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The LifeWay Christian Store on South State Street in Salt Lake City has a shelf of LDS literature. These are books, however, that probably not one Mormon in a million will ever read. Basically, they are "defense manuals," handbooks for helping Protestants deal with this ambitious, upstart religion that's out to perform a baptism for every soul who has ever set foot on earth. Last Monday, I spent about an hour thumbing through the books on the Mormon shelf at LifeWay. The books range from "kind and honest" to "kind of honest." The best remind me of the volume "I...

A former Miss Utah has been arrested with two others on suspicion of stealing about $1 million in products from NuSkin and reselling them over the Internet. Elizabeth Craig, who was Miss Utah in 1991-92 and who participated in the Miss America pageant, was booked into Utah County Jail on suspicion of theft, conspiracy to commit theft, possession of stolen goods and selling trademarked goods without authorization. She spent a night in jail last week and was bailed out by her husband. Brady Harper was jailed on the same circumstances, as was Scott Lazerson, who is also suspected of communications...

 Atonement of Jesus Christby Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the foreordained but voluntary act of the Only Begotten Son of God. He offered his life, including his innocent body, blood, and spiritual anguish as a redeeming ransom (1) for the effect of the Fall of Adam upon all mankind and (2) for the personal sins of all who repent, from Adam to the end of the world. Latter-day Saints believe this is the central fact, the crucial foundation, the chief doctrine, and the greatest expression of divine love in the Plan of Salvation. The Prophet...

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, addresses an audience at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo Feb. 23. (CNS/courtesy of BYU) By Catholic News Service PROVO, Utah (CNS) -- Catholics and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must continue to stand together as a "vital bulwark" against those in American society who want to "reduce religion to a purely private reality," the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told a historic gathering at Brigham Young University in Provo. Cardinal...

"For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light..." Writings of Joseph Smithby Dean C. Jessee The Prophet Joseph Smith's writing career began at age twenty-two when he commenced translation of the Book of Mormon. At his death seventeen years later, in 1844, he had left a substantial archive for the study of his life and the church he was instrumental in founding. In addition to the Book of Mormon, his papers include diaries covering intermittently the period 1832-1844; correspondence; reports of discourses; more than 130 revelations, published as the Doctrine and Covenants; a...

<p>Hundreds of non-LDS genealogy enthusiasts from across the state of Georgia gathered Feb. 20 as part of the Church's Atlanta Public Affairs' ninth annual Black Family History Month Symposium, at which tribute was paid to this year's Community Service Award recipient, Martin Luther King III — son of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.</p>

NOTE: "The Church of Jesus Christ" in this article refers to the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.Lesson 9 The Church of Jesus Christ is Organized (D&C 19–24; 26–28) [1830] By Randal S. Chase Introduction There are three sections of the Doctrine and Covenants associated with the Church's organization. All were given at the home of Peter Whitmer Sr., in Fayette , New York . D&C 20 April 1830 The Constitution of the Church D&C 21 April 6, 1830 Given at organizational mtg D&C 22 April 1830 Given shortly thereafter D&C 20 and 22 were accepted by...

The scenes are familiar. A young man approaches the pulpit and breaks down while recounting how he was saved from disaster by a prompting. He can't make it to "Amen" before grabbing a tissue. A woman shares an experience in Sunday School about a relative who was given a blessing and healed from serious illness in the blink of an eye. A friend retells a dream that revealed which academic major, career and spouse he should choose. All know they felt the Spirit -- "without a shadow of a doubt." But less noticed is the girl in the back of...

  Messages from the Doctrine and Covenants: The Three Degrees of Glory B. Renato Maldonado, “Messages from the Doctrine and Covenants: The Three Degrees of Glory,” Ensign, Apr 2005, 62–65 More than any other book, the Doctrine and Covenants helps us understand the nature of life after death. The Savior taught, “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2). The Prophet Joseph Smith explained that “mansions” may be understood to mean “kingdoms”—those kingdoms in which we will dwell in the life after this. He said: “It should be—‘In my Father’s kingdom are many kingdoms,’ in order that ye may...

There is a myth among some circles that ancient scribes were so incredibly cautious, making sure that every letter was perfectly copied, that they never produced any mistakes when copying the manuscripts, and thus all ancient manuscripts agree with each other. This is entirely bogus - a deceptive lie or statement of shear stupidity. The great Hebrew scholar, Emmanuel Tov, for example, has discussed numerous scribal problems in Hebrew manuscripts. In a 1994 lecture entitled "The Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls," Dr. Tov explains what we learned about ancient scribes and Hebrew manuscripts with the discovery of...

