FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Difference between revisions of "Detailed response to CES Letter, Other"
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*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/Letter to a CES Director/Other Concerns & Questions#Strengthening the Church Members Committee|Response to section: Strengthening the Church Members Committee]] | *[[Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/Letter to a CES Director/Other Concerns & Questions#Strengthening the Church Members Committee|Response to section: Strengthening the Church Members Committee]] | ||
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/Letter to a CES Director/Other Concerns & Questions#"When the prophet speaks the debate is over"|Response to section: "When the prophet speaks the debate is over"]] | *[[Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/Letter to a CES Director/Other Concerns & Questions#"When the prophet speaks the debate is over"|Response to section: "When the prophet speaks the debate is over"]] | ||
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==2013 Official Declaration 2 Header Update Dishonesty== | ==2013 Official Declaration 2 Header Update Dishonesty== | ||
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=="Zina Diantha Huntington Young"== | =="Zina Diantha Huntington Young"== | ||
| − | {{ | + | {{CESLetterItemShort |
| − | |claim= | + | |claim=The following is a quick biographic snapshot of Zina:<br> |
She was married for 7.5 months and was 6 months pregnant with her first husband, Henry Jacobs, when she married Joseph after being told Joseph’s life was in danger from an angel with a flaming sword.<br> | She was married for 7.5 months and was 6 months pregnant with her first husband, Henry Jacobs, when she married Joseph after being told Joseph’s life was in danger from an angel with a flaming sword.<br> | ||
| − | After Joseph’s death, she married Brigham Young and had Young’s baby while her first husband, Henry, was on a mission. | + | After Joseph’s death, she married Brigham Young and had Young’s baby while her first husband, Henry, was on a mission. |
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| + | {{:Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Plural wives/Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs/Circumstances of her plural marriage}} | ||
=="Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"== | =="Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"== | ||
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=="The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"== | =="The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"== | ||
{{CESLetterItemShort | {{CESLetterItemShort | ||
| − | |claim= | + | |claim=Not only is the manual deceptive in disclosing whether or not Brigham Young was a polygamist but it’s deceptive in hiding Brigham Young’s real teaching on marriage: “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy.” – Journal of Discourses 11:269 |
}} | }} | ||
{{:Mormonism and polygamy/Brigham Young said that the only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy}} | {{:Mormonism and polygamy/Brigham Young said that the only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy}} | ||
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==Church Finances== | ==Church Finances== | ||
{{CESLetterItemShort | {{CESLetterItemShort | ||
| − | |claim= | + | |claim=Estimated $5 billion megamall City Creek Center: Total Church humanitarian aid from 1985-2011: $1.4 billion |
| − | Something is fundamentally wrong with 'the one true Church' spending more on a multi-billion dollar high-end megamall than it has in 25 years of humanitarian aid. | + | Something is fundamentally wrong with 'the one true Church' spending more on a multi-billion dollar high-end megamall than it has in 25 years of humanitarian aid. |
| + | |note=In a later version of his letter, the author corrects his erroneous initial "$5 billion" estimate. | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{:Mormonism and church integrity/City Creek Center Mall in Salt Lake City}} | {{:Mormonism and church integrity/City Creek Center Mall in Salt Lake City}} | ||
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==Names of the Church== | ==Names of the Church== | ||
{{CESLetterItemShort | {{CESLetterItemShort | ||
| − | |claim= | + | |claim=After deciding “Church of Jesus Christ” on April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith made the decision on May 3, 1834 to change the name of the Church to, “The Church of the Latter Day Saints”. Why did Joseph take the name of “Jesus Christ” out of the very name of His restored Church? The one and only true Church on the face of the earth in which Christ is the Head?....Why would Christ instruct Joseph to name it one thing in 1830 and then change it in 1834 and then change it again in 1838? |
}} | }} | ||
{{:Mormonism and church organization/Changes in the name of the Church}} | {{:Mormonism and church organization/Changes in the name of the Church}} | ||
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===="Some things that are true are not very useful"==== | ===="Some things that are true are not very useful"==== | ||
{{CESLetterItemShort | {{CESLetterItemShort | ||
| − | |claim= | + | |claim=[Boyd K.] Packer said the following: “There is a temptation for the writer or the teacher of Church history to want to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith promoting or not. Some things that are true are not very useful.' Joseph using a rock in a hat instead of the gold plates to translate the Book of Mormon is not a useful truth? The fact that there are multiple conflicting First Vision accounts is not a useful truth? The fact that Joseph Smith was involved in Polyandry when D&C 132:61 condemns it as “adultery” is not a useful truth? |
