Bridge of Reason

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...

  A media campaign has been launched in eastern Idaho against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The "Speaking the Truth in Love to Mormons" campaign was started by the Truth in Love Ministry of Nampa. Its focus is on "witnessing to Mormons" and showing them the "truth of God's words" through "loving means." Five billboards have been placed in heavily Mormon southeastern Idaho - one in Rexburg and two each in Idaho Falls and Pocatello - showing a woman holding her head next to the words "Feeling Worthy?" The billboard gives the campaign Web site. The billboards are expected to remain on display for at least three months. Nampa pastor leads drive to convert Mormons | News Updates | Idaho Statesman

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...

The Mormon Pageant in Manti has thrown up some interesting encounters and conversations this year. Some of the most interesting involved Bill McKeever of Mormonism Research Ministry who explained the above picture thus: Our Manti outreach began last week. Once again I've been using my "gold plates" as an illustration. When a Mormon tells me they believe Joseph Smith had gold plates I challenge them to lift my plates (10, ten-pound barbell weights). Most can, but then I explain that my 100 pound plates are only half of what Smith carried if they were gold. The responses are priceless. So many insist that Joseph Smith was a "strong" farm boy and could have carried the plates. I find myself repeating the phrase " Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime couldn't carry 200 pounds under his arm for a distance of three miles." I have yet to have any Mormon offer proof that God gave Smith supernatural strength (a popular argument), although many see how that ex...

My wife and I went this weekend to see the new Nicholas Cage movie "Knowing" . She likes science fiction and I like action and adventure movies so it suited us both. Pop corn and drinks at the ready we were not only coming to watch an entertaining film but we were more than curious to spot all the Mormon themes said to be woven through the plot. It had been drawn to our attention that Mormons have been blogging excitedly about the Mormon motifs and symbols in the film. Typical was this observation on Mormon Insights : Although definitely NOT a LDS film, KNOWING contains many themes (throughout, even to the end) that are consistent with LDS theology. These themes go far beyond the mere "latter-day" theme. I am not going to give these themes away, because half the fun for the viewer is finding them. There are some clear religious elements to the story. There is a more detailed comment on the Adventures in Mormonism blog. I should warn you that the blog is definitely ...