Do Mormons believe in Jesus Christ? Why do Mormons store food? What is the purpose of their temples? These questions and more are answered in Mormons Under the Microscope. Ed Lauritsen gives clear, easy-to-understand answers to 77 common questions that people ask about Mormons. Using over 300 biblical references and defining over 200 terms, this book will help your friends and family gain a better understanding of what it is like to be Mormon. From controversial issues to everyday vocabulary, Mormons Under the Microscope is a handy guide to the ins and outs of the beliefs and lifestyle of this "peculiar" people.
America’s 2008 presidential campaign prompted many people in the U.S. and around the world to seek more information about the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. For those who wish to examine these beliefs from a Bible perspective, Mormons Under the Microscope is especially helpful. More than 300 Bible references are included. All Bible quotations are taken from the King James Version. Each of the book ́s 77 questions is followed by a Brief Answer and a Detailed Answer, for the reader’s convenience. Readers unfamiliar with Mormon terminology will find Question 77 particularly instructive. More than 200 terms are defined. Among the numerous endorsements listed in the book are these: "In this concise but comprehensive compendium, Dr. Lauritsen provides amazing clarity in his responses to both simple and complex questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This book is required reading for those who want to understand a once-obscure faith tradition that has become one of the fastest growing religions in the world." Dr. A. Dean Byrd, University of Utah School of Medicine. "Mormons Under the Microscope might be considered a Cliff Notes version of Mormon Doctrine...Dr. Lauritsen ́s straightforward, succinct approach is reminsicent of the style of the late LDS Apostle Neal A. Maxwell. Mormons Under the Microscope will be an excellent addition to our personal libraries." John S. Robinson, retired news editor of the Deseret News Note: Mormons Under the Microscope is not an official or unofficial publication of any church, religious organization, or political entity; nor is it sponsored by any religious or political organization. The author alone is responsible for the content and limitations of this book.
When rebellious Utah socialite Kirsten Young is found murdered in Provo Canyon with strange markings carved into her flesh and a note written in a 19th Century code, questions arise about the old laws of the Mormon Church. Journalist Selonnah Zee is assigned the story, which quickly takes on a life of its own. Even before the first murder is solved, several more victims appear, each one more mysterious than the last. Meanwhile, Sedonnah is distracted by her mother's onset of Alzheimer's and her sudden attraction to the mysterious Salt Lake City police chief who is investigating the murder. Adding to a slew of other distractions, Selonnah’s cousin, Roger, has recently converted and is now a public spokesperson for the Mormon faith. But paradoxically, Roger's wife, Eliza, is struggling to hold onto the Mormon beliefs of her childhood. If something is really from God, she wonders, why does it need to be constantly revised? Could the murderer be asking the same questions? And most importantly, will they be able to stop him before he commits his biggest crime, taking out a Mormon landmark and dozens of sightseers?
Evaluates how the Mormon faith has shaped the political beliefs of the former Massachusetts governor and prospective Republican presidential candidate, identifying the ways in which his faith may be used to discredit his fitness for the presidency.
In April 2013 Jeremy T. Runnells published a PDF booklet entitled, "Letter to a CES Director." This booklet, which is now typically referred to as the "CES Letter," catalogs Runnells' concerns and reason why he left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Runnells has worked hard to make his booklet available to people everywhere (and in several languages) and has, unfortunately, been the agent for leading at least a few other believers out of Mormonism. Sadly, most of those who have been bamboozled by the "CES Letter" are Latter-day Saints who were blind-sided by scholarly-sounding interpretations of challenging data. In my opinion, however, the "CES Letter" creates a caricature of Mormonism. The arguments are fundamentally flawed and do not accurately represent either Mormonism or the only logical interpretations of the data. Unfortunately, the reason the "CES Letter" has enjoyed any success is that most Latter-day Saints have never been exposed to some of the more complex matters in early Mormon history. On average, the typical Latter-day Saint has never needed to think outside of the box on Mormon-related philosophical, historical, or scholarly issues. "Bamboozled by the 'CES Letter'" explains why these controversial issues need not kill a testimony. Interpretation matters. Many lay members, as well as educated Mormon scholars, are fully aware of every topic discussed in the "CES Letter" but continue strong in their faith because they recognize that there are logical interpretations which can be integrated with their belief in Mormonism. There are answers to the concerns raised by the "CES Letter," and those answers can be supported by current scholarship as well as harmonized with the acceptance of Mormon truth claims.
Tracy Tennant's compelling and inspirational account of raising and homeschooling ten children as a devout Mormon mother. Her story provides insight into Mormon lifestyle, practices, and beliefs. Her life as a Latter-day Saint was rich with humor and drama, as well as the mundane aspects of trying to live worthily as a temple-attending woman preparing her family for life in the future Celestial Kingdom. After discovering solid historical evidence against Joseph Smith and the teachings of the Mormon Church, Tracy faced heartbreaking rejection from many of her former Mormon friends and loved ones. While her account details her journey out of Mormonism into Biblical-based faith, she acknowledges and credits the Mormon people who made a positive impact on her life. Mormonism, The Matrix & Me is a book that is an intense walk through Tracy's life as she enters and exits a world known as Mormonism, while eloquently comparing her story to the blockbuster movie, "The Matrix." Her story will cause many to open their eyes to the world around them.
