Mormon Bloggers

For over 150 years, there has been contention about whether the LDS temple ceremonies were essentially stolen from the initiation rituals of Freemasonry. As it happens, I am a Freemason; of course, long-time readers of this blog are well-aware that I am a Latter-day Saint, as well. Being intimately familiar both with the LDS temple ceremonies and the Masonic initiation rituals, I have some thoughts on this matter. I shall be presenting those thoughts as a streaming video on the Worldwide Exemplification of Freemasonry website (http://www.weofm.org/) this Saturday, August 20, at 8 p.m. Eastern. Thereafter, the hourlong presentation will be available through the Video tab on the WEOFM website, at least through the end of 2015. I have wanted to address the controversy on this issue in a productive way for many years. I am very grateful to the Worldwide Exemplification of Freemasonry, and its current master, Brother Albert McClelland, for giving me this opportunity to present my thoughts.... Read the rest of this entry »

In a recent article in The National Catholic Weekly magazine, a writer brought up the great marketing the LDS church is doing in New York City.  His article highlights the Mormon.org billboards that are all over as well as on the taxis, etc.  and how great of a missionary tool it is.  Something he wrote about in his article stood out to me about his perspective on the traditional Mormon missionary strategy.  He writes: The ”I’m a Mormon” campaign, showcases video and print portraits of young, diverse and energetic Mormons — and steers clear of images of missionaries in white shirts and black pants or talk of theology – “Steering clear of images of missionaries in white shirts and black pants…” is the line that stood out to me. What is the image that most people who aren’t LDS think of when they see the Mormon missionaries knocking on doors like they have done the same way for probably close to 100 years now?  Is that still an... Read the rest of this entry »

Jason Workman, an LDS man from southern Utah, was one of the Navy SEALS downed in Afghanistan. The full report is found at this website. God bless his family as well as everyone else who has lost their life in this war.  Read More →

It is obvious to me and many others, but unfortunately it is not to some, that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Christians, not just because of the name of the Church, but especially because of the teachings of the Church about Christ. Many articles and books have been written in favor or against, some saying that Mormons are Christians and some saying that they are not. This website can help to show what is true and what is not, and it will give valuable insights about what really Mormons believe regarding Jesus Christ. Sincere seekers of the truth and members of the Church of Jesus Christ will really like the website. The Messiah website http://messiahjesuschrist.org contains videos and text created by and for the Neal A. Maxwell Institute. The More Good Foundation has been involved in the creation of the websites in English and in other six languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Germans, French, and Japanese). The websites are all at different stages... Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Apologetic Article, Youtube Video Tagged: Apologetics, Book o, Book of Mormon, Christ, Christianity, Church of Jesus Christ of … Continue reading »  Read More →

Recently I had a close member of my family give me a movie called “Joseph Smith vs. the Bible” (actually, they left it in my car).  Since I’ve rarely had a Christian give me something about Mormons that wasn’t propaganda to try and convince Mormons they’re wrong, I really had no desire to watch it.  However, I did browse around to see if there were any reviews on the movie so I could have an idea what it was about if my family member asked me again. Just as I had thought, the movie, according to both Christian reviews and LDS reviews, the movie was heavily one-sided.  The reviews do a good job of summarizing the movie and explaining what it is about, but in a nutshell, the host uses scripture to prove that Joseph Smith is a false prophet based on a few things he said such as the temple being built in Jackson County, Missouri (which it hasn’t been), and the Book of Mormon prophets saying Jesus would be born in Jerusulem rather than Bethlehem, along... Read the rest of this entry »

“Not My Will be Done, But Thine, be Done”         New Testament Lesson #25 Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46   … Continue reading »  Read More →

New Testament Lesson #24                      “This is Life Eternal”                                     John 16-17 Study outline: John 16:1-15: Jesus prepares his Apostles for the … Continue reading »  Read More →

UPDATE: There is a correction that needs to be addressed with this article. The original author of Mormon Pride 2011: LDS Church calls for political action against non-traditional families was not written by Chino Blanco. It was originally written by MoHoHawaii and originally published on his blog MoHoHawaii – Another Gay Mormon Blog and originally titled [...]  Read More →

Spencer W Kimball’s (former LDS Prophet) spoke to BYU students a number of years ago on becoming perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect.  In this talk, he outlined areas where we should strive for perfection, which include: personal integrity, commitment to (BYU) standards, honoring covenants, roles of men and women, and personal appearance.  While I agree that it is important to strive to become closer to God each day, I have experienced sometimes within the LDS culture a tendency for members to over emphasize some of the points that Kimball mentioned about being “perfect”.  I have personally seen how this can lead to  judgement of others, and essentially pulls people away from God when they think they are doing everything “right” in order to be favored of God. Each person is travelling this journey of life and is on a different point along the path and with their relationship with God.  Do I think it is a good thing to strive to be perfect in our... Read the rest of this entry »

Many times my fellow Christian friends who are not familiar with the LDS culture are a bit turned off by how the LDS church assigns people geographically to their congregation.  I usually see them looking for a church that they like and that fits in well with their interests. While people are not forced to attend the congregation (the LDS call them wards) that is in their location, it is highly encouraged. For those who have complained about being assigned to wards, the Japan earthquake shows an example of where being assigned to a ward can be very beneficial and inspired.  During the earthquake in Japan, the LDS church was able to take account of the members of all congregations within the country in a matter of hours, which impressed someone over at MSNBC.  Read more about it at this site: “In Japan Mormon network gathers the flock.”  Read More →

Let us not focus on the Book of Mormon, modern day Prophets and Apostles, or even the necessary ordinances of the gospel. The foundation we must build upon is that of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith stated this: The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that [...]  Read More →