Print this page Print MormonThink RSS feed RSS
Social Bookmarking


Mormon, LDS history and issues

MormonThink


Mormonthink.com is a site produced by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are interested in the historical accuracy of our church and how it is being taught to its members and portrayed in the media.

There is a lot of misinformation on the LDS church that is presented by both critics and defenders of the faith - particularly on the Internet. We present both sides fairly and let the reader decide. Who are we?


Gordon B. Hinckley:

"Well, we have nothing to hide. Our history is an open book. They may find what they are looking for, but the fact is the history of the church is clear and open and leads to faith and strength and virtues."
~ Dec. 25, 2005 interview with The Associated Press


 

 

 

What's New?

Church historian Elder Jensen speaks publicly on members leaving the church - 1/18/12

Church historian, Elder Marlin Jensen recently held a Q&A session at Utah State University. Elder Jensen has been a general authority of the church since 1989. He currently is a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Since 2005, he also has been the Church Historian and Recorder of the church.

A questioner asked, “Has the church seen the effects of Google on membership? It seems like the people who I talk to about church history are people who find out and leave quickly. Is the church aware of that problem? What about the people who are already leaving in droves?”

Jensen's response:

“The fifteen men really do know, and they really care. And they realize that maybe since Kirtland, we never have had a period of, I’ll call it apostasy, like we’re having right now; largely over these issues. We do have another initiative that we have called, “Answers to Gospel Questions”. We are trying to figure out exactly what channels to deliver it in and exactly what format to put it in. But we want to have a place where people can go. We have hired someone that’s in charge of search engine optimization. We realize that people get their information basically from Google. They don’t come to LDS.org. If they get there, it’s through Google. So, we are trying to create an offering that will address these issues and be available for the public at large and to the church leaders, because many of them don’t have answers either. It can be very disappointing to church members. And, for people who are losing their faith, or who have lost it, we hope to regain to the church.”

A synopsis of the session is at the Simple Mormon Spectator or backup copy here

Audio recording available here

 

Did Joseph Smith Commit Treason? - 1/18/12

Some historians claim that Joseph Smith may have committed treason against the United States in 1844. Former CES educator Grant H. Palmer explains why some people believe that and what the facts really are: Joseph Smith - 1844

 

Mormons Weigh In On Beliefs, Presidential Race In Pew Survey - 1/18/12

Huffington Post article:

A survey released Wednesday that asks Mormons what they think of themselves sheds new light on how accurate America's picture of one of the country's fastest-growing religions may be. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life's extensive study, conducted in the fall, asked Mormons questions on issues ranging from how they interpret their religion to their views on homosexuality, marriage, politics and Mormons' place in America.

Read Full Story

READ A BLOG COMPARING THE SURVEYS:

THE METHODOLOGY OF MANIPULATION: STATISTICS IN PLAY

 

Why WIlliam and Jane Law left the LDS Church in 1844 - 1/6/12

Many members don't know much about William Law and his wife Jane. Brother Law served in the First Presidency of the church from 1841 to 1844. Former CES educator Grant H. Palmer wrote an interesting article about why Brother Law and his wife ended up leaving the LDS faith. William Law article

 

Sexual Allegations Against Joseph Smith - 12/22/11

It is commonly known among LDS members that Joseph Smith Jr. practiced polygamy, beginning with his first documented polygamist marriage to Louisa Beaman on 5 April 1841.However, prior to these marriages, it is generally unknown that he was accused of illicit sexual conduct with six young women from 1829 -1835. Former CES educator Grant H. Palmer provides a brief synopsis of each of these alleged incidents: allegations

 

Doctrine & Covenants section added - 12/15/11

The Doctrine & Covenants is unique Mormon scripture in that it is not based on ancient documents. The Book of Mormon was translated from ancient Nephite writings 2,000 years old. The Book of Abraham claims to be translated from Abraham's writings 4,000 years old. Even the Book of Moses, although not based on a translation of a physical document, is still an amalgamation of the "Vision of Moses" recording God's dealings with Moses thousands of years ago.

If the gospel was indeed restored though Joseph Smith, then it stands to reason that God would continue to give revelation to be recorded as sacred scripture in this last dispensation, as was done in the others. That's essentially what the D&C is - God's dealings with his chosen people in this period of time.

Please read this section to learn about the exciting origin of the Doctrine & Covenants.

