Mormon Heretic

D&C 137 records a vision of Joseph Smith “in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, January 21, 1836. HC 2: 380–381. The occasion was the administration of the ordinances of the endowment as far as they had then been revealed.” [Preface].  There are 2 important pieces of Mormon doctrine to consider here:  (1) baptism for the dead, and (2) children that die before the age of accountability (and baptism at age 8 ) will inherit the Celestial Kingdom.  Since it is a short section, let me quote it entirely.  This section is only in the LDS version of the D&C, but other accounts of this revelation can be found in the History of the Church. Read more…

One of my big passions is sports, though I don’t talk about it much on this blog.  John Wooden died Friday night at the age of 99.  He was an amazing coach and an amazing man.  One person said Wooden was “more like a Methodist minister than a basketball coach.”  ESPN put together a tribute of former players, coaches, and announcers who know him well.

Wooden led UCLA to 7 straight National Championships, an 88 game winning streak, 38 straight NCAA tournament wins, and 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, before retiring in 1975.  He was known as the Wizard of Westwood (a nickname he didn’t like.)  Here are some excerpts from from that piece.  (I’m not sure everyone that was interviewed, so if you know, please tell me and I’ll update the post.) Read more…

Religion is supposed to be about peace, but often it is about war.  Some of the worst religious wars include Islamic Jihad, Christian Crusades, and Joshua’s Unholy War.  I wish Mormons didn’t have anything to be ashamed of, but I’ve been reading The Mountain Meadows Massacre by Juanita Brooks.

One of the things I didn’t realize about this shameful episode is the Utah War.  It wasn’t much of a war, but it was one of the leading causes of this tragedy.  In 1857, President Buchanon sent 5000 troops to Utah to put down a supposed rebellion in Utah.  Exaggerated reports of rebellion had come to Washington, DC.  The US had just finished the Mexican-American War in 1848, and Civil War rhetoric would boil over into war just 4 years later.

Read more…

Today is Joseph’s 204th birthday.  (He was born in 1805 for those of you curious about the math.)  Since Dec 22 is the first day of winter, and the day with the shortest amount of sunlight, I’ve heard people say that Joseph’s birth was symbolic.  Joseph was bringing light into the world after a period of darkness.  That’s interesting.

As most of you know, Joseph died June 27, 1844 in a hail of gunfire at the Carthage jail, leaving behind a pregnant wife and 3 young boys: Joseph SMITH III (age 11 1/2),  Frederick Granger Williams SMITH (age 8), Alexander Hale SMITH (age 6).  Emma gave birth to David Hyrum SMITH on Nov 18, 1844, 5 months after Joseph’s death .  (Emma gave birth to 10 children in all, though most of them died at or near birth.  Don Carlos SMITH lived just 15 months from 13 Jun 1840 – 15 Sep 1841.)

Three years after Joseph’s death, Emma married a man by the name of Lewis Bidamon.  Most astonishing to me is the day she picked for her wedding: Joseph’s birthday, 23 Dec 1847. Read more…

I just saw this movie last night.  I had never heard of it before, and literally knew nothing about it.  I told my wife to pick a movie, and I thought she would pick a chic flick.  She said she thought I might like it because it had something to do with numbers and predicting future events.  I don’t want to give away any plot lines.  It’s not the kind of movie that I typically like.  In fact, I’d say that for about 90% of the movie, I thought, “This is just a weird, creepy movie.”  Then the end came, and I really liked it (though my wife just thought it was a weird, creepy movie.)

Here’s what IMDB said about the movie, and a couple of trailers. Read more…

I don’t know why, but I love to learn about archaeology, especially religious archaeology.  A few years ago, Simcha Jacobovici came out with a documentary and book called The Jesus Tomb.  In it, he makes a claim that the bones of Jesus may have been located in a tomb unearthed in Jerusalem.  Of course, the Da Vinci Code, while fiction, makes a claim that Jesus and his wife, Mary Magdalene were actually buried in France.  A few months ago, I watched a documentary called Bloodline, which actually goes further, and makes the case that yes, indeed, the bones of Christ and Mary are found in France.  (You can learn more at the official website.)  I just came across a third source, which claims that Christ’s bones are actually located in India.  See this website.

Read more…

So, I’ve been checking my blog stats, and with Easter upon us, it seems my post from last year about why Mormon’s don’t celebrate Easter is getting the most hits.  While last year’s post was a little negative-that I think Mormon celebrations of Easter are lacking compared to other Christians’ Easter celebrations, I hope to talk more about some scholarly insights into Jesus this year as we discuss Easter.

Read more…

It’s not often that my 2 loves (religion and sport) combine in a way for me to write about both.  Here in Utah, the death of Larry Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz, is big news.  Outside this area, it’s not a big story.

Read more…

My brother died in a car accident in May 2006.  His family was badly injured as well.  His death was an emotionally painful experience for me.  As part of my coping, my mother gave me a copy of a book titled, The Message, by Lance Richardson.  It gave me some comfort, though certainly didn’t relieve very much of my pain.

Read more…