What Mormons REALLY Believe – Get Ready for the Anti-Mormon Bigotry Parade

by Dave on 5 Apr 2012

in One Mormon's Political Views, Search for Truth

Well, we knew it was coming, but it doesn’t make the bigotry any less ugly when it rears its snarling head, as it did in a Lawrence O’Donnell segment this week. Now that Mitt Romney has the Republican nomination sewn up, the anti-Mormon bigotry parade has assembled and started its long march to the election. You may have seen some of the ugliness lately – it’s not hard to find. Most of it probably leaves fair-minded people scratching their heads, as in “Do Mormons REALLY believe all that?”

The answer is usually no – but I’ll admit: we Mormons believe some rather strange things. For example, we believe God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to a 14-year old boy in upstate New York in 1820. We believe that same boy, with the utterly unremarkable name of Joseph Smith, received engraved plates of gold from an angel and, through revelation, translated those plates, published the translation that is now The Book of Mormon, and established a church with hundreds of adherents – all before he reached the age of 25. We believe in modern prophets and in personal revelation. The practice of our religion makes us objects of ridicule as well. No coffee, tea, tobacco or alcohol? No pre-marital or extramarital sex? Mormons in good standing pay a full tithe? Once polygamy was OK but now it’s not? A previous policy preventing the blacks from receiving the Priesthood that was rescinded by revelation as recently as 1978? Proxy baptisms for our deceased ancestors and other secret (we say sacred) ceremonies inside temples? Ceremonial undergarments as a remembrance of our temple covenants? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.

However, the curious and quirky novelty of those beliefs and practices are apparently not enough for those who hate us. They need to twist, distort, and even make up other things to REALLY make us look silly and even sinister. The current God of earth is a married man from the planet Kolob who was given Earth as his own when he died? Mormons are racist? Mormons don’t believe that Jesus is the son of God because Satan and Jesus are brothers? Joseph Smith “got caught having sex with his maid?” Women are inferior to men? Mormons are either polygamists or wish they were? No one but Joseph Smith ever saw the golden plates? Mormons believe that Native Americans are descended from Jews? Mormons are forced to serve missions so they can be brainwashed? Church leaders are rich and powerful? Mormons believe in magic underwear? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no and no. Red flags for anti-Mormon bigotry – every one of them.

If it seems hard to understand what we believe to those outside the church, it’s because Mormon doctrine is so extraordinarily robust. It’s simple enough to learn the basics – Faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost – in one lesson. And yet the history and doctrines of the church create such a comprehensive worldview that is so far-reaching and controversial that most of us Mormons study the scriptures every day of our entire lives and are still learning more. Yet perhaps the most remarkable thing is how much we Mormons generally see things so similarly and how united and cohesive the church is, especially as an all-volunteer organization with no paid ministry. We attribute it to the operations of the Holy Spirit; cynics attribute it to brainwashing, Borg-like assimilation, a cult mentality, or blind and mindless ignorance. In my experience, such cynics are ignorant and lack experience with the church and its members.

Most Mormons simply do not believe the things we’re often said to believe. The “out-there” things you hear are simply not taught in General Conference or Sunday School. You just never hear them discussed, and it’s not because we’re afraid to. They’re just irrelevant to us. Every Mormon, including respected church historians and Mormon scholars, are free to pursue the truth, too, so it’s not dogmatic consistency imposed and enforced by church leaders. When you hear about Mormons being excommunicated for opposing church doctrine or BYU professors being fired, it’s usually because they not only teach things about the church that aren’t true, but do so publicly to embarrass the church. Just ask Jan Shipps – a non-Mormon – if the Mormons are afraid of the truth. Trust me – most of the really out-there stuff is bigoted nonsense parading as unbiased (“former Mormon”) whistle-blowing. Some of the things you might hear, however – the apparent contradictions or anything hard to wrap your head around – are what we call “mysteries,” which every religion (and even science) has. Eternity itself is a tough concept to grasp – right up there with the idea of this universe existing in the first place.

