Archive for the 'jehovahs witnesses' Category

Nuclear Disarmament Meets Mormon Patriotism


Avatar-BiVLately more and more Church members have begun to wonder why the Church is so supportive of the United States military. We’ve experienced a long tradition of this, beginning with the Mormon Battalion in 1846. When the U.S. Army requested 500 men to join the service in the conflict with Mexico, Brigham Young responded positively despite the fact that our people were in the middle of a forced exodus from the country. This story is proudly retold in our Church lessons and manuals, making it a seminal moment in the formation of our military philosophy. Isolation in the West kept members physically separated from the conflict of the Civil War. But by the time of World War I, Mormons had become involved in the military machine. Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
64 Comments

WHAT THE WORLD THINKS OF GOD


Whats the world think of god

The ICM poll of 10,000 people in the USA, UK, Israel, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Mexico and Lebanon was carried out for the BBC Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
13 Comments

Are We Cross at the Cross?


As I was getting ready for church one Sunday, I went to put on a necklace. I looked at the cross that a non-LDS family member gave me a few years ago. She knows I’m a Christian and I’m sure she thought it would be a nice gesture (which it absolutely was!), but I opted for the heart necklace instead. I’ve worn my cross out in public many times and I personally have no problem with it. But I’ve yet to wear it to church. 

This got me thinking about something I’ve never been quite sure about. How do we Mormons really feel about the cross? Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
40 Comments

Temperance Movement and The Word of Wisdom


For almost two centuries the Word of Wisdom is solid proven evidence to many members that the Church is true. Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
54 Comments

‘The White Shirt’


the-white-shirt

Growing up in a fairly liberal Orange County town I was exposed to differing cultures and religions. Hindu, Jewish, Jehovah’s Witness, Church of Religious Science, and Alternative Spiritualities. I remember a girl who was Hindu who wore different types of clothes than the other girls. The inner dialog:

She is Hindu.

She wears the clothes of her religion.

I’ve learned something about Hinduism.

Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
54 Comments

Mormon Persecution Complex


mormon-persecution-complex

Are Mormons really more persecuted than other faiths or do Mormons just perceive that because the criticism is aimed at us?  Are there as many anti-[insert religion here] as there are anti-Mormons?  I decided to take a very cursory, unscientific, yet interesting look at this question. Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
37 Comments

Mormons as Trinitarians


mormons-as-trinitarians

Mention the word “Trinity” to a group of Mormons and the response you’ll get probably will be “I don’t believe that false doctrine of Satan!” [1] Mormons often even feel more kinship with religions like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who also reject the Trinity doctrine, than we do with orthodox Christians on this topic. But do we Mormons even understand what the doctrine of Trinity really is? Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
89 Comments

Religions in Their Own Words – Morality in Representing Other Religions


religions-in-their-own-words-morality-in-representing-other-religions

Several posts ago, I wrote about the morality of other Christians referring to Mormons as non-Christian without explaining their non-standard use of the word “Christian.” Far from claiming that they should call us “Christians” I suggested how they could morally call us “non-Christians” without misrepresenting our beliefs.

That article was actually a heavily modified letter I had written to an Evangelical in defense of Jehovah’s Witnesses, not Mormons. In retrospect it was a mistake for me to change it to be a defense of Mormons because it brought the subject matter too close to home and, I suspect, caused people to miss my point. This new article is also a letter to a Protestant friend in defense of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This time I’m going to learn from my mistakes and just leave it as a defense of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It should be obvious how this topic relates to Mormonism. Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
12 Comments

Overview and Discussion of Church Growth


overview-and-discussion-of-church-growth

According to Beliefnet.com the 10 largest churches of 2007 in the US are:

Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
37 Comments

Peculiar People: Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses


peculiar-people-mormons-and-jehovahs-witnesses

For a religious community that is often misunderstood and sometimes maligned or mocked, we don’t learn much from our experience. I can’t tell you how often I hear underhanded remarks about other religious groups. Its not a common topic of conversation, but when the subject turns to Jehovah’s Witnesses, and in almost any setting, you are bound to hear jokes. Like Mormons, the faithful really do stick out in a crowd. With my background in having studied with them, I thought it might be fun to examine the “peculiar” similarities between Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. We may be more alike than you think. Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
33 Comments