Mormon Heretic

I’ve been having a heated discussion over at Christian Forums.  Someone there linked to my article on Theosis.  I was a bit nervous, as these types of forums can be not only heated, but strongly biased against our church.   I decided to jump into the fray, and while there are some people there with some strong knowledge of ancient church history and the Bible, there are quite a few that seem intent on distorting and misrepresenting LDS theology.  So, I don’t really recommend participating there.

I did learn that it’s not just the LDS that are picked on, so at least they have that going for them.  When I complained that another person by the handle of Pheobe Ann posted a distorted view of LDS theology, another person there by the handle Skylark said,

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…

Recently, there has been some news where Jews object to the Mormon practice of baptism for the dead, especially for Holocaust victims.  Catholics have also objected to the Mormons use of old church records for the purpose of baptism for the dead.   I came across an Irish Columnist who basically says, “Why do they care?”

I want to point out some interesting things from his article–questions which Mormons should also start asking.  You can see the full article here.

Read more…

I attended my first session of Sunstone today.  I have to say it was really nice to be around people who wanted to talk about some things where I really respected the opinions of the speakers.  It was energizing.  I was able to meet some of my favorite mormons, such as John Dehlin, and D Michael Quinn (a former mormon.)  It was refreshing to be in an environment where intellectualism is embraced, not shunned.

My favorite session was on “ARE WE STILL GODS IN EMBRYO? THE MORMON DOCTRINE OF HUMAN DEIFICATION” by HUGO OLAIZ (probably because I just blogged about it.)  One of the most interesting points to me that Hugo made was Lorenzo Snow’s couplet  “As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be.”

Read more…

I came across an article in the NY Times about a tablet dating from before the time of Christ, that “may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.”  This would be a major shift in understanding of Jewish thought at the time of Jesus.  The discovery is being called “a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.”

Here are some of the more interesting quotes from the article:

“Some Christians will find it shocking — a challenge to the uniqueness of their theology — while others will be comforted by the idea of it being a traditional part of Judaism,” Mr. Boyarin said.

Read more…

I have left messages on this and other blogs about how boring church can be. This has prompted the question, “Well, if it’s so boring, why do you even bother to go?”

First of all, let me state that I am a believing mormon. I believe Joseph Smith was a prophet, I believe in the Book of Mormon, I believe in the Bible, I believe going to church is a good, worthy endeavor, and I am very supportive of the good service that is performed in every ward in the church. (I guess you could call these my personal Articles of Faith.) Read more…

Ok, I thought that would get your attention. Let’s talk semantics for a minute. I will agree that mormons “observe” Easter, but we don’t “celebrate” Easter.

Certainly we believe in the resurrection. However, in comparison to other Christian denominations, mormon celebration is a yawner. There is no Easter fireside by the first presidency. Congregation celebrations depend solely on the bishop. Some wards have nice Easter services, while others barely mention it.

Shouldn’t there be more celebration of Easter?