In 1837, the church was in a troublesome amount of debt. As expected, Joseph Smith tried to come up with a way to solve this financial crisis. The idea that he and other LDS leaders agreed on was to start their own bank. But in order to successfully start a banking institution, you need toContinue reading “Why Did Joseph Smith Create An Illegal Bank? – The Kirtland Safety Society”
Category Archives: LDS Church History
The 3 Witnesses – Can We Trust Their Testimonies?
I was talking with some LDS missionaries on my back porch as we were finishing up dinner. I said something along the lines of, “I want to follow the evidence wherever it leads.” Then one of them challenged me and asked, “Well what evidence is there for the atonement?” I generally listed off a fewContinue reading “The 3 Witnesses – Can We Trust Their Testimonies?”
The 8 Witnesses – Can We Trust Their Testimonies?
I am going to start by repeated my opening statement that I made in my article pertaining to the 3 Witnesses: “When talking about the reliability of Joseph Smith’s testimony of the gold plates and the Book of Mormon, a big pillar of truth for LDS members is what is written in the first coupleContinue reading “The 8 Witnesses – Can We Trust Their Testimonies?”
Geographic Evidence: The Bible vs The Book of Mormon
In one of my other posts, called “How Did We Get The Book Of Mormon?” (https://jllds.org/2023/12/21/how-did-we-get-the-book-of-mormon-pt-1/), I mentioned a discussion that I had with one of my missionary friends. After I gave him my answer, he responded and said, “How then do you go about explaining the geographic specifications that are mentioned in the BOM?Continue reading “Geographic Evidence: The Bible vs The Book of Mormon”
How Did We Get The Book Of Mormon
An LDS missionary friend of mine once asked me, “Paul, I got a question for you: Where do you believe the Book of Mormon came from?” To start, we know that Joseph Smith was the seer/translator while Oliver Cowdry, John Whitner and Emma Smith were the scribes. However, I believe that a fair and unbiasedContinue reading “How Did We Get The Book Of Mormon”
BOM Intro Page & DNA
In 2005 and all years prior, the BOM Introduction page read, “all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.” But if you look in your Book of Mormon starting in 2006 and onward, it now reads: “all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among theContinue reading “BOM Intro Page & DNA”
What Did Joseph Smith Add To The Bible?
After Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon in March 1830, he began the new task of retranslating the Bible just three months later in June. The Book of Mormon implies that this was a much-needed task as it says in 1 Nephi 13:26: Then two verses later in 1 Nephi 13:28, we read: “Wherefore,Continue reading “What Did Joseph Smith Add To The Bible?”
Polygamy & Polyandry
Plural Marriage has always been a topic that has been attacked by many people outside of the LDS Church. From a certain perspective, one has be careful before casting the first stone. After all, Abraham, Jacob, and David engaged in plural marriage, didn’t they? For clarification, I am not justifying the actions of anyone inContinue reading “Polygamy & Polyandry”
The Book Of Abraham Controversy
This topic is one of the most common reasons Ex-Mormons will give for why they lost faith in Joseph Smith and the LDS Church. Why does this topic stick out more than the others? I will provide the background summary and if you wish to dig further into the details directly from the LDS ChurchContinue reading “The Book Of Abraham Controversy”
Race & The Priesthood
One of the most common attacks against the LDS Church is the historic issue of racism. Some are content throwing 2nd President Brigham Young under the bus and blaming his “human side” for this great doctrinal error. However, we can see that Brigham Young is only one of many former Church leaders who approved andContinue reading “Race & The Priesthood”
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