Bridge of Reason

  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...

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...

It hardly seems credible that this kind of thing could happen. We have unfortunately become used to, although I hope not inured to stories of men and women preying on the young and vulnerable to satisfy their own perverted sexual gratification. We call it paedophilia or pederasty and express our abhorrence at such things, regarding perpetrators as sick and dangerous members of society. Nothing provokes people’s ire as does this crime. Yet in our 21st century society, there are men and women who staunchly defend such activities on religious grounds, subjecting girls as young as 14 and 15 to loveless “marriages” to middle-aged or even elderly men. Young men in the community are driven away as unwanted rivals, becoming waifs and orphans, victims themselves of this twisted systematic abuse. Young girls are threatened with eternal damnation if they do not abide by the commands of their elders and leaders. But our elders are supposed to be our betters and not our stalkers! And who did th...

Mormons often complain about their victim role in American history but a selection of quotes from state of the Union addresses from various presidents shows how concerned the government was and perhaps has reason to continue being. This quote is from Chester A Arthur, 21st American president. For more click through to the American Creation blog. “The fact that adherents of the Mormon Church, which rests upon polygamy as its corner stone, have recently been peopling in large numbers Idaho, Arizona, and other of our Western Territories is well calculated to excite the liveliest interest and apprehension. It imposes upon Congress and the Executive the duty of arraying against this barbarous system all the power which under the Constitution and the law they can wield for its destruction. Reference has been already made to the obstacles which the United States officers have encountered in their efforts to punish violations of law. Prominent among these obstacles is the difficulty of procu...

In June 2009 the Mormon Church announced the building of a new church library to house historical records of the church. “From the earliest moments of the Church’s founding, Latter-day Saints have kept a record of their history. The principle behind this practice stems from a scriptural mandate: “There shall be a record kept among you” ( D&C 21:1 ), intended for the “good of the church” and “the rising generations” ( D&C 69:8 ). Maintaining a perspective on the past, while fixing an eye toward the future, is nothing new in religious history. Accounts of God’s intervention in the affairs of mankind have been promulgated by prophets and sages since the beginning of time. These records have provided a framework of meaning that continues to shape human conceptions of morality, identity and progress. Continued Consistent with this long tradition of sacred record keeping, the Church has devoted substantial resources to construct a new library. This building, which, in th...

 A great blog post from Latayne Scott: I imagine that many Christians have wriggled uncomfortably as they read Dan Brown’s new book, The Lost Symbol . Scattered through the book are disparaging references to Christianity (and not a few barefaced prostitutions of Bible verses taken out of context). But imagine the reaction of some Mormons who have been through the secret LDS temple ceremonies when they read, in the first pages of the book, of Masonic oaths whose penalties are "Throat cut from ear to ear. . .tongue torn out by its roots. . .bowels taken out and burned . . .scattered to the four winds of heaven.." Koinonia: Latayne C. Scott: The Lost and Found of Masonry and Mormonism

The August 2009 edition of the official Mormon Ensign magazine emphasises prayer and it would be ungracious not to recognise the wise counsel to set aside time to pray regularly, to make prayer a discipline and to approach it in a spirit of humility; surely advice with which all Christians can agree. Yet it demonstrates something Christians often notice about the Mormon ethos, which is that it is based on Joseph Smith and not Jesus Christ, whose church Mormons claim to have restored. In an article entitled Opening the Heavens Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchu of the Seventy asks, “ Do you want to feel the love of God powerfully in your life? Do you want to feel more in tune with His Spirit? Do you want to have the heavens opened to you daily?” He goes on to let us in on the secret of achieving these things using examples from the life of Joseph Smith. Like Joseph, we must take ourselves apart to spend time with God. Like Joseph, we can expect God to answer. Like Joseph, we can have o...

The July 2009 issue of the official Mormon Ensign magazine carries an article by Elder Marlin K Jensen, Mormon Church Historian, writes about The Joseph Smith Papers , a collection of “all journals, diaries, correspondence, discourses, revelations, written histories, notices, and legal papers…generated or directed to be created [by Joseph Smith]” He writes: “The manuscript revelation books contain many of the earliest known copies of the revelations received by Joseph Smith and provide insights into the revelatory process” Hmmm! “The revelatory process?” What do you think that means? Jensen explains: “The editing and updating of revelation texts in the early years of the Church demonstrate the process of continuing revelation to Joseph Smith. The revelation manuscripts reveal how men grappled in trying to make certain that the ideas and doctrines Joseph received were transcribed and printed accurately—a process that for the publication of any work risks the introduction of erro...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- HBO on Tuesday defended its plans to depict a sacred Mormon temple ceremony in an upcoming episode of " Big Love ." The drama about a Utah polygamous family will show an endowment ceremony Sunday. HBO said it did not intend to be disrespectful of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and apologized. "Obviously, it was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church, but to those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology," the premium cable channel said in a statement issued Tuesday. But the ceremony is an important part of the "Big Love" story line, HBO said. There seems a certain inevitability in this story. It is inevitable that so-called Mormon "sacred ceremonies"  will figure in the controversial HBO TV series Big Love, an every day tale of polygamists; inevitable that the Mormons would complain bitterly; inevitable that the officials of the church would not enc...

  "An attorney for a man charged with aggravated murder have filed a motion to keep off the jury any members of the Mormon church who might believe that the only way for him to be forgiven by God is to be executed." Before you dismiss this story as far-fetched consider the following: "Joseph Smith taught there there are certain sins so grievous that man can commit, that they will place the transgressors beyond the power of the atonement of Christ. If these offenses are committed, then the blood of Christ will not cleanse them from their sins even though they repent. Therefore their only hope is to have their own blood shed to atone, as far as possible, in their behalf" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation , Vol.1, p.135) In 1958 Mormon apostle Bruce R McConkie explained, "As a mode of capital punishment, hanging or execution on a gallows does not comply with the law of blood atonement, for the blood is not shed" The laws of the...

With its usual modesty and demonstrating its typical self-effacing character the Mormon Church has announced the publication of The Joseph Smith Papers. Aimed at scholars and “serious students of the life of Joseph Smith”, it draws on some 6,000 documents taken mainly from the archives of the Mormon Church but also from the Re-organised Church (The Community of Christ) and some private collections. The aim is to produce a definitive, scholarly edition of Joseph Smith’s papers in approximately thirty volumes produced at a rate of two volumes a year at just under $50 a volume. Did someone say hubris? One wonders how many Mormons, let alone non-Mormons, will actually end up with a set. If you’re determined to own a set yourself it will likely take you fifteen years to complete it, although they hope to speed up production. Certainly, for the average Christian what you meet on the doorstep will not change. The story of Joseph Smith as presented by missionaries and shared by the typical Mo...