President Boyd K. Packer: “I Know the Lord”
President Boyd K. Packer: “I Know the Lord” One claim against the Church today by Mormon fundamentalists is that leaders have lost contact with God and are simply guiding the Church according to their...
View ArticleTeaching our Polygamous Past
As I have attended Brian’s presentations on Joseph Smith’s polygamy at diverse venues, it has been interesting to see the reaction of audience members. Some have been quite hostile, attacking Joseph...
View ArticleThe Plight of Church Dissenters
This past week The Interpreter published an essay entitled: “Dissenters: Portraying the Church as Wrong So They Can Be Right Without It.” The article examines the positions of fundamentalist groups and...
View Article“Much Ado About Nothing”: Could My Legally-Divorced Husband Still Claim Me In...
The other day my husband mentioned a conversation he had with a woman, who was distraught because her ex-husband had just received clearance to marry in the temple. He had apparently been quite a...
View ArticleJoseph Smith and the Twenty-Four Hour Ultimatum
Some critics have accused Joseph Smith of intimidating or using undue influence to coerce women into marrying him. One instance commonly cited as evidence for this indictment is his introduction of...
View ArticleNot my Grandmother’s Polygamy
The first time I learned about my great-great-grandmother, I laughed. Her name was Dorcas Dann. Can you imagine? Who would name their sweet little baby daughter Dorcas? She was actually named after a...
View ArticleThe June 9, 2014, Anti-Mormon Message of John Dehlin
On June 5, 2014, I downloaded the Kindle version of Alex Beam’s American Crucifixion and reviewed Chapter 5, “Polygamy and Its Discontents.” I immediately identified numerous weaknesses of the chapter...
View ArticleUnmet Expectations
I cried during what often is one of the proudest moments for an LDS mother. My oldest had received his mission call in the mail earlier in the day. As I arrived home from work, I anxiously ran over to...
View Article“Sexual Predator”: The Comic Book Version of Joseph Smith’s Polygamy
In a recent interview for “The Mormon Guy” podcast with Russell Stevenson, Alex Beam, who promotes himself as a serious journalist writing “non-fiction” and is the author of American Crucifixion,...
View Article“There Began to be Lyings Sent Forth among the People”: The Message of Jeremy...
The Book of Mormon prophet Samuel prophesied that five years from the time of his preaching, Christ would be born, and “a new star [would] arise” in their heavens (Hel. 14:5). As predicted, the star...
View Article“Adoption” and the “Law of Adoption”
Joseph Smith taught that men and women “Must have a change of heart to see the kingdom of God. & subscribe the articles of adoption to enter therein.”1 Apparently, the requirement to be “adopted”...
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“Omingamy” Here We Come!
Seven years ago a friend and historian working for the Church Historical Department predicted that within ten years polygamy would be legal in the United States. At the time, I had some doubts....
View ArticleNauvoo Polygamists were Skeptical—Just Like You and Me
The historical record shows that Joseph Smith and other Nauvoo Church members were very skeptical and were in no hurry to practice plural marriage. Had it not been taught to them as a commandment, it...
View ArticleLDS.ORG Essay on Nauvoo Polygamy: What did Readers Expect?
On October 22, 2014, LDS.ORG posted three essays dealing with the practice of plural marriage by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between the 1830s and 1904. Perhaps the most...
View ArticleJohn C. Bennett’s Nauvoo Abortion Clinic???
Lately an unusual amount of blogosphere discussion has been devoted to the number of plural wives sealed to Joseph Smith. Often the headlines are followed by innuendos or direct statements tying the...
View ArticleWill Plural Marriage be Required in the Eternities?
Mary Lois was kneeling at the altar, preparing to be sealed to Elias Morris, but her heart was not filled with joy as one might expect but rather with dread. It was 1856 in the Utah Territory and Mary...
View ArticleMore than the Christmas Christ
Concerning our relationship with Jesus Christ, President Howard W. Hunter admonished us: “We must know Christ better than we know him; we must remember him more often than we remember him; we must...
View ArticleOccam’s Razor and Joseph Smith’s Alleged Sexual Polyandry
Several years ago I was presenting my preliminary research on Joseph Smith and polyandry (a woman with more than one husband) to a group of scholars arguing he never would have permitted or practiced...
View Article“It is Like Learning You Have Cancer”: Helping those with Doubts
During the past few weeks Laura and I have been approached directly or indirectly by a few area presidents, stake presidents, and bishops seeking to address the concerns of Church members that have...
View Article“Mercy Thompson and the Revelation on Marriage,” by Jed Woodworth
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