 

Non-Mormon archeologist discusses Book of Mormon archeology - 12/7/11

LDS apologists often suggest that Book of Mormon archeology is ignored by the general scientific community citing that non-Mormon archeologists don't look for evidence of the Book of Mormon and therefore don't find any evidence. There is a non-Mormon archeologist, Dr. Michael Coe who has been writing about Book of Mormon archeology since he was asked to write an article on the subject for Dialogue Magazine in 1973.

Dr. Michael Coe is the Charles J. MacCurdy professor emeritus of Anthropology at Yale University and curator emeritus of the Division of Anthropology at the school’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. He is an expert on the Maya, who inhabited the same part of Mexico and Central American where Mormon scholars say the events of the Book of Mormon took place.

Dr. Coe did a fascinating 3-part podcast interview with John Dehlin for mormonstories. In this interview, Coe discusses the challenges facing Mormon archaeologists attempting to prove the historical truth of their central scripture and his own views on Joseph Smith. Michael Coe podcast interview. More on Michael Coe.

 

Comparative polling suggests public shift in comfort with a Mormon president - 11/10/11

Deseret News article:

A new national public opinion poll suggests that a significant shift may be taking place among Americans relative to their comfort with seeing a Mormon in the White House.

And as far as backers of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman Jr. are concerned, it's not a good shift.

According to a new public opinion poll released early Tuesday by the Public Religion Research Institute, "a majority of voters (53 percent) said they were somewhat or very comfortable with a Mormon president, while 42 percent said a Mormon president would make them somewhat or very uncomfortable," wrote Dan Merica for CNN.

Read Full Story

 

LDS apologist and critic debate the Book of Mormon - 9/12/11

Famed LDS apologist Rodney Meldrum is debating prominent critic Richard Packham on the question of whether or not the Book of Mormon is historical fact or inspired fiction.

Rodney Meldrum, who has made a name for himself by touring the country giving lectures on how the Book of Mormon took place in North America, supports the traditional view, that has been supported by the church and most members, that the BOM took place primarily in North America. Rodney is president of the Foundation for Indigenous Research and Mormonism (FIRM). Rodney's website.

Richard Packham is one of the most knowledgeable critics of Mormonism. Richard is a former Mormon and was the first president of the Ex-Mormon Foundation. Richard has a vast knowledge of languages and linguistics. That, coupled with his knowledge of the LDS Church and it's detailed history, gives Richard perhaps a unique perspective of the linguistic problems in Mormonism that very few members know the extent of. Richard's Home Page.

The debate is held on this Internet Public Square. Comments can be made here.

 

Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman on the LDS Priesthood Ban - 8/22/11

ABC News asked Mormon presidential candidate, John Huntsman about the priesthood ban and Huntsman responded very candidly:

TAPPER: Do you think it's fair for reporters or members of the public to ask candidates about their faith?

HUNTSMAN:  I think it's fair, but it doesn't matter what I think about it, reporters are going to ask regardless.

TAPPER: Well, OK.  Here I go then.

You're Mormon. Until you were 18, your church had racist rules. It would not allow anyone with African ancestry to become a priest and blacks were also banned from participating in certain Mormon ordinances, such as temple marriages. Then the leadership of the church, in 1978, announced something along the lines of that God had changed his mind or the rules had changed because of revelation. You seem to be a thinking man. What was it like to go through this as a -- as a young man, your church having racist rules and then all of a sudden, God says no more?

HUNTSMAN: I think it was wrong, plain and simple. I think it was wrong. I think it was something that divided people, divided friends and maybe even divided families. I believe they -- they saw the errors of their way and they made a policy change. And I think they're much better because of it.

The interview is available at ABCnews.com

 

The second Grant Palmer interview by Jason Wallace from May 25 is available online. - 8/10/11

 

Lyndon Lamborn newspaper article - 7/6/11

The East Valley Tribune Newspaper revisits Lyndon Lamborn nearly four years after his excommunication from the LDS Church. Article: "Revisiting the LDS excommunication of Lyndon Lamborn who talked too much"

 

In this Mormon moment, LDS Church history blooms. - 6/28/11

Please read this interesting article on Mormonism quoting extensively from LDS historian Richard Bushman. Utah News

 

Grant Palmer interviewed on live TV - 5/27/11

LDS author Grant Palmer was interviewed Wed. May 18 and Wed. May 25 on live TV by Jason Wallace from 8-9 PM, on Channel 20 (a Comcast station in the greater Salt Lake area). Wed May 18, the focus was on An Insider's View of Mormon Origins and the future of Mormonism. On Wed May 25, the focus was on comparing the Mormon Jesus with the New Testament Jesus, especially their personality, behavior, attitudes and what their doctrinal emphasis is. The format each week was an interview for 30 minutes followed by questions from callers.