}} | }} | ||
{{:Mormonism and history/Boyd K. Packer's talk: "The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect"}} | {{:Mormonism and history/Boyd K. Packer's talk: "The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect"}} | ||
Revision as of 08:51, 12 May 2014
- REDIRECTTemplate:Test3
Response to "Other Concerns & Questions"
| [[../Scriptures Concerns & Questions|Scriptures Concerns & Questions]] | A FAIR Analysis of:
[[../|Letter to a CES Director]] |
[[../Conclusion|Conclusion]] |
- Response to section: 2013 Official Declaration 2 Header Update Dishonesty
- Response to section: "Zina Diantha Huntington Young"
- Response to section: "Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"
- Response to section: "The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"
- Response to section: "Church Finances"
- Response to section: "Tithing"
- Response to section: "Names of the Church"
- Response to section: "Some things that are true are not very useful"
- Response to section: "Criticizing leaders"
- Response to section: "the scary internet"
- Response to section: "Going after members who publish or share their questions, concerns, and doubts"
- Response to section: Strengthening the Church Members Committee
- Response to section: "When the prophet speaks the debate is over"
2013 Official Declaration 2 Header Update Dishonesty
"Zina Diantha Huntington Young"
The circumstances of the plural marriage of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs to Joseph Smith, Jr.
Summary: Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs was sealed to Joseph Smith while she was already carrying the child of her husband Henry Jacobs at the time. Why would Joseph be sealed to the wife of someone who was not only married to someone else, but pregnant with her husband's child?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Why would Joseph be sealed to the wife of someone who was not only married to someone else, but pregnant with her husband's child?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith and Brigham Young steal Henry Jacobs' family?
- Question: What did the husband of Zina D. Huntington know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: Did Brigham Young tell Henry Jacobs in front of hundreds of people that he needed to find another wife?
- Allen Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young"
"Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"
"The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"
<onlyinclude>
Brigham Young said "The only men who become Gods, even the sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"
Jump to details:
- Question: Is plural marriage required in order to achieve exaltation?
- Question: Did Brigham Young believe that one could not enter the Celestial Kingdom unless they were a polygamist?
- Source:Doctrine and Covenants and Church History:Seminary Teacher Resource Manual:Doctrine and Covenants 132:We have no knowledge that plural marriage will be a requirement for exaltation
- Question: Did other Church leaders believe that plural marriage was a requirement for exaltation?
<onlyinclude>
Question: Is plural marriage required in order to achieve exaltation?
Critics quote Brigham Young saying that "[t]he only men who become Gods, even the sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"
Critics of the Church point to a statement made by Brigham Young to make the claim that Latter-day Saints believe that one must practice plural marriage in order to achieve exaltation (i.e. become like God not just be saved).[1]
The relevant text is as follows:
The only men who become Gods, even the sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy" (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 11:269.)
This quotation is often used in anti-Mormon sources. They do not include the surrounding text which explains what Brigham Young had in mind on this occasion:
We wish to obtain all that father Abraham obtained. I wish here to say to the Elders of Israel, and to all the members of this Church and kingdom, that it is in the hearts of many of them to wish that the doctrine of polygamy was not taught and practiced by us...It is the word of the Lord, and I wish to say to you, and all the world, that if you desire with all your hearts to obtain the blessings which Abraham obtained, you will be polygamists at least in your faith, or you will come short of enjoying the salvation and the glory which Abraham has obtained. This is as true as that God lives. You who wish that there were no such thing in existence, if you have in your hearts to say: "We will pass along in the Church without obeying or submitting to it in our faith or believing this order, because, for aught that we know, this community may be broken up yet, and we may have lucrative offices offered to us; we will not, therefore, be polygamists lest we should fail in obtaining some earthly honor, character and office, etc,"—the man that has that in his heart, and will continue to persist in pursuing that policy, will come short of dwelling in the presence of the Father and the Son, in celestial glory. The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessings offered unto them, and they refused to accept them.[2]
Brigham was stating that the command to practice plural marriage was from God, and it is wrong to seek to abolish a command from God.
