What are the beliefs of the Mormon church? Do they believe in Jesus Christ? Do they believe in the same God I believe in? What do they believe about the afterlife?
There are some who, in an attempt to tear down the LDS Church, point to the shortcomings and faults of those who manage the Church, particularly the prophets and apostles. Their reasoning seems to be that the true church of God must be run by perfect or near perfect men. I can accept this logic … Read more
Because Mormons practice posthumous baptism for those who have passed on to the next life, more commonly known as baptisms for the dead, some people take this as evidence that Mormons believe in second chances and that it doesn’t really matter what you do in this life because you can be baptized in the next … Read more
This question is sparked in response to a statement from Church President Brigham Young, who said “that no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding-up scene of … Read more
No, not this Judgment Day, this one. Although Mormons don’t believe in judging others, I think it’s safe to say the makers of the film starring Mario Van Peebles will have some things to answer for in the next life. But seriously, Mormons don’t believe in making “eternal judgments” or “final judgments” about others, although … Read more
As posted in a comment here on this blog, “The Mormon Church teaches that when people are married in the temple they are married for eternity but the Bible teaches otherwise as seen by the words of Jesus Himself.” The author of the comment then quoted this passage of scripture from Matthew 22: 25 Now … Read more
From questions by Ann Mere in comments on Sep 7th, 2010. “Are there many gods? Are gods more holier than each other?” This question requires some explanation beyond a simple “yes” or “no” answer, because both answers are correct and incorrect at the same time. Mormons believe that every human being is a God in … Read more
In response to the question posed by Ann; “Do mormons believe in an eternal universe of eternal matter or a big bang type universe?” To answer this question requires a more than a one or the other type of answer because the answer is “yes” to both…sort of. Well, it depends on what you mean … Read more
So says Lawrence M. Krauss, not to mention many others, of course. But the problem Krauss as well as many other atheists face (feel free to chime in here Dallin) is that their belief in a “no-God doctrine” is based on a faulty understanding of God. That is, their logical train of thought says “The … Read more
The best article from an LDS author on the topic of gay marriage is Homosexual “Marriage” and Civilization by science fiction writer Orson Scott Card. But it’s pretty long and you might have a short attention span so I’ll try to summarize some points from the article along with my own thoughts. So, do Mormons … Read more
Wow, this Prop 8 thing in California has been quite the hot topic lately, and initially I was surprised at how much attention the LDS Church was getting, given that there were plenty of other faiths involved. But upon further reflection it’s not too surprising. The LDS Church is highly centralized compared to most other … Read more
Speaking of evolution, I’ve got a question for those of you who believe that humans descended from apes or cavemen or whoever, in the same evolutionary process by which all other species appear to have originated. This isn’t a contentious, argument-starting, type of question. I really am curious to know if somebody has an explanation … Read more
First off, it’s helpful to define what is meant by the term “evolution”. If, by “evolution”, we’re talking about the process of natural selection by which species change due to certain members having advantageous traits, then yes, I think it’s safe to say most, if not all, Mormons believe in evolution. However, if evolution means … Read more
I just posted this last week, but in researching the LDS Church’s stance on abortion hadn’t found anything definitive about whether Mormons believe life begins at conception or at some other time. Coincidentally enough, the new edition of the LDS Church magazine, the Ensign, just arrived and what do you know, there’s a big article … Read more
This comment, from another post, is typical of what I have heard from other people: In 1839, Joseph Smith was asked to describe the difference between his religion and the other religions of his day. Smith replied that the primary difference was primarily in mode of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by … Read more
Mormons use the word “testimony” so much that many Mormons don’t realize that nobody else knows quite what they’re talking about. Mormons will say things like “I have a testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet” or “I have a testimony that this church is true.” But what do they mean? What are they saying? … Read more
Mormons DO NOT dig up the bodies of dead people and baptize them. Perfectly live and healthy members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are baptized in LDS temples on behalf of people who have already died. Detailed records of baptisms are kept. It’s a very orderly and organized process that sounds … Read more
So if the church of the devil isn’t any specific denomination, is the church of the Lamb of God a specific denomination or not? I don’t know. Maybe somebody else has a reference, but I can’t find anything that states one way or another. But I would speculate that the church of the Lamb of … Read more
In the Book of Mormon it says “Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of … Read more
A former President and Prophet of the LDS Church, Joseph Fielding Smith, taught “The time of quickening is when the mother feels the life of her unborn infant.” In other words, the LDS Church has no official statement on when life begins, although obviously it is sometime between conception (including the moment of) and birth. … Read more
Yes, in a sense. Mormons believe that we all lived with God before we were born on this earth. We believe that we were all “spirit children” of God (don’t ask me how God “begat” our spirits, I have no idea), and that among that population of spirit children was Satan, then known as Lucifer, … Read more
Nope. Mormonism is not part of either Protestantism or Catholicism. We actually see Mormonism as being identical to the original church Christ established while on earth, with prophets and apostles, revelation, priesthood authority, temples, etc. We believe that after Christ, all the apostles were killed off, the priesthood authority was lost, and the church ceased … Read more
This question was put to me by a friend of mine (no, not the one with all the anti-Mormon questions). The answer is a “not really…well, sort of, I guess…well, I guess I can see why people would say that” type of answer. The quick answer is “No, we believe we get an entire universe” … Read more
Yes. Mormons believe in what we call a “pre-mortal existence“. We believe that prior to this life, we lived as spirits with God. As spirits we didn’t have a physical body like we do here, but we had consciousness, could communicate with each other just as we do here, could make choices and learn, and … Read more
The following is a recent conversation between me and my friend. While it wasn’t quoted in our conversation, the question arises because of a sermon delivered by Joseph Smith and first published on 15 August 1844 called the King Follett Sermon. In it, Joseph Smith teaches that God was once a man like us, and … Read more