Categories
- Answer My Questions
- Anti-Mormonism
- Archaeology
- Ask Me Questions
- Bible
- Book of Mormon
- Christianity and Mormons
- Homosexuality
- Humor
- Joseph Smith
- Miscellaneous
- Mormon Beliefs
- Mormon Culture
- Mormon Myths
- Mormons and Blacks
- Mormons and Society
- Nature of God
- Politics
- Polygamy
- Revelation
- Salvation
- Satan
- Testimony
- Tips for Anti-Mormons
Category: Answer My Questions
What motivates anti-Mormons?
If you spent more than 15 minutes last month trying to convince someone who is not a family member or friend that some aspect of the Mormon faith isn’t true, then I’m labeling you an anti-Mormon. I just throw that out there so you can understand the definition I’m using for the purpose of this post. Why do I exclude those who are trying to convince friends or family that the Mormon faith is false? Because I can see where they might be coming from. Your brother or sister, husband or wife, suddenly is interested in this strange religion and … Read the rest of this entry »
How much anti-Mormon material is out there?
Does anyone know how much anti-Mormon material is out there?
When I was a missionary back in 1995, I taught a man in a remote city in Brazil. He had been looking for “the right religion” to join for years. He had gone to every church he could find, even the one that drank something hallucinogenic and had “visions”. Then he started talking to us Mormons. What convinced him to join the LDS Church? Well, primarily it was a lot of study and prayer, but he mentioned something else that has stuck in my mind. He said that when he … Read the rest of this entry »
How do you know the Bible is true?
Disclaimer: If you think I’m saying the Bible is false, you’re wrong. That’s not at all what I’m saying. Read on.
I’ve been having an extensive discussion with two chaps on another post on this blog, and they have posited that if the Book of Mormon were true, then there would surely be physical evidence to prove it. That is, there would be archeological evidence, supporting historical documents, etc., just as there are for the Bible. And while perhaps I’m putting words in their mouths, they seem to be making the argument that their entire belief in the Bible is … Read the rest of this entry »
What would you like God to be like?
For the sake of this post, forget everything you already know about God. All your preconceptions, everything that comes to mind automatically, everything you’ve been taught, etc. If Bible passages or creeds come to mind, ignore them for this brief moment, just for fun, and tell me what you would want God to be like? If God could be whoever you wanted him to be, who would you make him and why?
I’ll start us off:
1. Perfect. Because if he weren’t perfect, then how could I trust anything about him at all?
2. Omnipotent. If he’s not able to … Read the rest of this entry »
How did Joseph Smith get numerous witnesses to stand by their stories?
From Jeff Lindsay’s site, where he asks the question “If the gold plates never existed, how did Joseph get numerous witnesses to stand by their stories until their dying day, even when some of them later became angry with Joseph and left the Church?”
This is a common question asked by Mormons, but I have yet to hear a good response. Let me know if you’ve got something you think is a pretty good explanation.… Read the rest of this entry »
Joseph Smith – A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?
Many have interpreted Matthew 7:15 which read “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” as applying to Joseph Smith, the alleged “prophet” of the Mormons. This scripture is often coupled with others mentioning false prophets, such as:
Mark 13:22 – For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:24 – For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall … Read the rest of this entry »
How did Joseph Smith get so much right about the Arabian Peninsula?
This question is borrowed from Jeff Lindsay’s page that asks “How did Joseph know so much about the Arabian Peninsula, including specific names and places that were not known in his day?”
To quote from Jeff’s website:
Related questions:
- Was it just blind luck that the rare place name Nahom in the Book of Mormon, identified as the place where Ishmael was buried, turns out to correspond to an ancient burial site right where the Book of Mormon says it is?
- How could Joseph Smith so accurately and plausibly describe the nature and location of the place Bountiful
Is There Anything That Could Convince You That Mormonism is Not True?
From a question asked by John on 10 May, 2010 here:
And, what, if anything would lead you to the conclusion that Mormonism’s foundational stories, personalities and writings are not what they claim to be?
Yes, there is. What leads me to believe they are true is God telling me so, and so the way I figure it, the only thing that could convince me otherwise would be for God to tell me that what he has already told me is not true. But that’s a bit like the age-old question “Could God microwave a burrito so hot that … Read the rest of this entry »
Am I Mormon Just Because I Was Born Into it?
From a question asked by John on 10 May, 2010 here:
You and I were both born into the church to LDS families. If Mormonism is the one true church, wow…..we really hit the jackpot. Extremely lucky, right? Out of the billions and billions of humans that have come and gone over the last 50,000 years, and the tens of thousands of organized religions, not to mention the other tribal/pagan/animist beliefs, we were so unimaginably fortunate to have been born into the Creator of the Universe’s own special organization on earth.