First Interview available online Part 1.

Second Interview available online Part 2.

 

The concept of eternal families - 5/3/11

The concept of an eternal marriage and eternal family is appealing and comforting. It's one of the things that initially drew us to the LDS Church. We invite readers to view and comment on this perspective.

 

Grant Palmer Podcast - 4/28/11

One of our favorite LDS authors, Grant Palmer just did an interview with Mormon Expressions. John Larsen talks with former Church Educational System Institute Director, teacher, and author about his journey within Mormonism and his view of Jesus. Please listen this very interesting podcast. Mormon Expression podcast # 130.

 

Announcing the 2010 Brodie Winners - 2/28/11

The 2010 Brodie Winners have been announced. We're proud to say that MormonThink won for Best Static LDS-Interest Site. Some of our other favorites won awards as well such as:

Best New Blog: Mormon Expression Blogs

Best Discussion Forum: Post-Mormon.org

Best Bridge-Building: John Dehlin's "Mormon Stories"

There's many other awards and great sites and blogs mentioned that are worth checking out. The complete list of winners is here: 2010 Brodie Winners

 

'South Park' creators' Mormon musical has some Mormons excited, others suspicious - 1/28/11

Fox News and LDS Living Magazine ran this article on the upcoming and controversial Book of Mormon Broadway Musical. Excerpt:

No one has seen Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s musical comedy “The Book of Mormon” yet. It doesn’t start previews on Broadway until the end of February. But early chatter from the Mormon community is already divided between those eager to see the show, and a more conservative group who views the play as another instance of persecution against their faith.

Full article

The LDS Church responded with this statement:

The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people's lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.

 

Relief Society of Ancient Origin - 1/3/11

The Visiting Teaching Message of the January 2011 Ensign said the following:

Eliza R. Snow recalled the Prophet Joseph Smith teaching that "although the name [Relief Society] may be of modern date, the institution is of ancient origin 1. 1 (1. Eliza R. Snow, "Female Relief Society," Deseret News, Apr. 22, 1868, 81.)

It seems to be saying that Jesus organized an ancient Relief Society. Here's a link to the article Eliza wrote which puts the quote in context:

"FEMALE RELIEF SOCIETY (By Eliza R. Snow.) This is the name of a Society which was organized in Nauvoo, on the 17th of March, 1842, by President Joseph Smith, assisted by Elders Willard Richards and John Taylor. Although the name may be of modern date, the institution is of ancient origin. We were told by our martyred prophet that the same organization existed in the church anciently, allusions to which are made in some of the epistles recorded in the New Testament, making use of the title, 'elect lady.'

"This is an organization that cannot exist without the Priesthood, from the fact that it derives all its authority and influence from that source. When the Priesthood was taken from the earth, this institution as well as every other appendage to the true order of the church of Jesus Christ on the earth, became extinct, and had never been restored until the time referred to above...."

http://udn.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/deseretnews6&CISOPTR=303945

This is something we didn't know before. The concept of a Relief Society type of organization for women in Christ's Church in the First Century A.D. is very remarkable considering that women weren't even allowed to speak in church according to the New Testament:

"Let your Women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law."

"And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for Women to speak in the church."

1 Corinthians 14: 34-35



Church removes racial references in Book of Mormon headings - 12/17/10

From the Salt Lake Tribune (12/17/10):

The LDS Church has made subtle — but significant — changes to chapter headings in its online version of the faith’s signature scripture, The Book of Mormon, toning down some earlier racial allusions.

The words “skin of blackness” were removed from the introductory italicized summary in 2 Nephi, Chapter 5, in describing the “curse” God put on disbelieving Lamanites.

Deeper into the volume, in Mormon, Chapter 5, the heading changes from calling Lamanites “a dark, filthy, and loathsome people” to “because of their unbelief, the Lamanites will be scattered, and the Spirit will cease to strive with them.”

In both cases, the text itself remains unchanged.

To read the complete article - Salt Lake Tribune

 

Five recommended sources to use to study the Book of Abraham - 10/6/10

We have added one resource to our list of starting places we recommend truthseekers use to obtain a basic, balanced understanding of the Book of Abraham issues. We currently had four sources (2 critical and 2 favorable to the church). We have added a Mormon Expression podcast as a fairly neutral addition to our list.

