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How the Book of Mormon Translation Story Changed over Time
When Joseph Smith began the Book of Mormon translation, he acted in his capacity as a treasure seer and used the tools of that trade. But beginning about 1827–28, Smith and his followers began to...
View ArticleSource Criticism and the Books of Moses and Abraham
Latter-day Saint (LDS) scripture is filled to the brim with biblical quotations, allusions, and echoes that tie back to earlier scriptural writings. The use and interpretation of scripture goes far...
View ArticleConference on Black Saints Coming Up This October
Black, White, and Mormon: A Conference on the Evolving Status of Black Saints within the Mormon Fold October 8–9, 2015 In December 2013, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a new...
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Vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve
With the death of 86-year-old Elder Richard G. Scott, three vacancies have opened up in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also recently passed away...
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Learning to Adapt: Review of Steven Peck’s ‘Evolving Faith’
Review of Steven Peck, Evolving Faith: Wanderings of a Mormon Biologist (Provo: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, BYU, 2015). The ultimate purpose of the work of this God may never...
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History vs Heritage: Maybe We Should Stop Saying That We’ve Been Lied to by...
There is a lot of discussion by disaffected, former, or faith-transitioning Latter-day Saints on social media about the presumably deceptive practices that the LDS Church has historically been engaged...
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The Anointed Quorum and the church essay on women, temple and priesthood
Mormon feminist activism in recent years has sparked discussion about the role of women in the church and priesthood. The newly published essay “Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and...
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The Doctrine of Divinely Approved Deception
Joseph and Emma Smith sculpture outside the Church Office Building. Historian Brian Whitney recently wrote a piece about honesty and the Church (click here), arguing that much of the bad history in the...
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Costume Drama in the Early Endowment Ceremony
Content warning: This post discusses the dramatic portion of the early temple endowment. In an 1863 letter to Brigham Young, the great Mormon hymn-writer W. W. Phelps enumerated the callings he had...
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Leaders Have Lied about Church History, but Maybe It’s Not Their Fault
“Maybe we should stop saying we’ve been lied to by the Church,” Brian Whitney recently argued here on WWE. Church leaders have been wrong, but maybe not intentionally dishonest on historical issues....
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“Suffer the Little Ones”: The LDS Church’s Recent Policy Updates Regarding...
Ease back from the ledge. Like many who follow developments within the LDS Church online, I too felt as if the wind were taken out of my sails following the recent news of policy shifts regarding...
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Pain and Suffering
Worlds Without End is pleased to present this guest contribution from Viliami Pauni. Viliami is married with four daughters and currently resides in South Jordan, Utah. He loves Bob Marley more than...
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Critical Times Call for Critical Thinking: A Plea about a Policy
Photo credit: Elvert Barnes / Foter.com / CC BY Worlds Without End is pleased to present this guest contribution from Benjamin Kelsey. After 35+ years in the LDS Church, Benjamin is now a member of...
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In Memoriam: Big Tent Mormonism
The term “big tent Mormonism” has appeared frequently in online LDS discourse over the past 5 years, usually in the context of some good-natured navel-gazing on the part of liberal Mormons in regards...
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Clarification to The Same-Sex Policy: A Sigh of Relief? Sort of.
Image courtesy of LDS.org A much-needed clarification of the new policies surrounding same-sex couples and children being raised by same-sex parents was issued by the First Presidency of the LDS Church...
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A Message for my LDS Friends who are Considering Joining the Community of Christ
Image courtesy of cofchrist.org Through the tumult of the LDS Church’s recent policy updates regarding same-sex couples and families, I have seen many friends on social media express their...
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Disruptive Technology: When Business As Usual Doesn’t Work Anymore (for the...
The purchasing counter at the Amazon Bookstore. No cash allowed. First, an example. When I was up in Seattle last week, I stopped by the new Amazon Bookstore. Not the online site you are used to...
View ArticleApostates and Witches
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. (Ex. 22:18) I recently read Peter Charles Hoffer’s The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History (Univ. Press of Kansas, 1997). How could a bunch of dedicated...
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Book Review: Postponing Heaven
Hatem, Jad. Postponing Heaven: The Three Nephites, the Bodhisattva, and the Mahdi. Translated by Jonathon Penny. Provo UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young...
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“They Call Me the Working Man”: Hints of a Mormon Theology of Work
Our fearless leader Christopher Smith recently shared an insightful bit from his forthcoming dissertation on his Facebook wall. The paragraph in part describes the use of Edenic imagery by Mormon...
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