The Book of Abraham is a sacred text of the church. The church claims it is a translation by Joseph Smith from an ancient Egyptian papyrus he acquired. The book states that it contains “the writings of Abraham,” the biblical patriarch and that they are “written by his own hand, upon papyrus.” The contents are …
Tag Archives: apologetics
Book of Mormon Invites Criticism
Hugh Nibley (1910–2005) was an American scholar and prominent figure in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was known for his contributions to LDS scholarship, particularly in ancient history, languages, and religious studies. Nibley held a Ph.D. in ancient history and wrote about ancient civilizations, religious history, and Mormonism. Nibley’s influence extends …
Racist Brigham Young
Brigham Young, the second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church), held racially discriminatory beliefs. These views included views on interracial marriage and the mixing of races and he taught them as doctrine from God at the pulpit of the church for decades. He calls it the law …
First Presidency Urged for Segregation
Let’s examine the common Mormon apologist argument that leaders are simply “men of their times” through a story of racist thoughts and practices in the church. Priesthood Ban The church enjoys celebrating the lifting of the priesthood ban in 1978. But we can’t give them any credit for doing it either, since it was the …
Men Of Their Times
Church leaders assert that they directly follow God’s guidance, exempting themselves from apologies and social pressure, like for example addressing racism within church doctrine and culture. Apologists claim that church leaders are merely “men of their times” and can’t be judged by today’s standards. These two ideas don’t work together. Either the leaders are led …
Christopher Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Christopher’s path within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encompassed doubt, growth, and eventual departure. Born into the faith, he faced critical information as a teen and young adult. He grappled with church history, racial issues, and doctrinal conflicts. His departure from the church marks an authentic pursuit of personal truth and growth …
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Racism and Victim Blaming From God’s Anointed
When Natalie Palmer-Taylor’s son was the target of a racial epithet hurled by another Mormon youth, she went to the church’s headquarters to complain. Ezra Taft Benson received her complaint and retorted with this dismissive challenge: ‘If you allow the people of the church to turn you against the church, then you were not worthy …
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Tom Donofrio Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Tom discovered that he does not need special qualifications to analyze the text of the Book of Mormon. He found plenty of simple evidence that shows it is “easily seen as a product of its time.” He feels that the lack of support from church leadership negates any claims from apologists and cites that the …
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Simon Southerton Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Simon was an active, believing member serving as a Bishop. While reading the Ensign he came across some interesting statements regarding the Flood which led him to research more about it. He came upon “volumes of scientific research” that contradicted things he believed at church. Then he applied his own scientific training in molecular genetics …
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Questioning The Infallible Thinking of Mormon Leaders
In 1945 the Improvement Era shared the now-ingrained Mormon mantra “When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done“. J Raymond Cope In response to this message, a Christian minister was troubled by what control the Mormon church leaders had on the people of Utah. He was not a Mormon, but a Unitarian minister in Salt …
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Defiant Apologists Challenge the New Seer Stone Narrative
The Mormon church is shifting the narrative surrounding the Book of Mormon translation lately by admitting that Joseph used a rock in his hat as a main translation method. This narrative shift has put some apologists in an awkward position. The Joseph Smith Foundation apologist group has published a book discussing Joseph Smith’s use of …
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Mike was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Mike was raised in the church and hit all the Mormon milestones. His wife struggled with church truth claims and left the church. He “eventually realized that [he] married her and not the church,” but also intended to reason her back into the church to regain his celestial family. He came up with issues that …
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The Strange Hidden First Vision Account of 1832
There are multiple accounts of Joseph Smith’s “first vision”. This is a fact and today the church admits it. The church wants to dismiss these different accounts though by claiming that they really aren’t different because they tell the same consistent story. The details are in fact very different though. The earliest version of this …
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Book of Mormon Horses: Real or Myth? Or Tapirs?