The folks at MormonExpression did an excellent podcast introducing the Book of Abraham issues. It is podcast #4 . In this episode the panel is joined by Mormon Scholar Chris Smith to discuss the issues surrounding the Book of Abraham. Topics discussed include the 19th century understand of Egyptology, Reformed Egyptian, the Egyptian and Hebrew languages, The Catalyst Theory, the Missing Papyri Theory, the Anthon Transcript, the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and the theories of John Gee and Hugh Nibley. Introduction to issues surrounding the Book of Abraham

To recap our list of recommended sources to use to start a study of the Book of Abraham:

1. Video: 'The Lost Book of Abraham - examining a remarkable Mormon Claim'. 

2. Book:  By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus by Charles Larson.

3. Ensign Article:  Michael Rhodes article in The Ensign called 'Why doesn't the translation of the Egyptian papyri found in 1967 match the text of the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price?' 

4. LDS Web site:  The Neal A. Maxwell Institute of Religious Scholarship, formerly known as the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS). 

5. Mormon Expression Podcast: Podcast #4, Introduction to issues surrounding the Book of Abraham

 

Lucy Mack Smith's account of the Lost 116 Pages - 9/8/10

We've added this account by Lucy Mack Smith (Joseph's mother) regarding the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon and what she thinks happened to them.

 

MormonStories Podcast on Tithing and LDS Corporate workings - 8/27/10

In John Dehlin's MormonStories podcast, there is a very interesting, informative podcast done by Daymon Smith Ph.D, an active, believing Mormon Anthropologist and the author of a new book called: The Book of Mammon: A Book About A Book About The Corporation That Owns The Mormons.  The podcast is interesting and provides many insights not available to the average member from faithful members that actually worked in the Church headquarters.

It is podcast # 150 - The LDS Church as a Corporation and the Corporation as a Church. LINK

 

The Sun gets its light from Kolob - 5/19/10

LDS apologists respond to the critic's charge about the Book of Abraham criticism regarding how the Sun can borrow its light from Kolob as stated in the BOA. The FAIR website goes into some detail explaining why the critic's complaint is a narrow interpretation of what Joseph said and concludes with:

"Until someone can make a convincing case that their interpretation of these things is the only reasonable one, any faith-promoting proof from Abraham’s astronomy is a flimsy house of cards and any faith-destroying attack on some straw-man interpretation is laughable. "

Reference: http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Abraham/Astronomy/Kolob-Sun

 

Critic's Response: Let's review again what exactly Joseph said:

Is called in Egyptian Enish-go-on-dosh; this is one of the governing planets also, and is said by the Egyptians to be the Sun, and to borrow its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash, which is the grand Key, or, in other words, the governing power, which governs fifteen other fixed planets or stars, as also Floeese or the Moon, the Earth and the Sun in their annual revolutions. This planet receives its power through the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam, the stars represented by numbers 22 and 23, receiving light from the revolutions of Kolob." (Book of Abraham, Facsimile 2, Figure #5 explanation.)

FAIR suggests that the "light" mentioned in the Book of Abraham may refer to the light of Christ. Does this make any sense in the context of the above paragraph. Why would the Sun borrow the 'light of Christ' from a star known as Kolob. Doesn't it make more sense that someone might believe that a star would be borrow its light, meaning the sunlight that shines from it, from another star? The primary benefit that a star provides to people is to provide light, meaning sunlight and has nothing to do with the light of Christ.

ALSO, the idea that our star got it's light and power from another star was a theory known in Joseph's time.  Joseph likely just believed what the scientists of his day believed and incorporated that into scripture.  Reference:  An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, Grant Palmer, chapter 1.

We leave it to the reader, to decide who makes more sense, the FAIR apologists or critics.

 

America Before Columbus - 4/29/10

National Geographic recently rebroadcast a documentary called 'America before Columbus'. This documentary did not mention Mormons at all but gives remarkable insights to the lands mentioned in the Book of Mormon. An overview of the show from their website:

"History books traditionally depict the pre-Columbus Americas as a pristine wilderness where small native villages lived in harmony with nature. But scientific evidence tells a very different story: When Columbus stepped ashore in 1492, millions of people were already living there. America wasn't exactly a "New World," but a very old one whose inhabitants had built a vast infrastructure of cities, orchards, canals and causeways."

