Oath of Vengeance

In Mormonism, the oath of vengeance (or law of vengeance) was an oath that was made by participants in the endowment ritual of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) between about 1845 and the early 1930s, in which participants vowed to pray that God would avenge the blood of the prophets … Read more

Already Married

Excerpt from the LDS Gospel Topic Essay, ‘Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo’: 1 Following his marriage to Louisa Beaman and before he married other single women, Joseph Smith was sealed to a number of women who were already married. 29 Neither these women nor Joseph explained much about these sealings, though several women said … Read more

Seer Stone Not Used

Excerpt from Joseph Fielding Smith’s, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:225: 1 SEER STONE NOT USED IN BOOK OF MORMON TRANSLATION. We have been taught since the days of the Prophet that the Urim and Thummim were returned with the plates to the angel. We have no record of the Prophet having the Urim and Thummim after … Read more

Context

Excerpt from the June 2018 Ensign, ‘The Long-Promised Day’: 1 1. Aware of the promises With the help of others, President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) carefully studied the scriptures and statements made by Church leaders in addresses, journals, meetings, and other sources since the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith, including the following: President Brigham … Read more

No God

On June 1, 1980 Apostle Bruce R. McConkie gave an address at BYU entitled ‘The Seven Deadly Heresies’. The text version of this talk was drastically altered from the original audio address. 1 Below is a comparison of the two versions.   Printed version Audio version I have sought and do now seek that guidance … Read more

The Seven Deadly Heresies

On June 1, 1980 Apostle Bruce R. McConkie gave an address at BYU entitled ‘The Seven Deadly Heresies’. The text version of this talk was drastically altered from the original audio address. 1 Below is a comparison of the two versions.   Printed version Audio version I have sought and do now seek that guidance … Read more

No other gift

Excerpt from ‘An Address To All Believers In Christ’, 1887, by David Whitmer: 1 “After the translation of the Book of Mormon was finished, early in the spring of 1830, before April 6th, Joseph gave the stone to Oliver Cowdery and told me as well as the rest that he was through with it, and … Read more

A Prophet

Excerpt from an April 2018 General Conference address by Neil L. Andersen:1 “A prophet does not stand between you and the Savior. Rather, he stands beside you and points the way to the Savior. A prophet’s greatest responsibility and most precious gift to us is his sure witness, his certain knowledge, that Jesus is the … Read more

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

Civil War

The Nulification Crisis, Wikipedia: 1 The Nullification Crisis was a United States sectional political crisis in 1832-33, during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, which involved a confrontation between South Carolina and the federal government. It ensued after South Carolina declared that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void … 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

Given to Another

Excerpt from Joseph Fielding Smith’s ‘Answers to Gospel Questions’, Vol. 3, Pg. 23, 24. Pub. 1957: 1 “Here we have a case where there is a faithful mother who has by her integrity kept her children in the faith, but who is married to an unbelieving husband. Naturally she is worried and wonders how she … 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

Locked Door

Affidavit by seventeen year old Martha Brotherton published in the newspaper, ‘Quincy Whig’ August 06 1842, Pg 2: 1 Martha H. Brotherton’s Sworn Testimony ST. LOUIS, July 13th, A. D. 1842. Gen. John C. Bennett. DEAR SIR: — I left Warsaw a short time since for this city, and having been called upon by you, … Read more

Of Age

Affidavit by seventeen year old Martha Brotherton published in the newspaper, ‘Quincy Whig’ August 06 1842, Pg 2: 1 Martha H. Brotherton’s Sworn Testimony ST. LOUIS, July 13th, A. D. 1842. Gen. John C. Bennett. DEAR SIR: — I left Warsaw a short time since for this city, and having been called upon by you, … 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

Grooming

Child Sexual Abuse: 6 Stages of Grooming, Dr. Michael Welner: Child Sexual Abuse: 1 Grooming is the process by which an offender draws a victim into a sexual relationship and maintains that relationship in secrecy. The shrouding of the relationship is an essential feature of grooming. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner explains the six stages that can … Read more

Feminine Element

An article in the Juvenile Instructor by George Q. Cannon, ‘The Worship of Female Deities’, May 15 1895 : 1 In the days of Jeremiah the prophet the worship of “the queen of heaven,” a feminine deity, was very common. The people of Judah attributed great power to this female deity, so much so that … Read more

Criminal

Excerpt from the LDS Gospel Topic Essay, ‘Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo’: 1 “After receiving a revelation commanding him to practice plural marriage, Joseph Smith married multiple wives and introduced the practice to close associates.” “Polygamy had been permitted for millennia in many cultures and religions, but, with few exceptions, was rejected in Western … 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

Ithyphallic God

Excerpt form the Joseph Smith translation of  Facsimile No. 2 from the Book of Abraham: 1 “Fig. 7. Represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand Key-words of the Priesthood; as, also, the sign of the Holy Ghost unto Abraham, in the form of a dove.” Excerpt from BYU Egyptologist Michael … Read more

Too Numerous

Excerpt from the BYU Journal of Undergraduate Research, A Recently Recovered Source: Rethinking Joseph Smith’s Bible Translation (March 16, 2017): 1 “Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible has attracted significant attention in recent decades, drawing the interest of a wide variety of academics and those who affirm its nearly canonical status in the LDS scriptural … Read more