Bicentennial of the First Vision We do not know the exact day of the First Vision of Joseph Smith, wherein he witnessed God, the Eternal Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, but we do know it was the Spring of 1820. The organization of the church was on April 6th, 1830; because I have noted … Continue reading My Testimony of the Restoration from an Impactful Teacher
William J. Bernstein, The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World Was Created (2004), 3-4. When we look at the [facts], it becomes crystal clear that something happened ... in the early nineteenth century. ... [Up] until approximately 1820, per capita world economic growth [the single best way of measuring human material progress] registered near … Continue reading 1820: Something Happened
[Leaun Otten was my teacher during two semesters in 1982-1983 at BYU in studying the Book of Mormon. I felt to write him a letter recently, and felt, because of his great influence upon me, to make the letter public. I guess perhaps I do this in commemoration of Thanksgiving in two days.] Leaun Otten … Continue reading Letter to my Book of Mormon Teacher
I like to think of September 21st as Patriarchal Blessing day, in that it is the day Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith, and in a sense gave him his Patriarchal Blessing saying "God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, … Continue reading Patriarchal Blessings
So, as I've started reading the Book of Mormon again, I wondered why, in the heading Nephi wrote to the book of 1st Nephi, which obviously is written after they have taken the ship and landed in the promised land, he started the summary only listing 4 sons of Lehi, when in fact at the … Continue reading The Book of Mormon
(April 2015) Why would the three witnesses search out the Twelve. Here's an interesting quote from the church's website on this topic: Apostle Line of Authority for President Spencer W. Kimball Spencer W. Kimball was ordained an Apostle October 7, 1943, by Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant was ordained an Apostle October 16, 1882, … Continue reading Topic Study: Priesthood, Line of Authority
"The events surrounding the translation of the Book of Mormon can be pieced together from the recollections of a dozen or so contemporaries.... The story that emerges from their accounts is perplexing. The Mormon sources constantly refer to the single most troublesome item in Joseph Smith's history, the gold plates on which the Book of … Continue reading
I've wanted to find some YouTube content that I thought was interesting and yet faith promoting. I think the FAIR Mormon Channel qualifies. The videos will not convince anyone who does not chose to have faith. But it will enable those who do to discuss various issues in a balanced way. Taken from a DVD … Continue reading
Continued From Topic Study: Seventy and 144,000 [May 2012] This section does not deal with the seventy, but was generated because of the question about numbers above. [In other entries] I just did a study of the status of the patriarch to the church, Elder Eldred G. Smith. I learned he is still living, past … Continue reading Topic Study: Patriarch to the Church
(May 2005 TG Entry: Priesthood Restoration) I Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith Joseph Smith’s and Oliver Cowdery’s understanding of these principles became perfect one hundred and seventy six years ago this morning. As we read Joseph Smith history it becomes clear that their knowledge grew line upon line and precept upon precept. … Continue reading Topic Study: Priesthood Restoration
Kip on Character 