Based on their overview of the show, we initially thought this may actually support the Book of Mormon, however the documentary goes into great detail discussing all the new animals and plants that were introduced to the Americas by the Europeans starting in 1492. These include modern-day horses, cattle, oxen, goats, sheep, pigs, European honeybees, wheat and barley.

However, according to the Book of Mormon, all of these animals and plants existed in abundance in the Americas when the Nephites and Lamanites lived as they were brought there by Lehi and his family around 600 B.C. How can scientists say that none of these animals and plants existed in America when the scriptures clearly report they did?

The National Geographic Society is one of the most respected scientific organizations in the world. Their goal is to educate people about our planet, its history and help protect it for future generations. We ask the viewer of this documentary to honestly think about which is more likely - all of the evidence of these animals and plants vanished and scientists are completely mistaken about what was in the Americas or perhaps the Book of Mormon is not historical?

 

 

Book of Mormon geography stirring controversy - Salt Lake Tribune article - 3/31/10

 

Response in the tithing section - 3/10/10

A true believer responds to the tithing section. A critic responds to him.

 

Family Home Evening Tithing Lesson - 3/5/10

Read this lesson from the church's website on tithing. The church lesson specifically says that tithing should be paid on "all our interest or increase, before anything else is taken out". The lesson has an activity game where a family shows all the income and bills it has in a month and the family does not have enough money to pay it's bills. The church's directive is "Point out that you pay tithing first, and then you pay a portion of what you owe on each other bill". Also read how the critics respond to this. Family Home Evening Tithing Lesson

 

Request for Financial Transparency in the LDS Church Petition - 3/4/10

An online petition has been started to request that the LDS Church disclose its financial information the way that many other churches do. http://www.petitiononline.com/2915spar/petition.html

 

Waiting for My Testimony - Church Magazine article - 2/11/10

Read the story of how one faithful member gained her testimony of the Book of Mormon. Reprinted from the Feb, 2010 New Era magazine. Also read how the critics respond to her testimony. Waiting for My Testimony.

 

New MormonStories Podcasts - 2/9/10

Mormon Stories is a collection of podcasts done by John Dehlin. He initially retired the series in 2007 but started doing the podcasts again at the end of 2009. The contributors to MormonThink have always enjoyed listening to the many interesting and unbiased interviews done on Mormon Stories about various aspects of Mormonism. Mormonstories

Another excellent neutral Mormon podcast site that covers a variety of interesting topics is Mormon Expression.

 

Mormon Temple Petition - 2/3/10

MormonThink would like to recognize the Temple Wedding Petition that is spreading across the globe. The petition is to allow for the option of having a civil ceremony outside of the temple without penalty to the couple.

http://www.templeweddingpetition.org/

Jean Bodie and Michelle Spencer discuss their project, The Temple Wedding Petition in a recent podcast on Mormon Expression: episode 34 temple petition

Our comment: As other countries (like England) require a civil ceremony prior to any religious ceremony, we don't see why the church can't allow its members to have a civil ceremony first where everyone can be invited. It's been our observation that whenever the church moves a little towards mainstream, that this makes the church look more appealing to non-members as well as members. The petition is done in a respectful way and we hope the church will one day adopt this practice.

 

Mormon documentary - Washington Post article - 2/1/10

 

Elder Hafen's talk - 'Focus on the known of the restoration' - 1/26/10

The latest newsworthy LDS counsel comes from Elder Hafen's latest talk where he tells LDS to "Look at the restoration's content, don't get lost in the sometimes unclear details and footnotes". Elder Hafen related his remarks specifically to anti-Mormon literature found on the Internet, and stated that too many people of faith let initial curiosity give way to feelings of dismay and betrayal when they come across unfamiliar arguments against the church.

Faithful questioning is a hallmark of a searching soul, he said, but claims found in anti-Mormon literature are no reason to abandon one's testimony, especially because many of the issue-taking and arguments out there have already been addressed by Mormon scholars and leaders. That's one problem with the otherwise wonderful information tool that the Internet is.

"Readers have no way of knowing which critical claims have already been discredited, and the anti-Mormon sponsors are certainly not going to tell them right there on the site," he said.

Elder Hafen said there is much discussion out there regarding the methods through which Joseph Smith translated ancient scripture such as the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price and the Bible. That's all fine and good so long as the questioner is mainly focused on the works themselves, the great mountains of eternal knowledge they contain, and what that knowledge means in the lives of God's children rather than on the specifics of the revelatory process.

"How (Joseph Smith) received it doesn't ultimately matter to us very much," he said.

