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Russell Nelson Embellishing Stories Again – Exploding Engines and Free Fall Death Spirals

"I was in a small airplane, and all of the sudden the engine on the wing caught fire. It exploded and burning oil was poured all over the right side of the airplane and we started to dive toward the earth. We were spinning down our death. Oh, this woman across the aisle, I just was so sorry for her. She was just absolutely uncontrollably hysterical. And I was calm. I was totally calm, even though I knew I was going downto my death. I was ready to meet my Maker. We didn't crash. We didn't die. The spiral dive extinguished the flame. The pilot got control and started the other engine up. We made an emergency landing out in a field." - Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them, Video from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Narrated by Russell M. Nelson | wasmormon.org

Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is known for recounting dramatic and miraculous personal experiences that highlight his faith and divine protection. However, over the years, these stories have evolved into exaggerated, faith-promoting narratives, raising questions about the accuracy of his accounts. One such story is Nelson’s account …

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The Church and Victim Blaming Victims of Abuse

"Even in a forced contact such as rape or incest, the injured one is greatly outraged. If she has not cooperated and contributed to the foul deed, she is of course in a more favorable position. There is no condemnation where there is no voluntary participation. It is better to die in defending one's virtue than to live having lost it without a struggle." - Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, 1969 | wasmormon.org

Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or harmful action is held partially or fully responsible for what happened to them. This mindset shifts the blame away from the perpetrator and can further harm the victim by suggesting they could have prevented the incident. Church leaders and materials are known to place blame …

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How Much Are Mormon Church Leaders Compensated?

Leaked payroll paystub for Henry B Eyring showing living allowance of over a thousand per week and even more in the form of reimbursements.

The church makes a big deal about having no paid clergy. They proclaim that the church is led by a lay ministry of volunteers and no one is compensated for their work or service in the church. Church Led by Volunteer Service The missionaries are taught this fact, and all the missionaries are required to …

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Mormon Church vs Tim Ballard: Cancelling Ballard

“Several weeks ago, an OUR employee who accompanied Tim on an undercover operation filed a sexual harassment complaint against him with OUR’s HR department,” the letter, which was sent this summer to donors to anti-trafficking causes, reads. “This resulted in an extensive internal investigation into Tim and his individual operational tactics and led to more women speaking up as part of the investigation process. “It was ultimately revealed through disturbingly specific and parallel accounts, that Tim has been deceitfully and extensively grooming and manipulating multiple women for the past few years with the ultimate intent of coercing them to participate in sexual acts with him, under the premise of going where it takes and doing ‘whatever it takes’ to save a child.” - Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) Statement regarding Tim Ballard | wasmormon.org

Tim Ballard, the founder of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), an organization focused on combatting human trafficking, has garnered recent media attention, particularly concerning his association with the Mormon church of which he is a member. During fundraising efforts for the organization, he was known to suggest endorsements from church leaders, including a senior church leader …

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President Nelson Embellishing Stories to Promote Faith – Armed Robbery and Faulty Gun to His Head

“When Wendy and I were on an assignment, in a distant land, armed robbers put a gun to my head, and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire. Throughout that experience, both of our lives were threatened. Yet Wendy and I felt an undeniable peace. It was the peace which passeth all understanding.” - Russell M. Nelson, LDS Church President, General Conference, October 2024 | wasmormon.org

Russel M. Nelson and his second wife, Wendy, were involved in an altercation in Mozambique, Africa while visiting the mission home in 2009. The mission home is alarmingly robbed by assailants. When first reported there is nothing involving criminals targeting church leaders. The only injuries mentioned in the reports were the Mission President’s wife having …

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Monetizing Ponderize – Do Church Leaders Cash In?

"Hey fellow #ponderizers!" wrote Emmett O. Rabs. "This week make sure you take the time to #ponderize how a General Authority's family felt it would be super neat to cash in on a captive audience at General Conference." - Emmett Rabs' comment on the Ponderize.us Facebook page | wasmormon.org

The term “ponderize” was coined by a Mormon Church leader, Devin G. Durrant, during a General Conference talk in October 2015. It is a portmanteau of “ponder” and “memorize” intended to convey a specific approach to studying and applying the teachings of the Church. I invite you to “ponderize” one verse of scripture each week. The word ponderize is not …

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On Being a Mormon Historian from Michael Quinn

"The tragic reality is that there have been occasions when Church leaders, teachers, and writers have not told the truth they knew about difficulties of the Mormon past, but have offered to the Saints instead a mixture of platitudes, half-truths, omissions, and plausible denials... A so-called "faith-promoting" Church history which conceals controversies and difficulties of the Mormon past actually undermines the faith of Latter-day Saints who eventually learn about the problems from other sources." Dr. D Michael Quinn, Excommunicated Mormon | wasmormon.org

The late Dr. D. Michael Quinn was among the many scholars who were forced to choose between promoting church propaganda and maintaining their integrity as historians in response to Elder Packer’s controversial talk “The Mantle is Far Greater Than the Intellect,”. Quinn delivered a pointed response to Elder Packer’s remarks in his lecture entitled “On …

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Stop Paying Tithing and Challenge the Tax Exemption Status of the Mormon Church

Should we include these deductions in your tax return for 2020? Do the donations to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still apply? – “Paying tithing is more of a sense of commitment than it is the church needing the money. So they never wanted to be in a position where people felt like, you know, they shouldn’t make a contribution.” – Roger Clarke, the head of Ensign Peak | wasmormon.org

Tax time in the US and as people are leaving the church, they are receiving real blessings. In many countries, donating money to a charitable organization is tax deductible, meaning this decreases your taxable income. This is a perk to tithing for some people, it can save you some money on your taxes, though not …

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Mormon Fearmongering & Marginalizing Liberal Agenda at BYU Devotional

The great deceiver's specialty is his keen interest in your feelings, and opinions, and personal preferences. He's quite progressive that way, and wants to hear all about it. Your concerns are his concerns and he knows exactly which rendition of Jesus is pertinent to your cause. Lately, it is likely to be a socially relevant, liberal Jesus who somehow cares more about "your truth" than the truth he came to personify, proclaim, and die for. The deceiver dishes out a new gospel, and I hate this (just so you know I don't like that word hate but this one thing I do hate), "the gospel of your own truth". - David Glen Hatch, BYU Devotional, April 4, 2023

BYU–Hawaii presented an international concert and devotional by recording artist, Dr. David Glen Hatch, on Thursday, April 4, 2023, in the McKay Auditorium. Brother Hatch, who has published sheet music as well as recordings at church-owned Deseret Book, performed some piano pieces and spoke to the audience in this devotional. Brother Hatch warns of the …

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Dominant Narrative of Church is Not True

For the Church to remain strong it has to reconstruct its narrative. The dominant narrative is not true; it can’t be sustained. - Richard Bushman, Mormon Historian & Stake President

Prominent LDS historian Richard Bushman and famed author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling notes, “I think that for the Church to remain strong, it has to reconstruct its narrative. The dominant narrative is not true; it can’t be sustained. The Church has to absorb all this new information or it will be on very shaky grounds …

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Tag Archives: Deseret Book

Russell Nelson Embellishing Stories Again – Exploding Engines and Free Fall Death Spirals

The Church and Victim Blaming Victims of Abuse

Monetizing Ponderize – Do Church Leaders Cash In?

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