So if you see something that seems on its face to be ridiculous, it probably is and has little to do with our real beliefs. It’s often twisted from something said by a prophet or church leader over 100 years ago. Brigham Young once gave a sermon in the morning session of General Conference and then came back in the afternoon and reversed his morning message, saying “this morning you heard what Brigham Young had to say – now you will hear what the Lord has to say.” You see, we have a sophisticated tolerance for humanity and human error – even when revelation is involved. Revelation is when the divine meets the human, and is therefore prone to the frailties of the flesh, so to speak – so the miracle is how nearly perfect it can be, enabling us to see a glimpse of divine perfection, not a compelling view of man made perfect by interaction with divinity. Where there is perfect knowledge (compelling proof no one can deny), there can be no faith, so providing such proof defeats the purpose of life – to learn by faith. But fundamentalist Christians have no such tolerance for the humanity or human error of any Mormon prophet, and therefore are almost always seriously mistaken when they say “Mormons believe this” or “Mormons believe that” and cite some obscure writings of a dead prophet. To them, the divine origin of the Bible means that it must be word-for-word perfect – never mind that it’s been transcribed, edited, compiled, translated, and published by imperfect humans. The inability to grasp this dichotomy between the human and the divine leaves them vulnerable to misjudgment about divine influence in their own lives and the lives of others. That’s why they can be so insufferably intolerant and hard-headed in defending their religious and political beliefs. They simply have no grasp of anything other than moral absolutes, in spite of the rich Western Judeo-Christian tradition of religious and philosophical depth and complexity.

So almost all of what Mormon antagonists, whether on the extreme left or the extreme right, parade as truth is not even close to it. If I said “Christians believe that a man who was executed as a criminal somehow climbed out of his grave,” how much truth is there in such an outrageously worded claim? Perhaps enough to make it somewhat recognizable, but not enough to keep it from being a bigoted falsehood. That’s a very good parallel to what happens when anti-Mormons try to portray Mormon beliefs and teachings.

But here’s what gets to me: Anti-Mormons argue from the presumption that all Mormons are ignorant and uninformed in believing what they say we believe. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Most Mormons are very well informed about what the church teaches. We have a two-day general conference twice a year where most practicing Mormons listen to 8 hours or more of talks we believe to be inspired. We also have 3 hours of church teachings and meetings every Sunday. I laugh at the assertion that Mormons are mindless robots or dupes, because one of the fundamental teachings is “follow the spirit,” or in other words, each person is an autonomous free agent responsible for making their own choices about how to live their life. Well taught and well informed? Yes, much more so than most churches. Willing to trust and believe the prophets and apostles? Free to choose their personal beliefs? Again, yes. Only those who actively work against the church are excommunicated, as it should be. Brainwashed dupes and zombies? Hardly. Visit a church and see for yourself.

Mitt Romney is extraordinarily smart. He has the same Harvard Law degree President Obama has PLUS an MBA from Harvard. But you know the left will attempt to paint him as a clueless robot because he believes the straw man lies they’ll manufacture as “Mormon beliefs.” Don’t believe everything you hear or read, and as you consider whether to believe the lie that Mormons are brainwashed robots or some variation of that, consider some other intelligent, highly respected, well-known practicing Mormons: Stephen R. Covey – universally respected business guru; Orson Scott Card – science fiction writer; Ken Jennings of Jeopardy fame; Harvard professor and author Clayton Christensen, Kim Clark – former Dean of Harvard’s Business School, Columbia historian Richard Bushman, Gladys Knight; the Marriotts; Billy Casper – pro golfer; Dale Murphy – All Star baseball legend; the Osmonds; Jimmer Fredette; NFL Super Bowl MVP Steve Young; college and NBA Basketball star Thurl Bailey, Sports Illustrated high school basketball phenom Jabari Parker, American Idol David Archuleta; comedy actor Jon Heder; NFL Coach Andy Reid, and many, many more you may not have heard of but who have impacted your life, nonetheless – such as the inventor of television (Philo Farnsworth) or the founder of Jet Blue (David Neeleman). And if you really want to blow your mind, consider this: Eldredge Cleaver was baptized and died a Mormon, and both Glenn Beck and Harry Reid are practicing Mormons. So if you think we’re all stupid and brainwashed, you might want to reconsider. If Glenn Beck and Harry Reid were in the same Sunday School class, I guarantee you they wouldn’t be arguing because they’d be focused on those religious beliefs they share, not those political beliefs they don’t. If you want to know what we really believe, just lose the cynicism and ironic post-modernistic arrogance and then ask a Mormon you know in all sincerity, or call the missionaries and invite them over. Remember that if you ask them politely not to come any more, they’ll honor your request. They’re not about high-pressure – what good is a convert who’s not converted?

And study for yourself. I’ve never understood how anyone could reject The Book of Mormon without reading it and studying and thoughtfully pondering it’s contents. Also, if you want to read the best documented, most fair and accurate account of Joseph Smith’s life, read the comprehensive and fascinating historical work by Richard L. Bushman, “Rough Stone Rolling.” Bushman is the Gouvernor Morris Professor of History, Emeritus, at Columbia University and “Rough Stone Rolling” is far and away the most respected biography of Joseph Smith available today.

