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    We Are Christians Because … By Elder Robert E. WellsOf the First Quorum of the Seventy Tambuli, Sep 1984, 7To members of the Church whose lives have been dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Christ, it can come as a surprise to learn that there are people in the world who do not know we are Christians. Many people have never made the connection between the nickname “Mormon” and “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” At the present time there is even an organized effort in the United States to confuse the public and convince them...

A few years ago, my mom was called to be the Relief Society president in our tri-lingual ward. I remember watching as she painstakingly translated every e-mail, note and newsletter into Spanish and Portuguese. She became friends with women who didn't speak her language. She made sure every lesson was translated. One time, a cranky, English-speaking sister complained about the volunteer interpreters who sat in the back of the Relief Society room and offered hushed translations of the lessons. The sister said they made it hard to concentrate. Without flinching, my mom defended the interpreters and kindly explained that it...

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - President Barack Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was baptized posthumously in a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. An ordinance record obtained from the LDS Church’s family search website shows that the ordinance work was performed in the Provo temple last June – right in the middle of the presidential campaign. Helen Radkey, a, genealogical researcher, former Mormon and self-described minister, found the record last week while doing work at the LDS Church’s Family History Library. Radkey said, “I was mildly surprised because it seemed as though she was...

L.D.S. Doctrine Of Baptism For The Dead.Baptism Of The Dead Vs. The Bibleby William WoodsonThe present article will summarise the L.D.S. doctrine of baptism for the dead (as set forth in a standard work by James E. Talmage) and reply to it from the standpoint of Bible teaching.I. The Doctrine in SummaryThis L.D.S. doctrine may best be understood in the context of their general view of baptism. According to Talmage, one who seeks membership in the Mormon church must be one who has “obtained and professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” and “sincerely repented of his sins.” One...

Similar to the insecure person who hangs around the rich and famous for the sole reason of establishing himself, the Book of Mormon has attempted to make a name for itself by “cozying up to” the Bible. The very first line in the “Introduction” to the Mormons’ revered text states: “The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible.” Even the Book of Mormon’s subtitle (“Another Testament of Jesus Christ”—emp. added) lends credibility to the Bible. Obviously, the Mormons have attempted to give credence to their scripture by comparing it to the Bible. Furthermore, a...

 The Story of the Church From the RLDS or The Community of Christ by Inez Smith DavisTHE GOLDEN PLATESAlthough the great revival was a significant result of the reaction that swept over America in the early part of the nineteenth century (and it was noteworthy that in the contemporary literature of the first forty years of this century, no subject so engrossed the interest of the Christian public as did these revivals,")1 its "most brilliant decade, between 1830 and 1840"2 was marked by several remarkable events; for this re-awakening, as had been the case in no previous intellectual revival, spread...

President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who died in 1995, was baptized posthumously into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last year during her son's campaign, according to Salt Lake City-based researcher Helen Radkey.The ritual, known as "baptism for the dead," was done June 4, 2008, in the Provo Utah temple, and another LDS temple rite, known as the "endowment," was performed in the same temple on June 11, said Radkey, who found the record while doing research in the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. "The LDS Church is walking a fine line...

In June 1828 Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism, joined the Methodist Church [probationary class] in Harmony, Pennsylvania. This was a strange thing for this prophet of a new religion to do, and seriously challenges the story he put out ten years later about the origin of his work. That later story claims that in 1820 Joseph Smith had seen two glorious personages, identified as the Father and the Son, and was informed that the creeds of all the “sects,” or various denominations, “were an abomination” and he was twice forbidden to join any of them. In retelling this...

OGDEN — Questions about "blood atonement" in an upcoming murder trial over a shooting at a wedding reception apparently will be hashed out at a July court hearing. During a hearing Monday in 2nd District Court, Judge Ernie Jones weighed in on various motions involving Riqo Mariano Perea, 21. Court records indicate the judge ruled against a defense request to declare the death penalty in Utah unconstitutional. A stipulation was reached, court records said, on a defense motion to keep Mormons off of the jury. Defense attorneys filed a motion on "blood atonement" claiming that a belief among some members...

  The Joseph Smith Papers: The Manuscript Revelation Books By Elder Marlin K. JensenOf the SeventyChurch Historian and Recorde Marlin K. Jensen,  “The Joseph Smith Papers: The Manuscript Revelation Books,”  Ensign  The manuscript revelation books contain many of the earliest known copies of the revelations received by Joseph Smith and provide insights into the revelatory process.IIn the 1970s Latter-day Saint scholars began to recognize the benefits of collecting and making available to the public documents related to the Prophet Joseph Smith’s life and works. The Joseph Smith Papers Project is the culmination of this decades-long effort. Project scholars intend...