We could have been born into any other … Read the rest of this entry »
How much can Mormons take?
“I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions: they cannot stand the fire at all.” – Joseph Smith
The more I converse with people who have left the LDS Church, the more I hear stories that go this way “I was completely active in the Church and thought it was true, but … Read the rest of this entry »
If the Bible is inerrant, why are there multiple versions?
There is a certain group of Christians that believe in “biblical inerrancy” or the idea that the Bible is 100% perfect. Mormons believe the Bible is true “inasmuch as it is translated correctly.” That is, Mormons believe the Bible was perfect as it was written by the pens of the original authors, but that through the years and various translations that people made mistakes in translating and that some changes were made intentionally. If you speak more than one language, then you know translations are never 100% accurate, because a word in one language does not always match up perfectly … Read the rest of this entry »
What happened to prophets and apostles?
If you believe in the Bible, answer me this–where are the prophets and apostles? From Adam down to Jesus Christ there were prophets. It’s how we got the Old Testament. After Christ there were the apostles, and Peter was essentially a prophet as well. But somewhere in the hundred or so years after Christ the apostles disappeared. If God were a loving God, why would he give the ancient people prophets and apostles when hardly anyone lived on the earth, and today when there are billions of people on the earth provide no such direction? Sure, we have the Bible … Read the rest of this entry »
How do you know what the words in the Bible mean?
A friend of mine on Facebook put out the question: What is your interpretation of Hebrews 6:4?
Here is Hebrews 6:4-6
4 For it is impossible for those who were once aenlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have atasted the good word of God, and the powers of the bworld to come,
A Question for Evolutionists
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 for this.
The thing about evolution is that it generally happens over millions of years, right? So theoretically, human beings, or the species that led to them, over millions of years would have gotten a little more intelligent here, a little more sophisticated there, … Read the rest of this entry »
If Joseph Smith was a fraud where did the Book of Mormon come from?
Critics say the Book of Mormon is not the word of God, that it is a fraud and false. So then what is your explanation for the existence of the book? It must have come from somewhere. Joseph Smith had an elementary school education and wasn’t known for having great writing skills. Did he write it on his own? Could you, even with the help of your college education and the Internet write such a book? Before you answer, have you actually read the book from cover to cover? The idea that Joseph Smith, or any other person or group … Read the rest of this entry »
What happens after we die?
I know what Mormons believe, but I want to know what you believe. What do you think happens after we die? Assuming you get to heaven, what are you going to do there for the next 1,000,000 years?… Read the rest of this entry »
How do you know the Bible is the word of God?
“God’s Word does not need verification. It simply is true.”
I’m trying to wrap my head around this statement and I just don’t get it. I don’t see any logic here. I mean, of course God’s word is true, but how can a person figure out which words are God’s and which aren’t? I could sit down and write a book tomorrow, claim it was God’s word, and when somebody said “How do I know this is God’s word?” I could just say “It doesn’t need verification, it is God’s word and therefore simply is true.”
“But we’re … Read the rest of this entry »
Is Man-God doctrine more illogical than a God without beginning?
I was just reading a logical proof that Mormonism is false and it seems to go like this: Mormons believe that God was once a man, and that man can become like God, spawn more men, who can also become Gods, or in other words, Mormons believe in an infinite regression of men becoming Gods. The author claims “If something does contain a logical impossibility, then it cannot be true.” Indeed, the idea of an infinite regression of God > Man > God does seem illogical, or at least it would give you a big fat error if you tried … Read the rest of this entry »
What do you believe about temple worship?
Jesus worshiped from time to time in a temple, which was a substantially different building than what we would call a “church” today. Some people claim that “the [temple] rituals have been done away with with the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem“. What evidence is there that these rituals were not part of the ancient Christian church after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem? If they were part of the ancient church prior to the destruction of the temple, why would the destruction of a building have signaled their end forever? If something were important enough … Read the rest of this entry »
Saved by faith alone
If you belong to a church that teaches you are saved by faith alone, and that “faith” can be defined as nothing more than a verbal pronunciation of “I accept Christ” then I’d like to learn more about your perspective on a few things. I know, I know, you’ll think I’m just attacking you, but I promise I’m not, I really want to know what your perspective is.
1. How does your church interpret the scripture in James 2:24 – “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” The Greek phrase … Read the rest of this entry »
Where is the logic in being an atheist?
It seems to me that many atheists are atheists because they don’t find religion to be logical. I can understand that point of view. If I weren’t already a Mormon I’d probably think it was downright crazy too. But it seems to me that as illogical as belief in God may seem, it actually is more illogical to not believe in God. My logic is that religion is, if nothing else, like an insurance policy. The thing is that while perhaps one can’t prove there is a God, it’s also not possible to prove there isn’t a God (please feel … Read the rest of this entry »