MormonThink's comment: Most LDS members have no idea what Hafen is talking about regarding the translation of the scriptures he mentions, BUT most members will totally agree with what he says regardless. If the church really doesn't think there are problems with the translation process, then why don't they stop publishing erroneous pictures of Joseph using the plates to translate with and start depicting Joseph putting his face in a hat with a common stone he found while digging a well?

Hafen's dismissal of any possible challenge to the church, with a waive of his hand, perhaps shows that he doesn't really know the strength of the critics' arguments. Hafen's description of objectively looking at church issues as "scouring the rough for golf balls" is his attempt to trivialize studying anything that isn't from a faithful source. He attempts to discredit every critic so no faithful member will even consider that they might have valid information.

Hafen doesn't acknowledge that the most damaging criticism about the church actually comes from the church itself such as the church's own history books, the Journal of Discourses, the Book of Mormon itself, church teachings, prophet's diaries, etc.

Also, if these issues really have been discredited, then why doesn't the church simply list them on some church-endorsed website as official responses so members can know what the official responses are?

The fact is that most of the issues do not really have good, easy answers like why Joseph married 11 women that already had husbands or why the translations of the Book of Abraham facsimiles and papyri by modern-day Egyptologists don't match Joseph's translations.

Obviously the church is realizing how devastating the Internet is to their claims of a divine restoration and they are trying to do damage control. Hopefully the members reading Hafen's talk will be inspired to see what exactly these issues are that he's referring to and investigate them for themselves using a variety of sources.

 

Word of Wisdom section added - 1/20/10

There are likely many things most Latter-day Saints don't know about the origins of the famous health code revealed to the church by Joseph Smith. Please check out the Word of Wisdom section featuring an essay by author James Whitefield.

 

David Whitmer describes the angel - 12/1/09

John Murphy interviewed Book of Mormon witness David Whitmer in June, 1880.

When asked in 1880 for a description of the angel who showed him the plates, Whitmer replied that the angel "had no appearance or shape." Asked by the interviewer how he then could bear testimony that he had seen and heard an angel, Whitmer replied, "Have you never had impressions?" To which the interviewer responded, "Then you had impressions as the Quaker when the spirit moves, or as a good Methodist in giving a happy experience, a feeling?" "Just so," replied Whitmer. Whitmer interview with John Murphy, June 1880, in EMD5: 63.

Read more about David Whitmer's testimony.

 

Kinderhook Plates update - 12/1/09

Readers ask new questions on the Kinderhook Plates translated by Joseph Smith in 1843.

 

Salt Lake Mall now estimated at $3 Billion cost - 11/10/09

The construction of the LDS Church mall in SLC is now estimated to be at $3 Billion. See the Deseret News article stating the new estimated cost.. For more on the mall.

 

Martin Harris and the Stone Box - 11/10/09

Read the exciting account of the stone box Martin Harris discovered.

 

A linguist looks at Mormonism - 11/10/09

The are significant linguistic problems in the LDS scriptures, especially with the Book of Mormon. Richard Packham is one of the most knowledgeable critics of the LDS Church. He has a vast knowledge of languages and linguistics. That, coupled with his knowledge of the LDS Church and it's detailed history, gives Richard perhaps a unique perspective of the linguistic problems in Mormonism that very few members know the extent of.

 

FAIR continues the attack on MormonThink - 10/28/09

FAIR continues to bash MormonThink (MT) after MT responded to FAIR’s review of MT.  This time, it has focused on one specific topic involving the Urim & Thummim - specifically regarding why the Urim & Thummim was not returned to Joseph along with the plates after the 116 pages were lost. The interesting back and forth analysis is found here: http://www.mormonthink.com/fairseerstones.htm

 

Elder Holland's talk on the Book of Mormon - 10/15/09

Elder Holland's recent General Conference talk on believing in the Book of Mormon has generated a lot of buzz amongst both the faithful and critics of the Church. The best review of this talk we've found is by one of our favorite blogs, Equality Time. An LDS Gem: Elder Holland's Opus

 

FAIR conference discusses MormonThink and StayLDS.com - 10/5/09

The LDS Church Hunting Preserves - Deseret News - 9/16/09

FAIR reviews MormonThink - 8/26/09

How do prophets receive revelation? - 8/26/09

LDS Egyptologist John Gee downplaying Book of Abraham as scripture - 8/14/09

Simon Southerton on FAIR apologetics - 8/14/09

Moroni Visitation painting in August 2009 Ensign - 8/14/09