Bridge of Reason

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 So it seems natural that by Jesus bring this higher law that superseded the Levitical laws that required animal sacrifice in temple the purposes of a temple would also change and the rituals that take place within them would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 ...

 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

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...

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...

While the scandal of some Internet Service Providers' failure to adequately block the downloading of internet child porn goes on other parts of the internet are demonstrating that what is lacking is not the way but the will to do it. One regular Blogger is currently boasting of his site having been blocked by BYU. You can read the story here Elsewhere, the Mormon Church is taking full advantage of the new technologies and the enthusiasm of its church members. There is a thriving Mormon blogosphere, although nothing found there is official Mormonism - naturally; you can access Mormon produced films on YouTube and some of you may be aware that it is possible to engage a Mormon missionary in conversation live on mormon.org The following is part of the transcript of a conversation someone had recently on the subject of Mormon temple covenants and it is an interesting study in how Mormons view covenants, sacraments, Joseph Smith and grace. Note that, yet again, nothing said is an...

These temples are costly to build and maintain and demand of Mormons a level of commitment that is exceptional, both in proving worthy to attend and in the sacrifices involved in attending; travel, financial sacrifice, time commitment and physical effort. It is not called temple "work" for nothing. This illustrates a point often overlooked by those who comment only casually on religious issues. Faith is a commitment unlike anything else in life. Of course, there are always those nominal members whose involvement is marginal, but for a great many believers of any persuasion it is a life-defining, heart-felt commitment. It is worth asking whether our loyalty is wisely placed, our commitment wisely invested. The apostle Paul urged Christians to, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves" (2 Cor.13:5) Wise advice when your faith will shape profoundly your life and determine your eternity. For that is what Mormon temples are about, time and...