The LDS Church in Nigeria
Here’s an article from the Washington Post on the LDS Church in Nigeria. The article was accompanied by this short video: Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post...
Read MoreHollywood’s Latest Hoodwink
Nationally syndicated radio host and best-selling author Michael Medved wrote up an opinion piece yesterday on USAToday’s website titled “Hollywood’s terrorists: Mormon, not Muslim”. Medved took to task those involved with the upcoming film September Dawn, a portrayal (albeit jaded and misrepresented one) of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Claiming they don’t have an axe to grind, the film’s producers show quite the opposite. Medved explains: These explorations reach no definitive conclusions on Brigham Young’s complicity in the massacre, but the movie leaves no doubt at all...
Read MoreInexcusable error in The Age
The Age, a newspaper based in Victoria, Australia, failed to do its homework in a recent article about the HBO series Big Love. The article’s author, Peter Mattessi, describes the polygamist family depicted in the series as devout Mormons, despite the disclaimers that appeared before many episodes that the Mormon Church banned polygamy in 1890. The article’s description is false, as the characters in the show are specifically not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The article’s title, “Latter-day saints go marching in,” is equally erroneous.Mattessi clearly...
Read MoreFixing an Error
Kudos to U.S. News and World Report for acknowledging that the cover of a recent issue may have implied a connection between the LDS Church and polygamist/fundamentalist groups. Apparently the story itself was clear about the distinction, but the cover may have been unintentionally misleading: While the article makes a distinction between that polygamous sect and mainstream Mormonism’s rejection of polygamy, the reference to Mormons on the cover does not make this distinction. It was not our intention to imply that mainstream Mormonism is a secret society, sect, or cult, and we regret any...
Read MoreSettling for Sensationalism
This just in, from Mary Richards of KSL: It’s not a belief that’s endorsed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and yet some people believe that if Mitt Romney is elected president, he’s destined to do a great thing. There’s growing talk Mitt Romney could be the one to fulfill a so-called prophecy and save the U.S. Constitution. Mormon myth claims Joseph Smith prophesied that in the last days the constitution would hang by a thread and a Mormon on a metaphorical white horse would ride in to save it. The LDS Church in the past has discounted this “White Horse...
Read MoreTitles Matter at the Editor & Publisher
A recent article in the Editor & Publisher appears to have made a glaring misrepresentation about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the error was subsequently remedied. The Editor & Publisher is a monthly journal covering the newspaper business. It featured an article dated May 25 that carried the title “Deseret Reporter Subpoenaed in Mormon Church Rape Case.” However, the reporter in question is being subpoenaed to testify in the Warren Jeffs rape case. Mr. Jeffs is being tried as an accomplice in two rape cases resulting from his polygamist teachings and...
Read MoreTIME Magazine on “The Religion Test”
A recent article in TIME Magazine by Nancy Gibbs (entitled “The Religion Test” in the print magazine and “Romney’s Mormon Question” on the Web site) examines whether a political candidate’s religious beliefs are appropriate criteria to consider in a political contest. While the article focuses mostly on Mitt Romney’s bid for the presidency, it discusses the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and cites a few authorities that warrant some response. Ms. Gibbs’ article was generally accurate with respect to the beliefs of the LDS Church. One small comment that was...
Read MoreBigotry abounds as Mitt Romney takes limelight
First there was the bigoted comment from Al Sharpton. Now convicted-criminal-turned-minister Bill Keller spews bigotry about Mitt Romney and the LDS Church: Those who follow the false teachings of this cult, believe in the false jesus of the Mormon cult and reject faith in the one true Jesus of the Bible, will die and spend eternity in hell,” he charges. “Romney getting elected president will ultimately lead millions of souls to the eternal flames of hell! And: Romney is an unashamed and proud member of the Mormon cult founded by a murdering polygamist pedophile named Joseph Smith nearly...
Read MoreWhat does this have to do with Mormonism?
The Times Online has a story on child abuse by two British ladies that is circulating through Europe. The headline reads “Mormon women ‘tortured children to instil discipline’”, but we’re left wondering why the professed religion of these two women is even mentioned. The only connections to the Church, weak at best, are that the two women met at the Mormon temple in London and that one believed the Church encourages “strict principles to teach the children how to work and be obedient.” The alleged behavior of these two women goes against everything taught by the Church. In even...
Read MoreMormon church growth statistics
Today the LDS Church issued a press release on membership numbers and trends: Mormon church growth statistics. There are currently 13 million Mormons, with another million added about every three years. While the National Council of Churches lists the Mormon church as the fourth fastest growing church in the U.S., the Church itself does not make “statistical comparisons with other churches and makes no claim to be the fastest-growing Christian denomination.” (Some critics mistakenly believe that the Church asserts itself to be the fastest growing church.) The preoccupation with...
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