Category: Priesthood
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LDS Priesthood — Invention or Restoration?
By Sandra Tanner One of the major claims of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that it is the only true church, with the only authority to act in God’s name. Mormonism has a lay priesthood, its leaders are not trained in theology or biblical languages, but are usually businessmen advanced due…
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LDS Patriarchal Blessings
By Sandra Tanner Joseph Smith claimed through revelation to reestablish the ancient order of “Patriarch,” patterned after the father’s blessings given in the Bible (see Genesis, chapters 27 and 49). Unlike the Old Testament blessings given by a father on his deathbed to his sons, the LDS blessings are given by non-relatives to various members of the…
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By Whose Authority? Problems in LDS Priesthood Claims
By Sandra Tanner In the February 2004 Ensign LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley laid out the four cornerstones of Mormonism. The first is Jesus Christ and his plan of salvation, second is Joseph Smith’s first vision, third is the Book of Mormon and fourth is priesthood authority. The LDS Church claims that those holding its…
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How the LDS Husband Hopes to Resurrect His Wife According to the LDS Temple Ceremony
By Sandra Tanner The LDS Church teaches that at the end of the world everyone will be resurrected. They also believe that almost everyone will go to heaven, which is divided up into three main levels. Bad people go to the lowest, the Telestial Kingdom (Doctrine and Covenants [D&C] 76:81-86). Good people, who were not…
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Bible Verses Relating to LDS Teachings on Temple Work
LDS temples and their ceremonies, which are said to restore ancient Jewish/Christian practices essential to eternal life, bear no resemblance to either the Old or New Testament records.
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Mormonism’s Early Secrets
LDS sealings are discussed (particularly, the lesser known Law of Adoption), citing the research of D. Michael Quinn.
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Mormon Claims Answered: Chapter 6
Marvin W. Cowan Priesthood “We believe that a man must be called of God by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.” 5th Article of Faith, by Joseph Smith DEFINITION AND FUNCTION President Joseph F. Smith (6th LDS…
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Brigham Young Sermon: Joseph Smith’s Consent Needed to Enter Heaven
Brigham Young teaches that although all people will be “saved” (resurrected), only those who obtain Joseph Smith’s consent can then attain the highest degree of exaltation, in the celestial kingdom. As printed in Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, pp. 288-90 (typescript)[Bold in quotations is added for emphasis and does not appear in originals.] [page 282]…
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Brigham Young Sermon: Blacks and the Priesthood
Brigham Young explains the curse of Cain and how black people are relegated to being the “servant of servants” and are prohibited from holding the LDS priesthood until “all the other descendants of Adam have . . . enjoyed the blessings of the Priesthood . . .” As printed in: Journal of Discourses, vol. 7,…
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Two Hours With Brigham Young
An interview with Brigham Young by the famous journalist, Horace Greeley Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Daily Tribune and famous for the phrase, “Go West, young man,” did just that, stopping in Salt Lake City for several days to “study” the Mormons while on his way to the west coast. This took the…