Month: April 2014

I’ve a Mother There

Heavenly Mother by John Hafen. “Come to me, here’s the myst’ry that man hath not seen; / Here’s our Father in heaven, and Mother, the Queen.”– William W. Phelps, “A Voice from the Prophet: Come to Me” (1844). One aspect of Latter-day Saint doctrine that distinguishes Mormonism from other contemporary Christian sects is the Mormon affirmation … Read more

Terryl Givens on the Pre-Mortal Council in the Book of Abraham

“O Marduk, you are the most important among the great gods!” In my recent paper on the cosmology of the Book of Abraham I draw attention to the similarities between the Book of Abraham and the Mesopotamian myth Enuma Elish. Also significant for Latter-day Saints is the Enuma Elish’s depiction of the primeval theomachy in the … Read more

Another Note on Joseph Smith’s Accounts of His First Vision

The First Vision by Joni Susanto. I must confess that I’ve never really been bothered by the fact that Joseph Smith left different accounts of his First Vision. Even as a teenager, when I first heard about the different accounts, I realized pretty quickly that most of the “contradictions” between the accounts were largely inconsequential, and … Read more

Changes in the Doctrine and Covenants: What the Mormon Church is Hiding from You!

There’s a dark secret about this book that the Mormon Church doesn’t want you to know! This evening I bought a new set of scriptures. I have normally just been using the Gospel Library app on my phone, but I felt prompted during General Conference to start using a printed set of scriptures. I was … Read more

The 2014 “Mormon Exodus”: An Update

As reported by Allen Wyatt, the ex-Mormon “mass resignation” event this morning seems to have been a flop. It appears that a whopping . . . 34 people resigned their membership. By contrast, 2013 saw 282,945 convert baptisms. (Link) This is not to make light of these individuals’ unfortunate decision to leave the Church. I hope … Read more