the flock....

The Mormon Church has officially renounced the belief that dark skin is a sign of disfavor, or curse. On the official website for The Mormon Church, www.lds.org, a statement has been posted titled "Race and the Priesthood," where blame for the belief that dark skinned people were inferior to whites is placed on the establishment of the church coming in 1830, a time of great racism in the United States. The Church points out how previous leaders, most notably President Brigham Young, restricted Blacks from priesthood in the Church, receiving the temple endowment, or allowing them to be married in...

Mormon missionaries on bicycles decide to proselytize the WRONG man...

POCATELLO — A Cedar City, Utah, man convicted of felony injury to a child stemming from inappropriate contact with a 16-year-old child in 2012, was placed on probation Monday and sentenced to spend the next 10 days in Bannock County Jail. Derrick Starley was serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chubbuck when the incident occurred. He was originally charged with sexual battery of child 16 or 17 years old... Starley pleaded guilty to the reduced charge in early November as part of a plea agreement through which prosecutors agreed that they would not...

In Salt Lake City, in the shadow of the Mormon Church headquarters, dozens of same-sex couples married in the wake of Friday’s District Court ruling lifting the state’s ban on gay marriage. Included among the couples getting married was a Utah State Senator and his partner. State Senator and Democratic Party Chairman Jim Dabakis married his partner, Stephen Justeson, Friday afternoon.

A federal judge struck down Utah’s same-sex marriage ban Friday in a decision that marks a drastic shift toward gay marriage in a conservative state where the Mormon church has long been against it. The decision set off an immediate frenzy as the clerk in the state’s most populous county began issuing marriage licenses to dozens of gay couples while state officials took steps to appeal the ruling and halt the process. Cheers erupted as the mayor of Salt Lake City led one of the state’s first gay wedding ceremonies in an office building about three miles from the headquarters...

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge on Friday struck down Utah’s same-sex marriage ban, saying it was unconstitutional.

A county clerk's office in Utah is issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, just hours after a federal judge struck down Utah's ban on gay marriages. Salt Lake County Deputy Clerk Dahnelle Burton-Lee says the district attorney authorized her office to begin issuing the marriage licenses Friday. She couldn't immediately say how many licenses have been issued so far. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled that a law passed by voters in 2004 violates gay and lesbian couples' rights to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment. Shelby said the state failed to show that allowing same-sex...

Just hours earlier, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby issued a 53-page ruling saying Utah's law passed by voters in 2004 violates gay and lesbian couples' rights to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment. Shelby said the state failed to show that allowing same-sex marriages would affect opposite-sex marriages in any way. "In the absence of such evidence, the State's unsupported fears and speculations are insufficient to justify the State's refusal to dignify the family relationships of its gay and lesbian citizens," Shelby wrote.

3:25:11 AM Polygamy comes out of the closet Michael Cook | 17 Dec 2013 | 7 tags : polyamory, polygamy, same-sex marriageKody Brown ABOVE, center, poses with his wives, from left, Janelle, Christine, Meri, and Robyn.. Is Utah’s ban on polygamy unconstitutional? Last week a Federal Court judge ruled that it is, after Kody Brown and his four wives, the stars of the reality TV series Sister Wives, challenged it.. Judge Clark Waddoups, of United States District Court in Utah, struck down provisions of Utah’s bigamy law, which make “religious co-habitation” illegal. Kody Brown, who belongs to the Apostolic United...

[URL=http://s208.photobucket.com/user/gahamm_photos/media/mormon/moxmas.jpg.html][IMG]http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb254/gahamm_photos/mormon/moxmas.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Mormon MOxmasDecember 12, 2005 photo of the Joseph Smith nativity scene in the main lobby of the BYU administration building. The caption under Smith's image is enlarged in the upper right hand corner. In the crib is a doll representing baby Joseph Smith.

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...

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...

<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>

From the video, "Lesson in Compassion".

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.”

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah - Members of a Mormon congregation in a Salt Lake City suburb encountered someone they thought was a homeless man at church on Sunday. What they did not know was the man was a bishop for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Most Rev Justin Welby said the Cross has been trivialised and ceases to shock or challenge people. Archbishop Welby wrote that the symbol should represent the ‘deepest encounter and radical change’ for Christians. He added: ‘For those early Christians it was a badge of shame. ‘Today it is more commonly seen as a symbol of beauty to hang around your neck. ‘As a friend of mine used to say, you might as well hang a tiny golden gallows or an electric chair around your neck.’ In a foreword to a book which will be published in the run-up to...

A former Mormon bishop in Riverside County is expected to serve three years in prison for sexually assaulting two teenage girls who attended a Menifee church, prosecutors said. Todd Mitchell Edwards, 49, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts related to the assault of the teens, ages 16 and 18, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney's office. The counts were sexual battery and sexual penetration with a foreign object. In addition to the prison time, Edwards will also have to register as a lifetime sex offender as part...

It really is a small world after all, even at Mormon devotionals in mid-western Indiana. The BYU football team gave its traditional pre-game fireside message Friday at a packed house that included Notre Dame football legend Rudy Ruettiger and former BYU basketball coach Steve Cleveland. Ruettiger attended with his friend and Latter-day Saint Bishop Randy Garn, and told The Universe he was looking forward to seeing the Fighting Irish and Cougars play more often over the next several years. BYU football players Bronson Kaufusi and Skye Povey talk with Notre Dame legend Rudy Ruettiger at the team’s traditional pre-game fireside...