Mormon Heretic
Confronting Racism-Part 2
I’ve already posted Part 1 of the Mormon Matters episode 80: How Can we Confront Racism within Mormon Thought and Culture? Here is part 2. I have previously posted excerpts from this panel discussion when I asked if 1978 was the right year, and whether the Church should apologize. The transcript below continues after Part […]
Should the Church Apologize for the Temple/Priesthood Ban?
Following up with the conversation on whether the timing of the 1978 revelation was correct, Brad Kramer and Marguerite Driessen disagreed on the necessity of whether the LDS Church should repent for the previous restrictions on black church members. Â You might be surprised at their stances. Â Here’s more of their conversation on whether an institution […]
Was 1978 the Right Year?
The priesthood and temple ban was lifted in a 1978 revelation given to President Spencer W. Kimball and the Twelve Apostles. With Civil Rights being a big issue in the 1960’s, there are many who criticize the church for taking so long in lifting the priesthood ban on black men, and the temple ban on […]
Confronting Racism with the Church-Part 1
I’ve previously posted part of this transcript when I talked about Misunderstanding Racism.  Here is the entire transcript of Mormon Matters episode 79:  See How can we Truly Confront Racism Within Mormon Thought and Culture—Part 1 at Mormon Matters.  I plan to post Part 2 as well when I complete it.  (These transcripts take quite […]
Gender for Intersexuals
Mormonism is a unique religion in it’s belief about gender. Â The Proclamation on the Family states that “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” Â But what happens when gender isn’t so clear cut? MSNBC has an interesting article about Intersexuals: people in which the “exact gender of the […]
Bill Russell: Pillars of my Faith
John Dehlin of Mormon Stories has a recording of a 1993 Sunstone Symposium. Bill Russell gave a very interesting presentation. I transcribed the entire talk, and wanted to share it with everyone. Bill certainly has an interesting perspective on things. Â He is a past president of the Mormon History Association. The topic was titled Pillars […]
Routine Prophecy in a Church
In the lifetime of Joseph Smith, there were more than 100 revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. Â In the past 120 years, we’ve had only the vision of Joseph F. Smith (section 138), and 2 Official Declarations added–the Manifesto, and the elimination of the ban on black members to receive the priesthood. Â There are […]
Bill Russell: Nephi is Dangerous
The following comments were recorded at the 1993 Sunstone Symposium. Bill Russell spoke on the recurring theme as Sunstone called “The Pillars of my Faith”. He is a past president of the Mormon History Association. I don’t know who introduced him, but this is what the person said when he introduced Bill Russell. Introduction, “William […]
Misunderstanding Racism
With Randy Bott’s comments in the Washington Post a few weeks ago, the subject of the Priesthood Ban has become a hot topic of late. Â Jeff Spector at Wheat and Tares feels that racism is the wrong word to describe the Priesthood Ban. Â He says, “To me, there is a difference between been a racist […]
New Theories on the Crucifixion
With Easter upon us, I wanted to talk a bit about the death of Christ. Â Traditional images of the Crucifixion look similar to this one (pictured on the left.) Â National Geographic has put together 10 videos in a 3-DVD set called Science of the Bible that looks into various aspects of the life of Jesus. […]
Mormon Heretic 