Free Republic

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced today that it was ending its effort to seize Cliven Bundy’s herd of cattle that has been illegally grazing on federal land. The reason the BLM suspended the cattle round up was to protect the safety of federal employees and members of the general public. Bundy and a smattering of his right-wing supporters have threatened to wage a range war if the government continues with its effort to enforce the law. Let that sink in for a minute. The government is halting their efforts to enforce the law because of the threats being...

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...

PORTLAND, OR, April 8, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A soon-to-be opened natural foods store in Oregon is in danger of never opening its doors after homosexual activists publicized remarks its Mormon owner made online supporting true marriage and organized a boycott targeting not just the store, but its suppliers. Chauncy Childs had planned to open Moreland Farmers Pantry, an organic, locally-sourced grocery store, in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland. But because of comments she made under a pseudonym during a discussion on Facebook last year in which she defended true marriage and said business owners should have the right to refuse...

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...

"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...

"Jodi Arias' defense team is trying hard to keep two heavily-covered events out of the Maricopa County Superior Courtroom. Lawyers have filed two motions with the court as of Feb. 13, requesting Judge Sherry Stephens prevent the retrial jury from hearing about Jodi Arias' attempt to switch out her attorney and claims that Arias wanted to kill prosecutor Juan Martinez."

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...

“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...

GILBERT, Ariz. — Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer described The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Gilbert Arizona Temple as "a beacon of hope, faith and love to all those who come to this sacred building and its beautiful grounds. It is a special place ... a place of spiritual refuge in this troubled world. "This temple is also a testament to those who came before you. With faith, fortitude and devotion to God, Mormon pioneers settled much of this state, including what would become the town of Gilbert." Gov. Brewer made these comments after she visited the temple on...

One of the peripheral aspects of the already-tangential Kierangate media kerfuffle over a Melissa Harris-Perry show segment is the host’s Twitter apology, specifically Harris-Perry’s invocation of her own Mormon background. A review of Melissa Harris-Perry‘s past commentary about Mormonism reveals an apparently genuine affection and admiration for her ancestors’ religion, as well as something of a blind spot for the Mormon Church’s history of racially discriminatory policies. As part of her apology, Harris-Perry tweeted “As black child born into large white Mormon family I feel familiarity w/ Romney family pic & never meant to suggest otherwise,” apparently as a way...

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.