Free Republic

OAK BROOK, Ill. — Six days a week, in fair weather and foul, two-dozen door-to-door salesmen, all of whom live clustered together in an apartment complex in this suburb west of Chicago, pile into S.U.V.’s and cars and head into the big city, bent on sales of home security systems. And on Sunday, their one day off, they drive together to the nearest house of worship of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. -SNIP-“She asked me if I believed in Christ and if I knew who my savior was and I said, ‘Yes, ma’am,’ and we had a...

By Bill McKeeverOn April 9, 1852, Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), rose to the pulpit of the Salt Lake Tabernacle and announced, "It is my intention to preach several discourses this evening, but how many I do not know." During his speech President Young explained that he was going to speak on the character of the "well-beloved Son of God, upon which subject the Elders of Israel have conflicting views."At that particular moment it is doubtful that any of the people present realized that their prophet was about to give...

Wilford C. Wood...was ahead of his time in his love for the past. Long before it even occurred to other people that Mormon history sites would be worth preserving, he was actively, tirelessly and relentlessly pursuing the purchase and preservation of key LDS Church history sites -- places where Mormons believe heaven reached down and touched earth through revelation to the prophet Joseph Smith Jr. SNIP UNCUT SHEETS OF THE 1830 BOOK OF MORMON Some of Wood’s greatest finds were the uncut sheets of the first edition of the Book of Mormon. His quest began, according to Price, in the...

I was watching Richard Bushman on DVD speak at some conference or other, the DVD — bought at alas, a remaindered discount at Seagull — doesn’t say where the conference was, or maybe I missed that information. In any event, Bushman is a valuable resource to learning about Mormon history. He reminds us that history demands a catholic interpretation. When learning about Joseph Smith, for example, it’s just as important to learn what his critics thought of him as it is to learn what his most devoted adherents thought. And, it’s important to see all sides of an historical figure...

Prominent fundamentalist Mormons, most of whom were excommunicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for practicing polygamy while they were alive, have been posthumously re-baptized in LDS temples, a Salt Lake City researcher says. Helen Radkey said in a new report that she obtained church records on 20 fundamentalists -- from murderer Ervil LeBaron to Joseph Musser to Rulon Jeffs --- showing that they've been baptized and have had their plural marriages "sealed" for time and eternity by proxy LDS members, one as recently as this year. Radkey, who was briefly a member of the church years...

The media continues to treat a genealogical researcher as a celebrity. Helen Radkey likes to unearth misguided proxy baptisms performed by LDS Church members... She has made it her vocation to research and then release her sensationalized findings to the media. The media in turn often print whatever Radkey has to say, drop in a quote from church public affairs and call it good journalism... SNIP While Radkey's facts may be accurate, it's her spin that often goes unchallenged. As a member of the church, I find it disheartening that fellow members would submit names of unrelated people, including Holocaust...

Carter Howell had one request when, at the end of an hour-long interview, I asked if there was anything I should tell people who read this column. "Tell people not to be mean to us," he said. "We are just 19- and 20-year-old guys and we're not different than other people." I'm glad to pass on that request -- and to echo it. There is no reason to be mean to Howell or to his associate, Seth Munger. Howell is 19 and from Snoqualmie, Wash., a small town east of Seattle. He graduated from Mt. Si High School in 2008....

The Kingdoms of Glory D&C 76; 131; 132:19-24; 137 By Breck EnglandThe purpose of the Atonement of our Savior is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” 1 This grand purpose has been revealed from time to time to the prophets; this type of revelation is known as an apocalypse. An apocalypse is a record of an opening of the veil (from Greek apokalypsis , literally “unveiling”) so that the prophet may see the end from the beginning and truly understand God's plan and purposes. All the dispensational prophets have recorded their apocalypse experiences—Adam, Enoch, Abraham,...

C.S. Lewis was not LDS. He may, in fact, not have even liked The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But Mormons love C. S. Lewis.-SNIP- Richardson and Thackeray wrote that Lewis has been referenced about 100 times in church-sponsored publications -- about one-third of which were during general conference addresses. He has been quoted thousands of times "throughout LDS writing." The first to reference Lewis' words in a church publication, according to Richardson and Thackeray, was Elder Neal A. Maxwell. "Interestingly, although Elder Maxwell did quote Lewis more than any other apostle, he was followed closely by (Elders)...

