Mormon
Coke, Rum Cake, and President McKay
I just started reading Greg Prince’s book, David O McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism. It’s been a great read so far. Prince tells some interesting stories about President McKay and the Word of Wisdom.
What Do You Think of a Mosque at Ground Zero?
I was driving to work this morning and saw a billboard titled “Remember 9/11” with an image of the collapsed World Trade Center. In smaller print on the right, it said “”Stand up and be heard. No mosque at ground zero.” You can see the sign on a video at this website.
History of the Bickertonites
The Church of Jesus Christ (based in Monongahela, Pennsylvania) traces its roots to Joseph Smith. I previously discussed its most famous former member, rock star Alice Cooper. I thought I could give a bit more history of this church and discuss basic beliefs. Larry Watson wrote a chapter in John Hamer and Newell Bringhurst’s book […]
An Introduction to Shismatic Groups within Mormonism
John Hamer and Newell Bringhurst compiled many essays highlighting major Mormon schismatic groups that trace their founding to Joseph Smith in their book titled Scattering of the Saints. The book is a great read. It goes into quite a bit of detail of the major groups, but if you want a more comprehensive listing of […]
Helvecio Martins: First Black General Authority
Mark L Grover gave a fascinating biography on Helvecio Martins, the first black general authority in the LDS church in the latest issue of the Journal of Mormon History (Summer 2010.) Elder Martins was ordained to the Second Quorum of Seventy in 1990 under President Ezra Taft Benson. In 1995 he was released, and he […]
Did Peter Get Demoted? Was James the Real Leader of Early Christianity?
I just finished the book Saint Peter: A Biography by Michael Grant. I think it is misnamed. I don’t feel like I know Peter any better, but it is a good book for learning about early Christianity. The author describes how tough it is to really understand Peter both at the beginning, as well as […]
The Creation/Evolution Controversy: A Battle for Cultural Power
A friend of mine recommended a book by Kary Doyle Smout called The Creation/Evolution Controversy: A Battle for Cultural Power. Kary is an Associate Professor of English at Washington and Lee University, and specializes in rhetoric. I usually delve more into historical topics, so this was a bit of a change for me, but I enjoyed […]
Sunstone Recap 2010
I wanted to get this post up sooner, but I’ve been really busy correcting final exams. I really enjoyed the last day of Sunstone, since I was able to attend all day, rather than a session here or there. Don Bradley gave a presentation titled “Dating Fanny Alger”, a bit of a play on words. […]
Hanging Out With Apostles at Sunstone
caption id=”attachment_1147″ align=”alignright” width=”150″ caption=”Apostle Paul Savage of the Church of Christ with Elijah Message”][/caption] Sunstone has been going on since Wednesday here in Salt Lake City. It ends tomorrow, and I thought I would give a few words about the conference. I have been blogging at Mormon Matters for about a year and a […]
If They Tarry…
D&C 137 records a vision of Joseph Smith “in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, January 21, 1836. HC 2: 380–381. The occasion was the administration of the ordinances of the endowment as far as they had then been revealed.” [Preface]. There are 2 important pieces of Mormon doctrine to consider here: (1) baptism for the […]
Mormon Heretic 