A Study of Latter-Day Saint Theology, Doctrine and History
[I accidentally published a rough draft of this post. Many apologies! Below is the real version.] I started this blog a few years ago without any readership expectations or goals. As one who shuns the spotlight, I've never had any desire to be a Book of Mormon authority. I don't want to be well-known, influential,... Continue Reading →
“Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision. It either occurred or it did not occur. If it did not, then this work is a fraud. If it did, then it is the most important and wonderful work under the heavens.” —Gordon B. Hinckley on Joseph Smith's First Vision, October 2002 General Conference... Continue Reading →
When I was a teenager, I was told that mine was a "chosen generation." I heard it in church, I heard in seminary, and I heard it from the mouth of the living prophet, Ezra T. Benson, “Youth of Zion, do you realize you are living in the days of the fulfillment of these signs... Continue Reading →
From the earliest days of the church, critics have charged Joseph Smith with plagiarism in writing the Book of Mormon. Because these critics assume the text's naturalistic origin (as opposed to a supernatural or divine origin), and because Joesph Smith was a backwoods rube, or a confidence man—or both—he must have had a source text. ... Continue Reading →
In their book Mormonism, Shadow or Reality?, Jerald and Sandra Tanner write, "The book by Josiah Priest throws new light upon a controversy regarding a quotation from William Shakespeare which is found in the Book of Mormon. Since Shakespeare was not born until 1564, we would not expect the Book of Mormon to quote from... Continue Reading →
"It doesn't matter where the Book of Mormon happened. It just matters that it did." --Someone you know, probably. Since the early days of the Church armchair geographers and academics have spent considerable time interpreting textual clues in hopes of determining the locations described in the Book of Mormon. As one might suspect, opinions vary... Continue Reading →
(NOTE: This is a rewrite of one my first posts. I was never really happy with it, so I decided to give it another pass. The previous entry has been deleted.) In the Latter-Day Saint canon, there is perhaps no document more controversial than D&C 132. While the Book of Abraham is believed to be... Continue Reading →
"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was... Continue Reading →
“No other psalm has in research evoked so many hypotheses and discussions as Psalm 110.... We should at once emphasize that both in questions of textual criticism and in history-of-religions problems the last word has not yet been spoken.”— Hans-Joachim Kraus New Testament writers quote Psalm 110 more than any other psalm. (And one of... Continue Reading →
Few individuals outside of Mormonism are respected more than Christopher Columbus. If you search “Christopher Columbus” on LDS.org you’ll find a number articles. Here, here, and here, for example. He's part of a small group of influential non-LDS people LDS people like to quote and reference. C.S. Lewis is in that group, maybe a few others. Columbus'... Continue Reading →
BOOK OF MORMONISM 