Category: Truth and Discernment
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Magic in Mormonism
A wealth of research shows that Joseph Smith was involved in magic practices, not just as a dabbling fancy, but to the point of incorporating them into his prophetic pursuits.
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Our Ancestry Questioned
By Jerald and Sandra Tanner Beginning in 1980, Robert and Rosemary Brown, a Mormon couple who live in Arizona, began questioning the claims of Mormon critics concerning their credentials and ancestry. They started out by showing that D. J. Nelson had a phony Doctor’s degree. They then attacked Walter Martin and Wayne Cowdery. They alleged…
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Devils All Over?
By Jerald and Sandra Tanner In the March 1987 issue of the Messenger, we warned that some critics of the Mormon Church have become so obsessed with finding “Luciferian” influence in the temple ceremony that they have lost sight of reality. Since we published that article, things have gone from bad to worse. In a…
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Hofmann Talks!
Mormon Apostle Dallin Oaks Upset With His Confession By Jerald and Sandra Tanner In earlier issues of the Salt Lake City Messenger we have printed a great deal of information concerning Mark Hofmann and his attempt to embarrass the Mormon Church with his forgeries. Hofmann, of course, finally admitted that he had murdered two people…
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Mormonism and Plagiarism
By Jerald and Sandra Tanner For almost thirty years the editors of this newsletter have studied the contents of LDS documents in an attempt to determine the truth about Mormon history. Over the years we have found a number of documents (both Mormon and anti-Mormon) that bear all the earmarks of forgery. The Mormon scholar…
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Obsession With Lucifer?
Hugh Nibley zealously supported Mormonism, accepting Mark Hofmann’s forged Anthon transcript. Critics accused Mormons of calling on Lucifer in temple rituals with “pay lay ale,” but research suggests it means “Wonderful God,” not “Wonderful Lucifer.”
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Hofmann Confesses
Mark Hofmann admits he killed two people and forged Mormon documents. His father also pleaded that he submit to execution to atone for his wrongs, based on the LDS teaching of blood atonement.
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Lawsuit Over: Unfair Verdict Is Overturned (Clayton Diaries copyright suit)
By Jerald and Sandra Tanner On April 28, 1983, the Mormon scholar Andrew Ehat filed a lawsuit against us (Jerald and Sandra Tanner) in an attempt to stop publication of some extracts from the diaries of Joseph Smith’s private secretary, William Clayton. Because these diaries contain embarrassing material on the origin of polygamy and other…
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Jesus a Magician?
By Jerald and Sandra Tanner In 1978 Dr. Morton Smith charged that Jesus had used a “magical formula” at the time of the “raising of Jairus’ daughter” (Jesus The Magician, page 95). In his attempt to excuse Joseph Smith for the role he played in the magic arts, Dr. D. Michael Quinn [BYU professor] tries…
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LDS Documents and Murder
By Jerald Tanner As I left the Salt Lake City Post Office on October 15, 1985, I noticed that the east side of Main Street was blocked off by the police. Later I was to learn that a murder had been committed at the Judge Building—less than a block from where I obtained my mail.…