Someone who asks, "What if the Mormon Church is true" has only ever looked at the question from the Mormon point of view. People on this board have lived that position for some portion of their life (with me it was 40 years a TBM) and came to the conclusion that Mormonism was not true. The question I have for newcomer is - What if it is not true? What if your silly temple ritual
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The best example I know of where specific lies and misstatements have been documented is in the book "Breaking the Mormon Code." Daniel Peterson wrote the book "Offenders For a Word" and the author of "Breaking the Mormon Code" Matthew Paulson shows where Peterson misquotes, mis-paraphrases and outright lies about statements from Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement, Justin
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Resigned December 23, 2005. I wrote Merry Smithmas at the bottom of the letter.
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I was a missionary in several areas in Brazil. One of the areas was Santa Felicidade. While there I was "teaching" a family who had a new born baby. The baby was very ill. There were questions about its survival. I recommended that they take the baby to the doctor, which they did. They also took the baby to a curandero or Brazilian spiritual healer. The doctor told them that the b
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Having been quoted in this, I am posting a link to the entire paper I wrote on the subject. I went by the name of Nao Crer until I resigned in 2005. http://jhuston.com/Documents/what_we_do_know_about_the_1978.htm
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This is an interesting letter to the editor of the Washington Post. Sorry if this has already been posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/yes-mitt-romneys-mormonism-is-fair-game/2012/06/05/gJQApJLpIV_story.html
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Jesus More Meek William H. Smart, Conference Report, April 1901 My mind goes back when I contemplate this principle of obedience, to that which we learn in the Pearl of Great Price, when in the councils of heaven the foundations of the earth and the building thereof were taken into consideration. Two plans were laid before the councils and because of the bumble and obedient spirit that was sho
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If you accept that Masonic symbols are rooted in Kabbalism, which is the position of both Albert Pike and Gershom Scholem, the eye would have come from Egyptian relics and lore from the 12th and 13th centuries. This would have been Jewish interpretations of the relics and lore. Freemasonry started gathering beliefs and ceremonies in the early 18th century and were well formed and using Egypt
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All truly dogmatic religions have issued from the Kabbalah, and return to it: everything scientific and grand in the religious dreams of all the illuminati, Jacob Boehme, Swedenborg, Saint-Martin, and others, is borrowed from the Kabalah; all the Masonic associations owe to it their Secrets and Symbols. (Morals and Dogma, p. 744) Include with this the Rosicrucians who also based their work on
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When Christianity was introduced in Rome it was considered Pagan and was outlawed. Pagan simply means a belief system that does not follow the mainstream religions of the time. Today it carries a connotation of polytheism and hedonism.
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The first time the word "Freemason" was known to be used in conjunction with Edwin in about 926 A.D. King Athelstan assembled Masons to receive their charter. The king desired them to rebuild Christian churches, monasteries and convents that had been destroyed by fire in the Scandinavian invasions between 835 and 870. The king's son, Edwin, had learned the science of architecture from m
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The Jupiter Talisman came directly from Francis Barrett's book on ceremonial magic "Magus." It has absolutely nothing to do with Freemasonry.
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Kabbalism is Jewish mysticism and a way to interpret the Old Testament. Until fairly recently, the Kabbalah was virtually unheard of outside scholarly Rabbinic circles and to those deeply involved in esoteric schools. Yet for hundreds of years this "secretive" text has been used as a cornerstone for occult societies and doctrines. Consider the words of Albert Pike—arguably the most
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Hiram Abiff (most common spelling) did not appear in Masonic writings until the late 1700s. He was introduced as a basis for stories and lessons which the Free Masons wanted to emphasize. Free Masons originally claimed direct lines to ancient Egypt, the Temple of Solomon, beliefs on the American continents and the Far East. Actual research has show that none of these are in fact the truth. Fr
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The quote was originally Packer. Boyd K. Packer, "The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect", 1981, BYU Studies, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 259-271 There is no such thing as an accurate, objective history of the Church without consideration of the spiritual powers that attend this work. There is no such thing as a scholarly, objective study of the office of bishop without conside
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Uchtdorf April 2012 "The Merciful Obtain Mercy" http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-merciful-obtain-mercy
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The Prophet and 12 Apostles, as well as the Great Apostasy all came from the Seekers. Joseph Smith's maternal uncle was the leader of a Seeker congregation. http://signaturebookslibrary.org/?p=4764 http://chriscarrollsmith.blogspot.com/2009/09/joseph-smiths-seeker-uncle.html Claims for the leadership of the Mormon Church are well documented and in great detail in The Mormon Hierarchy Orig
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A group of men with Joseph Smith in the lead were traveling down river by canoe. Being the man that he was, Joseph had to be in charge, and not having any idea what he was doing nearly capsized the boat. Scared, he had all boats put into shore for the rest of the day. The following morning he had a "revelation" that the rest of the journey should be done overland. This was reported
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Tobacco taken internally kills some types of parasites. Boiled it can also produce a tincture which is suppose to be beneficial for some types of skin ailments. The tincture can also be used as a natural insecticide or insect repellant.
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Wendell H. Hall former Mission President Buenos Aires North 81 - 83, Buenos Aires South 83-84 and former MTC President Santiago Chile Presidente Steven M. Sims Portugal Porto mission H. Jerrell Chesney President Oklahoma City Oklahoma temple http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,16947,16947
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These have been updated with the statistics released. The file contains 17 graphs. http://jhuston.com/membership_new.pdf
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In later life Joseph Smith studied German and Hebrew with Alexander Neibaur. He was also widely read including the works of Emmanuel Swedenborg. This was not an unintelligent man. Concerning spelling and grammar. In the early 1820s spelling and grammar had not been codified. There was no correct spelling.
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Concerning him being illiterate. Joseph Smith Sr. was a school teacher in Vermont. His brother Hyrum was a school teacher in Palmyra and sat on the Board of Education that hired Oliver Cowdrey as a school teacher. He was know to frequent two libraries in the area. He may not have had many years of formal education in a school house, but he was far from illiterate. See "An Insider's vi
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This is a good version that is no longer available for sale. http://www.jhuston.com/jod.htm
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People who are perennially late feel their time is more valuable than yours. It is OK to make you wait. They evidently feel that their time is not more valuable than those conducting the services.
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A nonprofit does not have shareholders, it has directors. No one owns a nonprofit. The idea that the President is the sole shareholder and owner was taken from something I wrote. The President has sole control over how the resources are used, but is not technically the owner.
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This is from an accountant/CPA Nonprofits are taxed on activities which cannot be show as part of the mission of their organization. With the Mormon Church, Bonneville Communications is a for profit corporation owned by a nonprofit. It would be taxed. Production of garments, production of books and lesson manuals would be considered part of their core mission and would be tax exempt. Desere
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Brigham Young did not play well with others. The women that he married were generally required to leave their husbands permanently. In addition to the one already mentioned, Mary Elizabeth Rollins was married to Brigham Young for a period of time, but did not live with him as wife. Augusta Cobb was married to him, but had left her non-Mormon husband to move west. These are the only ones I
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