![“The [Book of Mormon] is a curiosity to me. It is such a pretentious affair and yet so slow, so sleepy, such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print.” - Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1872 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mark-Twain-Book-of-Mormon-chloroform-in-print.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910), was a prominent American writer, humorist, and social critic best known for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain lived during a transformative period in American history marked by the Civil War, Reconstruction, and rapid industrialization. His sharp wit and keen observations often critiqued …
Tag Archives: supernatural
From ‘the Seer Stone a Fiction to Undermine the Validity of Church’ To ‘Such Aids Are Consistent With Accounts in Scripture’
!["David Whitmer maintained [that] the Prophet used an oval-shaped, chocolate-colored seer stone slightly larger than an egg. Thus, everything we have in the Book of Mormon, according to Mr. Whitmer, was translated by placing the chocolate-colored stone in a hat into which Joseph would bury his head so as to close out the light... Such an explanation is, in our judgment, simply fiction created for the purpose of demeaning Joseph Smith and to undermine the validity of the revelations he received" - Joseph Fielding McConkie (BYU Professor of Ancient Scripture) & Craig J. Ostler (BYU Professor, Church History and Doctrine), Revelations of the Restoration. Page 95-96, Deseret Book, 2000 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Joseph-Fielding-McConkie-Craig-J-Ostler-used-an-oval-shaped-chocolate-colored-seer-stone-slightly-larger-than-an-egg-to-translate-book-of-mormon-by-placing-it-in-a-hat.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
In the year 2000, Deseret Book, the church-owned publishing company, published a joint-written book from two BYU professors, Joseph Fielding McConkie, a BYU Professor of Ancient Scripture, and Craig J. Ostler, a BYU Professor of Church History and Doctrine. The book is titled Revelations of the Restoration, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants and …
Why Worry about Different Versions of the First Vision
In 1983, Gordon B. Hinckley, then Second Counselor in the First Presidency, but later President of the Church spoke to students at the Salt Lake Institute of Religion. An edited version of this address was then given as the First Presidency Message in the October 1984 Ensign. The message, God Hath Not Given Us the …
Continue reading “Why Worry about Different Versions of the First Vision”
Joseph Smith was a Glass Looking Treasure Digger
Today, the fact that Joseph Smith was involved in treasure digging is undisputed, yet still hardly common knowledge among members of the church. This is likely due to the historic denials from church leadership on Joseph and any such occult practices. The church has sought to distance itself from the strange magic practices of the …
Continue reading “Joseph Smith was a Glass Looking Treasure Digger”
Benjamin Franklin on Treasure Seeking Seers
Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, didn’t know Joseph Smith since they lived in different times, but Joseph certainly knew of Ben Franklin. Ben Franklin did know however about many of the folk magic practices that Joseph’s family still practiced a hundred years later. Franklin saw the folly and called it out as nonsense. He described the …
Continue reading “Benjamin Franklin on Treasure Seeking Seers”
Adam Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Meet Adam, a dedicated software developer with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, who was raised in a strict Mormon household. From an early age, Adam adhered faithfully to the tenets of his religion, participating fully in church activities, seminary, a mission, and a temple marriage. However, a journey of deep reflection and relentless inquiry led …
Continue reading “Adam Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Moroni’s Promise – A Lesson in Confirmation Bias and Elevated Emotions
In the Book of Mormon, Moroni offers a promise often cited by members of the LDS Church to confirm its truthfulness. This promise is foundational for many Mormons, providing a personal spiritual confirmation of the church’s teachings. Moroni encourages readers to ask God with a sincere heart and real intent if the Book of Mormon …
Continue reading “Moroni’s Promise – A Lesson in Confirmation Bias and Elevated Emotions”
Veronika Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Veronika’s faith journey from a Mormon to an agnostic secular humanist shows personal evolution and intellectual transformation. Growing up in Utah, she was the first in her immediate family to step away from the LDS Church. Initially embracing the conviction that living the gospel would lead to a happy life, Veronika grappled with the church’s …
Continue reading “Veronika Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Joseph Smith’s Treasure Digging In Doctrine and Covenants
The church has reluctantly had to admit that Joseph Smith used his seer stones in his efforts to translate the Book of Mormon and not just the Urim and Thummim he received with the gold plates. They don’t like to admit that the seer stone in question is the same one he used in his …
Continue reading “Joseph Smith’s Treasure Digging In Doctrine and Covenants”
Church Historians Attempt Normalizing Strange Seer Stone In Hat Translation Method
Mason Allred and Mark Ashurst-McGee discuss the various historical accounts of the Book of Mormon translation process, including accounts of Joseph Smith using a Seer Stone to translate the ancient record and accounts of Joseph Smith using the Urim and Thummim in a video posted on the “Church History/Latter-day Saint History” YouTube account, the official …
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 – 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.
Spencer Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Spencer was all in. He has a mind for science, skepticism and critical thinking though. He applied these principles to his beliefs and they did not withstand the test. He doesn’t see evidence for supernatural beliefs and therefore left the church. I enjoy skiing, technology, and skepticism. I grew up Mormon, married in the temple, …
Continue reading “Spencer Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
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”.
Dumbo’s Feather
In the story of Dumbo, we have the little elephant with giant ears (even for an elephant) born into a circus family. His ears are so big that while his name is Jumbo, he earns the nickname Dumbo. His mother is soon imprisoned for standing up for him when he is ridiculed. Maybe she overreacts …