A little more than 10 years ago, I was vacationing in Hawaii with a few friends. While there, we attended a small branch and became good friends with one of the members there. The member invited us over for family home evening, and introduced me to the idea that the Book of Mormon happened in South America. I had never heard of this before, and became quite intrigued.
My Perspective on Polygamy
I have long avoided talking about polygamy on my blog. It is a source of tremendous discomfort for me, but it keeps coming up, so I want to give my impressions about this early practice in Mormonism, as well as my beliefs and reconciliations.
A Constitutional Theocracy
The Faithful Dissident asked a very interesting question in my last post.
Back to Joseph Smith and theocracy, there’s something that puzzles me about Quinn’s claim. If JS truly intended on establishing a theocracy in America, wouldn’t that be in complete contradiction to what his religion proclaimed (i.e. that the US Constitution was a God-inspired document)? I never took American history, so I’m no expert on the Constitution, but how could it have been upheld in a theocracy?
The Nauvoo Expositor – A Different Perspective
So, in reading The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, the author D Michael Quinn makes a very interesting claim. While most people think the publication of polygamy was the reason that Joseph Smith ordered the destruction of the printing press, Quinn makes a more startling reason–that Joseph was attempting alliances with foreign nations, and he didn’t want that to get out. Quinn almost acts as if the Expositor had only been about polygamy, then Smith would have left it alone.
My Mom is Awesome
I often try to put up a post commemorating holidays. So, in celebration of Mother’s Day, I just want to let you all know how much I appreciate my mother. She is the most patient person I know, and she has a way of making me always try to do my best. She is one of my best friends, and a great listener. I really can’t think of a better Christian than she is.
So, you’re welcome to tell me about your mother as well. As I am biased, I know she won’t be better than mine, but I’d love to hear how cool your mom is too!
Women and the Melchizedek Priesthood
I was first introduced to the idea of women holding the Melchizedek Priesthood in the book called Sidney Rigdon: Portrait of Religious Excess by Richard Van Wagoner. Sidney claimed that Emma Smith was the first woman to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood (as I blogged about in Part 5). The current book I’m reading, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power by Michael Quinn, seems to support this idea, and goes into greater detail. Apparently, Brigham Young also supports this idea. I’ve changed some of the formatting, and modernized the spelling below, but according to Quinn on page 36,
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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.
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When was the Melchizedek Priesthood Restored?
First of all, I have to point to the Teacher, at Gospel Doctrine Underground, for introducing this topic to me. Previous to his discussion, I had not given much thought to when the Melchizedek Priesthood (MP) was restored. I just finished a book called “The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power” by D. Michael Quinn which goes into great detail on this subject. (Quinn has a similarly titled book called “Extensions of Power.“)
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True Stories that Impacted You
Ok, I have a tendency to get into some pretty deep stuff here, and so every once in a while, I need to take a break. Over the weekend, our local PBS affiliate broadcast Hotel Rwanda, with Don Cheadle. It is the true story of the Rwandan Civil War of around 1994, with Don portraying Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda. It was so good, yet horrifying, that I had trouble sleeping that night.
Debunking the Spaulding Manuscript Theory
In part 5 of my Sidney Rigdon series, I wrote that I thought I was done writing about Sidney Rigdon. But alas, I have been given a challenge to refute the Spaulding Manuscript theory by Doug G, so it looks like I’m temporarily back to talking about Sidney Rigdon.
Mormon Heretic 