Religion

This is quite possibly one of my favorite things I’ve ever read. Herein is reproduced a letter written by one of the church’s most influential thinkers and theologians, Apostle Parley P. Pratt. The letter was sent by Elder Pratt to Queen Victoria, the Queen of England, during his first mission to Great Britain. In it, Elder Pratt does something that I absolutely adore. Instead of fawning over Victoria or her court, hoping to make some favorable impression for himself or the church as you would imagine many people then and now would, Elder Pratt, while being courteous and humble, goes for the jugular of the Empire itself. Using the scriptures he lays out the coming judgments of God against the kingdoms of the world, the events of the Last Days before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the revolutionary the establishment of the Kingdom of God through the Restoration, and calls upon the leaders of the state to repent of their wickedness, denounce their greed and power, and to lead their nation in mass repentance before they are overthrown by the power of God. For this alone it is worth reading. Throw in his clear explanation of many of the signs of the Last Days and it is without a doubt that all who read it will profit from it.

“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and to God the things which are God’s,” is one of the most abused and least understood scriptures in the Standard Works. By delving into the scriptures themselves and examining the historical and scriptural context in which Christ was speaking not only do I conclude that the classic interpretation of this scripture is wrong – i.e. that it means we should pay taxes and obey the government – but that it means almost the exact opposite. It is not a call to submit to Caesar, to obey our governments, and do what we are told by these in power. Rather it is a call to rebel against the powers of the world and serve God alone. This scripture has special applications for endowed Latter-day Saints as they have covenanted to give everything they own and are to Christ alone for the building of His Kingdom, not to Caesar for the building of Babylon.

In 3 Nephi 8, the Prophet-Historian Mormon records that a tremendous cataclysm destroyed a multitude of cities, slew untold numbers of people, and shook the Nephite and Lamanite civilizations to their cores, bringing them to their knees in every describable way. This event consisted of horrific storms that destroyed entire cities, mass fires that burned other cities to the ground, massive earthquakes that tore apart yet other cities, and three days of darkness that covered the land in a literal, palpable darkness that could be felt and which prevented the kindling of any fire and which blocked out the Sun itself. In short, the Nephites and Lamanites got a practice run with the Apocalypse. But what caused it? What actual physical processes did the Lord use to bring about this Great Disaster? Here I attempt to provide an answer to this question that details all the major events and addresses what caused them. Finally, I comment on some important spiritual truths that we can learn from the history of these events.

The LDS Temple Endowment and its deep, ancient, rich symbolism is very often unknown and misunderstood even by Latter-day Saints. We live in an age so literal and devoid of mythic symbolism that even the most simplistic rituals can be seen as strange and confusing to the modern man. This is even more so for the Endowment, which is steeped in ritual and symbolism as old as history itself. Here I attempt to peel back one of these layers of mystery by exploring the Endowment in relation to the scriptural concept of the Divine Council of the Gods and what understanding this teaches us not only about the Endowment but the purpose of the Endowment and the Temple in the lives of the Saints.

Near the end of his life, President Brigham Young gave an address that taught what the sole purpose of the church is and what is the single goals its members should strive for. In this age of social and political division in the church, these truths are more important than ever. Additionally, his remarks in regards to taxation and public education herein are also quite instructive in the present day.

It is common among ex-Mormons to claim that the doctrines and policies of the church regarding homosexuality cause gay teens to harm and kill themselves, especially the November 2015 policy of the church that says same-sex marriage is an offense that can get you excommunicated. This argument has even been made by major news outlets. But is it actually true? Here I republish an online essay from another writer that addresses the strongest evidence for this argument head on, evaluates all the proof, and comes to powerful, fact-based conclusions that demonstrates that the argument, for all its emotional power, is contradictory and false. In my afterword to the essay, I point out that the evidence is actually the opposite, that deeply religious gay teens are less likely to harm or kill themselves, and draw conclusions about how we can keep from falling for similar emotionally manipulative and erroneous arguments made by the critics of the church and its policies.

It is common for people to complain about the political positions of other members of the church of to describe themselves as “Conservative Mormons,” “Progressive Mormons,” “Libertarian Mormons,” “Gay Mormons,” etc. The problem with this is that these types of identity politics are incredibly dangerous for all those involved- the person in question and the Church as a whole, not to mention society in general. It divides, marginalizes, and diminishes what should be one whole- the Body of Christ. The reliance on political ideology to create a better world through government violence has failed and will always do so. The more we allow political identities to define and divide us the less able we will be to do the real work necessary to create the better world we all hope our children will inherit. The Book of Mormon provides clear warnings about allowing political ideology to direct our lives while providing us with the blueprint to create a truly equal, just, free, and prosperous society for all.

It seems like political division and hatred is worse today than ever before. Here I evaluate why this is, how politics divides families, increases hatred, and works in direct opposition to the cause of Zion- ultimately doing the work of the Devil and not the Lord. Finally I look at why there is still a reason to hope and the path laid out in the scriptures for us to follow in order to abandon the political whoredoms of Babylon and to create Zion today.

The racial beliefs of Brigham Young have been coming up lately as part of the Latter-day Saints discourse in light of the larger American debate over racism and police brutality. The problem is that most people, even the Saints themselves, are either completely misinformed or are entirely ignorant of who Brigham Young was, his impact on the American West, and his beliefs regarding race and slavery. This article is aimed at correcting these errors, exploring Brigham Young’s ideas on these issues, good and bad, and explaining why the Saints should take great joy in Brother Brigham’s legacy today despite his erroneous beliefs about race.

An excellent article from early church history that testifies to the supreme authority of the Kingdom of God, the destiny of it to fill the world, the assurance that all the kingdoms of men will one day submit to it, and the power of trusting in the justice and mercy of God. A classic in Latter-day Saint literature.

Anti-Mormons like to hurl the accusation that Joseph Smith was a pedophile at members as a way to attack their faith. The facts of history say otherwise though.

The voice of the Lord to the Saints today is loud and sharply clear: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it. (D&C 59:6) Notice the Lord does not say “murder,””shed innocent blood,” nor give any other exemption. Nor are there any problems with translations to cause debates about the meaning of the words in question. God has forbidden the Saints to kill for any reason.