The prophet Brigham Young taught the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in a basic, practical way that gave inspiration and hope to the Saints struggling to build a home in the wilderness. Though more than a century has now passed, his words are still fresh and appropriate for us today as we continue the work of building the kingdom of God. President Young declared that as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we possess the “doctrine of life and salvation for all the honest-in-heart” (DBY, 7). He promised that those who receive the gospel in their hearts will have awakened “within them a desire to know and understand the things of God more than they ever did before in their lives” and will begin to “inquire, read and search and when they go to their Father in the name of Jesus he will not leave them without a witness” (DBY, 450). This book reflects the desire of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to deepen the doctrinal understanding of Church members and to awaken within them a greater desire to know the things of God. It will inspire and motivate individuals, priesthood quorums, and Relief Society classes to inquire, read, search, and then go to their Father in Heaven for a witness of the truth of these teachings. Each chapter contains two sections—“Teachings of Brigham Young” and “Suggestions for Study.” The first section consists of extracts from Brigham Young’s sermons to the early Saints. Each statement has been referenced, and the original spelling and punctuation have been preserved; however, the sources cited will not be readily available to most members. These original sources are not necessary to have in order to effectively study or teach from this book. Members need not purchase additional references and commentaries to study or teach these chapters. The text provided in this book, accompanied by the scriptures, is sufficient for instruction. Members should prayerfully read and study President Young’s teachings in order to gain new insights into gospel principles and discover how those principles apply to their everyday lives. By faithfully and prayerfully studying these selections, Latter-day Saints will have a greater understanding of gospel principles and will more fully appreciate the profound and inspired teachings of this great prophet. The second section of each chapter offers a series of questions that will encourage thoughtful contemplation, personal application, and discussion of President Young’s teachings. Members should refer to and carefully reread his words on the principle being discussed. Deep and prayerful study of these teachings will inspire members to greater personal commitment and will help them resolve to follow the teachings of the Savior, Jesus Christ. If individuals and families prayerfully follow the principles in this book, they will be blessed and inspired to greater dedication and spirituality, as were the early Saints who heard these words directly from the lips of the “Lion of the Lord” (HC, 7:434)—the prophet, seer, and revelator, President Brigham Young.
Focuses primarily on the years of McKay's presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during some of the most turbulent times in American and world history.
In the predominantly mormon city of Draper, Utah, some seemingly perfect families have deadly secrets. Linda Wallheim is a devout Mormon, mother of five boys and wife of a bishop. But Linda’s daily routine of church-going, Relief Society meetings, and visiting church ward members is turned upside down as a disturbing situation takes shape in her seemingly idyllic neighborhood. Young wife and mother Carrie Helm has disappeared. Carrie’s husband, Jared, claims that she has abandoned the family, but Linda doesn’t trust him. As she snoops, trying to learn more about the Helms’ circumstances, Linda becomes convinced Jared murdered his wife and painted himself as a wronged husband. Inspired by a chilling true crime and written by a practicing Mormon, The Bishop’s Wife is both a fascinating peek into the lives of modern Mormons and a grim and cunningly twisted mystery.
While Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist government was persecuting Jews and Jehovah’s Witnesses and driving forty-two small German religious sects underground, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continued to practice unhindered. How some fourteen thousand Mormons not only survived but thrived in Nazi Germany is a story little known, rarely told, and occasionally rewritten within the confines of the Church’s history—for good reason, as we see in David Conley Nelson’s Moroni and the Swastika. A page-turning historical narrative, this book is the first full account of how Mormons avoided Nazi persecution through skilled collaboration with Hitler’s regime, and then eschewed postwar shame by constructing an alternative history of wartime suffering and resistance. The Twelfth Article of Faith and parts of the 134th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants function as Mormonism’s equivalent of the biblical admonition to “render unto Caesar,” a charge to cooperate with civil government, no matter how onerous doing so may be. Resurrecting this often-violated doctrinal edict, ecclesiastical leaders at the time developed a strategy that protected Mormons within Nazi Germany. Furthermore, as Nelson shows, many Mormon officials strove to fit into the Third Reich by exploiting commonalities with the Nazi state. German Mormons emphasized a mutual interest in genealogy and a passion for sports. They sent husbands into the Wehrmacht and sons into the Hitler Youth, and they prayed for a German victory when the war began. They also purged Jewish references from hymnals, lesson plans, and liturgical practices. One American mission president even wrote an article for the official Nazi Party newspaper, extolling parallels between Utah Mormon and German Nazi society. Nelson documents this collaboration, as well as subsequent efforts to suppress it by fashioning a new collective memory of ordinary German Mormons’ courage and travails during the war. Recovering this inconvenient past, Moroni and the Swastika restores a complex and difficult chapter to the history of Nazi Germany and the Mormon Church in the twentieth century—and offers new insight into the construction of historical truth.