It is clear from the quote that Brigham was making several points which the critics ignore:
- The command to practice plural marriage is from God, and it is wrong to seek to abolish a command from God.
- To obtain the blessings of Abraham, the Saints were required to be "polygamists at least in your faith": i.e., it was not necessary that each enter into plural marriage in practice, but that they accept that God spoke to His prophets.
- It was wrong to avoid plural marriage for worldly, selfish reasons, such as believing the Church would fail, and hoping to have political or monetary rewards afterward.
- Faithful Saints cannot expect to receive "all that the Father has" if they willfully disobey God. When the people have "had blessings offered unto them," and if they refuse to obey, God will withhold blessings later because of that disobedience now.
Finally, it must be remembered that Brigham Young is speaking to a group who had been commanded to live the law of polygamy. There is no basis for speculating about what he would have said to a group who did not have that commandment given to them, as present-day members do not.
Question: Did Brigham Young believe that one could not enter the Celestial Kingdom unless they were a polygamist?
Jump to details:
- Question: Did Brigham Young believe that one could not enter the Celestial Kingdom unless they were a polygamist?
- Wilford Woodruff: "President Young said there would be men saved in the Celestial Kingdom of God with one wife with Many wives & with No wife at all"
- Wilford Woodruff: President Young...said a Man may Embrace the Law of Celestial Marriage in his heart & not take the Second wife & be justified before the Lord
Seminary Teacher Resource Manual: "We have no knowledge that plural marriage will be a requirement for exaltation"
"Doctrine and Covenants 132," Seminary Teacher Resource Manual on LDS.org:
Note: Avoid sensationalism and speculation when talking about plural marriage. Sometimes teachers speculate that plural marriage will be a requirement for all who enter the celestial kingdom. We have no knowledge that plural marriage will be a requirement for exaltation.[3]
Question: Did other Church leaders believe that plural marriage was a requirement for exaltation?
Wilford Woodruff and John Taylor did not believe that polygamy was a requirement for exaltation
When a debate in the School of the Prophets arose when one claimed that "no man who has only one wife in this probation can ever enter [the] Celestial kingdom," both Wilford Woodruff and John Taylor disagreed.[4]
George Q. Cannon believed that there would be men in the Celestial Kingdom with only one wife
George Q. Cannon, a member of the First Presidency, noted in 1884 that "he believed there would be men in the Celestial Kingdom that had but one wife," and in 1900 a counselor to Wilford Woodruff remembered Brigham Young "proposed that we marry but one wife."[5] Cannon said that "I am perfectly satisfied there are men who will be counted worthy of that glory who never had a wife; there are men probably in this world now, who will receive exaltation, who never had a wife at all, or probably had but one."[6]
Wilford Woodruff and others claimed that they had never heard Joseph Smith teach that one had to have more than one wife to be exalted
In 1892, Wilford Woodruff and others were asked, in essence, "if Joseph Smith had ever taught you at Nauvoo or anywhere else during his lifetime, that in order for a man to be exalted in the hereafter, he must have more than one wife?"
- Woodruff
- I don't know that I ever heard him make use of that expression or use that form of expression.
- Bathsheba W. Smith
- I never heard of that.