The people who are really being duped are those who give any credence to the cess pool of anti-Mormon propaganda put out by those who profit enormously from feeding the tremendous amount of anti-Mormon bigotry and ignorance in this country. Sad to say, but the biggest promoters of anti-Mormon information is those with the most to gain or lose – book sellers and preachers. But one things besides death and taxes is certain: we’ll be seeing a LOT of anti-Mormon bigotry over the coming seven months.

My best advice? Be wise and careful in what you choose to believe. Be wise and careful in what you choose to reject. And be VERY wise in choosing what to put on the shelf until you can research it better and decide for yourself. How will you know when you’ve chosen correctly? Easy. You’ll be at peace, you won’t be bitter, and you won’t feel an urgent need to tell the entire world that you know what the Mormons REALLY believe, contrary to what they say they believe, if they all weren’t such liars and hypocrites…

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Barack Obama’s Religious Beliefs and Baptism for the Dead

by Dave on 30 Apr 2012

in One Mormon's Political Views, Search for Truth

Font for Proxy BaptismsI just read a fascinating 2004 interview with Barack Obama about his religious beliefs.

What struck me was this comment from the interview:

“I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell.
I can’t imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity.” – Barack Obama

The above statement seems to put Obama on the outside looking in at traditional Christianity, because most Christians believe quite literally the Biblical passages that seem, on their face, to be quite exclusive, such as:

“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” – John 3:5

Now, I wholeheartedly agree with Obama on these particular points, and I’ll note for the record that this is why I love the LDS (Mormon) belief in and practice of proxy baptisms for the dead.

Other Christians see false dichotomies in the conflict between universal salvation and the acceptance of Biblical truth. For example, they might believe that you must either accept Christ and be baptized to be saved, or you are damned.

Joseph Smith struggled with this same question, especially after his unbaptized brother died, and several of his children died in their infancy. The revelations he received make it clear that salvation is far more universal than anyone of Joseph’s day ever imagined. Here are some of the things Joseph taught, in my words, not his:

Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, every living soul will be resurrected and are thus saved (from death) (See I Corinthians 15:22).

Heaven and hell describe the period of time between death and the resurrection, where spirits are consigned to paradise (a place of peace) or spirit prison (a place of suffering for ones sins).

All spirits continue to progress in faith and learning even after death.

When we are resurrected, our spirits are re-united with our bodies, and receive one of many degrees of glory, within 3 primary degrees (the celestial, terrestial, and telestial) corresponding with the glory of the sun, moon, and stars. (See I Corinthians 15:40)

Those who die unbaptized, with or without knowledge of Christ, can still be saved if they repent and accept Christ as their Savior in the spirit world before resurrection – but they must still be baptized; hence, God had revealed to his children through his prophets the means whereby this can be accomplished, even during the time of the apostles (See I Corinthians 15:29) and again through Joseph Smith in latter days. It’s simple: the living may be baptized on behalf of the dead, through proxy baptisms. This is also in fulfillment of the prophecy in Malachi 4:5-6.

We believe Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple to restore the keys of the work of the temple whereby such baptisms are performed, and that by serving our ancestors by seeking out our dead and ensuring that they receive baptism and other temple ordinances, we are turning our hearts to them and theirs to us.

And that’s why we Mormons agree with Barack Obama about this particular matter regarding God’s universal love for every one of his children on earth. We can confirm that God will NOT “consign four-fifths of the world to hell,” and He will indeed NOT allow “some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity.” Little children who die are taken straight to heaven. Those who die in ignorance of the Savior have every chance in the next life.

We Mormons show our love for that little kid in India by going into our temples to be baptized on his behalf, and we have every confidence in a joyous reunion in the next life where we will rejoice together in the love and mercy of a nonetheless just God.

But bitter haters who can’t see beyond death don’t understand any of this. They simply think that we Mormons are trying to pad the number of our converts or take pride in reporting that famous people are now Mormon. I honestly don’t know whether to laugh or to cry…

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Bill Maher Joins the Anti-Mormon Bigotry Parade With His Savage Ignorance

by Dave on 28 Apr 2012

in One Mormon's Political Views, Search for Truth

Here they go again. The anti-Mormon bigotry parade is on the march. This time it’s Bill Maher who is beyond ignorant and clueless; he’s execrably wrong.

At this article on Real Clear Politics, Bill Maher responded to S.E. Cupp’s comment that Mitt Romney gives a lot of his money to charity every year with: “I got to call bulls**t on that one. All his charitable donations are to Mormons. He gives to his cult.” “They’re not poor people,” he said. “Name one poor Mormon.”