As a former Mormon...I had to address the recent news story about the proxy baptism of President Obama’s dead mother... Church officials are now stating that it is not the practice of the LDS church to perform such proxy baptism without family members’ permission. That is, at best, disingenuous and, at worst, an outright lie. Until 1995, LDS church members could submit names of any deceased person for proxy baptism, even in the absence of any relationship. In 1995, Jewish groups became rightly outraged when they discovered that Mormons were posthumously baptizing Jewish Holocaust victims into the LDS church. At...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Most Lincoln historians know about the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, but historian William P. MacKinnon focused on the little-known first Lincoln-Douglas debate in Springfield in June 1857. It specifically addresses "what was then called 'The Mormon Problem.'" MacKinnon, using his paper titled "Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Mormon Problem: The 1857 Debate" gave the Mormon History Association Conference Annual Membership Luncheon presentation May 23. Why did Lincoln and Douglas debate about Mormonism? A little background is needed. Soon after James Buchanan became the 15th president in 1857, the Utah territory became a hot political...

Fifth in a series In 1841, while the Saints lived in Illinois, a political party was formed with the intent of out-voting the Mormons, who tended to vote in bloc. They called themselves the "Anti-Mormon Party." That same year the Anti-Mormon Almanac was printed, marking the first known published adjective use of "anti-Mormon." It was written with the intent of "exposing" Mormonism. Although historical evidence suggests it was the critics who initially applied the term "anti-Mormon" to themselves, some of today's critics are vehemently opposed to the label -- claiming the term is pejorative. While not all critics are anti-Mormons,...

Sixth in a series Few church members have really encountered serious anti-Mormon arguments. Most have heard a few LDS-critical comments in the media or from acquaintances. Those who have attended General Conference, a temple open house, or an LDS historical pageant have probably seen the protesters and may have accepted, out of curiosity, some of their anti-Mormon literature. After browsing the literature it is typically thrown away and the member's testimony remains unscathed. Other members may stumble upon anti-Mormon literature on the Internet. In the privacy of one's own home, sitting alone at the computer, they may not be as...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- As Emma Smith described, Joseph Smith was "neither able to write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let alone dictate a book like the Book or Mormon." But that does not mean that Joseph Smith was uneducated, nor does it mean that he did not have vast knowledge of the Bible. "The Smith family's oral culture was so thoroughly imbued with biblical language, both the Old and New Testament, that its use was fluent, easy and familiar" argued Lavina Fielding Anderson in her presentation "Mother Tongue: King James Version Language in Smith Family Discourse" last week...

Cedar City » In May 1859 - almost two years after 120 members of a wagon train on their way to California were massacred at Mountain Meadows - their bones were collected from hastily dug graves and reburied by Army Maj. James H. Carlton and his troops. On Saturday, descendants of the victims will meet at the massacre site in southwestern Utah to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Carlton's efforts to give their ancestors a proper burial in four mass graves. The ceremony, complete with music, speeches and a 21-gun salute will include members of the Mountain Meadows Association, Mountain...

Ensign » 2009 » June Avoiding Personal Apostasy By Elder Claudio D. Zivic Of the Seventy Claudio D. Zivic, “Avoiding Personal Apostasy,” Ensign, Jun 2009, 26–27 Some years ago I presided over a disciplinary council in which a Melchizedek Priesthood holder was excommunicated from the Church. After some time had passed, I presided over another council, but this time it was a joyful experience because that brother’s blessings were being restored. He had repented and for a year had prepared himself to receive authorization to be rebaptized and reconfirmed a member of the Church. After receiving these ordinances, this dear...

A response to Gordon B. Hinckley's The Mormons' Trail of Hope In 1997, the LDS church celebrated the 150th anniversary of their pioneer trek across the United States into Utah. The church was the focus of many articles and much publicity during this commemoration. Never one to pass up the opportunity of additional public relations, the church leadership used the events to inform the masses of their message. One of these typical messages was published in the Wall Street Journal by LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. While Hinckley's story is partially true--there was an 'extermination order' from Gov. Boggs,...

How do you plan to spend your summer vacation?

snip........A manuscript found in the First Presidency's vault — characterized by Assistant Church Historian Richard E. Turley Jr. as "a major documentary discovery" — was discussed May 22 by four scholars from the Church History Department before a gathering of some 400 Church history enthusiasts here........snip

The infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre, inscrutable enough just on the basis of the known facts, has been clouded over the past century and a half by myths and misconceptions. Some such myths surround the 1875 and 1876 trials of John D. Lee, the only man ever tried and convicted for his role in the 1857 mass murder of Arkansas emigrants near Cedar City, Utah, by Mormon militia men. In a May 22 session at the 44th annual Mormon History Association Conference meeting this year in Springfield, Robert H. Briggs, an attorney from Fullerton, Calif., and an author of articles on...