Yearly Archives: 2025
(Page 3)Elijah Abel, the NAACP, and the Abandoned Float That Helped Pressure for Change and Revelation
In the spring of 1978, 47 years ago to the day, there was a “Days of ‘47” parade for Pioneer Day in Salt Lake City. At the time the parade was planned, the church continued its unpopular priesthood ban on black members of the church. The ban was lifted weeks before the parade occurred, but …
!["The Salt Lake Chapter of the NAACP will enter a float in the Days of '47 parade on July 24 [1978]. The decision was made after considerable debate at their regular monthly meeting Monday. Some members of the organization felt by having a float in the parade it would be a means of recognition for the blacks who came across the plains with, and before the pioneers. One member said people of the state would see that blacks were early settlers and realize blacks had had an impact on the area." - SLC NAACP Eyes ’47 Parade Float, Salt Lake Tribune, April 4, 1978 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/naacp-elijah-abel-float-1978.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1)
Dallin H. Oaks & The Nauvoo Expositor
Joseph Smith, as the Mayor of Nauvoo, President of the Church, and Captain of the Nauvoo Legion, used his power to silence dissent. The Nauvoo Expositor was published, which publicized Joseph’s secret polygamous relationships and doctrines, a fact that the church does not deny. The issue is that the church or the public, or the …


Apologists on Why People Leave the Church
When members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints begin questioning their beliefs or choose to leave the faith, a common reaction from church leaders and apologists is to attempt to explain why—often without actually asking those who have left. Instead of listening to real stories, they offer narratives that serve to protect …
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Priesthood Restoration Apologetics = Retrofitting and Narrative Engineering
A BYU Studies article, Priesthood Restoration Documents (BYU Studies, Volume 35, Number 4, 1996), attempts to compile and legitimize the historical claims surrounding the restoration of the priesthood in Mormonism. While the compilation appears scholarly on the surface, the conclusion it draws is apologetic rather than academic. The piece says one thing, but the data …
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Retrofitting the Priesthood Restoration into the Doctrine and Covenants Revelation
The church narrative states the priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry in 1829. There are a few Revelations used to tell this narrative. There are problems with these priesthood restoration claims, and specifically these revelations, they aren’t contemporary to the stories, and the few that are the closest, have been changed. Doctrine …

![“During the turbulent [June 1831] meeting, Joseph ordained five men to the high priesthood, and Lyman Wight ordained eighteen others, including Joseph. The ordinations to the high priesthood marked a milestone in Mormon ecclesiology. Until that time, the word 'priesthood,' although it appeared in the Book of Mormon, had not been used in Mormon sermonizing or modern revelations. Later accounts applied the term retroactively, but the June 1831 conference marked its first appearance in contemporary records.” - Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, Page 157-158 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Richard-Bushman-priesthood-04-june-1831-milestone-first-time-term-Priesthood-used-later-accounts-applied-the-term-retroactively.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1)



Bushman on Holes in The Priesthood Restoration Story
In Rough Stone Rolling, respected Mormon historian Richard Lyman Bushman examines the origins of the Mormon priesthood narrative. What he says should give every faithful truth-seeker pause. The church teaches that in 1829, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by angelic messengers and ordained to the priesthood, first by John the Baptist on May …
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Retroactive Mormon Priesthood Restoration Problems
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that in May 1829, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were busy translating the Book of Mormon and were curious about the authority to baptize. They went to ask God and were visited by a heavenly messenger, John the Baptist, who conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood, …
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Luis Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Luis’s journey is a powerful testament to the cost—and the reward—of pursuing truth and integrity, even when it upends everything familiar. A convert to Mormonism, Luis threw himself into church life with sincerity, eventually marrying in the temple and serving in church leadership. But new information surfaced—thanks to the internet and resources like the CES …
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