Wow. I know that’s a knee-jerk response by the wholly uninformed Maher, but nonetheless, where does one start in on such savage ignorance?

First of all, based on my experience, I’d say that most of the converts joining the church are poor. Rule of thumb: the rich are proud; the poor are humble. More than half of the Mormons in the world live outside the U.S. I’ve had four children who served missions. Most of the dozens of people they collectively baptized were certainly what anyone in the U.S. would classify as “poor.” When picking up three of those children from their missions, I’ve been in at least 15 such homes in Mexico, Poland, and Argentina. They may be poor by our standards, but they’re happier and certainly more loving on their worst days than Bill Maher is on his best day. And their lives inevitably improve after they join the church – or at least they will tell you they do. It’s partly because they stop worrying about money and discover the truth about happiness – it comes from love and family and service and humility and principles Bill Maher was obviously never taught.

But we believe that they’re blessed financially as well. If Bill Maher doesn’t know any poor Mormons, perhaps it’s because of those blessings – not that I would expect him to understand that concept of a just God blessing those who love God and abide by His commandments (principles of happiness to live by), which are given to His children because He loves them.

He should consider how much the Romneys have donated to causes other than the church. It’s probably still more than the Obama’s have donated to liberal-preferred, politically correct charity, even on a % basis.But you also have to look at what that “cult” does with its money, remembering that everyone in the church I’ve ever known considers all money to be a sacred trust, since even the poor pay with their widows mite just as Romney pays with the many millions he donates to the church – if only the government (especially the Obama administration) would look at taxpayer money that way:

1) A negligible percent goes to supporting church operations, because none of the church leaders get paid in the traditional sense. The needs of General Authorities (many, but not all, of whom are well off before they’re called) are met, but none of them live a higher standard of living after becoming a General Authority than before. If they were, you’d have certainly read about it by now. None of the local leaders are paid, not even a stipend – and almost every member of the ward has a “calling.” Nobody picks their own callings. Most just serve when called.

2) The church takes care of its own poor. Members fast once a month and donate the money they would have spent on food to the church as a “Fast Offering.” That money is then administered by the Bishop to meet the needs of the poor. During the Depression, the church started a welfare program to promote independence and self-reliance. Reagan said about it “Oh that our federal welfare worked so perfectly.”

3) Chapels and temples are built worldwide. In Africa and many other poor countries, they’re building new chapels regularly – that serve not just the people’s Sunday worship needs, but also act as community centers of sorts. Church members love the temples and temple ordinances, including eternal marriages.

4) Disaster relief. The church is known throughout the world as being one of the leading providers of disaster relief. If you have never been to Salt Lake City and toured the Humanitarian Center, you owe it to yourself to see it. You’ll be blown away. The church, like Romney, doesn’t toot its own humanitarian horn. After Katrina, it’s reported that the mayor of one town said “I want to thank two group who were here first and did the most to help us out and provide us with what we needed: one is the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, and the other is the Mormons.”

Thanks, Bill, for your ludicrous, humorless nastiness that gives me the chance to set the record straight.

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Mormon Beliefs

by Dave on 17 Apr 2012

in Search for Truth

Mormon Beliefs

The Angel Moroni - What Do Mormons Believe?

Curiosity about Mormon beliefs have taken on a new life now that it looks like Mitt Romney will be the alternative to Barack Obama to be our next President. And as I pointed out in my last post, a lot of people are trying to define our beliefs for us. Grrr….how rude!

Joseph Smith was asked a similar question over 150 years ago by John Wentworth, the editor and proprietor of – how ironic – the “Chicago Democrat.” Part of Joseph’s response constitute what are now known as “The Articles of Faith,” and are now included in church scriptural canon, meaning that they are official doctrine. They’re a little dated, in the sense that they address matters of foremost concern to the people of 1842 rather than today, but they’re an excellent starting point in answering the question of “What Do Mormons Believe?” I’ll add some of my own observations about what Mormons believe below.

So here is one (divinely inspired) creedal summary of what Mormons believe:

1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul — We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

- Joseph Smith

I would add a few items of modern relevance:

- We believe that the Priesthood, or authority of God given to man to unify and serve His children on earth, which Priesthood had been bestowed by Jesus Christ upon the apostles of the original Church of Jesus Christ as established by the Savior, was lost sometime after those Apostles were killed.

- Thus, we believe that a restoration / restitution was necessary – of the Priesthood, of the church, and of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because all were lost or became corrupted over time.

