Bridge of Reason

The Mormon missionary manual, Preach my Gospel, teaches: "The Church of Jesus Christ is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets (see Ephesians 2:19–20; 4:11–14). These leaders have divine priesthood authority. Through revelation they direct the affairs of the Church. They maintain doctrinal purity, authorize the administration of ordinances, and call and confer the priesthood authority upon others" This is about the classic Mormon argument that, either there is a continuity of authority from the days of the apostles, in which case the Catholic Church has prior claim to supreme authority, or there has been a break in continuity from those days, an apostasy, therefore the Mormon claim to be a restoration stands true. When a Mormon male is ordained an elder in the church he is given a document known as a 'line of authority,' showing an unbroken line of ordinations, from the one who laid hands on him back to Joseph Smith, and then to Peter, James, and John who, ...

One of the things people ask of ministry to the cults is, “Why do you do it?” There was a time when it hardly needed explaining but now, even within some parts of the church, there are those who ask whether it is really altogether Christian to challenge other religions. Somehow it doesn’t seem altogether respectable, especially in a world where, if people want a religion at all, they shop for one. I mean, you wouldn’t rummage through other people’s purchases down at the department store, identifying fashion victims, criticising colour combinations - at least not to their faces. There are two reasons why we do it. The first, and by far the most important, is that people pin their eternal hopes on their religious choices and God has commanded that Christians should “Go into all the world telling the good news.” People concerned about eternal things need to hear eternal truths and be warned about those things that will prove ultimately false and empty. Jude wrote of his eagerness to ...

Here is an interesting insight into the (unwitting?) role of the Mormon Church in the “colourful” politics of Guyana. A letter to a Guyana newspaper explains that support for the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has been falling in recent years especially among Amerindians who have, the writer claims, complained that the government has not been investing in Amerindian interests as much as they used. The opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) hasn’t the funds to fill the gap and so, he alleges, has shrewdly “encouraged” the Mormon Church to charitable work among the Amerindians in “Partnership” with the PNC. The governing PPP has apparently seen this as interference in their political territory and has sought to end the partnership in a rather dramatic fashion by attempting to expel the Mormons as previously reported. Are the Mormons so innocent as they would have us think? It is the case that in Ghana they paid bribes to get their temple built in Accra and were pret...

Half the Mormon missionary force in Guyana is facing deportation, ostensibly over document irregularities, but it is thought that the church has been perceived as uncomfortably close to opposition leaders. GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Authorities in Guyana grew "uncomfortable" with the presence of Mormon missionaries who have been ordered to leave the South American country, a governing party leader said Thursday. About 40 missionaries were briefly detained Wednesday and told to leave within a month as authorities said their travel documents were out of date… The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been sending missionaries to this former British colony for more than 20 years. About 100 of them are now in Guyana, many of them deep in the country's interior where the government has little presence. Guyana makes Mormon missionaries leave - World Faith- msnbc.com