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When confronting the doctrinal issue of polygamy, Greg Smith posed the question; “Do you trust Father?” He taught members of the Church that as they turn to their Father in Heaven and trust in His love and mercy, the challenging doctrines of the gospel will become less of a struggle. Smith mixed humor with testimony while addressing the tough topic of polygamy to audience members during the 11th Annual Mormon Apologetics Conference presented by the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR). The conference was Aug. 6-7 at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy. Smith said some of the...

The biggest problem with the Book of Mormon is that it exists, says Sen. Bob Bennett...The Republican senator from Utah is the author of "Leap of Faith," which was recently released by Deseret Book...Bennett didn't like the way the Book of Mormon was represented in media coverage leading up to the 2002 Winter Olympics... "The tenor of the articles that kind of started me on this was that no one of any intelligence could believe the incredibly outlandish story about angels and gold plates, that any person with the slightest bit of education would reject this out of hand," he...

Followers of Emanuel can be saved by grace through an investment in obedience which determines the willingness and desire to live back within the presence of God. In 2 Nephi 25:23 it states: “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” This commonly referenced scripture was the basis for Brad Wilcox’s Tuesday lecture, “After All We Can Do,“ from the series “Using the Atonement to Turn Weakness into Strengths.” “This is a source of discouragement if not understood,” said Wilcox, an associate professor of teacher education at BYU. Wilcox focused on...

Authorities in Guyana grew "uncomfortable" with the presence of Mormon missionaries who have been ordered to leave the South American country, a governing party leader said Thursday.About 40 missionaries were briefly detained Wednesday and told to leave within a month as authorities said their travel documents were out of date.Comments by Donald Ramotar of the governing People's Progressive Party, however, suggested the crackdown went beyond immigration issues.-SNIP-Church spokesman Leslie Sobers also raised the issue, saying he thought the government might have been uneasy over perceived links between the Mormons and the opposition. He said opposition legislator Volda Lawrence traveled...

If you asked me who some of my favorite artists are right now, without hesitation I would say Natalie Grant, Nichole Nordeman and Britt Nicole. I know many of my friends haven't heard of them. I love to introduce people to these artists because they just might love their music too. Grant, Nordeman and Nicole are widely known in the mainstream Christian contemporary music world. There is so much talent in and outside of the church. This week, I wanted to share some artists with you who are not LDS but are fellow Christians with a faith-promoting message. In addition,...

  Russell M. Nelson, “A Treasured Testament,” Ensign, Jul 1993, 61 Adapted from an address given 25 June 1992 at a seminar for new mission presidents, Missionary Training Center, Provo, Utah.The Book of Mormon stands as another testament of Jesus Christ. The power of its message will transform the lives of all who earnestly study its precious pages. Its very reality is an inspiring fact. Many of you are experienced in the difficult task of translating written text from one language to another. I am intrigued, as you are, with the process Joseph Smith used to translate the Book...

One of the attractive components to Mormon theology was the notion that Mormons were a chosen people, and both figuratively and literally part of the House of Israel.  The Book of Mormon also offered the idea that Israel was all over the earth throughout time in various times and places and that they are always the chosen people.  Mormon youth (and adults) who receive a Patriarchal Blessing are personally informed of their own lineage as a member of the House of Israel.  So, how does this compare to other religions’ views of Israel and Judaism?Christian sects have a Jewish problem. ...

On his own dime, Mark Paredes is headed to Europe to try and explain Jews and Judaism to Mormons and to reassure Jewish people that they have a friend in Mormonism. Paredes, who currently is the president of the Los Angeles office of the Zionist Organization of America and a high councilor in the Santa Monica California LDS Stake, plans to speak in Holland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia and Austria starting on Aug. 29. Earlier this year, he did a similar tour in Norway and Sweden. Paredes believes he is being spiritually urged to visit Europe and speak in support...

Twenty years ago today in Mormon history . . . . . Elder George P. Lee, the first American Indian General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was excommunicated. In 1975, after Lee served as a mission president in Arizona, he became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, one of the presiding bodies of the LDS church. Lee was 32. His autobiography proved to be popular. "Silent Courage: An Indian Story: The Autobiography of George P. Lee, a Navajo" went through nine printings. Lee felt a kinship president of the church Spencer W....

The Prophet Joseph Smith cautioned latter-day saints to avoid undue political partisanship because it didn't amount to much more than giving one side or another the rope with which to hang us. [SNIP] Liberals accuse Mormons of being too conservative on abortion. However, we believe abortion may be prayerfully considered in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. It is the individual's choice, but that choice should be made after serious reflection, prayer, and receiving guidance through the Holy Spirit. This more moderate position causes the religious right to label us as "flip-floppers."......

