I was forwarded a missionary's post and asked to respond. The forwarding email: >Subject: Richard, what do you make of this? It was posted by a returned missionary defending Joseph Smith. Critics often bring up the fact that linguists and archaeologists do not refer to any written language as “reformed Egyptian” and suggest that it is “proof” that Joseph Smith was a fraud.
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Yes, but it's not just your pets. According to the prophets, ALL animals will be resurrected: Prophet Joseph Smith: John saw beings there of a thousand forms, that had been saved from ten thousand times ten thousand earths like this,-strange beasts of which we have no conception: all might be seen in heaven. The grand secret was to show John what there was in heaven. John learned
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The numbers are a little old now, but things can not have gotten better since they were valid. See my analysis from official census records of a few years ago: "How many exmormons are there?" http://packham.n4m.org/morexmos.htm Quick answer: more exmormons than active Mormons, by quite a bit.
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Mormon teaching about civil government is very contradictory. On the one hand, they teach that the US constitution was inspired by God, and that one day it will "hang as a thread," to be saved (and restored to rule) by Mormons. But Mormons also teach that ultimately the "kingdom of God" will be established, headed by an "anointed one" ("messiah") selecte
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Can anyone give me a link to websites for RMs who served in Bolivia or other South American countries? I know there are websites for RMs who served in specific missions, but I don't know how to find them. Thanks!
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Responding to several comments: AML is the Association for Mormon Letters, whose members review all books on Mormonism (pro and con) and post the reviews on their website. I tried to post a link to the review by Andrew Hamilton, but apparently something in the link is a banned word. The reviews are also sent to subscribers to the Yahoo mailing list MormonLibrary, which you can subscribe to by
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I posted this because this book apparently takes a completely different approach to how Smith produced the BoM. I tried to post a link to the review for AML, but it contained a banned word.
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An intriguing treatment, not so much about seer stones, but about Smith's knowledge and use of 19th century composition techniques. Davis: Visions in a Seer Stone: Joseph Smith and the Making of the Book of Mormon
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I have long believed this. In my article debunking the idea that raising children in the church is good for them (at http://packham.n4m.org/children.htm ), I wrote: Mormons subtly (and probably unintentionally) teach children to lie. Mormons, including children, are interviewed by the bishop as to their "worthiness" for every step of their progress in the church, starting at
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I have pointed this out in my article on Mormon linguistic problems: http://packham.n4m.org/linguist.htm#ENGRAVED -scroll down to the section "wordiness"
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And where is it now? Did Joe leave the lid just lying on the ground when he was finally allowed to take the plates? Why didn't he ever take any witnesses back to the box, so they could see it for themselves? He said that it contained the breastplate with the U&T, but he doesn't say how he carried all that back when he got them. Did he just wear the breastplate? He said that he of
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Are Mormons Christian? Clear answer: yes and no. See my explanation at http://packham.n4m.org/lds-xian.htm It's the old bugaboo about DEFINING YOUR TERMS
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Here's the strip: https://www.gocomics.com/pickles/2020/04/20
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macaRomney Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >... > Most people who diss on skousan haven't read any > of his books. The guy knew what he was talking > about. I haven't read his anti-commie books, but here is my review of his "Five Thousand Year Leap," which is a pile of blather, misstatements, bad logic, and sloppy scholarship, as well a
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tumwater Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > how did you get tomorrow's comics today? I could, of course, claim that I have prophetic powers... Actually, our local papers doesn't publish a Monday edition, so it prints Monday's comics in the Sunday edition.
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The April 20 strip "Pickles" features David A. Bednar and an "inspirational quote" naming him as the source. Most readers will simply wonder who the hell is David A. Bednar? But the author of the well-known strip, Brian Crane, is Mormon, and proudly proclaims that he is a member on his web page.
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For a summary of Skousen's faults, see: https://sites.google.com/site/ernie124102/skousen
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midwestanon Wrote: > The answer to your question is I'm 99 percent sure > yes. Richard Packham routinely links to his > website/blog, as does Steve Benson,... I was told that I was "grandfathered in" when RfM changed the rules to forbid references to other blogs and websites. But that seems to have eased up the last year or so, as I see a lot of such links now.
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cl2 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I did go buy dog food and chicken for the dogs, > quite a bit of it. I give them "moist" dog food > besides the dry dog food. I think they'd refuse > to only eat the dry dog food, which my boyfriend > supplies, so maybe he'd keep his for his giant > dog. My wife ran a commercial
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Here's a challengs: What single passage in Mormon scripture do you think deals the most devastating blow to Mormonism? (Please, no scatter-shot answers like "the whole thing," or "the whole Bom" or "Book of Abraham") A passage of just a few verses, please. Here's my favorite: D&C 121:36-37, explaining how priesthood authority is lost. I think it's a double-
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See this thread: https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,2288427,2288442#msg-2288442
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Mormon doctrine teaches that all those who are born to this earth lived previously with God in the "pre-existence." It was there where, before the earth was formed, all the spirits gathered to hear the two plans for the later salvation of mankind. One was from Jesus, the other from Lucifer. When Lucifer's plan was rejected, he and a third of the spirits rebelled. There followed the grea
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The mere fact that the status must be taken on the poster's own information makes it unreliable. Why wouldn't a troll lie about his status? I was never a bishop or missionary. My highest calling in the church was organist. What does that have to do with the importance or relevance or value of my posts? Bad idea!
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elderolddog Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Richard, I think that very early in his church life, JoJu gave himself the 2nd Annoying, thus granting himself forgiveness for all his future stumblings. I don't think that helps. Being guaranteed entrance into the CK (having your "election made sure" has nothing to do with whether you hold the pries
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(posted with mod permission) *** Richard speaketh the truth. Thus sayeth CZ. *** The short story contest was such a success that CZ has approved a new contest: Write a limerick on a Mormon theme. Contest rules: - Must be in traditional limerick form: Five lines Lines 1,2 and 5 must be three feet long: da DA da da DA da da DA (da) and all must rhyme (an extra unstressed syllabl
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D&C 121 says that the priesthood must be exercised ONLY in righteousness, and that if any man uses his priesthood to exercise "dominion" over another person in "any degree of unrighteousness," the heavens withdraw and his priesthood ends. Apparently it does not require any action from church authority - it's automatic and instantaneous. Now look at Joseph Smith's dealin
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I quit smoking using self-hypnosis. The actual process took less than an hour, and was very easy, and instantaneous. I had been a smoker for twelve years, at least a pack a day, and also pipes and an occasional cigar. I was in law school at the time, and I was desperate to use any means to master the mountain of material. I read a book on self-hypnosis (also called auto-suggestion) to see if i
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Scientists now believe that religious funamentalism is linked to brain damage: https://www.rawstory.com/2019/12/link-between-religious-fundamentalism-and-brain-damage-established-by-scientists/
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For comparison, see my FAQ: "Is Mormonism a cult?" http://packham.n4m.org/cult.htm
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One minor correction/suggestion: Don't say that you "desire to resign"! Say rather "I hereby resign. This letter is my resignation, effective as of the date you receive it, according to law. Please correct all church records to reflect my status as a non-member."
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