Irrefutable scientific evidence clearly shows that horses did not co-exist with Nephites or Lamanites during the Book of Mormon times. Mormon apologists stretch to come up with any explanation. their leading theory agrees with science on the one hand, that the horses in the Book of Mormon weren’t horses, but on the other hand, the …
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Brendan Was a Mormon, a Post-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Brendan was raised in the church but from early on saw things that didn’t sit well with his soul. He recognizes many instances in his life where cognitive dissonance was telling him something wasn’t right. This led him to study deeply and even pursue a study of history, which led him to an internship with …
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The Mormon Church Published The Gospel Topic Essays
After receiving the Faith Crisis Report, the church leaders commissioned and started quietly publishing what they call Gospel Topic Essays. These essays, for the most part, are the first time the church has published an official stance on many of the topics. They were published quietly and buried deep within the church site of materials. …
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Mormon Church Perpetually Gaslights Members
What Does Gaslighting Mean? The term “gaslighting” comes from the 1938 play Angel Street, which Alfred Hitchock later adapted into the film Gaslight, in which a man tries to convince his wife that she is going insane so he can steal from her. When he turns on the lights in the attic to search for her jewelry …
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Fanny Alger, Joseph Smith’s “dirty, nasty, filthy affair” Teen Bride
What Happened between Fanny Alger and Joseph Smith? As a young woman, Fanny Alger was a servant in Joseph Smith’s house. She lived with the family for a time while also serving as a maid. Joseph Smith and Fanny got very close. Multiple accounts exist of Emma Smith, Joseph’s wife catching Joseph celestializing (sexually involved) …
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What is Research According to the Mormon church
Though Oaks will say research is not the answer, and the church uses research to understand why they are losing so many members to a faith crisis, the church handbook has something else to say about research. Research in the Church Research as defined in the church handbook is to gather information to support the …
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What is the CES Letter? Is it True/Safe to Read?
The CES Letter is a collection of questions, concerns, and doubts about the Mormon church’s truth claims addressed to a Church Education System Director from Jeremy Runnels. Learn about the background, the effects and rebuttals and some of the contents.
Personal Mormon Faith Crisis Report – Faith Crisis Profiles
This faith crisis report next lists many anonymous faith crisis profiles each detailing the exit story of the member (along with precious statistics and demographics the church cares deeply about such as household income). Not to be confused with the actual faith crisis profiles shared on wasmormon.org.
Personal Mormon Faith Crisis Report – Perpetual Cycle of Disaffection
The report also analyses a perpetual cycle of disaffiliated members, where a member finds troubling information and through the age of information and the internet confirms the troubling issue as true and feels betrayed by the church for not being honest, and ends up venting to a family member and causing the cycle to restart for them.
Personal Mormon Faith Crisis Report – Faith Crisis Stages
The report defines the stages of such a faith crisis from a true believing member, through a catalyst and traumatization, and then either through a traumatized disbeliever and ex-mormon or a nuanced believer and then secular participant.
The Nauvoo Expositor And More Lies From Joseph Smith
!["Joseph had asked [Jane Law] to give him half her love; she was at liberty to keep the other half for her husband." Elder William Law, Mormon Apostle. Defected from the First Presidency and published the Nauvoo Expositor when his wife Jane told him she refused Joseph Smith who came in the night while he was away seeking a polyandrous relationship.](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/William-Law-Joseph-Smith-sought-polyandry-with-Jane-Law.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
What was the Nauvoo Expositor? The Nauvoo Expositor was a four-page newspaper that only printed one issue. It reportedly printed so many vicious lies and slander about Joseph Smith that the prophet of the restoration had the printing press destroyed in retaliation or as the church claims to avoid violence. Somewhat ironic that they destroyed …
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Anachronisms Found in the Book of Mormon
What is an anachronism? Anachronisms are impossibilities or inconsistencies that include things that do not belong together. Something like the Flintstones is anachronistic because it portrays humans and dinosaurs living together, but science tells us that dinosaurs were long extinct before humans evolved. Something like the image above, portraying Abraham Lincoln with a laptop computer …
Aaron Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Aaron faithfully dug in deep to explain away the anti-mormon lies he was exposed to. The more he studied, the more problems he found until he realized the anti-mormons were the ones being honest and sharing the true history with evidence, not the church to which he’d dedicated his whole life to. This sent him …
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Joseph Smith and “The” “First” “Vision”
Was the first vision a “vision”? Was it the “first” one? Which one is “The” first vision? There are so many different accounts. The gospel topic essay mentions some of the main versions, but they also gloss over the differences and dismiss them all. The First Vision is a total misnomer and can be completely debunked with some simple reading and thinking. Something the church does not want members to do, they do everything they can to keep members from looking at the accounts. They first tried to hide them, and then they dismiss them by saying “we’ve always been honest and transparent about these accounts, and they all tell the same consistent story anyways, so don’t worry, trust us”.
Yesterday’s Anti-Mormon “Lies” Are Today’s Church Essays
What are the Church Essays? The church has quietly published some essays discussing some hard-to-reconcile issues. There are multiple topics in these essays, such as Multiple First Vision Accounts, Rock in a Hat Translation & Mormon Institutionalized Racism, a collection of essays about Polygamy referred to as Plural Marriage & even Heavenly Mother. Haven’t heard …
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