- Joseph C. Kingbury
- No sir. He did not teach me that. He did not say anything about that....I heard it preached from the stand that a man could be exalted in eternity with one wife.[7]
Joseph F. Smith thought that polygamy should be required for exaltation
Joseph F. Smith at one point took a view different from others on this matter:
Some people have supposed that the doctrine of plural marriage was a sort of superfluity, or nonessential to the salvation or exaltation of mankind. In other words, some of the Saints have said, and believe, that a man with one wife sealed to him by authority of the Priesthood for time and eternity, will receive an exaltation as great and glorious, if he is faithful, as he possibly could with more than one. I want here to enter my solemn protest against this idea, for I know it is false...it is useless to tell me that there is no blessing attached to obedience to the law, or that a man with only one wife can obtain as great a reward, glory, or kingdom as he can with more than one, being equally faithful[8]
One problem with this quote is that it stands in conflict with D&C 132 which outlines how exaltation is gained through the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (see vv 1-20) not polygamy.
Daniel H. Wells stated the plural marriage was only practiced after one had a thorough understanding of the doctrine
Daniel H. Wells, second councilor to Brigham Young, made it clear that plural marriage was then a commandment, but it was necessary to obey only when they had "a thorough understanding" of the doctrine and "other circumstances [were] favorable" for practicing it:
It [plural marriage] was a doctrine of the church that when male members came to a thorough understanding of the revelation on the principle of plural or celestial marriage, and other circumstances being favorable, if they failed to obey it they would be under condemnation, and would be clipped in their glory in the world to come. The circumstances that would excuse a person would be physical incapacity and the like....The doctrine was enjoined upon all male members of the Church whose circumstances were favorable to their taking a plurality of wives.[9]
Notes
- ↑ The following critical works use this quote from Brigham to claim that Latter-day Saints must accept polygamy as a requirement to enter heaven. Contender Ministries, Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves. Answers; Richard Abanes, Becoming Gods: A Closer Look at 21st-Century Mormonism (Harvest House Publishers: 2005). 233, 422 n. 48-49. ( Index of claims ); George D. Smith, Nauvoo Polygamy: "...but we called it celestial marriage" (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2008), xiv, 6, 55, , 356. ( Index of claims , (Detailed book review)); Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), 29, 258.( Index of claims )
- ↑ Brigham Young, "Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Bowery, in G.S.L. City," (19 August 1866) Journal of Discourses 11:268-269. (emphasis added) See Quote mining—Journal of Discourses 11:269 to see how this quote was mined.
- ↑ "Doctrine and Covenants 132," Seminary Teacher Resource Manual on LDS.org (2001, [updated 2005])
- ↑ Brian C. Hales, Joseph Smith's Polygamy Volume 3: Theology (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books, 2013), 208. citing Salt Lake City School of the Prophets, Minutes (10 February 1873).
- ↑ Hales, Joseph Smith's Polygamy Vol. 3, 208., citing Wilford Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 9 vols., ed., Scott G. Kenny (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1985), 8:235 (journal entry dated 9 March 1884). ISBN 0941214133. and John Henry Smith as cited in John P. Hatch, editor, Danish Apostle: The Diaries of Anthon H. Lund, 1890–1921 (10 January 1900), 72.
- ↑ Kathryn M. Daynes, More Wives than One: Transformation of the Mormon Marriage System, 1840–1910 (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2001), 75. ISBN 0252026810.
- ↑ Hales, Joseph Smith's Polygamy Vol. 3, 194., citing Temple Lot Transcript, Respondent's Testimony, Part 3, p. 66, question 698; p. 205, question 600; p. 225, questions 1028–1029; p. 319, questions 590–91.
- ↑ Joseph F. Smith Journal of Discourses 20:28-20
- ↑ Daniel H. Wells, "Local and Other Matters... The Reynolds Trial," Deseret News Weekly (15 December 1875): 732, cited in Hales, Joseph Smith's Polygamy Vol. 3, 206–207.
Best articles to read next
The best article(s) to read next on this topic is/are:
- Kathryn M. Daynes, More Wives than One: Transformation of the Mormon Marriage System, 1840–1910 (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2001), 74. ISBN 0252026810.
- Brian C. Hales, Joseph Smith's Polygamy Volume 3: Theology (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books, 2013), 191–194, 205–211.
Church Finances
Detailed response to CES Letter, Other
Why did the Church get involved in a shopping center?