Next weekend, fans of Oklahoma and Brigham Young will congregate outside Cowboys Stadium for tailgate parties, with one discernible difference. One side will be imbibing beer by the gallons; the other, sipping orange juice. Sooner and Cougar fans both share a fervor for their historically successful football teams. But BYU and its football program are worlds apart from any other. "Obviously BYU’s affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” said Roy Brinkerhoff, BYU’s assistant manager of alumni activities, "that alone creates huge differences.” BYU, located in pristine Provo, Utah, is the largest private and largest religiously-affiliated...

70 years ago today in Utah History --- Heber J. Grant writes Twentieth Century Fox "I hope we shall not appear to you to be over anxious ... but we are tremendously concerned..." But nearly a year later the Mormon church president declared "This is one of the greatest days of my life." His involvement in helping with the film "Brigham Young" influenced the making of the movie and subsequently the public perception of the LDS Church. Early movies depicting Mormons were not flattering. In 1910 the first anti-Mormon film, 'Victim of the Mormons' was "publicly condemned by Apostle David...

PROVO, Utah -- It isn't very hard to imagine what the subscribers of the Rochester (N.Y.) Gem thought about Mormons a month after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. You can almost picture them gathering around while someone read aloud the May 15, 1830, edition story titled "Imposition and Blasphemy!! -- Money-diggers, &c." "Some months ago a noise was made among the credulous of the earth," the article began, "respecting a wonderful production said to have been found as follows. An ignoramus near Palmyra, Wayne county, pretended he had found some 'Gold Plates,' as he is...

It's not certain whether the late Sen. Ted Kennedy would be more palatable to conservative Utah Republicans if he were a Mormon, but it appears someone tried to make that happen.Just one day after Kennedy died, someone apparently posted his name on an LDS Church database to have him placed on the list to be posthumously baptized.That posting was uncovered by researcher Helen Radkey, who has been critical of the church practice. But, alas, Kennedy won't become a Mormon anytime soon. Whoever placed his name on the list was not authorized to do so, and the church's database security...

Two by two: Missionaries teach the Word of God in Lufkin By BRITTONY LUNDThe Lufkin Daily NewsSaturday, August 15, 2009In his first week in Lufkin, LDS missionary Elder Josh Nielsen, 19, of Moses Lake, Washington, has had doors slammed in his face, people tell him he doesn't believe in the Bible and has rescued his companion missionary, Elder Sawyer Prestwich, 21, of Orem, Utah from getting punched.The Lufkin Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints welcomed four new missionaries to Lufkin this past week. Elder Justin Esplan, 19, of Nephi, Utah and Elder Matthew Bird, 21, of Wenatchee,...

PROVO, Utah -- Mormons are sometimes thrown off by the question, "Are you saved?" This is, in part, because members of the LDS Church have a different idea of what "saved" means. Ted M. Bair, a retired Church Educational System teacher, explained to a class at BYU's Campus Education Week on Thursday, Aug. 20, not only how to be saved, but also showed that several Christian religions have different ideas of how people are saved. Bair said there are three general ways that other Christian religions think about being saved. 1. We are saved by grace no matter what. You...

When America disappears 100 or 500 or 1,000 years from now, it will be gone but not forgotten. As the world's leading military, economic, and cultural power since World War II, the United States will linger in the global gene pool and influence whatever comes next. But how exactly will Americanness get transmitted to the civilizations that replace us?A better candidate to serve as America's time capsule: the Mormons. In an aside in 2007's Are We Rome?, Cullen Murphy posits that Salt Lake City could become "the Vatican of the third millennium," with the Mormon Church "propagating a particular,...

On July 24, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released an extensive statistical portrait of Mormons in the United States.-SNIP- Race » Nearly nine in 10 U.S. Mormons (86 percent) are Anglo, compared with 71 percent of the general population. Just 3 percent of Mormons are African-American and 7 percent are Latino.Education » Six in 10 Mormons (61 percent) have at least some college education, compared with half the overall population. However, the proportion of Mormons who graduate from college (18 percent) or receive postgraduate education (10 percent) mirrors the population as a whole (16 percent and...

The LDS prophets are "inspired men called to speak for the Lord" and the current prophet is "the only person on the earth who receives revelation to guide the entire Church," according to the LDS Church website. This does not mean that everything the prophet says comes straight from God, however.  Some LDS members believe the prophet largely operates with autonomy and that he is mostly expressing his own, sometimes incorrect, opinions.  So while what the prophet says may be useful or uplifting, "we don't need a lot of continuing revelation."In 2007, the church released a public statement that says...

Gospel Principles, LDS.org Forward: (Added by Greyfoxx) The Gospel and the ChurchElder Ronald E. PoelmanOf the First Quorum of the SeventyEnsign Magazine, Nov 1984, 64The gospel of Jesus Christ is a divine and perfect plan. It is composed of eternal, unchanging principles, laws, and ordinances which are universally applicable to every individual regardless of time, place, or circumstance. Gospel principles never change. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth, administered by the priesthood of God. The Church has authority to teach correctly the principles and doctrines of the gospel and to administer...