- We believe that the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, who was called by God when, as a boy of 14, he went into the woods to pray about which church he should join. At the time, he saw in a vision, God and his Son, Jesus Christ, who told him he should join none of the churches, because “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me…” A few years later, the angel Moroni appeared to him and began his instruction, which eventually led to Joseph receiving the golden plates which he translated and which became The Book of Mormon, which is Another Testament of Jesus Christ – a modern witness of Jesus Christ and the restoration of His church and gospel. If The Book of Mormon is true, then so is the restoration and Joseph Smith must be a prophet. Hence, the importance of The Book of Mormon, even though we believe The Holy Bible to be the word of God just as is The Book of Mormon.

- We believe that the lesser, or Aaronic, Priesthood was restored when John the Baptist, as a resurrected being (an angel), appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829 and laid his hands upon their heads and pronounced: “UPON you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.”

- We believe the greater, or Melchizedek Priesthood, was restored soon thereafter when Peter, James, and John also appeared to Smith and Cowdery and bestowed the “Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God” upon them.

- We believe that the Savior and the prophets Moses, Elijah, and Elias appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple to restore the keys of the gathering of Israel, temple work, and previous dispensations.

- Thus, we believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints represents a restoration of the ancient church, with apostles and prophets holding all of the Priesthood keys necessary to administer the Church under the authority and direction of Jesus Christ.

- We believe that in the mouths of two or more witnesses shall all things be established; hence, there were many witnesses to many of the miraculous events of the restoration. Besides Joseph and Oliver Cowdery as mentioned above, there were eight others who testified of handling the golden plates, and three who said the angel showed them the plates. There have also been many other witnesses of miracles, visions, and revelations.

- We believe that the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was also restored through modern prophets and through the miraculous coming forth of The Book of Mormon.

- We believe that the Constitution was a divinely inspired document, and that without it and the religious freedom it granted, the church and the gospel could not have been restored to the earth.

- We believe that freedom to choose what we will believe is one of the greatest of the gifts of God to his children.

- We believe in eternal marriage, and that family relationships are forever. We believe that through the ordinances of the temple, families can be united in love and harmony in the glorious hereafter.

- We believe in service, love, harmony, and being of good cheer. We believe that God gave us commandments as principles of happiness, and that through our obedience to God’s commandments, we show our love for God and for our fellow man, and are blessed with peace and joy as a result.

- We do not believe that by following God’s commandments, we will be a peculiar people, and not “of the world.” We’re OK with that. We both freely give and rely on the tolerance and goodwill of our brothers and sisters with whom we live in this worldly state.

It is a rich and abundant worldview, so there is much that I’ve left out – but we’re always happy to answer questions. Keep it loving and respectful please!

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House Unanimously Rejects Obama’s Budget; Non-Fox Media Blames Republicans

March 31, 2012

Congress rejected President Obama’s sham budget on a 414-0 vote. I would have thought the media would have focused on the fact that President Obama finally succeeded in fulfilling his campaign promise to bring both parties together. But instead, they pulled out the standard template for anything Congress does: the Republican-led Congress is sabotaging the [...]

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Romney’s Problem With Anti-Mormon Evangelicals

March 8, 2012

Looks like Romney’s going to be the nominee, no matter how much the mainstream media plays up the opposition to a Romney candidacy amongst evangelicals while downplaying the anti-Mormon ignorance and bigotry (parading as “exposition”) that is the root cause of much of the evangelical opposition. I’ve had a lot of experience with fundamentalists / [...]

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The Stunning Irony of Charles Blow’s Bigotry

February 28, 2012

Last week, Charles Blow, a columnist for the New York Times, addressed a Tweet to Mitt Romney during the Republican debate: “Let me just tell you this Mitt ‘Muddle Mouth’: I’m a single parent and my kids are *amazing*! Stick that in your magic underwear. #CNNdebate” His reference to “magic underwear” is, of course, a [...]

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Top 9 Awesomely Helpful Books for Startups & Entrepreneurs

June 29, 2011
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Is God All-Powerful? Why Then Suffering and Evil?

June 2, 2011
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Ty Gibson asks “If God exists, and if God is good, then why is our world filled with suffering?”  See Ty’s video here. I once visited an elderly widow named Birdie each week for over a year with some friends of mine. We would play the piano and sing for her. She was a loving and [...]

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Mormons Encouraged to Make Their Voices Heard But Aren’t Speaking for the Church

May 18, 2011
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Great article in the Washington Post by Michael Otterson, the lead spokesperson for my church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, specifying that members of the church – including, I presume, Glenn Beck, Harry Reid, Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, Orrin Hatch, Gladys Knight, Steve Young, Danny Ainge, Jimmer Fredette, the Osmonds, the [...]

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