History
United Order vs Consecration
I always thought the United Order and Consecration were the same thing. I’ve been reading a book called Great Basin Kingdom by Leonard Arrington (former church historian) and learned they are actually different. The basic difference to me seems to be that with Consecration, one gave all they owned to the church, and then were […]
Would you recognize this church?
Often on the bloggernacle, someone will ask (such as Faithful Dissident did recently) What Would Joseph Smith Think About The Modern LDS Church? The implication often is that we moderns have strayed. Perhaps, but another answer is we have evolved. But if we moderns were to travel back in time, would we recognize them?
Did Moses Copy Hammurabi’s 10 Commandments?
A friend of mine let me know about this news item at Signature Books. Apparently, one of their authors (David Wright) has a new book published by Oxford University Press. For those of you who don’t know, Oxford is known as a pretty tough place to publish. They have pretty high scholarly standards, so getting […]
Mormons and Indians in the Great Plains
I have some good news, and some bad news. First the good news–I got a new job! Now the bad news–my new job will interfere with my frequent blogging, so there will definitely be a decrease in activity. My book club has been reading a book called Establishing Zion by Eugene Campbell. I couldn’t find […]
Early Church History: Oaks and Veazey
I’ve been reading a book by Apostle Dallin Oaks called Carthage Conspiracy. Oaks is a lawyer, former Utah Supreme Court judge, former dean of the University of Chicago Law School, and president of BYU from 1971-1980 (updated 8/9/2009). He wrote the book in 1975, and analyzes the trial of the assassins of Joseph Smith. I […]
Bushman’s Perspective on Polygamy, Alger, and Snow
Thanks to Tara, my recent post announcing my perspective on polygamy has received a recent boost of activity (and is my most commented post ever on this blog, currently with 97 comments.) We had been discussing some of the more controversial aspects of polygamy: (1) Was Joseph’s polygamy revelation really a disguise for his real […]
Interview with the Community of Christ
Over the last year, I have come across a few bloggers who are members of the Community of Christ (formerly known as RLDS). I have always been curious about the Community of Christ, and have often wondered the differences in worship between their services, and LDS services. I wanted to share some of the stuff […]
Amazing CoC Statement
The RLDS church was founded in 1860. Joseph Smith III was the first prophet. Recently, they have changed their name to the Community of Christ (CoC), and have begun to distance themselves from former beliefs and teachings. I found the following statement issued by their current prophet, President Stephen M. Veazey, quite startling. The RLDS […]
My 2nd Scoop: A Curious Verse
I recently made the acquaintance of Morgan Deane, who runs a blog called Warfare and the Book of Mormon. Morgan is a scholar in Military History, and has used some of his expertise in analyzing some passages in the Book of Mormon as related to warfare. Here’s what he says about himself on his website.
Mormon Heretic 