Bridge of Reason

Mormonism's Open Canon? Mormonism is founded on the idea that the early church went into apostasy because of the absence of apostles and prophets. Mormonism is presented as a ‘restoration’ of ancient authority and prophecy. The Bible should never have been a closed canon, so Mormonism operates from an open canon. The problem arises when we quote Brigham Young, Mormonism’s second prophet, the ‘American Moses’ who led the saints to the Salt Lake Valley. You might think such an important leader would have something to add to the Mormon canon. He certainly had plenty to say during his thirty years presidency of the church. Nevertheless, he has but one entry in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 136: ‘The word and the will of the Lord, given through President Brigham Young, at the Winter Quarters of the Camp of Israel...January 1, 1847’ He said plenty, of course, much of it recorded in the 26 volume Journal of Discourses. But what was once recognised as a ‘Standard Work’ of the churc...

  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...

The September 2016 edition of the Mormon Ensign magazine, in its Conference Notebook, carried a note by Elder Dale G. Redlund about the Atomenment of Jesus Christ. It is an exerpt from his April conference address, reported in full in the May 2016 Ensign, p42 . Here is the exerpt: I can emphatically state that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ultimately, in the eternal scheme of things, there will be no unfairness. “All that is unfair about life can be made right.” [ Preach my Gospel , 52] Our present circumstances may not change, but through God’s compassion, kindness, and love, we will all receive more than we deserve, more than we can ever earn, and more than we can ever hope for. We are promised that “God shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” [Revelation 21:4] There is much to say about this short piece but I want to draw you...

  Utah has become the first state in the USA to reinstate the firing squad to administer the death penalty. This is sometimes called fusillading, from the French fusil , rifle. This story has several layers, from the shortage of drugs for lethal injections, to the question of which method of killing a human being is most humane, to that of whether, as European society believes, execution is simply a barbaric throwback we don’t want in the 21st century. It is this last view in Europe that has created the shortage of drugs that European countries refuse to export to America. Fusillading as a form of execution has usually been practiced in a war setting, guns being the most easily available weapon for the job, and being the quickest and most humane method available in the circumstances. In America, apart from the Civil War, for which figures are unavailable, it is estimated that 142 men have been executed by this method since 1608. Utah’s record is most striking. Forty-four exec...

The Oct. 1997 issue of the liberal Mormon Sunstone magazine (Vol. 20:3, Issue 107) carried an amusing article about alternative names for “Anti-Mormons.” (Thanks to Vince for drawing this list to my attention. Comments in brackets are my own, of course) S c eptics (And this is a bad thing because…?) Gentiles (Mormons consider themselves the new Israel) Mormon-detractors Counter-Mormons (That’s anti-Mormons to the rest of us) Anti-Christs (At least we know now what Mormons think of honest critics) Mormophobes (A phobia is a fear. This isn’t an irrational fear but a healthy scepticism – see 1 above) Nehors (Nehor is an obscure Book of Mormon character who led an apostate sect) Avatars of Satan (An avatar is an incarnation of a deity; see comment on temple “minister” below) Challengers (Fair comment. So stop name-calling and meet the challenge) The unconverted (Christians? Unconverted? Interesting insight) Contra-Mormons (pro-Christians) Post-Mormons (Tha...

  Bobby Gilpin over at Mormonism Investigated has been busy (really, when does he sleep?) arranging for the visit of Mike and Lynn Wilder, recent converts from Mormonism to the Christian Faith. It is a truly remarkable story and if you can make any of the dates and venues it will be well worth your time. Here is a  little blurb from Bobby’s website and a link for you to follow and find out more: For 30 years, Dr. Wilder and her husband Michael were temple recommend-holding, active members of the LDS church and held numerous leadership positions. Their four children were all faithful and active in the church like their parents, with the three oldest serving missions in Russia, Denmark and Florida. In 1999 the Wilder’s moved from Indiana to Utah when Dr. Wilder was offered a prestigious position at BYU. Then in 2006, everything changed. This June, Michael and Lynn are coming to the UK on a ministry tour. Their hope is to meet with various people and churches around the co...

An excellent and well-reasoned article from Rocky Hulse of Mormon Outreach. Well worth clicking through and reading: On the front cover of Newsweek, October 17, 2005, is a stain glass window depiction of the “First Vision” of Mormonism with the title “The Making of the Mormons,” subtitled “Beyond Prophecy and Polygamy: The Future Of a Booming Faith.”  On page 58 is an interview with the current Mormon Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley.  The following question was asked, “Could you talk about religious intolerance and conflict around the world?  It is a difficult age.” (Newsweek, Oct 17, 2005, pg 58).  The following is President Hinckley’s response: “Hateful.  Meanness.  Bitterness.  I don’t like it.  We’re all sons and daughters of God, and therefore in a very literal sense, brothers and sisters.  And we ought to treat each other that way.” (Newsweek, Oct 17, 2005, pg 58).  After reading the rest of this article, ask yourself if the above...

Thomas S Monson, Mormon president, has announced yet another temple, bringing to 15 the number temples in Utah. There are currently 130 temples around the world. Someone wrote to Reachout recently asking about temples and here is his question and my answer:   “I am confused surely the whole purpose of the atonement of Christ was to overcome the need for animal sacrifice. He was the ultimate sacrifice. So it seems natural that by Jesus bring this higher law that superseded the Levitical laws that required animal sacrifice in temple the purposes of a temple would also change and the rituals that take place within them would develop and alter. Your suggestion that the event taking place in the modern Mormon temples does not match the operations of the ancient temples is therefore redundant as they should not be doing so but rather the Mormon temples are there to provide the ability to carry out rituals relating to this higher law of Jesus. Please respond I am genuinely in need of ...

Bruce R McConkie (the ‘R’ stands for Redd), member of the First Council of the Seventy from 1946, was an apostle of the Mormon Church from 1972 until his death in April 1985. Born into a Mormon family he boasted polygamist forebears who rubbed shoulders with Joseph and Hyrum Smith. One biographer describes McConkie as, “breathing, talking, and living the principles of the [Mormon] gospel... in the McConkie home.” He married Emma, the daughter of Joseph Fielding Smith, grandson of Hyrum, apostle from 1910 and church president 1970-72. He studied at Utah Law School, obtaining his BA degree and his LLB, served in the military, retiring as lieutenant-colonel and worked for the CIA. His work has been described in glowing terms in a biographical note in the Ensign magazine, Jan.1973: “He has written numerous articles and handbooks and read hundreds of manuscripts submitted for his appraisal. His sermons at conferences have been consistently doctrinal in nature, pointing out the basic ...