“A Bible! A Bible!” Robert J. Matthews, “‘A Bible! A Bible!’,” Ensign, Jan 1987, 22 How the Lord’s word has gone forth “unto the ends of the earth.”Consider for a moment the blessing of having the scriptures so readily available. Today Bibles are plentiful. Most of us have at least one written in our own language that we can read and study with little effort. But Bibles have not always been so readily available. In 2 Kings 22 and 23, written some time around 620 b.c., is the account of temple workmen finding an abandoned copy of the law...

Significant misperceptions shape the LDS church's image and standing in America, said a church apostle Friday.-SNIP- Offering the conference's closing general address, Elder Perry said that church leaders have been looking at the church's image to better understand how the organization approaches its missionary efforts. "We have employed some professional firms to help us define and project our true image to the world." Recent studies, he said, found that "51 percent of people have no awareness of Mormon practices and beliefs," that "47 percent of people do not have a favorable view of Mormons," and "that 31 percent of people...

It's no accident that Mormon steeples, temples and necks are free of Christian crosses. LDS leaders long have said the cross, so ubiquitous among traditional Christians, symbolizes Jesus' death, while Mormons worship the risen Christ. Some Latter-day Saints go even farther, condemning the cross as some kind of pagan or satanic symbol. Now a historian at California State University in Sacramento claims in a just-completed master's thesis that Mormon aversion to the cross is a relatively recent development in LDS history, prompted in part by anti-Catholic sentiments. "It first started at the grass-roots level around the turn of the 20th...

Early suckerology: 'The Science of Anti-Mormon Suckerology: Parley P. Pratt and Early Mormon Apologetics' Isn't that the coolest title ever? Parley P. Pratt wrote this rhetorical article in 1845 and defined various Mormon terms. I tried to find out what "suckerology" meant. Nothing. But nonetheless it's a fascinating post that gives a window at early Mormon apologetics and, as Christopher explains, "Perhaps more significantly for interested researchers, it speaks to early Mormon understandings of their place in America as true patriots and sincere religionists. It also probably deserves a closer reading through the lens of gender, race, and ethnicity." Wow!

     The Restoration of Major Doctrines through Joseph Smith: Priesthood, the Word of God, and the Temple Donald Q. Cannon, Larry E. Dahl, and John W. Welch, “The Restoration of Major Doctrines through Joseph Smith: Priesthood, the Word of God, and the Temple,” Ensign, Feb 1989, 7 Second in a series of two articles.Since earliest times, the Lord’s Saints have looked forward to the return of Jesus Christ and “the times of restitution of all things.” These times would restore a fulness of all the doctrines, covenants, promises, and blessings spoken by God through “the mouth of all his holy...

Donald Q. Cannon, Larry E. Dahl, and John W. Welch, "The Restoration of Major Doctrines through Joseph Smith: The Godhead, Mankind, and the Creation," Ensign, Jan 1989, 27First in a series of two articlesAlthough the Prophet Joseph Smith’s mortal ministry was relatively brief—little more than fifteen years—his accomplishments and influence are eternal. Not only did he restore both the gospel and the church of Jesus Christ, as directed by the Lord, he also introduced, through the revelations he received and through his teachings, most of the major doctrines, practices, and ordinances that characterize The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day...

To clarify common misconceptions about Mormons, the Harvard Latter-Day Saint Student Association held a “Meet the Mormons Q&A” panel yesterday during which they encouraged students to ask questions about the church. The event began with two brief presentations by Kenneth I. Brewer ’11 and Lindsey R. Brinton ’12, who talked about the history of church and current theological doctrines, followed by questions from the audience. When asked about the issue of polygamy in an interview before the event, LDSSA Vice-President Morgan T. Pope ’11 pointed out that the general public sometimes held an outdated view of Mormon beliefs. “People still...

The arrest of an undocumented immigrant returning last week from his LDS mission has sparked discussion at the highest levels of the church about how to limit such exposure in the future. "With the known realization that those risks exist, then we want to do better, or at least learn more," LDS apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, said Friday during an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune . "We want to be more precise, if we can, about how to help, how to make [a mission] the calmest, most spiritually rewarding experience for everybody." Early last week, a missionary was detained...

The LDS Church announced it is printing a new Spanish-language edition of the King James Bible designed specifically for Latter-day Saints. -SNIP Church leaders, teams of translators, professional linguists and qualified lay church members reviewed the Reina-Valera edition. They organized reading committees throughout the world and completed field testing to ensure accuracy. According to the church, the 2009 LDS edition modernizes outdated grammatical constructions and vocabulary. It includes new chapter headings, footnotes, cross-references and other study aids to enhance understanding of the Bible, the church said.

As Shawn Merriman's alleged Ponzi scheme piled up millions during the past 15 years, another party likely benefited from his fraudulent fortune: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Arapahoe County investor, accused of bilking dozens of investors of up to $20 million, served as a Mormon bishop for five years, making tithing payments — composing 10 percent of his income — to the church, LDS officials acknowledged Thursday. So the Utah-based church could eventually find itself paying back Merriman's donations to his victims if the funds are ultimately deemed by a court to be "ill-gotten" or fraudulent...