Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling

I just started reading a book that I have had for some time entitled Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Lyman Bushman. Bushman's most notable published work, From Puritan to Yankee: Character and Social Order in Connecticut, 1690-1765 won the prestigious Bancroft Prize in 1968, an award considered to be one of the greatest honors for a work on American history.

So I found it interesting while reading the Mormon Times here that Bushman just gave a speech on Wednesday at Weber State University.

In his speech, he stated, "the LDS church is in good company, with Judaism, Islam and Christianity all making extraordinary claims" and that the LDS Church simply needed time to become more familiar to the world in general."What is needed for Mormonism to become respectable is for it simply to age", Bushman stated.

I pondered that last statement and wonder how factual it is. There are so many individuals and organizations that still look at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as fanatical, extremist, and belonging to a cult. I wonder if those that think that way will ever believe anything differently. But perhaps their children will.

This is a very good article, and I encourage you to look it over here.

This is the last paragraph from the Mormon Times article on Bushman's speech: "Piece by piece," Bushman observed, "the elements of the arguments against Mormonism can be dealt with."

Well said.

National Council of Churches USA…

The National Council of Churches USA has recently made a list of the Top 25 Churches in America that is quite interesting and informative. But what I also find interesting is what church organizations make up the members of the National Council of Churches USA.

Interestingly, four of the top five churches in their Top 25 Churches in America survey do not belong to the NCC…..I wonder, (but won’t take the time to find out) , how many of the top 25 churches in America don’t belong to the NCC when four of the top five don’t.

I also noticed a few churches that belong to the NCC that I have never heard of, and have linked to the churches sites to learn more about them. If you wish to learn more also about the churches listed as belonging to the NCC, you can do so here.

To learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ, visit JesusChrist.lds.org

Changes in the Book of Mormon...

The anti-Mormons love to bring up the issue of the changes that have been made to The Book of Mormon since 1830. They especially like to do this while quoting Joseph Smith as saying the Book of Mormon is more correct than even the Bible.

When Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon was the, " most correct of any book on earth", his view had little relation to the grammar, spelling, or punctuation used in the Book of Mormon. Because of the truth that the Book of Mormon brings to the world, the correctness of the book lies in its message. That is why Joseph Smith concluded be saying a person can "get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book".

But what about all the changes in the Book of Mormon? Some anti-Mormon blogs are talking about more than 400 changes since 1830 in the Book of Mormon. Well, they are correct. There are many thousands of little changes in the Book of Mormon. Listed below are some of those changes made in the Book of Mormon since 1830.

- Words deleted: that (188 times), the (48 times), it came to pass ( 46 times), a and an ( 40 times), had (29 times).

-Words added : of (12 times), and, is, and the ( 7 times)

-Grammatical changes: which to who ( 891 times), was to were, (162 times)

-Typographical errors: aaswer, amog, bacause, daghter, theit, uttered, among many.

That is just a short list of these type of changes, which also include many spelling changes that were made.

As late as 1828, there were as many as four dictionaries that were available. Examples from these four dictionaries show the variations in spellings commonly accepted at the time Joseph Smith was dictating the Book of Mormon to his scribes:

Sheridan: published 1784 creatshur scriptshur claushure

Walker: published 1794 cretshure scriptshur clauzhure

Perry: published 1805 creature scripture clauzhure

Jameson: published 1827 creture scriptyur clauzhur

These same type of changes were also made in the Bible. Simply compare a 1611 King James Version of the Bible with a Kings James Version of today, and you will also see thousands of changes. This does not distract from the meaning and message of the Bible....it simply makes it easier to read today.

Visit my blog here to learn more about the changes that the Bible has also seen in the last few hundred years.

Most importantly, neither the Bible nor the Book of Mormon have to be infallible to get its message across.


To learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ, visit JesusChrist.lds.org

New web site about Jesus Christ...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a new web site where everyone can witness for themselves what the LDS Church believes in concerning our Savior, Jesus Christ. He plays an essential role in all of our lives, and this is a wonderful site to share with all the world regarding our love for Him.

The Prophet Joseph Smith was often asked, “What are the fundamental principles of your religion?”

“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”


To learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ, visit JesusChrist.lds.org

Americans switching faiths / dropping out

(AP) -- The U.S. religious marketplace is extremely volatile, with nearly half of American adults leaving the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether, a new survey finds.

The survey found the Roman Catholic Church has lost more members than any faith tradition.

The study released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is unusual for it sheer scope, relying on interviews with more than 35,000 adults to document a diverse and dynamic U.S. religious population.

While much of the study confirms earlier findings -- mainline Protestant churches are in decline, non-denominational churches are gaining and the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing -- it also provides a deeper look behind those trends, and of smaller religious groups.

"The American religious economy is like a marketplace -- very dynamic, very competitive," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum. "Everyone is losing, everyone is gaining. There are net winners and losers, but no one can stand still. Those groups that are losing significant numbers have to recoup them to stay vibrant."

The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey estimates the United States is 78 percent Christian and about to lose its status as a majority Protestant nation, at 51 percent and slipping.

The rest of this interesting article can be viewed here: Survey

Mormon YouTube videos...

There are about 35 YouTube videos about the Book of Mormon placed there by Fairlds.org

If you are interested in the truth about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons, this is an excellent place to start with 35 short videos on various topics. No matter what you have read or heard elsewhere from various anti-Mormon propaganda, here you will see and hear the truth of what Mormons believe in.


Book of Mormon videos

What Is This Thing That Men Call Death?

The following is taken from one of my favorite blogs, Temple Study

You can listen to the new song by going to the Temple Study blog or on this blog....enjoy.

“What Is This Thing That Men Call Death?” - New Recording by Janice Kapp Perry

Most people in the Church by now are probably familiar with the hymn that Janice Kapp Perry wrote a couple of months ago to accompany a poem written by President Hinckley. President Hinckley published his poem in the May 1988 Ensign article entitled, “The Empty Tomb Bore Testimony,” but he notes that he penned the words many years previous to that at a friend’s funeral.

If you’ve received an email about the hymn you might already know the story behind it. If not, head over to Meridian Magazine which has an article posted detailing the creation of this hymn, including links to the sheet music. The circumstances surrounding the production of the hymn are certainly a “tender mercy” of the Lord, as Janice Kapp Perry describes it. She received official approval of the arranged hymn in the mail from President Hinckley the day after his death.

I think this hymn epitomizes the LDS belief and feelings surrounding mortal death. To members of the LDS Church death is nothing to fear, but a passing into and a beginning of a different stage of our existence. It is progression. Death is not the end, but a beginning of greater things! These doctrines and principles could not be taught more clearly and purely than in the Lord’s temples which dot the earth today. President Hinckley was pivotal in nearly tripling the number of these sacred edifices around the world.

This hymn was sung by the Tabernacle Choir at President Hinckley’s funeral (video link). Since then, Janice Kapp Perry has just recently produced vocal and instrumental recordings of the song with Prime Recordings, Inc.¹. These recordings are very well done. She has made them freely available for all, so I have posted the vocal here for your listening:

What Is This Thing That Men Call Death?

Words by Gordon B. Hinckley, Music by Janice Kapp Perry

What is this thing that men call death,
This quiet passing in the night?
’Tis not the end, but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch Thou my aching heart,
And calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change
With recompense for victory won;
The gift of Him who loved all men,
The Son of God, the Holy One.