Fast Food Orders vs Quitting Church – McDonald’s, Messed-Up Orders, and the Commoditization of Religion

A popular meme has been making the rounds. These memes read: “McDonald’s can mess up your order 101 times and you still keep going back… One thing goes wrong at church and you quit.” This suggests that people are more forgiving of mistakes at fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s than they are of issues with a church. It …

Lilburn Boggs’ Extermination Order and Mormon War

The Mormon-Missouri War (1838) was a conflict between the Mormon settlers in Missouri and their non-Mormon neighbors, culminating in violent clashes, forced expulsions, and the infamous Missouri Executive Order 44, also known as the so-called “Extermination Order.” While the Mormon Church often portrays itself as the innocent victim of religious persecution, the historical reality is …

Joseph Smith’s Kinderhook Plates Kinder-Surprise Translation Redaction

In Kinderhook, Illinois, about 50 miles south of Nauvoo, six bell-shaped brass plates were allegedly found when digging up a burial mound on a farmer’s land. He said he’d dreamt about finding treasure in the mound and organized a dig. A couple Mormons were present when some small plates with ancient-looking inscriptions were found and …

Are Nephites or Lamanites The Principal or Among Ancestors of Native Americans? DNA Answers

The research into Native American DNA conclusively demonstrates that the ancestors of American Indians migrated from Asia, not the Middle East. This has profound implications for the claims of the Book of Mormon. For decades, the Book of Mormon described Lamanites as the “principal ancestors” of American Indians—a key narrative aligning with Joseph Smith’s teachings …

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave serves as a timeless metaphor for the journey from ignorance to knowledge and truth. It parallels the experience of leaving Mormonism in profound ways. Just as the freed prisoner emerges into the light, grappling with the shock of a broader reality, those who leave the church often confront unsettling truths …

Mormonites Footnote on Book of Mormon Translation Gospel Topic Essay

The Book of Mormon Translation Gospel Topic Essay references an article in Footnote 31 from an Evangelical Magazine titled Mormonites. The essay cherry-picks comments from Oliver Cowdery about the translation process: The principal scribe, Oliver Cowdery, testified under oath in 1831 that Joseph Smith “found with the plates, from which he translated his book, two …

Joseph Smith’s Rock in Hat Translation of the Book of Mormon

Traditionally, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS Church) depicts Joseph Smith translating the Book of Mormon in a manner that implies a reverent, direct reading of ancient golden plates. Today, church leaders are shifting this narrative to reflect the more historically accurate manner of translation. In reality, Joseph Smith barely …

New Scripture Translated From Sealed Portion – Jesus visits Macaroni and Condemns Viper Church Leaders of Last Days

A few years ago, Russell M. Nelson revealed how Joseph Smith would translate by using a rock in a hat a few years ago. Suppose, for a moment, that he could know this technique from experience. What if President Russell M. Nelson knew more about the translation process? What if he used the same technique …

Nothing to Hide?

President Gordon B. Hinckley, top leader of the Church (1995-2008) addresses several issues related to the church’s history and practices in an interview on Christmas Day in 2005. The interview covered many topics but here we’ll look closely at what he said about polygamy and fundamentalist Mormons and church history and transparency. Polygamy and Fundamentalist …

Facts Matter

Mormon scripture teaches that faith is hope in things that are not seen but true. If we can see that they are not true, then how can we still have faith in them? Faith is required when there is an absence of facts. It is a hope for things that are true but not seen. …