He doesn’t have a cult of anonymous redditors following him, you say? How good of a scholar could he even be? Readers of my blog will recall that some time ago Jeremy Runnells amusingly accused Brian C. Hales (undoubtedly one of the finest living authorities on the topic of the history of Mormon plural marriage) … Read more
Pictured: Brian C. Hales, a rank amateur who doesn’t know the first thing about Joseph Smith’s plural marriage. Jeremy Runnells, author of the popular anti-Mormon tract “Letter to a CES Director,” is upset. He’s upset that Brian Hales, one of the foremost authorities on Joseph Smith’s plural marriage, would dare challenge him and his accusations … Read more
Volume 1 of the Journals series of the Joseph Smith Papers, published in 2008. I continued to be very impressed with the work being undertaken by the Joseph Smith Papers Project. In case you haven’t had a chance to, I’d recommend that you be sure to check out the introductory material in volumes 1 and … Read more
Elder Boyd K. Packer (b. 1924). Elder Boyd K. Packer gave an address (“The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect”) at a CES symposium in 1981 where he said, “Some things that are true are not very useful.” This soundbite has been gleefully reproduced by anti-Mormons as evidence that Elder Packer was promoting … Read more
Look, we can’t kid ourselves or others by pretending this never happened. It happened, but there’s no reason to freak out about it. The early Mormon practice of plural marriage is one of the most controversial legacies of Mormonism. Understandably, many people, including members of the Church, are often troubled by what they hear are … Read more