Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2000

Anti-Masonry In The Book Of Mormon Revisited

Anti-Masonry In The Book Of Mormon Revisited Does the Book of Mormon description of ancient Gadianton bands and its warning about latter- day “secret combinations” reflect 19th-century concerns about Freemasonry? Many in Joseph Smith’s day, including Martin Harris, thought so. So, on what grounds do Mormon apologists resist this early interpretive consensus? In particular, this …

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Mormonism’s The Rule of Law

Mormonism’s The Rule of Law To some LDS leaders, the phrase “rule of law” claims a righteousness in the U.S. Constitution. To them, this divinity invites into the law Judeo- Christian principles. Is it this claimed feature that legitimizes Church involvement in politics? In the May 27 Church section of the Deseret News, the First …

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Mormonism and Christianity, or, Are Christians Mormon?

Mormonism and Christianity, or, Are Christians Mormon? The question, “Are Mormons Christian?” has been heard ever since 1830, and it has been pressed forward in recent years by both anti- Mormon Christians and by Mormons who are trying to convince other Christians. I would like to turn the tables on the question, and use Mormon …

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Ward Stories: Front-Line Tales Of Working Mormon Community

Ward Stories: Front-Line Tales Of Working Mormon Community How is your ward as true as the gospel? Panelists share inspiring glimpses of church community: a calling that stretched their understanding and compassion, a leader or teacher who changed lives for the better, a lesson learned in the course of everyday church service. In the course …

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Sixteenth-Century Dreamers: Latter-Day Sacraments of Sexual Utopia From 1531

Sixteenth-Century Dreamers: Latter-Day Sacraments of Sexual Utopia From 1531 One of the antecedents of Mormon polygamy began early in the Protestant Reformation, in marriage.” The Muenster “restoration prophet” John Bockelson, his nemesis Martin Luther, 1531, as German “Dreamers” practiced reciprocal spouse exchange called “spiritual Henry VIII, John Milton, and others imagined alternative marriage practices that …

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George Q. Cannon: Controversial Economic Innovator during the Depression of the 1890s

George Q. Cannon: Controversial Economic Innovator during the Depression of the 1890s Amid the worst economic depression yet in American history, George Q. Cannon, with President Wilford Woodruff’s full approval, formulated a daring scheme to retain control of economic resources and business opportunities. This utilized deficit financing and bond sales in the east. Ultimately, much …

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My Creed: Writing One’s Personal Article of Faith

My Creed: Writing One’s Personal Article of Faith For millennia, Christians have distilled their beliefs into short statements, similar to Joseph Smith’s Articles of Faith. While the practice of a committee imposing a creedal statement of belief on a congregation is anathema to Mormons, the use of the literary form of the creed by individuals …

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The Virtue of Spiritual Regret

The Virtue of Spiritual Regret Professor Lee Yearley at Stanford has proposed that since it is impossible to be more than one person at a time, and yet since one person can desire to embrace more than one religion at a time, the “virtue of spiritual regret” needs to be cultivated in society. This virtue …

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