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George Washington offered alcohol for votes

Posted by Mormon Heretic on November 4, 2008 in History, Mormon, Politics, Priesthood, Priesthood Ban, Race

Ok, I am interested in politics, but don’t feel I’m an expert.  I love to look at history, and this past weekend found out some interesting things about the father of our country.  I was reading in the Wall Street Journal.  There was an article about possible election fraud, and it talked about some election fraud history in America.  I learned that George Washington actually offered alcohol for votes.  The article also states that James Madison lost for not offering alcohol.  Votes have been for sale in America since 1757, when George Washington bought alcohol for every voter in his district, Baumgartner says.

Now it was so interesting to me that I mentioned it to my brother in law.  He immediately called the Wall Street Journal biased, and said it was just tearing down Washington’s legacy, and he did not believe it was credible.  He even compared it to anti-mormon attacks, and called it revisionist history.  I found this stance interesting, because I have been accused of thinking poorly of Brigham Young.

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Has King Solomon’s Mine been Found?

Posted by Mormon Heretic on October 27, 2008 in Archeology, Christian, Geography, History, Judaism, Mormon, Old Testament, Science

I came across this article in Newsweek, and archaeologists may have discovered King Solomon’s mine.  This could be a major discovery, and add real evidence to the Biblical references to King Solomon.

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Testing Book of Mormon Geography Theories

Posted by Mormon Heretic on October 23, 2008 in Archeology, Book of Mormon, Central America, Mormon, New York, South America

I’ve posted previously on the various BoM geography theories, and I have to admit, it is one of my favorite topics.  Very few Mormons realize how diverse some of the various theories are.  Mormon Times recently ran an article on the various theories, and gave some criteria for evaluating them properly.

So, which of these theories sounds most plausible to you?  I’ve studied quite a few, and am aware of both strengths and weaknesses of many of the theories.  I’d love to hear what you think.

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Marriage Fitness

Posted by Mormon Heretic on October 19, 2008 in Christian, Marriage, Mormon

I heard a radio ad for a Marriage Fitness website.  There is a really interesting free assessment here.

Now, I’ll warn you that they are trying to sell you something, but they also have sent me about 7 emails for free.  They stress that they are not marriage counselors (which they loathe), but rather help you maintain a healthy marriage.  They give you some “marriage exercises” which help get your marriage in shape.

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Book of Mormon Archaeology Oct 25

Posted by Mormon Heretic on October 15, 2008 in Archeology, Book of Mormon, Geography, Mormon

I came across this article at the Mormon Times (part of the Deseret News) about an all day forum discussion the Central American theory of the Book of Mormon.  It sounds like an interesting lineup of speakers.

I would really like to go, but I will be working that day, and can’t go.  Is there anyone who wants to take notes for me and update me?  I’d be willing to pay half your $25 conference fee for good notes, or if you can get a fair recording, I’d be willing to pay the whole thing.  Here’s the details.

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Esther lived in Iran

Posted by Mormon Heretic on October 12, 2008 in Archeology, Early Christian History, Geography, Israel, Judaism, Mormon, Movie/Book Reviews, Multi-Faith, Muslim, Old Testament

I just finished a book called “DNA & Tradition”, by Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman.  The book discusses evidence of Hebrew DNA, and talks about the science and religion of Judaism.  As part of the discussion, I learned these interesting facts.

The oldest diaspora communities are in Assyria, later conquered by Babylonia (now modern-day Iraq) and Persia (now modern day Iran). They have been there for 2000-2500 years.

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Inscription on Bowl Refers to Christ

Posted by Mormon Heretic on October 5, 2008 in Archeology, Christian, Early Christian History, History, Israel, Mormon, Science

I found this interesting article at MSNBC which references a recently discovered artifact.  It’s not exactly the Holy Grail, but it dates from the time of Christ.  The full engraving on the bowl reads, “DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS,” which has been interpreted by the excavation team to mean either, “by Christ the magician” or, “the magician by Christ.”

So, do you think it references Christ, is it a pagan coincidence, or a fraud?

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Using Fear, Pride, and Greed to pay Tithing

Posted by Mormon Heretic on September 28, 2008 in Christian, Funny, Mormon, Mormon Culture, Movie/Book Reviews, Theology, Tithing

This is an unusual post for me on 2 counts.  (1)  I generally hate lessons on tithing, because I don’t think there’s much new to say on the topic.  (2)  I tried to read “The Screwtape Letters” by CS Lewis a few years ago, and just couldn’t get through the book.  I’ve heard many people quote CS Lewis, especially from this book, but I just didn’t like it.  However, I did like the movie “Shadowlands” which was based on some true stories of Mr Lewis.

A friend of mine gave me a copy of Sunstone, the magazine.  I’ve never read it before, and have really wanted to get it for quite some time.  I am very grateful to my friend for giving it to me.  I read the articles he suggested, as well as many others that he didn’t, and came across a really interesting one by Jeff Burton.

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What’s the difference between Arabs & Persians?

Posted by Mormon Heretic on September 25, 2008 in Christian, Culture, DNA, History, Islam, Judaism, Mormon, Multi-Faith, Muslim, Race, Science

Ok, I will confess that I love learning about the Middle East.  I love learning more about Jews, Muslims, Arabs, etc.  I have so much to learn.

I’m a grad student working on some genetic studies (one of my many jobs).  As part of the genetic study we are doing, we have our study participants tell us their race.  In medical studies, different treatments can affect different races quite dramatically.

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History of Angel Moroni

Posted by Mormon Heretic on September 21, 2008 in History, Mormon, Mormon Culture, Temple

I came across an article in the Church News detailing the history on the Moroni statue.  The print edition and web edition have some interesting pictures of the various incarnations of the statue, and the photos have some different captions.

In the print edition, the Nauvoo Temple has a flying angel.  The angel is part of a weather vane, which was typical of New England architecture.  The current Nauvoo temple has a standing Moroni.  I remember President Hinckley said he wanted to restore the original look of the Nauvoo Temple, but he changed the Moroni statue, because he thought it looked better.  I wish he had kept with the historical weather vane, because if its’ uniqueness in mormon history.

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