Byron Marchant was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who made history by taking a stand against the church’s racial policies at a pivotal time. In 1977, Marchant openly opposed the LDS Church’s priesthood ban on Black members, a policy that had been in place for over a …
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Over time, the LDS Church’s perspective on homosexuality evolved from a stance of subdued disapproval to one of pronounced institutional homophobia. In the 1950s, church leaders increasingly characterized homosexuality as both a crime and a treatable mental disorder. In 1968, they further intensified their stance by including “homosexual acts” as grounds for excommunication, effectively aiming …
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The Mormon church is famously (or infamously) known for not allowing or supporting same-sex relationships or marriages. There is a trail of history showing the church to be opposed to honoring same-sex couples in society. They vehemently opposed Prop 8, and mobilized membership to work on continuing to outlaw same-sex marriages in the state of …
The Church is built on specific claims. The church claims that Joseph Smith met God and Jesus, received ancient plates from an angel, translated them, and had priesthood authority restored by heavenly messengers. Church leaders even state that if the events didn’t occur, the church would fall apart. This is the danger in the church …
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Meet Dodie, a nature enthusiast and math mentor who, in 1975, embraced the Mormon faith, captivated by the promise of belonging to God’s true church and guided by the teachings of a living prophet. Devoting over four decades to the Mormon community, she held numerous callings and sought to magnify her role within the church. …
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Grace’s journey out of the Mormon church was marked by profound personal struggle and self-discovery. From a young age, she grappled with her identity as a gay individual in a religious environment that condemned her very existence. Raised in the Mormon faith, she internalized the belief that her sexuality was sinful and spent years attempting …
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Investigation reveals more than $1 billion raised by the Mormon church in Canada has been funneled to the U.S. rather than going to charitable works in this country. We hear from former members in Canada and elsewhere who say concerns about how money is spent have led them to leave the church. – The Fifth …
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The church celebrates its own decision to stop the racially discriminatory practice of banning the priesthood from anyone of African descent in 1978. To show that they are not racist, they wanted to point out that it has now been 40 years since they stopped being racist. There was a big self-congratulatory spectacle planned for …
Shane’s journey unfolds as a poignant narrative of resilience, love, and profound self-discovery within the intricate tapestry of faith, family, and personal identity. A stalwart member of the LDS Church, Shane’s commitment to his beliefs and his family is evident in every chapter of his life. From the vibrant memories of a South Korean mission …
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The church published a Gospel Living article on its website with a title referring to a memorable “moment in the barn” as one that “she” would never forget. The title is full of intrigue and leads a reader to wonder who this she is, and what this unforgettable moment was. Mary Whitmer in the Barn …
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Orson Pratt, an Apostle in the Mormon church once invited others to “teach us our errors; convince us of our delusions.” He thought that the church was walking in true Christianity. This echoes a statement from Joseph Smith asking others to “convince us of our delusions,” and claiming that “we will be ever grateful for …
Shaylee was born into the Mormon church and was raised with a fundamentalist leaning. She always knew all the answers at church and graduating seminary was more important to her than high school. She knew about Joseph Smith’s polygamy at a young age and stated that she would “also marry a prophet at age 14 …
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Early church leaders (Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Orson Pratt among others) allegedly had a change of heart for polygamy. At first, they reportedly resisted the practice but later on accepted it and vehemently defended it. Did they really resist in the first place or are these just retro-active stories and manipulation in order to …
The 2015 November Policy of Exclusion The November Policy of Exclusion, or the LDS Church policy to ban LGBT, was a controversial policy change by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in November 2015. This policy update was initially leaked to the public and was later officially confirmed by the LDS Church. The …
One could define a faithful perspective as supporting the church’s truth claims at all costs. Anything that is outside of that faith-promoting mindset could be argued to be anti-mormon, because it doesn’t align with promoting faith in the church at all costs. We aren’t willing to sacrifice everything (as Elder Oaks says is his Apostolic …
Latayne converted to Mormonism and was swept up in the fullness of the Gospel. She attended BYU and loved it. She came to a realization though that she trusted the Bible first and foremost, and began to study the church closer. As she studied she was startled by the “contrast between what I’d been taught …
