Bridge of Reason

  Now, I had a fight with a missionary companion once because he said that Latter-day Saints are the only ones who can feel the Spirit. And I said, “nu-uh”, and he said, “uh-huh”, and I said, “nu-uh”, and he said, “uh-huh”, and I said, “nu-uh”, and that’s how missionaries fight. And I said, “Look, if they can’t feel the Spirit, what do they feel on Christmas Eve when they’re singing Silent Night, and the little kids are all dressed in bathrobes doing the manger scene? What do they feel?” He says, “The spirit of the devil”. I said, “No! You can’t feel the spirit of the devil when little kids are dressed in bathrobes! You can’t feel the little spirit of the devil when they’re singing ‘Silent Night’!” I really enjoy watching nature programmes. God’s creation is amazing. Recently, my son invited me to see an event called Planet Earth II Live. It was amazing. Along with a couple of thousand people, we watched clips from Planet Earth II on a massive screen and there, to play alongsid...

  ‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not see itself as one Christian denomination among many, but rather as God’s latter-day restoration of the fulness of Christian faith and practice. Thus from its earliest days LDS Christians sought to distinguish themselves from Christians of other traditions.’ (Encyclopaedia of Mormonism 1:270) When LDS leader Brad Wilcox told the youth, and the assembled adults, that O is for Only True Church, I wonder what they thought? Older Mormons perhaps felt like giving Brad a hearty ‘amen’, after all he was declaring the historical Mormon position that the LDS church is the only true church. What Brad said clearly lines up with the Mormon past, with Mormon doctrine and with the Mormon scriptures, but it doesn’t quite square with what I constantly hear from Missionaries. Missionaries have often told me that I am a Christian, but I am missing some pieces of information, namely, the doctrines and gospel ordinances found only in the...

Last week, on the Facebook page, I wrote about a discussion I had recently with a Jehovah’s Witness. The name of God inevitably came up. This issue has been done to death, I know, the usual texts thrown back and forth (what Doug Harris would call ‘Wimbledon witnessing’). He came up with the usual argument from Matthew 6, the idea in the Lord’s Prayer that we should sanctify the name. I pointed out, as I always do, that Jesus didn’t use the name in praying, to which he replied: ‘You don’t use his name when you are addressing your father.’ I must agree with him. I never used my father’s name, neither have my children used mine in addressing me. Jason Michael Learner, in the Facebook discussion, wrote: ‘To be fair, there are loads of names for God, Elohim, El Shaddai , LORD and each of these tell us something about His character and personal attributes. Abba is another example, it shows us something about the nature of God's character and the type of relationship that not only Jes...

In my last article, I shared about the furore that followed a talk given to youth by Mormon leader Brad Wilcox. What did he say that caused such an uproar and why did he have to publicly apologise? Having listened to his message, I don’t believe he said anything that wasn’t truly Mormon. The price for preaching the pure unadulterated LDS faith, was him being called to account. Why did this happen? Well, I believe it is because Mormonism has two faces – the private and the public.   Then Brad came along Brad Wilcox should have known that in sharing publicly what Mormons believe privately would get him into trouble. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have spent many years and lots of money, seeking to prove to the public that they are a benign and benevolent, Christian church. They had, in the main, been highly successful – then Brad came along! So, what were the private beliefs of the Mormon church that Brad make public? G is for Godhead As I mentioned in my f...

On their   website   the Watch Tower Society write: 'The Bible commands that we not ingest blood. So we should not accept whole blood or its primary components in any form, whether offered as food or as a transfusion.' A key text they use is Acts 15:20 where we find the conclusion of the Jerusalem Council on the issue of circumcision. Commenting on this text,   the Watch Tower writes , ‘God gave Christians the same command that he had given to Noah. History shows that early Christians refused to consume whole blood or even to use it for medical reasons.’ This is a most peculiar observation since the use of blood for medical reasons was something far in the future for the church as for wider society. There is sleight of hand here, suggesting something that isn’t in the text. It would not have crossed their minds to consider such a thing. Yet the Watch Tower misleadingly suggests a positive decision might have been made to avoid using blood, ‘even for medical reasons.’ In...

  Pictured here is Mormon church leader Bradley R. Wilcox. He is speaking at a Fireside Youth gathering in February 2022. He surely did not know that as he spoke to the young people that evening, his message would go viral and cause outrage. There was such a backlash to his lesson that he quickly had to issue an apology. What did he say that caused such an offence? Was he speaking untruth and misrepresenting the Mormon church and its teaching? Was he bringing the church into disrepute? Over the next few weeks, I will review his message and seek to answer the question: Did Brad Wilcox speak the truth about Mormonism? Who is Bradley R. Wilcox? On the LDS website we read: Bradley R. Wilcox was born in Provo, Utah, on December 25, 1959. He and his wife, Deborah Gunnell, have four children. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University (BYU) and his doctorate in education from the University of Wyoming. He has served in several Church callings, incl...

  Doomsday cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses are at the height of their power when things are going wrong in the world. The news on February 24 th , 2022, that Russia was invading Ukraine, must have had Watchtower leaders rubbing their hands in glee. Not because they take any pleasure in warfare and bloodshed, but rather because it gives them the chance to again convince the faithful that Biblical prophecy is coming true, and the long-awaited Armageddon is at the door. JW.org wasted no time in posting an article with the question: How might this military conflict affect the world? [1] They continue by quoting the secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres: “The price in human suffering, destruction and damage to European and global security is too high to contemplate.” It is remarkable, though commonplace, to find The Watchtower quoting, as a supporting source, a group they would usually denounce. They believe that the United Nations is the scarlet-coloure...