Joseph Smith Translation

Excerpt from the article ‘Prophecies in the Bible about Joseph Smith’, published in the Ensign, January 1989: 1 Critics might argue that the Joseph Smith Translation contains references to Joseph Smith because he himself translated it.   From the Joseph Smith Inspired translation of the bible. Italicized words were added to the King James Version … Read more

Intermarriage

Address by J. Reuben Clark, reprinted in the August, 1946 LDS Improvement Era, ‘Plain Talk to Girls’: 1 Address given to the Executives of the Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association, in June Conference, Saturday afternoon, June 8, 1946, in Barratt Hall When I was in Mexico in the Embassy, there were with me Sister Clark … Read more

Modesty

Address by J. Reuben Clark, reprinted in the August, 1946 LDS Improvement Era, ‘Plain Talk to Girls’: 1 Address given to the Executives of the Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association, in June Conference, Saturday afternoon, June 8, 1946, in Barratt Hall When I was in Mexico in the Embassy, there were with me Sister Clark … Read more

Tree of Life

Excerpt from ‘History of Joseph Smith by his mother’, Lucy Mack Smith, Pub. 1853. Pg. 58, 59: 1 In 1811, we moved from Royalton Vermont, to the town of Lebanon New Hampshire. Soon after arriving here, my husband [Joseph Smith Sr.] received another very singular vision, which I will relate: “I thought,” said he, “I … Read more

Love of Money

LDS General Conference, April 2018 –  https://www.lds.org/general-conference?cid=HP15GC&lang=eng Mormon 8: 37-39, The Book of Mormon: 1 37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted. 38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye … Read more

Throw it Away

Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol. 5:112-117, ‘Organic Evolution and the Age of Man’: Question: “Since reading your book, Man: His Origin, and Destiny, I have been troubled by your difference in view of organic evolution and the age of man and the teachings of some of our most outstanding scientists who maintain … Read more

Money Diggers

Affidavit of Isaac Hale, father-in-law of Joseph Smith, Jr., given at Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania on 20 March 1834:  1 I first became acquainted with Joseph Smith, Jr. in November 1825. He was at that time in the employ of a set of men who were called “money-diggers;” and his occupation was that of … Read more

Discernment

From the Salt lake Tribune via AP:1 In this photo taken April 22, 1980, Mark W. Hofmann, left, and LDS Church leaders N. Eldon Tanner, Spencer W. Kimball, Marion G. Romney, Boyd K. Packer and Gordon B. Hinckley examine the Anthon transcript in Salt Lake City. Back in October 1985, when Hofmann killed two people … Read more

Secret Signs

Helaman 6:22, the Book of Mormon: 1 “22 And it came to pass that they did have their signs, yea, their secret signs, and their secret words; and this that they might distinguish a brother who had entered into the covenant, that whatsoever wickedness his brother should do he should not be injured by his … Read more

Literal Descendants

Excerpt from the LDS Gospel Topic Essays, ‘Book of Mormon and DNA Studies’: 1 “The evidence assembled to date suggests that the majority of Native Americans carry largely Asian DNA. Scientists theorize that in an era that predated Book of Mormon accounts, a relatively small group of people migrated from northeast Asia to the Americas … Read more

More Good

From the Times and Seasons, 4:194 (1843): 1 Sir:-Through the medium of your paper, I wish to correct an error among men that profess to be learned, liberal and wise; and I do it the more cheerfully, because I hope sober-thinking and sound-reasoning people will sooner listen to the voice of truth, than be led astray … Read more

People in the Book of Mormon

List of people in the Book of Mormon: 1 Males Aaron (descendant of Heth) Aaron (son of Mosiah) Aaron (Lamanite king) Abinadi Abinadom Aha Ahah Akish Alma (the Prophet Alma (the Younger) Amaleki (record keeper) Amaleki (seeker of Zeniff’s people) Amalickiah Amaron Aminadab Amgid Aminadi Amlici Ammah Ammaron Ammon (expedition leader) Ammon (son of Mosiah) … Read more

Other Nations

Excerpt from the LDS Gospel Topic Essay, Book of Mormon and DNA Studies: 1 The Book of Mormon provides little direct information about cultural contact between the peoples it describes and others who may have lived nearby. Consequently, most early Latter-day Saints assumed that Near Easterners or West Asians like Jared, Lehi, Mulek, and their … Read more

Last Ten Years

Excerpt from Alexander Campbells ‘Delusions an analysis of the Book of Mormon‘, Pub. 1832: 1 “This prophet Smith, through his stone spectacles, wrote on the plates of  Nephi, in his book of Mormon, every error and almost every truth discussed in  N. York for the last ten years. He decides all the great controversies — … Read more

Izapa Stela 5

Excerpts from BYU Journal of Book of Mormon studies, ‘A New Artistic Rendering of Izapa Stela 5: A Step toward Improved Interpretation’, by BYU Mesoamerican archaeologist John E. Clark (August 1 1999): 1 “In the 48 years since Jakeman first concluded that Stela 5 represents Lehi’s dream of the tree of life, major advancements have … Read more

Segregation

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

One Drop

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

Lord’s Segregation

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

Become White

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

Go as a Servant

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

Illusory Truth Effect

Excerpt from Wikipedia, topic: Illusory Truth Effect: 1 “The illusory truth effect (also known as the truth effect or the reiteration effect) is the tendency to believe information to be correct after repeated exposure. This phenomenon was first identified in a 1977 study at Villanova University and Temple University. When truth is assessed, people rely … Read more

Simply Fiction

Excerpt from a 2000 BYU paper by Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) and Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU) titled ‘The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon’: 1 “Spanning a period of twenty years (1869-1888), some seventy recorded testimonies about the coming forth of the Book … Read more

Not a Few Things

Excerpt from Studies of the Book of Mormon by B. H. Roberts, pg. 240: 1 “Did Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews furnish structural material for Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon? It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major … Read more

Nothing

Michael D. Coe (born 1929) is a U.S. archaeologist, anthropologist, epigrapher and author. Primarily known for his research in the field of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican studies (and in particular, for his work on the Maya civilization, where he is regarded as one of the foremost Mayanist scholars of the latter 20th century), Coe has also made … Read more

Disavows Scripture

Excerpt from the LDS Gospel Topic Essay, ‘Race and the Priesthood’: 1 “Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of … Read more

We Don’t Have That

Excerpt from a 2017 YSA Face to Face with Russell Ballard and Dallin Oaks:1 MALE HOST:“…we have a lot of questions in the YSA about their friends dealing with doubts. A question from Utah asks what advice/guidance would you give for answering tough questions about church history when we are asked about them by someone … Read more

New World Horses

Excerpt from the Oxford Journal of Heredity, ‘Iberian Origins of New World Horse Breeds’: 1 “Fossil records, archaeological proofs, and historical documents report that horses persisted continuously in the Iberian Peninsula since the Pleistocene and were taken to the American continent (New World) in the 15th century….The genus Equus evolved in North America, and during … Read more