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A famous saying within the Church states, “As man is now, God once was; as God is now, man may be.” This couplet, originating from Joseph Smith’s King Follet discourse, was popularized by the fifth Church President Lorenzo Snow. Time Magazine published an article about Mormons and asked President Gordon B Hinckley about this concept …
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Gordon B Hinckley, then church president, was interviewed by Don Lattin on April 13, 1997 for SFGate, the digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle. The interview was in his room at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel, just before he delivered an address to the World Forum of Silicon Valley. Here is the transcript of the interview as reported …
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In November 2015, eight years ago, the church leaders intended to quietly institute a policy they had thought through deeply as a reaction to the United States deeming same-sex marriage federally legal in July of that year. The church had campaigned many many times against giving this recognition and civil equality to same-sex couples from …
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At the end of Section 76, (3 Degrees of Glory) the ‘D&C Commentary’ issues a salient warning to all those who would desert the faith, by naming brother Lyman Johnson as a: ‘Particular kind of apostate’ who “never had a really happy day” after leaving the fold and ended up drowning in an accident. “In one portion of this Revelation the eternal misery …
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Transcript of Larry King Live: Gordon Hinckley – Distinguished Religious Leader of the Mormons. Remember that time Hinckley was on Larry King in 1998? Looking back at the transcript, he said quite a few surprising things on air. Hinckley claimed that when people think of Mormons when polygamy is mentioned, they do it “mistakenly” and …
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Sam Young discovered that his children had been asked sexually explicit questions by Bishops in worthiness interviews. This troubled him and he discovered that it is commonplace among Mormon Bishops to ask these questions, which lead to real harm. He advocated for protecting children from this harm and campaigned for church leaders to stop the …
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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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Long-serving Apostle Boyd K Packer famously said that “some things that are true are not very useful,” he also stated that “the truth is not uplifting, it destroys”. Seems to contradict the idea that “the truth will set you free,” no? And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/8?lang=eng&id=32#p32 Apostle Boyd K. Packer was …
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There has been a lot of discussion in Mormondom regarding race and the priesthood. The church denied the priesthood from black members (specifically those of African descent) from the 1850s until 1978. They did not relent through the end of slavery, through the proposed State of Deseret joining the United States as Utah, and through …
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Just as the statement from the First Presidency in 1949, there was another statement issued in 1969 regarding the stance of the church on denying the priesthood to any black member of the church. In 1949, the First Presidency consisted of George Albert Smith, J Reuben Clark & David O McKay. In 1969, the presidency …
Among the first votes of dissent in the modern Mormon church occurred in 1977, in opposition to the church doctrine banning blacks from any priesthood ordination and temple endowment. A member voted opposed to sustaining church leadership in General Conference 1977 and was subsequently excommunicated. Then less than 1 year later the church downgraded the …
The church has lately been making regular changes to church policy and the church handbook. Most of these changes are met with praise, such as 2-hour church services! Others seem to simply be bureaucratic noise. Retiring the Home and Visiting Teaching programs, only to replace them with a similar Ministering Program, a big push to …
The September Six were a group of six members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped in September 1993 for their intellectual and historical pursuits that were deemed contrary to the teachings and doctrines of the Church. The six members were: The excommunications and disfellowshippings of …
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![The church is taking away the government's ability to fund health care, and education, and provide other essential services. They've done it at the expense of taxpayer dollars. There's definitely been a change in [my] perspective. The church teaches that the temple should always be a focal point in your life. The temple has become a physical reminder of greed for me. - Nigel Kennet, a Canadian accountant, was working on the books of a church of a different faith, when he saw how much their members gave to charity. So, he looked into the Mormon's books, and was stunned by where their donations were going. - The Fifth Estate, October 27, 2022 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/canada-5th-estate-Nigel-Kennet-church-taking-away-government-ability-to-fund-essential-services-temple-has-become-a-reminder-of-greed.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
