Archive
Reason #145: The Doctrine in McConkie's Mormon Doctrine
The dust is finally settling in yet another effort by the LDS Church to bury its past. Recently the church-owned Deseret Book publishers announced that, due to lack of sales, the classic Mormon Doctrine by the late LDS apostle Bruce R. McConkie. (There's considerable...
Reason #144: DNA Studies Disprove the Book of Mormon
Dr. Simon Southerton, the former LDS bishop whose findings in molecular biology rocked the LDS Church when he released his groundbreaking book, Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church says that there's additional new research that supports...
Reason #143: Because Blood Atonement Doesn't Go Away
The recent decision by a convicted Utah murderer, Ronnie Lee Gardner, to insist on being executed by firing squad because of what he calls "my Mormon heritage" is telling. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, "Blood atonement has played a role in books about the 1977...
Short Video Clip on Zondervan Academic
Reason #142– One Eternal Roundabout God
A Confusing Deity Everything about the Mormon godhead is a confused mess if you accept all the supposedly-inspired teachings of LDS leaders. Brigham Young said that God was Adam.[i] Adam, according to LDS theology, was Michael in the pre-existence.[ii] Michael was the...
Reason #141: The LDS Trinity — or Trinities?
When I was a faithful Mormon I believed that the LDS understanding of the Godhead was much more clearcut and understandable than the Christian's concept of the Trinity. However, a recent post on Mormon Coffee brought the implications of LDS godhood into focus: The...
Reason #140: Changes in the “eternal” temple ceremonies
Many middle-aged and younger Mormons express doubt when told about the LDS temple endowment ceremonies of the past. A series of major changes happened about 20 years ago, including the change of women's covenanting obedience to their husbands, the elimination of the...
Reason #139: The Downgrading of a “Standard Work” of Scripture
A recent article in an LDS publication gives a hint to how the Mormon church may choose to deal with the embarrassment of the Pearl of Great Price. Like many other elements of Mormonism which have brought negative attention to the LDS church, it may just "go away."...
Reason #138–Seer Stone Questions
The seer stone narrative has troubles. An important part of Joseph Smith's early life was a seer stone by which he claimed to be able to find hidden treasure. (Here is some information from the official LDS Web site about his practices and the existence of the...
Testimonies from Ex-Mormon Scholars Offered by New Site
A new site, ExMormonScholarsTestify.org, gives reasons why thinking people made the decision to leave the LDS Church. My testimony is the first on the site. Do you know other ex-Mormon scholars whose stories should be told as well? For more information, see The...
Reason #137: The Nahom Controversy
Some LDs writers have said that a settlement in southern Arabia named NHM is the Nahom of the Book of Mormon. In Hebrew (and I'm just a student, not an expert), vowels are not written out in most cases. Thus NHM, whose root means "mourning" could be Naham (1 Chron....
Reason #136: God was once a man; man can become a god
Quotes from Current LDS Manuals on Nature of God Christians have long opposed the LDS teaching about the nature of God and man. The Bible consistently affirms that there is only one God, who has always existed as God. Yet Joseph Smith instituted the doctrine that God...