SALT LAKE CITY 25 January 2008 During the past several years, scholars, religious leaders, journalists and the general public have steadily shown an increased interest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Much of this attention has been focused on the question of whether it is a Christian faith. Central to this inquiry is the Church’s relationship with the Bible. Many have wondered whether Latter-day Saints believe in the Bible at all. Still others have supposed that the Church uses the Bible only when convenient, while shrugging it off as an inessential part of scriptural canon. With...

PROVO, Utah -- Mormons need to lose their fear of talking about excommunication, says a student at the 12th Annual Religious Education Student Symposium. Presenting his paper "Excommunication and 'He Who Must Not Be Named,'" Feb. 19 at Brigham Young University, Benjamin Tengelsen said excommunication is comparable to talking openly about Voldemort in the popular Harry Potter series. "Noboby talks about him except Harry, who isn't afraid to say his name out loud," Tengelsen said. "We need to be like that. We need to lose our fear and be unafraid to talk about it." As long as the subject of...

Written by W. Cleon Skousen   NOTE: "Saints", "God's Kingdom", "The Church" and "Zion" refer to the mormon church. "Gentiles"  refers to non-mormons.THE LORD WILL DEPEND UPON FOUR GROUPSTO REBUILD AMERICA AFTER THE CLEANSINGThere will be a gigantic task to perform after America has been cleansed of her wickedness but the wreckage and ruin of a whole civilization has been left behind.THE FIRST GROUPThe first group will be the   righteous saints   whom the Lord has preserved.  All these will have been disciplined in Priesthood principles and will have studied God’s law so they will know’ what to do.  In very short...

 A summary of What We Might Expect in the Next Twenty-Five YearsBy W. Cleon  SkousenThe full article can be found at this link  http://ldsremnant.com/content/view/15/33/NOTE: In this article the word "church" refers to the mormon church or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, NOT to the Christian Church.Chapter 8.  After the seventh seal is opened, the first four angels receive their assignments to   cleanse   certain portions of the earth.Chapter 9.  The fifth and sixth angels are assigned their ministry of cleansing the earth but they are not ‘to torment or destroy those who have the “seal of God...

PROVO, Utah -- Stories printed in early 19th century newspapers did little to allay fears about the new Mormon church and the efforts of its members to lead peaceful, productive lives. In fact, judging by the headlines and story direction, Mormons were thought to be lawbreaking fanatics who could only bring trouble. So said one of the presenters at the Twelfth Annual Religious Education Student Symposium at BYU Feb. 19. Sara D. Smith outlined her findings in a paper entitled "More Sinned Against Than Sinning." Smith researched newspaper stories about the Mormons in the special collections library in the Harold...

Apologetics Press :: Reason & Revelation December 2003 - 23[12]:105-109 Are There Lost Books of the Bible? by A.P. Staff Q. I have heard that there are certain “lost books” mentioned in the Bible—books to which we no longer have access. Is this true? And if so, what impact does this have on the biblical text itself, or on a Christian’s faith? A. In a manner that is somewhat similar to a modern research paper, citations appear in both the Old and New Testaments. The inspired writers sometimes referred to certain works that no longer exist—a fact that has caused...

The so-called lost books of the Bible are those documents that are mentioned in the Bible in such a way that it is evident they were considered authentic and valuable, but that are not found in the Bible today. Sometimes called missing scripture, they consist of at least the following: Book of the Wars of the Lord Numbers 21:14 Book of Jasher Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18 Book of the acts of Solomon 1 Kings 11:41 Book of Samuel the seer 1 Chronicles 29:29 Book of Gad the seer 1 Chronicles 29:29 Book of Nathan the prophet 1 Chronicles 29:29;...

Joseph Smith was a 'great writer' -- Arthur Henry King By Michael De GrootePublished: 2010-02-17 00:18:40 The first thing the Mormon missionaries gave Arthur Henry King was a pamphlet on Joseph Smith's First Vision. "The style of the Joseph Smith story immediately struck me," King later said. "He spoke to me, as soon as I read his testimony, as a great writer, transparently sincere and matter-of-fact. That is what endeared him to me -- so matter-of-fact." King was uniquely positioned to make an unbiased scholarly judgment on Joseph's sincerity and writing style. In 1966, he was investigating The Church...

 An open letter to the Vancouver Sun By Joel CampbellPublished: 2010-02-17 00:19:10 Patricia Graham, EditorThe Vancouver Sun Dear Ms. Graham: I know you are busy with all of that Olympic stuff going on up there in British Columbia, but when the flame burns out here is something to consider about how you use the terms "Mormon" and "Mormon fundamentalist" in your reporting, particularly as Mormons open a new temple in Langley. As both a journalist and a Mormon, I am continually dismayed that the Vancouver Sun and associated CanWest wire service choose to describe the British Columbia polygamist group with...

This is a thread for the live streaming of Heart of the Matter an outreach to the LDS. A link with the archive will be posted when it is up.