In early 2003, the Church announced it was purchasing a shopping mall directly south of Temple Square. Because the Church already owned a majority of the land on which the mall was built, this purchase brought the remainder under the Church’s control.[1] The Church did so with the purpose of revitalizing the are directly south of Temple Square because the Church had a “compelling responsibility to protect the environment of the Salt Lake Temple.”[2]
After three years of planning, the Church announced a 20-acre development project called City Creek Center to replace the old shopping mall and several other buildings directly south of Temple Square. The project would be a mixed-use development, which included retail, office, and residential space.[3] Mixed-use developments had become prominent in real estate development because this type of development “ensures vitality through activity and diversity. It makes areas safer. It also reduces the need to travel, making people less reliant on cars, bringing welcome environmental benefits.”[4] All of these objectives are interests of the Church, especially in the environment around the Salt Lake Temple.
Did the Church use tithing funds to finance the purchases and buildings?
In the April 2003 general conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley explained “tithing funds have not and will not be used to acquire this property. Nor will they be used in developing it for commercial purposes.” Instead, “funds for this have come and will come from those commercial entities owned by the Church. These resources, together with the earnings of invested reserve funds, will accommodate this program.”[5] Multiple statements were subsequently made reinforcing the fact that tithing funds would not and were not used for the development project.[6]
Some claims are made that tithing really was used because some of the money came from earnings on invested reserve funds, which funds were set up using tithing donations. However, financial documents have shown that only earnings on invested funds, not the original funds themselves, were used to finance the development project.[7]
Why would the Church put tithing into investment portfolios?
Some individuals wonder why the Church puts tithing into investments instead of donating to the poor.
President Gordon B. Hinckley explained that saving some tithing funds is a fundamental principle of Church finances:
In the financial operations of the Church, we have observed two basic and fixed principles: One, the Church will live within its means. It will not spend more than it receives. Two, a fixed percentage of the income will be set aside to build reserves against what might be called a possible “rainy day.”
For years, the Church has taught its membership the principle of setting aside a reserve of food, as well as money, to take care of emergency needs that might arise. We are only trying to follow the same principle for the Church as a whole.[8]
The tithing set aside as a reserve is added to the Church’s investment funds. Bishop Gerald Causse explained the reason for putting saved tithing funds into investments instead of simply holding the tithing in cash or cash equivalents:
In the parable of the talents, the lord who asked for an accounting from his servants chastised the one who had not invested the money entrusted to him but instead had hid that money in the earth. He characterized the servant as “wicked and slothful” for not investing that money for a reasonable financial return. Consistent with this spiritual principle, the Church’s financial reserves are not left idle in nonproductive bank accounts but are instead employed where they can produce a return.[9]
Did the Church achieve its objectives with the City Creek Center project?
Most analysts agree that the City Creek project was successful in revitalizing downtown Salt Lake City:
New York Times[10]“The center has added 2,000 jobs and brought more than 16 million visitors into downtown,” according to the Economic Benchmark Report of 2013, paid for by the real estate firm CBRE. Taking into account the improving economy, the report credits the mall, at 50 South Main Street, with helping downtown retail sales increase by 36 percent, or $209 million, in 2012. The “mall is the single most important thing to happen to Salt Lake City in 50 years, maybe more,” said Bruce Bingham, a partner with Hamilton Partners, a Chicago-based real estate developer. “It revitalized downtown.”Salt Lake Tribune[11]
The International Council of Shopping Centers “selected City Creek Center — winner of a number of other awards since its 2012 debut — and the site's co-designer and operator Taubman Centers for its top accolade as "the most outstanding example of shopping center design and development for 2014-2015
"Main Street is thriving and it would not be if City Creek Center had not been built," said Jason Mathis, executive director of the Downtown Alliance, representing downtown merchants. "I attribute a lot of downtown's success to City Creek Center's development and the design."BuildingSaltLake.com[12]
“According to data from the Downtown Alliance, since City Creek opened, downtown retail sales have increased 46 percent, retail employment increased 83 percent and downtown hotel room bookings grew by 62 percent. The retail center’s presence also contributed to an 119.7 percent rise in retail wages, 26.9 in food service wages and 74.1 percent in hotel wages.”
