Bridge of Reason

  From 1820, the time of the 'first vision', until 1830 Joseph Smith claimed he received revelations to guide him in the establishment and organisation of the church. During that time the Book of Mormon was brought forth, priesthood authority was restored, men were called to high office, and the order of heaven was established. The culmination of all this activity was the official forming of the church on 6 April 1830. This seemed to be the object of the whole Mormon enterprise. David Whitmer, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, tells us: ‘After the translation of the Book of Mormon was finished, early in the spring of 1830, before April 6th, Joseph gave the stone to Oliver Cowdery and told me as well as the rest that he was through with it, and he did not use the stone anymore. He said he was through the work God had given him the gift to per-form, except to preach the gospel. He told us that we would have to depend on the Holy Ghost hereafter to be guided into...

If ever you wondered what a Catch-22 actually is, Mormonism offers a great example. A Catch-22 is a paradox you can’t escape because of conflicting claims. You are supposed to believe one claim in order to believe the second but the second prevents you from believing the first. When I was a Mormon back in the 1970s, the official teaching on plural marriage was clear enough; it was the order of heaven. When it was abandoned by the Mormons in 1890 it was simply a temporary suspension because, ‘ We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.’ LDS 12 th Article of Faith. In other words, we obeyed the law – for now. Nevertheless, there would come a day when the practice would be re-established and the order of heaven restored. That was because the standing order of marriage was polygamy. Without polygamy a man or woman simply couldn’t reach the celestial kingdom of God. Brigham Young pre...

The cry of the Reformation is sola gratia, sola fida, solus Christus, sola scriptura, soli Deo Gloria . We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. That fourth sola, sola scriptura , is under attack as much as it has ever been. The doctrine of sola scriptura , Latin for 'Scripture alone,' is the theological principle that the Bible is the sole infallible rule of faith and practice for the Christian. It does not argue that Scripture is the only authority, but rather the ultimate and supreme authority, against which all other sources—such as tradition, reason, or prophetic claims—must be judged. This principle did not emerge in a vacuum, but arose in the sixteenth century as a direct challenge to the late medieval Roman Catholic Church, which held that authority rested in a combination of Scripture and ecclesiastical tradition, interpreted by the Magisterium. The Reformers, led by figures like Ma...

Tony Brown spoke at our 2023 Convention on the Impossible Gospel of Mormonism. Our 2024 Convention is already planned and booked for September. Why not join us and enjoy a weekend of teaching, equipping, and fellowship with people who have been there and understand. Find out more here . Meanwhile, I hope you find this teaching a blessing.

In a lively debate on the Reachout Facebook page I was challenged to share the view of Reachout Trust on the controversial question of The Chosen. This is my take on it, no doubt not held by everyone. For those who don’t know about it, The Chosen has been described as ‘an American religious historical drama television series created, directed and co-written by American film-maker Dallas Jenkins. It is the first multi-season series about the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.’ Problematic Partnerships: Interfaith? The production has proved controversial because Dallas Jenkins has partnered with Angel Studios , a streaming video company that was co-founded by brothers Neal and Jeffrey Harmon, who are Latter-day Saints. T he fact these men are Latter-day Saints, i t might be argued , is no reason to not work with them. They are, after all, in the same industry as Dallas Jenkins and bring considerable professional talent and resources to the project. T he series is filmed at th...

  I recently read a blog post by a Latter-day Saint named Jim Harmer entitled ‘A complete list of things Mormons can’t do.’ He began by saying this: As a life-long member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I’m asked with frequency what things I “can and can’t do.” That’s always been a little funny of a question to me because I, just like you, can do whatever I want. [1] Is this true? Can Jim do whatever he wants? Yes and No Important within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day is the idea of ‘agency’. Mormonism teaches that we are free agents with the ability to choose good or bad. Agency was given to all Heavenly Father’s spirit children in their pre-mortal state and now, in mortal life, it is to be used to ‘choose the right’. [2] So, while Mormons like Jim, in theory, have the freedom to do whatever they want, in practice choice is not a real option if they want to remain in good standing in the church. Most, if not all, cultic groups operate in this way....

  In the official church manuals of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the personhood and the purpose of the Holy Ghost is described this way: The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead (see 1 John 5:7; D&C 20:28). He is a “personage of Spirit” (D&C 130:22). He can be in only one place at a time, but His influence can be everywhere at the same time (Gospel Principles, 2009, p. 32). The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. He is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones (see D&C 130:22). He is often referred to as the Spirit, Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the comforter (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference, 2004, pp. 81-82). We shouldn’t be surprised that in their description, we only find one reference from the Bible as to the personhood and purpose of the Holy Spirit. Much of Mormon doctrine does not arise from the Bible but rather latter-day revelation allegedly given to Joseph Smith. The one Bible ve...

  Have you had Mormon Missionaries bear their testimony to you? When backed into a corner, when feeling that you are being contentious, these young Mormons will say: ‘I bear you my testimony that I know the Book of Mormon is true, I know that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet of God and I know that the Church is the only true church.’ They have, they claim, the witness of the Spirit that what they believe is true. This, in a nutshell, is Mormonism. They believe all they believe because of this so-called ‘witness of the Spirit’. How does that work? The desire of the Mormon Missionary is for you and me to also experience the ‘witness of the Spirit’ as they do, but what do they mean? They will point an interested person to a passage in the Book of Mormon – Moroni 10:3-5: Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of ...

The video continues by showing that the true church of Jesus Christ practices various activities. Baptism and The Gift of the Holy Spirit It says that the early church, established by Christ, baptised by immersion, and bestowed the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. Mainstream Christianity has no problem with baptism by immersion or the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Spirit. [1] The problem therefore lies in how Mormons understand these things. Mormons believe that baptism is essential for exaltation and both baptism and the laying on of hands, must be administered by the proper authority i.e. by their leaders. ‘Baptism into Christ’s true church by proper authority opens the doors for exaltation in the eternal kingdoms of glory, exaltation to be earned by repentance, by living righteously, keeping the commandments of the Lord, and service to one’s fellowmen’ [2] The laying on of hands is the procedure revealed by the Lord for performing many priesthood...