While there are multiple factors that have led to the current boom downtown, based on the numbers City Creek has played an important role in bringing more development downtown. “This is our best example of a TOD (transportation oriented development),” said Reid Ewing, professor of City and Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah. Ewing led a study looking at foot traffic downtown after City Creek opened and found that the block of Main Street between South Temple and 100 South had the highest pedestrian activity than any other block downtown. Ewing cited his vibrancy scale that measures vibrancy based on imageability, enclosure, human scale, transparency and complexity as an indicator of the health of downtown, especially near City Creek. “This (City Creek Center) has it all in terms of vibrancy,” said Ewing.
Further reading
City Creek Project
- The most comprehensive review of the finances involved in the City Creek Center project is available in “Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment,” James Huntsman v. Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 10 September 2021, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, case 2:21-cv-02504-SVW-SK.
- A history of the downtown situation in 2003 is available in "Church to buy Crossroads Plaza mall," Deseret News, 19 March 2003.
- The announcement and details of the redevelopment project is available in "Downtown rebound: LDS Church unveils plans for 20-acre development," Deseret News, 4 October 2006.
- A detailed review of the entire project is available in “Mormon leaders and Salt Lake City work together to transform land,” Deseret News, 7 March 2010.
- A philosophical consideration of whether the Church should invest in things like malls is available in Nathan Oman, "City Creek and the Choices of Thrift," TimesandSeasons.org, 2 April 2012.
Church Finances
- Gerald Causse, “The Spiritual Foundations of Church Financial Self-Reliance,” Ensign, July 2018.
- Church Newsroom, "Church Finances and a Growing Global Faith," Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, 22 May 2018.
- Tad Walch, "Church finances: Presiding Bishopric offers unique look inside financial operations of growing faith," Deseret News, 14 Feb. 2020.
Notes
- ↑ "Church to buy Crossroads Plaza mall," Deseret News, 19 March 2003.
- ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Condition of the Church,” April 2003 general conference.
- ↑ "Downtown rebound: LDS Church unveils plans for 20-acre development," Deseret News, 4 October 2006.
- ↑ Department of the Environment, United Kingdom, 24 July 1995, as cited in A. Coupland, Reclaiming the City: Mixed Use Development (London, E & FN Spon, 1997).
- ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Condition of the Church,” April 2003 general conference.
- ↑ A compilation of statements is available on pages 2–3 in “Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment,” James Huntsman v. Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 10 September 2021, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, case 2:21-cv-02504-SVW-SK.
- ↑ A financial analysis on these redacted documents is available on pages 7–8 in “Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment.”
- ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, “The State of the Church,” April 1991 general conference.
- ↑ Gerald Causse, “The Spiritual Foundations of Church Financial Self-Reliance,” Ensign, July 2018.
- ↑ Caitlin Kelly, "Mormon-Backed Mall Breathes Life into Salt Lake City," The New York Times, 9 July 2013.
- ↑ Tony Semerad, "City Creek Center: Boon for downtown or one of SLC's 'biggest mistakes'? Salt Lake Tribune, 11 May 2015.
- ↑ Isaac Riddle, "City Creek's impact on downtown growth by the numbers," BuildingSaltLake.com, 17 March 2017.
Tithing
Names of the Church
The Church changed its name twice during its history
Jump to details:
- Question: How many times was the name of the Church changed through revelation?
- Question: What names did the Church go by prior to the revelation which established the correct one?
- Question: What is the history of name changes of the Church?
"Some things that are true are not very useful"
Boyd K. Packer's talk: "The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect"
Summary: Elder Packer gave an address to religious educators called "The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect." The following quote is a favorite of critics who wish to demonstrate that the Church wishes to suppress its history and independent thought: "There is a temptation for the writer or the teacher of Church history to want to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith promoting or not. Some things that are true are not very useful."
Jump to details:
"Criticizing leaders"
"the scary internet"
Strengthening the Church Members Committee
"When the prophet speaks the debate is over"
Notes
- [note] Samuel Katich, "A Tale of Two Marriage Systems: Perspectives on Polyandry and Joseph Smith," Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 2003.